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2016 College World Series Finals Postponed Due to Inclement Weather
June 30, 2016
Wednesday night's decisive Game 3 of the 2016 College World Series between the Arizona Wildcats and the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers has been postponed until Thursday because of inclement weather in Omaha, Nebraska, per Michael Lev of the Arizona Daily Star.
NCAA Baseball announced that first pitch is scheduled for 1:08 p.m. ET.
However, the rain and lightning on Wednesday ensured that Thursday's game will be a historic one. According to Creighton sports information director Rob Anderson, it will be the latest date a College World Series game has ever been.
Coastal Carolina, which is looking for its first-ever national championship, forced Game 3 with a 5-4 win on Tuesday night. It had three runs in the eighth inning to break a 2-2 tie.
The efforts of pitcher Mike Morrison also made a memorable Game 2. He went from closer to starting ace, striking out 10 batters in 6.2 innings.
Had the teams played Game 3 on Wednesday, Coastal Carolina was going to start Alex Cunningham instead of No. 1 arm Andrew Beckwith, who was only on four days rest but available to come out of the bullpen.
In a must-win situation, Cunningham isn't a bad option to go with, but Beckwith has put up the finer season for the Chanticleers:
Andrew Beckwith, Alex Cunningham 2016 Stats Beckwith Stat Cunningham 111.1 Innings Pitched 116.1 14-1 Record 10-4 1.94 ERA 3.64 73 Strikeouts 97 15 Walks 37
Source: GoCCUSports.com
| Beckwith | Stat | Cunningham |
| 111.1 | Innings Pitched | 116.1 |
| 14-1 | Record | 10-4 |
| 1.94 | ERA | 3.64 |
| 73 | Strikeouts | 97 |
| 15 | Walks | 37 |
Source: GoCCUSports.com
Arizona, on the other hand, is a school with four national titles and jumped out to the series lead after its 3-0 Game 1 win on Monday.
Most expected the Wildcats to roll out Bobby Dalbec to start because ace Nathan Bannister has been battling forearm soreness. Nonetheless, Arizona manager Jay Johnson told Ari Alexander of KVOA News 4 that "every pitcher," including Bannister, was available for Wednesday night.
This unexpected extra day of rest could alter pitching plans if both teams feel their aces are good to go on Thursday. If that's the case, expect the national championship to come down to a pitcher's duel.