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College  | Story  | 6/4/2016

Friday Regional Recap

Patrick Ebert     
Photo: Clemson




2016 Regional Preview | College Top 25 | Video Vault


Upset alert

Regional host South Carolina was stunned at home by Rhode Island on Friday as Rhody claimed the 5-4 win. Sophomore lefthander Tyler Wilson wasn’t at his best, but he was better than his righthanded sophomore counterpart, Clarke Schmidt, striking out 11 in seven innings to move to 13-1 on the year. The Rams were down 4-0 entering the fourth inning before scraping across two runs and then adding three more in the fifth, to hold onto the upset win.

Ole Miss was also upset, 6-5, at the hands of the Pac-12 champion Utah Utes. Neither starter, Jayson Rose and Brady Bramlett, factored into the decision, as Rose gave up all five of Mississippi’s runs, while Bramlett handed over the game to the Rebels’ usually dependable bullpen in the sixth inning with a 5-2 lead. The Utes promptly scored three in the sixth to tie the game, with Jayson Rose’s brother Josh providing the big two-run single, and added a single run in the 10th – on an RBI double by Hunter Simmons off of Wyatt Short – to pull ahead and secure the victory.


Big Finishes

Ohio State continues to show they have a flair for the dramatic, scoring a pair of runs to beat Wright State in a walkoff heartbreaker, 7-6. Ronnie Dawson of course was part of the action, hitting a single through the right side of the infield to bring home the game-tying run, and scored the game-winner on an RBI base knock off the bat of Jalen Washington. Dawson was 2-for-3 in the game with three RBI while Troy Montgomery’s bat continues to heat up after being dropped to the five-hole, going 4-for-4 with two RBI.

Shane Bieber and Noah Bremer pitched well enough to fall under the “Dueling Aces” category, but it was Austin Bush that emerged as the hero in UC Santa Barbara’s 3-2 win over Washington, hitting a walkoff home run in the 14th that gave the Gauchos the thrilling victory. Both starters allowed just one run, Bieber over 7 1/3 and Bremer going the distance in a “normal” game with nine strong. Washington, unable to turn to the injured Troy Rallings out of the bullpen, instead called upon three different relievers in extra innings, who collectively gave up a pair of runs in four innings.

While not a walkoff Miami survived a scare, scoring two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning that proved to be the difference in a 4-2 win over Stetson. Hatters ace Mitchell Jordan and Miami’s Danny Garcia posted near identical pitching lines, as both gave up two runs on four hits in seven and 7 2/3 innings respectively, although neither factored into the decision.

Similar to Miami/Stetson game, while they didn’t win on a walkoff the Ragin’ Cajuns did score a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth – the first of which came on an RBI triple off the bat of Joe Robbins – to break a 3-3 tie on their way to a 5-3 win. Dylan Moore recorded his 14th save of the year by striking out a pair in a perfect ninth.

Lopsided games early, and late

The first set of games played on Friday saw an unusual number of contest get out of hand early. The first game that finished saw Virginia destroy William & Mary by a score of 17-4, and was one of four games that was decided by 10 or more runs.

The Cavaliers scored a run in every inning they sent batters to the plate with the exception of the first, when the Tribe held a 1-0 lead. From there it was all Virginia. They pounded out 20 base hits, including three-hit performances from leadoff hitter Ernie Clement, two-way star Adam Haseley and right fielder Cameron Simmons, as Clement and Jack Gerstenmaier both hit two-run home runs. Alec Bettinger got the starting nod, saving ace Connor Jones for another day.

Southern Miss held a 3-0 lead over South Alabama and their ace Kevin Hill before exploding for 11 runs in the sixth inning in a 14-2 win. Chuckie Robinson opened the frame with a solo home run and Hunter Slater later followed with a two-run double and Nick Dawson with a two-run triple. Six Eagles recorded multi-hit games and Kirk McCarty delivered six shutout frames in the win.

Seahawks ace Ryan Foster went the distance in UNC Wilmington’s big 11-1 win over Duke on Friday. Surprisingly, Nick Feight did not put up a crooked number in the 10-run win, going 1-for-4 with a run scored, but second baseman Brian Mims did, with a 2-for-5 performance and five RBI. All of UNCW’s runs came in the second and third innings, highlighted by Mim’s two-run single in the second and his bases-clearing double in the third.

Fairfield didn’t have much of an answer for the Red Raiders’ powerful offense as Texas Tech banged out 16 base hits en route to a 12-1 win. The team’s first five hitters – Stephen Smith, Tyler Floyd, Tanner Gardner, Cory Raley and Tyler Neslony – went a combined 11-for-18, and pinch hitter Zach David (who replaced Neslony) chipped in with a solo home run late in the game. Freshman Davis Martin provided another strong outing, allowing just one run in seven innings on five hits and a pair of walks.

Florida State piled on Alabama State early and late in their 18-6 win, knocking out Hornets ace Joseph Camacho after only two-thirds of an inning and then scoring seven runs in the seventh. Taylor Walls, Dylan Busby and Quincy Nieporte each enjoyed a three-hit days, with Busby scoring three runs and driving in five others as he stays red-hot at the plate.

In the evening games Clemson responded in a big way after being down 6-0 to Western Carolina heading into the bottom of the second by storming back and scoring 10 runs in the bottom of the frame – and 14 more runs the rest of the way – to blow out the Catamounts 24-10. Clemson hit seven home runs, two coming off the bats of both Chris Okey (who was 3-for-3 with three walks, four runs and four RBI) and Mike Triller. Seth Beer, the ACC Player of the Year, hit a grand slam in the third and Chris Williams added a three-run blast in the fifth.


Saving aces

Similar to Virginia turning to a starter other than ace Connor Jones, UConn also went with a starter other than their own No. 1 arm, Anthony Kay, as freshman lefty Tim Cate took the mound for the Huskies and was solid over the first six innings in a 7-6 win over Georgia Tech. UConn scored all seven of their runs in the second inning, highlighted by Willy Yahn’s two-run double, which followed a two-bagger by Aaron Hill and then was followed by two more doubles off the bats of Bobby Melley and Joe Deroche-Duffin. The Huskies needed each and every one of those runs as the Jackets stormed back, scoring six runs over the final four innings, in large part thanks to Matt Gonzalez’ 3-for-4 effort which included a double, home run and four driven in.

Georgia Tech also saved their ace, Brandon Gold, by going with Zac Ryan, a move that may have backfired as Ryan lasted only 1 2/3 innings, giving up six of UConn’s seven runs.

Although Coastal Carolina didn’t go with their ace (Alex Cunningham), they didn’t really take a risk by sending Big South Pitcher of the Year Andrew Beckwith to the mound to square off opposite Saint Mary’s fireballing righthander Corbin Burnes. Although Burnes was dealing early, frequently touching the mid-90s, he lasted only 4 2/3 innings, giving up five runs (four of which were earned) in the third, fourth and fifth innings combined that ended his day prematurely. Big South Player of the Year Connor Owings only had one hit, but it was a big one, a two-run single in the third that gave the Chanticleers a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

Neither Western Michigan nor Louisville went with their aces – lefthanders Keegan Akin and Brendan McKay respectively – as the Broncos sent out Jacob Piechota to face Kyle Funkhouser, who did open the season as the Cardinals No. 1 starter. Funkhouser responded well, allowing just a single run in eight innings of work while Corey Ray went 3-for-5 from the leadoff spot.


Dueling aces with mixed reviews

In one of the better pure pitching matchups of the day, with the results to match, Bryant’s James Karinchak allowed only one run on three hits over 6 1/3 innings opposite East Carolina ace Evan Kruczynski, who was a hair better, throwing seven shutout innings. While Kruczynski and ECU picked up the win, it was Bryant’s bullpen, and not Karinchak, that allowed the damage, as the floodgates opened in the eighth with the Pirates pushing across seven runs in a 9-1 win.

Although it was a rather one-sided duel, Thomas Hatch was brilliant over seven innings, mixing and matching well with his three-pitch mix in a 6-0 shutout over Nebraska. While J.R. Davis, Conor Costello and Jon Littell all enjoyed three-hit days for the Cowboys, it was Costello that provided the biggest, back-breaking blow, a two-run shot in the third that gave Oklahoma State a 4-0 lead. The Huskers never posed much of a threat, although they did get Scott Schreiber back in the lineup, who responded with a 2-for-3 day at the plate.

Neither Southeast Missouri’s Joey Lucchesi nor Mississippi State’s Dakota Hudson had particularly strong days on the mound, uncharacteristic for both of them given the incredible seasons they enjoyed. Instead it was the Bulldogs’ Brent Rooker who stole the spotlight, hitting home runs in both the second and third innings, the second of which was a three-run shot that tied the game 4-4. Jack Kruger hit an inside-the-park homer in the eighth to cap the scoring in Mississippi State’s 9-5 win.

Another game that wasn’t really a duel saw Gators’ ace and SEC Pitcher of the Year Logan Shore return to the mound for Florida in a 9-3 win over Bethune-Cookman as Shore improved to 11-0 on the year. The Gators also welcomed first baseman Pete Alonso back to the lineup, who enjoyed a huge 3-for-3 day at the plate in which two of his hits were home runs.

With the win Florida will take on UConn on Saturday which will pit a pair of highly-touted lefthanders expected to go in the first round of this year’s draft – A.J. Puk and Anthony Kay – in what very well may be the most heavily scouted game during the postseason.

In what started as a duel between Navy’s Luke Gillingham and NC State’s Brian Brown turned into a slugfest as the Wolfpack hit five home runs in an 13-8 win over the Midshipmen. Four of NC State’s five home runs came in the fifth inning, and two of them were back-to-back, although they were separated by a rain delay that lasted over three hours.

Mitchell Traver, last year’s ace and the fifth different starter TCU has used this season to open a series and/or tournament, allowed just two base hits and a walk over five scoreless innings as TCU cruised to an easy 7-0 win over Oral Roberts to open their Regional play at home. While the one run they scored in the first proved to be the only run they would need – as Brian Trieglaff, Preston Guillory and Dalton Brown combined for four more scoreless innings to secure the shutout – they tacked four more runs on in the sixth (highlighted by Cam Warner’s two-run bomb) and two more in the seventh for good measure.

Kyle Simonds moved to 10-3 on the season in Texas A&M’s 4-2 win over Binghamton as Jonathan Moroney continues to swing a hot bat late in the year, going 3-for-3 with his third home run of the year. Jared Poche also continued his postseason/big game dominance by striking out eight in six innings as LSU knocked off Utah Valley, 5-1 and became the first pitcher in LSU history to record three consecutive seasons with at least eight wins.


A good day to be third

Seven of the No. 3 seeds ended beating the respective No. 2 seeds on Friday, including UConn’s win over Georgia Tech and ECU taking down Bryant as detailed above.

New Mexico doubled-up Dallas Baptist with a 12-6 win, jumping out to a 7-0 lead before tacking an another five runs in the 12th as a loud exclamation point to their victory. Leadoff hitter Luis Gonzalez enjoyed a huge day at the top of the Lobos’ order, going 4-for-4 with a double, getting on base a fifth time via a base on balls, while scoring two runs and driving in another five.

Justin Dunn was moved up to the Friday spot and enjoyed one of the better individual performances of the day, striking out 11 batters over seven innings in which he allowed two runs on just five hits and a walk as Boston College knocked off Tulane 7-2. Dunn continues to elevate his draft profile, displaying his usual low- to mid-90s heat with the results to match.

Pitching continued to be the story in the other games that saw the three-seeds take down the two-seeds. Brandon Bailey enjoyed another strong performance in Gonzaga’s 5-1 win over Arizona State, Parker Dunshee struck out 11 in 7 2/3 in Wake Forest’s 5-3 win over Minnesota and Chris Matthewson allowed just one run on two hits and a pair of walks over 6 2/3 as Long Beach State took down Florida Atlantic, 5-1.

 
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