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2018 College Baseball World Series Odds: Wright State vs. Stanford Preview and Pick

Stanford, NCAA, Baseball, Cardinal
Sep 9, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Stanford Cardinal cheerleaders perform with the Tree mascot. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The Stanford Cardinal will host an opening round of the College World Series for the 17th time as the Cardinal host the Wright State Raiders at 10 p.m. EST on Friday. Stanford, the No. 1 seed in its region, hosts Baylor and Cal State Fullerton as well. All the action will take place at Klein Field at Sunken Diamond from June 1-4.

Stanford finished the season ranked No. 5 and landed the No. 2 overall seed in the tournament. The Cardinal finished 44-10 overall and 22-8 in the Pac-12, clinching their first Pac-12 championship since 2004. Stanford is a tough matchup at home, where the Cardinal finished 30-3. They won their final eight home games of the season.

The Raiders finished 39-15 and 22-6 Horizon. Wright State is red hot, having won its last eight games. Wright State claimed its conference title with wins over Youngstown State and Illinois at Chicago.

This is the first matchup between the two schools.

Game Odds

BetDSI Sportsbook has released odds, which you can view below, for this matchup.

Wright State Raiders +280
Stanford Cardinal -400
Spread -3.5
Over/Under 11

Game Preview

Stanford versus Wright State will air on ESPN2, while all games in this region will be available on ESPN3.com.

Gabe Snyder is Wright State’s biggest offensive threat. This season, he batted .363, drilled 15 home runs, and amassed 72 RBIs.

Ryan Weiss is the Raiders’ top pitcher. He started 15 games and finished 9-2 with a 3.40 ERA. Weiss has persevered on the mound despite tremendous difficulties in his personal life.

Stanford looks to junior shortstop Nico Hoerner for leadership. The preseason All-American lived up to the hype. He hit .349 while leading his team in virtually every offensive category. He totaled 75 hits, 14 stolen bases, and 22 multi-hit games. His MLB stock is rising.

Prediction

BetDSI favors the Cardinal, and so do we. The team’s success in the Pac-12 prepared it for a deep run in the College World Series. It would be a big surprise if Stanford failed to make it out of its regional.

Wright State has a solid squad, but Stanford is one of the best teams in the country. With leadership from Hoerner and new head coach David Esquer, the Cardinal should cruise in their opening matchup.

Written by Aaron Mansfield

Aaron Mansfield is a freelance sports writer. His work has appeared in Complex, USA Today and the New York Times. Mansfield is a PhD candidate at UMass Amherst.

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