CWS Tickets

Tigers reach bracket final, Titans out at College World Series

OMAHA, Neb. -- The phrase "two and 'cue" is a phrase that teams try to avoid at the College World Series.

Those three words are an offshoot of the classic "Oh and two and barbecue" that describes a team that fails to win in two tries each summer at Rosenblatt Stadium.

In 2009, the first team to earn that dubious distinction was Cal State Fullerton, who failed to win a game after being ousted by newcomer Virginia 7-5 Monday afternoon at the College World Series.

It is the second straight time the Titans have done the "two and 'cue," as they were winless in their last trip in 2007. They nearly avoided elimination, but Virginia held on and advanced to face Arkansas, a 9-1 loser to LSU in winner's bracket play Monday evening.

Virginia got its first-ever win at the College World Series after tagging All-American Daniel Renken for six runs in less than six innings of work. The six runs given up by Renken was a season high for the Titans' ace.

Cal State Fullerton jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second on a two-run homer by Dustin Garneau, but Virginia strung three RBI hits together in a four-run effort in the bottom of the second to take a 4-2 lead, and the Cavaliers never trailed after that.

Keith Werman singled home the tying run, and Danny Hultzen followed with a two-run single to give the Cavaliers the lead for good. They would extend their lead to 7-3 before Cal State Fullerton rallied to close the gap to two runs and have the tying run on base before the Cavs shut down the rally.

The win was a special one for Virginia coach Brian O'Connor, who was a pitcher for the hometown Creighton Bluejays when they reached the College World Series in 1991.

LSU made quick work in disposing of their conference rivals, using three home runs to defeat Arkansas and earn a three-day break, as they will take on the winner of Wednesday's Virginia-Arkanas matchup on Friday.

The Tigers got a three-run homer from Mikie Mahtook in the first inning to get the runaway rolling, then saw Austin Nola and Blake Dean launch solo shots to highlight a five-run sixth inning that blew the game open.

That was more than enough run support for Louis Coleman, who scattered six hits in six innings of work to get his 14th win of the season. The three home runs hit by the Tigers brought their season home run total to 99.

On Tuesday, North Carolina and Southern Miss will meet in a 1 p.m. elimination game, while Sunday winners Arizona State and Texas meet in a 6 p.m. matchup.

Both games Tuesday should be exciting affairs, and you can get tickets for these, and all remaining, College World Series games now at Ticket Express -- where no College World Series game is ever sold out.

College World Series Schedule, Results
(All times CDT)

Saturday, June 13

Game 1 -- Arkansas 10, Cal State Fullerton 6
Game 2 -- LSU 9, Virginia 5

Sunday, June 14

Game 3 -- Arizona State 5, North Carolina 2 (10 inn.)
Game 4 -- Texas 7, Southern Miss 6

Monday, June 15

Game 5 -- Virginia 7, Cal State Fullerton 5 (CSF eliminated)
Game 6 -- LSU 9, Arkansas 1

Tuesday, June 16

Game 7 -- North Carolina (47-17) vs. Southern Miss (40-25), 1 p.m.
Game 8 -- Arizona State (50-12) vs. Texas (47-14-1), 6 p.m.

Wednesday, June 17

Game 9 -- Virginia (49-14-1) vs. Arkansas (40-23), 6 p.m.

Thursday, June 18

Game 10 -- Winner Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8, 6 p.m.

Friday, June 19

Game 11 -- LSU (53-16) vs. Winner Game 9, 1 p.m.
Game 12 -- Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 10, 6 p.m.

Saturday, June 20

Game 13 -- Winner Game 11 vs. Loser Game 11, 1 p.m.
Game 14 -- Winner Game 12 vs. Loser Game 12, 6 p.m.
(NOTE: If only one "if necessary" game is played, it will be at 6 p.m.)

Monday, June 22

Championship Game 1 -- Bracket winners, 6 p.m.

Tuesday, June 23

Championship Game 2 -- Bracket winners, 6 p.m.

Wednesday, June 24

Championship Game 3 -- Bracket winners, 6 p.m. (If necessary)

List of CWS Teams Grows

Many of the Super Regional games were decided last night as the list of confirmed teams grew from fourto seven.  There is still one more spot available to the winner of the TCU vs. Texas game tonight at 6:00 PM Central.  Texas is heavily favored, and is the number one seed in the tournament, but the Horned Frogs dealt them a 3-2 loss last night on the Longhorn's home turf.

As we mentioned yesterday, there are some very familiar faces that we will see at this years College World Series.  CWS veterans ASU, Cal State Fullerton, and LSU will be back in Omaha this year, the three teams have won a combined 14 championships in the tournament's 62 year history.

Some newer faces will be seen this year for fans who make the trek to the famous Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha.  Virginia and Southern Mississippi are both traveling the road to Omaha for the very first time.  Virginia knocked off Ole' Miss in the Super Regional tournament and look strong coming into Omaha.  Virginia's ace pitcher Matt Packer led the Cavaliers to a 5-1 victory to win the best of three series over Ole' Miss.  Virginia's head coach Brian O'Conner will feel right at home here in Omaha.  O'Conner grew up near Omaha and says he visits here once a year to see family.  I'm sure the whole O'Conner family will be happy to see him this year for a second time.

Southern Mississippi has a similarly intriguing story.  Coach Corky Palmer will retire after this season after a great run with the Golden Eagles who were not expected to make it to Regional play much less win the Regional and Super Regional.  Southern Miss knocked off a highly favored Florida Gators team who has looked shaky at best during the postseason.

North Carolina and Arkansas round out the other seven confirmed teams for the College World Series.  North Carolina has visited Rosenblatt Stadium the last three years but has yet to win a championship.  The Tar Heels were upset in 2006 and 2007 by the Oregon State Beavers who won the championship both times.  Arkansas has been building a strong program in the last few years and looks to make Omaha a regular stop for the end of their upcoming seasons.  The Razorbacks were last in Omaha in 2004.

Familiar CWS Teams Pack Their Bags for Omaha

Fans in Omaha will see familiar faces at the College World Series this year.  So far, four teams have secured spots in the eight team tournament that is set to start June 13th.  The remaining four teams will be decided tonight at Super Regionals across the country.

LSU, Cal State Fullerton, Arkansas, and North Carolina all won their Super Regionals and will make the trek to Omaha.  All four teams have made it to Omaha in the past with Cal State Fullerton making the CWS an amazing 15 times.

The action will begin in Omaha with the opening day celebration on Friday, June 12.  There will be activities for all ages including autograph signing from 10:30 AM to 6:00 PM and Kid's Zone games and activities from 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM.  Disney channel star Mitchel Musso will perform before the opening ceremony in the southeast parking lot with the beautiful backdrop of Rosenblatt Stadium.  During the opening ceremony, fans will enjoy team introductions, a parachute team, and best of all, fireworks!  All of these activities are free to the public.

The College World Series will again be held at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha.  This will be the second to last year that the series will be held there, the city of Omaha agreed to build a new stadium at the request of NCAA officials if they agreed to keep the CWS in Omaha for 25 more years.  The move to the new stadium is set for the 2011 College World Series.