Opening Weekend always brings out the best and the worst in college baseball; there are overreactions, and then there’s hope that some fan bases feel after the opening series. Just a reminder, though, just because your team didn’t have a positive Opening Weekend doesn’t mean the season is over, baseball has the longest of seasons, and the journey to Omaha is just beginning. Some of you who feel really good after your Opening Weekend slate will be ready to crawl into a hole after the midweeks on Tuesday and Wednesday, that’s just how college baseball goes, but one thing that we can all agree upon is how good it feels to have college baseball back into our everyday conversation as we all joined as one this weekend to welcome our sport back while starting out on the road to Omaha with the same goals and aspirations. 

As we’ll do every week until the postseason and coverage shifts, thoughts and observations from the weekend. 

First, I’ve already seen a lot of conversation after Opening Weekend about the ill-informed opinion that a team that lost the series this season won’t amount to anything this season. That simply is not true, could be for some, but not all, as baseball has a funny way of working itself out. Second part of that, and more on the warranted side of things, but the college baseball media folks are doing all they can to grow the game, but with little to no help from ESPN or other major networks is downright shameful. There was no excuse for ESPN not to have multiview on ESPN Plus active, or even for Squeeze Play to be going, not to mention the numerous streaming services needed this weekend just to watch college baseball. It was Opening Weekend, and the fans got screwed over by the major networks, who had to pay almost $100 just to watch college baseball this weekend. We, as a collective, have to do better at holding these billion-dollar companies accountable. Not only would more eyes on the game help fans access the teams they love, but it would also allow us to cover the sport as a whole. Maybe even offer a bundle for fans and fellow college baseball media folks to purchase, showcasing the sport and helping grow it even further. 

Second, just an observation from watching and attending a series this weekend, but it’s time we put some respect on the mid-majors that make this sport what it is. I was at South Alabama this past weekend to see the Jaguars take two out of three games over USC Upstate, and the facilities were top-notch, and it was good baseball. All across the college baseball landscape and into the season, we’ll see it, but we had Kentucky going to UNC Greensboro, next week Ohio State is going to Memphis, and so on and so on, it’s good for college sports to not only have those series, but to celebrate them because we often don’t see that in college football and or basketball. The hometown team might lose, but those whole communities come out to support, and again, that’s how we grow the game. Even if your team is one of the higher-ups in the ACC or SEC, I would strongly recommend you find your local Mid-Major program and go out on a weekend and enjoy some high-level college baseball. You never know, you might have the opportunity to see the next Murray State before they make some noise in a Regional. Some programs of interest this season that you might not have thought about going out to see, but South Alabama, Southern Miss, Navy, Tulane, or even East Carolina, maybe you want the big city vibes and head on out to FedEx Park to see a Memphis team, but don’t hesitate, go out and support Mid-Major baseball. 

Lastly, let’s talk about a few teams that impressed me this season, enough lecturing about the overall sport, but down to business on what happened on the diamond this weekend. We’ll start in the Sun Belt with South Alabama, who took two of three from the defending Big South Champion, USC Upstate, then, just an hour or so away, Southern Miss walked off UC Santa Barbara in the bottom of the 9th on Sunday to take the series. Then, in the American Conference, Memphis took two of three from Toledo, Tulane earned a massive series win over Loyola Marymount, and Murray State continued to do what they did best last season, taking two of three from Ohio. At the Power level, Kentucky taking all three on the road over a scrappy UNC Greensboro was impressive, considering they lost Tyler Bell on Friday night to injury, then you had Mississippi State and Ole Miss with series sweeps, and Ohio State opened the season with a three-game sweep over St. Louis, then lastly Michigan State going into the Bluegrass state and stunning 8th ranked Louisville in two out of three games this weekend. 

As far as a few midweeks to watch out for? 

Tuesday: 

Xavier at Louisville 

Troy at Mississippi State 

Tulane at UCLA 

Little Rock at Memphis 

Arkansas State at Ole Miss 

Wednesday: 

Purdue at Rice 

Stetson at Florida 

Alabama State at Alabama 

Just a reminder for those who like to downplay the importance of midweek baseball, you can both help and hurt your RPI with wins or even a loss during the midweek, but either way, it’s meaningful baseball, and we’ve waited since June to have college baseball back in our life, enjoy it. 

Overall, a really fun Opening Weekend of college baseball. A lot of storylines to break down before the midweek action gets underway on Tuesday, before another fun weekend starting on Friday. Enjoy the ride, it’s a long season and marthaton not a sprint. 

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