2013 College World Series -- TD Ameritrade Park -- Omaha

looks like they got around to getting it straight in all their excitement:

 

on top of that, these two teams made the front page of Baseball America's 2013 College Preview back in the beginning of the season:

 

Perfect Game's CWS Preview:

LSU: "Tigers fans should be warned that often than not the team favorited to take care of business in Omaha doesn't actually win the title. Aaron Nola is a rock in the rotation, but Glenn's time off and Ryan Eades' erratic nature at times are at least two causes for concern."

UCLA: "This is a very dangerous club" and they "certainly have the pitching to get through their bracket" and advance to the championship series. "the Bruins have a phenomenal one-two punch on the weekend in Adam Plutko and Nick Vander Tuig"

NC State: "North Carolina State heads to Omaha with a lot of confidence, and who can blame it? The Wolfpack has had a knack for huge hits over the past couple of weeks, and they always feel fantastic with Rodon on the mound. The big key to the CWS is just how the rest of the starting rotation performs. The Wolfpack has at least three quality options, but all three have had injury or consistency issues at points this spring. ... the bullpen is in very good shape. ... N.C. State's success in Omaha hinges on the performance of the rotation."

UNC: "it has to be a little alarming going into the CWS with Emanuel struggling last weekend against South Carolina, while fellow starting pitchers Hobbs Johnson and Benton Moss weren't exactly impressive. UNC will have the bullpen and offense to get the job done in Omaha, but the starting pitching must be what it was for much of the spring. If it isn't, the Tar Heels could have a quick trip to the CWS...Emanuel has been a workhorse to say the least the past couple of weeks...Meanwhile, Hobbs Johnson and Benton Moss have just been average in the postseason"

 

Bregman on the the field at TD Ameritrade:

“The playing surface is beautiful ... It does play like Hoover – it’s big. This is the kind of grass I play on back home (in Albuquerque, New Mexico), a little slower, so I have to come get the ball at shortstop.”

 

Bill Martin, LSU Associate Sports Information Director:
"LSU drew the most media coverage and autograph seekers of the eight teams on Friday as Omaha’s fan favorite makes a return for the first time in three seasons."

Mainieri:
"This is the pinnacle of college baseball" ... "This is the mecca"

UCLA head coach John Savage:
"They have got the best fans in college baseball," said Savage. "There are no other fans like LSU fans. ... They travel anywhere, anytime. It’s a privilege to play against them. It’s great for college baseball that they support their program as well as they do."

 

Mainieri at the CWS press conference:

--"All these teams are so good that I don't believe there is a home field advantage for anybody. It just comes down to who plays better that day. That is the bottom line. It's making pitches, making plays, getting big hits."

--JaCoby Jones "single handedly carried us offensively this week (in the Super Regional) He hit the big triple off Gray in the 8th inning...and then the next day, a four hit game."

--"The park (TD Ameritrade) obviously plays a lot different than Rosenblatt did. It's not sitting up on a hill where the wind is galing out all the time. So pitching and defense will be paramount, being able to manufacture runs. Fortunately, for all of us, the game has changed whether we're playing it at TD Ameritrade or Alex Box Stadium or whatever field these guys are playing at. The game has changed. That is just the way it is. ... You have to play pitch and play defense...All these teams are here because they pitch and play defense...and you've got to be able to find a way to manufacture some runs... I think the field (at TD Ameritrade) is probably going to play similar to the way the field at hoover, where we play the SEC Tournament. It's a spacious park. There are not many home runs hit, and it comes down to the fundamentals of the game... I think (college baseball today is) skewed a little bit too far in the direction of pitching and defense. You know, there needs to be a good balance. I thought in '98 when LSU hit eight home runs, the bats were probably too lively. In fact, I know they were. That was skewed way too much in the other direction. But I feel like we've gone too far in the other direction. My personal feeling was in 2010, they had the bats right and they changed them again, but that was just my personal feeling. I like to see offense. I like to see the ability to come from behind with late inning home runs. I think that's a niche that made college baseball very exciting, and I'd just hate for us to lose that. I don't know what the answer is now, because I don't think the bats are going to change back, and we love the bats we use. But just across the board you'd like to see a little bit more offense. So anything that can get a little more offense into the game, I'd be in favor of. (Mainieri is in favor of switching to the balls they use in the minors and majors, which would make college baseball more about hitting, pitching, and defense, instead of being stacked so much in favor of pitching and defense)

 

Wow, I've basically been saying the same thing since the impact of the dead bats became clear. Glad you coach agrees with me.

http://www.tigerfan.com/threads/spo...seballs-have-changed-the-college-game.106169/

 

Like the 18th hole at the US Open today, the CWS is a.monster that chews up all that dare face it. Every top seed that has faced the meatgrinder has fallen. LSU is looking to buck that trend, while going up against our highest ranked opponent of the year other than Vandy, a red hot UCLA team who had multiple guys hitting at about .500 in the NCAAT and whose spectacular pitching and defense (led by the Pac 12 defensive player of year and the Pac 12 pitcher of the year) has been especially spectacular in the NCAAT. The long field works in favor of the fly-out pitching style of the three-time first team All-Pac 12 ace Plutko (who has been pitching the best of his life in the NCAAT). And once he leaves the game, then the best closer in the country will be available, a 2-time All American submarine pitcher they call the Golden Submarine. Every body beseech the baseball gods to shine their favor on the boys from Louisiana and GEAUX TIGERS!