Lexington Regional (photo courtesy of UK Athletics)
#1 Kentucky 10, #2 NC State 5 (NCSU eliminated)
#1 Kentucky wins Lexington Regional
Marcus Carson had two hits and three RBI as UK outscored NCSU to capture the Lexington Regional and earn a trip to Louisville for the Super Regionals. The Wildcats (43-21) scored four in the fourth to erase a 2-0 deficit and put up three in the seventh for a 7-5 advantage. UK added three insurance runs in the ninth. Kole Cottam had two hits and two RBI, while Luke Becker had two walks, three runs and an RBI for the Wildcats. Sean Hjelle tossed 3.1 innings of hitless relief with five strikeouts to earn the victory. Brett Kinneman had a two-run homer in the second for the Wolfpack (36-25).
Clemson Regional
#2 Vanderbilt 8, #1 Clemson 0 (Clemson eliminated)
#2 Vanderbilt wins Clemson Regional
Will Toffey homered twice and drove in five, and three hurlers combined on the four-hit shutout, as Vandy blanked Clemson to advance to the Super Regional at top-ranked Oregon State. Toffey had a two-run dinger in the third and a three-run shot in the fifth for the Commodores (36-23-1). Matt Ruppenthal (6 IP, 3 H, BB, 5 K) earned the victory. Logan Davidson had three hits, including a double, for the Tigers (42-21).
Fayetteville Regional
#2 Missouri State 3, #1 Arkansas 2 (Arkansas eliminated)
#2 Missouri State wins Fayetteville Regional
Jeremy Eierman hit a two-run homer in the top of the sixth inning, and Jordan Knutson closed the final 2.1 innings as Missouri State edged Arkansas to claim the Fayetteville Regional title. The teams played until pas 3 a.m. local time Monday morning in a rain-soaked game won by the Razorbacks and turned around and played Monday night, with the Bears (43-18) earning their second Super Regional trip in the past three years. They expect to be headed to TCU for the next round. Alex Jefferson drove in the other run for Missouri State, which got five solid innings from starter Doug Still, who allowed four hits and one earned run with four strikeouts after starting Friday’s opener against Oklahoma State – MSU won that game on a walkoff two-run homer from Eierman. Jared Gates went 2 for 4 with a double, solo homer and two runs, and Eric Cole went 3 for 4 for the Razorbacks (45-19).
Fort Worth Regional
#1 TCU 15, #3 Dallas Baptist 3 (DBU eliminated)
#3 Dallas Baptist 11, #2 Virginia 8 (UVa eliminated)
#1 TCU wins Fort Worth Regional
Nolan Brown went 2 for 3 with two walks, three runs and three RBI as TCU thumped DBU to win the Fort Worth Regional. The Horned Frogs will host Missouri State in the Super Regionals. Matt Duce (3 for 4) belted a two-run homer in the top of the first for the Patriots (42-21) before TCU answered with three in the second and six in the third. Connor Wanhanen had a two-run single in the third, while Brown drove in two with a base hit in the third and Josh Watson capped the rally with a two-run dinger. Evan Skoug added a three-run homer in the sixth for the Horned Frogs. Brian Howard (6.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 3 K) earned the victory.
Austin Listi went 2 for 4 with two homers, three runs and three RBI, and Camden Duzenack went 2 for 5 with a homer and three RBI as Dallas Baptist eliminated Virginia by scoring nine runs in the first two innings and holding off a late Cavaliers rally. Tim Millard added two runs and two RBI for the Patriots (42-20), who returned later to face host TCU in the Regional final. Pavin Smith went 2 for 5 with a homer, a three-run shot to make things interesting in the ninth, and five RBI, and Andy Weber went 3 for 4 with two runs to lead the Cavaliers (43-16).
Gainesville Regional
#1 Florida 6, #3 Bethune-Cookman 1 (B-CU eliminated)
#1 Florida wins Gainesville Regional
Austin Langworthy homered, drove in three and picked up the win as UF beat B-CU to win Gainesville Regional crown. Langworthy went 2 for 4 at the plate with a double, a dinger and three RBI. He hurled four innings with two hits, one run, one walk and three strikeouts. The Gators (45-17) snapped a scoreless tie with three in the sixth and added single runs in the seventh, eighth and ninth. Nelson Maldonado went 3 for 4 with one run and one RBI, while Jonathan India had two hits and two runs. Josten Heron went 2 for 3 with one RBI for the Wildcats (36-25).
Hattiesburg Regional
#2 Mississippi State 8, #1 Southern Miss 6 (USM eliminated)
#2 Mississippi State 8, #1 Southern Miss 1
#2 Mississippi State wins Hattiesburg Regional
MSU scored four times over the final three innings to rally past USM and earn a trip to LSU for the Super Regionals. Brent Rooker drew a leadoff walk and scored on a double play in the top of the seventh as the Bulldogs (40-25) pulled within one a 6-5. Rooker delivered a two-run single in the eighth to put MSU on top 7-6. Elijah MacNamee added an RBI single in the ninth for the Bulldogs. Rooker and Cody Brown both homered and drove in three for MSU. Spencer Price (3 IP, 2 H, R, K) earned the victory, while Riley Self allowed one hit over the final two scoreless frames to record the save. Dylan Burdeaux, Hunter Slater (3 for 4, 2B, 2 R) and LeeMarcus Boyd (3 for 4) all homered for the Golden Eagles (50-16)
Jacob Billingsley went the distance and Josh Lovelady belted a three-run homer in a five-run third as MSU forced a winner-take-all game with Southern Miss for the regional title. Billingsley allowed six hits and a run with four walks and five strikeouts. Brent Rooker homered and knocked in a pair for the Bulldogs (39-25). Hunter Slater had two hits and one RBI for the Golden Eagles (50-15).
Houston Regional
#3 Texas A&M 4, #1 Houston 3 (UH eliminated)
#3 Texas A&M wins Houston Regional
Stephen Kolek turned in a magnificent performance, tossing 8.1 innings with five hits, one earned run and nine strikeouts, as Texas A&M held off Houston to capture the Regional title. The Aggies (39-21) earned their third straight trip to the Super Regionals and likely will host Davidson, which won the Chapel Hill Regional Sunday night. Kolek (4-4), a sophomore who had pitched eight innings once all year, took a shutout to the ninth before allowing a solo homer to Corey Julks to make it 4-1. The Cougars (42-21) took advantage of a hit batter and infield error to load the bases, and Cooper Coldiron singled in a run before Nick Slaughter plated another with a sacrifice fly to make it 4-3 off Kaylor Chafin. Cason Sherrod entered to strike out Connor Wong for his fourth save. A&M scored twice in the first inning on Blake Kopetsky’s two-run single, and Nick Choruby triple in George Janca with two outs in the seventh. In the top of the ninth, Blaine Schoenogel hit his second pinch-hit homer of the season for a four-run lead.
Long Beach Regional
#1 Long Beach State 2, #2 Texas 1 (UT eliminated)
#1 Long Beach State wins Long Beach Regional
Lucas Tancas doubled twice and scored as LBSU edged UT to pull out the regional title. Jarren Duran (2 for 5) singled and scored on an error in the first to give the Dirtbags (41-18-1) the early lead. Tancas had a leadoff double in the third, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored when a teammate was picked off and caught in a rundown between first and second to make it 2-0. The Longhorns (39-24) scored in the fifth as Bret Boswell led off with a single and eventually scored on a wild pitch to make it 2-1. UT had a pair in scoring position with one away in the sixth, but Zak Baayoun came in from the bullpen and fanned two looking to squash the threat. Three pitchers held the Longhorns hitless over the final three frames to secure the win for LBSU.
Lubbock Regional
#3 Sam Houston State 4, #1 Texas Tech 3 (TTU eliminated)
#3 Sam Houston State wins Lubbock Regional
Hunter Hearn knocked in the tying run with a fielder’s choice in the sixth and the go-ahead run scored one batter later on an error as SHSU edged TTU to capture the Lubbock Regional. Hearn went 2 for 4 with two runs and two RBI for the Bearkats (44-21). Riley Cooper (4.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 K) earned the win in relief, while Nick Mikolajchak (1 IP, H, BB, K) recorded the save. Josh Jung had two doubles, while Orlando Garcia had two hits and two RBI for the Red Raiders (45-17).
Tallahassee Regional
#1 Florida State 6, #3 Auburn 0 (Auburn eliminated)
#1 Florida State wins Tallahassee Regional
Will Zirzow, making just his fourth start of the season, was pure brilliance in hurling a two-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts as Florida State completed a run through the losers’ bracket to blank Auburn and take home the Tallahassee Regional title. The Seminoles (43-21) are expected to host Sam Houston State, winner of the Lubbock Regional, when the Super Regional pairings are announced. Zirzow hadn’t thrown more than five innings in a game this season, making the most of his start on the grandest stage and setting the tone by retiring the first 12 batters he faced and allowing his first hit in the sixth inning. FSU started fast with a Dylan Busby RBI double and a Cal Raleigh RBI groundout for a 2-0 lead in the first. It stayed that way until the seventh when Steven Wells had an RBI single. Quincy Nieporte and Drew Mendoza added RBI doubles in the eighth as the Seminoles pulled away in the eighth, and Wells hit a solo homer to complete the scoring in the ninth. Blake Logan had both hits for the Tigers (37-26).