Conference USA recap for April 27-29

UCF completed its first-ever sweep of a Conference USA series with its 8-4 win over Tulane on Sunday. The Knights posted a season-high 15 hits in Sunday’s contest, which followed a pair of one-run victories (7-6 on Saturday and 4-3 on Friday) over the Green Wave earlier in the series.

Rice also completed a three-game sweep, taking all three against UAB in Birmingham. The Owls, who allowed a total of just six runs in the series, have now won 10 games in a row. At 16-2 in league play, Rice has a 4 ½ game lead over second place Houston with two conference series left to play.

For the first time since joining C-USA last season, Marshall has posted back-to-back series wins in league play. The Thundering Herd took two-of-three from Houston, notching double-digit runs in both wins (10-4 on Sunday and 12-4 on Friday).

Southern Miss took the first two games of its series at East Carolina, before the Pirates captured the finale on Sunday. The win on Sunday allowed ECU to stay in sole possession of fourth place in the league standings.

Third place Memphis was idle this weekend.

Conference USA heads into the final three weeks of the regular season only Rice having clinched a berth in the conference tournament, May 23-27 in Greenville, N.C. A total of only six games separate the league’s ninth place team from the league’s second place squad.

*****

Southern Miss pitcher Barry Bowden has been named Conference USA Pitcher of the Week.
The junior right-hander threw he first nine-inning complete game of his career in a 5-1 win over East Carolina on. He allowed one run on four hits while striking out seven without a walk.
Bowden (5-3) retired 17 of the final 19 batters he faced. He is on a four-game C-USA winning streak.

Central Florida designated hitter Matt Horwath was named Hitter of the Week.
The senior was 11-for-16 (.688) in four games. He hit a home run, four doubles, the first two triples of his career and three RBIs. Horwath also scored eight runs.

Playoffs in sight for UMass with sweep

The University of Massachusetts headed to Dayton Ohio this weekend to take on the Dayton Flyers in a key Atlantic 10 showdown. The Minutemen were able to get a key sweep to get them back into the hunt for a spot in the Atlantic 10 tournament. The CBB will be heading to the final game of the UMass-Richmond series this upcoming weekend and will have a full report.

Umass sweeps Dayton from Massachusetts Daily Collegian

Maxie to Southern Miss

Kyle Maxie, formerly of Florida State, is officially transferring to Southern Mississippi next season where he is expected to compete for the starting catcher’s job with the Golden Eagles. The full story is available here.

College of Charleston completes sweep

The College of Charleston completed the sweep of cross-town rival The Citadel on Sunday by a 10-4 scoreline. The Cougars were led by Oliver Marmol, Ben Lasater, and Graham Maiden each homered and Michael Bunton pitched five strong innings while giving up four runs to head to 4-0 on the season. The Citadel starter Chris McGuiness gave up seven runs 4.1 innings to drop his record to 2-1 on the season.

College of Charleston Recap
The Citadel Recap

ACC Recap for April 29th

Miami 7 FSU 1

The Miami Hurricanes were able to salvage the final game of their series with Florida State by knocking them off 7-1. Eric Erickson pitched six strong innings while only giving up one run on six hits to up his record to 6-3. Florida State starter Danny Rosen took over the number 3 starter role this weekend and only provided four innings while allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits and four walks. Rosen’s record drops to 1-1 on the season. Dennis Raben led the Hurricanes offense by going 3-3 with two RBI and a run scored. Blake Tekotte and Jemile Weeks also picked up two hits for the Canes. Tony Thomas Jr. led the Noles with two hits in his three at bats to continue his strong hitting. FSU returns to action May 4th when they play at Maryland while Miami heads out of conference when they host Wright State.

Miami Recap
FSU Recap

UNC 7 NC State 5

Reid Fronk hit two huge home runs in the game with a game typing homer in the seventh inning and a two run homer in the eighth which took the lead for the Tar Heels. He lead the Tar Heels to the 7-5 victory over intrastate rivals NC State in ACC action Sunday. UNC reliever Matt Danford pitched two innings of shutout baseball to pick up the win and go to 3-0 on the season. Andrew Carignan pitched a perfect 1.1 innings to get his tenth save on the season. NC State Andrew Taylor pitched 0.2 innings in relief while letting up one run to drop his record to 2-2. UNC will be off for finals and will be back in action on May 8th when they head to Elon. NC State will play Campbell for two games Friday and Saturday.

UNC Recap
NC State Recap

Virginia 4 Maryland 0

The Virginia Cavaliers shutout the Maryland Terrapins for the second time this weekend 4-0 behind a strong pitching performance from Sean Doolittle who pitched six shutout innings while only allowing four hits. Andrew Carraway pitched two perfect innings in relief with Casey Lambert pitching a one-hit ninth inning to close the game. Ryan Moorer of Maryland was equally impressive as he gave up two unearned runs in 6.1 innings on seven hits. Virginia will play host to VCU on May 1st while Maryland is hosting Towson the same day.

UVA Recap
Maryland Recap

Georgia Tech 6 Clemson 3

The Yellow Jackets got two hits from Wally Crancer including an RBI and Ryan Turner was able to pitch 5.2 innings while giving up two runs to salvage the final game of the series with Clemson by a score of 6-3. Turner’s record is now 4-3 while Brad Rulon got the save which is his second of the season. Ryan Hinson picked up the loss by pitching 3.2 innings while giving up four runs (one earned) to put his record at 4-2. Doug Hogan went 3-3 in the loss with two walks. GT will be back on the field on Saturday when they head out of conference to visit South Florida while Clemson will be back in action also on Saturday when Boston College visits.

GT Recap
Clemson Recap
Anderson Independent Mail Game Recap
Anderson Independent Mail Article on Clemson’s Season

Wake Forest 8 Duke 2

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons completed the sweep of the Duke Blue Devils 8-2. The win puts Wake Forest in a virtual tie with Boston College for the final spot in the ACC tournament and both schools are now one game behind Miami. Wake Forest received 6.1 innings of strong pitching from Ben Hunter who was an emergency starter due to elbow pain from normal weekend starter Charlie Mellies. The Wake offense was led by Willy Fox and Dustin Hood who each went 2-4. Duke starter Jonathan Anderson suffered the loss by giving up four runs in six innings to put his record at 3-3. Wake Forest will be back in action on Wednesday when they visit UNC-Greensboro while Duke will be off until May 9th when they also take on UNC-Greensboro.

Wake Forest Recap
Duke Recap

BC 3 Virginia Tech 2

The CBB visited this game and the full post is available here.

The CBB checks in on BC-VT

The College Baseball Blog after moving all day Saturday made a trip into Chestnut Hill to check out the rubber game of the Boston College and Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech scored in the first inning on a double steal with two outs to jump out to a 1-0 lead. Boston College responded right away by getting a bases scoring single from Tony Sanchez to tie the game at 1. Virginia Tech then responded with a solo home run in the third inning from Matt Hacker. Boston College got to Hokie starter Adam Redd for two runs in the fourth inning by getting back to back doubles by Johnny Ayers and Eric Campbell to start the inning. Sanchez then sacrificed Campbell to third and was driven in by Mike Augustine on a single up the middle. Both pitchers would settle down with Terry Doyle in command the rest of the game to finish with a complete game while only allowing two runs on eleven hits and eight strikeouts. Eric Campbell made two spectacular plays in the game. The first play occurred with two outs in the fifth inning and Sean O’Brien on second. Bryan Thomas hit a shot to third baseman Campbell who dove to his right to make the stop and made a fake throw to first base and O’Brien overran third base giving Campbell a chance to run over to the base and block O’Brien from getting back. The second play happened with two outs in the top of the ninth with the tying run in Luke Padgett on second base. Matt Foley (no relation) hit a shot to Campbell’s left in which he dove and threw him out at first by a step.

The Boston College Athletic Department needs to get information out to the general community better because of the face that my staff was under the impression that the game was going to start at 1 pm but began at noon thus making us miss the first two innings. I also have read the recap and it states that Doyle pitched his second complete game in his last two outings which is not true since Doyle only pitched nine innings in an extra inning game.

BC Recap
Virginia Tech Recap

Moldenhauer’s grand slam lifts Texas to win, 7-2!

Russell Moldenhauer hit a grand slam during a five-run fifth-inning outburst as Texas beat Oklahoma State 7-2 on Saturday, the Longhorns’ second win in as many games in a key Big 12 Conference baseball series.

First-place Texas (36-12, 16-4 Big 12) entered the three-game series at Oklahoma State (31-12, 10-7) with a one-game lead over the Cowboys in the loss column. The loss dropped Oklahoma State one game behind Missouri in the league standings.

Corey Brown’s team-leading 17th home run of the season, which followed a single by Ty Wright, gave Oklahoma State a 2-0 lead in the first inning, but the Cowboys managed only five hits after that.

Texas’ Preston Clark tied the game in the fourth inning with a two-run home run off Oliver Odle (4-4).

In the fifth, Moldenhauer hit his grand slam off reliever Tyler Lyons, and Nick Peoples followed with a solo homer, putting the Longhorns ahead 7-2.

Texas starter Adrian Alaniz (11-2) allowed seven hits, walked four and struck out six in 6 1/3 innings.

Oklahoma State loaded the bases with one out in the seventh, but Joseph Krebs relieved Alaniz and struck out Brown and Tyler Mach to end the threat.

Texas Recap

Texas.Scout.com

OSU Recap

No. 5 Texas takes series opener against Oklahoma State, 3-2

They couldn’t bunt or sacrifice runners over.

They walked too many batters (six) early in the game.

They didn’t run the bases well.

The Texas Longhorns did everything in their power early on to help Oklahoma State pull closer in the Big 12 baseball standings.

They overcame it, though.

The Longhorns strengthened their grip on first place in the conference thanks to great relief performances by pitchers Joseph Krebs and Randy Boone, who recorded the final out with the tying run on third base as Texas pulled out a 3-2 victory over Oklahoma State on Friday at Reynolds Stadium.

“This was one of the most competitive games we’ve had this season,” said Texas coach Augie Garrido, whose team has a 3 1/2-game lead in the Big 12. “Both teams made mistakes, us with bunting and sacrificing, them with baserunning.”

The Cowboys’ most costly baserunning blunder came in the ninth, after Boone, who picked up his 11th save, walked the leadoff hitter.

After Texas forced out the lead runner at second on an attempted sacrifice, Cowboys leadoff hitter Keanon Simon singled on a ball under first baseman Chance Wheeless’ glove. OSU’s Martin Beno moved to third on the play.

But Simon, looking to head to second on Kyle Russell’s throw to third base, became caught in a rundown, and the Longhorns executed it perfectly, with Travis Tucker finally tagging out Simon.

“That was something we’ve practiced for maybe 10 minutes this season, and it paid off because everybody executed it perfectly,” Wheeless said.

Boone retired Ty Wright on a groundout to short to end the game.

Texas (35-12, 15-4 Big 12) took the lead in the seventh inning thanks to Nick Peoples, who led off with a triple.

After Clark walked, Cowboys relief pitcher Justin Friend was called for a balk, giving Texas the lead as Peoples scored and Clark advanced to second.

It was a lucky break for the Longhorns, who struggled to score. Tucker was picked off first base in the sixth, and twice Longhorn runners were doubled up.

“It was a championship-type game,” Garrido said, “and we were able to overcome those things.”

Texas fell behind in the fifth inning, when starter James Russell walked two batters and plunked another, which led to two OSU runs. The Longhorns fought back as Russell Moldenhauer put them on the board in the fifth inning, slamming a 1-1 pitch over the right-field fence.

He crossed home plate screaming, “Let’s go! Let’s go.”

Texas added another run in the sixth inning, as Wheeless drilled a ball to the same spot, tying the game at 2.

The Cowboys (31-11, 10-6) threatened in the sixth inning, when reliever Pat McCrory came in and walked two batters, who were sacrificed to second and third on a bunt.

After McCrory came up with a big strikeout of pinch hitter Steve Ptak, Krebs entered the game and struck out Keanon Simon to end the inning. Krebs (6-0) struck out two more in the seventh and another in the eighth, pitching a perfect 1 2/3 innings.

“That’s not going to happen too often,” Krebs said of the strikeouts. “They were just swinging at a lot of pitches.”

When Krebs left, Boone took over, striking out the final two batters in the eighth and finishing it off in the ninth

“Any close game is going to be good for relievers,” Texas pitching coach Skip Johnson said. “Our bullpen did a great job coming into a tough atmosphere. That’s really going to help down the road.”

OSU Recap

Texas.scout.com

Texas Recap

College of Charleston wins 7-2 over The Citadel

Nick Chigges (8-0) threw eight strong innings while giving up only five hits to lead the College of Charleston to a 7-2 victory over The Citadel. College of Charleston was led on offense by Stuart Haywood who went 2-5 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored. The Cougars took advantage of five Bulldogs errors to score three unearned runs. Wes Wrenn got the loss for the Bulldogs to drop his record to 3-5.

College of Charleston Recap
The Citadel Recap

ACC Recap for April 27th

Florida State 7 Miami 6

The Florida State Seminoles scored four runs in the ninth to pick up a come from behind victory over Miami 7-6 in a key ACC series. FSU got to Dennis Raben for three runs in his 1/3 inning of work. FSU was led by Tony Thomas Jr. who went 2-5 with 2 RBI including a two run homer in the ninth that tied the game and was followed by Mark Hallberg who hit the tie-breaking homer as the next batter. Miami’s leading offensive player was Roger Tomas who picked up three hits in his four at bats including two runs scored.

FSU Recap
Miami Recap

NC State 11 UNC 1

The NC State Wolfpack jumped all over starter Robert Woodard for eight runs in 4.1 innings to cruise to a 11-1 victory over UNC. Marcus Jones led the Wolfpack by driving in five runs including a grand slam in the second inning. Eric Surkamp scattered eight hits in seven strong innings to up his record to 4-2.

NC State Recap
UNC Recap

UVA 14 Maryland 0

Jacob Thompson pitched a complete game four hitter to up his record to 10-0. The Cavalier offensive stars were Brandon Marsh and Jeremy Farrell who each got four hits. Kevin Biringer got the loss to drop his record to 3-9.

UVA Recap
Maryland Recap

Clemson 3 Georgia Tech 2 (11 innings)

The Clemson Tigers got a walk-off homer from junior catcher Doug Hogan off of Matt Wieters in the bottom of the eleventh to walk off with a 3-2 victory over Georgia Tech.

Clemson Recap
GT Recap

Wake Forest 13 Duke 6

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons picked up a key ACC victory over Duke 13-6. The Deacons scored six runs in the first and sixth innings to get the victory. Allan Dykstra, Willy Fox, Dustin Hood, and Brett Linnenkohl all had three hits in the winning effort.

Wake Forest Recap
Duke Recap

Virginia Tech at BC

The game was postponed due to rain and the teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday and a single game on Sunday.

BC Recap
VT Recap