One-run thrillers kicked off the Men’s College World Series

The GIST: The MCWS began with a blockbuster opening round this weekend, and the chaos just kept on coming. The NCAA baseball boys are drawing all the attention — no one can afford to miss this.

Opening games finish with walk-offs: Friday and Saturday saw No. 4–seed UNC, No. 1 Tennessee, and No. 2 Kentucky all steal stunning one-run wins, but Kentucky’s was particularly exciting: First baseman Ryan Nicholson erased No. 10 NC State’s narrow lead with a bottom-of-the-ninth bomb, then third baseman Mitchell Daly homered for the walk-off win in the 10th.

• Saturday’s second game was also a long-awaited thriller: No. 3 Texas A&M and Florida traded jaw-dropping plays, but A&M right fielder Jace LaViolette’s ninth-inning home run robbery sealed the Aggies’ 3–2 dub. Unreal.

No. 12 Virginia is the first team to fall: No. 8 Florida State went yard yesterday to end the Cavaliers’ season with a 7–3 beatdown. FSU left fielder Jaime Ferrer was the star of the show, drilling two of the Seminoles’ three homers in a historic performance.

What’s next: NC State will try to contain chaos-machine Florida in a fight to the death elimination game today at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN. The loser heads home, but the winner will still need three straight dubs to reach next weekend’s Championship Finals. No room for mistakes.

• Then at 7 p.m. ET tonight, SEC rivals No. 2 Kentucky and No. 3 Texas A&M will face off (also on ESPN). One will remain perfect, while the other will be one loss away from a long plane ride home.