After another day of Super Regionals action, one Southeastern Conference team is advancing to Omaha, another’s season is over, and two more will have to wait to find out their fates.
Florida 9, NC State 8
For the third year in a row, the Gators (47-18) are Omaha-bound. Despite a valiant last ditch attempt and multiple rallies by the Wolfpack (43-20), Florida managed to hang on and win in the 10th inning.
NC State got on the board first, in the bottom of the third, when Matt Bergquist knocked a one-out double to bring Brett Austin home from second. It didn’t take UF long to respond, though.
In the top of the fourth, the Gators put up four runs. Preston Tucker started things off with a homer to right, then Mike Zunino and Brian Johnson each doubled to put runners on second and third with no outs. An RBI single from Casey Trugeon brought Zunino home and gave Florida the lead. A sac fly from Justin Shafer made it 3-1, and Vickash Ramjit singled to cap off the scoring.
The Wolfpack got right back in it in the bottom of the inning. Andrew Ciencin hit a one-out single, and Jake Fincher did the same thing. Brett Austin double to bring both men home and cut the score to 4-3. They had a chance to tie or take the lead in the inning, but couldn’t capitalize.
In the bottom of the fifth, though, NCSU tied it up with a homer from Chris Diaz. They took a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the seventh, Bergquist laced a one-out single and Trea Turner bunted to reach first base. With runners at first and second, Danny Canela roped an RBI single and brought Bergquist across the plate.
It was Florida’s turn to take the lead in the top of the eighth. Johnson went yard, then Daniel Pigott and Turgeon singled. Turgeon stole second, and with men at second and third, Shafer knocked an RBI single.
The Wolfpack tied the game in the bottom of the inning, when Fincher sent a solo shot to left. Florida wouldn’t quit, though, and Zunino hit a one-out sac fly to give UF a 7-6 lead. NCSU wouldn’t quit either, and in the bottom of the ninth, Canela laced an RBI single to even things up and send the game to extras.
Pigott homered to lead off the 10th and Josh Tobias roped a two-out single to give the Gators a 9-7 lead. The Wolfpack tried to rally one last time, but only scored one run, on a sac fly from Turner.
Florida outhit NC State 15-11, and the Wolfpack also recorded two errors. Shafer led the Gators at the plate, going 2-for-3, while Austin went 2-for-4 to lead NCSU.
UF reliever Karston Whitson earned the win and improves to 4-0 on the season. Keenan Kish got the save, his first of the year. Wolfpack reliever Vance Williams took the loss and drops to 4-4.
The Gators will play the winner of the South Carolina-Omaha Super Regional in Omaha.
Arkansas 5, Baylor 4
It was all going so well for Baylor (49-16), until they turned into the Bad News Bears and the Razorbacks (43-20) capitalized.
Arkansas got on the board first, in the bottom of the first inning. Joe Serrano roped a one-out triple, and Matt Reynolds brought him home with a sac fly. Baylor even things up in the third, on an RBI single from Max Muncy that got Logan Vick home from second.
The Hogs regained the lead in the bottom of the third. Serrano knocked a two-out single, and Reynolds did the same. With runners on the corners, Dominic Ficociello doubled to bring both men home to make the score 3-1.
Baylor took the lead in the tpo of the fifth. Adam Toth led off with a walk, Nathan Orf singled, and Vick laced an RBI single to bring the Bears within one. He then stole second, and Josh Ludy grounded out to bring in another run. With the score tied 3-3, Muncy also grounded out, getting Vick across the plate and giving BU a 4-3 lead.
The Bears seemed in control and en route to locking up a spot in Omaha when the wheels fell off in the bottom of the ninth. Reynolds walked to start off the inning, and then with one out, Brian Anderson singled. Bo Bigham was up next and hit into what looked to be a game-ending double play.
Instead, a fielding error by Baylor shortstop Jake Miller, who had been doing very well, loaded the bases with only one out. Jimmy Bosco was then hit by a pitch to bring in the tying run. Stunningly, John Reeves was hit by pitch too, forcing in the winning run.
The Razorbacks outhit the Bears 7-6 and each team had one error. Serrano led Arkansas at the plate, going 2-for-4, the only Hog with more than one hit. Vick went 1-for-3 with two runs to lead Baylor. Ludy and Muncy were also 1-for-3.
Razorbacks reliever Trent Daniel got the win and improves to 2-0 on the season. BU reliever Max Garner took the loss and drops to 3-3.
Game 3 will begin at 7 ET and be shown on ESPNU. The winner will take on the winner of the Oregon – Kent State Super Regional in Omaha.
Stony Brook 7, LSU 2
Attention college baseball: Stony Brook (52-13) is for real. The Seawolves knocked out much higher-seeded LSU (47-18) to secure their first-ever trip to Omaha.
Each team got a run in the first inning, as Williams Carmona hit a one-out RBI single for SBU and Mason Katz went yard for the Tigers.
The Seawolves added three more runs in the third inning. Travis Jankowski led off the ining with a double, and then advanced to third on a sacrifice. Maxx Tissenbaum roped a two-out double to bring Jankowski home and give Stony Brook the lead. Kevin Krause knocked a single to bring Tissenbaum home, and then came across the plate himself on an RBI single from Steven Goldstein. The Seawolves had a chance to really break it open, but left the bases loaded.
They padded their lead in the fourth, when Tissenbaum hit a double to bring two runs home. That made the score 6-1, and again, SBU left the bases loaded. It was enough to deflate LSU, though, and the Tigers never seemed to get into any sort of offensive rhythm.
LSU got their only other run in the bottom of the seventh, when Austin Nola hit a sac fly to bring home Alex Edward from third base. Stony Brook added one more run, thanks to a Krause RBI single, in the top of the eighth.
The Seawolves dominated the Tigers in every area and outhit them 15-3. They also had one error, LSU had two. Jankowski led SBU at the plate, going 4-for-6. Tyler Hanover went 1-for-2 to lead the Tigers.
Stony Brook starter Frankie Vanderka threw a complete game and earned the win, improving to 3-3 on the season. LSU starter Ryan Eades took the loss and drops to 5-3.
The Seawolves will play UCLA in Omaha.
Game 2 between South Carolina and Oklahoma was postponed until Monday afternoon. At the time of stoppage, the game was scoreless and in the sixth inning.
