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. » Continue reading “NCAA Super Regionals: Another Mixed Bag For The SEC”

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.

» Continue reading “NCAA Super Regionals: So Far, Mixed Results For The SEC”