Another huge week of college baseball action is in the books and it's time for Kendall Rogers and Aaron Fitt to answer your burning questions.
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Noah: What do you make of USM winning 4 series in a row, but dropping a game in each? Obviously the offense looked better this weekend, but have to imagine a sweep of one or two of Missouri St/Indiana St/La Tech would bring some ranking considerations. Winning midweeks vs SEC teams could also help too
Aaron Fitt: Yeah you’re exactly right — on the whole I think Southern Miss should feel pretty good about winning its first four weekends, but a 10-6 overall record doesn’t scream “rank me” (it would probably be enough to keep the Eagles in the Top 25 if they had started in the rankings — it’s just not quite enough to break into the Top 25 from outside the rankings, if that makes sense). But series wins at La Tech, vs. Indiana State and vs. Missouri State are all quality weekends, and I have a feeling those series will set this team up very well for postseason positioning. Seems like the USM offense is heating up too, which is definitely encouraging after a slow start offensively.
Oxford Bald Eagle: Will the ever seed the entire field where 1 plays 64, 2 plays 63, regardlesss of geography? It just makes the Southern Miss path to Omaha so much harder than an Oral Roberts or somebody out west…
Aaron Fitt: I don’t think they’ll ever do that, because there are good reasons to keep geography as something of a factor — makes it easier for visiting fans to go to games, for instance. Southern Miss playing Louisiana Tech in Corvallis in front of a smaller crowd is not as good as Southern Miss playing Louisiana Tech in Starkville in front of a rocking crowd, for instance. Obviously travel costs are another issue, though the tournament is making money and I don’t think that should be the primary driver.
MB: Who’s your Sun Belt dark horse on the horizon of conference play?
Kendall Rogers: South Alabama and Texas State would be top of mind for me. USA just because it entered the season not expected to do a lot. I know the Bobcats of TXS are struggling a little right now — they’re pressing offensively right now. But I still like the offensive lineup and they pitched well enough over the weekend against Sam Houston to take that series.
Andrew: I know it’s early, but it seems Louisiana may have saved their at large chances with B2B walk offs against Tulane. Series losses to Rice and Tulane would have been tough. You guys agree with that assessment?
Kendall Rogers: Andrew — They definitely saved their chances to some degree barring a massive run in the Sun Belt race this spring. I can’t quite pinpoint what the issue might be with the Cajuns right now. I thought the offense was a little blah at the Astros Foundation Classic. I think UL will pitch enough this spring — but they will need to hit much better in conference play. Someone outside of DeBarge, etc, needs to step up.
Arch: Is there a reality where SBC baseball gets 5-6 bids a year in the postseason? They have 4 a piece in each of the last 2 seasons. Is the SBC be recognized as a power baseball league?
Aaron Fitt: You know, 5-6 still feels a bit ambitious, but it is encouraging that most of the league has gotten off to good starts, and there aren’t any teams with dreadful records in nonconference play dragging down the other regional contenders. In fact, right now the Sun Belt ranks fourth in nonconference winning percentage, behind only the ACC, SEC and Big 12. And that feels about right for where the Sun Belt fits in the pecking order right now; it feels better than the Pac this year, on the whole. Feels like the No. 4 conference.
