College World Series 2017 scores and bracket: LSU and TCU force elimination rubber matches

Two games on Saturday, winners go to the CWS finals.

Jun 24, 2017, 3:51 AM UTC

NCAA Baseball: College World Series-Florida vs TCU

Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

LSU took down Oregon State, 3-1, and survived elimination for another day to force a bracket-deciding elimination game against the Beavers on Saturday in the College World Series. In the evening session, TCU defeated Florida, 9-2, to also score a bracket-decider, and for the second year in a row every game of the eight-team bracket round will be required to decide this year’s two finalists.

Oregon State entered the early game with a 23-game winning streak, including a 13-1 thrashing of Friday’s opponent, LSU, on Wednesday. Nevertheless, the Tigers came out angry, and immediately scored Greg Deichmann from third for the first run of the day. Then the next batter plated Zach Watson on a bunt-home plate squeeze, and LSU was in business, 2-0 advantage.

LSU hurler Alex Lange began his outing in dominant fashion, sitting down the first six batters he faced. His 91-93 mph fastball was locating well, and Oregon State had no early answer for that heat. Not until the bottom of the third did the Beavers manage a buildup to load the bases, then a walk plated Michael Gretler for the Beavs’ first run. That was all they could manage, though, as Lange struck out slugger KJ Harrison to end the frame.

Disaster struck Oregon State in the same frame, though, when a clearly fair ball down the left field line was called foul and no one thought to pause and review. Had it been reviewed and overturned, the Beavs probably would have earned two more runs and we’re looking at a very different game.

The Tigers plated one more run in the top of the seventh, and that was all Oregon State had in them. So, with a 3-1 win, LSU has forced a bracket-deciding rubber match on Saturday, and closer Zack Hess is extremely excited about this fact.

In the nightcap, Florida and TCU met for a much ballyhooed rematch of Sunday’s opening night bout that left the Horned Frogs with their first loss of the bracket round. Florida’s pitching staff is masterful, and though they may score the most runs in this tournament field, they’re also not going to allow them, and the Gators have allowed just a single run in the CWS to this point, quite obviously the lowest runs-against rate of the group.

Florida pitcher Jackson Kowar and TCU man Mitchell Traver held each other’s opposite bats hitless through the first two frames, then Kowar surrendered a single to right and a strong double to left to plate the Frogs’ first run of the night.

A wild pitch moved TCU leadoff man Austen Wade over to third, and the buildup was on with two outs. Wade then scored on a strong Zach Humphreys double to left center, which has received a remarkable number of hits and homers, considering the wind blows in from that area of the park at TD Ameritrade. Never mind, though, since the wind blew out all day on Friday.

Florida countered in the bottom of the frame astride a Mike Rivera-blasted homer to — where else — left field, and that brought the score to 2-1, advantage Frogs. Traver then walked Nick Horvath, and with one out in the inning that brought about a chat on the mound, which had little effect because he walked the next batter, Ryan Larson, to put Gators at first and second.

That brought on Dalton Guthrie, who HIT A BALL TO THE EXACT SPOT THAT KWAN HAD EARLIER IN THE DAY AND THE PLAY WAS REVIEWED AND IT WAS RULED A FAIR BALL. That of course scored Horvath, while trail runner Larson was thrown out after over-running third by a considerable distance. TCU crossed two more runners in the top of the next frame to bring the score to 4-2, and suddenly panic set in among the Gators’ dugout.

Still, Kowar got himself out of a two-runner jam in the fifth — despite throwing 30 pitches in the frame — and off to the bottom of the inning they went. Reliever Garrett Milchin came on to spell Kowar in the sixth, and he immediately loaded up the bases with just one out. His command was all off, with pitches sailing low, high, and wide, and soon enough a trainer came on to haul him out of there after he appeared to injure his arm on a pitch that went low into the dirt.

That then brought in Frank Rubio to do the late work, and he plated a run on the first batter he saw, though it came on a routine sac-grounder to the shortstop. That netted runners at the corners with two outs in the top of the sixth — 5-2 Frogs by now — and Rubio again the loaded the bases. The depth of the Gators’ bullpen has been a worry all year, since there’s a severe drop off in stuff after pro-talent arm Michael Byrne. TCU exposed that cliff on Friday, and Florida got burned bad for it.

And burned they were, as TCU slugger Evan Skoug came up to slap a huge double into right center that plated all three Frogs runners, and just like that TCU owned an 8-2 advantage. Rubio forced a grounder to second to end the frame, but it was an absolute brutal inning for the Gators, who were completely shellshocked after a four-run sixth.

Let’s pause here to give it up for TCU’s pen, which shut down Florida’s bat through the middle-late innings. There’s no need for an actual phone to the pen when your guys are throwing lights-out stuff.

TCU scored their ninth run on a sac-groundout to bring it up to 9-2, and the Gators had nothing to say after that, so a Saturday rubber match to decide the other party in the CWS final two was needed.