A Look At Father’s Day Action From Omaha…
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If you’re going to the College World Series, your one stop for the most officially licensed 2011 College World Series apparel is the all new Dugout, located right across the street from the Road To Omaha statue outside TD Ameritrade Stadium. If you can’t make it to Omaha, simply follow this link to Dugouthats.com. You’ll save 20% on your order when you enter the coupon code CB360!
Game 3: Virginia 4-9-1 def. California 1-6-0
Final Stats | VA Recap | Cal Recap
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It took roughly two-and-a-half hours for the first runs of the game to score in this day-2 matchup, with Virginia breaking through for a pair of runs in the bottom of the 7th. The Cavs produced their runs after Chris Taylor followed Keith Werman‘s leadoff single with a walk. John Barr then executed a sac bunt, John Hicks followed with an RBI single and Steven Proscia plated Taylor with a sac fly to fight field.
Virginia head coach Brian O'Connor conducts his midgame interview with ESPN's Jenn Brown.
The previous time that a CWS game was scoreless through six innings was May 31, 1987, when Florida State ultimately beat Arizona State 3-0.
Cal’s Justin Jones did not pitch after injuring his pitching elbow in the previous week’s Super Regional win over Dallas Baptist. Jones is not expected to pitch during the CWS.
ACC pitcher of the year Danny Hultzen faced Pac-10 player of the year Tony Renda, three times in the game. Renda went 0-for-2 againt Hultzen, with a strikeout, popup to first base and a groundout field by the pitcher. It says “1-3″ in the scorebook on the play, but Hultzen had to charge off the mound on the tapper toward the third-base line. As he was spinning toward first to make the throw, Hultzen fell down but still managed to fire a bullet to get the forceout.
Attendance for the game was 21,275 for a three-game total of 69,541. That’s only 214 behind the 3-game total in 2010 at Rosenblatt Stadium.
– Quotable –
“I think we got them right where we want them. I think from here on out everyone’s going to be coming off a loss and we’ll be coming off a win. I think that’s where we were at our best, so we might as well go with that. At least that’s what I’m trying to convince our guys. We’re kind of used to backs up against the wall and we’ll see.” – Cal head coach David Esquer when asked if his team has what it takes to come through the loser’s bracket like it did with four straight victories to win the Houston Regional.
“I think we made it clear that if you’re just happy to be here, then you’ll be going home fairly soon. They’re here to win ballgames. I told them if you don’t come to win, we might as well not go. We get a participant’s badge or trophy whether we win or not. Let’s come here to win.” –Esquer when asked if his team has anything left to prove, considering they made it to Omaha after initially being told a few months ago that their program was going to be eliminated.
“I think Cal being here is one of the best things that could happen for college baseball, because I think it sends a message across the country that there’s a lot of programs that really care about their baseball programs and there’s a lot of good coaches out there and a lot of good players. I think it’s really great the fact that everybody knows the story of what they’ve been through and the fact that they could make it here to Omaha.” –Virginia head coach Brian O’Connor
Virginia's David Coleman drops down a bunt.
Click image to enlarge!
If you’re going to the College World Series, your one stop for the most officially licensed 2011 College World Series apparel is the all new Dugout, located right across the street from the Road To Omaha statue outside TD Ameritrade Stadium. If you can’t make it to Omaha, simply follow this link to Dugouthats.com. You’ll save 20% on your order when you enter the coupon code CB360!
Game 4: South Carolina 5-10-1 def. Texas A&M 4-4-1
Final Stats | USC Recap | TAMU Recap
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After it took Virginia and Cal more than 2 1/2 hours to score a run in the first game of the day, Texas A&M and South Carolina put on an offensive display in the first inning of their Father’s Day nightcap. The Aggies scored minutes into the game, with the big hit being a 3-run triple by Brandon Wood off Gamecocks ace Michael Roth. A&M led 4-0 after just one-half inning, but SC answered with four runs of its own in the bottom of the frame to tie the game. Only two of the eight 1st-inning runs were earned.
After South Carolina loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the 9th, Texas A&M brought reserve infielder Scott Arthur off the bench to deploy a five-man infield. Arthur stood a few feet away from second base, with two other infielders to his right. It was a moot move, though, as Scott Wingo ripped a long single off the rightfield wall to bring home Robert Beary with the game-winning run. Beary earlier had sparked the rally with a leadoff double to right.
Wingo’s 4-hit game (4-for-4) is a career-high.
South Carolina has now won 12 straight NCAA Tournament games, since losing their opener at the 2010 College World Series. Seven straight CWS wins are included in that streak for the defending national champs. Oregon State in 2006 & 2007 was the previous team to win seven straight games in Omaha (the Beavers also are also the most recent team to win back-to-back national titles).
The 2010 CWS Most Outstanding Player, Jackie Bradley, Jr., made his first start after missing 26 straight games due to a wrist injury he suffered in April. Bradley batted ninth and started in center field.
Despite five walks, South Carolina starter Michael Roth battled his was to eight strikeouts (one shy of his season-high).
After four games, Vanderbilt’s Connor Harrell still has the only home run of the CWS. He hit that long ball in Saturday’s opening win over North Carolina.
With South Carolina’s win, the SEC East is 3-0 at the College World Series. Vanderbilt and Florida both won on Saturday.
Former Nebraska and current New York Yankee pitcher Joba Chamberlain was wearing some new colors during the game. Chamberlain was sporting both a sling (after recent surgery on his shoulder) as well as a Texas A&M hat during the game. The connection? Aggies head coach Rob Childress was Chamberlain’s pitching coach at Nebraska. The two were together for the Cornhuskers’ CWS apperance in 2005.
Attendance for game-4 was 23,395, for a four-game total of 92,936.
Texas A&M and Cal will meet in Tuesday’s 1:00 p.m. elimination game, while South Carolina and Virginia meet in the winner’s-bracket game at 7. Virginia and Texas A&M will be the home teams.
– Quotable –
“This isn’t the first time we’ve lost a game. I mean, we’ve lost 21 on the year and our guys have been very, very resilient. We haven’t lost an awful lot in a row, and our guys know there’s still tomorrow. I can tell you this, Cal’s going to get our best.” – Texas A&M head coach Rob Childress
“Coach Tanner told me before the inning started that I needed to get on base – I knew my job. Before I walked up to the plate, I was talking to myself: I gotta hit one for my father. He’s in Afghanistan, so he couldn’t be here today. But, well, when I saw the ball go off the wall and it coming towards the infield, I thought I had third, but I felt my coach holding me up, and I didn’t want to make the first out at third, so I just listened to him and stayed there.”– South Carolina catcher Robert Beary, whose double to leadoff the 9th inning led to him scoring the game’s winning run on Scott Wingo’s hit
Aggies head coach Rob Childress makes a 9th-inning pitching change.
South Carolina pitcher John Taylor delivers an 8th-inning pitch.
Scott Wingl delivers his game-ending hit.
