Hello, friends. We’re officially on the back nine of the college baseball season, to draw a golf analogy on Masters weekend.
The midway point really packs a punch with exciting matchups across all leagues, including a top-five showdown between Florida State and Georgia Tech, ranked matchups with rivals Texas and Texas A&M and a ranked series in Eugene between Nebraska and Oregon (which we’ll look at).
Don’t overlook the non-power series, as Coastal Carolina visits Arkansas State, while Liberty and Jacksonville State play perhaps the best series of the entire weekend.
Here are three college baseball picks and NCAA baseball predictions for Friday, April 10.
College Baseball Picks, Predictions
The team logos in the table below represent each of the matchups that Action Network's Road to CFB is targeting from Friday's slate of NCAA baseball games. Click on the team logos for any of the matchups below to navigate to a specific bet discussed in this article.
| Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
|---|---|---|
  | 3 p.m. | |
  | 5:30 p.m. | |
  | 6 p.m. | |
Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Always shop for the best price using our NCAAF Odds page, which automatically surfaces the best lines for every game. | ||
Boston College + Oregon Parlay
- Boston College vs. Virginia Tech (3 p.m. ET · ACC Network)
- Oregon vs. Nebraska (8:05 p.m. ET · B1G+)
Call this one “Coast-to-Coast.”
I like Oregon quite a bit with righty Will Sanford on the mound. The Ducks played nine of their last 10 away from home, including a tough series loss at Michigan.
This travel exhaustion phenomenon was expected from the West Coast Big Ten teams and is apparent across multiple sports; returning home is likely the refresher Oregon needs.
Nebraska is a quality team looking to make its third straight postseason and make a run at Omaha for the first time since 2005.
Thanks to a nice balance of offense (113 wRC+) and a reliable starting rotation, the Huskers are in a nice position to play in June.
But since joining the Big Ten for last season, non-West Coast conference foes are just 4-11 in Eugene, including 1-5 this season.
Nebraska is the best of the bunch to visit yet, but that travel out west takes its toll in the middle of the season, especially for a team that hasn’t traveled west of its campus since opening weekend.
Instead of taking Oregon outright at around -150, I’m looking to get a little more squeeze from the lemon.
The other leg to this short parlay includes Boston College. BC is 11-2 at home, including a sweep of Cal and a 2-1 series win over Virginia; it also stole 2-of-3 from Miami on the road earlier in the season.
Senior A.J. Colarusso gets his ninth start on the season and showed exceptionally well last time out, out-dueling North Carolina’s Ryan Lynch and holding the Tar Heels to a single run. Colarusso also held Virginia to a single run through six.
The Eagles will get six quality innings from their starter tonight.
Virginia Tech isn’t the team to spoil Colarusso’s run. The Hokies have a 93 wRC+, bat .255 as a team and struggle to generate extra-base hits.
Pick: Boston College + Oregon ML Parlay (+117)
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Virginia vs Notre Dame Pick
Junior Kyle Johnson is the latest to take the Friday mound for Virginia, which hasn’t had the benefit of a consistent weekend rotation this year. Johnson struck out seven Florida State batters in just four innings his last time out.
He can be inconsistent — Boston College scored two runs and didn’t strike out once two starts ago — but Johnson shows flashes of being UVA’s ace.
On the other side, Notre Dame is on a real slide. It has lost its last seven games (while interestingly giving up exactly seven runs in each of the last four games), bringing the Fighting Irish to 0-7 against Quad 1 teams.
They haven’t been able to put together a complete game since the Clemson series three weekends ago.
Virginia dropped two of its three games against Florida State and stumbled in the midweek against James Madison, but UVA is still the superior team here.
On a cold night in South Bend, I’m looking to back the more sound team.
Pick: Virginia ML -115
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Jacksonville State vs Liberty Pick
Welcome to the best series in the country. These two teams combine for a 51-15 record on the season and a 21-3 mark in Conference USA (Jacksonville State is 12-0 itself).
The winner of this series takes full control of CUSA and sits in the driver’s seat for a postseason spot.
And what a treat the opening game is.
We get Jacksonville State’s Eli Pillsbury (5-0, 1.99 ERA) against Liberty’s Ben Blair (5-1, 1.46 ERA), two of the best-performing arms in the entire country. At their peak, these two are nearly untouchable.
Two outings ago, Pillsbury threw six shutout innings against Louisiana Tech, where he struck out 12 batters. Blair has struck out at least eight batters in seven of his eight starts, the lone exception coming against West Virginia.
You’d have to go back to Valentine’s Day to spot a weekend loss for Jax State and, in that time, it has two one-run losses to Alabama and a dominant 15-4 win over Auburn on Tuesday.
Liberty gets the home bump, but it’s 12-6 in Lynchburg this season — not exactly an infallible record. The Gamecocks are 26-1 against Q2-4 opponents, while Liberty is 16-2. That’s to say, quality teams on both sides.
With a pitcher’s duel probably inbound, I’ll take the team with the more reliable bats, which is Jacksonville State.
Pick: Jacksonville State ML +100
