We’ve previously previewed each of the NCAA college baseball Regionals and the Super Regionals, and with Bracket One of the College World Series set to begin Saturday, it’s time we preview the teams that will be playing at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha for the chance to be crowned national champions.

Today, we preview Bracket Two, which will begin Sunday, giving you each teams’ projected starting lineup and projected pitching rotation, “Road to Omaha,” and some keys to success:

UPDATE (Schedule/Results):

  • Game 1: Fresno St. (1-0) defeats Rice (0-1) 17-5
  • Game 2: North Carolina (1-0) defeats LSU (0-1) 8-4
  • Game 3: LSU (1-1) eliminates Rice (0-2) 6-5
  • Game 4: Fresno St. (2-0) defeats North Carolina (1-1) 5-3
  • Game 5: North Carolina (2-1) eliminates LSU (1-2) 7-3
  • Game 6: North Carolina (3-1) defeats Fresno St. (2-1) 4-3
  • Game 7: Fresno St. (3-1) eliminates North Carolina (3-2) 6-1

    • FRESNO STATE advances to College World Series Championship Finals

North Carolina Tar Heels (51-12)

Projected Starting Lineup:
1. Dustin Ackley (1B)
2. Kyle Shelton (LF)
3. Tim Fedroff (RF)
4. Chad Flack (3B)
5. Kyle Seager (2B)
6. Tim Federowicz (C)
7. Garrett Gore (DH)
8. Seth Williams (CF)
9. Ryan Graepel (SS)

Projected Pitching Rotation:
1 - Alex White (R)
2 - Adam Warren (R)
3 - Matt Harvey (R)
4 - Rob Catapano (L)

CL: Rob Wooten (R)

North Carolina’s Road to Omaha:
North Carolina may very well be the team to beat in Omaha. While they did come in second in the ACC’s Coastal Division behind the number one national seed, Miami, UNC won every ACC series this season, and that includes taking 2 of 3 from Miami during the last weekend of the regular season. Their hard work and impressive record earned them the number two national seed assuring the only way UNC & Miami would see each other again would be in the national championship series.

The Tar Heels/Hurricanes matchup is still a possibility thanks to Miami rallying to get to Omaha. As for North Carolina, they have been on cruise control thus far in the national tournament. They bombarded Mount Saint Mary’s 16-8, and dusted off UNC Wilmington twice 5-1 & 7-3 en route to a super regional showdown with Coastal Carolina and their high-powered offense. The best pitching staff in the nation (2.83 ERA) held the Chanticleers to 8 runs in two games while the offense supplied 23 runs of their own in punching the ticket on the Tar Heels third consecutive trip to Omaha.

While their pitching is what gets the top billing (and rightfully so since they lead the nation in ERA, striekouts, and opponent’s batting average), UNC has several other factors that make them one of the favorites, if not the favorite, in Omaha. They have experience playing in Omaha, including four players (Tim Federowicz, Chad Flack, Garret Gore, and Seth Williams) that started all 13 College World Series games for the Heels the past two seasons. The aforementioned quartet also boasts having played in over 25 NCAA tournament games each. Top starters Alex White and Adam Warren and closer Rob Wooten also have plenty of CWS experience.

Then there is Tim Fedroff and Dustin Ackley. The sophomore sensations are hitting a combined .535 in the NCAA tournament, including Fedroff’s ridiculous Cary Regional MOP numbers: .818 (9-11) with 8 RBI. Ackley has been most impressive hitting from the leadoff spot. Since being moved there permanently midway through the season, he has responded with a .430 batting average and often gets on base and scores in the first inning.

UNC has also fielded the ball well throughout the postseason (only 2 errors in 5 NCAA games; .989 fielding percentage), which has made the pitching staff even more formidable. All things considered, North Carolina is our favorite to advance to the championship series and finally win it all this season after back-to-back season of being runner-up.

LSU Tigers (48-17-1)

Projected Starting Lineup:
1. Michael Hollander (3B)
2. Jared Mitchell (LF)
3. Blake Dean (DH)
4. Micah Gibbs (C)
5. Matt Clark (1B)
6. DJ LeMahieu (SS)
7. Leon Landry (CF)
8. Derek Helanihi (RF)
9. Ryan Schimpf (2B)

Projected Pitching Rotation:
1 - Ryan Verdugo (L)
2 - Jared Bradford (R)
3 - Blake Martin (L)
4 - Jordan Brown (R)

CL: Bradford

LSU’s Road to Omaha:
The Tigers entered the NCAA Tournament as the nation’s hottest team, having won 20 straight games, including sweeping through the SEC Tournament. LSU was named the number 7 national seed, and the Tigers had no problem advancing through the Baton Rouge Regional, outscoring their opponents 36-9 in the 3 victories.

They would then host last year’s CWS Cinderella UC Irvine. The Anteaters came into Baton Rouge and stunned the Tigers in the Super Regional opener 11-5. With their backs against the wall in game two, LSU rallied from down 7-2 in the eighth inning to score 7 runs in the final two frames, including 5 in the ninth to win 9-7. Game 3 was all LSU, as they broke it open early en route to a 21-7 victory, earning the Tigers another trip to Omaha.

LSU heads into Omaha with plenty of confidence, having won 25 of its last 26 ball games. The Tigers have plenty of pop in their lineup led by All-American sophomore Blake Dean and first-baseman Matt Clark. This year’s LSU club will play a similar style as the “guerilla ball” LSU squads college baseball fans became accustomed to in Omaha in the late 90’s.

Left-hander Ryan Verdugo will get the start in the opener for LSU as they take on a talented North Carolina squad. If the Tigers can pitch the baseball, they will have a chance to advance deep into the tournament. The bottom bracket is loaded with pitching depth, so if the LSU pitchers do not perform well, it will put a lot of pressure on the Tiger bats to outslug their opponents.

Fresno State Bulldogs (42-29)

Projected Starting Lineup:
1. Danny Muno (SS)
2. Gavin Hedstrom (CF)
3. Erik Wetzel (2B)
4. Steve Susdorf (LF)
5. Alan Ahmady (1B)
6. Steve Detwiler (RF)
7. Tommy Mendonca (3B)
8. Jake Johnson (DH)
9. Ryan Overland/Danny Grubb (C)

Projected Pitching Rotation:
1 - Justin Wilson
2 - Clayton Allison
3 - Justin Miller
4 - Holden Sprague

CL: Brandon Burke

Fresno State’s Road to Omaha:
After going undefeated in the WAC Tournament, Fresno earned an automatic bid and the #4 seed in the Long Beach Regional. Even without ace and 2nd round pick Tyler Scheppers, who has been sidelined with a shoulder injury throughout the WAC and NCAA tournaments, the Bulldogs earned a super regional berth by defeating Long Beach State in the opener and taking two of three from the Toreros of San Diego.

As if it wasn’t impressive enough for the Bulldogs to become only the second team to advance to the super regionals from a regional #4 seed, Fresno continued their miraculous run last weekend. After 5th round pick and incumbent #1 starter Justin Wilson and the Bulldogs were beaten decisively in Game 1 of the super regional, Fresno State rallied for back-to-back victories (8-6; 12-9) over the #3 nationally seeded Arizona State Sun Devils to earn their first trip to Omaha since 1991. In doing so, they also became the only regional number four seed to ever advance to the College World Series.

If the Bulldogs want to continue the Cinderella story whilst in Omaha, they are going to need to keep getting clutch pitching. Brandon Burke has been stellar out of the bullpen. Twice he came in and shut the door on Arizona State in the super regionals, one of which was a save — his second scoreless save of over 3 innings in the NCAA tournament. However, without Scheppers at the front of the rotation, the starters have added pressure and have been hit or miss thus far in the tournament. Wilson and Clayton Allison both threw well in the regional, but struggled against the tenacious Arizona State lineup while Justin Miller hasn’t made it out of the fourth inning yet.

Behind this year’s National Coach of the Year, Mike Batesole, the Bulldogs have reeled off 11 victories in their past 13 games, but Alan Ahmady and Steve Susdorf have to carry the lineup and not combine to put up the big goose egg like they did in Game 2 against Arizona State. If Ahmady and Susdorf get hot, Fresno could be a dangerous Cinderella.

Rice Owls (47-13)Projected Starting Lineup:
1. Jared Gayhart (CF)
2. JP Padron (1B)
3. Rick Hague (SS)
4. Aaron Luna (LF)
5. Adam Zornes (C)
6. Jimmy Comerota (2B)
7. Diego Seastrunk (3B)
8. Chad Mozingo (RF)
9. Jordan Dodson (DH)

Projected Pitching Rotation:
1 - Ryan Berry (R)
2 - Chris Kelley (R)
3 - Mike Ojala (R)
4 - Matt Langwell (R)

CL: Cole St. Claire (L)Rice’s Road to Omaha:
The Rice Owls will be taking the familiar trip north to Omaha for the 7th time since 1997 and 3rd consecutive year. After losing their first two games in the Conference USA Tournament, the Owls have gone unblemished in NCAA Tournament play. The number 6 nationally seeded Owls swept through the Houston Regional, including defeating in-state rival Texas to advance.

The Super Regional brought another in-state foe to town in the Aggies of Texas A&M. Rice won two close, hard-fought contests, including a 6-5 victory in game two, which saw catcher Adam Zornes blast a game-winning two-run homer in the eighth to earn a spot in Omaha.

Wayne Graham’s squad will once again come to Omaha with a great pitching staff, led by senior reliever Cole St. Claire and first round pick Bryan Price. Rice does not have the dominant starting pitching they have become known for, but their starters don’t need to throw complete games with the talent that sits in the Owl bullpen.

Offensively, Rice will need to execute and play small ball, as they do not feature much power in their lineup. Rice is not a big inning type team, but they will put pressure on their opponents from the first batter and will capitalize on teams’ mistakes. Many CWS games are won in the final three innings, and nobody in Omaha will be better equipped to win close ball games than Rice. With their strong bullpen, and ability to manufacture runs, Rice will be a tough opponent for anyone in Omaha.

Rosenblogger
Shotgun Spratling

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