OMAHA, Neb. — Jace LaViolette made a crucial catch to stop Cade Kurland from hitting a go-ahead home run in the ninth inning, helping Texas A&M secure a 3-2 victory over Florida in a weather-delayed Men’s College World Series opener that finished early Sunday. Justin Lamkin and two other Aggie pitchers combined to strike out 16 batters.
With this triumph, Texas A&M (50-13) will participate in a Bracket 2 winners’ game against Kentucky on Monday night. Florida (34-29), last year’s national runner-up to LSU, will play an elimination game against NC State on Monday afternoon.
Texas A&M’s runs came early against Florida’s freshman pitcher, Liam Peterson, with scores in the first three innings. Lamkin, Chris Cortez, and Evan Aschenbeck then successfully held back Florida’s strong offense.
Despite trailing by one run in the eighth, Florida managed to load the bases but couldn’t capitalize, as Aschenbeck got out of the jam with the help of second baseman Kaeden Kent.
In the ninth inning, after Michael Robertson got on base with one out, Kurland hit a deep fly to right-center. LaViolette made a spectacular catch at the fence to prevent a home run. Aschenbeck walked All-American Jac Caglianone but struck out Ashton Wilson to earn his 10th save.
“Jim Schlossnagle, the coach of the Aggies, expressed his satisfaction with Jace’s height, stating, “That was an extraordinary game.”
The game began with winds blowing at 14 mph and was delayed for over four hours due to rain and lightning, with wind gusts over 25 mph calming down after the storms passed.
LaViolette admitted he initially misjudged Kurland’s hit, thinking it might be a home run, but the wind helped keep the ball in the park.
Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan also thought Kurland’s hit was a home run based on the player’s reaction but praised LaViolette’s catch.
Schlossnagle decided to start Lamkin and save their top pitcher, Ryan Prager, for Monday’s game due to an injury to another starter, Shane Sdao. Lamkin performed well, striking out six batters in three innings with only one baserunner allowed.
Early runs for Texas A&M came via a wild pitch, a double by Caden Sorrell, and an infield single by Travis Chestnut.
In the fourth and sixth innings, Cortez impeded Florida’s ability to score. However, in the seventh inning, Florida was able to reduce the lead to 3-2 with the help of back-to-back doubles.
The eighth and ninth innings were intense for the Aggies, but Aschenbeck made the necessary pitches to secure the win.
“Evan had to make some quite excellent throws to get out of it,” Schlossnagle said. “We rely on Evan to produce; you have a great opponent in the College World Series and your season is on stake.
Read Also:- Donald Trump Claims He Can’t Be Racist Because He Has “So Many Black Friends