Michael Roth makes ESPN #CWS25 List

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The greatest pitcher in College World Series history? Not going to get any argument here. Roth and his South Carolina teammates became a fixture in Omaha. Even as the Series made its move from venerable Rosenblatt Stadium to the new downtown stadium, TD Ameritrade Park, there was no better arm to provide a smooth transition than the crafty, confident lefty.

Roth's name is littered all over the CWS record books. He has started the most games in series history (eight), pitched the most innings (60.1) and has the second-lowest ERA (minimum 30 innings) in CWS history (1.17).

It was evident the kind of dominance Roth was going to have in Omaha from the beginning. In his first CWS outing in 2010, a loser-leaves-town elimination game, Roth confidently went out under the lights of the biggest stage in the sport and cooly spun a complete-game three-hitter versus rival Clemson in a 5-1 win. What made that performance more remarkable was that it was Roth's first career start.

South Carolina would go on to win two straight national titles in 2010 and '11 and play for a third with Roth as the team's Friday night ace. During the Gamecocks' three-year run through Omaha, Roth made 10 mound appearances with eight of them being as the starting pitcher. In 2011, he went 14-3 with a rather tiny 1.06 ERA, which was the best in the nation for a starting pitcher. As a senior in 2012 he went 9-1 with a 2.43 ERA and got his third career starting assignment in the College World Series championship finals in the 4-1 loss to Arizona. Roth was drafted in the ninth round by the Angels and is currently playing in Double-A with the Arkansas Travelers.

-- Eric Sorenson

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