College World Series: Texas Christian Stays Alive, Roth Shuts Down Clemson

The Texas Christian Horned Frogs were facing elimination yesterday at the College World Series. Thankfully, that had Matt Purke on the mound, and in case you didn’t know, Purke doesn’t lose.
Really.
Purke moved to 16-0 on the season by retiring the first 11 hitters he faced–nine on ground balls–as TCU staved off elimination with a 6-2 win over UCLA. Purke didn’t allow a hit until Chris Giovinazzo bunted his way on base with one out in the fifth with the Bruins down 3-0, drawing a smattering of boos from the pro-TCU crowd.
Brett Krill eventually drove in Giovinazzo with a single, and UCLA closed the gap to 3-2 in the seventh when Niko Gallego drove in a run on a fielder’s choice on what replays showed was a blown call at third base.
But TCU’s power was too much for the Bruins. The Horned Frogs got home runs from Bryan Holaday and Taylor Featherston to make up the final margin.
South Carolina’s Michael Roth had only made two starts in his entire Gamecock career prior to Friday night’s elimination game with rival Clemson.
He may have earned himself some more.
Roth baffled Tigers’ hitters for nine innings and Kevin Enders and Jackie Bradley Jr. both drove in a pair of runs as South Carolina topped Clemson 5-1.
Roth allowed just three hits and one walk in the game, and the only run he surrendered came on Enders’ passed ball in the 3rd inning. The Gamecock backstop made up for his miscue in the 4th, when he ripped a home run to put South Carolina up 4-1. The Tigers rarely threatened after that.