Game 1 of CWS Finals moved up on Saturday with threat of inclement weather
Published:
Game 1 of the College World Series Finals between Oklahoma and North Carolina was all set for a primetime start time on Saturday night.
Mother Nature had other plans though.
And with the threat of inclement weather in the Omaha area on Saturday night, the NCAA has moved up the start time of Game 1 by 5 hours from 8 p.m. ET to a 3 p.m. ET start time. So, if everything goes according to plan with the weather on Saturday, the Sooners and Tar Heels will start their best-of-3 championship series in day light and not under the lights.
At least for now, Game 2 of the showdown on Sunday is still scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. ET on ABC, and if necessary, a winner-take-all Game 3 is still set for 7 p.m. ET on Monday night on ESPN.
Oklahoma will be playing for its first national championship since 1994 and its third overall, with the Sooners also winning it all in 1951. OU also got to the CWS Finals in 2022 but fell to SEC rival Ole Miss.
Meanwhile, North Carolina has never won the College World Series, finishing as the runner-up in back-to-back years in 2006 and 2007.
With bad weather possibly in the offering on Saturday, Oklahoma and North Carolina will have to be ready earlier as the final chase for the national title trophy begins. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about the odds for the Sooners and Tar Heels to be the last team standing in Omaha:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
