Who Will Win College World Series
Omaha!
By: Charlie Moon
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Well, well, well….Ya know all those heated arguments with your buddies about the SEC vs. ACC?
And we all know, depending on which sport you’re talking about, usually there’s a dominant conference. But just like the parent that will rationalize their kid cheating on a test and somehow blame the teacher, conference fans will swear up and down their conference is the best.
‘My team beat this team and they lost to them and they beat that other team… blah, blah, blah.”
Go ahead. Laugh. You know that’s you!
Even plausible arguments like bowl games, rivalry games and RPI, can be a bit tedious and all have reasons why they might not be the best way to gauge conference supremacy. But make no mistake, for the next week or so, Omaha will be the setting for probably the closest thing we’ll ever get to a proper gauge.
For the first time in the history of the NCAA College World Series, all eight teams are from two conferences and you guessed it. That would be the ACC and SEC.
Here’s my CWS outlook.
Best Offense – UVA Cavaliers-While the #1 Vols have hit the most HRs per game (2.6), it’s Virginia with the upper hand. The Cavs make their 3rd trip in 4 years to Omaha, but they bring a much more potent line-up.
They lead the country in scoring with 9.4 runs per game, but are #17 in HRs. What does that tell you? They string a lot of hits together. They lead the country with 121 occurrences of over 2 consecutive hits.
This bodes well for Charles Schwab Park, a bigger park than the college band boxes. It happens every year. The power teams struggle because of relying on the long ball. A final nugget – only one starter batting under .300 – Harrison Didiwick at .297.
Best Pitching – UNC Tarheels-Although Tennessee enters with the best team ERA (3.83), I’m rolling with the Heels. They’re team ERA (4.22) is #15, but is misleading because their home field, Boshamer Stadium, is one of the smallest stadiums in the country.
They also boast arguably the best bullpen in the country. The bullpens can simply maketeam becauseollege baseball team because starters only go 4-6 innings.
Best Player – Jack Caglianone-You’d have to be either brain dead or living under a rock, not to agree with this one. Why? The man plays both ways – Ohtani, Jr. .411, 33 HRs, 68 RBIs at the plate. 5-2, 4.11 ERA on the bump.
Just as important, Caglianone is clutch in their biggest games on the mound and was a big part of their runner-up finish last year.
Darkhorse – NC State-Yeah, I know. Why not Florida? Barely .500 on the season and just upset the Oklahoma St Regional and the #6 Clemson, all on the road. The Wolfpack boasts the #1 bullpen (Baseball America) in America.
And they’ve been the hottest offensive team in the land over the last 6 games. It’s that bullpen that’s been their mainstay and will keep them in any game.
My Winner – Kentucky Wildcats-I see the Heels out of Bracket 1 and the Kentucky Wildcats out of Bracket 2 facing off for the national title.
None of the above included talk of Kentucky, so why the Cats? Remember what I said about Charles Schwab Park? The power of teams like Tennessee, Texas A&M, and others gets neutralized in this park.
Similar to Wrigley Field, though, the wind can really be a factor. Remember the Oregon State Beavers, that just “small-balled” their way to titles in 2006, 2007 and 2018? This is that Kentucky team.
Swinging For Omaha
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
College Baseball National Top Sixteen Seeds came out this week and they are listed below for the NCAA Baseball Tourney.
The top 16 seeds host a regional and then the winners of the regionals go to the Super Regionals the following week with the 8 winners advancing to the College World Series in Omaha on June 15th.
Sixty-four teams are chosen for the NCAA baseball tourney. Top 16 Seeds:
- UCLA (47-8) 2. Vanderbilt (49-10) 3. Georgia Tech (41-17) 4. Georgia (44-15) 5. Arkansas (41-17) 6. Mississippi St. (46-13) 7. Louisville (43-15) 8. Texas Tech (39-17) 9. Oklahoma St. (36-18)
- East Carolina (43-15) 11. Stanford (41-11) 12. Ole Miss (37-25) 13. LSU (37-24)
- North Carolina (42-17) 15. West Virginia (37-20) 16. Oregon St. (36-18-1)
Regional Winners:
UCLA: Top ranked Bruins look very good in 2019. Baylor could pose a problem but look for UCLA to advance to the Supers.
Vanderbilt: Vandy should coast through the Nashville regional.
Georgia Tech: The Jackets have Coastal Carolina and Auburn in the Atlanta regional. This one could get interesting. Give me GT to move on the Super Regional.
Georgia: The Dawgs have a future major league rotation playing currently in college. FSU in Mike Martin’s last year could cause some issues. Mercer playing in the Athens regional has nothing to lose. What if the UGA/Mercer game comes down to a Randon Jernigan vs Will Bowdoin matchup of former Glynn Academy Red Terrors teammates? Dawgs move on to host a Super Regional.
Arkansas: Are the Hogs on a mission in 2019? They were a foul ball catch away from being National Champs in 2018. Hogs win the Fayetteville Regional.
Miami: The Canes upset Mississippi State in the Starkville regional. State will choke at home.
North Carolina State: The Wolfpack beat East Carolina on their home turf to win the regional. This is a sleeper team folks and not a huge upset in the Greenville Regional.
Stanford: The Cardinal get a scare from UC Santa Barbara but move on.
Clemson: The Tigers win the Oxford regional over Ole Miss who have no business hosting a regional with 25 regular season losses.
Arizona State: Call me crazy but I think ASU beats LSU in the Baton Rouge regional.
Tennessee: The Vols shock the Tar Heels in the Chapel Hill regional and move to the Supers.
Louisville: The Cardinals coast through the regional they host.
Oklahoma State: Solid baseball program that will win their home regional and move on.
Oregon State: The Beavers have a great baseball program and will have no problem at home.
Texas Tech: The Red Raiders are solid, but the committee sent Florida to Lubbock. Texas Tech advances.
Texas A&M: The Aggies win the Morgantown Regional and send West Virginia packing. Solid pitching for A&M
Super Regionals Best 2 of 3:
Vanderbilt hosts Texas A&M: SEC Matchup. The Commodores are thinking Omaha and National Championship. Vandy in 2
NC State at Louisville: Wolfpack wins in 3
Miami at Stanford: Canes have to travel too far and get swept in 2.
Tennessee at GT: Going to be a great Super. Give me the Jackets in 3.
Oregon State at UCLA: Pac-12 matchup. UCLA in 2.
Oklahoma State at Texas Tech: Big-12 matchup. Give me Oklahoma State in 3 in an upset.
Clemson at Arkansas: The Hogs beat Clemson in 2, and roll into Omaha.
Arizona State at Georgia: Dawgs pitching gets by the Sun Devils in 2.
College World Series Teams:
Vanderbilt
NC State
Stanford
Georgia Tech
UCLA
Oklahoma State
Arkansas
Georgia
Your 2019 National Champions: Vanderbilt. College baseball is a great game to watch.
