2025 College World Series: 5 Takeaways From Opening Day In Omaha

Image credit: (Photo by Eddie Kelly/ ProLook Photos)

Opening day in Omaha delivered everything we hoped for—dominant pitching, tense finishes and a few early storylines that could shape the week ahead.

From Dax Whitney’s electric debut to questions about Coastal’s pitching depth and the ever-present shadow of umpiring, here’s what stood out on Day 1 at Charles Schwab Field.

Coastal Secures Critical Game 1 Win—But At A Potentially Steep Cost

Coastal Carolina did what it needed to do to start the College World Series on the right foot. It pounded out 14 hits in a 7–3 win over Arizona to advance to the winners bracket, where it’ll face Oregon State on Sunday night. Eight of nine starters recorded hits, five had multiple hits and just three went for extra base. It was an early reminder the Chanticleers are built to score at Charles Schwab Field, where home runs are hard to come by, and runs are often at a premium.

But the win may have come with a cost.

Righty Cameron Flukey, Coastal’s Game 1 starter throughout the postseason, entered out of the bullpen in the fifth and went four innings on 71 pitches. That’s a heavy usage for a team that could need him again later in the week.

According to head coach Kevin Schnall, the plan was always to use Flukey in tandem with Riley Eikhoff, who started and threw 45 pitches over four frames.

“The strategy was Cameron Flukey is as good as a righthanded pitcher as there is in the entire country,” Schnall said. “To have Eikhoff lead it off—he’s more of a sinker/slider guy—and Flukey is more of a ride guy, gives you two different looks. And ultimately, it worked out today.”

Now comes the chess match.

Jacob Morrison, the Sun Belt pitcher of the year, will start Sunday against Oregon State. After that, things get hazy. Coastal could lean more heavily on its shutdown bullpen, which has multiple standout options, or even circle back to Eikhoff if needed, as his pitch count on Friday was manageable.

For now, the Chanticleers are 1–0 in Omaha, which matters more than anything and alone justifies Flukey’s unorthodox usage. But whether the righty’s four-inning outing proves a prudent risk or a costly gamble will depend on what Coastal has left in the tank.

Is Oregon State In The Driver’s Seat In Bracket 1?

For as sharp as Coastal looked Friday afternoon, it was hard not to watch Oregon State later that night and wonder if the Beavers are the team to beat on this side of the bracket. That was even after a near-meltdown in the ninth inning, when shaky defense allowed the tying run to score and nearly squandered what Whitney had so masterfully built.

But the pieces are all there.

The Beavers have a true ace in Whitney and a high-end No. 2 in Ethan Kleinschmit, whose ability to miss bats is every bit as electric. Their offense is built around record-setters like Gavin Turley and draft prospects like Aiva Arquette. And they’re as tested as any team in Omaha, having navigated a demanding independent schedule that kept them on the road for most of the spring.

Then there’s Flukey’s usage. Coastal’s top arm and usual Game 1 starter threw 71 pitches out of the bullpen Friday, likely taking him off the board until at least midweek. That’s a notable shift in the balance of power.

If Oregon State can find a way to score against Morrison on Sunday, it’ll hold the inside track to the national championship series. From there, its path becomes clearer. The pitching lines up. The offense is potent. And the margin for error widens.

The Beavers didn’t win clean. But they may have already won big.

Look Out For Strikeouts In The Evening Games

A current college baseball coach whose team reached last year’s College World Series called Baseball America midway through the third inning of Friday night’s Oregon State–Louisville matchup. Cardinals starter Patrick Forbes was just a few pitches away from finishing his third hitless frame. Beavers freshman Dax Whitney had just spun his third perfect inning.

While the coach’s identity remains protected, the conversation was too valuable not to share.

“Are you watching these pitchers right now?” I asked, just as Forbes punched out his fifth hitter—the 11th strikeout between the two arms.

“Oh yeah,” the coach said. “But the hitters can’t see.”

That’s a known challenge in Omaha this time of year. The 6 p.m. local start times mean the early innings are played under creeping shadows that stretch across the field, making it tough for hitters to pick up the ball out of the hand.

“Yeah, a little bit,” said Louisville third baseman Jake Munroe, when asked if the shadows affected him. “I think also that first go-around—us seeing [Whitney], them seeing Patrick—those are two really good pitchers. The shadows played a bit. That second at-bat, definitely felt a lot clearer.”

In all, there were 26 combined strikeouts on Friday night.

If you’re watching the evening games, don’t be surprised if swings and misses are the norm—at least until the sun dips behind the grandstand for good.

Player Of The Day

BA has named a Player of the Day throughout the postseason and will continue the tradition in Omaha. Friday’s honor belongs to Dax Whitney, and you can read much more about his story here.

The Oregon State freshman was simply jaw-dropping in his College World Series debut, overpowering Louisville with a mid-to-high-90s fastball that exploded through the zone and a low-70s curveball that buckled knees both in and out of the strike zone.

Whitney struck out nine over 5.1 innings, allowing just three hits, one walk and one unearned run. His poise matched his stuff.

And perhaps the most staggering part? He’s not draft-eligible until 2027. Whitney could be back in Omaha twice more—though he’s already pitched like he’s belonged there all along.

The Ump Show

There were no dramatic ejections or egregious game-altering calls on Day 1 in Omaha—but the umpires were hard to miss.

Strike zones felt inconsistent throughout both games, with several noticeable ball-and-strike misses. A balk call on Cameron Flukey raised eyebrows in the Coastal dugout. And a few borderline rulings elsewhere didn’t do much to inspire confidence.

It wasn’t a bad day for umpiring. Just a noticeable one.

After a postseason that’s already featured its fair share of officiating controversies, namely a handful of ejections in the regional and super regional rounds that seemed entirely unnecessary, here’s to hoping the men in blue stay out of the spotlight on the game’s biggest stage.