College Baseball Update

The Super Regionals are concluded.  Four SEC teams -- including the defending National Champion -- are heading to Omaha for the College World Series:

BRACKET A

Charlottesville, Va.
Virginia 5 - 3 Maryland
Virginia 5 - 4 Maryland


Fayetteville, Ark.
Arkansas 18 - 4 (8) Missouri St.
Arkansas 1 - 3 (8) Missouri St.
Arkansas 3 - 2 (8) Missouri St.

If I were a Missouri State fan, I'd be somewhat bitter that my Bears had to play these games on the road.

Gainesville, Fla.
(4) Florida 13 - 5 Florida St.
(4) Florida 11 - 4 Florida St.

Coral Gables, Fla.
(5) Miami (Fla.) 3 - 2 Virginia Commonwealth
(5) Miami (Fla.) 10 - 3 Virginia Commonwealth


BRACKET B

Baton Rouge, La.
(2) Louisiana St. 4 - 3 La-Lafayette
(2) Louisiana St. 6 - 3 La-Lafayette

Fort Worth, Tex.
(7) Texas Christian 13 - 4 Texas A & M
(7) Texas Christian 1 - 2 Texas A & M (10 innings)
(7) Texas Christian 5 - 4 Texas A & M (16 innings)

A & M played 8 games in the NCAA Baseball Tournament -- the most you can play without reaching the CWS -- and four of those games went to extra innings.

Louisville, Ky.
(3) Louisville 2 - 3 Cal-St. Fullerton (10 innings)
(3) Louisville 9 - 3 Cal-St. Fullerton
(3) Louisville 3 - 4 Cal-St. Fullerton (11 innings)

Louisville is eliminated without losing a tournament game in regulation.  Fullerton showed great character in gutting out two tough wins against a Cardinal program that prides itself on toughness.

Champaign, Ill.
(6) Illinois 0 - 13 Vanderbilt
(6) Illinois 2 - 4 Vanderbilt

In retrospect, Vandy probably deserved that national seed.

So we have a high-powered CWS.  All eight teams have been to Omaha since 2008, and three of them -- Texas Christian, Vandy, and UVA -- made it last year.  Here are the first round match-ups, with Baseball America's final rankings.  As you can see, Bracket B is loaded:

BRACKET A:
Virginia v. (20) Arkansas
(3) Florida v. (12) Miami (Fla.)

BRACKET B:
(1) Louisiana St. v. (7) Texas Christian
(21) Cal-St. Fullerton v. (5) Vanderbilt