March 23, 2009

Rankings are from CBI Composite Poll

Around the Bases
Yoder knocks in four as No. 18 Cal Poly outscores CSUB

Rollins upsets No. 23 Ohio State; ULM gets by Harvard; USD beats Brown

In Bakersfield, Calif., Luke Yoder had two hits and drove in four as No. 18 Cal Poly outscored Cal State Bakersfield 18-15 Monday afternoon at Hardt Field. Kyle Smith’s three-run homer in the fifth gave the Mustangs (15-4) a 14-11 lead. The Roadrunners (4-14) rallied in the bottom of the frame. Mark DeVincenzi (2-0) came in to pitch in the fifth for Cal Poly and retired the three batters he faced, two on sac flies that game CSUB a 15-14 lead. DeVincenzi allowed one hit in three scoreless innings with one walk and three strikeouts to earn the win. Eric Massingham allowed two hits over the final two innings to notch his second save. The Mustangs scored a pair in the eighth to reclaim the lead and added two insurance runs in the ninth. Martin Medina homered and knocked in six for the Roadrunners. Stuart Smith and Jeremy Rodriguez both had three hits for CSUB.

Rollins 4, No. 23 Ohio State 1

In Winter Park, Fla., Bryan Bennett belted a two-run homer in the first to spark Rollins past Ohio State at Alfond Stadium. Bennett finished with three hits and three RBI for the Tars (18-12). Jesse More added a solo shot in the third to give Rollins a 3-0 lead. Dan Burkhart had a run-scoring single in the fourth for the Buckeyes (17-3). Bennett had an RBI single in the fifth for an insurance run for the Tars. Marc Hewett (3-1) allowed five hits and one run in six innings to earn the win. Robbie Pagano tossed three hitless innings to pick up the save.

UCLA 17, USC 2

In Los Angeles, Casey Haerther went 4 for 4 with a homer, three runs and three RBI as UCLA won its Pac-10 series at USC’s Dedeaux Field. Charles Brewer (1-2) went 6.1 innings with six hits and two run while striking out seven. Haerther had a three-run homer to spark a six-run third for the Bruins (2-1, 7-13). Justin Uribe’s grand slam capped a seven-run fifth as UCLA took a 13-0 advantage. Joe De Pinto and Robert Stock both had two hits for the Trojans (1-2, 8-10).

San Diego State 8, Southern Utah 7

In San Diego, Chris Wilson and Guy Willeford had two-run doubles in a seven-run eighth as SDSU rallied to edge SUU at Tony Gwynn Stadium. The Aztecs (15-8) trailed 6-1 before Wilson’s two-bagger pulled SDSU within one. Willeford’s double gave the home team its first lead. George Snyder got the win in relief and Andrew Leary worked the ninth to earn his first save. Wilson finished with two hits and three RBI. Ray Wright went 4 for 5 with a homer, three runs and two RBI for the Thunderbirds (10-10).

Oregon State 8, Hawaii 4

In Corvallis, Ore., Jorge Reyes fanned a career-high 11 as Oregon State defeated Hawaii to conclude a five-game homestand with a perfect mark. Reyes (3-1) allowed four hits, three walks and three runs in seven innings. John Tommasini had three hits and two RBI for the Beavers (13-5). John Wallace had two hits and two runs for OSU. Vinnie Catricala and Landon Hernandez both homered for the Rainbows (13-8).

Texas Tech 4, Lubbock Christian 3

In Lubbock, Texas, Brian Cloud struck out the final batter with the tying run at third to give Texas Tech the win over LCU in front of a season-high crowd of 4,075 at Dan Law Field. Taylor Ashby had an RBI single in the fourth and a sac fly to spark a three-run seventh for the Red Raiders (10-14). Tanner Rindels homered in the ninth for the Chaps (26-4), ranked No. 5 in the NAIA rankings. Michael Reed and Jeremy Mayo both had two hits for Texas Tech. Ross Blondin had three hits and two RBI for LCU. Former head coach Larry Hays had his No. 27 retired at both schools.

California 11, Stanford 4

In Berkeley, Calif., Blake Smith had a three-run homer as Cal won its Pac-10 series with Stanford at Evans Diamond. Jonathan Kaskow had a two-run double in the first for the Cardinal (1-2, 4-10) before Smith’s blast in the third gave the Bears (2-1, 12-8) a 3-2 lead. Zach Jones and Adam Gaylord both had RBI singles in the fifth for Stanford before Cal plated five in the bottom of the frame to take the lead for good. Smith finished with two hits and four RBI. Brian Guinn had two hits and drove in two for the Bears.

Central Connecticut State 11, Illinois 9

In Winter Haven, Fla., Jay Schillaci had three hits and five RBI as CCSU outscored Illinois. Casey Walko went 4 for 4 with a run for the Blue Devils (7-3). Dominic Altobelli had three hits, including a homer, three runs and two RBI for the Illini (12-5). CCSU trailed 7-3 before a seven-run eighth, capped by a three-run double by Schillaci.

ULM 11, Harvard 8

In Monroe, La., Boomer Blanchard had four hits, including one of his team’s five home runs, as ULM topped Harvard at Warhawk Field. Blanchard’s solo shot in the sixth was his fifth and fourth in the past six games for the Warhawks (12-10). Jon Prevost had a two-run blast in the third, Matt Laird and Chris Sinclair went deep in the fifth and Kelvin York left the yard in the seventh to complete the scoring. Tom Stack-Babich and Tyler Albright had two-run doubles in a four-run sixth for the Crimson (2-11). Matt Rogers had a three-run homer for Harvard in the seventh, one of his three hits on the day.

San Diego 10, Brown 2

In San Diego, James Meador went 5 for 5 with a double and an RBI as San Diego beat Brown at Cunningham Stadium. Zach Walters had three hits and drove in two for the Toreros (15-10). Steve Daniels homered on the game’s first pitch to give the Bears (2-8) an early advantage. Meador had an RBI double and scored in a three-run third for USD. The Torreros scored single runs in the next three innings before Victor Sanchez smacked a grand slam in the eighth to put the game away. Darrin Campbell (3-3) allowed four hits and one earned run in eight innings to earn the win.

Florida Atlantic 7, North Dakota State 3

In Boca Raton, Fla., Tom Hatcher had three hits and three RBI to lead FAU past NDSU at FAU Stadium. David Wilson also had three hits, including a double, for the Owls (14-6). FAU scored four in the first to take control. The Bison (6-11) snapped a five-game win streak in the finale of its 10-game South Florida road trip. Kyle Harrison had three hits and three runs for NDSU.

UC Riverside 10, UC Santa Barbara 1

In Santa Barbara, Calif., Michael Hur hammered a three-run homer in the seventh as UCR thumped UCSB. Joey Gonzales also went deep in the seventh as the Highlanders (15-4) built a 9-1 lead. Gonzales finished with three hits, two runs and two RBI. Carl Uhl scored in the first and third for UCR before Gunnar Terhune doubled and scored in the bottom of the third for the Gauchos (13-4). UCR added runs in the fourth and sixth before blowing it open in the seventh. Ryan Platt (2-0) allowed two hits and one unearned run in seven innings with two walks and six strikeouts.