With Day 4 of the 2013 College World Series behind us, we’ve finally gotten the first elimination of Omaha. Following their 11-4 loss to Oregon State, the Louisville Cardinals are heading home.
College World Series 2013 bracket update: Louisville eliminated, Mississippi State sitting pretty
The Cardinals become the first team to depart from Omaha, meaning no more Rick Pitino interviews in the ESPN broadcast booth. Mississippi State earns a bye until Friday with its win, and Oregon State and Indiana are set for an elimination game on Wednesday.
If this were a reality TV show, this would be the time when we played some cheesy montage looking back at the emotional and dramatic moments the contestant had while on the show. I don’t have the technological skills to accomplish that, and frankly, there wouldn’t be enough Louisville highlights in the CWS to make much of a reel anyway.
Louisville just never really got off the bus in Omaha, failing to put together a complete game in either of its contests. It had strong pitching in its first game, holding a prolific Indiana offense to just two runs, but fell flat at the plate, getting shut out for just the second time all year. The bats bounced back against Oregon State with double-digit hits, but this time the pitching and defense let them down. In all fairness to starter Jeff Thompson, he didn’t throw all that bad of a game. His position players repeatedly let him down with defensive lapses, a point illustrated by the fact that only three of his seven runs were earned.
While the Cardinals packed their bags Monday night, Mississippi State celebrated after they outlasted a charge from Indiana in the ninth inning to take the winners’ bracket game. They earn a bye until Friday, an advantage that can’t be overstated. Not only will they get to rest their already ridiculously deep bullpen, but they’ll now have to be beaten twice in row by any team attempting to move past them into the finals.
Indiana and Oregon State will now face each other in an elimination game at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday to decide who gets another shot at the Bulldogs. After their opening loss to Mississippi State, you just had to think OSU wasn’t going out of this tournament without a fight. With their wealth of starting pitching and the offensive spark they showed Monday against Louisville, the Beavers still have a decent shot at making a run at the finals if they can get through Indiana. In 2006, as a matter of fact, Oregon State dropped its opening game of the CWS before roaring back to capture its first national championship.
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