
College World Series 2017: Dates, Schedule and Top Contenders
The field for the College World Series is nearly set, as seven of the eight Super Regional winners have been decided and have punched their ticket to the big event in Omaha, Nebraska.
Oregon State, Texas A&M, Cal State Fullerton, Louisville, Florida State, LSU and TCU will all have a shot when the World Series gets underway Saturday, June 17, and the decisive game in the World Series could be played as late as June 28, per NCAA.com.
There is one spot that still has to be decided. Wake Forest and Florida were playing the second game of their best-of-three series when rain halted play and suspended action Sunday in Gainesville, Florida. The Demon Deacons had a 5-4 lead in the fifth inning when rain halted the action. Florida won the series opener, and the Gators will advance if they can come back and win the game.
If Wake Forest wins the suspended game, which is scheduled to resume at 1:04 p.m. ET on Monday, the two teams will meet in a decisive game 55 minutes after the conclusion of the second game.
Here's a look at three of the contenders for the College World Series title.
Florida State
Florida State (45-21) rolled to its 22nd College World Series appearance by whipping Sam Houston State in two consecutive games. The Seminoles demonstrated that they should be ready to make a strong run in Omaha as they closed out their Super Regional opponents with a 19-0 blowout victory.
Taylor Walls hit two home runs for the Seminoles in that game, and Quincy Nieporte added a three-run shot. The Seminoles are 12-1 in their last 13 games, and they have outscored their opponents 95-40 over that span.
Dylan Busby has hit 14 home runs to lead the Seminoles, and he has also knocked in 62 runs. Nieporte has belted 10 home runs and has driven in a team-high 78 runs. Jackson Lueck leads the team with a .327 average, and he has also belted nine home runs.
The Seminoles are going to need quite a bit from pitcher Tyler Holton, who has a 10-2 record and a 2.25 ERA.
Louisville
The Louisville Cardinals (52-10) got the best of Kentucky in two consecutive games in the Super Regionals to qualify for the World Series.
Louisville won the first game of the series 5-2, and it backed that game up with a 6-2 victory in the second game.
The Cardinals have been a consistent team all season, and they have a couple of big bombers who are leading their offense. Drew Ellis has hammered 20 home runs this season, while teammate Brendan McKay has belted 17 homers. The two have combined to knock in 117 runs this season.
Ellis and McKay are excellent average hitters, as they are batting .367 and .343, respectively. McKay will also play a key role on the mound. He has a 10-3 record and a 2.34 ERA. He started 16 games this season and has struck out 140 batters in 104.0 innings.
Oregon State
Oregon State (54-4) earned its spot in Omaha as a result of its two-game sweep of Vanderbilt.
However, the Beavers' star pitcher, Luke Heimlich, is now involved in a controversy and will likely not pitch in the tournament, according to ESPN.com.
Heimlich is a registered sex offender, according to a report in The Oregonian. According to the newspaper, Heimlich pleaded guilty to a single count of molesting a family member in the state of Washington in 2012 when he was 15 years old.
The 21-year-old registered as a sex offender when he came to Oregon, but the newspaper said he received a citation for missing an update in April.
Heimlich has an 11-1 record and a 0.76 ERA this season, and he is recognized as one of the best pitchers in college baseball.
The Beavers have a dominating team, as evidenced by their record. Nick Madrigal is leading the team with a .383 batting average, and he also has a team-high 85 hits and a .541 slugging percentage.
Oregon State has outscored its opponents by a 352-126 margin this season, but the Beavers are not a home run-hitting team. KJ Harrison leads the team with eight homers, and the team has hit just 29 on the season. However, it has only given up 19 home runs.
Jake Thompson will try to pick up the slack on the mound for Oregon State. He has a 14-0 record and a 1.52 ERA.
All statistics are courtesy of team websites.

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