Florida State became the only ACC team to reach the College World Series, as they pounded Stanford, 18-7.

Via FSU Athletic Dept.

FSU showed no ill-effects of the day off on Saturday due to rain, as they came out on fire in the very first inning. After a two out walk to captain James Ramsey, Jayce Boyd followed with a two-run homerun. From that point on, there was no let up by the players or the crowd.

The Seminoles chased Stanford starter Brett Mooneyham with no outs, a run in, and two men on base in the second inning. Stanford went to their closer, AJ Vanegas (though he did start on Tuesday’s this season). With one out, Sherman Johnson hit a three-run homerun.

Stanford had PLENTY of chances (they had 18 total hits). They loaded the bases with a run in, but FSU turned the double play to end the 3rd inning. The next inning, Stanford had runners at the corners, but FSU again turned the DP to end the inning.

Freshman FSU starter Mike Compton was done in the 5th inning with men on base. However Gage Smith entered in relief and the FSU defense turned yet another inning-ending DP (though the middle infield defense did kick the ball around).

Vanegas did not allow another hit after the Johnson homerun until the 6th inning. Johnson touched him again for a two out, two-run single.

Then Stanford FINALLY broke through in the 7th inning with four runs. With two outs and the bases loaded, Hunter Scantling came on in relief to face Stephen Piscotty (who was 4-for-4 at the time). Scantling got Piscotty to ground out to third base to end the inning.

» Continue reading “FSU Pounds Stanford to Reach CWS”

NC State broke up the shutout in the 9th inning on a John Gianis pinch-hit RBI single, but the Wolfpack lost to number one Florida in Gainesville, 7-1.

The Wolfpack sent junior Ethan Ogburn to the mound to face the Gators, rather than freshman sensation Carlos Rodon (who is a Golden Spikes Award finalist and will pitch on Sunday).

The Gators jumped out with a four-spot in the bottom of the 3rd inning. They had four singles, while there was a passed ball and a throwing error.

Meanwhile, Florida starter Hudson Randall scattered six hits over seven scoreless innings. NC State only had two base runners on in the same inning twice, both times with two outs.

After a Preston Tucker walk to lead off the bottom of the 7th inning and a Wolfpack pitching change, the game was halted due to rain (for a little over two hours).

And when play resumed, the rain began falling again and Mike Zunino hit a two-run homerun. They went into another delay in the top of the 8th inning (for 48 minutes).

Florida leads the series 1-0 and will be looking to take Sunday’s Game 2 (1pm ET on ESPNU). NC State is looking to their young stud to send the series to Monday afternoon and a trip to the College World Series.

*Florida State and Stanford were supposed to play Game 2 of their Super Regional in Tallahassee, but rain forced the postponement. Game 2 will be played on Sunday at 7pm ET on ESPN2. If FSU wins, they are headed to the College World Series. If Stanford wins, there will be a Game 3 on Monday.

Via FSU Athletic Dept.

Florida State pounded Stanford in the first game of their Super Regional, 17-1. They knocked out Stanford ace Mark Appel, the 8th pick in Monday’s draft, after just four innings. He allowed SEVEN runs in the 4th inning.

The Seminoles offense just kept on clicking, with ten of their runs coming with two outs. The top five in their lineup went 11-for-19 with 11 runs scored and 12 RBIs. They also walked seven times to just one strikeout.

Devon Travis went 3-for-5 with two homeruns and six RBIs. Captain James Ramsey also had three hits in his first game after being a first round pick of St. Louis.

All of that offense made a winner of freshman starter Brandon Liebrandt, who won his second start this postseason. He allowed just one run on six hits over six innings.

*After spurning the Pittsburgh Pirates and their local media on draft night to focus on the NCAA Tournament, how well do you think Appel was “prepared” for his start?

Florida and Mississippi State met on Friday afternoon to begin Super Regional play. Being SEC Conference teams, they met during the season, with the Gators winning three out of four. Will Kimmey of ESPN spoke during the pregame bit that the Gators are the best team in college baseball. They showed that Friday afternoon.

The bats busted out in a big way, as they scored in every inning but the 6^th and 8^th innings. The Gators hit three homeruns (Nolan Fontana, Mike Zunino, and Daniel Pigott). They pounded out 11 hits, with Bryson Smith collecting three hits and Zunino and Josh Adams each collecting two hits. Everyone says that the new bats have limited teams’ offenses and the homerun numbers. The bats haven’t slowed the Gators down yet.

On the mound, Hudson Randall was dominant. Mississippi State just couldn’t get anything going against him. The Bulldogs scored their lone run on a Jaron Shepherd RBI ground out in the 6^th. Randall allowed six hits over eight innings and stuck out a career-high eight batters. Florida took Game One 11-1. Game Two will begin at noon on ESPN on Saturday.

Via UNC's Athletic Dept.

It was a pitcher’s duel early on as Stanford faced North Carolina. Mark Appel was on the mound for the Cardinals, while senior right-hander Patrick Johnson got the start for the Tarheels. It was 1-0 UNC until the bottom of the 7^th when Seth Baldwin connected for a two-run homerun after failing to get the sac bunt down.

Stanford finally got on the board for two runs in the top of the 8^th on a Brian Ragira two-run single. However in the bottom of the 8^th, the Tarheels scored those runs back on a bases loaded walk and a sac fly. Michael Morin sent the Cardinal down in order in the top of the 9^th to take Game 1 of the Super Regional 5-2. Game 2 will begin at 3pm ET on Saturday afternoon on ESPN.

Arizona State and Texas were locked in a pitcher’s duel between the Sun Devils Brady Rogers and the Longhorns Taylor Jungmann. ASU scored two runs in the top of the 3^rd, aided by two Texas errors. Texas came back to score a run in the bottom of the inning on a Brandon Loy RBI single. The score would stay at 2-1 until the top of the 8^th when ASU tacked on an insurance run (Joey DeMichele drove in the run, his second RBI of the game).

Texas went down in order in the bottom of the 9^th against Mitchell Lambson, who pitched 2.1 innings of shutout relief. Rogers picked up the win, allowing just one run on eight hits over 6.1 innings. Jungmann took the loss (his second of the NCAA Tournament), as he allowed three runs (one earned) on just three hits over 7.1 innings. ASU was the only visiting team to win on Day 1 of the Super Regionals. Game 2 will begin at 7pm ET on ESPN on Saturday night.

Via Vanderbilt's Athletic Dept.

The final game of Day 1 featured Oregon State visiting Vanderbilt. The host Commodores jumped all over OSU starter Sam Gaviglio in the first inning for four runs on three hits and three walks. In the bottom of the 4^th, Vanderbilt scored four more runs, capped by a Mike Yastrzemski three-run homerun. That was more than enough run support for Commodores ace Sonny Gray. Gray allowed one run on four hits over 6.1 innings. OSU scored their lone run in the 7^th inning and only collected four hits on the night. Vanderbilt took Game One of the Super Regional 11-1. Game Two will begin at 9pm ET on ESPN2 on Saturday night.