-- From a national seed standpoint, Arizona State and Texas A&M, yes, the Aggies, are two teams to watch. The Sun Devils actually have an RPI of 20 after the road series at USC, but really will get a boost when they play Fullerton in mid-week. And certainly even more if they can get beat the Titans once or twice. The Aggies, meanwhile, have surprisingly crept back into the mix. The Aggies had an RPI in the 30s last week, but now have an RPI of 19 after sweeping Kansas at home. The Aggies are in first place and back in the national picture, exactly where we expected them to be in the preseason. Still, they have an incredibly tough road ahead with series at Texas Tech and Kansas State coming up.
* Oklahoma continues to impress me. I figured the Sooners would be good before the season even began, but I think they've actually surpassed my expectations of them so far this season. OU is very offensive and they finished off a series win over Nebraska Monday afternoon with a 16-6 triumph over the Huskers. Bryant Hernandez and Aaron Baker had huge days at the plate for the surging Sooners. OU heads to Missouri this weekend before returning home to play Kansas State. However, the two weekends after that the Sooners head to Texas and Baylor. Those won't be easy series.
* Missouri needed to avoid getting swept at Oklahoma State in a three-game series, so it pulled out all the stops in the series finale Monday afternoon in Stillwater, Okla. The Tigers used nine pitchers and allowed just six hits in nine shutout innings to beat the Cowboys 1-0. The Tigers now have an overall record of 13-14, but still have a less than stellar RPI that currently is sitting in the 70s. That's not going to cut it if the Tigers want to make a regional. Of course, they must find a way to get above .500 first.
