Texas Tech sends Hogs home with 5-4 College World Series win

Texas Tech sends Hogs home with 5-4 College World Series win

Published Jun. 17, 2019 6:05 p.m. ET

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Cody Master's first triple of the season drove in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning, Taylor Floyd held off Arkansas in the ninth and Texas Tech stayed alive in the College World Series with a 5-4 win Monday.

The No. 8 national seed Red Raiders (45-19) bounced back from a 5-3 loss to Michigan and await the loser of Monday night's game between the Wolverines and Florida State.

No. 5 Arkansas (46-20) was eliminated in two games a year after making it to the CWS finals.

Masters' winning hit came after Cody Scroggins (3-2) struck out Tech star Josh Jung but walked Cameron Warren with two outs. Masters then launched Scroggins' low fastball into right center. The ball bounced off the wall, allowing Warren to score and Masters to reach third.

Arkansas had two runners on base with no outs in the ninth after Jacob Nesbit was hit by a pitch from John McMillon (4-3) and 9-hole batter Christian Franklin singled off Taylor Floyd. Floyd, who earned his fourth save, then retired the top three batters in the Razorbacks' order, with Matt Goodheart flying out to end the game.

The teams combined for four home runs, tying the single game record at 8-year-old TD Ameritrade Park.

Heston Kjersted was the first to go deep, helping Arkansas get out to a 3-0 lead on Caleb Kilian. The Red Raiders got home runs from Warren in the fourth, Easton Murrell in the fifth and Jung in the sixth to go up 4-3.

Kilian, the San Francisco Giants' eighth-round draft pick two weeks ago, allowed six hits and three runs and struck out a season-high nine.

He gave way to left-handed reliever Dane Haveman to start the eighth, and the Hogs put runners on the corner with one out. Jack Kenley fouled off five straight pitches before sending a shallow sacrifice fly to left, but Kurt Wilson's throw home was wide and Dominic Fletcher scored easily to tie it 4-all.

Kjerstad's opposite-field homer into the left-field bullpen in the second was his 17th of the year and third in eight NCAA Tournament games. It also snapped a 23-inning CWS scoreless streak for the Hogs since last year.

Christian Franklin singled and scored in the third when Martin hit a low liner into left field that Kurt Wilson tried to dive and catch. The ball got by Wilson and rolled to the wall, and Martin ended up on third with a triple. Martin came home when Goodheart beat out a chopper that pulled shortstop Josh Jung to his right.

Warren's two-run homer, his 18th, was measured at 421 feet into the seats in left center. Murrell, who transferred from Arkansas after last season and batting leadoff for the first time in place of the injured Gabe Holt, hit his first career homer to tie it. Jung's go-ahead homer was the 15th for the No. 8 overall draft pick by the Texas Rangers.

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