Notre Dame beat No. 1 national seed Tennessee in a game of elimination from the NCAA Baseball Tournament on Friday night. Texas A&M, East Carolina and Oklahoma went within one run to reach the College World Series.
The Irish made their biggest upset of the tournament to date, quickly taking the lead and defeating the Volunteers 8-6 in Game 1 of their best-of-three Super Regionals in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Troy Clanche’s base-loaded single in the ninth inning gave No. 5 Texas A&M a 5-4 walk-off win over Louisville. 8 East Carolina began their game against Texas in the eighth inning of a five-run victory 13-7.
Oklahoma, in Super for the first time since 2013, defeated No. 4 Virginia Tech 5-4 for its eighth win in nine games.
2 regional seeded Notre Dame in Statesboro, Georgia, last week scored a total of 11 runs, sweeping three games to advance.
The Irish were ahead 8–1 in front of the orange-clad Full House at Lindsey Nelson Stadium after a three-run homer from Jack Brannigan in the fourth inning. Notre Dame hit a season-high four homers, and Jordan Beck’s homer in the ninth all-new Jack Findlay allowed the last two innings.
1 national seed has won the championship under the current tournament format, and that was in 1999. Walls coach Tony Vitello said he was confident his players could handle the pressure of Saturday’s elimination game.
“It’s that time of year where crazy things happen,” he said.
The Irish would throw their ace, John Michael Bertrand, and would be without volunteer All-SEC outfielder and .365 hitter Drew Gilbert, who would have to sit out after being evicted in the fifth inning.
Texas A&M left the bases loaded in four of the first eight innings against Louisville before reloading in the ninth against Michael Prosecki. After failing to qualify for the SEC tournament last year, Clanche took Prosecky’s first pitch from the right to give the Agiges a CWS victory.
East Carolina has never made a College World Series in the past 31 NCAA tournaments. No team has been reduced so many times in the tournament.
The Pirates won for the 22nd time in 23 matches. But coach Cliff Godwin hasn’t forgotten about 2016, the year his team won Game 1 of their Super Regionals at Texas Tech and then lost the next two.
“I’m taking it day by day,” said Godwin, now 2-6 in four super field appearances. “It’s been a great group for me to be a part of and I’m not one to look too far ahead.”
Clarke-Leclair Stadium saw a record crowd of 5,723 and marked its attendance.
“I definitely think the score would have been different if we were playing in Texas,” Godwin said. “I’m grateful that we can play on our home ground and play in front of all our fans. They’ve been waiting for this in time, going back to when I played here.”
Oklahoma jumped on Virginia Tech starter Griffin Green in Blacksburg, Virginia. Green lasted just one innings and two batsmen for his shortest start of the season, and OU was up 5–0 in the sixth.
The Hokies tried to come back, hitting two-run homers each by Carson Jones and Jack Hurley, but OU right fielder John Spiekerman made a diving catch of Gavin Cross’s fly to end the game and play Sooners. put in victory. CWS in Omaha, Nebraska next week.
I get it, you get it, nobody got it
East Carolina were sticking to an 8-7 lead in the eighth inning, when Alec Makarewicz led the bottom half with a home run that probably would have been a flyout if it hadn’t been for the mix-up.
Left fielder Eric Kennedy looked ready to catch near the fence, but center fielder Douglas Hodo III Hodo cut in front of him and the ball passed through Hodo’s glove and went into the stands.
“I knew it was going to be a wall scraper,” Makarevic said. “Luckily the fans were screaming and[Kennedy and Hodo]jumped and hit each other and it was over.”
The play reminded Texas coach David Pierce of Carlos Martinez’s famous home runs for Cleveland in 1993 against Jose Canseco and the Texas Rangers. Canseco went to the wall and the ball bounced off his head and over the fence.
“It was like Canseco except for his gloves, not his head,” Pierce said.
Official language ‘hive ho’
Tennessee All-SEC outfielder Gilbert and pitching coach Frank Anderson were ejected for arguing with plate umpire Kellen Levy over a strike call.
Gilbert stood with his mouth closed after being thrown by Levi, and Anderson came out of the dugout to protest.
NCAA rules called for Gilbert, who came in to bat the team’s best .373, and Anderson was suspended for Game 2.
Crew chief Billy Van Raforst said in a statement that Gilbert debated several pitches from center field in the top of the second inning. Van Raforst said he warned Gilbert to direct his remarks to his team, not the umpire or Notre Dame.
“He said okay and he just gets excited,” Van Raforst said. “During Strike One after the fifth inning, Gilbert, the Tennessee batsman, gave an outrageous shout, followed by another slur as he walked out of the box and later passed out.”
Saturday’s Openers
Four other Super Regionals opened on Saturday: UConn (49-14) at No. 2 Stanford (45-15); Arkansas (41-19) at No. 10 North Carolina (42-20); Mississippi (35-22) at No. 11 Southern Mississippi (47-17); and No. 14 Auburn (40-19) at No. 3 Oregon State (47-16).
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Associated Press Sportswriter Teresa M. Walker contributed from Knoxville, Tennessee.
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