OMAHA, Neb. — Mississippi State University junior Adam Frazier owns a piece of history at a program that has been playing baseball for 123 seasons.
Frazier, MSU’s shortstop for the past two seasons, broke the school’s single-season record with his 104th hit, a single up the middle in the fifth inning off starting pitcher Andrew Moore. It was one of eight hits MSU had in a 5-4 victory against No. 3 national seed Oregon State University in game one of the College World Series on Saturday at TD Ameritrade Park.
“I wasn’t really thinking about it, especially after I tied it with the first at-bat,” Frazier said about his lead-off double to left field. “I guess to get the record and win today makes it even better.”
Frazier, who is second on the team with a .359 batting average, was taken in the sixth round by the Pittsburgh Pirates last week in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player draft. The Cairo, Ga., native stood nine hits away from the record, set by Brian Wiese in 1989, entering the NCAA Charlottesville Super Regional, a total that seemed out of reach in two or three games. However, his 6-for-6 performance in a 11-6 game one victory against the University of Virginia allowed the possibility to become a reality. The six hits in a game tied him with four other Bulldogs. The last person to accomplish the feat was Burke Masters in 1990.
“I didn’t know that, but it would be cool to have my name on something that matters like that with a program of so much history,” Frazier said after MSU won the NCAA Charlottesville Super Regional. “Problem is I’m sure I’ll be reminded all I need is two more hits. We’ll need more out of me than that if we’re going to win a national championship.”
Rea continues torrid postseason stretch with game-winning two-RBI double
Wes Rea picked the perfect time to be swinging the ball well.
MSU’s 272-pound first baseman, who is hitting .341 (13-for-40) in the postseason, laced the game-winning two-run, two-out double off standout pitcher Matt Boyd.
“I think guys on this team live for these moments to get the big RBI in a game,” Rea said. “I’ve been fortunate enough to be up in those situations and then got the job done. It’s something I take a lot of pride in.”
Rea was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored. The sophomore, who has suffered through injuries to his shoulder, arm, and quad in his MSU career, walked to the plate looking for one pitch from Boyd with MSU trailing 4-3 in the eighth inning.
In a two-strike count, Rea believed Boyd, a dominant starting pitchers in the Pacific-12 Conference who was used as an emergency reliever, was going for a momentum killing strikeout in the at-bat.
“He was getting swings and misses on his changeup, so that’s just what I went up there looking for,” Rea said. “He threw me one in the middle of the plate that I could do something with.”
Oregon State’s Casey defends use of bullpen
Before the NCAA Corvallis Super Regional last weekend, OSU senior Matt Boyd had one role: Friday night ace.
However, his last two appearances have come out of the bullpen, including his appearance late in Saturday’s game against MSU. Beavers coach Pat Casey was certain he made the right decision to bring in the senior left-hander in the eighth inning to face right-handed hitting Hunter Renfroe.
Boyd (10-4) took the loss after he gave up an infield hit to Renfroe and the game-winning hit to Rea. OSU’s best reliever Scott Schultz, stood in the left-field bullpen and watched the lead evaporate.
“With a lead, four outs to go, Matty was the guy to use there,” Casey said. “Matty has been outstanding all year and just didn’t get it done today.”
After throwing 123 pitches in the opening loss to Kansas State University on Monday in game three of the Super Regional, OSU was forced to turn to Boyd for a four-out save. The quick turnaround to the College World Series forced OSU to start freshman right-hander Andrew Moore.
OSU’s top three starters (Moore, Boyd, and Ben Wetzler) have combined to go 33-6 this season. Now the Beavers must rely on Wetzler to keep their 2013 season alive when they take on the loser of the Indiana University-University of Louisville game at 2 p.m. Monday.
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