WVU's Next College World Series Opponent Is Officially Set

Day one of the College World Series in Omaha has come to a close, and with the evening game just wrapping up, we now know that the West Virginia Mountaineers will face the North Carolina Tar Heels in the winner's bracket on Sunday.

West Virginia's opening game victory

It didn't take long for the Mountaineers to put their identity on full display as Armani Guzman used his speed to reach second on an error, took third on a strikeout in the dirt, and then successfully stole home, the first time it's happened at the College World Series since 2000. Chansen Cole didn't have his best stuff, and it forced Ian Korn into the game in the third inning, and he nearly took it the rest of the distance. After a two-RBI base knock by Tyrus Hall in the bottom of the 8th and Korn grabbing the first couple of outs in the 9th, Steve Sabins turned to Bridgeport, WV native, Ben McDougal, who recorded the final out.

North Carolina's opening game victory

UNC has leaned on its pitching staff all year and did so this evening, getting an incredible 6.2 innings from its ace Jason DeCaro, who allowed two runs on six hits. He struck out nine batters and walked three. Caden Glauber came in to relieve him and went the rest of the distance, showing off some impressive stuff. The Tar Heels struggled offensively for the majority of the night, being limited to just five hits, one of which was a three-run homer from Colin Hynek in the 8th with two outs to give the Heels a four-run cushion.

Mini preview of WVU-UNC

This will be a matchup of the top two pitching staffs left standing as WVU entered play in Omaha with the best team ERA (3.82) and North Carolina right behind them at 3.89. North Carolina will almost certainly go with Ryan Lynch (5-4, 4.22 ERA) while the Mountaineers will turn to the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year, Maxx Yehl (9-2, 2,10 ERA). The two have a lot of similarities statistically, but the one difference that is in West Virginia's favor is the threat of the stolen base. Carolina entered Omaha with just 62 steals compared to the Mountaineers' 115.

North Carolina swept West Virginia two years ago in the super regional round in Chapel Hill by 8-6 and 2-1 scores.

First pitch between the Mountaineers and the Tar Heels is set for Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.

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