April 27, 2008

Rankings are from CBI Composite Poll

No. 2 Florida State 13, North Carolina 5

Around the Bases
Weeks scores in 10th for No. 1 Miami vs. No. 20 Virginia

No. 8 Texas A&M thumps No. 6 Missouri; Florida tops No. 11 Georgia

In Coral Gables, Fla., Jemile Weeks scored from third on an error in the bottom of the 10^th as top-ranked Miami (Fla.) edged No. 20 Virginia 4-3 to win its ACC series in front of a sellout crowd of 3,000 at Mark Light Field. Weeks hit a leadoff double in the 10^th and Yonder Alonso was intentionally walked. Both runners advanced one base on a passed ball. Mark Sobolewski hit a grounder to short, but the throw to first was high, allowing Weeks to come home with the game-winner for the Hurricanes (19-2, 35-5). Sobolewski finished with two hits, while Alonso went 1 for 2 with a two-run homer in the first, two walks, two runs and two RBI. Jeremy Farrell went deep for the Cavaliers (13-10, 32-14).

No. 8 Texas A&M 15, No. 6 Missouri 0
In College Station, Texas, Texas A&M unloaded on Missouri, scoring in every inning except the first. Kevin Gonzalez led the attack, going 3 for 4 with five RBI for the Aggies (17-3, 36-7). Luke Anders hit a pair of home runs, and Jose Duran and Dane Carter each added two RBI. A&M starter Barret Loux pitched six innings, allowing just two hits and two walks while striking out five. Missouri dropped to 9-8 in the Big 12 and 29-13 overall.

Florida 7, No. 11 Georgia 2
In Gainesville, Fla., Stephen Locke threw his first career complete game to lead Florida past Georgia in SEC play. Locke scattered two runs on eight hits to pick up his third victory. Florida (11-9, 26-16) scored a run in the second on a Jon Townsend RBI groundout. The Gators busted the game open with a four-run fourth. The first two Florida batters singled and after an intentional walk to load the bases Jon Townsend made the Bulldogs pay with a two-run double. Matt den Dekker then scored on a passed ball and Townsend came home on a Josh Adams RBI double. The Bulldogs (15-4-1, 29-13-1) scored in the fifth to make it 5-1, but Florida added two more in the bottom half to make it 7-1.

No. 4 Arizona State 11, No. 13 California 7

In Tempe, Ariz., Mike Leake drove in four, including a bases-loaded triple in the seventh, as Arizona State clinched its Pac-10 series with California in front of 2,130 fans at Winkles Field-Packard Stadium at Brock Ballpark. Leake’s three-base hit in the seventh snapped a 7-7 tie. He scored on a wild pitch to complete the scoring. Tommy Rafferty (8-0) pitched the final three innings to earn the win for the Sun Devils (9-5, 34-7) with two hits and four strikeouts. Dylan Tonneson belted a three-run homer in the sixth for the Golden Bears (7-7, 27-12 2).

No. 5 Rice 4, UCF 3
In Orlando, Fla., Rice broke a 3-3 in the ninth when Rick Hague singled in Derek Myers with two outs to even its Conference USA series with UCF. Diego Seastrunk went 2 for 4 and drove in two for the Owls (14-3, 33-11). Jimmy Comerota also had two hits and scored a run. Tyson Auer was 1 for 2 with two RBI for the Knights (5-12, 27-17). Cole St. Clair pitched 3.1 innings in relief, allowing just one hit while striking out five to earn the win.
 

No. 7 Wichita State 14-11, Indiana State 7-2

In Terre Haute, Ind., Wichita State recorded a pair of Missouri Valley wins at Indiana State. The Shockers (11-3, 33-8) won the completion of Friday’s suspended game 14-7 before capturing the regularly-scheduled game 11-2 against the Sycamores (5-9, 12-26). Conor Gillapsie homered twice in the first game for WSU, including a grand slam in the ninth.  In the second game, Gillaspie went deep in a six-run fourth to give the Shockers a 7-2 advantage.

No. 9 Nebraska 6-16, Baylor 4-1 (game 1 – 10 innings)

In Waco, Texas, Nebraska completed a Big 12 doubleheader sweep of Baylor at Baylor Ballpark. The Huskers (15-4-1, 32-7-1) took the opener 6-4 in 10 innings before blowing out the Bears (8-12, 24-20) 14-1 in the nightcap. In Game 1, D.J. Belfonte had a two-run single in the top of the 10^th to carry NU to the win after BU scored twice in the ninth to force extra innings. In the second game, Jake Opitz homered and drove in five as the Huskers scored seven in the first and never looked back.

LSU 11, No. 10 South Carolina 10 (11)
In Baton Rouge, La., LSU scored twice in the bottom of the eleventh to beat South Carolina in SEC action when the Gamecocks committed three errors in the inning. USC (11-9, 31-13) jumped out to a 7-0 lead before LSU (8-11-1, 27-16-1) got on the board, but the Tigers scored three in the sixth and four in the seventh. Blake Dean was 3 for 4 with an RBI and a run for LSU. Sean Ochinko and Nicholas Pontiff each added two-run homers for the Tigers. Justin Smoak reached base seven times for the Gamecocks, going 4 for 4 with three walks and two RBI. Harley Lail drove in three for USC.
 

No. 15 Stanford 26, USC 5

In Stanford, Calif., Jeff Castro had four hits and four RBI to lead Stanford past USC to win its Pac-10 series at Klein Field. Toby Gerhart had two homers and drove in five for the Cardinal (10-4, 25-12-2). The Trojans (6-8, 19-22) got a three-run homer from Grant Green in the first before Stanford scored two in the first and three in the second to take the lead. The Cardinal added six in the third for an 11-3 advantage. Cord Phelps had two hits, three walks and scored five times.

No. 16 Oklahoma State 10, Kansas 3
In Stillwater, Okla., Oklahoma State won its eighth in a row, downing Kansas for the second straight day in Big 12 play. Neil Medchill was 2 for 5 with three RBI and his fifth homer for the Cowboys (13-7, 31-11). Donnie Webb also had a pair of hits and scored twice while driving in three. Tyler Lyons started and worked into the seventh, allowing three runs on nine hits. Matt Peck pitched the final 2.2 innings, allowing just two hits. Erik Morrison went 3 for 5 for the Jayhawks (5-12, 25-21).

No. 21 Kentucky 6, No. 17 Vanderbilt 2

In Nashville, Tenn., Kentucky used timely hitting and good pitching to beat Vanderbilt in an SEC matchup. The Wildcats (10-10, 32-11) scored three in the third on an RBI single by Ryan Wilkes and a two-run triple by Caleb Cotham. They added another run in the fourth and two more in the fifth to take a 6-0 lead. The Commodores (11-8, 31-12) responded with single runs in the fifth and sixth, but could muster no more against UK relievers Aaron Lovett and Andrew Albers.