Really hope Kmatz returns to form!

It’s always interesting to me to listen to fans talk about pitching needed to get to Omaha. Luke Heimlich was our ace and he lost two in Omaha, but it all turned ok.

Of course, he did get us to Omaha, so maybe that’s enough.

      Player                ERA    W-L APP    GS CG SHO/CBO    SV    IP    H  R  ER  BB SO  2B 3B HR AB  B/Avg WP HBP BK SFA SHA

23 Kevin Abel.......    0.86    4-0    4        2    1        1/0            0   21.0   7    2    2    7   23   1    0    0  68    .103    2      0     0    0     1
37 Brandon Eisert... 1.88    1-0    3        0    0        0/0            0   14.1  11    4    3    2  14    1    0    0  52    .212    1     0     0    1      1
34 C. Chamberlain...2.79    0-0    3        0    0        0/0            0     9.2    5    3    3    8  15    2    1    1  35    .143   1      1     0    0     0
26 Bryce Fehmel..... 6.52    0-0    3        3    0        0/0            0     9.2  12    7    7    3    4    3    0    0  41    .293   1      3    0    0      1
15 Luke Heimlich....10.61    0-2    3        3    0        0/0            0     9.1  13  13  11    3    8    2    0    0  40    .325   0      5    0    1      1
--------------
49 Dylan Pearce.....  0.00    0-0    2        0    0        0/0            0     1.0   2    0    0    0    1    0    0    0    5    .400    0      0    0    0      0
38 Jake Mulholland.. 1.29    1-0    4        0    0        0/0            1     7.0   3    1    1    4    5    1    0    0  22    .136    0      1    0    0      1

Six pitchers!  Heimlich was great until Omaha and then was a trainwreck.  Dylan Pearce was not great either.  But the pair ate up innings.  If Heimlich and Pearce had not eaten up those three innings in the first and second North Carolina games, I do not know if the four that Oregon State needed to win would have turned out exactly right.

Against Fehm, Abel, Mully, and Eisert, opponents hit .174.  You needed guys like Heimlich and Pearce to get Oregon State to Omaha, and guys like Fehm, Abel, Mully, and Eisert to give up a combined 15 runs in the six games that ultimately mattered.

Color me not comforted

Or like Dallas Buck back in 2006.  Lost his only game in 2005 and lost both games in 2006 that he started.  He was the winning pitcher in the 2006 game 3 vs. NC but pitched less than 2 innings of relief in that one I think.

Dallas Buck lost the first game that he started in 2006, the 11-1 loss to Miami.  Buck allowed seven of those runs.

It is important to remember that the 2006 and 2018 College World Series formats were slightly different.  The 2018 College World Series was supposed to be one day longer but wound up being two days longer, because of the rainout of the first Game One in the Championship Series against Arkansas.

Buck should have been ready to pitch again in the second game against Rice.  He was at MLB "full" rest, but he was hurt and needed more time, so Nickerson started on two days' rest against Rice and threw 7.2 shutout innings in a 2-0 win.

Buck started Game One of the Championship Series on a full week's rest, like he had been throwing all year.  Buck threw a great first five innings, giving up two runs on five hits.  However, in the top of the sixth, there was a 71-minute rain delay.  North Carolina pulled Andrew Miller for a reliever and did not give up another run.  Casey, though, kept pitching with Buck.  Buck, who had pitched very well to that point, gave up three singles and a double over the next six hitters to cough up the lead.  Joe Paterson, who only really hit his stride the next year pitched his way out of Buck's jam but gave up a triple the next inning.  The winning run scored on a passed ball, 4-3.

In the miracle 11-7 win the next day, Gunderson threw the final 5.1 innings to pick up the win.

The day following, Nickerson started for the third time in a week.  Nickerson worked into the seventh only given up two unearned runs.  Paterson threw to one batter.  North Carolina took out Reid Fronk (#215 overall) for Kyle Shelton to face Paterson, so Kunz came in for Paterson.  Shelton grounded out to first to end the seventh, but Kunz allowed the first two runners to reach in the eighth.

With no one else to turn to, Buck came on in the eighth to pitch out of the jam, against the most impressive part of the now Fronkless order, inducing Jay Cox (#648) to ground out to first.  After intentionally walking Federowicz (#232) to load the bases, Buck struck out Seth Williams (#1214) on three straight pitches and Benji Johnson (#528) on four pitches.

Buck started the ninth by striking out the third consecutive hitter before running out of steam.  Buck put the next two on.  Gunderson entered to finish it off on zero days' rest after throwing 78 pitches the day before.  Gunderson threw two pitches and got Josh Horton (#90 overall) to hit a ground ball to first.  Oregon State almost ended the game on a double-play.  But Horton was called safe at first.  Two pitches later, Gunderson induced the final hitter to flyout to center to ice it.