It was the situation every baseball player dreams of growing up. It was the situation seen in every baseball book and movie, the situation and finish that is so classic yet oh so rare. It was Sam Cohen who found himself in the situation.
And he delivered the finish.
The game’s story quickly changed from Louisville’s spectacular pitching to Louisville’s bullpen collapse. After retiring the first batter of the ninth inning, Louisville surrendered a single and two walks, loading the bases with one out. UC Santa Barbara elected to pinch hit, sending freshman Sam Cohen, who has started just five games and appeared in 19, to the plate. And he took advantage of his one at bat.
Cohen blasted a long grand slam to right field, giving the Gauchos a 4-3 win and their first ever College World Series appearance. And, they have a pretty good story to tell as to how they got to Omaha for the first time. One day after slipping by the second-ranked Cardinals 4-2, the Gauchos were stymied for eight innings before their sudden heroics.
After falling to an upstart California team (Cal St. Fullerton) in the Super Regionals last season, and losing Game 1 to another California underdog (UC Santa Barbara) this season, Louisville was staring directly in the face of deja vu. However, up 3-0 into the bottom of the ninth inning, the Cardinals seemed like they would get a chance at redemption in Game 3 this year.
But one blink later, Louisville’s season was over.
Clinching their berth in the College World Series, the Gauchos represent yet another upset squad that has made it to Omaha. They join Arizona in sweeping a national seed out of the tournament, while Florida State and Coastal Carolina have the potential to do so tonight. The Gauchos, considered to feature a thin roster with little more than an ace, improved to 5-0 overall in the NCAA Tournament, with a pair of wins apiece over Louisville and Xavier, plus a single victory over West Coast neighbor, Washington. Louisville fell to 3-2, their tournament run halting in the Super Regionals once more with a very abrupt end after they cruised through their regional tournament.
3-run inning gives Louisville early lead
Playing like the desperate team they were early on, the Cardinals managed to jump out to an early lead, tagging UC Santa Barbara starter Noah Davis for three runs in the fourth inning. All three runs came with two outs. The rally started with a solo blast off the bat of Brendan McKay. Devin Hairston tripled, setting himself up to trot home on an RBI double, courtesy of Blake Tiberi. Danny Rosenbaum completed the cycle for the inning, singling home Tiberi for the 3-0 lead. However, a tough fourth inning aside, Davis pitched very well for the Gauchos, going 5 1/3 innings, giving up just the three-spot in the fourth. Their bullpen would shut the Cardinals down, hurling 3 2/3 shutout innings. James Carter (2.1 IP), Trevor Bettencourt (0.2 IP), and Kevin Chandler (0.2 IP) kept Louisville contained, allowing the Gauchos a chance to get back in the game.
Drew Harrington looks dominant; shuts out Gauchos
Drew Harrington took the mound for the Cardinals and looked very comfortable from the get-go. He scattered six hits and a walk over seven dominant innings, shutting out the Gauchos with a dozen strikeouts even. In retiring the side in each of the first two innings, Harrington struck out five of the first six batters. He did not allow a hit until the fourth inning, when he had been staked to a 3-0 advantage. He gave up back to back singles in the fifth inning, followed by a sacrifice bunt. However, Harrington came right back to strike out the next two batters, making escaping a dangerous jam look easy. That, and a fourth inning one-out double, was the only real trouble Harrington got himself into. His twelve strikeouts were a powerful tool in nullifying several threats without the possibility of runners advancing. He allowed the first two batters of the eighth to reach and left the game. Departing after 7+ innings and 92 pitches, Harrington looked in line for a well-deserved win.
The bullpen collapse
Louisville replaced Harrington with Zack Burdi who quickly escaped the jam with a double play ground ball and pop out. There was no reason to expect that Burdi, a first-round draft pick and owner of a career 1.92 ERA would fold. However, after collecting 11 saves this year, Burdi could not close the door on his twelfth, despite the fact that Louisville was 47-0 when leading after eight innings. Burdi struck out Austin Bush for the first out, but it was the only out of the inning he would record. JJ Muno singled, followed by a pair of walks issued by Burdi. This brought up Cohen. The rarely used freshman with all of 26 at bats to his name did not look overwhelmed by the pressure-filled situation. He took a ball, fouled off a fastball, then took a 96 mph heater for a strike. Burdi seemed to be in a good spot. Cohen had hit one home run all year and was down in the count versus one of the best closers in the country. Burdi gave Cohen a changeup, down and in on the left-hander. Cohen reached down and golfed it, sending the ball deep over the right field wall, a no-doubter from the moment it left the bat. It sent the Gauchos into a wild celebration while Louisville, and much of the crowd there to support the Cardinals, fell into a stunned silence.
Other Omaha clinchers
Several other teams clinched their spot to Omaha. The Gauchos were the second, after Arizona, but several other squads soon followed.
#3 Miami pulled away late to defeat a gritty Boston College team and clinch a record 25th Omaha appearance. They will be the highest seed, if Florida, already down 1-0 to Florida State, falls in their Super Regional.
#5 Texas Tech completed their series comeback over East Carolina, whose magical season ended with an 11-0 loss to the Red Raiders. Texas Tech lost the first game but won the next two to get to Omaha.
Oklahoma State polished off a two game sweep of South Carolina, winning 3-1 to send the Cowboys to Omaha.
In other series, TCU and #4 Texas A&M play a tiebreaking Game 3 tonight. #1 Florida and Florida State play Game 2 tonight. Florida looks to force a Game 3 while the Seminoles look to reciprocate the sweep Florida handed them in last years' Super Regionals. And finally, #8 LSU looks to force a Game 3 vs. Coastal Carolina.