FieldTurf Teams Have Success at the College World Series

As the NCAA Baseball Tournament headed into the Super Regionals this past weekend, four FieldTurf-friendly schools remained in the running.

Three were host schools, and they took advantage of their natural habitat—all earning a ticket to Omaha and being bestowed the honor as one of the eight teams left to compete for the College World Series title.

Two programs used to the home turf advantage, Texas and Houston, faced off in one of the Super Regionals—held at UFCU-Disch-Falk Field in Austin. The Longhorns have the most College World Series victories (82) and the second-most titles (six). They continued that tradition of excellence against the visiting Cougars, sweeping the best-of-three series.

Center fielder Mark Payton got the burnt orange off to a flying start with a two-run homer in the first inning of Game One. That was the highlight in Payton’s 3-for-5 day at the plate.

On the hill, Nathan Thornhill yielded three hits and two Houston runs in the fifth—but not much else. He left after seven innings, giving way to John Curtiss. The Cougars got one man on in the ninth, but Curtiss did the job—protecting the 4-2 win.

Pitching prevailed again for Texas in Game Two, with four Longhorn arms yielding 10 hits and three walks. Amazingly, no Cougar struck out. But more significantly, Houston couldn’t cross the plate. Texas’ four-run effort in the fourth was more than enough to sweep the series and earn a return trip to the College World Series.

While this stage is commonplace for longtime head coach Augie Garrido and his ‘Horns, it’s foreign territory for rival Texas Tech—led by skipper Tim Tadlock. The Red Radiers welcomed underdog College of Charleston to Lubbock and Dan Law Field—where they were 31-4 at home. Then, they proceeded to showcase some outstanding pitching.

On Saturday, it was junior left-hander Chris Sadberry, who worked eight innings and totaled a career-best eight strikeouts in a 1-0 victory.

It must have felt like déjà vu for Charleston the next day. Once again, the final score was 1-0—and the Red Raiders were spectacular on the mound. The quartet of Dylan Dusek, Cameron Smith, Dominic Moreno, and Jonny Drozd collectively allowed five hits and a single walk.

It was the team’s fourth shutout in the past five games—and undoubtedly the sweetest one yet as it marked the program’s first trip to the College World Series.

That sweeping feeling was also felt at Jim Patterson Stadium, where the Louisville Cardinals have made it to the College World Series for the third time in the past eight seasons. To do it in 2014, they had to get by Kennesaw State—a No. 3 seed going into the tournament. The Cards were one of the 16 top seeds thanks to a 44-15 record and have maintained a torrid pace through this postseason. They were 3-0 in the Regionals and, of course, went unblemished in a Super Regional round that began with a late-game comeback. Down 3-1 heading into the last of the seventh, Louisville scored four times in the next two innings. The rally was capped with a bottom of the eighth, two-run double by designated hitter Nick Solak. It was his second two-bagger on the night and was enough for the Cardinals to get a leg up on the series.

That didn’t stop the Owls from trying to even it, opening up a 4-2 two lead in the third inning of Game Two. But it wasn’t a big enough advantage. Louisville’s bats struck for five unanswered—and Kennesaw State was headed for elimination. The Cardinals now get a chance to redeem themselves from their early exit in last year’s College World Series.

Texas, Texas Tech, and Louisville join Virginia, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, UC Irvine, and TCU in Omaha this year’s edition—beginning on Saturday.