The Oregon State Baseball regular season ends in 4 days. There are still 12 days until the postseason bracket is revealed.
With that in mind, we’re remixing our football weekly series 5 Games We Think You Should Watch. Peering our eyes towards the apex of the college baseball season, this is 5 Series We Think You Should Watch.
Northwestern at #14 UCLA
Thursday through Sunday, the 14th-ranked Bruins (in D1Baseball.com’s latest poll) host Northwestern for a B1G regular season finale. The series will be televised on Big Ten Network.
Why does this series matter? Three letters: R-P-I. The Rating Percentage Index, or RPI, is a statistic used to rank teams by their win percentage, the strength of their opponents’ win percentage, and the strength of their opponents’ opponents’ win percentage. If two teams have similar win-loss records, but one team plays a tougher schedule, that should bear out in RPI.
RPI is a key factor in the NCAA Baseball selection process, and it will play a big part for Oregon State this weekend: every time UCLA wins, the Bruins’ win percentage ticks up, and so does the Beavs’ RPI.
#4 North Carolina at #2 Florida State
Thursday through Sunday, two of college baseball’s most storied programs square up in Tallahassee.
While this series holds no sway on Oregon State’s RPI – the Beavers played neither team this season – a top 5 matchup is compelling for a different reason. It’s elite baseball.
There’s another compelling reason to watch: Thanks to Oregon State’s non-conference schedule, some Beaver fans have asked how good is this team? If you watch this series, you’ll have a solid metric to compare Oregon State to.
All three games will be televised on the ACC Network. First pitch of the opening game Thursday is slated for 4 PM PST.
#6 Auburn at Ole Miss
Similarly to the Northwestern/UCLA series, Oregon State’s RPI will be directly impacted by this series. Way back on March 1st, the Beavers gave a dogged effort in a comeback climb that fell one run short, 8-7 Auburn. Since then, the Tigers have vaulted up to #6 in the polls and #2 in the RPI rankings.
From here on out, every Auburn win pads Oregon State’s strength of schedule. Games will stream Thursday through Sunday on the SEC Network’s streaming platform, SECN+.
#5 Oregon at Iowa
Two weeks ago, Oregon thunderously swept past Oregon State. The hated arch-rivals won 3 games by a combined 15 runs, and then tacked on an 8-4 finishing blow in Corvallis two nights later.
How bad was Oregon State, really? How good is Oregon? The answer to those questions might be found in the Ducks’ next opponent: the Iowa Hawkeyes. The Beavers just finished a 3 game stanza in Des Moines, taking 2 out of 3 (with the rarest of baseball statistics: a tie) from the Hawkeyes last weekend.
If the Ducks are truly superior to old O-S-U, expect a green & yellow sweep in Iowa City. Conversely, a strong Iowa showing will make the Beavers losses look like a fluke. The games will be televised Thursday through Sunday on Big Ten Network.
Cal State Fullerton at #12 UC Irvine
This series offers up another perspective on Oregon State’s strength of schedule. The Beavers faced both of these squads this season. They took 2 of 3 in a home series with UC Irvine at the start of April, then logged a road sweep of CS Fullerton the following weekend.
This has been a down season for CS Fullerton, currently inching above .500 with a 27-24 record, and the results of this series could have stark impacts on the Beavers strength of schedule. The series begins Thursday night at 6 PM PST, and can be streamed via ESPN+.
More Reading Material From Oregon State Beavers On SI
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
