It’s finally time to turn all eyes toward Omaha. Just one full week remains in the 2017 regular season and so much is still up for grabs in pursuit of the College World Series…
›Showdowns highlight season’s final weekend. Look no further than the SEC division standings for a grasp of how much fun this weekend has the potential to be. Florida and Kentucky will go head to head for one division title, while Mississippi State battles LSU for the other. Fans in Gainesville and Starkville are being treated to rare scheduling perfection which allows both SEC crowns to be settled on the field. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Countless conference titles are still ripe for the taking around the country .
›Oregon State remains consensus selection atop college baseball polls. Some clarity is being provided to the race for national seeding, especially at the top. The Beavers lead a pack which includes Louisville, UNC, Texas Tech, Florida, TCU and Kentucky. These clubs appear in the top 7 spots of all five major polls, leaving fans to wonder if in fact only a single spot remains up for grabs. While Florida and Kentucky go head to head this weekend as mentioned above, there is no reason to believe this means they won’t both be national seeds when all is said an done. One thing remains certain, unless Oregon State experiences some type of major collapse across their final two weekend of action, a true favorite will be in place entering NCAA tournament play.
›Louisville’s streak at fifteen as Cardinals clinch division title with impressive sweep in Clemson. This top ten showdown in Tiger-town produced resolution in the ACC’s Atlantic Division. Louisville extended its impressive winning streak to fifteen straight with a trio of two-run decisions. On the other side of the conference, North Carolina has nailed down Coastal Division Title and seems the team most capable of slowing the crew that has become arguably the country’s hottest team during the upcoming round robin championship tournament, which due to an early-season move by the conference will be played in the Cardinals back yard at Louisville Slugger Park.
›First NCAA Tournament tickets to be punched this week. .Yale and Penn will compete for a post-pined Ivy League Championship this week. The series will render the initial NCAA berth of the season. Automatic qualifiers will also be in place out of the Mid-Eastern and Southwestern Conferences by Sunday’s end. While the balance of the conference tourneys are still a week away and the full tournament field will not be set until Monday May 29th at noon, it’s always nice to see the first few names slated for the march toward TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha.
›The Road always has unforeseen challenges. TCU standout Luken Baker’s injury last week is a reminder that nothing is a given in this sport. A season long favorite to return to Omaha, the Horned Frogs will now be required to find some answers in his absence. Just one week after delivering a tenth inning double to beat Texas, the slugger experienced a hairline fracture resulting from a collision with a baserunner during the Oklahoma series. TCU is holding out hope Baker can be fully healed for Regional play, though only time will tell how quickly he can return or the effect his injury will have. The events in Fort Worth serve to turn attention toward the unknowns which await so many teams heading into NCAA tournament action. A major storyline to keep an eye on moving forward will be any further unfortunate injuries, untimely challenges and unforeseen obstacles which so often serve as the x factors in college baseball’s drive toward a championship.