Florida’s Singer hums along in win over Louisville
OMAHA, NEB. » Florida entered the College World Series last year with eight players taken in the first 10 rounds of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft and was an overwhelming favorite to win its first national title in baseball. The Gators scored three runs in 18 innings and became the first Southeastern Conference team since 2007 to go two games and out.
This year, with 16 freshmen and sophomores and two 2017 draft picks, the Gators have allowed one run in their first two games and are one victory from playing in the bestof-three finals next week.
A couple guys who went through that 0-2 debacle last year played major roles in the Gators’ 5-1 win over Louisville on Tuesday night. Brady Singer pitched seven strong innings, Deacon Liput hit a three-run homer, and Florida (49-18) has won its first two CWS games for the first time in four appearances since opening 3-0 and reaching the finals in 2011.
“We learned so much last year, going two and out, and now winning the first two games, we’ve learned a lot,” Singer said. “Obviously, slow the heart rate down and then just pitching to your strengths and hitting to your strengths and doing what you’ve always done.”
Louisville (53-11) managed one run and six hits and struck out nine times against Singer (8-5). Florida pitchers finished with 10 strikeouts, making it their fifth straight game with double-digit Ks.
Left-handed-swinging freshman Austin Langworthy sliced a ball just inside the left field foul pole in the third inning and Liput hit a threerun homer to right in the fourth. Both homers came against Louisville starter Kade McClure (8-4), who otherwise was impressive in striking out nine and walking one in six innings.
“I thought the stuff was electric,” Cardinals coach Dan McDonnell said. “He just had that one hiccup in the fourth. I know that’s going to eat him up.”
The 6-foot-7, 230-pound McClure walked Nelson Maldonado with two outs in the fourth and Jonathan India blooped a single before Liput drove a low 1-2 pitch into the bullpen for his second homer in four games and third of the season.
“A four-pitch walk is on me, and then a jam shot and (Liput) golfed the ball over the fence,” McClure said. “That’s what happens. Like Coach said, it’s baseball. Not too worried about it.” TCU 4, TEXAS A&M 1 » Brian Howard matched his career high with 12 strikeouts in seven-plus innings, Omaha native Ryan Merrill homered to start a three-run third and TCU beat Texas A&M in a College World Series elimination game.
The Horned Frogs (48-16) avoided going 0-2 for the first time in five alltime CWS appearances and will play Thursday against Louisville.
The Aggies (41-23) have gone twogames-and-out in their last three appearances and have lost eight in a row in Omaha.
Howard (12-3) struck out six of the first seven batters he faced and turned the game over to Sean Wymer in the eighth. Merrill homered to right, Evan Skoug doubled in a run and Elliott Barzilli had an RBI single to make it 4-0 in the third.