NCAA World Series Preview

OMAHA, Nebraska (Ticker) -- After losing to Miami in the Coral Gables Super Regional, Arizona coach Andy Lopez came away convinced that the Hurricanes should be the favorite to win the College World Series, which begins Saturday in Omaha, Nebraska.

Miami rallied to win the Super Regional after losing the opener of the best-of-three series, 6-3, in 11 innings. The Hurricanes eliminated the Wildcats with a 4-2 victory on Sunday. "They are the most balanced team that I have seen in the last 10 or 12 years," Lopez said. "Everyone is a threat in their lineup. Their defense is silky." Miami (52-9), which is making its 23th College World Series appearance, heads to Omaha as the top seed. The Hurricanes have won four national titles, the last in 2006. "This team is special because it's a team," Miami coach Jim Morris. "It's a team effort, different people every night, one through nine."

The double-elimination CWS gets under way with opening-round doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday. Stanford (39-22) faces No. 4 seed Florida State (54-12) in the tournament's first game on Saturday at 2 p.m., followed by Miami (52-9) against No. 8 seed Georgia (41-23) at 7 p.m. In Sunday's doubleheader, No. 6 seed Rice (47-13) takes on Fresno State (42-29) and No. 2 North Carolina (51-12) battles No. 7 Louisiana State (48-17). The eight teams are divided into two four-team groups, with the winner of each group meeting in a best-of-three championship series starting on June 23.

Miami's top offensive threat is first baseman Yonder Alonso, who paces the club with 23 homers and 71 RBI. On the mound, the Hurricanes are led by the one-two punch of Chris Hernandez (11-0, 2.67 ERA) and Eric Erickson (8-1, 4.32 ERA). Hernandez was named the national Freshman of the Year. Still, being the No. 1 seed in Omaha has been more of a curse than a blessing. No top seed has won the title since Miami in 1999.

The Hurricanes' road to a fifth crown will not be easy as the field is comprised of six of the top eight seeds, including North Carolina, which has unfinished business to complete. The Tar Heels, who are in Omaha for the third straight year, came within one game of winning the school's first baseball national championship in each of the last two years. The Tar Heels overpowered Coastal Carolina in the Cary, North Carolina Super Regional, sweeping the series by scores of 9-4 and 14-4. "We will be able to go back out there (Omaha) and finish things up this year," North Carolina coach Mike Fox said. North Carolina and Rice, which needed three games to defeat Texas A&M in the Houston Super Regional, are the only teams making their third straight appearance in the CWS.

North Carolina and Miami are joined in Omaha by fellow Atlantic Coast Conference school Florida State. The contest between Florida State and Stanford features two of the nation's top catchers. Florida State's Buster Posey, the national Player of the Year, leads Division I in batting average (.460), home runs (26) and slugging percentage (.887). He hit two home runs last week in the Tallahassee Regional. Posey's counterpart, Jason Castro, paces the Cardinal with a .379 batting average, 99 hits and 69 RBI. Both players were taken in the top 10 in the recent major league draft. The San Francisco Giants chose Posey with the fifth pick and the Houston Astros tabbed Castro with the 10th selection.

Stanford was one of two teams to win Super Regionals on the road, surprising No. 5 seed Cal-State Fullerton in a two-game sweep. The biggest surprise in Omaha, however, is Fresno State, which stunned No. 3 seed Arizona State in the Tempe Super Regional. The Bulldogs won the final two games of their series against the Sun Devils to became the first No. 4 seed in a regional to reach Omaha since the NCAA expanded the Division I baseball tournament to 64 teams. Fresno State also is making its first appearance in the CWS in 17 years.