Weather has College World Series finale in holding pattern

After a day full of anticipation and buildup as two unlikely underdogs in Coastal Carolina and Arizona – for different reasons – await the finale of their best-of-three College World Series championship showdown, the weather has stolen the show for the time being.

It was announced around 9:40 p.m. ET – already more than an hour and a half past the scheduled start time – that another lightning strike was detected within the eight-mile radius of TD Ameritrade Park, restarting the 30-minute clock before anything can happen.

The tarp remains on the field, and the NCAA does not want to start the game until it knows it has a clear window to play through so as to not affect already thin pitching staffs with another stoppage.

Which means that to this point, the pitching announcements have actually been the most interesting part of the evening.

With most fans and followers of the program expecting Coastal Carolina to start junior ace Andrew Beckwith on four full days rest after he’s already thrown two complete games in the College World Seires, the Chanticleers (54-18) instead announced fellow junior right-hander Alex Cunningham as their starter despite him being on just three full days rest.

That might have caught the Wildcats (49-23) a bit by surprise as Coastal Carolina announced its starting pitcher close to the deadline for such information to be shared between the teams.

It also makes sense strategically, though.

Chants coach Gary Gilmore has always believed having a dependable late innings option is of paramount importance, and if Beckwith (14-1, 1.94 earned-run average) has more innings available in his arm tonight it’s logical to see what Cunningham (10-4, 3.64) can get through before knowing just how much they’re going to need from Beckwith.

Arizona, meanwhile, will pitch junior righty Bobby Dalbec (11-5, 2.65), who held Oklahoma State to one run on four hits and two walks in a 5-1 win on Saturday to advance the Wildcats to this championship series.

That’s the same evening Cunningham went 6 1/3 innings while allowing four runs on eight hits and a walk in helping the Chants get past TCU. Beckwith, meanwhile, threw 138 pitches on Friday night in a complete-game win over the Horned Frogs. He has thrown two complete games already in this College World Series.

Both of these teams battled back through the College World Series losers bracket and then split the first two games of this best-of-three series. Coastal Carolina has been a popular underdog story among fans here as it is making the program’s first-ever CWS appearance and looking to become the first team since 1956 to win the whole thing in its debut.

Arizona, meanwhile, is in its first year under head coach Jay Johnson after missing the NCAA postseason entirely the last three years. The Wildcats have four national championships in program history, though, with the most recent coming in 2012.

Either way, there is a feel-good story to be had for the winner.

But for now, everybody waits.

This story was originally published June 29, 2016 at 10:36 PM with the headline "Weather has College World Series finale in holding pattern."