SB Nation Denver - NCAA Baseball Tournament 2012: College World Series Bracket Complete

2012 College World Series: Practice, Opening Ceremonies Take Place On Thursday

2012-06-14T12:15:01Z

The 2012 College World Series doesn't see its first action on the field until Friday afternoon when the Stony Brook Seawolves and the UCLA Bruins play at TD Ameritrade Park, its second year in the new stadium, but on Thursday all the teams will practice there. After each of those hour-long practices end, the teams will then have an autograph session.

Also taking place on Friday will be the Opening Ceremonies at 7:30 p.m MDT. Former Georgia Tech shortstop Nomar Garciaparra will join the U.S. Army Golden Knights Parachute Team as the headliners for this event:

In addition to Garciaparra’s involvement, the Golden Knights, which is the U.S. Army’s official aerial demonstration team, will perform a pyrotechnic jump into the stadium as part of Opening Ceremonies. Jumps are performed from 12,500 feet above the ground, or nearly two and a half miles straight up.

That is certainly a sight to behold. But the real draw should be the team introductions, though the Olympic-style presentation might not be for everyone.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For a complete bracket, visit NCAA.com.

2012 College World Series: Kent St., South Carolina And Stony Brook Offer Intriguing Storylines In Omaha

2012-06-12T12:15:05Z

The 2012 College World Series bracket in Omaha, Neb., is all set after a thrilling series of games on Monday afternoon and night. What are some of the story lines we should be following when play begins on Friday, June 15?

South Carolina and the Pursuit of a Three-peat

The South Carolina Gamecocks head to Omaha with back-to-back national championship victories in 2010 and 2011. Is a third one ready to happen in 2012? The Gamecocks (45-17) went 3-0 in the Columbia, S.C. regional by defeating Manhattan (7-0) and Clemson twice (5-4, 4-3). They stayed in Columbia for the Super Regional against the Oklahoma Sooners. They won Game 1, 5-0, and then need two days to complete Game 2, which they won, 5-1.

The Gamecocks are led by ace pitcher Michael Roth (7-1, 2.50 ERA), first baseman Christian Walker (.308 BA, 11 HR) and left fielder Tanner English (.311 BA). They will take a 21-postseason-game winning streak and an 11-game winning streak in the College World Series to Omaha. This experienced team should certainly haunt the rest of the field.

Stony Brook and the No. 4 Seed

The Stony Brook Seawolves (52-13) were given a No. 4 seed during regional play, making them the equivalent of a No. 13 seed or lower in the NCAA Basketball Tournament. They took that and ran with it all the way to Omaha. They upset the No. 1 seed Miami Hurricanes in Coral Gables, Fla., lost to Central Florida, defeated Missouri State in the loser's bracket and then won two straight games against Central Florida to advance to the Super Regionals.

They traveled to Baton Rouge, La., to face the LSU Tigers in the Super Regional round, where they had to play in Alex Box Stadium, one of the toughest places to go on to the road and win. Game 1 was an epic struggle in which there was a punch-counter punch from innings 9-11. The game was tied at 4-4 before the start of the 12th inning, just as rain forced the completion of the game to Saturday morning. LSU won that game, 5-4.

Stony Brook bounced back with a 3-1 victory on Saturday afternoon, led by a complete game effort from Tyler Johnson. That put them one win away from heading to the College World Series, where just one No. 4 seed has reached before (the Fresno St. Bulldogs that won it all in 2008).

On Sunday night, Frankie Vanderka threw his own complete game in a 7-2 victory to pull off the shocking upset. They became the first America East team to advance to Omaha. Can this program keep making its run and pull off the nigh impossible?

Kent St. Does the MAC Proud

The Mid-American Conference has had a lengthy drought in putting a team in Omaha -- Eastern Michigan in 1976 -- but the Kent St. Golden Flashes ended that on Monday night with a dramatic 3-2 victory over the Oregon Ducks, a team that hadn't been to Omaha since 1954 (and, in 1981, had its baseball program dropped to the club level before returning in 2009). A Jimmy Rider double and the glaring sun in the eyes of left fielder Brett Thomas gave the ninth-inning victory to the Golden Flashes.

It wasn't easy at all for Kent St. to get there. It opened regional play as a No. 3 seed against the No. 2 seed Kentucky Wildcats in Gary, Ind., and needed 21 innings for a 7-6 victory. They then beat No. 1 seed and host Purdue, 7-3. A rematch against Kentucky resulted in a 3-2 victory and a spot in the Super Regionals.

Kent St. held off a late rally by Oregon in Game 1 for the 7-6 victory, but Game 2 saw some shoddy defense lead to a 3-2 defeat. In Game 3, Kent St. did suffer another late collapse, but that resulted in a tie game in the eighth inning. That allowed for the dramatics we saw in the bottom of the ninth.

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To have not only a No. 3 and No. 4 in the College World Series but also for those teams to be from the North is quite the accomplishment. While it might be too much to make anything of this immediately, it certainly does give hope to other teams in the North that they can produce winners and make it to Omaha.

The College World Series begins on Friday, June 15, and will last until June 25 or June 26, depending on a possible Game 3 in the championship series. Who do you winning college baseball's ultimate prize?

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For a complete bracket, visit NCAA.com.

2012 College World Series Schedule Set, Will Begin On June 15

2012-06-12T12:01:11Z

The 2012 College World Series will begin on Friday, June 15, with the South Carolina Gamecocks looking for a third straight title in Omaha, Neb. But can the upstarts,the Kent St. Golden Flashes and the Stony Brook Seawolves, make some additional noise as they try to knock off teams from the West Coast and the South, the perennial powerhouse locations for college baseball?

The College World Series begins with a double-elimination setup until only the final two teams remain. Those two battle-hardened teams will then take part in a best-of-three championship series. South Carolina defeated Florida in the title series in 2011, but this year they play each other in an opening round contest in Bracket 2.

Here are the matchups for the first two days (head here for the complete schedule):

Friday, June 15

No. 4 Stony Brook vs. No. 1 UCLA, 3:00 p.m. MT, ESPN2
No. 1 Arizona vs. No. 1 Florida State, 7:00 p.m. MT, ESPN2

Saturday, June 16

No. 3 Kent State vs. No. 2 Arkansas, 3:00 p.m. MT, ESPN
No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 1 Florida, 7:00 p.m. MT, ESPN

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For a complete bracket, visit NCAA.com.

2012 NCAA Baseball Tournament Scores: Arkansas Pulls Off 1-0 10th Inning Victory Against Baylor, Securing College World Series Spot

2012-06-12T02:27:21Z

It took extra innings, but the Arkansas Razorbacks are heading to the College World Series after defeating the Baylor Bears, 1-0, on Monday night. Arkansas took the Waco, Tx., Super Regional two games to one.

After nine scoreless innings, the two teams went to extra innings and that's when Arkansas struck. Dillon Newman, just Baylor's second pitcher on the night, allowed a Brian Anderson leadoff single and saw him advance to second on a groundout by Bo Bigham. Matt Vinson struck out for the second out of the inning, leaving the team with a runner in scoring position and no out to spare. Jake Wise singled through the left side, scoring Anderson and then advancing to second the throw to the plate.

Colby Suggs had pitched the ninth for Arkansas and came back for the bottom of the 10th. He induced two fly ball outs to start the inning before walking a batter and allowing a single. He then got Dan Evatt to strike out, but a throw to first base was needed since the ball was dropped. That proved easy and the team stormed the field to celebrate.

Baylor had a chance to blow the game wide open in the bottom of the fifth inning when the bases were loaded, but Max Muncy hit the ball to a diving Bigham, who made the throw to first base to end the inning.

Baylor won Game 1, 8-1, but then lost Game 2, 5-4, when a couple of hit-by-pitches tied the game and provided the walkoff run for Arkansas.

Arkansas is the eighth and final team to head to Omaha, Neb., for the College World Series. The other seven teams are Arizona, Florida, Florida St. Kent State, South Carolina, Stony Brook and UCLA

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For a complete bracket, visit NCAA.com.

2012 NCAA Baseball Tournament Scores: Kent State Punches Ticket To College World Series With 3-2 Victory Over Oregon

2012-06-12T02:02:25Z

The Kent St. Golden Flashes are going to the 2012 College World Series following its 3-2 victory over the Oregon Ducks on Monday night. This is their first appearance ever in Omaha, Neb.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Kent State won it on a Jimmy Rider double down the left field line with a runner scoring from second base. Left fielder Brett Thomas and shortstop J.J. Altobelli both converged on the ball after it appeared that Thomas lost the ball in the sun, which he did. Derek Toadvine, who reached on a walk to start the inning, came around to score the winning run.

The Golden Flashes held a 2-0 lead after the first two innings, scoring runs on a single and a double play. Oregon bounced back with a Ryon Healy two-run single in the top of the eighth inning. Kent State starter Tyler Skulina threw 5.2 innings of two-hit ball.

Kent State joins Stony Brook as the second team from the North of the United States to make the College World Series in Omaha. The other teams there are Arizona, Florida, Florida St., South Carolina and UCLA. The Arkansas-Baylor game is currently in progress and waiting to decide the eighth and final spot.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For a complete bracket, visit NCAA.com. For additional coverage, head over to Oregon blog Addicted To Quack.

2012 NCAA Baseball Tournament Scores: Kent State Leads Oregon 2-0 In 6th Inning

2012-06-12T00:41:09Z

Kent State leads Oregon 2-0 in the fifth inning of the decisive third game of the Eugene Super Regional; the winner heads to Omaha, NE for the 2012 College World Series.

T.J. Sutton got Kent State on the board in the first inning with an RBI single. Another run scored in the second inning when Evan Campbell grounded into a double play. But that GIDP helped the Ducks work their way out of a no-out, bases loaded jam that could have provided the Golden Flashes a bit of breathing room.

As it stands now, the Ducks are threatening in the sixth inning with two men aboard and nobody out. The game is being televised by ESPNU. Here's the live box score.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For a complete bracket, visit NCAA.com. For additional coverage, head over to Oregon blog Addicted To Quack.

2012 NCAA Baseball Tournament Scores: Arkansas, Baylor Knotted At 0-0 After 5 Innings

2012-06-12T00:38:09Z

The Arkansas Razorbacks and the Baylor Bears are playing a tight game with a spot in the 2012 College World Series on the line this Monday night. Baylor took Game 1, 8-2, on Saturday, but Arkansas countered with a dramatic 5-4 victory on Sunday afternoon. Through five innings of Game 3 on Monday night, the Bears and the Razorbacks are tied at 0-0.

Baylor pitcher Tyler Bremer has limited the Razorbacks to just one hit through five innings while striking out four batters. Arkansas starter Randall Fant struck out five and allowed two hits, but he was pulled after four innings of work. Reliever Nolan Sanburn ran into trouble by loading the bases in the bottom of the fifth inning, but second baseman Bo Bigham was able to make a diving save and throw the ball to first base for the final out of the inning.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For a complete bracket, visit NCAA.com.

2012 College World Series Schedule Nearly Complete

2012-06-11T22:12:25Z

With just two spots remaining in Omaha, Neb., the 2012 College World Series schedule is nearly complete. There are two more games left on Monday to determine those spots: Kent State vs. Oregon and Arkansas vs. Baylor. Kent State is looking to join Stony Brook as low seed in Omaha (they were a No. 3 seed while Stony Brook was a No. 4 seed).

Three of the four series are now settled. Here is how things look (complete schedule here):

Friday, June 15

No. 4 Stony Brook vs. No. 1 UCLA, 3:00 p.m. MT, ESPN2
No. 1 Arizona vs. No. 1 Florida State, 7:00 p.m. MT, ESPN2

Saturday, June 16

Kent State-Oregon winner vs. Arkansas-Baylor winner, 3:00 p.m. MT, ESPN
No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 1 Florida, 7:00 p.m. MT, ESPN

The College World Series is a double elimination round through Friday, June 22. After that, only two teams remain and will play in a best-of-three championship series, June 24-26.

South Carolina is looking to win its third straight College World Series. They are currently on a 21-game postseason winning streak and an 11-game winning streak in Omaha.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For a complete bracket, visit NCAA.com.