OMAHA, Neb. — When eight of the best teams in college baseball converge in Omaha for the College World Series, anything can happen.
Well, at least in theory.
Through six games of the "Greatest Show on Dirt," favorites have gone a perfect 6-0 on the moneyline.
The first three contests of this year's event ended with a walk-off, and the fourth was a one-run game that featured a home-run robbery in the final frame.
“That's the way this whole tournament has gone so far,” Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “It's been one pitch here, one at-bat there. And like I said, you've got three one-run games — or now four [as of Saturday night] — that have been outstanding to watch and be a part of.”
It doesn’t matter if a team is the No. 1 overall seed like Tennessee or if it barely snuck into the field like Florida. As of Sunday night, four of the six games went down to the wire to produce some heart-pounding moments.
Even crazier is that no matter how close the game was, the favorite has emerged victorious each and every time.
First it was future first-round MLB Draft pick and North Carolina star Vance Honeycutt walking off Virginia after the Tar Heels lost their regular-season series to the Cavaliers.
Then, Tennessee mounted a massive comeback behind Christian Moore’s cycle — the second cycle ever recorded in Men’s College World Series history.
On Day 2, Kentucky’s Mitchell Daly hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th inning to down NC State.
To cap off a wild first two days, Texas A&M’s Jace LaViolette robbed a potential go-ahead home run from Florida’s Cade Kurland to keep the Aggies out in front by one run in the ninth inning.
While Florida State and Tennessee won their Sunday games with relative ease, that doesn't take away from the extraordinary rush generated by the first weekend of the College World Series.
“I don't know that the college sport can be played at a higher level than what we're watching it occur right now, with the age of the guys, some of the transfer capabilities, the draft has shrunk,” Florida State head coach Link Jarrett said on Friday. “I think that was on display today all day and tonight.”
Somehow, things can get even more wild if we zoom in on one team.
Prior to Sunday’s loss to Tennessee, North Carolina had won four straight games by a run differential of +5.
That includes a Regional-clinching win over LSU (4-3, 10 innings), two Super Regional victories over West Virginia (8-6, 2-1) and the opening College World Series triumph over Virginia (3-2).
“I probably should ease up on the Red Bulls, I guess,” North Carolina head coach Scott Forbes said on Friday. “But, I mean, yeah, you almost kind of expect it with this team, but we're playing really good teams.”
That much is apparent.
With all four games over the first two days of the College World Series being won on a walk-off or decided by one run — or both — it’s clear that these are some of the best teams in the country playing some of their best baseball.
But at the same time, the best of the best have proven to be in a tier of their own.
"That's why you play college baseball — to play against the best competition," Tennessee third baseman Billy Amick said. "Being the No. 1 overall seed, we don't really think about it at all. It's just a number. We're just going to keep playing ball the way we know how."
