May 9, 2008

Rankings are from CBI Composite Poll

Around the Bases
Strasburg fans 15 for San Diego State against BYU

Charlotte rallies past Richmond; William & Mary outscored Northeastern

In Provo, Utah, Stephen Strasburg (left) pitched his third consecutive complete game to lead San Diego State past BYU 8-1 Thursday in the opener of their Mountain West series at Larry H. Miller Field. Strasburg (8-1) allowed an unearned run on two hits with one walk and 15 strikeouts. He set a single-season strikeout record with 125 for the Aztecs (15-7, 29-21). Nick Romero and Erik Castro homered for SDSU. Garrett Green had two doubles and two RBI for the Aztecs. Sean McNaughton reached on an error and scored on a wild pitch in the fourth for the Cougars (7-12, 19-32).

Charlotte 8, Richmond 7

In Charlotte, N.C., Charlotte scored a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the seventh to pull out the win over Richmond at Robert and Mariam Hayes Stadium in the opener of their Atlantic 10 series. Mike Mergenthaler’s two-run double in the fourth gave the Spiders (9-12-1, 19-26-2) a 5-0 lead before the first-place 49ers (15-7, 35-13) scored five in the bottom of the fourth to knot the score at 5-5. Rob Lyerly homered and O’Brien Taylor had a two-run single in the five-run outburst. UR answered with run-scoring singles by Ryan Metzroth in the fifth and Chris Cuppia in the sixth for a 7-5 advantage. Taylor’s RBI single in the bottom of the sixth pulled Charlotte to within one. In the decisive seventh, Corey Shaylor had a one-out single followed by a walk to Aaron Bray. On a double steal attempt, the throw went into left, allowing Shaylor to score the tying run. The leftfielder overran the ball, allowing Bray to bring in the go-ahead run. Kelly McLain (5-0) tossed three shutout innings to close the game and earn the victory.

William & Mary 7, Northeastern 5

In Williamburg, Va., Tim Park’s three-run homer in the eighth pushed William & Mary past Northeastern in the opener of their CAA series at Plumeri Park. The Tribe (16-8, 35-13) clinched a berth in the conference tournament. Mike Tamsin homered in the third to give the Huskies (9-15-1, 20-23-1) a 2-0 lead. Jeff Jones went deep in the bottom of the frame, but NU scored one in the fourth and two in the sixth for a 5-1 advantage. Ben Guez homered in the bottom of the sixth and two runs in the seventh made it a 5-4 contest. Park’s three-run blast in the eighth put the Tribe on top 7-5.

New Mexico State 7, Hawaii 5

In Las Cruces, N.M., New Mexico State used three home runs to outscore Hawaii in the opener of their WAC series at Presley Askew Field. The Rainbows (16-13, 24-26) scored five in the first before Joe Leghorn’s three-run homer in the fourth pulled the Aggies (12-13, 25-27) to within two. Joseph Scaperotta’s two-run shot in the fifth tied it at 5-5. Franky Busani’s two-run homer in the eighth gave NMSU the lead for good. Erik Nyquist pitched the ninth for his sixth save.

Mercer 8, Lipscomb 3

In Nashville, Tenn., Mike Armstrong had two hits, three runs and one RBI to lead Mercer past Lipscomb in the opener of their Atlantic Sun series at Ken Dugan Field. Caleb Joseph walked and scored on a balk in the third for the Bisons (17-11, 25-24). Armstrong homered to spark a two-run fourth for the Bears (14-14, 21-28). Justin Sanders smacked a two-run homer in the fifth as Lipscomb took a 3-2 lead. Steve Karwatt’s three-run bomb capped a four-run sixth as Mercer took the lead for good.

Southern Utah 6, Centenary 1

In Cedar City, Utah, Dustin Wittwer allowed one run in seven innings as Southern Utah topped Centenary in the opener of their Summit League series. Wittwer gave up three hits, walked four and struck out three. Keli’i Zablan and Ray Wright singled and scored in the first for the Thunderbirds (11-9, 24-23). Jamor Tabor singled and scored in the top of the third for the Gents (10-11, 27-20). Chester Wilson and Joe Wright had run-scoring singles in the bottom of the frame to push SUU’s lead to 4-1. The Thunderbirds scored their final two runs in the eighth.

Elon 10, Davidson 5

In Davidson, N.C., Dallas Tarleton had three hits and three RBI as Elon completed the three-game Southern Conference sweep of Davidson at Wilson Field. The Phoenix (19-8, 38-16) scored a pair in the first and Mike Lobacz’s two-run single capped a four-run third to give the visitors a 6-0 advantage. Tarleton’s two-run single in the fourth pushed the lead to 8-0. Chase FitzPatrick’s two-run single sparked a three-run fourth for the Wildcats (2-22, 10-36).