The South Carolina Gamecocks won their first ever men's sport National Championship on Tuesday night with a walk-off win over UCLA. It was well publicized that it was the last College World Series to be played at Rosenblatt Stadium and it was only fitting that the game was won in dramatic fashion. With 61 consecutive years of hosting the championship of college baseball, it was an emotional scene to see Rosenblatt host its final CWS. The new stadium in downtown Omaha will be state of the art and will bring in more revenue, but it won't be the same.
College Baseball seems to be one of the most difficult sports to predict when it comes to the postseason. Every year it seems like there are about 20 teams who have a realistic chance to win. For example, the Gamecocks didn't win the regular season SEC crown (Florida) or the SEC Tournament (LSU), but they got it done when it counted to win the World Series. They reeled off 6 consecutive wins to win the CWS and you've got to give them credit for the way they won. Their team ERA of 2.15 at the CWS was spectacular.
Here is the final poll for the 2010 season: Coaches Poll
A few things to notice. First of all, the SEC finished with 8 teams in the Top 25. There has been a lot of talk in the last few years about the SEC's dominance in College Football, but I can't remember a year when a conference finished with 8 teams in the final Top 25 poll in any of the major sports.
The attendance records for the season were similar. The SEC had the top 4 teams in average home attendance as well as 6 of the top 10.
I don't think that anyone can argue that the SEC was the best conference for college baseball by a large margin this season. The South Carolina Gamecocks came from the best conference and were the best team at the time when it mattered most. Congratulations to the University of South Carolina! Time to make room next to that Women's Track & Field Trophy and the Women's Equestrian Trophies, you finally won one that people will pay attention to!
No comments:
Post a Comment