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With heavy snow causing travel issues in some parts of the country today, there were several cancellations. There also were several teams in action.
Tuesday’s stock report is unveiled.
FIVE RISING
Georgia Tech’s pitching staff — Seriously, what in the world has gotten into these guys? The Yellow Jackets entered the season with some question marks on the mound, but those questions are no more, at least for now. The Jackets allowed just three runs in three games against Missouri State over the weekend. On Tuesday, the Jackets shutout Georgia Southern behind a strong performance from starting pitcher Mark Pope.
Stetson coach Pete Dunn — The long-time coach of the Hatters had a special day as he earned his 1,100th career victory with a doubleheader sweep of Siena. The Hatters took the series from the Hatters three games to one.
Louisville — The Cardinals opened the season with a nice series sweep over Bowling Green. They also earned a decent mid-week win over a respectable Ohio Valley foe, Morehead State. UL’s pitching staff once again did a solid job. Reliever Justin Amlung allowed just one hit in four innings of work for the Cards. UL looking good early this season.
Mississippi State — The Bulldogs are off to a surprisingly solid start this season. Though they entered the campaign with several question marks, they’re at least already silencing some critics. State swept a solid Rhode Island club to begin the season before beating a decent UAB team, 6-5, in mid-week action. Perhaps John Cohen is ready to work his magic?
UCLA — It’s a little too early to hop on the Bruins’ bandwagon, but these guys look very solid early. The Bruins dominated some relatively weak competition over the weekend against Southern, Bethune-Cookman and Cal State Northridge. But on Tuesday, the Bruins made easy work of Long Beach State, beating the Dirtbags 10-1 behind solid offense and a strong pitching performance by starter Garett Claypool.
FIVE FALLING
UNLV — The Rebels are off to another slow start this season. They began the season with a very disappointing series loss to Sacramento State. They also struggled against Southern Utah in mid-week action. Somehow, we saw some struggles coming with this club.
Georgia State — They weren’t exactly expected to take two of three from Florida State the first weekend of the season. But the Panthers weren’t competitive in any of the games against the Seminoles. Also disappointing is the fact the Panthers dropped a 9-7 decision to South Carolina-Upstate on Tuesday. GSU needs to head back to the drawing board.
Loyola Marymount — Last season, the Lions surprised the nation by playing Gonzaga for the West Coast Conference title. Now, the Lions need some renewed hope. It still is very early, but the Lions are off to an incredibly slow start. They dropped all three games to UC Irvine to start the season before losing to Oregon on Monday afternoon. On Tuesday, the Lions dropped a 6-5 decision to Southern California. UC Riverside is up next.
Jacksonville — The Dolphins need something good to happen to them the rest of the week. JU started the season with a tough series loss to UNC Wilmington. On Tuesday, the Dolphins dropped a disappointing 15-7 decision to College of Charleston. Richmond, Oklahoma and Valparaiso are up next for the Dolphins.
Long Beach State — The Dirtbags still aren’t in bad shape, but they need to take care of business at Arizona later this week. LBSU started the season with a great win over Pepperdine, but dropped contests to Oregon and Cal State Fullerton to end the weekend. The Dirtbags suffered another setback on Tuesday with a 10-1 loss to UCLA.