College World Series set with No. 1 Deacons, No. 2 Gators

Tuesday, June 13, 2023

axios.com

Stanford and Tennessee won on Monday to secure the final two spots in the College World Series, which begins this Friday in Omaha.

State of play: The eight-team field comprises five former champions (🏆), the top two national seeds and one of the lowest seeds to ever make the CWS.

🏆 No. 1 Wake Forest (52-10): The Demon Deacons are back for the first time since winning the 1955 title and are looking to join Miami in 1999 as the only No. 1 seeds to win it all since the tournament expanded to 64 teams (in 1999).

🏆 No. 2 Florida (50-15): The 2017 champions are making their 13th CWS appearance after sweeping No. 15 South Carolina in the super regionals — sweet revenge after the Gators lost all three regular-season games to the Gamecocks.

🏆 No. 5 LSU ( 48-15): The Tigers are the most successful program in the field. Their six titles — most recently in 2009 — are tied for the second-most ever behind USC's 12.

🏆 No. 7 Virginia (50-13): The 2015 champions are making their sixth appearance, all since 2009.

🏆 No. 8 Stanford (44-18): The two-time champs (1987-88) are making their third straight appearance after a heroic effort in Game 2 from left-handed pitcher Quinn Mathews (16 strikeouts in a 156-pitch (!) complete game) and a wild walk-off win in Game 3.

Oral Roberts (51-12): The Golden Eagles, back for the first time since 1978, are just the third regional No. 4 seed to ever make the CWS, joining 2008 Fresno State and 2012 Stony Brook.

TCU (42-22): The Horned Frogs have won 11 straight games to reach their sixth CWS.

Tennessee (43-20): The Vols are making their sixth appearance after shutting out Southern Miss in Monday's decisive Game 3.

How it works: The teams are split in two brackets, with each playing a mini double-elimination tournament to determine who advances to the best-of-three CWS final.