Spring training has started for Major League Baseball, which means that NCAA Baseball has started as well.  The Ohio State Buckeyes are looking for a strong season from starting pitcher, Brad Goldberg.  So far this season, he has lived up to expectations.

In three games so far, Goldberg is 2-0 with a 0.47 ERA in 19 innings.  He has only allowed 7 hits, and 2 runs with only one of them being earned.  Opposing hitters are hitting .119 against him.  He has struck out 22 batters that he has faced and walked 9.

Walks and high pitch count have been a concern for Goldberg in the past but so far this season he has improved in both of those stat categories.  It is still early in the season, and therefore the 19 innings probably could be higher, but there isn’t a need to leave him out there in a game to accumulate statistics.

This is why at the beginning of the season major leaguers will often be pulled even with a no hitter going.  Conference play is going to matter much more than these beginning of the season games that have no real effect on the outcome of the whole year.

Goldberg has been getting draft buzz for quite some time now, and if he can keep it up this season, it will only increase his stock.  He features a fastball (sinker), change up, cutter, and curve ball.

He was elected Big Ten Pitcher of the Week 2 consecutive weeks to start the season giving up no earned runs in 13.1 innings of work while striking out 17 batters.  If he stays strong throughout the season he will get serious consideration as Big Ten Pitcher of the Year.

Indiana is slated as the favorite to win the Big Ten this year, but Ohio State’s recruits from head coach Greg Beals are going to be major contributors.  The team is fairly young, but they have veterans and leaders in the right places.

Obviously Kent State stole the show last year qualifying for the College World Series, and will get the bulk of attention for Ohio college baseball teams.  However, the Buckeyes can certainly do damage in the Big Ten this year, and as we saw with Kent State last year, anyone can make a run.

The Buckeyes will head to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for the long weekend during Ohio State’s spring break.  This could pose a potential matchup with Goldberg on the mound against a dangerous Coastal Carolina squad, in which he his very familiar with, having transferred to Ohio State from Coastal following his sophomore season.

Another matchup to watch is against Ball State, which is where coach Beals was head coach before accepting the Ohio State job.  The Buckeyes home opener is scheduled for March 15 against Bryant University.  Big Ten play opens up at Purdue March 22.

This should be a fun season to watch for the Buckeyes, and it will be especially fun to watch what Goldberg can accomplish on the mound, and going forward in the MLB draft process.

The Kent State University Golden Flashes baseball team has done the unthinkable.  Not only did they make it to the College World Series, but they knocked off the top seeded Florida Gators to advance after losing their first game against Arkansas.

The Golden Flashes are playing great team baseball.  They are not a team that is going to hit home runs but they are going to use small ball to take down their opponents.  Kent keeps on finding ways to win games.  They have proved that they belong up there with the big boys and nobody should count these underdogs out.

They have had quite the difficult road to make to the final six teams left in the tournament.  They had a 21 inning thriller against Kentucky in which they came out on top.  They also had to go to Eugene, Oregon to take on the Ducks in a best of three series where they won in game three.

Against Arkansas they looked very nervous, and for good reason being the first ever College World Series game for the Golden Flashes.  They looked more comfortable against Florida and seemed to have gotten the nerves out of the way.

The make up of the team is very interesting as every player on the team is within about a 5 hour drive from the Kent State campus.  There are also a few players who were drafted by MLB teams earlier this June.

One of those draft picks was Nick Hamilton who is the primary designated hitter for the Flashes. Nick was drafted by the Cleveland Indians, who are his favorite and hometown team.  His dad, Tom Hamilton, also happens to be the play-by-play radio announcer for the Tribe and one of the best voices in all of baseball.

Nick Hamilton has an obstacle that not many baseball players have dealt with.  Nick is hard of hearing and uses hearing aids during everyday life and on the field.  He has never let anything get in his way, especially his hearing.

Nick happens to be a very good friend of mine and a former teammate.  His hearing affected nothing on the field. He is a hustle player who only knows one speed, and that is full speed. Nick is an extremely hard worker who deserves every last bit of success that the future holds for him.

You can see Nick Hamilton and the Kent State Golden Flashes play Wednesday night, June 20 at 8pm eastern time on ESPN when they take on the South Carolina Gamecocks.

If they win they advance and if they lose their remarkable season will end.  Win or lose, the Golden Flashes have a lot to be proud of.  I think they have the potential to keep on going in this tournament.  They knocked off the Gators, the top team in the country, so who is to say they can’t go all the way.

Switching gears for a bit, it is time to take another look at college baseball. As the 2012 season rolls on, the top 25 stays relatively consistent, but teams shuffle around within each week.

Per usual, most of the teams we see in the top 25 are from the South or out west, where warmer weather makes it easier to practice. But I was excited to see Purdue ranked 15^th with a 31-6 record. They went 3-1 last weekend and were previously ranked 16^th.

In the past, Purdue baseball has not found much success. They have only won one Big Ten Championship and have only made it to the Big Ten Tournament once, so this year is already quite the accomplishment for the Boilermakers.

But what does it say about college baseball if a team like Purdue moves even further up in the top 25?

Sure, they may break the tradition of the classic southern/western team being reigning champions (and it may make a lot of their fans angry), but as I said before, who isn’t opposed to a little change in college sports?

The Big Ten is due for some encouragement anyway, so Purdue baseball could be the perfect way to bring them back into the chatter.

The last time a Big Ten team, or a team from anywhere above the Mason-Dixon line, for that matter, won the College World Series was in 1966, when the Ohio State Buckeyes took home the title. But ever since, it has just been the same story, such as when Southern Cal took five straight titles from 1970-1974 – exciting! (Not so much.)

If Purdue can pull through, it will certainly say a lot for them and even the teams up North yearning for just a shot at the playoffs and the College World Series. It will be a surprise for sure, but change is a good thing. Go Boilermakers!