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Showdown of the day:

No. 8 Texas won its season series against No. 25 Rice with a 5-1 victory in Austin. The Longhorns broke the game open with a four-run sixth inning, and five Texas pitchers limited the Owls to two hits in the game. Closer Chance Ruffin (3.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K) picked up the win in relief.

Upset of the day:

Central Florida toppled No. 15 Miami, 6-3, in Coral Gables. The last time these two teams met, on March 9 in Orlando, the Hurricanes cruised to a 19-2 rout. UCF was much better on the mound this time, as five Knights pitchers held the 'Canes to three runs on eight hits.

Other notable upsets:

• Elon over No. 12 Clemson, 15-10, snapping Clemson's 18-game home winning streak
• Pacific over No. 19 Stanford, 9-4
• Northwestern State over No. 23 Texas A&M, 4-2
• Loyola Marymount over Cal State Fullerton, 4-2

Hitter of the day:

Mississippi Sr. 3B Zach Miller: 4-for-5, 2 2B, 5 RBI in 11-6 win vs. Southern Miss

Honorable mention:

• Georgia Tech Jr. SS Derek Dietrich: 4-for-5, 4 RBI in a 15-8 win vs. Mercer

Pitcher of the day:

UCLA Sr. RHP Garrett Claypool: 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 K in a 7-1 win vs. UC Santa Barbara, keeping the Bruins undefeated at 17-0.

Honorable mention:

• Coastal Carolina So. RHP Anthony Meo: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K vs. The Citadel.

Rice was 2 hit…man how the mighty have fallen. Not looking good for Graham's bunch, I know UT's staff is pretty good, but rice should have been able to muster up more than 2 hits against the guys they threw out there.

Looks like the Owls need to be concerned now…

Posted by Taylor | March 24, 2010 at 11:34 am | Shortcut

Another Honorable Mention for Hitter of the Day:
Nolan Church, DH, University of New Orleans, went 4-4, 2 RBI, 1R. Hit for the Cycle!
Cycles are neat.

Posted by Dan | March 24, 2010 at 12:32 pm | Shortcut

Cycles are pretty neat. I dare say Church probably should have been hitter of the day…

Posted by Aaron Fitt | March 24, 2010 at 1:29 pm | Shortcut

I've been very impressed with Rice's lineup. They have a number of guys who can simply mash the ball. It seems like virtually every guy in their lineup has between three and nine home runs so far this season. Their problem is finding guys who can throw strikes. There have been a slew of walks, hit batters, wild pitches, and passed balls in their games against the Longhorns this season.
By the way, speaking of Texas, I'm not sure if the guys at Baseball America have noticed or not, but Jonathan Walsh has really been crushing the ball for Texas. Also, it appears as though the Longhorns now have a legitimate leadoff batter in Walla. Walla has the ability to hit for average and steal many bases. I envision Walsh eventually settling in to the fifth spot in the batting order behind Rupp and Keyes. Hook 'em Horns! Jim Fletcher, 1997 UT-Austin alumnus

Posted by Jim Fletcher | March 24, 2010 at 2:17 pm | Shortcut

Pretty ugly for Rice's Mike Ojala in his second appearance back from injury. Came in after an IBB put runners on 1st and 2nd w/none out. Ojala went HBP, BB (run), WP (run), PB (run), sac fly (run), BB, before he was yanked.

Posted by Jonathan | March 24, 2010 at 2:35 pm | Shortcut

Jim, I thought coming into the year that Walsh and Walla could emerge as key players for this Texas team in the second half, because they are considerably more talented than some of the older veterans who were ahead of them on the depth chart. But the transition has happened sooner than expected, I think. Jonathan, I’d advise patience with Ojala — it’s just good to see him back on the mound. He has made a very quick recovery, and it might take him a bit of time to round into shape.

Posted by Aaron Fitt | March 24, 2010 at 2:56 pm | Shortcut