Longhorns Country

Texas' Melendez Mashes Home Run Late, Secures CWS Win Over Bulldogs

Behind the booming bat of Ivan Melendez and the arm of Ty Madden, Texas made sure they'd live to fight another day against Mississippi State, as the win sets up a win-or-go-home dog-fight tomorrow night

Zach Dimmitt

One swing can change the game. If you don't think so, ask the Mississippi State's Brad Cumbest in the eighth inning Friday night.

If you still don't think so, ask Ivan Melendez one frame later. Less than a day after knocking in the lead run against Virginia, Melendez's three-run home run secured the 8-5 win for Texas (50-16) and forced another elimination game against Mississippi State (47-17). 

"Just another great game, two great teams going at it," Texas coach David Pierce said just before 3 a.m on the east coast. "I thought we did a nice job getting the lead and extending that.

"We keep talking about living for the next game and having an opportunity. And, so, that's what we have now."

Ty Madden made sure to leave everything out on the mound in what could be his final game as a Longhorn. The ace stayed solid in a game Texas' needed in order to stay around for Saturday. 

READ MORE: How Zach Zubia's Swing Kept Texas' College World Series Hopes Alive And Well

Friday's game played much differently, as the burnt orange controlled the game for most of the night behind Madden's command and productive hitting. He seemed flustered early, allowing three hits and two runs in the first as the Bulldogs seemed poised for a big night. 

How did he respond? In typical Madden fashion. 

The sophomore pitched a shutout over the next six innings with eight strikeouts, three walks and only one hit. The consistent 93 mph fastball and sinking slider wore down MSU's batting order, sending 10 of his final 11 batters faced packing.

"Ty Madden was Ty Madden," Pierce said. "He was outstanding."

Zach Zubia picked up where he left off less than 24 hours early, but this time reached the bleachers. An opposite field home run gave Texas a 1-0 lead and Zubia's fourth RBI of the tournament. 

A SAC fly from Trey Faltine in the second inning scored Mitchell Daly to tie the game at 2-all. MSU's Houston Harding wouldn't go down without a fight. He finished 4 2/3 innings pitched, allowing three earned runs off four hits while striking out four.

The Longhorns built a 3-2 lead with an RBI single from Mike Antico to begin the fifth inning. The Longhorns' center fielder would drive in Faltine in the seventh. Melendez would knock in Eric Kennedy to put the Horns up by three. 

READ MORE: Way-Too-Early Predictions: Texas VS Texas Tech

The last time the Bulldogs reached the eighth inning, they were down by five. Since then, they've scored nine runs in that frame. 

Texas freshman Tanner Witt allowed a bases-loaded walk to shrink Texas' lead to two.  Cumbest followed up with a two-run RBI single just past Mitchell Daly to make it 5-all. 

"Our biggest question is after his outing on Tuesday, how much he could go without pushing it," Pierce said. "And we probably walked a thin line there. 

Good thing Melendez enjoys playing the hero role. 

Facing a full-count, Melendez cleared the bases as the ball traveled over the left field wall to give the lead back to Texas. 

The El Paso native knew it was gone. Parker Stinnett knew it was gone. And much like the Hail State fanbase 15 minutes, HookEm fans cheered through the rain.

"I knew he was going to come back with it just because I laid off the slider early in the count and I was seeing it well," Melendez said. "Obviously he threw me a fastball, I swung underneath it. He obviously wanted to come back to that after a big swing and miss. But off the bat it felt pretty good. I knew it was a homer for sure." 

Following a two hour hour rain delay, Aaron Nixon (W 4-3) returned to the mound to shut down the Bulldogs and force another game. Saturday will mark the fourth consecutive elimination game for the Longhorns since arriving at TD Ameritrade Park 

The first came Sunday in a 2-1 loss that saw the Horns strikeout a CWS record 21 times.

Now, they could play the spoiler role to take on the Vanderbilt Monday. NC State was required to forfeit following the NCAA's ruling on health and safety protocols surrounding COVID-19.  

The deciding game will likely feature a duel on the mound between Texas' Tristan Stevens (11-3, 3.22 ERA) and Mississippi State's Will Bednar (8-1, 3.26 ERA). 

CONTINUE READING: Texas’ Steady Attack, Late-Night Hitting Triumphs UVA

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Zach Dimmitt
ZACH DIMMITT

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