Change of Plans Can't Spoil Great Day of Baseball

The scene during the nightcap

My baseball games originally slated for Friday were postponed until Saturday because of torrential downpours, so the annual College World Series trip had to be moved back until today. No worries. Saturday's matchups were slightly better, but today also had 2 good games, especially a dandy in the afternoon.

First, Arizona State took on North Carolina. The Tar Heels are making an unprecedented 4th consecutive appearance in Omaha. ASU RHP Mike Leake, my favorite player, didn't start because of UNC's tendency to struggle against good lefties. The Sun Devils' #2 starter, Josh Spence, fits that description better than anyone in college baseball. Spence (the Angels' 3rd-rounder this year) came through with a 7-inning, 1-run performance, keeping UNC off balance with his usual array of crazy breaking pitches, deception, and command.

North Carolina ace RHP Alex White (the 15th overall selection last week) was even better, duplicating his dominating showing in the CWS last year. White gave the Devils a steady diet of 93-94 mph fastballs, darting sliders, and diving splitters to go 9 innings and allow just 1 run. He looked to be in complete control just about all game, and he fanned 12. White didn't have an overwhelming junior year, but he traditionally is a big-game pitcher (and he also tends to hit his stride late in the year). He certainly showed that today.

So after those two hurlers stole the show, the game went in to extras with the score at 1-1. Carolina RF Garrett Gore dropped a crucial fly ball in the 10th, and ASU capitalized. C Carlos Ramirez followed with an RBI single, and OF Kole Calhoun drilled a 3-run homer to left. Arizona State's closer, frosh lefty Mitchell Lambson, got the win with 3 outstanding innings of relief.

Here's the view from the bleachers

UNC has the pitching and veteran experience to go a long way in Omaha. Losing the opener in spite of a brilliant performance from its ace definitely is a blow to its chances. ASU, meanwhile, is in fantastic shape. Leake should be rested and ready to take on an anemic Texas offense on Tuesday. The Sun Devils are also full of fresh faces, and getting a win in the first game should get them to relax and get some confidence.

The nightcap pitted two much-less-exciting teams in Texas and Southern Miss. A standing-room-only crowd also meant I didn't have a good view until things settled down in about the 5th inning. That's okay too, though, because the main action was in the later innings.

Yeah, good seats are pretty hard to find for the evening games

Here's a much better view from the rightfield walkway, where I saw the last few innings

Texas was clinging to a 4-2 lead heading into the top of the 8th. (Starting pitcher Cole Green was excellent.) The Golden Eagles (and their fans) came alive in that frame, though, and USM scored 3 to go up 5-4.

The scoreboard says it all: Southern Miss just doesn't give up

Texas came back with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the 8th. USM pushed across another in the 9th, but then completely blew it. The game was decided by a play much more anticlimactic than the rest of the back-and-forth affair: a bases-loaded walk. Southern Miss showcased its sub-par relief corps in crunch time, as a HBP and 3 free passes constituted UT's "rally" for the victory. Collin Cargill, Josh Fields, and Jonathan Johnston all issued crucial free passes in the late innings. The Longhorns now move on to face ASU. The Golden Eagles will try to keep their Cinderella story alive in an elimination game against UNC. And I will anxiously look forward to returning to Omaha for the last year of the CWS at Rosenblatt Stadium in 2010.

Southern Miss shows its great fan support after a big run crosses the plate