Saturday Roundup: Florida, Stanford Clinch Marquee Series



Wet weather across the Texas and the South resulted in a number of doubleheaders Saturday—some of them makeups from Friday's postponed action, and some of them in anticipation of storms to come on Sunday. So many series have already been clinched or even completed. Let's take a look at the Top 25 action, followed by a look at some other noteworthy results outside the Top 24.

Top 25 Showdowns

• Top-ranked Florida clinched a series win against No. 25 Cal State Fullerton with a 5-2 win. Preseason All-Americans Karsten Whitson (5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER) and Austin Maddox (4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K) shut down Fullerton's offense, and Fr. DH Taylor Gushue put the Gators ahead for good with a two-run triple in the fourth. Grahamm Wiest (5 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 6 K) was decent in defeat in his first collegiate start for the Titans.

• Brian Ragira (3-for-3, 2 R, RBI) posted his second consecutive three-hit game to lead No. 2 Stanford's red-hot offense to a 9-5 win against No. 10 Vanderbilt, clinching the series for the Cardinal. The Commodores made four errors behind Fr. RHP Tyler Beede (4.1 IP, 9 H, 9 R, 5 ER), wasting a two-homer day by Connor Harrell (2-for-4, 4 RBI). Jr. LHP Brett Mooneyham (6 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 8 K) picked up the win for Stanford in his first appearance since 2010. Lonnie Kaupilla played shortstop for Stanford and Kenny Diekroeger (2-for-4, 2 R, RBI) played second base—a switch from Friday.

• No. 22 Mississippi's game at No. 15 Texas Christian was rained out and will not be made up Sunday. The two teams will play their regularly scheduled Sunday game.

Upsets

• North Dakota State broke a 2-2 tie with six runs in the eighth inning against No. 5 Arizona's bullpen, earning an 8-2 upset—the Bison's first win ever on the road against a ranked Division I foe. Arizona So. RHP Konner Wade (7.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 13 K) was stellar in a no-decision, but the Wildcats mustered just four hits Luke Anderson (7 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 3 K) and Kyle Kingsley (2 IP, 0 R).

• Pepperdine drubbed No. 19 Oklahoma, 10-0. Joe Sever and Aaron Brown combined for six hits and five RBIs, leading Pepperdine's 14-hit assault in support of Scott Frazier (7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K). OU's Jonathan Gray (2.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 6 BB, 4 K) struggled with his command in his first start for the Sooners.

Other Top 25 Results

• No. 3 South Carolina swept a doubleheader against VMI to complete a three-game series sweep. In the opener, Matt Price (5 IP, 0 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 K) was strong in his first start since 2009, and Ethan Carter (4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K) was dominant in relief. Jr. C Dante Rosenberg led the offense in that one with two doubles, including a go-ahead RBI double in the sixth. L.B. Dantzler's three-run homer highlighted South Carolina's seven-run fourth in the nightcap, as the Gamecocks pounded out 16 hits in support of Colby Holmes (5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K).

• Sam Bates (3-for-4, HR, 5 RBI) led a 13-hit barrage as No. 4 Arkansas pounded Villanova, 13-1, to clinch the series. So. RHP Ryne Stanek (4 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K), on a pitch limit, earned the win.

• Matthew Reckling (6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K) was strong in a no-decision for No. 6 Rice, and Jeremy Rathjen (3-for-5, 2 R, 2 RBI) delivered a walk-off homer in the 12th to lead the Owls to a 5-4 win over Florida International, clinching the series.

• No. 7 Texas A&M finished off Friday's suspended game with a 10-0 win against Illinois-Chicago, then secured the series victory with a 9-2 win in Game Two. Dynamic duo Michael Wacha (5.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 8 K) and Ross Stripling (7 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 8 K) gave the Aggies a pair of sterling starts, and Sr. 1B Jacob House went 5-for-9 with two homers and six RBIs in the two games. Preseason All-American Tyler Naquin is also off to a strong start, going 5-for-7 with a double and three steals in the two games.

• No. 8 LSU rapped out a balanced 14-hit attack behind Ryan Eades (5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K), as the Tigers hammered Alcorn State, 19-0. LSU has outscored Air Force and Alcorn 29-2 in its first two games of its tournament in Baton Rouge.

• No. 9 North Carolina won a back-and-forth slugfest against Xavier, 16-10, to win the series two games to one. After UNC jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first, the Musketeers chased Fr. RHP Benton Moss (1 IP, 3 H, 5 R, 4 ER) in an eight-run second inning, but all nine Tar Heels recorded hits, and Fr. 2B Mike Zolk led the offense with four RBIs.

• Pinch-hitter Brett DeLoach delivered a two-out, two-run double in the ninth to give No. 11 Georgia a 5-4 walk-off win against Presbyterian, clinching the series. Blake Dieterich (2 IP, 1 H, 0 R) earned the win with strong relief work. Starter Michael Palazzone gave up three runs in four innings.

• After splitting two games against Kent State and Winthrop on Friday, No. 12 Georgia Tech won a pair of games against those two opponents on Saturday, wrapping up a 3-1 weekend in Rock Hill, S.C. Daniel Palka (3-for-4, 4 R, RBI) led a 10-hit attack in support of Dusy Isaacs (7 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER) in Tech's 6-2 win over Kent State. So. C Mitch Earnest (3-for-3, 2 RBI, 2B) led another 10-hit assault in the nightcap, as Cole Pitts (4 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K) picked up the win in relief of DeAndre Smelter (4 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER).

• No. 13 Texas sept a doubleheader against Duke, 4-0 and 5-3. In the makeup of Friday's postponed game, Fr. 2B Brooks Marlow (2-for-3, 3 RBI) homered twice for Texas against first-team preseason All-American Marcus Stroman (5 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 6 BB, 3 K), who was uncharacteristically wild. Nathan Thornhill (5 IP, 3 H, 0 R) earned the start and the victory in that one. Hoby Milner (5 IP, 4 H, 3 ER) picked up the win in the nightcap, as Mark Payton (3-for-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI) paced the Longhorns' offense out of the leadoff spot.

• No. 14 UCLA evened its series against Maryland with a 6-5 win. Cody Keefer had three hits in support of Nick Vander Tuig (5 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 4 ER), and closer Scott Griggs rebounded from Friday's blown save with a perfect ninth, needing just nine pitches (seven for strikes).

• Sixteenth-ranked Clemson also bounced back from a Friday loss, sweeping a doubleheader from Alabama-Birmingham to clinch the series. Brad Felder had two hits and three RBIs in support of Dominic Leone (6 IP, 2 H, 0 R) in the first game, a 6-1 win for the Tigers. Clemson broke a 2-2 tie with five runs in the eighth in the nightcap, highlighted by Phil Pohl's two-run single, and the Tigers held on for a 7-4 win. Kevin Pohle (4 IP, 2 H, 0 R) earned the victory in relief of David Haselden (4 IP, 7 H, 2 ER).

• The last two hitters in No. 17 Arizona State's lineup—Beau Maggi and Michael Benjamin—combined for five hits and six RBIs behind Fr. LHP Adam McCreery (4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K), as the Sun Devils cruised to a series-clinching 13-0 rout of Western Michigan.

• Rony Rodriguez broke a 1-1 tie with a walk-off, three-run homer in the 12th, giving 17th-ranked Miami a 4-1 win over Rutgers. Eric Whaley (6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K) was strong in a no-decision for the Hurricanes, who also got five combined hitless innings of relief from Steven Ewing and E.J. Encinosa.

• No. 20 Florida State outslugged Hofstra, 10-8, to clinch the series. Hunter Scantling (5.1 IP, 6 H, 1 ER) picked up the win in relief of Peter Miller (1.2 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 1 ER). The Seminoles rallied back from an early 4-0 deficit and held off Hofstra's three-run ninth-inning rally.

• No. 21 Centra Florida won a pair of 9-1 decisions against Long Island-Brooklyn to wrap up a three-game series sweep. D.J. Hicks powered the UCF offense, going 5-for-8 with two homers, a double and six RBIs in the doubleheader. Travis Shreve contributed four hits and five RBIs for the Knights, who got strong starts from Ben Lively (5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER) and Chris Matulis (6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K).

• No. 23 Oregon State clinched its series at UC Santa Barbara (coached by former Beaver Andrew Checketts) with a 3-2 win in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader. The predetermined seven-inning game was tied 2-2 after seven, but Tyler Smith delivered a game-winning RBI single in the eighth, and the OSU bullpen delivered four innings of scoreless, three-hit relief. The wild finale was suspended by darkness with the score tied 12-12 in the 10th. The Beavers battled back from an early 8-2 deficit in that one.

• No. 24 Louisville bounced back from a defeat against Minnesota by beating Illinois, 4-3, in the Big Ten/Big East Challenge. Cardinals starter Jeff Thompson (6 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 8 K) carried a shutout into the seventh inning, when the Illini made things interesting with three runs to chase him. Adam Engel had three hits out of the leadoff spot to pace the Louisville offense.

Other Highlights

• Boston College beat Coastal Carolina (8-3) and James Madison (8-5) to complete a 3-0 run at the Caravelle Resort Tournament in Myrtle Beach. The Eagles beat Virginia on Friday.

• Southern California clinched a series against Atlantic Sun Conference power Jacksonville with an 11-3 win behind Ben Mount (6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K).

• Big Ten favorite Purdue got off to a strong start to its much-anticipated season, blanking Cincinnatie 6-0 and beating Connecticut 9-4 on Saturday. Lance Breedlove struck out 11 over seven innings of two-hit, shutout ball against the Bearcats.

• St. John's rebounded from Friday's loss to Michigan State by cruising to a 6-1 win against Minnesota behind Sean Hagan (6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K).

• Georgia Southern's pair of first-team preseason All-Americans are off to a strong start. A day after Chris Beck (6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K) cruised to a win, Victor Roache smashed his first homer of the year, as the Eagles pounded Tennessee-Martin, 10-1.

• Cal's Matt Flemer, like South Carolina's Matt Price, seems to be taking to his conversion from closer to starter. Flemer (8 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 3 K) picked up the win for the Golden Bears in a 6-3 victory against Pacific.

• Cal Poly clinched a nice inter-regional series against Oklahoma State with an 11-3 win Saturday. Mike Miller had three hits for the Mustangs, who took advantage of five OSU errors.

• Florida Atlantic has opened its series with a nice road series win against an SEC team. The Owls clinched a series win against Alabama with a 9-2 win Saturday behind Jake Meiers (6 IP, 7 H, 1 ER).



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  • Aaron Fitt is the lead college writer for Baseball America. If you have questions or comments about college baseball you can e-mail him at collegeblog@baseballamerica.com.

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