Good News! A short read this week for you all. I have 30 people coming to my house tomorrow, the Masters are on, and I have a lot of work to do.
Embrace Debate - Is this a boring Top 25 in College Baseball?
20 Teams within the Power 4 Conferences - 10 SEC Teams, 6 ACC Teams, 2 Big Ten, and 2 Big 12.
Yawn - where is Dallas Baptist? Where is Western Kentucky? Where is Lynchburg College? (They could beat more D1s than you think)
Reminder: You cannot convince me that Vanderbilt is a good baseball team.
My Daughter’s Favorite Team Update: Alabama Crimson Tide: 27-6 ( 7-5)
Not great folks, not great. Friday was embarrassing as Sam Dutton and the Auburn Tigers run-ruled the Crimson Tide. A close win on Saturday was highlighted by a 9th inning home run by Justin Lebron to put the Tide on top. Sunday was over quick with Auburn scoring 6 runs in the first two innings on their way to a 7-5 win.
“This year, I've been saying to people, my good is good. When I have been playing well, I feel like I have been competing at a high level. My consistency maybe has not been as high this year, but my good is good.” - Justin Rose, Thursday at the Masters
Games to Watch From This Past Week
If you’re not following Wheels on YouTube, you should.
Virginia at NC State: Hand-up, my daughter is the reason UVA got walked off to lose this series. As we checked into our hotel in Raleigh this past weekend, I saw Evan Blanco and Henry Ford walking through the lobby and realized the UVA team was at the same hotel. Brian O’Connor was in the room next to me. Saturday night, the kid did not want to sleep, and she likely kept Brian up all night. Sorry, boys!
Texas A&M at #1 Tennessee: The Biggest surprise of the season is the absolutely broken Aggies beating Tennessee in commanding fashion to take an SEC weekend series. Michael Earley’s job is safer than it was last week.
#3 Georgia at #5 Texas: Texas may be the best example of “Coaching matters”. Schloss shows up, and this team is a well-oiled machine, sweeping #3 Georgia, the country’s best offense.
Weekend Matchups to Watch
#5 Tennesse at #6 Ole Miss: How did Ole Miss get to #6? Tennessee has a lot to prove after losing a weekend series to a 1-8 A&M team, and going on the road to Ole Miss is a tough way to get back on the horse.
#3 LSU at #11 Auburn: Friday night’s matchup is must-see TV. Kade Anderson for LSU vs. former LSU pitcher Sam Dutton is a top 5 pitching matchup so far this season. Anderson took down the better Witherspoon brother last week. If he takes down Dutton, his draft stock may skyrocket. Auburn’s been hot of late, and they’ve been hot ever since they stopped letting Ike Irish catch and put him in RF where he belongs. Coincidence? I think not.
#9 Florida State at #25 Virginia Tech: Florida State got borderline embarrassed in their final two games against Wake last weekend, getting outscored 29-2. With those scores, Link Jarrett may have had some flashbacks to his first season with the ‘Noles in 2023, and it’s hard to believe he would tolerate another weekend like that. Virginia Tech has an ace on Fridays in Brett Renfrow and an offense that is built to hit the ball out of the yard. Bet the overs on Saturday and Sunday. These scores could be huge.