April 19, 2009

Rankings are from CBI Composite Poll

Around the Bases
Tennessee wins at No. 1 LSU to capture SEC series

Marshall triumphs at No. 2 Rice; No. 10 Arkansas blanks No. 3 Georgia

In Baton Rouge, La., P.J. Polk and Cody Hawn both had two hits, including a home run, two runs and two RBI as Tennessee defeated No. 1 LSU 9-4 Sunday at Alex Box Stadium to capture the SEC series. The Volunteers (5-13, 19-22) built a 9-0 lead in the first four innings. Polk had a two-run homer in the fourth and Hawn followed with his 15th dinger. Ty’Relle Harris (4-2) struck out seven in 6.2 innings in earning the victory. Blake Dean and Mikie Mahtook both homered for the Tigers (11-7, 28-12).

Marshall 11, No. 2 Rice 7

In Houston, Victor Gomez smacked two home runs as Marshall salvaged the finale of its Conference USA series at Rice. The Thundering Herd (6-9, 16-22) rallied from a early 4-0 deficit by scoring one in the fifth and four in the sixth for a 5-4 advantage. Jimmy Comerota had a sac fly in the bottom of the sixth for the Owls (11-4, 27-10) to tie it at 5-5. Gomez had a two-run homer in the seventh to give Marshall the lead for good. Gomez added a three-run shot in a four-run eighth as the Herd took an 11-5 lead. Anthony Rendon homered to lead off a two-run ninth for Rice. Gomez went 4 for 5 with five RBI. Josh Valle had three hits for Marshall. Comerota knocked in three for the Owls. Michael Fuda had two hits and two runs for Rice.

No. 10 Arkansas 2, No. 3 Georgia 0

In Athens, Ga., Brett Eibner pitched a one-hitter as Arkansas salvaged the finale of its SEC series against Georgia at Foley Field. Eibner (4-2) allowed a leadoff double to Matt Cerione in the third, but he retired 17 straight until a leadoff walk in the ninth. Eibner walked three and struck out a career-high 12. The Razorbacks (11-7, 26-11) scored in the sixth on a two-run double by Chase Leavitt, one of three hits for Arkansas. Justin Grimm (2-2) allowed three hits and one earned run in seven innings for the Bulldogs (14-4, 31-8) with one walk and six strikeouts.

No. 4 Arizona State 6, Stanford 3

In Tempe, Ariz., Carlos Ramirez had a two-run homer in a five-run fourth as ASU completed a Pac-10 sweep of Stanford in front of 3,028 fans at Winkles Field-Packard Stadium at Brock Ballpark. Seth Blair (4-1) allowed six hits and one earned run in 6.2 innings with six strikeouts to earn the win. Mitchell Lambson worked the final 2.1 innings to earn his third save. Abe Ruiz had two hits and a run for the Sun Devils (13-2, 28-8). Kellen Kiilsgaard homered in the eighth for the Cardinal (7-8, 15-16). Kiilsgaard finished with two hits and two RBI.

No. 5 UC Irvine 12, UC Riverside 9

In Riverside, Calif., Casey Stevenson and DJ Crumlich both drove in three as UCI completed a Big West sweep of UCR at Riverside Sports Complex. Francis Larson had three hits and two RBI for the first-place Anteaters (11-1, 26-10). After UCI scored a pair in the top of the first, Michael Nesbitt’s two-run double keyed a five-run rally in the bottom of the frame for the Highlanders (2-7, 20-13). Tommy Reyes broke a 6-6 tie with an RBI single in the sixth for the Anteaters. Eric Pettis got the final two outs to earn his 12th save, tied for the top mark in the nation. Michael Hur went 4 for 5 with four runs and two RBI for UCR.

No. 6 North Carolina 4, No. 11 Miami (Fla.) 1
In Chapel Hill, N.C., Matt Harvey (5-1) allowed just one run in seven innings as UNC completed the three-game ACC sweep of Miami at Boshamer Stadium. Ryan Graepel went 2 for 4 with a home run and two RBI for the Tar Heels (13-7, 31-10). Levi Michael had two hits, a walk, stolen base and RBI. UNC scored a run in four consecutive innings beginning in the fourth. Starter Iden Nazario (4-2) lasted 5.1 innings and gave up three runs on eight hits for the Hurricanes (11-10, 26-13). Dave DiNatale finished 2 for 2 with a walk and scored the lone run for Miami on a Scott Lawson RBI groundout in the third.
 

No. 7 Cal State Fullerton 4, Pacific 3

In Fullerton, Calif., Nick Ramirez allowed one run over the final 3.1 innings as Cal State Fullerton salvaged the finale of its Big West series with Pacific. Ramirez worked out of a bases-loaded situation in the sixth and stranded five runners over the final three innings for his second save. J.B. Brown had an RBI single in a two-run first for the Tigers (7-5, 15-19). Khris Davis had an RBI double in the second for the Titans (6-6, 24-11) before Dustin Garneau’s two-run single keyed a three-run fourth to give Fullerton a 4-2 lead. Mike McKeever had a leadoff homer in the eighth for Pacific, one of his three hits.

No. 8 Texas 8, No. 9 Oklahoma 5

In Austin, Texas, Michael Torres had a two-run triple to snap a 5-5 tie in the fifth as first-place Texas completed a Big 12 sweep of Oklahoma in a game shortened to eight innings due to a travel curfew. Connor Rowe had a two-run single in a four-run third for the Longhorns (12-6, 29-8). Jamie Johnson had a two-run single in the second for the Sooners (8-7, 29-11), one of his three hits.

No. 12 Georgia Tech 6, Wake Forest 0
In Winston-Salem, N.C., Brandon Cumpton (2-0) pitched seven scoreless innings of four-hit ball with seven strikeouts as Georgia Tech blanked Wake Forest at WF Baseball Park. Leadoff hitter Jeff Rowland went 3 for 5 with a stolen base, run and RBI, while Luke Morton blasted a solo shot for the Yellow Jackets (13-5-1, 26-8-1). Georgia Tech completed the ACC sweep by getting two runs in the first, a run in the seventh and three insurance runs in the ninth. Starter Austin Stadler (4-4) allowed just two runs on two hits in four innings in the loss. Steven Brooks had two of the five hits for the Demon Deacons (6-15, 20-19).

No. 14 Virginia 2, Boston College 0

In Chestnut Hill, Mass., Robert Morey struck out a career-high 12 and didn’t allow a run in 7.2 innings to lead Virginia to an ACC win against Boston College and take the three-game series 2-1. Morey (1-0) allowed four hits – all singles – and surrendered one walk for the Cavaliers (11-7-1, 30-8-1). The Eagles (10-9, 24-15) got a strong seven innings from Pat Dean (4-3), who struck out eight while allowing two runs. Phil Goesselin went 3 for 4 with two doubles and John Barr and John Hicks each added two hits for Virginia.

High Point 7, No. 15 Coastal Carolina 2
In High Point, N.C., Brian Jones (2-4) gave up two runs on 11 hits in seven innings at as High Point defeated Coastal Carolina at Williard Stadium. Alfie Wheeler went 1 for 4 with a walk, two runs and two RBI for the Panthers (9-9, 16-19). High Point broke a scoreless game wide open in the third with a five-run inning and took the Big South series. Starter Anthony Meo (5-1) surrendered six runs on nine hits with three walks in 4.2 innings. Taylor Motter drove in two for the Chanticleers (10-4, 30-9), who had five different hitters knock two hits apiece.
 

No. 16 Ole Miss 5, No. 23 Florida 3

In Gainesville, Fla., Kyle Henson went 2 for 4 with a run and drove in three for Ole Miss to help edge Florida in a game shortened by curfew, and locked up the SEC weekend series 2-1. After the Gators (10-8, 26-14) had taken a 2-0 lead, Henson hit a two-run home run in the third to tie the game for the Rebels (11-7, 28-11). Jordan Henry drew four walks and scored on a wild pitch to take the lead in the fifth. Josh Adams went 3 for 4 with two RBI for Florida.

No. 17 Cal Poly 16, UC Davis 8
In San Luis Obispo, Calif., D.J. Gentile and Ross Brayton each had three hits and three RBI, and J.J. Thompson homered and drove in three as Cal Poly completed a Big West sweep of UC Davis at Baggett Stadium. Ryan Lee set a school mark by hitting in his 26th straight game, and Matt Jensen tripled to stretch his streak to 23 games. The Mustangs (8-4, 27-9) pounded out 19 hits and led 9-2 after four innings. Ryan Scoma went 2 for 5 with three RBI for the Aggies (1-6, 6-28).

No. 18 Oregon State 5, USC 4 (10)
In Corvallis, Ore., Koa Kahalehoe scored from second when Daniel Cooper's throw on John Tommasini's sacrifice bunt was wild as Oregon State avoided a Pac-10 sweep at the hands of USC. Michael Miller had a two-run single as the Beavers (8-4, 23-9) scored four times (three unearned) in the first off Robert Stock. The Trojans (9-6, 19-17) tied it with four runs in the seventh as Ricky Oropesa, Anthony Vasquez, Keith Castillo and Alex Sherrod had RBI to chase Jorge Reyes.

No. 20 Florida State 13, NC State 2

In Raleigh, N.C., Florida State put up 13 runs on 10 hits to pound ACC-rival NC State and complete the series sweep, 3-0. Mike McGee finished with three hits and three runs to lead the Seminoles (12-7, 25-12), and Jason Stidham, Jack Posey, Ohmed Danesh and James Ramsey each drove in two runs. The Wolfpack (7-14, 19-21) got its two runs off the bats of Drew Poulk and Pratt Maynard. The sweep over NC State marked the sixth time that Florida State had accomplished the feat since joining the ACC in 1992.

No. 21 Clemson 8, Virginia Tech 1

In Blacksburg, Va., Casey Harman (4-3) pitched six scoreless innings as Clemson salvaged the finale of its ACC series with Virginia Tech at English Field. Mike Freeman and Kyle Parker combined for four hits, two homers, three runs and six RBI for the Tigers (12-9, 26-14), who produced three runs in both the third and fourth. Starter Mathew Price (3-2) suffered the loss after giving up six runs on seven hits with three walks and a hit batter in 3.2 innings. Matt Shoemaker had a pinch-hit RBI in the ninth to break up the shutout for the Hokies (9-11, 24-13).

Tulane 4, No. 22 East Carolina 3

In New Orleans, La., Jeremy Schaffer lifted a three-run homer in the fourth to push Tulane past East Carolina and take Game 3 of the Conference USA series. The Green Wave (5-7, 22-17) got a strong outing from Conrad Flynn (4-3), who struck out eight and walked one while giving up three runs over 7.1 innings. The Pirates (10-5, 28-12) were led offensively by Brandon Henderson’s 3-for-4 day, which including two runs and two RBI. Evan Mistich added two hits and an RBI for Tulane.

New Mexico 6, No. 24 San Diego State 5
In Albuquerque, N.M., Rafael Neda drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth with a sacrifice fly as New Mexico edged San Diego State to move into a three-way tie atop the cluttered Mountain West Conference. Kevin Atkinson had two hits and two RBI as the Lobos (10-5, 30-11) scored three in the sixth and single runs in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings. They stand tied with BYU and TCU, just ahead of the Aztecs (9-6, 25-14). Brandon Decker had a two-run triple for SDSU.

No. 25 Kansas State 11, Missouri 5
In Manhattan, Kan., Carter Jurica went 3 for 3 with three RBI, and Jordan Cruz went 2 for 4 with a homer, two runs and three RBI as Kansas State salvaged the third game of its Big 12 series with Missouri. The Wildcats (8-7, 29-11) took advantage of five Tigers errors, three walks and two hit batters in scoring in seven of eight turns at bat. Steve Gray had two hits and two RBI to lead Missouri (8-10, 21-20).