And then there were 16. Down from 64 teams in the span of just four action-packed days, the college baseball tournament’s chaotic first round coasts into the less frenetic super regional round.
For those new to this tourney, a super regional consists of two teams playing a best of three series at the home stadium of the host site. The winners of each of the eight supers advance to the College World Series in Omaha.
And these matchups, though. In Coral Gables, you have a pitcher-laden No. 4 seed, VCU, going for the upset over an offensive freight train of a national seed, Miami. Charlottesville has DMV rivals Maryland and Virginia in a rematch of last year’s super. In Champaign, an upstart Illinois is trying to prove it’s might against the defending champion, Vandy. And then there’s LSU vs. Louisiana-Lafayette in Baton Rouge, a series that has good odds to set a record for most drunken brawls at a college baseball game.
First, the bracket as it stands heading into the second round, via NCAA.com:
And here’s the schedule and TV info for all eight super regionals. You can catch every game online at WatchESPN.com.
Baton Rouge
Saturday: Louisiana-Lafayette vs. (2) LSU | 8 p.m. ET | ESPN2
Sunday: (2) LSU vs. Louisiana-Lafayette | 6 p.m. ET
Monday (if necessary): Louisiana-Lafayette vs. (2) LSU | 7 p.m. ET
Champaign
Saturday: Vanderbilt vs. (6) Illinois | 8 p.m. ET | ESPNU
Sunday: (6) Illinois vs. Vanderbilt | 9 p.m. ET | ESPNU
Monday (if necessary): Vanderbilt vs. (6) Illinois | 8 p.m. ET
Charlottesville
Friday: Maryland vs. Virginia | 4 p.m. ET | ESPNU
Saturday: Virginia vs. Maryland | 3 p.m. ET | ESPNU
Sunday (if necessary): Maryland vs. Virginia | 3 p.m. ET
Coral Gables
Friday: VCU vs. (5) Miami | noon ET | ESPNU
Saturday: (5) Miami vs. VCU | noon ET | ESPNU
Sunday (if necessary): VCU vs. (5) Miami | noon ET
Fayetteville
Friday: Arkansas vs. (8) Missouri State | 4:30 p.m. ET | ESPN2
Saturday: (8) Missouri State vs. Arkansas | 2 p.m. ET | ESPN2
Sunday (if necessary): Arkansas vs. (8) Missouri State | 3 p.m. ET
Fort Worth
Saturday: Texas A&M vs. (7) TCU | 3 p.m. ET | ESPN
Sunday: (7) TCU vs. Texas A&M | 2:15 p.m. ET | ESPN
Monday (if necessary): Texas A&M vs. (7) TCU | 7 p.m. ET
Gainesville
Friday: Florida State vs. (4) Florida | 7:30 p.m. ET | ESPN2
Saturday: (4) Florida vs. Florida State | 5 p.m. ET | ESPN2
Sunday (if necessary): Florida State vs. (4) Florida | 6 p.m. ET
Louisville
Saturday: Cal State Fullerton vs. (3) Louisville | 11 a.m. ET | ESPN2
Sunday: (3) Louisville vs. Cal State Fullerton | noon ET
Monday (if necessary): Cal State Fullerton vs. (3) Louisville | 1 p.m. ET
