Jeff: LSU and UVA to play in prime time on Saturday night at CWS

The LSU Tigers and Virginia Cavaliers will get their first taste of the 2009 College World Series when the two teams meet at 6 PM on Saturday night. The Bayou Bengals have the experience and the expectation that they should reach the championship series. While the Cavaliers from the ACC are making their first appearance in the CWS.

Virginia's run to Omaha is quite impressive. They won the ACC Tournament as a six-seed and then were shipped out west to play in the UC Irvine regional. In the Cavs first NCAA Tournament game, they beat the best pitcher in college baseball, San Diego State's Stephen Strasburg. And then went on to beat the nation's number one ranked team twice, UC Irvine. The Cavaliers completed their trek to Omaha by beating Ole Miss two games to one in the Super Regionals.

Virginia has reached the College World Series because of their pitching. In their six NCAA Tournament games, they've given up nine earned runs. Virginia's top pitcher is freshman left-hander Danny Hultzen. The freshman All-American is 9-1 with 2.09 ERA. As a team, Virginia has a 3.14 ERA.

Offensively, the Cavaliers are not going to hit many home runs, but they hit for good average .327 and have stolen 115 bases. Sophomore outfielder Jarrett Parker is their top hitter at .354 with 15 HRs and 55 RBIs.

Virginia is a very young team. They start four freshmen and three sophomores. And when you look at their top four pitchers, three of them are either freshmen or sophomores. LSU is hoping to catch a Virginia team that might be in awe of their surroundings.

Win or lose, LSU will play either Arkansas or Cal State Fullerton in its next game. Here's a scouting report on the Razorbacks and Titans.

ARKANSAS

The Razorbacks are the jeckyll-and-hyde team of the tournament. At one time, Arkansas was ranked number one in the country, and the leaders in the SEC West. But the Hogs lost their final eight SEC games, including two to LSU. Arkansas was able to rebound and went 3-0 in the Oklahoma Regional. They beat the Sooners twice by a combined score of 28-6. The Razorbacks then went out to sweep Florida State in the Super Regionals.

Arkansas' team stats are not very impressive. They have a team ERA of 4.50 and a team batting average of .272. The Hogs have managed to pound out 73 home runs. Sophomore first baseman Andy Wilkins is their top hitter at .329 with 17 HRS and 51 RBIs.

CAL STATE FULLERTON

The Fighting Tigers have won ten in a row, but the Titans are playing just as good. Cal State has won 9 straight and have outscored their opponents in the NCAA Tournament 64-11. They can beat you in a variety of ways. As a team they hit .330 with 59 HRS and have stolen 121 bases. While they like to play small ball, they do have three hitters who have reached double figures in home runs. They have a solid pitching staff with a team ERA of 3.36. Two of their pitchers have each won 11 games.

Cal State also spent some time ranked number one this season. They have a veteran club in the field, starting four seniors and three juniors. The Titans are inexperienced on the mound as three of their top four pitchers are freshmen.

Its likely LSU will have to beat Cal State twice to reach the championship series.