Two top 2025 MLB Draft prospects teamed up Friday night to provide a thrilling conclusion to Day 1 of the Men’s College World Series in Omaha, Neb.
Oregon State shortstop Aiva Arquette (MLB Pipeline’s No. 6 Draft prospect) sped home from first on a ninth-inning double by left fielder Gavin Turley (No. 78), walking off Louisville, 4-3, in the teams' opening game in double-elimination bracket play.
Arquette singled with one out in the ninth and raced around the bases as Turley’s line drive got down in left field and headed for the warning track. Louisville star Zion Rose bobbled the baseball in left field, giving Arquette just enough time to beat the throw to the plate with a headfirst slide, then fling his helmet in celebration.
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The No. 8-seeded Beavers slid into the MCWS winners’ bracket by way of their dramatic victory, which saw Louisville erase a two-run deficit in the top of the ninth. A throwing error from Arquette at shortstop put the tying run on base, and the Cardinals’ Kamau Neighbors took advantage with a one-out single to knot up the score at 3-3.
Right-hander Patrick Forbes -- MLB Pipeline’s No. 36 Draft prospect -- delivered a solid start for Louisville, striking out 10 in 5 1/3 innings of work.
But an RBI groundout by Turley, a single by OSU catcher Wilson Weber and a Louisville error in the sixth plated three runs against the right-hander. It looked like that would be all the offense the Beavers needed, but after Louisville’s late rally, Arquette and Turley came up clutch in the bottom of the ninth.
No. 13 Coastal Carolina 7, Arizona 4
Oregon State’s win was thrilling, but don’t sleep on the opening game in Omaha -- a contest that delivered an exciting finish in its own right.
Coastal Carolina, the No. 13 national seed in the NCAA tournament, scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth to take down Arizona and extend its win streak to 24 games -- the longest active stretch in Division I baseball.
After Wells Sykes’ two-out double JUST clipped the right-field foul line, Sebastian Alexander drove him home with a clutch go-ahead single. Blake Barthol gave the Chanticleers some critical insurance with a two-run double into the gap, and Coastal finished off the victory from there.
The Chants, who haven’t lost a game since April 22 at Charleston, will put their streak to the test against Oregon State in a winners’ bracket game at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday on ESPN2. Arizona will take on Louisville in an elimination game at 2 p.m. Sunday on ESPN.
Men’s College World Series action continues Saturday with Murray State facing No. 15 UCLA at 2 p.m. ET. At 7 p.m. ET, lefty Kade Anderson (MLB Pipeline’s No. 3 Draft prospect) and No. 6 LSU will face No. 3 Arkansas. Both games will be televised on ESPN.