No. 5 Texas A&M defeated Notre Dame 5-1 in the first elimination game Tuesday of the 2022 College World Series and will advance to face Oklahoma in the semifinals Wednesday. Later, Arkansas trounced No. 14 Auburn 11-1, and will go on to face Ole Miss.
Aggies starter Nathan Dettmer tossed seven shutout innings, striking out six in the effort. Texas A&M's first three runs came thanks to a bases-loaded fielding mistake by Notre Dame in the third inning. Sophomore Trevor Werner added a two-run home run in the win.
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Notre Dame didn't go down without a fight, however, cutting the deficit to 5-1 with two runners on base with no outs in the bottom of the eighth inning — but Texas A&M escaped without further issue.
Arkansas struck first against Auburn, scoring once in the top of the first inning. The Razorbacks broke open the lead in the third thanks to a two-run double by Robert Moore. Tigers starter Mason Barnett was pulled shortly thereafter, trailing 4-0.
Four more runs poured in for Arkansas in the fourth inning, including a two-run homer from senior Chris Lanzilli. Auburn finally got on the board with a solo home run from Bobby Peirce in the seventh inning. Arkansas eventually won 11-1 after adding two runs in the ninth inning.
Razorbacks starter Will McEntire ended his outing after seven innings, giving up just the one run on three hits, a walk and nine strikeouts.
Oklahoma will face Texas A&M at 2 p.m. ET Wednesday on ESPN; Arkansas-Ole Miss will follow at 7 p.m. ET. Oklahoma and Ole Miss are 2-0 and need only one win to advance to the championship series. Texas A&M and Arkansas must each win two games over the next two days to advance out of the losers bracket.
For more on the College World Series, follow The Athletic's live blog.
(Photo: Steven Branscombe / USA Today)