16 teams advanced to the Super Regionals, but only eight will continue on to Omaha and the Men’s College World Series.
And for the second year in a row, the eight teams that move on to the Men’s College World Series will be completely different than the eight teams that advanced last season. Coastal Carolina, Arizona, Oregon State, Louisville, UCLA, Murray State, Arkansas, and LSU were the eight teams that advanced last year, but none of those teams will be headed to Omaha.
That means a completely new field, and a new national champion.
We’ll be tracking the teams that advance all weekend long.
The Mountaineers became the first team to punch their ticket to Omaha, dispatching Cal Poly in a two-game sweep at home in Morgantown. The West Virginia bats were red-hot in those two games, as they pushed 12 runs across the plate in Game 1 and followed that with a 17-run outburst against Cal Poly on Saturday, taking Game 2 by a final of 17-1 to punch their ticket to the Men’s College World Series.
And while the bats were part of the story, they did not tell the complete tale. After getting a career-high 11 strikeouts from Friday starter Chasen Cole, West Virginia coach Steve Sabins handed the ball to Maxx Yehl, the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year, for the start on Saturday.
All he did was pitch five near-perfect innings, allowing four hits and one run while striking out four.
West Virginia and its fans had to wait a little to celebrate, due to a lightning delay in the eighth inning. But eventually the sky cleared, and the Mountaineers closed out Cal Poly.
And now, the Mountaineers are headed to Omaha for the first time in program history.
Troy began the year with a pair of losses to Mercer and hovered around .500 for most of the season. Its year included both a four-game losing streak and a three-game losing streak in March alone. And when Troy finished the year with 29 losses, yet were named an at-large team to the NCAA tournament, many wondered if they belonged.
Yet all they did was win the Gainesville regional – despite dropping their opener against Miami – and now thanks to a sweep against fellow Cinderella Little Rock, the Trojans are heading to Omaha for the first time in program history.
The Trojans’ 32-29 regular season record does merit some context, as Troy faced one of the toughest schedules in the nation. That paid off once they arrived in Gainesville, as Troy beat Florida, the top seed in the regional and the No. 8 overall seed in the nation, twice to advance to the Super Regionals for the first time in school history.
And now they are headed to the Men’s College World Series for the first time.
Something else that paid off for the Trojans? The bat of designated hitter Jabe Boroff. The slugger caught fire as Troy closed out the regional, hitting four home runs in the final three games in Gainesville. And he blasted a pair of home runs in Game 1 against Little Rock, helping the Trojans take the first game of the series.
To put his recent form in perspective, he had five home runs and 14 RBI over 27 regular season and Ohio Valley Conference games.
So far over six NCAA tournament games, he has six home runs and 18 RBI.
Now we get to see what he, and the rest of the Trojans, do in Omaha.
