NCAA Baseball Tournament, Fort Worth Regional, Game 5

Final Score: TCU 5, Oregon State 4

It was TCU left fielder Jason Coats who broke the Beavers hears, sending a Kevin Rhoderick pitch into right field with two on and one out in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Oregon State took a 4-0 lead after their first three innings of the game, but TCU chipped away with a run in the third, three in the fifth, and the game winner in the bottom of the ninth inning.

The line on the game for both teams looked identical prior to Coats' hit. Each team had four runs and eight hits in the game before TCU's ninth hit sealed the regional title. 

The Beavers, who had won National Championships on their last two trips into the NCAA Baseball Tournament, and made trips to Omaha for the College World Series in the last three, experienced defeat in the initial rounds of the post-season since 1986. 

Oregon State finishes the season at 37-19, and went 2-2 in the post-season. Their two wins came against Texas A&M, their two losses against TCU. 

TCU will now move on to play Texas in the Austin Super Regional, as the Longhorns scored eight runs in the ninth inning to come back and defeat Army to win their regional. 

An Adalberto Santos triple in the first inning would lead to a run, as a ground ball by Koa Kahalehoe would drive in Santos from third. With the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the third, a double by Steffen Romero cleared the bases and put the Beavers up 4-0.

TCU would rally back, primarily with three runs in the third. A walk and four base hits in the inning off of OSU relief pitcher Ryan Gorton led to the four OSU runs.

A somber Oregon State team will return home to the Willamette Valley tomorrow. After three trips to Omaha and two National Championships, tonight's loss seems like a setback, which it is by OSU standards. Everyone knows that the Beavers could have gotten out of the regional, but even that feat is an extremely difficult one to accomplish. The Beavers were one of the last 32 teams left standing, which marks a successful season in which the Beavers will likely only improve on next season.

Thoughts, anyone?

--Jake (jake.buildingthedam@gmail.com)