Global Information2018 NCAA Division I baseball tournament information
 | |
| Season | 2018 |
|---|---|
| Teams | 64 |
| Finals site |
|
| Champions | Oregon State Beavers (3rd title) |
| Runner-up | Arkansas Razorbacks (9th CWS Appearance) |
| Winning coach | Pat Casey (3rd title) |
| MOP | Adley Rutschman (Oregon State) |
| Television | ESPN |
The 2018 NCAA Division I baseball tournament began on Friday, June 1, 2018, as part of the 2018 NCAA Division I baseball season. The 64-team, double-elimination tournament concluded with the 2018 College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, starting on June 16 and ended on June 28.[1] The Oregon State Beavers defeated the Arkansas Razorbacks in the best-of-three final series to win the championship.
The 64 participating NCAA Division I college baseball teams were selected out of an eligible 298 teams.[2] Thirty-one teams will be awarded an automatic bid as champions of their conferences, and 33 teams will be selected at-large by the NCAA Division I Baseball Committee.
Teams were divided into sixteen regionals of four teams, which conducted a double-elimination tournament. Regional champions competed in Super Regionals, a best-of-three-game series, to determine the eight participants in the College World Series.[1] For the first time, the Tournament seeded the top 16 teams instead of pairing teams generally along geographical lines.[3]
In the championship series, Arkansas won the first game and held a 3–2 lead entering the top of the ninth inning in game 2. With two outs and a runner on third, Oregon State shortstop Cadyn Grenier popped a foul ball down the right field line that multiple Razorback players appeared to have a play on. Had the ball been caught, Arkansas would have won their first national championship in baseball; instead, the ball dropped between the first baseman, second baseman, and right fielder to continue the at-bat. Two pitches later, with the Beavers down to their final strike, Grenier singled in the tying run, and was followed by Trevor Larnach's two-run homer to give OSU a 5–3 lead and the eventual victory to even the series.[4] The following day, Oregon State freshman Kevin Abel – who threw 23 pitches the previous night[5] – notched a 129-pitch complete game shutout, allowing just two hits and retiring the final 20 Razorback hitters [6] to secure the Beavers' third national title in baseball. Oregon State catcher Adley Rutschman was named College World Series Most Outstanding Player after collecting 13 RBI's and a College World Series record 17 hits.[7]
- ^ a b "Baseball Division I Championship". NCAA. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
- ^ "Team Directory". Archived from the original on December 30, 2010. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
- ^ "DI Baseball Championship moves to 16 seeds". NCAA. October 6, 2017. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
- ^ "2018 CWS: Full inning of Oregon State's crazy Game 2 comeback vs. Arkansas". NCAA. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
- ^ "Game Recap". ESPN. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
- ^ "Freshman Kevin Abel pitches Oregon State past Arkansas to win College World Series". USA Today. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
- ^ "Oregon State's Adley Rutschman wins 2018 College World Series Most Outstanding Player". ncaa.com. June 28, 2018. Retrieved June 29, 2018.