TCU's freshman right-hander Charles King (21) came on in relief to get his first career win on Friday.
OMAHA, Neb. – Wanna be Cinderella, TCU? No?
Of course not. The Horned Frogs have 50 wins, call a power conference home, are in their fourth consecutive College World Series, and came into June as the No. 6 national seed. If that’s Cinderella, it’s with brass knuckles.
2017 Interactive bracket | Updates from Omaha
But here’s the thing. The other three teams still alive on win-or-go-home Saturday have all passed this way before. LSU, Oregon State and Florida have been to the championship round a combined 10 times. They’ll be as happy as mustard on a ballpark hot dog to advance again, but is there any time more fun than the first time?
Especially after 2016, when TCU advanced to this door, but lost twice to Coastal Carolina.
“That hurt, a lot,” second baseman Cam Warner said.
“We know what it feels like to be in the final four and get kicked out,” catcher Evan Skoug mentioned. “We have that taste in our mouth, and I think that’s going to help us because it brings us to a sense of urgency.”
TCU's Charles King (21) tossed 3.1 innings of one-hit baseball (5 K's — 2 BBs) to lead TCU past Florida.
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Anything seems possible, now. It was a bad day for the winners’ bracket Friday at the College World Series, where the two hottest pitching staffs in the tournament were outdueled.
Oregon State, the team that hadn’t lost in two months, lost. Florida, whose pitchers had allowed one run in two games, gave up eight to TCU in the first six innings on the way to a 9-2 defeat. Go figure.
BALLGAME!!! We'll be playing for a spot in the finals tomorrow night at 7! #ToadToOmaha pic.twitter.com/VjkUbh67Oz
— TCU Baseball (@TCU_Baseball) June 24, 2017
As for TCU, the Horned Frogs seem to be growing accustomed to the Gators’ faces. They had never, ever played Florida before. Saturday will be their third meeting in seven days. They are also used to this elimination business, forced to take the long road through the losers’ bracket. This will be the fourth match point they try to avoid.
TCU RF Austen Wade (8) had a pair of hits, two runs and a couple of RBIs to pace things atop of the lineup.
“After a while, you kind of just feel at home with your back against the wall. You kind of feel like this is where we want to be and it’s the kind of environment we thrive in.”
That certainly has an upstart feel to it. Besides, TCU has never been to the basketball Elite Eight. The national football championship was in 1938. A run at the CWS title would feel awfully big in Fort Worth.
They have allowed nine runs in four games. They began Friday against the Gators by watching seven of their first eight batters strike out. “I started thinking,” said TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle, “has there ever been a 20-strikeout game in the World Series?”
Well, yes, but it’s been 52 years. Friday’s TCU total ended up being only 12.
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“We’re just playing good baseball, taking it day by day,” shortstop Ryan Merrill “It’s always been one pitch at a time.”
TCU's Evan Skoug (9) connected on two of his five plate appearances, driving in three runs in the win.
Plucky bunch, are they not?
They’re too good and too renowned to be Cinderella, but they are the one team that can go where no team has gone before Saturday night. If they win, they’ll feel something no one else here feels.
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