Tar Heels take on Vanderbilt in College World Series Opener

Photo: Tar Heels head to Omaha for fifth College World Series in six years (Lizzie Cox)

The Tar Heels rush the field at Boshamer Stadium to celebrate their College World Series berth after a 7-5 win against Stanford in the Chapel Hill NCAA super regional.

When the Tar Heels travel to Omaha, Neb. for the 2011 College World Series, they will be one of eight teams competing for a national championship.
The initial pool of 64 NCAA tournament teams has been whittled down, and UNC — along with these seven teams — are the only ones to survive.
Like the ACC tournament, the College World Series will feature two brackets of four teams each, and a team must lose twice to be eliminated.
To determine a national champion, the winner of each bracket will compete in a best-of-three series June 27-29.

Vanderbilt

No. 6-nationally seeded Vanderbilt (52-10) will play No. 3-nationally seeded North Carolina in bracket 1 in the opening game of the 2011 College World Series.

Vanderbilt is one of three Southeastern Conference teams that will compete to bring home the SEC’s third straight NCAA title.

The Commodores swept Oregon State in the Nashville NCAA super regional to earn a spot in the College World Series for the first time in program history.

Vanderbilt ties Virginia for the fewest losses of any team in the College World Series.

Florida

Florida will take on Texas for its first College World Series game.

The No. 2-nationally seeded Gators (50-17) average more than 10 hits and six runs per game and will count on an explosive offense to carry them in the national championship hunt.

Florida trailed Mississippi State in game three of the Gainesville NCAA super regional before Preston Tucker blasted a three-run homer in the seventh inning to take the lead.

The 2011 berth marks the first time in school history Florida will appear in back-to-back College World Series.

Texas

There were quite a few bumps in the road for Texas (49-17) on the way to its 34th College World Series berth.

The No. 7-nationally seeded Longhorns fell to Kent State 7-5 in the Austin NCAA regional before beating the Golden Flashes 5-0 in the regional championship.

Texas trailed Arizona State 2-1 after four innings in a winner-take-all third super regional game, but outfielder Mark Payton’s two-out RBI single gave the Longhorns the lead in the sixth inning.
Texas is in the hunt for its sixth national championship.

California

California (37-21) will open College World Series play Sunday against Virginia in bracket 2.

The Golden Bears, who are making their first appearance in the College World Series since 1992, swept the Santa Clara NCAA super regional with 7-0 and 6-2 wins against Dallas Baptist.

California was a No. 3 seed in the Houston NCAA regional, and topped Alcorn State, Baylor and No. 1-seeded Rice to advance.

Due to budget cuts, California’s baseball program is in danger of being cut. Look for the Golden Bears to do what they can to go out with a bang in what could be their very last season.

Texas A&M

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Also in bracket 2, Texas A&M (47-20) will play defending national champion South Carolina in its first game of the College World Series.

Texas A&M was blown up Sunday in the Tallahassee super regional when the Florida State Seminoles won 23-9. But Texas A&M responded with an 11-2 win against FSU the next day to book its ticket to Omaha. The Aggies will make their first College World Series appearance since 1999.

The Aggies will likely lean on sophomore Tyler Naquin and his hot streak, as the outfielder leads the nation with 103 hits.

Virginia

The Cavaliers (54-10) own the No. 1 national seed and have more wins than any team in the 2011 College World Series.

With a team ERA of 2.27, the Cavaliers average the fewest number of earned runs in the nation. And much of that is due to pitcher Danny Hultzen.

The left-hander was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2011 MLB draft, making the future Seattle Mariner the highest-ever Cavalier selected.

Hultzen’s 1.49 ERA and Virginia’s fifth-ranked fielding percentage makes the Cavaliers’ defense nearly impenetrable.

South Carolina

South Carolina beat UCLA in the 2010 College World Series final to win its first national championship, and the Gamecocks (50-14) will look to defend their title in their 10th trip to Omaha.

USC swept Connecticut in the Columbia NCAA super regional, and is one of three teams in the College World Series with a perfect 5-0 record in NCAA tournament play.

Junior pitcher Michael Roth can cool off just about any hot hitter with his 1.02 ERA — the second best in the nation.