If the goal was to save the best for last then the schedule-makers at the College World Series did their job with the lineup on Day 2 of the event.
Friday’s action saw two of the five national remaining seeds take the field. Saturday’s nightcap that wraps up the initial matchup in the opening round will feature the top two teams, which also to be SEC rivals. No. 2 Arkansas is the highest seed remaining. The Razorbacks will face perennial power LSU, the No. 7 seed in the field. It’s a dream matchup that should be full of drama.
But before those teams meet, there’s also another chapter to add to the story of Murray State. The Racers are the fourth No. 4 seed to make the CWS. They’ll get a matchup with UCLA in the afternoon, and we’ll see if the slipper still fits Cinderella.
How will the games play out? We break down the matchups.
No. 15 UCLA (47-16) vs. Murray State (44-15)
Time/TV: Saturday, 2 p.m. ET, ESPN
After quieting Texas-San Antonio’s hot bats in the superregionals, the Bruins’ first challenge in Omaha is another high-scoring squad. Michael Barnett (12-1, 4. 09 ERA) will likely draw the assignment, but whoever climbs the hill can count on a solid defense behind him. UCLA leads the nation with 63 double plays turned, exactly one a game.
The Racers figure to get traffic on the bases, as they lead the Omaha field in total hits with 641 and sport a .309 team batting average. Much of the power is supplied by Jonathan Hogart with 22 homers, while Dom Decker and Dustin Mercer set the table.
No. 3 Arkansas (48-13) vs. No. 6 LSU (48-15)
Time/TV: Saturday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN
This pairing might be viewed as an argument for reseeding the field, as pitting the highest-ranked survivors against each other in their first action in Omaha seems somewhat unbalanced. The Razorbacks, on paper at least, are the most complete squad here with the most home runs (124) as well as the nation’s best strikeout-to-walk ratio. Wehiwa Aloy leads the onslaught from the plate with 20 round-trippers, while Zach Root enters with 119 punchouts in 92.2 innings pitched.
It is worth noting, however, that LSU took a regular-season series from the Hogs in Baton Rouge in early May. The Tigers’ one-two punch of Kade Anderson and Anthony Eyanson also rack up their fair share of strikeouts, and Jared Jones paces a typically scary LSU batting order.