ESPN Steps Up to the Plate to Showcase Every Moment from the 2019 NCAA College World Series

• ESPN to Present Every Pitch from TD Ameritrade Park
• Baseball Tonight and SEC Now to Provide Special On-Site Coverage from Omaha

The Road to Omaha is set as ESPN’s expansive and exclusive coverage of the 2019 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship concludes with the College World Series Presented by Capital One, beginning Saturday, June 15, and Sunday, June 16, on ESPN and ESPN2. For the 17th consecutive year, ESPN will provide coverage of every game in the College World Series, resulting in potentially 17 games over a 12-day span.

The first game Saturday features No. 8 national seed Texas Tech (44-18) against Michigan (46-20) on ESPN, with the teams representing two opposite sides of the College World Series spectrum. Texas Tech advanced to the CWS for the fourth time in school history, all in the past six years. Michigan is making their first appearance at the College World Series in 35 years, looking for the Big Ten’s first CWS title in 53 seasons.

Saturday’s second game features No. 5 national seed Arkansas (46-18) against Florida State (41-21) and is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN. Arkansas returns to Omaha having finished as the runner-up a year ago. The Razorbacks are the first national runner-up to return to the CWS the following season. Florida State advanced to the CWS in Coach Mike Martin’s 40th and final season, making 2019 Martin’s 17th CWS appearance and the school’s 23rd trip to Omaha overall.

Sunday’s action features No. 2 national seed Vanderbilt (54-11) vs. No. 7 national seed Louisville (49-16) at 2 p.m. on ESPN. Vanderbilt had strong outings in their final two games of the Nashville Super Regional over Duke, and hope to claim their second CWS crown in five years. Louisville is making their fifth trip to Omaha since 2007, coming off a dominant Super Regional that saw the Cardinals outscore East Carolina, 26-1.

In the evening game starting at 7:30 p.m., No. 6 national seed Mississippi State (51-13) will be squaring off against Auburn (38-26) on ESPN2. Mississippi State is led by first-year head coach Chris Lemonis, who owns the distinction of having the most successful debut season by a new coach in SEC history. Auburn comes back to the CWS for the first time since 1997 following a convincing victory in Monday’s Super Regional winner-take-all third game, when they put up 13 runs in the first inning over No. 3 UNC, the second highest scoring inning in NCAA Tournament history.

The eight teams competing at TD Ameritrade Park are comprised of four squads from the SEC — only the fifth time a conference has advanced half the CWS field, two representing the ACC in Florida State and Louisville, and Michigan and Texas Tech flying the Big Ten and Big 12 flags in Omaha, respectively.

ESPN is the home of 25 NCAA Championships, with the College World Series closing out the 2018-19 college sports season.

Commentators Team Up at TD Ameritrade Park
Two commentating teams will make their way to Nebraska for the finale of the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship, with play-by-play commentator Tom Hart, analysts Chris Burke and Ben McDonald, and field analyst Mike Rooney teaming up for the third consecutive year to call the action in Omaha beginning at 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 15. Reporter Kris Budden is making her College World Series debut, joining the veteran Omaha team of play-by-play commentator Karl Ravech and analysts Kyle Peterson and Eduardo Perez. The quartet will start their coverage under the lights on Saturday at 7 p.m. and close with the CWS Finals beginning June 24. The trio of Ravech, Peterson and Perez have called the CWS Finals together for three straight seasons.

ESPN Has Eyes on Every Angle

• ESPN3 Surround Coverage: For the sixth year, ESPN will offer an “ESPN3 Surround” presentation of every College World Series game. The experience made its debut on the College World Series Finals in 2014. ESPN3 Surround provides a complementary viewing experience to the traditional telecast with enhanced access to ESPN camera and audio feeds such as robotic cameras mounted in the dugouts, and on the screen behind home plate.
• 4D Makes Debut: ESPN’s coverage from Omaha will include a unique 4D (four-dimensional video) look at replays for viewers. The 4DReplay technology is a four-dimensional time slice video production system that creates a 180-degree video of moving objects with any angle and depth, providing highlight clips that can be showcased within ten seconds and enabling viewers to see plays from all angles.
• UmpCam: UmpCam returns to ESPN’s CWS coverage. A high definition camera affixed to the mask of the home plate umpires will provide fans with a field-level view of the game from the umpire’s perspective. UmpCam will be used as both a live camera and for replays. In addition to the UmpCam, game officials will also wear microphones, providing on-field dialogue throughout the telecast.
• All Day on the Dais: In addition to the full surround experience of every game, ESPN3 will also be the home of every postgame press conference throughout the series
• ESPN App Is Where It’s At: Every game from Omaha is available to stream via the ESPN App on connected devices.
• Béisbol En Español: ESPN3 will once again carry the CWS Finals in Spanish

Studio Shows Set Up Shop in Omaha

• In its 30th season, Baseball Tonight returns to Omaha, airing live on ESPN2 this Thursday, June 13 ahead of the GEICO Summer Series MLB game between the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals at TD Ameritrade Park. Hosted by Karl Ravech, Eduardo Perez, Kyle Peterson and Tim Kurkjian, the show will also air live from Omaha Friday at 7 p.m. on ESPN2 and Saturday at 1:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. on ESPN.
  • During Thursday’s show, the 2019 Golden Spikes Award will be presented. JJ Bleday (Vanderbilt), Adley Rutschman (Oregon State) and Noah Song (Navy) join reigning Golden Spikes Award winner Andrew Vaughn (California) as the final four amateur baseball players contending for the 42nd Golden Spikes Award, presented by USA Baseball and the Rod Dedeaux Foundation.
• SEC Network is hitting the road and will provide on-site coverage from Omaha, as four Southeastern Conference schools vie for the CWS trophy. Coverage starts from Charlotte on Friday with host Dari Nowkhah and analyst David Dellucci breaking down the CWS press conferences, and will continue from Omaha with SEC Now live from left field of TD Ameritrade Park with host Peter Burns and analyst Todd Walker. SEC Network will have live, on-site coverage dependent on an SEC team advancing.
  • Should an SEC squad make the CWS Finals, Nowkhah and analysts Burke and McDonald will hit the desk for SEC Now as the conference looks to add another title to its trophy case.

Digital Access Goes Beyond the Dugout

• ESPN Senior Writers Elizabeth Merrill and Ryan McGee will report from Omaha for ESPN.com throughout the College World Series. In his first piece ahead of first pitch publishing on Friday, McGee will give a first look at the eight squads who advanced out of the NCAA Super Regionals. For all things CWS from ESPN, please visit the NCAA Baseball landing page on ESPN.com.
• SECNetwork.com will go behind the scenes in Omaha, joining SEC athletes and coaches as they enjoy team activities and participate in the Opening Ceremony, and checking in with the SEC faithful as fans travel to support their squads. Taylor Davis will serve as the SEC Network digital reporter.

2019 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship – College World Series Presented by Capital One
All games are available to stream via the ESPN App
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