It is the season of championships, as the College World Series, hosted in Omaha, Nebraska, has its teams locked in and is ready to get kicked off.
The 76th Mens College World Series (MCWS) is played at Charles Schwab Stadium in Omaha and will take place from June 16th-26th.
The tournament kicks off on Friday, headlining two nationally unranked teams; TCU, and this year’s Cinderella story, Oral Roberts. The game starts at one central time.
The modest Golden Eagles out of Tulsa, Oklahoma, haven’t been to the MCWS since their lone appearance in 1978. Omaha hasn’t seen a team ranked this low in the MCWS since Stony Brook in 2012.
They faced off against the Oregon Ducks, traveling to Eugene, Oregon, riding high on a 21-game win streak.
After ending a historic streak, the Ducks had the Golden Eagles down to their final two outs before Oral Roberts fought all the way back to steal the series in the Ducks’ puddle.
The Golden Eagles face off against the TCU Horned Frogs in the first matchup of the double-elimination tournament.
The Horned Frogs homed the Indiana State Sycamores while taking care of business and sending the Sycamores back to Indiana after only two games.
The next game at Charles Schwab Stadium takes place Friday night. The Virginia Cavaliers visit the Florida Gators. Both teams are nationally ranked, the Cavaliers at seven and the Gators at two which helped them obtain home-field advantage.
Virginia took out Duke on their way to their sixth MCWS appearance since 2009 under head coach Brian O’Connor. They outscored Duke 26-6 in their games two and three wins.
The Gators ran through the South Carolina Gamecocks in their Super Regional matchup. Junior Hurston Waldrep stole the show, going eight innings with 13 strikeouts and only three hits.
Saturday kicks off with the tournament favorite and number one ranked Wake Forrest Demon Deacons taking on the number eight Stanford Cardinals.
The Demon Deacons have the best offense in baseball, showing it off in their final game of their Super Regional Matchup against the Alabama Crimson Tide Baseball team. They launched a record-tying nine home runs in their 22-5 victory.
Wake Forrest is the second team in history to win four NCAA tournament games by ten or more runs. They have an outstanding +59 run differential (76-16) as they take on the historic Stanford team.
Stanford played a great series against the Texas Longhorns. They split the first two games before entering a winner take all game three.
Stanford held a 6-3 lead entering the top of the eighth when the Longhorns battled back to tie the game at six. The game stayed tied into the bottom of the ninth. The Cardinals had runners on second and third when a ball was hit a mile high into short right center. Off the bat, it was clear neither outfielder had a track on the ball, and Stanford won the game in the most heartbreaking way possible.
The final matchup of the 2023 MCWS features an SEC matchup between unranked Tennessee and number five LSU.
LSU travels to Omaha for the first time in six years after a quick two-game sweep of the Kentucky Blue Devils. LSU is one of the best-traveling schools in the country, which will be an advantage no matter who is the home team.
Tennessee took on Southern Miss, who took them three games. Tennessee took care of business in game three as Southern Miss couldn’t get any offense started. Two late home runs were enough for the Volunteers to book tickets to Nebraska.
