March 17, 2009

Rankings are from CBI Composite Poll

Around the Bases
Otteman drives in four as UTA defeats Minnesota

UNC, Ga. Tech, Miami, Clemson, Alabama record shutouts; Rice tops Texas

In Grand Prairie, Texas, Matt Otteman had the luck of the Irish with two hits, including a home run, and drove in four as UTA stopped Minnesota 6-2 Tuesday evening at QuikTrip Park. The Mavericks (8-10) wore green uniforms in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. Michael Kvasnicka had a two-run single in the first for the Golden Gophers (10-5). Otteman and Ryan Davis both had two-run singles in the third as UTA took the lead for good. Otteman added a two-run homer in the seventh to complete the scoring. Ryan Robinson (1-1) fanned 10 in eighth innings to earn the victory. He allowed seven hits, two runs and two walks. Adam Boydston pitched a perfect ninth with one strikeout to earn his first save. Kvasnicka finished with three hits for Minnesota.

No. 1 North Carolina 17, Princeton 0

In Chapel Hill, N.C., Seth Baldwin hit two of his team’s five home runs, and four pitchers combined on a one-hitter as UNC overwhelmed Princeton at Boshamer Stadium. Baldwin was 4 for 4 with four runs and six RBI. He singled in the second, doubled in the fifth, had a grand slam in the sixth and added a solo shot in the eighth. Greg Holt, Dustin Ackley and Levi Michael also went deep for the Tar Heels (15-2). Ben Bunting had three hits and three runs for UNC. The Tigers (3-3) did not get a hit until Greg Van Horn’s single with two outs in the eighth. Patrick Johnson (1-0) tossed five hitless innings with four walks and six strikeouts. Jimmy Messer, Garrett Davis and Brian Moran kept Princeton off the board over the final four innings.

No. 10 Rice 6, No. 2 Texas 3

In Houston, Rick Hague had two hits, including a homer, and two RBI as Rice topped Texas in front of a record-crowd of 6,193 at Reckling Park. Steven Sultzbaugh had a triple and scored in the third for the Owls (11-5) before the Longhorns (14-3) answered in the fourth on a sac fly by Cameron Rupp. Preston Clark had a sac fly in the fifth to give Texas a 2-1 lead. Hague’s two-run homer sparked a four-run fifth as Rice took a 5-2 lead. Russell Moldenhauer doubled and scored in the sixth for the Longhorns before the Owls added a run in the seventh to complete the scoring. Mike Ojala struck out four of the five batters he faced to earn his first save. Chad Mozingo had two hits and two runs for Rice. Michael Torres had a double for Texas.

No. 5 LSU 2, Northwestern State 1

In Baton Rouge, La., Micah Gibbs had an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth to lift LSU past Northwestern State at Alex Box Stadium. Blake Dean led off the ninth with a single and was replaced by pinch-runner Derek Helenihi. One batter later, Ryan Schimpf and Leon Landry drew walks, setting the stage for Gibbs’ game-winner. Dean had a sacrifice fly in the first for the Tigers (14-4). The Demons (10-6) tied it in the second on a sac fly by Miles Parsons. Jared Mitchell had two hits and a run for LSU. Trent Grondin had two hits for Northwestern State.

No. 8 Georgia Tech 11, Kennesaw State 0

In Atlanta, Zach Von Tersch, Jed Bradley and Brandon Cumpton combined on a two-hitter as Georgia Tech blanked Kennesaw State at Stillwell Stadium for its 10th straight victory. Von Tersch (4-0) started and fanned three in two innings to earn the win. Bradley struck out seven in five innings, while Cumpton fanned three over the final two innings. Matt Skole had three hits for the Yellow Jackets (13-1). Jeff Rowland had one hit, three walks and two runs. Jace Whitmer and Ross Tendler had hits for the Owls (7-7)

No. 9 Miami (Fla.) 8, St. Thomas 0

In Coral Gables, Fla., Ryan Jackson homered twice, and Daniel Miranda and Michael Rudman combined on a four-hitter as Miami blanked cross-town opponent St. Thomas at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field. Miranda (1-1) allowed four hits in six innings with five strikeouts. Rudman worked three hitless innings to earn his first save. Jackson had two-run homers in both the first and eighth for the Hurricanes (15-3). Chris Herrmann also went deep for Miami. DePhillip Mason had a hit and a steal for the Bobcats (9-18).

No. 11 Coastal Carolina 5, Tennessee 2

In Knoxville, Tenn., David Anderson had a home run and a double to help Coastal Carolina extend its win streak to 14 with a victory over Tennessee at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. The Chanticleers (17-1) now have four wins over SEC opponents. Jose Iglesian homered in the second for Coastal, but the Vols (8-9) answered with a long ball by Cody Hawn in the sixth. The seventh was a Dublin inning for the Chants as Chance Gilmore, Anderson and Adam Rice all doubled to start the inning. Gilmore came home on Rice’s two-bagger and Anderson scored on a sac fly by Daniel Bowman. Tyler Horne went deep in the bottom of the frame to make it 3-2. Anderson homered in the ninth and Iglesias singled and scored later in the frame to complete the scoring. UT brought the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth with no outs, but a fielder’s choice and a double play ended the threat. Blake Forsythe finished with three hits for the Vols.

No. 15 Oklahoma 8, No. 18 TCU 7

In Fort Worth, Texas, Casey Johnson’s sacrifice fly capped a four-run ninth as Oklahoma edged TCU at Lupton Stadium. Jamie Johnson, Matt Harughty and Bryant Hernandez started the ninth with singles to load the bases. Aaron Baker was hit by a pitch to force in a run and J.T. Wise’s two-run single tied the game at 7-7 before Johnson’s sac fly gave the Sooners (18-4) the lead. Matt Carpenter had a homer in the fifth and his two-run double in the sixth gave the Horned Frogs (11-5) a 5-3 lead. OU added a run in the seventh before TCU plated two in the eighth for a 7-4 advantage. Harughty and Hernandez both had three hits and a run for the Sooners. Taylor Featherston went 5 for 5 with two runs for the Horned Frogs.

No. 16 Virginia 5, Marshall 4

In Charlottesville, Va., Jarrett Parker had an RBI walk and scored the go-ahead run on a balk in a four-run seventh as Virginia rallied to edge Marshall at Davenport Field. The Cavaliers (16-0) extended their school-record win streak. The Thundering Herd (7-9) scored three in the fourth, sparked by an RBI double by Victor Gomez. Tyler Cannon was hit by a pitch and scored on a base hit by Phil Gosselin in the sixth to put Virginia on the board. Gomez had an RBI single in the seventh to give the Herd a 4-1 advantage. The Cavs loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh before Parker walked to force in a run and Cannon had a two-run single to knot the score at 4-4. Following a walk, a balk brought in Parker with the eventual game-winner. Kevin Arico pitched two scoreless innings to earn his first save.

No. 17 Ole Miss 7, Arkansas State 1

In Jonesboro, Ark., Kevin Mort had three hits, one run and two RBI to lead Ole Miss past ASU. Tim Ferguson also had three hits and a run for the Rebels (12-4). Brett Bukvich (3-0) allowed two hits and one unearned run in five innings with three walks and seven strikeouts to earn the victory. Logan Power walked and scored in the second before Ferguson singled and scored in the third as Ole Miss led 2-0. Giovanni Garcia walked and scored in the fifth for the Red Wolves (7-10). The Rebels added one in the seventh, two in the eighth and one in the ninth.

No. 19 Clemson 8, Presbyterian 0

In Clemson, S.C., Graham Stoneburner, Will Lamb and Craig Gullickson combined on a five-hitter as Clemson shut out Presbyterian at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Stoneburner (2-2) allowed two hits and a walk in six innings with seven strikeouts. Lamb worked two innings and Gullickson pitched the ninth. Ben Paulsen doubled and scored in a three-run first for the Tigers (12-4). Paulsen homered in the third to make it 4-0. Clemson added a run in the sixth and three in the eighth to complete the scoring. Paulsen finished with three hits and two runs. Jesse Harmon had two hits for the Blue Hose (2-13).

No. 20 Arkansas 7, Nebraska 3

In Fayetteville, Ark., Collin Kuhn had two hits and two runs as Arkansas topped Nebraska at Baum Stadium. Kuhn doubled and scored on a Ben Tschepikow homer in the first. The Huskers (11-6-1) answered with a run in the second before the Razorbacks (13-3) responded with two in the bottom of the frame, including an RBI double by Kuhn. Arkansas added three in the seventh before Nebraska put up two in the ninth. Travis Sample drove in three for the Razorbacks. D.J. Belfonte had a double, a run and an RBI for the Huskers.

No. 21 Pepperdine 3, Washington State 1

In Malibu, Calif., Matt Bywater had a career-high 12 strikeouts as Pepperdine nipped WSU at Eddy D. Field Stadium. Bywater (2-0) walked one and didn’t throw a pitch outside the strike zone until there were two outs in the third, delivering 25 straight strikes to start the game. He had 102 pitches, of which 73 were strikes. Jared Prince had an RBI double in the fourth as the Cougars (5-10) took a 1-0 lead. The Waves (12-5) answered in the fifth as Brian Humphries had a run-scoring single to tie it and Bryce Mendonca scored on a dropped fly ball to put Pepperdine up 2-1. Tyler Brubaker had a leadoff homer in the seventh to give the Waves a 3-1 advantage. Nick Gaudi retired the side in the ninth for his fourth save. Miles Silverstein had two hits and a run for Pepperdine. Greg Lagreid had a hit and a run for WSU.

No. 24 Alabama 24, Alabama A&M 0

In Tuscaloosa, Ala., Jake Smith belted two of his team’s six home runs as Alabama tied a school record with homers in 17 straight games in its win over Alabama A&M at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. Head coach Jim Wells became the seventh coach to win 600 games at an SEC school. The Crimson Tide (12-5) scored eight in each of the first two innings to take control. Kyle Moore, Josh Rutledge, Clay Jones and Ryan Rhoden also went deep. Rutledge (4-4, 3 R, 4 RBI) and Brandon May (4-5, 3 R, 3 RBI) led the 26-hit attack. Del Howell (1-0) had a career-high 14 strikeouts in six innings and allowed one hit. Bernard McKinney II had the only hit for the Bulldogs (5-5).

No. 25 Florida 5, Florida State 4

In Gainesville, Fla., Buddy Munroe’s RBI single in the bottom of the ninth lifted Florida past Florida State in front of 3,369 fans at McKethan Stadium. Matt den Dekker led off the ninth with a single, moved to second on a wild pitch and advanced to third on a bunt single by Brandon McArthur. After a strikeout and an intentional walk, Munroe sent a 2-2 pitch to right center to plate den Dekker with the game-winner. The Seminoles (9-7) got an RBI double by Tommy Oravetz and a sacrifice fly by Jason Stidham in the top of the ninth to knot the score at 4-4. Munroe finished with three hits and two RBI. McArthur had two hits and knocked in two for the Gators (10-7). Tyler Holt had three hits and two runs for FSU.