5/26 Bear Dump: College World Series Edition

by oaktownmario on May 26, 2008 10:35 AM PDT Comment 3 comments

So despite almost getting swept by the baby bruins over the weekend in what could have been a really ugly series, Cal (3 seed) finally made it to its first CWS since 2001 and will play University of San Diego (2 seed) in its first game, in the Long Beach State bracket. Here's the bracket:

http://ncaa.com/uploadedFiles/Sports/Baseball/Articles/Division_I/2008MCWS64-teamBracket.pdf

I saw that USD has the 2nd best team e.r.a. in the country so the Bears better bring their bats.

Here's the recap from the last game of the weekend series where the Bears got shut out by Fucla two straight games! Yikes!

http://calbears.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/recaps/052508aab.html

The women didn't fare so well in their CWS, getting beat by Florida twice over the weekend to get eliminated. But given their inconsistent play over the season and the fact that Florida was the overall # 1 seed, it would have been shocking for Cal to win. Congrats to a pretty good season lady bears.

http://calbears.cstv.com/sports/w-softbl/recaps/052408aaa.html

Have a good Memorial Day and dump away!

The opinions expressed in a FanPost are, in every way, reflective of the opinions of every California Golden Blogs Marshawnthusiast. Moreover, they are reflective of every employee of SBNation, including Tyler "Blez" Bleszinski.

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Favorable Regional

Looks like a good draw for our Bears. They already beat San Diego earlier this season, and swept Long Beach State at home in a 3-game series. They also beat Fresno State, the No. 4 team in their region. Overall, they’re 5-0 this year against teams in their region.

Unfortunately, the regional winner will probably face Arizona State in the super-regional, where the Bears got swept earlier this season. ASU is the No. 3 overall national seed. If the Bears get that far, they’ll certainly have a tough time getting past the Sun Devils.

So, basically, you gotta Go Bears!

by ragnarok on May 26, 2008 2:03 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

This is a terrible draw for the Bears

yes they had success against these teams during the regular season, but those games came earlier in the year when Cal was playing far better ball. The Long Beach regional is the toughest in the country and a Friday matchup with San Diego is brutal. Brian Matusz, the Torero’s #1 is arguably the nation’s top pitcher will face the Bears, a far cry from facing Freshman Kyle Blair in his second career start like earlier this year.

Also, Long Beach St. is a completely different team at home than on the road. The spacious confines of Blair Field and the heavy air plays into the Dirtbags hands and will hamper Cal’s powerful offense. The Bears got the shaft this year from the committee and certainly deserved to be a #2 seed in a far easier regional. I’d be shocked if the Bears made it out of this regional and you can thank the NCAA for that because the Bears are good enough to be a Super Regional team.

by Ryan Rosenblatt on May 27, 2008 11:35 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Those are good points

I’ll admit I haven’t seen these other teams play; I was only going off the Bears’ head-to-head record against these teams, which, given the small sample size, isn’t necessarily a terribly accurate indicator. You’re right, these will be tough games, and opening against Matusz will be especially difficult.

However, I’m not sure the Bears earned a much better draw (perhaps a 2-seed would have been nice, though). As you say, Cal was playing much better earlier in the year, and given their struggles in Pac-10 play (they really haven’t been very impressive lately), I’m not sure a much better seed was warranted.

So, basically, you gotta Go Bears!

by ragnarok on May 28, 2008 2:38 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs