TCU Falls In 15 Innings

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OMAHA, Neb. — Daniel Pinero failed to follow through on his coach’s instructions in a clutch situation, but he still provided the game-winning play.

Pinero hit a sacrifice fly to score pinch runner Thomas Woodruff in the bottom of the 15th inning, and Virginia defeated Texas Christian 3-2 in the College World Series before 24,285 fans at TD Ameritrade Park on Tuesday night.

No. 3 seed Virginia (51-14) advances to Friday’s winners-bracket final and needs one victory to reach next week’s best-of-three championship series. No. 7 seed TCU (48-17) will face Mississippi in a Thursday elimination game.

Pinero, who leads Virginia with 19 sacrifice bunts, twice got the bunt sign from coach Brian O’Connor, who wanted a squeeze play, but Pinero bunted foul both times.

“I just went into the two-strike approach,” Pinero said, “and he threw me another curveball, and I stayed back on it, just put it in the air and got the job done.”

Woodruff, who also scored the winning run in a pinch-running role in Virginia’s walk-off victory over Ole Miss on Sunday, entered for catcher Nate Irving, who led off the 15th with a ground-rule double.

Irving’s line drive sailed just over the outstretched glove of left fielder

Boomer White, bounced off the warning track and into the bullpen.

“We just needed somebody to step up at that point,” O’Connor said. “When you’re in an extra-inning game and you’re facing pitching like we’re facing, it was great to see Nate clutch up. Fortunately, he got it up enough, and he must have squared it up really, really good to hit it out there.”

Woodruff, Virginia’s first baserunner since the ninth inning, moved to third base on a sacrifice bunt by second baseman Branden Cogswell, who finished 3-for-5 with two doubles and two runs.

Virginia improved to 16-7 in one-run games, matching Florida for the most one-run victories this season. The Cavaliers improved to 26-9 in games decided by three runs or fewer.

It was the fourth-ever CWS game to go 15 innings, and the first since 1970, when Southern California defeated Florida State 2-1. No CWS game has gone longer than 15 innings.

By time, Tuesday’s game was the longest in the four-year history of TD Ameritrade Park, 4 hours, 51 minutes.

Artie Lewicki earned his second CWS victory in relief, pitching two no-hit innings.

TCU’s Trey Teakell, who entered in the 13th inning, took the loss.

Virginia sophomore left-hander Brandon Waddell allowed two runs (one earned) on six hits while working the first seven innings. Reliever Nick Howard pitched four scoreless innings, working around a walk in the 10th inning and a single in the 11th. He struck out six. Whit Mayberry followed with two scoreless innings for the Cavaliers.

TCU’s Brandon Finnegan, a first-round draft pick of the Kansas City Royals, pitched eight innings and allowed two runs (one earned) on nine hits. He struck out five to push his season total to 134 strikeouts.

Horned Frogs relievers Riley Ferrell and Teakell combined to retire 16 consecutive Virginia batters after Cogswell drew an intentional walk with two outs in the bottom of the ninth.

“Very impressive pitching on the part of both teams,” TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle said. “We missed some opportunities early, we had some poor fundamentals early in the game on defense that cost us some runs. But, yeah, the pitching was smothering, and then you add in the park and the conditions, and it’s not a good recipe for scoring.”

Virginia tied the score at 2 in the bottom of the fifth inning. Cogswell led off with his second double of the game, went to third base on a sacrifice bunt by Pinero, the Cavaliers’ shortstop, and scored on a groundout by first baseman Mike Papi.

Cogswell also lined Finnegan’s first pitch of the game down the right field line for a double. Pinero lofted Finnegan’s second pitch to right field for an out, and Cogswell took off for third base. Cogswell scored when right fielder Dylan Fitzgerald’s throw was errant, and Virginia led 1-0.

TCU took a 2-1 lead in the second inning. Second baseman Garrett Crain, designated hitter Jerrick Suiter and Fitzgerald began the inning with consecutive singles, with Fitzgerald’s base hit scoring Crain.

A sacrifice bunt by shortstop Keaton Jones moved runners to second and third with one out. Cavaliers starting pitcher Brandon Waddell got a strikeout and a ground ball, but Pinero booted the grounder, allowing a run to score.

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