Arizona State's Tuffy Gosewisch misses a foul ball as a fan interferes. Gators' batter Brandon McArthur was called out on the play. AP

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- A 22-year-old fan said he felt "kind of stupid" after reaching over a front-row railing and deflecting a pop foul away from Arizona State catcher Tuffy Gosewisch at the College World Series on Thursday night.

Umpire Bill Davis called out the batter, Brandon McArthur, over the vehement protest of Florida coach Pat McMahon. The next batter, Brian Leclerc, hit a two-run homer that pulled the Gators to 3-2 in the fourth inning. Florida won 6-3 and advanced to the CWS championship series against Texas.

Brad Jordan of Arlington didn't catch the foul ball, but he did catch heck from NCAA director of championships Dennis Poppe.

Poppe found Jordan in the stadium concourse and reprimanded him, telling him his actions could have a bearing on which team wins the national championship.

In ESPN audio of an umpires' conference after the play, Davis said he didn't know whether Gosewisch would have been able to make what would have been a difficult catch. But Davis said the fan's interference deprived him of the chance.

"I thought I was right on the ball," Gosewisch said. "When the fan interfered, I had the ball right above my glove, so I thought I had a bead on it. I thought he made the right call."

Jordan said he got caught up in the moment when he saw the pop foul dropping in front of him.

"I saw the ball and I just wanted to catch it and give it to the little kid next to me," Jordan said. "I felt kind of stupid afterward."

As Jordan was talking to a reporter in the concourse, Poppe interrupted and scolded Jordan. Poppe said he wanted to eject Jordan from the game but that there was no fan-interference policy in place that allowed him to do so.

At that, a visibly shaken Jordan walked away.

A GIBSON MOMENT?

OK, so it wasn't quite as dramatic as Kirk Gibson's home run that won Game 1 of the 1988 World Series.

But that didn't stop Texas players from comparing Chance Wheeless' game-winning, ninth-inning homer against Baylor on Wednesday with Gibson's famous shot against the Oakland Athletics.

Wheeless' homer sent the Longhorns into the championship series against Florida.

Like Gibson, Wheeless was hurting when he went to bat. Gibson had his badly injured knee; Wheeless a painful right shoulder that had popped out of its socket during his previous at-bat.

Wheeless' trot around the bases wasn't nearly as dramatic as Gibson's.

"We were asking him where the fist pumps were going around first base," Drew Stubbs said. "He probably couldn't lift his shoulder."

Wheeless said an MRI would be done on his shoulder after the CWS, and he might be delayed in joining his summer league team in Santa Barbara, Calif. But it won't keep him from playing this weekend.

"My range of motion is great, and that's the main thing right now," he said.

STARTING PITCHER

Texas coach Augie Garrido and Florida's McMahon held off on naming their starting pitchers for Saturday.

Freshman right-hander Adrian Alaniz (7-3) would be the likely choice for Texas, but he came out of last Saturday's 5-1 win over Baylor with a blister on a finger on his throwing hand. Alaniz said Thursday he was ready to go.

"We think he's going to be OK," Garrido said. "It would make sense to go in the same order. But maybe we won't be able to."

STRUGGLING STUBBS

Drew Stubbs, who is batting .315 with a team-leading 11 home runs for the Longhorns, is mired in a 2-for-24 slump in his last seven games.

Stubbs was at a loss to explain his struggles. He said he hasn't been seeing the ball quite as well, partly because of the shadow that creeps over home plate early in night games at the CWS.

"Plus, facing three first-round draft picks in the three games doesn't help, either," he said.

SHORT HOPS: Former Longhorn Roger Clemens has been calling Garrido regularly the past week to keep tabs on his old team. "He says he's enjoying watching it on TV," Garrido said. Clemens' son, Koby, has signed a letter of intent with the Longhorns, but the third baseman was drafted in the eighth round by Houston. Garrido said Koby hadn't signed with the Astros. "That doesn't mean they won't," Garrido said. ... Texas reliever J. Brent Cox broke the CWS all-time appearance record, making his 11th when he came on against Baylor on Wednesday.