OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Strikeout numbers are the highest on record in college baseball with the College World Series set to begin later this week.

The 297 Division I teams have combined to average 7.88 strikeouts per nine innings this season. That is the highest figure in NCAA records dating to 1970 and a huge 21.6 percent increase since 2014.

Pitching staffs for forty-one teams — including CWS participants North Carolina, Mississippi State and Arkansas — average at least nine strikeouts per nine innings. That’s up from 16 teams in 2016 and from just one in 2012.
Six pitchers in the CWS average 10 or more strikeouts per nine innings, led by Oregon State’s Kevin Abel and Luke Heimlich.

What’s happening in the college game mirrors the major leagues, where strikeouts are on track to set a record for the 11th straight year.