May 16, 2008

Rankings are from CBI Composite Poll

MEAC: Bethune-Cookman 13, UMES 1

MEAC: North Carolina A&T 4, Norfolk State 2

MEAC: Florida A&M 7, Delaware State 6

Around the Bases
Top-ranked Miami stops No. 2 North Carolina 12-2

No. 11 Cal State Fullerton nips SDSU; NC State wins at No. 3 Florida State

In Coral Gables, Fla., Chris Hernandez fanned seven in 7.2 innings as top-ranked Miami (Fla.) stopped No. 2 North Carolina 12-2 Thursday evening at Mark Light Field. The Hurricanes (23-3, 43-6) won the ACC Coastal Division title. Hernandez (10-0) allowed two runs on six hits with no walks. Yonder Alonso (left) hit his second grand slam in the third to give Miami a 4-1 lead. Chad Flack doubled and scored in the fourth for the Tar Heels (20-7, 43-10) to make it 4-2. Dave DiNatale had a two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth to give the Hurricanes a 6-2 advantage. Miami put it away with six in the seventh as DiNatale and Jemile Weeks each had two-run singles.

No. 11 Cal State Fullerton 4, San Diego State 3

In Fullerton, Calif., Jared Clark’s two-run homer in the first off Stephen Strasburg sparked Cal State Fullerton past San Diego State at Goodwin Field. It was the first career long ball surrendered by Strasburg (8-2) in 122 innings. Brett Tanos had an RBI double for the Aztecs (30-24) in the second. The Titans (33-17) used a triple play to work out of a jam in the third. With runners on the corners, Jeff Kaplan (10-1) struck out Brandon Glover on a 3-2 pitch. The runner on first going on the pitch and catcher Dustin Garneau threw to second, where second baseman Joe Scott ran the runner back toward first and made the tag. The runner on third strayed too far off the bag and Scott threw to Joel Weeks to complete the 2-4-5 triple play. Garneau had a two-run double in the sixth to give the Titans a 4-1 lead. Troy Hanzawa had an RBI double and scored in the seventh to pull SDSU with one. Adam Jorgenson pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his eighth save.

NC State 12, No. 3 Florida State 2

In Tallahassee, Fla., NC State blew open a close contest with a four-run seventh to hand Florida State a rare home loss in the opener of their ACC series. Entering the seventh leading 3-2, NC State (18-9, 37-16) recorded five hits, with the big blow a two-run, pinch-hit single by Dallas Poulk. Matt Payne and Marcus Jones each had three hits and Payne drove in three. Overall the Wolfpack had 14 hits and eight different players drove in runs. Erik Surkamp went 5.2 innings for NC State, limiting the powerful Florida State (22-6, 44-9) offense to three hits and two runs. Sam Brown fired 2.1 no-hit innings to earn the victory.

No. 5 Rice 6, Tulane 0

In New Orleans, Ryan Berry and Matt Evers combined on a three-hitter as Rice blanked Tulane in front of 3,541 fans at Greer Field Turchin Stadium in the opener of their Conference USA series. Berry (7-3) allowed three hits and three walks in eight innings with seven strikeouts. Evers worked a perfect ninth to secure the shutout. Aaron Luna has a two-run homer in the first for the Owls (19-3, 40-11). Adam Zornes’ sac fly in the second gave Rice a 3-0 lead. The Owls added one in the eighth and Zornes added a two-run homer in the ninth against the Green Wave (13-7-1, 36-16-1).

Florida 8, No. 14 Vanderbilt 6

In Gainesville, Fla., Florida used a pair of two-run homers in the eighth to tie the game then take the lead against Vanderbilt in the opener of their SEC series. Bryson Barber's pinch-hit, two-out bomb tied the score, then Brandon McArthur's homer after Avery Barnes singled gave the Gators (15-13, 32-20) the decisive advantage. Barnes was 4 for 5 and Cole Figueroa also homered for Florida. Shea Robin was 2 for 4 with a homer for Vanderbilt (15-12, 37-16) and drove in a pair.

No. 17 Michigan 9, Northwestern 4

In Ann Arbor, Mich., Zach Putnam smacked two of his team’s four home runs as Michigan topped Northwestern at Ray Fisher Stadium in the opener of their Big Ten series. Jake Goebbert had a sacrifice fly in the first and Max Mann walked and scored in the second as the Wildcats (13-16, 20-26) had an early 2-0 lead. Goebbert added a two-run homer in the fifth as NU took a 4-0 advantage. Derek VanBuskirk’s two-run blast in the bottom of the frame was the first hit for the Wolverines (24-4, 40-11). Putnam’s two-run dinger sparked a five-run sixth as UM took the lead. Putnam went deep again in the seventh and Nate Recknagel hit his 22^nd homer in the eighth to complete the scoring.

No. 18 Wichita State 10, Bradley 0

In Wichita, Kan., Rob Musgrave went the distance as Wichita State run-ruled Bradley at Eck Stadium in the opener of the Missouri Valley series. Musgrave (9-1) allowed five hits in eight innings with one walk and seven strikeouts. Conor Gillaspie had three hits and four RBI for the Shockers (17-5, 39-15). Andy Dirks and Ryan Jones each had three hits for WSU. Jones had a two-run triple in a three-run fourth as the Shockers built a 5-0 lead. The Braves fell to 10-12 in conference play, 26-24 overall.

No. 20 LSU 6, Auburn 4

In Auburn, Ala., D.J. LeMahieu had a pair of RBI doubles as LSU edged Auburn in a battle of Tigers in front of 2,067 fans at Plainsman Park in the opener of their SEC series. LSU (16-11-1, 37-16-1) extended their win streak to 14 and claimed their 10^th straight conference victory. Joseph Sanders had an RBI double in the second for Auburn (11-17, 28-26) before Micah Gibbs had an RBI single and scored on a LeMahieu double in the fourth to give LSU a 4-1 lead. The visitors pushed their lead to 4-1 in the sixth as LeMahieu had an RBI double and scored on a base hit by Matt Clark. Sanders homered in a two-run sixth as Auburn pulled to within one at 4-3. Derek Helenihi had an RBI single in the seventh to give LSU a 5-3 lead before Sanders’ run-scoring single in the bottom of the frame again made it a one-run contest. Clark added an RBI single in the eighth to conclude the scoring for LSU.

SWAC Tournament

Texas Southern 10, Jackson State 9

In Baton Rouge, La., David Arredondo’s two-run single capped a three-run ninth as Texas Southern upset Jackson State in a battle of Tigers in the first round of the SWAC Tournament at Goosby Field. JSU (35-21) scored six in the second for an early 6-0 lead before TSU (14-30) scored one in the fourth and three in the sixth to pull to within two. Jordan Bush had a two-run single in a three-run seventh as TSU took a 7-6 lead. JSU answered with three in the eighth before TSU rallied in the ninth. Bush finished with four RBI for Texas Southern.