March 29, 2009

Kendall Rogers
Rivals.com College Baseball Editor

The Wildcats had one of the nation's best teams last season and almost upset No. 1 seed Miami in the Coral Gables Super Regional. But unless something drastic changes the next few weeks, the 2009 Wildcats don't even have to worry about making plans for an NCAA regional.

Arizona began Pac-10 play two weekends ago with a 0-3 record against rival Arizona State, and didn't fare too much better this weekend with a disappointing 1-2 record against surging UCLA.

TCU, Pepperdine, Santa Clara and Charlotte also were huge disappointments this weekend, while Loyola Marymount, Florida, Cal State Fullerton and LSU are red-hot after recording big series wins.

We unveil the week's winners and losers.

Winners

Loyola Marymount: Before the season everyone talked about San Diego, Santa Clara and Pepperdine as the favorites to win the WCC title. But at LMU, first-year coach Jason Gill is starting to make some noise. The Lions began the week with a mid-week win over Cal State Northridge and swept Santa Clara this weekend with wins by scores of 2-0, 7-4 and 14-0. With the wins over Santa Clara, the Lions now have a conference record of 3-0. They also have an improved overall record of 16-12. Could the Lions sneak in and win the WCC title?

Oklahoma State: The Cowboys took a step back two weekends ago with a disappointing road series loss to Nebraska. But the Pokes bounced back in a huge way this weekend against Missouri. The Pokes began the week with a pair of mid-week wins over UNLV before taking a pair of games from Missouri by scores of 13-1 and 6-2. OSU can sweep the Tigers Monday afternoon. What a nice week for Frank Anderson's team.

Rice: We learned more about Rice this weekend than any other weekend so far this season. The Owls entered the Memphis series without ace pitchers Ryan Berry and Mike Ojala, and it certainly showed in Game 1 with a disappointing 10-7 setback. The Owls, however, rebounded in a big way in Games 2 and 3. The Owls won Game 2 12-4 and took care of business in the series finale with a 9-5 triumph. The Memphis series wasn't pretty at times, but Rice got the job done without two stud arms.

Florida: The Gators appeared to be in some trouble after getting swept by Arkansas a few weekends ago, but now they're back in business. UF began the week with a mid-week split against North Florida, but put together a fantastic weekend against SEC foe Alabama. The Gators won the series opener 11-4 and scored seven runs in the ninth inning to win Game 2, 9-8. The series finale also went UF's way by a score of 10-7. UF coach Kevin O'Sullivan has his team playing with a wealth of confidence.

UC Irvine: You just knew the Anteaters would get on a roll before playing heated rival Cal State Fullerton next weekend. The 'Eaters split a pair of mid-week games with Washington, but really impressed in a series against Cal Poly this weekend. They won the series opener 5-2 before cruising in Game 2 with an 11-3 victory. The 'Eaters finished the weekend with a close 7-6 win over the Mustangs. A lot will be on the line when Irvine and Fullerton meet next week. Irvine appears to be up for the challenge.

Cal State Fullerton: The Titans didn't disappoint in their first weekend as the nation's top-ranked team. After losing the series opener to UC Riverside 3-1, the Titans responded with a 4-1 victory in Game 2 and a dominant 18-1 triumph in the series finale. Fullerton's offense was far from great the first two games, but exploded in the series finale. The Titans are playing great baseball with Arizona State and UC Irvine coming up next week. They definitely earned the top-ranked label this weekend.

LSU: The Tigers received a wealth of grief a few weekends ago because of that series loss to Illinois, but they've really put together a fantastic resume since that point. The Tigers took series from Kentucky and South Carolina before taking care of Ole Miss at home this weekend. LSU dropped the series opener 7-4, but bounced back in Games 2 and 3 by scores of 6-5 and 2-1, respectively, to win the series. LSU's series win sets up a huge three-game set at Georgia next weekend.

San Diego State: After losing a home series to BYU last weekend, the Aztecs really needed to make a statement on the road against TCU this weekend. They did just that. The Aztecs won the series opener 11-5 and lost Game 2 by a score of 8-5. They bounced back, though, to win the series finale 2-1. The Aztecs need another good series win to hop in the rankings, but they had an extremely productive weekend in Fort Worth, Texas.

South Carolina: The Gamecocks dropped a home series to LSU in tough fashion last weekend, but showed what they are made of this week. The Gamecocks began the week with mid-week wins over College of Charleston and Georgia Southern. They also beat Kentucky in the series opener 20-19 before losing Game 2 5-4. The Gamecocks bounced back in the series finale with an impressive 4-2 victory. South Carolina really needed a road series win over the Wildcats.

Texas A&M: The Aggies had lost some of their luster in recent weeks with less than stellar play, but they gained back respect this weekend. The Aggies began the week with a mid-week win over Texas-Arlington. They also took care of business over the weekend with three wins over Kansas by scores of 3-0, 7-6 and 6-5. With road series against Texas Tech and Kansas State coming up the next two weeks, the Aggies picked a perfect time to get on a hot streak. Will the streak last, though?

Losers

Alabama: Want to find a tough team to figure out? Look no further than the Crimson Tide. Alabama raised many eyebrows a few weekends ago with an impressive home series win against Georgia. They also earned some respect by thrashing Ole Miss in a series finale last weekend. Well, this weekend the Crimson Tide lost much respect. The Tide dropped the series opener to Florida 11-4. They also blew a six-run lead on Saturday and dropped a 9-8 decision before losing the series finale 10-7. With a conference record of 3-6, the Tide definitely is in trouble.

Arizona: The Wildcats will have to change some things up if they plan on reaching another super regional this season. UA took a step back last weekend by getting swept at Arizona State. Well, they didn't fare too much better this weekend. The Wildcats dropped the series opener to UCLA 7-6 before winning Game 2 by a score of 19-5. UA, though, stumbled in the series finale with an 8-6 setback. UA now has an overall record of 12-12 and a conference record of 1-5. That's not exactly impressive.

Tulane: Think it's a coincidence that LSU is back in business and Tulane appears to be a program in a downward spiral? That may or may not be true, but the Green Wave certainly isn't putting together a good resume so far this season. The Wave started the week with a mid-week win over Nicholls State, but struggled at home against Houston this weekend. They won the series opener 6-2 and dropped the final two games of the series 4-1 and 4-3. Tulane probably won't fare better at Rice next weekend.

Tennessee: For the third week in a row, we're able to keep the Volunteers in the losers category. That's not a good thing. The Vols had a golden opportunity to get back on track this weekend with a home series against Georgia. However, the series was a disaster. The Vols dropped the series opener 12-6 and lost Game 2 by a score of 11-9. They lost the series finale 4-3. With the three losses to Georgia, the Vols now have an overall record of 11-15 and a conference record of 1-8.

TCU: A couple weeks ago TCU's stock couldn't be any higher. Now the Horned Frogs have something to prove. TCU began the week with a mid-week win over Stephen F. Austin and dropped its second mid-week to Baylor 15-4. This weekend, the Frogs failed to get much going against San Diego State in a MWC tilt. TCU dropped the series opener 11-5, won Game 2 8-5 and dropped the series finale 2-1. Things don't get much easier this week as the Frogs play host to surprising New Mexico.

California: The Golden Bears are a tough choice to put down as a loser this week. After all, they finished the week with a respectable 2-2 record. However, a home series loss to Washington State certainly is disappointing for a team that entered the series battled tested. The Cougars beat the Bears 8-7 and 11-0 to start the series. Cal, though, did manage to win the series finale 8-2. The Bears played a brutally tough non-conference schedule, so perhaps that finally caught up with them this weekend.

Pepperdine: It wouldn't surprise me if the Waves ran home from San Diego to Malibu after the way they played against conference rival San Diego over the weekend. Okay, I'm sort of kidding. The Waves began the week with a pair of mid-week losses to Brown and UCLA. This weekend, though, they hit rock bottom with three losses to the Toreros by scores of 8-6, 4-0 and 9-3. After their play against the Toreros, the Waves now must win the WCC title to have any chance of making a regional.

Santa Clara: The Broncos are another prime example that no team wants to win the WCC title. The Broncos were expected to be in a regional and compete for the conference crown this spring, but both scenarios likely won't happen at this point. The Broncos began the week with a mid-week loss to California before dropping all three games to Loyola Marymount in disappointing fashion. They dropped the three games by scores of 2-0, 7-4 and 14-8. Can O'Brien's team find a way to turn things around?

Charlotte: The 49ers reign over the Atlantic 10 appears to be over this season. They had a very bad weekend on the diamond. The 49ers began the week with a mid-week win over North Carolina, but showed no signs of building on that victory. They dropped all three games to Dayton over the weekend by scores of 6-2, 4-2 and 14-10. With the three losses, the 49ers now have an overall record of 14-9 and a conference record of 1-5. Think the 49ers expected this to happen?

Vanderbilt: Coach Tim Corbin told me a while back the Commodores had some tough holes to fill this spring. Well, he now appears to be right on with that assessment. The Commodores entered the Auburn series in need of a win after already dropping conference sets to Ole Miss and Kentucky. However, that didn't happen as the Tigers beat the 'Dores two of three with wins of 5-3 and 11-10. Vandy now is in a must-win situation when it hosts Florida next weekend.

Kendall Rogers is the college baseball editor for Rivals.com and Yahoo! Sports. He can be reached at rogersk@yahoo-inc.com.