College World Series 2011 Recap: Covering All the Action from Omaha

Baily DeeterJun 23, 2011

The College World Series may not receive as much hype as the MLB World Series, but it has lots of action and excitement you don't get from pro baseball.

This year's tourney has been no exception. Let's take a look at the action.

Teams from defending champion South Carolina to Cinderella story California have been welcomed into the tourney, as the Gamecocks cruised through the tournament and Cal's only bump was Baylor, who was taken down by Cal's game-winning RBI single in the final game of the series.

Although only five teams still remain, just about every team has fought through challenges to get as far as they have. North Carolina, Texas and Texas A&M were eliminated during the CWS, but each team got farther than they expected.

If we're talking about teams getting farther than they expected, California is the top candidate. The Bears almost went into baseball extinction and now they are in the top five of the College World Series.

In the first round, the Bears played Virginia, who was just coming off of a walk-off win against UC Irvine. Cal lost, but they were able to defeat Texas A&M, as the bats woke up.

North Carolina's Emmanuel pitched a four-hit shutout against Texas, as the Tar Heels recorded their only win of the tournament. A pair of homers by Vanderbilt (breaking balls) helped the Commodores take down UNC for the second time and eliminate the Heels.

Vandy has hit a lot of home runs, and so has South Carolina, who has also received spectacular defense (SportsCenter worthy). The Gamecocks defeated Texas A&M on a walk-off single, then defense helped the 'Cocks oust top-seeded Virginia.

Florida hasn't had an easy road, but by defeating Texas and Vanderbilt, the Gators are in great shape. The homer-happy Gators overpowered both teams, as the pitching and defense was also stellar.

Right now, surprises like the Cal Bears and dominant teams like the Virginia Cavaliers and South Carolina Gamecocks still remain in the tourney. And even though day after day teams say goodbye to Omaha, the tourney hasn't lost any excitement.

Standings