CWS Tickets

OMAHA, Neb. -- Perennial powerhouses Arizona State and Texas came away with hard-fought wins on the second day of action Sunday at the College World Series.

Arizona State broke a 1-1 tie with four runs in the 10th inning to outlast North Carolina 5-2, while Texas scored its final three runs on bases-loaded walks to outlast Southern Miss 7-6.

In the first game, fourth-seeded Arizona State and fifth-seeded North Carolina rode the arms of their starting pitchers, as the Sun Devils' Josh Spence and UNC's Alex White combined for a great pitcher's duel.

White pitched nine strong innings for the Tar Heels, striking out a career-high 12 ASU batters. Spence, meanwhile, pitched seven solid innings before Mitchell Lambson came on to pitch three innings of relief to get the win.

The game went to extra innings, and it was UNC's third error of the day, a dropped fly ball by Garrett Gore, that opened the floodgates for the Sun Devils. Carlos Ramirez brought Drew Maggi home from second with a single up the middle, and Kole Calhoun followed with a three-run homer off UNC reliever Brian Moran to give the Sun Devils a four-run cushion.

In the second game of the day, Texas appeared to be in command, as a solo shot by Russell Moldenhauer helped stake the top-seeded Longhorns to a 4-2 lead going to the eighth.

Texas' defense had an uncharacteristic breakdown in the eight, though, and two errors helped the unseeded Golden Eagles take a 5-4 lead going into the bottom of the eighth.

Southern Miss' pitching broke down, though, as Texas scored two in the eighth on bases-loaded walks. After the Golden Eagles tied the game at 6-6 on a James Ewing single over the second baseman's head, Texas strung together three walks and a hit batsman to win the game. Brandon Loy saw four straight balls and brought home the game-winning run for the top-seeded Longhorns.

Cal State Fullerton and Virginia will meet Monday at 1 p.m. in an elimination game, while first-day winners Arkansas and LSU battle in an all-SEC matchup at 6 p.m.

Don't forget -- you can get great seats for all the 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 -- Cal State Fullerton (47-15) vs. Virginia (48-14-1), 1 p.m.
Game 6 -- Arkansas (40-22) vs. LSU (52-16), 6 p.m.

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 -- Winner Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6, 6 p.m.

Thursday, June 18

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

Friday, June 19

Game 11 -- Winner Game 6 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)

OMAHA, Neb. -- The Southeast Conference went 2-for-2 to open the 2009 College World Series, as Arkansas and LSU advanced with first-round wins Saturday.

Arkansas touched Cal State Fullerton freshman Noe Ramirez for seven runs in less than four innings of work, led by a five-RBI day from Andy Wilkins to post a 10-6 win over the second-seeded Titans to open play at Rosenblatt Stadium.

The Razorbacks got their 40th win of the season and the first ever for coach Dave Van Horn, who had gone 0-6 in three previous CWS visits with Nebraska (2001, 2002) and Arkansas (2004).

Arkansas manufactured two runs in the first and third innings, then broke it open with a five-run fourth that was capped by Wilkins' 19th homer of the year. Wilkins finished the day with five RBI and is now batting .593 during the postseason for the Razorbacks.

Cal State Fullerton tried to keep it close, cutting a four-run deficit in half in the third on a sacrifice fly and an Arkansas error. They tried to rally in the eighth, but Arkansas used a double play with the bases loaded to get out of the jam and put the game out of reach, dropping the Titans into the losers' bracket against Virginia Monday afternoon.

The Razorbacks will face LSU in Monday's winner bracket tilt, as the Tigers came from behind and pulled away for a 9-5 win over Virginia in Saturday's second game.

Virginia took a 4-3 lead in the fourth on a Steve Proscia solo homer and an RBI single by Keith Werman, but LSU came back in the bottom of the fifth when Sean Ochinko smashed a three-run homer to left to give the Tigers the lead for good.

Virginia got within a single run at 6-5 in the seventh when Franco Valdes homered to left, but LSU got some insurance runs, capped by Ryan Schimpf's two-run blast, and reliever Matty Ott shut the door on the Cavaliers in the ninth to secure the win for the Tigers.

The other half of the bracket sees action on Sunday, with fourth-seeded North Carolina facing fifth-seeded Arizona State at 1 p.m., and the tournament's No. 1 seed, Texas, meeting CWS newcomer Southern Miss at 6 p.m.

Don't forget -- you can get great seats to the College World Series 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 (49-12) vs. North Carolina (47-16), 1 p.m.
Game 4 -- Texas (46-14-1) vs. Southern Miss (40-24), 6 p.m.

Monday, June 15

Game 5 -- Cal State Fullerton (47-15) vs. Virginia (48-14-1), 1 p.m.
Game 6 -- Arkansas (40-22) vs. LSU (52-16), 6 p.m.

Tuesday, June 16

Game 7 -- Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 1 p.m.
Game 8 -- Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 6 p.m.

Wednesday, June 17

Game 9 -- Winner Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6, 6 p.m.

Thursday, June 18

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

Friday, June 19

Game 11 -- Winner Game 6 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)

Four players competing in this year's College World Series were honored by Baseball America earlier this week with selections to their 2009 College All-American team.

Two Arizona State players made the magazine's list. Outfielder Jason Kipnis, the Pac 10 player of the year, was the conference leader in hits, slugging and stolen bases and was second in on-base percentage this season. Teammate Mike Leake established himself as one of the nation's best pitchers this season, leading the Pac 10 in wins and hits allowed per nine innings, and placed second in earned-run average.

North Carolina first baseman Dustin Ackley was also named to the magazine's All-American team, and there is really no question why. He hit better than .400 for the third straight year, coming into the CWS with a .410 average. LSU righthander Louis Coleman also made the All-American team, making the move from the Tigers' bullpen to a starting role. The Southeastern Conference's Pitcher of the Year led the conference in wins and ERA and was second in strikeouts.

Stephen Strasburg of San Diego State, the first pick in the Major League Baseball player draft by the Washington Nationals earlier in the week, was tabbed the magazine's Player of the Year.

The Baseball America College All-American team is as follows:

C -- Tony Sanchez, Boston College
1B -- Dustin Ackley, North Carolina
2B -- Derek McCallum, Minnesota
3B -- Chris Dominguez, Louisville
SS -- Stephen Cardullo, Florida State
OF -- Jason Kipnis, Arizona State
OF -- Mark Krauss, Ohio
OF -- Kent Matthes, Alabama
DH -- Rich Poythress, Georgia
Util. -- Bryce Brentz, Middle Tennessee State
SP -- Louis Coleman, LSU
SP -- Mike Leake, Arizona State
SP -- A.J. Morris, Kansas State
SP -- Stephen Strasburg, San Diego State
RP -- Kyle Bellamy, Miami (Fla.)

The four players on the Baseball America All-American team will begin play in the College World Series on Saturday at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha Neb. You can get tickets for all the College World Series games at Ticket Express -- where no College World Series game is sold out.

The College World Series schedule is as follows (all times CDT):

Saturday, June 13

Game 1 -- Arkansas (39-22) vs. Cal State Fullerton (47-14), 1 p.m.
Game 2 -- Virginia (48-13-1) vs. LSU (51-16), 6 p.m.

Sunday, June 14

Game 3 -- North Carolina (47-16) vs. Arizona State (49-12), 1 p.m.
Game 4 -- Texas (46-14-1) vs. Southern Miss (40-24), 6 p.m.

More than 30 players from the eight teams playing in the College World Series were selected during this week's Major League Baseball Draft, which concluded Thursday.

Four players competing at Rosenblatt Stadium were taken in the first round, led by Dustin Ackley of North Carolina. The standout center fielder was the second selection in the draft, taken by the Seattle Mariners. His teammate, righthander Alex White, also went in the first round as the 15th selection, taken by the Cleveland Indians.

Righthander Michael Leake was the eighth selection overall, as the Arizona State hurler was taken by the Cincinnati Reds. LSU center fielder Jared Mitchell was a late first-round selection, taken in the No. 23 spot by the Chicago White Sox.

Players competing in the College World Series who were taken in the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft were:

Arizona State

Michael Leake, Cincinnati Reds (1st round)
Jason Kipnis, Cleveland Indians (3rd)
Joshua Spence, Los Angeles Angels (4th)
Carlos Ramirez, Los Angeles Angels (9th)
Jared McDonald, Chicago White Sox (22nd)
Raoul Torrez, Los Angeles Angels (33rd)

Arkansas

Dallas Keuchel, Houston Astros (8th)
Stephen Richards, Florida Marlins (8th)
Scott Lyons, Kansas City Royals (15th)
Ben Tschepikow, Kansas City Royals (17th)

Cal State Fullerton

Joshua Fellhauer, Cincinnati Reds (7th)
Kristopher Davis, Millwaukee Brewers (8th)
Jared Clark, Colorado Rockies (13th)

LSU

Jared Mitchell, Chicago White Sox (1st)
David LeMahieu, Chicago Cubs (3rd)
Harold Coleman, Kansas City Royals (6th)
Ryan Schimpf, Toronto Blue Jays (6th)
Michael Dean, Minnesota Twins (11th)
Sean Ochinko, Toronto Blue Jays (12th)

North Carolina

Dustin Ackley, Seattle Mariners (1st)
Alex White, Cleveland Indians (1st)
Kyle Seager, Seattle Mariners (3rd)
Mark Fleury, Cincinnati Reds (4th)

Southern Miss

Brian Dozier, Minnesota Twins (8th)
Junior Starting, Chicago White Sox (11th)
James Ewing, New York Mets (12th)
Bo Davis, San Diego Padres (24th)

Texas

Brandon Belt, San Francisco Giants (5th)
Austin Wood, Detroit Tigers (5th)

Virginia

Andrew Carraway, Seattle Mariners (12th)
Jeff Lorick, Atlanta Braves (20th)
Robert Poutier, San Diego Padres (29th)
Matt Packer, Cleveland Indians (32nd)
Tyler Cannon, Pittsburgh Pirates (41st)

Some of the players listed above will eventually find their way to the big leagues. You'll get to see them in action at the 2009 College World Series, beginning Saturday at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb.

Get your tickets now for the College World Series at Ticket Express -- where no College World Series game is ever sold out.

In yesterday's post, we talked about the number of appearances each school has made in the College World Series, and there is something to be said for experience when you look at those numbers.

But, sometimes, experience isn't always what it's cracked up to be.

Six of the eight teams coming to Omaha were national seeds when the 64-team field was announced a month ago. It's been five years, though, since a seeded team experienced the victorious dogpile on the mound at Rosenblatt Stadium, going back to Rice's national title run in 2003.

In fact, if immediate history is any indiciation, Southern Miss fans have to be excited about their team's chances. The Golden Eagles were a No. 3 seed in the regional at Georgia Tech at the start of the tournament, and the last two national champions entered the 64-team bracket as a No. 3 seed or worse. Oregon State won the 2007 crown as a No. 3 seed, and last year's champions -- Fresno State -- got to Omaha as a No. 4 seed in their regional.

On the other hand, that virgin voyage to Rosenblatt Stadium -- a trip Southern Miss and Virginia are making for the first time -- hasn't always been a good outing for some teams. Since the field was expanded to 64 teams, only six other teams (Louisville, Nebraska, San Jose State, Southwest Missouri State, Tulane, UC-Ivrine) have made their first-ever trips to the College World Series, and none have come anywhere close to reaching the finals.

Six of the eight coaches involved in this year's College World Series have previous CWS experience. The most successful, without a doubt, has been Texas' skipper Augie Garrido, who has led the Longhorns to five national championships. Arizona State's Pat Murphy and North Carolina's Mike Fox have both gotten their teams to the finals, but that is as close as either of those coaches have come.

Of those six coaches, one is still looking for his first win in the College World Series. Dave Van Horn took Nebraska to back-to-back trips in 2001 and 2002, and guided Arkansas to the show in 2004, but all three times his teams have gone "two-and-'cue" and made early exits.

How these teams and their coaches fare is yet to be known, but you can get great seats to see this year's College World Series unfold at Ticket Express -- where no College World Series game is ever sold out.

The schedule for this weekend's opening-round games is as follows:

Saturday, June 13

1 p.m. -- Cal State Fullerton vs. Arkansas
7 p.m. -- LSU vs. Virginia

Sunday, June 14

1 p.m. -- Arizona State vs. North Carolina
7 p.m. -- Texas vs. Southern Miss

Fans of the College World Series talk a lot about tradition and how much it plays a part in the experience of coming to Rosenblatt Stadium every June to watch college baseball's best battle it out for a national title.

There is a lot of tradition in the eight-team field that makes up the 2009 College World Series, which gets underway Saturday afternoon. Newcomers Southern Miss and Virginia join a group of teams that, between them, have 92 College World Series appearances and 20 national championships.

The most decorated team in this year's tournament are the top-seeded Texas Longhorns, who are making their NCAA-record 33rd appearance in the College World Series. Texas won the first two CWS tournaments played in Omaha, beating Wake Forest for the 1949 title and shutting out Washington State to win the 1950 crown.

In all, the Longhorns have reached the championship game 11 times in 33 appearances and have come away with six national championships, adding titles in 1975, 1983, 2002 and 2005. Texas has played in three national championship series in this decade, beating South Carolina and Florida in 2002 and 2005, respectively, while losing to Cal State Fullerton in the 2004 championship.

Arizona State has played baseball for 50 years and boasts a pretty impressive percentage when it comes to College World Series visits. This will be the Sun Devils' 21st trip to Omaha, and they will be looking to match Texas' six national titles (trailing only USC, which holds the record with 12 titles).

Of the four former-national championship teams competing in this year's CWS, Arizona State has gone the longest without a national title, winning their fifth trophy in 1981. They've been close on two other occasions, losing in the finals to fellow Pac 10 rivals Stanford in 1988 and USC in 1998.

LSU is in the show for the 15th time in school history, but if they get to the finals, it's a good bet they're going to win it all. The Tigers have reached the championship round five times, and have had a national championship dogpile on the mound all five times, winning all five within a 10-year period (1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000).

Cal State Fullerton is usually one of the smallest schools in the tournament, but that hasn't intimidated the Titans in the least. They are in Omaha for the 16th time and are 4-1 in the championship round, losing only to Pepperdine in 1992. They are five years removed from their last title, a series win over Texas in the 2004 championship.

By comparison to those teams, North Carolina and Arkansas are relative newcomers to the College World Series, although both have reached the finals. Arkansas, competing for the sixth time, finished as runner-up to Cal state Fullerton in the 1979 finals, while North Carolina, making their seventh appearance, finished as runners-up to Oregon State in 2006 and 2007.

Will one of the traditional powers make it to the finals? Or will one of the newcomers be playing for all the marbles? We'll begin to find out this Saturday when action begins at Rosenblatt Stadium. Get your tickets for Saturday's games between Cal State Fullerton and Arkansas at 1 p.m., or LSU and Virginia at 6 p.m., and Sunday's action between North Carolina and Arizona State at 1 p.m., or Texas and Southern Miss at 6 p.m., with Ticket Express -- where no College World Series game is ever sold out.

The top-seeded Texas Longhorns completed the field for the 2009 College World Series Monday night with a 5-2 win over TCU to win the final game of their best-of-three super regional.

With the win, the Longhorns join fellow traditional powers Arizona State, North Carolina, LSU, Cal State Fullerton, a rejuvenated Arkansas team and CWS newcomers Virginia and Southern Miss for the annual gathering of college baseball's best, with action beginning Saturday at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb.

First-round matchups Saturday include Arkansas vs. Cal State Fullerton at 1 p.m. CDT, followed by Virginia and LSU at 6 p.m. On Sunday, first-round action wraps up as North Carolina meets Arizona State  at 1 p.m., followed by Southern Miss and Texas at 6 p.m.

First-round elimination games are Monday and Tuesday at 1 p.m., with the winners' bracket games scheduled at 6 p.m. both nights. Play in the double-elimination brackets continues through Friday, June 19 (any "if necessary" games will be played Saturday, June 20), with the best-of three championship series running June 22-24.

All-session tickets for the College World Series, as well as single-game tickets, are available at Ticket Express, your trusted source for College World Series tickets. No game is ever sold out at Ticket Express, and they have plenty of great seats anywhere in the stadium so you can cheer on your favorite teams as they battle for a national title.

The College World Series schedule is as follows (all times CDT):

Saturday, June 13

Game 1 -- Arkansas (39-22) vs. Cal State Fullerton (47-14), 1 p.m.
Game 2 -- Virginia (48-13-1) vs. LSU (51-16), 6 p.m.

Sunday, June 14

Game 3 -- North Carolina (47-16) vs. Arizona State (49-12), 1 p.m.
Game 4 -- Texas (46-14-1) vs. Southern Miss (40-24), 6 p.m.

Monday, June 15

Game 5 -- Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 1 p.m.
Game 6 -- Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 6 p.m.

Tuesday, June 16

Game 7 -- Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 1 p.m.
Game 8 -- Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 6 p.m.

Wednesday, June 17

Game 9 -- Winner Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6, 6 p.m.

Thursday, June 18

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

Friday, June 19

Game 11 -- Winner Game 6 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)