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Super Regionals ratings up for ESPN; SEC-ACC matchups take top spots

Andrew Olson

By Andrew Olson

Published:

Super Regionals ratings were up this year, ESPN announced Wednesday.

The Worldwide Leader shared that this year was the most-watched Super Regional round since 2009. The games averaged 501,000 viewers, up 22% year over year.

This year’s Super Regionals included the two most-watched pre-College World Series games on record: Georgia-NC State Game 3 and Florida-Game 2. Both winners secured their spot in the College World Series.

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NC State, Georgia provide highlights in the spotlight

The Super Regional round was spread out over Friday-through-Sunday and Saturday-through-Monday series.

With the way things played out, 7 spots in the College World Series were accounted for after Sunday, with only Georgia and NC State playing on Monday. That put the Bulldogs and the Wolfpack in the ESPN spotlight on Monday night.

NC State’s win over Georgia did not have quite the edge-of-your-seat drama as other games, but there was plenty of action for baseball fans.

There was just 1 lead change in the Monday game. Georgia went up 2-0 in the 2nd inning on a Tre Phelps 2-run homer.


NC State tied up 2-2 in the 3rd inning with a Garrett Pennington home run. A passed ball and RBI single put the Wolfpack up 4-2 in the 4th inning.

The Dawgs cut into the lead in the bottom of the 6th (5-3) and bottom of the 7th (6-4), but the Wolfpack had answers each time. A 2-run shot by Alec Makarewicz made it 8-4 in the 8th. Georgia would only manage 1 more run, a solo shot from Golden Spikes finalist Charlie Condon.

Florida wins an instant classic over Clemson

Game 2 of the Clemson Super Regional had everything a fan could ask for. Florida took Game 1 of the best-of-3 series, putting the pressure on Clemson to win and keep its season alive. The Gators, though, did not want the Tigers to have the momentum going into a winner-take-all Game 3 at their home park.

Florida’s Jac Caglianone, one of college baseball’s biggest stars of the past two seasons, was on the mound in Sunday’s Game 2. He provided his own run support with a towering 2-run home run over the batter’s eye to give UF an early lead.

Clemson would take a 3-2 lead early before Florida went up 7-4 and made it 9-6 needing three outs in the top of the 9th. Tiger outfielder Cam Cannarella kept Clemson’s season alive.

With one out in the 9th, Cannarella tied the gam with a 3-run blast off Florida reliever Brandon Neely, who had been scoreless in NCAA Tournament play.

As the home team for Game 2, Florida threatened to walk it off in the 10th inning. The Gators had two on with two outs when Ashton Wilson, a recent offensive spark in the UF lineup, hit a ball to deep center. If it dropped, the game was over. Cannarella made a for-the-ages catch to keep Clemson’s season going.

Clemson pulled ahead 10-9 in the top of the 13th inning. The Gators kept battling, loading the bases with 1 out. Michael Robertson, an outfielder better known for his defense, dropped one in between the outfielders and plated the game’s tying and winning runs for a thrilling finish in Clemson.

Andrew Olson

Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.

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