Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
One run down
Seminoles score in ninth to down Razorbacks.
FLORIDA STATE 1, ARKANSAS 0
OMAHA, Neb. — Florida State Coach Mike Martin extended his NCAA record to 2,029 victories on Saturday night.
None of the previous 2,028 had come against the University of Arkansas.
Martin’s Seminoles finally beat the Razorbacks 1-0 in the College World Series before an announced crowd of 26,155 at TD Ameritrade Park.
“I knew that the University of Arkansas had handled us right easy,” said Martin, who had been winless in five games against the Razorbacks. “I was not aware that it was 5-0. Thank God I didn’t.”
The Razorbacks (46-19) will play Texas Tech (4419) at 1 p.m. Monday in an elimination game. FSU (4221) advanced to the winner’s bracket and will play Michigan (47-20) at 6 p.m. Monday.
It was the second time Arkansas was shut out this season along with a 10-0 loss at Alabama on March 23.
The Razorbacks also suffered their second consecutive College World Series shutout. They lost 5-0 to Oregon State last season in the decisive third game of the finals.
Including a 5-3 loss to the Beavers last year in which the Razorbacks scored two runs in the fifth inning, they have gone 22 consecutive innings in the CWS without a run.
“We’re just going to tip the cap,” Razorbacks first baseman Trevor Ezell said of the performance by FSU starter Drew Parrish and closer J.C. Flowers. “They did a fantastic job on the mound. “They kept us off balance.” Arkansas starting pitcher Isaiah Campbell went seven scoreless innings.
“Just a really, really wellpitched game by both teams,” Razorbacks Coach Dave Van Horn said. “I thought Isaiah
threw the ball extremely well … He got us through seven.
“Parrish was really good when we got runners on, especially in scoring position, mixing that changeup, fastball, breaking ball.
“We hit some balls hard early at people, hit a couple balls off the end of the bat that just happened to go right at them, as well. That’s kind of the way the game works”
FSU got runners on base in each of the first six innings, but Campbell stranded seven. He finally retired the Seminoles in order in the seventh inning.
“Isaiah pitched beautiful baseball,” Martin said.
Campbell allowed 5 hits and 2 walks with 10 strikeouts. He threw 101 pitches, including 68 strikes.
“Yeah, it’s fun when you’re battling, putting up zeroes,” Campbell said. “It’s the biggest stage in baseball and to do it in front of 26,000 fans, it’s special.
“We gave the fans a treat— a pitcher’s duel — and I definitely found my groove, started having all four pitches and just felt more comfortable on the mound.”
Cody Scroggins, who replaced Campbell in the eighth inning, began the ninth by hitting Flowers with a pitch.
Carter Smith then hit a ground ball that shortstop Casey Martin charged and gloved. Martin tried to tag out Flowers, who was going on a hit-and-run play.
Flowers slid and knocked the ball loose and the glove off of Martin’s hand.
“It’s kind of the breaks of the game,” Van Horn said. “They were [running] on the pitch. Shortstop was breaking to the bag a little bit late …. the batter kind of hit it at us and had an opportunity to field it, tag and throw, probably get a double play.
“I think it was all just so tight in there he didn’t have a chance to really get his glove in position to make a tag with that hard contact.”
The play was ruled a fielder’s choice putting runners on first and second with no outs.
“It was a play in which you saw a baseball player play the game the way it should be played,” Martin said. “[Flowers] had only one way to get to the bag, and he went in to the straightest line he possibly could, and unfortunately the young man’s glove was right there.”
Arkansas closer Matt Cronin came in and the runners advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Matheu Nelson. Nander De Sedas followed with a flyout to right field that scored Flowers to give FSU a 1-0 lead and advanced Smith to third base. Cronin struck out pinch-hitter Cooper Swanson to keep it a one-run game going to the bottom of the ninth inning.
Flowers came in from center field and pitch the ninth and set the Razorbacks down in order earn his 13th save. He struck out Heston Kjerstad for the final out.
Flowers also robbed Kjerstad of an extra-base hit with a leaping catch against the wall in the second inning.
Parrish, a junior lefthander, went eight innings and held the Razorbacks to 5 hits and 2 walks with 9 strikeouts.
“Probably the best game of my career,” Parrish said.
Nelson, FSU’s catcher, said Parrish’s changeup was especially effective.
“His changeup was just unhittable,” Nelson said. “It was almost as if the ball was stopping in mid-air. Then the guys were already through their swing and the ball wasn’t even there.”
Parrish threw 113 pitches with 78 strikes.
“When we got runners in scoring position, he wouldn’t give us a fastball to hit,” Van Horn said. “When he threw a fastball, to me, he was just setting up the next pitch, which was usually a changeup.
“Just had command. He had it rolling out there.”
Arkansas had the go-ahead run a third base in the eighth inning after Christian Franklin hit a leadoff double and advanced on a groundout by Ezell, but Parrish struck out Martin and Matt Goodheart swinging to keep the game scoreless. The Razorbacks also got runners to third base in the third and sixth innings.
“It doesn’t surprise me the game was low scoring,” Van Horn said. “I wouldn’t have predicted 1-0. Maybe 3-2, somewhere in there, but what a great job by both pitchers.”
FSU improved to 5-0 in SEC teams in the NCAA Tournament. The Seminoles beat Georgia twice to win the Athens Regional and then swept two games at LSU in a super regional.
Arkansas needs to win two games for Campbell — a second-round draft choice by the Seattle Mariners who will sign professionally after the season — to get another start.
“This team has battled and competed all year,” Campbell said. “That’s what we’re going to do.
“It starts Monday. We’ve got to come out against Texas Tech, hit the ball, pitch really well, and just play Arkansas baseball. But I definitely don’t think it’s my last time pitching as a Razorback.”