March 25, 2009

Rankings are from CBI Composite Poll

Around the Bases
Rivers homers twice as Charlotte nips No. 6 North Carolina

Washington outscores No. 12 UCI; UCLA stops No. 21 Pepperdine

In Chapel Hill, N.C., Ryan Rivers homered twice as Charlotte nipped No. 6 North Carolina 2-1 Wednesday at Boshamer Stadium. It was the first win for the 49ers (14-6) in Chapel Hill since 1988. Rivers went deep in his first two at-bats, in the second and the fourth. Pinch-hitter Tarron Robinson had a leadoff homer in the sixth for the Tar Heels (18-5). Patrick Lawson (2-1) fanned seven in 5.1 innings to earn the victory. Jason Cunningham finished the sixth and closer Sam Pierce worked the final three innings for his third save. Pierce did not allow a hit, walked one and struck out two. Alan Parks had two hits, including a double, and two steals for Charlotte. Dustin Ackley walked twice for UNC.

Washington 13, No. 12 UC Irvine 12

In Seattle, Aaron Russell homered twice, including a grand slam, and drove in six as Washington edged UCI at Husky Ballpark. Kyle Conley had a three-run homer and knocked in four for the Huskies (9-12). Russell’s slam in the seventh put UW ahead for the first time at 10-8. Julien Pollard had a two-run single later in the inning for the Huskies. Russell added an RBI double in the eighth. Jordan Leland had a two-run homer in a four-run ninth as the Anteaters (13-7) came up one run short. Ryan Fisher had a three-run homer in the first for UCI.

UCLA 7, No. 21 Pepperdine 2

In Malibu, Calif., Trevor Bauer fanned eight in eight innings as UCLA stopped Pepperdine at Eddy D. Field Stadium. Bauer (2-3) allowed six hits and two runs. Gabe Cohen, Cody Decker and Casey Haerther each homered for the Bruins (8-13). Decker finished with two hits and two runs. Aaron Gates and Colin Rooney both went deep for the Waves (16-8).

No. 4 LSU 10, Harvard 2

In Baton Rouge, La., Mike Mahtook homered twice and Ryan Schimpf had four hits as LSU completed the two-game sweep of Harvard at Alex Box Stadium. D.J. LeMahieu went deep in the second for the Tigers (19-5). Mahtook added a two-run shot later in the frame for a 3-0 advantage. Dillon O’Neill had a two-run single in the third for the Crimson (2-13). Mahtook had another two-run blast in the fourth. Chris Matulis (4-0) pitched seven innings with five hits, two runs, one walk and five strikeouts. O’Neill and Tom Stack-Babich both had two hits for Harvard.

No. 5 Miami (Fla.) 13, Florida Atlantic 6

In Boca Raton, Fla., Vickash Ramjit and Jason Hagerty both had three RBI as Miami defeated FAU at FAU Stadium. The Hurricanes (19-5) snapped a 3-3 tie with six in the fifth to take control. Jason Santana (4-0) worked 5.2 innings with three hits, three runs, two walks and three strikeouts. Ramjit had three hits and a run. Scott Lawson had three runs and two RBI for Miami. William Block had two hits, including a homer, two runs and two RBI for the Owls (14-7). Joey Burkhalter also drove in two for FAU.

No. 13 Arkansas 10, Missouri State 0

In Fayetteville, Ark., four pitchers combined for a school-record 18 strikeouts as Arkansas blanked Missouri State at Baum Stadium. Brett Eibner fanned seven in four innings, Sam Murphy struck out five in three innings, and Christian Kowalchuk and Kendal Wehrle both fanned three in one inning. Eibner (2-0) allowed two hits and one walk in recording the victory. Chase Leavitt and Scott Lyons both had three hits for the Razorbacks (17-4). Leavitt knocked in three and Lyons drove in two. Brayde Drake had three hits and Dallas Hord added two hits for the Bears (11-11).

No. 16 Virginia 7, Towson 5

In Charlottesville, Va., Jarrett Parker, Steven Proscia, John Hicks and David Coleman each had two hits and an RBI as Virginia outlasted Towson at Davenport Field. Kevin Collins had an RBI single in the third for the Tigers (12-12) before the Cavaliers (21-2) answered with five in the bottom of the frame, keyed by an RBI triple by Parker. Towson scored two in the ninth and twice brought the tying run to the plate, but Matt Packer fanned the final two batters to secure the victory. Collins finished with three hits and two RBI, and Gary Helmick had two hits, three runs and two steals for the Tigers.

No. 18 Cal Poly 14, Dartmouth 9

In San Luis Obispo, Calif., Adam Buschini had four hits and three RBI as Cal Poly outscored Dartmouth at Baggett Stadium. Ryan Lee and Wes Dorrell both had three hits and D.J. Gentile homered and knocked in four for the Mustangs (17-4). Joe Sclafani had two hits and four RBI for the Big Green (1-9). Ray Allen had three of Dartmouth’s 19 hits. Cal Poly scored in each at-bat, including multiple runs in each of the first five innings.

No. 19 Oklahoma State 15, UNLV 1

In Stillwater, Okla., Doug Kroll hit two homers and drove in six as OSU completed a two-game sweep of UNLV at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium. Kroll, Tom Belza and Mark Ginther each had three hits for the Cowboys (17-7). Kroll had a three-run homer in the fifth and a two-run shot in the sixth. Bryan Resnick went deep in the seventh for the Rebels (13-10). Ryan Thornton, J.J. Sferra and Jesse Wight each had two hits for UNLV.

No. 24 East Carolina 3, UNC Wilmington 0

In Greenville, N.C., Brad Mincey, Kevin Brandt and Seth Maness combined on the shutout as ECU blanked UNCW at Lewis Field inside Clark-LeClair Stadium. Mincey (4-1) worked 5/1 innings with six hits, two walks and four strikeouts. Brandt allowed one hit and fanned three in 1.2 innings. Maness gave up one hit and struck out three over the final two innings in earning his first save. Kyle Roller had an RBI single in the first for the Pirates (18-4). Devin Harris added a run-scoring single in the fourth and Stephen Batts had an RBI fielder’s choice in the fifth. Grayson Evans and Andrew Cain both had two hits for the Seahawks (17-5).

No. 25 Florida 5, UNF 3

In Gainesville, Fla., Matt den Dekker had two hits, including a homer, and two runs as Florida avenged its Tuesday loss to UNF. T.J. Thompson doubled and scored in the second for the Ospreys (9-16). The Gators (15-8) tied it in the third on a dinger by den Dekker. Brandon McArthur’s RBI single in the fourth put Florida ahead to stay. Josh Adams added a two-run single in the fifth. Preston Tucker had two hits and a run for the Gators. Thompson finished with two hits, two RBI and a run for UNF. Andrew Karmeris also had two hits and a run for the Ospreys.