Couple of observations.
North Carolina is rested and ready. They are the only undefeated team left and won three games in the course of a week. They have the advantage here. Carolina is 8-0 in the postseason and their last 5 wins have come against top-5 national seeds in the tournament.
Oregon State on the other hand has had to play 4 straight days and has exhausted some of their pitching and are left hurting. Both Buck and Nickerson are banged up.
Nickerson was quoted as saying:
"I don't know when I'll be able to go," said Nickerson, who has thrown 223 pitches since Monday. "I'll just rest up and get back there when I can."
Buck is banged up too but has been so during the entire year. His velocity has been down this year.
Oregon State's coach said :
"I have no idea who's going to start," Casey said. "Obviously, we're in a little bit of a hole here having played four straight days and having spent Nickerson. We can maybe go with Buck and then Stutes. But there's no more tired, no more excuses and no more owwies this time of year."
North Carolina I believe has a significant pitching advantage. North Carolina just does not have their ace pitching, they have College Player of the Year Andrew Miller pitching in Game 1. Miller is 2-0 this postseason with a save. He has worked approx. 23 innings with 26 K's and a 3.57 ERA.
North Carolina's bullpen in Omaha has pitched approximately 9 innings of scoreless baseball. North Carolina reliever Jonathan Hovis leads the nation with a 1.20 ERA in 67 innings of work. He has had zero earned runs in his last 8 appearances.
The bats for UNC are on fire. They lead all teams with HRs and slugging percenatge. 82 HRs on the year. Wes Roemer CSF's ace gave up 4 HRs all year long however gave up 5 to UNC. Since the Tourney started they have hit 16 bombs and had 38 extra base hits compared to their pitching allowing only 18 extra base hits during the same span.
In summary North Carolina is well-rested, healthy, hot, and has advantages in every category except defense.
Prediction Game 1
North Carolina 9 Oregon State 4
Good Luck!