Your pumpkin awaits

Whitey picked the Beavers last year, and they are looking better this year. The Anteater's glass slippers got sent packing by the defending champs last night. The Beavers return only two starters form their championship team of a year ago. One of them, the catcher Mitch Canham (the 57th pick by the San Diego Padres), has come to play. He's the anchor of this squad and doing a great job. The Beavers are set to try and do something that hasn't been done in 10 years. Repeat. The last team to pull off this feat: Gorilla Ball U, LSU out of the SEC. They did it with monster home runs and good pitching. They scored runs in bunches. This is why with a 9 run lead you see the winning team keeping the pedal to the metal. Back in that era, and even now, that lead is not safe. Just refer to the Rice's comeback against the Louisville Cardinals a few days ago.

You do have to give it up to UC Irvine. They came into this Final 64 and were laughed as the Professor eluded to in an earlier post. You can't find their merchandise in Omaha. Do you think that was a snub or just getting caught by surprise? The last time I checked the NCAA was in the money making business. Maybe it has to do with the fact that they took out #4 Texas, Wake Forest, and I guess I'll throw Brown in there just so they can prove they were in a regional. Come on! You have one of the top programs in Austin, Texas, coached by the great Augie Garrido, along with the Demon Deacons who fell one run short of beating the Tar Heels in the ACC tournament. You think UC Irvine? Right.

Next they traveled to Wichita State and took the Shockers (2-0) in a fashion that even alum Joe Carter thought was a nightmare. It was reality, sorry Joe. So as one can see, they came from nowhere and made a huge splash in Omaha. I guarantee the admissions office is getting an overflow of applications. Florida, after winning there championships got a big spike. I assume the same would be true for such a showing for the Anteaters.

It was a great story to watch and at times I found myself actually rooting for those guys. They showed what college baseball is all about. Heart! We'll have to wait until next year to see if the experience gets them back to Omaha. There's a good chance after a showing like this.