Super regionals roundup: Arizona completes series comeback vs. UNC
June 9 - A pivotal eighth inning gave the Arizona Wildcats a 4-3 comeback victory over the No. 5 North Carolina Tar Heels in the decisive Game 3 of the Chapel Hill super regional to earn a spot in the College World Series.
Mason White hit a two-run single with the bases loaded to put the Wildcats (44-19) up for good. Arizona's bullpen was lights out late, tossing three innings without surrendering a hit.
Garen Caulfield hit a solo shot in the second inning to notch Arizona's first run of the game. North Carolina infielder Jackson Van De Brake responded with a three-run homer in the third to give North Carolina (46-15) an early lead.
Both teams were scoreless over the next four innings, until the Tar Heels' defense and bullpen faltered in the eighth. An error put runners on first and second, then an Easton Breyfogle bunt drove in a run to make the game 3-2 prior to the decisive hit.
Louisville 3, Miami 2
Eddie King Jr. hit an RBI double in the seventh inning pushed the Cardinals past the Hurricanes in a Game 3 win at the Louisville super regional and gain a spot in the College World Series.
Max Galvin hit a two-run shot to right field in the third inning for Miami's only runs of the game. The Hurricanes (35-27) tallied eight hits, but failed to go for extra bases and went 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position. Miami starting pitcher Reese Lumpkin was pulled after only 3 2/3 innings, forcing the Hurricanes to use five pitchers in the game.
Louisville (40-22) tied the game at 2 in the fourth inning after a Zion Rose RBI double and a Bayram Hot grounder drove in Rose on a fielder's choice.
With two outs in the seventh frame, Cardinals infielder Jake Munroe singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch. King Jr. then drove in Munroe for a 3-2 lead that Louisville would not relinquish.
Murray State 19, Duke 9
The Racers exploded for 17 hits, four home runs and a nine-run seventh inning in a blowout 19-9 win against the Blue Devils in Game 2 of the Durham super regional to force a Game 3.
Duke (41-20) used eight pitchers in the contest, including starter Kyle Johnson, who was pulled after allowing six runs in only three innings.
The Blue Devils scored first with back-to-back solo homers to right center in the first inning from AJ Gracia and Ben Miller. Murray State (43-15) one-upped them with a Jonathan Hogart solo shot, followed by back-to-back walks and consecutive RBI singles with the bases loaded to go up 3-2.
Murray State struck again in the second inning when Carson Garner hit a two-run shot. The Racers reached double-digit runs with a five-run fourth inning. Macon Winslow hit a two-run homer to cap a five-run sixth inning for Duke and narrow the score to 10-8.
The Racers put an exclamation point on their offensive outburst with a nine-run seventh inning, featuring two-run homers by Dan Tauken and Conner Cunningham.
No. 3 Arkansas 11, No. 14 Tennessee 4
Logan Maxwell smacked a grand slam as the Razorbacks parlayed a five-run fourth inning into a series-sealing win over the Volunteers in Game 2 of the Fayetteville super regional to reach the College World Series.
Tennessee starter Liam Doyle, who was recently named a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award, had a subpar outing, allowing five runs in 3 2/3 innings. Doyle walked Justin Thomas Jr. to start the third inning, then gave up a no-doubt two-run homer to Charles Davalan.
The Vols (46-19) narrowed the gap in the bottom of the third, but had the opportunity to tie the game or take the lead. With the bases loaded and no outs, Andrew Fischer grounded into a double play, scoring a run. Hunter Ensley then flew out.
Doyle coaxed two outs, but allowed runners on first and second, then intentionally walked Davalan to load the bases. Brayden Krenzel relieved Doyle, then threw a wild pitch, allowing a run to score. Krenzel hit the next batter with a pitch, once again loading the bases.
Maxwell followed with his grand slam to left field, giving Arkansas (48-13) a 7-1 lead. The Razorbacks tacked on three more runs in the seventh and another in the ninth.
No. 6 LSU 12, West Virginia 5
Early offense and a six-run showing in the seventh inning powered the Tigers (48-15) to a Game 2 win over the Mountaineers (44-16) and a Men's College World Series appearance.
LSU leaped out to an early lead with one run in the first inning and five runs in the second, highlighted by a Steven Milam 3-RBI double and a pair of RBI singles, before the Mountaineers could get on the board. West Virginia closed the gap in the fourth and fifth innings.
Sam White hit a solo shot and Ben Lumsden smacked a two-run homer for the Mountaineers in the fourth inning to cut the LSU lead in half. Another RBI from White in the fifth made it 6-4, but LSU delivered a knockout punch two innings later.
A 2-RBI single, an error, an RBI double and a Jake Brown two-run homer produced six runs in the seventh inning and gave the Tigers a comfortable 12-4 lead that they held on to.
No. 8 Oregon State 14, No. 9 Florida State 10
The Beavers (47-14-1) scored 13 runs in the first three innings in an elimination game win over the Seminoles (42-16) to advance to the Men's College World Series. Trent Caraway shined for Oregon State with two hits and four RBIs.
After a single, a walk and a hit by pitch loaded the bases in the first inning, the Beavers capitalized with four hits, including a three-run homer from Canon Reeder followed by a Carson McEntire solo shot, for seven runs.
Max Williams and Chase Williams homered for the Seminoles in the first two innings, but Florida State fell even further behind in the third. Caraway bashed a grand slam to put the Beavers up 11-3. Gavin Turley hit a two-run home run in the same frame to put Oregon State up by 10.
The Seminoles strung together five runs in the middle innings and notched two more in the ninth, but Oregon State's lead proved to be insurmountable for Florida State.
No. 15 UCLA 7, UTSA 0
The Bruins' pitching staff silenced the Roadrunners' bats, holding UTSA to four hits in a shutout win to close out the Los Angeles super regional and advance to the College World Series for the first time since 2013.
Landon Stump started for UCLA (47-16) and struck out five over four innings before four relievers held UTSA (47-15) without a hit for the final five frames.
Payton Brennan had three hits and two RBIs and Roch Cholowsky and Roman Martin had two hits apiece for UCLA. Toussaint Bythewood hit an RBI single in the fourth inning for the Bruins' first run of the game. Cholowsky followed in the fifth inning with his own RBI single to give UCLA a 2-0 lead.
UCLA extended its lead to four runs in the eighth inning. Brennan hit an infield single, advancing AJ Salgado to third, then a throwing error by UTSA first baseman Lorenzo Morresi allowed Salgado to score.
Phoenix Call hit a sacrifice fly to center field later in the eighth, scoring Brennan, and Brennan added a two-run single in a three-run UCLA ninth.
--Field Level Media
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