Mississippi State 1, Washington 0
Luke Alexander delivered a game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the ninth as MSU edged UW, posting another walk-off post-season win for the Bulldogs (38-27). Hunter Stovall (3 for 4) had a leadoff single in the ninth for MSU and moved to second on a base hit by Elijah MacNamee (2 for 4). With one away, Alexander (3 for 4) hit the ball over the right fielder’s head to bring home Stovall with the game’s lone run. Jake Mangum went 2 for 3 with a double and a walk for the Bulldogs. Ethan Small pitched seven scoreless innings for MSU with four hits, no walks and five strikeouts. Zach Neff (4-3) recorded the final two outs in the top of the ninth to pick up the win. AJ Graffanino went 1 for 4 with a double for the Huskies (35-25). Joe DeMers allowed seven hits in 7.1 innings for UW with one walk and two punchouts.
No. 6 North Carolina 8, No. 3 Oregon State 6
Ben Casparius had three RBI, including a run-scoring single in a five-run third, as UNC defeated OSU to kick off the 2018 College World Series. The game time was 4:24, the longest nine-inning game in CWS history. Casparius (2 for 5) had an RBI groundout in the second to tie the game at 1-1. He added an RBI single in a two-run seventh for the Tar Heels (44-18). UNC had 11 hits, all singles. Ike Freeman had three hits and two runs, while Zack Gahagan went 2 for 4 with a pair of runs for the Tar Heels. Caden O’Brien (7-0, 1.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 K) picked up the win in relief, while Cooper Criswell (2.1 IP, H, BB, 2 K) recorded his first save. Trevor Larnach was a homer short of the cycle, going 3 for 5 with two runs and two RBI for the Beavers (49-11-1). Luke Heimlich (16-2, 2.1 IP, 4 H, 6 R, BB, 2 K) was the starter and suffered the loss for OSU.