With all the upsets of top seeded teams who knows who is the favorite. A few years ago Fresno State won. Who woudda thunk it? In order to come to a true scientific conclusion I think you have to look at the game by game pitching match ups and how teams handle that kind of pitcher. Then everything you've calculated goes out the window if a team has to go deep into it's bullpen in the first two games. I'm just going to enjoy it. I'll root for Louisville and Vanderbilt since my son and I know kids on the teams. I wish they were in opposite brackets. They play each other today.

ABUT....Anyone But University of Texas.  I'm pulling for the Horn Frogs!

UC Irvine all the way ! Gotta represent the SoCals

Apparently the Texas #4 hitter Barrera would rather fake getting hit by a pitch than actually swing the bat. I hate that crap. At least I now know which team to root against.

He made the last out of the game looking at strike three too.  Texas may well be 2 and done.  They will have a hard time with the Louisville/Vandy loser.

UCI and Ole Miss in the finals.  Either one winning would be fine with me.

Does anyone remember the Arkansas hitter a few years ago who faked getting hit then argued with the umpire he got hit?

Don't know enough to make an educated pick, but I like:

1. UCI - great story, great mascot, great style of play, solid school. As local as we have here in Norcal.
2. Vanderbilt. Great school, and I have to root for the SFGiants #1 draft pick.
3. UVA. Great school, my 2016 is applying there, and I love what I've seen of their play so far.

I'm pulling for UCI. I love watching them play. If I had to put money on a winner? I would put it on UCI. This ball park is made for them.

I agree with UCI  having a good chance to be the winner. They just seem to be doing everything right and agree about the field.

 

My second I like is Louisville, I love the coach)

Vandy seems to have a great pitching staff and look to be playing very well right now.  I'm going with them!

Virginia.

Offense seems to be catching up to their lights out pitching & defense!

 

Here is what today's probable starter, Nathan Kirby, looked like in high school...

 

 

He played for regular posters "MidloDad" and "Graham R." on the Virginia Cardinals.

 

Rich

www.PlayInSchool.com/bus_tour

Heart says UCI with bsbl247 son!

(plus a couple of kids off his travel team)

 

Head says Vandy. 

 

Go EATERS! 

Hard to recognize Kirby in high school without the patented UVA pitching crouch.....

 

http://wahooze.blogspot.com/20...ith-that-crouch.html

 

TCU has the pitching, will need the bats to contribute.

For those of you who never got the chance to see our very own Prepsters son Robert pitch just tune in to the CWS and watch TCU's Preston Morrison. Now add 5 mph to the fastball and that's how good Robert was at UNC.

I'm pulling for TTU.  Bum, Jr. is riding a bus right now getting updates on the game.. still has a few former teammates playing for them, including the slick-fielding Tim Proudfoot, another Washington state native.  Wreck 'em, Tech.  Guns Up!

FYI.  Prepster's son pitched for UNC in Omaha back in 2006/2007 or thereabouts.  He was a freakin' stud there and throughout his career.

 

The comparison to Preston Morrison is a fun one.

 

Prepster's son is now the pitching coach at Virginia Tech.

Cool stuff!!!

 

Too bad TTU lost, great game.

 

This is an unrelated note.  Nothing to do with the game.  Just a reminder of what is wrong with college baseball.  The TCU pitcher threw college slider after slider after slider after slider.

 

Not applicable to the next level.  It's why college baseball needs to go to wood.

UVA

Why does something "not applicable" to the next level render that level less significant.  I can think of many things that are not the same or useful at the pro level of baseball, basketball and football...and most of them are the reason I like the college level BETTER than the pro level.

Bum - 

 

I'm sort of with Tx-Husker.  Or rather, just a little confused about your comment about "college slider".  Can you please explain?

 

I thought the pitchers job was to get outs.  Seemed he did a really good job of it.  He happens to be a college pitcher.  So by default, doesn't he throw a "college slider"?   Side note, Nathan Kirby's "college slider" was also effective!

 

Rich

www.PlayInSchool.com/bus_tour

I was thinking maybe the slider comment was related to an outdated fear college pitchers used to have regarding making a good pitch with FB and having the hitter fist a hit bc of the metal bats. Thus the need to throw excessive sliders for the swing and miss. That's the only thing I can figure based on the wood bats comment.

With the new bats I think that fear is gone. Many pitchers seem to pitch to contact more now.

I'm not justifying the comment bc I also disagree but I'm just thinking maybe this was the intent.

I wonder if all CWS teams have changed their "game" to more of a pitch-to-contact  approach because the longball is virtually non-existent?

Yes.  Most especially when they get to Omaha.  But keep in mind that it generally doesn't pay off very well to completely go against a pitcher's strength.  Power/strikeout pitcher will generally remain that way.  But college has become more of a pitching game and opened the doors to more lower velocity 'command and precision' pitchers. 

I understand the love of 'good baseball' as has been discussed regarding the bunt game in college baseball. With gorilla ball a thing of the past, small ball has become more important.

But can someone please explain to me why Louisville just sacrificed down 3-0 with runners on 1st and 2nd, no outs in the 8th inning? Sorry but that's dumb baseball and the Cardinals are about to get their ticket back to Kentucky.

How about Top 1, 0 outs, man on 2B & of course… Sac bunt.  That was in the Texas game the other day.  Resulted in no run scored.  Wouldn't they score from 2B on a hit?

 

The unfortunate thing is that all this bunting is trickling down to the showcase level.

 

I keep hearing of teams sac bunting in showcases.  Taking the bat out of a kids hand in a showcase with no trophy at the end is defeating the point of a "showcasing" isn't it?

 

Rich

www.PlayInSchool.com/bus_tour

But there are so many more ways to score from third than from second... sac fly, ground ball past the P, safety, suicide, etc.  Particularly at a venue like this when the wind is completely stuffing anything hit in the air.  Of course it depends on the hitter and pitcher as well... is the hitter better at executing a bunt than hitting behind the runner?  Is the infield taking it away or playing back?  Can the P work effectively inside?  I think most games will be low scoring and won with execution of small ball. 

 

Regarding showcases, as the college game adjusts to the bats and becomes more of a small ball/ speed game, doesn't it make sense for that type of player to show the ability to execute that part of his game?  In our summer HS program, there are several players who I will have execute a bunt in the correct situation while most other HS coaches won't.  Winning the game has zero factor in the thought process - I want them to get comfortable executing in game situations now so they can do so next spring when they have to and I want them to have a better understanding of the game as a whole.  Now, if they have bunted once in a game, they're swinging away the rest of the game.

 

Sorry, JH, I know you are cringing a bit right now

"Wouldn't they score from 2B on a hit?"

The answer in 2014 in College baseball is that scoring from 2B is anything but a sure thing.  Outfielders play extremely shallow, even more so if  the wind is  blowing in.  I watched probably 20-25 games this year. I did not chart it but my overall impression is scoring from 2B on a single to the outfield occurs at about a 50%-60% frequency at the top D1 level.

Done properly, as UCI will often execute, the bunt is not just to sacrifice.  It is done to put pressure and force defensive mistakes. When put in play with speed on the bases and with the hitter, and with a well placed bunt, there is just no margin for error on the defensive side of the ball.  This is all part of the package.  Of course we also appreciate the execution is also with some of the very top defensive teams in the nation.

My temptation is to think coaches who win 45-50 games didn't lose their concept of how to win between last Monday and Saturday.  Most watched UCLA win playing exactly this precision game last year, with Coach Peters being one of the very best in coaching it. Until someone wins in this huge park in Omaha with some other approach, I fully expect to see it be part of every game.

UT is not dead yet.

GILLESPIE: BAT CHANGES TOO DRASTIC, GAME SUFFERS

http://bigstory.ap.org/article...drastic-game-suffers

 

 

I wonder if Coach Gillespie will feel like he needs to apologize for winning with the game the way it is played now, just as he did when the game was so much different in 1998?  No team executes and plays the West Coast game better today than UCI.

He does not.

 

But TD Ameritrade should consider getting some orange construction temporary fencing and put it about 25 feet inside the existing fences.

 

UVa's Papi was quoted in post game that the ball he hit last night for the win was the best ball he's ever hit.  He's a 1st rounder!  The ball was a 2 hopper to the fence.  The best ball the dude has ever hit, with metal, is a 2 hopper?!  Not trying to hijack this thread.  I just would like to see more scoring in the CWS than in the World Cup.  

 

Rich

www.PlayInSchool.com/bus_tour

No argument from me. Our son is a college hitting coach!

The MLB ball is on the way to college next year. Those fences will be in play.

A little more I agree.  The data I saw said about 20 extra feet of travel.  Will be good enough in a lot of college parks, but not too sure about TD Ameritrade.  Honestly, I think they messed up on the design.

That could be true. Now that I think of it, rarely does a ball even get to the warning track. Those guys must feel like Charlie Brown kicking the a football.

 

Still a little sad about Ole Miss getting past my Cajuns in the super....I guess I shouldn't talk....They got past the Huskies too, sorry.

I agree justbaseball.

 

I just don't like college baseball and the bbcor. I like offense. With wood some of these balls would be better hit than with bbcor. The new park  NOT  (EDIT)fun to watch in my opinion.

 

Im not saying I want the rocket launchers back but I want some more offense besides bunting.

 

Sorry I like deep drives, line drives, just isn't fun to watch a lot of these games. Ive watched less this year than any year.