Utah Valley's 32-game winning streak came to an end in an 11-10 slug-fest Tuesday against Utah, in front of 4,739 fans in Orem. The Utes stormed back from a 7-1 deficit to carry an 11-7 lead into the bottom of the ninth, but the Wolverines fought back for three in the final frame (highlighted by national RBI leader Goose Kallunki's two-run single) before Tyler Wagner struck out Alex Exon with runners at second and third to end it. UVU's streak ended two wins shy of tying the Division I record (set by Texas in 1977 and matched by Florida Atlantic in 1999). UVU's 32-game streak is tied for third-longest (Arizona State did it in 1972 and Fresno State matched it in 1988).

"I'm just very proud with the way our guys competed to the end," Wolverines coach Eric Madsen said afterward. "Our players just don't quit. They always seem to find a way to win. It didn't happen tonight but that doesn't take anything away from what this team has done and what we hope to still do."

Whether Utah Valley can get into a regional without the streak intact is doubtful, because its RPI was No. 67 heading into the day, and its remaining schedule won't help boost it. The Wolverines likely needed something truly unprecedented—like the longest winning streak in NCAA history—to overcome their weak Great West schedule.

Top 25 Showdowns

• No. 11 UCLA scored three runs in the top of the ninth to break a 3-3 tie and beat No. 8 Cal State Fullerton, 6-3. The Bruins swept the two-game season series against the Titans and have won four of the last five meetings between the two rivals. Shane Zeille's two-run single highlighted the three-run ninth-inning rally. [...] Continue Reading »

This time of year, a hefty majority of all questions submitted in our weekly college chat, as well as those sent via e-mail or Twitter, center around the battle for postseason positioning. Our readers want to know how the races for national seeds, host sites and at-large bids are shaping up—so it's time to roll out our weekly Stock Report feature. Every Tuesday here on the College Blog, we'll examine how the postseason picture has shifted over the weekend. Rather than get bogged down in the jigsaw puzzle that is a full field of 64 projection, we're not going to worry about which regionals teams get sent to. We're just looking at who's in, who's out, who's on the bubble. This discussion is based on performance through 13 weeks and projection based on remaining schedule, but it's also not intended to show what the field would look like if the season ended today. We're still looking ahead.

During this discussion, we will reference the NCAA's official RPI report, which is released every Tuesday and is updated through the weekend's games. We'll also reference the useful RPI Needs Report at Boyd's World, which provides a rough sketch of what teams need to do in order to reach important RPI benchmarks like finishing inside the top 45 (a loose target for an at-large bid). And we'll make use of records against the top 25, 50 or 100 in the RPI—figures that the Division I Baseball Committee looks at when constructing the field of 64.

We'll get to at-large chances in a bit, but let's start with a look at which teams are on track to earn national seeds and which are on track to host regionals through the first 13 weeks of the season:

National Seeds

SECURE TEAMS: Florida State, Baylor, Florida

ON THE BUBBLE (IN): Oregon, Kentucky, North Carolina, UCLA, South Carolina

ON THE BUBBLE (OUT): Louisiana State, North Carolina State, Stanford

Changes from last week: Kentucky replaces LSU as a national seed. [...] Continue Reading »

Strike One: For Sooners, Later Is Better Than Never

Oklahoma coach Sunny Golloway said before the season began that his team had a chance to be very dangerous by the end of the spring. But the Sooners lost 10 drafted players off last year's team, and it figured to take some time for some of their newcomers to adjust to the Division I level.

Ultimately, OU's season hinged on whether flame-throwing junior-college transfers Jonathan Gray, Steven Okert and Damien Magnifico could thrive in prominent roles on the pitching staff. There were some growing pains in the first half of the season, but all three are pitching with confidence now, which makes Oklahoma very dangerous.

The Sooners showed just how dangerous they can be this weekend, sweeping a Baylor team that had carried an 18-0 conference record into the weekend.

"It's a huge statement, to defeat a national seed three straight times," Golloway said. "We've got some big wins in there, we weren't consistent early on  . . . If we can get to the tournament, we're going to be dangerous."

The fact that the Sooners are on the bubble despite winning eight of their 12 weekend series is a sore spot for Golloway, but that is the reality. The Big 12 did a poor job adjusting when Nebraska left the league, forcing coaches to fill their scheduling holes with a host of series against teams from the Southwestern Athletic Conference that have dragged down the league's Ratings Percentage Index. The fact that the bottom four teams in the standings are a combined 11 games under .500 overall also hurts. So even after sweeping the Bears, Oklahoma is just No. 46 in the RPI—right on the bubble.

The Sooners also have themselves to blame for that. At 13-10 in the league, they remain in fifth place, a game behind the second-place cluster of Texas A&M, Texas and Oklahoma State. The Sooners have eight one-run losses, but this weekend they won a pair of low-scoring one-run games against a potent Baylor offense, 1-0 and 2-1. That is a sign that OU's bullpen has emerged as a strength. [...] Continue Reading »

Missouri State redshirt sophomore righthander Nick Petree is a just machine. Petree threw eight shutout innings Friday in the Bears' 2-0 win against Evansville, extending his scoreless streak to 38 innings. He hasn't allowed an earned run in 72 2/3 innings over 11 starts dating back to March 2. As we wrote in Streakin' on April 25, Petree has dominated without his best velocity thanks to a herniation in a forearm muscle. Pretty remarkable.

On to the Top 25 rundown:

Top 25 Showdowns

• (25) Mississippi State at (6) Florida: Hudson Randall (7 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K) turned in his longest SEC start of the year in Florida's 4-1 win. MSU ace Chris Stratton (7 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K) took his first loss of the season, as Daniel Pigott (2-for-4, 2 RBI) led the UF offense. Steven Rodriguez (2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K) dominated to pick up his third save.

Top 25 Upsets

• Loyola Marymount at (18) San Diego: Paul Sewald (4 IP, 11 H, 11 R, 7 ER, 3 BB, 5 K) moved to the No. 1 starter job and was pounded in LMU's 13-1 win. Six Lions posted multiple hits in support of Colin Welmon (9 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K).

Other Top 25 Results

• Vanderbilt at (3) Louisiana State: Kevin Gausman (9 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 11 K) threw LSU's first complete game of the season in a 2-1 win, as the Tigers clinched at least a share of the SEC West title. LSU scored twice in the second against T.J. Pecoraro (8 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K), who pitched well in defeat. [...] Continue Reading »

Top 25 Showdowns

• No. 9 Oregon evened its season series against No. 23 Oregon State with a 3-2 win. The Ducks and Beavers have split two midweek games and will end the regular season with a conference series against each other. Ryan Hambright's two-run single highlighted Oregon's three-run first inning in support of Thomas Thorpe (4 IP, 1 H, 0 R), and the Ducks got strong relief from Joey Housey (2 IP, 1 H, 0 R) and Jimmie Sherfy (2 IP, 1 H, 0 R), who picked up his 13th save.

Top 25 Upsets

• Vanderbilt climbed to .500 (24-24) for the first time this season with a 3-2 win against No. 22 Louisville—coach Tim Corbin's 400th victory at Vanderbilt. The 'Dores got strong pitching from Kevin Ziomek (3.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K), Drew VerHagen (3.2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K) and Jared Miller (2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K), and Conrad Gregor broke a 2-2 tie with a run on a wild pitch in the eighth. Vandy has six regular-season games left—three at LSU, three vs. Ole Miss—as it tries to end the season with a winning record to be eligible for an at-large bid to regionals.

Other Highlights

• James Ramey (3-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBI) hit his 11th homer to break a scoreless tie in the sixth, and top-ranked Florida State tacked on seven runs in the ninth to beat Stetson 9-1. Scott Sitz (6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER) turned in a strong start to pick up the win.

• Mike Zunino (3-for-5, 2 RBI, 2 2B) hit a walk-off double in the 11th to give No. 6 Florida a 4-3 win against North Florida. Keenan Kish (4 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K) pitched well in relief for the Gators. [...] Continue Reading »

This time of year, a hefty majority of all questions submitted in our weekly college chat, as well as those sent via e-mail or Twitter, center around the battle for postseason positioning. Our readers want to know how the races for national seeds, host sites and at-large bids are shaping up—so it's time to roll out our weekly Stock Report feature. Every Tuesday here on the College Blog, we'll examine how the postseason picture has shifted over the weekend. Rather than get bogged down in the jigsaw puzzle that is a full field of 64 projection, we're not going to worry about which regionals teams get sent to. We're just looking at who's in, who's out, who's on the bubble. This discussion is based on performance through 12 weeks and projection based on remaining schedule, but it's also not intended to show what the field would look like if the season ended today. We're still looking ahead.

During this discussion, we will reference the NCAA's official RPI report, which is released every Tuesday and is updated through the weekend's games. We'll also reference the useful RPI Needs Report at Boyd's World, which provides a rough sketch of what teams need to do in order to reach important RPI benchmarks like finishing inside the top 45 (a loose target for an at-large bid). And we'll make use of records against the top 25, 50 or 100 in the RPI, using the official figures from the NCAA's Nitty Gritty Report..
[...] Continue Reading »

Strike One: Big Red Lasts A Little Longer

For the second Sunday in a row, Cornell's season came down to a battle of stamina, will and heart. Fortunately, the Big Red has a deep reservoir of intangibles to draw upon.

After splitting Saturday's doubleheader to start the best-of-three Ivy League championship series, Cornell and Dartmouth engaged in a taut pitcher's duel Sunday. Freshman Brian McAfee allowed just one run over six innings for Cornell, but the game headed to extra innings tied 1-1. Fellow freshman Kellen Urbon kept Dartmouth off the scoreboard for five innings, allowing just two hits, until Chris Cruz finally delivered a walk-off two-run homer in the 11th, sprinting around the bases to give Cornell a 3-1 win and send it to regionals for the first time since 1977.

"It's been 35 years," said Cornell coach Bill Walkenbach, who played for the Big Red in the 1990s and set the program's all-time home run record. "I'm really happy for the alumni, them getting to share this with us. There are some people who have supported this program for years and years and years, and to give them this gift is truly gratifying . . . I've been fishing for this Ivy League championship since I was a freshman in the 1995 season, the fall of '94. So a 17-and-a-half-year journey for me—that makes it even sweeter."

A week earlier, Cornell needed to beat Princeton on the final day of the regular season just to win the Lou Gehrig Division and advance to the championship series. That game played out very similarly: McAfee turned in 5 2/3 strong innings, Urbon followed with 6 1/3  innings (allowing just an unearned run), and the Big Red won on a home run in the 12th, by Ben Swinford.

"That's just kind of the personality of this team," Walkenbach said. "I think we're 5-0 in extra innings. They just don't like to do things easy. They like to grind out games, they like to grind me into the ground. Different guys like to step up and be the hero. Today it was Chris Cruz." [...] Continue Reading »

Top 25 Showdowns

• (7) Florida at (3) Kentucky: The Wildcats avoided a sweep with a 2-1 win behind Corey Littrell (8 IP, 9 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K), who improved to 7-0. Matt Reida's RBI single off Brian Johnson (5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER) broke a scoreless tie in the fifth, and the Wildcats tacked on a crucial insurance run in the eighth against Jonathon Crawford (3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER).

• (4) Louisiana State at (24) Mississippi: The Rebels evened the series with a 7-4 win. LSU starter Ryan Eades and Ole Miss starter Mike Mayers each gave up four runs over four innings of work, but the Rebels won the battle of the bullpens, as Tanner Bailey, Chris Ellis and Brett Huber combined to work five innings of three-hit, shutout relief. Tanner Mathis (3-for-5, R, 2 RBI) broke a 4-4 tie with an RBI single in the sixth, and Auston Bousfield provided some insurance with a two-run homer an inning later.

• (5) South Carolina at (18) Arkansas: Matt Reynolds (3-for-5, 2 RBI) led a 17-hit attack and provided the eventual winning run with an RBI single in the eighth, propelling the Hogs to a series-tying 7-6 win. Christian Walker (3-for-4, 2 RBI) and Chase Vergason homered in a losing cause for the Gamecocks, who saw their SEC winning streak snapped at 12 games. The back-and-forth affair featured three lead changes.

• (10) Oregon at (11) Arizona: The Wildcats pounded out 15 hits against Jake Reed (4.2 IP, 10 H, 9 R, 8 ER) and the Ducks, leveling the series with a 12-6 win. Johnny Field (3-for-5, 2 R, 3 RBI, HR) and Alex Mejia (4-for-5, R, RBI) led the Arizona offense, and Tyler Crawford (4.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R) earned the win in relief of Konner Wade (4 IP, 9 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 4 K). Oregon remains in first place in the Pac-12 by percentage points over Arizona.

• (13) Purdue at (14) UCLA: In a matchup between two teams that entered the day among the top six in the RPI rankings, the Bruins swept a doubleheader, 5-1 and 3-2, to clinch a big nonconference series and bolster their national seed case. Adam Plutko (8.1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K) retired the first 16 hitters he faced in the opener, and Cody Keefer's two-run double in the fifth put UCLA in control against Joe Haase (6 IP, 6 H, 3 ER), who fell to 7-1. The Boilermakers out-hit the Bruins 10-4 in the nightcap, but the Bruins got enough timely hits early in the game against Lance Breedlove (4 IP, 3 H, 3 ER), while Nick Vander Tuig (5.2 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K) minimized damage to improve to 6-3. Both teams got strong bullpen work in that one, as Purdue's Blake Mascarello (4 IP, 1 H, 0 R) and three UCLA relievers combined for 7.1 scoreless innings of relief. [...] Continue Reading »

Top 25 Showdowns

• (7) Florida at (3) Kentucky: Casey Turgeon tripled to lead off the eighth and scored on Josh Tobias's RBI single, breaking a 1-1 tie and propelling the Gators to a series-clinching 5-1 win. The Gators broke it open with three more in the ninth, and Steven Rodriguez followed Thursday's 2.1 innings of scoreless relief with two hitless, scoreless innings Friday to earn the save. Karsten Whitson (4.2 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 K) was solid in an 81-pitch outing, and Jerad Grundy (7.1 IP, 6 H, 2 ER) was strong in defeat for Kentucky, which lost a series for the second straight weekend after going its first 10 weeks without a series loss.

• (4) Louisiana State at (24) Mississippi: Grant Dozar's RBI single in the 13th propelled LSU to a 4-3 win in the series opener. The Tigers built an early 2-0 lead against Bobby Wahl (7 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K), but the Rebels came back to take a 3-2 lead against Kevin Gausman (7.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 4 K) with two in the seventh. LSU answered with a run in the eighth against R.J. Hively (6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K) on Dozar's solo homer to force extra innings.

• (5) South Carolina at (18) Arkansas: The Razorbacks built a 6-0 lead against Michael Roth (6 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 4 BB) through three innings, but the Gamecocks stormed back against Ryne Stanek (5 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 5 K) and the Arkansas bullpen, winning 8-6 in 10 innings. Grayson Greiner (2-for-4, 4 RBI) led the South Carolina assault, hitting a two-run homer in a three-run sixth inning to tie the game, then adding an RBI single to cap the two-run 10th. With Kentucky losing, the Gamecocks moved into sole possession of first place in the SEC East. [...] Continue Reading »

For years, the prospect of increasing college baseball's 11.7 scholarship limit has seemed like a pipe dream. Certainly, colleges and universities aren't going to start funding extra baseball scholarships anytime soon, but suddenly there is real momentum behind the notion that Major League Baseball might step in and pay for additional college baseball scholarships.

Dave Keilitz, executive director of the American Baseball Coaches Association, confirmed a CBSSports.com report that MLB is in discussions with the NCAA about forming a lasting financial partnership. Keilitz sits on a committee that also includes NCAA officials Dennis Poppe, the director of football and baseball operations, and Damani Leech plus former Division I baseball committee chairmen Ron Wellman, Larry Templeton and Tim Weiser. Keilitz said the college committee has been meeting with MLB and MLB Players Association officials for more than three years, but talks were slowed by the death of former NCAA president Myles Brand and the retirement of union chief Donald Fehr.

About three weeks ago, the college contingent met with MLB Executive VP Rob Manfred and his staff, plus MLBPA executive director Michael Weiner in New York. That meeting led Keilitz to believe the talks are really picking up steam.

"The meeting three weeks ago in New York was, I thought, a very productive one and a very good one," Keilitz said. "One reason I'm excited is Major League Baseball and the players association want to make this work.

"There's a lot of hurdles here, and one hurdle will be getting through the NCAA with some of the membership, because there's implications here with Title IX . . . There are a lot of things that have to be worked out. But I do think it's doable and hopefully it's going to happen this time around."

An MLB official said talks are in the "very early stages" but called them "very positive." [...] Continue Reading »

Top 25 Showdowns

• Mikey Reynolds had four hits out of the No. 9 hole to pace Texas A&M's 18-hit assault in support of Daniel Mengden (7 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K), as the ninth-ranked Aggies crushed No. 21 Sam Houston State, 10-0. Mengden, a freshman who started the year in the closer role, turned in his second consecutive strong midweek start and earned his first collegiate win. The Aggies scored in every inning from the third on.

Top 25 Upsets

• San Jose State knocked John Hochstatter out of the game before he could record an out in a three-run first inning, then took control with four runs in the fourth to upset No. 12 Stanford 8-5. Jake Stewart returned to center field for the Cardinal and went 1-for-3 with a homer and two RBIs. Austin Wilson homered twice in defeat as well.

• Ian Tompkins (6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 2 K) and three relievers combined on a four-hitter, as Western Kentucky toppled No. 22 Louisville, 8-1. Chad Green (5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K) was strong in a no-decision for the Cardinals, but WKU broke a 1-1 tie with four runs in the sixth and tacked on three more in the seventh against Louisville's formidable bullpen.

[...] Continue Reading »

This time of year, a hefty majority of all questions submitted in our weekly college chat, as well as those sent via e-mail or Twitter, center around the battle for postseason positioning. Our readers want to know how the races for national seeds, host sites and at-large bids are shaping up—so it's time to roll out our weekly Stock Report feature. Every Tuesday here on the College Blog, we'll examine how the postseason picture has shifted over the weekend. Rather than get bogged down in the jigsaw puzzle that is a full field of 64 projection, we're not going to worry about which regionals teams get sent to. We're just looking at who's in, who's out, who's on the bubble. This discussion is weighted much more toward performance and remaining schedule than projection based on talent, but it's also not intended to show what the field would look like if the season ended today. We're still looking ahead.

During this discussion, we will reference the NCAA's official RPI report, which is released every Tuesday and is updated through the weekend's games. We'll also reference the useful RPI Needs Report at Boyd's World, which provides a rough sketch of what teams need to do in order to reach important RPI benchmarks like finishing inside the top 45 (a loose target for an at-large bid). And we'll make use of records against the top 25, 50 or 100 in the RPI—there is some margin for error with those figures, but they are accurate enough to serve our purposes.

We'll get to at-large chances in a bit, but let's start with a look at which teams are on track to earn national seeds and which are on track to host regionals through the first 11 weeks of the season: [...] Continue Reading »

Strike One: Scrappy Mississippi State Finds A Way

STARKVILLE, Miss.—After losing its first three Southeastern Conference series, Mississippi State knew it wouldn't be easy to dig out of a 2-7 hole in the standings. Injuries to key players piled up in the middle part of the season (and the injury bug reared its head again this weekend), but the Bulldogs were confident their pitching and defense were strong enough to help them navigate through the rough patches.

MSU still isn't an offensive juggernaut and won't ever be this season, but the Dawgs are finding ways to win. MSU has won three home series over the last four weekends to climb to 10-11 in the SEC and strengthen their at-large regional bid position. This weekend's series against rival Mississippi was huge, and the Bulldogs rode their pitching-and-defense formula to wins Friday and Sunday.

"We'll take the series win and get out of here with two out of three for sure," closer Caleb Reed said.

Friday's story was a familiar one: ace Chris Stratton put the Bulldogs on his back and carried them to victory, throwing a five-hit complete-game shutout in a 4-0 win (more on Stratton in an upcoming feature story). Sunday's win was rather less emphatic, as Mississippi State capitalized on two walks and three hit batsmen to score four runs in the first inning, en route to a 4-2 win—despite mustering just two hits in the game. The hit-by-pitch is one of MSU's best offensive weapons; it recorded nine of them in four games last week.

"Our kids are good at it, thank goodness, because if we didn't have that club in our bag we wouldn't have been able to put four runs on the board, and thank goodness that was good enough to get it done today," MSU coach John Cohen said after Sunday's win. [...] Continue Reading »

BATON ROUGE, La.—As Raph Rhymes posed with a fan for a postgame photo, the fan said, "Did you hear this place? Man, it got juiced."

"Yeah, it did," Rhymes replied with a shake of his head.

For the second straight night, Louisiana State came from behind in the late innings to stun snake-bitten Georgia. This time, LSU erased a 4-2 lead with six runs in the eighth, as Mason Katz smacked a go-ahead grand slam and Rhymes followed with a solo shot over the left-field bleachers, sending the Alex Box Stadium crowd into a deafening frenzy and propelling the Tigers to an 8-4 win.

Rhymes finished 2-for-4 to maintain his .503 batting average, and the Tigers got three hitless innings of relief from Joey Bourgeois and a 1-2-3 ninth from closer Nick Goody, who struck out the side. LSU's collection of dominating power arms stood in contrast to Georgia's softer-throwing bullpen, which failed to nail down the win after starter Michael Palazzone left in the fifth inning with a back spasm.

LSU starter Ryan Eades (5 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 2 ER) did not have his best command but still showed his typical power stuff—a 92-94 mph fastball that peaked at 95, a sharp downer curve at 76-79, a slider with good depth at 82-83 and a changeup with lively arm-side action at 80-81. Bourgeois worked mostly at 90-91 and bumped 92, while getting swing-and-misses with his 73-74 curveball. Goody worked in the 90-93 range for the second straight day, getting two strikeouts on 92 mph heaters and another on a sharp slider at 78.

LSU's bullpen was a bit of a question mark coming into the season, but it has emerged as a true strength for the Tigers, rivaling its vaunted weekend rotation. And the lineup has continued to show a knack for getting big hits in pressure situations—the mark of a confident team capable of making a deep postseason run.

Here's a look at some other highlights from Saturday's action: [...] Continue Reading »

Top 25 Showdowns

• (25) New Mexico State at (3) Baylor: Josh Turley (7.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K) and two relievers combined on a three-hit shutout in Baylor's 5-0 win. Turley carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning before Tanner Waite broke it up with a one-out single in the eighth. The Bears broke a scoreless tie with three in the sixth against Ryan Beck (6 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K), capped by Cal Towey's two-run double.

• (21) Arkansas at (5) Florida: The Gators overcame a 2-0 deficit with three runs in the sixth against Ryne Stanek (5.2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER), highlighted by Casey Turgeon's two-run double, as Florida won 3-2. Hudson Randall (6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER) returned to the Friday starter role and pitched well to improve to 4-1.

• (20) Texas at (9) Texas A&M: The Aggies held off UT's furious ninth-inning rally to win 6-5. A&M capitalized on three Texas errors and built a 6-0 lead through five innings against Nathan Thornhill (6 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 2 ER), while Michael Wacha (8 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 9 K) kept the Longhorns off the board for eight innings. But Texas scored five runs in the ninth against the A&M bullpen before pinch-hitter Collin Walsh grounded out with runners at second and third to end it.

• (13) Stanford at (12) UCLA: Stephen Piscotty's three-run homer off Adam Plutko (5.2 IP, 9 H, 7 ER) highlighted Stanford's four-run fifth, as the Cardinal broke open a close game en route to a 7-2 win. Mark Appel (7 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 10 K) was strong for the Cardinal, improving to 6-1. [...] Continue Reading »

Wednesday's slate featured no Top 25 showdowns or upsets, but there were some interesting results. A few highlights:

• A day after its winning streak was snapped at 24 games, Baylor got back in the win column with a 6-4 victory against Southland Conference upstart Texas-Arlington. Max Muncy (2-for-5, 3 RBI) led the Baylor offense behind Tyler Bremer (7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K).

• Karsten Whitson (4 IP, 4 H, 0 R) turned in his longest and best outing since returning from arm soreness, as Florida cruised to a 10-1 win against Bethune-Cookman. Preston Tucker hit his 11th home run.

• Tyler Moore's two-run single highlighted LSU's four-run third inning, propelling the Tigers to a 4-3 win against a quality Southeastern Louisiana club.

• Kent Emanuel (8.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K) dominated into the ninth inning on four days' rest, and Chaz Frank (3-for-5) broke a scoreless tie with a walk-off RBI single in the 10th, sending North Carolina into its exam break with a 1-0 win against East Carolina. The Tar Heels shuffled their defense, moving Tommy Coyle (who has 19 errors this season) from shortstop to second, sliding Mike Zolk from second to third and Michael Russell from third to short. Russell and Zolk each committed an error, but Russell also made a game-saving stop in the ninth inning to prevent ECU from scoring the go-ahead run. Jeff Hoffman (7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K) turned in a strong outing in a no-decision for the Pirates. [...] Continue Reading »

Missouri State's Pierce Johnson generated first-round buzz earlier this spring, but the Bears' most consistent pitcher in 2012 has actually been redshirt sophomore righthander Nick Petree, who leads the nation in ERA  at 0.77.

Petree is riding an incredible hot streak: He hasn't allowed an earned run in 49 1/3 consecutive innings over seven starts, dating back to March 2. He threw six shutout innings at Wichita State last week, allowing just four hits and striking out nine, as the Bears shut out the Shockers in Wichita for the first time ever. That performance improved Petree to 8-2 on the season with 67 strikeouts and 22 walks in 70 innings.

"It's unreal," Shockers pitching coach Brent Kemnitz said of Petree's streak. "He wasn't on top of his game against us. In the first inning he touched 87 a couple of times, but late in the game he was 83. He's got a lot of movement, a tight slider and a really good changeup. He just competes. You've got to tip your hat to him; he keeps making pitches and getting outs."

Petree has been carving hitters up recently despite pitching through a herniation in a forearm muscle, which hampers his velocity a bit, but doctors say he can't hurt himself worse by pitching with it. He might wind up taking the summer off to address the injury. At his best, he works in the 86-89 range, but he has good enough movement and feel for pitching to win with less velocity. [...] Continue Reading »

Top 25 Upsets

• No. 3 Baylor's remarkable winning streak is over at 24 games. The Bears were upset at Texas-San Antonio, 4-1—their first loss since March 13. UTSA jumped on Austin Stone for three runs in the first inning, highlighted by Daniel Rockett's two-run single, and Jordan Pacheco (5.1 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K) kept the Baylor offense in check to pick up his first win.

• Louisville smashed No. 2 Kentucky 10-2 to complete a two-game season series sweep of the Wildcats for the first time since 1970. The Cardinals hadn't won back-to-back games against UK since 1998 and '99. Jeff Gardner's two-run ground-rule double highlighted Louisville's six-run third inning, breaking open a 2-1 game. Six Louisville pitchers held the Wildcats to five hits.

• South Florida broke a 3-3 tie with a run in the seventh and added another in the eighth to upset No. 5 Florida, 5-3. Andrew Longley homered twice and drove in three for the Bulls, while Florida got homers from Nolan Fontana and Mike Zunino in its three-run sixth. USF snapped a 12-game losing streak against the Gators and beat a top-10 team for the first time since coach Lelo Prado joined the Bulls in 2007.

• UNC Grensboro pounded out 16 hits in an 8-4 upset of No. 16 North Carolina in Chapel Hill. UNC jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the first, but the Spartans tied the game with three in the second against Chris Munnelly (1.2 IP, 3 H, 4 ER). Trevor Edwards (5-for-6, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 2B, HR) had a monster game to lead the UNCG attack. [...] Continue Reading »

This time of year, a hefty majority of all questions submitted in our weekly college chat, as well as those sent via e-mail or Twitter, center around the battle for postseason positioning. Our readers want to know how the races for national seeds, host sites and at-large bids are shaping up—so it's time to roll out our weekly Stock Report feature. Every Tuesday here on the College Blog, we'll examine how the postseason picture has shifted over the weekend. Rather than get bogged down in the jigsaw puzzle that is a full field of 64 projection, we're not going to worry about which regionals teams get sent to. We're just looking at who's in, who's out, who's on the bubble. This discussion is weighted much more toward performance and remaining schedule than projection based on talent, but it's also not intended to show what the field would look like if the season ended today. We're still looking ahead.

During this discussion, we will reference the NCAA's official RPI report, which is released every Tuesday and is updated through the weekend's games. We'll also reference the useful RPI Needs Report at Boyd's World, which provides a rough sketch of what teams need to do in order to reach important RPI benchmarks like finishing inside the top 45 (a loose target for an at-large bid). And we'll make use of records against the top 25, 50 or 100 in the RPI—there is some margin for error with those figures, but they are accurate enough to serve our purposes.

We'll get to at-large chances in a bit, but let's start with a look at which teams are on track to earn national seeds and which are on track to host regionals through the first nine weeks of the season: [...] Continue Reading »

Strike One: Gael Force

SAN DIEGO—With an experienced team headlined by a pair of potential top-two-rounds picks in Patrick Wisdom and Martin Agosta, St. Mary's entered 2012 with high hopes. At 18-19 overall and 3-9 in the West Coast Conference, the Gaels haven't lived up to expectations, but Agosta sure has.

After allowing just an unearned run in seven strong innings to beat the WCC's best offense Friday at San Diego, Agosta improved to 6-2, 1.70 through 74 innings over 10 starts. The Toreros threatened early and often, but Agosta repeatedly made big pitches to escape jams unscathed, stranding runners at third base in the first, third and fifth innings. His composure in tight spots has been a trademark since his days at Jesuit High in the Sacramento area.

"He's an extremely mature pitcher," St. Mary's coach Jedd Soto said. "I watched him in high school in the state playoffs, everyone's going crazy and the world's falling, and he's just relaxed on the mound, telling the coach, 'Hey, I'm good.' You just don't see that from an 18-year-old kid. Even with the bases loaded, he's still attacking hitters the same way, not afraid to use his offspeed early in the count."

Agosta has a cerebral approach to his craft—that much comes across by talking with him. He knows how to work hitters and has an innate ability to manipulate the baseball in a variety of ways.

His feel for pitching stands out, but his stuff has started to catch up. Agosta said he worked in the 86-88 range as a freshman, when he pitched 70 innings and posted a 5.40 ERA. He barely touched a baseball that summer, focusing on adding strength to his slender frame, and his velocity bumped the low 90s when he returned for his sophomore year. He went 7-6, 2.81 with 76 strikeouts in 90 innings as a sophomore, but the best was yet to come.

[...] Continue Reading »