Longhorns, Aggies among five to watch in college baseball this weekend

Sean Ryan

Longhorns, Aggies among five to watch in college baseball this weekend image

Conference play is beginning to heat up, with the Pac-12, SEC and Big-12, among others, dipping their toes in the league-play waters.

Here are five teams to watch, as for many, the college baseball season already is more than a quarter of the way done.

MORE: Five teams with something to prove | College baseball storylines to watch

Texas

On the surface, the Longhorns appear to be scuffling a bit at 11-6 and ranked near the bottom of most polls’ Top 20. But unlike most other powers, Texas hasn’t padded its record with weaker home opponents, playing four games at Rice and four more at Stanford. Pitching continues to be Texas’ strength, but there’s a lot to like about the bats as they welcome Big 12 foe West Virginia this weekend for three.

Texas A&M

The Aggies are unbeaten at 18-0 and open SEC play by hosting Auburn. A&M passed its major test before conference play by beating Nebraska, Houston and Baylor – allowing only three runs last weekend. But all eyes will be on the mound, where the Aggies learned that lefty starter A.J. Minter will miss the rest of the season and leave them with two missing weekend starters. The Aggies, with an ERA of 1.59, are deep on the mound, with seven pitchers with more than six appearances to support the three primary starters.

Ole Miss

Sticking in the SEC, the Rebels were picked to finish sixth in the SEC West by the league’s coaches. Yet Ole Miss’ 9-7 start is a little surprising. Credit the Rebels for traveling to UCF and Louisville (a combined 2-3 in those games) in a solid nonconference schedule that should prepare them for SEC play. They’ll be looking for the bats (.255 average) to come alive as a good showing at No. 3 LSU would do wonders.

Oregon State

At 14-3, including a handful of quality wins, the Beavers are unranked by most polls and flying under the radar. Oregon State has plenty of fresh faces, but a bona fide ace in Andrew Moore, who went 10 innings against Fresno State last weekend. It opens Pac-12 play with its third trip to Arizona (OSU played two tourneys in Surprise, Ariz.) and a weekend date with the Sun Devils of Arizona State.

FAU

The Owls (15-3) are getting a little love in some of the polls and have won series against the likes of UConn, Ohio State, Monmouth and Rutgers in nonconference play. Of note, FAU has played 17 of its 18 games at home and will open its second season in Conference USA with a trip to Charlotte. The Owls are loaded with pitching, something they’ll need to improve upon last season’s 10-11 road record.

Sean Ryan