Cade Denton shares how he kept nerves down during ninth inning

Cade Denton closed out Oral Roberts‘ first victory in Omaha at the College World Series, but it was far from a walk in the park.

In a fantastic showdown, the Golden Eagles were able to mount a comeback and defeat the TCU Horned Frogs 6-5 on Friday. Infielder Blaze Brothers put Oral Roberts ahead with a three-run blast in the top of the ninth, and it was up to Denton to make it stand up in the bottom half of the inning.

It wasn’t easy, as TCU fouled off a ton of pitches and had some good at-bats, but Denton got the job done and Oral Roberts won the game. Afterwards, the Golden Eagles pitcher explained his mindset during the half inning, and how he was able to cool his nerves.

“Man, like you said, fouling off a lot of pitches. I wasn’t making the pitches I wanted to,” started the Oral Roberts flamethrower. “On the strikeout I than finally executed a slider where I needed it to be. Got a swing and miss. That gave me little boost of confidence.

“And obviously I knew I just need to fill up the zone and trust my stuff. I got pretty good stuff whenever I’m in my best. So I knew if I just filled up the zone there and eve.”

Alas, Cade Denton closed out the game, and Oral Roberts is on to the winner’s bracket. The Golden Eagles will face the Florida Gators on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.

More on the Men’s College World Series ahead of Day 3

Moreover, the first two days of College World Series action are now behind us, meaning the pressure is heating up in Omaha. Four teams find themselves in a win-or-go-home scenario as the next round takes place Sunday and Monday. 

Firstly, TCU and Virginia will face off in an elimination game at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday. The Horned Frogs entered the ninth inning with a 5-2 lead on Oral Roberts on Friday after scoring three runs in the eight to break a 2-2 tie. However, they surrendered four runs to the Golden Eagles after that, including a three-RBI home run to Blaze Brothers, as they went on to lose 6-5. 

Virginia also held a lead against Florida heading into the ninth inning of the late game Friday, as the Cavaliers found themselves up 5-3. However, the Gators caught fire in the final stretch starting with a homer from Ty Evans to lead off the inning. After later scoring the tying run and loading the bases, Florida’s Luke Heyman drove in the winning run on a sacrifice fly. 

The first game of Day 2 on Saturday also featured a late comeback. No. 1 overall seed Wake Forest had dominated Regional and Super Regional play, but found itself trailing 2-1 coming out of a nearly 1-and-a-half hour rain delay in the seventh inning. However, the Demon Deacons took the lead for good after a two-RBI single from Danny Corona and moved on to the winner’s bracket with a 3-2 victory.

LSU defeated Tennessee 6-3 in the second game Saturday and will move on to face Wake Forest on Monday. The Vols made a late comeback push by scoring three runs in the eighth inning, including a two-run homer from Hunter Ensley. However, it wasn’t enough to overcome a 5-0 deficit as LSU responded with a homer of its own in the bottom of the inning. Tennessee now must stave off elimination Monday against Stanford.

On3’s Chandler Vessels contributed to this article.