By Harry Minium
No, Conference USA isn't a Power 5 league. It doesn't have big TV contracts or mammoth athletic budgets.
But it does play good baseball.
In fact, really good baseball.
Three Conference USA teams – No. 14 Louisiana Tech, No. 19 Charlotte and No. 20 Old Dominion – are in the NCAA Top 25 this week.
"I can't remember the last time Conference USA had three teams in the Top 25 in any sport," ODU baseball coach Chris Finwood said.
The only other ranked Group of 5 school is No. 9 East Carolina, and I'll take this opportunity to remind you that the Monarchs pounded three home runs in beating the Pirates, 6-5, in 12 innings in Greenville in March. No. 21 Indiana State is the only other ranked mid-major.
The SEC is even more dominant than it is in football, with seven teams in the top 25. But C-USA is even with the Pac-12 with three each and ahead of the Big Ten, which has only one ranked team, and nearly even with the ACC and Big 12, each with four each.
The league looks even more imposing in the college baseball NCAA RPI, which is the best predictor of who will make the NCAA tournament in early June.
There are four C-USA teams among the top 25 – No. 9 Louisiana Tech, No. 15 Southern Miss, No. 18 Charlotte and No. 25 ODU.
All of that means that the biggest series of the season in Conference USA is a big deal, and that begins Friday when ODU visits Charlotte for a doubleheader.
The two-game set marks the beginning of eight consecutive games between the Monarchs and 49ers. After a twin bill Sunday in Charlotte, the teams return to Norfolk and the Bud Metheny Baseball Complex on Friday, April 30 for one game, two on Saturday and one on Sunday.
The stakes are huge for ODU (27-7, 13-3 C-USA) and Charlotte (26-10, 14-2).
Charlotte leads Conference USA, with ODU a game back. ODU needs to win five to tie Charlotte and six to take the lead. A 4-4 split leaves things as they are.
"It's exciting to be in this position," Finwood said. "You're talking about the end of April and two teams in the top 20. That's a neat thing for us and for Conference USA."
Finwood's Monarchs have a deep pitching staff and some of the hottest bats in the nation. The Monarchs are second nationally with 62 home runs, including 11 from senior Kyle Battle and 10 from freshman Carter Trice.
If you add Matt Coutney and Andy Garriola, each with eight home runs, to the mix, the Monarchs have four of Conference USA's top six home run hitters.
Charlotte in many ways is a similar team. The 49ers also have good pitching and although they don't hit the long ball nearly as often as ODU, they are tied with Louisiana Tech for the league lead with a .305 batting average.
ODU is third at .304.
Conference USA is no stranger to the Top 25. Generally, a team or two gets ranked. The difference this season is that it's not Southern Miss, Rice or Florida Atlantic the league's more traditional powers.
Instead, it's a couple of urban universities located outside of the baseball-crazy deep south.
"It's Charlotte and ODU, and that's kind of new for a lot of people," Finwood said. "So, we're going to embrace that.
"It sets up a lot of interest for both of our programs. We're close with their coaching staff. They're having a great year and so are we."
Finwood said playing eight games in a row isn't ideal, but C-USA officials told him that without the back-to-back four-game series, there was no way the schedule would work this season.
The four-game sets are occurring because of the pandemic. They reduce travel, and thus potential exposure to COVID on plane flights, but also reduce costs, even if playing four games in three days does put a lot of wear and tear on players.
"By the end of the day on Sunday, our guys are really dragging," Finwood said.
Finwood said that by the end of next week, both teams will be tired of each other. But for now, he's embracing the challenge.
"There are two weekends to go after we're done playing Charlotte, but this series is going to go a long way toward deciding who wins the league," he said.
Finwood said he talked to his players about playing under control. There is a lot of emotion in big games. There will, he added, be players hit by a pitcher and opposing players will run into each other.
The message he has for his players is to "play with emotion, but not get emotional or all rung out about things.
"We want to have a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of energy when we're playing in big games but don't want to overcook that to the point where we're wasting mental energy on jaw snapping and all of that stuff that doesn't matter.
"We're going to play eight times in a row. It's a long series and we have to focus on what's important."
Minium is a Senior Executive Writer who worked 39 years at The Virginian-Pilot. Was twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, won 19 Virginia Press Association awards and 4 each from the Associated Press Sports Editors and Football Writers of America. Follow him on Twitter @Harry_MiniumODU Instagram @hbminium1 or email him at hminium@odu.edu
Minium: ODU and Charlotte Play 8 Games in a Row in a Crucial Conference USA Baseball Series
