June 1, 2009

Cavaliers Capture First Regional Crown, Top No. 1 UC Irvine
The Virginia baseball team earned its first-ever NCAA Regional championship as the seventh-ranked Cavaliers defeated No. 1 UC Irvine, 4-1, Sunday night in the championship game of the 2009 NCAA Irvine Regional at Anteater Ballpark in Irvine, Calif. With their second win over the Anteaters, the No. 6 national seed, in as many nights, the second-seeded Cavaliers earn a berth in the NCAA Super Regionals next weekend.

In the regional, Virginia was strong in all phases of the game. The pitching staff dominated, allowing just two earned runs and 20 hits in 27 innings. The defense was flawless and did not commit an error – punctuated by two sensational defensive plays in the ninth inning Sunday. The Cavaliers did not trail at any point in their three regional games as they pushed their overall winning streak to eight.

Andrew Carraway (Sr., Marietta, Ga.) put up UVa’s third straight strong starting pitching performance in the regional. Carraway (7-1) worked seven innings, giving up just one earned run, four hits and one walk while fanning three. Kevin Arico (So., Flemington, N.J.) retired the final six batters in order to pick up his 11th save of the season.

Franco Valdes (Jr., Miami, Fla.) went 2-for-4 with a pair of run scoring hits (double, triple). He went 5-for-11 in the regional and was named the Irvine Regional Most Outstanding Player. He was joined on the All-Regional Team by third baseman Steven Proscia (Fr., Suffern, N.Y.), outfielder Jarrett Parker (So., Stafford, Va.), DH Phil Gosselin (So., West Chester, Pa.) and pitcher Danny Hultzen (Fr., Bethesda, Md.).

Florida State Advances To Super Regionals With 37-6 Victory Over Ohio State
Florida State (45-16) advanced to the Super Regional for the second year in a row and for the ninth time in school history with a 37-6 victory over Ohio State (42-19) Sunday afternoon on Mike Martin Field inside Dick Howser Stadium. The Seminoles set four school records and five NCAA Tournament records in the win over the Buckeyes.

Florida State set school records for runs (37), hits (38), doubles (15) and total bases (66), while the four above mentioned records plus the 51 combined hits by both teams set NCAA Tournament single-game records. The Seminoles also tied a school record for RBI (34) and most combined runs by two teams with 43.

The 15 doubles by the Seminoles also eclipsed the NCAA single-game record of 13 held by three different teams. The previous school record was nine doubles set against Duke back on March 10, 2000. Florida State surpassed the school record with its 10th double of the game when Stephen Cardullo hit a one out double to right center in the third. Cardullo and Stidham each tallied three doubles in the win. 

Seniors Send Tar Heels To Fourth Straight Regional Title
The bat of senior Garrett Gore and the right arm of classmate Adam Warren helped No. 4 national seed North Carolina claim its fourth straight regional title with a 12-1 win over Kansas Sunday in the finale of the NCAA Chapel Hill Regional at Boshamer Stadium. Gore homered twice and drove in a career-high five runs, and Warren struck out eight over 6 2/3 shutout innings.

The Tar Heels (45-16) and their senior class of improved to 12-0 in NCAA regional play over the past four seasons and ran their win total to an NCAA-best 210 victories from 2006-09, also the most wins in a four-year period in school history.

Carolina will face the winner of the NCAA Greenville (N.C.) Regional in a best-of-three Super Regional series beginning either Friday or Saturday. The NCAA will officially announce the host sites Monday at approximately 11 p.m.

Tech Defeats Southern Miss, 10-3, in NCAA Atlanta Regional
Georgia Tech belted three home runs in the first two innings to jump ahead, while Andrew Robinson and Thomas Nichols combined to scatter nine hits and lift the 13th-ranked Yellow Jackets to a 10-3 victory over Southern Miss Sunday night in the NCAA Atlanta Regional at Russ Chandler Stadium.

The win by Tech (37-18-1) forced a second championship game against USM (37-24) Monday night at 7 p.m. The winner of that game advances to a super regional next week against Florida, the winner of the regional in Gainesville, Fla.

The Yellow Jackets can advance to their sixth super regional with a win Monday night. The Golden Eagles are attempting to win their first regional title, having lost in the championship round on three previous occasions. Tech, which improved to 3-6 in elimination games in NCAA regionals since 2000 (21-19 all-time), are 1-1 in "if necessary" games, and is attempting to win a regional out of the loser's bracket for the first time. 

Tech Eliminates Elon, 8-4, in NCAA Atlanta Regional
Freshman Mark Pope pitched five innings of shutout relief to preserve the win, and Georgia Tech made its seven-run second inning standup as the 13th-ranked Yellow Jackets eliminated Elon, 8-4, Sunday afternoon in the NCAA Atlanta Regional baseball tournament at Russ Chandler Stadium.

Tech (37-18-1) advanced to Sunday night's championship game against Southern Miss (37-23), which defeated the Jackets, 10-7, Saturday night. The Golden Eagles can win the regional with a victory, while Tech, which has made the championship round in each of its last five regional appearances, must beat USM twice to win the tournament.

The Yellow Jackets improved to 2-6 in elimination games in NCAA regionals since 2000 (20-19 all-time), and are attempting to win a regional out of the loser's bracket for the first time. 

#14 Clemson Tops Oklahoma State 15-1 Sunday Night to Force Championship Game Monday Night
The Clemson Tigers, who had to win twice Sunday just to stay in the tournament, look like the fresher team for Monday's championship game of the Clemson Regional.

Freshman lefthander Chris Dwyer pitched 8 2/3 innings, striking out 13 and allowing only six hits as the top-seeded Tigers routed Oklahoma State 15-1 Sunday night.

The two teams, which each have one loss in the double-elimination tournament, will play for a spot in Super Regionals Monday night. 

#14 Tigers Blank Tennessee Tech 10-0 Sunday to Stay Alive in Clemson Regional
With his team's season on the line, Clemson pitcher Scott Weismann answered a surprise call from his coach with a sterling performance Sunday in the Tigers' 10-0 victory over Tennessee Tech in an elimination game at the Clemson Regional.

The freshman right-hander pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing only four hits, to help the top-seeded the Tigers (42-20) make short work of the Golden Eagles (31-24-1) on a long day for the host team. The Tigers play Oklahoma State (34-22) tonight in the championship round.

Weismann, who averaged almost one strikeout per inning in 16 previous appearances, struck out only two, relying on his defense in only his third start of the season. 

Gutierrez's Complete Game Shutout Keeps Miami Alive, 4-0
Junior right-hander David Gutierrez tossed a complete game shutout as No. 2 seed Miami advanced to the NCAA Gainesville Regional Championship Game with a 4-0 win over third-seeded Jacksonville Sunday afternoon at McKethan Stadium.

Miami (38-21) will now face No. 1 seed Florida Sunday night at 6:30 p.m. If the Hurricanes win Sunday night against the Gators, UM and UF will play again on Monday to decide the Regional Championship. Sunday night's game will be televised live on Sun Sports.

Gutierrez (4-6) set career-highs in innings pitched and strikeouts. He scattered seven hits and struck out eight while walking just two. He didn't allow a baserunner past second base the final eight innings. The complete game shutout was the first for the Hurricanes since Cesar Carillo accomplished the feat on March 31, 2005 against Oral Roberts.

Miami's Run Ends With a 16-5 Loss to Top-Seeded Florida
The University of Miami baseball team's 2009 season came to a close Sunday night with a 16-5 loss to top-seeded Florida in the championship game of the NCAA Gainesville Regional at McKethan Stadium.

The second-seeded Hurricanes close out the season with an overall mark of 38-22 while Florida improves to 42-20 and advances to next weekend's Super Regional round.

Miami fell behind 5-0 in the top of the first and was never able to recover. UM responded with a run in the bottom of the first but the Gators scored one in the second, another in the third and seven in the fifth before pulling away for the 11-run win.

Boston College’s Run Ends With 4-3 Loss To Army
The Boston College baseball team battled for nine more innings after a seven hour marathon on Saturday night, but Army came away with a 4-3 win on Sunday afternoon in front of 4,869 fans at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.

The loss ends the season for the Eagles, who finished with a record of 34-26 and advanced to its first NCAA Championship since 1967.

Sophomore Matt Hamlet went 3-for-5 in the game while four other players had two this apiece. Juniors Robbie Anston, Tony Sanchez and John Spatola drove in BC's three runs. Sanchez and Spatola both had two hits while Spatola recorded a double.