OMAHA, Neb. -- Texas got a two-day vacation at the College World Series, thanks to an amazing comeback.
The top-seeded Longhorns gave up six runs in the first three innings against Arizona State, then got them all back in one inning and pulled away for a 10-6 win over the fifth-seeded Sun Devils, putting them in Friday's bracket final.
The loss sends Arizona State to Thursday's losers bracket matchup against North Carolina, who survived elimination by defeating first-timer Southern Miss 11-4 and sending Golden Eagles head coach Corky Palmer into retirement.
In Tuesday's nightcap at Rosenblatt Stadium, the Sun Devils looked to be in great shape after staking All-American pitcher Mike Leake to a six-run advantage. Leadoff solo homers by Kole Calhoun and Carlos Ramirez sparked three-run efforts in the second and third innings, giving Arizona State a 6-0 advantage.
Texas got those runs back in a hurry in the top of the fourth, sparked by a three-run homer by Cameron Rupp, an RBI single by Travis Tucker and a two-RBI single by Brandon Belt.
The game stayed tied until the seventh when Rupp hit his second homer of the night, with his solo shot putting Texas ahead to stay. They added three insurance runs in the eighth to put the game out of reach.
North Carolina earned a rematch against the Sun Devils thanks to the efforts of Dustin Ackley.
The nation's leading hitter proved why he deserves that moniker, going 5-for-6 and becoming the all-time leader in hits at the College World Series. His four singles and a double helped the Tar Heels jump out to an 8-0 lead and cruise to the easy win.
Ackley needed just four hits to tie the mark of 26 set by Stanford's Sam Fuld from 2001-2003, and he broke the record later in the game with his fifth hit of the day. Had he been able to get a hit in the ninth -- he flied out to finish 5-for-6 -- he would have become only the second player in College World Series history to put together a 6-for-6 day at the plate.
With the win, North Carolina will meet Arizona State for the second time at the 2009 College World Series. The winner of Thurdsay's UNC-ASU game will advance to Friday's 6 p.m. final against the top-seeded Longhorns.
Wednesday night is the first of two days of elimination games, with Arkansas facing Virginia in a 6 p.m. matchup. Wednesday's winner will have to beat LSU and twice to get to win the bracket and earn a trip to the best-of-three championship finals.
Great seats for all the remaining 2009 College World Series games are available right now at Ticket Express -- where no College World Series game is ever sold out.
College World Series Schedule, Results
(All times CDT)
Saturday, June 13
Game 1 -- Arkansas 10, Cal State Fullerton 6
Game 2 -- LSU 9, Virginia 5
Sunday, June 14
Game 3 -- Arizona State 5, North Carolina 2 (10 inn.)
Game 4 -- Texas 7, Southern Miss 6
Monday, June 15
Game 5 -- Virginia 7, Cal State Fullerton 5 (CSF eliminated)
Game 6 -- LSU 9, Arkansas 1
Tuesday, June 16
Game 7 -- North Carolina 11, Southern Miss 4 (Southern Miss eliminated)
Game 8 -- Texas 10, Arizona State 6
Wednesday, June 17
Game 9 -- Virginia (49-14-1) vs. Arkansas (40-23), 6 p.m.
Thursday, June 18
Game 10 -- North Carolina (48-17) vs. Arizona State (50-13), 6 p.m.
Friday, June 19
Game 11 -- LSU (53-16) vs. Winner Game 9, 1 p.m.
Game 12 -- Texas (48-14-1) vs. Winner Game 10, 6 p.m.
Saturday, June 20
Game 13 -- Winner Game 11 vs. Loser Game 11, 1 p.m.
Game 14 -- Winner Game 12 vs. Loser Game 12, 6 p.m.
(NOTE: If only one "if necessary" game is played, it will be at 6 p.m.)
Monday, June 22
Championship Game 1 -- Bracket winners, 6 p.m.
Tuesday, June 23
Championship Game 2 -- Bracket winners, 6 p.m.
Wednesday, June 24
Championship Game 3 -- Bracket winners, 6 p.m. (If necessary)
