The most important games of the weekend. All rankings are Baseball America.
No. 5 FLORIDA (5-1) at No. 16 MIAMI (FL) (6-1)
Miami starts this series with a terrible idea: A "Salute to the 80s," which no one should ever do for any reason. But they also have a player off to an unbelievably good start: Chris Pelaez, batting .650 and slugging 1.050. The Hurricanes also have two players in David Villasuso and Harold Martinez, with three home runs each on the young season. Miami can also pitch, with a good (for college) 4.14 team ERA. The Hurricanes have yet to score fewer than seven runs in a game. Miami has a 123-95-1 edge on Florida in the series. Friday: 7 p.m. ET · Saturday: 7 p.m. ET · Sunday: 3 p.m. ET
No. 15 SOUTH CAROLINA (5-2) vs. No. 13 CLEMSON (7-0)
The teams play in an odd format, rotating from Clemson's home field to a neutral site to Columbia. The Gamecocks have been successful in this series in recent years, winning nine of the last twelve. Something's got to give; none of the starting pitchers has an ERA of more than 3.00. South Carolina has a 2.63 team ERA; Clemson's is 2.67. The Tigers' offense is headlined by Kyle Parker, whose batting .464 with 4 home runs so far. Grain of salt with those statistics for Clemson. Their schedule so far: Miami (OH), Michigan State, Furman, Wright State and Dayton -- all of them in the upstate. Friday (Clemson): 6:30 p.m. ET · Saturday (Greenville): 2 p.m. ET · Sunday (Columbia): 2 p.m. ET
No. 25 GEORGIA (6-3) at No. 6 FLORIDA STATE (7-0)
Here's a note that really has nothing to do with much of anything, but is interesting: All of the expected starters in this series for both teams are undefeated. (Georgia's Jeff Walters also has no wins.) The Dawgs will face an offense that has annihilated its foes so far this season, with Stuart Tapley holding a 12-game hitting streak dating to last season and a .500 average so far this year; Justin Gonzalez boasting a 1.571 OPS; and the entire team having outscored opponents 87-22. Florida State has won 31 of the 55 games in the series, including a game in last year's NCAA regional in Tallahassee. Friday: 6 p.m. ET · Saturday: 6 p.m. ET · Sunday: 1 p.m. ET
Also playing ...
ALABAMA: at College of Charleston, 6 p.m. ET Friday, 1 p.m. ET Saturday, 1 p.m. ET Sunday
No. 17 ARKANSAS: at California, 4:30 p.m. ET Friday, 4 p.m. ET Saturday, 4 p.m. Sunday
AUBURN: vs. Miami (OH), 7:30 p.m. ET Friday, 4 p.m. ET Saturday, 2 p.m. ET Sunday
No. 23 KENTUCKY: at San Diego, 5 p.m. ET Friday; vs. Monmouth (in San Diego), 4 p.m. ET Saturday
No. 2 LSU: vs. Brown, 8 p.m. ET Friday; vs. Pepperdine, 8 p.m. ET Saturday; vs. Brown, 1 p.m. ET Sunday
MISSISSIPPI STATE (BankFirst Baseball Challenge): vs. Southeast Missouri, 5 p.m. ET Friday; vs. Michigan State, 12 p.m. ET Saturday; vs. Southeast Missouri, 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday; vs. Michigan State, 3:30 p.m. ET Sunday
No. 21 OLE MISS: at Tulane, 7:30 p.m. ET Friday, 3 p.m. ET Saturday, 2 p.m. ET Sunday
TENNESSEE: vs. Binghamton, 5 p.m. ET Friday; vs. Kennesaw State, 1 p.m. ET Saturday; vs. Binghamton, 5 p.m. ET Saturday; vs. Kennesaw State, 4 p.m. ET Sunday
VANDERBILT (Music City Classic): vs. Kent State, 5 p.m. ET Friday; vs. Illinois State, 5 p.m. ET Saturday; vs. Indiana, 5 p.m. ET Sunday