The College Baseball World Series is finally upon us! Four of the 8 remaining teams will take the field tonight in Omaha, Nebraska, and I’ve analyzed both games and have a best bet for the first game of the day, which features a battle between the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles and the TCU Horned Frogs. Without further ado, let’s get right into it!
Be sure to also check out my College Baseball World Series preview and best bet
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Oral Roberts +1.5 (-120) over TCU
Available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing
The Golden Eagles have shocked the world. After a truly absurd super regional in Eugene, Oral Roberts arrives in Omaha as a massive underdog. They are the only team of the 8 squads coming into the College World Series that was not featured in the final top 25 poll two weeks ago, and their +3000 odds to win the tournament at FanDuel demonstrates how low oddsmakers are on the Golden Eagles. However, I’m finding myself more drawn to the Golden Eagles for Friday’s matchup. Oral Roberts will start Jakob Hall for the first game in Omaha, and that’s not too surprising since he started the first game of regionals and super regionals for them. Hall has made 17 starts this season and has accumulated a 3.56 ERA in 93.2 innings, and his most recent start was one to forget. Oregon was able to tag Hall for 5 runs, including 3 home runs, and 7 hits in 5 innings. Oral Roberts ended up losing that game which snapped their streak of 12 straight wins with Hall starting.
To counter Hall, the Horned Frogs will start Kole Klecker. In 17 appearances, including 15 starts, Klecker is 10-4 with a 3.84 ERA in 86.2 innings. However, he has a 6.27 FIP, and I’m worried about his control. He allowed 28 walks and 16 home runs during his 17 games, and he’s coming off an outing in which he threw 101 pitches, so I’m also concerned about slight fatigue. Looking at the starting pitchers, I’d lean towards Oral Roberts having the advantage because of the better consistency and experience (Klecker is a true freshman). However, the second half of the game is where the Golden Eagles have a massive advantage.
Oral Roberts has an exceptional bullpen that features several elite relievers that can build a bridge to their lockdown closer, Cade Denton, who has a 1.85 ERA in 33 games. As for TCU, their bullpen is susceptible to big innings and honestly can’t be trusted. That’s where the biggest difference lies between the two teams since both teams have above-average offenses. And honestly, I think the Golden Eagles’ lineup is being undervalued. They finished with the 4th-highest batting average and the 17th-highest on-base percentage in the country, so it makes sense that they averaged the 13th most runs per game. The bottom line is getting Oral Roberts to win or lose by one run has a lot of value as they look to prove they belong on the big stage.
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