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Down 8-1 in the eighth, TCU pulls off bonkers comeback to advance in NCAA tourney

TCU advances to super regional with 8-run comeback

By Chris Landers

Heading to the bottom of the eighth inning, NC State led TCU 8-1 on the Frogs' home field, just six outs away from advancing to the NCAA super regionals. What happened next could most accurately be described as somewhere between "@#($*!"???" and "system error", so perhaps it's best to just let some highlights from the box score do the talking. In one half-inning:

Bottom 8

- Safe at first on error

- Safe at first on error, runner to third

- Reached on infield single, runner scores

- Walk, runner scores

- Balk, runner scores

- Runner scores on passed ball

In all, 11 Horned Frogs came to the plate in the bottom of the eighth, producing six runs on just two hits, only one of which left the infield. For comparison, NC State committed more balks and errors combined in that half-inning (three) than TCU had hits, and if EBAH (errors + balks/hits, as if you really had to ask) isn't the new stat taking the baseball world by storm tomorrow morning, we'll be sorely disappointed. 

[deploys booming baritone] But wait, there's more! That was just the beginning of the madness, because even after all that, TCU was still down by two runs with just three outs remaining. Again, to the box score!

Bottom 9

- Single, sac bunt to second

- Runner to third on balk (no, really)

- Strikeout swing, ball bounces of catcher's glove, runner scores

Okay. For the benefit of all involved, we'll pause here for a brief intermission. Take a little walk. Get yourself some water. Tell your friends and family that you love them. Ready? 

After another 1-2-3 inning from the Wolfpack offense, TCU came up in the bottom of the 10th, and their black magic wasted no time: A leadoff single advanced to second on an errant pickoff attempt (the fact that we have to brush past "errant pickoff attempt" for brevity's sake is a good indication of where we're at), and then a sacrifice moved the winning run to third for pinch-hitter Elliott Barzilli. Take us home, young squire:

 

This, friends, is a celebration:

Our brains have been temporarily broken, so, as in all things, we turn to Twitter for a summation:

 

 

#Baseball, everybody.