Game 1: Louisville 8, Texas A&M 4
WP: Brendan McKay (11-3) LP: Corbin Martin (7-4)
The first game of the afternoon pitted Texas A&M against the 2017 NCAA player of the year in LHP/1B Brendan McKay from Louisville. McKay started on the mound and hit in the fourth spot in the lineup, and avoided trouble by keeping the Aggies off the board despite the first two men reaching base. Texas A&M RHP Corbin Martin retired the side in order in the bottom of the first, and for the first time in the 2017 CWS, there was no score after the first inning.
After four straight singles to being the bottom of the second, Louisville raced out to a 2-0 lead. Two outs and a walk later, Junior catcher Colby Fitch stepped up with the bases loaded, and promptly drove in two additional runners with a single to right field. That single knocked Martin out of the game for Texas A&M. After Brigham Hill took the hill, Sophomore second baseman Devin Mann dropped an RBI single into left, adding to the score and making it 5-0 Cardinals. McKay grounded out to end the inning for Louisville.
Both McKay and Hill threw scoreless third innings, but McKay ran into trouble in the fourth. Sophomore catcher Cole Bedford singled, Senior right fielder Blake Kopetsky doubled, and both were driven in by a sacrifice fly and an RBI single, respectively. McKay came back to retire the next two batters to hold the Louisville lead at 5-2 after the top of the fourth.
Both pitchers threw scoreless innings until the top of the sixth, when Bedford led off the innings with a hard single to left, before Kopetsky doubled to left-center to drive Bedford home. An RBI single from Senior left fielder Walker Pennington brought the Aggies to within 1, 5-4 the score. That led to McKay being pulled from pitching in the game, and saw Sophomore RHP Sam Bordner enter the game. Bordner retired the three men he faced to hold the lead at one for Louisville in the middle of the sixth inning.
After retiring the lead-off man in the bottom of the sixth, Hill allowed two consecutive s, ingles, and was lifted for Junior RHP Cason Sherrod. Sherrod inherited a 1-0 count, and proceeded to walk the first batter he faced to load the bases. A fielder’s choice and throwing error allowed all runners to reach base, and another run to cross for Louisville, making it 6-4. Sherrod walked Fitch to drive home the seventh run for Louisville, and Junior LHP Kaylor Chafin entered to face the middle part of Louisville’s lineup with the bases loaded. Chafin retired both Mann and McKay to end the sixth, with Louisville leading 7-4.
Chafin and Bordner tossed scoreless innings in the seventh, and Bordner also kept Texas A&M off the board in the top of the eighth. The Aggies brought in Sophomore RHP Mitchell Kilkenny for the bottom of the eighth inning. Fitch delivered an RBI double that scored the pinch-runner Justin Lavey,and Louisville took an 8-4 lead to the ninth inning. Junior RHP Lincoln Henzman took over in the ninth inning, and proceeded to retire the Aggies in order in the ninth inning, sealing the victory for Louisville in game one of the day.
Game 2: Florida 3, TCU 0
WP: Alex Faedo (8-2) LP: Jared Janczak (9-1) S: Michael Byrne (17)
#3 Florida took on #6 TCU in game two of day two of the 2017 CWS. Alex Faedo, a 2017 MLB 1st Round Draft Pick of the Detroit Tigers, toed the rubber for Florida, while Sophomore RHP Jared Janczak, owning a perfect 9-0 record with a 1.97 ERA, took the mound for TCU.
Florida jumped out to an early 1-0 lead over TCU, when Junior catcher JJ Schwartz drove home Senior outfielder Ryan Larson with a groundout. Larson walked, and advanced to third on a throwing error followed by a groundout. Florida would add single runs in both the fourth and the fifth innings, both times on RBI singles, one from Junior infielder Christian Hicks and one from Sophomore outfielder Nelson Maldonado.
That offensive help would be more than enough for Faedo. Faedo worked around baserunners in the second, third and fourth innings to keep TCU off the board, and then proceeded to retire the final ten men he faced in his seven innings of work. Faedo broke his own school record for most strikeouts in the College World Series in a single game, with 11 punchouts. Overall, Faedo allowed only two hits and two walks to go with his 11 strikeouts in his start.
Florida turned to the bullpen in the eighth, going with closer Michael Byrne. Byrne allowed two singles in the innings, but was able to work around the baserunners, striking out two in the inning. Byrne returned to the mound in the ninth, working around a 1-out double by Senior infielder Cam Warner, and finished off the game and helped Florida advance to take on Lousiville.
Upcoming Schedule:
Monday, June 19 1:00 pm: Florida State vs. Cal State Fullerton (Elimination Game)
Monday, June 19 6:00 pm: Oregon State vs. LSU
Tuesday, June 20 1:00 pm: TCU vs. Texas A&M (Elimination Game)
Tuesday, June 20 6:00 pm: Louisville vs. Florida
