March 21, 2009

Rankings are from CBI Composite Poll

Around the Bases
Wolcott leads Duke past North Carolina

Kansas nips Texas for second straight day; Georgia blanks Mississippi State

In Chapel Hill, N.C., Andrew Wolcott allowed one earned run over seven innings, and Nate Freiman and Tim Sherlock drove in two runs apiece as Duke upended top-ranked North Carolina 5-4 Saturday at Boshamer Stadium. Wolcott improved to 4-0 by defeating the Tar Heels (5-2, 17-3) for the second straight year. Sherlock blasted a two-run homer in the second inning off Adam Warren (3-1). Alex Hassan, batting .458 on the year, and Matt Williams each had three hits, and Hassan came on to pick up his fourth save for the Blue Devils (4-4, 13-7). Dustin Ackley went 3 for 5 with a run and RBI, and Ryan Graepel had a pair of RBI for the Tar Heels.

Kansas 4, No. 2 Texas 3

In Lawrence, Kan., Robby Price had an RBI single in the seventh to snap a 3-3 tie and carry Kansas to the Big 12 series victory over Texas at Hoglund Ballpark. David Narodowski started the seventh with a bunt single for the Jayhawks (2-0, 12-7) and was sacrificed to second. Price, who was hitless in his previous 12 at-bats, laced a 3-1 fastball into left center to bring home Narodowski. The Longhorns (2-3, 14-5) had taken a 3-1 lead in the sixth on a three-run homer by Kevin Keyes. Jimmy Waters had a two-run single in the bottom of the frame to knot the score at 3-3. Five relievers combined to hold Texas scoreless over the final 3.2 innings. Paul Smyth worked the ninth for his fifth save.

No. 3 Georgia 4, Mississippi State 0

In Athens, Ga., Joey Lewis and Lyle Allen both homered as four pitchers combined on the five-hit shutout as Georgia blanked Mississippi State to clinch the SEC series in front of a record crowd of 4,461 at Foley Field. Lewis went deep in the fifth and Allen added a three-run shot in the eighth for the home Bulldogs (3-2, 18-2). Alex McRee started and fanned five in four innings. He worked out of bases-loaded jams in the second and third. Michael Palazzone (2-0) allowed one hit in three innings to earn the victory. Will Harvil and Dean Weaver each pitched a scoreless inning to secure the win. Lewis finished with two hits and two runs for Georgia. Grant Hogue had three of the five hits for MSU (2-3, 13-8).

No. 4 Cal State Fullerton 7, Oral Roberts 1

In Fullerton, Calif., Tyler Pill fanned a career-high 10 as Cal State Fullerton completed the three-game sweep of Oral Roberts. Pill (4-0) allowed seven hits and walked one. The Titans (16-3) snapped a 1-1 tie with two unearned runs in the fifth, capped by a run-scoring single by Nick Ramirez. Gary Brown had an RBI single in a two-run sixth as Fullerton built a 5-1 lead. The Titans added single runs in the seventh and eighth. Khris Davis finished with three hits, including two doubles, for Fullerton. P.J. Sequeira doubled and scored in the second for the lone run for the Golden Eagles (7-5).

No. 5 LSU 10, South Carolina 3

In Columbia, S.C., Louis Coleman tossed seven solid innings, and LSU blasted three homers in evening its SEC series with South Carolina. Coleman (5-1) allowed seven hits and three earned runs and struck out eight for the Tigers (3-2, 16-5). Jared Mitchell went 2 for 4 with a homer, three runs and a RBI, and Micah Gibbs went 1 for 3 with a homer, two RBI and three runs. Ryan Schimpf added a homer, and Leon Landry added a pair of RBI for the Tigers. Andrew Crisp went 2 for 3 with his fifth homer and two RBI for the Gamecocks (2-3, 14-5).

Maryland 4, Boston College 3
In College Park, Md., freshman Taylor Buran delivered a pinch-hit single to right to drive in the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth as Maryland slipped past Boston College.