Week 1 College Baseball Recap: Ole Miss and Michigan Start Out With A Bang

The people asked for college baseball content, so we're going to give it to them. I mentioned in my season preview blog how much I love this sport and find it to be generally under-appreciated and many of y'all seemed to agree, so we're going to keep the coverage going this season.

I'm looking forward to it. So let's get it going.

Stories of the Weekend:

Ole Miss Takes Series From No. 1 Louisville

No. 1 Louisville opened the season on the road against a formidable Ole Miss team and left Oxford with a series loss after the Rebels took games on Saturday and Sunday. Ole Miss took down Louisville 8-7 on Saturday and followed that up with a 7-6 win to close the series.

To give you an idea of the depth in the SEC, this Ole Miss team was picked to finish sixth in the SEC West — not the conference, just its division. But after just three games, it's pretty clear that's a team that is going to compete for the top spot in the Southeastern Conference and a national seed in June.

Vandy Stumbles Out of the Gate

Much like No. 1 Louisville, it was a tough weekend for No. 2 Vanderbilt.

The Commodores opened the season by giving up a lead in the ninth inning to No. 13 Michigan and dropping the opener to the Wolverines. After a win over UConn on Saturday, Vandy lost a disappointing game to Cal Poly, again in the final at-bat.

Obviously Vanderbilt is going to be fine going forward, but it was certainly not the start the Dores were looking for.

Michigan Is Not Going Anywhere

Vanderbilt wasn't the only story coming out of Scottsdale, Arizona on Opening Weekend, because the Michigan Wolverines made a statement that they're not going anywhere after reaching the College World Series Final last season.

In addition to taking down No. 2 Vandy, Michigan toppled No. 9 Arizona State — holding the Commodores and Sun Devils to a combined three runs — and Cal Poly before dropping its fourth game of the weekend to UConn. But the three wins and two over Top 10 teams were more than enough for the Wolverines to show to the country they don't intend on going anywhere in 2020.

Player of the Week: Cael Baker, Ole Miss

Ole Miss was the story of the weekend, and it couldn't have done what it did if not for the heroics of Cael Baker, whose 4-4 day on Saturday included the go-ahead home run for the Rebels. Also, he looks like Kenny Powers, which just makes him more awesome.

Play of the Week: Adam Fallon, Bowling Green

There has never been a better catch with a less-enthused play-by-play guy than this one right here. Adam Fallon goes head-first into the wall and hangs on to the baseball and the guy calling the Lipscomb—Bowling Green baseball game in February absolutely could not care less. Nonetheless, a helluva play by Adam.

Uniform of the Week: Texas A&M

I understand this look is not for everybody. You either love it or hate it.

But I award points for uniqueness — and a full maroon uni is nothing if not unique. And I get to make the rules. So it's the inaugural Uniform of the Week winner.

College Baseball Moment of the Week: McNeese State Pit Crew

These are the things that make college baseball so fun. The entire team is committed to this bit — the coach out there with the stopwatch, the water guy, everybody. And they got him out there just in time. It's just fun to see people having fun playing baseball.

So that's it. The season is underway. The Road to Omaha has begun and I can't wait to see where we end up.