Arizona is headed to the College World Series Championship series, as they defeated Florida State, 10-3. The Wildcats have yet to lose in Omaha (they have won nine in a row) and will most likely throw Kurt Heyer to start the championship series on Sunday at 8pm ET on ESPN2. Arizona will be playing for their fourth national championship, first since 1986.

It was a rematch of last Friday night’s ten inning victory for Arizona (in which Heyer yet again threw a gem deep into the game). Heyer scattered nine hits and three walks over 7.1 innings. He allowed two runs and struck out three. Heyer leads the nation with 153 innings (the most in Division I since 2006).

It started out so well for Florida State, as Sherman Johnson led off the game with a hard hit ball to left-center. He hustled right out of the box and headed to second base but was thrown out (he appeared to be safe on the replay).

Things went downhill from there.

Joey Rickard led off the bottom of the first inning with a single off FSU freshman starter Brandon Leibrandt. Johnny Field followed with a ball hit right back to Leibrandt. Double play right? WRONG. He threw the ball into centerfield.

Then the wheels fell off. Three hits, two more errors, a sac fly, and two walks put six runs on the board for Arizona. FSU was on their second pitcher (Leibrandt only recorded one out), as they would use a CWS record-tying eight total pitchers in the game.

Robert Refsnyder hit a solo homerun and Bobby Brown followed with a two-run homerun two batters later in the 4th inning. Refsnyder went 3-for-4 in the win.

*The Seminoles finished at 50-17. No other team has played in the CWS as many times without winning a championship (21st appearance).

Florida State received solid pitching from the very beginning and some timely offense as they sent UCLA home from the College World Series. The Seminoles won 4-1 and will face Arizona in a rematch on Thursday at 5pm ET on ESPN2. They will need to beat the Wildcats twice to reach the championship series.

FSU got on the board in the very first inning with just one hit (a James Ramsey one out single). Stephen McGee and Justin Gonzalez walked with the bases loaded to force in two runs.

The Seminoles put up another two-spot in the 4th inning on Jayce Boyd‘s bases loaded bunt single. An error on the play scored the second run.

That was more than enough offense for the pitching staff for FSU. Veteran Scott Sitz started and allowed one run on five hits over 6.2 innings. He surprisingly struck out eight (he is not a strike out pitcher). No strikeout was bigger than the three in a row he picked up in the 6th inning with a run in for UCLA and the bases loaded.

Sitz was followed by big man Hunter Scantling, who threw 1.1 perfect innings of relief. Closer Robert Benincasa came on in the 9th inning and retired the Bruins in order, including two strikeouts and the final one looking to end the game.

On offense for FSU, it was once again the top three in the order that did the damage. Sherman Johnson, Devon Travis, and Ramsey went a combined 6-for-9 with four runs scored and four walks (and zero strikeouts).

» Continue reading “FSU Gets Rematch with Arizona, Bounces UCLA”

Arizona beat Pac 12 rival UCLA to advance in the winner’s bracket on Sunday night, 4-0. The Wildcats are just one win away from the College World Series championship series.

If you like pitching, you should have been watching the second game on Sunday at the College World Series. Arizona’s Konner Wade and UCLA’s Nick Vander Tuig were locked in a pitcher’s duel, setting down the opposing offenses in order for three full innings.

With one out in the bottom of the 4th inning, Johnny Field picked up the game’s first hit. Two straight singles loaded the bases for Seth Mejias-Brean, who drove in two runs with a single. Bobby Brown followed with a two-run double to give the Wildcats the 4-0 lead.

That was more than enough for Wade, as the only jam he had to escape from came in the 5th inning. UCLA picked up their first hit with two outs in the 5th inning on a Pat Valaika single. Cody Regis and Kevin Kramer followed with a singles. Wade rebounded to get Kevin Williams to pop up to end the threat.

Wade picked up his fifth complete game, a five-hit shutout. The game ended fittingly, as Wade retired the Bruins in order.

Outside of that 4th inning, Vander Tuig was good. He allowed those four runs on six hits and a walk over 6.1 innings. He struck out eight.

*UCLA falls into the loser’s bracket and will face Florida State in an elimination game on Tuesday night at 8pm ET on ESPN. Arizona awaits the winner of that game on Thursday at 5pm ET on ESPN2.

Stony Brook became the first team eliminated from the College World Series, as they were pummeled by Florida State, 12-2.

FSU got on the board in the very first inning on a double steal. James Ramsey was thrown out trying to steal second base, but after Sherman Johnson stole home.

Then came the top of the 3rd inning which killed any enthusiasm the Seawolves may of had. With two outs and nobody on base, FSU strung together three straight singles. The last by Ramsey drove in a run. Jayce Boyd then hit a ground ball to short that was thrown away, and two runs scored. After a walk to Stephen McGee, Justin Gonzalez crushed the pitch into the bullpen beyond the left field wall for a two-run homerun. That gave the Seminoles a 7-0 lead.

In the 4th inning, Devon Travis hit a two-out, two-run homerun to increase the Seminoles lead to 9-0. The first nine FSU runs came with two outs.

Stony Brook got on the board in the bottom of the 5th inning against freshman starter Mike Compton. Pat Cantwell drove in the first run on a ground out and Willie Carmona followed with an RBI single (he had two very hard hit balls in the game).

Compton allowed those two runs on six hits over six innings. The FSU bullpen allowed just one hit over the final three innings.

First round pick and speedy Stony Brook centerfielder Travis Jankowski finally picked up a hit in the CWS. He collected a single in the 5th inning.

The first three hitters in the FSU order (Johnson, Travis, and Ramsey) went a combined 7-for-13 with six runs scored and six RBIs.

*FSU will face the loser of tonight’s Pac 12 showdown between UCLA and Arizona on Tuesday night at 8pm ET on ESPN.

**After watching the Seawolves win at LSU last weekend in the Super Regionals, I was really disappointed with their play in the College World Series. They were never really in either of their games in Omaha. Now they are two and BBQ. But they did gain a HUGE following.

Day 2 of the College World Series in Omaha started much like the way Day 1 started: with a Cinderella team struggling to stay with the big conference team.

Kent State was Saturday’s Cinderella, facing Arkansas and ace DJ Baxendale (who was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the MLB draft in the beginning of the month). Baxendale cruised through the Golden Flashes lineup before giving up a single in the 5th inning.

Kent State starter David Starn struggled with his command from the very beginning and the only thing that kept him and his team in the game was the three double plays turned while he was in the game.

Arkansas had a run in and the bases loaded before Starn induced a DP to end the first inning. Jake Wise homered with two outs in the second inning. In the 3rd inning after a leadoff single, Starn induced another DP. In the 5th inning with a run in, Starn induced another inning-ending DP.

Jimmy Rider homered off Baxendale in the 6th inning to get Kent State on the board and cut the deficit to 3-1.

However Arkansas went back to work against Starn, scoring two runs in the bottom of the 6th inning on a Matt Vinson two-run double.

Baxendale was done with two on base in the 7th inning. He allowed one run on three hits and a walk over 6.1 innings. He struck out five. Brandon Moore came in and escaped the jam and finished out the game. He allowed just one hit over 2.2 innings.

» Continue reading “Arkansas, South Carolina Win on Day 2 of CWS”

The College World Series got underway in Omaha on Friday afternoon with the Cinderella team, Stony Brook, facing UCLA. Maybe the first trip to Omaha got the better of the Seawolves, as they lost to the Bruins, 9-1.

UCLA jumped on Stony Brook starter Tyler Johnson in the very first inning. He allowed five runs on five hits and walk in that inning. He fell behind just about every hitter.

Meanwhile, Stony Brook could do nothing against UCLA starter Adam Plutko. He allowed just one run on five hits and two walks over seven innings. He struck out seven. Freshman reliever David Berg came on and threw two hitless innings of relief.

UCLA leadoff hitter Beau Amaral collected two hits, as did Kevin Kramer. Jeff Gelalich, Pat Valaika, and Kevin Williams each drove in two runs in the win. For the Seawolves, Maxx Tissenbaum collected two of the team’s five hits.

» Continue reading “UCLA, Arizona Win on Day 1 of College World Series”

The Florida Gators, the number one team in the country, survived a hard fought battle from NC State and are headed to their third straight College World Series. The Gators defeated the Wolfpack, 9-8 in ten innings.

Daniel Pigott broke the 7-7 tie with a solo homerun to lead off the 10th inning. Tobias Harris added much needed insurance with a two out RBI single.

NC State came right back in the bottom of the 10th inning. Trea Turner drove in a run to cut the deficit to one run with a sac fly. With the tying run on second base, Chris Diaz was called out on strikes and the dog pile celebration began for Florida.

So how did they get into extra innings and a 1pm ET start ending so late (after 7pm ET)?

The game in Gainesville started with a quick pitcher’s duel between Florida’s Jonathon Crawford (who threw a no-hitter in his last start) and NC State’s Carlos Rodon (who is a Golden Spikes Award finalist). Into the bottom of the third inning, the only base runner for either team reached on an NC State error. Then the lightning and rain came, halting the game for well over two hours.

» Continue reading “Florida Headed to Third Straight CWS”

Four Big XII teams are started their road to Omaha on Friday, competing in the 64-team Regional brackets.

Oklahoma was scheduled to take on Appalachian State in Charlottesville, Virginia but was delayed due to severe weather in the area. The entire Charlottesville Regional was postponed till Saturday. As reported on Ride Schooner, Ride on Friday: Army, Virginia and Appalachian State are in the bracket with them.

Big XII Championship winner Missouri, is in the Tuscon Regional. They took on No. 1 Arizona late Friday night and was pounded by Arizona. Mizzou will play in the elimination game on Sunday against New Mexico State.  Also in their bracket is Louisville and New Mexico State.

Texas A&M is hosting the College Station Regional and took on No. 4 seeded Dayton. The Aggies beat Dayton 4-1, with Michael Wacha pitching 7 shutout innings.  Future conference mate, TCU is also in the bracket and took on the No. 3 seeded Ole Miss, who are also the SEC champions. The Horned Frogs lost to the Rebels, 6-2.

Baylor is hosting the Waco Regional where they took on No. 4 Oral Roberts. In a shocker, Oral Roberts defeated Baylor 4-2,  snapping the Bears 22-game home field winning streak. DBU and UT-Arlington are in the same bracket. DBU shut out UTA, 10-0 on Friday.So Baylor will take on UTA next.