College Baseball Update

Some very exciting Super Regional action this weekend, with a lot of upsets (seedings in parentheses):

KNOXVILLE (TENN.) SUPER REGIONAL:

Notre Dame 8, (1) Tennessee 6

(1) Tennessee 12, Notre Dame 4

Notre Dame 7, (1) Tennessee 3

This was a stunning result.  Tennessee had been dominating college baseball all year -- the Vols went 25-5 in the SEC, which was the strongest conference in the country.  But no number-1 seed has won the NCAA Baseball Tournament since 1999, and that streak will continue for another year.

GREENVILLE (N.C.) SUPER REGIONAL:

(8) E. Carolina 13, (9) Texas

(9) Texas 9, (8) E. Carolina 8

(9) Texas 11, (8) E. Carolina 1

East Carolina led Texas 7-2 in Game Two going into the seventh inning, but the Longhorns stormed back to outscore East Carolina 18-2 the rest of the way.

COLLEGE STATION (TEX.) SUPER REGIONAL:

(5) Texas A & M 5, (12) Louisville 4

(5) Texas A & M 4, (12) Louisville 3

These were two great games.  You have to grind out wins over Louisville, and that's what Texas A & M did.

BLACKSBURG (VA.) SUPER REGIONAL:

Oklahoma 5, (4) Virginia Tech 4

(4) Virginia Tech 14, Oklahoma 8

Oklahoma 11, (4) Virginia Tech 2

Big disappointment for Virginia Tech.

CORVALLIS (ORE.) SUPER REGIONAL:

(14) Auburn 7, (3) Oregon St. 5

(3) Oregon St. 4, (14) Auburn 3

(14) Auburn 4, (3) Oregon St. 3

In terms of the quality of the games played, this was probably the best series of the weekend, and a spectacular result for Auburn.  Oregon State is a three-time national champion, and they don't usually lose at home.

HATTIESBURG (MISS.) SUPER REGIONAL

Mississippi 10, (11) So. Mississippi 0

Mississippi 5, (11) So. Mississippi 0

Southern Mississippi had just beaten LSU 8-4 and 8-7 the week before, and I thought this Super Regional would be a thriller.  I was wrong.

CHAPEL HILL (N.C.) SUPER REGIONAL

Arkansas 4, (10) N. Carolina 1

Arkansas 4, (10 N. Carolina 3

Last year, Arkansas was the overall number-1 seed, and they lost at home to North Carolina State.  But this year, an unseeded Arkansas team beat Oklahoma State and UNC on the road to advance to Omaha.  By the way, as you can see from these scores, the balance between offense and defense was better in the Super Regionals than it was in the Regionals.  I don't know why.

STANFORD (CALIF.) SUPER REGIONAL

Connecticut 13, (2) Stanford 12

(2) Stanford 8, Connecticut 2

(2) Stanford 10, Connecticut 5

Stanford is the highest remaining seed, as well as the only team left from the Pac-12.  The Cardinal reached Omaha without having to play any team from the SEC or the ACC, which is not easy to do.