College World Series: UNC vs. Oregon State preview, prediction and more

UNC and Oregon State will get things going in Omaha at the 2018 College World Series when they meet Saturday afternoon

Just a day after the North Carolina Tar Heels baseball team punched its ticket to Omaha for the College World Series, they find out exactly who they would open up the tournament with. And it’s a familiar foe.

It was just 11 years ago that the Oregon State Beavers defeated the Tar Heels on June 24 to win the 2007 College World Series in Omaha as they dog-piled on the mound. While UNC and Oregon State aren’t playing for the title on Saturday, there is still a sense of revenge in a lot of Tar Heels’ fans minds.

A win in Saturday’s opener would be a great place to start.

The Beavers will enter Saturday’s game as the No. 3 ranked team in the nation after going 49-10-1 and winning the Corvallis Regional and Super Regional the past two weekends. They have been consistently one of the best teams in college baseball all season long and are deep both in the field and on their pitching staff.

Leading that charge on the pitching staff is Luke Heimlich.

The left-handed pitcher is 16-1 with a 2.32 ERA and has 151 strikeouts in 120 1/3 innings pitched this year. He’s one of the best pitchers in all of college baseball and was named the College Baseball Foundation’s National Pitcher of Year. Heimlich is the likely candidate to start on Saturday for the Beavers, making things tough on the Tar Heels right away.

The key for UNC will be to remain patient at the plate against Heimlich. He’s given up 25 walks and hitters have a .211 average against him this season, the highest in his career.

As for the Beavers offense, well they are pretty well-rounded in that area as well.

Oregon State’s offense is led by outfielder Trevor Larnach, who happens to be their best power threat. He’s hit18 home runs and driven in 68 RBI’s on the year. The outfielder is batting .336 and is arguably the Beavers’ best hitter.

The Beavers offense is just loaded with really good hitters, the majority hitting over .300 on the year. Sophomore catcher Adley Rutschman is hitting .386 while slugging .595 with 7 home runs and 70 RBI’s on the season.

Both Cadyn Grenier and Michael Gretler are hitting over .300 and have 44 RBI’s on the year. This has been one of the most consistent offenses in all of college baseball this year and will certainly be the Tar Heels’ toughest test.

For UNC, they will turn the ball over to Gianluca Dalatri for the game one start according to Mike Fox. Dalatri recently returned to the Diamond Heels rotation and has posted a 3.08 ERA so far this year.

Cooper Criswell will be the Game two starter, win or lose for the Tar Heels. He’s posted a 2.82 ERA this season and has pitched well.

Crisswell got the win over Stetson on Friday, pitching well as UNC took Game 1. He’s arguably been the most reliable starter for the Tar Heels all season long.

First pitch is set for 3 p.m. EST on Saturday afternoon and the game will be broadcasted on ESPN.

Next: College World Series schedule

The winner will advance to Monday’s game at 6 p.m. and the loser playing at 1 p.m. on ESPN in an elimination game.