Florida’s Faedo stifles TCU

OMAHA, Neb. — The Detroit Tigers’ brass must have been smiling after the performance Alex Faedo put on at TD Ameritrade Park. The Florida Gators sure were.

Faedo limited TCU to two singles and struck out 11 in seven innings Sunday night, and Florida picked up a 3-0 win in the opening round of the College World Series.

On Tuesday, the Gators (48-18) will take on Louisville, which knocked off Texas A&M 8-4. The Aggies and Horned Frogs (47-17) meet in an elimination game Tuesday.

Faedo, whom the Tigers selected in the first round of the draft last Monday, had at least one strikeout each inning and retired 10 in a row before giving way to closer Michael Byrne to start the eighth.

“There have been historic, great pitchers come through, Rosenblatt and now TD Ameritrade, and tonight has to go down as a great, great performance in the College World Series history,” TCU head coach Jim Schlossnagle said.

Faedo, who mixed his slider with a mid-90s fastball during his 106-pitch performance, has been part of seven of the Gators’ nine shutouts this season.

“Just throwing whatever Sully wanted me to throw and trusting him and Mike,” Faedo said, referring to Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan and catcher Mike Rivera. “They know the hitters more than anyone. Just trusting them and just attacking the zone with whatever they call.”

TCU’s Jared Janczak (9-1) struggled in his four innings. Byrne earned his 17th save.

In Sunday’s first game, the Cardinals (53-10) used six singles and a walk to build a 5-0 lead in the second inning. The Aggies (41-22) cut their deficit to 5-4 in the sixth before Louisville regained control.

“It wasn’t the best game of the year, but we understand now ... that these games aren’t always the cleanest,” Louisville head coach Dan McDonnell said. “There’s too much competition. Everybody is playing too hard. It’s not supposed to be smooth and easy.”