Josh Rivera recalls throwing out TCU runner to avoid tie game

In the fourth inning of Wednesday’s College World Series game against Florida, TCU looked like it was going to score on a Logan Maxwell base hit. But Gators infielder Josh Rivera completed the relay throw, nailing Kurtis Byrne at the plate and keeping the Horned Frogs off the board.

That play proved costly for TCU as Florida held on for the 3-2 win to punch its ticket to the CWS championship series. For Rivera, it was a sound fundamental play in a big moment, capped off by an impressive tag from catcher B.T. Riopoelle — but he didn’t blame Kirk Saarloos and the Horned Frogs for taking that risk.

“It was an aggressive move on their part,” Rivera said after the game. “And that’s sometimes what teams do, good teams do. They try to steal a run, especially with what happened the other night against Oral Roberts where I got caught sleeping. They sent it to right field and the right fielder got it in as quick as possible. As soon as I caught it, I kept my head on a swivel and turned around towards home plate immediately. And luckily, I had enough time to set my feet to make a good throw home.

“It was a tremendous tag by B.T., and it was just a great opportunity for us to get an out and not allow them to tie the game.”

Funny enough, Saarloos was on the microphone with the ESPN broadcast as the play occurred. That gave viewers access to his full reaction to the moment, and he noted Byrne could’ve gotten a better first step.

“I thought we should’ve had a little bit better jump just off the bat from second base. And it cost us obviously there at the end,” Saarloos said. “Off the bat I thought that ball was a for sure base hit and we just didn’t make the right read at second base, which cost us in the end.”

Now, Florida is off to the championship series, and the Gators are still waiting to learn who they’ll face. Wake Forest and LSU squared off in Wednesday’s nightcap, and the Tigers came away with the 5-2 victory. That was the Demon Deacons’ first loss of the CWS, meaning the two teams will face each other one more time Thursday night. The winner will advance to the best-of-three series against Florida while the loser heads home.