College Baseball World Series 2015: Monday Scores, Winners and Bracket … – Bleacher Report

With two games on tap and a makeup contest to be finished after lightning postponed it Sunday night, Monday at the College Baseball World Series was a busy day indeed. 

Below, we’ll break down the day’s results and recap the action. Spoiler alert: The walk-off hits were plentiful. 
 

Results

For the updated bracket, be sure to check out NCAA.com.

 

Miami Survives Close Elimination Game, Knocks Off Arkansas, 4-3

Not to be outdone by Vanderbilt’s walk-off hit earlier in the day, the Hurricanes offered one of their own. Jacob Heyward‘s RBI single scored Carl Chester and kept Miami alive in the College World Series.

Heyward was Miami’s hero on the day, finishing 3-for-3 with a walk, home run, three RBI and two runs scored. Even former Hurricane and NFL Hall of Famer Michael Irvin was impressed:

Jacob Heyward with his pops throwing up the U. CONGRATS TO OUR GUYS ON THAT BIG U LIKE VICTORY AT #CWS

— Michael Irvin (@michaelirvin88) June 16, 2015

Meanwhile, five Hurricanes pitchers combined to allow just three runs on nine hits and five walks. It’s safe to say Miami’s pitching staff weathered the storm in the afternoon.

Tyler Spoon (two runs) and Rick Nomura (3-for-4, walk, RBI) did all they could to keep the Razorbacks alive, but it wasn’t enough. 

After 4.5 scoreless innings between the two teams, Miami finally struck in the bottom of the fifth. Garrett Kennedy singled to open the inning but looked as though he would be stranded on first after two pop flies. But Heyward wasn’t having any of that, ripping a home run to left field to give the Hurricanes a 2-0 lead. 

Arkansas immediately answered in the top of the sixth, however, as Spoon grounded into a fielder’s choice, stole second, reached third on a throwing error and scored on Nomura‘s infield single. Arkansas then tied the game in the top of the seventh on Bobby Wernes‘ RBI single.

Miami looked like it might break the game open in the bottom of the seventh when Heyward scored on a throwing error and Miami had Ricky Eusebio on third with just one out. But Eusebio was thrown out trying to score on a grounder to first, and Arkansas escaped the inning with no further damage done.

Brett McAfee’s RBI single in the top of the eighth tied things up once more—and Arkansas left the bases loaded in the top of the ninth—setting up the exciting finish.

Miami will next face the loser of the Virginia vs. Florida matchup.

 

Vanderbilt Stuns Cal State Fullerton With Walk-Off Homer, Wins 4-3

Talk about drama. 

Freshman Jeren Kendall was the hero for the defending champions on Monday, blasting a walk-off, two-run homer to give Vanderbilt a 4-3 win against Cal State Fullerton and keep it from facing an elimination game in its next contest. 

NCAA Baseball on Twitter passed along Kendall’s blast:

WALK OFF!!!!!
Kendall = #CWS HERO http://t.co/wPKadp7o71

— NCAA Baseball (@NCAACWS) June 15, 2015

Perhaps Kendall’s flair for the clutch shouldn’t have come as a surprise. As Adam Sparks of the Tennessean noted, Kendall hasn’t exactly been intimidated by any stage in his young college career:

.@VandyBaseball‘s Jeren Kendall hit a homer in his first SEC tourney game, first Regional game, first Super Regional game, first CWS game

— Adam Sparks (@AdamSparks) June 15, 2015

After lightning delayed Sunday night’s game between Vanderbilt and Cal State Fullerton, the Commodores found themselves trailing 3-0 with two outs in the bottom of the sixth. It was a brutal break in the action for Cal State Fullerton, as Thomas Eshelman had allowed just four hits, no walks and struck out eight before the delay. 

Zander Wiel‘s RBI double after play resumed Monday, however, began the comeback for the Commodores. 

Still, the team went into the bottom of the ninth trailing 3-1. But Wiel opened the inning with a double, Bryan Reynolds added a double of his own to get the Commodores within one, and Kendall blasted his game-winning home run.

Freshman Kyle Wright earned the win for Vanderbilt, with Tyler Peitzmeier taking the loss for the Titans.

Vanderbilt will next face TCU, while Cal State Fullerton and LSU will meet in an elimination game, both to be played Tuesday. 

 

Virginia Pitching Silences Florida Offense in 1-0 Win

Pitching won the day in Tuesday’s matchup between Florida and Virginia. The combination of Brandon Waddell and Josh Sborz held the Gators scoreless over nine innings. Waddell allowed only two hits in his seven innings pitched, while Sborz didn’t allow a single walk or base hit during his two innings of work.

Jerry Ratcliffe of the Daily Progress in Charlottesville, Virginia, noted that the Gators offense wasn’t having any trouble scoring before running into the Cavaliers:

Gators were averaging 9.8 runs per game during 10- game winning streak before running into Waddell/Sborz buzz saw.

— Jerry Ratcliffe (@JerryRatcliffe) June 16, 2015

A sacrifice fly from Robbie Coman in the bottom of the sixth proved to be the difference. Matt Thaiss scored the only run of the game.

With the victory, Virginia moves on to the semifinals, where it will meet the winner of the matchup between Florida and Miami. Getting a couple of days off will allow the Cavaliers to recharge, and the fact that they’ll need to win only one of two games in order to advance strengthens their chances of getting back to the finals.