The left side of the 2026 College World Series bracket will have the West Virginia Mountaineers taking on the North Carolina Tar Heels in the winner's bracket game on Sunday, shortly after an elimination game featuring Troy and Ole Miss.Here is how we see this one playing out on Sunday night.Schuyler Callihan: North Carolina 4, West Virginia 3This is a matchup of the best two pitching staffs left in the tournament, and it's really not even close. Maxx Yehl has been terrific all season long, but hasn't had his best stuff recently, even in the supers against Cal Poly. It was a little rocky there for a moment, but he bounced back and did what he was supposed to do against an inferior lineup. I do believe he'll be on his 'A' game for the most part, but may run into a little trouble the second time through the Tar Heels' lineup.West Virginia will have virtually every arm available aside from Chansen Cole and Ian Korn, but that Carolina bullpen is on a whole other level. They've got multiple power arms with some nasty stuff. If the Mountaineers don't scratch across a few runs early while the starter is in the game, it could be uphill sledding for the Old Gold and Blue.I'll take the more experienced team in this matchup, but I don't believe this will be the last time we see these two square off in Omaha this week. For what it's worth, I would have gone with WVU if they were facing Ole Miss. I just think Carolina is a much tougher matchup on both sides of the ball.Joey Bray: West Virginia 5 North Carolina 4North Carolina is easily the best team that West Virginia has had to face since Kentucky in the NCAA regionals. The Mountaineers and Tar Heels both boast national championship caliber pitching staffs that could very well carry them all the way. The Mountaineers will have National Pitcher of the Year finalist Maxx Yehl on the mound, who has been nothing short of phenomenal during the Mountaineers' postseason run. Yehl has allowed just seven hits across 10 innings during his last two starts. In this particular contest, Yehl gives the Mountaineers an advantage at starting pitcher. The WVU offense is averaging double-digit runs during this postseason. I would think that mark continues to trend down as WVU faces tougher competition down the stretch. I think this is a bit of a lower-scoring output for both teams that sees WVU prevailing in a close one.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow