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.