College Podcast: Catching Up on the College World Series

Image credit: NC State RHP Sam Highfill (Photo courtesy of NC State)

On this episode of the Baseball America College Podcast, presented by Rapsodo, Teddy Cahill and Joe Healy get you caught up on everything that’s happened at the College World Series so far and get you ready for everything that’s still to come.

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Among the topics discussed at length are: 

• The familiarity of being back in Omaha. Even having been gone for two years, it still feels like the College World Series never left. Some things are different. There isn’t quite as much stuff happening outside the ballpark, for instance, but the crowds have been big, the Omaha Baseball Village around the ballpark has been bustling and the baseball on the field has been good. 
• The likelihood that any of the four teams already with a loss on the ledger can come all the way out of the loser’s bracket to get to the championship series. Every team in the field feels fairly evenly matched, but Texas and Virginia, with the pitching depth each team boasts, seem particularly well positioned to make a run to the finals, even if that remains a very tall task. 
• Mississippi State’s 2-0 start, which includes a masterful performance on the mound from Will Bednar and a come-from-behind win over Virginia that featured a six-run eighth inning and a clutch home run from Tanner Allen. As they have all season, the Bulldogs just find ways to win games. 
• NC State’s 2-0 start, highlighted by starter Sam Highfill outdueling Vanderbilt’s Jack Leiter in a 1-0 win on Monday. The Wolfpack, having used three total pitchers in two games, are in great shape as they head into the bracket final on Friday. 
• The elimination of Arizona and Tennessee. In both cases, an 0-2 showing is disappointing but doesn’t take anything away from the extremely bright futures both programs have in front of them. Both will inevitably lose key players to the draft, but both also have exciting young cores and are recruiting extremely well.