The Road to Omaha - The 2018 Division I Baseball Championship Thread

[Seadragon76]

It's that time again, folks. The Road to Omaha begins with the announcement of the regional hosts. This year, the seeds have been expanded from 8 to 16, meaning that each regional host will be seeded in this year's tournament. Now, for the regional hosts.

 

-Arkansas

-Clemson

-Coastal Carolina

-East Carolina

-Florida

-Florida State

-Georgia

-Minnesota

-North Carolina

-North Carolina State

-Oregon State

-Ole Miss

-Stanford

-Stetson

-Texas

-Texas Tech

 

A northern site for the Regional round... nice. Also cool of them to give Stetson a chance to host the regional.

[See Red]

I was feeling pretty good about Florida up until about two weeks ago.  Then again, they got run-ruled by Arkansas (16-0) in the SEC tourney last year and managed to win it all so maybe their recent performance is meaningless.

[hailstateunis]

16 hours ago, See Red said:

I was feeling pretty good about Florida up until about two weeks ago.  Then again, they got run-ruled by Arkansas (16-0) in the SEC tourney last year and managed to win it all so maybe their recent performance is meaningless.

 

Florida should be fine as long as they revert back to mid-season form. I was at the final two games of that sweep in Starkville, and I could tell they weren’t exactly giving their best effort. Which, why would they- they won the SEC and got the #1 overall seed even though they lost 6 of their last 7. They were so dominant early on that everything was locked up.

[Seadragon76]

The Bracket has been announced...first, the seeds.

 

1. Florida

2. Stanford

3. Oregon State

4. Ole Miss

5. Arkansas

6. North Carolina

7. Florida State

8. Georgia

9. Texas Tech

10. Clemson

11. Stetson

12. East Carolina

13. Texas

14. Minnesota

15. Coastal Carolina

16. North Carolina State

 

Now, the bracket itself.

 

Super Region #1: Gainesville vs. Raleigh

Gainesville: Florida, Jacksonville, Florida Atlantic, Columbia

Raleigh: North Carolina State, Auburn, Northeastern, Army

 

Super Region #2: Lubbock vs. Athens

Lubbock: Texas Tech, Louisville, Kent State, New Mexico State

Athens: Georgia, Duke, Troy, Campbell

 

Super Region #3: Fayetteville vs. Greenville

Fayetteville: Arkansas, Southern Miss, Dallas Baptist, Oral Roberts

Greenville: East Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio State, UNC Wilmington

 

Super Region #4: Austin vs. Oxford

Austin: Texas, Indiana, Texas A&M, Texas Southern

Oxford: Ole Miss, Tennessee Tech, Missouri State, St. Louis

 

Super Region #5: Palo Alto vs. Conway

Palo Alto: Stanford, Baylor, Cal State Fullerton, Wright State

Conway: Coastal Carolina, UConn, Washington, LIU Brooklyn

 

Super Region #6: Clemson vs. Tallahassee

Clemson: Clemson, Vanderbilt, St. John's, Morehead State

Tallahassee: Florida State, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, Samford

 

Super Region #7: Chapel Hill vs. DeLand

Chapel Hill: North Carolina, Purdue, Houston, North Carolina A&T

DeLand: Stetson, South Florida, Oklahoma State, Hartford

 

Super Region #8: Minneapolis vs. Corvallis

Minneapolis: Minnesota, UCLA, Gonzaga, Canisius

Corvallis: Oregon State, LSU, San Diego State, Northwestern State

[monkeypower]

I’ve been following Ole Miss this year because they have a cool semi-documentary series following the sports teams on their YouTube channel and I’ve been watching the baseball one. So Hotty Toddy I guess.

 

And UCLA is also there so go Bruins too.

[Seadragon76]

Happy that U-Dub made it. Funny that they play the other Huskies in Conway.

 

Usually when it comes to these type of tournaments, I love to look at the mid-majors and there's two to me that stand out: Stetson and Tennessee Tech. The Hatters have a Top 16 Seed and had they not blew the OVC Championship, the Golden Eagles might have joined them there.

[walkerws]

The Lubbock vs.  Athens Region is interesting. When/If Kent State wins in Lubbock,  tgey could potentially play their old coach if Georgia advances. None of the current pkayers have played for him though.  

[GriffinM6]

Couldn't tell you how happy I am for my Hatters to be hosting a regional for the first time ever this year. Hopefully we turn some heads in the tourney. 

[Still MIGHTY]

As long as it's not Fullerton, UCLA or Texas, we're gravy.

[Seadragon76]

Day 1 is in the books... here's a recap.

 

Stunners: Two #1 seeds fell last night as Florida State got stunned by Samford and North Carolina State got shocked by Army. Stanford and Clemson had to go to extra innings to survive their scares.

 

Opening Game Fireworks: Being the first televised game of the day, Oklahoma and Mississippi State provided the fireworks as the Sooners won 20-10, giving people reminders of the days before the new bats came in.

 

Ugly Openers: For some teams, it was ugly. LIU Brooklyn, making it's first trip in over 30 years, got welcomed with a 16-1 manhandling by Coastal Carolina. North Carolina would also win big against an over matched North Carolina A&T team.

 

Rain, Rain Go Away: Rain washed out the first day in Oxford and forced the second game in Athens between Campbell and Georgia to be pushed back.

 

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For those looking for games on television, here is today's action.

 

ESPN2

12 Noon - Florida State vs. Mississippi State (Tallahassee Regional - Elimination Game)

7 PM - Texas vs. Texas A&M (Austin Regional - Winner's Bracket Game)

10 PM - LSU vs. Oregon State (Corvallis Regional - Winner's Bracket Game)

 

ESPNU

12 Noon - Ohio State vs. UNCW (Greenville Regional - Elimination Game)

5 PM - Oklahoma vs. Samford (Tallahassee Regional - Winner's Bracket Game)

8 PM - Louisville vs. Texas Tech (Lubbock Regional - Winner's Bracket Game)

11 PM - Cal State Fullerton vs. Stanford (Palo Alto Regional - Winner's Bracket Game)

 

SEC Network

12 Noon - Campbell vs. Georgia (Athens Regional - First Round)

7 PM - Clemson vs. Vanderbilt (Clemson Regional - Winner's Bracket Game)

[Seadragon76]

Another day complete in the Regional round. Here's a recap...

 

The Fallen Fifteen: 15 teams got knocked out yesterday. The numbers include 11 #4 seeds, 3 #3 (Northeastern, whose showing in Raleigh gave fans of the teams that missed out a good dose of schadenfreude; Ohio State, who lost on a walk-off against Walk-Off Wilmington; and San Diego State, which laid a large egg in Corvallis) and 1 #1 seed...

 

Florida State Flameout: The 7th seeded Seminoles got stunned in the opening round by Samford, there were fans who were concerned and some that were not worried. I mean, it was Mississippi State, who gave up 20 runs to Oklahoma in the opening round. For the most part, the Seminoles did there part... and then the rain came... after the rain, the Bulldogs had one last shot. With one swing, the Seminoles lost the game.

 

'D' is for (Scoreboard) Destruction: Duke and Dallas Baptist would wreck the scoreboards in their games. The Patriots, normally a Division II school but plays D-I baseball, dropped 19 runs on Oral Roberts, knocking out the Summit League champs. Duke, on the other hand, had to sit and stew after losing to Troy and waiting for the Campbell-Georgia game to see who they would play. Early on, the Camels would catch Duke off guard early.. that was before Duke realized that they're Duke and erupted in the 9th for 11 runs in a 16-8 romp over the Fighting Camels.

 

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As for television today...

 

ESPN2

12 Noon - Mississippi State vs. Samford (Tallahassee Regional - Elimination Game)

3 PM - Indiana vs. Texas A&M (Austin Regional - Elimination Game)

 

ESPNU

12 Noon - Georgia vs. Troy (Athens Regional - Winner's Bracket Game)

3 PM - Northwestern State vs. LSU (Corvallis Regional - Elimination Game)

Other Games are TBD

[Seadragon76]

Super Regional match ups are getting set as there are a few games left. Here's the recap of yesterday.

 

Super Bound: 11 teams are heading into the Super Regional part of the tournament after yesterday's games. A few of the match ups are set as Washington, who ran roughshod through the Conway Regional, will face Cal State Fullerton, who makes their 14th trip to this round in 16 tries. The other two matches are between seeded teams as 11th seeded Stetson will face 6th seed North Carolina and 14th seed Minnesota heads west to meet 3rd seed Oregon State.

 

What's Left: Five regionals remain on the final day. This includes the Athens and Oxford regionals, which have had rain cause havoc through the weekend. Same for Greenville and Gainesville. Tallahassee, on the other hand, is the only one where we have a winner takes all match up between Mississippi State and Oklahoma.

 

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Television wise...

 

ESPN2

1 PM - Mississippi State vs Oklahoma (Tallahassee Regional - Winner Takes All)

 

ESPNU

1 PM - Georgia vs. Duke (Athens Regional - Regional Final)

 

SEC Network

1 PM - Tennessee Tech vs. Ole Miss (Oxford Regional - Regional Finals

[Seadragon76]

The Super Regionals are set now. Here's the match ups...

 

Friday-Sunday

 

(14) Minnesota at (3) Oregon State: The Beavers are old hat at this point. Oregon State ran roughshod through their home regional, which including two drubbings of LSU. Next up for them is Minnesota, who is making their first Super Regional trip. The Golden Gophers do have history, but that was over 40 years ago. They had no issues at home.

 

(11) Stetson at (6) North Carolina: The Tar Heels did their part in Chapel Hill, which included a 19 run explosion against Houston to earn this trip. Now, they face the red hot Hatters. Stetson is running an 18 game winning streak into this Super Regional after rolling at home.

 

Washington at Cal State Fullerton: In the most unlikely match up of this round, you have two #3 seeds squaring off. Washington, making their first trip to this round, did it with offense in Conway. Now, they face a veteran of this round in Fullerton, who is making their 14th trip in 16 tries since the format was introduced in 1999. The Big West champion Titans took down Number 2 seed Stanford twice on their home field to earn this trip

 

Mississippi State at Vanderbilt: One of three series that pit the SEC against each other, this one wasn't likely early on after Mississippi State got clobbered by Oklahoma in the first round 20-10. Then, the Bulldogs got a miracle.. A walk off three run homer against Florida State kicked started the engine. Wins over Samford and Oklahoma twice has the Bulldogs in this round where they face conference foe Vanderbilt, who owned the Clemson regional so much that the 14th Amendment was nearly invoked because of them.

 

Saturday-Monday

 

Auburn at (1) Florida: The top overall seed had to survive a rag tag Florida Atlantic team and weather playing havoc in their regional, but the Gators did their part and moved on. Now, they host conference foe Auburn. The Tigers took advantage of NC State dropping the ball against Army and swept through the regional.

 

Duke at (9) Texas Tech: Athens was one of the regionals where the weather played havoc with and no one seemed to be more affected then Duke. After flopping hard against Troy, it looked like the Blue Devils would be '2 and Q' against Campbell. But then... something clicked. The Blue Devils exploded for 11 runs to send the Camels packing. Wins over Troy and twice against Georgia has the Blue Devils in new territory as they face Texas Tech, who went through their regional with no issues

 

South Carolina at (5) Arkansas: The last of the SEC showdowns has the Gamecocks and Razorbacks meetings. South Carolina had no issues, save for the weather, in their road to this round. Same for Arkansas.

 

Tennessee Tech at (13) Texas: The Longhorns took care of business at home, but they had to survive a bit of a scare from hard charging Indiana to go on. Now, they need to be very, very careful. The Golden Eagles have the most wins of any team left [52] and bring in the best offense in the nation, something that was showcased last night as they swept Ole Miss in Oxford to get here.

[Discrim]

Auburn-Florida's been a damn good one.  Auburn fielder's been laying out.

Honestly didn't bother with the Arkansas beatdown at all.  Crappy time for SC to do nothing right, but that's baseball.

[Discrim]

And damnit if Auburn's pitcher didn't get robbed by the ump just now.

[Discrim]

A shame Auburn lost...that was almost the third one helluva catch they had tonight, instead they go home, Florida goes to Omaha.

 

Well, we're on to Omaha...Hook em Horns

[See Red]

3 hours ago, Discrimihater said:

And damnit if Auburn's pitcher didn't get robbed by the ump just now.

 

It definitely should have been a strike but in fairness, in the top half of that same inning the Florida pitcher had a clear strike three called a ball.

 

That was a strange game, though.  Auburn was in the game because of some outstanding defensive plays and then they lose it on a HR that pops out of the RF's glove and goes over the wall.

[Discrim]

So Oregon State's about five innings away from a national championship thanks to Arkansas going "I got I got it...uh, we don't got it" last night.

Momentum has certainly shifted.

Also, if Heimlich was hoping a strong showing in Omaha would convince someone, anywhere, to take a chance on him...he can probably kiss that goodbye.

[Discrim]

And Oregon State is your 2018 college baseball champion.

This Abel kid looked really impressive.  Gotta keep an eye on him.

[See Red]

Well, congrats to my alma mater Oregon State.  Brutal way to lose a championship for Arkansas after last night's 9th inning.