Alabama reaches College World Series after 18-hour delay in Super Regionals

Alabama turned an 18-hour lightning delay into a ticket to Omaha, finishing off St. John’s 7-2 and sending the Crimson Tide to the Men’s College World Series for the first time since 1999. Jason Torres delivered the blow that widened the gap, hitting a grand slam before play resumed and Alabama closed out the clincher. In a Super Regionals round defined by rain, stoppages and late swings, the Tide became the first team to lock in its place in the 79th College World Series.

The timing mattered as much as the result. The Super Regionals were scheduled as eight best-of-three series at campus sites from June 5 through June 8, with the final day doubling as the last chance to reach Omaha. One wild finish in Chapel Hill, where North Carolina and USC pushed their Game 3 all the way to a chaotic end, underscored how little room there was for error. By Monday, the bracket had become a daily sprint: survive one inning, one inning later, one weather delay, and one final out.

This year’s race to Omaha carried an unusual reset. LSU won the 2025 national championship by sweeping Coastal Carolina in two games, but none of the teams from last year’s College World Series made it back to this year’s Super Regionals. That left the field without a returning Omaha cast and gave 2026 a different edge, with programs trying to turn one strong weekend into a statement that can reshape the national picture. For Alabama, the payoff was immediate: one delayed night, one decisive swing from Torres, and a return to baseball’s biggest stage.

The next phase begins June 12 at Charles Schwab Field Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska, where the 79th Men’s College World Series runs June 12-21/22. NCAA announced the first two days of pairings and game times on June 8, with the opener set for 1 p.m. Central on Friday and West Virginia meeting Troy. Other first-round matchups listed for the opening games include North Carolina against Ole Miss, Texas against Oregon, and Georgia against Mississippi State. After the whiplash of the Super Regionals, the tournament now shifts to a new bracket, a new stage and eight teams chasing the title that will define the season.