2018 NCAA Division I baseball tournament
 | |
| Season | 2018 |
|---|---|
| Teams | 64 |
| Finals site | |
| Champions | Oregon State Beavers (3rd title) |
| Runner-up | Arkansas Razorbacks (9th CWS Appearance) |
| Winning coach | Pat Casey (3rd title) |
| MOP | Adley Rutschman (Oregon State) |
| Television | ESPN |
The 2018 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament began on Friday, June 1, 2018 as part of the 2018 NCAA Division I baseball season. The 64-team, double-elimination tournament concluded with the 2018 College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, starting on June 16 and ended on June 28.[1] The Oregon State Beavers defeated the Arkansas Razorbacks in the best-of-three final series to win the championship.
The 64 participating NCAA Division I college baseball teams were selected out of an eligible 298 teams.[2] Thirty-one teams will be awarded an automatic bid as champions of their conferences, and 33 teams will be selected at-large by the NCAA Division I Baseball Committee.
Teams were divided into sixteen regionals of four teams, which conducted a double-elimination tournament. Regional champions competed in Super Regionals, a best-of-three-game series, to determine the eight participants in the College World Series.[1] For the first time, the Tournament seeded the top 16 teams instead of pairing teams generally along geographical lines.[3]
In the championship series, Arkansas won the first game and held a 3-2 lead entering the top of the ninth inning in Game 2. With two outs and a runner on third, Oregon State shortstop Cadyn Grenier popped a foul ball down the right field line that multiple Razorback players appeared to have a play on. Had the ball been caught, Arkansas would have won their first national championship in baseball in their ninth College World Series appearance; instead, the ball dropped between the first baseman, second baseman, and right fielder to continue the at-bat. Two pitches later, with the Beavers down to their final strike, Grenier singled in the tying run, and was followed by Trevor Larnach's two-run homer to give OSU a 5-3 lead and the eventual victory to even the series.[4] The following day, Oregon State freshman Kevin Abel - who threw 23 pitches the previous night[5] - notched a 129-pitch complete game shutout, allowing just two hits and retiring the final 20 Razorback hitters [6] to secure the Beavers' third national title in baseball. Oregon State catcher Adley Rutschman was named College World Series Most Outstanding Player after collecting 13 RBI's and a College World Series record 17 hits.[7]
Bids
Automatic bids
By conference
National seeds
16 National Seeds were announced on the Selection Show Monday, May 28 at 12 p.m. EDT on ESPNU. The 16 national seeds host the Regionals. Teams in italics advanced to Super Regionals. Teams in bold advanced to College World Series.
|
1. Florida
|
9. Texas Tech
|
Regionals and Super Regionals
Bold indicates winner. Seeds for regional tournaments indicate seeds within regional. Seeds for super regional tournaments indicate national seeds only.
Gainesville Super Regional
Lubbock Super Regional
Fayetteville Super Regional
Austin Super Regional
Corvallis Super Regional
Chapel Hill Super Regional
Nashville Super Regional
Hosted by Vanderbilt at Hawkins Field
Fullerton Super Regional
Hosted by Cal State Fullerton at Goodwin Field
College World Series
The College World Series was held at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska.
Participants
| School | Conference | Record (Conference) | Head Coach | Previous CWS Appearances | Best CWS Finish | CWS Record Not including this year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | SEC | 44–19 (18–12) | Dave Van Horn | 8 (last: 2015) |
2nd (1979) |
11–16 |
| Florida | SEC | 47–19 (20–10) | Kevin O'Sullivan | 11 (last: 2017) |
1st (2017) |
19–22 |
| Mississippi State | SEC | 37–27 (15–15) | Gary Henderson | 9 (last: 2013) |
2nd (2013) |
10–18 |
| North Carolina | ACC | 43–18 (22–8) | Mike Fox | 10 (last: 2013) |
2nd (2006, 2007) |
17–21 |
| Oregon State | Pac-12 | 49–10–1 (20–9–1) | Pat Casey | 6 (last: 2017) |
1st (2006, 2007) |
15–10 |
| Texas | Big 12 | 42–21 (17–7) | David Pierce | 35 (last: 2014) |
1st (1949, 1950, 1975, 1983, 2002, 2005) |
85–59 |
| Texas Tech | Big 12 | 44–16 (15–9) | Tim Tadlock | 2 (last: 2016) |
5th (2016) |
1–4 |
| Washington | Pac-12 | 35–24 (20–10) | Lindsay Meggs | none | none | 0–0 |
Bracket
Seeds listed below indicate national seeds only Template:CWSBracket
Game results
| Date | Game | Winning team | Score | Losing team | Winning pitcher | Losing pitcher | Save | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 16 | Game 1 | North Carolina | 8–6 | Oregon State | Caden O'Brien (7–0) | Luke Heimlich (16–2) | Cooper Criswell (1) | Longest 9-inning game in CWS history (4 hours, 24 minutes)[8] | |
| Game 2 | Mississippi State | 1–0 | Washington | Zach Neff (4–3) | Alex Hardy (5–3) | – | |||
| June 17 | Game 3 | Arkansas | 11–5 | Texas | Blaine Knight (13–0) | Nolan Kingham (8–5) | – | ||
| Game 4 | Texas Tech | 6–3 | Florida | Ryan Shetter (6–0) | Brady Singer (12–2) | – | |||
| June 18 | Game 5 | Oregon State | 14–5 | Washington | Kevin Abel (5–1) | Alex Hardy (5–4) | – | Washington eliminated | |
| June 19 | Game 6 | Mississippi State | 12–2 | North Carolina | Konnor Pilkington (3–6) | Austin Bergner (7–3) | Cole Gordon (4) | Postponed from June 18 due to rain | |
| Game 7 | Florida | 6–1 | Texas | Jackson Kowar (10–5) | Blair Henley (6–7) | – | Texas eliminated | ||
| June 20 | Game 8 | Arkansas | 7–4 | Texas Tech | Barrett Loseke (4–2) | Davis Martin (7–6) | – | Postponed from June 19 due to rain | |
| Game 9 | Oregon State | 11–6 | North Carolina | Jake Mulholland (2–2) | Brett Daniels (4–2) | – | North Carolina eliminated | ||
| June 21 | Game 10 | Florida | 9–6 | Texas Tech | Jack Leftwich (5–5) | Caleb Kilian (9–3) | Michael Byrne (16) | Texas Tech eliminated | |
| June 22 | Game 11 | Oregon State | 12–2 | Mississippi State | Brandon Eisert (5–3) | Jacob Billingsley (5–4) | – | ||
| Game 12 | Arkansas | 5–2 | Florida | Isaiah Campbell (5–6) | Brady Singer (12–3) | Matt Cronin (13) | Florida eliminated | ||
| June 23 | Game 13 | Oregon State | 5–2 | Mississippi State | Kevin Abel (6–1) | Ethan Small (5–4) | – | Mississippi State eliminated | |
| Finals | |||||||||
| June 26 | Game 1 | Arkansas | 4–1 | Oregon State | Blaine Knight (14–0) | Luke Heimlich (16–3) | Matt Cronin (14) | Postponed from June 25 due to rain | |
| June 27 | Game 2 | Oregon State | 5–3 | Arkansas | Kevin Abel (7–1) | Matt Cronin (2–2) | Jake Mulholland (16) | ||
| June 28 | Game 3 | Oregon State | 5–0 | Arkansas | Kevin Abel (8−1) | Isaiah Campbell (5–7) | – | Oregon State wins CWS | |
All-Tournament Team
The following players were members of the College World Series All-Tournament Team.[9]
| Position | Player | School |
|---|---|---|
| P | Kevin Abel | Oregon State |
| Blaine Knight | Arkansas | |
| 1B | Jared Gates | Arkansas |
| 2B | Hunter Stovall | Mississippi State |
| 3B | Casey Martin | Arkansas |
| SS | Cadyn Grenier | Oregon State |
| OF | Dominic Fletcher | Arkansas |
| Heston Kjerstad | Arkansas | |
| Trevor Larnach | Oregon State | |
| DH | Tyler Malone | Oregon State |
| C & MOP | Adley Rutschman | Oregon State |
Final standings
Seeds listed below indicate national seeds only
| Place | School | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | No. 3 Oregon State | 11–2 |
| 2nd | No. 5 Arkansas | 9–3 |
| 3rd | No. 1 Florida | 7–4 |
| Mississippi State | 8–4 | |
| 5th | No. 6 North Carolina | 6–2 |
| No. 9 Texas Tech | 6–3 | |
| 7th | No. 13 Texas | 5–3 |
| Washington | 5–3 | |
| 9th | Auburn | 4–2 |
| Cal State Fullerton | 4–2 | |
| Duke | 5–3 | |
| No. 14 Minnesota | 3–2 | |
| South Carolina | 4–2 | |
| No. 11 Stetson | 3–2 | |
| Tennessee Tech | 5–3 | |
| Vanderbilt | 4–2 | |
| 17th | No. 10 Clemson | 2–2 |
| Connecticut | 2–2 | |
| Dallas Baptist | 2–2 | |
| Florida Atlantic | 3–2 | |
| No. 8 Georgia | 2–2 | |
| Houston | 2–2 | |
| Indiana | 2–2 | |
| Louisville | 2–2 | |
| LSU | 2–2 | |
| No. 16 NC State | 2–2 | |
| Oklahoma | 2–2 | |
| Oklahoma State | 2–2 | |
| No. 4 Ole Miss | 2–2 | |
| No. 2 Stanford | 2–2 | |
| UCLA | 2–2 | |
| UNC Wilmington | 2–2 | |
| 33rd | Army | 1–2 |
| Baylor | 1–2 | |
| No. 15 Coastal Carolina | 1–2 | |
| No. 12 East Carolina | 1–2 | |
| Gonzaga | 1–2 | |
| Jacksonville | 1–2 | |
| Kent State | 1–2 | |
| Missouri State | 1–2 | |
| Northwestern State | 1–2 | |
| Purdue | 1–2 | |
| Samford | 1–2 | |
| South Florida | 1–2 | |
| Southern Miss | 1–2 | |
| St. John's | 1–2 | |
| Texas A&M | 1–2 | |
| Troy | 1–2 | |
| 49th | Campbell | 0–2 |
| Canisius | 0–2 | |
| Columbia | 0–2 | |
| No. 7 Florida State | 0–2 | |
| Hartford | 0–2 | |
| LIU Brooklyn | 0–2 | |
| Morehead State | 0–2 | |
| New Mexico State | 0–2 | |
| North Carolina A&T | 0–2 | |
| Northeastern | 0–2 | |
| Ohio State | 0–2 | |
| Oral Roberts | 0–2 | |
| Saint Louis | 0–2 | |
| San Diego State | 0–2 | |
| Texas Southern | 0–2 | |
| Wright State | 0–2 |
Record by conference
| Conference | # of Bids | Record | Win % | Nc Record | Nc Win % | RF | SR | WS | NS | CS | NC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pac–12 | 4 | 20–9 | .690 | 19–8 | .704 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| SEC | 10 | 43–25 | .632 | 33–15 | .688 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | – |
| Big 12 | 5 | 16–12 | .571 | 16–12 | .571 | 4 | 2 | 2 | – | – | – |
| ACC | 6 | 17–13 | .567 | 17–13 | .567 | 5 | 2 | 1 | – | – | – |
| Big Ten | 4 | 6–8 | .429 | 6–8 | .429 | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | – |
| Atlantic Sun | 2 | 4–4 | .500 | 4–4 | .500 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – |
| Ohio Valley | 2 | 5–5 | .500 | 5–5 | .500 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – |
| Big West | 1 | 4–2 | .667 | 4–2 | .667 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – |
| American | 4 | 6–8 | .429 | 6–8 | .429 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Colonial | 2 | 2–4 | .333 | 2–4 | .333 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Conference USA | 2 | 4–4 | .500 | 4–4 | .500 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Missouri Valley | 2 | 3–4 | .429 | 3–4 | .429 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Sun Belt | 2 | 2–4 | .333 | 2–4 | .333 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Other | 18 | 6–36 | .143 | 6–36 | .143 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The columns RF, SR, WS, NS, CS, and NC respectively stand for the Regional Finals, Super Regionals, College World Series Teams, National Semifinals, Championship Series, and National Champion.
Nc is non–conference records, i.e., with the records of teams within the same conference having played each other removed.
Media coverage
Radio
NRG Media provided nationwide radio coverage of the College World Series through its Omaha station KOZN, in association with Westwood One. It was streamed at westwoodonesports.com, on TuneIn, and on SiriusXM. Kevin Kugler and John Bishop called all games leading up to the Championship Series with Gary Sharp acting as the field reporter. The Championship Series was called by Kugler and Scott Graham with Bishop acting as field reporter.
Television
ESPN carried every game from the Regionals, Super Regionals, and College World Series across its networks. During the Regionals and Super Regionals ESPN offered a dedicated channel, ESPN Bases Loaded (carried in the same channel allotments as its "Goal Line" services for football), carried live look-ins and analysis across all games in progress.
Broadcast assignments
|
Regionals[10]
Super Regionals[11]
College World Series[12]
|
Regionals[10]
Super Regionals[11]
College World Series Championship Series[12]
|
References
- ^ a b "Baseball Division I Championship". NCAA. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
- ^ "Team Directory". Archived from the original on 2010-12-30. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
- ^ "DI Baseball Championship moves to 16 seeds". NCAA. October 6, 2017. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
- ^ "2018 CWS: Full inning of Oregon State's crazy Game 2 comeback vs. Arkansas". NCAA. Retrieved 2021-04-15.
- ^ "Game Recap". ESPN. Retrieved 2021-04-15.
- ^ "Freshman Kevin Abel pitches Oregon State past Arkansas to win College World Series". USA Today. Retrieved 2021-04-15.
- ^ "Oregon State's Adley Rutschman wins 2018 College World Series Most Outstanding Player". ncaa.com. June 28, 2018. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
- ^ "Tar Heels knock out Heimlich early, beat Beavers 8–6 in CWS". Statesman Journal. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
- ^ "Oregon State's Adley Rutschman wins 2018 College World Series Most Outstanding Player". NCAA.com. June 27, 2017. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
- ^ a b "ESPN Swings into the 2018 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship with Extensive Regionals Coverage Beginning Friday". ESPN Media Zone. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
- ^ a b "Showdowns on Deck with NCAA Division I Baseball Super Regionals Set for ESPN". ESPN Media Zone. Retrieved 2018-06-07.
- ^ a b "Every Game, Every Angle, Every Moment from Omaha and the College World Series on ESPN Networks". ESPN Media Zone. Retrieved 2018-06-12.