UNC Baseball

[Calheel]

It was fun. I wasn't expecting OU to win. It was more about enjoying an afternoon off work and if OU won then great. Despite having a couple of CWS championships (one being my last year in college) and a recent CWS final appearance, we are not near the baseball program of UNC, IMO. Our deep CWS runs were basically flukes from teams that got hot at the right moment. When we beat Georgia Tech in 1994, I doubt we would win 2/10 of those games - not with Garciapara and Veritek on the other side. Probably lucky it wasn't best 2 of 3 back then.

Anyway, I was impressed with the facilities. I can't compare to other SEC schools but OU's baseball facilities are just not great at all - just not set up to create a great atmosphere. They've renovated a bit but it is far behind programs like UNC.

I wish our baseball field (and basketball arena) were on campus. Technically both are connected to the campus but they are about a mile south of the real part of campus. Love that UNC athletic facilities are all right there in the middle of campus.

For now. Odds are that the new UNC basketball arena will be moved to the old Chapel Hill airport. Glad you had a good day, but not too good of a day.

 

[SnoopRob]

Baseball is a random sport. Stuff like that happens more often in baseball. I’ll defer to the larger sample size of the last five years. Over time, the best league will outperform and that has certainly been the SEC.

I'm not trying to be reasonable, I'm here to talk junk about the SEC.

Suck it, SEC!

 

[ChapelHillSooner]

I think the ACC has proven itself in this tournament with 5 teams advancing to the Supers and with only 3 teams hosting regionals. An argument can be made that we are equivalent - top to bottom - with the mighty SEC. Where the league needs to step up is winning the CWS and break the SEC's 5 year grip on the championship - here's looking at you Heels!

I'll be rooting for UNC.

The crazy thing is that the SEC never had a CWS champion before Georgia won it in 1990.

Only like three of their schools had a softball team before 1997. This SEC dominance thing is a far newer phenomenon that they like to admit. Or I am just old.

 

[Calheel]

I'll be rooting for UNC.

The crazy thing is that the SEC never had a CWS champion before Georgia won it in 1990.

Only like three of their schools had a softball team before 1997. This SEC dominance thing is a far newer phenomenon that they like to admit. Or I am just old.

College baseball was primarily a southwestern sport until the 1990s.

 

[ChapelHillSooner]

College baseball was primarily a southwestern sport until the 1990s.

True although Miami had some good success in the '80s.

In the state of Oklahoma in the '80s it was all about Oklahoma State. They had great teams with two of the college greats in Pete Incaviglia and Robin Ventura. Made it to three finals and were the best team in a couple of them but just couldn't get over that hump. They always had better facilities than OU. They do now as well as they opened a pretty nice new stadium a few years ago. Unfortunately for them, OU being in the SEC is going to hurt them.

Ventura had a good pro career. Incaviglia couldn't lay off the high fastball in the pros. They are best known for Ventura getting his a** beat by Nolan Ryan and Incaviglia for letting a ball bounce off his head for a home run. haha

 

[DiehardHeelFan]

College baseball was primarily a southwestern sport until the 1990s.

Predominantly California and Arizona until 1989. Then after that, other than LSU, pretty spread around.

 

[DiehardHeelFan]

 

[DiehardHeelFan]

 

[ChapelHillSooner]

Predominantly California and Arizona until 1989. Then after that, other than LSU, pretty spread around.

I think college baseball is a far more popular sport than it was back then. While a lot of greats did play college ball, I think a lot higher percentage of middle draft level players went directly to pros. I'm sure NIL has changed that a lot but just as a spectator sport it has grown.

I was watching the LSU game and it almost felt like a college football atmosphere on TV. It seemed crazy. Certainly not classy though. Goodness those trashy shirtless cajuns...

 

[hedge]

I kinda liked the all blue pinstripe uni's we were wearing on Sunday, even though we didn't get a good result that day...

 

[ChapelHillSooner]

Have to correct myself on the Oklahoma State comments and then I promise I won't discuss it further. They were good and unbelievable offensively but they always had questionable pitching. Oklahoma actually had better pitching in that era. Had Oklahoma State had OU's pitching staff they would have rolled.

 

[Centerpiece]

I like our chances. 7 of the 16 seeded teams are gone, including the #1 and #2 seeds. I think we can take Arizona getting to the elite 8 and #4 seed Auburn getting to the final 4.
After that, all bets are off and we stand as good a chance as anybody left standing at that point.

 

[Calheel]

I like our chances. 7 of the 16 seeded teams are gone, including the #1 and #2 seeds. I think we can take Arizona getting to the elite 8 and #4 seed Auburn getting to the final 4.
After that, all bets are off and we stand as good a chance as anybody left standing at that point.

Beating Auburn doesn't get us to the Final Four. It is double elimination once we get to Omaha. We will need to beat Auburn and the winner of FSU/Oregon State to get to the Final Four.

 

[4thgenheel]

I kinda liked the all blue pinstripe uni's we were wearing on Sunday, even though we didn't get a good result that day...

its been my favorite UNC uni across all sports for several years now

 

[fourheels]

Beating Auburn doesn't get us to the Final Four. It is double elimination once we get to Omaha. We will need to beat Auburn and the winner of FSU/Oregon State to get to the Final Four.

And then beat one of them one more time to get to the final series.

 

[Calheel]

And then beat one of them one more time to get to the final series.

Right. But just winning the first two gets us into the Final Four. Then, we need to win one of two to get to the Final Two.

 

[ChapelHillSooner]

Right. But just winning the first two gets us into the Final Four. Then, we need to win one of two to get to the Final Two.

There was a time, I believe, where the entire 8 team tournament was like a big double elimination tournament where in the finals one would have to beat the other twice. That was obviously not good for tv.

Then they moved it to just one final game. I believe the first year or two it was like the 8 team double elimination tournament but without the loser’s bracket winner having to win two. (Would have been like OU winning the regional on Sunday night.). Thay was clearly not a fair system.

Then they moved it to like it is now (essentially two four team double elimination tournaments) but with a single championship game. They wanted the single game for TV.

Then as college baseball grew more viewers they were able to turn the champ game into the best two of three.

All of the above is from memory watching the CWS since the mid ‘80s so just take it as my recollection which is certainly fallible.

 

[Milk and Cookies]

In 1996 I was 16 and visiting my older brother at LSU over the summer when Warren Morris hit his walk off home run to win the CWS. My brother was an RA of the athlete's dorm. He introduced me to Kevin Faulk and I saw Booger McFarland walking into the dorm.

 

[Calheel]

There was a time, I believe, where the entire 8 team tournament was like a big double elimination tournament where in the finals one would have to beat the other twice. That was obviously not good for tv.

Then they moved it to just one final game. I believe the first year or two it was like the 8 team double elimination tournament but without the loser’s bracket winner having to win two. (Would have been like OU winning the regional on Sunday night.). Thay was clearly not a fair system.

Then they moved it to like it is now (essentially two four team double elimination tournaments) but with a single championship game. They wanted the single game for TV.

Then as college baseball grew more viewers they were able to turn the champ game into the best two of three.

All of the above is from memory watching the CWS since the mid ‘80s so just take it as my recollection which is certainly fallible.

I like the system now because it is a direct parallel of the regional and super regional format.

 

[Centerpiece]

Obviously, I misunderstanding the format… I just saw 16 teams left standing here ago. We’re in the Suite 16. I see that if we take care of Arizona this weekend after that we should be one of only eight teams left standing here ago elite eight. So I naturally assumed Auburn would be next up…if we can take care of Auburn, after that we should be one of only four teams left standing. If each one of these series mimics the regionals and super regional are naturally thought of final four sort of like basketball tournament… Be that as it may I still stand by my original statement I like our chances.