Exactly one year ago, the Beavers had just completed a two game sweep of Rice to advance out of the loser's bracket, winning a total of four elimination games in the process.
This year, that team is North Carolina. They didn't have to win four elimination games, but their back to back victories over Rice got them to the championship.
Last year, it was North Carolina who was victorious in Game 1, but then Oregon State took advantage of the Tar Heels to take Games 2 and 3, and win the title.
This year, the outcome remains to be unseen.
In the ACC, North Carolina went 21-9. They won their conference tournament, and were the host and #1 seed in Regionals, where they took care of the four team field no problem. In Super Regionals, they hosted South Carolina, and won in three games. Victories over Mississippi State, Lousisville, and Rice have put them through to the championship.
In the Pac-10, Oregon State went 10-14. They finished sixth in their conference, but now they are guaranteed to be the #2 team in America. They considered themselves lucky to even reach Regionals, when they did so as a #3 seed in the Virginia regional. The Beavers got to Omaha thanks to thrilling wins over Virginia in regionals, a one hit win against Michigan in the Super Regionals, and then victories over Cal State Fullerton, Arizona State, and UC Irvine here in Omaha.
The Beavers hope their rested and young pitching staff, their sensational defense, and recently established offense will help them to be victorious in this series.
Freshman Jorge Reyes (it's HOR-hay, not George) will get the start for the Beavers, a guy who has only started for about half of the season. He'll go up against North Carolina freshman Alex White.
Jorge pitches against Washington State earlier in the season.
Tune in tonight, 4 p.m. Pacific, 6 p.m. Omaha time as the Beavers take on the Tar Heels at Rosenblatt.
GO BEAVERS!
--JB--