OMAHA, Neb. -- Louisville had an early five-run lead against Texas A&M and national player of the year Brendan McKay was on the mound.
Game over?
"We knew Texas A&M wasn't going to fold," Louisville Coach Dan McDonnell said.
The Aggies didn't. They pulled within a run in the sixth inning before Sam Bordner shut them down with three innings of no-hit relief, and the Cardinals went on to an 8-4 victory Sunday in the College World Series.
"It wasn't the best game of the year, but we understand now -- as we've seen two on TV and played in one -- that these games aren't always the cleanest," McDonnell said. "There's too much competition. Everybody is playing too hard. It's not supposed to be smooth and easy."
The Cardinals (53-10) used six singles and a walk to build a 5-0 lead in the second inning against Corbin Martin (7-4). Texas A&M chipped away against McKay (11-3) to make it 5-4 before Bordner entered and continued to flash his postseason dominance. The sophomore has given up no runs and one hit in his last 11 innings over four appearances.
"I think Sam's been the X factor, a little under the radar," McDonnell said. "When you're in that first out-of-the-bullpen or middle relief role, it's just not as sexy, and you don't get as much attention. But clearly Sam's been hot all year."
With Bordner doing his thing, the Cardinals added two runs in the bottom of the sixth and another when Colby Fitch doubled in the eighth for his fourth RBI.
Louisville had gone 0-5 over its last three appearances in Omaha. The Aggies (41-22) have lost seven consecutive CWS games and face going two-and-out for the third straight time.
"It's about going out there and playing the game like it's your last one because now it could be," Nick Choruby said.
The Cardinals knocked Martin out of the game in the second, and the Aggies called on season-long ace Brigham Hill to settle things down.
Hill gave up no runs until the sixth, but the Aggies' offense couldn't overcome the big lead Louisville built. No team has overcome a five-run deficit to win at the CWS since the event moved to TD Ameritrade Park in 2011.
"Very proud of our guys finding themselves down 5-0 after two," Texas A&M Coach Rob Childress said. "From that point on you have to be perfect to have a chance to beat McKay and to beat a team like Louisville, and we certainly had a shot."
McKay lasted five innings, matching the shortest outing of the season by the first college player taken in the draft. The No. 4 overall pick by Tampa Bay allowed four runs on eight hits. He walked two and struck out six.
"I worked out of a lot of jams," McKay said. "It's hard to pitch effectively when you're in jams like that."
Louisville's five runs in the second inning marked the 26th time this season it has scored four or more in an inning this season.
Louisville will play Tuesday night against the winner of Sunday night's late TCU-Florida game. The Aggies will play the loser in an elimination game Tuesday.
LSU 5, FLORIDA STATE 4
OMAHA, Neb. — LSU Coach Paul Mainieri said his team wasn’t very sharp in its College World Series opener. It turned out the Tigers really didn’t need to be, not with the Florida State follies in the field.
The Tigers scored their first run Saturday night when Antoine Duplantis came around from first on a third strike wild pitch, and they tied it in the eighth when the Seminoles committed three errors on the same play.
Greg Deichmann followed with the goahead single in a 5-4 victory, LSU’s 17th in a row.
“It was a little bit of a bizarre game,” Mainieri said. “I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a runner score from first base on a strikeout. I know you think we probably practice that play all the time, but we really don’t. I thought that our team didn’t really play that great, at least not up to our potential. Somehow we still found a way to win, which is really encouraging for us.”
Jared Poche’ (11-3) worked 2 2/3 shutout innings in a rare relief appearance and tied the LSU record with his 38th career victory. Tyler Holton (10-3), who pitched 71/3 innings, took the loss.
“We made mistakes. We pay for them,” said Florida State Coach Mike Martin, whose team is looking for its first national title in 22 appearances in Omaha. “We know it’s going to be a tough uphill battle. But I’ll tell you, and I mean this, I’ll take this bunch and go to battle.”
Sports on 06/19/2017