Major upsets rocked NCAA baseball’s regionals

The GIST: Baseball’s regional round was so chaotic that it couldn’t be contained in three days — several teams blasted through elimination brackets, forcing regional finals to continue tonight, with trips to next weekend’s 16-team Super Regionals on the line.

The upsets: Fans stunned by the selection committee’s choice to award Arizona the No. 13 seed and regional hosting rights were majorly validated this weekend: The Wildcats crashed and burned, going 0-2 to become the first seeded team ousted from the bracket. Ouch.

• The next seeded team to fall was much more surprising: No. 5 Arkansas. The SEC powerhouse won their first game but then lost two, allowing underdog Kansas State to advance yesterday.

Today’s must-win matchups: The only other seeded team to fall so far is No. 14 UC Santa Barbara, who suffered their second tough loss to Super Regional–bound Oregon last night. But, five more squads are on the ropes in today’s lose-or-go-home regional final showdowns. If you only have time for one, make it No. 4 UNC vs. reigning national champ LSU at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

• These two split their weekend matchups, and while UNC may be the favorite on paper, there’s no telling what the Tigers can do when they get hot.