Notes & Thoughts From Saturday…

I will be checking in throughout the day and into tonight with notes and quotes and happenings from Saturday’s action.  The first game of the day is TCU vs. Florida State, with UCLA facing Florida in the night cap.  Don’t forget you can follow results with recaps and more throughout the series on our CWS Scoreboard page.

Game 1 Final- TCU 8-11-2, Florida State 1-4-0 WP-Matt Purke (15-0), LP-Sean Gilmartin (9-8)
Postgame Video

Game 2 Final - UCLA 11-18-2, Florida 3-6-1 WP-Trevor Bauer (11-3), LP-Alex Panteliodis (11-3)
Postgame Video

• It’s a fairly overcast day in Omaha as we get ready for the start of the TCU-Florida State game.  The clouds mixed with a nice breeze make it pretty comfortable for fans who are used to sun and sweltering humidity at this time of year.

• Saw a lot of LSU t-shirts and tailgate canopies and the like on the streets and in the parking lot when I was making my way into the stadium today.  I don’t know if they actually made their way here from Louisiana or if they’re just local LSU fans…which there are a lot of here in Omaha.

• TCU’s Jim Schlossnagle has been named the NCBWA’s National Coach of the Year.  Schlossnagle’s Horned
  

  Jim Schlossnagle

  Frogs (51-12) have already set a school record for wins in a season, while reaching the CWS for the first time in program history.

• The NCBWA also named Texas pitcher Chance Ruffin the National Stopper of the Year.  Ruffin’s 1.11 ERA ranks second in the nation.  He was 6-1 with 14 saves this season before Texas was eliminated by TCU in last week’s Super Regional in Austin.

• One more announcement today from the NCBWA: Drew Pomeranz of Ole Miss, Miami’s Yasmani Grandal and Anthony Rendon of Rice are the three finalists for the Dick Howser Trophy.  The winner will be announced at a ceremony on July 2 in Lubbock, TX.

• TCU is not only making its first CWS appearance, it’s also its first ever game vs. Florida State.  In fact, any meeting with the other two teams in its bracket, Florida and UCLA, will also be TCU’s first game against those schools.

• Longtime official scorer Lou Spry is working his overall 600th CWS game today in some capacity.
  

  CWS Scorer Lou Spry

• The Horned Frogs can flat-out hit.  TCU scored five runs on six hits in the first inning off FSU starter Sean Gilmartin, who was not fooling anyone.  The lowest batting average by TCU’s starting nine is Aaron Schultz’s .303.  They were hitting ropes off Gilmartin in the three innings he worked.  Even Bryan Holaday’s 2nd inning infield single was a liner that hit Gilmartin.  The lefty was uninjured.

• Schlossnagle got bold in the third inning and it paid off…at least a little.  With runners at second and third with one out TCU 9-hole batter Brance Rivera plated Jantzen Witte with a squeeze bunt, but the play didn’t end there.  Taylor Featherston, who was at second base, never broke stride and tried to score from second base.  He was thrown out at the plate to finish a 1-3-2 double play on the throw home by first baseman Jayce Boyd.

• Matt Purke was just electric.  The freshman did walk four to tie a season-high, but he was untouchable when he wanted (and needed) to be.  His final line: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 UER, 7 K, 4 BB, 116 pitches, 66 strikes.

• TCU had four sac bunts in its win over Florida State.  The Horned Frogs kept bunting, even in the late innings when they were up 6-1.  Jason Coats said after the game that it’s “near automatic” for them to bunt with runners at first and second and no outs.  They now have 61 sac bunts this season.

• Local authorities have put-up a temporary chain link fence around the Rosenblatt Stadium and parking lot perimeter.  There are just a handful of gates where fans can go in and out.

• Florida and UCLA’s first round Saturday match-up was a rematch from the Women’s College World Series first round.  The UCLA softball team beat Florida 16-3 en-route to winning the program’s 12th softball national championship.

• From CB360 co-editor Pete LaFleur on our Twitter feed today:  “Do we really need to be reminded constantly about the differences between college and pro baseball?”  I didn’t get to hear exactly what he was talking about, but it’s not the first time ESPN has done this.  Yes, there are subtle differences.  Yes, the bat goes “PING”, but it’s still baseball!

• Erin Andrews isn’t Dancing With The Stars anymore.  She’s back doing sideline reporting at the CWS for game two (Kyle Peterson had game one).  This could end-up being her last event for ESPN, because her contract is up at the end of the month.

• In both of Saturday’s games the first two batters reached base safely for all four teams in the first inning.  The lead-off man scored for each of the four teams.

• Holy den Dekker!  Florida center fielder Matt den Dekker made a
  

  Matt den Dekker

  sensational over the shoulder and sliding catch to rob Bruin right fielder Brett Krill of extra bases in the bottom of the fourth inning.  If you didn’t see it watch Sports Center Saturday night and Sunday morning.  It’s a web gem.

• When Trevor Bauer struckout Jonathon Pigott to start the bottom of the 7th it was his 10th of the night as well as his third straight at that point, but it was also his 151st strike out of the season.  The total breaks an 18 year old school record.

• Bauer finished his night with 11 strike outs and two walks in 7 IP.  He also
  

  Trevor Bauer

  balked twice to become the fifth pitcher in CWS history to balk twice in the same game.

• I’ve been extremely impressed with UCLA’s offense.  I never would have thought that the team that would have double digit hits and runs on day one would be the Bruins…especially with 3-hole hitter Tyler Rahamatulla out with the broken wrist.  The Bruins hit the ball hard all night and scored at least a run in all but the second inning.

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