College Baseball World Series: Omaha, Friday’s Recap, and Saturday’s Predictions
This year’s College Baseball World Series is one of the most star-studded tournaments we’ve seen, with five out of the top eight national seeds making it this year. These schools are number one ranked Tennessee, two Kentucky, three Texas A&M, four UNC, and eighth-ranked Florida State. The other teams in the tournament are Virginia, NC State and Florida. This could lead to one of the best tournaments we’ve seen in the history of college baseball with it being ultra-competitive across the board. Before going into Saturday’s predictions, let’s take a quick look at the two games played Friday.
In the earlier game, North Carolina snuck away with a 3-2 victory over Virginia. Center Fielder Vance Honeycutt walked it off for the Tar Heels in the bottom of the ninth, leaving some fans confused as to why Why didn't Virginia walk Honeycutt in that scenario. The second game on Friday was a comeback victory for Tennessee over Florida State. This instant classic was capped off by a Dylan Dreiling extra-inning walk-off base hit. With these recaps over with, let’s get into predicting the games through the weekend.
NC State vs. Kentucky
The third game in Omaha between NC State and second-seeded Kentucky will take place Saturday at 2 PM Eastern time on ESPN. The Alec Makarewicz lead NC State punched their ticket to their fourth-ever World Series appearance in school history. However, they’re facing a hot Kentucky. The Wildcats, fresh off their second SEC championship and making their first World Series, are led by National Coach of the Year Nick Mangione. Kentucky is going to stay hot and take this one. They have one of the better rosters in the tournament and have the reigning coach of the year, making them one of the favorites down the stretch.
Florida vs. Texas A&M
The fourth game in Omaha between the Florida Gators and Texas A&M Aggies will take place Saturday night at 7 PM Eastern time on ESPN. Florida is competing in their 14th World Series in program history as they continue to be one of the more historic college baseball programs in the country. The Gators have the reigning Two-Way Player of the Year and First Team All-American Jac Caglianone manning the middle of their lineup after batting .411 with 33 bombs. While he wasn’t as good on the mound with a 4.71 ERA, he is the guy to watch in this game. On the other hand, the Aggies had an unreal year, being the fourth-best team in the country. With four All-Americans in Evan Aschenbeck, Braden Montgomery, Jace LaViolette, and Gavin Grahovac, they have an all-around juggernaut of a team. This has the chance to be a very close game and can be one of the best ones to come out of the tournament, but I’m going to give the edge to the Aggies.
