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Game 10 (Elimination Game): Ole Miss 6, TCU 4
TCU tried to stay alive in the CWS but just comes up short (Brad Williams/WBR)
As one might expect, the matchup of No. 3 starters in each club’s rotation brought an end to the pitcher’s duels for at least a day. Neither starter made it out of the fourth inning, partly because the wind also took a day off, but mainly due to a lack of control on the mound. Both staffs combined to walk nine batters, including bases-loaded walks by two different Ole Miss pitchers. There were also two batters hit and one balk committed by TCU.
While that might not sound like “clean” baseball, it still made for an entertaining game as each offense stepped up and executed to help pick up their struggling starters on the mound.
Ole Miss hitters started things off in the top of third inning, jumping all over TCU starter Tyler Alexander early in the count after Alexander started the inning throwing strike one to six of the first seven hitters he faced. The bottom of the order got things started for the Rebels as 8-hole hitter J.B. Woodman reached second on a ball to shallow center field. Horned Frogs’ center fielder Cody Jones made a diving attempt, but couldn’t come up with the catch, allowing Woodman to stroll in to scoring position. After a sacrifice bunt, Woodman came home on an RBI single by Braxton Lee to make it 1-0, Ole Miss.
The Rebels weren’t finished in the third as Alexander hit the next batter and two hitters later Ole Miss designated hitter Will Allen cleared the bases with a laser to right-center, and just like that the Rebels were up 3-0 over TCU after three innings in the win-or-go-home game.
The Horned Frogs responded in the bottom of the fourth. After putting men on the corners, TCU got on the board with an RBI double down the left field line off the bat of Boomer White, which cut the Rebels’ lead to 3-1. Ole Miss starter Sam Smith walked right fielder Dylan Fitzgerald in the next at-bat to load the bases then did the same to shortstop Keaton Jones to bring home another run. Rebels’ head coach Mike Bianco turned to Josh Laxer out of the bullpen, but after striking out the first hitter he faced for the second out, he walked in the tying run before getting Derek Odell to fly out to deep right and leave the bases loaded.
Each team’s big-hitting first basemen delivered in the fifth inning. First up was Ole Miss slugger Sikes Orvis ripping a go-ahead RBI single to right, plating center fielder Auston Bousfield to make if 4-3, Rebels. Bousfield singled and stole second to put himself in scoring position.
The lead didn’t last for long, as Kevin Cron deposited the first pitch he saw from Laxer in the bottom of the fifth into the left field bleachers to even it up at 4-all with four innings remaining.
“There weren’t going to be any cheap homers today,” said TCU head coach Jim Schlossnagle. “But when a guy smoked one, you know, and when Will Allen smoked his ball in the gap, it didn’t hang up for somebody to catch it. He deserved a double, and Kevin deserved a homer, and that’s what college baseball should be.”
Allen struck again in the top of the seventh with an RBI single up the middle to score Bousfield for the third time and give the Rebels the lead for good. Orvis’ RBI double down the left field line in the top of the ninth brought Allen home for a big insurance run to make it 6-4. Orvis and Allen combined to go 6 for 10 at the plate with two doubles and five runs batted in to provide enough run support for the Ole Miss bullpen that closed the door on the Horned Frogs’ season by retiring 15 of the final 17 hitters. The only hitters to reach base for TCU after Cron’s 5th inning homer did say via base on balls.
“It was a great baseball game,” said Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco. “We’re fortunate we got some timely hits, and that’s what this comes down to. Getting good hits with runners on, and we were able to do that on the other side of the ball, and we made pitches to get out of innings. Proud of our guys.”
With the win Ole Miss stays alive and earns a rematch with Virginia, Friday night at 7:00 pm (CT). The Cavs beat the Rebels, 2-1, on Sunday night. They will square off in the second game as Texas and Vanderbilt will play in the Bracket One championship game at 2:00 pm that afternoon.