Oklahoma State had stalled in Stillwater, the Longhorns were two-and-done in Dallas, and TCU was getting shelled in Fort Worth. The Big 12, it appeared, would be shut out of the NCAA baseball super regionals for first time since there were super regionals.
Then the Frogs climbed out of a seven-run hole in the eighth inning Monday night, resuscitated by an N.C. State meltdown that was astonishing in realtime and nearly as memorable in the sped-up reel that follows:
Mind you, TCU trailed 8-1 in the eighth before scoring six runs on two hits—all those runs unearned and all coming with two outs. The Wolfpack surrendered runs on walks, balks and passed balls.
TCU’s tying run in the bottom of the ninth advanced to third base on a second balk and scored on another passed ball.
N.C. State committed six errors overall and three in the final 2 1/3 innings, piling up enough choke moments to fill a new wing at the Buckner Hall of Shame.
“You never have the game in hand in this game, but we had it in check,” Wolfpack coach Elliott Avent said, “and things just kind of unraveled a little bit. This game will give you a lot of enjoyment and a lot of disappointment, too.”
Even though coach Randy Mazey is all-in at West Virginia these days, he can’t forget the six years he spent with TCU. No doubt he was happy for his former players and his ex-boss Jim Schlossnagle.
“How do you even begin to describe that?” Schlossnagle said.
The SEC advanced five teams, the ACC four and the Big Ten sent two into the final 16, while the Big 12 has only a solitary one left standing. But as lone survivors go, nobody pulled a near-death turnaround quite like TCU.