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)

Rain moves games back one day

For the first time since 2000, Mother Nature kept things from moving forward at the College World Series.

North Carolina was leading LSU 2-0 in the top of the first when the rains came, and the NCAA determined after a three-hour delay that it would be in the best interests to move things back a day. The LSU-UNC game will be picked up where it left off when the two teams get together again Friday at 6 p.m. at Rosenblatt Stadium.

Tournament Schedule

(NOTE: All times listed are Central)

Saturday, June 14
Game 1: Stanford 16, Florida State 5
Game 2: Georgia 7, Miami 4

Sunday, June 15
Game 3: Fresno State 17, Rice 5
Game 4: North Carolina 8, LSU 4

Monday, June 16
Game 5: Miami 7, Florida State 5 (Florida State eliminated)
Game 6: Georgia 4, Stanford 3

Tuesday, June 17
Game 7: LSU 6, Rice 5 (Rice eliminated)
Game 8: Fresno State 5, North Carolina 3

Wednesday, June 18
Game 9: Stanford 8, Miami 3 (Miami eliminated)

Friday, June 20
Game 10: Game resumes at 6 p.m. with North Carolina leading LSU 2-0 in top of first.

Saturday, June 21
Game 11: Georgia (43-23-1) vs. Stanford (41-23-2), 1 p.m.
Game 12: Fresno State (44-29) vs. LSU/North Carolina winner, 6 p.m.

Sunday, June 22
Game 13: Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 11, 1 p.m.
Game 14: Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 12, 6 p.m.

(NOTE: If only one game is played Saturday, it will be at 6 p.m.)

Championship Series

(NOTE: All start times are at 6 p.m.)

Monday, June 23
Game 1: Bracket winners

Tuesday, June 24
Game 2: Bracket winners

Wednesday, June 25
Game 3: Bracket winners (if necessary)

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

Stanford sends Miami packing

One more team is out at the 2008 College World Series. Here's a recap of Wednesday's action:

Stanford sends top seed home

The unseeded teams are making life difficult for their seeded brethren, as Stanford dominated top-seeded Miami and sent the Hurricanes home Wednesday with an 8-3 win, putting them in the bracket finals against Georgia on Friday.

Danny Sandbrink and Erik Davis combined to slow down the high-powered Miami offense, marking the second straight game in which the Cardinal arms beat back strong offensive teams, following up their first-round win over Florida State.

Stanford made their key run in the fifth, scoring four times. Sean Ratliff hit his 22nd homer of the year and Cord Phelps had a two-run triple to highlight the rally.

Miami, meanwhile, could not figure out Sandbrink until the middle of the game, when Davis came on in relief and shut the door on any Hurricane comeback.

Miami's departure marks the ninth straight year that the top seed has failed to win the College World Series.

Tonight, baseball's version of the final four will be completed when North Carolina takes on LSU. The survivor plays the tournament's Cinderella team, Fresno State, in the other bracket final Friday night. Stanford will battle Georgia in the first bracket final game Friday afternoon.

Tournament Schedule

(NOTE: All times listed are Central)

Saturday, June 14
Game 1: Stanford 16, Florida State 5
Game 2: Georgia 7, Miami 4

Sunday, June 15
Game 3: Fresno State 17, Rice 5
Game 4: North Carolina 8, LSU 4

Monday, June 16
Game 5: Miami 7, Florida State 5 (Florida State eliminated)
Game 6: Georgia 4, Stanford 3

Tuesday, June 17
Game 7: LSU 6, Rice 5 (Rice eliminated)
Game 8: Fresno State 5, North Carolina 3

Wednesday, June 18
Game 9: Stanford 8, Miami 3 (Miami eliminated)

Thursday, June 19
Game 10: LSU (49-18-1) vs. North Carolina (52-13), 6 p.m.

Friday, June 20
Game 11: Georgia (43-23-1) vs. Stanford (41-23-2), 1 p.m.
Game 12: Fresno State (44-29) vs. Winner Game 10, 6 p.m.

Saturday, June 21
Game 13: Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 11, 1 p.m.
Game 14: Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 12, 6 p.m.

(NOTE: If only one game is played Saturday, it will be at 6 p.m.)

Championship Series

(NOTE: All start times are at 6 p.m.)

Monday, June 23
Game 1: Bracket winners

Tuesday, June 24
Game 2: Bracket winners

Wednesday, June 25
Game 3: Bracket winners (if necessary)

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

Bulldogs underdogs no more; LSU survives

Fresno State continued its miracle playoff run and LSU kept their CWS title hopes alive in a ninth-inning comeback as action continued at the College World Series. Here is a recap of Tuesday's matchups:

LSU rebounds late, bounces Rice from CWS

LSU was all but dead in the bottom of the ninth, but erupted for four runs to steal a 6-5 win over Rice and send the Owls packing as the second team eliminated from the 2008 CWS.

The Tigers were trailing 5-2 and had one out when Michael Hollander singled home a run to cut the lead to 5-3. It looked like Rice was going to get out of the jam, but shortstop Rick Hauge bobbled a potential game-ending double play grounder that loaded the bases, and designated hitter Blake Dean followed with a bases-clearing double to right-center that gave the Tigers the win.

Rice looked to be in good position, leading 5-0 after the top of the seventh. Hauge singled home a pair of runs in the second to get the Owls on the board, and they continued to build their lead until LSU came back.

Fresno State in bracket finals with upset win

These Bulldogs are no underdogs, and the most unlikely of the eight teams to get this far in the College World Series are now one win away from the finals after a 5-3 win over second-seeded North Carolina Tuesday night.

The Bulldogs made good use of five pitchers to frustrate the Tar Heels' bats and got a two-run single from Alan Ahmady in the fifth to come back from a 3-2 deficit. They added an insurance run in the eighth and will now wait for Thursday's survivor between North Carolina and LSU to play for a shot at the championship.

North Carolina scored three times off starter Justin Miller, getting an RBI triple from Tim Fedroff, a run-scoring double by Kyle Seager and an RBI single by Chad Flack to take a 3-1 advantage. Steve Susdorf -- who caught the fly ball that helped Fresno State upset Arizona State to reach the CWS -- homered in the fourth to get the Bulldogs within a run.

North Carolina had several chances to get back in the game, but left runners in scoring position three times in the last five innings.

Tournament Schedule

(NOTE: All times listed are Central)

Saturday, June 14
Game 1: Stanford 16, Florida State 5
Game 2: Georgia 7, Miami 4

Sunday, June 15
Game 3: Fresno State 17, Rice 5
Game 4: North Carolina 8, LSU 4

Monday, June 16
Game 5: Miami 7, Florida State 5 (Florida State eliminated)
Game 6: Georgia 4, Stanford 3

Tuesday, June 17
Game 7: LSU 6, Rice 5
Game 8: Fresno State 5, North Carolina 3

Wednesday, June 18
Game 9: Miami (53-10) vs. Stanford (40-23-2), 6 p.m.

Thursday, June 19
Game 10: LSU (49-18-1) vs. North Carolina (52-13), 6 p.m.

Friday, June 20
Game 11: Georgia (43-23-1) vs. Winner Game 9, 1 p.m.
Game 12: Fresno State (44-29) vs. Winner Game 10, 6 p.m.

Saturday, June 21
Game 13: Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 11, 1 p.m.
Game 14: Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 12, 6 p.m.

(NOTE: If only one game is played Saturday, it will be at 6 p.m.)

Championship Series

(NOTE: All start times are at 6 p.m.)

Monday, June 23
Game 1: Bracket winners

Tuesday, June 24
Game 2: Bracket winners

Wednesday, June 25
Game 3: Bracket winners (if necessary)

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

Seminoles out, Georgia edges Stanford

One team has gone home and Georgia is one win away from the finals after Monday's action at the 2008 College World Series.

Hurricanes send in-state rivals packing

Some thought the battle of Florida might come in the bracket final, not in the first elimination round.

Miami bounced back from its first-round upset at the hands of Georgia and rode the strong pitching of Eric Erickson to a 7-5 win over in-state rival Florida State in Monday's elimination game at Rosenblatt Stadium.

The Seminoles jumped out to an early lead in the first when Dennis Guinn doubled home Buster Posey, who started the rally with a two-out single.

Miami countered with four runs in the fourth, two coming on a two-run homer by Jemile Weeks. Dennis Raben added a two-run single to stake the top-seeded Hurricanes to a 4-1 lead.

Miami added two more in the seventh and led 7-2 going to the ninth. Florida State rallied for three runs, but it wasn't enough to overcome the Miami effort, ending Florida State's season at 54-14.

Bulldogs come from behind to beat Stanford

Matt Cerione got Georgia a three-day vacation with his bat in his glove to help the Bulldogs edge Stanford 4-3 Monday night to move to 2-0 in bracket play.

The Bulldogs (43-23-1) trailed 3-2 in the seventh when Cerione came through with the bases loaded, stroking a two-out single to center to give Georgia the lead. He then came up with the game-ending play, starting a 6-4-3 double play to give the nation's leading closer, Joshua Field, his 17th save of the year.

Stanford (40-23-2) scored three runs in the third to take the lead and got good pitching from Jeff Inman and Austin Yount, but they couldn't hold off the Bulldogs down the stretch. The Cardinal fall into the losers bracket, where they came back to reach the finals in 2003 by winning three straight before losing to Rice in the championship series.

Tournament Schedule

(NOTE: All times listed are Central)

Saturday, June 14
Game 1: Stanford 16, Florida State 5
Game 2: Georgia 7, Miami 4

Sunday, June 15
Game 3: Fresno State 17, Rice 5
Game 4: North Carolina 8, LSU 4

Monday, June 16
Game 5: Miami 7, Florida State 5 (Florida State eliminated)
Game 6: Georgia 4, Stanford 3

Tuesday, June 17
Game 7: Rice (47-14) vs. LSU (48-18-1), 1 p.m.
Game 8: Fresno State (43-29) vs. North Carolina (52-12), 6 p.m.

Wednesday, June 18
Game 9: Miami (53-10) vs. Stanford (40-23-2), 6 p.m.

Thursday, June 19
Game 10: Winner Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8, 6 p.m.

Friday, June 20
Game 11: Georgia (43-23-1) vs. Winner Game 9, 1 p.m.
Game 12: Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 10, 6 p.m.

Saturday, June 21
Game 13: Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 11, 1 p.m.
Game 14: Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 12, 6 p.m.

(NOTE: If only one game is played Saturday, it will be at 6 p.m.)

Championship Series

(NOTE: All start times are at 6 p.m.)

Monday, June 23
Game 1: Bracket winners

Tuesday, June 24
Game 2: Bracket winners

Wednesday, June 25
Game 3: Bracket winners (if necessary)

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

Tar Heels only favorite to win in first round

The first round of the College World Series is complete, and one of the higher-seeded teams actually won a first-round game. Here's a recap of Sunday's action:

Fresno State jumps on Rice

Few figured on Fresno State getting out of their regional, and almost nobody picked them to beat Arizona State in super regionals. Anybody who continues to doubt the Bulldogs, though, may be convinced after Sunday's 17-5 thumping of sixth-seeded Rice.

The Bulldogs scored seven runs in the fourth inning to take command of the game, thanks to three-run homers by Danny Muno and Alan Ahmady. Muno had five RBI's on the day for the Bulldogs. Jordan Ribera also launched a three-run bomb to help the upstart Bulldogs to the easy win.

Ryan Berry was shelled in 3 1/3 innings of work, giving up nine runs on seven hits, with five runs being earned. The loss drops the Owls into the losers bracket on Tuesday.

Tar Heels tame Tigers

North Carolina evidently didn't get the memo regarding higher seeds losing in the first round, as they handled LSU 8-4 to move into Tuesday's matchup with Fresno State.

The Tar Heels played small ball against the red-hot Tigers, putting together three straight singles to jump out to a 3-1 lead that they never relinquished. LSU got home runs from Michael Holander and Matt Clark to lead off the first two innings, but North Carolina pitcher Alex White shut the Tigers down after that in pitching seven strong innings.

Here's how the 2008 College World Series schedule looks so far:

Tournament Schedule

(NOTE: All times listed are Central)

Saturday, June 14
Game 1: Stanford 16, Florida State 5
Game 2: Georgia 7, Miami 4

Sunday, June 15
Game 3: Fresno State 17, Rice 5
Game 4: North Carolina 8, LSU 4

Monday, June 16
Game 5: Florida State (54-13) vs. Miami (52-10), 1 p.m.
Game 6: Stanford (40-22-2) vs. Georgia (42-23-1), 6 p.m.

Tuesday, June 17
Game 7: Rice (47-14) vs. LSU (48-18-1), 1 p.m.
Game 8: Fresno State (43-29) vs. North Carolina (52-12), 6 p.m.

Wednesday, June 18
Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6, 6 p.m.

Thursday, June 19
Game 10: Winner Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8, 6 p.m.

Friday, June 20
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 21
Game 13: Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 11, 1 p.m.
Game 14: Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 12, 6 p.m.

(NOTE: If only one game is played Saturday, it will be at 6 p.m.)

Championship Series

(NOTE: All start times are at 6 p.m.)

Monday, June 23
Game 1: Bracket winners

Tuesday, June 24
Game 2: Bracket winners

Wednesday, June 25
Game 3: Bracket winners (if necessary)

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

CWS Day 1: Stanford, Georgia post upsets

Sunny skies greeted fans and teams as the 2008 College World Series got underway Saturday, and Stanford and Georgia pulled off upsets to highlight the first day of play at Rosenblatt Stadium.

Stanford explodes late for win

Florida State had battled back from a three-run deficit to tie the game at 5-5 going into the ninth, but Stanford exploded for a record-tying 11 runs in the ninth to send the Seminoles to the losers bracket with a 16-5 victory in Saturday's series opener.

A three-run homer by Brent Milleville highlighted the late outburst for the Cardinal (40-22-2), who moved into Monday night's winners' bracket game against Georgia. The 11-run outburst was the most since Cal State Fullerton scored 11 runs in the first inning of their 1994 CWS game against LSU. The game lasted four hours and 11 minutes, the third longest nine-inning game in CWS history.

Florida State trailed 5-2 in the eighth when Jason Stidham hit a three-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game at 5-5. Stanford's pitching, led by a strong starting effort from lefthander Jeremy Bleich, had kept the explosive Seminoles in check until late and held Florida State well under the 11 runs a game they have averaged during the NCAA tournament.

The loss puts the Seminoles (54-13) in a familiar position this postseason. They won four in a row to take their regional after losing the opener to Bucknell, then spotted WIchita State a game before winning two in a row to take the super regional and qualify for the CWS.

Late mistakes cost Miami

Miami has been untouchable when holding the lead in the ninth inning, but Georgia (42-23-1) found a way to come from behind to take a 7-4 win with four runs in the ninth inning.

Unfortunately for the top-seeded Hurricanes, the reason for their first blown save of the season was an untimely throwing error by relief pitcher Carlos Gutierrez, who tried to throw a runner out at first and wound up throwing wild, allowing two Georgia runs to cross the plate and break a 4-4 tie.

Bryce Massanari singled to lead off the ninth for the Bulldogs, and after pinch-runner Adam Fuller advanced on a sacrifice, Robbie O'Bryan reached on a wild third strike to give Georgia runners on the corners. Lyle Allen singled home the tying run and David Thoms followed with an infielder grounder that Gutierrez fielded and threw wildly past first.

Blake Tekotte hit a two-run homer in the third to give Miami a 3-1 advantage and withstood a Georgia rally in the seventh to hang on to a 4-3 lead going to the ninth. The Hurricanes (52-10) were 46-0 when leading going to the ninth inning, but suffered their first such setback this season to drop into the losers bracket against in-state rival Florida State.

Here's how the 2008 College World Series schedule looks so far:

Tournament Schedule

(NOTE: All times listed are Central)

Saturday, June 14
Game 1: Stanford 16, Florida State 5
Game 2: Georgia 7, Miami 4

Sunday, June 15
Game 3: Rice (47-13) vs. Fresno State (42-29), 1 p.m.
Game 4: North Carolina (51-12) vs. LSU (48-17-1), 6 p.m.

Monday, June 16
Game 5: Florida State (54-13) vs. Miami (52-10), 1 p.m.
Game 6: Stanford (40-22-2) vs. Georgia (42-23-1), 6 p.m.

Tuesday, June 17
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 18
Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6, 6 p.m.

Thursday, June 19
Game 10: Winner Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8, 6 p.m.

Friday, June 20
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 21
Game 13: Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 11, 1 p.m.
Game 14: Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 12, 6 p.m.

(NOTE: If only one game is played Saturday, it will be at 6 p.m.)

Championship Series

(NOTE: All start times are at 6 p.m.)

Monday, June 23
Game 1: Bracket winners

Tuesday, June 24
Game 2: Bracket winners

Wednesday, June 25
Game 3: Bracket winners (if necessary)

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

CWS Tickets picks the 2008 College World Series

OK, baseball fans -- we've crunched the numbers, flipped a few coins, scratched our heads and suffered through at least 15 sleepless minutes in order to come up with how the 2008 College World Series will play itself out.

Three ACC teams are in the tournament, giving the conference a pretty good shot at getting its first CWS championship team since Wake Forest did it way back in the 1950's. Some old friends are also back, like LSU, Florida State and Stanford, and it should be a blast watching these eight outstanding teams battle it out for the title.

Who wins it all? Who comes up just short? Who two-and-'cues it? Here's how we think it's going to go:

Bracket One

First Round: Florida State over Stanford, Miami over Georgia
Second Round: Georgia over Stanford (Stanford eliminated), Miami over Florida State
Third Round: Florida State over Georgia (Georgia eliminated)
Final: Miami over Florida State (Florida State eliminated)
BRACKET CHAMPION -- Miami (Fla.) Hurricanes

Bracket Two

First Round: Rice over Fresno State, North Carolina over LSU
Second Round: LSU over Fresno State (Fresno State eliminated), North Carolina over Rice
Third Round: LSU over Rice (Rice eliminated)
Final: LSU over North Carolina, North Carolina over LSU (LSU eliminated)
BRACKET CHAMPION -- North Carolina Tar Heels

Championship Series

Game One: North Carolina over Miami
Game Two: Miami over North Carolina
Game Three: North Carolina over Miami
2008 COLLEGE WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS -- North Carolina Tar Heels

Breaking down the 2008 CWS (Part 1 of 2)

CWS Tickets breaks down the eight teams battling for college baseball supremacy at the College World Series, which gets underway Saturday.

In today's installment, we'll highlight the four teams from the left half of the original 64-team bracket that will begin play on Saturday.

Miami Hurricanes (52-9, No. 1 Seed)

The Hurricanes have blown over pretty much everybody in their path this season on their way to the best record in baseball and the tournament's No. 1 seed.

Outside of a late-season series loss to North Carolina (the only time they lost back-to-back games all year), the Hurricanes have been almost unstoppable with a superb mix of offensive firepower, solid defense and brutal pitching.

Chicks dig the long ball, and none of the eight teams left do it as well as the Hurricanes. Junior Yonder Alonso has circled the bases 23 times this season and is one of four Miami players who recorded double-digit totals in homer runs. As a team, Miami has hit 100 home runs so far this season.

Miami is also very solid on the defensive end. Their .975 fielding percentage is among the top 10 teams in the country and the highest of the reamining eight teams. Defensively, you aren't going to see Miami beat themselves very often.

The Hurricanes' calling card, though, may very well be its pitching. Kyle Bellamy (6-0, 1.97 ERA) and freshman Chris Hernancez (11-0, 2.62) have both been stellar this season for Miami. And when the Hurricanes need somebody to slam the door shut, there is arguably nobody better in college baseball right now than Carlos Gutierrez, who has 13 saves on the season and has helped a Miami staff that is 45-0 when they take a lead into the ninth inning.

CWS Tickets' outlook: If they don't stumble, it's very hard to see anybody but Miami win it all right now.

Georgia Bulldogs (41-23-1, No. 8 seed)

Georgia has had something of a rollercoaster ride this season. For about a month, they looked like world beaters and the clear-cut class of the always-tough Southeastern Conference. Come tournament time, though, they two-and-'cued the conference tournament, then lost to Lipscomb in the opening round of regionals before righting the ship and securing a trip to Omaha.

The Bulldogs have good power at the plate, led by junior shortstop Gordon Beckham (.401, 26 HR, 72 RBI). Rich Poythress (15 HR), Bryce Massanari (11 HR) and Ryan Peisel (10 HR) all have long-ball power that makes Georgia a very solid team on offense.

Georgia also is very solid on the mound. Trevor Holder (8-4, 4.34) and Stephen Dodson (5-4, 4.25) have both pitched well for the Bulldogs this year, and they get good help out of the bullpen, led by Joshua Fields (16 saves).

The Bulldogs have battled through late-season adversity, which saw them lose six of their final 10 regular-season games, but they seem to have found their way back to the play that made them a very tough team to beat earlier in the year.

CWS Tickets' outlook: That first-round matchup with Miami may be tough, but they're solid enough to hang around for a rematch with a trip to the finals on the line.

Stanford Cardinal (39-22-2, Unseeded)

Stanford hit their stride at the right time of the year and got through a very tough regional and super regional to make it back to Omaha.

The Cardinal are led on offense by catcher Jason Castro, who sports a .379 batting average and has been very solid behind the plate as well. Teammate Sean Ratliff leads the Stanford sluggers with 21 home runs on the year, and they have also gotten solid play out of Cord Phelps and Randy Molina.

On the mound, Stanford has been able to throw a lot of different looks at people. Jeremy Bleich came on late and was very solid when he had to be, and the Cardinal has also developed with the efforts of sophomore Jeffrey Inman and freshman Drew Stornen, who has six saves on the year.

Coach Mark Marquess is the most experienced of the remaining eight coaches when it comes to getting to Omaha. This is Stanford's 13th appearance in the big show under Marquess, and they won back-to-back national titles in 1987 and 1988.

CWS Tickets' outlook: Probably not deep enough to hang with Miami, but will more than hold their own.

Florida State Seminoles (54-12, No. 4 seed)

It's been since 2001 that a Florida State team has made the trip to Omaha, but Mike Martin is hoping his 13th trip to Rosenblatt will end with the team's first-ever national title.

The Seminoles certainly haven't made it easy on themselves this postseason. After being the victim of a two-hit shutout against Bucknell, Florida State scored over 50 runs in four games to advance to super regionals, then pounded Wichita State for 25 runs in the final two games after dropping the first game to the Shockers.

We certainly won't count these guys out, especially when they have one of the top players in the game in Buster Posey. His .460 average was the best in the country, and his 26 homers and 92 RBI's also ranked near the top in Div. 1 in 2008. He is complimented by Dennis Guinn (.324, 18 HR, 74 RBI) and Jason Stidham (.317, 10 HR, 59 RBI), giving Florida State plenty of firepower to work with.

As far as pitching goes, the Seminoles have a workhorse in Matt Fairel, who has worked deep into a number of games this year with over 106 innings in 17 starts. Ryan Strauss (10-1) is also a solid starter for the Seminoles and Posey has even pitched in as a reliever with a team-high six saves.

CWS Tickets' outlook: The rest of the field had better hope Stanford doesn't beat Florida State in the opener, because they could just explode in a win-or-else situation. They're certainly capable of winning it all, regardless of how they open the tournament.

Tomorrow, we'll check out the right half of the bracket. Don't forget to get your CWS tickets now at Ticket Express -- where no College World Series game is ever sold out.

2008 College World Series field is set

The two remaining super regionals wrapped up Monday night, as LSU and Fresno State will join Miami (Fla.), Georgia, Stanford, Florida State, North Carolina and Rice in the 2008 College World Series.

Here's a wrap-up of Monday's super regional finales:

LSU blows out UC Irvine

LSU exploded for six runs and never let UC Irvine even think about a late rally, blowing out the Anteaters 21-7 to earn a trip to the College World Series.

LSU came back from the dead in Sunday's second game, and that momentum carried over into the start of Monday's game. Ryan Schimpf hit a pair of home runs and had five RBI's, and Blake Dean went 5-for-5 with a home run and three RBI's to highlight the Tiger explosion.

Jordan Brown got the win in relief for LSU, which played its last game in its old Alex Box Stadium to a record crowd of 8,173.

Bulldogs pull off historical upset

Fresno State made history Monday night, becoming the first No. 4 seed from a regional to advance to the College World Series.

It wasn't easy, though -- the Bulldogs saw a seven-run lead trimmed to the point where Matt Newman came to the plate as the winning run, and Fresno State got out of the bases-loaded jam to win 12-9 and earn a trip to the College World Series.

Newman hit a pair of home runs for the Sun Devils, the second giving Arizona State a 5-4 lead in the fifth. Fresno State tied the game in the sixth, then exploded for six runs in the seventh, capped by a bases-clearing double by Erik Wetzel and a two-run bomb by Steve Susdorf, to take a seemingly-insurmountable 12-5 advantage into the ninth.

The Sun Devils rallied, but it wasn't enough as they lost a regional series at home for the first time since 2001.

The 2008 College World Series gets underway Saturday, June 14 with opening-round games in the double-elimination tournament Saturday and Sunday. First-round games and start times (times are Central) are as follows:

Saturday, June 15 -- GAME 1: Stanford (39-22-2) vs. Florida State (54-12), 1 p.m.; GAME 2: Miami Fla. (52-9) vs. Georgia (41-23-1), 6 p.m.

Sunday, June 16 -- GAME 3: North Carolina (51-12) vs. LSU (48-17-1), 1 p.m.; GAME 4: Rice (47-13) vs. Fresno State (42-29), 6 p.m.

You can order your College World Series tickets now at Ticket Express -- where no College World Series game is ever sold out.