Louisville 8, Texas A&M 4
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. It should have been game over, right?
"We knew Texas A&M wasn't going to fold," 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 in its last three appearances in Omaha. The Aggies (41-22) have lost seven straight 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."
Notes: 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 Florida on Tuesday night. The Aggies will play TCU in an elimination game Tuesday.
Florida's 3, TCU 0
Alex Faedo limited TCU to two singles and struck out 11 in seven innings, and Florida posted its first College World Series shutout since 1991 with a 3-0 win Sunday night.
Faedo, the Detroit Tigers' first-round draft pick this month, had at least one strikeout each inning and retired 10 in a row before turning the game over to closer Michael Byrne to start the eighth.
Faedo, who mixed his slider with a mid-90s fastball during a dominant 106-pitch performance, has been part of seven of the Gators' nine shutouts this season. This shutout was Florida's second in its 36 all-time CWS games and first in Omaha since a 5-0 win against Florida State 26 years ago.
Jared Janczak (9-1) struggled in his four innings and lost for the first time this season. Byrne worked out of two mini jams and earned his 17th save.
JJ Schwarz, Christian Hicks and Nelson Maldonado each drove in runs for the Gators (48-18).
Florida is in the CWS for the sixth time in eight years and TCU for the fourth year in a row. This was the first time they've met.