Since the Men’s College World Series moved to a best-of-three format to decide the national championship in 2003, the title’s come down to a decisive third game 12 times. That includes in 2024, when Tennessee won the last two games of the season to beat Texas A&M.
Here’s a look back at some of the highlights from each Game 3 since the format was introduced in 2003.
2003: Rice def. Stanford, 14-2
The first Game 3 in College World Series title series history was a show of force from Rice. The Owls scored 14 runs on 14 hits, including seven in the bottom of the sixth, to win the school’s first national championship in any sport.
2006: Oregon State def. UNC, 3-2
Our first one-run Game 3, Oregon State staved off elimination in Game 2 and then the Beavers’ Bill Rowe capitalized on a throwing error in Game 3 to score what would prove to be the title-winning run.
2008: Fresno State def. Georgia, 6-1
March Madness may have popularized the Cinderella run, but Fresno State’s magical championship in 2008 went down in history with the best college underdog stories. Fresno outlasted Georgia 19-10 in an outrageous Game 2 before taking Game 3, setting the record for most losses by a national champion (31) by refusing to quit when it mattered most.
2009: LSU def. Texas, 11-4
The Longhorns forced Game 3, but in the end the Tigers’ potent offense was too much for Texas to handle.
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2014: Vanderbilt def. Virginia, 3-2
John Norwood was the man of the evening for the Commodores when he blasted a solo home run past the left field fence in the bottom of the eighth, breaking up a 2-2 tie and providing the championship-winning run. It was Vanderbilt’s first-ever baseball national title.
2015: Virginia def. Vanderbilt, 4-2
Rubber match! That’s right: after four seasons without a Game 3, we were treated to two in a row — featuring the same two teams! The second time around, Virginia got its revenge against Vanderbilt, topping the ‘Dores 4-2 for the Cavaliers’ first national title.
2016: Coastal Carolina def. Arizona, 4-3
Three straight years, three straight first-time champs. This time, Coastal Carolina took an unorthodox route to Game 3 success, scoring four unearned runs on a pair of fielding errors to take home a dramatic 4-3 victory over Arizona.
2018: Oregon State def. Arkansas, 5-0
The Beavers were one pop-up in foul territory away from elimination in Game 2, but they capitalized on a Razorbacks mistake, rallied to force Game 3, and then handed the ball to Kevin Abel. The freshman pitcher threw a complete game shutout, the fourth in CWS history and the first in 25 years.
2019: Vanderbilt def. Michigan, 8-2
It was a classic David vs. Goliath scenario. The Vandy Boys — who began the season as the preseason No. 2 — entered Omaha as the highest remaining seed, ranked No. 2 nationally. Michigan went from the last four into the NCAA baseball tournament, all the way to the CWS finals and even handed Vanderbilt a loss in Game 1. Another Kumar Rocker electric postseason start forced Game 3, where, despite Michigan striking first, Vanderbilt struck often, building a five-run lead by the fourth inning. The rest, as they say, was history.
2021: Mississippi State def. Vanderbilt, 9-0
After losing by six runs in Game 1, Mississippi State routed Vandy two games in a row — 13-2 and 9-0 — to win the first national championship in program history, or in any team sport.
2023: LSU def. Florida, 18-4
The Gators forced a final game with a 24-4 drubbing of LSU. But the Tigers returned the favor in Game 3, dominating with a 14-run win to win the seventh national championship in program history. After falling behind 2-0 in the first, the Tigers scored six in the second to never look back.
2024: Tennessee def. Texas A&M, 6-5
In a meeting between two programs looking for their first titles, the Volunteers came out on top. Tennessee lost Game 1, 9-5, before taking the next game 4-1. In Game 3, the Vols never trailed and even took a 6-1 lead after Dylan Dreiling crushed a two-run homer and Kavares Tears hit an RBI-double. Though Texas A&M scored two in the eighth and two in the ninth to make it a one-run game, Aaron Combs got the clinching out on a strikeout.
A few extra notes about these Game 3s:
- Teams that forced Game 3 by winning Game 2 are 8-4 in the decisive final game
- Average margin of victory for Game 3 winners is pretty sizable: 5.33 runs. This is, of course, thanks in large part to Rice’s 12-run victory in 2003 and Game 3 routs in 2021 (9-0) and 2023 (18-4).
- Four of 12, or 33.3 percent, of Game 3s have decided by one run.
