BRACKET ONE
Los Angeles: Won by Cal Poly. (1) UCLA was eliminated by St. Mary's.
Morgantown: (16) W. Virginia v. Kentucky for the title at 5 PM Central
Hattiesburg: Won by Ark-Little Rock
Gainesville: (8) Florida v. Troy for the title at 5 PM Central
Chapel Hill: Won by (5) N. Carolina
College Station: (12) Texas A & M v. USC for the title at 8 PM Central
Lincoln: Won by Mississippi
Auburn: (4) Auburn v. Milwaukee for the title at 4 PM Central
BRACKET TWO
Atlanta: (2) Georgia Tech v. Oklahoma for the title at 2 PM Central
Lawrence: Won by (15) Kansas
Tallahassee: (10) Florida St. will play St. John's at 11 AM Central. If the Johnnies win, they take the region. If FSU wins, there will be a final elimination game to decide the title
Tuscaloosa: Won by (7) Alabama
Austin: Won by (6) Texas
Eugene: Won by (11) Oregon
Starkville: Won by (14) Mississippi St.
Athens: Won by (3) Georgia
This will give us the following Super Regionals:
BRACKET ONE
(16) W. Virginia or Kentucky v. Cal Poly
(8) Florida or Troy v. Ark-Little Rock
(5) N. Carolina v. (12) Texas A & M or USC
(4) Auburn or Milwaukee v. Mississippi
BRACKET TWO
(2) Georgia Tech or Oklahoma v. Kansas
(7) Alabama v. (10) Florida St. or St. John's
(6) Texas v. (11) Oregon
(3) Georgia v. (14) Mississippi St.
St. John's eliminates (10) Florida State and wins the Tallahassee Region.
ReplyDeleteThe Johnnies will travel to Alabama for the Super Region.
ReplyDeleteGeorgia Tech leads Oklahoma 7-5 in the bottom of the 8th. Oklahoma batting.
ReplyDeleteWith one out, a double and a single put runners on 1st and 3d for OU. The next batter hits a topper to the pitcher, but the pitcher can't field the ball cleanly and everyone is safe. GT now leads 7-6 with one out in the bottom of the 8th: runners on first and second.
ReplyDeleteTech changes pitchers, and the next batter lines into a double play -- he was this close to a game-tying single. Tech leads 7-6 after 8.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of those games where almost everyone is standing.
ReplyDeleteIn the bottom of the 9th, the Sooners get a walk, a groundout (which advances the runner to second), and a single (which brings the runner home). The game is TIED at 7, there is one out, and the Sooners have the winning run on first.
ReplyDeleteOU flies out to center for the second out. But the next batter rips a single to right and the Sooners now have runners on first and third with two out. The Regional-winning run is 90 feet from home plate.
ReplyDeleteThe next batter STRIKES OUT. After nine innings, Oklahoma and Georgia Tech are tied at 7 runs each. We head to extras!
ReplyDeleteTech goes down 1-2-3 in the top of the 10th.
ReplyDeleteOklahoma leads off the bottom of the 10th with a titanic HOME RUN to center field and the Sooners have WON the Atlanta Region. Both UCLA (the number one seed) and Georgia Tech (the number two seed) have been ELIMINATED. Amazing stuff!
ReplyDeleteU.C.L.A. went 51-6 in the regular season, and Tech went 48-9. They were heavy favorites to meet for the title, and neither of them made it to the Super Regionals. Unbelievable.
ReplyDeleteOklahoma wins to set up an all-Big 8 Super Regional in Kansas.
ReplyDeleteSo the Super Regionals for Bracket Two are all set (home teams first):
ReplyDelete(15) Kansas v. Oklahoma
(7) Alabama v. St. John's
(6) Texas v. (11) Oregon
(3) Georgia v. (14) Mississippi St.
WVU is the home team in tonight's Regional Decider against UK. The Mountaineers lead 2-0 in the bottom of the 3d.
ReplyDeleteIn the bottom of the 5th, Troy leads Florida 2-1. In the top of the 5th, WVU leads UK 2-1.
ReplyDeleteFor the Regional Final, by the way, WVU is rocking a coal-themed uniform: black caps with the WV logo in white; black shirts with white letters and numerals; and white pants. It looks very "Blood Runs Coal."
ReplyDeleteUK hits into a double play to end the top of the 5th. WVU leads 2-1.
WVU leads 4-1 in the bottom of the 5th. The Eers have the bases loaded with two out.
ReplyDeleteWVU grounds out to end the inning. But they lead 4-1 after 5.
ReplyDeleteIn Gainesville, Troy leads Florida 5-1 in the top of the 6th, after a perfectly placed bunt brings home a run from third.
If I were a WVU fan, half the comments on this blog would be "Blood Runs Coal."
ReplyDeleteTroy doubles home two more runs, and they now lead Florida 7-1. We have two SEC teams going down right now, but of course Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi State, and Ole Miss have all advanced to the Super Regionals. Auburn also has a chance to get there.
ReplyDeleteIn the bottom of the 6th, WVU blasts a home run, and they now lead 5-1.
ReplyDeleteI was wrong about WVU, by the way. They were not out of pitching. They had saved their ace for this game.
ReplyDeleteIn the top of the 8th, UK hits a three-run homer to make the score WVU 5, UK 4. It's not over yet!
ReplyDeleteYou had to know that any region featuring UK and WVU was going to end in heartbreak for someone. UK won the first game 11-9. Then WVU scored five runs in the top of the 9th to win Game Two 11-9. And now WVU leads Game Three 5-4 in the top of the 8th.
ReplyDeleteAnd now it's TIED! With two outs in the top of the 8th, UK slams a pitch over the wall in left, and the score is now 5-5. Unbelievable!
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, Troy leads Florida 10-2 in the bottom of the 8th.
ReplyDeleteThe stakes here are enormous. Whoever wins this game between WVU and UK will probably host Cal Poly in the semi-finals, and will be favored to reach the College World Series.
ReplyDeleteGame One: UK 11, WVU 9
ReplyDeleteGame Two: WVU 11, UK 9
Game Three: WVU 5, UK 5 (Top of the 8th)
WVU escapes with no further pain, and the score is tied at 5 with the Mountaineers coming to bat in the bottom of the 8th.
ReplyDeleteJack Bennett of Paducah enters the game to pitch for the Wildcats. He transferred to UK from WKU. Before WKU, he played for McCracken County H.S.
ReplyDeleteBennett mows down the Mountaineers 1-2-3 and we are still tied at 5 going into the 9th inning.
ReplyDeleteKentucky's leadoff hitter reaches base, and then the number-9 hitter bunts him to second. So the Cats have a runner on second with one out and the top of the order coming up.
ReplyDeleteThe first pitch is a ball, and you can actually see WVU fans jumping out of their seats to yell at the umpire. ESPN shows one fan closing his eyes and pretending to be blind. This one is really going to hurt the losing team.
ReplyDeleteThe next batter strikes out. So it's down to Tyler Bell, the number-2 hitter for the Cats. He taps back to the pitcher and the inning is over. Now the WVU folks are going crazy, because they can win it in the bottom of the 9th.
ReplyDeleteBLOOD RUNS COAL!
Meanwhile, Troy beat Florida 10-2, and they advance to play Ark-Little Rock in the Super Regionals. Based on the seedings, Troy should host the Super Regionals, which will be wild.
ReplyDeleteThis WVU-UK series confirms my belief that you never want to play a rival in the post-season.
ReplyDeleteWVU goes down 1-2-3 (two strikeouts and a grounder to the pitcher), and we are headed to EXTRA INNINGS.
ReplyDeleteIn 1994, West Virginia produced 161.8 million short tons of coal, compared to 161.6 million short tons for Kentucky. In 2024, West Virginia produced only 79.5 million short tons of coal, compared to only 23.1 million short tons for Kentucky.
ReplyDeleteIn 2025, Kentucky's per capita GDP was $66,617. West Virginia's per capita GDP was $61,873. Kentucky ranked 45th of the 50 states. West Virginia ranked 49th.
ReplyDeleteWith one out and a man on first, the UK batter is just ripping fouls down each baseline. One goes down the left field line. Then another down the right field line. Then another down the left field line. Every time I think it's a double. Every time it goes foul at the last minute. Finally, with the count at 1-2, the WVU manager comes out and changes pitchers! I don't blame him, because I had a strong feeling the UK batter had this pitcher figured out. But I don't think I've seen this before.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, after 27 innings of baseball, UK and WVU are tied at 25.
ReplyDeleteWVU brings in the starter who beat Wake Forest in an elimination game yesterday. He threw 122 pitches in that game.
ReplyDeleteThe count goes to 3-2, and then the UK batter draws a walk. That puts men on first and second with one out.
ReplyDeleteThe next batter strikes out. Two on and two out.
ReplyDeleteThe next batter flies out to left. The gamble from the WVU manager pays off, and the game is still 5-5 going into the bottom of the 10th.
ReplyDeleteWVU leads off the bottom of the 10th with a single.
ReplyDeleteThe fans behind home plate are literally jumping up and down with excitement.
ReplyDeleteThe next batter walks, and the winning run moves to second. No outs.
ReplyDeleteWVU tries to bunt, but the batter pops up the bunt. Jack Bennett catches it, and the runners cannot advance. One out.
ReplyDeleteBennett looks exhausted. He goes to a 2-0 count and finally throws one down the middle. It's lofted into short center, where it falls about six inches in front of the diving center fielder. The runner on second races home, and WEST VIRGINIA eliminates Kentucky, 6 to 5. The WVU folks celebrate as if they had just won the whole thing. The UK fans look devastated, as well they should.
ReplyDeleteFinal (in 10 innings):
ReplyDeleteKentucky: 5 runs, 9 hits, 1 error
W. Virginia: 6 runs, 12 hits, 0 errors
BLOOD RUNS COAL!!!
DeleteSo later this week, the West Virginia Mountaineers will host the Cal Poly Mustangs in a Super Regional for a trip to the College World Series. Those kids from Cal Poly are in for a real trip.
ReplyDeleteTwo games left. In College Station, TAMU and USC are scoreless after 2. In Auburn, the Auburn Tigers lead Wis-Milwaukee 1-0 after 2.
ReplyDeleteThe uniforms in the A & M / USC game are straight fire.
ReplyDeleteI finally realized that the reason I like these A & M uniforms is that they have some type of color combination that involves navy blue and red, instead of the maroon that they normally wear.
ReplyDeleteThe Cats pick up Iowa State transfer Milan Momcilovic for the men's basketball team, so the mood on the message boards has improved.
ReplyDeleteI'm predicting right now that Vandy will have a higher seed in next year's men's basketball tournament than UK will have.
ReplyDelete