TCU earned a rematch with Oral Roberts in the College World Series by beating Virginia, 4-3, on Sunday. The game will be played at 1 p.m at Omaha’s Charles Schwab Field and will be televised on ESPN.
Oral Roberts beat the Horned Frogs 6-5 in the CWS opener on Friday then fell to Florida on Sunday, 5-4. The winner of Tuesay’s game will play Florida on Wednesday; the loser will be eliminated from the series.
Sam Stoutenborough and two relievers limited Virginia to five hits and Cole Fontenelle drove in two runs as TCU rebounded from its first-game loss by eliminating the Cavaliers.
“I think everybody was wondering, after the punch to the gut on Friday, how they were going to respond?” coach Kirk Saarloos said. “I didn’t have any question about how they were going to respond. I could see it on the bus. I could see it on Saturday at our practice. … We outlasted them.”
Virginia (50-15) lost a second straight one-run game and went 0-2 for the first time in six CWS appearances. Five of the first six CWS games have been decided by one run.
“Two one-run losses certainly hurts, and I feel for our guys because they’ve had a terrific year,” Cavaliers coach Brian O’Connor said. “That said, we didn’t win, and our goal is to win here in Omaha and have a chance to win a national championship. We certainly fell short of that.”
The Cavaliers entered the game batting a nation-leading .334 for the season, but they never found a rhythm against Stoutenborough, Garrett Wright (3-2) and Ben Abeldt.
Wright, who typically enters games late and throws fewer than 25 pitches, was called on for middle relief and threw 43, his second most in an outing this season.
“I just wanted the baseball,” Wright said. “I just wanted to give our team the best chance to win. And so ‘Loos thought it was the best idea to come in earlier and get it to Ben in the back end. That’s what I did.”
Virginia starter Connelly Early (12-3), who came in having allowed two earned runs in 13 1/3 innings in the NCAA Tournament, gave up single runs in the first and third innings and was relieved by Brian Edgington to start the sixth.
Edgington, who pitched a complete game in a super regional-clinching win over Duke last week, allowed a base hit and walk before Elijah Nunez’s two-out single gave the Frogs a 3-1 lead.
Ethan Anderson homered leading off the seventh — Virginia’s first hit since the first inning — but the Frogs got that run back the next inning when 9-hole batter Austin Davis drove a ball over center fielder Ethan O’Donnell for an RBI double.
Virginia was within a run in the eighth when Harrison Didawick singled, stole second, moved over on a fly and came home on O’Donnell’s RBI groundout.
Abeldt pitched the ninth for his second save. He struck out .400-hitter Kyle Teel and got Anderson to ground out before Casey Saucke singled up the middle and took second when center fielder Elijah Nunez bobbled the ball. Abeldt struck out Anthony Stephan to end the game.
Fontenelle, batting .519 in the NCAA Tournament, drove in runs with a sacrifice fly and a groundout.
TCU has won at least one game in each of its six CWS appearances.
