This weekend will present an interesting test for the Beavers' pitching staff. Arizona (ranked #5) has legit mashers in Robert Refsnyder, Alex Mejia, and Seth Mejias-Brean. The Beavers have some mashers of their own, though. Tyler Smith has been impressive. I compared him last week to Michael Young of the Rangers. He's somehow become that type of hitter. Conforto and Davis have been excellent, as advertised.

Wetzler, Child, and Fry will get the nods and face Heyer (4-1, 1.23), Wade (3-0, 2.97), and Farris (2-1, 3.94).

This series will come down to which team gets more quality starts, which makes me lean Arizona taking 2 of 3.

Game time is 5:35PT.

First pitch is 12pm today.

The matchup is Jace Fry (0-0, 2.08) vs Kyle Porter (2-0, 0.00). OSU has pitched to a 1.73 ERA over the past 6 games, so it's no wonder they're 5-1 over that stretch. This is the pitching we've all expected. If the defense can sure up, this team will go from good (picked them 35th) to great (top 20 and in Omaha).

The two obvious reasons to watch today's game:

1. The possible sweep.
2. Check out Jace Fry and see if he's the ace they need. He was impressive in his first start, all things considered.

I also enjoy watching the position battles play out. I felt Tyler Smith should be a starter all along, and that's finally coming to fruition. It'll be interesting to see who sits. Based on performance, it should be Keyes. But based on talent, I'd like to see Keyes in the lineup with Smith, which would put Tommassini on the bench. Interesting conundrum for Casey, and a nice subplot moving forward.