It’s the most exciting month of the college baseball season.
The Super Regionals are taking place this weekend, beginning Friday and ending Monday, with a trip to Omaha and the College World Series on the line. Each team must win a best-of-three series to advance. Of the 16 teams still alive for the college baseball national championship, six hail from the SEC and 12 nationally-ranked teams are still alive. Here are the matchups:
- Louisville Super Regional – Louisville (7) vs. East Carolina (10)
- Lubbock Super Regional – Texas Tech (8) vs. Oklahoma State (9)
- Nashville Super Regional – Vanderbilt (2) vs.. Duke
- Los Angeles Super Regional – UCLA (1) vs. Michigan
- Fayetteville Super Regional – Arkansas (5) vs. Ole Miss (12)
- Baton Rouge Super Regional – LSU (13) vs. Florida State
- Starkville Super Regional – Mississippi State (6) vs. Stanford (11)
- Chapel Hill Super Regional – North Carolina (14) vs. Auburn
And as the best of college baseball goes on display this weekend, a number of the head coaches leading their teams deep into the postseason are followers of Christ.
Recently, Sports Spectrum went into depth with the lead man at Florida State, Mike Martin, about his faith in the Summer 2019 magazine edition.
“God has given me every opportunity to be successful,” Martin said. “I think the high points of my faith occur daily. I know that Jesus Christ is with me 24 hours a day. I talk to Him constantly.”
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Meanwhile, North Carolina’s Mike Fox knows God is with him as well.
“I don’t think there’s any question, the Lord has a plan for me,” Fox said when profiled by Sports Spectrum Magazine in a story that appeared in the Spring 2009 edition.
For Dan McDonnell of the Louisville Cardinals, every day starts with a devotional. He told FCA Magazine in 2015 his devotion times provide a chance for him to commune with God, feel His presence and listen to His Word.
“Once you put God at the center of your life, it’s less about you and more about serving and glorifying Him,” McDonnell said. “It’s easy to become self-centered at a younger age, but as your faith grows you realize there’s a bigger purpose.”
Elsewhere around the Super Regionals, the Bible is a fixture on the desk of Erik Bakich of the Michigan Wolverines, while Tim Corbin of the Vanderbilt Commodores regularly asks a representative from Nashville-based WhoUWith? Ministries to address his team.
God is the light of the world, and many of these college baseball coaches are seeking His light even as they vie for a spot under the brightest lights in their sport — the College World Series. Whether win or lose this weekend, they know that God is with them and that He’s working for the good of those who love Him.
Half of the eight Super Regional series got underway on Friday, while the other four begin Saturday. Barring any rain-outs, the eight-team College World Series field will be set by Monday.
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