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Wednesday - June 21, 2006

CWS - Day 5

Cal State Fullerton v. Clemson. I needed yet another call from Dad to remember to tune into GameTracker for the CSF/Clemson game. So, I "watched" from work for a bit and Clemson was ahead 6-3 when I left the office. 'Got home just in time to see the Titans tie it up at 6 in the 7th. The starter was still in for Cal State Fullerton. The starter for Clemson lasted only one-third of an inning. The Titans scored a go-ahead run in the top of the 8th on a single followed by a wild pitch followed by two more singles. In the bottom of the 9th, Clemson's first batter reached on a double. So, CSF sent their closer in. He'd been suffering from an upset stomach and didn't even arrive at the park with the rest of the team. He struck out the only batter he faced and Wes Roemer (the Titan's #1 starter) went in. Roemer got Stan Wildmann to fly out and then struck out pinch-hitting Ben Hall to send Clemson (the #1 seed in the original field of 64) packing. Now the Titans have to beat North Carolina twice in order to advance to the Championship round. That'll be awfully tough. I'm pulling for 'em, though. Although, I have to say that I've really enjoyed the attitude shown by the North Carolina coach. He just grins at all the drama and seems to be out there to have a good time. 'Gotta admire that.

Oregon State v. Miami. Both starters were rather rusty. The Miami starter hadn't pitched in about a month; the Oregon State starter in a couple of weeks. It seemed to me that OSU had the advantage...despite the 11-1 thumping they'd gotten a couple of days ago. In fact, maybe because of that thumping. That opening round loss to Miami was very unusual. And, as it happened, Miami did have to replace their starter (Carlos Gutierrez) in the top of the 3rd after he'd allowed 2 runs on 4 hits. He left the game with runners at the corners and no outs. Both of those runners did go on to score...along with an extra to chase the second Miami pitcher (Marcelo Albir) of the inning. He left after giving up a double, a single, and that earned run. Jon McLean entered with a runner at 1b and 2 outs. McLean got Chris Kunda to fly out to rf on the first pitch he threw to put an end to Miami's 3rd inning blues. In stark contrast, Oregon State's starter (Mike Stutes) kept Miami hitless until the 5th. Miami's only score proved to be a solo home run in the 7th. And, Oregon State went on to win 8-1. So, Miami heads home (leaving North Carolina as the only ACC team still in Omaha) and Oregon State goes up against Rice tomorrow evening.

Posted by Joanna at 12:30 AM