College World Series 2015 bracket update: TCU sends LSU home with stellar relief pitching

They say great pitching always beats great hitting. That mantra proved true on Thursday night, when TCU’s ultra-deep staff rolled through LSU’s stacked lineup for the second time this College World Series, landing an 8-4 knockout blow to send the Tigers home.

The Horned Frogs, whose only loss in Omaha came in a 1-0 pitchers duel against Vanderbilt, must now beat the Commodores twice in a row to advance to the national championship series.

Pitching depth was the difference in this one. Both starters struggled -- LSU’s Zac Person gave up three runs in less than two innings and TCU’s Mitchell Traver was yanked in the fourth after allowing three runs himself -- turning the game into a battle of the bullpens. The Tigers, who’s relief pitching has been its biggest weakness for most of the season, stood no chance against a Frogs staff that ranks second in the country in team ERA. LSU burned through seven pitchers and gave up five more runs after Person left the game; TCU’s Trey Teakell and Preston Guillory combined for three hits and a lone run in the final 5.2 innings after Traver exited.

Things came apart for LSU with Austin Bain on the mound in the fifth. He started the frame with two walks and a balk before back-to-back hits pushed three runners across the plate to put TCU up, 6-3. The Frogs added two insurance runs in the seventh, effectively putting the game out of reach.

In its two losses to TCU, an LSU offense that ranked fourth in the country in batting average mustered just seven runs, and three of those came after the game was out of reach. Star shortstop Alex Bregman went 1 for 4 on Thursday, but if this was his last game in purple and gold (he was drafted No. 2 overall, so it almost certainly was), he left us with one hell of a defensive performance.

TCU, which needed a miracle ninth-inning comeback against NC State in the regionals and a 16-inning walkoff to sneak by Texas A&M in the super regionals just to make it to Omaha, now finds itself in the bracket finals against Vandy. Knocking off a loaded Commodores club (which had three first-round picks and six players drafted in the first six rounds) twice in a row is a tall order, but if there’s any pitching staff deep enough to do it, it’s the Frogs.

On the other side of the bracket, Florida needs to take two in a row from Virginia. If Vandy and Virginia win on Friday, a rematch of the 2014 finals is set.