NCAA Baseball Super Regionals: Day One and Day Two

This weekend, eight teams will win a trip to the College World Series by winning a best two-out-of-three Super Regional playoff.  Only two Super Regional games were played on Friday, as rain knocked out games scheduled at UNC and N.C. State.  But all eight Super Regions played yesterday, and so here is where things stand:

Chapel Hill:  N. Carolina v. S. Carolina
On paper, this is the best match-up of the Super Regionals -- two ancient rivals, the number-one seed in the tournament (UNC) against the 2010 and 2011 national champion.  And yesterday's Game One was suitably epic, as the Tar Heels, who won two extra-inning games in the ACC Tournament, and scored a walk-off victory in the 13th inning on Monday to win their region, picked up another walk-off win.  UNC beat South Carolina 6-5 with a game-winning run in the bottom of the 9th, and they lead this series 1-0.

Raleigh:  N. Carolina St. v. Rice
A few hours after UNC's dramatic win, N.C. State picked up an even more dramatic victory -- scoring two runs in the bottom of the 9th to come from behind and beat Rice 4-3.  They lead 1-0.

Fullerton:  Cal-State Fullerton v. UCLA
Cal-State Fullerton was the number-5 seed in the tournament, but UCLA beat them.  The Bruins won Game One 5-3 in 10 innings, and then pitched a very unusual 11-hit shutout to win Game Two 3-0.  So UCLA is on to the College World Series.

Baton Rouge:  Louisiana St. v. Oklahoma
The Sooners gave it the old college try, but LSU was too much for them.  The Tigers swept Oklahoma, winning 2-0 and 11-1.  LSU leads the nation in attendance, and they had over 11,000 people at each of these games.

Nashville:  Vanderbilt v. Louisville
There are many reasons why Tom Jurich is the best Athletic Director in the country, and one of the best of all  time.  But one of the things I find most impressive about Jurich's reign at Louisville is that the U of L programs have developed a common personality.  When you play U of L, you won't be taking on the most talented team -- but you will be battling a scrappy team that presses for every advantage, plays a tough and physical style, and loves to pull upsets.  That's how Louisville won the Sugar Bowl, how they won the NCAA men's basketball tournament, and that's how their women fought their way to the finals of the NCAA women's basketball tournament.  So Louisville was a nightmare match-up for Vanderbilt, which is the number-two seed in the tournament, but which is usually mentally soft.  Sure enough, the Cardinals were too aggressive and too clever for the Dores in Game One, as U of L won 5-3.  Here is how Louisville scored their runs:

2d inning:  Hit by pitch, passed ball sends the runner to second, a walk and single load the bases, a sac fly brings home a run
7th inning:  Down 2-1, Louisville got a single, a ground out (to advance the runner to second), a two-out single to score the runner, another two-out single to put men on first and second, a passed ball to put runners on second and third, a walk to load the bases, and a two-out, two-run single to give Louisville a 4-2 lead.
8th inning:  Hit by pitch, runner steals second, ground out to send the runner to third, sac fly to give U of L a 5-2 lead

So that's five runs with only five singles, as U of L took advantage of every opportunity -- as the Cardinals have been doing in every major sport all year.  And now U of L is only one win from the College World Series.  Louisville probably won't go all the way, but they won't be beaten by a team playing as nervous and shaky as Vandy looked yesterday.

Tallahassee:  Florida St. v. Indiana
FSU has made 21 trips to the College World Series without ever winning the title.  One reason for this is that the Noles almost always get to play their regional and super regional tournaments at home, and the Noles are almost unbeatable at home.  But yesterday they were sandbagged by the Hoosiers, who scored five runs in the seventh and eighth innings to build a 10-6 lead, and who hung on for a 10-9 victory.  So IU leads 1-0.  But my guess is that FSU will keep scoring at this torrid pace, and that IU will not.

Charlottesville:  Virginia v. Mississippi St.
My working assumption is that Mississippi State won't win any sports competition that is not:  (1) played in Starkville, or (2) an SEC men's basketball tournament.  But the Bulldogs took a 1-0 lead in this series yesterday with a surprisingly easy 11-6 win over favored UVA.

Corvallis:  Oregon St. v. Kansas St.
As you can see, there have been a lot of exciting games in the Super Regionals so far, and Game One of this series was another one, as K-State came from 2-0 down to beat Oregon State 6-2 in 10 innings.