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College baseball fans are begging for changes to be made to Charles Schwab Field in Omaha following TCU’s final out at the CWS. Viewers would like to see more scoring, and they believe the large dimensions don’t allow for as many home runs.
The conversation was sparked after the conclusion of an exciting matchup between the Horned Frogs and Florida Gators. TCU appeared to have tied the ballgame up in the bottom of the ninth inning, but a fly ball was caught at the wall to end the team’s season.
Florida fans are ecstatic with the result as they’ll now move on to the College World Series championship set. The Gators are pursuing the second national title in program history.
For the first time since 2017, @GatorsBB is headed to the #MCWS Finals! pic.twitter.com/jgdUBac8a8
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) June 21, 2023
The score was 2-1 after the first inning, and it would stay that way through the next six-and-a-half frames.
In a game that was back and forth, TCU tied things up at 2-2 in the bottom of the eighth before Florida pushed a run across in the next at-bat to regain the lead.
Outfielder Michael Robertson scored the go-ahead run after entering the game as a pinch-runner in the ninth. He’d then make the play of the day to send his team to the championship series.
TCU’s Brayden Taylor stepped up to the dish with two outs and his team down one run. He drilled a rocket to deep centerfield which many believed was leaving the ballpark.
Robertson tracked it down, though, making a spectacular catch at the wall.
Heroics send @GatorsBB to the FINALS!#MCWS x 🎥 ESPN pic.twitter.com/DNblYBcswN
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) June 21, 2023
The play effectively ended the Horned Frogs’ season.
Adding insult to injury, that 407-foot bomb would’ve typically been a home run 97% of the time. According to the Creighton Baseball Analytics Team, balls hit similarly to Brayden Taylor’s have resulted in home runs all but three times.
In those situations where a player hits a ball with an exit speed of 110 MPH and a launch angle of 25 degrees, MLB hitters are batting a perfect 1.000 with one single, two doubles, and 108 HRs.
On Wednesday, it was a flyout.
That’s led to many college baseball viewers begging for the CWS to “fix the field.”
That’s not heroic, that’s poor stadium construction. That ball is gone in every other college stadium in the country.
— FantasyCajun (@FantasyCajun) June 21, 2023
🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️ Move the fences in for once.
— Jake Kaiser (@FlakyJake10) June 22, 2023
This park is a joke, literally ruins the sport.
— Garrett Hill (@Grizzly_Adam5) June 21, 2023
@CharlesSchwabFO fix your ballpark, I beg you.
— J (@jsaucyfrog) June 21, 2023
Tough luck for the Horned Frogs.