Well, the 115 inning curse has been broken, and yet another team has been elminated for the 2014 College World Series. In the top of the seventh inning Texas' C.J Hinojosa homered to left field, accounting for the first home run of the CWS.
Texas defeated UC Irvine in a rematch of Game 1. The game was scoreless through six innings, and Texas' 1-0 victory was the 21st shutout in this year’s NCAA tournament, the most in any postseason in NCAA history.
Texas moves on to play undefeated Vanderbilt at 3 p.m. ET Friday. The Longhorns have to beat the Commodores twice to advance to the championship series.
C.J Hinojosa, TEXAS
| AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | PO | A | LOB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
.298 |
Shortstop C.J Hinojosa belted the first home run of the CWS, a solo shot to left field, in the top of the seventh inning. It’s the first home run since Hunter Renfroe’s three-run shot on June 21, 2013 for Mississippi State vs.Oregon State in the 2013 CWS (span of 115 innings). Hinojosa’s home run was the 67th in 166th in TD Ameritrade Park history (all games). The lone home run was enough to secure the win for the Longhorns. "I was just trying to see a good pitch," Hinojosa said. "I was battling all night. I've seen it good, and I tried to put a good swing on it and it flew out. I think the wind made it change, so that was kind of lucky on our side." coach Augie Garrido joked and said, "Four players fainted [when the ball went out]."
Evan Manarino, UC IRVINE
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | AB | BF | NP | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6.1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 23 | 24 | 84 | 2.66 |
Other than Hinojosa's home run, the Longhorns did little against Evan Manarino in his first postseason start. "I didn't think it was a very good pitch," he said of the game-deciding pitch. "I left it over the plate, and [Hinojosa] was a good hitter. He took advantage of it and drove it to left field, and that was it." Manarino allowed five hits, walked one and struck out seven in 6.1 innings. Manarino made his first start since May 13 (4.2 innings vs. UCLA). His seven strikeouts were his most since a start on April 29 at Southern California (6 in 4.0 innings). His 6.1 innings made for his longest outing of the year (previous high was 6.0 innings against CSU Bakersfield on Feb. 19).
