Kirk Saarloos shares plan for getting TCU to bounce back

TCU had a prime chance to deliver a final blow to streaking Oral Roberts in the first game of the College World Series. But the magic of the Golden Eagles continued with a ninth inning comeback to pull out a 6-5 victory that stunned the Horned Frogs faithful in Omaha.

“It was a great college baseball game,” TCU head coach Kirk Saarloos said. “It just sucks that we lost. And I thought the effort, the grit, the determination, everything, they played the exact same way. It just didn’t go our way today. And this season hasn’t been easy the whole season. And so why not make it harder on ourselves now? There’s so much investment and sweat, blood and tears in that dugout that they’re champing at the bit to get back on Sunday and get this taste out of their mouth.”

TCU broke open the game in the bottom of the eighth with three runs scored via a walk, hit batsman and a sacrifice fly.

But Oral Roberts fought with its backs against the wall in the top of the ninth. The Golden Eagles started the inning with three straight singles, cutting the deficit to 5-3 in the process.

But after a strikeout, Oral Roberts nine-hitter Blaze Brothers pulled an 0-1 pitch over the Charles Schawb Field fence in left field for a home run and a 6-5 lead.

The Golden Eagles would close out the victory in the bottom half of the inning to advance to the winner’s bracket.

“There’s nothing to hang your head about,” Saarloos said. “Out on the mound, talking to Luke Savage, you run off this mound with your head up. You have nothing to hang your head about because we’re not here if it’s not for you. Guy put a great swing on a baseball hit a three-run homer. It’s tough. It’s tough to swallow. But we’ll wash it. We’ll flush it. And the sun’s going to come up tomorrow.”

TCU’s next opponent is Virginia, and the loser will be packing its back.

The Cavaliers also enter Sunday’s elimination game coming off a tough defeat in their first game in Omaha. Virginia had a two-run lead entering the ninth inning but Florida scored three runs in the bottom of the frame to win the game. Like the TCU-Oral Roberts game, the final score was 6-5.

Both teams will arrive at the ballpark with the understanding that the game could be their last one of the season. And for some players, the last game of their career.

“We’re going to have a good practice,” Saarloos said. “We’re going to go do an event here locally with the team and kind of get away from baseball a little bit. And then we’ll get back locked in on Sunday to whoever we’re going to play. And the great thing about our team is I think their resiliency and their ability to overcome hard times. They’ve done it. They have the whole year. I’m not worried about that one second. I just want them to understand that the sun’s going to come up tomorrow and we’re going to be ready to play.”