Day 2 of the 2022 College World Series is upon us, and so far, the preview and predictions have started hot, going 2-0 with Oklahoma beating Texas A&M in a shootout 13-8. Both of the Oklahoma pitchers highlighted yesterday were enough to stave off the Aggies. In the second game, Notre Dame thoroughly smothered Texas by jumping on them early and letting Bertrand and co. handle duties on the mound with the help of some sparkling defense behind them on the way to a 7-3 victory.
Today, we have another pair of intriguing matchups. In the first game, #2 Stanford and Arkansas face off. In the second one, #14 Auburn will take on the red-hot Rebels of Ole Miss.
Let’s breakdown the matchups for today:
Arkansas vs. #2 Stanford
This game will be a fun battle between two talented, experienced teams. Stanford has been a little bit more consistent this season. Arkansas has probably been a little undervalued all year.
Stanford will turn to its ace in Alex Williams in this game. Williams sports an 8-3 record with a strong 2.88 ERA and 90 strikeouts to 23 walks in 97 innings pitched. However, the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year has scuffled recently. In his three postseason starts, Williams has allowed 15 earned runs on 20 hits and four walks in just 10.2 innings pitched. His most recent performance against UConn was his worst outing of the year, managing to get four batters out while allowing seven total runs before exiting.
One thing to keep an eye on for Williams is how his command looks early. He lacks overpowering stuff on the mound, so he cannot miss spots and get away with it like some of the other arms that you would typically see in Omaha. Can he hit his spots and spot up his changeup to keep the Arkansas bats off-balance? Can he give Stanford the length that he normally gives…6, 7, 8 innings? Or will he be out of the game early like in his last three outings?
Arkansas will turn to Connor Noland in this game. Noland’s stats may not jump out when stacked up against Williams with just a 7-5 record, a 3.86 ERA and 105 strikeouts to 33 walks in 100.1 innings, but he is pitching with different confidence of late than Williams. While Williams needs to bounce back from a few bad outings in a row, Noland already has bounced back from a tough start against a juggernaut offense in Oklahoma State by going to Chapel Hill and taking down #10 UNC with a 0-earned run, 0-hit, 6-strikeout, 6.2 inning performance.
If Noland shows up with the Arkansas offense that we saw in the Stillwater Regional, I think we will see an Arkansas victory. Arkansas has no pressure. They were not supposed to get here, and they had a lot of fun and played at a high level the whole way to Omaha. Stanford has scuffled and had to scramble to make it here. I just cannot shake that Arkansas feels better positioned to take this game today.
Ole Miss vs. #14 Auburn
As I have mentioned before, Ole Miss was probably the last team to make it into the 2022 NCAA Tournament. To this point, Ole Miss has had a rather favorable path and has absolutely laid waste to everyone in that path, even pitching a pair of shutouts of #11 Southern Miss in the Super Regionals.
Auburn, on the other hand, was not even supposed to sniff the postseason this year. Auburn was picked last in the SEC West, and sure enough, they have found their way to Omaha, and any Auburn fan would tell you that it is always the Auburn teams that are counted out that make the most noise. Thanks to a pitching staff that gelled down the stretch and a couple of “plug-and-play” transfers, Auburn has fielded a squad that feels much more well-rounded and primed to compete in Omaha than the 2019 team did.
It wasn’t too long ago that Ole Miss sat 24-19 on the season with no hopes of a postseason. Since that point, they have snuck into the tournament and gone a red-hot 13-3. You could make an argument that Ole Miss is the hottest team in the country.
Tonight, they’ll hand the ball to Dylan Delucia. The junior college transfer has a 6-2 record with a 4.35 ERA and has 88 strikeouts to 26 walks in 78.2 innings pitched this season. Delucia has been rather up and down this season. His good days are excellent. His bad days are not very good. He has been pretty hit or miss, and his last four starts paint that exact picture. He was lights out in Hattiesburg against Southern Miss. He was not exactly that great in the previous three outings.
The offense for Ole Miss is headlined by “player-to-watch” Tim Elko with his .302 average, 22 homers and 71 RBI, but he is far from alone. He is half of a nice power duo with Jacob Gonzalez who is hitting .278 with 17 homers of his own and 49 RBI. Justin Bench and Kevin Graham are a couple more high-average hitters that can have an impact by getting on base. Graham has some pop to pair with the .331 average with his 10 homers. Altogether, the lineup may not terrify pitchers on paper with the exception of Elko, but it has been red-hot and is plenty dangerous.
Auburn will run out Joseph Gonzalez in their 2022 Omaha debut. Gonzalez is a midseason addition to the starting rotation that quickly found himself at home with a 7-3 record and a stout 2.95 ERA. In his 73.1 innings pitched, the strikeout numbers will not blow you away with just 47, but he limits walks with just 14 this season. He lives in the bottom of the strike zone with his sinker and induces weak contact and a lot of ground balls. His top-notch defense does the dirty work behind him. He does an excellent job getting ahead and that will be key tonight against Ole Miss.
Auburn Head Coach Butch Thompson will not shy away from using his bullpen. He will go to his stout relievers to slam the door shut. Carson Skipper, Blake Burkhalter, John Armstrong and co. have done a great job, especially in the Super Regionals, getting the job done this postseason.
On offense, the lineup needs to heat back up in the warm weather again. They had a record-breaking performance in the Auburn Regional but sputtered at times in the Corvallis Super Regional against Oregon State. A couple of big swings by Sonny DiCharia and Bobby Pierce helped keep the Tigers afloat and sailing to Omaha last weekend.
A massive key will be in the leadoff spot. On-base machine Blake Rambusch had a tough Super Regional where he failed to register a hit, but one would hope he did not let it get to him because he saw the ball pretty well and hit a lot of balls on the screws that went right at the Oregon State fielders. In Omaha, the Tiger leadoff man needs to find a way to get to first base because he jump-starts the Auburn offense. With Cole Foster, SEC Co-Player of the Year Sonny DiCharia and Bobby “Barrels” Pierce coming up behind him, a runner-on could lead to quick runs early and often, especially when DiCharia and Pierce are powering home runs in every big spot this postseason.
I think Auburn matches up better for this big ballpark. The Tigers are more well-rounded with better pitching and defense and, probably, a slightly better offense. I think this game will be razor close, but the Tigers are in a good spot to open their College World Series with a victory.