Charlie Condon is making headlines – and rightly so – but Georgia is far from a one-man show.
The Bulldogs swept Vanderbilt this weekend in Athens to improve to 35-12 overall and 13-11 in the SEC. And with an RPI that has climbed to No. 5, Georgia is in position to host a regional for the first time since 2019 and perhaps be one of the top eight national seeds.
Condon, of course, plays a major role in this success. The junior, who is having one of the best offensive seasons in college baseball history, went 5 for 10 with three homers and six RBIs against Vanderbilt. He has homered in seven straight games and leads the nation in batting average (.459) and home runs (33).
I’m starting to get into the best college season conversation ever…regardless of era 🤯
-Chris Burke (@ChrisBurke02) May 5, 2024
Vanderbilt, meanwhile, is 11-13 in league play and has lost five straight SEC games for just the fourth time in Tim Corbin’s 21 years as head coach. The Commodores’ streak of 17 consecutive regional appearances — the longest in the nation — could be in jeopardy. Vanderbilt closes the season with a home series against Tennessee followed by a trip to Kentucky.
Around the horn
Tennessee continues to pressure Kentucky in the SEC East race. The Vols stayed within one game of the Wildcats — who won a critical home series against Arkansas — by winning two of Florida’s three games in Gainesville. The teams split a doubleheader Friday, with Tennessee winning the first game 6-2 and Florida rebounding for a 4-3 nightcap victory. On Saturday, the Vols broke open a close game by scoring 11 runs in the sixth and three in the seventh to top the Gators 16-3.
Florida two-way star Jac Caglianone suffered his first loss of the season on the mound, allowing six hits and four earned runs in five innings in Game 3. The Gators have now lost five straight SEC series for the first time since 2006, when they lost eight in a row en route to a 10-20 championship record.
Tennessee, meanwhile, has won seven straight series since opening SEC play while losing two of three to Alabama. The Vols are 17-7 in league play.
NC State split a pair with Florida State in Tallahassee and is now 26-18 overall and 13-10 in the ACC. The Wolfpack still have work to do to get into the hosting discussion, but with an RPI of 19 and series remaining against Virginia (road) and Wake Forest (home), they will have ample opportunity to improve their resume.
One thing is certain: NC State is very comfortable in a close game. The Pack is 8-3 in single-point games in the ACC.
Texas’ late-season surge continued with a huge series win over Oklahoma State in Austin. The Longhorns won the first two games, 7-5 Friday and 6-3 Saturday, thanks in large part to the play of outfielder Max Belyeu. The sophomore went 5-for-7 with a home run and five RBIs in the two wins.
Oklahoma State won the third game 7-2 to create a three-way tie for second place in the Big 12. Oklahoma continues to lead the way with an 18-6 record, along with Texas, West Virginia and Oklahoma State is three games down at 15. -9.
The Sooners close the regular season with Baylor at home (9-15 in the Big 12) and a visit to Cincinnati (13-11).
LSU took another step forward, but was it enough? The defending national champions, who were 3-12 in the league about a month ago, won their third straight SEC series, winning two of three from then-No. 1 Texas A&M in Baton Rouge, to improve to 31-18 overall and 9-15 in the SEC.
The Tigers’ RPI is as high as 34th – certainly in position to earn an at-large invitation – but their league record is problematic. Nothing is guaranteed, but LSU would get into decent shape by going 4-2 down the stretch, with series at Alabama and at home against Ole Miss still on the schedule.
Indiana State swept Belmont in Terre Haute to improve to 34-10 overall and 17-4 in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Sycamores, with an RPI of 10, are in an excellent position to host a regional for the second straight season.
Indiana State has won 17 straight series in the MVC dating back to the end of the 2022 season.
East Carolina continues to roll in the American Athletic Conference. The Pirates took two of South Florida’s three wins in Greenville, their sixth straight series victory, and are now 37-9 overall and 16-5 in the AAC.
Here are some numbers to show how dominant ECU has been compared to the rest of the league. In AAC games only:
- They’re hitting .328 as a team, 22 percentage points better than No. 2 UTSA.
- They lead the league in slugging (.510), on-base percentage (.406) and runs scored (165).
- Their league-leading ERA of 3.38 is more than a point lower than the next-best team, UAB, at 4.64.
- Their batting average against is just .229, 27 percentage points lower than any other team in the league.
ECU hosts Duke on Tuesday in a huge non-conference game. The Pirates have won two of North Carolina’s three games early this season and are 2-0 against NC State in midweek games. Another win against a higher tier ACC team would add to an already strong playoff resume.
This should be a very interesting final two weeks in the Big Ten. Look at this mess:
- Illinois, 13-5
- Nebraska, 12-6
- Purdue, 12-6
- Indiana, 12-6
- Iowa 13-8
There will be two huge series next weekend: Nebraska hosts Indiana and Illinois hosts Iowa. The Cornhuskers, with an RPI of 21, are the league’s only playoff lock. Illinois, Indiana and Purdue are in the 60s.
We had some serious drama in the Sun Belt Sunday afternoon. Troy won the first two games of the series against Louisiana and needed to complete the sweep to tie the Ragin’ Cajuns atop the league standings.
This does not happen.
The Trojans scored five runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to tie the score at 12-12, but lost 14-13 in 10 innings and are now two games behind Louisiana with two series remaining.
Southern Miss, which swept Coastal Carolina in Hattiesburg, trails three games at 15-9. Coastal, which has been ranked for much of the season, is 11-13 in the Sun Belt.
Clemson has had some epic comebacks this season, most notably against Florida State in late March when it came back from down seven runs in the bottom of the ninth inning in the second game of the series and from nine runs down in the bottom of the sixth to complete the sweep in of game 3.
Well, the Tigers were on the other end of a comeback Saturday when Georgia Tech scored 11 runs over the final three innings en route to a 14-12 victory at Clemson.
The Tigers still won the series and continue to set the tone in the ACC Atlantic Division, with a 2.5 game lead over Florida State.
and finally
• Oklahoma State left fielder Nolan Schubart was 5-for-5 with four home runs and a double in a 21-6 win over Wichita State on Tuesday. That capped a four-game stretch in which Schubart went 14-for-20 with seven home runs and 17 RBIs.
🚨SCHOOL RECORD🚨
5/5, 4 HR, 7 RBI, 2B#GoPokes | @NolanSchubart pic.twitter.com/82wW5WhIED-OSU Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball) May 1, 2024
• Nebraska junior Jackson Brockett, making his first start of the season, threw no hits Wednesday as the Huskers topped Kansas State 8-0. It was the sixth individual no-hitter in program history and the first no-hitter in nine innings since 1954.
• Notre Dame center fielder TJ Williams entered the discussion for catch of the year in the Fighting Irish’s 3-1 loss to Pittsburgh on Friday.
What a take from TJ Williams!@NDBaseball pic.twitter.com/XPUlUZKDsj
– D1Baseball (@d1baseball) May 3, 2024
• Maryland-Eastern Shore fell to 0-41 with a 10-9 loss at Le Moyne on Sunday. Mississippi Valley State went 0-14 during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. St. Peter’s, which went 0-38 in 2017, is the last team to go winless over a full season.
• Mississippi State has all but assured a playoff spot — after missing the tournament the last two years — and is in an excellent position to be one of 16 regional hosts. The Bulldogs won two of Alabama’s three games this weekend to improve to 32-16 overall and 14-10 in the SEC.
• Travis Bazzana hit three home runs in Oregon State’s 10-5 win over Washington State on Sunday. The Beavers won two of three games in Pullman.
• Arizona swept Stanford in Tucson to hold a two-game lead in the Pac-12. The Wildcats are 17-7 in league play, two games ahead of Utah, which has lost two of three to Oregon.
(Photo by Charlie Condon, courtesy of Georgia Athletics)