Saturday, June 13, 2009
The final round of the 2009 College World Series of baseball is set, with eight teams qualifying for the double-elimination tournament. The tournament will begin play on June 13 at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska in the United States. The College World Series is the final leg of a three-tiered tournament which determines the top baseball team in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I— the top level of play in American college athletics. The College World Series has been played annually at Rosenblatt Stadium since 1950.
The initial field of 64 teams played through regional competition in the first two legs of the tournament, called the “Regionals” and “Super Regionals.” The eight teams that won their Super Regional, and thus qualified for the College World Series, are:
- Arizona State from the Pacific-10 Conference
- Arkansas from the Southeastern Conference
- California State University, Fullerton from the Big West Conference
- Louisiana State University (LSU) from the Southeastern Conference
- University of North Carolina (UNC) from the Atlantic Coast Conference
- University of Southern Mississippi from Conference USA
- University of Texas from the Big 12 Conference
- University of Virginia from the Atlantic Coast Conference
In the opening round games, Cal State Fullerton will play Arkansas and LSU will play Virgina on Saturday, while UNC will play Arizona State and Texas will play Southern Miss on Sunday. Play will continue in the form of a double-elimination tournament, culminating in a three-game championship series to be held June 22–24.
Of the eight teams in the College World Series this year, two are making their CWS debut: Virginia and Southern Miss. At the other end of the spectrum, Texas and Arizona State are the winningest teams in the history of the tournament, combining for a total of 54 CWS appearances and 11 championships. Last year’s champion, Fresno State University, did not make it out of the Regional round this year, and only UNC and LSU are returning from last year’s final 8.