This weekend, the fate of many teams will be determined. Will the earn a spot in Omaha and further their chances of winning the College World Series? Or will they lose the series at hand, effectively ending their seasons? This is something many teams will find out over the next few days. In Lubbock Super Regionals, it’s going to be either Texas Tech or Duke who gets that opportunity.
The matchup here for a spot in the College World Series is definitely a strong one. Of course, Texas Tech, who is hosting the series, is a competitive team. They competed in the Big 12 and have excelled all year. As of Thursday, they were sitting at 42-17 this season. Their competition is the Duke Blue Devils, another perennial threat. An ACC team, Duke is 44-16. That said, both teams have a shot at being competitive in this series. Here is a look at the odds for both teams, courtesy of BetDSI Sportsbook.
Odds to advance to the College World Series
Duke advances to CWS +235
Texas Tech advances to CWS -315
The bookmakers seem to like Texas Tech as the team who could advance to the College World Series. As the home team, they clearly have the advantage here. They are 25-5 at home this season. Ulike many teams, however, the Blue Devils are no slouches on the road. This is indicated by their 13-9 record away from their campus. Plus, it’s worth noting that they are 26-5 in non-conference games.
What really stands out about Texas Tech’s lineup that could get them to the College World Series is their power. Guys like Zach Rheams (16 home runs), Josh Jung (12 home runs), Grant Little (12 home runs), Michael Davis (11 home runs) and Cameron Warren (10 home runs) provide the team with some game-changing pop. That should work in their favor here. Compare that to the Blue Devils who only have one player with a double-digit home run total: Griffin Conine, whose father Jeff was a longtime big leaguer.
Remember: the weather in Lubbock this weekend is going to be close to 100 degrees, so the ball is going to fly.
That said, the Blue Devils pitching staff should definitely be a concern. Sure, they have an excellent bullpen, but someone has to start games, right? Their three primary starters all have an ERA above 5.00: Ryan Day, Adam Laskey and Mitch Stallings. Texas Tech doesn’t have an elite rotation either, but they do have four starters with an ERA under 5.00, for what that’s worth: Dallas Martin, Caleb Kilian, Ryan Shetter and John McMillion.
The Pick
There is definitely talent on both sides here, hence the great records both teams carry coming into this series. However, only one of them is going to advance and have a shot at the College World Series. Given the information that is available at this time, it looks like Texas Tech is the team to bet on here. Not only are they the home team, but their lineup is powerful and their starting pitching staff is superior. That should be enough to make the difference in this upcoming series.
