Cal State Fullerton head coach George Horton during a game against Rice. The Titans beat the Rice Owls 6-1 on Sunday March 4, 2007, in Fullerton, CA.

That one glorious week we build up to every season, the time of year when all eyes are on the comfy-cozy confines of Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska.

Yes, the 2007 College World Series is here at long last, and this postseason has been one of the most thrilling to date, with plot twists a-plenty.

There’s the Cinderella team of the tournament, the Louisville Cardinals. Their pitching held down the mighty bats of Oklahoma State to propel them to their first ever College World Series appearance. One guy you’ll probably hear a lot about is 5-foot-3 shortstop Chris Cates—yes, he is only two inches taller than me, and his size is what fuels conversations about him.

Redshirt freshman third baseman Chris Dominguez has had the firepower in the tournament, blasting five home runs to go along with a .333 average. Designated hitter Jorge Castillo has knocked in a team-leading 17 RBI while batting .400. The entire team is batting .362 over eight postseason games, so to say everyone’s been hot is an understatement.

One thing Louisville can do is run—their leadoff hitter, Boomer White, leads the nation in stolen bases with 73 in 86 attempts, and the team as a whole has more than double that. This is a scrappy little team, but they’ll be going up against a professional club in Rice.

Then there’s the other fresh face of the postseason, UC Irvine. The Anteaters’ run is impressive, especially considering a few years ago, their baseball program was dormant. Head coach Dave Serrano, a former Cal State Fullerton assistant coach, has done an amazing job to build up the program in such a short amount of time and lead them to a College World Series run.

If there’s any team that has the feel of destiny here, UC Irvine is it. Their momentum hasn’t slowed down one bit since they became the surprising winner of the Round Rock Regional. They were the only road team to advance to the CWS. The Eaters haven’t mashed their way to Omaha, but their pitching and defense have been impeccable. Their two starters, Scott Gorgen and Wes Etheridge, have combined to allow just one run in 36 innings pitched. Add in some timely hitting and flawless small-ball tactics, and you have one impressive team.

The question about UC Irvine, though, is what will happen if either Gorgen or Etheridge are off their game; so far, that hasn’t happened, and Irvine’s come away with some very well-played close games. Their bats will also need to warm up if they hope to advance very far.

Another surprise has been Mississippi State, who swept a very talented and pitching-heavy Clemson at home. The Tigers could not handle the Bulldogs at home in front of a raucous crowd. Mitch Moreland has really warmed up that power stroke of his, with four homers and two doubles to give him an .810 slugging percentage.

It’s interesting to note that MSU beat FSU in the Regionals, then beat Clemson in the Super Regionals, and will now face North Carolina in the first round of the College World Series—all ACC teams. Coincidence, or not? Could the Tar Heels be next on the list of the unlikely Bulldog defeated? 

Speaking of the Heels, North Carolina once again proved you can never count them out of a game with two come-from-behind wins over in-state rival South Carolina. They were helped along the way by many Gamecock errors and pitching woes, but in the end UNC’s pitching and hitting stood tallest. It remains to be seen how much longer they can keep staging comebacks such as those, however; USC exposed some major flaws in that team.

For one, their starters need to go longer in Omaha. Freshman Alex White got knocked around by South Carolina and didn’t even last three innings. They won’t be able to rely on errors to bail them out of a deficit, either.

We also have the defending national champions of Oregon State. The Beavers won a thrilling pitcher’s duel with their one and only hit of the game to break up Zach Putnam’s no-hitter and crush the hearts of many Michigan fans in Game 1, taking the momentum and eventually the series. But the Beaver bats were surprisingly quiet. The poster boy for their offensive woes, solid-hitting catcher Mitch Canham, is a cold .143 in the postseason.

The one player who has turned it on under the bright lights is shortstop Darwin Barney, currently batting a team-high .345 with six RBI. The pitching staff has been in shut-down mode, particularly Joe Paterson, who is 3-0 with a 0.64 ERA and one save. 

Of course, there are a few more familiar faces in Omaha this year. First is Rice, who defeated Texas A&M in two games. The Owls haven’t hit very well so far this postseason, batting only .275 as a team. However, their pitching has been extremely solid and has carried them through. Reliever Bobby Bramhall has notched 11 strikeouts and allowed only one hit in 6.2 innings of work; meanwhile, starter Matt Langwell is 2-0, with a 0.68 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 13.1 innings.

Another team that is no stranger to Rosenblatt Stadium is Arizona State. Louisville’s pitching needs to bear down more than ever, because the Sun Devil bats are hotter than…well, the sun. ASU is batting .350 as a team during the postseason. After a dramatic ninth inning comeback to win Game 1 against Ole Miss, the Sun Devils poured it on in Game 2. They’ll need to keep up the offensive barrage to win this series.

Last week I gave my predictions for the winner of each Super Regional; if you look back, you’ll notice I was a perfect 8-0 in my picks. Since I seem to have a hot hand at the moment, here are my choices for the upcoming action, once again in bold:

Rice vs. Louisville
North Carolina vs. Mississippi State  
                                                                                                    
Arizona State vs. UC Irvine             
Cal State Fullerton vs. Oregon State

I’ll have to go with Cinderella again in the opening game, and I think North Carolina just has too many flaws to stand up to Mississippi State. Cal State Fullerton will be too much for an Oregon State team that struggled with Michigan.

As for UC Irvine, I’m boldly predicting that they win the whole shebang. I’m not ambitious enough to fill out an entire bracket, but the Anteaters have my vote. Out of all the teams I watched last weekend, they impressed me the most.

But as we’ve often seen, anything can happen in Omaha.

Have a question or comment for Shannon? Email her at shannonmccarthy@sportsgrumblings.com