USA TODAY International Edition
Wake, Oral Roberts spice up field
So you want to know about Omaha, eh? Well, the most important thing to remember is that not every hand will have a low split, so you still want to mainly play high cards … Oh, you mean the Men’s College World Series in Omaha! That’s all right. We can help with that, too.
Yes, it’s the final event on the collegiate sports calendar for the academic year, and it nearly always delivers with high drama and unforgettable moments. Nebraska’s largest city has hosted the event since 1950 and has become the ultimate goal for every college baseball program.
We understand that some of you are purists who have trouble getting used to the ping of the metal bats in the college game.
But there’s a lot of impressive pitching as well, and there should be plenty of that on display in Omaha over the next weekplus.
But we’ll get to all that. The first thing you’ll need to know is how the proceedings will unfold. For those unfamiliar with the CWS format, the eight teams are split into two four- team pools, and each foursome will play a double elimination mini tournament similar to the regionals in the earlier rounds. The two bracket winners will then square off in a best- of- three final, akin to the super regionals, to determine the national champion.
This year’s Omaha octet features five of the teams with topeight national seeds entering the NCAA Tournament, including the top two. Although the SEC and ACC comprise over half the CWS field, there’s also a squad from the so- called midmajor ranks that defied the odds to reach Omaha.
The championship series is slated to begin June 24.
A quick look at each of the eight participants.