March 22, 2009

Rankings are from CBI Composite Poll

Around the Bases
Kansas completes three-game sweep of No. 2 Texas

Duke wins series at No. 1 UNC; No. 9 Miami victorious at No. 16 Virginia

In Lawrence, Kan., Brian Heere went 2 for 4 and scored the game-winner as Kansas completed the three-game Big 12 sweep of second-ranked Texas with a 4-3 victory Sunday afternoon at Hoglund Ballpark. All three games were one-run affairs. With the score knotted at 3-3 in the bottom of the seventh, Heere led off with a double, was sacrificed to third and came home on a sac fly by Buck Afenir. Paul Smyth pitched his third straight scoreless ninth for his sixth save. Nick Faunce had an RBI single to spark a three-run fourth for the Jayhawks (3-0, 13-7). The Longhorns (2-4, 14-6) tallied single runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh to tie the contest. Brandon Belt, Preston Clark and Brandon Loy each had two hits and a run for UT.

Duke 10, No. 1 North Carolina 9

In Chapel Hill, N.C., Nate Freiman and Jeremy Gould drove in three runs apiece as Duke built a 9-1 lead and held on to edge North Carolina for its first series win over the Tar Heels since 2001. Alex Hassan went 2 for 4 with a double and a pair of hits, raising his average to .460, and he also picked up his second save of the series after the Tar Heels closed to within one in the eighth inning. Will Piwnica-Worms went 3 for 5 with his first career homer, two runs and two RBI for the Blue Devils (5-4, 14-7). Dustin Ackley went 3 for 5 with two RBI, and Garrett Gore and Mark Fleury added two RBI apiece for the Tar Heels (5-3, 17-4).

No. 9 Miami 7, No. 16 Virginia 5

In Charlottesville, Va., Jonathan Weislow doubled in Dave DiNatale as Miami scored three times in the top of the eighth to overcome Virginia and win their ACC series. Yasmani Grandal went 2 for 3 with two homers, two RBI and three runs for the Hurricanes (7-2, 18-4), who won their fifth straight series. The game was halted after the eighth inning due to the ACC travel policy. Phil Gosselin went 3 for 5 with three RBI, including a RBI double in a three-run seventh inning for the Cavaliers (5-2, 19-2).

No. 3 Georgia 10, Mississippi State 6
In Athens, Ga., Levi Hyams went 3 for 4, scored two and drove in two as Georgia plated seven in the eighth to finish the SEC series sweep against Mississippi State. Justin Grimm pitched 5.2 innings and allowed just one run while striking out nine for the home Bulldogs (4-2, 19-2). MSU (2-4, 13-9) was led offensively by Ryan Duffy, who went 3 for 5 with one RBI; Scott DeLoach and Connor Powers each added two hits. A school-record 12,026 fans attended the three-game series.
 

No. 5 LSU 11, South Carolina 3

In Columbia, S.C., Ryan Schimpf had a two-run homer in a three-run sixth as LSU won its SEC series against South Carolina at Carolina Stadium. With the game tied at 3-3, Micah Gibbs had a sac fly before Schimpf’s dinger put the Bulldogs (4-2, 17-5) ahead 6-3. LSU put it away with five in the eighth, highlighted by a three-run homer by Leon Landry and a two-run double by Derek Helenihi. Jackie Bradley had two hits, including a homer, and two runs for the Gamecocks (2-4, 14-6).

No. 6 Arizona State 23, Arizona 9

In Tempe, Ariz., Jason Kipnis had a grand slam and drove in six as ASU completed the three-game Pac-10 sweep of Arizona in front a third straight sellout crowd of 4,371 fans at Winkles Field-Packard Stadium at Brock Ballpark. Raoul Torrez had three hits and five RBI for the Sun Devils (3-0, 17-3). ASU broke a 4-4 tie with seven in the fifth. Kipnis had his slam in a five-run sixth. Dillon Baird went 4 for 5 with two runs and three RBI for the Wildcats (0-3, 11-10). Bryce Ortega had three hits and three runs for Arizona.

No. 7 Texas A&M 6, Missouri 5

In Columbia, Mo., Brooks Raley stole second base and scored when the throw to second bounced off his leg and into left field in the top of the ninth inning as Texas A&M salvaged the final game of its series with Missouri. Randall Thorpe offset a four-strikeout day with a three-run homer, and Kevin Gonzalez went 3 for 4 with a solo homer and two runs for the Aggies (3-3, 14-9), who snapped a five-game losing streak. Greg Folgia capped a big weekend by driving in three runs for the Tigers (3-3, 11-11).

No. 8 Georgia Tech 18, Virginia Tech 8
In Blacksburg, Va., Matt Skole and Tony Plagman each had four hits to lead Georgia Tech to a rout of Virginia Tech. Kevin Jacob (4-0) worked 4.1 scoreless innings and struck out five to pick up the win for the Yellow Jackets (6-1, 16-2). The Hokies (2-6, 13-8) were led by Steve Bymbry, who went 3 for 3 with two runs and three RBI. Steve Domecus added two hits and drove in two.
 

Southern Miss 5, No. 10 Rice 4

In Hattiesburg, Miss., Joey Archer drove in the game-winning run with a single up the middle as Southern Miss scored three times in the bottom of the ninth to avoid a sweep to Rice. Trailing 4-2, the Golden Eagles (1-2, 13-9) loaded the bases with no outs. Bo Davis grounded a slow roller in between short and third to drive in one run, but Owls shortstop Rick Hague booted the ball enough to allow a second run to score and tie the game. Davis and Archer each finished with two hits and two RBI. Anthony Rendon drove in two for the Owls (2-1, 14-6).

Winthrop 7, No. 11 Coastal Carolina 2
In Rock Hill, S.C., Eddie Tisdale went 4 for 4 and drove in four to lead Winthrop to a Big South win against Coastal Carolina. Robert Lake (4-1) threw seven innings and struck out seven for the Eagles (5-1, 14-7). The Chanticleers (3-2, 18-4) got their biggest offensive spark of the day from a solo home run by David Anderson in the second. Cam Walters went 3 for 4 and scored two for Winthrop.

Florida State 7, No. 19 Clemson 4
In Tallahassee, Fla., Mike McGee hit a three-run homer with two outs in the ninth to beat Clemson in front of 5,125 fans at Dick Howser Stadium. McGee finished his heroic day 3 for 5 with two runs and four RBI and pitched six innings for the Seminoles (3-4, 11-8), striking out four. The Tigers (5-4, 14-6) were led by Jason Stolz, who went 2 for 3 with a run and one RBI. There were two ties and five lead changes in the back-and-forth game between ACC rivals.

No. 25 Florida 7, Tennessee 5
In Gainesville, Fla., Avery Barnes went 2 for 4 and drove in two to lead Florida to an SEC win against Tennessee. Josh Adams went 3 for 5 for the Gators (3-3, 14-7) and Greg Larson (1-0) picked up the win with an inning of scoreless relief. The Volunteers (1-5, 9-12) were on the board first and had the game tied at four in the seventh, but a triple from Barnes broke the game open. Blake Forsythe, Cody Grisham and Zach Osbourne each had two hits for Tennessee.