OMAHA, Neb. -- Sid Hatfield looked out at the field at Rosenblatt Stadium and couldn't help but feel nostalgic.

Hatfield was back at the College World Series for the first time since winning the tournament's Most Outstanding Player award for Tennessee's runner-up team in 1951.

"It's a little bit of a choker," Hatfield said before Tennessee's 12-6 loss to Miami on Thursday. "This is the pinnacle of collegiate baseball."

The 71-year-old Hatfield, a retired coach, businessman and Air National Guard lieutenant colonel, returned to Omaha at the urging of his youngest son, Jeff. He said the changes since he last visited Rosenblatt Stadium 50 years ago are remarkable.

"You're playing in a stadium now. We were playing in a ballpark," he said. "All of this plastic stuff you see in the stands is brand new."

Tennessee led the 1951 championship game 2-1 in the bottom of the eighth, when Oklahoma came back with two runs. Hatfield, who came in as a reliever in the second inning of that game, remembers the sequence vividly.

"They get a hit with two runners on, and one of them scored from second base and that made the score 2-2," Hatfield said. "The next guy hits a shot to the left side of the metal tower out there (in center field), (Bert) Rechichar caught it on a dead run, hit the metal fence and the impact knocked him over backwards and knocked the ball out of his hands. I strike the next guy out, but whoever was pitching for them shuts us down 1, 2, 3 in the ninth and the ballgame's over."

Despite taking the loss, Hatfield was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. He pitched a complete-game 2-0 victory over Springfield, had an RBI and scored two runs in the tournament.

"I was the most surprised guy in the ballpark," Hatfield said. "We were lined up for awards down on the infield and they said, 'We're going to give away the Most Outstanding Player award now.' I've got my glove under this arm and my shoes under this arm. They said, 'Sid Hatfield from Tennessee.' I dropped all that stuff."

Hatfield was a jack of all trades for the Vols in 1951 and '52.

"I was a first baseman, pitcher and shortstop," said Hatfield, who still lives in Knoxville, Tenn. "And I swept the dugout out every once in a while."

Good ol' CWS days
Stanford coach Mark Marquess misses the days when the College World Series was double elimination the whole way through.

After the Cardinal won their first national title in 1987, the CWS went to a one-game, winner-take-all title game, even if one of the teams had a loss. Stanford won the first championship under the new format in '88, but wouldn't have minded having to play twice.

It really would have been nice for the Cardinal a year ago. Louisiana State rallied with four runs in the final two innings to beat Stanford 6-5. Stanford was thought by many to be the more talented team, but didn't get another chance to prove it.

Marquess doesn't complain about the single-game title. He understands that getting a college baseball game on network television is good for the game. But he hopes the event has become popular enough to go back to the double-elimination or even a best-of-three series between the bracket winners.

"I think you can dictate a little bit more if you're a product that TV wants," he said. "If you don't have enough juice to dictate, you take what you can get."

In your face
Television viewers got a chance to get up close and personal with Tennessee coach Rod Delmonico.

Second base umpires at the College World Series are wearing cameras on their caps to provide viewers with unique angles. When Tennessee's Stevie Daniel was caught stealing on a close play at second base in the first inning Thursday, Delmonico went out to dispute the call with umpire Ron Sebastian.

What ESPN2 viewers saw was Delmonico debating the call with his face in close-up and in full view. The so-called "Hat-cam" was approved by the NCAA Baseball Committee, and is the latest in a number of viewing innovations used by ESPN at the College World Series.

In past seasons, plate umpires have had cameras attached to their masks, and microphones were placed in bases to allow viewers to see and hear the game in non-traditional ways. ESPN is also using a "dead-center field" camera at the College World Series, something it is also using in its major league coverage.

Around the bases
Stanford's 4-1 victory over Cal State Fullerton on Wednesday night lasted just 2 hours, 34 minutes -- the quickest game at the College World Series this year. Through 11 games, the average game time was 3:25. ... Stanford's Jeff Bruksch needs one save to break the College World Series series and career records. He has saved all three of the Cardinal's CWS victories, and has four for his career. ... The 42 homers hit in this year's College World Series, including three in Thursday game, is the third-highest total in series history. There were 62 hit in 1998, and 48 in 1995.