The potential opponents LSU can play in its next game in the College World Series have been decided. In the matchup before LSU’s, Wake Forest defeated Stanford 3-2 after an hour and a half weather delay before the start of the seventh inning.
LSU will start its College World Series run in Omaha, Nebraska on Saturday at 6:40 p.m. C.T. against Tennessee. The game will be played at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, and it will be televised on both ESPN and ESPN-plus.
Below I’ve included both scenarios on where LSU would find themselves whether they were to win or lose on Saturday night.
If LSU wins:
It will play Wake Forest on Monday at 6 p.m. C.T. at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha in the winner’s bracket of Bracket Two of the College World Series. That game will be televised on ESPN. If LSU were to win Monday’s game as well, it would play on Wednesday against the winner of Wake Forest and the winner of Stanford and Tennessee from the loser’s bracket.
If LSU loses:
It will play Stanford on Monday at 1 p.m. C.T. at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha in the loser’s bracket of Bracket Two of the College World Series. That game will be televised on ESPN.
If LSU were to win Monday’s game as well, it would play the loser of Wake Forest and Tennessee, also for the right to continue in the tournament. If LSU were to lose Monday as well, it would be eliminated from the College World Series and their season would come to an end.
What to know about Wake Forest:
The Demon Deacons struggled at the plate on Saturday, but almost every game before Saturday speaks for itself. Wake Forest is the No. 1 seed in the College World Series. Pairing its hitting and it pitching gives it every reason to be.
Wake Forest used its ace against Stanford in their College World Series opener in Rhett Lowder. Lowder, a right-handed pitcher and back-to-back ACC Pitcher of the Year, went 5.1 innings, struck out six and gave up two runs on sevens hits.
However, Lowder isn’t the only All-American pitcher that Wake Forest has, according to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Assocation, and the other would likely face LSU if the Tigers were to win Saturday night.
If Josh Hartle was on almost any other team in America, he would be the ace. But the Demon Deacons have found a lot of success working with Hartle alongside Lowder, to say the least, especially because Hartle is a left-handed pitcher.
Hartle holds a 2.80 ERA in 96.1 innings pitched. He is second on the team with 131 strikeouts, and hols an 11-2 record on the season. Not only would Hartle be arguably one of the best pitchers the Tigers have seen all year, but the Tigers arguably haven’t seen a left-handed pitcher as dominant as Hartle.
While Wake Forest’s pitching is what sets them apart from other teams, its hitting makes them that much better. The Demon Deacons have seven hitters with a .300 batting average or above.
Nick Kurtz and Brock Wilken have been the center of Wake’s offense all season; if one isn’t on on a particular day, the other one will be. Recently, they’ve both been dominant, and that’s a big reason why the Demon Deacons are in Omaha.
Kurtz leads the team with a .370 batting average with 24 home runs, and Wilken is right behind with a .357 batting average, and leads the team in home runs with 30 and RBIs with 80.
Very few teams have had success in stopping Wake on both sides of the game, but the teams in the College World Series are said to be the only teams that can. The Demon Deacons came to Omaha as the team to beat, and Saturday afternoon only made the target on their back that much bigger.
What to know about Stanford:
Contrary to Wake Forest, Stanford did not use its ace pitcher in its College World Series opener. For LSU, however, meeting Stanford on Monday instead of the anticipated Wake Forest would only mean the road won’t get easier.
Quinn Matthews, a left-handed pitcher, was named as the Pac-12 pitcher of the Year and is an All-American, according to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. In 120 innings pitched, he holds a 3.60 ERA and a 10-4 record. Similar to Josh Hartle of Wake Forest, Matthews would not only be arguably one of the best pitchers LSU has seen, but arguably the best left-handed pitcher LSU has seen.
The depth of pitching Stanford has is not what Wake Forest has, but its hitting can most definitely be compared to the Demon Deacons.
Tommy Troy and Alberto Rios lead the charge for the Cardinal at the plate. Troy leads the team with a .397 batting average along with a team-high 76 RBIs and 17 home runs, which is tied for second on the team.
Rios has been just as dominant. The Pac-12 Player of the Year has a .387 batting average with a team-high 18 home runs along with 71 RBIs. He also leads the team in doubles with 23.
The depth of the Cardinal at the plate is just as deep as Wake Forest’s depth. Seven of Stanford’s starters hold .300 batting averages or higher.
Regardless of stats, it’s important to note that Stanford led over Wake Forest 2-1 until the bottom of the eighth inning. Stanford held most of the control in that game, and while it may have lost in the end, it could have easily been on the winning side of things.
