Top 25 Showdowns

• (1) Florida at (8) South Carolina: Nolan Fontana's two-run triple against Matt Price (2.1 IP, 1 H, 2 ER) in the ninth inning broke a 3-3 tie, propelling the Gators to a 5-4 win in the rubber game of the big series in Columbia. The Gamecocks had runners at second and third with one out in the eighth, but Austin Maddox escaped the jam with back-to-back strikeouts. Jonathon Crawford (5 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 ER) was solid in a no-decision for the Gators, and Steven Rodriguez worked 2.1 hitless innings of relief. Florida (5-1) now leads South Carolina (1-5) by four games in the SEC East.

• (20) North Carolina State at (4) North Carolina: In the opener of the Saturday through Monday series, the Wolfpack got strong mound work from Ethan Ogburn (5.2 IP, 8 H, 1 ER) and D.J. Thomas (3.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R) in a 3-1 win in Chapel Hill. Brett Austin's two-run single off Kent Emanuel (6.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K) broke a 1-1 tie in the seventh. UNC All-America third baseman Colin Moran broke his right hand during the game and is expected to miss three to four weeks.

• (5) Arizona at (19) Oregon State: Bobby Brown and Riley Moore hit home runs in the ninth inning to break a 3-3 tie and lead Arizona to a 5-4 win in Corvallis, knotting up the series at a game apiece. Konner Wade (7.2 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 1 K) was solid in a no-decision for Arizona, and Dan Child (6 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K) was strong for the Beavers, who got three hits and three RBIs from Tyler Smith.

Top 25 Upsets

• (11) Louisiana State at Auburn: Auburn clinched its second consecutive series win against a ranked SEC West power, beating LSU 3-2 in 10 innings. Garrett Cooper's RBI single in the eighth inning tied the game at 2-2, and Dan Glevenyak followed with a game-winning sacrifice fly in the 10th. Starting pitchers Will Kendall (6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER) and Ryan Eades (7.1 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 4 K) pitched well in no-decisions.

• Oral Roberts at (13) Cal State Fullerton: The Golden Eagles avoided a sweep with a 3-0 win behind Alex Gonzalez (7.2 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K), whom ORU coach Rob Walton told me Thursday has been pitching in the 90-94 mph range. Talented ORU freshman Jose Trevino delivered the game's big blow, a two-run homer in the fourth against Grahamm Wiest (8 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 7 K).

• (15) Georgia Tech at Boston College: The Eagles clinched the series against the injury-plagued Yellow Jackets with a 4-3 win in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader, but Tech salvaged the finale, 2-1. With regulars Kyle Wren and Zane Evans sidelined, the Jackets were held to 13 hits in the two games. Luke Bard (7 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K) pitched well again in a no-decision in the first game, but BC came from behind with two runs in the ninth, capped by Blake Butera's walk-off RBI single. Tech scored both of its runs in the first inning of the nightcap, and Dusty Isaacs (5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 6 BB, 3 K) and Cole Pitts (4 IP, 4 H, 0 R) made the lead stand up.

• (18) Georgia at Vanderbilt: The Bulldogs out-hit the Commodores 17-9 and got a strong start from Michael Palazzone (7 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K), but the Bullpen coughed up a late lead in a 5-4 loss. Conrad Gregor's walk-off RBI single capped Vandy's three-run ninth.

• California at (14) Arizona State: Matt Flemer (6.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K) bested Trevor Williams (8.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 ER) to give Cal a 3-2 win, leveling the series. Chadd Krist's solo homer in the sixth provided what proved to be the winning run.

• (17) Mississippi at Alabama: For the second straight week, Ole Miss failed to hold a 2-1 lead in the ninth inning. This time, Brett Booth hit a two-run, walk-off homer against Brett Huber to give the Crimson Tide a 3-2 win, knotting up the series. R.J. Hively (8 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K) was outstanding in a no-decision for the Rebels, and Justin Kamplain (7 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K) pitched well for 'Bama.

• (23) Texas State at Sam Houston State: The Bearkats clinched the series with a 10-4 win against Colton Turner (2.2 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 3 ER, 4 BB) and the Bobcats. Kevin Miller had four hits and three runs to lead SHSU's 15-hit attack in support of Justin Jackson (5.2 IP, 5 H, 3 ER).

Top 25 Winners, In Brief

The following teams clinched series:

• (6) Florida State at Wake Forest: The Seminoles swept a doubleheader, 5-4 and 3-2.

• Washington State at (7) UCLA: The Bruins won another blowout, 12-3.

• (9) Rice at Memphis: The Owls won big, 15-4.

• (10) Texas A&M at Pepperdine: The Aggies swept a doubleheader, 9-2 and 12-5, to complete the three-game sweep on the road.

• Maryland at (12) MIami: The Hurricanes won convincingly, 9-1, holding the Terrapins to one run for the second straight day.

• East Carolina at (21) Central Florida: The Knights  pounded out 16 hits in a 10-6 win.

• Utah at (24) Oregon: The Ducks got more strong pitching in a 5-2 win.

• (25) Purdue at Ohio State: The Boilermakers opened conference play with a doubleheader sweep, 8-5 and 8-1.

The following teams evened their series after losing openers:

(3) Arkansas at Mississippi State: Ryne Stanek and Cade Lynch combined on a three-hit shutout in the Hogs' 8-0 win.

(22) Texas at Kansas State: Corey Knebel threw four hitless innings of relief, and the Longhorns scored twice in the 11th to win 6-4.