College World Series: Florida ace Alex Faedo tames TCU

Alex Faedo limited TCU to two singles and struck out 11 in seven innings, and Florida posted its first College World Series shutout since 1991 with a 3-0 win Sunday night.

Faedo, the Detroit Tigers’ first-round draft pick this month, retired 10 in a row before turning the game over to closer Michael Byrne to start the eighth.

Faedo (8-2) has been part of seven of the Gators’ nine shutouts this season. The shutout was Florida’s second in its 36 all-time CWS games and first in Omaha since a 5-0 win over Florida State 26 years ago.

Jared Janczak (9-1) took the loss, and Byrne earned his 17th save.

JJ Schwarz, Christian Hicks and Nelson Maldonado each drove in runs for the Gators (48-18), who will play Louisville in a Bracket 2 winners’ game Tuesday night. The Horned Frogs (47-17) play Texas A&M in an elimination game Tuesday.

Louisville 8, Texas A&M 4: Louisville had an early five-run lead against Texas A&M and national player of the year Brendan McKay was on the mound. It should have been game over, right?

“We knew Texas A&M wasn’t going to fold,” coach Dan McDonnell said.

The Aggies didn’t. They pulled within a run in the sixth inning before Sam Bordner shut them down with three innings of no-hit relief, and the Cardinals went on to a victory in the College World Series.

The Cardinals (53-10) used six singles and a walk to build a 5-0 lead in the second inning against Corbin Martin (7-4). Texas A&M chipped away against McKay (11-3) to make it 5-4 before Bordner entered and continued to flash his postseason dominance. The sophomore has given up no runs and one hit in his last 11 innings over four appearances.

“I think Sam’s been the X factor, a little under the radar,” McDonnell said. “When you’re in that first out-of-the-bullpen or middle relief role, it’s just not as sexy, and you don’t get as much attention. But clearly Sam’s been hot all year.”