College World Series field narrows to four teams

ByMITCH SHERMAN
June 23, 2017, 7:05 PM

— -- OMAHA, Neb. -- Rematch Friday is set at the College World Series.

TCU beat Louisville 4-3 Thursday night to earn another meeting with Florida, the top team in Bracket 2, on Friday (8 p.m. ET, ESPN). The Gators defeated TCU 3-0 in the opening round on Sunday.

And in the early game Friday (3 p.m. ET, ESPN), Oregon State, top-ranked nationally and unbeaten in Bracket 1, faces LSU four days after the Beavers' 13-1 beatdown of the six-time national champion Tigers.

Got all that?

What's important is this: If TCU or LSU win on Friday, there's baseball to be played Saturday at TD Ameritrade Park. If Florida and Oregon State take care of business, it's on to the best-of-three championship series Monday night.

The odds favor the Gators and Beavers. Since the CWS adopted a two-bracket system in 1988, 42 of the 58 teams to start with two wins have advanced to play for the championship.

Florida and Oregon State show no signs of slowing down. This is, after all, the year of the favorites in Omaha. Higher-seeded teams have won all 10 games at the CWS, an unprecedented run.

Just be careful how you deliver the news to TCU and LSU players that they face a long climb, statistically and by way of the eye test.

"I don't think we gave them our best shot on Monday," LSU reliever Zack Hess said Thursday of Oregon State. "If we play our game, the results will take care of themselves. I think, Monday, we were a little bit tight, maybe pressing a little bit."

For sure, the Tigers loosened up in a 7-4 victory to eliminate Florida State on Wednesday.

Not only that, LSU's got ace right-handed pitcher Alex Lange on the mound. Lange, a first-round draft pick this month of the Chicago Cubs, is aiming for his 30th career win and needs 11 strikeouts to equal the all-time record at LSU.

"I'm ready to go," Lange said. "I'm excited for this opportunity. This is the team I've wanted to pitch against, them being No. 1 in the nation."

Oregon State deserves all of that No. 1 ranking and more. The Beavers are 56-4, needing a win Friday to establish a program-record 24 straight wins.

Coach Pat Casey, with his team off since that Monday rout of LSU, did not name a starting pitcher between Drew Rasmussen and Jake Thompson. Both right-handers pitched in the Beavers' 6-5 win Saturday over Cal State Fullerton to open the tournament, with Thompson, 14-0, lasting into the third inning in his shortest start of the season.

In the late game, Florida plans to use right-hander Jackson Kowar, who is 15-0 in his career, including a 12-0 mark in 17 starts this year. If TCU forces a winner-take-all game Saturday, presumably, the Gators could go back to ace Alex Faedo, who struck out 11 Horned Frogs in seven shutout innings Sunday.

"We know we're going to face a team that's not only talented, but they're hot," TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle said. "And they're playing with a lot of confidence. And they're absolutely loaded on the mound."

Meanwhile, TCU used three pitchers Thursday, including standout reliever Sean Wymer for the 4? innings to hold off the Cardinals. Wymer probably couldn't offer much until next week.

The Horned Frogs plan to use veteran right-hander Mitchell Traver on Friday night. Ace Jared Janczak, beaten by the Gators in their CWS opener, would be available in a winner-take-all game on Saturday.

"We have other guys down there that have to pitch," said Schlossnagle, whose team was beaten twice by Coastal Carolina last year in this bracket-final round. "And they know if we're going to come out of this thing, some of those guys that haven't been pitching will have to pitch."

For LSU and TCU, though, a good vibe persists. They made it to Friday.

LSU coach Paul Mainieri dug deep to find a source for his positivity. In 1989, Skip Bertman's Tigers played a regional at top-ranked Texas A&M needing to beat the Aggies, who were 58-5, twice in the same day to reach the CWS. LSU did it.

"You hear stories like that," Mainieri said, "and you hold on to hope that it can happen."