Florida Baseball: TCU trounces Florida 9-2 to force game 3

In the first 2 games of the College World Series, performances by pitchers Alex Faedo and Brady Singer have the Florida Baseball team in prime position and unfamiliar territory.

The Florida baseball team are in the winner’s bracket and 1 victory away from the championship series.

With hopes of getting a similar outing from the starting role, Florida threw the right-handed pitcher Jackson Kowar, who recorded an impressive 10-0 record this season as a starter.

Kowar, who hadn’t started a game since game 2 of the super regional, began the contest commanding the strike zone and fooling the bats of TCU. He struck out the side to begin the game and 7 of the first 8 batters he faced.

Kowar struck out the first 2 batters in the first, before allowing a single to the infielder Ryan Merrill. TCU outfielder Austen Wade delivered a double to advance Merrill and score the first run of the game.

TCU DH Zach Humphreys connected on a ground-rule double to push the Horned Frogs lead to 2-0.

The Gators responded quickly.

In the bottom half of the inning, Mike Rivera crushed a solo home run over the left-field wall, cutting TCU’s lead to 1. Following 1-out walks to Nick Horvath and Ryan Larson, shortstop Dalton Guthrie doubled down the left field line, bringing Horvath home to tie the game at 2.

With Larson recording the second out at third base, it eliminated the threat of any more damage occurring that inning.

More from Hail Florida Hail

Kowar lead-off the fourth inning with a walk, and later in the inning, with runners on the corners and 2 outs, Kowar faced the TCU left fielder, Josh Watson.

Watson drove the first pitch he saw into deep center field. Horvath took his first step in and from there he had no shot. Racing back and leaping for the ball, it hit off Horvaths’ glove and rolled to the wall. A base clearing triple put TCU up 4-2.

Following the 2-run third inning by the Gators, their lineup went stagnant. A theme that has followed this team for years.

In the sixth inning, TCU added a few insurance runs.

P Garrett Milchin, the freshman from Windermere, Florida, relieved Kowar of his duties. Kowar finished his evening with 5 innings pitched, 6 hits allowed, 4 earned runs, and a career-high 11 strikeouts.

Milchin had no luck finding the strikeout zone and struggled early. After retiring the first batter, Milchin walked the next batter, allowing a single, and then issuing a four-pitch walk to load the bases.

Any hope of a comeback for the Gators was beginning to fade.

Gators head coach Kevin O’Sullivan trotted out to the mound to discuss the pitching situation, with left-hander Austen Wade stepping into the box. He decided to leave Milchin in the game.

However, after throwing a ball into the dirt and making the count 2-0, Milchin pulled himself out of the game with an apparent arm injury. This was Milchin’s first appearance since injuring his arm on May 14th. P Frank Rubio entered the game to relieve Milchin.

Next: Florida Football: Why Malik Zaire should be Florida's starting QB

Rubio forced a Wade chopper to third base and reached on a fielder’s choice, scoring another run and extending TCU’s lead to 3.

Rubio then found himself, later in the inning, facing Evan Skoug with the bases loaded once again. Skoug ripped a 2-2 pitch into right field to clear the bases and push the Horned Frogs lead to 6 and ultimately, putting the nail in the coffin.

From there, TCU’s reliever Charles King kept the Gators scoreless and off the base paths. In his 3.1 innings of work, King allowed 2 walks, 1 hit, and struck out 5 Gators, while earning his first career win. The Gators recorded only 3 more hits after their 2-run third inning, 2 of which came in the ninth inning.

TCU would tack on 1 more in the eighth inning to make the score 9-2. With the relieving effort of King and batting performance from their lineup, TCU forced a game 3 against the Gators.

It’s simple. The winner of game 3 between the two teams advances to the championship series against the winner of LSU and Oregon State.

The Gators will throw their ace, Alex Faedo, who pitched 7 innings, allowed 2 hits and struck out 11 in his first outing against TCU this College World Series. If there’s anyone Florida can trust on the bump Saturday night to put the Gators in the championship series, it’s P Alex Faedo.

The Gators take on TCU at 8 pm on ESPN.

Home/Florida Gators Baseball