Oregon State rallies to beat Fullerton
OMAHA, Neb. — Adley Rutschman hit a tie-breaking single in the eighth inning, Jake Mulholland pitched 41⁄3 innings of no-hit relief and No. 1 and top seed Oregon State came back from a four-run deficit to beat Cal State Fullerton 6-5 in the College World Series opener on Saturday.
The Beavers (55-4) extended their winning streak to 22 games and will play Monday night against LSU. The Titans (39-23) have lost eight straight CWS games over five appearances.
Mulholland (7-1) settled things down for the Beavers after Fullerton had taken a 5-1 lead against unbeaten national wins leader Jake Thompson, who lasted 32⁄3 innings in his shortest outing of the season.
The Beavers tied it with four runs in the sixth, and Rutschman put them ahead with his single up the middle off Blake Workman (6-3). Drew Rasmussen pitched the ninth for the save.
“I think just with how this whole season’s gone for us, we know that we’re in just about any game,” the Beavers’ Jack Anderson said. “Doesn’t matter. We’re down one, down four, we’re just believing in ourselves regardless of the score.”
Timmy Richards’ three-run homer in the first and Chris Hudgins’ two-run single in the fourth gave the Titans a 5-1 lead, the Beavers’ largest deficit since losing 7-1 to UCLA on April 22.
Fullerton starter Connor Seabold worked a strong five innings, but his pitch count ballooned to 97 and he was relieved by Colton Eastman to start the sixth.
LSU 5, Florida St. 4: Greg Deichmann drove in the go-ahead run in a wild eighth inning and the Tigers (49-17) won their 17th straight game. A defensive meltdown, with three errors on one play, allowed them to score the tying run. Florida State (45-22) plays an elimination game against Cal State Fullerton on Monday afternoon.
Howser Trophy: Pitcher-first baseman Brendan McKay of Louisville was awarded the Dick Howser Trophy as the top player in college baseball. McKay, the fourth overall pick in the Major League Baseball draft by the Tampa Bay Rays, is 10-3 with a 2.34 ERA and 140 strikeouts in 104 innings, and is batting .343 with 17 home runs and 56 RBIs.