March is here and most sports fans have their eyes fixated on college basketball. Rightfully so, however this weekend’s college baseball slate could be just as entertaining! From a local perspective, the Canisius Golden Griffs(4-5, 0-0) will be taking on the No. 20 Liberty Flames(7-1, 0-0) in a four-game series.
Nationally, the 2022 Shriners Children’s Classic will host six of the best teams in the nation. Plus in-state, ranked rivalry games between No. 15 Georgia at No. 18 Georgia Tech and No. 14 Florida at No. 22 Miami. Oh yeah, there’s also matchups between No. 16 TCU at Kentucky, UC Irvine at No. 13 Oregon State and No. 5 Vanderbilt at Hawaii as a nightcap.
To quote the great Future, “We ballin like March Madness,” and that’s not just in basketball this year. The college baseball season is hitting its fever pitch as teams have gotten back into game shape. These games can make-or-break a team’s tournament chances when it comes to resume building, so let’s get into it!
Griffs get a ranked task
The Griffs held in tough with the West Virginia Mountaineers(6-2, 0-0) on Tuesday before allowing 13-straight runs from the bullpen. Canisius showed they can perform against good teams, but it should be much easier to hang in with their ace Matt Duffy and his brother Aaron Duffy taking the mound this weekend.
The Duffy brothers fooled Morehead State(3-6, 0-0) batters in the first two games of last weekend’s series. The brothers combined for a 0.82 ERA and a .079 batting average against. Both have a solid three-pitch combination, but their control of the zone and lack of mistakes has been key. Limiting baserunners will always work well, especially a strong Liberty offense.
The Flames are on a seven-game win streak since dropping their season opener to No. 14 Florida. On top of that, Liberty is 64-9 at home since 2020. The Griffs will have a tough mountain to climb, but will have their best opportunity in the Duffy brothers’ starts.
Matt is expected to get the nod today for Canisius in Game 1 of the series at 4 P.M. down in Lynchburg, Virginia. You can check that game out on ESPN+.
Niagara & Bonnies look to bounce back
Both the Niagara Purple Eagles(1-7, 0-0) and St. Bonaventure Bonnies(0-5, 0-0) have struggled out the gate. That often happens for northeastern teams as they are seeing the diamond for the first time since the fall.
Niagara’s task will be tough as they travel down to Baltimore for a four-game series with the UMBC Retrievers(1-6, 0-0). The Retrievers have just one win, but have lost four games by walk-off fashion. To say the least, UMBC has been a bit unlucky.
Both teams will look to right the direction of their season starting today at 2 P.M. that you can watch here.
The Bonnies will be taking on a young team looking to build off a series win in the Alabama State Hornets(3-7, 0-0). The Hornets took two-of-three from UT Martin last weekend, then played Auburn and Samford tough in the midweek.
Alabama State has two guys hitting over .400 on the year and have last week’s SWAC Pitcher of the Week in Breon Pooler. The righty went eight scoreless innings last weekend and looks to build off his last season where he finished with a 3.16 ERA as a weekend starter.
In their midweek game, Bonnies were blown out early by the FGCU Eagles(7-2, 0-0), but got the bats going late. St. Bonaventure will need those bats to get hot and stay hot to close out their Spring Training trip. You can catch the first game of the series today at 6 P.M. before a double-header tomorrow.
Other College Baseball Games to Watch
Be sure to stay tuned for weekly updates on all our WNY baseball programs throughout the spring and the Road to Omaha! You can follow me over on Twitter at @TyBuffalo and everything Trainwreck at @Trainwrecksprts.