March 20, 2009

Rankings are from CBI Composite Poll

Around the Bases
Hoos handle Hurricanes in series opener

Kansas nips Texas; South Carolina gets by LSU; Missouri edges Texas A&M

In Charlottesville, Va., Jarrett Parker went 2 for 2 with a two-run homer, three runs and four RBI as No. 16 and unbeaten Virginia extended its school-record winning streak to 19 in a 9-4 win over No. 9 Miami Friday night. Franco Valdes, a junior from Miami, went 3 for 4 with two runs, and Tyler Cannon and John Barr each had two hits and a RBI as the Cavaliers (5-0, 19-0) roughed up Chris Hernandez. Hernandez (2-1) allowed six earned runs and nine hits in 5.1 innings in his first career loss. Freshman Danny Hultzen (5-0) worked six strong innings for Virginia, with six strikeouts, seven hits and three earned runs. Harold Martinez and Yasmani Grandal each had two hits and a RBI for the Hurricanes (5-2, 16-4).

Kansas 5, No. 2 Texas 4

In Lawrence, Kan., Shaeffer Hall pitched seven innings to lead Kansas past Texas at Hoglund Ballpark. Hall (2-1) allowed four runs on six hits with one walk and five strikeouts. Buck Afenir’s RBI single capped a four-run third for the Jayhawks (1-0, 11-7). Kevin Keyes homered for the Longhorns (2-2, 14-4) in the fifth to cut the lead in half. Afenir singled and scored in the fifth to give Kansas a 5-2 lead before Texas tallied single runs in the sixth and seventh. Paul Smith worked the ninth for his fourth save. Afenir, Brian Heere and Jason Brunansky each had two hits for the Jayhawks. Travis Tucker had a pair of hits for Texas.

South Carolina 7, No. 5 LSU 3
In Columbia, S.C., Sam Dyson pitched around six walks, allowing two hits and one earned run with five strikeouts in seven innings as South Carolina topped LSU in the SEC. The Gamecocks (2-2, 14-4) led 2-1 entering the bottom of the eighth, when Whit Merrifield ripped a two-run homer and Andrew Crisp added a three-run shot. Tyler Hanover went 2 for 4 with a RBI, and DJ LeMahieu went 2 for 5 with a run and a RBI for the Tigers (2-2, 15-5).

Missouri 3, No. 7 Texas A&M 2
In Columbia, Mo., Kyle Gibson struck out a career-high 16 in his second straight complete game as Missouri nipped Texas A&M. Gibson (4-1) retired 18 of the first 19 batters he faced and followed up a complete-game shutout of Texas with another gem. Steve Gray beat out a double-play grounder to plate the game-winning run in the eighth inning after the Aggies (2-2, 13-8) scored twice in the seventh to tie it. Gibson allowed five hits and walked one for the Tigers (2-2, 10-10). Greg Folgia led the offense, going 3 for 4 with a run and a RBI. Brooks Raley went 2 for 3 with a run and also allowed two earned runs and struck out nine in seven innings for the Aggies.

No. 1 North Carolina 8, Duke 5

In Chapel Hill, N.C., Ben Bunting went 3 for 4 with a two-run homer and three runs, and Levi Michael went 3 for 5 with a two-run homer as North Carolina topped Duke for its ninth straight win. Alex White (4-0) allowed five earned runs and struck out eight in seven innings for the Tar Heels (5-1, 17-2). Dustin Ackley and Mike Cavasinni had two hits apiece, and Greg Holt contributed a two-run single for Carolina. Matt Williams blasted a two-run homer for the Blue Devils (3-4, 12-7).

No. 3 Georgia 5, Mississippi State 3
In Athens, Ga., Matt Cerione went 1 for 2 with two walks and hit a two-run homer in the third to help Georgia defeat Mississippi State in the opener of their SEC series in front of 3,876 fans at Foley Field. Trevor Holder (4-1) pitched six innings, striking out six and allowing two runs on eight hits for Georgia (2-2, 17-2). Mississippi State (2-2, 13-7) scored the first run of the game and Ryan Powers went 2 for 4 with one RBI. Russ Sneed and Ryan Duffy both had three hits for the Bulldogs.

No. 4 Cal State Fullerton 10, Oral Roberts 6

In Fullerton, Calif., Christian Colon had three hits and got on base five times as Cal State Fullerton clinched the series victory over Oral Roberts. Colon had two singles, a double, one walk and was hit by a pitch. Khris Davis homered and doubled for the Titans (15-3). After Seth Furmanek had an RBI single in the first for the Golden Eagles (7-4), Fullerton scored 10 straight to seize control. Colon had an RBI double and scored in a four-run first. He scored three and knocked in two. Johnny Roberts and Colby Price both had two hits and two RBI for ORU. Kevin Rath (1-0) fanned nine in 4.2 innings of relief to earn the victory.

No. 6 Arizona State 4, Arizona 1

In Tempe, Ariz., Mike Leake struck out a career-high 15 as ASU topped Arizona in the Pac-10 opener for both teams in front of a sellout crowd of 4,371 at Winkles Field-Packard Stadium at Brock Ballpark. Leake (5-1) went the distance with five hits, one run, and one walk. Riccio Torrez had an RBI single in the fifth for the Sun Devils (1-0, 15-3) to start the scoring. Jared McDonald added a run-scoring double in the sixth for ASU. Bobby Coyle homered in the eighth for the Wildcats (0-1, 11-8) before Zack MacPhee had a two-run single in the bottom of the frame. MacPhee finished with two hits. Bryce Ortega had a pair of hits for Arizona.

No. 8 Georgia Tech 10, Virginia Tech 9
In Blacksburg, Va., Matt Skole hit a three-run homer to cap off a furious ninth-inning comeback for Georgia Tech against Virginia Tech in the opener of their ACC series. The Hokies (1-5, 12-7) were leading by five going into the last inning, but the Yellow Jackets (5-0, 15-1) pounded in six runs to take the lead for good. Ty Homan went 3 for 5 with one RBI and scored two for Virginia Tech, while Tony Plagman went 3 for 4 and drove in three for Georgia Tech. Jake Davies (1-0) picked up his first career win while working relief in the eighth.

No. 10 Rice 4, Southern Miss 3
In Hattiesburg, Miss., Rick Hague scored the game-winning run on a wild pitch in the top of the ninth as Rice edged Southern Miss in Conference USA play. Steven Sultzbaugh had a two-run double, and Jeremy Rathjen (2 for 4) added a RBI single as Rice (1-0, 13-5) took a 3-2 lead in the seventh. Travis Graves tied it with a RBI single to score Tyler Koelling, who had tripled, in the bottom of the eighth. Corey Stevens had two hits and two RBI for the Golden Eagles (0-1, 12-7).

No. 11 Coastal Carolina 7, Winthrop 2
In Rock Hill, S.C., Chance Gilmore went 3 for 4 with a double, a triple and two runs to lead Coastal Carolina to a Big South victory at Winthrop. The Chanticleers (3-0, 18-2) scored five in the third to put away the Eagles (3-1, 12-7). Kevin Nolan and John Murrian each had two hits for Winthrop and Cam Walters knocked in the only two runs for the Eagles. Cody Wheeler (4-0) threw seven innings for Coastal Carolina, striking out four without walking a batter.
 

No. 12 UC Irvine 1, Nevada 0

In Irvine, Calif., Daniel Bibona fanned a season-high 11 as UCI nipped Nevada in the opener of their weekend series at Anteater Ballpark. Bibona (3-1) worked seven scoreless innings with one hit and two walks. Eric Pettis retired the side in order in the ninth for his fifth save. The Anteaters (11-5) scored the game’s lone run in the fifth as Francis Larson had a one-out triple before Eric Deragisch brought him in with a double one batter later. Nick Melino had a double for the Wolf Pack (7-11).

No. 17 Ole Miss 8, No. 24 Alabama 7

In Oxford, Miss., Kyle Henson scored on a wild pitch to cap a three-run rally in the bottom of the ninth as Ole Miss edged Alabama in SEC action. A bases-loaded walk and a groundout plated the first two runs in the ninth for the Rebels (3-1, 15-4) before the wild pitch brought home Henson with the game-winner. The Crimson Tide (2-2, 14-6) had scored three in the top of the ninth to take a 7-5 lead. Jordan Henry had two hits, two runs and two RBI for Ole Miss. Ross Wilson had two hits and drove in two for Alabama.

Florida State 5, No. 19 Clemson 2
In Tallahassee, Fla., Sean Gilmartin (4-1) fanned eight in 6.1 innings to lead Florida State to an ACC win against Clemson in front 5,195 fans at Dick Howser Stadium. The Seminoles (2-3, 10-7) had eight hits by eight different batters. Ben Paulsen and Addison Johnson each collected an RBI for Clemson (4-3, 13-5). The Tigers were 0 for 14 with runners in scoring position.
 

Army 9, No. 23 Illinois 8

In Lakeland, Fla., J.P. Polchinski’s three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth gave Army the win over Illinois at Henley Field. Casey McMurray and Domini Altobelli had both two-run singles in a five-run ninth as the Illini (11-3) took an 8-6 lead. With one out in the bottom of the frame, Kevin McKague singled to center and pinch-hitter Cody Murtle walked to set the table for Polchinski’s poke to right center for the game-winner. Andy Ernesto and Tony Capozzi both had two hits and two RBI for the Black Knights (6-6). Altobelli and Brandon Wikoff both had three hits for Illinois.

No. 25 Florida 3, Tennessee 2
In Gainesville, Fla., Matt den Dekker hit a two-run homer with two out in the eighth to secure a win for Florida against SEC-rival Tennessee. Jeff Barfield pitched 6.2 innings for the Gators (1-3, 12-7), striking out nine and allowing only two runs in a no-decision. Nick Hernandez (1-2) pitched all eight innings for the Volunteers (1-3, 9-10). John Adams went 2 for 4 with one RBI for Florida while Josh Liles, Cody Hawn and Blake Forsythe each collected two hits for Tennessee.

BYU 4, San Diego State 2

In San Diego, Stephen Strasburg had 15 strikeouts, but BYU rallied late to get by SDSU in Mountain West action in front of 2,032 fans at Tony Gwynn Stadium. Strasburg worked seven scoreless innings with two hits and two walks. Trailing 2-0, Andrew Law had a run-scoring base hit and Steve Parker had a two-run double in the eighth as the Cougars (4-1, 13-7) took a 3-2 advantage. BYU added an insurance run in the ninth. Jordan Muir pitched a perfect ninth to earn his fourth save. Erik Castro had three hits and an RBI for the Aztecs (3-2, 13-8).

VCU 18, UNC Wilmington 11

In Wilmington, N.C., Justin Wright went 4 for 6 with two doubles, a home run, three runs and five RBI to lead VCU past UNCW in CAA action at Brooks Field. Wright had a double in the second, an RBI groundout in a three-run third, a two-run single in a six-run fourth, a leadoff double in the sixth and a two-run homer in the seventh. He had four RBI on the season coming into the contest. The Rams (1-0, 10-5) put up crooked numbers in all of their six scoring innings in posting season highs with 18 runs and 20 hits. Joe Van Meter had a two-run triple in a three-run third that put VCU ahead to stay. Matthew Leskiw had a two-run single in the six-run fourth as the Rams built an 11-3 lead. Richard Gonzalez went 3 for 5 with two doubles, a home run, three runs and four RBI. His three-run homer in the sixth gave VCU a 14-4 advantage. Leskiw also finished with three hits. The Seahawks (3-1, 15-3) had 16 hits, including a pair of home runs from Cody Stanley (3-6, 4 R, 3 RBI) and a solo shot from Robbie Monday (1-3, 2 R, 4 RBI). Bobby Leeper also had two hits and two runs for UNCW.