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BATON ROUGE SUPER REGIONAL
Game 1: Louisiana State 5, Stony Brook 4
THE SERIES: LSU leads 1-0
PLAYER OF THE GAME: OF Mason Katz, LSU
IT WAS OVER WHEN: The series opener was suspended after the 11th inning on Friday, and with the score tied 4-4 going to the 12th inning, LSU sent ace right-handed pitcher Kevin Gausman to the mound for his first relief appearance of the year. Gausman sat down the Seawolves in order, and the Tigers won the game in the bottom of the inning.
THE SKINNY: In one of the better NCAA Super Regional matchups we've seen in a while, Stony Brook absolutely had LSU -- at home -- on the ropes on several occasions. For instance, the Tigers needed a home run from JaCoby Jones in the ninth inning to tie the game and force extra innings. Then, in the 10th and 11th innings, respectively, the Tigers once again needed a home run from Tyler Moore and Mason Katz, to tie things up. The Tigers eventually won the game 5-4 in the 12th inning as Katz once again came through with an RBI single through the left side, in walk-off fashion, of course. The loss for Stony Brook wasted a fantastic start by Brandon McNitt, who struck out three and allowed just one run (none earned) on three hits in seven innings of work.
LOS ANGELES SUPER REGIONAL
Game 1: UCLA 6, Texas Christian 2
THE SERIES: UCLA leads 1-0
PLAYER OF THE GAME: RHP Adam Plutko, UCLA
IT WAS OVER WHEN: TCU freshman left-handed pitcher Brandon Finnegan was in complete control of the Bruins entering the sixth inning, up 2-1. However, the Bruins erupted for five innings in the bottom of the sixth and never looked back. Trevor Brown had an RBI single, Pat Valaika had an RBI groundout, and Cody Regis, who surprisingly has struggled this season, had a huge base-clearing three-RBI double to extend the UCLA lead to 6-2.
THE SKINNY: UCLA ace right-handed pitcher Adam Plutko scuffled early against TCU, but settled down and put together an excellent start in the victory. Plutko struck out seven batters and allowed just two runs on seven hits in seven innings of work. Meanwhile, reliever David Berg was terrific in the game, striking out four in two perfect innings of work. Offensively, Trevor Brown had two hits, while Cody Regis had the big three-RBI blast. As for TCU, left-handed starting pitcher Brandon Finnegan, who threw very well last week, ran out of gas in the fifth inning, allowing three runs on three hits in five frames.
TALLAHASSEE SUPER REGIONAL
Game 1: Florida State 17, Stanford 1
THE SERIES: Florida State leads 1-0
PLAYER OF THE GAME: 2B Devon Travis, Florida State
IT WAS OVER WHEN: It's hard to imagine that Stanford right-handed pitcher and Pirates first-round pick Mark Appel was cruising right along entering the fourth inning. With the Cardinal leading 1-0 and Appel in completely control, he fell apart in the fourth, allowing seven Florida State runs, some of them because of bad command. Stanford never was able to recover from the 7-1 deficit.
THE SKINNY: Florida State freshman left-handed pitcher Brandon Leibrandt put together an impressive start in his NCAA Super Regional debut, striking out four and allowing just one run on six hits in six innings of work, as the Seminoles rolled to victory. But it was the offense that ultimately led the charge with 17 runs on 11 hits. FSU second baseman Devon Travis had a huge night at the plate, going 3-for-5 with two homers, three runs scored and six RBIs, while outfielder James Ramsey went 3-fro-5 with two runs scored and two RBIs. Stanford's Appel had a night to forget, striking out three and allowing seven runs (five earned) on five hits in just four innings of work.
TUCSON SUPER REGIONAL
Game 1: Arizona 7, St. John's 6
THE SERIES: Arizona leads 1-0
PLAYER OF THE GAME: 2B Trent Gilbert, Arizona
IT WAS OVER WHEN: St. John's got off to a good start against Arizona, but was unable to hold the Wildcats offense down the entire game. Arizona entered the bottom of the 10th inning down 6-5, but scored two runs, capped off by a Trent Gilbert walk-off RBI single, to win the important series opener.
THE SKINNY: St. John's controlled much of the game against Arizona, but was unable to seal the deal in the end. Still, the fact the Johnnies scored six runs on 18 hits was a positive development with designated hitter Zach Lauricella going 4-for-5 with a run scored an RBI. For the Wildcats, starting pitcher Kurt Heyer allowed six runs on 17 hits in 9 1/3 innings of work, while offensively, Joey Rickard, Bobby Brown and Trent Gilbert each had two hits to lead the offensive charge. All of Arizona's runs were scored after the third inning, with five of them coming during the middle innings.