2013 CWS: Mississippi State 4 Oregon State 1

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OMAHA, Neb. – Hunter Renfroe’s three-run homer lifted Mississippi State past Oregon State 4-1 and into the Championship Finals of the 2013 College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha.

Oregon State ends its season at 52-13. Mississippi State (51-18) will play the winner of UCLA/North Carolina in a best-of-three series starting Monday at 7 p.m. in a bid for its first national team championship in any sport.

Renfroe broke the game open in the middle of a five-hit fifth-inning rally. Adam Frazier and Alex Detz started things off with a pair of two-out singles. Then Renfroe drove a 3-1 ball into the left field bullpen for his 16th homer of the year and just the third at the 2013 CWS. Brett Pirtle and Wes Rea followed up with another pair of singles, but C.T. Bradford flew out to end the inning.

Detz, Pirtle, Rea and Bradford all ended the day with two hits. Rea is now 6-for-13 in the CWS with a .462 average.
Apart from the fifth inning, it was a defense-oriented game. Each team recorded three double plays, to combine for a new TD Ameritrade CWS record.

Oregon State left fielder Michael Conforto went 0-for-4 on the day but recorded a pair of outstanding plays. He snagged Rea’s deep-hit ball in the second inning, hanging onto the catch while slamming into the wall. In the third inning, he caught Trey Porter’s fly ball in foul territory and threw home to get Rea out for the double play. Conforto leaves Omaha with a pair of outfield assists and a batting average of .438.

Rea answered with a web gem of his own in the third. Jake Rodriguez doubled into the right field corner. Then Max Gordon hit a line drive toward first that Rea grabbed out of the air and threw to second to double up Rodriguez.

Kendall Graveman (8-5) earned the win for the Bulldogs. He gave up one run on four hits in 5.2 innings of work. Closer Jonathan Holder earned his 21st save of the season, retiring the last two batters of the game. He has recorded a save in all three MSU games at the CWS and is now Mississippi State’s all-time saves leader.

Oregon State starter Andrew Moore (14-2) took just his second loss of the season in his shortest outing. He lasted 4.2 innings, giving up all four runs on nine hits.

Mississippi State scored its first run in the fourth. Pirtle singled to right center, and Rea followed up with a double into the left-center gap. Bradford hit a grounder to first base and beat the tag, which allowed Pirtle to come home.

Oregon State got its only score in the sixth. Gordon walked and advanced to second on Tyler Smith’s groundout. Andy Peterson singled up the middle, and Gordon came around to score.

The Beavers put two runners on with a pair of singles in the ninth, but Holder induced a fly out and a fielder’s choice to seal the win.