This Wednesday college baseball slate competes with MLB Opening Day and gives us a lighter slate than usual.
But that doesn’t mean it’s not full of intrigue because last night’s action saw a handful more upsets. These weeknight games have spurned surprises, and anticipatory bettors can take advantage of the chaos.
Let’s dive into my college baseball picks and NCAA baseball predictions for the games on Wednesday, March 25.
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 Wednesday'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 |
|---|---|---|
  | 6 p.m. | |
  | 7 p.m. | |
Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. | ||
Oregon vs UC San Diego Pick
This is far from a full-unit play; I just want to have a small stake in UC San Diego tonight, the second of a two-game weeknight stint in San Diego.
I’m looking to win a unit with an upset here, staking about 0.3u on the game.
Last time Oregon had a back-to-back weeknight series, the Ducks went with a pitching committee that included three underclassmen and some inconsistency in talent across the board.
I expect them to test the depth of their staff tonight to see what they have.
And on the road at 20-4 with a series at UC Santa Barbara up next, there’s a real surprise opportunity with UCSD. The Tritons came up empty in a 6-0 loss last night, but otherwise have been fairly average hitting on the season with a wRC+ of 91.
I expect positive regression to the mean to some degree.
Oregon is right to be favored, but given the circumstances of this game, I don’t think a Ducks win is a foregone conclusion.
Pick: UC San Diego ML +300
| |
Air Force vs Oral Roberts Pick
If I gave you a blind resume of this year’s Air Force baseball scores and didn’t tell you they were baseball, you’d assume I was showing you football finals.
Like their gridiron counterparts, preventing opponents from scoring isn’t in the game script for the Falcons.
The result is a wildly erratic team that’s also not very good but is dangerous to just about anybody. Air Force managed to notch some wins after a 3-11 start, but four of its last five wins came despite giving up 11-plus runs in each contest.
But relying on scoring 12 runs a game isn’t the best formula for consistent success, and those runs aren’t always there. The last time Air Force played Oral Roberts (a midweek game a month ago), the Falcons only managed to plate three and lost, 6-3.
Nathan Love, that night’s starter for ORU, is now in a weekend role.
Brenden Asher gets his second start of the season after going just two innings against Little Rock last week. In that start, Asher didn’t give up a run, but reliever Maddox Thornton gave up a bunch following.
Ideally, Asher can get some more length out of his start after averaging 5 1/3 innings per start and throwing two complete games last year.
Oral Roberts is ranked higher in DSR (101st) and Massey (107th) than Air Force (144th, 115th, respectively) and plays this game at home.
Pick: Oral Roberts ML +124
