The Florida Gators used strong pitching from Alex Faedo and a couple of timely hits to defeat the TCU Horned Frogs 3-0 Sunday in the College World Series. The win is a much better start in Omaha for Florida than last year when they lost both games and went home early.
Faedo was drafted in the first round by the Detroit Tigers in the recent MLB Draft. He looked every bit the part of a first rounder with the way he handled the Horned Frogs.
In 7 strong innings, he held TCU to only two hits and struck out 11 in a dominating performance. His only true jam came in the third when he struck out Zach Humphreys and the dangerous Evan Skoug after the bases were loaded with the help of an error.
“(Skoug) is a great hitter so I just knew I couldn’t give him anything good to hit,” said Faedo. “I feel like I’ve been in that situation before so I just needed to slow the heart rate down and get the job done.”
The offense was just enough to win. Christian Hicks and Nelson Maldonado had run-scoring singles while JJ Schwarz added an RBI groundout in the first inning.
“We’re going to be saving runs,” Faedo deadpanned. “We’re going to score just enough to get a W.”
Michael Byrne finished the final two innings for the combined shutout allowing three hits while striking out four. The Horned Frogs were blanked for only the second time all season.
The Gators move on to face Louisville in the winner’s bracket. The Cardinals beat the Texas A&M Aggies 8-4 on Sunday afternoon.
Brendan McKay, the Tampa Bay Rays’ top draft choice went five innings to get the win for Louisville, but he allowed four earned runs in 5 innings. The Gators and Cardinals square off at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
On Monday, the Florida State Seminoles will try to hang around Omaha at least a while longer. They will face the Cal State Fullerton Titans in an elimination game beginning at 2 p.m.