April 10, 2008

Rankings are from CBI Composite Poll

Around the Bases
Florida Atlantic's Block rocks top-ranked Miami

Georgia Tech knocks off No. 17 Georgia; NDSU no-hits Creighton, loses 2-0

In Coral Gables, Fla., William Block (pictured right, photo by J.D. Ridley) homered twice to lead Florida Atlantic past No. 1 Miami (Fla.) 6-3 Wednesday evening at Mark Light Stadium. Michael Obradovich (2-2) struck out seven in eight innings in recording the victory. The Owls (19-11) got RBI singles from Tom Hatcher and Block in the top of the first and two more runs in the second for a  4-0 lead. Block went deep in the third and fifth for a 6-1 lead. The Hurricanes (27-3) added a pair in the bottom of the ninth as Jason Hagerty and Joey Terdslodovich each singled and scored. It was the first time a Florida Atlantic team defeated an opponent ranked No. 1 in the nation, regardless of sport.

Georgia Tech 9, No. 17 Georgia 4

In Atlanta, Luke Murton (left) had four hits and three RBI to lead Georgia Tech past Georgia in front of a stadium-record crowd of 4,609 at Russ Chandler Stadium. Murton had an RBI single in the fifth and capped the scoring with a two-run homer in the eighth. Derek Dietrich had three hits for the Yellow Jackets (26-7) and Thomas Nichols drove in two. Tech broke a 1-1 tie in the fourth as Nichols had an RBI double and scored on a base hit by Tony Plagman to give the Jackets the lead for good. Charlie Blackmon had an RBI double and scored in the fifth as Tech took a 5-1 advantage. Michael Demperio tripled and scored in a two-run sixth for the Bulldogs (20-12).

Creighton 2-1, North Dakota State 0-0

In Omaha, Neb., Chad Berg and Chris Paterson combined on a no-hitter for North Dakota State in the first game of a doubleheader at Creighton, a game the Bison lost 2-0. The Bluejays took the nightcap 1-0, their 16^th consecutive doubleheader sweep. In the opener, Berg walked four of the first six hitters of the game for the first run, then hit Joe Servais to make it 2-0. NDSU (6-17) had seven hits in Game 1, but could not score. In the second game, Greg Hellhake (2-0) allowed one hit in six innings for Creighton (22-8). Pat Venditte earned saves in both contests to give him five for the season. Elliot Soto scored the game’s lone run on a wild pitch in the fifth. The Creighton pitching staff has seven shutouts, tied with Tulane for the most in Division I.

No. 4 North Carolina 5, North Carolina A&T 0

In Cary, N.C., five hurlers combined on the three-hit shutout as North Carolina defeated North Carolina A&T at the USA Baseball National Training Complex. Mike Facchinei (2-0) fanned eight in 6.1 innings to earn the win for the Tar Heels (26-7). Dustin Ackley singled in the sixth and scored the game’s first run on a base hit by Tim Fedroff. Ackley and Fedroff had two-run doubles in the seventh to extend the lead to 5-0 against the Aggies (12-22).

No. 8 California 16, Santa Clara 8

In Berkeley, Calif., David Cooper and Jeff Kobernus homered to lead California past Santa Clara at Evans Diamond. Tommy Medica and Gabe Alcanter had RBI singles in the top of the first for the Broncos (17-12) before the Golden Bears (22-7-2) plated four in the bottom of the second. Cooper added a two-run homer in the fifth and Kobernus finished the scoring with a solo shot in the eighth.

No. 11 Missouri 8, Missouri State 4

In Springfield, Mo., Jonah Schmidt had three hits, including his first homer, and three RBI as Missouri topped Missouri State in a game called after six innings due to rain. The Bears (19-11) scored a pair in the bottom of the first before the Tigers (23-8) scored three in the fourth for a 3-2 lead. Schmidt’s two-run shot in the fifth made it 5-2 and Jacob Priday added a three-run blast in the sixth. The Bears scored single runs in the fifth and sixth.

No. 13 South Carolina 7, Clemson 1

In Columbia, S.C., James Darnell went 4 for 4 with two home runs and five RBI as South Carolina clubbed Clemson in front of 5,763 fans at Sarge Frye Field. Darnell had a three-run shot in the first and a two-run poke in the third. Justin Smoak’s solo blast in the fifth for the Gamecocks (22-10) gave him 48 career homers, tying the school record of Hank Small. Doug Hogan homered in the top of the first for the Tigers (18-14).

UC Davis 9, No. 15 Stanford 8 (12)

In Stanford, Calif., Matt Dempsey’s RBI single in the top of the 12^th gave UC Davis the win over Stanford at Sunken Diamond. Rikki Foster’s leadoff double in the 12^th for UCD (21-10) was his first career hit. After two outs, Dempsey brought him in with the game-winner. The Cardinal (15-10-1) held a 7-3 lead after seven, but the visitors scored three in the eighth and two in the ninth to force extra innings. Also, the 13-inning game played between Cal and Stanford on Monday was officially ruled a tie. The game will not be resumed.

No. 18 Vanderbilt 8, Austin Peay 1

In Nashville, Tenn., Ryan Flaherty had three hits to lead Vanderbilt past Austin Peay at Hawkins Field. After the Commodores (21-10) scored single runs in the first two innings, Flaherty’s leadoff homer in the third gave the home team a 3-0 advantage. Andrew Giobbi added a two-run double in the fifth for Vandy. Greg Bachman had a run-scoring single in the sixth for the Governors (15-15).

No. 20 San Diego 7, UC Riverside 2

In San Diego, Sammy Solis struck out seven in six innings as San Diego defeated UC Riverside at Cunningham Stadium. Solis (2-1) allowed two runs on eight hits. Jose Valerio’s two-run single capped a four-run first for the Toreros (24-11). Joey Gonzales had an RBI single in the second and Drew Garcia added a run-scoring double in the third for the Highlanders (9-18). Valerio went deep in the sixth for a 5-2 advantage. Josh Romanski had an RBI single in the seventh and a bases-loaded walk in the eighth for USD.

Monmouth 5, Lafayette 1

In West Long Branch, N.J., Monmouth defeated Lafayette to tie a school record with its 13^th straight victory. The Hawks (15-8) scored an unearned run in the first. The Leopards (16-11) tied it in the sixth of Nick Tucker singled and scored on an error. Monmouth posted three in the bottom of the sixth as Nick Pulsonetti and Shawn Teters had sacrifice flies and Brett Holland added an RBI single. Kyle Higgins doubled and scored in the seventh to complete the scoring.

Canisius 24, St. Bonaventure 8

In Buffalo, N.Y., Kevin Mahoney and Alec Cabello each had four hits as Canisius thumped St. Bonaventure at the Demske Sports Complex, posting its highest run total in 51 years. Mahoney had a triple and homer. Cabello and Paul Panik each scored a school-record five times. Branson Joseph tied a school mark with seven RBI for the Golden Griffins (23-4). The Bonnies (15-10) got a three-run homer from Anthony Randich in the top of the first before Canisius got its offense going with one in the first, four in the second and four more in the third for a 9-4 advantage. Joseph had a grand slam in the sixth.

Boston College 13, Northeastern 6

In Lynn, Mass., Eric Campbell had three hits and three RBI on his 21^st birthday to lead Boston College to a win over Northeastern at Fraser Field in the semifinals of the Beanpot Tournament. Matt Hamlet had three doubles and two RBI for the Eagles (18-14). Tony DiCesare singled and scored in the first for the Huskies (11-14-1), and had an RBI double and scored in the third as NU took a 3-0 lead. After scoring a run in the fourth, Campbell’s two-run single capped a three-run fifth for BC. The Eagles added nine runs over the final three innings to secure the victory.