The Road to Omaha - 2023 Edition

[Seadragon76]

It's that time of year again, folks. Time for the Road to Omaha. First off, the announcement of the regional hosts for the upcoming first round of play. They are, in alphabetical order...

 

-Alabama

-Arkansas

-Auburn

-Clemson

-Coastal Carolina

-Florida

-Indiana State

-Kentucky

-Louisiana State

-Miami (FL)

-Oklahoma State

-Stanford

-South Carolina

-Vanderbilt

-Virginia

-Wake Forest

 

As such, these 16 teams are in the field automatically as hosts (Clemson, Indiana State and Vanderbilt won their automatic bids to begin, so... yeah).

 

As for some notes with the auto bids...

 

-Tulane, at 19-40 on the season, is in the field as they stunned the field in the American tournament to win their automatic bid.

-Cal State Fullerton 'earned' the automatic bid out of the Big West by default as the actual conference champion, UC San Diego, is ineligible for the tournament.

[Seadragon76]

The field is set... let's break it down:

 

Super Region 1: Winston-Salem vs. Tuscaloosa

Winston-Salem: Wake Forest, Maryland, Northeastern, George Mason

Tuscaloosa: Alabama, Boston College, Troy, Nicholls State

 

Super Region 2: Coral Gables vs. Stanford

Coral Gables: Miami (FL), Texas, UL-Lafayette, Maine

Stanford: Stanford, Texas A&M, Cal State Fullerton, San Jose State

 

Super Region 3: Baton Rouge vs. Lexington

Baton Rouge: Louisiana State, Oregon State, Sam Houston State, Tulane

Lexington: Kentucky, Indiana, West Virginia, Ball State

 

Super Region 4: Auburn vs. Clemson

Auburn: Auburn, Southern Miss, Samford, Penn

Clemson: Clemson, Tennessee, Charlotte, Lipscomb

 

Super Region 5: Gainesville vs. Columbia

Gainesville: Florida, UConn, Texas Tech, Florida A&M

Columbia: South Carolina, Campbell, North Carolina State, Central Connecticut State

 

Super Region 6: Conway vs. Charlottesville

Conway: Coastal Carolina, Duke, UNC Wilmington, Rider

Charlottesville: Virginia, East Carolina, Oklahoma, Army

 

Super Region 7: Nashville vs. Stillwater

Nashville: Vanderbilt, Oregon, Xavier, Eastern Illinois

Stillwater: Oklahoma State, Dallas Baptist, Washington, Oral Roberts

 

Super Region 8: Terre Haute vs. Fayetteville

Terre Haute: Indiana State, Iowa, North Carolina, Wright State

Fayetteville: Arkansas, TCU, Arizona, Santa Clara

 

As for televised games on the first day...

 

ESPN2

-7 PM (EST): Oklahoma vs. East Carolina (Charlottesville Regional)

-10 PM (EST): Cal State Fullerton vs. Texas A&M (Stanford Regional)

 

ESPNU

-12 Noon (EST): Texas Tech vs. UConn (Gainesville Regional)

-3 PM (EST): Tulane vs. Louisiana State (Baton Rouge Regional)

-6 PM (EST): Charlotte vs. Tennessee (Clemson Regional)

-9 PM (EST): Arizona vs. TCU (Fayetteville Regional)

 

Longhorn Network

-2 PM (EST): UL-Lafayette vs. Texas (Coral Gables Regional)

 

SEC Network

-12 Noon (EST): Ball State vs. Kentucky (Lexington Regional)

-8 PM (EST): Eastern Illinois vs. Vanderbilt (Nashville Regional)

 

ACC Network

-1 PM (EST): North Carolina State vs. Campbell (Columbia Regional)

-7 PM (EST): North Carolina vs. Iowa (Terre Haute Regional)

[WestCoastBias]

Go Beavs

[Seadragon76]

Day 1 is in the books, let's recap it...

 

Upset Party - The first day saw some massive upsets, but none bigger then Rider's win at Coastal Carolina. The Broncs dropped 9 runs on the Chants in the 7th inning to take a 9-5 lead, only for the Chants to fight back and send it into extra innings, where the Broncs would finish the job and secure their first tournament win since 1987. They get Duke today in the winner's bracket game.

 

Welcome to the #QuakeShow - If there was one team people probably expected to pull an upset here, it was Penn. The Quakers proved their worth with a win over Auburn 6-3. This puts them against Samford, a team that won three games in a day to earn their automatic bid.

 

Praise be Oral - The other 4 seed to win? Oral Roberts, probably the scariest of the bunch because they have beaten Oklahoma State twice already this season. Once in April in Stillwater and once in May in Tulsa. The third time? Well, still all Oral Roberts as they defeated the Cowboys 6-4 and move on to play Washington in the winner bracket game today.

[Seadragon76]

Day 2 is in the books, let's recap it...

 

The Fallen Fifteen - Fifteen teams were eliminated yesterday, mostly four seeds. But, there were some teams that deserve more recognition here...

 

CAA = Cooked Asses Association - The CAA had two teams in the field, Northeastern and UNC-Wilmington. Neither team won a game as the Huskies got rolled over by George Mason and the Seahawks were completely over-matched in both games. Both teams going '2 and Q' is not a good sign.

 

Slaughtered in Stillwater - Oklahoma State lost a hard fought game to Oral Roberts on Friday, but what came after was the stuff of nightmares as Dallas Baptist blew them out of the water in a 18-4 rout. This opens the door for someone else to take the region - namely, Oral Roberts. The Golden Eagles survived a wild and wacky shootout with Washington to move on.

 

Poor day on the Plains - The other host to get knocked out was Auburn. The Tigers got stunned by Penn on Friday and running into an angry Southern Miss team was probably not a good sign as the Golden Eagles won 7-2. Also like in Stillwater, the four seed in the bracket final as Penn held off a late charge by Samford.

 

Wet Weather Woes - Rainy weather caused havoc at certain sites, which means the schedule has to be juggled to make sure all games are played. One game in Fayetteville was postponed and the entire bracket in Baton Rouge was put on hold thanks to the rain. In Fayetteville, the game between Arkansas and TCU starts the day with the loser playing Santa Clara (a winner over Arizona in the lone game of the day there) in the nightcap. Meanwhile, the game between Tulane and Sam Houston State continues at 12 Noon EST with the Bearkats leading 7-2 in the bottom of the 7th inning. Oregon State and Louisiana State meet in the winner's bracket game at 3 PM (EST) and then the nightcap is the second elimination game.

[Seadragon76]

The Super Regional Round is set. Time for a preview...

 

Friday, Saturday and (If Needed) Sunday

 

Duke at (7) Virginia - The bats were on fire last weekend for Duke as the Blue Devils swung their way past Coastal Carolina to get to the Super Regional Round. They're heading up the road to Charlottesville, where the Cavaliers await them. Virginia had no issues at home thanks to their stellar pitching staff, all plucked from the transfer portal. While the Cavs are terrifying at home (32-4 on the season), Duke came in late April and took two out of three from Virginia.

 

(14) Indiana State at Texas Christian - Normally, the seeded team would host this series, but the Indiana Special Olympics are being held in Terre Haute this weekend, preventing the Sycamores from hosting this series with TCU. Either way, it'll be a clash on contrasting styles at play here: The clutch hitting of the Sycamores against a Horned Frog squad that feasted on Razorback last weekend.

 

(15) South Carolina at (2) Florida - One of two series between SEC teams, the Gators and Gamecocks took different routes to get here. South Carolina bulldozed their way through the regional at home while Florida had to take two out of three from Texas Tech. The Gamecocks swept the high powered Gators in late April, but that was in Columbia... this series is in Gainesville. A whole different beast in itself.

 

Oral Roberts at Oregon - Two red hot Cinderellas meet in the Pacific Northwest as Oregon, who found a second life in the postseason, faces the hottest team in the nation in Oral Roberts. The Ducks, who everyone thought were dead meat heading into the Pac-12 tournament, have reeled off 7 straight wins to get here thanks to their bullpen. Now comes the blazing hot Golden Eagles, who have a 21 game winning streak and took advantage of the chaos they help create in Stillwater by winning close games.

 

Saturday, Sunday and (If Needed) Monday

 

(16) Alabama at (1) Wake Forest - The top seeded Demon Deacons had little issues running through their regional as no one was even in the ballpark. Now they get a battle tested Alabama team that had to fight to get here - walk off wins over Nicholls State and Troy in the regional were part of it. If the Crimson Tide wanted a challenge... hoo boy. They're getting one.

 

Texas at (8) Stanford - The Longhorns and the Cardinal hold some of the biggest pedigrees in the world of college baseball and these two pedigrees will collide in Palo Alto this weekend. Texas comes in with a certified man in P Lebarron Johnson Jr. He threw a complete game (the first all season for Texas) in the regional semifinal against Miami (FL). Stanford comes in with their own swagger: Four straight trips to the Super Regional Round.

 

(12) Kentucky at (5) Louisiana State - The other series between SEC teams happens down on the Bayou as the Wildcats and Tigers meet up. Kentucky had to work to get here, beating Indiana twice despite two shutouts in the regional (the team's first and second shutouts in NCAA Tournament play since 1949). They're off to Baton Rouge to face the Tigers, who used their star power to literally overpower the rest of their regional foes. LSU won two out of three games here against Kentucky when they met in mid-April.

 

Tennessee at Southern Mississippi - The final Super Regional sees two teams that took different paths to get here. Tennessee didn't lose a game over in Clemson over the weekend, but they needed a miracle against the Tigers in the regional semifinal to win there. Southern Miss got popped by Samford to open play in Auburn, but that didn't deter them as they would take out all three teams in the regional to get here. Now comes the challenge for the Volunteers - can they win away from home? (UT = 5-12 on the road; USM = 27-5 at home)

[B-Rich]

Well that was a great game, and the ending was ironic to say the least:

 

https://twitter.com/Bcicles/status/1672070891440668673/mediaViewer?currentTweet=1672070891440668673&currentTweetUser=Bcicles

 

Yes that's the same smarmy  pitcher that gave up the winning walk-off homer.  Karma is a :censored:, ain't it?

 

Congrats to the Tigers, and good luck in the championship against the Gators.

[WestCoastBias]

An all SEC championship... my worst nightmare

[See Red]

That was a great game tonight. Gators need to figure out how to score on non-HRs again if they're going to have a chance.

 

Game one should be super important. If Florida wins, I'd imagine LSU has to throw Skenes in game two. Otherwise LSU saves him for game 3 after Florida's pitched their studs in 1 & 2.

[B-Rich]

... And that's how you come back after a 24-4 loss-- an 18-4 win in which you set the CWS record for most hits in a game.

 

Congrats to my alma mater LSU and their Fighting Tigers-- 2023 College World Series Champions!

[B-Rich]

Oh, and there was this  Saturday night after the game. My nephew Jacob just graduated from LSU, has been a student staff sports photographer for the last three years, and traveled with the team to Omaha:

 

Apparently there was an NCAA photographer being a jerk to him. LSU baseball team took care of him and got Jacob up front to take the victory photo.

 

To hell.with the NCAA...

 

 

[Chicageaux]

11 hours ago, B-Rich said:

Oh, and there was this  Saturday night after the game. My nephew Jacob just graduated from LSU, has been a student staff sports photographer for the last three years, and traveled with the team to Omaha:

 

Apparently there was an NCAA photographer being a jerk to him. LSU baseball team took care of him and got Jacob up front to take the victory photo.

 

To hell.with the NCAA...

 

 

That. is. AWESOME. Congrats to your nephew! It was a lot of fun watching this team this season and how cool for your nephew that he got to be a part of it. Geaux Tigers!