In Greenville, N.C.,
Nathan Kirby allowed three hits and no runs in seven superb
innings, and Kenny Towns had three hits and a run as Virginia
edged East Carolina. The Cavaliers took advantage of a dropped
foul ball to keep a rally going for their first run, which
came when Robbie Coman scampered home on a double steal. Matt
Thaiss scored on a dropped popup in the infield in the fifth
for a 2-0 Virginia lead, and Daniel Pinero later homered.
Parker Lamm went 2 for 3 for the Pirates.
No. 7 Texas 3, No. 16 Rice 1
In Houston, Collin Shaw had a two-run double
that broke a 1-1 tie as Texas slipped past Rice. Parker French
tossed five solid innings, and Travis Duke (1-0), Connor Mayes
and Ty Culbreath (save) combined for four scoreless innings of
relief for the Longhorns, who turned three double plays and
stranded 10 overall. Eight of nine starters and two
pinch-hitters had a hit for the Owls, with Leon Byrd driving
in their only run. Kevin McCanna struck out eight and allowed
three hits and one unearned run in five innings for Rice.
No. 3 TCU 5, Southern Illinois 0
In Fort Worth, Preston Morrison picked up where
he left off in 2014, scattering three hits in seven scoreless
innings as TCU opened with a win. Shortstop Keaton Jones, who
became the school’s all-time assists leader, went 2 for 4 with
a run, and Connor Wanhanen had two RBI for the Horned Frogs.
Jake Hand and Logan Blackfan had two hits apiece for Southern
Illinois.
No. 4 LSU 4, Kansas 1
In Baton Rouge, La., Jared Poche’ allowed two
hits and struck out five in six scoreless innings, and Kade
Scivicque’s three-run homer in the second provided the offense
as LSU topped Kansas. Chris Chinea went 2 for 4 with a run and
an RBI for the Tigers. Colby Wright had a pair of hits for the
Jayhawks.
No. 5 Florida 9, Rhode Island 1
In Gainesville, Fla., Harrison Bader went 2 for
3 with a homer and three RBI, and Logan Shore impressed with
five scoreless innings as Florida coasted past Rhode Island.
The Gators had balance throughout the lineup with seven
starters getting hits and eight scoring runs. Mike Sherburne
went 2 for 3 with a homer for the Rams.
No. 6 Houston 9, Minnesota 1
In Houston, Ian Rice went 2 for 3 with a homer
and four RBI, and Connor Wong went 3 for 4 with a homer and
three RBI as Houston scored in five of eight innings in an
easy win over Minnesota. Andrew Lantrip tossed five innings of
one-hit ball with five strikeouts for the Cougars. Michael
Handel went 2 for 4 with a run for the Golden Gophers.
No. 9 UCLA 14, Hofstra 2
In Los Angeles, Brett Stephens went 4 for 5
with four runs as UCLA hit up and down the lineup in a rout of
Hofstra. Kevin Kramer went 2 for 3 with three runs and an RBI,
and Ty Moore added two hits, three runs and two RBI for the
Bruins. Chris Keck added a homer and two RBI in support of
James Kaprielian, who allowed two runs and struck out five in
six innings.
No. 10 Louisville 5, Alabama State 1
In Clearwater, Fla., Kyle Funkhouser allowed
one hit and struck out 12 in seven shutout innings to lead
Louisville past Alabama State. The Cardinals were clinging to
a 1-0 lead before scoring three runs in the seventh, two
coming on a two-out, two-run single from Nick Solak. Corey Ray
added two doubles, a run and an RBI for Louisville. TJ Renda
matched Funkhouser for six innings before allowing three
unearned runs, finishing with seven innings, eight hits, one
earned run and six strikeouts.
Elon 16, Penn State 15
In Elon, N.C., Chris King went 3 for 4 with a
double and four RBI as Elon built a 16-6 lead after seven
innings but had to hold on for dear life in edging
late-charging Penn State. The Nittany Lions scored four times
in the eighth and five times in the ninth to close within one
before closer Joe McGillicuddy got a strikeout with the tying
run on second to end the game. Jim Haley went 4 for 6 with two
runs and four RBI for Penn State. The teams combined for 41
hits.
Navy 8, North Carolina A&T 1
In Greensboro, N.C., Luke Gillingham struck out
the first 12 batters of the game and ended with 16 Ks in seven
innings – the most for a Navy pitcher since 1986 – as the Mids
topped North Carolina A&T.