Gators Got Exactly What They Needed From Faedo

Closer Michael Byrne finished off what Alex Faedo started on Sunday, earning his 17th save as the Gators won their first game in the College World Series against Texas Christian. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Staff Photographer)

Gators Got Exactly What They Needed From Faedo

Monday, June 19, 2017 | Baseball, Scott Carter

Alex Faedo delivered one of the best outings of his career on Sunday night at the College World Series.

By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer

OMAHA, Neb. – The announced crowd of 23,543 at TD Ameritrade Park on Sunday night witnessed an artist working meticulously with the tools of his trade to create something worth remembering.

Florida fans have seen it before. The Texas Christian lineup has not.

"It was his night, no question,'' TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle said.

A few minutes later, Gators head coach Kevin O'Sullivan offered his opening remarks following Florida's 3-0 victory over the Horned Frogs in the College World Series.

O'Sullivan wasted no time stating the obvious.

"It started on the mound for us,'' O'Sullivan said. "He certainly was the difference."

The person with the best seat in the house was Gators catcher Mike Rivera, who witnessed teammate Alex Faedo dice up the Horned Frogs in Florida's CWS opener, keeping the Gators in the winners bracket and setting up a showdown with Louisville on Tuesday night.

If anyone wants to know what an ace is supposed to look like, or supposed to pitch like on the game's biggest stage, all they need to do is turn on a replay of Faedo's performance Sunday and take notes. For a team that had to scrap through the regional and super regional to return to Omaha for a third consecutive season, Faedo allowed the Gators to take a deep breath for a change.

"He's been consistent for us all year and through the three years I've been here,'' Rivera said. "But this is like a different level. He was throwing some smoke."

Faedo tossed seven shutout innings and allowed just two hits and two walks. He broke his own record from a year ago (nine vs. Texas Tech) by striking out 11 TCU batters, the most in UF history for a pitcher at the CWS. Of Faedo's 106 pitches, 71 were strikes.

41667 — Alex Faedo reacts after a big strikeout to end the third inning in Sunday's victory over TCU. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Staff Photographer)

The Horned Frogs had a plan at the plate, but as Schlossnagle watched from his chair in the visiting dugout, he saw Faedo throw a changeup in the first inning – or was it a slider? – that confused him.

Whatever it was, Schlossnagle sensed his team could be in trouble.

"We had a game plan,'' Schlossnagle said. "Having a game plan and executing against a great pitcher are two different things. He really commanded his off-speed pitches no matter what they were."

Faedo relies primarily on his fastball and slider, but he did mix in a dose of changeups Sunday, so Schlossnagle saw what he thought he saw.

However, on perhaps Faedo's most important pitch, he threw a 2-2 slider to strike out TCU slugger Evan Skoug with the bases loaded the Florida leading 1-0 in the third inning.

Threat over.

"We just dropped it in there, like a back door,'' Rivera said. "He didn't like it. He is kind of pull-happy. He was grunting every swing."

The Gators added insurance runs in the fourth on Christian Hicks' RBI single and the fifth on an RBI single by Nelson Maldonado.

Meanwhile, Faedo retired the final 10 batters he faced before O'Sullivan opted to go with closer Michael Byrne for a six-out save. Byrne allowed three hits in two innings but no runs, aided by his four strikeouts.

Faedo's strikeout of Skoug, who leads TCU with 20 home runs and 67 RBIs, set the tone for the rest of his outing. He struck out Skoug again in the sixth and fanned five of the final 10 hitters he faced.

"That was huge, because I feel like there's always at least one time in the game where something like that will happen to me, where there's either bases loaded or a couple of guys on,'' Faedo said. "You have to find a way to get out of that because you know when you get out of that big situation, the other team, they kind of maybe fold up a little bit or we get more confident."

The Gators were not perfect – shortstop Dalton Guthrie made a pair of errors and they stranded 10 runners on base – but they didn't need to be.

Not with the way Faedo pitched. He now has 33 strikeouts in 20 innings in the postseason, running his total on the season to 146, tying Louisville's Brendan McKay for the national lead.

Faedo also made a key defensive play, throwing out Zach Humphreys on an excellent bunt with one out in the sixth as TCU tried anything to muster some offense.

"We were never able to put enough good swings on the ball to get things going,'' TCU first baseman Connor Wanhanen said.

In the end, the Gators got what they needed from Faedo and TCU did not from starter Jared Janczak, who walked a career-high five and lost his first game of the season.

In a matchup of aces, it was Faedo who was dealing.

So much so that Schlossnagle, in his 14th season and fourth consecutive season in Omaha, sounded as if he is ready to cast Faedo in bronze outside TD Ameritrade.

When Faedo is on, he can make that kind of impression.

"It's all about Alex. He deserves all the credit,'' Schlossnagle said. "There's been historic great pitchers come through, Rosenblatt and now TD Ameritrade, and tonight has to go as a great, great performance in College World Series history."

No argument from the Gators, though they have seen him do it before.