May 7, 2008

Rankings are from CBI Composite Poll

Around the Bases
Columbia and Dartmouth split DH at Ivy Championships

Kansas State nips No. 3 ASU; Gray's homer in ninth lifts No. 16 Missouri

In Hanover, N.H., Columbia and Dartmouth split the first two games of the Ivy League Championship series Tuesday afternoon at Red Rolfe Field, forcing a third and final game on Wednesday. The Lions (21-25) took the first game 11-7 before the Big Green (25-16) held on for a 16-15 win in the second game. In the opener, Dean Forthun’s two-run single keyed a four-run fifth as the Lions took an 8-3 lead. In the nightcap, the Big Green used an eight-run fifth to take a 14-3 lead. Columbia fought back and eventually tied it at 15-15 after eight. Damon Wright singled and scored in the top of the ninth to give Dartmouth the victory. Nick Santomauro had four hits, including three homers, four runs and five RBI on the day for the Big Green. Ron Williams (pictured) had seven hits, including two doubles and a homer, four runs and three RBI in the doubleheader for the Lions.

Kansas State 7, No. 3 Arizona State 6

In Manhattan, Kan., Justin Bloxom homered twice and drove in five as Kansas State edged Arizona State at Tointon Family Stadium. A native of Phoenix, Ariz., Bloxom belted a two-run homer in the first to start the scoring. He added a two-run shot in the fifth that gave the Wildcats (23-25) the lead for good at 5-3. The Sun Devils (37-9) scored three in the eighth to pull to within one at 7-6. Daniel Edwards struck out two of the three batters he faced in the ninth to earn his ninth save.

No. 16 Missouri 5, Creighton 4

In Columbia, Mo., Steve Gray’s pinch-hit two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth lifted Missouri to the win over Creighton at Taylor Stadium. Trevor Coleman had a two-run shot in the eighth to pull the Tigers (32-16) to within one. Dan Pietroburgo opened the ninth for Missouri by reaching on an error and was sacrificed to second, setting the stage for Gray’s heroics. Robbie Knight went 5 for 5 for the Bluejays (30-17) with two homers, three runs and three RBI.

No. 2 North Carolina 9, North Florida 2

In Cary, N.C., Kyle Shelton had three doubles and two RBI as North Carolina defeated North Florida at Cary’s USA Baseball National Training Complex. Dustin Ackley also had three hits for the Tar Heels (39-8). UNC pitchers held the Ospreys (26-21) to four hits, one being a two-run homer in the first by Travis Martin. UNC scored two in the first, one in the second, one in the third and two in the fifth to take control.

No. 5 Rice 9, Texas State 1

In Houston, Jared Gayhart reached base five times and scored three at Rice topped Texas State in front of 2,593 fans at Reckling Park. Gayhart had a double, a home run and three walks for the Owls (35-11). Rice scored twice in the fourth and Gayhart walked and scored in the fifth as the home team took a 3-0 lead. The Bobcats (24-23) scored in the sixth before Gayhart smacked a two-run homer in the seventh and a four-run eighth put it out of reach.

No. 6 Texas A&M 13, Sam Houston State 9

In Huntsville, Texas, Luke Anders and Dane Carter each had three-run homers as Texas A&M outscored Sam Houston State in front of a record-crowd of 1,821 at Don Sanders Stadium. The Bearkats (30-20) scored one in the second and two in the third before Anders’ blast in the fourth tied it at 3-3. Brodie Greene’s RBI single in the sixth gave the Aggies (41-8) a 4-3 lead. Carter’s three-run bomb came in the seventh, while Greene and Kyle Colligan went deep in a five-run eighth. SHSU scored six in the bottom of the ninth to make it close.

No. 9 San Diego 5, UCLA 3

In Los Angeles, Ricardo Pecina fanned 11 as San Diego topped UCLA at Jackie Robinson Stadium. Pecina (5-2) allowed four hits in 5.2 scoreless relief innings to earn the victory. A.J. Griffin gave up one hit and no runs in 2.2 innings to register his 12^th save. Sean Nicol had an RBI triple in the first for the Toreros (38-13). Ryan Babineau answered with a three-run triple in the bottom of the frame for the Bruins (24-21). Kevin Hansen’s three-run homer in the sixth gave USD the lead for good at 4-3. Logan Gelbrich walked and scored on a Hansen single in the eighth for an insurance run for the Toreros.

No. 13 Cal State Fullerton 9, Pepperdine 1

In Fullerton, Calif., Erik Komatsu and Jared Clark each had three hits and two RBI as Cal State Fullerton stopped Pepperdine. Kevin Rath (1-0) allowed one run on four hits in recording his first victory. Komatsu’s RBI single capped a two-run second for the Titans (30-16). Komatsu added a homer in the seventh. Clark had a sacrifice fly in the fifth and an RBI single in the eighth. Nate Simon had a run-scoring single in the fourth for the Waves (28-16).

No. 17 UC Irvine 10, UC Riverside 4

In Riverside, Calif., Dillon Bell and Aaron Lowenstein each drove in two as UC Irvine outscored UC Riverside at Riverside Sports Complex. The Anteaters (31-12) scored two in the first and one in the second before the Highlanders (16-26) got a two-run double by Tony Nix in the second and a homer from Tom Calahan in the third to knot the score at 3-3. Lowenstein’s two-run single highlighted a four-run sixth as UCI reclaimed the lead.
 

No. 18 California 13, UC Davis 4

In Berkeley, Calif., Charlie Cutler went 5 for 5 with two doubles and an RBI as California stopped UC Davis at Evans Diamond. Josh Satin smacked a three-run homer in the third for the Golden Bears (30-15-2). David Cooper and Brett Jackson each had two-run shots in the seventh for Cal. Kevin Miller (6-0) allowed three hits and two runs in five innings with one walk and two strikeouts to earn the win. The Aggies fell to 29-17.

No. 19 NC State 6, Campbell 3

In Buies Creek, N.C., a two-run double in the eighth by Marcus Jones snapped a 3-3 tie and propelled NC State to the win over Campbell at Taylor Field. Eric Surkamp and Jimmy Gillheeney (2-0) combined on a seven-hitter for the Wolfpack (33-14). Surkamp fanned 12 in six innings, while Gillheeney allowed one hit in three scoreless frames. Pat Furguson had a two-run double and scored in the third as NC State took a 3-0 lead. The Camels (17-31) tied it with three in the sixth. After the two-run double by Jones, Ryan Pond added an RBI single in the ninth to make the final 6-3.