The month of March is one of the best months for sports. MLB is in spring training, and of course, March Madness speaks for itself. Even though this month is more known for basketball, it also is the start of conference play in college baseball. And as basketball is starting to wind down, Big 12 baseball is just starting to ramp up. For those not familiar with college baseball, it truly is an underrated sport. There’s always plenty of action and upsets going on during any given day. With the start of conference play in the Big 12, here are several things to keep an eye on this weekend.
A Texas Sized Showdown
We start things down in Fort Worth, Texas, where the trucks and hats aren’t the only thing that’s big because we have quite the matchup in Funky Town. UCF is coming off a clean sweep over Oklahoma State last weekend as they currently sit at the top of the Big 12 standings.
Meanwhile the Frogs are coming off a tough series against Arizona State where they lost the final two games and were outscored 19 to 8. TCU’s pitching has certainly been questionable so far this year, but the good news is that UCF doesn’t hit a ton of home runs.
However, up to this point TCU is by far the more battle tested team and playing at home should provide some extra comfort. Can UCF go into Lupton and knock off the Frogs to maintain their top spot? We will find out this weekend.
Can Arizona Get Back on Track?
While it’s still early in the season, it’s safe to say that Arizona hasn’t just been one of the most disappointing teams in the Big 12 but maybe the entire country. The Wildcats got to a horrendous start to the year losing eight out of their first nine games.
They did manage to beat Fresno State in a series but then they fell back once again by falling to a subpar Utah team in Salt Lake City. So far what I have seen from this team is a lackluster offense and mediocre pitching.
This weekend they host Texas Tech who has the number one offense in the Big 12. If there’s one thing the Red Raiders do it’s score a bunch of runs. Tech does have the worst ERA in the Big 12 by a mile (7.29) so this should be the time where the bats of the Cats wake up. If not, the hole they have dug themselves will only get deeper.
Will Oklahoma State Wake Up?
Last weekend Oklahoma State was the only Big 12 team that got swept. The Cowboys lost all three games against UCF in Orlando, but they were competitive in all three matchups. However, they still are at the bottom of the conference standings with their 0-3 record.
The good news is that they will host a struggling Baylor team this weekend on Stillwater. Baylor does have some firepower at the plate, but it should be nothing that the Cowboys can’t handle.
O’Brate is a hitter friendly ballpark, and I fully expect Oklahoma State to look like themselves this weekend. While a sweep isn’t necessary, the Cowboys at the very least need to win the series because you don’t want to be staring at a 1-5 conference record a week from now.
