OMAHA–Alan Ahmady’s terrific play to end the UNC third gets my vote for best defensive play of the CWS so far. Ahmady covered a lot of ground and made a beautiful sliding catch on a Tim Federowicz pop-up in foul territory. He crashed into the rolled-up tarp near the stands, popped up and gunned a perfect throw across the diamond to third base. Dustin Ackley, one of the fastest players in Omaha, tagged up from second, but Ahmady’s throw nailed him by about five steps. Ackley collided with third baseman Tommy Mendonca a few steps away from the bag.

We’ve seen great defense from Fresno all week, and it’s a big reason the Bulldogs are in the driver’s seat on their half of the bracket.

Ahmady and Mendonca just teamed up again to extend Fresno State’s lead. With two outs and Matt Harvey cruising along (having set down nine straight), Ahmady poked a single through the right side of the infield. The next batter was Mendonca, who crushed a long home run to right field, giving the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead. They’ve been a pretty impressive corner infield tandem so far in Omaha.

NCAA Blog Central.