Associated Press

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Zion Rose’s two-run single gave Louisville its first lead during a six-run eighth inning and the Cardinals knocked Arizona out of the College World Series with an 8-3 win Sunday.

Louisville’s 19th come-from-behind win of the season moved the Cardinals (41-23) to another elimination game Tuesday against the loser of Sunday night’s Coastal Carolina-Oregon State matchup.

Arizona (44-21) has lost six straight CWS games over three appearances since 2016.

The Cardinals trailed 3-1 early and came up empty after having runners in scoring position in the third, fourth and fifth innings. When they broke through, the runs came in bunches.

Lucas Moore’s sacrifice fly in the seventh made it a one-run game against Garrett Hicks (5-2), and then Arizona had an improbable meltdown with National Stopper of the Year Tony Pluta on the mound after the Cardinals’ first two batters reached in the eighth.

Tague Davis’s blooper loaded the bases, and then Rose punched a two-run single down the right-field line to put Louisville up 4-3. No. 9 batter Kamau Neighbors singled in another run to cap his 4-for-4 day.

Garrett Pike got caught in a rundown between third and home and scored when Pluta dropped the ball trying to tag him at the plate. Neighbors came home on Alex Alicea’s squeeze bunt, and Matt Klein singled to left for the final run.

Tucker Biven (4-0) pitched the last four innings for the Cardinals, working around two singles to hold Arizona scoreless in the ninth. Louisville is 26-0 when leading after eight innings and 203-5-1 since the start of 2019.

Adonys Guzman, who singled in the Wildcats’ first run in the first inning, hit his second homer of the NCAA Tournament and ninth of the season to give his team a two-run lead in the third.

Freshman Smith Bailey gave Arizona another strong start. He went six innings for the fifth time in six starts, including three straight in the NCAA Tournament. He allowed five earned runs over 18 postseason innings (2.50 ERA).

This was the teams’ second meeting of the season. In February, Louisville won 13-1 in Arlington, Texas, in a game shortened to eight innings by the run rule.

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AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports

And these are a few of Olivia “Livvy” Dunne’s favorite things.

While cheering on her beloved Tigers Saturday at the Men’s College World Series in Omaha, the former LSU gymnast-turned-Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover model rocked a custom jersey that paid tribute to her alma mater and her boyfriend, fellow LSU alum and reigning NL Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes.

Taking to her Instagram Stories, Dunne — who boasts more than 13 million followers across Instagram and TikTok — showed off her split jersey that recognized the Tigers on the front and Skenes’ Pirates on the back.

“Party in the front business in the back,” the 22-year-old New Jersey native captioned a selfie, which highlighted the star pitcher’s No. 30 jersey number.

Dunne — whose relationship with Skenes, 23, was revealed in 2023, the same year he and the Tigers captured the College World Series title — had one of the best views in the house at Charles Schwab Field, where LSU defeated Arkansas, 4-1.

LSU advanced in the winner’s bracket with the victory and will face UCLA on Monday night.

“I am so happy geaux tigers,” Dunne exclaimed in a separate Instagram Story on Saturday.

It’s certainly been a spring to remember for Dunne, who was announced as one of the four Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover stars for the 2025 edition of the iconic publication, along with Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles, actress Salma Hayek and entrepreneur Lauren Chan.

Dunne, just two years removed from her Sports Illustrated Swimsuit debut, shot what became the cover photo in Bermuda while nursing a knee injury.

“Fun fact, I was shooting on a fractured kneecap, so poses like this and the cover shot kind of hurt, but it was honestly so worth it,” Dunne said in an Instagram video recapping the whirlwind shoot.

Elsewhere this year, Dunne bid farewell to gymnastics after her collegiate career came to an end in April. She won a national championship with LSU last year.

“You will always be my first love,” Dunne said in an emotional tribute video.

“Time did fly by, and I will cherish every memory for the rest of my life.”

As Dunne chases new dreams in this next chapter, she’s also supporting Skenes as he lives out his.

The Pirates’ first-overall pick in 2023, Skenes was officially called up to the majors in May 2024 and struck out seven in his debut.

Although Skenes has posted an ERA of 1.78 across 15 games, the Pirates sit in last place in the NL Central at 29-43.

Skenes is slated to pitch Sunday to close out Pittsburgh’s four-game series against the Cubs.

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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Samara Buchanan, Bella Miller, Kielyn McCright, Jessica Naranjo and Haylen Zarbowski.

Parkland has become a hot spot for another sport, with five gymnastics stars competing in college.

Kielyn McCright is a 2020 graduate of Marjory Stoneman Douglas. She began her college career at Utah State before transferring to Clemson University. She finished her senior year by making the ACC All-Tournament Team (Beam). McCright previously competed in the NCAA Tournament in 2024 and set a season-high 9.875 at the ACC Championships earlier this year after missing six matches due to injury.

Bella Miller also graduated from MSD in 2020 and did not compete her first two years, but did get named to the EAGL All-Scholastic Team and ACC Academic Honor Roll at the University of North Carolina. She has a career best of 9.875  on the floor and 9.725

Jessica Naranjo, who also attends UNC, was named to the All-ACC Championship Team on beam as a freshman, competing in 11 beats and three bar lineups. She was also named to the All-ACC Academic Team and a WCGA Scholastic All-American.  She ranks fourth all-time with a score of 9.825 on the beam and also earned scores of 9.85 against Kentucky and 9.925 against LSU.

Haylen Zarbowski graduated from MSD in 2022 and has been competing for the University of Michigan. During her Freshman season, she set a career best on the uneven bars with a 9.825 at Oklahoma. Zarbowski went on to compete in seven meets as a sophomore, with six appearances on uneven bars and two on the floor, setting a personal record with a score of .9775 on the floor at Michigan State.

Samara Buchanan attends Ohio State University and made her Buckeye debut on the uneven bars, recording a GA score of 9.725. She competed in three meets for Ohio State as a freshman after being a 2022 Florida State Champion on beam, vault, uneven bars, and all-around.

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Matt Rothman

Matt Rothman is a 2018 graduate from Florida Gulf Coast University receiving his bachelor’s degree in journalism and then graduated from the University of Florida as a graduate student. He also works for the Mohave Valley Daily News in Bullhead City, Arizona covering high school sports.

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Jake Gustafson has a pretty typical hockey origin story.

His father grew up in Canada and was a hockey player. After retiring, Jon Gustafson settled in San Jose and built a post-playing career in the sport, rising to Vice President of the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda and one of the largest hockey-focused facilities in the country — Sharks Ice.

The younger Gustafson developed as a youth hockey player in San Jose and committed to play at his dad’s alma mater, Colorado College. Then, last month, something happened that, until now, would have signaled the end of his future as a college hockey player.

On May 13, Gustafson signed with the Portland WinterHawks of the Western Hockey League. And he did so with the blessing of Colorado College’s hockey staff. Gustafson will join the WinterHawks for this coming season and the next, but he’s still committed to arrive in Colorado Springs in the fall of 2027.

College athletics has seen massive changes across all sports in recent years — a temporary extra year of eligibility for athletes affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the introduction of the transfer portal, and Name, Image and Likeness financial commitments. Revenue sharing is coming in just a few weeks.

But the college hockey landscape felt another seismic event in November. The NCAA Division I council voted to make Canadian Hockey League players eligible, effective Aug. 1.

“We have more really good hockey players available to us,” Colorado College coach Kris Mayotte said. “With an influx of talent — I mean, college hockey is going to be more talented than it’s ever been, and it’s not even going to be close, I don’t think — how much does it change roster composition in terms of winning championships and being the best team in your league?

“I think that’s what’s still so unknown.”

For decades, players have had to choose between the CHL, which comprises the top three junior leagues (WHL, OHL, QMJHL) in Canada, and NCAA hockey. That decision often had to be made when the player was 14 or 15 years old, even with college 3-4 years away.

Suiting up for a CHL team made a player ineligible for NCAA hockey. That changed with this ruling.

Gustafson is part of the first crop of players who can choose both. When Avalanche star Cale Makar decided to forego playing in the WHL in favor of college hockey at UMass, he spent two seasons with the Brooks Bandits in the AJHL, which is the second tier of Canadian junior hockey.

This ruling will change development paths all over North America. There will be plenty of uncertainty in the short term, which mirrors how the transfer portal and NIL have changed college sports.

But there can be positive long-term benefits as well.

“I think it provides more opportunities for youth players,” said Jordan Pietrus, Hockey Director for the Colorado Thunderbirds youth program. “Now, they don’t have to make a decision at 14 years old in Colorado to say, ‘Yes, I want to go to the Western league or not.’ Now they can say yes to everything and see what opportunities are available. From that perspective, I think it’s really, really positive.”

A modern gold rush

Players like Gustafson or kids currently in the Thunderbirds program will have more time to see how the new landscape develops, but the November ruling drastically altered how 2025-26 NCAA teams will be constructed.

While college teams have typically earned commitments from youth players years in advance, there was suddenly a flood of new players available and far less time to recruit them.

“It’s playing out in real time, and it’s been a little clunky here and there, but for the most part, I think it’s been pretty smooth,” DU coach David Carle said. “There’s never been more ways or avenues to build your roster. That started with the portal and then obviously the CHL player eligibility. So there’s a lot more players within the marketplace.”

Carle said last month that he expects to have between eight and 10 freshmen on his roster next season. His staff didn’t waste any time dipping into the new player pool.

The captains for Everett (Eric Jamieson) and Swift Current (Clark Caswell) from this past season both committed to join the Pioneers in August — a statement that would’ve read like a foreign language to college hockey fans before eight months ago.

Kyle Chyzowski, who scored 41 goals and 105 points in 66 regular-season games for Portland, is committed to joining them. The two goalies who will compete to replace program legend Matt Davis? Both have CHL experience.

Down I-25, Mayotte and the Tigers are excited for their incoming group of newcomers as well. The leading scorer for Prince Albert this past season, Tomas Mrsic, is one of multiple NHL draft picks in CC’s incoming class.

How this influx of older, more accomplished freshmen will affect college hockey remains a mystery. This ruling could open the door for a few more first-round picks who chose the CHL to spend a season or two in college, but it goes deeper than that.

“I know we’re getting really good hockey players, and probably as good as we’ve ever gotten type of hockey players, but so is everybody else,” Mayotte said. “What’s that going to look like in terms of, how do you become one of the best teams in college hockey?

“I think the ceiling is going up, but I think the floor is getting closer to the ceiling. I think the floor is rising at a faster rate. If you add 5-10 more of those (high draft picks across college hockey), how much of a difference is that versus the fact that you’re going to add 150 more 19-20-year-olds that are really good hockey players?”

A trickle-down effect

Just like the extra “Covid” year and the transfer portal, the effects of CHL eligibility go beyond just a stream of new talent available to the 64 Division I programs.

Some players who were committed to those programs for next season have had find a new place to play. The USHL has been the top source of NCAA players from the junior ranks, while those tier two leagues in Canada like the AJHL and BCHL have also been strong pipelines.

Now, those leagues will have to compete with the CHL teams for youth players who can still go to college.

“I think you’ll see guys bounce around all over and find the place that they think is best for their development,” Mayotte said. “I think that’s one of the best things that options create, is it allows the player to do what’s best and not just have one option that they feel like they have to take or else their career is in jeopardy.

“I think you’ll see teams in all leagues that know how to develop players, how to resource development — those programs will thrive no matter what league they’re in.”