CWS Recap: TCU 9 Florida 2

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OMAHA, Neb. – A trio of multi-run innings helped No. 5 TCU stay alive in the College World Series as the Horned Frogs knocked off No. 3 Florida, 9-2, on Friday night at TD Ameritrade Park. Evan Skoug led the offensive charge with two hits and three runs driven in.

The Rundown
A base hit from Ryan Merrill with two outs in the third got the Frogs off and running. Austen Wade put the Frogs in front with a double off the left field wall. Zach Humphreys followed with a ground-rule double to push the lead to 2-0. Florida battled back to tie the game at two on a solo home run and a two-out double in the bottom of the frame.

That was as close as the game would get as TCU struck for another two runs in the top of the fourth and never looked back. Josh Watson’s two-out triple to deep center drove in a pair of runs and TCU had a 4-2 lead.

Florida put together a two-out threat in the bottom of the inning, loading the bases on an error and two walks. Charles King (1-3) got the Frogs out of the jam with the first of his five strikeouts on the night.

TCU broke the game open in the sixth inning, striking for four runs on just two hits. Wade hit into a fielder’s choice to make it a 5-2 ballgame. Following a walk to Humphreys that loaded the bases, Skoug cleared them with a double to right center for an 8-2 lead. The Frogs added their final run on a Humphreys ground out in the eighth.

Mitchell Traver started and allowed two runs on two hits in 3 2/3 innings. King was brilliant in relief, holding the Gators to just three base runners in his 3 1/3 innings of work. He allowed just one hit, walked two and fanned five. Dalton Brown and Trey Morris closed out the win for the Frogs.

Stat of the Game
50 – Tonight’s victory was TCU’s 50th win of the season. It’s the third time in program history the Horned Frogs have tallied 50 wins in a season (54, 2010; 51, 2015).

Notes:
• TCU has won three games at the CWS for the second time in five trips to Omaha (2010).
• TCU improved to 11-9 overall in the College World Series and 8-7 in games played at TD Ameritrade.
• TCU improved to 54-35 all-time in NCAA Tournament play.
• TCU has allowed three or fewer earned runs for the ninth consecutive game dating back to June 3 (the entire NCAA Tournament).
• TCU has scored multiple runs in 105 innings this year.
• The TCU pitching staff tallied double-digit strikeouts for the 29th time this season.
• Freshman Charles King became the first pitcher to earn his first career win in a College World Series game since Erik Miller of TCU accomplished the feat as a sophomore in 2010.
• King is now just the third pitcher since 2000 to earn his first career win in a CWS game since 1999, joining Miller and LSU’s Weylin Guidry who also earned his first career win as a sophomore in 2000.
• With his three RBIs in the game, Evan Skoug now has 71 on the season, tied for the fourth most in a single season.
• Skoug’s 71 RBIs are the most since Austin Adams had 71 in 2007.
• Additionally, Skoug is now tied with Chad Huffman (2004-06) for fourth all-time with 168 career RBIs.
• Skoug posted his 19th multi-hit game of the season and the 59th of his career.
• Skoug collected his 20th multi-RBI game of the season and the 46th of his career.
• Austen Wade has reached base safely in 16 straight games.
• Wade tallied his 20th multi-hit game of the year and the 39th of his career.
• Wade collected his 13th multi-RBI game of the season and the 35th of his career.
• Zach Humphreys tallied his eighth career multi-RBI game.
• Elliott Barzilli notched his 14th multi-hit game of the season and the 56th of his career.
• Josh Watson collected his 14th multi-hit game of the year and the 31st of his career.
• Watson tallied his ninth multi-RBI game of the season and the 23rd of his career.
• Ryan Merrill stretched his hitting streak to six games.

Next Up:
With the victory, TCU improves to 50-17 overall. TCU and Florida will face off again on Saturday with a berth in the Championship Series on the line. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN. Jared Janczak will get the ball for the Horned Frogs.