April 12, 2008

Rankings are from CBI Composite Poll

No. 6 UC Irvine 10, No. 19 Long Beach State 5

Around the Bases
Strasburg strikes out 23 as San Diego State nips Utah

Priday hits four homers for No.11 Missouri; Matusz wins again for San Diego

In San Diego, Stephen Strasburg (left) struck out 23 in tossing a one-hit shutout as San Diego State edged Utah 1-0 Friday evening at Tony Gwynn Stadium in the opener of their three-game Mountain West set. Strasburg (4-1) set both team and conference records for strikeouts in a game. He did not allow a base runner until a fourth-inning walk to Corey Shimada. After Shimada was caught stealing, Strasburg got 16 of the final 17 outs by strikeout. The lone hit for the Utes (3-3, 13-15) was a single by Michael Beltran in the sixth. The Aztecs (7-3, 19-15) got their run in the seventh as Erik Castro singled, moved to second on a walk, to third on a hit batsman and came home on an error.

No. 11 Missouri 31, No. 10 Texas 12

In Columbia, Mo., Jacob Priday set a Big 12 record with four homers as Missouri outscored Texas at Taylor Stadium in the opener of their three-game conference series. Priday went 5 for 5 with six runs and nine RBI. He had 44 career dingers, one away from the school record. Aaron Crow (8-0) entered with a 42.2 scoreless innings streak, but allowed nine runs on nine hits. He did make it through five innings to record the victory. The Tigers (6-4, 24-8) scored 10 in the third to erase a 9-3 deficit. They added six in the fourth and six more in the sixth to put it away. Steve Gray went deep twice for Missouri. Kyle Russell homered twice and knocked in four for the Longhorns (7-6, 22-11).

No. 20 San Diego 8, Portland 4

In Portland, Ore., Brian Matusz struck out nine in seven innings as San Diego doubled up Portland in the opener of their three-game WCC series at Joe Etzel Field. Matusz (7-1) allowed four runs on seven hits. Jose Valerio had three hits with two doubles and one RBI. James Meador had an RBI double in the top of the first for the Toreros (5-2, 25-11). Victor Sanchez added a three-run homer in the fourth for a 4-0 advantage. Tyler Thompson had a two-run double in the fourth for the Pilots (2-5, 16-18). USD added two runs for a 6-2 lead before Riley Henrichs belted a two-run homer for Portland to make it 6-4. The Toreros added two insurance runs in the ninth on a sacrifice fly by Logan Gelbrich and a Josh Romanski home run.

No. 2 Arizona State 15, Washington State 3

In Pullman, Wash., Brett Wallace went 4 for 7 with two runs and four RBI as Arizona State whacked Washington State at Bailey-Brayton Field in the opener of their Pac-10 series. The Wildcats (5-2, 29-3) scored one in the first and nine in the fourth to take control. Jason Kipnis and Ike Davis each had two-run singles and Kiel Roling hit a two-run homer in that nine-run fourth. The Cougars (2-5, 18-14) scored one in the fourth and two in the seventh.

Oklahoma State 1, No. 7 Nebraska 0

In Stillwater, Okla., Andrew Oliver tossed a three-hit shutout as Oklahoma State edged Nebraska in the opener of their three-game Big 12 series at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium. The Cowboys (7-6, 22-9) scored in the sixth as Michael Dabbs tripled and came in on a single by Jordy Mercer. Johnny Dorn (4-1) allowed four hits and fanned seven for the Huskers (10-2-1, 24-5-1).

USC 17, No. 8 California 1

In Los Angeles, Derek Perren had four hits and four RBI to lead USC past California at Dedeaux Field in the opener of their three-game Pac-10 set. Tyson Ross was charged with his first loss of the season as he lasted just four innings for the Golden Bears (4-3, 22-8-2) while Tommy Milone earned his fifth for the Trojans (5-5, 17-15). Six Trojan hitters recorded multi-hit games while five had multi-RBI games.
 

No. 9 Rice 13, UAB 11
In Houston, Chad Mozingo hit a game-winning single to drive in two in the eighth inning, lifting Rice over UAB at Reckling Park. Mozingo broke an 11-11 tie to end the slugfest, in which the Owls (8-2, 25-10) and the Blazers (1-6, 14-18) combined for 24 runs on 27 hits and four homers.
 

No. 14 Texas A&M 8, Oklahoma 7

In College Station, Texas, Jose Duran’s RBI single in the bottom of the ninth carried Texas A&M to a win over Oklahoma in the opener of their Big 12 series in front of 4,952 fans at Olsen Field. The Sooners (3-5-1, 22-11-1) got a two-run homer from pinch-hitter Jarod Freeman in the eighth to pull OU to within one at 7-6. Mike Gosse added an RBI double later in the frame to knot the score at 7-7. Luke Andres had three hits for the Aggies (10-3, 28-6). Dane Carter had two hits and three RBI for A&M.

Oregon State 10, No. 15 Stanford 9 (10)
In Corvallis, Ore., Jason Ogata doubled and scored in the 10^th for Oregon State’s Pac-10 victory over Stanford at Goss Stadium. The Cardinal (4-3, 15-11) took a 9-6 lead in the sixth when Sean Ratliff doubled off Mike Stutes, driving in his fourth run of the game. The reigning back-to-back national champion Oregon State (4-3, 16-10) retaliated with a pair of runs in the seventh and one in the eighth to tie it at 9-9. John Wallace hit the game-winner for the Beavers.

VCU 15-11, Northeastern 7-12

In Richmond, Va., VCU had season highs in the opener with 15 runs and 20 hits, but Northeastern used a two-run homer by Frank Pesanello in the nightcap as the teams split a CAA doubleheader at The Diamond. Richard Gonzalez had four hits, two runs and three RBI in Game 1 for the Rams (2-9, 8-21). Jared Bolden and Kwan Evans both went deep for VCU. In Game 2, Pesanello had three hits and drove in six for the Huskies (5-8-1, 12-15-1) in the seven-inning contest. VCU scored eight in the fifth to take an 11-8 lead, but Josh Porter crushed a two-run homer over the top of the batter’s eye in straight away center field in the sixth to pull NU within one, setting the stage for Pesanello’s heroics.