COLLEGE WORLD SERIES : USC Hammered in Shaky Opener, 15-10 : Friday’s games: Four errors and ineffective pitching too much to overcome in loss to Miami. Florida State edges Oklahoma.
OMAHA — After a 17-year absence, USC’s return to the College World Series and Rosenblatt Stadium on Friday night was anything but grand.
Ben Tucker, the sixth-seeded Trojans’ starting pitcher, did not retire a batter and USC made three errors in the first inning as third-seeded Miami won, 15-10, in front of 19,505.
Adam Finnieston’s two-run single in the sixth gave Miami the lead, and Eddie Rivero’s three-run homer off Justin Parle in the bottom of the seventh sealed the victory.
USC (45-20) will play Oklahoma in an elimination game Sunday. No team has lost its first game and come back to win the World Series since Arizona in 1980.
Miami (47-15) advances to play Florida State, a 3-2 winner Friday over Oklahoma, in a second-round game Sunday.
“We have a lot of guys that have been here twice, some even three times,†said Miami Coach Jim Morris, whose team had 18 hits against six Trojan pitchers. “I think it was an advantage tonight.â€
USC outfielder Geoff Jenkins said the Trojans were not intimidated.
“We just made some key errors,†said Jenkins, who made one of the Trojans’ four on a throw in the first. “The outfield didn’t play well.â€
With the exception of Miami relievers Allan Westfall (7-0) and Jay Tessmer, who earned his 20th save, none of the record 12 pitchers used between the teams were very effective in a game that took 3 hours 58 minutes.
Miami pitchers walked 11, including six in a row to start the third inning. USC pitchers walked seven. Jack Krawczyk (4-2), USC’s third pitcher, took the loss.
Rivero had four hits and drove in five runs. Bruce Thompson had three hits and three RBIs and Rick Gama had three hits and tied a series record by scoring five runs.
“Our pitching got mauled,†USC Coach Mike Gillespie said. “We sent one guy after another out there trying to bring things under control.
“It seemed like every mistake that was made was hit.â€
USC had 11 hits and stranded 11 runners. Paul Cruz, Jacque Jones and Greg Walbridge each had two hits for the Trojans.
Florida State 3, Oklahoma 2--Freshman outfielder J.D. Drew hit a two-run homer against Mark Redman (15-3) with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Seminoles (53-14) over the defending national champions.
Junior right-hander Jonathan Johnson (12-3), picked seventh overall in the major league draft by the Texas Rangers, gave up six hits and struck out five for Florida State, trying to win its first title in 14 World Series appearances.
Ryan Minor and Brian Shackelford homered for Oklahoma (42-15), which suffered its first loss in 13 postseason games.
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