Aaron Greenwood, who scored the winning run against Texas Tech celebrates left, as Texas Tech catcher Hunter Redman crouches dejected, following the game Tuesday. (AP Photo/Ted Kirk)
OMAHA, Neb. — It wasn’t easy for the Rebels on Tuesday with the 2-1 win over Texas Tech, and it won’t get any easier as Ole Miss will face another elimination game Thursday against TCU.
It was another close game for the Rebels on Tuesday. Pinch hitter Holt Perdzock hit a groundball down the left field line to score Sikes Orvis from third to give the Rebels the 1-0 lead in the seventh.
Texas Tech would tie the game up in the ninth that got started because of pinch runner Zach Davis stealing second and third. Pinch hitter Anthony Lyons hit a sacrifice fly to bring Davis home.
In the bottom of the ninth, senior pinch hitter John Gatlin came to the plate with runners on the corners and hit a single over the second baseman’s head to score pinch runner Aaron Greenwood to advance the Rebels to another elimination showdown against TCU.
TCU and Virginia are the only two national seeds to advance to the College World Series in Omaha. These two teams played a marathon of a game Tuesday night, in which Virginia won 3-2 in 15 innings. It may have not been an elimination game, but starting 2-0 in the College World Series is very important because it doesn’t force you to play an elimination game the next time you step on the field. The loss was been heartbreaking for TCU, but they’ll be ready to face Ole Miss today.
“They have obviously a really good team,” TCU head coach Jim Schlossnagle said about Ole Miss. “Mike (Bianco) and I are really close. Spent all summer together with Team USA. So I was excited he won, but I’m never excited to play real close friends like that. But I know they have a very, very competitive team, lot of balance on their team, and very good pitching like everybody else. So, haven’t thought that much forward yet. But we’ll be ready.”
TCU is one of the best teams in the country, owning a 48-17 overall record, going 17-7 in Big 12 play and an impressive 12-3 in neutral site games. TCU won the Big 12 tournament by defeating Baylor twice, West Virginia and Oklahoma State in the Big 12 championship game.
TCU likes to win ball games with strong pitching by having arguably the best pitching staff in the country. The horned frogs own the best team ERA in the country and best WHIP in the country, with a 2.19 earned run average and a 1.02 walks and hits per innings pitched. The TCU pitching staff also had the third most shutouts in the country with 14 and the second best strikeout-to-walk ratio with 3.78.
If the Rebels want to face Virginia again, they have to get the bats going against the great pitching staff that TCU owns. The Rebels only have six hits in two games here in Omaha. The Rebels need help from their two best hitters in the middle of the lineup in catcher Will Allen and Sikes Orvis, who have not collected a hit so far in the College World Series. All of the RBIs for the Rebels so far in Omaha have been from pinch hitters. The Rebels need to string together hits and bring runners on base home against a great TCU pitching staff in order to get another shot at Virginia.
