UCLA vs. Murray State baseball College World Series preview and prediction

UCLA takes on Cinderella story Murray State in their first game of the CWS.
A cotton candy sky is seen well during game one of the NCAA College World Series at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb.
A cotton candy sky is seen well during game one of the NCAA College World Series at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb. | Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

Here is a preview and prediction of UCLA's game versus Murray State in the College World Series.

Best victories this season: Iowa (9-3), @ USC (7-6), Cal Poly (18-2), @ Illinois (9-1), BYU (15-4), Penn State (9-1), Cal Poly (16-0), @ Oregon (14-4), Arizona State (8-4), USC (5-1), Michigan (22-5), UC Irvine (11-4), Indiana (6-3), Washington (13-9), Penn State (6-3), Michigan (7-5), UConn (8-6), Fresno State (19-4), Arizona State (11-5), UC Irvine (8-5), UTSA (5-2), and UTSA (7-0).

Defeats this season: Nebraska (0-5), Washington (2-5), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (3-4), Oregon State (1-7), Arizona State (0-2), @ USC (5-7), @ Long Beach State (2-4), @ Oregon (1-2), Vanderbilt (3-8), @ Maryland (3-13), @ USC (5-11), UC Irvine (3-5), @ Oregon (6-10), Northwestern (4-9), San Diego (3-4), and Indiana (1-5).

NCAA Tournament record: 5-0
Strength of Schedule: 22
RPI: 9
Quad 1 record: 6-7
Quad 2 record: 15-2

Best victories this season: Western Kentucky (2-1), @ Kentucky (5-4), Southern Illinois (8-3), UIC (5-2), @ Ole Miss (9-6), Georgia Tech (13-11), @ Duke (19-9), @ Ole Miss (12-11), and @ Duke (5-4).

Defeats this season: @ Ole Miss (7-8), Western Illinois (3-5), Southern Indiana (7-8), Western Illinois (1-3), Evansville (5-6), @ Illinois State (10-13), Evansville (10-15), @ Illinois State (1-7), UIC (4-10), @ Indiana State (1-11), @ Southeast Missouri (3-11), Southern Illinois (0-11), @ Belmont (3-4), @ Ole Miss (8-19), and @ Duke (4-7).

NCAA Tournament record: 5-2
Strength of Schedule: 193
RPI: 53
Quad 1 record: 6-3
Quad 2 record: 1-0

This is a prediction for the upcoming game between UCLA and Murray State in the College World Series.

UCLA has the top-rated MLB prospect in Roch Cholowsky, while the Racers' top player is Will Vierling. Every NCAA Tournament features a Cinderella team, and for the College World Series, that team is Murray State. However, most teams in the Racers' position eventually have their tournament runs ended by teams like UCLA, and this appears to be the case for this game. UCLA wins by a final score of 7-3.

Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations