TCU Eliminates Louisville From CWS

Sixth-seeded TCU scored all its runs in the second inning and held off No. 7 seed Louisville on Thursday night 4-3 in an elimination game at the College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Neb.
The Horned Frogs (49-17) advance to a bracket final against Florida on Friday night. They must beat the Gators twice to earn a spot in the best-of-three championship series that starts Monday night.
The Cardinals end their season at 53-12. Coach Dan McDonnell left before his team did, becoming the first coach to earn an ejection from a CWS game in 10 years for arguing too strenuously after pinch-runner Ryan Summers was called out trying to steal second for the second out of the top of the eighth inning.
Connor Wanhanen’s RBI double scored Elliott Barzilli and started TCU’s big inning. Shortstop Ryan Merrill produced a two-run single that plated Wanhanen and Josh Watson, then rode home on Austen Wade’s RBI single.
All four runs were charged to starter Nick Bennett (5-1), who left after 1 2/3 innings, allowing three hits with no walks and two strikeouts.
Louisville chipped away at its deficit. Josh Stowers’ one-out single in the third scored Devin Mann to get it on the board. Brendan McKay swatted a first-pitch leadoff homer in the fourth, his 18th of the year. Logan Taylor cracked his first homer of the year in the fifth and the margin was down to a run.
But the Horned Frogs nursed that slender lead through the game’s remainder.
Reliever Sean Wymer (6-4) permitted two hits in 4 1/3 innings to earn the win, fanning five. Wymer ended the game by retiring Taylor on a fielder’s choice grounder to short.
TCU starter Nick Lodolo lasted four-plus innings, yielding five hits and three runs. Lodolo walked one and struck out one