COLLEGE BASEBALL WORLD SERIES : Miami Gains Top Seeding for Fraser’s Final Hurrah

Cal State Fullerton and Pepperdine are seeded fourth and seventh, respectively, in the eight-team College World Series, which begins Friday at Rosenblatt Stadium.

Top-seeded Miami (53-8) plays No. 8 Cal (36-25) in the opening game of the double-elimination tournament. Fullerton (42-15), which won the South I Regional at Baton Rouge, La., plays No. 5 Florida State (48-19) in the second game of a doubleheader.

Pepperdine, winner of the West Regional at Tucson, plays No. 2 Wichita State (56-9) in a first-round game Saturday, followed by No. 3 Texas (46-15) against No. 6 Oklahoma (42-22).

The tournament continues with a daily schedule until the championship game on June 6.

“In a tournament like this, where you have a teams that had to play well to get here, how it may appear on paper may not be how it really is,” said Fullerton Coach Augie Garrido, who guided the Titans to national championships in 1979 and 1984. “The College World Series is always filled with the unexpected. There are always going to be what appear to be upsets.

“I’ve given up trying to predict what the outcome is going to be. From where everyone is starting, it’s a fair race.”

Miami Coach Ron Fraser, who is in his 30th season with the Hurricanes, is retiring from college coaching after the World Series.

“I’d like to go out and take home a national championship,” Fraser said Monday night after Miami earned its 12th trip to Omaha by beating Notre Dame, 5-1, to win the Atlantic Regional. “If I had a wish, I’d like to end my career in Omaha.”

Fraser, who will coach the U.S. Olympic team at Barcelona this summer, guided Miami to national titles in 1982 and 1985.