CWS Opens Friday with 2010 Big 12 Feel

History indicates one sure thing, one toss-up to kick things off in Omaha

Kent Smith | Jun 16, 2022

OMAHA, Neb. – The College World Series begins Friday with a strong early 2000s Big 12 feel in its first pair of games with Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Texas joining Notre Dame to kick off the festivities.

Many of the teams playing this week have a long history, so let's break down what the past tells us about Friday's games.

OKLAHOMA VS. TEXAS A&M (5), 1 P.M. ESPN

The Texas A&M baseball team celebrates at home plate after sweeping Louisville in the College Station super regional to advance to the College World Series. The Aggies now face an Oklahoma team in Omaha over which they have a six-game winning streak.

If history is an indicator, then Oklahoma baseball coach Skip Johnson's heart must have dropped when he saw the Aggies claim the spot opposite his Sooners club.

Oklahoma hasn't beaten Texas A&M since a 1-0 opening game of a three-game Big 12 series back on March 18, 2011. The Aggies went on to win the next two games and every game the teams have played since.

The Sooners were swept the following season, which was A&M's first in the SEC. The two teams met again last year in Round Rock, resulting in an easy 8-1 early season win.

Oklahoma ran through six pitchers that day, half of which are still on the team. The Aggies still have two of the three pitchers who took the mound that day in righty Alex Magers and lefty Joseph Menefee.

LAST SIX GAMES:

2/27/21 Texas A&M Round Rock, Texas 8-1

4/7/12 Texas A&M College Station, Texas 5-3

4/6/12 Texas A&M College Station, Texas 5-2

4/5/12 Texas A&M College Station, Texas 4-3 (12)

3/20/11 Texas A&M Norman, Okla. 5-2

3/19/11 Texas A&M Norman, Okla. 11-1

NOTRE DAME VS. TEXAS (9), 6 P.M. ESPN

Texas Longhorns catcher Silas Ardoin (4) forces out Mississippi State Bulldogs catcher Luke Hancock (20) at home in the sixth inning at TD Ameritrade Park. — Steven Branscombe / USA TODAY Sports

Texas Longhorns catcher Silas Ardoin (4) forces out Mississippi State catcher Luke Hancock (20) at home in the sixth inning at TD Ameritrade Park. The Bulldogs went on to win, 4-3, to advance to the national championship series, which Mississippi St. won in three games over Vanderbilt.

Notre Dame has historically played a lot more in Jonesboro than than Texas has in South Bend. The Longhorns have never traveled to South Bend, and other than the first and last of the only six games these two teams have played, they have all been in Austin.

The first time Texas locked horns with the Irish was in 1957 at the College World Series. Notre Dame handled things rather easily, 9-0, eliminating the Longhorns in the third round before being eliminated themselves, 5-4, at the hands of Penn State in the semifinals.

Nothing has been more even than this series. Overall, the teams are split 3-3, with each taking a win on neutral turf and splitting the four Austin games 2-2.

There's not a lot to gain from history here though. The last time these two teams met was well before any of the current players were born at an early season tournament at Cal State Fullerton in 1995 back when the Titans and Longhorns were two of the most dominant teams in all of college baseball.

Texas pulled out the 10-5 victory in early February. Texas went on to play in the Midwest Regional semifinals back when six teams played in a regional.

Notre Dame didn't make the regional field that year, while Cal State Fullerton went on to win the national championship.

LAST SIX GAMES:

2/24/95 Texas Fullerton, Calif. 10-6

3/1/91 Notre Dame Austin, Texas 13-4

3/2/90 Texas Austin, Texas 5-3

2/24/89 Notre Dame Austin, Texas 12-9

4/7/69 Texas Austin, Texas 5-4

6/10/57 Notre Dame Omaha, Neb. 9-0

HOGS FEED:

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BOTH TEAMS DIFFERENT WHEN ARKANSAS, STANFORD FACE EACH OTHER THIS TIME

HOGS PILE UP NATIONAL PRESEASON FOOTBALL AWARDS

THE SOFTNESS OF TEXAS RISES AGAIN

KJ JEFFERSON NOT WHO SHOULD CONCERN HOG FANS

FORMER HOG TOSSED FROM PRACTICE IN DALLAS

ARKANSAS CONTINUES TO CEMENT COLLEGE BASEBALL BLUE BLOOD STATUS

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Published Jun 16, 2022

KENT SMITH

Kent Smith has been in the world of media and film for nearly 30 years. From Nolan Richardson's final seasons, former Razorback quarterback Clint Stoerner trying to throw to anyone and anything in the blazing heat of Cowboys training camp in Wichita Falls, the first high school and college games after 9/11, to Troy Aikman's retirement and Alex Rodriguez's signing of his quarter billion dollar contract, Smith has been there to report on some of the region's biggest moments.