College Takeaways: Postseason Baseball Makes Triumphant Return

The NCAA Tournament is back. It’s been 23 months since Vanderbilt defeated Michigan to win the 2019 College World Series and, frankly, that’s just too long to have gone without college baseball’s postseason. So, to get it back Friday as the 2021 NCAA Tournament began with regionals was a thrill. Here are 11 thoughts about the opening round of regionals.

1. After the canceled 2020 season, the confusion that followed as the pandemic spread, the uncertain offseason and the cautious return to play in 2021, seeing full, raucous crowds around the country enjoying the immediacy of postseason baseball was a balm for the college baseball soul.

Louisiana Tech, hosting a regional for the first time ever, celebrated with an 18-2 victory against Rider at J.C. Love Field. Swayze Field rocked as Mississippi beat Southeast Missouri State, 6-3. And the roof came off Lindsey Nelson Stadium when Drew Gilbert hit a walk-off grand slam to give Tennessee a 9-8 victory against Wright State.

After a season that was anything but normal, Friday night looked and felt like the postseason and after a trying 15 months for college baseball, that shouldn’t be taken for granted.

2. Drew Gilbert stole the show in Knoxville. His walk-off grand slam is going to be one of the most unforgettable moments of regionals weekend, you can count on that. The ball soaring out of Lindsey Nelson Stadium, the crowd going wild, his massive helmet toss before touching the plate – it’s the stuff highlight reels are made of.

The fact Tennessee needed the late heroics to beat Wright State shouldn’t be a big concern – the Raiders are good. But the Volunteers are going to face another tough opponent Saturday night when they take on Liberty.

3. Liberty did not have a great showing last week in the ASUN Conference Tournament. After going 19-2 in conference play in the regular season, the Flames lost twice to Jacksonville, which won 11 total games in the regular season. Liberty deservedly got an NCAA Tournament bid anyway, but matched up against red-hot Duke, which last week swept through the ACC Tournament, it was hard to know what to expect Friday.

No such worries were necessary. Liberty blitzed Duke early, scoring 11 runs in the first four innings and went on to beat the ACC Tournament champion, 11-6. The Flames’ prize is a Saturday night date in the winner’s bracket with the Volunteers. Liberty isn’t going to be intimidated – its played 13 games this season against ACC and Big 12 opposition and is 7-6 in those games. After a Friday night scare for the Vols, it’s not getting any easier.

4. South Florida was a surprise winner last week in the American Athletic Conference Tournament, winning it as the No. 6 seed. The Bulls had to win it to advance to the NCAA Tournament, but they didn’t look like an interloper Friday against Florida, the No. 15 national seed.

The Bulls upset the Gators, 5-3, working through a rain delay to make it happen. USF is now in a Saturday winner’s bracket game against Miami, which took down South Alabama, 1-0. The Bulls are hot, having won seven of their last eight games. Miami has had as up-and-down of a season as any team in the country. Florida and South Alabama now must fight out of the loser’s bracket. Gainesville feels like the most open regional after the opening day of games.

5. On the flip side, Texas Tech has to be feeling outstanding after Friday. The Red Raiders beat Army, 6-3, to open the Lubbock Regional and then watched North Carolina take down UCLA, 5-4.

Texas Tech is already difficult to beat in Lubbock and after Friday’s results it’s hard to see it losing this regional. UNC can match up with anyone in the country with ace Austin Love on the mound and it showed that again Friday. Without him, however, the Tar Heels are 18-20 on the season. Someone else is going to have to step up Saturday night for UNC if it is to upset Texas Tech.

6. Arkansas going to relief ace Kevin Kopps in the fourth inning Friday against New Jersey Tech – while trailing – is not how anyone expected the No. 1 national seed to open the NCAA Tournament. Kopps was brilliant for 2.1 innings and threw just 24 pitches and the Razorbacks went on to a 13-8 victory, but they had to work harder than expected.

Arkansas has a date with Nebraska, the Big Ten champion, on Saturday night and ace Patrick Wicklander will get the ball. The Razorbacks could use a strong start from him so they can give the bullpen a break.

7. Nebraska was the lone bright spot Friday for the Big Ten. The Huskers defeated Northeastern, 8-6, while Maryland lost to Charlotte in Greenville and Michigan lost to Connecticut in South Bend.

It’s unfair to read much into one day of play, but it’s also inevitable that people are going to notice that the Big Ten went 1-2 in its first non-conference games of the season. If Maryland and Michigan go out quietly Saturday – Maryland faces Norfolk State and Michigan faces Central Michigan in elimination games – then maybe it will time to start looking at them more critically.

8. While the Big Ten had a tough day, the ACC got a bit of vindication Friday. The conference’s eight NCAA Tournament teams went 6-2, including resounding wins for Notre Dame – 10-0 against Central Michigan – and North Carolina State – 8-1 against Alabama.

The selection committee didn’t think much of the ACC, but at least in the first day of regionals, the conference acquitted itself well. Saturday will be a bigger measuring stick for the conference. Two of the most intriguing games to watch are Florida State against Mississippi in Oxford and NC State against Louisiana Tech in Ruston.

9. The Big West also showed out Friday. UC Irvine, the conference champion, beat Nevada, 7-0, in Stanford, and UC Santa Barbara defeated Oklahoma State, 14-4, in Tucson. Both got impressive outings from their starting pitchers – Michael Frias threw a two-hit shutout for UCI and Rodney Boone struck out 11 batters in 7.1 innings for UCSB.

Both UCI and UCSB now face Pac-12 opponents in their winner’s bracket games. The Pac-12 played well against the Big West during the regular season, including a series win for Stanford against UCI, but Saturday presents an opportunity for the Anteaters and Gauchos to flip the script. Both games figure to be excellent matchups.

10. Gonzaga’s Alek Jacob threw a four-hit shutout and Gonzaga beat Louisiana State, 3-0, in Eugene. Jacob outdueled Landon Marceaux to send the Zags to a winner’s bracket showdown with Oregon.

LSU, meanwhile, lost its opening game in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1985. The Tigers now face an elimination game against Central Connecticut State and will have their backs against the wall as long as they keep playing this weekend. It’s possible coach Paul Mainieri’s career will come to a close Saturday, as he is retiring at the end of the season.

11. There are news dumps and then there’s announcing the retirement of a head coach at 5 p.m. local time the first day of the NCAA Tournament. That’s what Cal State Fullerton did Friday, as they announced Rick Vanderhook is retiring after 10 years as head coach. His retirement won’t be effective until Dec. 30, but he’s out as head coach and will move into a different role within the athletic department for the next seven months.

Vanderhook twice led the Titans to the College World Series and won five Big West titles. But in the last few years, Fullerton has slipped. It in 2019 missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 30 years and went 24-47 over the last two seasons. For a program that has Fullerton’s history and tradition, that kind of stretch gets people talking and on Friday that talk led to action.

Fullerton isn’t used to sitting out the NCAA Tournament. And, though its season is over, on Friday it found a way into the news anyway.