OMAHA, Neb. — So much for shocking the world. This time Stony Brook got zapped.
Tyler Johnson allowed five runs in the first inning and the Seawolves couldn’t get much going against UCLA ace Adam Plutko in losing 9-1 in their College World Series debut on Friday.
Johnson said the pressure of playing in front of 22,000 people at TD Ameritrade Park on college baseball’s biggest stage was no excuse.
“We’re a very good ball club and we’re here for a reason,” he said. “It didn’t go our way today. That’s going to happen. We’ll get back after it on Sunday.”
Stony Brook (52-14) has staved off elimination five times in the NCAA tournament and will have to do it again Sunday in order to extend its stay in Omaha.
Until Friday it had been an amazing week for a Stony Brook baseball program that has been Division I for only 12 years. Little known outside the Northeast, the Seawolves emerged on the national scene with their “Shock The World” mantra after upsetting powerful LSU in a three-game super regional in Baton Rouge, La.
The Seawolves came to town as the first team from their part of the country to play at the CWS since Maine in 1986.
They were no match for a UCLA team that has won 134 games the past three seasons — the best stretch in program history.
Plutko, who threw a two-hit shutout against Creighton in the regional and allowed two runs in seven innings against TCU in the super regional, gave up just two singles before Pat Cantwell drilled his second homer of the season in the third.
“Even if they hadn’t scored as much as they did early, you go up against a team like that, and a pitcher like that, you’re only going to get a couple of chances to score,” Stony Brook coach Matt Senk said. “We had some chances with people in scoring position with less than two outs, and we didn’t take advantage of that.”
The Bruins (48-14) sent 10 batters to the plate in the first inning against Johnson (12-2), who allowed a season-high seven runs in a 2 1-3-inning outing that was his shortest of the year. Jeff Gelalich’s bases-loaded single opened the scoring, and Kevin Williams’ two-run double off Jasvir Rakkar in the third made it 7-1.
“We had some plate discipline, had some quality at-bats, and we were fortunate we got some runs,” UCLA coach John Savage said. “I’m sure he has not started off a game like that all season long.”
Plutko (12-3) allowed five hits and struck out seven in seven innings. He has given up three runs and 14 hits in 23 postseason innings.
Stony Brook threatened in the second inning when its first two batters reached base and again in the fifth after Sal Intagliata’s double put men on second and third with no outs.
The Seawolves couldn’t push across a run either time. Plutko got a strikeout and pop foul to end the second. In the fifth, UCLA first baseman Trevor Brown threw out Kevin Courtney at home after Travis Jankowski grounded out, though it appeared on television replays that Courtney touched the plate ahead of Tyler Heineman’s tag.
“Any pitcher knows that you get a lot of confidence when your team starts scoring runs. It makes it easier to pitch,” Plutko said. “They did a good job coming back in the top of the second inning. They really put the pressure on. I got out of it, but it gives the team a lot of confidence, and gives the pitcher, for sure, a lot of confidence.”
The Bruins, winners of 10 straight and 20 of their last 22, have outscored the competition 42-10 in six NCAA tournament games.
They wasted no time getting to Johnson, who came in 3-0 in the NCAA tournament and off wins in 12 straight decisions since a March 2 loss to East Carolina.
Johnson said his heavy workload the past two weeks wasn’t a factor.
“At this point of the year no one’s really 100 percent,” he said. “We’ve got guys going out there with little bumps and bruises here and there. But fact of the matter is, I just wasn’t on today. I had a good five days to rest, so as much as people may say it was overworking, it was just me being off today and a good UCLA team took advantage.”
Beau Amaral and Heineman singled and Cody Keefer walked before Gelalich, the Cincinnati Reds’ first-round draft pick, singled down the right-field line for two runs. Brown followed with an RBI single and Pat Valaika’s safety squeeze bunt made it 4-0.
The Seawolves’ hard luck continued when Kevin Kramer’s grounder bounced off the third base bag before William Carmona could make a play, allowing another run to score.
It was the third time this season Stony Brook has allowed five or more runs in an inning. The Seawolves fell behind 5-0 in the first inning against Missouri State in a regional elimination game but rallied to win 10-7.
Arizona 4
Florida St. 3
Johnny Field’s RBI double in the top of the 12th inning lifted Arizona over Florida State.
Joey Rickard had doubled into the left-center gap for the Wildcats’ first hit off Florida State closer Robert Benincasa (4-2), who came on in the ninth. Field followed with his two-base hit to right, driving in Rickard.
The Seminoles scored two unearned runs off Arizona starter Kurt Heyer to tie it 3-3 in the sixth but had only three batters reach base the rest of the way.
Wildcats freshman closer Mathew Troupe (5-1) worked the last 2 2-3 innings for the win, striking out Devon Travis to end the game with a runner on third.
Arizona (44-17) plays UCLA on Sunday night in a meeting of Pac-12 co-champions. The Seminoles (48-16) meet Stony Brook in an elimination game Sunday.
Game 3 — Kent State (46-18) vs. Arkansas (44-20), 11 a.m.
Game 4 — South Carolina (45-17) vs. Florida (47-18), 3 p.m.
Game 5 — Stony Brook (52-14) vs. Florida State (48-16), 11 a.m.
Game 6 — UCLA (48-14) vs. Arizona (44-17), 3 p.m.
