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Big time performance

Michigan rides Henry’s 3-hitter to 2-0 win over FSU at CWS

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Tommy Henry limited Florida State to three hits, and Jesse Franklin’s first-inning home run stood up in Michigan’s 2-0 win at the College World Series on Monday night.

The Wolverines (48-20) took control of Bracket 1 in their first CWS appearance since 1984 and need one more win Friday to reach the best-of-three finals next week.

Henry (11-5) was efficient in his second shutout of the season and Michigan’s ninth. The junior left-hander threw 100 pitches, including 24 first-pitch strikes against the 32 batters he faced, struck out 10 and walked none. He went to three-ball counts just twice, both times in the first inning.

The Wolverines are 2-0 in a CWS for the first time in six appearances since 1962.

The Seminoles (42-22), trying to win retiring coach Mike Martin’s first national championship in his 17th trip to Omaha, have scored only two runs in their last 26 innings, although they managed a 1-0 victory over Arkansas on Saturday. They failed to win their first two games at a CWS for a 13th straight time since opening 2-0 in 1989.

Of the last 29 national champions, 24 won their first two games.

Mike Salvatore had two of the three hits against Henry, the No. 74 overall draft pick of the Arizona Diamondbacks last month.

Besides his first-inning double, he ripped a hard comebacker that deflected off Henry in the eighth, and the pitcher couldn’t pick the ball up in time to make a play. The other hit was Matheu Nelson’s ground-rule double in the seventh.

The Seminoles’ best chance to score was in the first, when Salvatore took third on a wild pitch. That’s when Henry started a streak of 12 straight retired batters that ended when he hit J.C. Flowers to start the fifth.

FSU starter CJ Van Eyk (10-4) lasted 4 2/3 innings, his shortest outing in six starts since May 4. He struck out nine, allowed six singles and walked two after Franklin’s home run. But his pitch count went over 100 in the fifth inning, when he allowed three hits in four at-bats to put the Wolverines up 2-0.

UP NEXT

Michigan plays Friday against Texas Tech or Florida State.

Florida State plays an elimination game against Texas Tech on Wednesday.

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