College World Series 2016: 1st-Round Tournament Schedule and Title Predictions
The 2016 College World Series continues its best March Madness impersonation as it heads toward crowning a champion.
Love Cinderellas? The NCAA baseball tournament had plenty, with six hosts saying goodbye in the regional round, three seeded teams left standing and two teams—UC Santa Barbara and Coastal Carolina—making it to Omaha, Nebraska, for the first time.
Sports fans understand the CWS usually provides plenty of intrigue and action worth watching. This year, though, a lack of traditional powerhouses makes the tournament feel like a Hollywood script waiting to happen.
Let's take a look at the tournament schedule and dissect the field to crown a predicted champion.
2016 College World Series Schedule
| 1 | June 18 | UC Santa Barbara vs. Oklahoma State | 3 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| 2 | June 18 | Miami (Fla.) vs. Arizona | 8 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| 3 | June 19 | Texas Tech vs. TCU | 3 p.m. | ESPNU |
| 4 | June 19 | Florida vs. Coastal Carolina | 8 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| 5 | June 20 | Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 | 2 p.m. | ESPNU |
| 6 | June 20 | Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 | 7 p.m. | ESPN |
| 7 | June 21 | Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4 | 5 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| 8 | June 21 | Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4 | 9 p.m. | ESPN |
| 9 | June 22 | Winner Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6 | 7 p.m. | ESPN |
| 10 | June 23 | Winner Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8 | 8 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| 11 | June 24 | Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 9 | 3 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| 12 | June 24 | Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 10 | 8 p.m. | ESPN |
| 13* | June 25 | Loser of Game 11 (if first loss) vs. Winner of Game 11 | TBD | TBD |
| 14* | June 25 | Loser of Game 12 (if first loss) vs. Winner of Game 12 | TBD | TBD |
| 15 | June 27 | Finals Game 1 | 7 p.m. | ESPN |
| 16 | June 28 | Finals Game 2 | 8 p.m. | ESPN |
| 17 | June 29 | Finals Game 3 | 8 p.m. | ESPN |
Full bracket available at NCAA.com.
Preview and Predictions
As odd as it sounds, let's start with the lone seeded teams left standing.
The No. 1 Florida Gators and the No. 3 Miami (Florida) Hurricanes are the only representatives present for the SEC and ACC, respectively.
Florida, a 52-win team, at least did the SEC proud by advancing to the CWS after smacking around Florida State on Monday 7-0, which means the Gators took down the Seminoles in 15-0 fashion over the three games.
Pitching is where the Gators command attention this year. Starter A.J. Puk, the No. 6 pick to the Oakland Athletics in the 2016 MLB draft, put on a show against the Seminoles, before Dane Dunning spelled him and allowed just four hits and no runs.
The strong performance seems to have the Gators on track for an encounter with the No. 5 Texas Tech Red Raiders, one of the only hosts to have actually lived up to the hype and make it this far.
Those Red Raiders have three pitchers—Robert Dugger, Davis Martin and Hayden Howard—who boast an ERA below 3.00. In other words, the potential encounter with Florida could set up the pitching showdown of the year.
Miami resides in the other bracket, and the encounters there should be a little more offensive. The Hurricanes have now made 44 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances and caused waves recently thanks to a bat flip by Edgar Michelangeli, who smashed a grand slam against Boston College to help the team advance.
"I'm not worried about the critics," Michelangeli said, according to the Associated Press (via FoxSports.com). "I just get excited, and I'm excited for our team. We're going to the College World Series, and I can't be happier about that."
Still, the theatrics might make it easy for observers to buy into the Cinderella role of a team such as UC Santa Barbara, which needs to get past Oklahoma State for a possible shot at the Hurricanes.
UC Santa Barbara also knows a thing or two about making gigantic offensive plays when it needs them the most, after Sam Cohen hit a walk-off grand slam to upset Louisville. With guys like Cohen and Austin Bush (49 RBI and 11 home runs) walking to the plate each game, UC Santa Barbara can score with any team in either bracket.
This isn't to say other teams don't stand a chance. Arizona, which has a 1.00 ERA in the tournament, could give Miami problems. But given the trends in the proceedings thus far, taking UC Santa Barbara over the Hurricanes isn't so outlandish.
In the likely meeting between Florida and Texas Tech, it's clear the Gators have a major advantage. Whereas the Gators have a strong presence at the plate in case an elite pitching staff falters, the Red Raiders live and die by performances on the mound.
It's only fitting the CWS would come down to an underdog against a top team. Given how potent UC Santa Barbara can be at the plate, as long as the hitters stay in a strong rhythm, they should be able to take advantage of a tired pitching staff.
Considering the themes this year, UC Santa Barbara's making some personal history with another one-run victory (it has three so far) to win it all seems like the perfect ending.
Title Prediction: UC Santa Barbara
Stats and information courtesy of NCAA.com unless otherwise specified.
