Augie Garrido's Texas Longhorns made yet another trek to Omaha for the 2011 CWS. Uncharacteristically, this time the Horns went a quick 0-2.

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In case I hadn't shown you already, here's the view from inside the press box. Unfortunately, just like Rosenblatt, there were no windows and very little outside sound, so it was as sterile of an environment as ever. About mid-way through every game, I got the itch to get out of there and go to the photo wells. Other than the air conditioning factor, I don't see how sportswriters can enjoy a game inside a glass-encased box.

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A view of the new stadium from the second deck. As mentioned before, there's a lot to like about the new stadium, but it's circular design reminds me of those old cookie-cutter stadiums like Three Rivers Stadium or Busch Stadium. Yuck.

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... but as a fan, it's hard to argue the increased shaded area to watch the game. Mainly because Rosenblatt had nearly zero heat relief.

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Yep, the "Road to Omaha" statue made it to the new stadium, which was a must. But one of the bigger problems was finding that the shrubs they planted behind the statue were the exact same color of the statue itself, making the statue indecipherable and hard to see when looking at it straight on.

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I also noticed a lot of VIP and corporate hospitality tents near the stadium were pretty scarce of people. I got an Email notice a week or two before the CWS asking if I'd be interested in having use of a VIP tent while at the CWS - which would've been pretty good to hang out in between games - but it cost $60 per day. So I said no thanks. Turns out some of these tents were a big bust.

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I still don't get the whole "Men's" part of the College World Series. Was it really necessary to add the word "Men's" to the CWS a couple years ago? I know there's a Women's CWS, but that's softball. Not baseball. It can have the word "Women's" in it all it wants. But there's no reason to clarify a gender on this event. For nearly 60 years it was the College World Series. Now we have to specify the gender of the players participating in it?

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This year saw the addition of Jenn Brown to the daily workings of the ESPN on-field reporting crew (here, she's about to talk with Virginia's Brian O'Connor). So yes, Erin Andrews is no longer a part of our game, but I thought JB did a sufficient-enough job here. And just like Erin, very easy on the eyes of course.

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Okay, so maybe not as inspiring as Notre Dame's "Play Like a Champion Today", but here's the sign that hangs above the tunnel as the players head to the field.

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One of the aspects of the new stadium was the security's apathetic approach to outfield fans and beach balls. No longer do you see yellow-shirted stadium gestapos going pell-mell for the flying balls as they're knocked around. They seem to be content with just letting it go. And to the outfield fans credit, most of the time, when play began again, they stopped hitting the balls around. (Again, that's "most" of the time)

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As you might expect, this Nebraska fan got a huge ovation when they showed him on the big screen.

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... but it was nothing like the wild cheers this "Journey Dude" got. The night before, this hippy-haired bloke was shown wearing a "Journey" t-shirt as the loudspeakers pumped out "Don't Stop Believing". The next night, here he was again as another Journey song was playing, and the "Journey Dude" was a certified hit. And yes, he's shown here singing along with the song.

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Overall, it wasn't an oppressively hot CWS this year. But there were still patrons that found the conditions quite sweaty.

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Eight year College World Series veteran umpire Jim Garman of Houston, Texas still had the best ring-up of any of the men in black.

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Perhaps a little overlooked because of Roth and Price, SoCar's John Taylor was 2-0, appearing in four games and throwing 7.2 innings, giving up five hits and zero earned runs.

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Until the last game of the CWS title series, it seemed as if Florida's Mike Zunino struggled so much he was hitting with just half a bat up there.

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People scurry as Zunino's bat barrel lands in the stands. Note the barrel right next to the kid in the orange shirt.

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I found it odd that during the most intense moments in the final inning of their elimination game with Florida, the entire Vandy bench was at the top step and locked in. But Tony Kemp (far right) cooly sat well away from the rest of the team.

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I noticed that North Carolina and Texas both wore cleats from Nike that showed an outline of the state of Nebraska on the heel.

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Texas A&M's body language suggests the Aggies were down to their last few outs of an 0-2 visit to the College World Series. p.s.: Don't bite your nails.

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And of course, whenever a team gets eliminated, the photogs aren't shy about getting the emotional shots of them crying in the dugout after the game.

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Kyle Peterson is doing his research and getting his pre-game information from Florida head coach Kevin O'Sullivan.

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... in the other dugout, Jenn Brown is getting the lowdown from Ray Tanner. Both sideline reporters did a bang-em-up job this week and these pics show why.

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College World Series MVP Scott Wingo was a man among boys in the field and at the dish.

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Mike (right) and Petey Mack (middle) of 590am Omaha radio fame were gracious enough to have me be a guest on their show five or six times during the CWS. Cool dudes. They also liked my little Jack Daniels gift I gave them at the end of the week.

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"As your benevolent leader I hereby decree that ALL stitch-heads should be loyal to college baseball and the streets will flow with the blood of the non-believers!"

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The lights of The Big Tiddy go dim for the last time as the 2011 College World Series ended on Tuesday night.

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Maybe the series ended just in time. Here is what my car's temperature gauge read as I drove in Western Nebraska on Wednesday. Yep, 1-0-freakin-4 at 4:51 in the afternoon. (By the way, when I reached the Eisenhower Tunnel west of Denver, the temperature reading was down to 53)

It's all Beachballs and Dogpiles: This one says it all. Ben McMahan walks off the field dejectedly as the Gamecocks celebrate the title.

The Gamecocks jumped on Florida freshman Karsten Whitson for three runs in the 3rd inning and stiff-armed the orange and blue from there, never leaving much of a crack in the door for UofF to harbor any hope. The Gamecocks were simply impressive from pitch one to out No. 27.

FIVE THINGS ABOUT TODAY

1- South Carolina completes a pretty impressive post-season. Sure, some may argue whether they were better than Florida or Vanderbilt. But it’s not arguable that they were at their best here.

2- I really dig how bunting, defense and execution had such an impact this year. Simplify man. Simplify.

3- Scott Wingo getting MVP was essentially a no-brainer. Oh and he did some good things at the plate too.

4- I couldn’t help but think, as I watched Florida watch the SC celebration, “That’s gonna be the Gators doing the dogpile next year.”

5- It’s just as well this thing ended today, temps s’posed to reach upper 90s tomorrow. So I’m outta here.

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CHAMPIONSHIP GAME 2

South Carolina played the role of Cool Hand Luke once again and dominated the field to win the first CWS title in The Big Tiddy. And don’t be shocked to see these guys back again, they’ll return a good number of pitchers and difference-makers in the order to make another run to the O.

Start Time: 7:11pm

Conditions: 78 degrees, 38% humidity

Attendance: 26,721 (series-high)

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LINESCORE:

Florida- 000 100 010 -  2  5  1

SoCar – 003 001 01x -  5 10  0

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WP: Michael Roth, 14-3

LP: Karsten Whitson, 8-1

Save: Matt Price, 20

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IT WAS OVER WHEN:

… the Cocks got that 3-0 lead and Roth was still holding court.

He had a little bit of bumps along the way, including Zunino’s homer and some runners in scoring position in the 6th, but Roth never got rattled. He was still serving up his upper-70s/lower-80s “heat” and the Gators kept chomping at it. Carolina wouldn’t need any more offense than that, as John Taylor and Matt Price came along to allow only one hit and no walks in their combined.

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TOUR DE FORCE:

- Peter Mooney, South Carolina

Last night, it was his double play partner Scott Wingo. Tonight is was the Gamecock shortstop. He made a series of solid plays in the dirt and also added a 6th inning jack that put an exclamation point on the title win. For the night, Mooney went 2-for-3 with an RBI and scored two of the Gamecock runs.

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TOUR DE FORCE 2:

- Scott Wingo, South Carolina.

Sorry, I just couldn’t get out of here without mentioning how much of a freakin’ machine this guy was. Tonight, he didn’t disappoint again, making numerous good defensive plays and going 1-for-3 at the plate. He knocked in a pair of runs, one on a sac fly in the pivotal 3rd inning and a door-slammer in the 8th inning, where he knocked in Evan Marzilli with a Baltimore Chop over the drawn-in infield.

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UNDER THE RADAR:

- Mike Zunino, Florida.

The Big Z picked the wrong time to finally bust out. After struggling all series long, the SEC player of the year went 3-for-3 with two doubles and a home run to supply most of the offense for the Gators. His solo blast that answered Carolina’s 3-run 3rd inning was crucial, but in the end not enough of his teammates came through. The remainder of the lineup was 3-for-28.

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NOT READY FOR PRIME TIME:

- Karsten Whitson, Florida

Talk about bad timing, how about waiting until you get to Omaha to suffer your first loss? The 1st round phenom will see many better days than this, for sure, but he didn’t have his best outing. Whitson wasn’t horrible, going 4.2 innings and giving up just four hits and walking two. But his 36-pitch 3rd inning was the crushing blow for the Gators as Carolina scored all the runs they would need to put up the W.

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BEST QUOTE:

- Ray Tanner, South Carolina

“We never thought we were an awesome team, we just did enough to get it done every time. These guys believed they could win. You never expect to repeat again. I never think about, ‘Well we’re good enough to win this championship and we’ve gotta get back to Omaha,’ I think about doing what we need to do every day to get better. And that’s what these guys did.”

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- Scott Wingo, South Carolina

“I know coach Tanner wouldn’t say it but I thought about it every day. I always thought about what Oregon State did and thought, ‘We can do that.’”

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BEST MEDIA QUOTE:

One of the South Carolina beat writers came into the press box after the post game press conference and said, “Somewhere Jack Leggett just kicked a puppy.”

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PICS:

More images from tonight’s game.

Gasp!... Did Michael Roth ACTUALLY give up two earned runs in his 7.2 innings of work? Dogs and cats sleeping together... mass hysteria!

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Roth's counterpart, Karsten Whitson (about to get pulled by Kevin O'Sullivan here), didn't fare as well, going 4.2 innings, giving up three runs (though only one was earned) and picking up his first loss of the year.

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Eventually, South Carolina would turn the game over to Matt Price, who came in from the pen and was lights out once again.

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O'Sullivan would make some late game moves, like pulling Cody Dent and inserting Tyler Thompson (18), but it wouldn't work.

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... because Matt Price kept blowing 90+ heat past anyone who dared to wave a bat in his direction.

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In the end, it was Price that was sky-high once again, celebrating another title.

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... and his Gamecock teammates stormed the field to join him in celebration.

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... and the dogpile starts to stack up.

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For some reason the Florida players stood idly by and watched the entire celebration. (I would've gotten my grip and gone into the clubhouse and watched CNN or something. But that's me.)

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After shaking hands with Ray Tanner, Kevin O'Sullivan took one look at the Gamecock celebration...

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... then he immediately gathered his team together and imparted some words of wisdom as Carolina kept carrying on.

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There were hugs all around after the Gators received their plaques from the NCAA.

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And in case you were wondering, this is what happened to the runners-up trophy that was given to the Gators. It immediately got set down on the bench with the rest of the teams' bags and rubbish.

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Meanwhile, Scott Wingo (right) and pals hoisted the national championship trophy for the cameras to flash their bulbs upon.

All Hail the Mighty Price!: Matt Price picked up his 19th save of the season in tonight's win.

Incredible.

FIVE THINGS ABOUT TODAY

1- I’ve been going to CWS games since I was three years old and I’ve never seen a defensive game this good. Ever.

2- Even though this was an incredible win by SoCar, this thing is far from over. These are two pretty evenly-matched teams.

3- That whole Christian Walker thing was the biggest much-ado-about-nothing in CWS history. He doubled on his first swing and scored the winning run.

4- Once again, a freshman starter on the mound shows no jitters. Forrest Koumas was nails.

5- You know it’s Championship Finals time when the big hitters show up on press row. ESPN’s Ryan McGee and CBS’ Dennis Dodd were here for game one.

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CHAMPIONSHIP GAME 1

South Carolina played lights out defense all night long. Absolute lights out. By getting out of another bases-loaded, no out situation in the bottom of the 9th, and then watching Florida unravel in one fell play in the 11th inning, the Cocks move to within 27 outs of a second straight national title.

Start Time: 7:10pm

Conditions: 76 degrees, Northwest winds at 12mph, 55% humidity

Attendance: 25,851

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LINESCORE:

SoCar – 000 000 010 01 – 2  7  1

Florida- 001 000 000 00 – 1  8  3

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WP: John Taylor, 8-1

LP: Nice Maronde, 0-1

Save: Matt Price, 19

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IT WAS OVER WHEN:

… South Carolina proved to be impenetrable on defense.

I don’t know how the Gamecock defense continues to do it, but they are beyond incredible on the defensive end of things. You saw it. I saw it. The whole college baseball world saw it. Bases-loaded, no outs, versus a team like Florida? You kiddin’ me? My Gawd! These guys are escape artists. Harry Houdini couldn’t hold their collective jock straps. Those two back-to-back plays by Scott Wingo were remarkable. And Jake Williams spot-on throw from left to get Cody Dent in the 10th. Bellisimo!

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TOUR DE FORCE:

(Other than the South Carolina defense because they were the obvious TDF)

- Both starting pitchers.

Great performance by Hudson Randall, who was a centimeter or two away from getting that RBI single that skipped under his glove. Other than that, if you had told Kevin O’Sullivan that his starter would go 7.2 innings and give up three hits and one walk, I’m sure he’d have jumped on it. On the opposite side, Koumas the frosh went pitch for pitch with the Gator ace and, sure the one walk ended up being his only run surrendered, but if not for a wild pitch (that I thought could’ve been caught, but that’s just me) and a weak throw from left field by Jake Williams (he would make amends later of course), Koumas wouldn’t have given up that 3rd-inning run.

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UNDER THE RADAR:

- The improbable gaffes.

How unlikely was that game-winning run? You have to wonder if Florida even made two errors in an entire game all season, much less on a single play in the 11th inning. Mike Zunino, who has been a brilliant defender all season, did the unthinkable and sailed a ball into center field on an attempted steal by Christian Walker. Then, as Walker strode to 3rd base, Gator CF Bryson Smith tried to gun down Walker and ended up skipping the throw into the stands. Walker scores on two errors. Where is Tim Tebow when you need him?

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NOT READY FOR PRIME TIME:

- Mike Zunino, Florida catcher.

I can’t believe I’m putting Zunino in this category. Really. It’s impossible to think this guy didn’t come up clutch when his team needed him to since, as coach O’Sullivan said, he’s the reason Florida is in this championship series. But Zunino’s struggles continued, as he committed the above-mentioned throwing error to start Walker on his way toward the winning run. He also went 1-for-4 at the dish. His only hit? A slice to left that Jake Williams was able to pick up and throw Cody Dent out at home to save the game. That’s a bad double whammy. And an unlucky double whammy.

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KEY STAT:

- South Carolina’s bullpen is now 6-0 with four saves in their nine NCAA tournament games this post-season. In addition to that, they haven’t allowed an extra base hit in 32.1 innings.

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BEST QUOTE:

- Florida’s Kevin O’Sullivan on his opening statement:

“We had our opportunities in the bottom of the 9th. We needed to elevate the ball and we didn’t get it done. It was a frustrating game for us. I thought we were right there. But South Carolina is the defending national champion for a reason. They made plays when they needed to and I’m not going to say it’s on us, they deserve all the credit.”

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PICS.

More images from tonight’s game.

Early on it was Florida making all the defensive plays, like Nolan Fontana's double play turn here.

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But in the pivotal 9th inning, the Gators loaded the bases. So the Gators pulled the infield in.

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I hope you got the chance to see this live or as the top play in the Sports Center's Top Ten: Tyler Thompson hits a roller that Gamecock 2nd baseman Scott Wingo is able to stab. (Sorry the pic is a tad blurry, that's what happens when you whip the camera around to catch the action)

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As my camera adjusts and clicks a clean image, we see Josh Adams heading toward 2nd base as Wingo gets to his feet and fires the ball home.

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... the ball beats Mike Zunino to home plate as Robert Beary made a nice grab in the dirt. One out. (Which was followed by an awesome 4-2-3 double play)

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Meanwhile, I thought I'd point out, the Gators couldn't make the plays fall their way.

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Then, in the 10th, on a Mike Zunino single to left, Cody Dent tried to make his way from 2nd to home, but Jake Williams threw a strike to the plate and Robert Beary was able to make another game-saving tag.

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Check out the various reactions from the fans and Florida players behind Robert Beary, as he holds the ball aloft after tagging Dent.

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Finally, in the 11th inning, Christian Walker attempted to steal 2nd base, which forced Mike Zunino into a quick throw, which went obscenely high, as witnessed by Josh Adams' impressive vertical. But to no avail.

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Everybody on the ground: Bryson Smith's poor throw skips past Gator 3rd baseman Cody Dent (note ball at top of the frame), into the crowd and allowing Christian Walker to score the game-winning run.

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Walker gets the props after touching the dish.

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With the ESPN cameras on him, Christian Walker is relieved to put the Cocks ahead to stay.

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G’night.

Get used to seeing this. The Florida Gators could be ready for Double-A level baseball by this time next year.

Why do this now? Two reasons. One, It gives me something to do as I sit in my motel in Tyndall, South Dakota, my place of escape for the time between bracket play and the title series. And two, I like to get mine posted early, then accuse everyone else of plagiarizing my picks when they get around to posting theirs.

I’ll do this categorically.

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The Heavy Heavy Favorite: FLORIDA

If anybody else picks Florida to make it back, then they’re just ripping the idea off of me. (pause to smirk). Okay, this has to be one of the biggest no-brainers in the history of mankind. Some of the names of the returnees for 2012 sound like a pre-season All American team: Zunino, Randall, Maddox, Johnson, Fontana, Rodriguez, etc., etc. Great googily mooly! I tell you what, if the Gators DON’T make it back to Omaha, I’ll grow my hair out and wear it in a 60s-style, wicked-awesome comb-over for the next year.

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The Big Question Mark: ARIZONA STATE

The Sun Devils still have that sword of Damocles of Big Dance exclusion hanging over them. If the  probation from post-season play is lifted, this team will be scary. Brady Rogers and Jake Barrett return on weekends and they’ll have Frosh All American Trevor Williams out of the pen. If Kramer Champlin (34th round) isn’t happy with his draft and decides to return, that gives the Devils all three returning weekenders. Relief ace Mitchell Lambson (19th round) and OF Kyle Wilson (21st round) could also come back and bolster the roster.

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The Anti-Chokers: GEORGIA TECH

Keep in mind, I never said Tech were choke-artists. That’s angry and antagonizing fans that did that. But the Wreck was a little on the young side this year anyway. The return of talents like OF Kyle Wren (hit .340), Brandon Thomas (.307), Buck Farmer (11-3), Matthew Grimes (7-4, 4.15) and Luke Bard (2-2, 2.72, 8svs) will have resounding effect on next year’s hopes. Eight Tech players are in the prestigious Cape Cod League this summer too.

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The Righted Ship: LSU

Oh come on, you know it’s only a matter of time Tiger fans, so quit freakin’ out. Friday/Saturday guys Kurt McCune and Kevin Gausman will be much-wiser sophomores (not that they weren’t wise-beyond-their-years as frosh) and fellow first-year Tigers like Raph Rhymes, JaCoby Jones and catcher Ty Ross will pay big dividends. Also, it appears as if SS Austin Nola, 3B Tyler Hanover and leadoff man Trey Watkins weren’t all that crash-hot over their draft status, so they could all be back as well.

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The “We’ll Just Out-Smart You” Team: STANFORD

The Ivy League school of the West played its best baseball down the stretch and is jam-packed with returnees. The top seven hitters (including MLB-type talents Kenny Diekroger and man-child Austin Wilson) all return for ‘12. Ace Mark Appel will be back and could be joined by Brett Mooneyham (a two-year weekender who sat 2011) in the rotation once again. Frosh A.J. Venagas and soph Dean McArdle combined for 40 appearances and 15 starts. This team isn’t just smart, it’s also loaded.

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The Anti-Injury Bug: RICE

Man alive. If the Owls would just be given a pass from the injury bug one of these years, they’ll be dangerous. I thought they were given a gift as a national seed, but in 2012, they’ll be ready for the chore. Even with Anthony Rendon gone, this team will be oozing talent with guys like Michael Ratterree (.327) and Shane Hoelscher (.281) locking down infield spots. And just imagine what Wayne Graham will be able to do with future MLBers Austin Kubitza and John Simms in their second years on the mound?

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The You-Know-They’ll-Have-A Third SEC Team: ARKANSAS

I pretty much just consulted the Magic 8-Ball for this pick. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that the SEC gets three in again. Hell it’s not even a stretch to say they’ll have three of the final four again. Pitch staff is loaded with ace D.J. Baxendale on Friday and teaming with Brandon Moore, Randall Fant and Ryne Stanek (who is already tearing it up for Team USA this summer) to bring back 46 starts on the mound. Also having frosh ace reliever Nolan Sanburn (8svs) back will be big. Offense will need re-tooling, but Freshman All American Dominic Ficociello (.346) led the team in 2011.

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The Wild Card: ST. JOHN’S

Yes, when picking these things you always have to have some team that turns readers heads sideways. But the Johnnies won’t be a novelty next year. All American ace Kyle Hansen will be joined by mound starters Kevin Kilpatrick Sean Hagan and Brendan Lobban for a chock-full rotation. Plus they’ll have the backing of relievers Matt Carasiti and Stephen Rivera, who both had ERAs below 3.00 and combined for 12 saves. SS Joe Panik was taken as the 29th pick in the draft, but 2B Matt Wessinger could return after going in the 35th round. OF Jeremy Baltz hit .312 this year and will be an All American in 2012. If the Kings of Queens are ever going to make a big run, next year is the year.

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EIGHT MORE LITTLE ENGINES THAT COULD:

If the above teams can’t fulfill their promise and fall short of the duties that go with wearing the crown with dignity, here are eight more teams to keep an eye on.

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- Miami

We saw some real emerging talents on the field for the U in the Gainesville Regional like power-stick Rony Rodriguez and defensive whiz OF Dale Carey. Almost every arm of note will return in ‘12 as well, led by juniors-to-be Steven Ewing (8-2) and Eric Whaley (7-5).

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- Texas

Augie told us at his final press conference in Omaha that he had 11 freshman that contributed this year. So despite losing Jungmann and Cole Green, look for yearlings to emerge. Hoby Milner and Corey Knebel will lead the new mound corps. But we’ll feel better if you find some offense too.

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- Vanderbilt

I know, I know, losing all that talent to the draft will hurt. Sure. But with Tony Kemp, Conrad Gregor, Mike Yastrzemski and Connor Harrell making for a potent offense, you know the pitching will eventually come around. Plus, the ‘Dores have that taste of Omaha now.

Tony Kemp (#6) will be the best table-setter in the country and will lead what should be a still-potent Commodore offense in 2012.

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- UCLA

Just like Vandy, the Bruins lose a fleet of golden arms, No. 1 Gerrit Cole and No. 3 Trevor Bauer for starters. But beyond them, the entire remaining staffers were all frosh, led by future stud Adam Plutko. The offense will be wicked, led by Beau Amaral and Cody Keefer.

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- UC Irvine

The hard-luck Anteaters have to break through again someday, right? There should be plenty of losses in the field/order but most of the pitching will be back, led by Matt Whitehouse, who came on strong, and Phil Ferragamo. Also, Evan Brock, who went 6-4, 3.03 in ‘10, returns from injury.

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- South Carolina

No truth to the rumor that if I didn’t mention South Carolina their fans would hang me in effigy in Columbia. But if Michael Roth returns and still has Matt Price around to lock things down, what else do the Cocks need? Oh and Christian Walker will pace the offense. Cha-ching!

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- Texas A&M

The Aggies feature Michael Wacha. ‘Nuff said, right? Well if Kyle Martin can expand his role and Ross Hales (Freshman A-A in ‘10) can return to his old form, they’ve already got leading hitters Tyler Naquin and Krey Bratsen back for support. Big 12 champs? Sure.

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- California

Four big names come back for 2012. Starters Justin Jones (he could’ve been a difference-maker in Omaha) and Kyle Porter on the hill, and grinders like Tony Renda and Devon Rodriguez in the field/at the plate. That’s a solid nucleus to build from. Remember, Cal had one of the top frosh classes in the country this year too.

Don't look so down son: If Justin Jones returns to form, the Bears will stalk the summit again in 2012.

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AND IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR NEXT YEAR’S DALLAS BAPTIST:

Just file this away in a drawer for now. But next June, if you see one of these teams in a Super Regional fighting for a spot in Omaha, don’t be slack-jawed.

- Maine.

Don’t feed the Bears. Behind 10-game winner Keith Bilodeau and MLB-knows-em arms of RHPs Jeff Gibbs and Steve Perakslis, UMaine will take over where Stony Brook left off as the AmEast faves and could be bracket busters in ‘12.

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- Oral Roberts

Most of the pitching will return, led by freshman Alex Gonzalez, the next in a long line of standout Eagle mound studs. 3B T.J. Bennett was also a frosh All American. So the talent is there.

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- San Diego

The forgotten 1st rounder from the 2010 draft is RHP Dylan Covey and 3B/1B Kris Bryant is as raw a power bat as there is in the country. These two freshman will lead a resurgence for coach Rich Hill in ‘12.

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THE STARTING UMPIRES FOR SATURDAY, JUNE 16TH, 2012.

Hey, we talk about teams being there a year from now, who will ump the games? Here are my picks for Omaha assignments next June for the men in black.

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Home Plate: Dave Yeast.

It’s been three years now that the former National Coordinator of Umpires left that job and returned to the white lines of college baseball. I think it’s time the umpire evaluators throw the dude a frickin’ bone man.

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1st Base: Randy Bruns

Although he’s been assigned the CWS three times, it’s been since 2003 that the mild-mannered Bruns has graced the basepaths to soften even the biggest crybaby coaches who love to hear themselves argue. After this year’s crew has had some tough times, we need Bruns’ serenity.

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2nd Base: Bill Van Raaphorst.

This iron-jawed up-and-coming “blue” will break through at some point. Although I don’t like to anoint anyone for an Omaha assignment that is younger than myself. It’s almost as devastating as the first time you see a Playboy Playmate that’s younger than you.

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3rd Base: Tony Maners.

A veteran in umpiring circles, I thought Maners did an outstanding job as the crew chief in handling all that was thrown at him at this year’s LA Super Regional. He last worked home plate for the 2009 CWS title round. Let’s give the dude one last hurrah in The O.

Tough but fair: Umpire Tony Maners knows how to handle the best and worst of head coaches.

Sonny Gray shows the pains of giving up 12 hits and walking five.

After nearly a week where the only real drama was whether or not the stadium was going to go up in a funnel cloud with Auntie Em, Friday provided a pair of nail-biters that helped determine the two teams that will play in the championship series. They also determined who would leave Omaha with the biggest heartache.

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FIVE THINGS ABOUT TODAY

1- After a week a boat races, it’s nice to have some drama at The Big Tiddy for once.

2- After years of Gorilla Ball ping-dings deciding games, it’s pretty cool to have defense and precision deciding games. That’s just me.

3- South Carolina has to be worn out emotionally, but who’s going to bet against them at this point?

4- If you’re Florida, you gotta love how the pitching rotation is re-freshed and turned over for the title series.

5- Tim Corbin doesn’t like press conferences.

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GAME 11

Florida looked like it was going to make quick work of Vanderbilt, jumping out to another early lead. But the ‘Dores put together a rally to tie the game at four in the 8th. But a couple more miscues led to two more Gator runs to seal the deal.

Start Time: 1:09pm

Conditions: 72 degrees and sunny

Attendance: 20,087

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LINESCORE:

Vandy – 100 000  210 – 4  10  1

Florida- 001 201 02x -  6  13  0

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WP: Austin Maddox, 3-0

LP: Sonny Gray, 12-4

Save: None

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IT WAS OVER WHEN:

… the Commodores couldn’t handle the Gator bunts.

In the bottom of the 8th inning, just after VU had tied it and Daniel Pigott singled to open the frame, back to back bunts by Cody Dent and Nolan Fontana. Neither 3rd baseman Jason Esposito or pitcher Sonny Gray could make the play. That bases-loaded, no-out situation was nearly impossible to stop. Two batters later Preston Tucker slammed the ball over Tony Kemp’s head for the go-ahead run, followed by a wild pitch that scored the insurance run.

In the 8th, Jason Esposito's throw to 1st base was off-line, allowing Cody Dent to reach safely and put men on 1st and 2nd.

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... then Sonny Gray couldn't handle Nolan Fontana's well-placed bunt and loaded the bases.

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TOUR DE FORCE:

- Cody Dent, Florida

In the spirit of his father, Cody “F-ing” Dent. Hard to believe a 9-hole hitter could be THE difference-maker here in this game, but that’s what the hardscrabble sophomore who came in hitting .191 was today. He was 2-for-2 at the dish, scoring two runs, getting two walks and being a real pest with his pinpoint bunting. Sonny Gray won’t soon forget him. Cody “F-ing” Dent.

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UNDER THE RADAR:

- The bottom of the Florida order.

It wasn’t just Dent that put a dent in the Commodores. The 5-through-9 hitters aren’t the ballyhooed of the bunch, but did a lot of the heavy lifting for the offense today going a combined 7-for-13 and scoring all six of the runs.

Coach Kevin O’Sullivan said afterward, “The offense can’t just fall on Preston Tucker or Mike Zunino. We need to get production from everybody. It’s awfully good to get the production from the bottom like we have been. But this isn’t new. We’ve been getting production from those guys all year long.”

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NOT READY FOR PRIME TIME:

- Florida relievers Tommy Toledo and Nick Maronde

The two brought gas canisters to the mound and in 2/3rds of an inning, doubled the amount of runs given up by starter Alex Panteliodis and equaling his three hits surrendered in his 6.0 innings. The game went from a 4-1 lead to a 4-3 white-knuckler in their 22 combined pitches. Special dishonorable mention to Steven Rodriguez too. For as brilliant as he was last time out vs. the Commodores, he gave up a two hits and a run in one-third of an inning today.

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BEST QUOTE:

- Tim Corbin, Vanderbilt coach on the sudden end to the season.

“It’s like a car going 100 miles an hour and then slams on the brakes. Tomorrow they’re all gone. That part stinks.”

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RUNNER UP QUOTE:

- Tim Corbin on how he feels right now.

“Right now I want to take my phone and computer and dump it in the Tennessee River and just spend some time with these guys, because this is the toughest moment a coach and players can go through.”

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NEXT :

- Vanderbilt.

The Commodores end the season with a 54-12 record, including that famously unfortunate 1-5 mark against Florida. The Commodores will say goodbye to a lot of talent this off-season, including Sonny Gray, Grayson Garvin, Taylor Hill, Curt Casali, Jason Esposito and Aaron Westlake. Yikes. But good recent recruiting classes will assure that the drop-off isn’t as bad as you might expect.

- Florida

Tim Tebow U. waltzes into the championship series with four straight wins and their pitching staff completely turned over and ready to go.The way the entire batting order is contributing and swinging hot bats, it’ll take a big effort to knock these guys out twice.

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PICS

Sonny Gray went seven innings but was a little off-balance and didn't resemble his usual dominant self.

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Aaron Westlake did it all for the 'Dores, hitting a 1st inning home run and here, making a play from his knees.

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Tony Kemp is about to get nabbed in a run-down between 1st and 2nd. Conor Harrell failed to score from 3rd on the play. Anthony Gomez would ground out on the next at-bat.

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Alex Panteliodis was nails for the Gators, throwing six innings and giving up just three hits and one run.

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The swing that won the game. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the 8th, Preston Tucker took this Corey Williams offering deep to left.

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... which caused Tony Kemp to twist and writhe near the track, but he couldn't make the catch.

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A batter later, Cody Dent beat the throw from Curt Casali and scored on a wild pitch to make it 6-4. Finis.

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GAME 12

Well, we were begging for drama weren’t we? But man alive, this is getting ridiculous. Forget Sooner Magic, how about Gamecock Magic? South Carolina does it again, winning another white-knuckler in Omaha, keeping their cool and eliminating Virginia with a 13-inning 3-2 win.

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Start Time: 6:09pm

Conditions: 79 degrees and sunny, 43% humidity

Attendance: 25,882

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LINESCORE:

Virginia – 010 000 010 000 0 – 2  11  2

So. Car.- 000 200 000 000 1 – 3   9  2

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WP: Matt Price, 7-3

LP: Cody Winiarski, 6-4

Save: None

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IT WAS OVER WHEN:

… Virginia botched the ball around the infield in the 13th.

It’s as simple as that. You saw it plain as day, or night in this case. The Cocks got out of their bases-loaded, no-out situation in the top of the 13th without going into freakout mode. The Cavs caved. Two huge throwing errors on Gamecock bunts in the bottom of the frame led to the bases getting loaded and then, in a twist of cruelty, allowed the winning run to race home. Adam Matthews, who was pinch running for Brady Thomas after he led off the inning with a single, jaunted from 3rd to home after Cody Winiarski threw his second errant throw of the inning, bouncing the ball beyond 3rd base on Robert Beary’s bunt.

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TOUR DE FORCE:

- Branden Kline vs. Matt Price.

Gutty. Gritty. Gut-wrenching. These two All American closers put on a show. Although it wasn’t the most crisp performance to say the least as Kline went 5.0 innings, giving up three hits and four walks and Price went 5.2 innings giving up seven hits and five walks(!). But at the risk of overusing the word “gut” once again, it was more of a “gutting it out” kind of thing, because stats don’t tell the story. And of course, the defenses behind them came up clutch many many times. It wasn’t pretty, but it was high-dollar entertainment for sure.

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UNDER THE RADAR:

- Matt Price’s escapability

The Gamecock closer was able to get out of three bases-loaded situations tonight, including the 13th-inning scenario that saw him slither out of a bases-juiced, no out jam with a strikeout and a sharp line-out double play. Unreal.

Matt Price, on his getting out of bases-loaded situations:

“I just try to go out there and make quality pitches and the defense backed me up tonight.”

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NOT READY FOR PRIME TIME:

- Hultzen’s health.

The dude was mowing people down and taking no prisoners in this one. Gah! I mean throwing 32 strikes in his 40 pitches and striking out the first six batters he faced, he was on an epic pace. But he just couldn’t continue into the 4th inning because of his flu-like symptoms and it temporarily shot their confidence. The Cocks would go on to score two runs in the 4th inning after Hultzen hit the showers.

UVa coach Brian O’Connor on Hultzen:

“He was gutting it out. He was in pretty miserable shape after the first inning. I wasn’t planning on having him go too long to begin with and I wasn’t going to put his career in jeopardy by keeping him out there. If we don’t win a national championship, then we don’t win a national championship. I just wasn’t going to put him at risk.

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BEST QUOTE:

- Brian O’Connor on what was tougher, losing a game like this as a player (a 12-inning loss to Wichita State in 1991) or as a coach:

“Very similar game to the one I lost in 1991. Ya’ know I think it’s harder as a coach because you want this opportunity for these players to get a chance to compete for a national championship. It’s my livelihood, coaching college baseball, but it’s their experience. And I already had my experience 20 years ago. This is their experience and you want it so bad for it to work out for them.”

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NEXT :

- Virginia

The Cavs conclude 2011 with a record of 56-12. A great run came to a sudden and merciless ending for this team with tonight’s dagger of a loss. The Wahoos will lose a good bit for 2012, including No. 2 overall pick Danny Hultzen, weekend starter Tyler Wilson, reliever Cody Winiarski and more than likely, talents like Steven Proscia, Will Roberts and catcher John Hicks. It should be a big reloading project for coach O’Connor in 2012. But the Cavs can look back on a really bitchin’ 2011 season.

- South Carolina

The Gamecocks return to the championship round to try and become another repeat champion in the mode of Oregon State of 2006 and 2007. But they’ll have to overcome a really emotional game in this one here (along with needing some pitchers’ arms to recover fast). As Ray Tanner put it in the post-game press conference, he’d like to see a rainout on Monday. But it looks like Forrest Koumas will start game one and Tanner could end up putting Michael Roth out there again for a game two – at least he hedged toward saying that in the press conference.

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PICS:

An incredible game with an improbable ending. Here’s how the winning run crossed:

With men on 1st and 2nd, Robert Beary punched a bunt down the 3rd base line.

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Cody Winiarski fields the ball and wheels around to get the force at 3rd base.

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... then Wahoo 1st baseman Jared King obstructs my view of the play at third. Rats! (But you can see the blur of the white ball on the right side of the pic skipping away from Steven Proscia)

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Winiarski (left) can't believe his rotten luck, while Adam Matthews runs down toward home as the fans behind him go wild.

The 1991 Creighton baseball team was honored before tonight's game and the biggest applause was saved for Virginia coach Brian O'Connor, who was a reliever on that '91 team.

FIVE THINGS ABOUT TODAY

1- Being an Omaha native, seeing the 1991 Creighton CWS team being honored before the game was pretty much awesome with a capital AWE.

2- THIS was the Virginia team we all expected to see in Omaha. They played a near-flawless game and dominated.

3- If it had been scored correctly, Kenny Swab’s inside-the-park home run would’ve been the first in Omaha since former Minnesota player and Arizona coach Jerry Kindall pulled the trick in 1960.

4- Seeing two seats from Rosenblatt auctioned for $1,100 makes me feel good for buying two seats for $200 in 2009. Suckers.

5- If I was Dave Esquer, I wouldn’t shake Cal AD Sandy Barbour’s hand, I would bust into her office when I got back to Berkeley, pull my pants down and moon her BIG time. Just sayin’.

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GAME TEN

With a steady, unrelenting offensive attack and a stout effort from Tyler Wilson on the mound, Virginia eliminates Cal to advance to the bracket finals against South Carolina. The Golden Bears see their season on the emotional roller coaster finally hit the breaks for the last time.

Start Time: 6:09pm

Conditions: 73 degrees, slight north wind

Attendance: 25,833

LINESCORE:

. Virginia – 002 004 002 – 8  11  1

California- 000 000 010 – 1   6  3

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WP: Tyler Wilson, 10-0

LP: Dixon Anderson, 4-4

Save: None

UVa starter Tyler Wilson was masterful, going 7.2 innings and getting his second win of the CWS.

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IT WAS OVER WHEN:

… Kenny Swab sprinted around the bases on a ball that Cal centerfielder Darrel Matthews misplayed, only to see it go all the way to the wall. That inside-the-park home run (which was ruled a single with a three-base error) put the score at 3-0 and seemed to take the wind out of the Bears. From there, the top of the 6th inning became a bloodletting that seemed to last 45 minutes. The next batter, David Coleman, slapped a double down the line. Two batters later, Keith Werman blooped an RBI single, then Chris Taylor sliced an RBI double and finally John Barr zipped an RBI single. You get the picture here, UVa was up 6-0 at that point and Cal’s magic had run out.

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TOUR DE FORCE:

- Tyler Wilson, UVa pitcher

Pretty much a no-brainer here. The dude just didn’t give the Bears any room to breathe with his wicked sinker and high-moving fastball. For the game, Wilson went 7.2 innings, gave up just five hits and one run. He was extremely proficient too, throwing 63 strikes in his 94 pitches and not walking a single batter.

Coach O’Connor on Wilson saving use of the bullpen with his 7.2 innings::

“There’s no doubt that was huge. The fact that he was able to go seven and two-thirds innings and we only had to use Cody Winiarski for a short stint for what we have potentially in front of us, saving everyone we possibly can helps your chances of advancing on.”

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UNDER THE RADAR:

- Keith Werman, UVa 9-hole hitter.

This dude is MADE for the under the radar segment. He doesn’t do anything great, but he does everything good. Tonight the wunderkind went 2-for-2, including an RBI single and scored a run. Oh yeah, and he also contributed with a pair of sac bunts, which became his 25th and 26th of the season which leads the country.

Dave Esquer put it well, “Keith Werman seems to be in the middle of a lot of things.”

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NOT READY FOR PRIME TIME:

- The Cal batters.

Coach Esquer knew it’d be a tough row to hoe going up against Tyler Wilson. And sure enough, his team got out of character tonight. The six hits is one thing, but he also lamented the fact that they teach their players to use the middle of the field and they did anything but that tonight. In fact, he even went so far as to say that he wasn’t sure if the Cavalier middle infielders had to make a single play tonight (For the record, 2B Keith Werman made three putouts and SS Chris Taylor made one.).

Dave Esquer again, “I kind of anticipated people saying, ‘Coach, did the magic just run out with your club?’ And I would say, ‘Boy, if magic was low and hard contact hits to the middle of the diamond, then it absolutely did.’ Because that’s what we had to do and we just didn’t get that. I don’t think we hit a ball to the middle of the diamond and made them make a play. Again, it’s a tribute to the pitcher.”

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BEST QUOTE:

- Dave Esquer on his team.

“At some point at the University of California, 10, 15, 20 years down the line, we’re going to be honoring this team for what they did and what they accomplished. And I think I took even more satisfaction just listening to our dugout: Never give up. And in that 9th inning, to see them support their teammates and basically go out the way they came in, which was with a lot of spirit and energy and a lot of team support. You know what, I couldn’t have asked for more. I could not have asked for more from a group of guys.”

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NEXT :

- Virginia.

The Cavs now face a Matterhorn of a chore in having to beat South Carolina twice to advance to the championship series. Oof. With the way the Cocks are playing… yikes.

- California.

Sniffle… sniffle… What is left to say about the Golden Bears? A wicked-ass season that saw their program teetering on the edge of the Turks’ blade ended up in Omaha and included a win too. Un-freakin-real. Major kudos to coach Dave Esquer, who not only deserves his coach of the year accolades, but as I said in my Baldcast from the Bonneville Salf Flats, this dude should be Time Magazine’s Man of the Year. We haven’t heard the last from this guy and his program, but we sure as hell heard a lot already.

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PICS

More images from tonight’s elimination game at the Big Tiddy.

CU's 1992 head coach was present Chicago Cub GM Jim Hendry. One of my favorite quotes from that 1991 CWS was ESPN color commentator Larry Sorenson (no relation) who said at the time, "Hendry could run for mayor right now and it wouldn't even be close. He's got this whole city behind him." (By the way, next to Hendry in this picture is current Iowa head coach Jack Dahm)

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Many of the '91 CU players were wearing Virginia gear - as you see here on J.J. Gottsch on the left - and as they were walking off the field pointed at the UVa dugout and shouted words of encouragement.

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With the ceremonies out of the way, Virginia players were anxious to take the field and get this party started.

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Though they didn't win tonight, the shadows of the Cal players will be much longer than any that the program has produced since the 1957 national title team.

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Cal CF Darrel Matthews gives chase on a ball he misplayed off the bat of Kenny Swab, who ended up rounding the circuit and scoring to help put the game away in the pivotal 6th inning.

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Cav 2B Keith Werman did everything right tonight with great defense, a 2-for-2 night at the dish and a pair of sac bunts.

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When Wilson was finally pulled in the 8th inning, he got an escort from the ESPN camera man... along with a nice ovation of course.

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UVa pitching coach Karl Kuhn gives Wilson a high five for his effort. The drill sergeant-like Kuhn seemed to really love what he got from Wilson in tonight's win.

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Reliever Cody Winiarski came on to throw the final 1.1 innings, giving up just one hit.

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The Cal players didn't seem happy with the outcome, but you have to admit they accomplished way-hay-hay more than was expected of them.

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Dave Esquer was gracious and positive in his post-game press conference, just like he's been all his career. I'll be blunt about it, this dude really deserves a major league pay raise this off-season. Hey Sandy, go ahead and make this happen, will ya'? Chop-chop!

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NOTES

- Tonight’s announced crowd of 25,833 is the highest in the Big Tiddy’s short history.

- The final four of the CWS is also the four teams with the most wins in the 2011 season:

Virginia, 56

Vanderbilt, 54

South Carolina, 52

Florida, 52

- This was Tyler Wilson’s second win in as many tries vs. Cal, having thrown 2.1 innings of relief back in the opening round win over the Bears on Sunday.

- So far there still hasn’t been any double-digit scores in this 2011 CWS. The last time there was a Series with no double-digit scores was back in 2005.

- In the eight games this season where Cal scored only one run, the Golden Bears lost all of those contests.

Just one game today from The Big Tiddy, but it was a biggie. Vanderbilt re-established a dominant look and eliminated North Carolina by a 5-1 score, meaning there will be three teams from the Eastern Division of the SEC in the Final Four in Omaha. Impressive.

"Outlined against a blue-gray June sky, the Tarheels rode once more." UNC takes the field at the Big Tiddy for the last time as a battleship gray sky welcomes them for warmups.

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FIVE THINGS ABOUT TODAY

1- I’m Scandinavian, so days like today with temps in the 60s and cloudy, is perfect baseball weather.

2- UNC may have been eliminated, but I still don’t think people realize how incredible it is for coach Mike Fox to bring teams to Omaha in five of six years.

3- After a day where there were three games to write about on Tuesday, it was really nice to have just one game today.

4- The national anthem singers today were called “The Daughters and the Pappas”. Nice.

5- I know Vandy has to beat Florida twice, but I will stick with them as my pick to win it all. Crazy, I know.

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GAME NINE

Vandy got the early jump on North Carolina with five runs in the first three innings and cruised from there, ousting the Tarheels in mostly sweat-free fashion. And yes, by sweat-free I mean it was a fairly easy win AND it was very cool at the stadium tonight.

Start Time: 6:08pm

Conditions: 69 degrees, Northwest winds at 23mph.

Attendance: 24,394

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LINESCORE:

NoCar – 000 010 000 – 1  4  0

Vandy – 131 000 00x – 5  8  0

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WP: Taylor Hill, 6-1

LP: Greg Holt, 7-2

Save: None

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IT WAS OVER WHEN:

… Connor Harrell took over the CWS HR lead.

Harrell’s second yard call of the week was that three-run satellite you saw him launch into left field in the 2nd inning, putting the Dores ahead by a 4-0 count. It also gave the Commodore slugger the lead in the home run derby in Omaha with two yard calls. Plus, with the way Taylor Hill was throwing, that was more than what was needed to boat-race this game into an uneventful nine innings of baseball.

All eyes up: Conor Harrell's monster swing made everyone look skyward as his 2nd inning homer was THE play of the day.

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The digital board behind him says it all. Harrell rounds the bases as the video board reads out "Gone"

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And Harrell's reward is a warm welcome from the two teammates he knocked in.

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TOUR DE FORCE:

- Taylor Hill, Vanderbilt pitcher

The Dores third starter here in Omaha wasn’t dominant by any stretch, but he didn’t need to be. Hill went seven full innings, giving up just four hits, striking out four and keeping everything down in the zone, leading to endless groundouts and harmless pop-ups.

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Taylor Hill was smooth as a baby's behind today, stealthfully leading the 'Dores with solid mound work.

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UNDER THE RADAR:

- Vandy’s big sticks… again.

Sure, the ‘Dores won comfortably, but it’s still a little surprising to see Aaron Westlake and Jason Esposito continuing to struggle so much. Westlake finally broke through with his first hit of the week with an 8th inning single, but Espo went “the Big 0″ at the dish again. In the three games combined, the big sticks are 1-for-22. Can you imagine how dangerous this team will be when those two get their strokes down here? Aye-yaye-yaye.

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NOT READY FOR PRIME TIME:

- Jacob Stallings.

And by “not ready for prime time” I mean that the Tarheel leader didn’t produce in the one spot the Heels really needed him too. After getting two-strike doubles in each of his first two at-bats, Jake’s third a.b. with the bases loaded saw him go snake-eyes with a huge strike out by Hill. That represented UNC’s final real chance to make a game of it.

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After an intentional walk to Colin Moran, this bases-loaded situation only led to Jacob Stallings striking out at the hand of Taylor Hill and stranding three more teammates on the basepaths.

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BEST QUOTE:

- Carolina coach Mike Fox on his team.

“They taught me a great deal, especially the seniors on this team. They taught me a lot. They were a fun group to be around. I’ve been lucky to be around really good young people that have a lot of character. It was a unique year in that we had more adversity this year than we’ve had in some years past. Our players used that adversity as kind of fuel. I thought that was pretty neat on their part. I really like this team one through 35.”

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NEXT :

- North Carolina.

The Tarheels season comes to an end at 51 up and 16 down. A pretty remarkable season for a team that wasn’t expected to be so hot-to-trot in the national landscape. And let’s not forget how incredible it is to see Mike Fox bring yet another team to the Big O for the 5th time in six years. That’s a hell of an accomplishment if you ask me. A lot of times, we get caught up in how many national titles get won here, but just getting to the promised land that many times is remarkable. Fox might not be a Barry Switzer-like gabber with a knee-slapper waiting to be told, but the dude can win his butt off… even in seasons he wasn’t expected to do so in.

Strong work coach.

- Vanderbilt

The ‘Dores move on to face old nemesis Florida once again, this time needing to beat the Gators twice to make it to the championship series. Looks like Sonny Gray will be available and could toe the rubber for Friday’s game. Either way, I still think this whole Commodores-Gators thing could be a toss up. I really believe in this wildly talented Vanderbilt team. Not that I’m drinking the Kool-Aid or anything of course.

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PICS.

A few more images from today’s game.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, so the dude threw a two-out catch into the stands, thinking it was a third out. And yes, UNC left-fielder Chaz Frank didn't catch up to this Curt Casali home run. But check out home boy's vertical here. He can sky.

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I love this shot of the Vandy bench during another North Carolina pitching change. It's almost like they are saying "Go ahead, put in another pitcher, we don't care. We'll knock them around the yard too."

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For some reason the Tarheel outfielders were NOT crowd favorites, and I can't imagine why. For instance, here's CF Ben Bunting tossing an over-sized beach ball back into the crowd, earning some street cred favor from them... or at least it should have.

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... speaking of Ben Bunting, this is the last pitch of the UNC 2011 season as Corey Williams unleashes a ball that Chaz Frank sent to right field for the final out. And did you notice in this pic that Bunting (#3) was on deck? It was a great career for the Randleman, North Carolina native.

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Coach Mike Fox looks like Rodney Dangerfield doing his "I tell ya' I get no respect" act. But in reality, Fox and his staff really don't get the proper respect. The Tarheels have made it to Omaha five of the last six years, which is impressive as hell if you ask me.

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Okay, okay, I'll include one of those stupid "team in despair" pics you always see for teams that get eliminated in Omaha. Just 'coz every other outlet does. Whatev.

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NOTES.

- Yep, faster games.

Even though there have still been some marathons, so far in this CWS there have now been six games that finished under three hours. In the previous three years only five of 47 games have finished under three hours.

- Tony Kemp’s 1st inning triple made for the seventh three-bagger in this year’s CWS. By contrast, there were eight triples in the entire 2008 CWS. With his seventh triple on the year, Kemp is also one triple away from tying the school record.

- With one more triple, Kemp will become the first player since Buddy Chain of Mississippi in 1966 to hit three triples in the CWS.

- Vanderbilt is now 44-2 in games where they’ve scored five runs or more this season.

- North Carolina came into the CWS hitting .324 in the NCAA tournament, but ended the CWS going just .240 in their three games here.

- UNC went just 7-for-39 in the CWS with men in scoring position, stranding 18 baserunners in the process.

- When Lady Stitch-Head and I were talking with Carolina assistant Scott Jackson before last Saturday’s first game with Vanderbilt, he told us that this year’s Heels team isn’t flashy and overly talented, but “we don’t beat ourselves.” To coach Jackson’s point, one of the more impressive stats of this Tarheel team is that they committed just one error in three games here in Omaha. Nice.

- How do I know today’s game was rather uneventful? For the first time all week a CWS play wasn’t featured in ESPN’s Top 10 Plays rundown. Damn.

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Okay, more from the new downtown stadium tomorrow night. It’ll be Virginia and California in another elimination game. Should be great.

G’night.

Scott Wingo (left) finished up a perfect 4-for-4 day with a game-winning hit for South Carolina.

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FIVE THINGS ABOUT SUNDAY.

1- South Carolina’s knack for pulling out Ws in this environment is getting pretty amazing.

2- Scott Wingo’s penchant for game-winning hits (he has four now this season) is remarkable as well.

3- I’m still waiting for a starting pitcher to get off to a good start here.

4- The stadium administrators should consider closing 12th Street, 13th Street and Mike Fahey Streets to allow just pedestrian traffic around the stadium.

5- I find it curious that the hometown crowd appeared to cheer openly for A&M, but not Texas.

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GAME THREE

Start Time: 1:11pm

Conditions: 84 degrees, 57% humidity

Attendance: 21,275

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LINESCORE:

Cali – 000 000 001 – 1  6  0

UVa- 000 000 22x – 4  9  1

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WP: Tyler Wilson, 9-0

LP: Logan Scott, 1-2

Save: Branden Kline, 18th

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IT WAS OVER WHEN:

… Jared King sliced a triple just over Chad Bunting’s glove in right field in the 8th inning. The Cavs had a 2-0 lead after seven innings, but King’s triple scored pinch runner Mitchell Shifflett to put UVa up 3-0. A batter later, diminutive (why do I always write that word when I write about him?) Keith Werman punched a single into left field, scoring King and giving the Wahoos a vital pair of runs.

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TOUR DE FORCE:

- The defenses.

There wasn’t much scoring until late in the game, but there were a lot of “web gems” (to steal a phrase) in this game all over the field from both sides. The best of which were Cal’s Austin Booker pulling out a great diving catch of a Danny Hultzen shot down the line that saved two runs. The second of which was Hultzen himself fielding that Tony Renda bunt and twirling and throwing across his body to get the out.

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UNDER THE RADAR:

- Cal messing with fire

A huge factor in this game was UVa’s ability to get men on base all game long. In the 2nd, 3rd and 4th innings, Cal allowed the Cavs to have two men on base with one out or less. But timely pitching and great defense allowed them to somehow hold the potent Cav offense off the board. But the dam burst in the 7th when Keith Werman  and Chris Taylor both reached on a single and walk respectively. John Hicks singled in the first run and Steven Proscia knocked in another run with a deep fly ball to right field.

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NOT READY FOR PRIME TIME.

- Justin Jones, Cal pitcher.

The Bears ace wasn’t healed from the “slight twinge” he felt in his bicep in the 7th inning of game one in last week’s Super Regional matchup with Dallas Baptist. According to coach Dave Esquer it looks unlikely that he’ll pitch this weekend. Though Erik Johnson is a dynamic starter, losing Jones is a big blow to their hopes for a deep run here in the loser’s bracket.

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BEST QUOTE:

- Cal head coach Dave Esquer on his team’s knack for big comebacks.

“Yeah, you know, I think we’ve got ‘em right where we want ‘em. From here on out everybody’s gonna be coming off a loss and we’ll be coming off a win. That’s where we’re at our best. At least that’s what I’m trying to convince our guys.” (followed by laughs)

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NEXT :

- Virginia

Cavs advance to Tuesday’s matchup of unbeatens vs. South Carolina. With Tyler Wilson getting some relief time tonight, look for Will Roberts to get the start for the Wahoos.

- California

As stated above, the Bears find themselves in a familiar position, with the end closing down on them. UC will take on Texas A&M and will probably go with Dixon Anderson or Kyle Porter depending on the matchup.

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PICS

A few more images from today’s first game.

Danny Hultzen, looking more like the FTD Florist logo, gave up only three hits in 6.1 innings of work.

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Defense played a huge part in Cal's ability to keep the game close as Chadd Krist shows here, tagging UVa's Chris Taylor in a rundown.

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A Jordan King liner to deep right field eludes Cal's Chad Bunting and heads to the wall...

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Bunting ends up looking like the Pig Pen character in Peanuts after tumbling on the warning track. During the post-game press conference Bunting claimed the ball "tipped off his glove" before hitting terra firma.

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Jared King heads back to the dugout as the conquering hero after his game-sealing RBI triple.

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Closer Branden Kline and catcher John Hicks celebrate the win over Cal.

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GAME FOUR

Start Time: 6:11pm

Conditions: 85 degrees, partly cloudy

Attendance: 23,395

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LINESCORE:

Texas A&M – 400 000 000 – 4   4  1

So.Carolina- 400 000 001-  5  10  1

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WP: Matt Price, 6-3

LP: Kyle Martin, 2-3

Save: None.

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IT WAS OVER WHEN:

- Ross Stripling exited the game for Texas A&M

When the Aggie starter left the game after the eighth inning, Carolina quickly pounced on Kyle Martin for a leadoff double by Robert Beary. Then Nick Fleece came on and got fleeced for a single by Jackie Bradley Jr., followed by a walk to Evan Marzilli. Finally, with five infielders, Scott Wingo knocked in the bases-loaded single.

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TOUR DE FORCE:

- Scott Wingo, South Carolina.

Wingo not only went 4-for-4, tying a career-high at the plate in a game, but he also got the game-winning, bases-loaded single in the bottom of the 9th as A&M pulled in five infielders. Tonight’s win marked the fourth jog-off win of the season provided by his bat. Oh, he also got plunked on the leg in his other at-bat. So that’s 5-for-5 on base.

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UNDER THE RADAR:

- The starting pitchers, after the first inning.

The two starters, Ross Stripling and Michael Roth were both a little star-struck by pitching in this new stadium for the first time. Each one gave up four runs – though yes, all four of Roth’s were unearned and two of the runs Strips gave up were unearned. But from there, these guys were complete nails. Stripling wound up going 7.0 additional innings without giving up another earned run, and striking out six. Meanwhile Roth went an additional 6.1 innings, giving up just two more hits and no runs, while striking out eight.

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NOT READY FOR PRIME TIME:

- Texas A&M 2B Andrew Collazo.

Sailed a routine grounder by Adrian Morales two-feet over the head of 1st baseman Jacob House, allowing two runs to score and extend the inning. Two batters later Peter Mooney knocked in the tying run on a single. That tying frame would stay until the 9th inning heroics of Wingo. Collazo also went 0-for-4 at the dish, including ending two innings.

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BEST QUOTE:

- Ray Tanner, South Carolina coach on Michael Roth battling back from a slow start.

“Roth had to go into the ‘battle mode’ and was able to battle back… We scuffled a little bit at the plate as well and we battled them the rest of the way.”

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NEXT :

- Texas A&M will go to an elimination game vs. Cal on Tuesday. Undoubtedly, Michael Wacha will get the call to salvage the Aggies season.

- South Carolina will now take on Virginia on Tuesday night with the winner advancing to the bracket title round.

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PICS

A few images from today’s second game.

I'm not so sure that A&M's Tyler Naquin scored on this slide into home. It looked like Carolina's catcher Robert Beary made the swipe tag on Tyler Naquin, but home plate ump Travis Katzenmeier made the safe call on this 1st inning play.

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It was good to see Jackie Bradley Jr. back in action for the first time since late April. But his rust showed when he tried to unsuccessfully lay down a bunt in the pivotal 9th inning.

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A couple pitches later, Bradley went ahead and swung away and, sure enough, he singled to put men on 1st and 3rd with no outs.

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With the bases loaded, A&M brought in five infielders to fend off Scott Wingo at the dish.

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But Wingo was able to effortlessly stroke a ball to the right field corner for the game-winning hit.

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NOTES

- By taking on Danny Hultzen today, Cal has now faced each of the top five college guys to go in the draft:

. No. 1 Gerrit Cole, UCLA

. No. 2 Danny Hultzen, UVa

. No. 3 Trevor Bauer UCLA

. No. 6 Anthony Rendon, Rice

. No. 11 George Springer, UConn

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- Nothing against Virginia closer Branden Kline, but I’ve always maintained that a guy needs to throw for three or four batters to earn a save. Kline came on to face one batter in the 9th inning, getting a pop-up, and “earned” his 18th save of the season.

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- The last time the CWS had two teams combine for eight runs in the 1st inning before tonight’s A&M/South Carolina game was in 1995 in a game which USC beat Florida State 16-11.

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- My count may be wrong, but the point I’m about to make is pretty amazing. Sean Stires of College Baseball 360 and myself were talking in the press box and we could only recall eight or nine balls that were hit to the warning track or beyond in the first two days. Vanderbilt’s Connor Harrell has hit the only official home run – of course, you DO recall that Florida’s Brian Johnson hit a home run that was ruled a double.

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- With today’s 5-4 win over Texas A&M, South Carolina finally won an opening game in Omaha after losing their last seven openers in 2010, 2004, 2003, 2002, 1985, 1982, and 1981.

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Okay, more tomorrow guys.

G’night

The new downtown stadium saw over 48,000 fans file through the turnstyles in the two games.

The Commodores overcame North Carolina for a 7-3 win and Florida weathered a couple of early errors and came back from a 3-0 deficit to beat Texas, 8-4.

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FIVE THINGS ABOUT SATURDAY.

1- Maybe Vandy and Florida should be given a pass to the title round. These two looked good.

2- Talk about having to play all 27 outs, those two teams got stronger as their games went on. Impressive.

3- All this talk about shorter games is bunk. That Vandy-UNC game was a 3-hour, 39-minute marathon.

4- The tents and souvenir shops around the stadium are all spread out way too far. Before it was a short shot up and down 13th street and convenient.

5- The umpires use of video replay will eventually become a part of the CWS. Maybe even by next year.

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GAME ONE:

Start Time: 1:11pm

Conditions: Cloudy to sunny, mid-70s to low-80s

Attendance: 22,745

Vanderbilt worked its usual motif of scoring most of its runs with two out and was able to come up huge defensively when it needed, leaving 16 Tarheel baserunners stranded on the day. Six-freakin-teen. The ‘Dores fell behind early but were able to rally for a 7-3 win in the opening game of the CWS for 2011.

Corey Williams came on in relief and threw bee-bees for the 'Dores

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LINESCORE:

Vandy – 101 003 020 – 7  10  1

U.N.C. – 110 100 000 – 3  11  1

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WP: Corey Williams, 2-0

LP: Patrick Johnson, 13-2

Save: None

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IT WAS OVER WHEN:

… Conor Harrell parked the first home run in the history of The Big Tiddy beyond the bullpen in left field in the top of the 6th inning. That two-run shot was preceded by an RBI double from Conrad Gregor. The home run by Harrell followed and the Black and Gold would never trail again in the game.

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TOUR DE FORCE:

- Vanderbilt lead off hitter Tony Kemp

Went 3-for-4 with a walk and an RBI.

“He’s a pest. An absolute pest… I’d like to have him.” That’s what Carolina coach Mike Fox said in the post-game press conference about the Commodore dynamo.

Kemp started out the game with a bunt single that UNC pitcher Patrick Johnson ditched into right field on the throw, allowing Kemp to advance to second. “Getting that bunt down and putting pressure on them was a huge key to get us off to a good start. It loosened us up.” Tim Corbin said.

Kemp also made a beautiful diving catch of a Levi Michael pop-up with the bases-loaded in the 4th inning to help stop UNC from putting together a monster inning.

About the catch, Kemp said, “I was originally playing in the gap, but coach wanted to move me and it was into a perfect position to see the ball off the bat and make a good catch.”

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UNDER THE RADAR:

- Vanderbilt relief pitcher Corey Williams

He only pitched 2.2 innings, but he came in to relieve starter Sonny Gray who had been having control problems with an uncharacteristic eight hits and five walks in 4.2 innings of work. Williams came in and struck out five of the 12 batters he went up against and allowed just two hits and no runs in getting the win.

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NOT READY FOR PRIME TIME:

- Levi Michael, North Carolina

With today’s 0-for-4 performance, Michael is now on a 4-for-26 skein in the post-season. Coach Fox said afterward, “I might have to move him from the 2-hole. He’s doing things he hasn’t done all season.”

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BEST QUOTE:

- North Carolina assistant coach Scott Jackson, on Omaha’s notorious practice of gouging visitors during the CWS:

“I had to take out a second mortgage on my home to afford my family to stay here if we keep playing for a few more days.”

(By the way, reportedly, charter flights for UNC fans and family were $650 each way and of course, Omaha hotel rooms were in the $350/night range)

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NEXT :

- Vanderbilt:

The Commodores will take on Florida in Monday’s winner’s bracket game and have sandwich round pick Grayson Garvin ready to go on the hill.

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- North Carolina:

The Heels lost for the first time since the beginning of the NCAA tournament and will have to regroup against Texas in Monday’s elimination game. Look for No. 2 starter Kent Emanuel to take the hill for the Heels.

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PICS

A few images from game one.

The view of the packed stands on the concourse from behind home plate.

Tony Kemp was a one-man band today, getting on base four of five times and playing some spectacular defense.

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On this Conrad Gregor hit to the top of the wall, it appears as if UNC's Chaz Frank has the ball sized up in his glove.

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... but as he hits the wall, the baseball starts to fall toward Earth.

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Eventually the ball hits the ground (it's down below his knee here) and Gregor ends up on 2nd.

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A batter later Connor Harrell is making the triumphant trot around the bases and getting a handshake from Tim Corbin.

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Not sure what the Commodores are pointing at here, but it helps them stretch between innings.

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GAME TWO:

Start Time: 6:11pm

Conditions: 79 degrees, south wind at 6mph

Attendance: 25,521 (record for Session 2)

Texas took the early lead with a couple of Florida gifts, but got a lackluster performance from Taylor Jungmann and quickly lost it. As the game went on, the Florida bats got hotter and hotter, scoring in five of their final six innings.

Florida is now 1-0 and about to take on a team they've already beaten three times. Yeah, they feel good right now.

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LINESCORE:

Texas  – 003 000 100 – 4  5  0

Florida- 002 210 21x – 8  8  2

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WP: Hudson Randall, 11-3

LP: Taylor Jungmann, 13-3

Save: Nick Maronde (3)

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IT WAS OVER WHEN:

… Although Florida took the lead in the 4th inning, it was in the 5th inning that Taylor Jungmann ended his third straight subpar outing by plunking Bryson Smith. Hobey Milner came on and immediately gave up an RBI double to Preston Tucker to inch the lead to 5-3, which was enough. The demoralized Longhorns couldn’t rebound.

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TOUR DE FORCE:

- Bryson Smith, Florida

The Gator centerfielder couldn’t be stopped today. He was only 2-for-2 at the dish, but add in that he also had a pair of walks, got plunked once and gathered two RBI and you realize his value as the 2-hole hitter.

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UNDER THE RADAR:

- Nick Maronde, Florida reliever

This guy has been a Jekyl and Hyde dude from time to time this year (as my boy Mark Etheridge said, you never know what you’re gonna get with Maronde), but today he was nails, going the final two innings, striking out three and not giving up a hit. It marked his third save of the season.

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NOT READY FOR PRIME TIME.

- The Umpiring crew.

I never bag on the umpires, I just don’t. But this four-man crew really screwed the pooch with that “not a home run” call on Brian Johnson’s two-run double. It should’ve been obvious the way the ball bounced hard off the concrete and railing that this was a home run. The ball wouldn’t have bounced like that off the soft yellow padding.

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BEST QUOTE:

- Augie Garrido, when asked about the design of the outfield wall and if it had something to do with the wrongly-ruled “double”…

“I’m not too concerned about the design of the fences here. We’re just trying to know how to bunt.”

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NEXT :

- Texas

The Longhorns will take on North Carolina in the elimination game on Monday. Both teams have been CWS runners-up the last few years with UNC losing to Oregon State in both 2006 and 2007 and Texas losing out to LSU in 2009.

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- Florida.

The Gators head into the winner’s bracket game with old nemesis Vanderbilt. Maybe “old nemesis” isn’t so accurate since they are 3-1 against the Commodores, taking two of three in the regular season and winning the SEC tournament championship game with a 5-0 shutout.

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PICS

Images from Game two

Bryson Smith was a force that couldn't be stopped at the dish and in the field.

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Not sure who was in Taylor Jungmann's uniform today as he only lasted 4.1 innings, giving up 3hits, 5runs, 4earned runs, 4walks, 2wild pitches and a hit batsman. My gaw-wed!

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Other than Bryson Smith, Daniel Pigott was the only other Gator with two hits.

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It was good to see Brian Johnson back in the swing of things after sitting out the last three weeks.

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But he didn't like the fact that his home run was ruled a double, causing a point of contention.

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It wasn't a good day for the men in black as there were controversial calls in both games. Here the umps look befuddled on why Brian Johnson thinks his double was a home run.

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Nick Maronde didn't give up a single hit in his two innings of relief, leading to his third save of the season.

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NOTES:

- The “Right Field Sucks!” chant started in the outfield after the third pitch of the first game.

- The new stadium has a lot of small faults, the biggest one might be that there is no MPH pitch clock. C’mon guys, that’s rudimentary for any new stadium.

- Looking out from Rosenblatt, you saw neighborhood houses. Looking out from The Big Tiddy, you see downtown office buildings. Yeah I know, just pointing out the obvious.

- I figured out immediately that even though the concourses are about 500 times more spacious around the stadium, you still can’t make people walk faster. It still felt like I was walking through a Las Vegas casino at times today.

- In case you were wondering, 175 dozen baseballs were ordered for this year’s College World Series. That’s a total of 2,100 in all.

Carolina players with their national title trophy.

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The early days of the Series was plagued by lighting and rain delays. Well... except the Carolina-Oklahoma game where the powers-that-be allowed them to play with lightning seemingly directly overhead.

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... because of the weather, we got crowds like this one from time-to-time at the 'Blatt.

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OU 2nd baseman Danny Black goes airborne to make a valiant dive at a bleeder through the right side.

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This little girl shows her love for the old stadium on the hill.

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Garrett Buechele and Caleb Bushyhead can't reach this seeing eye single.

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Cameron Seitzer uses all of his lanky frame to make this foul ball catch vs. South Carolina.

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Another view of Jackie Bradley scoring the winning run vs. OU. To think, the Cocks were down to their last out from being eliminated. (I'll give you five bucks if you can find me in this photo)

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Bradley gets lifted up by his teammates at home plate immediately after that.

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It's always awkward to see head coaches shake hands after an elimination game, especially one that ends so abruptly like this one did, plus knowing what the other guy is going through. Here, Ray Tanner gives his condolences to OU's Sunny Golloway.

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Tyler Ogle , rounding 3rd and making his way toward home plate on an RBI single.

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Who do you think you are, Ty Cobb?: Cody Reine isn't making many friends out there with his slide that has the spikes up high.

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I know nearly everyone will probably disagree, especially the fans of the eight teams, but I thought the umpiring crew did a really good job all series long. Here, Paul Guillie is on top of this call at 2nd.

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Clemson's Mike Freeman gathers dirt in a baggie out at 2nd base after the Tigers were eliminated by South Carolina.

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Two kids hamming it up for the TV camera once they found out they were up on the JumboTron.

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Hey girl, you better try to wrangle that guy up as a husband, 'coz he's gonna be a seriously rich dude in a couple of years. (Matt Purke gets a hug... then again, I guess I don't know for sure that's his girlfriend.)

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TCU fans loved the fact that they eliminated Texas in the Supers. I also thought the line about living in Dallas is pretty funny too, since I lived there once before.. but got out as soon as possible.

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Kyle Peterson's image is up on the JumboTron. This was from his playing days as an All American pitcher at Stanford.

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Diggin' deep.

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This could also have been the last CWS for Erin Andrews as it's been said that her contract with ESPN is done on July 1st and it seems to me she's got bigger fish to fry in TV land. We'll see.

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With South Carolina and UCLA playing a nip-and-tuck duel in the second title game, it's so good that this guy brought his Harry Potter book to read.

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These girls had to be pissing people off behind them, having stood for a lot of the Carolina-OU game. But say this for them... they're definitely into the emotions of the game.

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UCLA's Trevor Bauer gives a fist pump and Tiger Woods-like yell after striking out a TCU batter to end an inning.

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Heard many, many, many complaints from fans this year about foot traffic problems in and around Rosenblatt, specifically in having to evacuate the stadium after each game and then waiting in longer-than-normal lines to get back in and of course the herding of cattle... er, people, through the four access gates just to get on the Rosenblatt campus.

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Sherman Johnson had a solid series for Florida State. Sadly, he was still one of the very few black players participating in college baseball.

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Sadly, this picture isn't actually from this year's College World Series. I just thought I'd point out at this time how disappointed I am that Jenn Sterger and the FSU Cowgirls don't come to Seminole games anymore.

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Florida players react to being eliminated in two games. With all their youth on this year's team, I'd be shocked if the Gators aren't back in Omaha again really soon.

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Okay, survey time: Which one of these three bat girls from TCU, Clemson and Florida State are the best? You decide.

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The "Oiho State" banner gets paraded around before the championship series. Really people?

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Matt Purke, inconsolable after the Frogs got eliminated just short of the championship series.

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... ironically, fellow former 1st round draft pick Gerrit Cole took losing the championship series just as hard as Purke did. I s'pose that is because both of these guys put off million-dollar pro ball dreams to win a national championship in college and came up just short.

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Jackie Bradley just missed on this outfield flair by a UCLA batter and had to play in on a big bounce.

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A fan runs out onto the field during the final game. And no, it's not a drugged up Lindsay Lohan.

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... and even though she was getting roughed up on the ground, she never stopped smiling. Then again, maybe she *likes* getting roughed up.

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Then, this skinny runt in his underwear ran out on the field during a crucial time in the 9th inning. Like we really wanted to see this guy in his grutchies.

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Carolina players start the celebration after Scott Wingo scored the final run.

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So tell me again, who is it that says it's a good idea to shoot the confetti cannons over the celebrating players?

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The Gamecocks did a victory lap... ironically, in the opposite direction of LSU's victory lap last season. Just thought I'd point that out.

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Kyle Enders hoists the national championship trophy up high during the lap around the field.

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The trophy and me. (In case you couldn't tell from the previous two pics, I was standing on the tarp roll to get some shots from higher up on the victory lap.)

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UCLA coach John Savage congratulates a Gamecock player. Considering he led the Bruins back from a losing record last season to within a whisker of the national championship, this was the best coaching job he and his staff had done in his six years in Westwood.

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The mad crush of photogs trying to get a shot of the Gamecocks with the trophy. The highest hand you see snapping pics is mine. The shot of the SC players with the trophy that you see at the head of this entry is the one I got from this angle.

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Jackie Bradley doing his best Tommie Frazier imitation, running with his CWS plaque and carrying it like a football.

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After the ESPN cameras had long been turned off, they turned the stadium lights off and had a final fireworks show that was ignited on top of the pavilion in centerfield.

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... then, sparsely lit in the still-dark stadium, a lone trumpeter came out and played a slow-paced "Take me out to the ballgame" one last time as a fitting tribute to Rosenblatt. The few members of the crowd that remained sang along with him.

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After the final press conference was over, I walked out to the stadium, put some Rosenblatt dirt in a bag, then went and stood under the 408 sign in center field and snapped this one last photo of the old park.