Yesterday was day one of the 2022 College World Series. Oklahoma’s offense exploded early against Texas A&M en route to a 13-8 victory, while Texas’ starting pitching let them down once again, allowing Notre Dame to get ahead early and cling to a 7-3 win over the Longhorns.
As a refresher, the format of the 2022 College World series is two separate four-team brackets which are both played at the same location, Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska. Both brackets compete in a double-elimination tournament until the winner of each bracket meet in the Finals.
How to Watch:
- Saturday, June 18th, 2 p.m. on ESPN – Arkansas vs Stanford
- Saturday, June 18th, 7 p.m. on ESPN2 – Ole Miss vs Auburn
How to Bet:
For each game, you can bet as you would any normal baseball game: straight up, against the spread, or the over/run on the run total. If you’re not familiar with betting on baseball, you should read our beginner’s guide to baseball betting, which will explain all the bets.
Since this is a tournament, you’re also able to cast bets on who will win each bracket and who will ultimately win the entire tournament.
If you’re new to betting and want to get involved in casting the bets we give you below, Caesar’s has a great risk-free first bet promo for any new users.
Predictions and Players to Watch
Arkansas (43-19) vs #2 Stanford (47-16)
- Saturday, June 18th, 2 p.m.
- ESPN
Arkansas comes into the 2022 College World Series on fire. They were an inconsistent bunch for much of the season, but they blasted their way through the Regional and then pitched exceptionally well in the Super Regional against North Carolina. They now also have a huge bullpen asset after freshman left-hander Hagen Smith was moved to the bullpen in the postseason.
On the season, the Razorbacks are 23rd in team ERA, but Stanford pitched slightly better during the year, finishing with the 12th-best staff ERA and 20th-best WHIP. Stanford was also the slightly better offense during the season, but their issue might be the performance of Game 1 starter Alex Williams. Over the past three starts, he has given up 15 earned runs in just 10.2 innings. If he pitches any close to that here, it might be hard for Stanford to score enough runs to overcome it.
Prospects to Watch:
- Brock Jones – OF, Stanford: Hit .327 with 20 home runs, 56 RBI, and 20 SBs. Jones is all upside. A former football player, he has tremendous athleticism and power, but he’s also struggled with off-speed pitches this season and might strike out too much to make good on that promise.
- Cayden Wallace – 3B, Arkansas: Hit .299 with 15 home runs, 57 RBI, and 12 stolen bases. Wallace has some swing-and-miss concerns, which he looked to address this year, but that came with some power sacrifice. He has made some spectacular plays at 3B and could stick there with plus power.
Best Bet: Arkansas ML (-110) and you can also play Arkansas +1.5 runs (-185) I expect this to be relatively close, so the runs here are a plus, but I also can’t knock the form Arkansas has shown recently. Momentum is huge in the postseason, and this team is just firing on all cylinders right now. They’re going to be a tough out.
Ole Miss (37-22) vs #14 Auburn (42-20)
- Saturday, June 18th, 7 p.m.
- ESPN2
You like offense? Well, good because these teams put up 60 runs in three games when they played back in March. Auburn has one of the best power hitters in the nation in Sonny DiCharia, which will be a test for Ole Miss starter Dylan DeLuca, who looked good in 5.2 innings in the Super Regional.
Auburn has its own concerns on the mound as starter Trace Bright has thrown fewer than three innings in three of his last five games. That’s going to tax the bullpen really early for Auburn and could pose problems for the Tigers in this game or later in the 2022 College World Series. Both teams were around 50th in the nation in staff ERA and WHIP, so these are not teams that are going to dominate on the mound.
Prospects to Watch:
- Sonny DiChiara – 1B, Auburn: Hit .392 with 22 home runs and 59 RBI. DiChiara has good plate discipline and actually had 68 walks this season to just 51 strikeouts. His bat will play at the major league level but the body and glove won’t, and he’ll likely just be a DH.
- Dylan DeLuca – RHP, Ole Miss: While DeLuca hasn’t been great lately, the upside is clear. he has a low-90s fastball with arm side run and a plus 12-6 curveball. He doesn’t quite have a consistent third pitch, so he might be a reliever in the pros, but he could wind up being a good one.
Best Bet: Over 10.5 (-120) We just covered above why I think this game will feature a decent amount of runs. I would play this at 11 and perhaps even 11.5 runs.
For more baseball coverage like this 2022 College World series article, visit amNY Sports
