2010 College World Series: Florida St. vs. TCU: Getting The CWS Underway

61 years in the making, the 2010 College World Series, the final one at legendary Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium, gets underway with the Florida St. Seminoles taking on the Horned Frogs of TCU. Neither Florida St. nor TCU have a national championship to their names, but the two programs could not be more difference. For the Horned Frogs, this is their first appearance in the College World Series, a year after making their first appearance in the Super Regionals. For the Seminoles, this is their 20th trip to Omaha, but the Noles and head coach Mike Martin haven’t been able to get past that hump and dogpile on the Rosenblatt Stadium infield.

A regular in Omaha, Florida St. was expected to be here this season. A preseason top-ten team that rarely had a double digit ranking all season, the Seminoles were rolling until they were swept in the final regular season series of the season by Clemson. Even though they bounced back by winning the ACC Conference Tournament, Florida St. didn’t get the postseason draw they wanted. They felt disrespected when they were sent to play in Connecticut for the Regionals despite being a number one seed. All the Seminoles did was go a perfect 3-0 in the Regional so they could return home for a Super Regional date with Vanderbilt. Walk-off winners in game one and game two losers, the Seminoles eeked out a 7-6 win to punch their ticket to Omaha for the 10th time.

Playing in the Mountain West, TCU doesn’t always get the toughest of conference challenges. To try and combat that, the Horned Frogs went on the road to play Cal St. Fullerton. They won the series. They went to the Houston College Classic, which has one of the best tournament fields every year. They took two of three. They went to Texas Tech. They swept. Then, TCU went 19-5 in the Mountain West and swept through the conference tournament to earn a Regional top seed. After averaging 12 runs per game in a perfect 3-0 Regional that they hosted, TCU went to #2 national seed Texas. After winning the first and losing the second, the Horned Frogs won the third game to exorcise their Longhorn demons in a similar situation to UCLA taking down Fullerton. The school’s first College World Series appearance is their reward.

Now, the two teams open up the 2010 College World Series with TCU sending Matt Purke to the mound and Florida St. handing the ball to Sean Gilmartin. Purke is the much-ballyhooed freshman left-hander that spurned the Texas Rangers despite being a first round draft pick to put on the purple of TCU. After a bit of a rocky start to get his collegiate career underway, Purke, with his glasses and sideways tilted cap, has emerged as the Horned Frogs’ ace. 14-0 with a 3.23 ERA, 133 strike outs and 28 walks, Purke’s numbers would be impressive for a senior, but are near mind-boggling for a freshman.

The Seminoles’ Gilmartin was supposed to be the ace of the staff and on a team in search of pitchers, the constant that they could rely it. It hasn’t played out quite that way as Gilmartin has gone 9-7 with a 4.89 ERA, not nearly as good as Florida St. was looking for. Even so, Gilmartin still has flashes of the stuff that earned him the preseason praise and will look to getting it together on the sports’ biggest stage.

With a .340 batting average, TCU can pick up their fair share of hits. With 92 home runs, the 15th most in the country, the Horned Frogs can change the course of a ballgame with just about any swing of the bat. All of that adds up to 8.6 runs per game, good for 18th in the country. Toss in the Horned Frogs’ hot play lately and you have to think that the first time Omaha participants are the favorites in this College World Series opener.