May 10, 2008

Rankings are from CBI Composite Poll

No. 2 North Carolina 9, Virginia 3

Around the Bases
Carter, Aggies top Huskers in 16

Vanderbilt outslugs Georgia; California edges Stanford in 10

In Lincoln, Neb., Dane Carter delivered a three-run double in the top of the 16^th inning as No. 6 Texas A&M won its Big 12 showdown opener against No. 7 Nebraska 6-3 in a Friday-night marathon that lasted five hours and 20 minutes. Three straight infield singles set the stage for Carter, who came to bat 1 for 7 on the evening. His heroics helped the Aggies (19-3, 42-8) win their 16th straight conference game and move 3.5 games ahead of second-place Nebraska (15-6-1, 36-9-1). Aggies closer Travis Starling (8-0) was brilliant in relief, tossing eight scoreless innings with four hits and one strikeout. Dan Jennings (5-1) suffered the loss, despite striking out five in 2.1 innings - the Cornhuskers struck out 19 Aggies on the night. The Aggies scored twice in the second and took a 3-2 lead in the eighth, but Craig Corriston had a RBI groundout in the bottom of the ninth to tie it before Starling worked out of the jam. Starters Brooks Railey (A&M) and Johnny Dorn (Nebraska) each turned in solid performances, with Railey allowing one run and four hits in six innings and Dorn allowing two earned runs and five hits in eight innings.

No. 15 Vanderbilt 13, No. 10 Georgia 7
In Nashville, Tenn., David Macias and Dominic de la Osa each homered and drove in four, and No. 15 Vanderbilt scored seven times in the seventh and eighth innings to slug its way past No. 10 Georgia 13-7. Macias had a two-run double, and de la Osa added a two-run triple as the Commodores (15-9, 37-13) scored five times in the second to take a 5-1 lead. The Bulldogs (17-7-1, 31-17-1) got a two-run homer from Joey Lewis (3 RBI) in the fifth to cut into the lead, and Gordon Beckham had a two-run single to key a four-run seventh that gave them a 7-6 lead. In the seventh, Macias (3 for 4, 2 R, 4 RBI) singled and scored on a two-run homer by de la Osa (2 for 4, 3 R, 4 RBI). Pedro Alvarez added a pair of RBI for Vandy.
 

No. 18 California 4, No. 11 Stanford 3 (10)

In Stanford, Calif., Charlie Cutler’s RBI single in the 10^th lifted California over Stanford at Sunken Diamond in the opener of their Pac-10 series. Matt Gorgen (2-2) got the final out of the ninth and worked a scoreless 10^th to earn the win for the Golden Bears (10-9, 31-15-2). He replaced Tyson Ross, who allowed five hits and three runs in 8.2 innings with two walks and five strikeouts. The Cardinal (10-6, 28-17-2) tied it with a pair in the bottom of the ninth. Brent Milleville homered in the fourth for Stanford to tie it at 1-1. Michael Brady went deep for Cal in the fifth and Cutler’s RBI single in the eighth gave the visitors a 3-1 lead.

No. 1 Miami 12, Virginia Tech 4
In Blacksburg, Va., Blake Tekotte went 3 for 3 with three homers, four runs and four RBI as top-ranked Miami hit five homers to get past Virginia Tech in the ACC. Dennis Raben had a two-run homer late, and Yonder Alonso blasted his 15th homer for the Hurricanes (21-2, 40-5). Chris Hernandez (9-0) worked 6.2 innings with two earned runs, nine hits and six strikeouts. Klint Reed and Chris Kay each had two hits and a RBI for the Hokies (4-21, 20-29).

No. 3 Florida State 23, Savannah State 4
In Tallahassee, Fla., Buster Posey went 2 for 2 with his 15th homer and four RBI, and Jack Rye and Stephen Cadullo each went 2 for 2 with a homer and three RBI as Florida State routed Savannah State. Mike McGee went 3 for 3 with a homer for the Seminoles (41-8), who went 20 for 38 as a team and scored in every inning. Matthew Nowacki hit a two-run homer for Savannah State (20-22).

No. 5 Rice 13, Houston 6
In Houston, Aaron Luna had three hits, including his seventh homer, and three RBI, and Rick Hague had two hits and three RBI as Rice rocked Houston in their C-USA opener at Reckling Park. J.D Padron and Diego Seastrunk also added three hits and two RBI as the Owls improved to 16-3, 36-11. Ryan Berry (6-3) allowed three runs in seven innings for Rice. Jake Stewart and Bryan Pounds each had two hits and two RBI for the Cougars (11-8, 30-19).

No. 8 Oklahoma State 3, Texas Tech 2
In Stillwater, Okla., Jordy Mercer drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth and picked up the save in the ninth as Oklahoma State topped Texas Tech. Mercer finished 3 for 4 with a RBI and earned his eighth save for the Cowboys (15-7, 36-13), who won their seventh straight Big 12 game. Willie Rueda went 4 for 4 with two runs for the Red Raiders (6-16, 21-27).

No. 9 San Diego 4, San Francisco 2
In San Francisco, Brian Matusz worked into the ninth with two runs, seven hits and 14 strikeouts as San Diego claimed a share of its second straight West Coast Conference regular-season championship with a win over San Francisco. The Toreros (16-3, 39-13) will host the WCC title series May 23-25. Kevin Hansen had a two-run double in the first inning, and Kevin Muno hit a solo homer for San Diego. A.J. Griffin picked up his 13th save, tying USD's single-season record. Evan Fredrickson struck out 11 in a hard-luck loss for the Dons (10-9, 29-22). Joey Railey had a two-run single in the ninth for USF.

No. 12 Wichita State 15, Evansville 8
In Evansville, Ind., Andy Dirks went 2 for 5 with a homer, three runs and four RBI as Wichita State opened up a 9-0 lead en route to a sloppy win over Evansville. The Shockers (15-4, 37-13) made five errors to allow the Aces (3-16, 13-37) to get back into the game at 10-5 but pulled away with four more runs in the seventh inning. Conor Gillaspie contributed two hits, three runs and two RBI, and Rob Musgrave improved to 8-1 by pitching into the sixth with five runs (zero earned). Derek Melton drove in two for the Aces, who made six errors.

No. 13 Cal State Fullerton 6, Cal Poly 4
In Fullerton, Calif., Brian Wilson ripped a pinch-hit, two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh to break a 2-2 tie, and Josh Fellhauer followed with another homer as Cal State Fullerton slipped past Cal Poly. Jeff Kaplan tossed 8.2 innings to improve to 9-1 for the Titans (14-5, 31-16). Pete Pezet went 3 for 4 with a run and two RBI for the Mustangs (6-10, 22-25).

Arkansas 12, No. 14 South Carolina 11
In Fayetteville, Ark., Jacob House ripped a pinch-hit grand slam with two outs in the bottom of the ninth as Arkansas rallied to beat South Carolina. Andy Wilkins singled and Brett Eibner walked to lead off the ninth. After Parker Bangs retired the next two hitters, Chase Leavitt reached on an infield single to set up House. Logan Forsythe went 4 for 4 with two homers and three RBI, and Casey Coon added three RBI and Andy Wilkins four hits for the Razorbacks (11-13, 29-20). Andrew Crisp and DeAngelo Mack each homered and drove in three for the Gamecocks (13-12, 34-16).

No. 17 UC Irvine 9, Pacific 1

In Irvine, Calif., Scott Gorgen broke the school record for career strikeouts as UC Irvine pounded Pacific in the Big West series opener at Anteater Ballpark. Gorgen (10-2) allowed two hits and one unearned run in eight innings with nine strikeouts. Gorgen has 305 career strikeouts, passing Glenn Swanson’s total of 298. The Tigers (2-17, 10-36) scored their run in the first on a passed ball before the Anteaters (9-7, 32-12) put up four in the bottom of the frame, keyed by a two-run double by Dillon Bell. Francis Larson added an RBI single in the second and Casey Stevenson’s run-scoring hit in the third gave UCI a 6-1 lead. The Anteaters added three in the eighth for the final margin.

No. 20 Michigan 4, Minnesota 2

In Minneapolis, Minn., Chris Fetter fanned 10 as Michigan topped Minnesota in the opener of their four-game Big Ten set at Siebert Field. Fetter (9-1) took a one-hitter into the ninth before finishing with three hits and two runs in 8.1 innings. Nate Recknagel went 3 for 3, including a homer in the fourth that snapped a scoreless tie. The first-place Wolverines (21-4, 36-11) added two in the eighth on a run-scoring single by Kevin Cislo and an RBI fielder’s choice by Kenny Fellows. Adam Abraham drove in the final run in the ninth for UM. Nate Hanson hit a two-run homer in the ninth for the Gophers (8-17, 18-31).

Pepperdine 2, Portland 1
In Malibu, Calif., Nathan Newman hurled 8.2 splendid innings to lead Pepperdine to a win over Portland, giving the Waves their 31^st straight 30-win season. Denny Duron and Ryan Heroy had RBI for the Waves off Mark Triolo, who was solid for the Pilots (3-13, 19-28). The Waves improved to 10-5, 30-16.

UNC Wilmington 11, James Madison 6

In Harrisonburg, Va., Daniel Hargrave, Cody Stanley and Alex Hill each had two hits and three RBI as UNC Wilmington outscored James Madison in a battle of league leaders in the opener of their CAA series at Long Field at Mauck Stadium. Steve Caseres had two homers for the Dukes (18-6, 31-14) and Matt Browning added a two-run shot as JMU built a 4-1 lead after three. Stanley belted a two-run dinger in the fourth and Hill’s two-run single later in the frame gave the first-place Seahawks (21-3-1, 37-11-1) their first lead. Hargraves’s two-run blast in the sixth gave UNCW an 8-5 advantage.