June 1, 2003

Around the Regionals

Baton Rouge Regional

#1 LSU 9,  #3 UNC Wilmington 8 (11) (UNC Wilmington eliminated)

Champion: LSU

Jon Zeringue homered with one out in the bottom of the 11th to give top-seeded LSU a 9-8 victory over No. 3 UNC Wilmington in the championship game of the Baton Rouge Regional at Alex Box Stadium. The Tigers (43-19-1) will face Baylor in the Super Regionals, with the site announced on Monday. Each team scored in the 10th. The Seahawks (40-23) scored in the top of the 10th on Matt Sutton’s RBI double. LSU answered on Aaron Hill’s run-scoring single. The Tigers had the bases loaded with one out, but could not get another run. After UNCW was retired in order in the top of the 11th, Zeringue ended it with his 12th home run.

Houston Regional

#1 Rice 5,  #3 Wichita State 2 (Wichita State eliminated)  CBI Live | Notes

Champion: Rice

Wilson Regional

#1 North Carolina State 6,  #3 Western Carolina 4 (14)  CBI Live | Notes

Champion: North Carolina State

Atlanta Regional

#2 South Carolina 9,  #4 Stetson 3 (Stetson eliminated)

Champion: South Carolina

Steven Tolleson went 3 for 5 with a double and a home run to lead second-seeded South Carolina to a 9-3 over No. 4 Stetson to win the Atlanta Regional at Russ Chandler Stadium. Justin Harris went 3 for 5 with two runs and an RBI for the Gamecocks (42-20). Steven Bondurant (6-3) earned the victory, going seven innings with eight hits, three runs, two walks and eight strikeouts. Ben Hall had two hits to lead the Hatters (41-24).

Auburn Regional

#3 Ohio State 9,  #1 Auburn 7 (Auburn eliminated)

Champion: Ohio State

Brett Garrard had four RBI to lift third-seeded Ohio State to a 9-7 victory over No. 1 Auburn at Plainsman Park. The Buckeyes (44-19) captured the Auburn Regional and will face Southwest Missouri State in the Super Regionals at a site to be announced on Monday. Drew Anderson, the tournament’s most outstanding player, doubled twice while Garrard had a two-run double, an RBI single and a sacrifice fly. OSU scored three in the sixth to take an 8-7 lead. Garrard’s single brought home Paul Farinacci and Garrard scored on a triple by Jedidiah Stephen. The Tigers finish the season at 42-21.

Austin Regional

#3 Lamar 6,  #1 Texas 2

#1 Texas 6,  #3 Lamar 3 (Lamar eliminated)

Champion: Texas

Top-seeded Texas scored the game’s final four runs to defeat No. 3 Lamar 6-3 at Disch-Falk Field to capture the Austin Regional. The Longhorns (46-18) will face Florida State in the Super Regionals. Taylor Teagarden’s two-run single in the top of the first gave Texas an early lead. The Cardinals (40-18) responded with three in the bottom of the frame on Matt Gowan’s three-run triple. The Longhorns scored three in the top of the fifth as Huston Street’s RBI single tied the game and Dustin Majewski’s base hit brought home Street with the go-ahead run.

Sophomore Trey Rinando tossed his second career complete game to lead third-seeded Lamar to a 6-2 win over No. 1 Texas in front of 5,232 fans at Disch-Falk Field, forcing a second championship game at the Austin Regional. Rinando (2-2) allowed nine hits and two runs with two strikeouts. The Longhorns (45-18) scored two in the bottom of the first as Dustin Majewski had an RBI double and scored. The Cardinals (40-17) got a run in the third and took the lead with two in the fifth. Lamar added three in the seventh to make it 6-2. Two runs came in on Matt Gowan’s double.

College Station Regional

#3 Houston 7,  #1 Texas A&M 6

#3 Houston 7,  #1 Texas A&M 6 (Texas A&M eliminated)

Champion: Houston

Third-seeded Houston scored two in the eighth, two in the ninth and one in the 10th to record its second 7-6 win at top-seeded Texas A&M, this one in 10 innings to claim the College Station Regional. The Cougars (36-28) will face crosstown rival Rice in the Super Regionals. Trailing 6-2 in the eighth, Matt Farrington had an RBI single and Hyung Cho reached on a fielder’s choice and scored on a wild pitch to make it 6-4. Michael Bourn had an RBI triple in the ninth and scored the tying run on a sacrifice fly. With two outs and none on in the bottom of the 10th, Brian Martin and Sam Mitchell walked and Martin scored the unearned winning run on an error by the pitcher. The Aggies finished the season at 45-19.

Hyung Cho launched a two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh to lead third-seeded Houston to a 7-6 win over No. 1 Texas A&M in front of 6,075 fans at Olsen Field, forcing a second championship game. Justin Ruggiano put the Aggies (45-18) on top by one with a home run in the top of the seventh. Gabe Lucas reached on an error in the bottom of the frame ahead of Cho’s blast that put the Cougars (35-28) on top by one. Cho finished with three hits, three runs and three RBI.

Coral Gables Regional

#3 Florida 15,  #1 Miami 5

#1 Miami 13,  #3 Florida 10 (Florida eliminated)

Champion: Miami

Top-seeded Miami built a 9-2 lead after four innings on its way to a 13-10 win over No. 3 Florida in the Coral Gables championship game at Mark Light Stadium. The Hurricanes (42-15-1) will face North Carolina State in the Super Regionals. Miami scored single runs in the first two innings, while the Gators (37-21-1) scored two in the top of the third to tie it at 2. The Hurricanes tallied five in the bottom of the third, capped by Richard Giannotti’s three-run homer that gave Miami a 7-2 lead. UM added two in the fourth for a 9-2 advantage. Ben Harrison went 3 for 3 with three RBI in Game 1 as Florida outscored Miami 15-5.

All-Regional Team: 1B-Juan Figueroa, Bethune-Cookman; 2B-Derek Hutton, Florida  Atlantic; 3B-Gaby Sanchez, Miami; SS-Ruan Braun, Miami; C-Brian Rose, Florida;
OF-Steve Barton, Florida; OF-Brian Barton, Miami; OF-John Gragg, Bethune-Cookman; DH-Mario Garza, Florida; P-Randy Beam, Florida Atlantic; P-J.D. Cockroft, Miami; Most Outstanding Player-J.D. Cockroft, P, Miami

Fullerton Regional

#1 Cal State Fullerton 8,  #3 Notre Dame 1 (Notre Dame eliminated)

Champion: Cal State Fullerton

Freshman Dustin Miller allowed one run in eight innings as top-seeded Cal State Fullerton defeated No. 3 Notre Dame 8-1 at Goodwin Field. The Titans (46-13) won the Fullerton Regional and will face Arizona State in the Super Regionals at a site to be announced on Monday. Miller (8-2) scattered nine hits, did not walk a batter and struck out 10. Jason Corapci went 2 for 4 with two RBI to pace the Fullerton offense. The Titans scored twice in each of the first two innings and added three in the third. Steve Sollmann had three hits for the Irish (45-18).

All-Regional Team: 1B-Joe Thaman, Notre Dame; 2B-Steve Sollman, Notre Dame; 3B-Ronnie Prettyman, Cal State Fullerton; SS-Justin Turner, Cal State Fullerton; OF-Tony Perez, San Diego; OF-Kris Billmaier, Notre Dame; OF-Jeff Van Houten, Arizona; C-Javi Sanchez, Notre Dame; DH-P.J. Pilittere, Cal State Fullerton; P-Chad Cordero, Cal State Fullerton; P-Dustin Miller, Cal State Fullerton. Most Outstanding Player: Chad Cordero, Cal State Fullerton

Hattiesburg Regional

#1 Baylor 3,  #2 Southern Miss 2 (Southern Miss eliminated)

Champion: Baylor

Top-seeded Baylor scored three in the eighth to claim a 3-2 win over No. 2 and host Southern Miss to win the Hattiesburg Regional in front of a record crowd of 4,601 at Pete Taylor Park. The Bears (44-21) will appear in a Super Regional for the second time. Trailing 2-0 after seven, Kyle Reynolds reached second on an error with one out. Following a groundout, Chris Durbin walked and tourney most outstanding player David Murphy doubled to bring home Reynolds and Durbin and tie the game at 2. Josh Ford blooped a single to center to bring in Murphy with the game-winner. The Golden Eagles (47-16) rallied in the ninth, but left the tying run on third.

Lincoln Regional

#1 Nebraska 9,  #3 Southwest Missouri State 5

#3 Southwest Missouri State 7,  #1 Nebraska 0 (Nebraska eliminated)

Champion: Southwest Missouri State

Junior Bob Zimmermann tossed a five-hit shutout to lead third-seeded Southwest Missouri State to a 7-0 win over No. 1 Nebraska in front of 7,456 fans at Hawks Field to capture the Lincoln Regional. The Bears (38-24) will face Ohio State in the Super Regionals. Zimmermann (5-3) did not walk a batter and struck out seven in being named tournament most outstanding player. Shaun Marcum and Brooks Colvin each had three hits to pace the SMS attack. The Huskers finished the season with a 47-18 record. Senior Jamie Rodrigue went a season-long 7.1 innings in the first game as Nebraska forced a second championship game with a 9-5 win over SMS. The Huskers exploded for six runs in the second. Daniel Bruce had two hits, including a home run, for Nebraska.

All-Tournament Team: Most Outstanding Player-Bob Zimmermann, Pitcher, SMS; C-Tony Piazza, SMS; 1B-Matt Hopper, Nebraska; 2B-Jake Mullinax, Nebraska; 3B-Brooks Colvin, SMS; SS/P-Shaun Marcum, SMS; OF-Ryan Goleski, Eastern Michigan; OF-Daniel Bruce, Nebraska; OF-Curtis Ledbetter, Nebraska; DH-Dant'e Brinkley, SMS; P-Bob Zimmermann, SMS; P-Brad Ziegler, SMS

Long Beach Regional

#1 Long Beach State 7,  #3 Washington 2 (Washington eliminated)

Champion: Long Beach State

Sophomore Cesar Ramos hurled seven shutout innings and junior Todd Jennings had three RBI as top-seeded Long Beach State defeated No. 3 Washington 7-2 in the championship game of the Long Beach Regional. The 49ers (42-18) will face Stanford in the Super Regionals. Ramos (6-4) allowed six hits and no walks with one strikeout. Jennings got LBSU on the board in the third with a two-run single. Long Beach State added four in the fifth to lead 6-0. The Huskies finished the year at 42-18.

Stanford Regional

#1 Stanford 19,  #2 Richmond 6 (Richmond eliminated)

Champion: Stanford

Ryan Garko smacked two home runs and drove in five and Danny Putnam added a grand slam as top-seeded Stanford stopped No. 2 Richmond 19-6 at Sunken Diamond to win the Stanford Regional. The Cardinal (44-15) will meet Long Beach State in the Super Regionals.  Carlos Quentin also went deep for Stanford. Freshman Mark Romanczuk (11-0) got the win, going 6.2 innings with five hits, three runs, five walks and six strikeouts. Jim Fasano hit a two-run homer for the Spiders (48-15).

Starkville Regional

#2 North Carolina 8,  #1 Mississippi State 6 (11) (Mississippi State eliminated)

Champion: North Carolina

Sean Farrell had four hits, two home runs and four RBI to lead second-seeded North Carolina to an 8-6 win over top-seeded Mississippi State in 11 innings at Dudy Noble Field. The Tar Heels (42-21) won the Starkville Regional and will meet South Carolina in the Super Regionals. Farrell smacked a two-run homer in the top of the ninth to cap a three-run rally and tie it at 6. His RBI single in the top of the 11th put UNC on top 7-6.

Tallahassee Regional

#1 Florida State 13,  #2 South Alabama 5

#1 Florida State 12,  #2 South Alabama 2 (South Alabama eliminated)

Champion: Florida State

Top-seeded Florida State combined for 30 hits and 25 runs in taking two games from No. 2 South Alabama, 13-5 and 12-2, at Dick Howser Stadium to win the Tallahassee Regional. The Seminoles (54-11-1) will face defending national champion Texas in the Super Regionals. FSU hit seven home runs in the second game. Tony McQuade, Tony Richie and Jerrod Brown each left the yard in the first as the Seminoles took a 4-0 lead. Stephen Drew added a pair of homers. FSU broke a 3-3 tie with eight in the fifth inning of Game 1. Drew drove in five in the opener. The Jaguars finished the year at 42-19.

All-Regional Team: C-Tony Richie, FSU; 1B-Jarod Brown, FSU; 2B-Craig Budger, Rutgers; 3B-Kevin Sytko, USA; SS-Stephen Drew, FSU; OF-Ryan Mulhern, USA; OF-Cole Craig, USA; OF-Blake Balkcom, FSU; P-Matt Lynch, FSU; P-Clark Girardeau, USA; DH-Eddy Martinez-Esteve, FSU. Most Outstanding Player-Tony Richie, FSU

Tempe Regional

#1 Arizona State 16,  #2 UNLV 1 (UNLV eliminated)

Champion: Arizona State

Jeremy West had four hits and Dustin Pedroia added three to lead top-seeded Arizona State to a 16-1 win over No. 2 UNLV at Tempe Diablo Stadium. The Sun Devils (53-12) won the Tempe Regional and will face Cal State Fullerton in the Super Regionals at a site to be announced on Monday. ASU scored six in the first and never looked back against the Rebels (47-17). The Sun Devils outscored their opponents 45-3 in three regional contests. Pedroia went 8 for 16 in three tournament games and was named regional most outstanding player.

All-regional team: C-Tuffy Gosewisch, Arizona State; 1B-Billy Becher, New Mexico State; 2B-Garett Shitanishi, UNLV; 3B-Dennis Wyrick, Arizona State; SS-Dustin Pedroia, Arizona State; OF-Eric Nielsen, UNLV; OF-Andre Ethier, Arizona State; OF-Stephen Ghutzman, UNLV; DH-Jeremy West, Arizona State; P-Beau Vaughan, Arizona State; P-Ben Thurmond, Arizona State; Most Outstanding Player: Dustin Pedroia, Arizona State