TCU’s CWS title dream ends in Omaha

[Bob Of Burleson]

Today’s games

Texas vs. Vanderbilt, 2 p.m.
Mississippi vs. Virginia, 7 p.m.

Wednesday’s result
Texas 1, UC Irvine 0

By Stefan Stevenson
sstevenson@star-telegram.com

OMAHA, Neb. — TCU rode its pitching staff into the College World Series and scored just enough throughout the postseason to stay alive.

But in the Horned Frogs’ second CWS appearance in history, the offensive struggles caught up with them and the deep pitching staff that leads the nation in ERA could only do so much.

TCU’s season came to an abrupt end Thursday night, as Mississippi hung on for a 6-4 victory in front of 25,783 at TD Ameritrade Park. It was the largest crowd so far of the 2014 CWS and the 10th-largest CWS crowd since the event moved to TD Ameritrade Park in 2011.

It was a nail-biting ride for the Frogs in the postseason. TCU (48-18) set a record with seven one-run postseason games. TCU won five of them, including one in 11 innings and one in 22 innings in the regional round.

But the Frogs’ late-inning magic ran out in Omaha. TCU lost to No. 3 national seed Virginia 3-2 in 15 innings late Tuesday to set up Thursday’s elimination game against the Rebels (48-20).

And TCU made it interesting late.

Trailing by a run in the eighth, the Frogs had the tying run at third base in Jerrick Suiter and the go-ahead run in Boomer White at second with two outs. But Keaton Jones’ slow bouncer to shortstop was fielded by the Rebels’ Errol Robinson, who threw Jones out cleanly to end the inning.

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