Brendan Smith

As college basketball begins its ascent to the national spotlight with March Madness, college baseball should not be pushed to the back-burner. This past week featured a matchup between two top-15 teams, yet another no-hitter, and one of the better moments of the season.

Standout Pitching Performance: Payton Kinney, RHP, University of Nebraska-Omaha

It seems that we are not going to go one week this season without seeing a no-hitter or perfect game thrown. This week, it was Payton Kinney, a senior at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. In a 4-0 victory over Ohio on Sunday, Kinney worked around four walks, striking out nine and throwing 140 pitches en route to the program’s first no-hitter since 2015. Kinney is now in his second season at Nebraska-Omaha, enjoying success while being used almost exclusively out of the bullpen last season, compiling a 3.88 ERA in 51 innings. Kinney seems to be adjusting well to his new spot in the rotation, with a 3.31 ERA in 16.1 innings this season.

Standout Hitting Performance: David Villar, INF, University of South Florida

USF had a very successful week, going 4-1, due in large part to junior infielder David Villar. Villar tormented opposing pitchers, with a .600 batting average, 6 doubles, 3 homeruns and 10 RBI. Villar was named American Conference Player of the Week, with fellow teammate Shane McClanahan taking home conference pitcher of the week honors. On the season, Villar has totaled a .425/.536/.900 slash line, with 4 homeruns, 16 RBI, and 11 of his 17 hits going for extra-bases. McClanahan projects as a first round pick in June, and has yet to allow an earned run in 18 innings this season. Relying on McClanahan and a powerful offense, look for USF to make some noise in the NCAA Tournament.

Team of the Week: Texas Tech Red Raiders

Texas Tech entered the week at 7-0, staring down a top-15 weekend showdown with South Alabama. When the dust settled and the week ended, Texas Tech remained unbeaten at 13-0, sweeping the home weekend series. In the weekend series alone, the Red Raiders outscored the Jaguars 36-12, trailing just twice in the four games. In addition to the impressive four-game sweep, Texas Tech capped a series sweep over UTSA with a 10-6 victory on Monday, and defeated UTRGV 3-1 in a Tuesday mid-week tilt. The Red Raiders have come out of the gates strong, off to a program-best 13-0 start, and are currently ranked third in the D1 Baseball Top 25 Poll.

Moment of the Week: Chad Bible’s Homerun

In January 2017, Chad Bible, a San Diego State outfielder, was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. On March 5, 2018, he launched his first homerun since beating cancer in August 2017. No words can put this moment into perspective, as this is truly a display of human strength and determination in the face of adversity. Watching Bible crack a two-run homerun in the eighth inning to extend SDSU’s lead to 6-2 may give you goosebumps.

Bonus: My Favorite Video of the Week

After a Justin Row homerun tied the game at 2 in the bottom of the eighth inning Friday night, South Carolina’s TJ Hopkins lifted a fly ball to left field for a walk-off sacrifice fly, leading the Gamecocks to an exciting 3-2 victory over Clemson. The Gamecocks fought back from a 2-1 deficit, after Clemson’s Jacob Hennessy allowed an unearned run in 5 innings of work. Gamecock ace Adam Hill was brilliant, but left trailing 2-1 after allowing 2 runs over 7 innings and striking out 14 Clemson batters. Enjoy the first-hand account of South Carolina’s walk-off celebration.