The second day of the College World Series saw four different SEC teams take the field and two elite pitching performances. Here’s a recap of the first day from the right side of the bracket in Omaha.
Bama gets blown out
Alabama waited 27 years for another trip to Omaha. They’ll now wait at least two more days before taking the field. That was thanks in part to Oklahoma freshman Cord Rager who diced up Alabama batters all day long.
The freshman lefty threw seven shutout innings allowing just three hits while striking out eight. One run from the offense would’ve been enough, but the Sooners gave him nine and finished day one with a 9-0 victory and their sixth straight win. It was the largest shutout win at the College World Series since 2002.
Alabama’s ace Tyler Fay simply didn’t have it. The SEC’s leader in innings pitched this season with 107 lasted six but allowed five earned runs. The Tide came in averaging 10.4 runs per game since the start of regionals but were shutout for the first time since April 24 (at Tennessee) and just the second time all season.
Alabama will now head to the elimination bracket and play Texas on Monday.
Stop doubting Georgia
That advice is probably more for me than for you. I’m the idiot who said Texas was better than Georgia and would win the College World Series. The second part could still happen, but they may have to beat Georgia two more times to pull it off. That’s been a pretty tall task for SEC teams this season.
The Dawgs wasted no time in making their presence known in Omaha. The last time we saw Joey Volchko he was getting shelled by Mississippi State in the super regionals. In that outing he allowed seven runs on seven hits in five innings with four of them earned. This was not the same Joey Volchko. He started the game by striking out the side and finished with 15 in a complete game gem.
The Georgia bats had difficulty in front of them, as well. Literally. They were set to face Dylan Volantis, the sophomore phenom and potential No. 1 overall pick in next year’s MLB Draft. The 6-foot-6 lefty did not have his best stuff early, and it seemed to affect the rest of the defense too. Texas allowed four runs in the first inning with the help of two errors. Volantis walked the leadoff batter, hit another, and by the time he finally got three outs he had already thrown 40 pitches.
That was all Volchko would need, but Georgia’s offense gave him some tack on runs in the seventh to extend their lead to 7-1. For the Horns, they had a brutal time at the plate with the exception of star shortstop Adrian Rodriguez. Rodriguez had two of the three hits for the Longhorn offense. It was his sixth straight game since regionals started with at least two hits in the game and he’s now hitting .591 (13-for-22) in six games.
What’s next?
Alabama and Texas will face off in the first game Monday in a win or go home situation at 1 p.m. CT. Georgia and Texas will play at 6 p.m. CT in the winner’s bracket.
Sunday will feature the first elimination game of the series between Ole Miss and Troy, followed by West Virginia and North Carolina in the night game.
