May 5, 2008

Rankings are from CBI Composite Poll

Around the Bases
Wallace homers twice as No. 4 Arizona State tops UCLA

Miami completes sweep of Saint Mary's; Utah Valley shocks Oklahoma State

In Los Angeles, Brett Wallace (right) hit two of his team’s six home runs as No. 4 Arizona State outscored UCLA 11-8 in winning its Pac-10 series at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The Bruins (7-8, 24-20) scored a pair in the seventh to tie it at 7-7 before an RBI single by Wallace in the ninth gave the Sun Devils (12-6, 37-8) the lead for good. Petey Paramore followed with a three-run homer to give ASU an 11-7 advantage. Wallace finished with three hits and four RBI.

No. 1 Miami (Fla.) 15, Saint Mary’s 3

In Coral Gables, Fla., Dennis Raben went 4 for 4 with four RBI as Miami completed the three-game sweep over Saint Mary’s at Mark Light Field. Raben reached base five times, including a two-run homer in the fourth that gave the Hurricanes (39-5) a 9-1 lead. Blake Tekotte had three hits and three runs for Miami. Cory Miller had an RBI double and scored in the fifth for the Gaels (22-22-1).

Utah Valley 11, No. 9 Oklahoma State 3

In Stillwater, Okla., Bryan Smith fanned 11 in his first complete game as Utah Valley snapped Oklahoma State’s 12-game win streak in defeating its highest-ranked Division I  opponent. Smith (2-5) allowed eight hits and three runs. The Wolverines (13-31-1) scored a pair in the first before the Cowboys (35-12) got a two-run single from Luis Flores in the second. Adam Openshaw homered to ignite a four-run fourth for Utah Valley. Tyler Garretson had two hits and three RBI for the Wolverines.

No. 3 Florida State 13, Clemson 4

In Clemson, S.C., Tony Delmonico had three hits and three RBI as Florida State clinched its ACC series with Clemson at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Stuart Tapley went 3 for 4, including a two-run homer that capped a three-run second as the Seminoles (21-5, 39-7) took the lead for good after the Tigers (10-15-1, 24-22-1) tallied one in the first. FSU also had homers from Jason Stidham in the fourth, Dennis Guinn in the seventh and Buster Posey in the eighth.

No. 8 San Diego 2, Pepperdine 0

In Malibu, Calif., Kyle Blair allowed two hits in 7.2 scoreless innings as San Diego won its West Coast Conference series over Pepperdine at Eddy D. Field Stadium to clinch a berth in the WCC Championship Series. Blair (6-3) did not allow a hit until the fourth and fanned seven Waves (9-5, 28-15). The first-place Toreros (15-3, 37-13) scored both runs in the first a James Meador double was followed by four consecutive walks. Meador and Josh Romanski each had two hits for USD.

No. 10 Wichita State 6, Northern Iowa 5

In Wichita, Kan., a two-run single by Ryan Jones in the bottom of the ninth as Wichita State completed a three-game Missouri Valley sweep over Northern Iowa at Eck Stadium. The Panthers (11-7, 25-18) scored four in the fifth to take a 5-1 lead. The Shockers (11-7, 25-18) tallied one in the fifth and two in the sixth to pull within one before the two-run rally in the ninth. Logan Hoch (1-1) allowed one hit in the final 2.1 innings to earn the victory.

No. 13 Georgia 11, Ole Miss 4
In Athens, Ga., Georgia won its SEC series with Ole Miss behind four home runs. The Bulldogs (17-6-1, 31-15-1) pounded out 14 hits as Gordon Beckham hit his NCAA-best 22^nd homer, a three-run shot. Lyle Allen, Matt Cerione and Michael Demperio also went deep for Georgia. Leadoff man Ryan Peisel was 3 for 5 with a pair of runs and an RBI. Starter Nathan Moreau pitched six strong innings, allowing just two runs on five hits. Cody Overbeck and Tim Ferguson homered for the Rebels (12-12, 31-19).

No. 14 South Carolina 9, Florida 6
In Columbia, S.C., South Carolina won its second game in a row to take its SEC series with Florida. The third, fourth and fifth hitters in the South Carolina (13-11, 33-15) order, Justin Smoak, James Darnell and Phil Disher, each clubbed two-run homers to power the Gamecock offense. Disher was on base each time, going 4 for 4 with a walk. Riley Cooper homered for the second day in a row for the Gators (13-11, 28-18) and Bryson Barber was 2 for 4 with three RBI and his sixth homer.

No. 17 Vanderbilt 10, Tennessee 8
In Knoxville, Tenn., Vanderbilt completed an SEC sweep of rival Tennessee, racking up 10 runs on 16 hits. Each Commodore (14-9, 34-13) had at least one hit and six had multi-hit games. Dominic de la Osa set a school record for hits with his 2-for-5 performance. Shea Robin hit a pair of solo homers and Pedro Alvarez had three hits. After Vanderbilt allowed three runs in the ninth, Brett Jacobson came on and got the final three outs to record the save. Kentrail Davis was 3 for 5 with four RBI and his tenth and eleventh homers for the Volunteers (11-13, 25-23). P.J. Polk and Jeff Lockwood also homered in the loss.

Georgia Tech 11, No. 19 Coastal Carolina 4

In Atlanta, Derek Dietrich had three hits and five RBI to give Georgia Tech the series win over Coastal Carolina at Russ Chandler Stadium. Dietrich homered for the 14^th time as the Yellow Jackets (33-14) went deep in their 15^th straight game. Patrick Long also had three hits with a run for Tech. Adam Rice had a two-run single in the third for the Chanticleers (38-11) that tied the game at 2-2. Dietrich’s two-run dinger in the fifth preceded a solo shot by Tony Pragman as the Jackets took the lead for good at 5-2.