Category Archives: College baseball

Stanford wins 13-5 to deny Texas A&M an NCAA regional title

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By Jerry Briggs
For The JB Replay

One win away from an NCAA Stanford Regional title, the Texas A&M Aggies started fast, hitting two homers and scoring four runs in the bottom of the first inning.

The Stanford Cardinal out-played them after that, storming to a 13-5 victory on Sunday night and forcing a deciding game on Monday for the regional title.

The winner will play the Texas Longhorns next week in the Super Regional round of the tournament.

Carter Graham kept Stanford in the game early by hitting two doubles that produced five RBIs. Later, Malcolm Moore hit a two-run homer and Tommy Troy hit a grand slam in a seven-run seventh inning for the Cardinal.

Meanwhile, the Stanford bullpen was solid, with relievers Brant Pancer, Braden Montgomery and Nick Dugan holding the Aggies to only one run in the final eight innings.

Dugan was particularly effective in pitching 3 and 2/3 scoreless while striking out six.

The Aggies were led early by Jace LaViolette and Ryan Targac. LaViolette slammed a three-run homer and Targac hit a solo shot to give A&M a 4-2 lead after the first inning.

Brett Minnich also hit a solo homer in the sixth that pulled A&M to within 6-5.

Texas wins Coral Gables Regional with a 10-6 victory over Miami

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By Jerry Briggs
For The JB Replay

Trailing by three runs early, the Texas Longhorns scored nine in the third inning and went on to claim the NCAA Coral Gables Regional title with a 10-6 victory over the Miami Hurricanes.

The Longhorns erupted for nine runs on seven hits in the third. San Antonio’s Jalin Flores capped the outburst with a grand slam over the center field wall. Flores is a UT freshman from Brandeis High School.

Texas won the regional by winning three games in three days at the home of the Hurricanes. On Friday, they downed the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns, 4-2. On Saturday, they rode the pitching of Lebarron Johnson Jr. to a 4-1 victory over Miami, sending the Hurricanes into the losers bracket.

After downing Louisiana 8-5 on Sunday morning, Miami advanced to the finals, where it would need two victories over Texas to win the title. UT didn’t let that happen even though at times, the pitching was shaky. Starter Tanner Witt gave up an early three-run homer and was lifted after two innings.

In the third, UT went on an extended offensive run. Big hits early in the uprising including an RBI double by Jared Thomas and a two-run single by Peyton Powell. Later, Garret Guillemette stroked a two-run double. At that point, Miami reliever Carlos Lequerica walked two batters to load the bases.

Flores, the next man up, sized up the first pitch from Lequerica and sent it over the wall for his fourth home run of the season. The blow energized the UT dugout and gave the Longhorns a 9-3 lead.

With the lead, Longhorns reliever Charlie Hurley kept the Hurricanes in check until Yohandy Morales smacked a three-run homer in the seventh inning. The blow trimmed UT’s lead to 10-6. Closer Zane Morehouse entered in the seventh to finish out the game, pitching 2 and 2/3 scoreless while striking out seven.

Next week, Texas (41-20) will play in the Super Regional round of the NCAA tournament against either longtime rival Texas A&M or national No. 8 seed Stanford. A&M and Stanford were playing late Sunday in the finals of the Stanford Regional. A&M can claim the regional title with one victory. Stanford needs to win twice to claim the title.

Richardson-led TCU romps to a 20-5 victory over national No. 3 seed Arkansas

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By Jerry Briggs
For The JB Replay

Second baseman Tre Richardson hit three home runs, including a couple of grand slams, as the TCU Horned Frogs overwhelmed the national No. 3-seeded Arkansas Razorbacks 20-5 Sunday in a weather-delayed winners bracket game at the NCAA Fayetteville Regional.

The teams were set to play on Saturday but had to scratch it and push it back to Sunday. In addition, Sunday’s game was also halted twice because of lightning.

Schedule chaos didn’t seem to bother Richardson, who went five for six on the day and drove in 11 runs. With the victory, the Horned Frogs improved to 2-0 in Fayetteville and advanced to the finals, needing only one victory to win the regional title.

Arkansas, on the other hand, will play Santa Clara in a losers bracket game, with the winner of that contest feeding into the finals against TCU. The Horned Frogs’ opponent will need to win twice in the finals to win the title and advance into next week’s Super Regional round.

TCU came out swinging the bats early, burying Arkansas with six runs in the first inning, five in the second and three in the third. Richardson hit opposite-field grand slams in the first and second. Brayden Taylor, considered a potential first-round pick in this summer’s Major League Baseball draft, added a three-run blast in the third.

Taylor, surging late in the season, finished three for five at the plate with four RBIs. He is on a roll in the NCAA tournament with seven hits in 10 at bats. He also has 10 RBIs, including six on Friday in a 12-4 victory over the Arizona Wildcats.

Dallas Baptist wins again to earn a berth in the NCAA Stillwater Regional finals

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By Jerry Briggs
For The JB Replay

Righthander Braxton Bragg pitched into the eighth inning and struck out 10 Sunday afternoon as the Dallas Baptist Patriots won for the second time in two days, claiming a 9-1 decision to oust the Washington Huskies from the NCAA’s Stillwater Regional.

Now 2-1 in Stillwater this weekend, the Patriots will move into the finals. Seeded second in the regional, they’ll play the 2-0 and fourth-seeded Oral Roberts University Golden Eagles Sunday night at 8 p.m.

The Golden Eagles, riding a 20-game winning streak, need to win only once to claim the regional title. The Patriots need to win twice. If DBU wins Sunday night, another game will be played for the championship on Monday.

Dallas Baptist is the regular-season champion from Conference USA. DBU claimed the C-USA title when it swept three games from UTSA in San Antonio last month. In the conference’s postseason event, the Patriots reached the title game and lost to Charlotte.

Despite the loss, they were seeded second in the NCAA Stillwater Regional. Now they’re in the regional finals with a record of 47-15. In the regional, the Patriots lost in the opener on Friday, falling 9-5 to Washington. On Saturday, they bounded back to beat national No. 11 seed Oklahoma State, 18-4.

On Sunday, they got the pitching from Bragg, who completed 7 and 2/3 innings, and an offense that produced 11 hits. The Patriots also took advantage of six walks by Huskies pitching. Nathan Humphreys homered for Dallas Baptist, his 14th of the season.

The Golden Eagles, with a 48-11 record, haven’t lost since April 22. They’re on a tear that vaulted them to both the The Summit League regular-season and postseason crowns.

In the NCAA regional, they knocked off host Oklahoma State 6-4 in the opener on Friday and then followed with a 15-12, come-from-behind victory over Washington on Saturday to reach the final.

Sam Houston State downs Tulane, stays alive in the Baton Rouge Regional

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By Jerry Briggs
For The JB Replay

Finishing a game that started on Saturday, the Sam Houston State Bearkats remained in the hunt in the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional on Sunday, eliminating the Tulane Green Wave from the tournament, 10-2.

Sam Houston led 7-2 with two out in the top of the seventh on Saturday afternoon when play was suspended because of weather issues. Tulane had the bases loaded when players were waved off the field. In the re-start that commenced at noon on Sunday, pitcher Logan Hewitt shut down the threat, coaxing Tulane into an inning-ending ground ball.

In the bottom of the eighth, Bearkats’ slugger Josh Wishkoski put the game out of reach with a three-run homer to center field.

The Bearkats, now 1-1 in the tournament, will face either LSU or Oregon State Sunday night at 8 p.m. The loser is eliminated, while the winner will advance to the finals.

Schedule updates: Sam Houston State-Tulane to resume play at noon Sunday

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Inclement weather on Saturday forced officials to reschedule games in both the Baton Rouge and Fayetteville regionals.

Lightning in the Baton Rouge area caused the Tulane-Sam Houston elimination game to be suspended. The game will re-start at noon Sunday in the top of the seventh inning with Sam Houston holding a 7-2 lead.

It’s an early elimination game in the bracket, with both teams 0-1 in the regional. The LSU-Oregon State winners bracket game, with both teams 1-0, has been rescheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday. LSU is the national No. 5 seed.

In Fayetteville, officials have rescheduled the TCU Horned Frogs and the national No. 3-seeded Arkansas Razorbacks to play at 2 p.m. Sunday in a winners bracket game.

Both TCU and Arkansas are 1-0 in the four-team regional and are hoping to move ahead in the double-elimination format unscathed.

The winner will advance to Monday’s regional title round. The loser will play Santa Clara at 8 p.m. on Sunday night. On Saturday, regional No. 4-seeded Santa Clara ousted Arizona, 9-3.

Haas-led Texas A&M rallies to beat Stanford, stays undefeated in NCAA regional play

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By Jerry Briggs
For The JB Replay

Hunter Haas delivered with a two-run double in the sixth inning and a three-run double in the eighth in rallying the Texas A&M Aggies past the national No. 8-seeded Stanford Cardinal, 8-5, on Saturday night in the NCAA Stanford Regional.

Falling behind 4-1 in the early going, the Aggies scored one run in the fourth, two in the sixth, three in the eighth and one in the ninth to win going away on their opponents’ home field in California.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Cardinal made things interesting, scoring a run, forcing a pitching change and bringing the potential winning run to the plate in a bases-loaded situation. But A&M lefthander Troy Wansing shut down the threat, getting a fly ball to right field to end it.

With the win, A&M improved to 2-0 in the regional as they advance into the finals. On Sunday, Stanford will play Cal State Fullerton in an elimination game. The loser is out of the tournament, and the winner will advance to play a night game against the Aggies.

A&M needs to win only once to claim the regional title. Its opponent would need to win Sunday and Monday.

Johnson’s complete game keeps Texas undefeated at the Coral Gables Regional

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By Jerry Briggs
For The JB Replay

Texas Longhorns pitcher Lebarron Johnson Jr. barely could find the words to describe what it felt like to throw a complete game in the NCAA tournament. To fire a season-high 129 pitches and to beat the national No. 9-seeded Miami Hurricanes, 4-1, on their home field.

“It was surreal, honestly,” Johnson, a redshirt sophomore from Jacksonville, Fla., told ESPN. “I just knew I had to keep going for my team, for my pen, for my offense. I just tried to dig deep. I thank the Lord for allowing me to get through it.”

The Longhorns, likewise, are thanking Johnson for a sterling performance that allowed them to improve to 2-0 in the NCAA Coral Gables Regional.

With the win, they’ll play Sunday night for the regional title. In the first game Sunday, the Hurricanes will face the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns in a battle of once-beaten teams. The loser will be eliminated, while the winner will move into the title round against the Longhorns.

Texas’ opponent will need to win Sunday night and again on Monday to claim the regional title. Meaning, of course, that the Longhorns like their chances of playing next week in the Super Regional round.

In the aftermath of the victory, Johnson spoke to ESPN television broadcasters on the field, still wide-eyed about what he had done.

“It’s surreal, honestly,” he said. “I’m still trying to process this.”

In completing nine innings, he allowed seven hits, one earned run and walked three while striking out eight. In one stretch, from the fourth through the seventh innings, he retired 11 straight. Johnson, who improved to 8-3 on the season, said Texas coach David Pierce approached him after the eighth inning to ask him how he felt.

“He came to me,” Johnsons said. “He said, ‘Do you want it? I said, ‘Yes, sir. I’ll try my best.’ ”

To start the game, the Longhorns jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Dylan Campbell supplied the fireworks with a two-run homer.

Johnson, in turn, endured a rough go of it. He loaded the bases on a walk, a single and another walk. Luckily for him, the Hurricanes couldn’t get anything out of it.

“I had to get my nerves out of the way, honestly,” he said. “I was nervous coming in, with the rain delay and all that. I just knew that I had to trust my work. Trust my coaches. Trust my ability to go out there and do my job. I just had to pull through for my team.”

The Longhorns added single runs in the second and third, pushing out to a 4-0 lead. San Antonio’s Jalin Flores, a freshman from Brandeis, figured in the scoring with an RBI single in the third.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Hurricanes finally broke through. Dominic Pitelli led off with a solo home run. That, however, is all that they would get the rest of the way.

The Hurricanes threatened in the eighth and ninth, but came up empty each time.

Statistics would indicate that Johnson might have been building toward something like this for the past six weeks. In his last six starts, he threw 91, 85, 112, 83, 101 and 95 pitches. So, it wasn’t totally surprising to see coaches let him go out for the last inning.

“I’m from Florida, so I’m kind of used to this (heat) a little bit,” he said. “The tiredness kicked in a little bit. But I just knew I needed to dig deep … execute pitches and trust my team.”

Texas Tech knocks off national No. 2 seed Florida at NCAA Gainesville Regional

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By Jerry Briggs
For The JB Replay

Gavin Kash homered twice and San Antonio’s Brandon Beckel earned a two-out save, propelling the Texas Tech Red Raiders to a 5-4 victory Saturday over the national No. 2-seeded Florida Gators in the NCAA Gainesville Regional.

Beckel, from Antonian High School, faced a stressful situation in the ninth inning with Tech leading by the eventual final score, with a runner on first base and with Florida star Jac Caglianone at the plate.

Caglianone entered the at bat with 29 home runs on the season, including a two-run shot in the sixth inning, but Beckel got him to pop up to the infield for the last out of the game.

With the victory, the Red Raiders improved to 2-0 in the regional and moved into the finals with high hopes of advancing to next week’s Super Regional round.

On Sunday afternoon, Florida will take on Connecticut in a battle of once-beaten teams. The loser is out, and the winner will play Texas Tech in the finals Sunday night. Tech needs to win only once for the regional title. Its opponent would need to win Sunday and Monday to advance.

“It’s definitely a lot easier to win (a regional) when winning the first two than losing the second or first one,” Texas Tech coach Tim Tadlock said in comments published on the school’s athletics website. “It’s very hard to do it the other way. Definitely puts you in a good spot.

“At the same time, I think we got a group that has the utmost respect for the other teams and the game. We’ll go eat dinner. Enjoy it for a little bit, and then get ready to go tomorrow.”

For Texas Tech, Austin Green hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning. Kash, a transfer from Texas, hit a solo shot in the fifth inning and a two-run blast in the eighth.

In the eighth-inning uprising, San Antonio’s Zac Vooletich from Brandeis High School singled to center. Kash followed by smashing a ball to center that made it 5-3.

The top of the ninth was tense, with Florida fans on edge. Tech reliever Derek Bridges got the first out, getting Colby Halter on a ground ball. The next batter up, pinch hitter Dale Thomas, tripled into the gap in right center. At that point, Texas Tech brought in Beckel, who had pitched two innings of scoreless relief in Friday’s victory over Connecticut.

Cade Kurland, Florida’s leadoff man, grounded to second base on a play that brought Thomas home. Trailing by one, Florida needed only a few more positive things to happen to pull off the comeback.

Florida fans got one of the two. Wyatt Langford beat out an infield single, but Caglianone popped up on an 0-1 count for the final out. With the victory secured, Beckel earned his seventh save of the season.

Kyle Robinson, Ryan Free, Ethan Coombes (the winner, who improved to 4-0), Bridges and Beckel combined to hold the Gators to eight hits. Tech pitching struck out 10 and walked three. Langford led the Gators with two hits and two runs scored.

Caglianone was one for five with the two-run homer off Free, which tied the game, 3-3.

In the day’s earlier game, Connecticut eliminated Florida A&M, 9-6.

Dallas Baptist wins 18-4 to eliminate national No. 11 seed Oklahoma State

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By Jerry Briggs
For The JB Replay

Miguel Santos hit three home runs and Kodie Kolden smashed two on Saturday afternoon as the Dallas Baptist University Patriots registered an 18-4 victory, eliminating the NCAA Stillwater Regional host Oklahoma State Cowboys from postseason play.

Some around the nation might be scratching their heads at the final verdict.

After all, the Cowboys finished the regular season tied for first place in the Big 12 Conference’s regular-season standings. Last week, they won four games and reached the finals of the Big 12’s postseason event in Arlington.

Given all that, there wasn’t much argument that they deserved the 11th overall seed in the NCAA tournament and No. 1 in the Stillwater Regional.

But in the NCAA postseason, anything can happen, and on this weekend, it did. First, the No. 4 regional seed Oral Roberts Golden Eagles edged the Cowboys 6-4 on Friday.

Next, second-seeded Dallas Baptist of Conference USA put on a power display that left the home team’s fans totally exasperated, their dreams of a trip to the College World Series dashed.

The Patriots cranked out 19 hits, including six home runs. Santos, a junior from Fort Worth, enjoyed a four-hit day and drove in nine runs. He homered in the fourth inning, doubled in the fifth and homered again in the sixth and the seventh.

Kolden, a graduate senior from Idaho, hit home runs in the fourth and sixth innings. Not to be outdone, Nathan Humphreys hit one out in the fifth.

The Patriots, the regular-season champions over second-place UTSA and others in the C-USA, simply rolled with ease to their 46th victory of the year, scoring four runs in the fourth, six in the fifth and four more in the sixth and seventh.

At one point, it was 18-1. With the victory, Dallas Baptist stayed alive in the regional. Bouncing back from a 9-5 loss to the Washington Huskies on Friday, the Patriots moved ahead to play another elimination game scheduled Sunday. They’ll play either Oral Roberts or Washington.