Twistity Sports Exclusive: A Serious Series

The College World Series reaches its conclusion Wednesday night in Omaha, Nebraska, as Virginia and Vanderbilt meet in the final game of their best-of-three series (8 p.m. ET, ESPN). Virginia sent the CWS to a decisive third game by beating Vandy 7-2 on Tuesday night after losing the opener 9-8.

College baseball’s playoffs, through Regionals and Super Regionals and Super Duper Regionals (OK, I made that one up) stretch the season to lengths not seen since the Hundred Years’ War (which also wasn’t as interesting as baseball, and there’s a thought to dwell on). Both Virginia and Vandy are closing in on the 70-game mark for the season.

The CWS provides an awful lot of television programming for ESPN and generates some cool cash for the NCAA. But it is hardly a rich, scholarship-laden sport for the players.

Teams get the equivalent of 11.7 scholarships for rosters that typically number more than 20, so much of the grant money is divided in pieces (with pitchers getting the better part of it). It’s a lot of work (and a lot of play) for college students, whose semesters generally end in early May.

The baseball, and the people in it, have been endlessly fascinating. Texas, knocked out by Virginia, is coached by 75-year-old Augie Garrido, who might be facing the squeeze (and we don’t mean a bunt) from the Longhorns new athletic director, Steve Patterson. Garrido the Garrulous has a year left on his deal (at $1 million) and would like an extension. That remains to be seen, but Garrido has a long history of winning titles and is beloved in Austin.

Vanderbilt third baseman Tyler Campbell had barely played before last Friday, when Xavier Turner was ruled ineligible for violating NCAA rules. Campbell had two hits and drove in the winning run in the 10^th inning against Texas on Friday, and has continued to hit well since. His growth as a player has happened in front of a live audience.

Now a long season is distilled to its essence, a single game. It will be the third in three days. Virginia coach Brian O’Connor is an Omaha native who played in the CWS in 1991 for Creighton. That’s just one more compelling storyline in a lengthy baseball tale woven through the spring and summer.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman .