College World Series 2021: TV, Live-Stream Schedule and Game Times for Friday

Both games on the Friday slate at the 2021 College World Series are rematches from earlier in the tournament.

The NC State Wolfpack sent the Vanderbilt Commodores to the losers' bracket after both sides won their respective openers. NC State won a 1-0 game against Jack Leiter. On Friday, it gets a chance to spoil an outing for Vanderbilt's other ace, Kumar Rocker.

The Mississippi State Bulldogs whiffed 21 Texas Longhorns on the way to the first of their two victories inside TD Ameritrade Park. Since that loss, Texas has reeled off two wins with 14 runs scored to receive another chance to knock off Mississippi State.

Vanderbilt and Texas need to win Friday to stay alive in Omaha, Nebraska. NC State and Mississippi State can afford to lose once against their respective opponents and need one win each to advance to the best-of-three championship series.

Friday College World Series Info

No. 4 Vanderbilt vs. NC State (2 p.m. ET, ESPN2)

No. 2 Texas vs. No. 7 Mississippi State (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Games can be live-streamed on the ESPN app and ESPN.com.

Previews

No. 4 Vanderbilt vs. NC State

Vanderbilt has to feel good about its chances to force one more game in Omaha.

Rocker will head to the hill on full rest after he pitched in the opener against the Arizona Wildcats on Saturday.

Leiter gave up a single earned run on four hits and struck out 15 batters in the 1-0 loss to NC State on Monday. He should pass along some tips to his rotation mate on how to slow down a Wolfpack offense that posted 10 runs in their opening win over the Stanford Cardinal.

The ideal pitching matchup would pit Rocker against Reid Johnston, who threw six solid innings Saturday versus Stanford.

NC State has the freshest pitching staff left in the tournament since starters Johnston and Sam Highfill and reliever Evan Justice are the only hurlers to have thrown a pitch in the College World Series. The abundance of rest and need to win just a single game from two matchups with Vanderbilt could push back Johnston to Saturday.

The Wolfpack used the combination of Matt Willadsen and Chris Villaman in the third game of the regional and super regional rounds. If NC State goes with that duo, it has the security of being able to throw Johnston into an elimination game on full rest against Leiter.

The concern with waiting one more game to throw in Johnston is letting Vanderbilt's offense get hot and generate more momentum. The Commodores are coming in off a high after a walk-off victory over Stanford, and they have scored 13 runs in their two victories in Omaha.

NC State may prefer to throw in its top starter Friday to silence Vandy's bats, and if that does not work, Highfill, Willadsen and Villaman would all be available to work Saturday.

No matter which NC State hurlers are on the mound, its offense needs to be better than the one run it got off Leiter on Monday.

The Wolfpack averaged 8.1 runs in their six NCAA baseball tournament wins prior to the 1-0 win over Vanderbilt. If their bats can chip away against Rocker and give their pitchers a lead, the Wolfpack may be able to secure a championship series berth Friday afternoon.

No. 2 Texas vs. No. 7 Mississippi State

The Friday night pitching matchup was not confirmed as of late Thursday night, but there is potential for the two sides to run back the showdown we saw Sunday.

Texas' Ty Madden and Mississippi State's Will Bednar would be pitching on four days rest if the matchup is set up for a second time.

Bednar earned 15 strikeouts in the win, and he was followed by a six-punchout performance from Landon Sims.

Madden struck out 10 Mississippi State hitters, but the two earned runs he gave up were enough for the Bulldogs to move into the winners' bracket.

Texas is coming off a late-night victory over the Virginia Cavaliers on Thursday in a game that was pushed back because of inclement weather. The Longhorns pulled ahead with four runs in the eighth and ninth innings thanks to an Ivan Melendez RBI single and a three-run double off the bat of Zach Zubia.

Zubia and Melendez need to come up with big hits again Friday to give the Longhorns a chance to reach the championship series.

Texas struck out 21 times in the past two games, but it has not allowed a pitcher from Virginia or the Tennessee Volunteers to be as dominant as Bednar.

Even if Bednar does not return Friday, Texas could get another shot at him Saturday through a win Friday. However, getting to that point could be tough for the Longhorns, who have used a ton of energy just to stay alive.

Texas needs to get runs in the first six or seven innings off whomever Mississippi State sends to the mound.

If the Longhorns are stuck chasing late runs, they could have trouble finding them against Sims, who has allowed a single earned run in 4.1 innings in Omaha.

Statistics obtained from D1Baseball.com.