April 14, 2008

Rankings are from CBI Composite Poll

No. 6 UC Irvine 4, Long Beach State 1

Around the Bases
No. 4 North Carolina completes ACC sweep at Clemson

No. 3 ASU scores eight in ninth for win at WSU; Cornell wins three at Penn

In Clemson, S.C., the North Carolina offense pounded the Clemson pitching staff again as the fourth-ranked Tar Heels completed the ACC sweep with an 8-4 win Sunday. UNC (13-4, 29-7) racked up 18 hits, with the first five hitters in the order all recording multi-hit games. Kyle Seager led the way, going 3 for 5 with three RBI while notching his sixth homer and 20^th double. Chad Flack (left) also had a pair of RBI. The Tar Heel bullpen was also very effective, pitching eight innings of relief and limiting the Tigers (6-12, 18-17) to one run on four hits.

No. 3 Arizona State 16, Washington State 13

In Pullman, Wash., Arizona State used three homers to score eight in the top of the ninth and pull out the rubber game of its Pac-10 series at Washington State. The Sun Devils (6-3, 30-4) trailed 13-8 after eight innings. Marcel Champagnie’s three-run shot pulled ASU to within two. With two outs, Raoul Torrez kept the game going with a single off the pitcher, allowing Ryan Sontag to go deep to knot the score at 13-13. Ike Davis, who hit a grand slam earlier in the contest, belted a three-run bomb to give the Sun Devils the lead. Davis (4-0) pitched the final 2.2 innings, including a scoreless ninth, to secure the victory. Alex Burg homered for the Cougars (3-6, 19-15) in the sixth to tie it at 8-8. Shea Vucinich’s three-run double capped a four-run seventh as WSU pushed ahead 12-8. Paul Gran went deep for the Cougars in the eighth for a 13-8 lead.

Cornell 10-8-16, Penn 8-1-5

In Philadelphia, Cornell recorded three Ivy League win on Sunday at Penn. The Big Red (4-8, 10-17) scored four in the 10^th to win the completion of Saturday’s suspended game, then posted 8-1 and 16-5 victories over the Quakers (4-7-1, 12-15-1). Domenic Di Ricco had five hits, four runs and three RBI for Cornell. The suspended game was tied at 6-6 after eight innings when play was stopped on Saturday. The Big Red took advantage of three Penn errors in the top of the 10^th to plate four runs, then held on as the Quakers scored two in the bottom of the frame and put the tying runs on base. Di Ricco doubled and scored in a two-run first in the second game. After a Penn homer in the fifth, Cornell put up four in the sixth and two more in the seventh. Matt Hill went the distance for the Big Red with four hits, one run and eight strikeouts. Cornell scored five in the first and eight in the second to take command in the third game. Brian Kaufman had a two-run homer in the first. Scott Hardinger had a two-run double and Di Rocca drove in two with a single in the second.

No. 1 Miami (Fla.) 9, Georgia Tech 3

In Atlanta, Adan Severino hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the fifth and Yonder Alonso went 3 for 4 as Miami completed the series sweep over ACC-rival Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets (9-9, 26-10) scored in each of the first three innings, but Miami starter David Gutierrez (2-0) and relievers Kyle Bellamy and Carlos Gutierrez held Tech to two more hits the rest of the game. Miami (15-1, 30-3) tied the game in the fourth and then broke the game open with six runs over the next three innings.

No. 5 Wichita State 11-3, Creighton 3-2

In Omaha, Neb., Wichita State swept a doubleheader with the Creighton Bluejays. In the first game, the Shockers (7-2, 27-5) were led offensively by Tyler Weber (.322, 30 RBI) and Kenny Williams (.385, 19 RBI), who each had two hits and three RBI. Junior lefty Aaron Shafer allowed three runs on six hits and three walks to improve his record to 6-1. In Game 2, errors doomed Creighton to a 3-2 defeat. Creighton had built a 2-0 lead on RBI singles by Steve Winkelmann and Joe Servais in the first and fourth innings. Wichita State scored twice in the sixth to tie the game. In the eighth inning, Tyler Hill hit a two-out single to left for WSU and Dusty Coleman came around from first when the ball was misplayed to break a 2-2 tie.

No. 7 Nebraska 14, Oklahoma State 5

In Stillwater, Okla., Craig Corriston had two hits and four RBI as Nebraska salvaged the final game of its Big 12 series at Oklahoma State. Nick Sullivan scored four and drove in three for the Huskers (11-3-1, 25-6-1). Dan Jennings (4-0) earned the win, tossing four shutout innings in relief with one hit and three strikeouts. Nebraska scored four in the third to take control. Rebel Ridling had a sacrifice fly for the Cowboys (8-7, 23-10).

No. 8 California 13, USC 11
In Los Angeles, David Cooper's ninth inning blooper drove in the two, including the game winner, in California’s win over USC at Dedeaux Field. The Golden Bears (5-4, 23-9-2) belted four homers, allowing them to twice come back from a six-run deficit. Matt Gorgen got the save as he pitched 3.2 scoreless innings against the Trojans (6-6, 18-16)

No. 9 Rice 12, UAB 8 (10)

In Houston, Diego Seastrunk led nationally-ranked Rice to a weekend sweep of UAB with a walk-off grand slam in the tenth at Reckling Park. The win was the seventh in a row for the Owls (10-2, 27-10) and kept them firmly in the No. 1 spot in Conference USA standings. Phil Bell paced the offense for the Blazers (1-8, 14-9) in the series finale, going 3 for 4 with three RBI and one run.
 

No. 10 Texas 9, No. 11 Missouri 2

In Columbia, Mo., Kyle Russell homered twice as Texas avoided the Big 12 series sweep at Missouri. Chance Ruffin (4-2) pitched 5.1 innings for the Longhorns (8-7, 23-12) with two run on four hits with five walks and four strikeouts. Cole Green retired the 11 batters he faced over the final 3.2 innings to record his second save. Russell smacked a three-run homer in the first and his solo shot in the fifth gave UT a 7-0 lead. Kyle Mach had an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth for the Tigers (7-5, 25-9).

No. 17 Georgia 6, No. 12 Kentucky 4
In Athens, Ga., Georgia continued its hot streak by finishing an SEC sweep of Kentucky, the first time Kentucky has been swept since 2005. The Bulldogs (12-3, 23-12) pounded out 13 hits, as six starters each had two hits. Gordon Beckham slammed his 16th homer, a two-run shot in the fifth. Rich Poythress drove in a run and walked twice in addition to his two hits. Sawyer Carroll hit a two-run first-inning homer for the Wildcats (7-8, 26-8) and Ryan Wilkes also went deep.

No. 13 South Carolina 7, Auburn 6
In Auburn, Ala., South Carolina completed an SEC sweep of Auburn in a see-saw battle. USC (9-6, 25-10) starter Blake Cooper went 6.2 innings, allowing three earned runs on nine hits. The Gamecocks scored in each of the final four innings to build a 7-3 lead, but Hunter Morris hit a three-run shot in the ninth to bring the Tigers (6-9, 22-15) within one before USC's Brandon Todd closed things out. Reese Havens, Justin Smoak, James Darnell and Kyle Enders each had two hits for the Gamecocks. Five different South Carolina players drove in a run.
 

No. 14 Texas A&M 12, Oklahoma 2

In College Station, Texas, Texas A&M completed its third straight Big 12 series sweep by run-ruling Oklahoma in seven innings in front of 4,301 fans at Olsen Field. The Aggies (12-3, 30-6) have won 13 straight and tied a school record with their ninth consecutive Big 12 victory. A&M scored four in the bottom of the third to take control. The Sooners (3-8-1, 22-13-1) scored single runs in the fourth and fifth before the Aggies tallied four in the fifth and ended it on a three-run double by Jose Duran in the bottom of the seventh.

No. 15 Stanford 4, Oregon State 2
In Corvallis, Ore., Jeffrey Inman won his fourth straight decision by allowing just one unearned run through 7.2 innings in Stanford's Pac-10 victory over Oregon State at Goss Field. The Cardinal (6-3, 17-11-1) trailed by one until the sixth, and pulled out two more insurance runs in the ninth, as the Beavers (4-5, 16-12) failed to capitalize on runners late in the game. The victory keeps Stanford in first place in the Pac-10.
 

No. 16 Cal State Fullerton 17, Cal State Northridge 15

In Fullerton, Calif., Erik Komatsu had four hits and four RBI as Cal State Fullerton outscored Cal State Northridge to claim their Big West series at Goodwin Field. Chris Hannick homered three times and drove in nine for the Matadors (4-5, 14-16).  He came into the game hitting .200 with two homers and 13 RBI. Adam Jorgenson recorded the final out for the Titans (6-3, 20-12) for his third save with the go-ahead run at the plate and Hannick on deck. Christian Colon also had four hits for Fullerton. John Parham had five hits and four runs for Northridge.

No. 18 Vanderbilt 4, Mississippi State 3

In Starkville, Miss., Vanderbilt survived a ninth inning rally to top SEC-foe Mississippi State and complete the series sweep. The Commodores (8-6, 24-10) took a 4-2 lead in the ninth when Bulldog second baseman Jet Butler booted a ball hit at him by Vanderbilt’s Pedro Alvarez. The Bulldogs (3-12, 14-21) closed the gap to one and loaded the bases on Grant Hogue’s single. The comeback was not to be as the next two batters struck out. Alvarez, Brian Harris and David Macias all had an RBI for Vandy. Ryan Collins hit a two-run homer in the third for MSU.

No. 20 San Diego 13, Portland 8

In Portland, Ore., James Meador had four hits, including two homers, and drove in five as San Diego outscored Portland to sweep their WCC series at Joe Etzel Field. The Toreros (7-2, 27-11) scored single runs in the first two innings before a three-spot in the third gave them a 5-0 lead. Meador’s two-run shot in the fourth gave USD a 7-0 advantage. Meador’s second dinger was a three-run blast in the seventh for a 13-1 lead. The Pilots (2-7, 16-20) rallied for seven in the bottom of the seventh, keyed by a three-run homer by Cory Wiltshire.