West Virginia and North Carolina Come Away With Wins in the Opening Round at Omaha
It would be hard to get a better opening day at the College World Series than we got on Friday as both match-ups delivered in a big way. West Virginia and Troy squared off to kick things off, two programs in which had never been to the College World Series prior, and then North Carolina and Ole Miss to follow in a much anticipated pitcher’s duel.
A back and forth battle favors West Virginia
West Virginia and Troy got off to quite the bang as West Virginia’s Armani Guzman pulled off a straight steal of home in the first inning to put the Mountaineers up as the first run of the tournament. It was the 39th steal of the season for Guzman, trailing only Alabama’s Justin Lebron in steals among players in Omaha. Guzman’s steal of home really captures the identity of this West Virginia team - they are going to challenge you in any way they can, which includes really putting pressure on opposing defenses with their aggressiveness on the bases.
There wasn’t much pitching early in this one as neither starter managed to make it through four innings. Chansen Cole, who had been electric to this point in the postseason, only lasted 2.2 innings as the Troy lineup battled back to take a 4-3 lead in the fourth. Troy’s Benjamin Stubbs only lasted an inning longer as his day ended at just 3.2 innings after a Sean Smith solo home run tied the game in the bottom of the third before Armani Guzman came through again with a go-ahead double in the fourth.
Graduate right-hander Ian Korn took over for Chansen Cole and delivered as one of the heroes for the Mountaineers in this one. He threw six innings in relief, surrendering just one run on two hits and three walks. Jimmy Janicki, Troy’s most talented hitter, did tag Korn for a solo home run in the seventh to tie the game, but that was all the Trojans would be able to muster up against Korn. In a tie game in the bottom of the eighth, it was junior third baseman Tyrus Hall coming through with the clutch hit for West Virginia as he drove in two to put the Mountaineers up 7-5. Korn was given the opportunity to finish the game for West Virginia, but a two-out walk with Jimmy Janicki coming up to the plate prompted a move to the bullpen as senior left-hander Ben McDougal came in to put Janicki away, and secure West Virginia’s first ever win in Omaha.
North Carolina pulls away from Ole Miss after a pitcher’s duel
The Friday night game between the Tar Heels and the Rebels was the more anticipated match-up of the day considering the starting pitchers going for each club. For North Carolina, it would be junior right-hander Jason DeCaro who happened to be coming off of the best start of his life - a complete game shutout against USC while facing elimination in the Chapel Hill Super Regional. For Ole Miss, it would be the electric arm of junior right-hander Taylor Rabe who has been a late riser in this year’s MLB draft class.
Both pitchers got off to strong starts as it wasn’t until the third inning that a run would be put on the board via a Dominic Decker double to put Ole Miss up 1-0. DeCaro was working anywhere from 92-94 mph with his fastball, and reached back for 96 mph a few times while also featuring a solid changeup and slider and dropped in the occasional downer curveball. For Rabe, it was all about the high-powered fastball and cutter as he ran the fastball up as high as 99 mph but sat more consistently between 95-97 mph, with the cutter working between 88-91 mph.
Rabe has been an elite strike-thrower all year, but was really tested by the disciplined Tar Heel hitters. Once he had pitched through the lineup once, he was really forced to use more of his secondaries that he lacks feel for, and the Tar Heels managed to draw four walks off of him because of it. Prior to Friday, Rabe had walked multiple hitters in an outing just twice in his college career, and never walked more than two batters in a single outing. Fortunately for Rabe, he was able to grind through 5.2 innings while giving up just one run, a solo home run off the bat of Owen Hull to tie the game at one in the sixth. Outside of the four walks and the one earned run, Rabe only surrendered two hits while striking out seven.
DeCaro managed to last one more inning than Rabe, finishing with 6.2 innings. With two outs in the seventh, Dominic Decker hit another double off of DeCaro which led North Carolina to call on Caden Galuber’s number - the standout freshman that had been lights out for the Tar Heels all year. Judd Utermark immediately followed with a go-ahead single to put Ole Miss up by a score of 2-1.
From there, it was all about which bullpen would hold up throughout the rest of the game, and in this one, it was all about Caden Glauber for the Tar Heels. The North Carolina bats managed to answer in the bottom half of the seventh, as Hudson Calhoun walked the first two batters before Walker Hooks came in to relieve him where he surrendered a Jake Schaffner sacrifice-fly to tie it, and a go-ahead single off the bat of Gavin Gallaher to give the Tar Heels a lead they would not relinquish.
Caden Glauber shut the door the rest of the way, and got some much needed insurance runs in the form of a three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth off the bat of graduate catcher Colin Hynek, his tenth of the season to put North Carolina up by a score of 6-2. The Rebels would go quietly in the ninth as North Carolina moves into the winner’s bracket to take on West Virginia while Ole Miss falls into the loser’s bracket where they will take on Troy. Both of those games will take place on Sunday.
Saturday’s games will feature Alabama and Oklahoma at 3 PM ET and Texas and Georgia at 8 PM ET.
