Omaha, NE (Sports Network) Matt Curry blasted a grand slam in an eight-run eighth and had five RBI, leading TCU to an 11-7 comeback win over Florida State in an elimination game.
Jantzen Witte and Jerome Pena added a home run apiece for the Horned Frogs, who will need to beat UCLA two times in a row to advance to the Championship Series. Erik Miller grabbed the win after getting the final two outs of the seventh after starter Steven Maxwell gave up four runs in 2 2/3 innings.
Sherman Johnson and Mike McGee both homered for Florida State.
TCU trailed, 7-3, entering the eighth, but Witte began the fateful inning by reaching on an error. Witte went to second on a wild pitch from Geoff Parker and third on an infield single from Taylor Featherston. Two batters later, a fielder’s choice scored Witte for a three-run game.
Following a walk, Bryan Holaday’s double plated another run, and Curry’s grand slam came two batters later for a 9-7 TCU advantage. Witte added a two-run homer later in the inning for a four-run cushion.
Florida State failed to score in the final two innings.
The Seminoles built an lead early, using Johnson and McGee’s back-to-back homers in the opening frame for a 2-0 lead. TCU came back to tie it with a pair of runs in the third, but Florida State moved back ahead, 4-2, on James Ramsey’s RBI triple and Stephen Cardullo’s RBI single in the bottom half.
In the fifth, FSU went up by five on Cardullo’s sac fly and Jayce Boyd’s two- run double. Pena later homered for TCU to make it a four-run game after seven frames.