Bad weather forces CWS final to be postponed until Thursday

OMAHA, Neb. —€” The College World Series championship game between Coastal Carolina and Arizona was postponed until Thursday because of inclement weather in the Omaha area on Wednesday night.

NCAA officials waited 2 hours, 23 minutes after the scheduled start time to postpone the game. More rain and lightning were forecast for the area in the early morning hours, meaning a delay would have been likely.

The best-of-three series is tied at a game apiece.

"It was a great decision after the amount of delay we had and the length of time it would take to get the teams ready to go," Coastal Carolina coach Gary Gilmore said. "You don't want to play a national championship game and finish at 3 o'clock in the morning."

Coastal Carolina (54-18) will be playing for its first national title in any team sport. Arizona (49-23) is going for its fifth championship, and first since 2012. First pitch is set for 1:08 p.m. EDT.

Gilmore and Arizona coach Jay Johnson said they didn't know whether their pitching plans would change with the extra time off.

Coastal Carolina was to start Alex Cunningham (10-4) against Arizona's Bobby Dalbec (11-5). Both pitched on Saturday.

Johnson said the extra day off helps both teams. Each team will be playing its eighth game in 13 days with pitching staffs that aren't deep.

The CWS will be going to a 17th game overall, the most in the event's 70-year history, and a June 30 finish would be the latest ever.