CHASE FOR CWS TITLE BEGINS | Texas, LSU, Dallas Baptist among field gunning for college baseball’s national title | With scores, schedule
EDITOR’S NOTE: There is a bracket at the end of this story.
The Road to Omaha has begun already, and 13 of the 16 Southeastern Conference schools, led by the University of Texas, are in the field, aiming at the College World Series and the national championship.
Vanderbilt – yes, Vanderbilt, an also-ran in football, but with a very good baseball program – is the No. 1 overall seed. The Commodores won the SEC Tournament.
Texas is the No. 2 seed, Arkansas third, and LSU sixth, all with strong fan bases here in East Texas.
Also in the field of local interest: TCU, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Dallas Baptist, Texas-San Antonio, and Houston Christian.
Almost strangely, Texas A&M – which had been ranked No. 1 prior to the season, and played for the national title last year – missed out this time, not making the CWS bracket. Defending national champion Tennessee did; the Volunteers are seeded 14th, though.
This weekend is the regional round, with four teams at each region, and it’s double-elimination. All games are available on ESPN+, the ESPN online streaming service. Sunday’s games depend upon today’s results.
Regional sites, Friday’s scores and schedule:
AUSTIN REGIONAL
Friday, May 30: No. 2 Texas 7, Houston Christian 1; UTSA 10, Kansas St. 2
Today: Houston Christian vs. Kansas State, 2 p.m.; No. 2 Texas vs. UTSA, 8 p.m.
FAYETTEVILLE (Arkansas) REGIONAL
Friday, May 30: No. 3 Arkansas 6, North Dakota St. 2; Creighton 11, Kansas 4
Today: North Dakota State vs. Kansas, 2 p.m.; No. 3 Arkansas vs Creighton, 7 p.m.
BATON ROUGE REGIONAL
Friday, May 30: No. 6 LSU 7, Little Rock 0; DBU 6, Rhode Island 2
Today: Rhode Island vs. Little Rock, 2 p.m.; No. 6 LSU vs. DBU | 8 p.m.
NASHVILLE REGIONAL
Friday, May 30: Louisville 8, ETSU 3; No. 1 Vanderbilt 4, Wright St. 3
Today: Wright State vs. ETSU, 2 p.m.; No. 1 Vanderbilt vs. Louisville, 8 p.m.
HATTIESBURG REGIONAL
Friday, May 30: Miami (FL) 5, Alabama 3; Columbia 11, No. 16 Southern Miss 4
Today: No. 16 Southern Miss vs. Alabama, 2 p.m.; Columbia vs Miami (FL), 8 p.m.
OXFORD (Miss.) REGIONAL
Friday, May 30: Georgia Tech 9, Western Kentucky 2; Murray St. 9, No. 10 Ole Miss 6
Today: No. 18 Ole Miss vs. Western Kentucky, 1 p.m.; Murray State vs. Georgia Tech, 5 p.m.
TALLAHASSEE REGIONAL
Friday, May 30: No. 9 Florida St. 6, Bethune-Cookman 2; Mississippi St. 11, Northeastern 2
Today: Bethune-Cookman vs. Northeastern, 11 a.m.; No. 9 Florida State vs. Mississippi State, 5 p.m.
CORVALLIS (Oregon) REGIONAL
Friday, May 30: Southern California 13, TCU 1; Saint Mary’s (CA) 6, No. 8 Oregon St. 4
Today: No. 8 Oregon State vs. TCU, 2 p.m.; Saint Mary’s vs Southern California, 8 p.m.
EUGENE (Oregon) REGIONAL
Friday, May 30: Arizona 3, Cal Poly 2; Utah Valley 6, No. 12 Oregon 5
Today: No. 12 Oregon vs. Cal Poly, 2 p.m.; Utah Valley vs. Arizona | 8 p.m.
CHAPEL HILL (N.C.) REGIONAL
Friday, May 30: No. 5 North Carolina 4, Holy Cross 0; Oklahoma 7, Nebraska 4
Today: Holy Cross vs. Nebraska, 11 a.m.; No. 5 North Carolina vs. Oklahoma | 5 p.m.
CONWAY (S.C.) REGIONAL
Friday, May 30: East Carolina 11, vs. Florida 6; No. 13 Coastal Carolina 10, Fairfield 2
Today: Fairfield vs. Florida, 2 p.m.; Coastal Carolina vs. East Carolina | 6 p.m.
CLEMSON (S.C.) REGIONAL
Friday, May 30: West Virginia 4, Kentucky 3; No. 11 Clemson 7, USC Upstate 3
Today: USC Upstate vs. Kentucky, 11 a.m.; No. 11 Clemson vs. West VIrginia | 8 p.m.
KNOXVILLE (Tennessee) REGIONAL
Friday, May 30: Cincinnati 11, Wake Forest 6; No. 14 Tennessee 9, Miami (OH) 2
Today: Miami (OH) vs. Wake Forest, 11 a.m.; No. 15 Tennessee vs. Cincinnati, 5 p.m.
AUBURN (Alabama) REGIONAL
Friday, May 30: Stetson 11, NC State 2; No. 4 Auburn 9, Central Conn. St. 5
Today: Central Connecticut State vs. NC State, 2 p.m.; No. 4 Auburn vs. Stetson, 8 p.m.
LOS ANGELES REGIONAL
Friday, May 30: No. 15 UCLA 19, Fresno St. 4; Arizona St. 4, UC Irvine 2
Today: Fresno State vs. UC Irvine, 2 p.m.; Arizona State vs. No. 15 UCLA, 8 p.m.
ATHENS (Georgia) REGIONAL
Friday, May 30: No. 7 Georgia 20, Binghamton 4; Duke 12, Oklahoma St. 5
Today: Binghamton vs. Oklahoma State, 11 a.m.; No. 7 Georgia vs. Duke, 5 p.m.
Super regionals will begin on Friday, June 6. The College World Series begins the following Friday, June 13, in Omaha.
A few notes of interest:
- Southern Cal has 12 College World Series / national championships, the most of any program.
- LSU is second, with seven, and Texas third, with six. Current No. 1 seed Vanderbilt has won two.
- The Longhorns’ last national title in baseball was in 2005.
