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Game 3: TCU 3, Texas Tech 2
TCU moves on with a tight victory over Texas Tech (Spomer/WBR)
Just as they did in the first four meetings with Texas Tech, the Horned Frogs got the scoring started early. Leadoff hitter Cody Jones doubled down the third base line off Red Raiders’ starter Chris Sadberry to open the bottom of the first inning. After a sac bunt moved him over to third, left fielder Boomer White brought Jones home on a sacrifice fly to center field for a 1-0 TCU lead.
For a while it appeared one run would be all the support TCU would need for Big 12 Pitcher of the Year Preston Morrison. The Horned Frogs’ junior right-hander had Texas Tech off balance early. Working with a high-80s fastball and a good breaking ball, Morrison registered 13 swinging strikes and matched his season-high with eight strikeouts in the first four innings to preserve the one-run lead for TCU.
“I thought Preston was as good as advertised,” said Texas Tech head coach Tim Tadlock. “He pitched like the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year.”
Texas Tech starter Chris Sadberry couldn’t keep up with Morrison in the strikeout department, but he was able to keep the TCU offense quiet in each inning. Finally, just like UC Irvine in yesterday’s win over Texas, the Red Raiders came through for their ace in the top of 8th. A one-out single by leadoff hitter Stephen Smith chased Preston Morrison from the game. The TCU righty finished with a career-high 10 strikeouts in his 7.1 innings of work.
“That first outing [against Texas Tech], that wasn’t me at all,” said Morrison. “I didn’t have any control. My stuff wasn’t as sharp as it usually is and today was more of a typical outing for me. My slider was on point. I was able to locate my fastball when I needed to and threw a couple of changeups for a couple of outs. Overall, I just had more confidence and I was able to make my pitches when I needed to.”
The Horned Frogs replaced him with closer Riley Ferrell, who had not allowed a run since May 10th of this year. That didn’t bother the suddenly resurgent Texas Tech offense as freshman pinch-hitter Anthony Lyons followed Smith’s single with one of his own, his first of the season. Boomer White, who up to that point was the offensive hero of the game, misplayed the ball and allowed Lyons and Smith to move into scoring position and set the stage for 3-hole hitter Tyler Neslony. The Red Raider left fielder came through, crushing a go-ahead two-run triple to the wall in right field, giving Texas Tech a 2-1 lead.
“I knew he was a good pitcher. He’s been their closer all year. He’s got good stuff,” Neslony said of facing Ferrell in that situation. “I knew once we got a couple of runs — I mean, we have the most confidence in Jonny [Drozd]. He does what he always does. He pitches really well. It gave us a little momentum, but that’s about it.”
Losing a lead late in the championship game of their Super Regional against Pepperdine didn’t bother TCU last week, and they showed that resiliency again against Texas Tech. Shortstop Keaton Jones started things off with a single, and moved into scoring position on Kyle Bacak’s sac bunt. Leadoff hitter Cody Jones followed that up with a sharp grounder up the middle. Red Raider second baseman Alec Humphreys stopped the ball before it got to the outfield, but his off balanced throw to first was wide, allowing the tying run to score and moving Cody Jones into scoring position as the go-ahead run. Two batters later, Boomer White atoned for his costly error in the bottom of the 8th, smoking an RBI single to left to plate Jones and send TCU to the 9th with a one-run lead.
“I knew right before I walked up, Kyle [Bacak] told me, if you ever see the seams, two-seam looks like a changeup coming in,” said White of his approach the game-deciding at-bat. “He threw it up there, and I stayed on it just enough to get a good piece of it. Basically just battling. He was really good against us earlier in the year, and he’s a really good pitcher. I knew I was going to have to fight. God willing, I got one to drop in.”
Ferrell allowed two Red Raiders to reach base, but made the pitches he needed to make, inducing a grounder to Keaton Jones at short to end the game and send TCU to the winner’s bracket game on Tuesday night.
Game 4: Virginia 2, Ole Miss 1
“Wow. What a terrific college baseball game,” said Virginia head coach Brian O’Connor after his team’s win over Ole Miss on Sunday night. It’s hard to disagree. Just like the TCU-Texas Tech game that preceded this one, it started out as a pitcher’s duel between two top-notch aces, then turned into who could execute better offensively when the situation presented itself late in the game.
Virginia’s Nathan Kirby and Ole Miss’ Chris Ellis did their best to match the effort of Morrison and Sadberry in the night cap. Kirby allowed only a single and a walk through his first six innings on the mound. While Ellis held Virginia without a hit through the first 3.2 innings before Virginia started finding some holes. Four out of the following five hitters reached base via singles for the Cavaliers. After a beautiful catch and throw by Rebels’ second baseman Preston Overbey to double Virginia’s Branden Cogswell off of first, 3-hole hitter Joe McCarthy drove in the first run of the game with an RBI single to center field.
Nathan Kirby continued to dominate the Rebels until the eighth inning when a pair of lead off walks put the go-ahead run on base, and forced Virginia head coach Brian O’Connor to turn to senior righty Artie Lewicki out of the bullpen. After a sac bunt moved the runners into scoring position, pinch hitter Holt Perdzock tied the game with an RBI groundout to Virginia shortstop Daniel Pinero.
Lewicki induced another grounder to short to end the threat and keep the game tied. After the senior reliever again held the Ole Miss lineup in check in the top of the ninth, Rebel relief pitcher Aaron Greenwood walked No. 9 hitter Nate Irving to start the bottom half. A sac bunt and a strikeout brought Virginia slugger Mike Papi to the plate. Papi, the 38th overall selection by the Cleveland Indians in the 2014 MLB Draft, worked the count full before crushing the game-winning double to the gap in right-center. Pinch runner Thomas Woodruff came around to score easily as the Virginia dugout emptied to chase down the hero of the night as he rounded second base.
“I know when I got it, I got it probably as well I could have,” Papi said when talking about his winning hit. “I was just hoping and praying it was going to fall somewhere out there in this cavernous park. … Every walk-off is awesome. It’s speechless. You don’t know what to say, but having done it in the College World Series makes it even that much better.”
Virginia moves on to the winner’s bracket where they will face TCU on Tuesday at 7:00 pm.
Ole Miss will face Texas Tech at 2:00 pm that afternoon, the loser will be eliminated from the College World Series.