Four teams from the Southeastern Conference are playing in the Super Regionals this weekend. Three of the teams, South Carolina, Florida, and LSU, are host sites for these games, while Arkansas is playing in the Waco Super Regional, where Baylor is the host. The Gamecocks and Gators currently have 1-0 leads in their Super Regional series, while Arkansas trails 0-1 and LSU is even at 1-1.
LSU 5, Stony Brook 4
This game was suspended in extras yesterday due to bad weather. It didn’t take long to finish up this morning, though, because just 10 minutes in, the Tigers walked off with a victory.
Kevin Gausmann, who would start Game 2, threw just 12 pitches to send the Seawolves down 1-2-3 in the top of the 12th. In LSU’s half of the inning, Tyler Moore singled, then advanced to second on a sac bunt by Austin Nola. JaCoby Jones was intentionally walked, putting runners on the corners with one out. Mason Katz was up next, and he knocked an RBI single to bring Moore home.
Stony Brook took an early lead when the game started Friday afternoon, when Sal Intagliata homered in the second inning. That gave the Seawolves a 2-0 lead, but the Tigers fought back to tie it, and Jones went yard in the bottom of the ninth to make the score 2-2.
SBU outhit LSU 14-9, but they also had three errors compared to LSU’s one. William Carmona led Stony Brook at the plate, going 3-for-5, and Moore went 2-for-3 to lead LSU.
Seawolves reliever Frankie Vanderka, who pitched only 1/3 of an inning Saturday morning, took the loss and dropped to 2-3 on the season. Gausmann got the win and improved to 12-1 on the year.
LSU’s record improved to 47-16 while Stony Brook fell to 50-13.
Stony Brook 3, LSU 1
The Seawolves kept their chance at reaching the College World Series alive in the second game of the day, as they stifled LSU’s potent offense to even the series.
SBU got on the board first, when Kevin Courtney hit a one-out double, then got to third on a wild pitch. Sal Intagliata roped an RBI single, and Travis Jankowski followed that up with a base hit of his own. Intagliata moved to third on a fielder’s choice, and Will Carmona brought him home with single to right, giving the Seawolves a 2-0 lead.
Courtney homered to lead off the bottom of the fifth inning, but the Tigers responded in the top of the sixth, when Raph Rhymes laced a one-out single into right to bring home JaCoby Jones. Unfortunately for LSU, that was all the rallying they’d be able to manage.
Stony Brook outhit the Tigers again, this time 6-3. They also had two errors, while LSU had none. Courtney led the Seawolves at the plate, going an impressive 3-for-3. Jones, Rhymes, and Jordy Snikeris each went 1-for-3 and were the only Tigers with hits.
Gausmann took the loss and his record drops to 12-2. SBU’s Tyler Johnson threw a complete game and improves to 12-1 on the season. Interestingly, Gausmann issued only one walk and struck out six batters, while Johnson walked four and K’d only one batter.
LSU’s record is now 47-17 on the year, while Stony Brook’s is 51-13. The rubber game of the series will begin at 1 ET and will be shown on ESPN2/ESPN3. The winner of Game 3 will advance to the College World Series.
Florida 7, NC State 1
Weather was a factor in this game, too, and had to be delayed twice; the total time of the combined delays was almost three hours.
The game was scoreless until the fourth, when the Gators broke things open. Josh Tobias laced a one-out single up the middle, which Nolan Fontana followed with a base hit of his own. An RBI single from Preston Tucker brought Tobias home and a passed ball advanced the runners to second and third. An error got Mike Zunino to first base, then to second, which also brought Fontana and Tucker home. Zunino crossed the plate on a two-out RBI single from Daniel Pigott, and when all was said and done, Florida had a 4-0 lead.
The Gators made it 5-0 on a Pigott sac fly in the fifth, and upped the score to 7-0 in the seventh, thanks to a two-run blast from Zunino.
The Wolfpack narrowly avoided the shutout by getting their one run in the top of the ninth. Brett Austin knocked a two-out double and then came home on a pinch hit RBI single from John Gianis.
UF outhit NC State 10-9, and the Wolfpack made two errors compared to Florida’s one. Tucker led the Gators at the plate, going 2-for-3, while Danny Canela also went 2-for-3 to lead NCSU. Florida starter Hudson Randall earned the win and improves to 9-2 on the year. Wolfpack starter Ethan Ogburn took the loss and drops to 5-4.
The Gators’ overall record is now 46-18, while NC State falls to 43-19. Game 2 of the series is scheduled for Sunday at 1 ET and will be shown on ESPNU. If Florida wins, they will advance to the College World Series for the third year in a row. If NC State wins, Game 3 will be played on Monday.
Baylor 8, Arkansas 1
This was probably not the way the Hogs envisioned Game 1 going.
The Bears got the scoring started early, taking a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Nathan Orf was hit by a pitch to lead things off, then Logan Vick went yard. They tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the third. when Josh Ludy led off with a homer. Max Muncy smacked a double, and then Cal Towey hit a double of his own to bring Muncy home and make the score 4-0.
Vick hit his sent bomb of the day in the fourth, making it 5-0 Baylor. Things continued to not go in the Razorbacks’ favor, as Dan Evatt scored on a wild pitch in the fifth to up the Bears’ lead to 6-0.
Arkansas finally got on the board in the sixth, when Dominic Ficociello knocked a one-out RBI double to bring Matt Reynolds home. Unfortunately for the Hogs, that was as much of a rally as they could muster. The Bears padded their lead with a run each in the seventh and eighth innings.
BU scored in almost every inning and outhit UA 12-7. Neither team recorded an error. Muncy and Towey led the Bears at the plate, both going 3-for-4, while Ficociello also was 3-for-4 to lead the Hogs.
Baylor starter Trent Blake earned the win and improves to 11-1 on the season, while Arkansas starter DJ Baxendale took the loss and falls to 7-5.
The Razorbacks are now 42-20 overall, while the Bears are 49-15. Game 2 of the series is set to begin Sunday at 3 ET and will be shown on ESPNU/ESPN3. If Baylor wins, they will advance to the College World Series. If Arkansas wins, Game 3 will be played Monday.
For a full recap of South Carolina’s win over Oklahoma, check out Katie’s post on Cocky Country.
