A 8-4 loss to Florida on Saturday set up Texas' sixth elimination game of the year's NCAA Tournament. Their luck finally ran out as Emanuel and his North Carolina teammates shut out the Horns 3-0 on Monday. Emmanuel (9-1) struck out five, allowing only four hits and no runs on his way to a complete game. Although Texas only allowed North Carolina nine hits in the game, two hits made the difference for the Tar Heels. The first came in the top of the third with no outs. Texas Starter Cole Green, who pitched in all three games after postseason losses, was only credited with getting six outs in the game. After not allowing a single run in the first two innings, Green (8-4) finally got in trouble in the top of the third. Stallings came up to the plate and hit a decisive two run RBI single in the top of the third to give the Tar Heels an early lead that would not dissolve. The score would not change until the Tar Heels added another in the top of the ninth off Bunting's RBI double to finish off the Longhorns. North Carolina faces Vanderbilt, who lost 3-1 to Florida on Tuesday morning, in their second consecutive elimination game tonight at 6pm CT.
It's been an amazing story about the California Golden Bears' 2011 Baseball team. After not knowing if their school would produce a team this season, benefactors came to the rescue right before the season began to keep their long-standing baseball program together. The team finished with a 31-20 regular season record, finishing sixth in the Pac-10. After making the NCAA Tournament as a bubble team, the California Golden Bears posted a combined 6-1 record in the Regional and Super-Regional to make it to their first College World Series appearance in 19 seasons.
The Bears opened the College World Series with 4-0 loss to top seeded Virginia, but the double-elimination gave the team another day. Cal's next opponent featured the highly-talented Texas A&M Aggies, who had won the Big 12 Tournament and were co-champions of the Big 12 Regular Season Championship. The Aggies, who had scored first in their CWS opener, began the elimination game on a strong note with a solo home run by Smith in the bottom of the fourth. The Bears were definitely not the favorites heading into the game and they knew that about themselves. They had played the "Cinderella" all year, so finding themselves down 1-0 with five innings remaining didn't startle the team one bit. They went on to score six straight runs in the next two innings. Although the Aggies added two in the bottom of the sixth, Cal's RBI single to centerfield in the top of the seventh ended any chance of an A&M comeback and their 7-3 lead would not evaporate.
With the win over A&M yesterday, Cal improved their record against teams from Texas in the NCAA Tournament to 6-1 and their record in elimination games to 5-0. Porter pitched six full innings for Cal, allowing only three runs and seven hits, and improved his record on the season to 6-0. Wacha (9-4) threw 6 2/3 innings in the loss while allowing four runs on nine hits. The other three runs were caused by the two errors by Smith and Bratsen. After starting the game 1 for 13 in the first four innings with 0 runs and 7 strikeouts, the Golden Bears responded with a 8 for 18 showing at the plate and seven runs in the final five innings. Cal's magical season continues tomorrow against top-seeded Virginia at 6pm in another elimination game.
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