GAME 9
By: Austin Ulmer
OMAHA, Neb.- Two more teams would go home by the end of the day on Tuesday, after two elimination games.
The first game of the day was between the Texas A&M Aggies and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish both battling for a chance to stay alive in the Men’s College World Series and avoid their season’s coming to an end.
The Irish starting pitcher, Liam Simon, struck out the side to start the game, with fastball velocity reaching 98 mph, providing a great start for the Irish defense, but the offense would be held stagnant throughout most of the game. Simon would be taken out of the game in the 3rd inning, after loading the bases with no outs. He finished the day with five strikeouts.
But it was Aggies starter, Nathan Dettmer, who threw an absolute gem, causing the Irish hitters to hit nine groundouts, not allowing any kind of offensive production to happen.
“I think maybe we got a little aggressive,” said Jared Miller, when asked about the problems the Irish hitters had facing Dettmer.
Dettmer threw seven shutout innings with six strikeouts giving up only three hits on the day. This was Dettmer’s first scoreless start of the year.
The first runs of the game would come later in the top of the third, when both Jordan Thompson and Kole Kaler would score on a throwing error by Irish third baseman Jack Brannigan, trying to throw out Dylan Rock on a routine play. The score was now 2-0 in favor of the Aggies. Another run would come in the inning when Ryan Targac flew out to right field, making the score 3-0. The Irish would get out of the inning on a baserunning miscue by Aggies designated hitter Austin Bost.
But the Aggies’ bats wouldn’t stop there. Trevor Werner hit his seventh home run of the season on a 394 ft shot to right field off Irish reliever Jack Findlay, increasing the Aggie lead to four runs, 4-0. Dylan Rock would then drive in his second run on the day with a single off of Findlay, prompting the Irish to make another pitching change, now being done 5-0.
Aggies reliever, Brad Rudis, would not have the same success that Dettmer had when he came in to begin the 8th inning.The Irish would put their first run on the board on a 403 foot solo home run from Brooks Coetzee. The score was now 5-1, as the Irish tried to climb back into the game. After hitting the next batter and walking the hitter after him, Rudis was removed from the game. The Irish brought in southpaw Joseph Menefee, who was able to get out of the jam, striking out Carter Putz, and forcing a double play on the next batter.
The Irish would try to work themselves back into the game in the bottom of the ninth after Jack Brannigan walked to lead off the inning, but he would later be caught stealing to silence both the chances of a comeback and the Irish fans in the stadium.
Notre Dame will finish the season with a 41-17 record, while Texas A&M (44-19) will face the Oklahoma Sooners on Wednesday, as they try to win their third elimination game in the MCWS.
GAME 10
By: Austin Ulmer
Tuesday’s second game featured the Arkansas Razorbacks and the Auburn Tigers, two Southeastern Conference teams from the West division. When the two teams played in early May during the regular season Arkansas won two of the three games. The stakes in this game would be higher with the loser’s season ending by the end of the night.
Game 10 featured another outstanding pitching performance for the day, this time from Razorbacks starter Will McEntire who didn’t give up a run until the 7th inning and struck out nine batters on the evening, a season high for McEntire.
“I’d say that’s number one” said McEntire, when asked where his evening’s performance ranked compared to his other starts on the year.
Brandon Webb got things going for the Razorbacks early with a lead off double. Webb would be driven in on the next at-bat by Peyton Stovall, giving the Razorbacks an early 1-0 advantage. Stovall would advance to second base on a passed ball, but he would be stranded on second as the Tigers were able to get out of the inning with only giving up one run.
More runs would be added to the Razorbacks lead in the top of the third, when Chris Lanzilli hit an RBI single just out of reach of Tiger first baseman Sonny DiChiara, scoring Peyton Stovall, who hit a single to start the inning. The next batter, Robert Moore then hit a double down the left field line driving in two Razorbacks, now making the score 4-0 and giving the Razorbacks a comfortable early advantage.
It was the top of the fourth where the Razorbacks would stake their claim on keeping their season alive when Micheal Turner hit a two out, two run double to extend the Razorbacks lead 6-0. The next at-bat featured Chris Lanzilli, who hit a 416 foot home run. A moonshot that drove in two runs, opening the Razorbacks advantage to 8-0.
The Razorbacks cushion continued in the top half of the sixth inning when Cayden Wallace hit a two out double, his 19th of the year, and would be driven in by Micheal Turner. This would give Turner 3 RBIs in the game and the Razorbacks a commanding 9-0 lead.
The Tigers would manage to put a run on the board in the bottom of the seventh, when Bobby Peirce blasted a solo shot down the left field line, cutting the Arkansas lead to eight runs and a score of 9-1.
The runs wouldn’t stop for the Razorbacks, after they scored two more runs in the top of the ninth after Peyton Stovall drove in two off a base hit, his fourth hit of the evening. This would prove to be the nail in the coffin for the Tigers, the final score 11-1.
The Tiger’s season would end there, being the fourth team eliminated in Omaha. The Razorbacks win sets them up for a rematch with the Ole Miss Rebels, a team they lost to on Monday evening and a team that has yet to lose in the MCWS.
