ALSO SEE: College midseason report | Midseason College Top 50 prospects
TEAM
OF THE DAY
Arkansas
After
splitting a doubleheader to begin the series on Friday, the Hogs
looked for a way to capture a marquee series win on Saturday against
South Carolina. They got just that in impressive fashion, as
hard-throwing righthanded pitcher Chris Oliver struck out 10, walked
two and allowed just four hits in eight shutout innings. Oliver threw
101 pitches against the Gamecocks in a 7-0 win, 67 for strikes …
While Oliver led the way on the mound, the Hogs had a surprisingly
good day at the plate, with ultra-talented second baseman Brian
Anderson going 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Now at 6-6 in
the Southeastern Conference, this is a home series the Razorbacks
really wanted.
PLAYER
OF THE DAY
Tyler
Davis, rhp, Washington
The
Huskies dropped a tough series opener to the Ducks on Friday, and the
6-foot, 185-pounder, made sure to rise to the occasion on Saturday in
a 1-0 victory to even the series at 1-1. Davis was exceptional for
the Huskies, striking out 10, walking no one and allowing just three
hits in 7 2/3 shutout frames. Davis has started seven games, appeared
in nine and has a 1.16 ERA in 46 2/3 innings, along with 29
strikeouts and four walks.
UPSET
OF THE DAY
Pittsburgh
over Virginia
Just
a day after getting no-hit by Virginia lefthanded pitcher Nathan
Kirby, the Panthers returned to business with an impressive 2-1 win
over the Cavaliers. Righthanded pitcher Joseph Harvey led the charge
for the Panthers, striking out four, walking two and allowing just a
run on two hits in seven innings, while reliever Hobie Harris closed
out the contest with a pair of scoreless innings.
More
upsets:
Long
Beach State 4, UCLA 0 (P Josh Frye: 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K)
Marshall
7, Florida Atlantic 3 (P Matt Margaritonda: 7 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3
K)
Boston
College 10, North Carolina 9 (2B Blake Butera: 3 for 5, double, 3 R,
3 RBIs)
Memphis
3, Louisville 2 (P Jon Reed: 8 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K)
THE GOOD
Sheldon Neuse, 3b/p, Oklahoma: The Sooners have been excited about Neuse's addition this spring, and there's a good reason why. Neuse had quite the afternoon to remember as OU swept a pair of games from Cal State Bakersfield. He went 3-for-6 with a double, two homers and eight RBIs in the first game of the day, a 17-4 triumph over the Roadrunners.
San Francisco: We've been hard on the Dons for good reason much of the season, but they deserve a lot of credit for going on the road and taking an important series over Loyola Marymount, winning Saturday's contest 9-3. USF starting pitcher Christian Cecilio struck out two and allowed just three runs (two earned) on eight hits in 6 2/3 innings, while at the plate, first baseman Zack Turner went 2-for-5 with a run scored and three RBIs.
Austen Williams, rhp, Texas State: The Bobcats captured a nice 2-0 home win over South Alabama with the talented righthanded pitcher leading the way. Williams struck out seven, walked one and allowed just four hits in a complete game shutout performance. Meanwhile, the Jaguars wasted a solid performance by starting pitcher Kevin Hill, who allowed just two runs on five hits in eight frames.
Louisiana-Lafayette: Boy, the Ragin' Cajuns are playing an impressive brand of baseball. The Cajuns outscored Troy 22-8 in a pair of games on Saturday, with outfielder Seth Harrison leading the charge. Harrison had just one hit in the first game of the day, but went 5-for-5 with three doubles, a home run and four RBIs in the nightcap. With the win, the Cajuns improve to 30-3 overall.
Adam Oller, rhp, Northwestern State: The Demons really like what they've seen out of Oller at times this spring. The talented youngster struck out six, walked just one batter and allowed three hits in a complete game shutout performance, 1-0 home win over Nicholls State.
Chris Caudle, rhp, Central Arkansas: The 6-foot-4, 195-pounder, tossed yet another gem, this time in a 3-0 home win over Southeastern Louisiana. He struck out five, walked one and allowed just one hit in a complete game shutout performance, 3-0 win over the Lions. Caudle threw 97 pitches, 67 for strikes.
Alabama: Though the Crimson Tide didn't play great defense throughout the day against Texas A&M, they prevailed in the nightcap, 6-4, and took home a solid SEC road series win. The Tide dropped the front end of the doubleheader 13-8, but bounced back in the finale with relievers Ray Castillo and Thomas Burrows combining to throw 3 2/3 shutout frames. Alabama starting pitcher Jon Keller didn't finish the night with a great stat line, allowing four runs on four hits in 5 1/3 innings, but had decent stuff with a good slider and upper-80s fastball.
Florida's freshman duo: The Gators won a wild 11-10 road contest over Kentucky. While the UF bullpen attempted to make things way too interesting in the latter innings, the Gators did receive an outstanding start from freshman righthanded pitcher Logan Shore, who struck out three and allowed just three hits in seven shutout innings. Meanwhile, how about young third baseman John Sternagel? Sternagel had an afternoon to remember with four hits and two RBIs. The series finale between these two teams ought to be outstanding with the series tied 1-1.
Mississippi: We're beginning to see at least some separation in the SEC standings with the weekend progressing. Ole Miss finished off a three-game series sweep at home over Auburn with a pair of wins on Saturday, outscoring the Tigers 11-1 in the two contests. In the first game, lefthanded pitcher Christian Trent struck out seven, walked two and allowed five hits in a complete game performance. Meanwhile, in the finale, Sam Smith gave the Rebs a solid start, striking out five, walking one and allowing just a run on seven hits in 6 2/3 innings. While Ole Miss improves to 7-5 in the league, AU falls to 5-7.
LSU: Head coach Paul Mainieri entered the weekend having never lost a series to Mississippi State. Well, that trend will continue for at least another year, as the Tigers defeated the Bulldogs 2-1 to clinch the series win. LSU freshman lefthanded pitcher Jared Poche struck out six, walked two and allowed just a run (unearned) on three hits in six innings, while reliever Joe Broussard earned his seventh save by tossing two shutout frames to end the contest. MSU wasted yet another good performance from lefthanded pitcher Ross Mitchell, who allowed just two runs (one earned) on five hits in six innings.
Tennessee: The Volunteers have some good, young talent, and one of those guys, Nathaniel Maggio, rose to the occasion in the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs, lacing a two-RBI walk-off single to lift the Vols to a 10-9 triumph over Vanderbilt. While Maggio got the biggest hit of the game and reliever Josh Peterson was solid, Derek Lance was the player of the game, going 2-for-4 with two runs scored and four RBIs to lead the offense.
Arizona State: The Sun Devils have played considerably better over the past few weeks, and added yet another series win to their resume, this time over USC after a 10-9 win on Saturday. ASU's R.J. Ybarra led the charge at the plate, going 3-for-5 with five RBIs, while Nathaniel Causey went 3-for-5 with four runs scored and an RBI.
Oregon State's starting pitching: The Beavers have been terrific on the mound this season, and righthanded pitcher Andrew Moore put together yet another outstanding performance in a 1-0, 13-inning victory over Stanford. Moore struck out seven, walked four and allowed just eight hits in seven shutout innings. Meanwhile, Stanford freshman starting pitcher Cal Quantrill deserves mentioning, too, after he struck out six, walked two and allowed just three hits in eight shutout frames.
Fresno State, UNLV starting pitching: Just a night after UNLV righthanded pitcher Erick Fedde was terrific against Fresno State, out dueling Jordan Brink, the Rebels had yet another stellar performance, this time from John Richy, who struck out 11 and allowed two runs in eight innings. However, in this contest, one which Fresno won 2-0, Bulldogs righthanded pitcher Tim Borst rose to the occasion, striking out four, not walking anyone, and allowing just five hits in a complete game.
Dallas Baptist: The Patriots are new to the Missouri Valley Conference, and hope to leave a lasting mark with a strong finish this spring. DBU swept a pair of games from Illinois State by scores of 2-1 and 9-1 to take that series. In the first game, DBU starting pitcher Paul Voelker allowed just a run in 6 2/3 innings, but it was Brandon Koch who led the charge out of the pen, striking out six and allowing just two hits in 2 1/3 shutout innings. In Game 2, Cy Sneed allowed a run on five hits in six innings, while again, a reliever stepped up, this time Sean Stutzman, who tossed three perfect frames.
Cal Poly: Wills are always tested at some point in the spring. That was Saturday for the Mustangs. In what was dubbed the most important game of the year by some Cal Poly players, Chris Hoo hit a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning to carry the team to an 8-7 victory over UC Santa Barbara. Cal Poly outfielder Jordan Ellis led the charge offensively on the night, going 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs, while on the mound, hard-throwing righthanded reliever Reed Reilly struck out three in three shutout innings of work.
Liberty's pitching staff: The Flames have quite the impressive pitching staff, and their success continued Saturday in a 4-0 home win over VMI to clinch a series victory. Flames starting pitcher Carson Herndon struck out six and allowed just three hits in 4 2/3 shutout innings, while relievers Blake Fulghum and Matt Marsh also performed at a high level. Amazingly, the Flames have not allowed a run in conference play in 50 innings.
Preston Morrison, rhp, TCU: The Horned Frogs picked up a huge, huge home series sweep over West Virginia with Morrison and others leading the way. Morrison, though, set the tone for the doubleheader sweep, striking out seven, walking one and allowing just one hit in a complete game shutout in the front end of the doubleheader. In the second game, TCU's bullpen arms, consisting of talented freshman Tyler Alexander (2.2 IP) and hard-throwing sophomore Riley Ferrell (2 IP) led the charge. With the wins, TCU improved to 19-12, 5-4 in the Big 12.
Adam Kirsch, dh, Texas Tech: The Red Raiders desperately need a road series win over Oklahoma State, and Kirsch helped them even things up at one game a piece with a stellar afternoon in a 16-6 victory. Kirsch went 3-for-5 with a double, two homers, three runs scored and six RBIs to lead the way for Tim Tadlock's club.
Hunter Brothers, rhp, Lipscomb: It's hard to beat the start Brothers put together in a 5-0 win over East Tennessee State. Brothers struck out seven, didn't allow a walk and allowed just two hits in a complete game shutout performance. For the season, Brothers has a 5.35 ERA in 35 1/3 innings, so perhaps this will spark some consistency.
Clemson: The Tigers are catching N.C. State at the right time, and began that series with a 6-1 home victory. Clemson starting pitcher Matthew Crownover was terrific, striking out seven, walking two and allowing just a run on three hits in eight innings, while N.C. State heralded lefthanded pitcher Carlos Rodon had yet another pedestrian performance, striking out five and allowing six runs (three earned) on 11 hits in eight innings.
Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons are taking care of business against Maryland this weekend, and it could prove to be huge in the postseason picture by season's end. Wake's John McLeod struck out five, walked three and allowed a run on eight hits in 6 2/3 innings, while shortstop Conor Keniry had a big day at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs.
THE BAD
California: Remember when the college baseball community was busy discussing just how good the Golden Bears might be? Well, the Bears dropped to .500 overall with a tough 3-1 loss to Washington State. Cal starting pitcher Kyle Porter only allowed two runs in seven innings, but that wasn't enough, as Wazzu's Tanner Chleborad allowed just a run on six hits in 7 1/3 innings.
Tulane: What always seems to be the case on paper often doesn't pan out. That seems to be the case with Tulane, which dropped to 14-16 overall, 6-8 in Conference USA with a tough 5-0 loss to UTSA, effectively losing the home series. Tulane starting pitcher Alex Massey allowed three runs on four hits in three innings, while the offense was unable to do much against UTSA starting pitcher Justin Anderson, who struck out 10, walked one and allowed nine hits in a complete game shutout.
Florida International: The Panthers still have a chance to make a statement this season, but stumbled again over the weekend with a series loss to Old Dominion, dropping Saturday's game 4-2. FIU young starting pitcher Cody Crouse allowed just two runs on seven hits in seven innings, while the offense was unable to master ODU starting pitcher Ryan Yarbrough, who struck out four, didn't allow a walk and allowed just four hits in 7 2/3 innings of work. Though FIU has a solid 23-8 overall record, that 7-7 mark in C-USA play doesn't sit well.
Ohio State: It wasn't too long ago the Buckeyes seemed to be in outstanding shape. Well, not anymore. OSU dropped to 2-6 in the Big Ten with another tough loss to Nebraska, this time 4-3, with Huskers starting pitcher Chance Sinclair shining. Sinclair struck out four and allowed three runs on seven hits in a complete game performance, while OSU's Tanner Tully had a good showing go to waste, striking out six and allowing just a run in seven innings.