Tuesday, October 29

College World Series Preview, Bracket 1

Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News / USA TODAY NETWORK

As a lot as I like a partisan crowd in a playoff sport, there’s one thing to be stated for a event that has a devoted house. Having skilled firsthand each the Men’s College World Series in Omaha and the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, the cultural ecosystem that springs up round these competition websites is not like anything in baseball. College baseball followers know the quirks of Charles Schwab Field, they’ve walked the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge from Omaha to Council Bluffs, Iowa, they know the jello shot leaderboard at Rocco’s Pizza. (Whatever else occurs in baseball this season, nothing shall be funnier than LSU followers discovering themselves in a ingesting competitors with Oral Roberts followers.)

I can’t suggest it sufficient, even to look at on TV. My pitch for a combined college-pro baseball fandom stays: College groups are taking part in significant video games whereas MLB groups are nonetheless in spring coaching, they usually play high-stakes postseason video games in the course of the meaningless main league doldrums of May and June.

Yes, excessive stakes. You wish to know what an enormous deal that is? Here’s University of Tennessee right-hander Chase Burns, stomping out a rally within the seventh inning of his workforce’s newest win over Southern Mississippi with a visit to the College World Series on the road:

This man pumped in 102-mph gasoline, then stomped off the mound positively convulsing with adrenaline. I’ve by no means been as enthusiastic about something in my whole life as Burns is to spend at the very least every week of his summer time trip on a piece journey to Nebraska. If this doesn’t get you amped up, you would possibly truly be lifeless.

If you wish to get on board, right here is the primary installment of a two-part collection that delivers a quick overview of all eight contestants: Their report, how they received right here, and a quick précis on a key participant, in addition to a little bit of trivia you may pull out to impress your pals or use as an icebreaker at a bar. “Did you know the guy who forgot to tag Javier Báez that one time is now an assistant coach at Wake Forest?” You’ll be swimming in cellphone numbers, belief me.

Let’s get began.

Texas Christian
Record: 42-22 (13-11 Big 12; T-4th common season, event champs)
Path to Omaha: No. 2 seed in Fayetteville Regional (3-0, def. Arizona, Arkansas 2x); Won Fort Worth Super Regional vs. Indiana State 2-0

No street to Omaha is simple, significantly not one which entails beating the no. 3 workforce within the nation on the street twice. But TCU has made it look that approach. They gained their three video games in Fayetteville by a mixed rating of 44-11. Then they hosted a brilliant regional towards Indiana State regardless of being the decrease seed; the Sycamores had to surrender home-field benefit as a result of, with the Special Olympics on the town, Terre Haute didn’t have sufficient lodge house to accommodate a brilliant regional. TCU followers responded with an internet charity drive that raised greater than $23,000 for Special Olympics Indiana in the next few days. Heartwarming stuff.

The baseball workforce was much less accommodating and swept the Sycamores. Between the Big 12 Tournament and the primary two weekends of the NCAA Tournament, TCU has trailed for simply 4 innings over 9 postseason video games.

Key Number: 139

The Horned Frogs are sixth within the nation with 139 stolen bases in 64 video games. TCU likes to run. No different workforce in Omaha broke 100; solely Oral Roberts and UVA even stole 70. Not solely are the Frogs aggressive, they’re environment friendly, with an 86.9% success price as a workforce. Ten totally different gamers tried to steal a couple of base this 12 months, and all of them have a person success price of 80% or higher, together with third baseman Brayden Taylor, who was excellent in 14 makes an attempt. (Taylor additionally hit 23 house runs in 63 video games and slugged .657, in case anybody’s .)

Better Know a Player: Junior 1B Cole Fontenelle

Fontenelle is likely one of the hottest hitters in school baseball. He has a number of hits in his previous six video games, courting again to the ultimate of the Big 12 Tournament. He’s been held hitless as soon as in his previous 11 video games, May 27 towards Kansas State; in that sport, he walked twice, and each scored and drove in a run. That’s so scorching it overshadows the three-homer, 11 RBI sport Tre Richardson had towards Arkansas within the regional spherical, which is saying one thing:

Trivia: TCU has the pinnacle coach best-known to professional baseball followers: Former Astros and A’s pitcher Kirk Saarloos. After 9 seasons as TCU’s pitching coach — together with two journeys to Omaha — Saarloos was promoted to move coach when Jim Schlossnagle left for Texas A&M after the 2021 season. Now Saarloos has TCU again within the College World Series in simply his second season in cost.

Incidentally, the Horned Frogs wrapped up their tremendous regional win over Indiana State on June 10, someday shy of the tenth anniversary of Saarloos’ participation within the Astros’ well-known six-pitcher mixed no-hitter in 2003.

Oral Roberts
Record: 51-12 (23-1 Summit League; common season and event champs)
Path to Omaha: No. 4 seed in Stillwater Regional (3-0, def. Oklahoma State, Washington, and Dallas Baptist); Won Eugene Super Regional vs. Oregon 2-1

Last week, I talked about that Oral Roberts had bent the curve for no. 4 seeds, after which they went out and had what would ordinarily have stood out because the wildest weekend of the tremendous regional spherical. (Stay tuned for extra on Texas-Stanford tomorrow.) ORU blew an 8-0 result in lose Game 1, snapping a 21-game successful streak. The Golden Eagles then got here again to stroll Oregon off the subsequent night time, regardless of trailing 7-4 on the stretch.

An 11-6 victory within the rubber match made them the primary workforce since Stony Brook in 2012 to win a brilliant regional after being walked off in Game 1; Stony Brook, you would possibly keep in mind, can be the final no. 4 seed to make the College World Series.

Key Number: 250

Oral Roberts has the no. 250 energy of schedule within the nation this season, and has performed simply three video games towards nationally seeded groups on this event. (All wins towards Oklahoma State, two within the common season and one in Game 1 of the regional.) Every different workforce within the College World Series is ranked 58th or higher in energy of schedule. Whether that issues now that they’re in Omaha, I genuinely do not know.

But the variance is excessive for no. 4 seeds who make it this far. It’s solely occurred twice: Stony Brook beat an LSU workforce that had Kevin Gausman, JaCoby Jones, and the Nola brothers to get to Omaha. But as soon as there, they confronted the no. 2 and no. 3 nationwide seeds and misplaced each video games by a mixed rating of 21-3. The different no. 4 seed to achieve the Men’s College World Series — Fresno State in 2008 — gained the entire thing. Anything is feasible.

Better Know a Player: Junior RHP Cade Denton

This is true throughout school sports: Whenever an unfancied mid-major workforce makes a deep run within the NCAA Tournament, individuals are likely to latch on to at least one star participant and discuss him within the gleeful and frightened tones normally reserved for Omar Little. Steph Curry, Courtney Vandersloot, Shayne Gostisbehere, and so forth.

It helps that Denton, a Collegiate Baseball second-team All-American and Summit League Pitcher of the Year this season, lurks out of the bullpen, able to be sprung on opponents at any time. Denton has posted a 1.85 ERA in 58 1/3 innings throughout 33 appearances this season; therein, he struck out 78 batters towards 11 walks whereas permitting simply eight extra-base hits all season. And as is typical for a university aid ace, he’s greater than only a one-inning nearer — in his final look, within the Game 2 tremendous regional win towards Oregon, he picked up the win by throwing the ultimate 3 1/3 innings, which took him 63 pitches. If ORU can proceed its Cinderella run, Denton shall be on the mound within the greatest moments.

Trivia: Every workforce on this discipline has its share of nice baseball names, however the Golden Eagles have the sector lapped. Their beginning infield consists of, from proper to left, second baseman Blaze Brothers (.302/.376/.547, 22 SB, 1 CS), shortstop Mac McCroskey (.310/.393/.516), and third baseman Holden Breeze (.317/.404/.442).

No. 7 Virginia
Record: 50-13 (19-11 ACC; gained ACC Coastal common season, eradicated in pool play in ACC Tournament)
Path to Omaha: No. 7 nationwide seed, No. 1 seed in Charlottesville Regional (3-0, def. Army, East Carolina 2x); Won Charlottesville Super Regional vs. Duke 2-1

Virginia cakewalked by a house regional, then misplaced a thriller to Duke in Game 1 of the tremendous. That sport featured three lead adjustments and ended on a Jake Gelof fly ball that got here inside about three ft of being a three-run walk-off homer. (Yes, Jake Gelof is the youthful brother of Zack Gelof of the Oakland A’s and the Israeli nationwide workforce; the 2 performed collectively on the Wahoos workforce that went to Omaha in 2021.) Virginia shook it off and gained the subsequent two video games by double digits.

Key Number: .335

That’s Virginia’s workforce batting common, which was tops within the nation. Virginia was additionally sixth in OBP, seventeenth in slugging share, and seventh in runs scored. Six Cavaliers starters hit .330/.430/.530 or higher. In their tremendous regional matchup, Duke had one hitter with a 1.000 OPS; Virginia had two gamers named Ethan (Anderson and O’Donnell) with a 1.000 OPS. This workforce can completely rake.

Better Know a Player: Junior C Kyle Teel

New England and the Mid-Atlantic could be a little bit of a lifeless zone for faculty baseball, so when gamers from that area play main convention school baseball, they have an inclination to take action for groups in Virginia and the Carolinas: Matt Harvey, Marcus Stroman, Christian Walker, Zac Gallen, the listing goes on. This UVA workforce has six gamers from New Jersey and 4 every from Pennsylvania and New York.

Foremost amongst these is catcher Kyle Teel, delight of Mahwah, New Jersey. Teel hit .418/.484/.673 this season — as a catcher, it bears repeating — and threw out 37% of opposing basestealers. He’s a first-team All-American, and the primary Virginia participant since fellow New Jerseyan Sean Doolittle to be named ACC Player of the Year. Which is saying one thing, as a result of in between Doolittle’s draft 12 months and Teel’s, UVA has been to Omaha six occasions, gained 50 video games 4 occasions, and produced 10 first-round picks.

Teel is a lock so as to add to that complete, as a result of lefty-hitting catchers who can hit .400 with energy in a serious convention don’t precisely develop on bushes.

Trivia: Does it depend as trivia anymore that there’s a statue of UVA head coach Brian O’Connor outdoors Charles Schwab Field? Or has that enjoyable truth been carried out to demise? How about this: Virginia’s chief in saves this 12 months, Jay Woolfolk, moonlights as a quarterback on the Cavaliers soccer workforce.

No. 2 Florida
Record: 50-15 (20-10 SEC; gained SEC East common season, eradicated in semifinals of SEC Tournament)
Path to Omaha: No. 2 general seed, No. 1 seed in Gainesville regional (4-1, def. Florida A&M, UConn, went 2-1 towards Texas Tech); Won Gainesville Super Regional vs. South Carolina 2-0

Florida has been examined within the early rounds of the event, coming by the losers’ bracket in their very own regional after taking a loss to Texas Tech. The Gators then endured an absolute rock battle of a brilliant regional opener towards South Carolina, a workforce that swept Florida within the common season, earlier than dominating Game 2 behind starter Hurston Waldrep to advance to Omaha.

Key Number: 286

That’s what number of video games Florida has performed since its final College World Series look, which is by far the longest drought the Gators have suffered below Kevin O’Sullivan’s 16-year tenure. Since arriving in Gainesville in 2008, O’Sullivan has led the Gators to fifteen regionals, the one exception being in 2020, when Florida was 16-1 and ranked no. 1 within the nation when the season was canceled. They’ve been a top-four nationwide seed 9 occasions occasions, together with this 12 months, made the College World Series eight occasions, been a finalist twice, and gained a nationwide championship in 2017.

Four straight regionals and a visit to Omaha could be a spotlight within the historical past of most packages; by O’Sullivan’s requirements, it’s the tip of a down interval.

Better Know a Player: Sophomore LHP/1B Jac Caglianone

Outfielder Wyatt Langford might be going to be a top-five decide within the draft, however we love a two-way participant, don’t we? As per standard, Florida has loads of pitching, and with Waldrep and Brandon Sproat taking the highest two spots within the rotation, Caglianone hasn’t taken the mound since Game 1 of the regional, when he held Florida A&M scoreless over six innings.

Caglianone led Gators starters in ERA and held opponents to a .184 batting common, and if Florida goes to stay round Omaha, it’s going to want its whole rotation after which some. Caglianone isn’t a nasty third choice to have.

But Caglianone is much more thrilling as a hitter. Florida has a proud latest custom of slugging first basemen, led by Pete Alonso. And as a lot of a single-minded dinger-mashing machine as Alonso is, Caglianone makes him seem like Doug Mientkiewicz. At 6-foot-5, 245 kilos, the sophomore star is what SEC varieties name (checks notes) “a hoss.” And he’s used that unbelievable energy to nice impact; Caglianone leads all of Division I with 31 house runs in 65 video games. I’ll prevent the mathematics — that’s a 77-homer tempo over an MLB season. He’s additionally slugging .766 — I’ll say it once more for the individuals within the again, SLUGGING SEVEN SIXTY-SIX — which is thirteenth in Division I general and seventh amongst gamers from Power Five conferences. (One of the six forward of him is Langford, his teammate.)

Also, Jac is neither brief for John nor a cutesy Gen-Z twist on “Jack.” Caglianone’s full identify is Jeffrey Alan Caglianone, so it’s an initials-based nickname, like Jeb Stuart or Gob Bluth. And I believe he (or his mother and father, whoever’s accountable for the choice) was clever to go in that course. Jac Caglianone is a 30-dinger identify, however it’s exhausting to see somebody named “Jeff Caglianone” breaking 20.

Trivia: I’ve received a delicate spot for senior catcher BT Riopelle, who’s develop into a go-to postgame TV interview throughout Florida’s run. Not solely is Riopelle quotable, he’s additionally clutch, albeit in an uncommon approach. Between the SEC Tournament and NCAA Tournament, Riopelle has performed in 10 postseason video games, and gone 7-for-37. But six of these hits have been house runs, together with the game-winner off Gamecocks ace Will Sanders in Game 1 of the tremendous regional. Florida is 4-0 this postseason when Riopelle homers and 4-2 when he doesn’t. Nobody’s getting extra mileage out of their hits this postseason than Riopelle.

Come again tomorrow for the Bracket 2 preview…

Content Source: blogs.fangraphs.com