College World Series down to 16, Super Regional matchups set
The first round of the College World Series has drawn to a close with 16 teams entering into eight three-game series beginning Friday.
The biggest upset was out of the Chapel Hill regional, where No. 2 North Carolina was knocked out of the competition by Davidson, who entered the College World Series as the bottom-ranked team in their specific group.
Here's how the Super Regionals will shake out:
Oregon State vs. Vanderbilt
In arguably the marquee matchup of the second round, No. 1-ranked Oregon State will face off against Vanderbilt, who escaped a daunting Clemson squad.
Oregon State entered the tournament as the favorite to win, and with the second-ranked seed out of the mix on the other side of the bracket, the Beavers find themselves in an advantageous spot.
Long Beach State vs. Cal State Fullerton
While Cal State Fullerton came out of its regional ranked second, the team shouldn't necessarily be considered underdogs. The Titans went 3-0 in their regional, and held top-ranked Stanford to just two runs in their contest.
Long Beach State advanced as the top seed from its bracket, but ran into some trouble against a tough Texas squad before punching its ticket to the next round of the tournament with a 2-1 victory.
Florida State vs. Sam Houston State
Now the longest-tenured team in the tournament, Florida State is advancing to the next round after being the favorite from its regional. Though, it wasn't an easy road for the Seminoles after they dropped their first game to Tennessee Tech.
Meanwhile, Sam Houston State impressively beat out Texas Tech in the regional finals to earn a Super Regional berth.
LSU vs. Mississippi State
LSU is the biggest threat to knock Oregon State out of the tournament, but both teams will have to make it through their Super Regional matchup first. No. 4-ranked LSU strolled through its regional, and shut out Rice in its final game by a score of 5-0.
Standing in the Tigers' way is Mississippi State, which came back from a 4-1 first-inning deficit against top-ranked Southern Miss to win its region.
Texas A&M vs. Davidson
Davidson went undefeated in its regional, taking down North Carolina and FGCU for massive upsets, as well as Michigan. Davidson is the lone four-seed to make it out of its regional so, if underdogs are your thing, go Wildcats.
Of course, standing in their way are the fearsome Aggies who also went undefeated. A three-seed themselves, Texas A&M was by no means a lock to make it this far - needing to topple Houston and Baylor to do so.
Louisville vs. Kentucky
No. 7 Louisville has the potential first overall pick in the upcoming MLB draft in Brendan McKay and the left-handed starting pitcher is also playing first base as one of the team's most important sluggers.
Louisville will be tasked with facing Kentucky, a top-ranked team in its own regional, whose offense exploded late against NC State en route to a 10-5 victory.
TCU vs. Missouri State
TCU entered the tournament as the No. 6-ranked team in the NCAA, and validated that by walking through its regional with a 15-3 victory against Dallas Baptist to finish it off.
The Horned Frogs will face Missouri State, which narrowly edged out Arkansas 3-2 despite being out-hit. Missouri State has top-ranked prospect Jake Burger on its roster, who could see his draft stock rise with a strong tournament.
Florida vs. Wake Forest
Lastly, two top seeds from their own regionals will square off, with Florida as the best team remaining in the tournament aside from Oregon State, ranked at No. 3.
While Wake Forest was also the favorite to win its regional, the Demon Deacons entered the tournament outside of the top eight. That didn't stop them from steamrolling their regional, pushing West Virginia aside in the final game 12-8, including a six-run fourth inning.