The No. 16 West Virginia Mountaineers and the No. 5 North Carolina Tar Heels are facing off in the College World Series on Wednesday at 2 p.m. at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha. The Mountaineers (46-16) defeated Troy on Tuesday in an elimination game to set up a rematch with the Tar Heels (52-12). West Virginia will have to beat North Carolina twice to advance, while the Tar Heels need to just win one more to reach the finals. Here is our gameday preview, prediction, and odds to get you ready for first pitch.
West Virginia vs North Carolina Game Odds
The Tar Heels are a 1.5-run favorite with an over/under of 13. In their last meeting, there were just a total of seven runs scored.
Players to Watch
Gavin Kelly, West Virginia (UTL): I know what you are thinking, Kelly again? Yes. After I talked about him before the Troy game, I said the Mountaineers needed a big performance from their star hitter, and they got one. Gavin finished with three hits, including a big three-run homer to break things open. West Virginia will need another huge effort from Kelly against North Carolina.
Owen Hull, North Carolina (OF): While Owen may not have a ton of power, the one thing he does better than anyone on his team is get on base. Whether it’s with a walk or getting a hit with his .389 batting average, nobody in a North Carolina uniform is better. That’s why he earned first-team ACC honors this season, and he’s dangerous with runners on base.
Key Storyline: Will There Be Offense This Time Around?
The last time these two played, there weren’t a ton of fireworks offensively. That was mostly due to the fact that both teams started their aces and were in a tie game up until the seventh inning.
Max Yehll did all he could to keep West Virginia in it and ended up going seven innings, while Ryan Lynch didn’t make it to five. However, North Carolina showed their depth in the bullpen that day by bringing out Walker McDuffie, who was lights out.
But this time around should look a lot different. While we still aren’t sure who is starting for the Mountaineers (likely Chansen Cole), we do know that North Carolina will start Folger Boaz, who has an ERA over 7 and hasn’t pitched since May.
While North Carolina has more depth in the bullpen, I think we could see a lot more runs scored on Wednesday than we did on Sunday evening. And in this sport, when the runs start pouring, who knows what will happen.
Prediction: West Virginia 7, North Carolina 6
This time around will look very different for both teams, as the pitchers are playing. I expect the offenses to heat up, and after scoring 12 runs against Troy, the Mountaineers have to be feeling pretty good offensively.
North Carolina’s lineup is great, as we all know, but the difference in that last game was the two errors in the seventh inning. West Virginia will learn from that and not beat themselves. I know the Tar Heels are great, but I don’t see this West Virginia team losing this game on Wednesday.
