(photo courtesy of Southern Miss Athletics)
Southern Miss 11, No. 15 Mississippi State 0
In Hattiesburg, Miss., Nick Sandlin tossed seven scoreless innings with four hits and nine strikeouts, and Storme Cooper drove in three is Southern Miss scored in each of its last five at-bats in blanking Mississippi State. Luke Reynolds went 2 for 4 with three runs and two RBI, and Matthew Guidry homered and drove in two for the Golden Eagles. Head coach Scott Berry earned his 300th career victory. Josh Hatcher had three hits, and Jake Mangum added two for the Bulldogs.
No. 14 Stanford 5, No. 9 Cal State Fullerton 1
In Stanford, Calif., Tristan Beck allowed four hits and one run in six strong innings as Stanford topped Cal State Fullerton. Nico Hoerner went 3 for 4 with a double, triple, two runs and an RBI for the Cardinal. Jake Pavletiz has two hits and a run for the Titans.
USF 4, No. 7 North Carolina 3
In Tampa, Shane McClanahan was brilliant on the mound, striking out 11 in six scoreless innings as USF edged North Carolina. Alec Wiseley was on base all night, going 2 for 2 with two walks and two RBI for the Bulls. Michael Busch provided the offense for the Tar Heels with a three-run homer.
UCF 6, No. 19 Virginia 3
In Orlando, Fla., J.J. Montgomery allowed one hit and one walk in four scoreless innings with six strikeouts to record the save as UCF defeated UVa. Dallas Beaver (3 for 4, 2 R, 2 RBI) and Rylan Thomas (2 for 4, 3 RBI) both homered for the Knights. Nate Elkhoff went deep for the Cavaliers.
No. 13 Texas A&M 4, Rhode Island 1
In College Station, Texas, head coach Rob Childress recorded his 500th career victory as Texas A&M defeated URI. Logan Foster went 3 for 4 with a double, one run and one RBI for the Aggies. Stephen Kolek (5.2 IP, 5 H, 1 UE, 1 BB) fanned 10 for A&M. Greg Cavaliere went 2 for 4 with one run for the Rams.
No. 1 Florida 7, Siena 1
In Gainesville, Fla., Brady Singer struck out eight and allowed two hits in seven scoreless innings, and Brady McConnell launched a two-run homer as Florida broke from a 1-1 tie by scoring two runs each in its final three at-bats to beat Siena. JJ Schwarz contributed two hits and two runs, and Jonathan India hit a solo homer for the Gators. Brendan White turned in six solid innings with three runs and six strikeouts for Siena.
No. 2 Oregon State 5, New Mexico 2
In Surprise, Ariz., Nick Madrigal went 3 for 4 with a double, homer and three RBI, and Luke Heimlich made his return to the mound with six solid innings as Oregon State slipped past New Mexico for its ninth straight Opening Day win. Madrigal hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning, and Trevor Larnach followed Madrigal with a homer of his own. Heimlich (1-0) made his first start since leaving the Beavers before last year’s College World Series because of a past sexual assault crime and allowed four hits and two runs in six innings. Bradon Eisert tossed three perfect innings with three strikeouts to earn a save for OSU. Hayden Schilling went 1 for 3 with a run and an RBI for the Utes.
No. 3 Texas Tech 4, Maine 2
In Lubbock, Texas, Josh Jung went 3 for 3 with a solo homer, and Davis Martin allowed one run in five innings as Texas Tech edged Maine to give the Red Raiders a win in their opener for the 19th time in 20 seasons. Tech scored three times in the third inning, two coming in on Cody Farhat’s single to left. Danny Casals had two of the four hits for the Black Bears.
No. 4 Florida State 11, Xavier 1
In Tallahassee, Fla., Nick Derr went 2 for 3 with a solo homer and two runs, and J.C. Flowers added two hits and two RBI as Florida State coasted past Xavier. The Seminoles scored five times in the first three innings and blew the game open with four runs in the sixth. Drew Mendoza added two hits and two runs, and Reese Albert contributed two RBI off the bench. Joe Gellenbeck had two of the four hits for Xavier.
No. 5 Arkansas 14, Bucknell 2
In Fayetteville, Ark., Carson Shaddy blasted a three-run homer as part of a four-RBI day as Arkansas scored 10 times in the first two innings of a win over Bucknell. Heston Kjerstad went 3 for 4 with an RBI, and Eric Cole added two hits and an RBI for the Razorbacks. Dominic Toso drove in two runs late for the Bison.
No. 6 TCU 3, Grand Canyon 2
In Phoenix, Josh Watson had a two-run triple, and Zach Humphreys plated him with a sacrifice fly as TCU scored three times in the top of the ninth to spoil the first game at Grand Canyon’s beautiful Brazelle Field. Jared Janczak struck out 11 and allowed four hits and two runs (one earned) in 6.2 innings and was matched by GCU’s Jake Wong, who allowed two hits and struck out nine in six scoreless innings.
No. 8 Kentucky 6, Wofford 1
In Spartanburg, S.C., Sean Hjelle allowed two hits and one run in six superb innings, and Luke Heyer ripped a three-run homer as Kentucky opened with a win over Wofford. Tristan Pompey (2 for 4) and Kole Cottam (2 for 3, 2 R) each hit solo homers for the Wildcats. Mack Nathanson went 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI for the Terriers.
No. 10 Vanderbilt 9, Duke 1
In Nashville, Ethan Paul went 2 for 4 with two runs and three RBI, and Philip Clarke contributed two hits and three RBI as Vanderbilt scored five times in the fifth and three in the sixth to coast past Duke. Leadoff man Pat DeMarco went 3 for 4 with two runs as the Commodores racked up 15 hits, with six players having two or more. Three pitchers limited the Blue Devils to three hits, with Jackson Gillis posting the win with 3.2 innings of one-hit ball.
No. 11 LSU 7, Notre Dame 6
In Baton Rouge, La., Bryce Jordan belted a grand slam in the sixth and Josh Smith smacked a three-run dinger in the eighth as LSU rallied from a 6-0 deficit to edge Notre Dame. Austin Bain (1-0) fanned four in two hitless innings to pick up the win. Cole Daily went 4 for 4 with two runs and one RBI for the Irish.
No. 12 UCLA 7, Portland 2
In Los Angeles, Jake Bird allowed three hits and one unearned run in six innings with six strikeouts as UCLA topped Portland. Kyle Cuellar (1 for 4) drove in three for the Bruins. Jace McKinney had an RBI double for the Pilots.
No. 16 Louisville 4, Richmond 3
In Charleston, S.C., Devin Mann homered and drove in three runs, and Adam Wolf tossed five scoreless innings as Louisville held off Richmond at the Crab House Challenge. Mann went 3 for 4 with RBI in the first, sixth (solo homer) and eighth innings in support of Wolf, who allowed three hits and struck out seven in the longest appearance of his career. The Spiders trailed 4-0 before scoring three times in the ninth, two on D.J. Lee’s single, and loaded the bases with two outs before Sam Bordner got the last out.
No. 17 Dallas Baptist 7, Monmouth 4
In Dallas, Jameson Hannah had two hits and three RBI as DBU outscored Monmouth. Hannah had a double and a homer, while Evan Sandmann had two hits and two RBI for the Patriots. Danny Long had two hits and two runs for the Hawks.
No. 18 Clemson 5, William & Mary 4 (10)
In Clemson, S.C., Chris Williams singled in Bryce Teodosio, who had doubled to open the 10th inning, to give Clemson a win over William & Mary. Teodosio went 2 for 4 with two runs, and Robert Jolly contributed a two-run single in the ninth for the Tigers, who trailed 4-1 but scored three times with two outs in the bottom of the ninth before winning in extras. Ryan Hall hit a three-run homer, and Bodie Sheehan allowed three hits and one run in seven innings for the Tribe.
No. 20 Texas 3, UL Lafayette 0
In Austin, Texas, Nolan Kingham fanned 10 in eight innings as Texas blanked ULL. Kingham allowed three hits and one walk. Austin Todd doubled and drove in a pair, while Masen Hibbeler went 3 for 4 with two runs for the Longhorns. Gavin Bourgeois went 2 for 4 for the Ragin’ Cajuns.