COLLEGE BASEBALL Bushey helps Irish make CWS

The Cardinal Mooneygraduate came up witha key defensive play.
VINDICATOR STAFF/WIRE REPORTS
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Andrew Bushey's college baseball career will conclude with a trip to the sport's ultimate showcase -- the College World Series.
Monday night, he was involved in a pivotal play as Notre Dame defeated Florida State 3-1 in the deciding game of the super regional, as the Fighting Irish advanced to the CWS for the first time in 45 years.
The top-ranked Seminoles had a man on base late in the game when Bushey, a senior, picked up a ground ball to begin a rally-ending double play.
"It was their No. 8 hitter and I was playing in to take away the bunt," Bushey, a third baseman, said. "He turned on it and hit a hard one-hopper right at me. We had plenty of time to turn it."
Notre Dame led 3-0 in the eighth.
Stanford is next
Buoyed by the momentum of the twin-killing, the 11th-ranked Irish (49-16) will play Stanford (45-16) in Omaha Saturday at 12:30 p.m. in the eight-team College World Series. CBS-TV will carry the game.
"It's an unbelievable feeling; it hasn't sunk in yet," Bushey said of advancing to the World Series. "It's big for our program and our coaches. I thought we had a shot last year. We were ranked No. 1 last year then we came up short in the regional."
Friday Notre Dame defeated Florida St. 10-4, but then lost Sunday to the Seminoles 12-5 to force the deciding game Monday.
Florida St. (60-14) was the NCAA Tournament's top seed and came into the super regional with a 25-game winning streak.
The Irish have won 31 of their last 35 games.
Drafted by Rockies
Last week, the Cardinal Mooney graduate was drafted in the 15th round by the Colorado Rockies.
Freshman right-hander Chris Niesel allowed one run in eight innings and Steve Sollmann drove in two runs for Notre Dame. J.P. Gagne struck out the side in the ninth inning to pick up his second save.
"We really believed we could come down here and do it," said Notre Dame coach Paul Mainieri. "But to actually come down here and do it is something else."
Niesel (4-0) struck out five and scattered six hits in eight innings, while Florida State's Marc LaMacchia (11-2) gave up six hits and two earned runs before leaving with one out in the seventh.
Sollmann singled in Notre Dame's first run in the third inning, and his sacrifice fly in the seventh scored the final Irish run.
Javier Sanchez gave Notre Dame a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning with a single to right that scored Kris Billmaier. Sanchez also made a diving stop and strong throw from the hole at shortstop to rob Florida State's Bryan Zech of a hit in the second inning that would have scored a run.