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North Carolina
Record: 57-14
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How They Got Here: The Tar Heels reached the CWS title game by beating Rice twice in the semifinals 6-1 and 7-4. It also beat Mississippi State and Louisville earlier in the tournament. Earlier in the NCAA Tournament, UNC beat South Carolina two games to one in the best-of-3 set. They beat three different teams to reach the Super Regionals (Jacksonville, East Carolina and Western Carolina).
Projected batting order: 1. LF Reid Fronk (.319, 11 HR, 56 RBI); 2. RF Tim Fedroff (.342, 5 HR, 40 RBI); 3. SS Josh Horton (.335, 9 HR, 53 RBI); 4. C Tim Federowicz (.339, 4 HR, 64 RBI); 5. 1B Dustin Ackley (.403, 9 HR, 72 RBI); 6. 3B Chad Flack (.251, 7 HR, 46 RBI); 7. DH Kyle Seager (.314, 2 HR, 30 RBI); 8. CF Seth Williams (.289, 9 HR, 42 RBI); 9. 2B Garrett Gore (.325, 2 HR, 27 RBI)
Key pitchers: SP Robert Woodard (11-2, 3.19 ERA, 84 Ks); SP Alex White (6-6, 4.74 ERA, 81 Ks); SP Luke Putkonen (8-1, 4.44 ERA, 59 Ks); RP Rob Wooten (6-1, 2.26 ERA); RP Andrew Carignan (2-1, 1.21 ERA, 18 SVs)
Notes: North Carolina is trying to win its first national title in baseball ... North Carolina is 4-0 in elimination games this postseason ... North Carolina's 7-4 win over Rice was its school-record 57th victory ... Coach Mike Fox is 29-16 in eight NCAA Tournament apperances ... Junior Rob Wooten has pitched in 11 consecutive games.
Oregon State
Record: 47-18
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How They Got Here: The defending national champions are undefeated in the CWS, beating Cal-State Fullerton 3-2, Arizona State 12-6 and UC Irvine 7-1. Earlier in the NCAA Tournament it swept Michigan to earn the final spot in the CWS. Before that, the Beavers won the Charlottesville Regional as the No. 3 seed, beating Rutgers and taking down top-seeded Virginia.
Projected batting order: 1. CF Chris Hopkins (.260, 2 HR, 25 RBI, 16 SB); 2. 2B Joey Wong (.288, 0 HR, 19 RBI); 3. SS Darwin Barney (.301, 4 HR, 53 RBI); 4. LF Mike Lissman (.325, 10 HR, 61 RBI); 5. DH Jason Ogata (.294, 4 HR, 41 RBI); 6. C Mitch Canham (.321, 10 HR, 57 RBI); 7. RF Braden Wells (.277, 0 HR, 3 RBI); 8. 1B Jordan Lennerton (.313, 8 HR, 48 RBI); 9. 3B Lonnie Lechelt (.223, 2 HR, 11 RBI)
Key pitchers: SP Joe Paterson (10-6, 3.65 ERA, 82 Ks); SP Daniel Turpen (10-1, 3.44 ERA, 62 Ks); SP Mike Stutes (11-4, 4.03 ERA, 124 Ks); RP Eddie Kunz (3-1, 2.91 ERA, 12 SVs)
Notes: Last season the Beavers won six elimination games before clinching the title ... Oregon State is the first team since Texas (2003-04) to reach the finals in back-to-back seasons ... The Beavers have not trailed since the second inning at Virginia on June 5 ... Since the start of the 2005 postseason, the Beavers are 25-6, including 9-4 at the CWS ... The Beavers received an at-large bid despite finishing sixth in the Pac-10.