This is the second-to-last Friday night slate of the college baseball regular season, and it's action-packed.
We've got many of the top teams in the nation and a bevy of quality arms on tap. I'm focusing on three games for Friday: Oklahoma vs. Kentucky, Duke vs. Clemson and Florida vs. Texas.
Let's dive into the NCAA baseball odds and my college baseball picks for the games on May 9.
Note: While parlaying these picks isn't our official recommendation, we've put together an easy way to do so below.
NCAA Baseball Picks for Friday, May 9
The team logos in the table below represent each of the matchups that Action Network's Doug Ziefel 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 |
|---|---|---|
  | 6:30 p.m. | |
  | 7 p.m. | |
  | 7:30 p.m. | |
Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Check out our NCAA baseball page for more college baseball coverage. | ||
Oklahoma vs. Kentucky Pick
This Kentucky Wildcats club is getting far too much respect, even at home. Fortunately, it has created a nice road discount on the Oklahoma Sooners tonight.
To illustrate that, neutral-site projections from College Baseball Insiders make the Sooners -184 favorites, which shows just how great their current road price is.
The proof is not only in the price but in the results as well. The Wildcats have a losing record against the SEC. They haven't hit well this season, ranking 204th nationally in batting average and 149th in OPS.
Now, they have to contend with Sooners ace Kyson Witherspoon, who has been nothing short of spectacular this season. Witherspoon enters this start with a 2.13 ERA and 0.89 WHIP.
He's not due to regress either, as he boasts the eighth-best SIERA in the country at 1.87. The same can't be said for Kentucky stater Nate Harris.
Yes, Harris has been solid, posting a 3.12 ERA and 1.14 WHIP in a stout conference. However, he's not a pitcher who misses many bats. That's going to be a problem, as his 5.54 xFIP and 4.38 SIERA illustrate.
Look for Witherspoon to shut down the Wildcats and get ample run support as the Sooners take Game 1 of this series.
Pick: Oklahoma ML -120
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Duke vs. Clemson Pick
The Clemson Tigers have been scuffling, to say the least. They come into this series having lost six of their last seven games.
Two of those losses can be attributed to the struggles of Clemson ace Aidan Knaak, who
s set to take the ball tonight.
Over his last three starts, Knaak has a 6.89 ERA, a 1.66 WHIP and a strikeout per nine rate of just 7.5. However, even with his recent struggles, his season-long numbers call for positive regression.
Knaak's xFIP of 3.84 and SIERA of 2.70 are a much more accurate depiction of how good he is when things are right.
Knaack's struggles are not the sole issue here, as the Clemson lineup has been ice-cold over the last seven games. In fact, the Tigers are hitting just .242 as a team over that span.
Although, like Knaak, they're due for a big output because this lineup still ranks 54th in wRC+ and 100th in OPS.
All of this positive regression comes against a Duke team that's red hot. Over its past seven games, it ranks 12th in average, seventh in OPS and second in wOBA.
It doesn't stop there, though, as the Blue Devils will start Owen Proksch, who sports a 3.21 ERA and 1.05 WHIP on the season. However, Proksch has shown some issues with command, and Duke's season-long offensive numbers aren't near the level they've been at lately.
This series opener is the perfect spot to sell high on the Blue Devils and buy low on the Tigers as they return home.
Pick: Clemson ML -122
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Florida vs. Texas Pick
Last but certainly not least, we turn our attention to the top team in the nation, the Texas Longhorns. The Longhorns lost ace Jared Spencer for the season, and that loss was compounded by getting swept by Arkansas.
Surprisingly, they still hold the top spot in the rankings coming into this weekend, and they'll need to right the ship on the mound against a Florida team that has picked up steam lately.
For the Longhorns, it starts with a bounce-back effort from starter Ruger Riojas, who's due for some positive regression, holding a 4.19 ERA and 3.27 SIERA.
However, the separator in this series is Texas' bullpen. The Longhorns' bullpen ranks sixth in ERA and third in WHIP. Every arm in burnt orange will need to be sharp, as they'll have to match Florida's Pierce Coppola.
While injuries have continually plagued Coppola, he's shown how lights-out he can be when healthy. Through four starts, Coppola holds a 1.32 ERA, 0.73 WHIP and a strikeout per nine rate of 16.5.
He now gets a Texas lineup that has struggled mightily of late, hitting just .224 as a team over its last seven games.
With all the quality arms set to be featured in this matchup, the under is the play.
Pick: Under 10.5
