Walk-off home run carries Florida to College World Series

Photo: Stephen Spillman / Stephen Spillman

Texas' Kody Clemens celebrates the 5-2 win over Tennessee Tech during an NCAA Super Regional final in Austin, Texas, that sent the Longhorns to the College World Series.

Texas' Kody Clemens celebrates the 5-2 win over Tennessee Tech...

Robbed of extra-base hits in his previous two at-bats, Florida’s Austin Langworthy got lucky in his final one.

Langworthy homered off Steven Williams’ glove in the 11th inning, giving the overall top-seeded Gators a 3-2 victory against Auburn in the deciding game of their super regional Monday night and sending the defending national champions to the College World Series for the fourth consecutive year.

Langworthy lined a fastball off freshman All-America closer Cody Greenhill (6-3) to the right-field wall. Williams had a bead on it, but it bounced off his glove and over the fence. It was Langworthy’s fourth homer of the season and second in the best-of-three series, both against Greenhill.

“It’s unbelievable,” said Langworthy, who had hits in the right-field gap and down the left-field line erased by diving catches. “I think in this game, everything comes back to you. That’s how this game works.”

Williams dropped in disbelief as Florida players rushed the field. Williams’ teammates and coaches walked to right field to console him.

“It won’t define him,” Auburn head coach Butch Thompson said. “It will be part of his journey.”

The Gators (47-19) advance to play Texas Tech in Omaha, Neb., on Sunday. Florida is headed there for the seventh time in nine years.

Auburn (43-23) was trying to get to the CWS for the first time since 1997.

The Gators scored conventionally and unconventionally before the walk-off homer, getting a solo home run from Jonathan India in the first inning and scoring with a double steal in the fourth.

India, the fifth overall pick by Cincinnati in last week’s MLB draft, drove his 20th homer of the season into the bullpen over the right-center-field fence.

Auburn tied it on Williams’ two-out, RBI single in the third. Florida went back ahead with a little trickery.

With two outs and runners at the corners, Nick Horvath took off toward second and then intentionally belly flopped in the middle of the base path. It seemingly confused left-hander Andrew Mitchell, who hesitated just long enough with the ball for Blake Reese to score from third. Reese’s head-first slide beat Mitchell’s throw.

In other super-regional games deciding College World Series berths:

Arkansas 14, South Carolina 4: Eric Cole had three hits, a home run and scored five runs to help the No. 5 national seed win in Fayetteville, Ark. The trip to Omaha is the first since 2015 for the Razorbacks (44-19), and it’s their fifth in the past 16 seasons under coach Dave Van Horn. Jacob Olson had two home runs for the Gamecocks (37-26), who sought to return to the CWS for the first time since 2012.

Texas 5, Tennessee Tech 2: Kody Clemens and DJ Petrinsky hit home runs, Matteo Bocchi was effective in a rare appearance as a starting pitcher, and Texas won in Austin. Texas (42-21), under second-year coach David Pierce, returns to the CWS for the first time since 2014. Left-hander Alex Hursey (8-5), the No. 3 starter for Tech (53-12), lasted just three innings, allowing four runs.

Texas Tech 6, Duke 2: At Lubbock, Texas, Gabe Holt, Michael Davis and Brian Klein homered for the Red Raiders, who are going to the College World Series for the third time in five seasons. Texas Tech (44-18) went ahead when Davis hit a two-run homer in the fourth to break a 1-1 tie. Jimmy Herron had three hits for the Blue Devils (45-18).