May 11, 2008

Rankings are from CBI Composite Poll

No. 2 North Carolina 5, Virginia 2

Around the Bases
Bulldogs bite late, edge Commodores

Hokies split with Hurricanes; Golden Bears take Pac-10 series from Cardinal

In Nashville, Tenn., Ryan Peisel drove in the game-tying run in the ninth, and Rich Poythress put No. 10 Georgia ahead for good with a hit-and-run RBI double in the 10th as the Bulldogs edged No. 15 Vanderbilt Saturday to even their SEC series. The Bulldogs (18-7-1, 32-17-1) trailed 2-0 before scratching for two runs in the ninth, the first being pinch-runner Adam Fuller, who scored when Pedro Alvarez threw wild after tagging the bag at third. Gordon Beckham singled to lead off the 10th and raced home on Poythress' double. Lyle Allen then plated Poythress with a sacrifice fly. Caleb Cotham threw seven scoreless innings for the Commodores (15-10, 37-14). Pedro Alvarez hit his sixth homer, and Alex Feinberg and David Macias had two hits apiece.
 

Virginia Tech 7-2, No. 1 Miami 6-9

In Blacksburg, Va., Virginia Tech and Miami split an ACC doubleheader at English Field. Justin Wright (3-0) fanned seven in going the distance as the Hokies (5-22, 21-30) surprised the Hurricanes (22-3, 41-6) in the opener. Austin Wates drove in the game-winner with a double in the eighth. In the second game, Enrique Garcia retired 20 of the first 21 batters he faced, and Mark Sobolewski and Dennis Raben homered as Miami won the series. Garcia (5-1) allowed four hits and two runs in eight strong innings. Raben went 2 for 4 with four RBI, three coming on a first-inning homer. Sobolewski had three hits and three RBI, and Ryan Jackson added three hits for the Hurricanes. Sean O'Brien drove in two for the Hokies.

No. 18 California 5, No. 11 Stanford 2

In Stanford, Calif., Jeff Kobernus had three hits to lead California past Stanford at Sunken Diamond, clinching their Pac-10 series. Kobernus had a two-run single in a three-run seventh that put the Golden Bears (11-9, 32-15-2) on top 4-2. Dylan Tonneson had an RBI single in the eighth for an insurance run for Cal. The Cardinal (10-7, 28-18-2) had taken a 2-1 lead in the fifth on Jake Schlander’s second RBI single. Craig Bennigson (4-3) fanned four in six innings in earning the win. Matt Gorgen pitched the ninth for his ninth save.

No. 3 Florida State 19, Savannah State 2
In Tallahassee, Fla., Dennis Guinn, Tony Delmonico and Ohmed Danesh homered as FSU throttled Savannah State for the second straight day. Guinn's 15^th homer tied him for the team lead with Buster Posey, who went 2 for 3 with three RBI - raising his average to .463. Delmonico drove in three, and Guinn had three runs and two RBI for the Seminoles (42-8).
 

No. 3 Arizona State 9, Loyola Marymount 5

In Tempe, Ariz., Brett Wallace had a three-run homer and drove in four as Arizona State outscored Loyola Marymount in the opener of their three-game series in front of 3,008 fans at Winkles Field-Packard Stadium at Brock Ballpark. Angelo Songco smacked a two-run homer in the first for the Lions (22-27) before Wallace answered with a three-run shot to give the Sun Devils (39-9) a 3-2 advantage. ASU added two in the fourth and three in the fifth to take control. Mike Leake (8-1) pitched six innings for the Sun Devils with two earned runs, no walks and six strikeouts. Tommy Rafferty worked 2.1 shutout innings out of the pen for his third save.

No. 5 Rice 8, Houston 1
In Houston, Diego Seastrunk drove in three, and Chris Kelley allowed one earned run in 6.2 innings as Rice captured its C-USA series - as well as the Silver Glove Trophy for the eighth straight year - by scoring all eight runs in its final two innings against Houston. Jared Gayhart had two hits and two runs, and Doug Simons added two RBI in his only plate appearance for the Owls (17-3, 38-11). Jimmy Cesario went 2 for 4 with a RBI for the Cougars (11-9, 30-20).
 

No. 8 Oklahoma State 13, Texas Tech 3
In Stillwater, Okla., Rebel Ridling drove in four runs, and Matt Hague and Tom Belza each had three hits as Oklahoma State pounded Texas Tech for its eighth straight Big 12 win. Neil Medchill added two hits and three RBI for the Cowboys (16-7, 37-13), who scored four times in the third and added six more in the fifth. Tyler Lyons struck out six and allowed two earned runs in six innings for OSU. Chris Richburg had two hits, a run and a RBI for the Red Raiders (6-17, 21-28).

San Francisco 6, No. 9 San Diego 3
In San Francisco, Stephen Yarrow blasted a three-run homer, and Chris Escobar had a two-run double as San Francisco scored five times in the bottom of the eighth inning to topple San Diego. Josh Romanski left after seven brilliant innings, allowing five hits and one earned run while striking out seven. But the Dons (11-9, 30-22) took advantage of an error and scored five unearned runs off Ricardo Pecina. Kevin Muno went 3 for 5 with a run and a RBI for the Toreros (16-4, 39-14).

Evansville 6, No. 12 Wichita State 3

In Evansville, Ind., John Foley registered his second complete game as Evansville evened its Missouri Valley series with Wichita State at Charles H. Braun Stadium. Foley (5-4) allowed three runs on three hits with six strikeouts. He did not allow a hit through the first five innings. Ryan Fleming’s RBI single in the second and Nate Smith’s run-scoring double in the third gave the Purple Aces (4-16, 14-37) the early lead. Andy Smith’s two-run double highlighted a three-run fifth as UE took a 5-0 advantage. The Shockers (15-5, 37-14) got its three hits and three runs in the sixth as Conor Gillaspie and Clinton McKeever had RBI singles and Josh Workman added a sacrifice fly. Sean Loggins’ run-scoring single in the eighth completed the scoring for UE. Andy Smith finished with two hits, three runs and two RBI for the Purple Aces.

Cal Poly 11, No. 13 Cal State Fullerton 4

In Fullerton, Calif., Jared Eskew allowed one run on four hits in seven innings as Cal Poly evened its Big West series with Cal State Fullerton at Goodwin Field. Eskew (5-2) walked one and fanned five. Logan Schafer, Brent Morel and Ryan Lee each had three hits for the Mustangs (7-10, 23-25). Wes Dorrell had two doubles and knocked in four for Cal Poly. Adam Melker homered in a three-run first for the Mustangs. Cal Poly added two in the third, one in the fourth, two in the sixth and three in the seventh for an 11-0 cushion. After the first-place Titans (14-6, 31-17) scored one in the seventh, Jon Willhite added a two-run double in a three-run ninth for the home team.

Arkansas 6, No. 14 South Carolina 3

In Fayetteville, Ark., Logan Forsythe had two hits, one run and one RBI as Arkansas clinched its SEC series with South Carolina at Baum Stadium. The Gamecocks (13-13, 34-17) scored in the top of the fourth before the Razorbacks (12-13, 30-20) answered with a pair in the bottom of the frame, ignited by an RBI single by Forsythe. USC added single runs in the sixth and seventh for a 3-2 lead, but a four-run seventh gave Arkansas the lead for good. Forsythe started the rally with a base hit and scored the tying run.

Pacific 10, No. 17 UC Irvine 9 (10)

In Irvine, Calif., Adam Ching’s RBI single in the 10^th gave Pacific the win over UC Irvine at Anteater Ballpark to even their Big West series. The Anteaters (9-8, 32-13) scored five in the bottom of the ninth, capped by a three-run double by Brock Bardeen, to force the extra frame. In the top of the 10^th, Joe Oliver drew a two-out walk and stole second before Ching’s base hit gave the Tigers (3-17, 11-36) the 10-9 lead. David Rowse held UCI scoreless in the bottom of the 10^th to earn his first save. Pacific scored four in the first and Nick Longmire’s two-run homer in the second gave the Tigers a 6-0 lead.

Maryland 6-1, No. 19 NC State 2-12

In College Park, Md., Maryland and NC State split an ACC doubleheader, with the Terps taking the opener 6-2 before the Wolfpack claimed the nightcap 12-1. In the first game, Kevin Biringer allowed eight hits and two runs in eight innings to secure the win for Maryland (9-20, 29-25). Chad Durakis had three doubles for the Terps, while Matt Payne homered for NC State (16-9, 34-16). The Wolfpack erupted for seven runs in the first inning of the second game as Jeremy Synan had a three-run homer and Devon Cartwright added a three-run double. Nick Stanley’s three-run shot highlighted a four-run eighth for NC State. Jake Buchanan tossed the five-hitter for the Wolfpack with no walks and four strikeouts.

Patriot League Semifinals:

#4 Bucknell 5-3, #1 Army 4-12
In West Point, N.Y., Ben Allen homered to lead off the top of the 10^th inning to give Bucknell a win in its Patriot League semifinal series with Army, but the Black Knights evened the best-of-three series when Clint Moore, J.P. Polchinski and Chris Simmons homered in the nightcap. The two teams meet in the rubber match Sunday. In the first game, Allen was a one-man wrecking crew, going 4 for 5 with two RBI and three runs. Jason Buursma allowed one hit over the final 3.2 innings to improve to 6-3 for the Bison. Andy Ernesto went 3 for 5 with a run and a RBI, and Kevin McKague added two hits and two RBI for Army. Facing elimination, the Black Knights (24-24) erupted for seven runs in the top of the fourth to take control. Moore finished with three hits and three RBI, and McKague and Polchinksi and Simmons all had two RBI. Dane Grandizio had two RBI for the Bison (23-22-2).

#3 Holy Cross 6-1, #2 Navy 0-12

In Annapolis, Md., Bobby Holmes and Ryan George combined on a five-hit shutout for Holy Cross in the first game, but the bats of Mike Guadagnini and Kendall Bolt kept Navy alive as the Crusaders and Midshipmen split the first two games of their Patriot League semifinal series. In the opener, Gil Gomez had three hits and two RBI, and Brendan Akashian had two RBI for the Crusaders. Brendan McCrea went 2 for 2 with two runs. In the second game, Guadagnini had three hits and three RBI, and Bolt had four hits and two RBI for the Midshipmen (31-23-1). Renaldo Hollins added three hits and two runs, and Thomas Hamilton and Jeff Bland each drove in two as Navy scored seven in the sixth inning to break from a 5-0 game. Oliver Drake was splendid on the mound, striking out nine and allowing one earned run in 7.2 innings. Brendan Akashian went 3 for 3 for Holy Cross (21-27).