Relief pitcher keys TCU’s 4-3 victory
OMAHA, Neb. — Sean Wymer struck out national player of the year Brendan McKay in two key situations while pitching 41⁄3 innings of shutout relief, and TCU was on the right side of two close plays in a 4-3 win over Louisville in a College World Series elimination game Thursday night.
The Horned Frogs (49-17) jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead, with one of their runs coming on a play at the plate that withstood a video review. Wymer (6-4) limited the Cardinals (53-12) to two hits after they had pulled within a run on McKay’s 18th homer of the year and Logan Taylor’s first homer in 123 games.
McKay came up two more times with chances to tie the game or give Louisville the lead, but Wymer struck him out to end the fifth and eighth innings. McKay, the No. 4 overall pick by Tampa Bay in last week’s Major League Baseball draft, was the Dick Howser Trophy winner as the nation’s top college player and is a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award.
“I knew what my job was when I came in,” Wymer said of facing McKay in the fifth. “I had to get that out because you wanted to keep the game, obviously, in our favor. So that’s really it.”
TCU advances to the Bracket 2 final needing to beat Florida on Friday night and again Saturday to reach the best-of-three championship series.