March 14, 2010

Rankings are from CBI Composite Poll

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CBI Live: Middle Tennessee 9, ULM 3

Around the Bases
Lisher has three RBI as Kansas wins series at No. 1 LSU

Florida State rallies past UVa, Georgia State hits three grand slams at NMSU

In Baton Rouge, La., Brett Lisher (left) went 2 for 3 with three RBI and a walk as Kansas won its series against top-ranked LSU with an 8-4 win Sunday at Alex Box Stadium. Mikie Mahtook’s two-RBI single put the Tigers (13-2) up 2-1 in the first, their only lead of the game. The Jayhawks (11-4) regained control in the fifth when Lisher’s two-RBI double gave them a 5-3 lead. Matt Gaudet’s pinch-hit RBI single in the sixth brought LSU within one, but three RBI singles by Lisher, Casey Lytle and Robby Price in the seventh and eighth boosted Kansas’ lead. The win went to Cameron Selik (4-0), who struck out four, walked three, and allowed six hits and four runs in six innings. Brett Bochy earned a save (3), retiring four of the five batters he faced in the eighth and ninth.

No. 2 Florida State 9, No. 3 Virginia 8

In Tallahassee, Fla., Tyler Holt had a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth as Florida State salvaged the finale of its three-game series with Virginia. Steven Proscia had a sacrifice fly in the top of the eighth to give the Cavaliers (2-1, 12-3) a one-run lead. Brunelle drew a one-out walk and Holt homered to left center to put the Seminoles (1-2, 13-2) on top by one. Mike McGee (2-0) fanned two over the final 1.2 innings, including a perfect ninth, to earn the victory. Holt finished with three RBI, while McGee (3 for 4, 2 RBI) and Stuart Tapley (2 for 4, 2 RBI) both went deep for FSU. Phil Gosselin (1 for 3) and Dan Grovatt (3 for 5, 2 R) both homered for Virginia.

Georgia State 30, New Mexico State 24

In Las Cruces, N.M., two NCAA Division I records for grand slams were matched as Georgia State powered past New Mexico State at Presley Askew Field. The Panthers (8-7) hit three grand slams (Carl Moniz, Bradley Logan, Joey Wood), the ninth time that has been accomplished and the first time since 2007. Ryan Aguayo had a grand slam for the Aggies (11-9), tying the record for grand slams by both teams with four. (Fairleigh Dickinson and Saint Peter’s both belted two on April 28, 1984) Georgia State had a school-record 30 hits, surpassing the 29 hits against NC Central just over a week ago. Wood (5 for 7, 2 HR, 6 R) and Logan (5 for 7, 3 R) both drove in six for the Panthers. Aguayo (6 for 8, 2 2B, 2 HR, 6 R, 7 RBI) and Ben Harty (3 for 7, 1 HR, 8 RBI) paced the offense for NMSU. Both teams hit six home runs in the 4:25 marathon.

Duke 5, No. 13 North Carolina 3
In Durham, N.C., Duke's big weekend wasn't limited to basketball. Brian Litwin had a two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the eighth as Duke captured its series with North Carolina for the second straight year. The Blue Devils (2-1, 11-4) trailed 3-2 in the eighth, but Eric Brady doubled in the tying run before Litwin, who entered the game in the seventh as a pinch-runner, singled on a 2-2 offering from Greg Holt. The man Litwin replaced, Will Currier, went 2 for 3 with a homer and two RBI. Ben Grisz (1-1) allowed one hit in three scoreless innings to pick up the win. Jesse Wierzbicki homered and drove in two, and Levi Michael had two hits and two runs for the Tar Heels (1-2, 12-4).

No. 4 Arizona State 8, Auburn 3

In Tempe, Ariz., Riccio Torrez went 2 for 5 with a homer and three RBI as Arizona State completed the three-game sweep of Auburn in front of 3,469 fans at Winkles Field-Packard Stadium at Brock Ballpark. Hunter Morris smacked a two-run homer in the first for the Tigers (9-5). Torrez matched the feat in the bottom of the frame to even the score at two. Ryan Jenkins had an RBI double in the top of the second for Auburn. The Sun Devils (15-0) got a run in the third and took the lead in the fourth on a solo blast by Matt Newman. ASU added three in the fifth and one in the sixth to complete the scoring. Zach Wilson and Drew Maggi both had two hits for the Sun Devils. Justin Hargett had two hits and a run for the Tigers.

No. 5 Georgia Tech 6, Wake Forest 5
In Atlanta, Tony Plagman homered and drove in three, and Cole Leonida drove in the game-winning run with a sacrifice fly in the seventh as Georgia Tech completed an ACC sweep of Wake Forest. Buck Farmer (1-0) tossed four scoreless innings of relief with two hits and three strikeouts as the Yellow Jackets improved to 3-0, 13-1. They trailed 5-2 when Plagman hit a two-run shot (his sixth) in the sixth to get the Jackets close. Pat Blair had two RBI, and Mike Murray and Matt Conway each had two hits and a RBI for the Demon Deacons (0-3, 6-10).

No. 6 Texas 18, Iowa 0
In Austin, Texas, after scoring 10 runs in the first three games of the series, Cohl Walla went 3 for 4 with a homer and five RBI as Texas pounded out 16 hits and scored in seven of eight innings in routing Iowa. Tant Shepherd went 3 for 6 with two runs and two RBI, and Kevin Lusson went 2 for 2 with a homer, three runs and two RBI for the Longhorns, who put together a zip code of scoring the first five innings (11121) in taking a 6-0 lead. They added eight in the seventh and four in the eighth. Five Texas pitchers combined on a four-hit shutout as the team ERA dropped to 1.77. The Longhorns improved to 13-3; the Hawkeyes fell to 4-9.

Charleston Southern 6, No. 7 Florida 3

In Gainesville, Fla., Tyler Thornburg (3-1) pitched a complete game and had an RBI to keep Charleston Southern (6-10) from being swept in its series against Florida (11-3). Thornburg’s sacrifice fly in the first put the Buccaneers up 1-0 and he protected that lead with 11 strikeouts and three walks, limiting the Gators to seven hits and three runs. Jon Matthews increased the Buccaneers’ lead to five with a two-run home run in the third and a two-RBI single in the fourth. The Gators pulled within three when Kamm Washington hit an RBI double in the ninth, but Thornburg retired the next three batters to ensure the victory.

No. 8 TCU 8, Texas Tech 5
In Fort Worth, Texas, Jimmie Pharr homered for the third time of the weekend and drove in three, and Kyle Winkler worked six solid innings as TCU built a big lead and held on for a series sweep of Texas Tech. Every starter in the Horned Frogs' lineup had one hit, and all but one scored, with Jason Coats driving in a pair of runs. Winkler (3-0) allowed six hits and one earned run and struck out four for TCU (12-2). Jamodrick McGruder homered and drove in two for the Red Raiders (8-9). Starter Chad Bettis (2-2) struck out 10 and allowed seven runs (two earned) in seven innings.

No. 9 Coastal Carolina 3, Michigan 0

In Myrtle Beach, S.C., Austin Fleet and three relievers combined on the shutout as Coastal Carolina blanked Michigan in the Caravelle Resort Classic at BB&T Coastal Field. Fleet allowed three hits in six innings with six strikeouts. Matt Rein pitched the final two innings to earn his first save. Scott Woodward had an RBI single in the second to give the Chanticleers (15-2) the early lead. Daniel Bowman homered to lead off the seventh and Rico Noel added a sacrifice fly later in the frame to make it 3-0. Bowman and Steve Davis both had two hits for Coastal. Crank Coley went 2 for 4 for the Wolverines (6-9).

No. 10 Louisville 10, No. 18 Ole Miss 8

In Oxford, Miss., Ryan Wright had four hits and four RBI as Louisville defeated Ole Miss to claim the weekend series at Oxford-University Stadium. Phil Wunderlich added three hits and three RBI for the Cardinals (14-1). Wunderlich had a two-run single in the first before Matt Smith (3 for 5, 3 RBI) belted a two-run homer in the bottom of the frame for the Rebels (12-4). Stewart Ijames had a two-run double in a three-run fifth and Wright added a three-run double in the sixth to give Louisville a 10-3 advantage. Tim Ferguson went deep in the seventh for Ole Miss. Taylor Hightower had three hits and two runs for the Rebels.

No. 11 Clemson 7, NC State 6

In Clemson, S.C., John Hinson provided key contributions as a pinch-hitter, going 2 for 2 with a stolen base and a run as Clemson (13-1) completed a series sweep of NC State (11-4). Clemson established a 4-1 lead in the second, but Chris Diaz – 2 for 2, two runs and an RBI – and the Wolfpack came back to take a 6-5 lead in the seventh. The Tigers had faced the same deficit in Saturday’s Game 2, and once again used the eighth inning to rally to victory. With the bases loaded and two outs, Jeff Schaus and Kyle Parker drew back-to-back walks to bring in the game-tying and game-winning runs. Jonathan Meyer (1-0) earned the win in relief, retiring all six batters he faced during the eighth and ninth innings.

No. 12 UCLA 5, No. 20 Oklahoma 2

In Corpus Christi, Texas, Rob Rasmussen struck out seven in six innings as UCLA stopped Oklahoma in the Whataburger College Classic. Rasmussen (1-0) allowed four hits and one run for the Bruins (13-0), off to their best start in the modern era. The 13-game win streak for UCLA is its longest since 1969. Dan Klein tossed two scoreless innings with one hit and one walk to record his third save. Casey Johnson had an RBI single in the third for the Sooners (15-2). Dean Espy had an RBI single and scored in a three-run fourth for UCLA. Chris Ellison homered in the seventh to pull OU to within one. The Bruins put up two insurance runs in the ninth, capped by a straight steal of home by Niko Gallego.

No. 14 Miami (Fla.) 11, Boston College 4

In Coral Gables, Fla., Yasmani Grandal went 4 for 4, including a three-run homer, as Miami defeated Boston College to win its ACC series at Alex Rodriguez Park. Grandal also had a double and three runs for the Hurricanes (2-1, 10-4). Anthony Melchionda and Brad Zapenas had sacrifice flies and Matt Watson had a RBI single in the first as the Eagles (1-2, 6-8) took an early 3-0 lead. Frankie Ratcliff had a two-run triple in a four-run first for Miami. Grandal’s three-run shot in the sixth gave the ‘Canes a 10-4 lead. Ratcliff finished with three RBI. Melchionda had two hits and two RBI for BC.

No. 15 Arkansas 3, Milwaukee 2 (10 innings)

In Fayetteville, Ark., Matt Vinson hit a game-winning solo home run in the bottom of the 10th as Arkansas (11-4) swept its series against Milwaukee (4-8). Milwaukee scored first, with Doug Dekoning’s RBI single in the fourth. Tim Patzman added to the lead with a solo home run in the sixth, but the Razorbacks put together a ninth-inning comeback. Bo Bigham’s groundout brought Collin Kuhn home, and Zack Cox scored on a wild pitch to force extra innings. Jeremy Heatley (2-0) earned the win with two hits allowed and four strikeouts in four shutout innings. The Panthers’ starter, Jordan Herbert (1-1), got a no decision after pitching nine innings and allowing four hits, two of which came in the ninth.

No. 16 Oregon State 9, Portland 2

In Corvallis, Ore., Parker Berberet went 2 for 4 with two RBI as Oregon State defeated Portland at Goss Stadium. Tanner Robles (3-1) allowed four hits and two runs in 6.2 innings with seven strikeouts. Kraig Sitton surrendered one hit over the final 2.1 innings to preserve the victory. The Pilots (10-5) scored in the first on a two-run double by Brian Frattali before the Beavers (10-3) answered with six in the fifth and three in the seventh. Berberet had an RBI single to start the scoring in the fifth and Ryan Gorton capped it with a two-run double. Berberet had a run-scoring base hit to complete the three-run seventh.

No. 19 Rice 7, California 4

In Houston, Craig Manuel had two hits and three RBI to lead Rice past Cal, earning a split in the four-game series at Reckling Park. The Owls (10-7) scored three in the seventh to snap a 4-4 tie. Michael Fuda added two hits and two runs for Rice. Mark Canha, Jimmy Bosco and Marcus Semien each had two hits and one RBI for the Golden Bears (9-5).

Indiana 9, Central Michigan 0

In Winter Haven, Fla., Drew Leininger pitched the complete game as Indiana blanked CMU at Chain of Lakes Park. Leininger (2-0) allowed eight hits with no walks and four strikeouts in lowering his SEC-leading ERA to 0.96. The Hoosiers (5-8) got home runs by Alex Dickerson, Micah Johnson and Ethan Wilson. Dickerson had a solo shot in the fourth to make it 2-0. Johnson doubled the lead with a two-run blast in the fifth. Wilson’s solo dinger in the seventh made it 5-0. Dickerson’s sacrifice fly capped a four-run eighth. Billy Anderson and Scott Phillion both had two hits for the Chippewas (4-6).

Illinois State 29, James Madison 8

In Jacksonville, Fla., Kevin Tokarski and Ryan Court both drove in seven as Illinois State stymied James Madison at Harmon Stadium. Court went 4 for 6 with two doubles, two homers (one a grand slam) and five runs. Tokarski was 5 for 6 with three doubles, one homer and four runs. The Redbirds (6-8) had two big innings, with eight runs in the first and 12 in the seventh. Jake Lowery went 2 for 2 with two runs and three RBI for the Dukes (4-8), which surrendered the most runs in a game in school history.

(photo courtesy of Kansas Media Relations Office)