Sunday NCAA Regionals Scores, TV, Analysis

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Happy Sunday! There’s plenty of baseball to be played today and a number of teams who hope their Super Regionals dreams are realized by tonight. 

To get you prepared, here is our Saturday analysis (Day 2) and Friday analysis (Day 1).

Scroll beyond the scores to read Joe Healy’s live analysis as the games unfold today. 

TIME	LOWER SEED	HIGHER SEED	WINNER	SCORE	TV
FINAL	(1) Georgia Tech	(3) Coastal Carolina	GA Tech	10-8	ESPNU
FINAL	(1) East Carolina	(2) NC State	ECU	9-2	ESPN3
FINAL	(1) Georgia	(2) Florida Atlantic	Georgia	13-0	SEC Network
FINAL	(2) Tennessee	(3) Liberty	Tennessee	6-5	ESPN3
FINAL	(1) Louisville	(2) Indiana	Louisville	9-7	ESPN3
FINAL	(1) West Virginia	(2) Texas A&M	TAMU	11-10	ESPN2
FINAL	(2) Connecticut	(3) Nebraska	UConn	16-1	ESPN3
FINAL	(2) Miami	(3) Central Michigan	Miami	18-3	ESPN3
FINAL	(3) Clemson	(4) Jacksonville State	JSU	9-2	ESPN3
FINAL	(2) Creighton	(4) Cincinnati	Creighton	6-1	ESPNU
FINAL	(2) Dallas Baptist	(3) Florida	DBU	9-8	ESPN3
FINAL	(2) Indiana State	(4) Ohio State	ISU	10-5	ESPN3
FINAL	(1) Stanford	(4) Sacramento State	Stanford	12-3	ESPN3
FINAL	(2) Arizona State	(3) Southern Miss	S. Miss	13-12	ESPN3
FINAL	(3) TCU	(4) Central Connecticut	TCU	9-5	ESPN3
FINAL	(1)UCLA	(2) Baylor	UCLA	11-6	ESPN2
FINAL	(3) Campbell	(4) Quinnipiac	Campbell	9-8	ESPN3
FINAL	(1) Georgia Tech	(2) Auburn	Auburn	4-1	ESPN3
FINAL	(2) Texas A&M	(3) Duke	Duke	4-1	ESPN3
FINAL	(1) Georgia	(3) Florida State	FSU	10-1	ESPN3
FINAL	(1) Louisville	(3) Illinois State	Louisville	11-2	ESPN3
FINAL	(1) North Carolina	(2) Tennessee	UNC	5-2	ESPN3
FINAL	(1) Oklahoma State	(3) Connecticut	UConn	5-2	ESPN3
FINAL	(1) Arkansas	(3) TCU	Arkansas	6-0
FINAL	(1) Stanford	(3) Fresno State	Stanford	8-6	ESPN3
FINAL	(1) UCLA	(3) Loyola Marymount	UCLA	6-1
FINAL	(1) LSU	(3) Southern Miss	LSU	6-4	ESPN3
FINAL	(2) Creighton	(3) Michigan	Creighton	11-7
FINAL	(1) Ole Miss	(4) Jacksonville State	Ole Miss	19-4	ESPN3
FINAL	(1) Mississippi State	(2) Miami	MSU	5-2	SECN
FINAL	(1) Texas Tech	(2) Dallas Baptist	TTU	3-0	ESPN3
FINAL	(1) Vanderbilt	(2) Indiana State	Vanderbilt	12-1

Heading to a Super Regional

— Florida State finished off a dominant 3-0 showing in the Athens Regional with a 10-1 win over Georgia, its second consecutive win over the hosting Bulldogs after beating them, 12-3, on Saturday night. Righthander Conor Grady set the tone on the mound by allowing just six hits and one run in seven innings of work, while the FSU offense got two-hit days from shortstop Mike Salvatore, outfielder Reese Albert, third baseman Drew Mendoza, and second baseman Nander De Sedas. The Seminoles just took a huge first step on the way to sending the retiring Mike Martin out on a high note in Omaha.

— From on the outside looking in for hosting a regional after the last weekend of the regular season to not only hosting a regional but sweeping through it 3-0, North Carolina has been on a tear the last two weeks. On Sunday, it clinched a spot in a super regional with a 5-2 win over Tennessee. Righthander Austin Bergner was outstanding, throwing seven innings, giving up four hits and two runs with three walks and eight strikeouts. That was enough to make the four-run UNC first inning stand up. 

— For the second day in a row, Texas Tech pitched its way to a win over Dallas Baptist. On Sunday, in a 3-0 win that advanced Texas Tech to a super regional, it was righthander Bryce Bonnin’s turn to lead the way. He started the game and threw seven innings, allowing three hits and two walks with seven strikeouts. Flame-throwing righty John McMillon came on after Bonnin and threw two clean innings, retiring five with strikeouts. The Red Raiders will be playing at home next weekend against the winner of the game between Oklahoma State and Connecticut on Monday. 

— After pulling off the impressive feat of beating Texas A&M’s John Doxakis and West Virginia’s Alek Manoah on back-to-back days, Duke finished off a 3-0 weekend in Morgantown with a 4-1 win over the Aggies. The Blue Devils got three runs in the first inning on a three-run homer off the bat of left fielder Kyle Gallagher. Little did they know that those runs would hold up, but they did thanks to a good team effort on the mound. After lefthander Bill Chillari scattered seven hits and gave up one run through 4.2 innings, the duo of Jack Carey and Matt Dockman combined to throw 4.1 scoreless innings on just two hits to close out the win. With the victory, Duke is in a super regional in back-to-back seasons, an incredible accomplishment for the once-dormant program. 

— With a 4-1 win over host Georgia Tech, Auburn advances out of the Atlanta Regional and will head to Chapel Hill to take on North Carolina in a super regional next weekend. With a pitching staff riddled with injuries, the Tigers have needed pitchers to step up in a lot of places this season, and lefty Bailey Horn was the latest to do so. He threw six innings against the Yellow Jackets, giving up two hits and no runs with one walk and four strikeouts. This will be back-to-back super regional appearances for Auburn after it took on Florida in this round last season. 

— With a 19-4 win over Jacksonville State, its second blowout win over the Gamecocks on the weekend, Mississippi finished off a 3-0 performance in the Oxford Regional and clinched a spot in its first super regional since 2014. Huge innings were the name of the game for Ole Miss, as a five-run third, six-run fourth, and a five-run sixth helped put JSU away decisively. 

— Mississippi State is heading to a home super regional next weekend after it wrapped up the Starkville Regional with a 5-2 win over Miami. A three-run fourth would end up being all of the run support MSU pitchers would need. Righty Peyton Plumlee got the start and threw five innings, allowing five hits and two runs, and a quartet of Bulldog relief pitchers combined to throw the final four frames in the win. 

— Thanks to a 12-1 win over Indiana State that was closer than the final score would lead you to believe, Vanderbilt will be playing at home next weekend in a super regional against Duke. The Commodores trailed the Sycamores 1-0 through four innings before tying it with a run in the fifth and taking the lead with a run in the sixth. From there, they ran away with the proceedings, putting up crooked numbers in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings to run away with the win. 

— For the second straight day, Arkansas pitched its way past Texas Christian. On Saturday, they did so thanks to righthander Isaiah Campbell outdoing TCU lefty Nick Lodolo. On Sunday, it was freshman lefty Patrick Wicklander stepping up. He threw five innings, giving up three hits and no runs with one walk and seven strikeouts. Offensively, DH Matt Goodheart had a big day, going 3-for-4 with a homer and two RBI. With the win, the Razorbacks move on to the super regionals, which they will play at home against Ole Miss. 

— Louisiana State is on to a super regional after a 6-4 win over Southern Mississippi. The Tigers jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead after two innings, but then they took a body blow from a very good USM offense, and suddenly the Golden Eagles were up 4-3. LSU responded, however, with three runs in the bottom of the seventh, including two on an RBI single by center fielder Zach Watson. The Tigers will now be hosting a super regional next weekend against a Florida State team that is absolutely on fire right now. 

Heading to Monday

— What a Sunday it was for Connecticut. After it blew out Nebraska 16-1 to advance to the final of the Oklahoma City Regional, it took down host Oklahoma State 5-2. The Cowboys got to starting righthander Jeff Kersten for two runs in two-plus innings, but the Huskies’ bullpen took over from there and shut down the OSU offense. A trio of UConn relief pitchers combined to throw seven shutout innings on four hits with 14 strikeouts, led by righty Jacob Wallace, who retired the final seven batters, all via strikeout, to notch his 16th save. 

— Louisville forced an extra game against Illinois State on Monday with an 11-2 win. If a team is going to come back to win two regional final games, it almost always has to be done with the help of a heroic pitching performance that saves the bullpen for game seven, and the Cardinals got that from righty Luke Smith. He threw 8.1 innings, giving up three hits and two runs with three walks and seven strikeouts on 129 pitches. That effort gives Louisville as close to a rested bullpen as possible given the circumstances, although the loss of Michael McAvene due to suspension after his ejection against Indiana will have to be overcome. 

— UCLA started its day by eliminating Baylor, and finished it by pushing the Los Angeles Regional to Monday with a 6-1 win over Loyola Marymount. Classic UCLA pitching did the trick against the Lions. Righthander Nick Nastrini threw five innings, allowing four hits and one run, and the relief duo of Nathan Hadley and Holden Powell combined to throw four scoreless frames to close out the win. These two teams will do it all over again on Monday for a spot in a super regional. 

— The Greenville Regional was always going to go to Monday because of the weather delays on Friday, but now we know who will be taking part. After a 9-8 win over Quinnipiac, Campbell is sitting pretty at 2-0. Meanwhile, ECU won two games on Sunday, one over North Carolina State and another over Quinnipiac to put themselves into the regional final. 

— Michigan had Creighton on the ropes. The Wolverines led 7-4 going to the ninth inning, putting them just three outs away from clinching a spot in a super regional. But the Bluejays had other ideas. They rallied for seven runs in that inning, capped by a two-RBI double off the bat of center fielder Will Hanafan, to take an 11-7 lead that they would not relinquish. These two teams will go at it again on Monday for a spot in a super regional. 

— Stanford battled back with two wins on Sunday to advanced to a seventh game of its home regional. First, it took care of Sacramento State 12-3. Then, it paid back Fresno State with an 8-6 victory. The Cardinal offense did an outstanding job of applying pressure early and often, as they scored runs in each of the first five innings. The Cardinal and Bulldogs will get together one more time on Monday to decide who moves on to the super regional round. 

 

Heading Home

— With a 9-2 loss to East Carolina, North Carolina State’s season came to an end. After being in the mix to host a regional late in the regular season, going 0-2 on the road was certainly not how the Wolfpack saw their postseason run playing out, but the margins are thin come the postseason and one bad weekend is all it takes. NC State ends its season 42-19. 

— Florida Atlantic historically has a knack for making runs through elimination games to advance to regional finals, but it wasn’t to be on Sunday, as the Owls dropped a 13-0 decision to Georgia, ending their season. FAU finishes its season 41-21, and is to be commended for its strong finish to the season, which pushed them into a regional. 

— Tennessee allowed Liberty to tie Sunday’s elimination game 5-5 in the bottom of the ninth, but the Volunteers came back out in the tenth and plated the winning run, ending the Flames’ season. All in all, it was a fantastic season for Liberty, as it went 43-21 overall and won the Atlantic Sun’s automatic bid in its first season in the league. 

— Indiana is heading home after a 9-7 loss to Louisville. The Hoosiers made a comeback after falling behind 6-0, scoring seven runs of their own in the final four innings, but the Cardinals continued to play add-on to keep them at bay. The loss ends a very successful first season for the program under Jeff Mercer, as IU finishes 37-23 with a Big Ten regular season title under its belt. 

— Coastal Carolina enjoyed a magical run through the Sun Belt Tournament to earn an unlikely regional appearance, and it had hope for a similar run in a regional, but the magic ran out on Sunday in a 10-8 loss to Georgia Tech that featured the Yellow Jackets getting to the CCU bullpen late in the game. The Chanticleers end the season 36-26-1. 

— After a heart-breaking loss to Oklahoma State late Saturday night, Nebraska came out today and got behind the eight ball against Connecticut early, eventually dropping the elimination game by a 16-1 score. The Huskers finished the season 32-24. 

— With a 12-3 loss to Stanford, Sacramento State has been eliminated from the Palo Alto Regional. The Hornets weren’t able to pull an upset in either of their two shots at the Cardinal in the regional, and they’ll be disappointed to be going home, but on the whole, 2019 was another big step for the program. With a 40-25 record and its third regional appearance in the last six seasons, Sacramento State has established itself as the most consistent program in the WAC. 

— Cincinnati pulled a huge upset on Friday night when it took down Oregon State, but it wasn’t able to add on to that win, and with a 6-1 loss to Creighton on Sunday, it was eliminated from the Corvallis Regional. Even with that being the case, by getting to the program’s first regional since 1974, it was a great season for the Bearcats. 

—Baylor gave UCLA a good shot, as it used a three-run second inning to take a 3-2 lead, but it couldn’t hold off the prolific Bruins offense on the way to dropping the elimination game 11-6. With a 35-19 record and a near-miss on a Big 12 regular season title, it was another quality season for the Bears. But it was also something of a last ride for this group. With the departures several seniors and draft-eligible juniors who are expected to move into pro ball, such as catcher Shea Langeliers, it will be a new-look Baylor Bears team in 2020. 

— Central Michigan was eliminated from the Starkville Regional with an 18-3 loss to Miami, but that shouldn’t be the lasting memory. Instead, this team should be remembered for what it accomplished in Jordan Bischel’s first year as head coach. A 47-14 overall record, 22-5 regular season mark in the MAC, a conference regular season and tournament title, and a 19-game winning streak at the end of the season are all huge jumping off points for this program moving forward. 

— Ohio State’s torrid run to end the season finally came to an end with a 10-5 defeat at the hands of Indiana State on Sunday. Still, for a team that was young in many places and suffered through its fair share of struggles, the run just to get into a regional should be celebrated and treated as good news for the immediate future of the program. The Buckeyes finish the season with a 36-27 record. 

— After falling behind 9-2 to Dallas Baptist, Florida made a run to get back into the game, but it ultimately fell short in a 9-8 loss to the Patriots. It was an up-and-down season unlike any other UF has had to face in recent years, but the run to finish the season and the young talent on the roster suggest that the Gators will be back as a force nationally very soon. The Gators wrapped up the season with a 34-26 record. 

— In just about every way, West Virginia’s 2019 season was a huge step forward for the program, given that it went 38-22 and hosted a regional for the first time in program history. But, at least for a little while, it might be hard to remember it that way, given the way it was eliminated by Texas A&M on Sunday. Up 9-1 going to the bottom of the seventh, A&M scored six runs to make it 9-7, and then after WVU pushed it to 10-7 heading to the bottom of the ninth, the Aggies got a walk-off grand slam from second baseman Bryce Blaum. 

— With a 13-12 loss to Southern Mississippi, Arizona State’s season came to an end in heartbreaking fashion. USM trailed 12-6 going to the bottom of the eighth, but it scored three runs in the eighth and four more in the ninth to walk off with a win over an ASU team that was simply running out of pitching. In a season that saw the Sun Devils get into a regional for the first time since 2016, they finished 38-19. 

— Clemson finished off a Jekyll and Hyde season with a 9-2 loss to Jacksonville State. A preseason top-25 team, the Tigers started hot before fading down the stretch. A big win over Illinois to begin the Oxford Regional provided hope that they could be ready to make a run, but now they’re headed home after a 1-2 weekend with a 35-26 overall record. 

— Central Connecticut State bowed out of the Fayetteville Regional with a 9-5 loss to Texas Christian, but the 2019 season was nothing but positive for the Blue Devils. They finished 31-23, and with a win over California on Saturday, collected the program’s first-ever victory in NCAA Tournament play.