The College World Series kicks off today with Oklahoma and Texas A&M squaring off at 1:00 PM CT and Notre Dame and Texas starting at 6:00 PM CT. With first pitch just a couple of hours away, let’s break down today’s matchups:
Oklahoma vs. Texas A&M
This game will be intriguing because I think that Oklahoma may have an advantage in the pitching department, but I think Texas A&M’s offense is a good bit more well-rounded and dangerous.
Oklahoma will run Jake Bennett out on the mound, and this is where the Sooners will have an advantage. Bennett has put together a strong third season in Norman with a 9-3 record, a 3.53 ERA and 120 strikeouts to just 22 walks in 104.2 innings pitched. Opponents hit just .235 off the lefty. Behind him, Oklahoma’s defense has been stronger than A&M’s. The key is for Bennett to attack the zone and let his defense make plays.
If OU can hold a lead deep into the game, perhaps they turn the game over to righty Trevin Michael out of the bullpen. Michael has been strong all season with a 2.94 ERA in 64.1 innings pitched to pair with 90 strikeouts to 18 walks, but recently, Michael has taken it to a different level. Over his last 15 innings pitched, Michael has allowed just 10 hits, a singular walk and just a single earned run. In that span, Michael has 18 strikeouts, as well.
In the Blacksburg Super Regional, Michael slammed the door on the Hokies twice. He pitched a pair of two-inning outings where he allowed no hits, no walks and no runs while striking out four in both appearances. The simple answer to today’s game for Oklahoma is to get length from Bennett early and slam the door shut with Michael.
On the flip side, Texas A&M has to play strong defense. Charles Schwab Field is known for being a hard place to generate a lot of offense, so the Aggies cannot afford mistakes that allow free baserunners for the Sooners.
As noted yesterday, freshly named third-team All-American Dylan Rock will lead this A&M offense into battle today. The .332 hitter will need to provide a spark as the Aggie lineup needs to jump on Bennett early and blow up any chances of Oklahoma making this just a two-pitcher game.
Another name to keep an eye on for Texas A&M is Jack Moss. Moss has been hot all postseason. He’s been all-tournament team in the SEC Tournament and at the College Station Regional. This postseason, Moss is an absurd 20-for-37 at the plate with seven runs, a pair of doubles and six RBI. Since regional play started, Moss has had multiple hits in every game of the NCAA Tournament.
Texas A&M has hit the most homers (80) in a season since 2009. The only issue is that Charles Schwab Field is a very tough place to hit home runs. Combine that with studs that Oklahoma can run out on the mound in this first game, I cannot help but feel that Oklahoma has the advantage to take this opening game of the 2022 College World Series.
Notre Dame vs. Texas
The night game tonight is a fun matchup between the team that just took down big, bad #1 Tennessee in Notre Dame and the team that is a former #1 before the crown got taken by Tennessee in Texas. Both teams are hot coming into this game and have plenty of talent and experience.
Notre Dame gets to put their ace, John Michael Bertrand, on the mound tonight. The 24-year-old is 9-3 on the season with an extremely strong 2.69 ERA and has tallied 107 strikeouts to 20 walks in 103.2 innings pitched this season. The only reason for pause is the lefty will be taking on a righty heavy lineup in Texas, but if you are Notre Dame, you kind of have to dance with the one that brought you and stick with your stud in Bertrand.
Plus, we have seen Bertrand make significant strides over the course of the season pitching to right-handed batters. He did so against Florida State in the ACC Tournament by trying to pitch inside to the Seminole lineup while sprinkling in his changeup to keep hitters off-balance.
From the Texas side, their starter is no slouch when compared to Bertrand. Sophomore lefty Pete Hansen will take the bump against the Irish. Hansen has posted an 11-2 record this season with a 3.40 ERA and 115 strikeouts to 19 walks in 103.1 innings pitched. Opposing hitters hit just .223 off him as he has had a strong season for the Longhorns.
As good as Hansen has been, he was hit around some by the ECU lineup last weekend in the Supers. He went four innings, allowing seven hits, a walk and five earned runs in a loss in the first game of the Super Regional. The question on the mind of the Longhorn faithful has to be “Is the Pete Hansen of the entire season who has been consistently good showing up or is the guy who got ambushed by ECU showing up to Omaha?” I think you can feel comfortable that the former is going to be the guy tonight rather than the latter.
The Longhorns have to have a good outing from Hansen in order to win this game. The bullpen has been shaky all season, and you cannot let this Notre Dame knock Hansen out early and battle through the Texas bullpen. We saw how scrappy this Notre Dame team is last weekend. You can never count them out.
The confidence that Notre Dame is coming in with and the slight advantage with the starter and the advantage in the bullpen leads me to believe that Notre Dame may scrap out a victory in the nightcap of day 1 of the 2022 College World Series.