Cougars upend Gators
The start of College of Charleston's game with Florida in the Gainesville regional was delayed by more than three hours, but the result certainly was worth the wait for Cougars fans. CofC got three runs on seven hits in the first inning and held on the beat the No. 2 national seed Gators, 3-2, in a game that ended well after 1 a.m. EDT Saturday.
"This program has had some great history," said Cougars coach Monte Lee said afterward. "But this is definitely up there as a top 2 or 3 win all-time."
Back-to-back strikeouts with the bases loaded by starter Taylor Clarke in the fourth inning and a double play to end the seventh with among the big plays for the Cougars (42-17).
Closer Michael Hanzlik struck out two of the three batters he faced in the ninth to tie the school record with his 15th save of the season.
The Cougars play Long Beach State at 7 p.m. Saturday. Long Beach beat North Carolina, 6-1, in Friday's first game.
Gamecocks stay perfect at Carolina Stadium
South Carolina improved to 17-0 in NCAA Tournament games at Carolina Stadium with its 5-2 victory over Campbell. The Gamecocks (43-16) scored three runs in the first innings, but had trouble delivering a knockout punch.
Marcus Mooney gave the Gamecocks some breathing run with a two-run single in the eight, but the Camels scored a run and brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth before Gamecocks closer Joel Seddon struck out the final two batters.
USC starter Jordan Montgomery had his best outing in several weeks, allowing five hits and striking out nine in eight-plus innings. He improved to 5-0 in NCAA Tournament games for his career. He had a streak of 27 2/3 shutout innings in the NCAA halted by a fourth-inning home run by Seth LaRue.
Mooney and Max Schrock had three hits apiece for the Gamecock, who have won their last 28 NCAA Tournament home games.
The Gamecocks face Maryland Saturday night. Late Friday, Gamecocks coach Chad Holbrook announced customary No. 2 starter Jack Wynkoop would get the ball against the Terrapins.
Earlier Friday, Maryland scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth to beat Old Dominion, 4-3. The tying and winning runs scored on bases-loaded wild pitches in the bottom of the ninth.
Tigers stink up Hawkins Field.
It was painful to watch Clemson's 18-1 loss to Oregon in Nashville on Friday, and not just because of the margin of defeat. The Tigers were deficient in almost every phase of the game. Mercifully, I missed seeing much of the carnage because I had to leave to go cover the USC game.
The Tigers (36-24) had numerous defensive misplays -- two ruled errors and several others not -- to help Oregon keep the scoreboard humming. Clemson had two runners thrown out trying to steal in the early innings.
Some Clemson fans were critical of coach Jack Leggett's decision to start Matthew Crownover over Daniel Gossett as pitcher. The way Clemson played, Sandy Koufax would have had a hard time winning.
Oregon's small-ball approach paid off handsomely. The Ducks had 20 hits, stole four bases and had three bunts. But they weren't above a little bashing, too. Oregon had three doubles and three triples, and had back-to-back home runs when it broke the game open in the fourth inning.
The NCAA selection committee said the Tigers were one of the final teams selected to the 64-team field. On Friday, they played like they weren't deserving of a spot.
Now, Clemson must hope it can ride a good outing by Gossett to avoid being eliminated by Xavier and have a chance to win the regional out of the losers' bracket.
Notes
* I didn't realize ticket prices could vary for regionals. A "season ticket" for all games cost $84 in Columbia. There are three levels at Nashville: $115 (infield), $75 (outfield) and $60 (outfield youth). There are three levels at Gainesville: $55 (reserved box), $50 (reserved chairback) and $30 (reserved bleacher).
Columbia
* South Carolina is without pitcher Curt Britt for the regionals after the death of his father on Thursday. Tommy Britt, who was athletic director at Scotland County (NC) High School, died in a Charlotte hospital after complications from surgery.
* USC also left pitcher Evan Beal off the postseason roster. Beal missed the beginning of the season while getting healthy. He made four midweek starts among his five appearances, but could not claim a bigger role on the staff.
*Former Wren High standouts Elliott Caldwell is on the active roster for USC after missing several weeks with back problems.
* Injury-plagued USC outfielder Connor Bright got his first hit since April 19.
* USC pitching coach Jerry Meyers was head coach at Old Dominion for six seasons before leaving after 2010. He had a 167-158 record there, closing his stint with three consecutive losing seasons. One of the players he recruited, first baseman Josiah Burney, leads ODU with 6 homers and 41 RBIs.
* Gamecocks catcher Grayson Greiner was named second-team Capitol One Academic All-America.
Greiner
Nashville
* Oregon entered the season ranked No. 11 on the strength of returning pitchers Cole Irvin and Tommy Thorpe and the addition of freshman Matt Krook, the 36th selection in last year's Major League Baseball Draft. But the Ducks lost Irvin to injury before the season and Krook went down near the midway point. Both have had Tommy John surgery. Thorpe has been solid, going 10-4 with a 2.20 ERA. Jeff Gold has stepped up, going 10-2 with a 3.14 ERA.
* ClemsonTigers.com reports the Tiger pitchers took bullpen catchers Ben Whitmire and Tyler Crocker out to dinner to show appreciation for the duo's behind-the-scenes work.
Gainesville
* Florida had been 12-0 in regional home games under Kevin O'Sullivan prior to Friday's loss to College of Charleston.
Other regionals
* A wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted Miami over Bethune-Cookman, 1-0.
* Jackson State, which lost all its equipment in a bus fire during a road trip a few weeks back, beat No. 6 national seed Louisiana Lafayette, 1-0.
* Georgia Southern outhit Florida State 16-2 and got a complete game from Sam Howard to beat the No. 5 seed Seminoles, 7-0. Mid-majors Georgia State and Kennesaw State meet in Saturday's winners' bracket game after Alabama and FSU plays an elimination game.
* Four Bucknell errors led to nine unearned runs, the margin of victory in Virginia's 10-1 win over the Bison.
* Texas beat Texas A&M, 8-1, in a rivalry renewed thanks to the scheduling of the NCAA selection committee.
* The SEC went 5-4, while the ACC went 3-3. The Oxford regional, where Mississippi (SEC0 and Georgia Tech (ACC) are playing, was rained out. The adjusted schedule calls for two games Saturday, three on Sunday and two on Monday, if needed.
No comments:
Post a Comment