College baseball is perhaps the one sport among the three major American pastimes that rivals its professional counterpart in terms of sheer watchability. That sentence holds increased truth value come NCAA tournament time, when many games are played on short rest over the course of four weeks, forcing club skippers to fiddle around with lineups, pitching rotations, unforeseen injuries, weather delays, and calls to the bullpen. The college game also introduces itself as a worthy competitor to MLB because the college game uses every millimeter of the ballpark. Situational bunting, big-ball power hitting, base-running and stealing, absurdly hilarious errors, dugout shenanigans, weather delay shenanigans, and spectacular outfield plays all combine for a fast-paced and at times chaotic style of game that can turn on a millisecond’s notice. That big guy scorching balls all season long from a team’s three-hole? His bat just might fall dead asleep in the postseason. This is cowboy baseball, and it’s spectacularly fun. All of this is true because college baseball demands that 18-22 year olds perform very specific tasks at a very high level within the parameters of a game that lends itself to the unexpected. The irony here is that this fact is pretty unsurprising, because so much of the game hinges on the mathematical coefficient of pi, which is literally an irrational number. The Oxford regional in the first round of the 2018 NCAA baseball tournament will showcase all of these eccentricities. Here’s why. Fans tuning in or attending the Oxford regional this weekend are in for a real treat. “Welcome to Ole Miss baseball, motherfucker” greeted our very hungover managing editor Jeff Gray back in 2014’s opening round weekend, and it’s a punchy introduction to the fan — and, more specifically, student fan — experience of baseball at Swayze Field. A recent game against LSU drew in excess of 12,000 fans to stuff the ballpark, an all-time Swayze Field record. Not 30 hours before Ole Miss’ first pitch on Friday evening, here’s what the parking lot setup looked like in the carpark behind the left field terrace, which is the alumni section, mind. The first @OleMissBSB fans have begun arriving for the @NCAACWS Oxford Regional. The Rebels don’t play for thirty hours! Only in Oxford!! pic.twitter.com/cPLa1xxChU — OleMissPix (@OleMissPix) May 31, 2018 That’s not even close to the whole story, though. The Right Field stands are home to college baseball’s wildest party. Audiences tuning in to the televised or streaming broadcast of Ole Miss’ opener against Saint Louis will undoubtedly learn from the play-call team about the Right Field student section’s singular obsession: the beer shower that accompanies and celebrates every single home run mashed over the right field fence. Here are just a couple of representative examples. Indeed, for every dinger out to right, students — who are all drinking beer out of red solo cups — gleefully hurl their beverage into the air as the ball sails over their heads, regardless of how much suds remain in their vessel. A few years back, we here at Red Cup Rebellion calculated with a high degree of accuracy how much beer had been tossed in celebration of Rebel cult hero Sikes Orvis’ home runs to right over the course of his career. To be sure, Orvis was responsible for the wastement of nearly 84 kegs worth of beer in his time at Ole Miss. EIGHTY FOUR KEGS. An added nuance regarding Ole Miss’ stands in right concerns the specific space that juts into the stands at the dead-right wall: the visitor club’s bullpen. Uncovered, open-air, directly beneath approximately 2,000 drunk students, one can imagine it’s not a fun environment to have to warm up in, especially if your starter or middle reliever is having a very bad day out on the mound. There have naturally been incidents in the past of students chucking beers or other such items into the visitor pen at Swayze (don’t do that, people), and stadium security will immediately clear the section when that happens. It’s probably only a matter of time before they throw a net over it, to be frank, but that doesn’t keep the inebriated heckling out. The Oxford regional should fascinate the casual baseball fan, but especially those who find baseball “boring.” If the length of MLB games and the MLB season wearies the American sports watcher, the Oxford regional — replete with rowdiness in the stands and a host of funky participant clubs — is appointment viewing. This regional tilt includes Saint Louis, which commands an impressive pitching staff and a solid lineup from top to bottom, but this regional tilt also includes Tennessee Tech, a tournament team from a year ago that made a lot of noise in the Tallahassee regional. The Golden Eagles can skewer baseballs with abandon, and if the Friday games go chalk, they may very well pull a fast one on their regional hosts. So. Regional tilt at Swayze. Four of the zaniest college baseball teams in the field of 64. Beer showers. Thomas Dillard’s large adult mustache. This weekend will not be boring. It will be fun as all hell.<doc-sep>U.S. falls in soccer exhibition • Alan Judge scored in the 90th minute as Ireland rallied in the second half for a 2-1 win over the United States, in Dublin, in an exhibition between nations that failed to qualify for the World Cup. Bobby Wood put the U.S. ahead in first-half stoppage time, but goalkeeper Bill Hamid’s error led to a tying goal by Graham Burke early in the second half. The U.S. lost for the first time since Dave Sarachan took over as interim coach and fell to 0-6 in Ireland. The Americans had two wins and two ties in their first four games after Sarachan replaced Bruce Arena, who quit after the U.S. was eliminated in World Cup qualifying. They play France at Lyon next Saturday in what may be their final match before a permanent coach is hired. (AP)<doc-sep>It’s moving day at the 2018 NCAA baseball tournament. Thirty of 64 teams face elimination in losers’ brackets, having dropped their opening day bouts and standing on the cusp of missing a second time and the swift justice of a double elimination tournament. Four teams have yet to play a single inning yet. No. 4 overall national seed Ole Miss, Tennessee Tech, Missouri State, and Saint Louis were all postponed into Saturday, after biblical rainstorms poured down on Oxford’s Swayze Field. Friday’s opening action saw myriad power hitting. Oklahoma scored 20 runs alone in upending Mississippi State in the Tallahassee regional. Florida knocked in 13 in a firm thrashing of Columbia in Gainesville. Arkansas and UNC held strong in Fayetteville and Chapel Hill, respectively. In all, it was a pretty good day for every host club not named Ole Miss. Below is the full schedule and viewing information for Day 2 of the NCAA tournament regional round. All times are Eastern. Day 2 schedule for NCAA tournament regional round (paired by super regional): Gainesville regional Game 3: No. 4 Columbia vs. No. 3 Florida Atlantic, 1 p.m., WatchESPN Game 4: No. 2 Jacksonville vs. No. 1 Florida, 7 p.m., WatchESPN Raleigh regional Game 3: No. 3 Northeastern vs. No. 1 NC State, 2 p.m., WatchESPN Game 4: No. 2 Auburn vs. No. 4 Army, 7 p.m., WatchESPN Stanford regional Game 3: No. 4 Wright State vs. No. 2 Baylor, 6 p.m., WatchESPN Game 4: No. 3 Cal State Fullerton vs. No. 1 Stanford, 11 p.m., WatchESPN Conway regional Game 3: No. 4 LIU Brooklyn vs. No. 3 UConn, noon, WatchESPN Game 4: No. 3 Washington vs. No. 1 Coastal Carolina, 5 p.m., WatchESPN Lubbock regional Game 3: No. 2 Louisville vs. No. 1 Texas Tech, 8 p.m., WatchESPN Game 4: No. 4 New Mexico State vs. No. 3 Kent State, 3 p.m., WatchESPN Athens regional Game 2: No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 4 Campbell, 12 p.m., WatchESPN Game 3: No. 2 Duke vs. Georgia/Campbell loser, 4 p.m., WatchESPN Game 4: No. 3 Troy vs. Georgia/Campbell winner, 8 p.m., WatchESPN Clemson regional Game 3: No. 3 St. John’s vs. No. 4 Morehead State, 1 p.m., WatchESPN Game 4: No. 2 Vanderbilt vs. No. 1 Clemson, 7 p.m., WatchESPN Tallahassee regional Game 3: No. 2 Mississippi State vs. No. 1 Florida State, noon, WatchESPN Game 4: No. 3 Oklahoma vs. No. 4 Samford, 5 p.m., WatchESPN Fayetteville regional Game 3: No. 4 Oral Roberts vs. No. 3 Dallas Baptist, 3 p.m., WatchESPN Game 4: No. 2 Southern Miss vs. No. 1 Arkansas, 8 p.m., WatchESPN Greenville regional Game 3: No. 4 UNC WIlmington vs. No. 3 Ohio State, noon, WatchESPN Game 4: No. 2 South Carolina vs. No. 1 East Carolina, 5 p.m., WatchESPN Chapel Hill regional Game 3: No. 4 North Carolina A&T vs. No. 2 Purdue, 1 p.m., WatchESPN Game 4: No. 3 Houston vs. No. 1 North Carolina, 6 p.m., WatchESPN Deland regional Game 3: No. 4 Hartford vs. No. 2 South Florida, 1 p.m., WatchESPN Game 4: No. 3 Oklahoma State vs. No. 1 Stetson, 7 p.m., WatchESPN Oxford regional Game 1: No. 3 Missouri State vs. No. 2 Tennessee Tech, 1 p.m., WatchESPN Game 2: No 4 Saint Louis vs. No. 1 Ole Miss, 7 p.m., WatchESPN Austin regional Game 3: No. 4 Texas Southern vs. No. 2 Indiana, 3 p.m., WatchESPN Game 4: No. 3 Texas A&M vs. No. 1 Texas, 7 p.m., WatchESPN Corvallis regional Game 3: No. 4 Northwestern State vs. No. 3 San Diego State, 4 p.m., WatchESPN Game 4: No. 2 LSU vs. No. 1 Oregon State, 10 p.m., WatchESPN Minneapolis regional Game 3: No. 3 Gonzaga vs. No. 4 Canisius, 3 p.m., WatchESPN Game 4: No. 2 UCLA vs. No. 1 Minnesota, 8 p.m., WatchESPN<doc-sep>
Well, this morning didn’t go according to plan. But, hey, let’s do it again tonight and see if we got one more in the tank. Ole Miss lost a rough one, 15-5, to the Golden Eagles earlier today but the Rebs have bounced back all season long. They are 30-5 at Swayze Field and 13-2 after a loss in 2018. And with seemingly most of the better arms in the pen ready and waiting to get a crack at the nation’s best offense, Mike Bianco’s club is still in a good position. They’ve done it 48 times this season and it would only be fitting to get win No. 49 and break the record tonight, at home, against the team who leads the country in wins with 51. You couldn’t write it any better. It should be a fun one, y’all. If you can get there, do it. Be loud. And enjoy a night under the lights once more. The schedule Every game can be streamed on WatchESPN. Games that are also available on TV are noted. Saturday Game 1: Tennessee Tech 6, Missouri State 4 Game 2: Ole Miss 9, Saint Louis 2 Sunday Game 3: Missouri State 9, Saint Louis 8 (Saint Louis eliminated) Game 4: Tennessee Tech 8, Ole Miss 9 Game 5: Missouri State 1, Tennessee Tech 2 (Missouri State eliminated) Monday Game 5: Ole Miss 5, Tennessee Tech 15 Game 6: No. 1 Ole Miss vs. No. 2 Tennessee Tech | 6:04 p.m. CT | ESPNU