College World Series 2017: TCU Beats Texas A&M in Tuesday's Opening Game

The 2017 College World Series is down to just six teams trying to bring home a national championship in baseball.

Cal State Fullerton was the first of the eight teams eliminated after two straight losses in Omaha, while Texas A&M suffered the same fate Tuesday. Considering those were the two biggest underdogs entering the week, things only get tougher from here for the remaining squads.

Here is the latest breakdown from Tuesday's action from TD Ameritrade Park Omaha.

Tuesday's Results

TCU def. Texas A&M, 4-1

Florida def. Louisville, 5-1

Full bracket available at NCAA.com.

TCU 4, Texas A&M 1

Nati Harnik/Associated Press

TCU needed a big-time pitching performance to stay alive, and Brian Howard provided it.

The starting pitcher allowed just one run and five hits in seven innings, adding 12 strikeouts and zero walks. He had six strikeouts in the first two innings and never slowed down, matching the record for most strikeouts in a CWS game at TD Ameritrade Park, per NCAA Baseball.

Carlos A. Mendez of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram broke down how good Howard has been in 10 postseason appearances:

Meanwhile, a Texas A&M starter struggled for the second game in a row. Stephen Kolek only lasted 2.2 innings, giving up four runs (three earned) before Kaylor Chafin limited the damage.

Ryan Merrill hit a solo home run, Evan Skoug came through with an RBI double, and Elliott Barzilli and Connor Wanhanen added an RBI apiece. This gave the Horned Frogs a 4-0 early lead, which was more than enough the way Howard was pitching.

Although the Aggies got one run back in the sixth inning, it wasn't enough to avoid elimination at the hands of TCU for the third year in a row.

TCU will stay alive to take on the loser of Florida and Louisville in another elimination game.  

Florida 5, Louisville 1

Butch Dill/Associated Press

The second game of the day featured much of the same blueprint as the first. One team took an early 4-0 lead, which was plenty thanks to a dominant performance by the starting pitcher.

In this case, it was Brady Singer who led the way for Florida. After Alex Faedo shutdown TCU in the first game in Omaha, Singer kept it going with seven innings of one-run ball, featuring nine strikeouts and just one walk.

Nick Horvath and Tyler Dyson then closed things down with two combined shutout innings with just one hit allowed.

Meanwhile, it was two big swings that gave the Gators the advantage. Austin Langworthy broke the scoreless tie with a solo home run in the third inning, and then Deacon Liput broke the game open with a three-run shot in the fourth.

The NCAA Baseball account captured the game-changing swing:

Liput finished the day 2-for-3 with two runs, three RBI and a walk.

All-American Brendan McKay tried to will Louisville back into the game, scoring a seventh-inning run as part of a 2-for-4 day at the plate. Kade McClure also had a solid performance on the mound outside of the two home runs, finishing with nine strikeouts in six innings.

Unfortunately, this wasn't enough offense in what became a four-run loss.

Florida is now one game away from the CWS finals while Louisville must beat TCU Thursday to avoid elimination.