June 6, 2009

White Pitches Carolina Past Pirates In Opener

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) - Mike Fox walked to the mound in the ninth inning to pull starter Alex White after a terrific performance from North Carolina's ace. He just wasn't quite prepared for White's reaction.

"Thanks," White told him. "I really needed this."

White struck out a career-high 12 batters for his first win in six weeks as the Tar Heels beat East Carolina 10-1 to open their NCAA super regional series Saturday. It was a big day for the junior right-hander, who also earned his sixth career NCAA victory to become the program's winningest postseason pitcher and became just the second Tar Heel to amass 300 career strikeouts.

Kyle Seager had four hits and a home run for the Tar Heels (46-16), the No. 4 national seed. North Carolina went ahead with a pair of runs in the third inning, then blew the game open with seven more in the sixth and can clinch another trip to Omaha by beating the Pirates (46-19) again Sunday in the best-of-three series.

White (8-4) went 8 1/3 innings and threw 128 pitches Saturday before leaving the game to a standing ovation from the Tar Heel fans. It might be his last start at Boshamer Stadium since White is projected by many to be a first-round pick in Tuesday's amateur draft.

Cavaliers Turn Tables vs. Ole Miss, Rally to Win Game 2

OXFORD, Miss. - Trailing Ole Miss 3-2 in the eighth inning, the Virginia baseball team rallied to score two in the inning and then held on in a tense ninth inning to record a 4-3 win over the Rebels Saturday in front of a raucous stadium-record crowd of 10,323 at Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field in the NCAA Oxford Super Regional.

The super regional is now tied at a game apiece. The deciding third game will be played at 3 p.m. ET Sunday on ESPN. The winner of the game will earn a berth in the College World Series. UVa is seeking its first CWS berth, while Ole Miss is aiming for its first bid since 1972. UVa won a coin flip and will be the designated home team Sunday, as it was on Saturday.

Andrew Carraway (Sr., Marietta, Ga.) earned the win on the mound with 3.1 scoreless innings of relief and improved to 8-1 this year. Matt Packer (Jr., Germantown, Tenn.) came on with a runner at third and one out in the ninth and held the Rebels at bay to earn his third save.

Phil Gosselin (So., West Chester, Pa.) and Danny Hultzen (Fr., Bethesda, Md.) each recorded a pair of hits for Virginia. Gosselin also stole two bases and finished with 21 this year - tied for eighth most in a single season in UVa history. The Cavaliers had their running game in full gear with five stolen bases. Barr added a pair of RBI as well as a stolen base.

#2 Sun Devils Outlast #13 Tigers 7-4 in Tempe Super Regional Opener Saturday

Matt Newman's two-out double in the seventh inning plated the go-ahead run and #2 Arizona State outlasted #13 Clemson 7-4 in the first game of the Tempe Super Regional in front of 4,381 fans at Packard Stadium on Saturday night. The Sun Devils took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series and improved to 48-12 on the season. The Tigers, who were playing their first-ever game at Arizona State, dropped to 44-21.

Sun Devil starter Mike Leake (16-1) added to his national lead in victories. In 8.0 innings pitched, the righthander allowed a season-high-tying eight hits, a season-high four runs (three earned), and one walk with seven strikeouts. Mitchell Lambson pitched a scoreless ninth inning to record his fifth save of the season. Tiger reliever Graham Stoneburner (7-4) suffered the loss, as he yielded three runs on four hits in 2.0 innings pitched.

Every Arizona State starter had at least one hit, including three apiece by Maggi and Ramirez. Maggi added two runs, while Ramirez had three RBIs. Each of the last six runs scored by the Sun Devils, who outhit Clemson 14-9, came with two outs.

Epps paced Clemson by going 2-for-5 with three RBIs. Miller, Nester, and Sanders all had two hits apiece as well.

FSU Falls To Arkansas On Walk-Off Hit In The Ninth

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Baseball is a game filled with its highs and lows and that was on display in full force Saturday afternoon as Florida State (45-18) saw its season come to a close on a two-run, walk-off double by Arkansas (39-22) in the bottom of the ninth as the Razorbacks went on to defeat the Seminoles 9-8 on Mike Martin Field inside Dick Howser Stadium. Razorback left fielder Andrew Darr came through with the game-winning hit advancing Arkansas to the College World Series for the sixth time in school history.

Trailing by two in the top of the ninth, the Seminoles were down to the their final out before putting together a two-out rally scoring three times off Arkansas closer Stephen Richards (6-1) to take an 8-7 lead. Stephen Cardullo tied the game with a two-run single through the left side scoring Sherman Johnson and Tyler Holt. After a walk to Mike McGee, Jason Stidham gave the Seminoles the lead on a single to left scoring Cardullo from second. Holt started the two-out rally lacing a double to right.

In the bottom of the ninth, reliever Jack Posey (0-1) got Andy Wilkins to fly out to Cardullo in short center for out number one. But then a walk to Bo Bigham and a single to Zack Cox lead to the walk-off double to the gap in left center by Darr to give Arkansas the come-from-behind victory.

Holt finished the afternoon 3-for-5 with two doubles and a single, while Cardullo and McGee drove in three runs a piece. Holt finished the NCAA Tournament hitting .522 (12-for-23) in five games with six doubles and 11 RBI.