ACC (Durham, N.C.) (photo by Larry Novey)
#6 Clemson 5, #3 Virginia 4
#4 Florida State 6, #9 Georgia Tech 1
#1 Miami 8, #5 NC State 7
Chase Pinder delivered a sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth as Clemson nipped UVa in the tourney opener for both teams. Eli White (3 for 5, RBI) doubled twice, while Mike Triller smacked a two-run homer for the Tigers (39-18). Matt Thaiss (2 for 3, 2 R) and Daniel Pinero (2 for 3, 2 RBI) both went deep for the Cavaliers (36-19).
John Sansone (2 for 5, 2 R, 2 RBI) and Dylan Busby (1 for 4, 2 RBI) both homered as FSU downed Tech to move to 2-0 in pool play. Jackson Lueck went 3 for 3 with a pair of runs for the Seminoles (36-19). Kel Johnson went 1 for 3 with one RBI for the Yellow Jackets (36-22).
Edgar Michelangeli smacked a three-run homer in the top of the ninth to lift Miami over NC State. Brandon Lopez went 3 for 3 with a homer, two runs and two RBI for the Hurricanes (45-10). Chance Shepard doubled, homered and drove in four for the Wolfpack (34-20).
America East (Lowell, Mass.)
#1 Binghamton 6, #5 Albany 3
#2 Hartford 7, #3 Stony Brook 6 (10 innings)
#5 Albany 9, #6 Maine 8 (Maine eliminated)
Mike Bunal fanned nine in eight scoreless innings as Binghamton beat Albany. Bunal (8-3) allowed five hits and two walks. Daniel Franchi had two hits and one RBI for the Bearcats (28-23). Connor Powers went 2 for 4 with a double, a run and an RBI for the Great Danes.
Chris DelDebbio had a game-winning RBI single in the 10th as Hartford outlasted Stony Brook. The Seawolves (25-26) trailed 5-0 before scoring two in the eighth and four in the ninth to take a 6-5 lead. The Hawks (37-16) plated single runs in the ninth and 10th to pull out the victory. David MacKinnon went 4 for 5 with a homer and four RBI for Hartford. Andruw Gazzola and Dylan Resk both knocked in a pair for Stony Brook.
Karson Canaday had two hits and three RBI as Albany (23-29) eliminated Maine (20-35). Danny Casals doubled twice and drove in three for the Black Bears.
American (Clearwater, Fla.)
#6 Memphis 5, #2 East Carolina 4 (ECU eliminated)
#5 Houston 5, #1 Tulane 3
#3 Connecticut 9, #7 USF 1
Memphis scored all its runs in the first three innings in eliminating ECU. Jacob Elliott drove in two, while Darien Tubbs went 2 for 4 with a homer, two runs and two RBI for the Tigers (20-38). Travis Watkins and Eric Tyler both had two hits, one run and one RBI for the Pirates (34-21).
Joe Davis delivered a grand slam in the third and Seth Romero fanned 11 as Houston topped Tulane. Romero (6-4) allowed four hits and two walks in 6.2 inning with two earned runs. Nick Hernandez (2.1 IP, H, 3 K) notched his 10th save. Stephen Alemais had two hits, including a double, and two RBI for the Green Wave (38-18).
Bryan Daniello had three hits, including a pair of double, and drove in four as UConn clobbered USF. Joe Duffin-Deroche (4 for 6, R, RBI) also delivered a pair of doubles for the Huskies (35-22). Joe Genord went deep for the Bulls (24-32).
Atlantic 10 (Bronx, N.Y.)
#6 Davidson 7, #2 VCU 3
#1 Rhode Island 10, #5 Fordham 1
#2 VCU 12, #7 George Washington 4 (GWU eliminated)
#3 Saint Joseph’s 7, #5 Fordham 6 (Fordham eliminated)
Eric Jones and Will Robertson both went 2 for 4 with a homer, two runs and two RBI as Davidson downed VCU. Max Bazin went 3 for 4 with a double, one run and one RBI for the Wildcats (27-24). Darian Carpenter had three hits and two runs for the Rams (37-18).
Ryan Olmo had two hits and three RBI, while Martin Figueroa (2 for 3, 3 R, 2 RBI) and Mike Corin (1 for 4, 3 RBI) both homered as URI flogged Fordham. Tyler Wilson (12-1, 6 IP, 2 H, UE, 2 BB, 4 K) picked up the victory for URI (28-25). Joseph Runco doubled and scored for Fordham (29-28).
Matt Davis (2 for 4, 2 R) homered and knocked in four as VCU (38-18) bounced GWU. Bobby Campbell (2 for 5) went deep for the Colonials (24-33).
Saint Joseph’s plated five in the top of the ninth and held on to eliminate Fordham. Deon Stafford Jr. went 3 for 5 with a double, two runs and two RBI for the Hawks (30-22). Mark Donadio went 2 for 4 with three runs and two RBI for the Rams (29-29).
Atlantic Sun (Nashville, Tenn.)
#5 FGCU 6, #1 Kennesaw State 0 (KSU eliminated)
#6 Stetson9, #3 Jacksonville 7
#2 North Florida v. #4 Lipscomb, ppd. (Friday, 10 am)
Kenton Hering and Sterling Koerner combined on a two-hit shutout as FGCU blanked KSU. Hering (3-2) allowed two hits and three walks in 6.1 innings with five strikeouts to earn the win, while Koerner fanned one over the final 2.2 hitless innings to record his fourth save. Stefano Belmonte had a double, a homer and drove in two for the Eagles (25-31). Austin Upshaw had both hits for the Owls (29-27).
Corey Reid (2 for 5, 2 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI) had a run-scoring double to spark a four-run eighth as Stetson rallied past JU. John Fussell went 4 for 4 with a run for the Hatters (27-29). Nathan Koslowski had two hits, including a homer, and three RBI for the Dolphins (33-22).
Big South (Lexington, S.C.)
#3 Longwood 18, #2 High Point 13 (HPU eliminated)
#8 Radford 8, #4 Gardner-Webb 4 (GW eliminated)
Longwood scored multiple runs in six different innings, including six in the second, in eliminating HPU. Michael Osinski (4 for 6, 2 2B, 4 R) and Sammy Miller (3 for 5, 2 R) both drove in four for the Lancers (32-26). Tim Mansfield (5 for 6, 2 2B, 3B, 3 R, 4 RBI) was a homer short of the cycle for the Panthers (32-24).
Colby Higgerson went 3 for 4 with two runs and two RBI as RU (19-39) eliminated GW (37-21).
Big Ten (Omaha, Neb.)
#3 Indiana 6, #2 Nebraska 2 (Nebraska eliminated)
#5 Michigan 3, #1 Minnesota 2 (Minnesota eliminated)
#6 Maryland v. #7 Michigan State ppd. (Friday, 9 am)
#4 Ohio State v. #8 Iowa ppd. (Friday, 1 pm)
Laren Eustace had a two-run homer in the eighth as Indiana sent home second-seeded Nebraska. Logan Sowers went 3 for 5 with one run and one RBI for the Hoosiers (32-23). Ryan Boldt went 1 for 3 with one run and one RBI for the Cornhuskers (37-20).
Michigan scored two in the bottom of the eighth in eliminating top-seeded Minnesota. Jake Bivens went 1 for 3 with one RBI for the Wolverines (36-20). Dan Motl went 2 for 3 with one run for the Gophers (34-20).
Big 12 (Oklahoma City, Okla.)
#4 West Virginia 9, #1 Texas Tech 4
#3 TCU 13, #2 Oklahoma State 5
#7 Texas 15, #6 Baylor 3 (Baylor eliminated)
#5 Oklahoma 13, #8 Kansas State 7 (KSU eliminated)
In Oklahoma City, Kyle Davis went 3 for 5 with two runs and four RBI, and Jackson Cramer homered and drove in two as West Virginia knocked off top-seeded Texas Tech in a winners’ bracket game. Davis had a three-run triple in a four-run seventh inning and added an RBI single in a two-run eighth for the Mountaineers (35-21). Tyler Neslony went 2 for 4 with an RBI for the Red Raiders (41-15).
Evan Skoug had a three-run homer to highlight a nine-run eighth as TCU outscored OSU. Luken Baker, Elliott Barzilli and Ryan Merrill each had three hits and two runs for the Horned Frogs (40-14). Conor Costello knocked in two for the Cowboys (36-19).
In the losers’ bracket, Tres Barrera went 3 for 5 with a homer, two runs and four RBI, and Kacy Clemens went 3 for 4 with a homer, three runs and three RBI as Texas eliminated Baylor. Travis Jones added two hits, three runs and three RBI, and Patrick Mathis contributed two hits and four RBI for the Longhorns (23-32). Richard Cunningham went 3 for 3 with two runs for the Bears (24-29). And Alex Wise went 2 for 4 with a triple and four RBI as Oklahoma (29-26-1) eliminated Kansas State (26-31). Clayton Dalrymple went 2 for 3 with three runs and two RBI for the Wildcats.
CAA (Mount Pleasant, S.C.)
#1 UNCW 5, #4 James Madison 4 (10 innings)
#6 College of Charleston 7, #2 William and Mary 2
#5 Northeastern 19, #4 James Madison 9
In Charleston, S.C., Zach Canada had a game-winning RBI single to deep short in the bottom of the 10th inning as UNC Wilmington edged James Madison. Nick Feight went 4 for 5 with a solo homer for the Seahawks (38-15), who meet College of Charleston in the winners’ bracket final. Brett Johnson had two hits, including a homer, and two RBI for the Dukes (24-30).
Charleston knocked off William and Mary behind 8.1 solid innings from Bailey Ober, who allowed five hits and two runs and struck out six. Dupree Hart had three hits and two runs, and Erven Roper drove in two for the Cougars (31-24-1). Kyle Wrighte went 2 for 4 with a solo homer for the Tribe (25-29).
Conference USA (Hattiesburg, Miss.)
#4 Rice 6, #1 FAU 4 (10 innings)
#3 Southern Miss 9, #2 Marshall 3
#5 Louisiana Tech 13, #8 Charlotte 3 (Charlotte eliminated)
#7 FIU 3, #6 Old Dominion 1 (11 innings, ODU eliminated)
In the losers’ bracket, Raphael Gladu went 5 for 5 with two runs and two RBI, and Chase Lunceford had three hits, three runs and an RBI as Louisiana Tech (38-17) eliminated Charlotte (23-32). Casey Sutton tossed a complete game for the Bulldogs. Brett Netzer went 3 for 4 with a solo homer for the 49ers. FIU (29-28) eliminated ODU (34-28) when Zach Fines hit two solo homers and pitchers Cody Crouse (7 IP, 2 H, 0 R) and Williams Durruthy (4 IP, 3 H, 1 R) limited the Monarchs to five hits. Sam Sinnen tossed 7.1 innings with one hit – a Fines homer in the sixth – one run and seven strikeouts for ODU.
Horizon (Fairborn, Ohio)
#1 Wright State 11, #4 UIC 3
#2 Milwaukee 9, #3 Valparaiso 6
#3 Valparaiso 4, #4 UIC 2 (UIC eliminated)
Sean Murphy went 3 for 5 with two runs and two RBI, and Jesse Scholtens improved to 10-1 with seven effective innings as Wright State coasted past UIC. Mitch Roman and Peyton Burdick contributed two RBI apiece for the Raiders (42-15). David Cronin went 3 for 5 with a run and two RBI for the Flames (25-30), who were eliminated later in the day by Valparaiso.
Milwaukee earned a date with Wright State in the winners’ bracket final thanks in large part to Daulton Varsho, who hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning and finished with four RBI in a win over Valpo. Billy Quirke had two hits and three RBI, and Luke Meeteer had two hits and two RBI for the Panthers (32-24). Nolan Lodden had three hits and three RBI for Valpo.
Metro Atlantic (Fishkill, N.Y.)
#4 Canisius 8, #2 Siena 4
#3 Monmouth 9, #5 Marist 6 (Marist eliminated)
#6 Manhattan 8, #3 Monmouth 1 (Monmouth eliminated)
Mike Elwood turned in five solid innings of relief, and Anthony Massicci had three hits and two RBI as Canisius doubled up Siena. Jake Lumley went 3 for 3 with two runs, and Tim Kensinger and Ryan Stekl had two hits and two RBI apiece for the Golden Griffins (32-25). Dan Swain went 4 for 4 with two runs and an RBI for Siena (23-31).
In the losers’ bracket, Dan Shea had two hits, including a homer, and drove in three, and Robbie Alessandrine added two hits and three RBI as Monmouth (30-26) knocked off Marist (24-27). The Hawks and Manhattan played an elimination game late.
Mid-American (Avon, Ohio)
#7 Western Michigan 10, #3 Miami 6
#1 Kent State 3, #5 Toledo 2
#8 Eastern Michigan 6, #4 Northern Illinois 2 (UNI eliminated)
#6 Central Michigan 4, #2 Ball State 0 (Ball State eliminated)
In Avon, Ohio, Hunter Prince hit a walkoff grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning, and Nate Grys homered and drove in three as Western Michigan (19-31) advanced to Saturday’s semifinals by beating Miami. Gary Russo had three hits, two runs and an RBI, and Chad Sedio homered and drove in two for Miami (26-28).
In the losers’ bracket, Tyler Butzin tossed five scoreless innings, and Marquise Gill had two hits and two RBI as Eastern Michigan (21-34) eliminated Northern Illinois (24-32). And Nick Degg tossed a complete-game, four-hit shutout with eight strikeouts and Daniel Jipping had two RBI as Central Michigan (22-36) ousted Ball State (32-26).
Missouri Valley (Terre Haute, Ind.)
#1 Dallas Baptist 10, #4 Southern Illinois 8
#3 Bradley 10, #7 Missouri State 0
#2 Indiana State 7, #7 Wichita State 1 (WSU eliminated)
#5 Evansville 4, #8 Illinois State 3 (10 innings, ISU eliminated)
In Terre Haute, Ind., Matt Duce went 3 for 4 with three homers and seven RBI, the last a two-run walkoff homer, as Dallas Baptist stormed back with eight runs in eighth and ninth innings to beat Southern Illinois. Justin Wall added a homer and two RBI for the Patriots. Hunter Anderson homered and drove in three for the Salukis.
In the losers’ bracket, Boomer Synek launched a game-winning homer in the bottom of the 10th inning to lead Evansville past Illinois State. And Ryan Keaffaber tossed a complete game with four hits, and Tony Rosselli went 2 for 4 with a homer and two RBI as Indiana State eliminated Wichita State.
Mountain West (Albuquerque, N.M.)
#6 San Diego State 18, #4 UNLV 8 (UNLV eliminated)
#5 Air Force 9, #1 Fresno State 7
#2 New Mexico 3, #3 Nevada 0
Northeast (Norwich, Conn.)
#1 Bryant 8, #4 CCSU 1
#2 Sacred Heart 9, #3 Fairleigh Dickinson 8
Buck McCarthy had three hits, including a homer, and three RBI as Bryant beat CCSU. AJ Zarozny had four hits and a run, while Nick Angelini was a homer short of the cycle, going 3 for 5 with three runs and one RBI for the Bulldogs (45-10). James Karinchak (12-2, 7 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 7 K) picked up the win. Connor Fitzsimons went 3 for 3 for the Blue Devils (23-33).
After FDU scored three in the top of the ninth to tie the game at 8-8, Jayson Sullivan had a leadoff homer in the bottom of the frame as Sacred Heart claimed the victory. Ted Shaw and PJ DeFilippo both had two hits, one run and two RBI for the Pioneers (30-26). Ryan Brennan went 2 for 4 with two runs and one RBI for the Knights (26-27).
Ohio Valley (Jackson, Tenn.)
#6 Belmont 9, #5 Tennessee Tech 8 (TTU eliminated)
#2 Jacksonville State v. #2 Austin Peay, suspended
#1 Southeast Missouri v. #4 Morehead State, ppd.
SEC (Hoover, Ala.)
#7 Ole Miss 12, #6 Vanderbilt 9
#5 LSU 6, #1 Mississippi State 2
#3 Texas A&M 4, #2 South Carolina 1 (USC eliminated)
#4 Florida 5, #9 Alabama 4 (Alabama eliminated)
In Hoover, Ala., Colby Bortles had two hits and four RBI, and Henri Lartigue added three hits and three runs as Ole Miss built a 10-0 lead and held on to beat Vanderbilt in a winners’ bracket game. James McArthur pitched into the sixth for the Rebels (43-16), who advance to the semifinals Saturday. Bryan Reynolds homered and drove in three, and Jeren Kendall added three hits and three RBI for the Commodores (43-16).
In the losers’ bracket, Brigham Hill tossed seven innings with one unearned run and eight strikeouts as Texas A&M (42-14) eliminated South Carolina (42-15). Jonathan Moroney went 3 for 4 with an RBI single that capped a three-run second inning for the Aggies. And Danny Reyes had an RBI double in the bottom of the eighth inning to break a 4-4 tie as Florida eliminated Alabama. Jonathan India had two RBI for the Gators (45-12), while Daniel Cucjen had a two-run double for the Crimson Tide (32-26).
Southern (Greenville, S.C.)
#5 ETSU 4, #8 The Citadel 2 (Citadel eliminated)
#3 UNCG 9, #7 Wofford 6 (WC eliminated)
#1 Mercer 6, #4 Furman 1
#2 Western Carolina 14, #6 Samford 4
Jamin McCann fanned 10 in eight innings as ETSU topped The Citadel. McCann (8-4) allowed six hits, one walk and two runs. Peyton Taylor (1 IP, BB, K) registered his fifth save. Hagen Owenby drove in two for the Bucs (27-29). Shy Phillips homered for the Bulldogs (17-42).
L.J. Kalawaia went 4 for 4 with two doubles, a triple and two RBI as UNCG outscored Wofford. The Spartans (38-20) scored four in the seventh to snap a 4-4 tie. Derek Hirsch, Demetrius Jennings and Kody Ruedisili each had two hits and one RBI for the Terriers (30-28).
Kyle Lewis homered and drove in three as Mercer tripped up Furman. Kevin Coulter (8-3, 7 H, R, BB, K) went the distance for the Bears (37-21). Sims Griffith had two hits and a run for the Paladins (28-29).
Southland (Sugar Land, Texas)
#2 Southeastern Louisiana 10, #6 McNeese State 0
#1 Sam Houston State 12, #5 Central Arkansas 2
#8 Stephen F. Austin 5, #4 Lamar 2 (Lamar eliminated)
#7 New Orleans 6, #3 Northwestern State 5 (NSU eliminated)
In Sugar Land Texas, Mac Sceroler tossed eight scoreless innings, and Webb Bobo went 2 for 5 with two runs and five RBI – including a three-run homer to break a scoreless tie in the eighth inning – as Southeastern Louisiana (38-18) blanked McNeese State (30-24) in the winners’ bracket. Ethan Stremmel was cruising for the Cowboys until getting knocked around in the eighth inning.
Andrew Fregia went 3 for 4 with two runs and two RBI, and Taylor Beene contributed two hits, a run and three RBI as Sam Houston State (39-19) run-ruled Central Arkansas (29-26).
In the losers’ bracket, Austin Hagy tossed four innings of scoreless relief as Stephen F. Austin eliminated Lamar, whose coach Jim Gilligan capped a 39-year career with the Cardinals with a record of 1,353-894-5. And Jordan Priddle tossed 5.2 innings of scoreless relief as New Orleans edged Northwestern State in a game that was tied 4-4 after the first inning.
Summit (Tulsa, Okla.)
#4 South Dakota State 8, #2 Omaha 0 (UNO eliminated)
#3 IPFW 6, #1 Oral Roberts 5
Sun Belt (San Marcos, Texas)
#2 South Alabama 6, #3 Little Rock 4 (Little Rock eliminated)
#8 Arkansas State 13, #4 Troy 12 (Troy eliminated)
#6 Georgia Southern v. #7 UT Arlington, ppd.
#1 UL Lafayette v. #5 Texas State, ppd.
On a day marred by weather, South Alabama and Arkansas State used ninth-inning rallies to win elimination games in the Sun Belt tourney. Jared Barnes had a two-run double as part of a four-run ninth inning as the Jaguars eliminated Little Rock. Tanner Ring delivered the game-winning RBI single for Arkansas State, which rallied from a 12-4 deficit and scored in each of the last six innings, including three in the ninth, to eliminate Troy.
WAC (Mesa, Ariz.)
#1 Seattle 5, #4 Sacramento State 4
#3 Utah Valley 3, #2 New Mexico State 2
#6 Bakersfield 11, #5 Northern Colorado 6 (UNC eliminated)
In Mesa, Ariz., Curtis Perrin had a two-run double, Griffin Andreychuk contributed a sacrifice fly and Dalton Hurd plated the game-winning run with a single as Seattle scored four times in the bottom of the ninth to stun Sacramento State in the winners’ bracket. Andrew McWilliam had three RBI to lead the Hornets.
Seattle next meets Utah Valley, which got 7.1 strong innings from Jackson Cofer (8 H, 1 R, 8 K) and held off New Mexico State in the other winners’ bracket game. Mark Krueger led Utah Valley with two hits and two RBI, and Jordan Schlehuber added a 3-for-4 day with an RBI. Daniel Johnson went 3 for 4 with a run for NMSU.
In the losers’ bracket, Chance Gusbeth went 2 for 4 with four RBI, and David Metzgar went 2 for 3 with three RBI as Bakersfield eliminated Northern Colorado.
WCC (Stockton, Calif.)
#3 Gonzaga 5, #2 BYU 3
#1 Saint Mary’s 8, #4 Pepperdine 7 (11 innings)
Brandon Bailey struck out 17, a school and WCC Championship record, as Gonzaga topped BYU. Bailey (8-3) went the distance with six hits, one walk and three runs. Jeffrey Bohling had two doubles and three RBI, while Sam Brown was 2 for 4 with two runs and two RBI for the Bulldogs (34-17). Eric Urry, Keaton Kringlen (2 for 4) and Bronson Larsen (2 for 3) each had solo homers for the Cougars (37-16).
In the earlier game, SMC rallied twice late before winning in 11 against Pepperdine. Nate Nolan had a three-run homer to cap a five-run eighth to knot the score at 5-5 and added a two-run dinger in the 10th to level the score at 7-7 for the Gaels (31-23). Zach Kirtley (3 for 6) delivered the game-winning RBI single in the 11th for SMC. Ben Rodriguez and Chris Fornaci (2 for 4, 2B, 3 RBI) both went deep for the Waves (28-23).