NCAA baseball tournament: Tracking the MCWS teams

16 teams advanced to the Super Regionals, but only eight will continue on to Omaha and the Men’s College World Series.

And for the second year in a row, the eight teams that move on to the Men’s College World Series will be completely different than the eight teams that advanced last season. Coastal Carolina, Arizona, Oregon State, Louisville, UCLA, Murray State, Arkansas, and LSU were the eight teams that advanced last year, but none of those teams will be headed to Omaha.

That means a completely new field, and a new national champion.

We’ll be tracking the teams that advance all weekend long.

West Virginia

The Mountaineers became the first team to punch their ticket to Omaha, dispatching Cal Poly in a two-game sweep at home in Morgantown. The West Virginia bats were red-hot in those two games, as they pushed 12 runs across the plate in Game 1 and followed that with a 17-run outburst against Cal Poly on Saturday, taking Game 2 by a final of 17-1 to punch their ticket to the Men’s College World Series.

And while the bats were part of the story, they did not tell the complete tale. After getting a career-high 11 strikeouts from Friday starter Chasen Cole, West Virginia coach Steve Sabins handed the ball to Maxx Yehl, the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year, for the start on Saturday.

All he did was pitch five near-perfect innings, allowing four hits and one run while striking out four.

West Virginia and its fans had to wait a little to celebrate, due to a lightning delay in the eighth inning. But eventually the sky cleared, and the Mountaineers closed out Cal Poly.

And now, the Mountaineers are headed to Omaha for the first time in program history.