After a long season, the payoff for college baseball is finally upon us. It’s officially time for the Men’s College World Series in Omaha as eight teams look to bring home a national championship.
The eight teams are West Virginia, Troy, North Carolina, Ole Miss, Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas, and Georgia. While five of the eight teams are from the SEC, we still have one team representing the Big 12, so I am not going anywhere, folks.
Expect plenty of great crowds, tons of Jell-O shots, and some great baseball ahead of us over the next ten days. And here are three things to watch heading into the weekend.
West Virginia Got a Great Draw
Even though the Mountaineers entered the postseason as the 16th overall seed, they seemed to have caught a few breaks along the way. Sure, their regional was tricky with Kentucky and Wake Forest, but overall, you can’t complain much.
And how about in the Super Regional? Getting a chance to host once again and playing Cal Poly? No disrespect to the Mustangs, but the Mountaineers mopped the floor with them.
Now here they are playing in their first-ever College World Series game, and they got Troy to open things up. Out of all the teams they could have played, this was the matchup everyone wanted.
While the Trojans did make it out of the swampy Gainesville regional, they got to host Arkansas Little Rock in the Supers. They aren’t exactly a great team, but they have caught fire over the last two weekends, winning six straight postseason games. But again, I like this spot for West Virginia not just for game one but also for a potential game two where they will face either North Carolina or Ole Miss. Either way, I like West Virginia’s chances to advance.
The SEC Bracket
As much as I like bracket one for West Virginia, when I look at the other side of the bracket, it looks like it’s going to be complete chaos. All four teams in bracket two are from the SEC, so there is just one spot between Oklahoma, Alabama, Texas, and Georgia.
Is this Hoover? Because I thought we were in Omaha. But man, it sure feels like the SEC tournament, not the College World Series, down in bracket two. And as much as I love the Big 12, I do have a lot of respect for the SEC when it comes to baseball, and it’s no secret that they are the best conference.
Whoever comes out of that bracket is more than deserving to have a spot in the finals. Even as a betting man, I couldn’t tell you who is going to win out of those four. But what I do know is that it is going to be some damn good, entertaining baseball.
The Great Pitching Battle
While all the talk in Omaha will be about the offense, it’s hard to ignore that great pitching we are going to witness over the next week. Perhaps there is no better display of that when North Carolina faces Ole Miss on Friday.
Both teams can hit the ball just fine, and in fact, North Carolina’s lineup is absolutely stacked from top to bottom. However, they will likely face Ole Miss veteran pitcher Hunter Elliot or Cade Townsend, who has been excellent this year.
On the flipside, Ole Miss will probably see North Carolina ace Jason DeCaro, who has one of the best ERAs in college baseball. Between the elite starting rotations and deep bullpens, don’t expect a ton of runs to be scored between these two.
