North Carolina’s Bullpen outlasts Oregon State
The North Carolina Tar Heels defeated the Oregon State Beavers 8-6 in Game One of the College World Series Saturday afternoon. The game lasted 4 hours and 24 minutes, the new Men’s College World Series record for longest nine-inning game.
Right fielder, Trevor Larnach of Oregon State, was a home run shy of the cycle. He tripled in center fielder Steven Kwan in the 1st inning. Two batters later, North Carolina’s starting pitcher, Gianluca Dalatri, exited the game with an unknown injury. This forced the Tar Heels to reach into their bullpen early.
The ensuing innings, North Carolina responded by plating six runs. This included a five run 3rd inning in which all nine Tar Heel batters came up to the plate and reached base except center fielder, Brandon Riley and left fielder, Ashton McGee.
At the bottom of the frame, Oregon State gained three runs back, cutting the deficit to only two. An RBI double by Larnach and two-RBI single by catcher Adley Rutschman gave the Beavers life.
The next three innings were scoreless for both sides where only two combined hits were recorded.
Punches were fired back-and-forth in the 7th inning. North Carolina’s McGee and designated hitter, Ben Casparius, both had RBI singles. That was short lived as Oregon State’s Nobach and third baseman Michael Gretler each drove in a run.
The scoring then subsided in the final two innings and North Carolina finished the job. The Tar Heels’ sixth and final pitcher Cooper Criswell was awarded with his first save of the 2018 season.
Oregon State will play Washington in an elimination game at 1 p.m. on Monday. North Carolina advances and will play Mississippi State at 6 p.m. on Monday.
Mississippi State’s late heroics continue
The Mississippi State Bulldogs defeated the Washington Huskies 1-0 in Game Two of the College World Series Saturday night. The start of the game was delayed 36 minutes due to the unexpected length of Game One.
Both teams arrived at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha in the 4 o’clock hour and were anxiously awaiting their turn. Immediately after Game One’s conclusion at 6:30 p.m., it was announced that Game Two would begin at 7:36 p.m. The delay enhanced emotions and production on the field.
Washington starting pitcher, Joe Dumars, threw 7.1 innings, giving up seven hits and conceding no runs. Mississippi State starting pitcher, Ethan Small, threw 7.0 innings, giving up 4 hits and conceding no runs.
Runners were consistently in scoring position for both teams but the one and only run of the game took place on the final play. Shortstop Luke Alexander singled in Hunter Stovall to put fans into delirium and Mississippi State into the winner’s bracket.
Washington will play Oregon State in an elimination game at 1 p.m. on Monday. Mississippi State advances and will play North Carolina at 6 p.m. on Monday.
Written by Harrison Popp
