College World Series Live Stream Online Free HD TV Coverage
After avoiding elimination on Friday, Oregon State must replicate the outcome Saturday at Omaha, Nebraska. Mississippi State is no longer playing with leverage in a College World Series matchup that will send the winner to the championship.
The victor will face a rested opponent. Arkansas punched a ticket to the final series by vanquishing Florida on Friday night. The nation's No. 5-ranked school will battle Saturday's winner in a best-of-three showdown beginning on Monday.
While the Razorbacks would likely not openly admit any rooting preference, the No. 3 Beavers pose a starker threat than the Bulldogs, who started the season 10-10 and still own a shaky pitching staff.
College World Series: Saturday, June 23
Oregon State vs. Mississippi State: 3 p.m. ET on ESPN
Live Stream: Watch ESPN
How can Mississippi State prevent deja vu on Saturday? For starters, don't permit 24 baserunners.
The Beavers collected 15 hits and nine walks in Friday's 12-2 win, marking their third-straight triumph reaching double-digit runs.
ESPN Stats & Info documented their torrid scoring:
Including the regionals and super regionals, Oregon State has scattered 92 runs over nine games. The sizzling squad, which won all of those contests besides the bracket-opening loss to North Carolina, has scored at least six runs in each contest.
Nick Madrigal has enjoyed his Omaha stay. Chicago White Sox fans will appreciate the No. 4 pick going 8-for-17 with a walk, three steals and six runs in the last three games on the grand stage. The 5'7" middle infielder has bolstered his batting average to .399 while sporting a 1.017 OPS.
He may not even be their hottest slugger. Trevor Larnach has notched nine hits and a walk in the College World Series, and Kyle Nobach has fortified his slash line to .311/.432/.575 with three two-hit games.
By chasing starter Jacob Billingsley out early with a five-run second inning, the Beavers pushed the Bulldogs to use four pitchers in a blowout. Yet they saved their premier hurler.
Per the Commercial Dispatch's Brett Hudson, ace Ethan Small is ready to pitch Saturday's winner-take-all clash despite getting hit by a line drive during Friday's pregame batting practice:
The freshman southpaw has authored a 2.89 ERA—no other Bulldogs starter has posted an ERA below 3.50—and 117 strikeouts in 96.2 innings. He opened their Omaha run by twirling seven shutout frames in a 1-0 win over Washington.
They also preserved Cole Gordon, who ended Tuesday's 12-2 thumping over North Carolina with three scoreless frames. He has not ceded a run in his last four appearances spanning 10.1 innings.
Despite his hot hand, Gordon remains a wild card who has issued 32 walks in 57 innings. A team with a 4.41 staff ERA will need ample mileage from Smart to stifle Oregon State's sizzling offense.
After deploying Luke Heimlich and Bryce Fehmel in the last two games, the Beavers may also rely on an erratic hurler missing bats.
Kevin Abel has piled up an unseemly 41 walks in 64.1 frames, but he has also posted a 3.50 ERA with 90 strikeouts and a .199 opposing batting average. Although a lengthy rain delay interrupted his last outing on Monday, the right-handed freshman held the fort down (one run, five strikeouts) over four innings as his teammates tallied 14 runs versus Washington.
Oregon State, the stacked contender, has spent the last week on life support. Mississippi State, the underdogs outperforming all reasonable expectations, now stand on equal footing after squandering a head start. The Pac-12 powerhouse flaunts too much offensive firepower for the Bulldogs to handle, so look for the Beavers to vie for their first title since 2007.
