April 21, 2008

Rankings are from CBI Composite Poll

Around the Bases
Alonso homers twice at No. 1 Miami nips No. 2 Florida St.

No. 3 Arizona State outscores Oregon State; No. 4 North Carolina sweeps BC

In Tallahassee, Fla., Yonder Alonso (left) smacked two homers, including a grand slam, as No. 1 Miami (Fla.) edged second-ranked Florida State 11-10 to win their ACC series at Dick Howser Stadium in a game called after seven innings due to a travel curfew. Alonso’s slam in the third gave the Hurricanes (17-2, 33-4) a 4-1 lead. Alonso’s solo shot came after Jemile Weeks homered in the fourth to give UM a 7-1 advantage. Miami led 11-9 in the seventh when Mike McGee singled and scored on a wild pitch for the Seminoles (18-3, 34-5) with two outs to make it a one-run contest. Carlos Gutierrez struck out Tyler Holt looking to end the inning and the game. Buster Posey knocked in three for FSU.

No. 3 Arizona State 15, Oregon State 12

In Tempe, Ariz., Arizona State outscored Oregon State in front of 3,279 fans at Winkles Field-Packard Stadium at Brock Ballpark to salvage the final of their Pac-10 series. Brett Wallace had three hits and five RBI for the Sun Devils (7-5, 31-6). Wallace hit a three-run homer in the first to start the scoring. The Beavers (6-6, 18-13) answered with six in the top of the second, but ASU put five on the board in the bottom of the frame as Wallace had a two-run single and Ike Davis belted a three-run bomb. The Sun Devils added three in the fifth before OSU scored three of its own in the sixth to make it 11-9. A three-run double by Raoul Torrez keyed a four-run sixth for ASU as it pushed the lead to 15-9. OSU rallied for three in the ninth, but fell three runs short. Joey Wong had two hits, including a home run, and drove in four for the Beavers.

No. 4 North Carolina 8, Boston College 2

In Cary, N.C., North Carolina beat Boston College to complete the ACC series sweep and extend its win streak to nine. Garret Gore led the Tar Heel offense going 2 for 3 with three RBI. Tim Federowicz, Ben Bunting and Seth Williams also had multi-hit efforts. The Tar Heels (16-4, 34-7) broke a 2-2 tie with a run in the fifth and then blew the game open with a four-run sixth. The Eagles (5-15, 19-21) scored the first run of the game on a Sam Shaughnessy RBI double in the second and then tied the game on an Eric Campbell single in the third. Campbell and Tony Sanchez each had two hits for BC.

UC Riverside 7, No. 5 UC Irvine 5

In Irvine, Calif., Ryan Goetz had three hits and three RBI to lead UC Riverside to the Big West series win over UC Irvine at Anteater Ballpark. The Anteaters (6-6, 24-9) got a leadoff homer from Dillon Bell in the third to start the scoring. Carl Uhl doubled and scored to ignite a three-run sixth for the Highlanders (5-4, 11-23). UCI plated a pair in the bottom of the frame to knot the score at 3-3. A two-run triple by Goetz keyed a four-run seventh as UCR took the lead for good. The Anteaters scored two in the bottom of the seventh, but were held scoreless over the final two innings.

No. 6 Wichita State 8, Southern Illinois 3

In Wichita, Kan., Anthony Capra fanned nine in 7.2 innings as Wichita State won its MVC series against Southern Illinois at Eck Stadium. Capra (7-0) allowed one earned run with four hits and two walks. Bret Maugeri homered in the second for the Salukis (4-8, 20-17). Conor Gillaspie’s two-run single highlighted a three-run third for the Shockers (9-3, 30-7). WSU added two in the fourth and three in the sixth for an 8-1 lead. SIU scored its final two runs in the eighth.

No. 7 Rice 7, East Carolina 1

In Houston, Matt Langwell went the distance as Rice completed the Conference USA sweep over East Carolina at Reckling Park. Langwell (4-0) allowed one run on seven hits and watched his defense turn four double plays. J.P Padron had three hits and two RBI for the Owls (12-2, 31-10). Padron’s single started a three-run fourth and his two-run double in the fifth gave Rice a 5-0 lead. An RBI single by Stephen Batts in the sixth put the Pirates (8-7, 27-13) on the board. The Owls added two in the seventh to complete the scoring.

Oklahoma 22, No. 8 Missouri 4

In Norman, Okla., Spencer Selby had four hits and seven RBI as Oklahoma pounded Missouri to salvage the final game of their Big 12 series in front of 1,175 fans at L. Dale Mitchell Park. Aljay Davis and Mike Gosse each had four hits and four RBI for the Sooners (4-10-1, 25-15-1). OU scored three in the first, six in the second, five in the third and six in the fourth to take a commanding 20-2 lead over the Tigers (9-6, 28-10).

Kansas 6, No. 9 Nebraska 3

In Lincoln, Neb., T.J. Walz fanned five in 7.2 innings as Kansas stopped Nebraska in Big 12 action in front of 5,964 fans at Hawks Field. A native of Omaha, Walz (3-0) allowed three runs on six hits with one walk. Buck Afenir had three hits and drove in two for the Jayhawks (5-10, 25-18). Afenir had run-scoring singles in the first and sixth. After the Cornhuskers (13-4-1, 28-7-1) scored in the bottom of the sixth, John Allman’s two-run single capped a three-run seventh as KU took control 5-1.

No. 10 Texas A&M 13, Baylor 12 (11)

In Waco, Texas, Blake Stouffer’s two-out single in the 11^th brought home Kyle Colligan with the game-winner as Texas A&M edged Baylor to complete the Big 12 sweep in front of 3,737 fans at Baylor Ballpark. The first-place Aggies (15-3, 33-7) scored six in the ninth to force extra innings on a two-run homer by Dane Carter and two-run singles by Brian Ruggiano and Brooks Raley. Jose Duran had four hits for A&M. Shaver Hansen also had four hits for the Bears (8-10, 23-17).

No. 11 South Carolina 4, No. 20 Ole Miss 1

In Columbia, S.C., Blake Cooper went the distance and allowed one run as South Carolina beat fellow SEC-heavyweight Ole Miss 4-1. The Gamecocks (11-7, 29-11) scored three in the first on RBI singles by Jeff Smoak (2 for 4, RBI) and Phil Disher (2 for 4, 2 RBI). The Gamecocks added another in the second when Smoak grounded into a double play to plate Reese Havens, who led off the inning with a double. The Rebels (10-8, 25-15) couldn’t get anything going off of Cooper as he scattered six hits over nine innings and did not allow a run until the ninth when Chad Overbeck homered.

No. 12 Georgia 10, LSU 10 (12 innings)

In Baton Rouge, La., Georgia and LSU battled to a 10-10 tie thru 12 innings. The game was called after the 12^th because the SEC travel curfew does not allow any inning to start after 4 p.m. The Tigers (6-11-1, 23-16-1) raced to a 10-3 lead after six innings. Matt Olson (4 for 7), Rich Poythress (3 for 6) and Robbie O’Bryan (2 for 3) each had two runs and two RBI for the Tigers, while Lyle Allen added three more RBI. The Bulldogs (14-3-1, 27-12-1) rallied with four runs in the seventh, one in the eighth, and two in the ninth to force extra innings. Derek Helenihi (3 for 5, 2 runs), Micah Gibbs (3 for 4) and Leon Landry (3 for 6) had two RBI for the Bulldogs, while Blake Dean added three more RBI.

No. 13 California 5, Washington 4

In Berkeley, Calif., David Cooper’s RBI single in the ninth gave California the Pac-10 victory over Washington at Evans Diamond. The Golden Bears (7-5, 26-10-2) trailed 4-0 in the seventh before Dylan Tonneson homered, Michael Capbarat added a two-run shot and Brett Jackson’s RBI single in the bottom of the frame knotted the score at 4-4. Brian Pearl had three hits and an RBI for the Huskies (4-5, 24-14).

No. 14 San Diego 5, Saint Mary’s 1

In San Diego, James Meador had three hits and two RBI as San Diego completed the West Coast Conference sweep over Saint Mary’s at Cunningham Stadium, extending its win streak to 12. The Toreros (10-2, 31-11) scored single runs in the first, fourth and fifth innings. After the Gaels (4-8, 20-16-1) got on the board in the top of the sixth, a two-run single by Meador in the bottom of the frame pushed the lead to 5-1. Sammy Solis (3-1) allowed six hits and one unearned run in six innings for USD with six strikeouts.

No.15 Vanderbilt 9, Auburn 5

In Nashville, Tenn., Ryan Flaherty homered twice to lead Vanderbilt past Auburn in SEC action at Hawkins Field. Flaherty had a two-run homer in the first and added a two-run shot in the fifth for a 6-2 advantage for the Commodores (10-7, 28-11). Mike Bianucci had two homers and drove in three for the Tigers (7-11, 23-18).

UCLA 8, No. 16 Stanford 2

In Los Angeles, Casey Haerther had two hits, including a homer, two runs and one RBI to help UCLA salvage the final game of its Pac-10 series with Stanford. The Cardinal (8-4, 21-12-2) scored two in the first on an RBI single by Jason Castro and a sacrifice fly by Sean Ratliff. Haerther’s two-run homer in the bottom of the frame tied it at 2-2. The Bruins (4-5, 19-16) took the lead in the second on an RBI single by Alden Carrithers. Haerther doubled and scored in a three-run third as UCLA took command 6-2.

No. 19 Oklahoma State 13, No. 17 Texas 10

In Austin, Texas, Oklahoma State scored 11 in the last four innings to rally back from an 8-2 fifth-inning deficit and beat Big 12-foe Texas 13-10. The Cowboys (11-7, 27-11) also did what no other Big 12 team has ever done – swept the Longhorns (8-10, 23-16) in Austin. Rebel Ridling had a big day at the plate for OSU, going 3 for 5 with two home runs, a triple, three runs and five RBI to lead the attack. Six other Cowboys drove in at least one run.  Jordy Mercer worked the final two innings to pick up his 15^th career save and become OSU’s all-time saves leader. Kyle Russell hit a pair of two-run homers for Texas and Jordan Danks went 4 for 4, scored four and drove in a pair.

No. 18 Cal State Fullerton 2, Pacific 1

In Stockton, Calif., Christian Colon’s homer in the eighth lifted Cal State Fullerton to the Big West sweep of Pacific at Klein Family Field. Gary Brown singled and scored in the third for the Titans (9-3, 23-13). The Tigers (2-10, 8-28) got a homer from Adam Ching in the sixth to even the score at 1-1. Cory Arbiso (7-2) earned the win, going eight innings with one run on eight hits with one walk and six strikeouts. Fullerton won its 19^th straight game over Pacific.