Beware of thousands of banana peels scattered on the stadium floors of the NCAA College World Series in Omaha. The magical potassium powers which had lifted the Mississippi State men’s baseball team during its torrid playoff run have finally lost their a-peel.
After Mississippi State’s now-famous rally banana was able to mount an incredible 2-out rally in the bottom of the ninth inning to get the bases loaded while trailing by three runs, the Bulldogs’ slipped and fell to Oregon State on Saturday night 5-2.
Oregon State now moves into the championship round of the 2018 College World Series against yet another Southeastern Conference team, the Arkansas Razorbacks.
The Beavers have been gnawing through one SEC foe after another this year after being beaten twice by LSU in 2017 after putting-up an incredible 56-4 record coming into 2017’s semifinal weekend.
Oregon State exacted some serious SEC revenge on LSU in this year’s first round of the NCAA baseball playoffs in Corvallis, Oregon. They spanked the 2018 Tigers twice by 14-1 and 12-0 blowouts to eliminate the team who spoiled their national championship hopes last season.
This year’s Beavers are now 53-11-1 after winning their third and fourth straight games over an SEC foe by beating Mississippi State twice to reach the national championship best-of-three round against the Arkansas Razorbacks. This will be Oregon State’s first championship round game since winning it all in 2007.
For Arkansas (now 47-19), this marks their ninth visit to the College World Series and second chance to win a national championship. The “Oma-Hogs” were runners-up back in 1979, and this year’s squad has found a formula of great pitching and timely hitting to work their way into the finals.
Arkansas earned their spot in the finals by ousting 2017’s defending champs, Florida, by a 5-2 score Saturday to advance to Monday night’s championship round opener. The loud chants of “Woo-Pig-Sooie!” will again be heard as the Razorback faithful have invaded Omaha in record numbers.
This year’s team has remained a fixture in the top-10 rankings all season and won a share of the SEC’s Western division (tied with Ole Miss). Arkansas plays well at home and racked-up a home record of 34-4 in 2018. Eager for a first national championship, these hungry Hogs will be supported by their rabid fan base.
The Beavers and Hogs will tangle in this best two-of-three series beginning Monday night on ESPN.
Let’s just hope no one slips on one of those leftover Mississippi State rally bananas!