The first day of action in the last year of Rosenblatt Stadium’s hosting duties for the College World Series saw TCU and UCLA post impressive wins.
The first CWS game in school history started ominously enough for the Horned Frogs. FSU led off with a single, and then a TCU error allowed the Seminoles to take a 1-0 lead. Unfortunately for Mike Martin and the Seminoles, that would be the only true highlight of the game.
Freshman phenom Matt Purke would settle down on the mound and pace the Frogs to a resounding 8-1 win. TCU catcher Bryan Holaday went 3-5 with a home run and some energetic defensive effort. Outfielder Jason Coats added two hits and 3 RBI, when he wasn’t busy becoming a fan favorite out near the bleachers.
Meanwhile, even after Florida State’s Sean Gilmartin gave up 5 runs on 6 hits in the first inning, it seemed that nothing could go right for the ‘Noles. In the 3rd inning, trailing 5-1 but with two runners on and one out, FSU’s Tyler Holt got doubled off on a pop up because he didn’t retouch 3rd base on his way to tag up back at 2nd base.
Martin, FSU’s long-time leader, summed it up simply.
“We just got our butts whipped, plain and simple.”
In the battle of Big Panda and the Dirty Bruin, the later prevailed. Florida put its opening game hopes on left-hander Alex Panteliodis, known throughout the Gators program as Big Panda. But it was UCLA’s Trevor Bauer, he with the sun-faded, dirt-encrusted cap, who showed up big.
Bauer went 7 innings, allowed just 6 hits and 3 runs, while striking out 11 and walking 2 Gators. He also set the school’s single season strikeout record (152 Ks) with his final punch out of his evening.
Panteliodis, meanwhile, had trouble finding his control. He hit the first two batters he faced and walked a batter. His start ended short of finishing the 4th inning, and he gave up 5 of UCLA’s 18 hits. The Gators will have to work their way back through the losers bracket, starting with a win-or-go-home contest against rival Florida State Monday afternoon.
Just like TCU in the game before, UCLA picked up the school’s first CWS victory. The Bruins did so by inflicting a slow but steady barrage of singles – 15 out of the team’s 18 hits were base knocks – and putting pressure on the Gators pitchers and defense to stop them on the base paths. Niko Gallego (4 hits), Beau Amaral (3 hits), Dean Espy (3 hits) Justin Uribe (2 hits) and Steve Rodriguez (2 hits) each posted mult-hit games for the Bruins, who will meet TCU in Monday night’s winners bracket game.