Which teams will advance to the Men's College World Series final?
The GIST: Jaw-dropping plays, wild comebacks, close calls, and six (!!!) one-run nailbiters — the MCWS has been a baseball fan’s paradise, and it’s not even close to over. No. 7 Virginia, No. 8 Stanford, Oral Roberts, and Tennessee are out, and the last four squads standing will duke it out in today’s semifinals.
The undefeated: Folks will talk about No. 2 Florida’s Saturday game for years to come. The Gators scored three in the bottom of the ninth, including a record-setting bomb and a thrilling walk-off RBI, to steal the 6–5 win from Virginia. They also held off a surging Oral Roberts 5–4 on Monday, proving they can meet the moment on the biggest stage.
- Meanwhile, No. 1 Wake Forest isn’t just perfect at the MCWS — they haven’t lost since the tourney began. But their dominant offense has quieted in Omaha, eking out a pair of come-from-behind 3–2 wins over Stanford on Friday and No. 5 LSU on Sunday.
The comeback kids: TCU suffered their first postseason loss on Friday, crumbling in the ninth to fall 6–5 to Oral Roberts. But the Horned Frogs exacted their revenge: After eliminating Virginia 4–3 on Sunday, they channeled Tay-Tay to send Oral Roberts back to Tulsa with a dominant 6–1 dub, the largest margin of victory in Omaha thus far.
- Also battling through the elimination bracket was LSU, who redeemed their Sunday loss with back-to-back wins. Junior pitcher Nate Ackenhausen shone in his first career start last night, shutting out SEC rival Tennessee 5–0 to advance to today’s semis.
What’s next: There’s no rest for the wicked winners — Florida and TCU face off at 2 p.m. ET today, followed by LSU’s second shot at Wake Forest at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN. If the undefeated squads win, they advance to Friday’s best-of-three championship series, but if one of the comeback kids nabs an upset, tomorrow holds a winner-take-all rematch. Back to the Chuck!
