They are roommates, so TCU pitcher Brian Howard has had a lot of chances to hear College World Series stories from Omaha native Ryan Merrill.
“He’s been here since he was a kid,” Howard said. “He always tells me about, ‘I saw them win the national championship here,’ and all that stuff.”
Now the kid has his own moment.
Merrill, a senior shortstop who played 18 miles away at Millard West High School, homered in the third inning Tuesday at TD Ameritrade Park to back Howard in the Horned Frogs’ 4-1 victory against Texas A&M at the College World Series.