Wednesday in Omaha features College Baseball World Series semifinal action between some powerhouse programs. The Louisville Cardinals face off against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers with the matchup set to begin at 2:00 pm ET. The night cap will feature a rematch between the Arkansas Razorbacks and LSU Tigers and is set to start at 7:00 pm ET. Below, I’ve added the best bets and nice plus-value parlay for Wednesday nights College World Series action below.
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Wednesday’s Best College Baseball World Series Picks & Parlays
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
Louisville Cardinals (+180) vs. No. 13 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (-238) | O/U 11.0 (-115/-115)
Starting Pitchers:
- Louisville: TBD
- Coastal Carolina: TBD
Coastal Carolina has won 25 straight games with their last loss coming in late April. The Chants do it with pitching and defense, as well as timely hitting and they are the only team remaining to have not hit a single home run in Omaha this year. The pitching I mentioned? They carry a 3.20 team ERA which is 2nd in D-I this year. This is partially why I backed the Chants to recapture their 2016 glory last week and they have two shots here at making the CWS Final, but I think it's only going to take them one.
The Cardinals have been the comeback kids here in Omaha and fight until the last out, as evidenced by the broad they have taken to this semifinal matchup. A 6-run 8th inning saved their season turning a 3-1 deficit into a 7-3 win against Arizona. They also got a walkoff victory last night against the same Oregon State Beavers who beat them in their CWS opener, after blowing a 6-3 lead in the 9th. That's all to say, take into account the possible sweat, no matter who you back in this one.
Louisville is both fast on the bases and quick in the field, but the consistency and program pedigree (2016 CWS Champions) of the Chanticleers might be too much for this Cardinals squad in this Battle of the Birds.
Pick: Coastal Carolina Moneyline (-238)
No. 3 Arkansas Razorbacks (-130) vs. No. 6 LSU Tigers (+100) | O/U 11.0 (-120/-110)
Starting Pitchers:
- Arkansas: TBD
- LSU: TBD
Arkansas is playing in their third straight elimination game after falling to these same Tigers in their CWS opener. They got an all-time performance from Gage Wood against the Murray State Racers in his 19-strikeout no-hitter (HBP in 8th) to stay alive. Zach Root made mincemeat out of UCLA as the Razorbacks cruised to a 7-3 victory setting up this rematch.
The Tigahs won both conference series this season on top of the aforementioned 4-1 win last Saturday. However, they are at somewhat of a rest disadvantage as their Monday night rain delay caused them to have to finish their game Tuesday and lose the traditional rest day the victory should have afforded them.
Another side effect is that Arkansas' pitching is set up slightly better. LSU's 3.77 and Arkansas' 3.92 team ERAs rank 9th and 10th in D-I, respectively so you got to sharpen the razor somewhere between these two. LSU ace Kade Anderson, rain-delayed game starter Anthony Eyanson, as well as Casan Evans who threw 4.1 innings when the game resumed on Tuesday, are all likely unavailable Wednesday.
Arkansas will obviously be without the services of Wood and Root on Wednesday but they will likely be without the top bullpen options of Gabe Gaeckle and Aiden Jimenez, with Gaeckle having thrown 90 pitches in six innings of relief last Saturday. If Arkansas can force LSU into an elimination game on Thursday, he would likely be available, but that's a thought for another day.
Arkansas has their backs against the wall for a third straight time out and do not have to face any of LSU's top 3 arms. Additionally, Arkansas' bats have gotten progressively hotter as the tournament has gone on, raising their run total in each game, culminating with the seven-run outburst against UCLA. Take the Razorbacks to force an Omaha rubber match for Thursday.
Pick: Arkansas Moneyline (-120)
Parlay Odds: +160
Luke Monaldo is a featured writer at BettingPros. Follow him on Twitter @MoKnowsSports and Discord @alydar1227 AKA The GIFTing Crooner. For more from Luke, check out his archive.