Jordan Westburg has record day, leads Mississippi St past UNC
Mississippi State, who over half way through the regular season stood at 19-19, and 5-10 in SEC play, is now 2-0 in their first two games of the 2018 College World Series. This was after defeating North Carolina – one more victory from punching their ticket to the championship series.
The final score of 12-2 doesn’t sound like a pitcher’s duel, but that is exactly what this game was. Mississippi State starter, Konnor Pilkington, set the tone for the Bulldogs and pitched six innings, giving up six hits and only two earned runs. Cole Gordon came in relief and finished the game strong, giving up only one hit and no runs.
Despite giving up 12 runs, the Tar Heels retired the side seven out of the nine innings. Two big innings from Mississippi State set the tempo for the rest of the game and Jordan Westburg was at the helm for the Bulldogs.
After two singles and an error loading the bases in the second inning for the Bulldogs, Westburg stepped into the box. The freshman appeared in less than half of the regular season games for Mississippi State, and only had one home run. However, he hit the second grand-slam in TD Ameritrade Park College World Series history, giving the Bulldogs a 4-1 lead.
After North Carolina scored in the seventh inning off of a wild pitch, Mississippi State responded by putting together an eight-run eighth inning, aided by a Westburg 3-RBI double and two North Carolina errors. With that, Westburg tied the College World Series record with 7 RBI’s on the game.
Rowdey Jordan, Tanner Allen, and Hunter Stovall each had RBI singles for Mississippi State. Cody Roberts went 1-3 with an RBI for North Carolina.
Mississippi State will face the winner of the Arkansas/Texas Tech on Friday at 2 p.m. North Carolina faces Oregon State in a Game 1 rematch, and also in an elimination game, which will take place Wednesday at 6 p.m.
Kowar, India lead Florida to victory, eliminating Texas
Florida played nearly flawless on both sides in their 6-1 victory over Texas, sending the Longhorns home. The Gators received help from first-round draft picks, Jackson Kowar and Jonathan India, who consistently delivered for Florida all afternoon long.
Florida struck first when India hit an RBI-single in the top of the first inning. Then Kowar, who posted a 9-5 record with a 3.24 ERA in the regular season, began dealing for the Gators.
Kowar threw 6.2 innings and 121 pitches, giving up five hits and no runs. He also delivered 13 strikeouts, which is the most of any pitcher thus far in the 2018 College World Series.
Both teams remained scoreless until the sixth inning, when Nelson Maldonado ripped a single up the middle to drive in another Florida run, putting runners on the corners. India, who is batting .354 and has 20 home runs in the season, stepped into the box and delivered the knockout punch to Texas with a 3-run blast into left-field. This helped make it a 5-0 Florida lead.
Both teams exchanged runs in the eighth inning; Florida’s Nick Horvath hit a solo home run into left field, and Texas’ DJ Petrinsky had an RBI-single.
India went 2-5 with a home run and 4 RBI’s. Horvath and Maldonado each had an RBI for the Gators. Petrinsky and Jake McKenzie each went 2-4 for the Longhorns.
Florida awaits the loser of the Arkansas/Texas Tech matchup and is scheduled to play at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
Written by Matt Kirkle
