Fullerton Is Squeezed Out by North Carolina

It was the wrong kind of double-play combination.

Just when Cal State Fullerton appeared poised for another breathless College World Series comeback Wednesday at Rosenblatt Stadium, a slow runner on third base and a suicide squeeze bunt right back to the pitcher combined to snuff out a late rally during the Titans’ season-ending 6-5 loss to North Carolina.

With catcher John Curtis hovering 90 feet from home plate and Fullerton trailing by a run with one out in the eighth inning, Titans Coach George Horton elected to have Blake Davis attempt a squeeze.

But Davis, who led the team in sacrifices this season, bunted the ball directly toward Tar Heels reliever Andrew Carignan, whose throw home was in plenty of time to get a sliding Curtis.

“He just threw it down the middle and I got it down on the ground and it went right back to him,” Davis said afterward, his eyes glistening.

Said Curtis: “I think I kind of got a bad jump. The guy just made a good play off the mound, and that’s it.”

The Titans (50-15), who had rallied from a four-run deficit to defeat Georgia Tech and a three-run deficit to beat Clemson, still had one more chance to stave off elimination in the bottom of the ninth inning with Danny Dorn and David Cooper, two of their hottest hitters, due up.

“I don’t think there was anybody in our dugout that didn’t feel we were going to come back and win the game,” said Fullerton right-hander Wes Roemer, who was rocked for 10 hits and six runs -- five earned -- in 4 2/3 innings in his shortest start of the season.

But North Carolina center fielder Mike Cavasinni made a nice running catch on Dorn’s sinking liner, and left fielder Jay Cox made a leaping catch on Cooper’s deep smash before crashing into the wall and tumbling to the warning track.

Tar Heels ace Andrew Miller, making his first relief appearance since 2004, retired pinch-hitter Bryan Harris on a grounder to shortstop for the final out.

North Carolina (53-13) advanced to play Oregon State or Rice in a best-of-three championship series beginning Saturday.

Roemer (13-2) had closed out the Titans’ victory over Clemson on Tuesday and appeared to find a groove early Wednesday until he tried to field Cavasinni’s comebacker leading off the third inning and booted it for an error.

The Tar Heels pounded Roemer for four runs in the inning, with the big blow coming on Cox’s three-run homer to left-center field. Cox and Tim Federowicz homered on consecutive pitches in the fifth inning to give North Carolina a 6-3 lead.

But Fullerton rebounded with two runs in the seventh, and Curtis led off the eighth with a double to left.

After Curtis moved to third on Justin Turner’s groundout, he was out easily on Davis’ squeeze attempt.

“We’re not going to beat ourselves up over a play that didn’t work,” Horton said. “It was the right play, he was our best bunter, we needed to tie the game up. Obviously, in the baseball world it’s pretty easy to second-guess things when they go wrong.... I’m not going to second-guess that.”

Oregon State 5, Rice 0 -- Daniel Turpen and Joe Paterson combined on a five-hitter, Shea McFeely homered for the second straight game, and Oregon State stayed alive.

The Beavers (47-15) forced another game against the Owls (57-12), with the winner of tonight’s matchup advancing to the championship series against North Carolina.

Turpen gave the Beavers their third straight impressive start when facing elimination. The sophomore right-hander scattered five hits over a career-high 6 2/3 innings.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.