Notebook: Brennen Oxford relished his opportunity at Omaha redemption

Omaha, Neb. -- Brennen Oxford says he watched the replay an unhealthy amount of times.

The check swing that was (or wasn't?) in Florida State's College World Series opener vs. Tennessee wasn't something the FSU reliever could not immediately move past.

"It's not healthy. That night and the next morning, a lot," Oxford said Sunday about the number of times he watched the play where it was ruled UT first baseman Blake Burke did not swing at a slider from Oxford two pitches before hitting a game-tying single. "And then after that, you've just got to flush it eventually."

While he watched the replay countless times and definitely has an opinion on the call -- choosing not to share it during his interview -- he also admitted his outing didn't come entirely down to that one moment.

"I had an opportunity to get things done after that and I didn't," Oxford said. "You can't blame the whole game on that."

There was probably a part of the minds of Oxford and the rest of the FSU roster that wished the Seminoles could have turned around and played again Saturday to try to get the bad taste of Friday's disappointing loss out of their mouths.

But Oxford also saw the bright side of a day to move past the adversity.

"Throughout the day, you've just got to get over it," Oxford said. "We knew we had another game and we knew we had to respond."

With his FSU career on the line, the redshirt senior was grateful he got the chance to immediately redeem himself when he was brought into the final few innings of Sunday's elimination game vs. Virginia.

It wasn't a perfect outing for the lefty, but two days after taking the loss and allowing three runs on three hits over one-third of an inning, he allowed just one hit over two shutout innings vs. the Cavaliers.

When he allowed a walk with one out in the ninth, he immediately erased the runner with a lineout to short that started an inning-ending 6-3 double play.

"I was thankful I went back out there," Oxford said. "I think the longer I had to sit around and live with the way I threw Friday would have been a more tough. I think getting back out there and getting on the horse was a good thing for me ...

"Everything was sharper. My velocity was back, my breaking ball was better. I left some up, but my misses were more acceptable because my stuff was back so it was a lot easier to get away with mistakes."

Tuesday's 2 p.m. game vs. North Carolina will be the first of three games in as many days FSU will have to win in order to advance out of the loser's bracket into the CWS Championship Series.

Before anyone could bother to ask FSU head coach Link Jarrett after Sunday's win who could get the ball to start on the mound Tuesday, he made it clear that answer hasn't yet been determined.

"I don't know where to go if you guys were thinking about asking me where to with the next start," Jarrett said. "I don't really know how to answer that so don't ask it."

The good news for FSU is that it needed only two pitchers (Carson Dorsey and Oxford) to get through all nine innings of Sunday's win. That means that outside of starters Jamie Arnold and Dorsey, it's likely to be all hands on deck for FSU's pitching staff against the Tar Heels.

The wild card is if junior righty Conner Whittaker (4.94 ERA over 58.1 innings) will be able to bounce back after he threw 71 pitches in Friday's loss. Outside of him, though, every FSU reliever should be available, a luxury afforded by the job Dorsey and Oxford did Sunday.

"It's game-changing. If you burn through a bunch of guys (Sunday) and survive this game, you're scratching your head a little bit as to what to do. You're looking at pitch counts and who is fresh," Jarrett said. "(Dorsey's) start gives you a chance to win a championship. If we struggle out of the gate and he throws an inning or two and you have to labor through a long, difficult game then winning it, you're still in a difficult spot."

The Seminoles will certainly need a strong combined pitching staff performance against a UNC offense that is hitting .302 with 114 home runs. Six UNC starters are hitting above .300 and five Tar Heels have double-digit homers led by center fielder Vance Honeycutt (.312 with 27 home runs), first baseman Parks Harbor (.345 with 20 homers) and left fielder Casey Cook (.344 with 18 homers).

While FSU was unsure after Sunday's game about who it would start Tuesday, UNC head coach Scott Forbes had a better idea who it is likely to start on the mound vs. the Seminoles.

He announced in his postgame press conference that junior right-handed pitcher Aidan Haugh is likely to start for the Tar Heels in Tuesday's elimination game.

Haugh has made 21 appearances and seven starts this year in his first season since transferring in from Fayetteville Tech. He's posted a 4.53 ERA over 51.2 innings, striking out 58 batters while walking 24. He's also allowed 10 home runs, averaging 1.74 homers per nine innings.

He's made just three appearances in the last month for UNC and just one in the NCAA Tournament. In his last outing, he allowed four runs on five hits over three innings in the Tar Heels' regional loss to LSU. Haugh has thrown five-plus innings a few times this season, but not since May 12 vs. Louisville.

Behind him, the Tar Heels are not lacking in bullpen options. They have six other relievers who have thrown 15+ innings this season and have an ERA below 5.00.

Even though FSU and UNC didn't play each other this season, Forbes is well aware of the challenges presented by a Seminole lineup that has mashed 15 homers in its last four games.

"Really good club. Link is a heck of a coach. They've got really good players..." Forbes said. "They're extremely offensive. Some high picks in that lineup. It will be a big challenge for us, but we feel like we'll be up for that challenge."

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