Welcome to the college baseball Super Regionals. In my estimation, this playoff round rivals the excitement and energy of the opening round of March Madness.
Here, you’ll see some of college baseball’s best venues put out electric environments, as seen already in Morgantown. This is must-watch television.
Eight coveted spots in the College World Series are up for grabs, and those tickets will be punched in this weekend���s best-of-three series sprint to Omaha.
Let’s dive into my NCAA baseball predictions and college baseball picks for Friday, June 5, and Saturday, June 6.
NCAA Baseball Predictions, Picks
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 |
|---|---|---|
  | 12 p.m. | |
  | 3 p.m. | |
Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. | ||
West Virginia + Texas ML Parlay Pick
- Cal Poly vs. West Virginia (Friday, June 4 · 12 p.m. ET · ESPN2)
- Oregon vs. Texas (Saturday, June 5 · 8 p.m. ET · ESPN)
For this West Virginia-Cal Poly series, shop around. There are a wide range of moneyline odds available, and you can bet into nearly a zero-hold market (0.4%). Because of that, I want action in this Game 1.
Morgantown has proven to be one of the most difficult environments to play in this postseason.
West Virginia rode the home crowd twice to three straight wins in elimination games, ultimately pulling off a 6-5 win over Kentucky to host the Morgantown Super Regional.
WVU managed to emerge from a difficult Regional draw thanks to criminal underseeding.
Cal Poly, meanwhile, travels across the country to play a hot team in the hornet’s nest that is Kendrick Family Ballpark — far different from the tame crowd of Pasadena.
WVU pitcher Chansen Cole has the advantage over Cal Poly’s Griffin Naess.
On the other side of this parlay, Texas has proven to be one of the most unbeatable teams at home in the country, compiling a 30-4 record at UFCU Disch-Falk Field this season.
That record comes in spite of hosting three Regional hosts (Mississippi State, Alabama and Texas A&M), two additional Super Regional teams (Oklahoma and Ole Miss) and another tournament team in USC Upstate.
The Longhorns showed complete dominance in the Austin Regional and should continue to be a dominant force at home against Oregon.
I anticipate a pitching duel, as Oregon held its three Regional foes (Yale, Washington State and Oregon State) to three total runs.
However, Texas’ 122 wRC+ and power from Aiden Robbins (23 HR) and Carson Tinney (21) give it a leg up here.
Note: Austin is expected to battle thunderstorms on Saturday, which could delay or inhibit this game.
Pick: West Virginia + Texas ML Parlay (+101)
| |
USC vs UNC Pick
Entering the NCAA Tournament, I had genuine reservations about USC’s 1-11 record against Quad 1 opponents.
Instead of folding, USC looked every bit the part of a national title contender, going 4-1 in the College Station Regional and cleaning up against host Texas A&M by a combined score of 21-4.
The bats finally found a groove, while USC’s elite pitching staff continued to do its thing.
USC ace Mason Edwards (8-0, 1.85 ERA), the Big Ten Pitcher of the Year, takes the mound against North Carolina’s Jason DeCaro.
Edwards faltered in his last outing, giving up five runs in 5 1/3 innings against Lamar. Fortunately for the Trojans, they scored 19 runs in the game. Still, Edwards has been outstanding all year long.
DeCaro, meanwhile, hasn’t lasted four innings in either of his last two starts.
This is a play on recent form versus season-long numbers. North Carolina benefited from an advantageous Regional draw, easily going 3-0.
USC is seasoned in terms of travelling across the country, playing series at Maryland and Northwestern this year.
I make USC a +117 underdog in this game (46% implied win rate) using RPI, KPI, DSR and other aggregated power ratings; that’s a +8% win expectancy over what’s being offered on the board.
Given a wide range of odds here, you can bet into just a 2.9% theoretical hold.
Pick: USC ML +142
