Christian Walker hit one of Houston’s four homers, reached on a fielder’s choice that allowed the tiebreaking run to score in the ninth and helped the visiting Astros to an 8-7 win over the Kansas City Royals on Saturday night.

Trailing 7-5, Houston’s Jose Altuve hit a two-run homer in the eighth before the game endured a 91-minute rain delay. In the ninth, the Astros had runners on first and third with one out when Alex Lange (0-4) got Walker to bounce into a potential 6-4-3 double play, but second baseman Nick Loftin’s throw was wide of first, allowing a run to score.

The Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr. doubled, for his third hit, in the ninth, but was doubled off second on Isaac Collins’ liner to end the game.

Yordan Alvarez had three hits for Houston.

The Royals’ Noah Cameron did not allow a hit or walk through the first three innings, then yielded two-run homers to Walker and Brice Matthews, plus five other hits, over the next 1 1/3 before being pulled.

Houston starter Mike Burrows grinded before being lifted after allowing Salvador Perez’s single to open the sixth, and gave up seven hits, two walks and was charged with five runs — four earned.

Kansas City opened the scoring in the second on Michael Massey’s single to right field. In the third, Vinnie Pasquantino’s RBI single put Kansas City up 2-0. Witt, who reached on a soft single for his 800th career hit, then scored via a passed ball. Pasquantino later exited with a right hand/hamate injury.

In the Houston fourth, Alvarez recorded a one-out single and came home via Walker’s drive over the left-field fence. Kansas City got a run back in the bottom of that frame when Lane Thomas went deep into the left-field seats.

The Astros tied it in the fifth, when Jake Meyers reached on an infield single and Matthews homered. They took their first lead in the sixth when Meyers sent a pitch from John Schreiber into the left-center field seats.

However, Carter Jensen’s three-run double split the left-center field gap in the sixth to give Kansas City a 7-5 edge.

Bryan King (1-1) pitched a scoreless inning for the win with a strikeout.

–Field Level Media

Georgia used a four-run first inning and a dominant complete game from Joey Volchko to coast to a 7-1 defeat of Texas in the College World Series opener for both teams on Saturday night in Omaha, Neb.

The Bulldogs (52-12) held the Longhorns (45-14) to just four hits, winning the opening game in their first CWS appearance since 2008. The No. 3 overall seed, Georgia is the highest seed to make it to Omaha after No. 1 UCLA and No. 2 Georgia Tech lost in home regionals.

Georgia took a 2-0 lead three batters into the bottom of the first as Tre Phelps worked a leadoff walk and, one out later, Rylan Lujo hit his 14th homer of the season down the left field line. It was originally ruled a foul ball before Georgia challenged and the call was overturned.

The Bulldogs tacked on two more runs in the first on a pair of errors from Texas All-American catcher Carson Tinney.

That four-run advantage wound up being more than enough for Volchko (11-2), who allowed one unearned run over nine innings, striking out 15 and walking one.

Georgia tacked on three more unearned runs in the seventh off Texas ace Dylan Volantis (10-2), who allowed seven runs (two earned) on four hits over 6 1/3 innings, striking out nine and walking one.

Lujo and Kenny Ishikawa each had two hits, while Phelps scored two runs for Georgia, which will face Oklahoma in a winner’s bracket game Monday evening for a spot in the semifinals.

Adrian Rodriguez and Ethan Mendoza each had two hits to account for all of Texas’ production. The Longhorns face Alabama, which lost 9-0 to the Sooners earlier in the day, in an elimination game Monday on the all-Southeastern Conference side of the bracket.

–Field Level Media

Kelsey Plum scored a career-high 43 points and made five 3-pointers as the Los Angeles Sparks lost a nine-point fourth-quarter lead but recovered to beat the host Phoenix Mercury 111-102 in overtime in a Commissioner’s Cup game Saturday.

Plum’s layup with 1.6 seconds remaining in regulation tied it at 98-98, and the Sparks (7-6, 3-2 in Commissioner’s Cup) scored the first eight points in overtime capped by Cameron Brink’s four-point play with 3:03 remaining.

Kahleah Copper scored a career-high 41 points and made a career-high six 3-pointers for the Mercury (4-11, 2-4), who had a chance to win at the end of regulation but Natasha Mack’s hurried jumper was off.

Rae Burrell had 16 of her career-high 24 points in the first half and Nneka Ogwumike had a double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds for the Sparks, who have won three straight.

The Sparks had a season high in points and made 15 of 34 3-pointers. Oqwumike made three threes and passed Tina Thompson for fourth in scoring in WNBA history with 7,499 points.

Mack had 11 points and 12 rebounds and Alyssa Thomas had 10 points and 12 assists for the Mercury, who have lost three straight and nine of 11.

Plum and Copper took over down the stretch for their respective teams. Plum scored 17 points in the fourth quarter and Copper had 13.

Copper made a layup to knot the game at 88-88 before Plum countered with a 17-footer for a 90-88 edge with 2:24 left.

Thomas’ shot jumped tied it at 90-90, and Lexi Held made a 3-pointer to cap an 11-4 run for a 93-90 Mercury lead with 1:33 remaining, a possession started when Mack blocked Plum’s short jumper.

Plum made two threes and Copper made one to level the game at 96 with 53 seconds left. Mack’s short jumper with 12.7 seconds left put the Mercury ahead before Plum tied it late.

The Sparks are 5-1 on the road and won their second straight in Phoenix after a 97-88 win on May 21.

–Field Level Media