NCAA Super Regionals 2016: Schedule and Game Predictions for Sunday's Action
There's going to be some drama on Sunday in college baseball.
The NCAA tournament Super Regionals are in full effect. Some teams will get the chance to sweep their regional opponents, while other results will come down to a winner-take-all Game 3.
Some of those teams include national title favorites—like the Florida Gators and Miami Hurricanes—and others, like the East Carolina Pirates, are trying to continue their Cinderella-like runs.
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Check out Saturday's results along with times for tomorrow's games.
| Florida vs. Florida State (G1) | FSU 3-0 | Florida vs. Florida State (G2) | 6 p.m. | Florida | |
| UCSB vs. Louisville (G1) | UCSB 4-2 | UCSB vs. Louisville (G2) | Noon | UCSB | |
| Coastal Carolina vs. LSU (G1) | CC 11-8 | Coastal Carolina vs. LSU (G2) | 9 p.m. | C. Carolina | |
| Oklahoma State vs. South Carolina (G1) | OSU 5-1 | Oklahoma State vs. South Carolina (G2) | 3 p.m. | Okla. State | |
| Texas Tech vs. East Carolina (G2) | TT 3-1 | ECU vs. Texas Tech (G3) | 3 p.m. | ECU | |
| Boston College vs. Miami (G2) | BC 5-3 | Boston College vs. Miami (G3) | Noon | Miami | |
| Mississippi State vs. Arizona (G2) | UA 6-5 (11) | Wildcats advance to CWS | -- | -- | |
| Texas A&M vs. TCU (G2) | A&M 7-1 | Texas A&M vs. TCU (G3) | 9 p.m. | A&M |
The Hurricanes have looked like the perennial title favorites since the ACC tournament. They took care of business in Game 1 against the Boston College Eagles, winning 12-7. Saturday, though, was a different story.
A four-run fourth inning from Boston College, highlighted by a Donovan Casey home run, was more than enough for the Eagles to force a Game 3 on Sunday.
Casey was out for a month due to an injury he suffered against the Virginia Cavaliers. Saturday's game proved he can still provide much-needed pop from the batting order, as Aaron Fitt from D1Baseball.com noted:
Sunday's game might not have the excitement of Doug Flutie throwing a Hail Mary in the Orange Bowl to win the game, but Boston College has some life in it. The tough task will be to stop Miami's pitching twice in a row.
And if the Hurricanes go to Jesse Lepore, who has not lost this year, it'll be a tough task for the Eagles with their season on the line.
Another team in a good position after a shocking win are the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos. They knocked off the Louisville Cardinals 4-2 in Game 1 on Saturday, and one more win will give the program its first College World Series appearance, according to the Associated Press (via the Los Angeles Times).
UCSB pitcher Shane Bieber pitched seven innings and struck out seven while Austin Bush's solo homer sparked a rally to get the win. He's had an eventful weekend, seeing how he was drafted by the Cleveland Indians on Friday.
Former Colorado Rockies player and UC Santa Barbara alum Ryan Spilborghs was elated after his team's big-time victory:
This tournament is a series of firsts, and the Gauchos can make program history with one more win. The same goes for East Carolina, who also made history with their first super regional win on Friday with an 8-6 victory over the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
Texas Tech got revenge on Saturday with a 3-1 win over ECU in 13 innings. The Pirates got a combined 10.1 innings from pitchers Jimmy Boyd and Joe Ingle and only allowed four hits. They very much hung in with Texas Tech before it became a battle of the bullpens.
ECU's bats quieted, but one more offensive explosion can snag the Pirates a program-defining series win.
This weekend has proved one game can change the outcome of a series and even the tournament. Either way, by the end of this weekend, there will be some history made.
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