OMAHA, Nebraska — The road to a national championship continues today for the West Virginia Mountaineers, but standing in their way is a familiar opponent.
For the second time in Omaha, West Virginia will face the North Carolina Tar Heels in the Bracket 1 Final of the College World Series. The first meeting went North Carolina’s way after a pair of costly seventh-inning errors allowed the Tar Heels to seize control of the game. Now, the Mountaineers get another opportunity to even the score and keep their championship hopes alive.
First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. ET at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska, with ESPN carrying the game nationally.
North Carolina enters the matchup as the favorite, and understandably so. The Tar Heels are one of the nation’s top teams, entered Omaha as the No. 5 national seed, and remain undefeated in Bracket 1. They also own a victory over West Virginia earlier in the tournament and have won more than 50 games this season.
But if there’s one thing this Mountaineer team has proven all year, it’s that it doesn’t care much about expectations.
The pitching matchup could give West Virginia reason for optimism.
North Carolina is expected to start left-hander Folger Boaz, who enters the game with a 7.03 ERA in 16 appearances, including 14 starts. Boaz has not pitched since May 31 and lasted only 3.1 innings in that outing. Prior to that, he struggled through starts against Pitt, NC State, and Georgia Tech, allowing a combined 12 runs on 19 hits. For a Mountaineer offense that has shown it can score runs in bunches, Boaz could be a pitcher worth attacking early.
West Virginia is expected to counter with Chansen Cole. The Mountaineers were fortunate not to have to lean heavily on Cole during Monday’s elimination game against Troy, preserving one of their most trusted arms for this exact situation. With four days of rest and only 52 pitches on his arm, Cole should be available to provide something close to a normal workload.
That could be significant because Cole has been one of West Virginia’s most dependable pitchers throughout the season. One trend that should encourage Mountaineer fans is that he has not had back-to-back poor outings all year. If that pattern continues, West Virginia could be in position to get exactly the type of performance it needs in the biggest game of the season.
The Mountaineers kept their season alive with a dominant 12-0 victory over Troy in an elimination game. Gavin Kelly’s three-run home run broke the game open, while Sean Smith and Ben Lumsden added RBI hits as West Virginia punched its ticket into the bracket final. More importantly, the Mountaineers were able to save much of their bullpen, which could prove invaluable over the next couple of days.
The scenario for West Virginia is simple.
Win today and the Mountaineers force a winner-take-all rematch against North Carolina tomorrow. Because the Tar Heels remain undefeated in the bracket, West Virginia must beat them twice to advance to the College World Series Championship Series.
If the Mountaineers win this afternoon, both teams would have one loss, setting up a decisive game tomorrow with a trip to the national championship series on the line.
If North Carolina wins today, West Virginia’s historic season comes to an end.
That’s what makes today’s game so significant.
The Mountaineers have already accomplished more than any team in program history. They won the Big 12 regular-season championship, reached Omaha for the first time ever, earned the program’s first College World Series victory, and have fought their way into the final four teams remaining in college baseball.
Now they have a chance to do something even bigger.
Two years ago, North Carolina ended West Virginia’s season in the Super Regional round. Earlier this week, the Tar Heels handed the Mountaineers their first loss in Omaha. Today presents another opportunity for revenge and another opportunity to keep one of the greatest seasons in West Virginia baseball history alive.
The task is daunting. The stakes are enormous.
But for a team that has spent the entire season proving doubters wrong, one more upset may be exactly what’s next.
