Wednesday, June 21 – Game 1: #2 Florida 3, TCU 2
The Florida Gators didn’t spend any time sulking after watching TCU scratch across the game-tying run against sophomore closer Brandon Neely in bottom of the eighth inning. A leadoff double in the ninth gave them so mojo, an infield single put them back in front, and leaping catch at the wall for the final out sparked a celebration as they clinched a spot in the Men’s College World Series Finals for the first time in six years.
Junior shortstop Josh Rivera got the scoring started early with a two-run homer in the top of the first inning off TCU freshman right-hander Kole Klecker. Junior center fielder Wyatt Langford gave Florida some life in the frame by fouling off a 3-2 pitch with one out to eventually draw the only free pass Klecker handed out over five-plus innings of work. Two batters later, Rivera didn’t let it go to waste with a 417-foot blast that landed two-thirds of the way up the bleachers in section 127.
“We knew that he had a good fastball that played well up in the zone and that he could command his off-speed pretty well,” Rivera said. “I wasn’t really looking for anything specific. I was just trying to be on time for the heater. He came at me with a first-pitch slider, but I didn’t let that take me away from my approach. I stayed on the fastball, and luckily I saw it pop out of his hand and got a hanging slider that I could put a good swing on.”
TCU got one of those runs back in the bottom of the first when junior third baseman Brayden Taylor laced a one-out single to right-center to score freshman catcher Karson Bowen. The Horned Frogs nearly tied the game in the bottom of the fourth on a one-out knock by sophomore left fielder Logan Maxwell. This time Rivera made the big play with his arm, grabbing the throw from right fielder Ty Evans and whipped it home to nab Kurtis Byrne as he was sliding in to try to even things up. In Omaha, third base coaches have been conservative with sending runners from second on hits that have dropped in front of outfielders. TCU put the foot on the gas in this situation, but Florida’s shortstop was ready.
“It was an aggressive move on their part,” Rivera said. “That’s what good teams do sometimes, they try to steal a run — especially after what happened the other night against Oral Roberts when I got caught sleeping. He laced it into right field and our right fielder got it in as quick as possible. As soon as I caught I just kept my head on a swivel and turned to look towards home plate immediately. Luckily, I had enough time to set my feet and make a good throw home. It was a tremendous tag by [catcher BT Riopelle]. It was a great opportunity for us to get an out and not allow them to tie the game.”
Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan turned to closer Brandon Neely in the eighth inning to get the final five outs, but TCU junior second baseman Tre Richardson spoiled the plan with a single through the left side and freshman shortstop Anthony Silva drove him in with a one-out RBI double that hopped the wall in left-center to score Richardson after he moved up 90 feet on a groundout. Florida didn’t let the Horned Frogs hang onto that mojo for very long as junior left fielder Tyler Shelnut smacked a leadoff double off the wall in right-center after laying off a couple two-strike offerings and fouling off another to stay alive against TCU freshman reliever Ben Abeldt. The Gators almost spoiled Shelnut’s efforts, but freshman second baseman Cade Kurland came through. After fouling off an 0-2 pitch, Kurland bounced into the hole at short and easily beat out the throw to first to allow Shelnut to scamper home from third base to give Florida a 3-2 lead.
Neely came back out for the ninth inning, but he had to navigate the top of the TCU lineup if he wanted to send the Gators to the championship series for the first time since 2017 when they won their only national title. The sophomore right-hander didn’t have any trouble getting the first two outs. He struck out Elijah Nunez on four pitches, then needed just two more to set down Karson Bowen on a grounder to Rivera. The at-bat against Brayden Taylor was trending to end in similar fashion as he got ahead 0-2. Taylor made the third out a loud, though, when he punished the next pitch and sent out to dead center just to the left of the pitch clock. Florida freshman Michael Robertson, who came in for defense in the bottom of the ninth, tracked the ball in flight as it carried towards the wall. Dead center’s kill rate on flyballs in Omaha is astronomically high. Only an exclusive group of sluggers has cleared the fence to that part of the park since it opened in 2011. As Robertson got closer and closer to the wall it looked as if Taylor was about to join that club. Then as Robertson approached the padding, he leapt and made the grab for the final out of the game, TCU’s season, and Florida’s run through Bracket 1.
“To be honest with you, I thought it maybe had a chance even on a bad day like today,” O’Sullivan said. “I think I put both my arms over the railing and just laid there for 15 seconds. I couldn’t believe it. It was a typical way to end a ballgame the way things have gone [in Omaha]. But Michael made a great play.”
Wednesday, June 21 – Game 2: #5 LSU 5, #1 Wake Forest 2
An extra day of rest and a more solidified situation on the mound didn’t produce the results that Wake Forest hoped on Wednesday night. LSU designated hitter Cade Beloso capped a four-run frame in the bottom of the third with a go-ahead three-run homer over the Demon Deacon bullpen to give the Tigers all the offense they would need to keep their season alive for at least one more day. Hurlers Griffin Herring, Gavin Guidry, and Riley Cooper did the rest on the mound with seven and a third innings of shutout ball to close out a 5-2 win.
“I thought it was a great team win,” LSU head coach Jay Johnson said. “We had a little bit of adversity early in the game there and we really responded offensively.”
The first inning and a half only served to reinforce Wake Forest’s advantage on paper as they put two runners on the first and got a two-run single by center fielder Tommy Hawke in the second while starting pitcher Seth Keener needed only nine pitches to get through his first inning of work in between it. Cade Beloso changed everything in the bottom of the second when he draw a one-out walk and came around to score on a two-out double by Brayden Jobert. That gave LSU a pulse, then he shocked them fully back to life with his big blast off Keener on a 2-0 changeup with one out and runners on second and third in the bottom of the third.
“When you have as good of a coach as Coach Jay, especially with hitting, when he’s telling you to get the ball to your thigh you better listen,” Beloso said. “Got a changeup at my thigh, put a good swing on it, and it went over the fence.”
On the mound, LSU got 14 outs from freshman right-hander Griffin Herring. His previous high on the season was nine. Against Wake Forest, Herring scattered three singles, a walk, and a hit batter while striking out six hitters over a career-high 4.2 innings. That allowed the Tigers to seize control of the game and not limit the number of chances that the Demon Deacons could capitalize on to recapture the momentum.
“Herring was the difference,” Wake Forest head coach Tom Walter said. “I don’t think he’s thrown 80 pitches in a game all season or even 80 pitches in a week, based on the numbers. He went out there and gave them 80 really good pitches tonight. He was the difference.”
Wake Forest and LSU are now 1-1 against each other in Omaha with neither team facing the others best arm. Neither coach gave the full green light on an epic showdown of aces for Thursday night’s Bracket 2 clincher, but with Wake’s Rhett Lowder and LSU’s Paul Skenes each having four days of rest since their last outing, it’s the move that most are expecting each manager to make in the win or go home scenario.