May 20, 2010

Rankings are from CBI Composite Poll

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Around the Bases
Olt belts three homers as Connecticut beats Seton Hall

Miami (Fla.) outlasts Virginia in 11, Florida edges South Carolina

In Storrs, Conn., Mike Olt (right) hit three home runs to lead No. 20 Connecticut (19-5, 42-11) past Seton Hall (7-18, 18-29-1) 7-2 Thursday in their Big East series opener. Mike Nemeth hit a two-RBI single in the first that put the Huskies up 3-0. Olt drove in the remainder of the Huskies’ runs, with solo home runs in the third and sixth and a two-run shot in the eighth. The Pirates’ runs were unearned – the first when Will Walsh flied out in the sixth and the second when Michael Rogers hit into a fielder’s choice in the seventh. Elliot Glynn (7-2) earned the win, pitching six innings in which he allowed eight hits and one run, struck out two and walked two.

No. 13 Miami (Fla.) 5, No. 2 Virginia 4 (11)

In Coral Gables, Fla., Stephen Perez had the game-winning base hit in the bottom of the 11th as Miami edged Virginia in the ACC series opener at Alex Rodriguez Park. Perez also went deep in the third. Scott Lawson (1 for 3, 3 RBI) had a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth for the Hurricanes (20-8, 39-13) that tied the game at 4. Nathan Melendres and Michael Broad both drew two-out walks in the 11th for Miami before Perez singled to right to plate Melendres with the game-winner. John Hicks drove in two for the Cavaliers (21-7, 43-10), while Steven Proscia and John Barr both had two hits and one RBI.

No. 5 Florida 3, No. 6 South Carolina 2

In Columbia, S.C., Kevin Chapman finished the game with two scoreless innings as Florida nipped South Carolina in the SEC series opener in front of 8,188 fans at Carolina Stadium, the third-largest crowd in stadium history. Chapman had two strikeouts in earning his nine save. Tyler Thompson homered and Preston Tucker added a RBI single as the Gators (21-7, 39-12) scored twice in the third. Josh Adams had a run-scoring groundout in the fourth as UF built a 3-0 lead. Bobby Haney had a RBI single in the bottom of the fourth for the Gamecocks (20-8, 42-12). Jeffery Jones belted a pinch-hit homer in the fifth as South Carolina pulled to within one. Daniel Pigott had three hits and one run for the Gators. Adam Matthews went 2 for 3 with a walk and a run for the Gamecocks.

No. 4 Coastal Carolina 7, Radford 2

In Radford, Va., Tommy La Stella went 3 for 4 with four RBI and a run, and Coastal Carolina (24-0, 46-7) beat Radford (15-10, 29-23) in their Big South series opener. La Stella’s RBI came from singles in the first and sixth, a sacrifice fly in the fourth and a solo home run in the eighth. The Chanticleers’ remaining runs came from Josh Conway – a sacrifice fly in the fourth and a RBI single in the seventh – and Rico Noel – a RBI single in the second. Raphael Turner drove in both of the Highlanders’ runs, with a RBI double in the sixth and a solo home run in the eighth. Anthony Meo (12-1) pitched 7.1 innings, striking out 10, walking three, and allowing five hits and one run to earn the win.

No. 7 Georgia Tech 15, Boston College 8

In Chestnut Hill, Mass., Chase Burnette went 5 for 6 with three RBI and three runs as Georgia Tech (20-8, 43-10) won its ACC series opener against Boston College (13-5, 28-25). Mickey Wiswall’s solo home run in the first gave the Eagles their only lead. Georgia Tech took control with a five-run second, highlighted by Cole Leonida’s two-run home run. Back-to-back home runs from Derek Dietrich and Tony Plagman in the fourth were part of another five-run inning that put Georgia Tech up 10-2. Boston College had a five-run inning of its own in the seventh – highlighted by Anthony Melchionda’s three-run home run – but never caught up to the Yellow Jackets Deck McGuire (7-3) was the winning pitcher, striking out six, walking three, and allowing five hits and one run in six innings.

Clemson 9, No. 8 Florida State 8
In Clemson, S.C. the Tigers (16-12, 35-19) edged out Florida State (18-10, 39-14) with three-run rally in the eighth inning to take the ACC series opener. The two teams scored tit-for-tat through the contest with Clemson’s Wilson Boyd tagging the game-winner. Boyd was 3 for 5 with a pair of RBI, while Brad Miller went 5 for 5, plating three. Alex Frederick (5-1) pitched 2.1 relief innings for the win and Thomas Cruz earned his third save. The Seminoles’ Geoff Parker (3-1) suffered the loss, giving up three runs in 1.1 innings.
 

No. 9 TCU 13, Cal State Bakersfield 1

In Fort Worth, Texas, Matt Purke allowed one run in five innings, and Jantzen drove in three, as TCU topped Cal State Bakersfield at Lupton Stadium. Purke (11-0) allowed five hits and fanned five. Paul Gerrish and Greg Holle both pitched two scoreless innings in relief for the Horned Frogs (41-11). TCU scored three in the second and added five in the fourth in building an 8-1 lead. Taylor Featherston (3 for 5, 2 R, 1 RBI), Matt Curry (2 for 2, 2 BB, 1 R, 1 RBI) and Brance Rivera (1 for 3, 1 R, 2 RBI) contributed at the plate for the Frogs. Jeremy Rodriguez and Martin Medina both had two hits for the Roadrunners (23-26).

No. 12 Louisville 6, Notre Dame 3

In South Bend, Ind., J.J. Ethel belted a pinch-hit three-run homer with two outs in the top of the ninth to lift Louisville over Notre Dame in the Big East series opener at Frank Eck Stadium. The Cardinals (19-6, 44-10) trailed 3-2 when Ethel’s blast put UL on top 5-3. Jeff Arnold (2 for 5, 2 RBI) followed with a dinger to put the Cardinals on top by three. Neil Holland tossed a scoreless bottom of the ninth to record his 14th save. Brayden Ashdown homered in the second and Billy Boockford added a two-run single in the seventh for the Fighting Irish (10-15, 22-30).

No. 19 Vanderbilt 4, No. 15 Arkansas 3

In Nashville, Tenn., Curt Casali had a run-scoring single in the bottom of the seventh to snap a 3-3 tie and lift Vanderbilt over Arkansas in the SEC series lid-lifter at Hawkins Field. Jason Esposito (3 for 4, 2 R) had a leadoff single in the seventh for the Commodores (16-10, 40-13), stole second and was sacrificed to third before scoring on Casali’s base hit. Sonny Gray (8-4) allowed seven hits and three runs in eight innings with nine strikeouts to earn the win. Chase Reid pitched a scoreless ninth for his first save. Aaron Westlake had a two-run homer in the first for Vanderbilt. Mink Kreder had a two-run single in a three-run second for the Razorbacks (16-12, 36-15). Bryan Johns (2 for 3) had a RBI double in the fourth that tied the game at 3. Connor Harrell had three hits for the Commodores.

North Carolina 13, No. 16 Virginia Tech 6
In Chapel Hill, N.C., North Carolina topped Virginia Tech, taking the first of three ACC games. The Tar Heels (12-16, 34-20) began with a three-run first inning and would go on to add another three-run frame as well as a five-run seventh. Bryan Goodwin and Ryan Graepel both had two hits and four RBI for UNC. Starter Matt Harvey (7-3) hurled 7.1 innings, fanning seven. Justin Wright (7-4) took the loss for the Hokies (16-12, 36-17), allowing seven runs on six hits in 3.1 innings. Steve Domecus was 3 for 3 with a run batted in. Jayce Boyd went 3 for 4, plating two runs.

No. 17 Auburn 5, No. 18 Ole Miss 3
In Oxford, Miss., Auburn posted a victory over Ole Miss (16-12, 36-18) as pinch-hitter Kevin Patterson stroked a three-run blast in the eighth to take the first tilt of the SEC series.  Following the homer the Tigers (18-10, 37-17) employed Austin Hubbard, who picked up his ninth save with two scoreless innings in which he retired three batters on strikes. Reliever Bradley Hendrix (3-1) was awarded with the win after one inning. Drew Pomeranz (7-2) tallied his second loss, despite tying the Rebels’ career strikeout mark of 332. Taylor Hashman was 1 for 4 with a three-run homer for Ole Miss.

FIU 12, Florida Atlantic 4

In Miami, Mike Martinez went 3 for 5 with five RBI as FIU defeated first-place FAU in the Sun Belt series opener at FAU Baseball Stadium. Jeremy Patton had three hits and three runs for the Panthers (17-11, 31-20). Pablo Bermudez had a homer with two runs and two RBI for FIU. Garrett Wittels went 2 for 5 for the Panthers, extending his hit streak to 46. It is the third-longest hit streak in Division I history, one away from Phil Stephenson of Wichita State in 1981. The Owls (19-9, 31-20) had four solo homers, as Colby Gratton had two and Nick Delguidice and Anthony Mesa both hit one.

(photo courtesy of UConn Media Relations Office)