College Roundup: Miami’s Jim Morris Wins 1,500th

Three key story lines from around college baseball Friday.

Strike One: Morris Wins 1,500th Behind Grand Slam

HOW THE TOP 25 FARED

(1) Florida: won, 4-3 (10), vs. Missouri

(2) Texas A&M: postponed vs. Auburn

(3) Oregon State: won, 3-2, vs. Arizona State

(4) Louisville: lost, 8-4, at (6) Miami

(5) Vanderbilt: lost, 2-1 (13), vs. (15) Mississippi State

(6) Miami: won, 8-4, vs. (4) Louisville

(7) Louisiana State: postponed vs. Alabama

(8) Texas Christian: won, 10-6, vs. West Virginia

(9) California: lost, 18-5, at Southern California

(10) Virginia: swept DH, 4-0 and 6-4, vs. Wake Forest

(11) Florida State: won, 17-4, at Pittsburgh

(12) North Carolina: won, 11-2, at Duke

(13) Mississippi: lost, 3-2, at Tennessee

(14) UCLA: won, 5-2, vs. Washington State

(15) Mississippi State: won, 2-1 (13), at Vanderbilt

(16) Louisiana-Lafayette: postponed vs. Arkansas-Little Rock

(17) Arkansas: lost, 10-6, at South Carolina

(18) Michigan: lost, 6-3, at (22) Oklahoma State

(19) Oregon: lost, 4-1, vs. Utah

(20) Houston: postponed vs. Grand Canyon

(21) N.C. State: won, 9-1, vs. Notre Dame

(22) Oklahoma State: won, 6-3, vs. (18) Michigan

(23) College of Charleston: lost, 2-1, vs. Virginia Commonwealth

(24) Long Beach State: won, 8-3, vs. Columbia

(25) Michigan State, won, 11-1, at South Florida

Miami head coach Jim Morris won’t soon forget Friday night’s game against No. 4 Louisville—and not just because the Hurricanes were wearing pink uniforms.

With No. 6 Miami’s 8-4 win, Morris became just the sixth head coach in Division I history to win 1,500 games, and he got there in dramatic fashion, thanks to a walk-off grand slam by junior captain Willie Abreu.

“It’s a great way to get your 1,500th,” Morris told hurricanesports.com. “Such an exciting game against an outstanding club like Louisville, with a walk-off . . . just a great situation. I’ll remember the 1,500th, without question.”

Wearing pink uniforms in support of breast cancer awareness, Miami played a tight contest with the Cardinals. Louisville got on the board first with a solo home run from junior leadoff hitter and top draft prospect Corey Ray and expanded the lead to 2-0 with an RBI single from shortstop Devin Hairston in the second inning.

In the bottom half of the inning, though, Abreu hit his first home run of the contest—a three-run shot off of Louisville ace righthander Kyle Funkhouser to take the lead. Neither Funkhouser (5 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 5 BB, 4 K) nor Miami lefthander Thomas Woodrey (5.2 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K) were particularly sharp in a highly offensive contest.

Tied 4-4 in the ninth, the Hurricanes loaded the bases against flame-throwing Louisville closer Zack Burdi, setting up Abreu’s second home run of the game. The right fielder drove in seven of Miami’s eight runs Friday.

“It hasn’t really sunk in yet,” Abreu said. “It’s pretty amazing to be able to get that done. That’s the first time I’ve ever done that. It was amazing.”

Strike Two: Bulldogs Top Commodores In Opener

Though rain disrupted a portion of the SEC’s opening night, the conference’s most highly anticipated matchup between No. 15 Mississippi State and No. 5 Vanderbilt more than lived up to its blockbuster billing.

A pitcher’s duel between Mississippi State ace righthander Dakota Hudson (9 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K) and Vanderbilt righthander Jordan Sheffield (6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 5 BB, 9 K) morphed into an epic 13-inning showdown in Nashville, with the Bulldogs coming out on top in a 2-1 win.

Mississippi State struck first, with a leadoff double from center fielder Jacob Robson and two Vanderbilt errors. But the Bulldogs were unable to score again until the 13th, despite loading the bases in both the second and third inning. They stranded 16 baserunners in the contest, in part due to the hard-throwing Sheffield’s ability to miss bats.

Fortunately for Mississippi State, Hudson also kept the Commodores off the board, allowing just one unearned run in the fourth, when Will Toffey reached on a throwing error and came around to score on a single by freshman Alonzo Jones.

“We felt like we had a ton of opportunities that we didn’t take advantage of,” Bulldogs head coach John Cohen told hailstate.com. “Dakota Hudson battled his tail off tonight. He showed the type of competitor he is. He kept us in the ballgame all night. He was outstanding. It was a Friday night in the SEC, and he pitched the way you have to.”

Hudson left the game after nine innings and 126 pitches, but relievers Blake Smith, Kale Breaux and Ryan Rigby continued to hold the Commodores at bay. Vanderbilt sophomore righthander Matt Ruppenthal held the Bulldogs scoreless for six innings out of the ‘pen until the 13^th, when freshman Luke Alexander hit a one-out double and redshirt freshman Cole Gordon drove him in with the go-ahead two-out bloop single to left field.

“Our relievers came in and threw strikes,” Cohen said. “They just filled the zone and really kept a great hitting team under control. As a team, we will grow from this experience. It’s a huge win and it gives a lot of the new guys a whole bunch of confidence. This is how you compete and win games in this league.”

Strike Three: Cowboys Tame Wolverines

 No. 22 Oklahoma State’s 2-5 start to the season was in many ways deceptive. The Cowboys were in every game, losing each by just one run—four of the five via walk-off in a bizarre stretch of games.

Since then, the Cowboys’ fortunes have taken a sharp turn. They’ve gone 10-1, and with a 6-3 win against No. 18 Michigan on Friday, the Cowboys have now won six in a row.

The Wolverines got to junior righthander Thomas Hatch (4 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K) with a three-run fourth, but Oklahoma State wasted no time in responding, taking the lead back in the bottom half of the frame with a three-run home run by catcher Collin Theroux—the first home run of the junior’s career.

“It definitely felt good, especially since I’ve been struggling a little bit at the plate,” Theroux told okstate.com. “To be able to put the team in a position to take the lead and win is a great feeling.”

From there, the Cowboys bullpen held Michigan scoreless, with righthander Reed Remey (3.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R) putting in most of the legwork. A Dustin Williams home run and a bases-loaded balk expanded the lead to 6-3 in the eighth.

“(Michigan) is a good ballclub, really aggressive, and we were going back and forth the whole time,” Theroux said. “The pitching staff did a great job today, especially coming behind Thomas (Hatch). Thomas didn’t have his best stuff today, but even on his worst days he still keeps us in the game. And the bullpen did a great job.

“It was a really good, quality team win, and we’re looking to come back and do it again tomorrow.”

The Lineup

Nine newsmakers from Friday’s action.

1. Kyle Lewis, of, Mercer: The toolsy junior outfielder got Mercer on the board early against Kennesaw State with a two-run home run in the first. He then added a grand slam in the eighth to lead Mercer to a 10-7 win. He went 3-for-5, drove in six and scored four runs. He’s up to nine home runs on the season.

2. Eric Lauer, lhp, Kent State: One of the top lefthanders in the draft class, Lauer showed why Friday, striking out a career-high 13 and allowing just three hits and a walk in 8 1/3 scoreless innings at Liberty.

3. Clarke Schmidt, rhp, South Carolina; Clate Schmidt, rhp, Clemson: The Schmidt brothers both had a night to remember for their respective teams, as each righthander struck out a career-high 11 batters in seven innings. Clarke moved to 5-0 with South Carolina’s win against Arkansas; Clate moved to 4-0 with Clemson’s win against Boston College. Here’s Teddy Cahill’s story on Clarke.

4. Joe O’Donnell, rhp, N.C. State: Anytime an N.C. State pitcher is mentioned in the same breath as Carlos Rodon, it’s clear he’s done something special. On Friday, O’Donnell threw the first complete game for the Wolfpack since Rodon did it against Georgia Tech on April 25, 2014. O’Donnell allowed just four hits and came one out shy of a shutout before Notre Dame pinch-hitter James Nevant hit a solo home run.

5. Adalberto Carrillo, 3b, Southern California: In a much-needed bounce-back win for the Trojans against No. 9 California, the sophomore Carrillo led an 18-run assault, going 4-for-4 with four RBIs and his team-leading fourth home run of the season.

6. Timmy Richards, ss, Cal State Fullerton: The Titans went down to the wire against visiting Maryland after the Terrapins rallied to tie the game with a two-run eighth inning. Richards ensured a Fullerton victory, homering on the first pitch of the 10th inning as the Titans walked off, 3-2.

7. Connor Jones, rhp, Virginia: The junior righthander, No. 10 on the Top 100 Draft Prospects list, threw his second consecutive scoreless outing, striking out nine and walking two in 7 1/3 shutout innings against Wake Forest. Jones threw eight scoreless innings against Duke in his last start.

8. Peter Alonso, 1b, Florida: The No. 1 Gators had a tough go of it against Missouri in their SEC opener, with the Tigers tying the game, 3-3, in the ninth. Alonso’s only hit in the contest was a big one—he hit the walk-off single in the 10th.

9. Drew Rasumussen, rhp, Oregon State: There’s been no sophomore slump for Rasmussen, who moved to 4-0, 2.94 with a strong outing (8.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 8 K) in Oregon State’s 3-2 win over Arizona State.