College World Series 2015: Bracket Dates, TV Schedule and Format
Eight teams have survived a long, winding road to the 2015 College World Series. Making the cut through regionals and super regionals, two teams will advance past another batch of double-elimination play for a best-of-three championship series.
The College World Series starts with two games on Saturday and another pair on Sunday. The losers from each quadrant will fight for another chance while the winners square off. Here's a look at the tournament's bracket, courtesy of Around the SEC:
Two noticeable favorites exist on each side. While the winner of Florida and Miami's opening bout will control the top grouping, either Vanderbilt or LSU is poised to circumvent the bottom portion.
Let's take a look at the schedule and those top contenders for the crown.
| June 13 | 3 p.m. | Arkansas | Virginia | ESPN |
| June 13 | 8 p.m. | Florida | Miami (Fla.) | ESPN |
| June 14 | 3 p.m. | LSU | TCU | ESPN |
| June 14 | 8 p.m. | CSU Fullerton | Vanderbilt | ESPN2 |
| June 15 | 3 p.m. | Arkansas/Virginia Loser | Florida/Miami Loser | ESPN2 |
| June 15 | 8 p.m. | Arkansas/Virginia Winner | Florida/Miami Winner | ESPN2 |
| June 16 | 3 p.m. | LSU/TCU Loser | CSU Fullerton/Vanderbilt Loser | ESPN2 |
| June 16 | 8 p.m. | LSU/TCU Winner | CSU Fullerton/Vanderbilt Winner | ESPN |
Top Contenders
Miami
Miami's offense is the best in college baseball, leading the NCAA in runs and on-base percentage. After getting shut out by Columbia on May 31, the Hurricanes dropped 21 runs the next day to advance past the regionals.
Brandishing the top RPI entering postseason play, Miami could finally gain the upper hand in a long rivalry by putting Florida in a hole. In a lineup with no easy outs, eight regulars are hitting .300 or better. As for Ricky Eusebio and his putrid .297 mark, he has drawn 51 walks and reached base at a .463 clip.
A rotation led by Andrew Suarez gets the job done but doesn't boast the star power of its competitors. The bullpen, however, features six arms with an ERA below 2.00. Such depth will prove vital in a sport where many young starters are still pushed too far.
The red-hot Gators are garnering most of the attention entering the weekend, but don't be surprised if the Hurricanes pummel their way to a championship.
Florida
No slouches of their own, the Gators hold a .465 slugging percentage and have outscored opponents 83-19 during their nine-game winning streak. After torching Florida State for 24 runs through two games, they're entering the College World Series on fire.
The hottest of the bunch, JJ Schwarz has gone 22-for-39 this postseason, crushing a pair of homers during the Gators' last victory over the Seminoles. His scorching play padded the freshman's stat line to .332/.393/.651 with 18 homers.
“This is what happens if you’re going to win a championship," coach Kevin O’Sullivan told the Miami Herald's Jesse Simonton. "A couple guys just have to get really get hot. Obviously, [Schwarz]’s kind of getting to that point where he’s carrying us a little bit right now. … He’s just a really special player, a special hitter, a special catcher, and he’s put together quite the year.”
Logan Shore will draw the tall task of stifling Miami's bats. The sophomore has tossed two straight scoreless starts to drop his ERA to 2.50, but he has only collected 74 strikeouts through 101 frames. He'll need a decent chunk of run support to gain a head start on Miami.
LSU
LSU has become the forgotten powerhouse, but don't sleep on the 53-10 Tigers.
Not the type of player that comes to mind when conjuring offensive superstars, Alex Bregman earned the No. 2 pick in this year's amateur draft despite hitting nine homers. The shortstop also batted .312/.406/.534 with 22 doubles and 37 stolen bases.
LSU embodies Bregman's style, ranking No. 4 in the nation with a .316 team batting average. Its most important player this tournament, however, is freshman Alex Lange. The ace has registered a 1.89 ERA through 16 starts, amassing 121 strikeouts through 101 innings.
Eleven of those punchouts came in his last outing against UL Lafayette, as captured by NCAA Baseball:
Over the last six games, with five victories, LSU has only surrendered 11 combined runs. The one loss, a 2-1 defeat, came against Florida.
Vanderbilt
MLB paid tribute to Vanderbilt's star power early in Monday's draft, and those guys have carried the Commodores into the eight-team tournament.
The Arizona Diamondbacks made Dansby Swanson the first overall pick due to his dominant junior season. Entering the College World Series, the shortstop is batting .350/.442/.661 with 15 homers and 16 stolen bases.
On the same day he was drafted, Swanson took Illinois' Tyler Jay—the No. 6 overall pick—deep during a super regionals win. NCAA Baseball showed the line-drive blast:
Ro Coleman, Rhett Wiseman and Zander Wiel also delivered valuable production for an offense ranking No. 5 in runs scored and No. 10 with a .464 slugging percentage. The offense has raked during the postseason, yet its rotation truly makes Vanderbilt stand out as a tough squad to oust.
Starting pitching is paramount to tournament success, and Vanderbilt wields a pair of big-time, MLB-bound aces. Carson Fulmer, drafted No. 8 by the Chicago White Sox, sports a 1.82 ERA and 152 strikeouts through 114 innings. Although his numbers look pedestrian by comparison, Walker Buehler—selected No. 24 by the Los Angeles Dodgers—boasts a 2.97 ERA.
The Commodores, who lead the NCAA with 9.7 strikeouts per nine innings, will ride those two arms throughout the bracket. That makes them a strong candidate to capture their second straight title.
Stats courtesy of NCAA.com.
