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College  | Story  | 6/5/2018

College Baseball Regional Recap

Patrick Ebert     
Photo: Elijah MacNamee (Mississippi State Athletics)

Minneapolis Regional Recaps: Friday | Saturday | Sunday
Regional Preview | College Top 25 | Player/Pitcher of the Week

Perfect Game/Rawlings National Player of the Week: Elijah MacNamee, Mississippi State
Perfet Game/Rawlings National Pitcher of the Week: Jack Perkins, Stetson

While the 2018 College World Series is already guaranteed to have a completely different feel to it, three teams remain among the final 16 teams that made it to Omaha a year ago. Two of them are the prohibitive favorites to win it all, Florida and Oregon State, who opened the year, and spent almost the entire season, as the Nos. 1 and 2 ranked teams.

The third is Cal State Fullerton, a team you wouldn't have projected to make the College World Series after their rough start to the season. They've gained more and more momentum since early March, knocking a powerful Stanford team out of the field for the second consecutive season.

Stanford wasn't the only Regional host to see their season come to an end without advancing to Super Regional play as Ole Miss, Florida State, Georgia, Clemson, East Carolina, Coastal Carolina and NC State were all eliminated over the weekend. Taking their place are Tennessee Tech, Mississippi State, Duke, Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Washington and Auburn.

The SEC still dominates the remaining field, with six representatives. The ACC, Pac-12 and Big 12 each have a pair of teams remaining with the Atlantic Sun, Big Ten, Big West and Ohio Valley conferences also represented.

Here are the matchups (locations on the left begin on Saturday, locations on the right begin on Friday):
Away Home Location Away Home Location
Auburn Florida Gainesville, FL Washington Cal State Fullerton Fullerton, CA
Tennessee Tech Texas Austin, TX Minnesota Oregon State Corvallis, OR
South Carolina Arkansas Fayetteville, AR Stetson North Carolina Chapel Hill, NC
Duke Texas Tech Lubbock, TX Mississippi State Vanderbilt Nashville, TN

And here is a brief recap of this weekend’s action, which includes notes on the Player and Pitcher of the Week, Elijah MacNamee of Mississippi State and Jack Perkins of Stetson.


Gainesville, Fla., Regional

FAU certainly made things interesting for the top overall seed in Gainesville, as the Owls took the first game against Florida on Monday to force a winner-take-all elimination contest that didn’t end until early on Tuesday. Florida’s stars took their turns shining in this series and it was closer Michael Byrne who secured the eventual 5-2 win, providing three scoreless innings out of the bullpen.

Byrne also earned the save in Saturday’s 3-2 win over Jacksonville, a game that saw Brady Singer return to the mound for seven strong frames. The Gators’ bats were a little sluggish after Friday’s 13-5 victory over Columbia, something to monitor moving forward. Outfielder Wil Dalton provided four hits in that first game, including two doubles and a home run to go along with six RBI.


Raleigh, N.C., Regional

The postseason hasn’t been kind to NC State in recent years, as their season came to an end on Sunday with a 15-7 defeat at the hands of the Auburn Tigers. Auburn was certainly worthy to host a Regional entering the postseason and was a tough opening draw for the Wolfpack.

Auburn more than proved their postseason resume by out-scoring their opponents 40-12 in three games. The team had numerous significant contributors in the starting lineup, as the team banged out 17, 17 and 16 base hits over the three contets while no pitcher made more than one appearance, meaning this will be a fresh, well-rested staff heading into the weekend.

And they’ll need to be at their best as they travel to Gainesville to take on the No. 1 Gators starting on Saturday, a team they lost to twice in late April as part of their challenging SEC slate.


Stanford, Calif., Regional

For the second straight year Cal State Fullerton has ended Stanford’s season on their home turf. The two teams opened the 2018 season with a three-game series, at Sunken Diamond, a series the Cardinal swept in convincing fashion. In fact, the Titans opened the year 10-15, losing five of their first seven weekend series before things turned around for them once Big West play began.

Not surprisingly it was the pitching staff that stole the show for Fullerton, as Colton Eastman recorded his 10th win of the year in a Regional-opening victory over Baylor and reliever Blake Workman worked 4 1/3 scoreless innings over two appearances to help secure their 14th Super Regional appearance in the last 20 years. Tommy Wilson and Tanner Bibee earned the starting assignments against Stanford and each rose to the occasion by providing six-plus strong innings.


Conway, S.C., Regional

Apparently the cross-country trip to South Carolina’s coast didn’t affect the Washington Huskies, and in the process they beat not one but two teams that were seriously considered to host a Regional in Coastal Carolina and UConn, who they beat twice.

2014 PG All-American Joe DeMers set the tone in a 7-1 win over the other Huskies of Connecticut, out-dueling Mason Feole by firing eight strong innings to kick things off on Friday. The bats were the bigger story on Saturday and Sunday, as the team’s Nos. 2 through 5 hitters – Nick Kahle, Joe Wainhouse, Levi Jordan and A.J. Graffanino – were particularly productive at the plate.

Washington will travel to Cal State Fullerton this weekend for their best-of-three series set to begin on Friday.


Corvallis, Ore., Regional

There wasn’t a whole lot of drama in Corvallis as the Beavers took care of business in a very matter-of-fact manner. As expected they saved their staff ace, Luke Heimlich, for Saturday to face LSU, and Bryce Fehmel more than handled Northwestern State on Friday night. While Heimlich’s numbers weren’t quite as dominant as they have been, he battled through seven innings and only gave up one run against a strong LSU lineup.

The Beavers capped the Regional by beating LSU once again on Sunday, this time by a score of 12-0 as the Oregon State lineup continues to fire on all cylinders. Nick Madrigal, the fourth overall pick in Monday’s MLB Draft, went 3-for-5 with four RBI on Friday, Adley Rutschman went 3-for-6 with three RBI on Saturday and Kyle Nobach went 3-for-4 with four RBI on Sunday, proof of a well-balanced team approach.


Minneapolis, Minn., Regional

After easily dispatching Canisius on Friday with a 10-1 win, Minnesota had to play UCLA twice. The first game ended in extra innings after Micah Coffey hit an RBI double in the top of the 10th inning while the second game started as what looked like a shoot out only to turn into a 13-8 Minnesota route.

Reggie Meyer and Patrick Fredrickson once again proved to be a legitimate 1-2 starting punch that should match up well against Heimlich and Fehmel in their upcoming Super Regional matchup. Terrin Vavra one against established himself as one of college baseball’s brighter stars this year, while freshman Max Meyer showed off his nasty stuff in relief.

The Gophers and Beavers will square off starting on Friday in Corvallis.


Oxford, Miss., Regional

Ole Miss falling to Tennessee Tech was one of several upsets on Monday. This series got off to a bad start as rain on Friday pushed most of the initial action to Saturday with both championship games being played on Monday.

The Rebels entered the day in control of their own destiny, but an upstart Tennessee Tech club continued to prove to be a matchup nightmare. Chase Chambers has enjoyed a huge season and had another big game at the plate, with four total RBI highlighted by a three-run home run, his 17th of the year, in the first of two games, a 15-5 victory. In the second game Nick Osborne provided three scoreless innings of relief to secure a 3-2 win and the Regional championship.


Austin, Texas, Regional

Texas is riding high with a convincing 3-0 showing serving as the host of the Austin Regional. They beat each of the three visiting teams, Texas Southern, Texas A&M and Indiana, in that order.

Kody Clemens is one of the nation’s hottest hitters, hitting a two-run single in their 10-0 win over Texas Southern, going 3-for-5 with two bombs and four RBI on Saturday in a 8-3 win over Texas A&M and finishing the Regional with a relatively modest 2-for-4 performance that included driving in the go-ahead run with a double in the seventh inning of their 3-2 win over Indiana.

Austin will once again serve as the host city for the Super Regional round with the high-powered Tennessee Tech offense coming to town for a Saturday through Monday series.


Fayetteville, Ark., Regional

The Arkansas bats were alive and well over the first two games of their host Regional at Baum Stadium, and starting pitchers Blaine Knight and Kacey Murphy each tossed eight strong innings allowing the Razorbacks to get off to a strong 2-0 start. They won both games by a score of 10-2, out-hitting their opponents (Oral Roberts and Southern Miss) 27-10.

Arkansas’ final game against Dallas Baptist was much more tightly contested in a 4-3 win for the Razorbacks. Jake Reindl started his relief outing early, coming in the first inning after starter Isaiah Campbell allowed the first three batters he faced to reach. Reindl went seven strong and closer Matt Cronin picked up his 12th save of the year by working the final two frames to help Arkansas advance.


Greenville, N.C., Regional

East Carolina drew some tough opponents to Greenville, as they didn’t even play for the Regional championship serving as the host. Instead South Carolina made quick work of the field, beating each of the three teams (which included Ohio State and UNC Wilimington).

After trailing their first game to Ohio State heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, the Gamecocks offense finally caught fire, scoring five in the seventh and three more in the eight in a 8-3 win. From there they didn’t look back, and also didn’t spend any more time trailing in their two victories over ECU and UNCW.

South Carolina will travel to Fayetteville to take on their SEC foe, Arkansas, in a Saturday through Monday series for a chance to get back to Omaha for the first time since 2012.


Chapel Hill, N.C., Regional

As they have been for the entire year, the bats were alive and well for the North Carolina offense, pounding out 35 base hits, leading to 34 runs scored in three relatively easy wins. First baseman Michael Busch was particularly dialed in, going 8-for-11 with five runs scored and nine driven in.

While the pitching staff as a whole hasn’t been as strong, Cooper Criswell continues to throw well in a starting role and Gianluca Dalatri’s return to the mound at the end of the regular season couldn’t have come at a better time for UNC. This week he out-dueled Houston’s Trey Cumbie over five innings on Saturday that led to a 4-3 win.


Deland, Fla., Regional

It seemed like just another week for the Hatters, who out-scored Hartford on Friday and Oklahoma State on both Saturday and Sunday by a combined score of 29-7. A day after staff ace Logan Gilbert – who was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the first round of Monday’s MLB Draft – struck out 14 in seven innings on Saturday, Jack Perkins closed the series in emphatic fashion. Perkins allowed only one unearned run on three hits and a walk while fanning 13 Oklahoma State batters en route to a loud 11-1 victory, and as a result he has been named the PG/Rawlings Pitcher of the Week.

Although Brooks Wilson uncharacteristically didn’t make a single appearance out of the bullpen, he led the Stetson offense to three impressive offensive showings, providing a multi-hit, multi-RBI effort in each of the three games.

Chapel Hill will play host to what should be one of the more entertaining Super Regionals this weekend that will pit Stetson’s dominant pitching staff against North Carolina’s dynamic offense. The two teams begin their best-of-three series on Friday.


Tallahassee, Fla., Regional

Mississippi State has been playing their best baseball it seems with their backs against the wall, eliminating each of the three other teams that participated in the Tallahassee Regional after getting clobbered by Oklahoma in their first game, 20-10. Then, they were three outs away from being eliminated by Florida State before a lengthy rain delay, as FSU inexplicably brought Drew Parrish back out to finish what he started, only to give up a three-run home run to Elijah MacNamee, the moment to remember from the 2018 postseason.

The Bulldogs squeezed out another tight win against Samford before beating Oklahoma twice in more convincing fashion. MacNamee has been named the PG/Rawlings Player of the Week for his heroics at the plate, finishing the Regional with three home runs, seven runs scored and eight RBI.


Clemson, S.C., Regional

The next time Clemson faces Vanderbilt will be too soon, as for the second straight season the Commodores ended the Tigers’ season, in Clemson, during Regional play. In fact, this marks the third straight year in which Clemson has lost a home Regional, a fate Vanderbilt shared during the 2016 season.

Drake Fellows played hero in the first game, a 2-0 win over St. John’s in which Fellows tossed seven scoreless innings. On Sunday shortstop Connor Kaiser went off at the plate, hitting three home runs in a 5-for-7 effort that included 10 RBI in a 19-6 elimination thrashing.

Vanderbilt heads to its second straight Super Regional appearance while Mississippi State will make their third straight showing. The Commodores will serve as the host in Nashville with the series kicking off on Friday.


Athens, Ga., Regional

Similar to Mississippi State in Tallahassee, Duke eliminated each of the other three teams in the Athens Regional after losing their initial game to Troy. In that game Duke was shut out, 6-0, but after that they went on to score 47 runs in the four remaining games while Graeme Stinson, Bryce Jarvis and Jack Labosky provided key bullpen appearances.

Duke was actually on the verge of being eliminated on Saturday by Campbell, as they entered the seventh inning down 8-1 and the ninth down 8-5. They scored a pair of runs in both the seventh and eight innings before exploding for 11 more in the ninth to secure the 16-8 win. They sent 16 batters to the plate that inning, nearly batting through their order twice.


Lubbock, Texas, Regional

The mighty Texas Tech offense scored early and often in their three games in front of their raucous home crowd against New Mexico State, Louisville and then Louisville again. The scored nine, 10 and then 11 runs in those three games, banging out 11, 10 and 14 hits in the process.

Even though no one arm really stood out, Texas Tech’s pitching staff also did a nice job limiting the damage against two high-powered offenses. That included keeping a Louisville squad that stormed through the ACC Tournament the week before relatively quiet with convincing 10-4 and 11-6 victories.

Due to Georgia’s loss, Texas Tech now has the opportunity to host through the Super Regional round in their three-game set against Duke that begins on Saturday.
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