(photo by Craig Jackson, @leftfieldlounge)
The four teams in the semifinals represent four different conferences: Louisville from the ACC, Michigan from the Big Ten, Texas Tech from the Big 12 and Vanderbilt from the SEC. This is the first time since 2010 that this has happened. South Carolina (SEC), UCLA (Pac-12), TCU (Big 12) and Clemson (ACC) were the semifinalists in the final College World Series at Rosenblatt Stadium.
The semifinal match-ups are repeats of opening round games. Michigan edged Texas Tech 5-3 on Saturday, while Vanderbilt got by Louisville 3-1 on Sunday.
Texas Tech and Louisville are looking for their first titles. Michigan has won two national championships (1953, 1962), while Vanderbilt has claimed one (2014).
Texas Tech is the fourth school to reach the Final Four in men’s basketball and the semifinals in the College World Series, joining North Carolina (2008), Texas (2003) and Houston (1967).
All 10 games in this year’s CWS have been decided by three runs or less. There have been four one-run games, four two-run contests and two decided by three runs.
Through the first 10 CWS games, there have been 18 official reviews. There has been only one reversal, which came in Game 1.