Last night, Oregon State beat Kansas State 4-3 to win the Corvallis Regional. So here is what the College World Series looks like so far:
Bracket One:
N. Carolina or S. Carolina
N. Carolina St.
UCLA
LSU
Bracket Two:
Louisville
Indiana
Mississippi St.
Oregon St.
N. Carolina and S. Carolina are playing off their Super Regional right now. The Tar Heels have to win so that they can go to Omaha and ruin NCSU's season. And, sure enough, they Heels lead 2-1 going into the bottom of the third.
By the way, as John Clay pointed out in the Herald-Leader, Mississippi State's coach used to be the coach at UK. So the CWS will feature U of L, Indiana, and UK's old coach. More great work by Mitch Barnhart and the geniuses in the UK Athletic Department.
(Of course, as Clay also points out, Charlie Strong (who coached Louisville to a Sugar Bowl victory last year), interviewed for the UK job -- but was turned down.)
UNC gets a one-out single in the bottom of the third, and South Carolina changes pitchers. This is do-or-die time, and the Gamecocks can't afford to fall any farther behind.
ReplyDeleteThe new pitcher immediately gets a 5-4-3 double play, and we move onto the fourth inning, with UNC holding a 2-1 lead.
ReplyDeleteOn the scoreboard in Chapel Hill, the two teams are listed as "USC" and "Carolina."
ReplyDeleteWith two out and two on in the top of the 5th, UNC's pitcher induced the South Carolina batter to hit an easy fly ball to center. But the CENTER FIELDER DROPPED THE BALL!!! TWO RUNS SCORE! South Carolina now leads UNC 3-2.
ReplyDeleteUNC gets the third out and we head into the bottom of the 5th with the Gamecocks holding a 3-2 lead.
ReplyDeleteWith a two-out double in the top of the 6th, the Gamecocks tack on another run. Heading into the bottom of the 6th, South Carolina leads UNC 4-2.
ReplyDeleteThe Tar Heels lead off the bottom of the 6th with a single and a triple. S. Carolina leads 4-3, but the Heels have the tying run on third with no outs.
ReplyDeleteSouth Carolina hits the next batter. Runners on 1st and 3d. This game is almost over.
ReplyDeleteThe next batter hits a fly ball to center. The throw comes into the infield. The runner on third holds, but the runner on first breaks for second. The pitcher tries to get the runner on second, but HE THROWS THE BALL AWAY and it trickles into the outfield. The runner on third trots home, and the runner on second scampers to third.
ReplyDeleteThe game is tied at 4-4.
South Carolina pulls the infield in and the next batter grounds out to second, leaving the runner at third.
ReplyDeleteBut then, with two outs, South Carolina walks the next to batters to load the bases. The Gamecocks are changing pitchers again.
This is all a waste of time, as NCSU will never be able to avoid playing UNC in Omaha.
I apologize to the South Carolina pitcher. It was the first baseman who made that stupid throw into the outfield.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, the pitcher did give up all the hits and walks.
The new pitcher has gone to a full count, and is about to walk in the lead run.
And there's ball four. UNC takes the lead 5-4, and the bases are still loaded.
ReplyDeleteThe next batter flies out and the inning is over. UNC gets three runs on two hits, a hit batsman, an error, and three walks.
ReplyDeleteI may not watch another baseball game for the rest of the year. Those NBA playoffs are looking better and better.
ReplyDeleteFor the record, UNC won 5-4.
ReplyDeleteCardChronicle.com also is having fun with Mitch Barnhart.
ReplyDeleteAs they should. I thought Barnhart's comments were embarrassing. If nothing else, the UK Athletic Department should have learned how to be gracious losers by now.
DeleteThat's great. What a joke he is.
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