BA - Friday Roundup: Hurricanes Rally Past Tar Heels
CHAPEL HILL, N.C.-It wasn't easy to hear Willie Abreu, huddled up in the opposing dugout, as Friday night fireworks rocketed into the sky.
Just moments before, Abreu had fueled Miami's own explosion, hitting a two-run, game-tying single off of North Carolina closer Trent Thornton in the ninth, then coming around to score what became the winning run on a single by nine-hole hitter Johnny Ruiz.
Just like that, the Hurricanes spoiled the post-game Boshamer Stadium fireworks show, stealing a 4-3 win from the Tar Heels.
"At the University of Miami, we always pride ourselves on having that swagger and that confidence, especially in tight games," said Abreu over the fireworks. "In that situation, we just continued to battle . . . we have that confidence that we're going to get it done."
The game took a few twists and turns throughout the evening. In the first inning, two-hole hitter Ricky Eusebio pulled a solo home run over the left field wall off of UNC sophomore righthander Zac Gallen to give Miami an early lead. From there, however, Gallen settled down to deliver a stellar outing (7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K). At one point, Gallen retired 16 in a row, commanding his cutter along with a 90-92 mph fastball.
But Miami junior lefthander Thomas Woodrey (6.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K) matched him for most of the way, dazzling UNC hitters with his offspeed stuff for six scoreless innings. He entered the seventh having thrown only 65 pitches, but after the umpire ruled Miami's first baseman took his foot off the base on a Skye Bolt sacrifice bunt, the inning unraveled. UNC tied the score with an RBI groundout from Tyler Ramirez, and junior catcher Korey Dunbar sent a 72 mph changeup over the wall in center field for a two-run shot.
"It was more hats off to them," Woodrey said. "I thought the home run was on a good pitch. They're a great team. They battled the whole way, and they made their adjustments that inning."
But Miami was able to battle back against Thornton in the ninth, whom UNC head coach Mike Fox said the Tar Heels need to get back on track.
"He's not the same Trent Thornton," he said. "That's pretty evident . . . He would admit that."
For Miami, the win stopped a two-game skid.
"I thought it was a great game, first of all. We played well, they played well, and we did a great job of coming back," head coach Jim Morris siad. "That's probably what I'm most proud of, that we battled back there to get the last couple of runs."
Top 25 Showdowns
(17) Houston at (6) Central Florida: In the highly anticipated American Athletic Conference opener between the league's top teams, UCF came out on top, 9-2. Star freshman righthander Cre Finfrock (7 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K) outdueled Andrew Lantrip (2.2 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 1 K) as balls flew out of the ballpark. Juco transfer Chris Iriart and shortstop Connor Wong both homered for Houston, while the Knights homered four times-from freshman Kyle Marsh, Tommy Williams and twice from JoMarcos Woods-to push Finfrock to 6-0 on the season.
"We talk a lot about responding when another team scores. Tonight, they hit homers in each of the first two innings," assistant coach Kevin Schnall told ucfknights.com. "In both innings, we responded and that is a big way for our offense to help out our pitching staff. We are one team and it all started with Cre."
Top 25 Upsets
Kentucky at (1) Louisiana State: The Wildcats dealt the Tigers just their fourth loss of the season in a wild 5-4 12-inning win. Two big innings derailed LSU's efforts. After cruising through six scoreless, lefthander Jared Poche' (6.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 3 K) allowed three runs to come across in the seventh to tie, then closer Jesse Stallings allowed the game-winning two-run double to left fielder Ka'ai Tom in the top of the 12th. LSU had a chance to come back in the bottom half of the 12th, as the first two batters in the inning reached base on Kentucky errors. Jake Fraley hit a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to one, but Jared Foster grounded out to end the game with the tying run on third base.
"This was one of the most frustrating games I've ever coached, because we made mistakes that we don't usually make," coach Paul Mainieri told lsusports.net. "That falls back on coaching-it's my responsibility to make sure we don't make those kind of mistakes, and I have to make sure the players understand how to correct them and are prepared to execute the right way. Kentucky has a good ball club, so we have to brush this game off and look forward to tomorrow for a chance to even the series."
Alabama at (4) Florida: The first game was a nightmare, but the second was a dream. The Gators dropped the first game of a Friday doubleheader with Alabama, 12-9, in 10 topsy-turvy innings. Florida jumped out to 4-1 lead, but the Crimson Tide came surging back with a seven-run seventh. The Gators responded with three runs in the seventh-two from a Harrison Bader home run-and two runs in the eighth, but Alabama scratched across three runs against Taylor Lewis in the 10th to seal a win. After using eight pitchers in that game, Florida needed just righthander Logan Shore (9 IP, 10 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K) in the nightcap, cruising to an 8-1 win.
"I think that is the best start Logan has had all year," head coach Kevin O'Sullivan told gatorzone.com. "We needed an outing like that because we used a lot of our pitchers in the first game. He delivered. Moving forward into tomorrow and next week, I feel really good about where Logan is. We have been waiting for him to have a start like that. He delivered and did exactly what we needed him to do for us, for himself and for our team."
(8) Southern California at Washington: The Trojans jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the third on a Bobby Stahel RBI single, but they couldn't hold it. The Huskies put up five runs against starter Brent Wheatley (5.1 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 2 K) with the big blow being a three-run home run from shortstop Chris Baker in the sixth. Washington righthander Noah Bremer (6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 0 K) continued his excellent freshman campaign, holding the Trojans at bay after they struck for a run in the third.
Virginia Tech at (10) Florida State: The Hokies have proven to be a tough matchup in ACC play, sweeping Virginia two weeks ago and taking Friday's game against another top-10 opponent in Florida State. Sean Keselica (7 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 9 K) was once again dominant for Virginia Tech, outpitching FSU sophomore Boomer Biegalski (6.1 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 5 K) in an 8-3 Hokies win. Catcher Danny De La Calle homered and Chris Marconcini and D.J. Stewart each drove in a run, but that was all the Seminoles could manage against Keselica and the Hokies.
Long Beach State at (16) UC Santa Barbara: There's not much more Dillon Tate (9 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 19 K) could've done Friday night. The junior righthanded draft prospect delivered one of his finest outings of the season, yet he came out on the losing end as Long Beach State starter Kyle Friedrichs (9 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 13 K) was just a tad better. Rubbing salt in the wound is that the Dirtbags scored both of their runs courtesy of UCSB errors.
Kansas at (18) Texas Tech: Big 12 play has not treated the Red Raiders well so far. Texas Tech lost two of three to Oklahoma to open the conference slate, and the Red Raiders lost their opener against Kansas, 7-4, on Friday, losing their fourth straight game overall. The Jayhawks peppered sophomore righthander Ryan Moseley (4.1 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K) and added two more runs against reliever Parker Mushinski. The Red Raiders flirted with a comeback, scoring three runs in the fifth on an RBI single by DH Cory Raley and a two-run single from rightfielder Quinn Carpenter, but they couldn't add more.
(19) Texas at Nebraska: Righthander Parker French (4.1 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 3 K) traded zeroes with Nebraska's Chance Sinclair (7.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K) through the first four innings, but the Cornhuskers were able to burn French for three runs in the fifth to put themselves on track for a 3-1 win. The Longhorns simply couldn't solve Sinclair, tallying just two hits against him and scoring their only run of the game on an eighth-inning sacrifice fly by Zane Gurwitz.
(22) Oregon at Arizona: The Ducks came into the weekend having lost back-to-back weekend series, and they're not off to a good start this weekend, either. Oregon committed five errors and stranded 11 men on base to fall to the Wildcats, 7-2. Conor Harber (5.1 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 K) was the victim of shoddy defensive support in his first loss of the season. First baseman Brandon Cuddy and rightfielder Jakob Goldfarb each tallied three hits, but Oregon could do little with the 11 hits it put up.
Kansas State at (23) Oklahoma State: The Cowboys' seven-game winning streak came to an end at the hands of Kansas State. K-State set the tone with a Shane Conlon solo home run in the top of the first off of righthander Jon Perrin (4.1 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 6 K) and continued to apply pressure in a 4-2 win. Conor Costello homered and Garrett McCain doubled to supply the only scoring for Oklahoma State.
(24) Indiana at Iowa: Junior righthander Tyler Peyton (9 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K) was excellent for the surging Hawkeyes, dealing Indiana its first shutout in 76 games. Junior lefthander Caleb Baragar (7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K) was the tough-luck loser in the 2-0 defeat. The Hawkeyes scored one run on the first after a double, sacrifice bunt and RBI groundout and added an unearned insurance run in the bottom of the eighth.
Other Top 25 Results
Tennessee at (2) Vanderbilt: As has often been the case on Fridays this season, junior righthander and top draft prospect Carson Fulmer (8 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 12 K) was near-flawless, shutting down Tennessee in a 9-0 Commodores win. The 12 strikeouts for Fulmer were a career high as he earned his fourth win of the season. Tennessee starter Bret Marks matched him through the first three frames, but-led by three RBIs from second baseman Tyler Campbell-the Commodores put up four run-innings in the fourth and the sixth to back up their ace.
"I felt good," Fulmer said. "I felt like I had that extra gear. I was down in the zone and made pitches when I needed to. It was just one of those nights where you feel good and try to go as long as you can."
Missouri at (3) Texas A&M: After taking two out of three from South Carolina last weekend, the Tigers made a game of it against the Aggies on Friday. Missouri put up three runs in the sixth inning, knocking out Texas A&M righthander Grayson Long (5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 7 K), and cutting the deficit to two runs. But the Aggies held strong. Junior righthander Andrew Vinson (3 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K) shut the door out of the pen, escaping a bases-loaded, no-out situation in the sixth to earn his third win of the year. Mitchell Nau and Hunter Melton each drove in two runs apiece in the 7-4 Aggies win, pushing Texas A&M to 26-1 on the season.
"I was just trying to get one out at a time," Vinson said. "I was hoping to get a little punch out, or get the out at home to save the run for Grayson (Long), but it's part of the game. It's fun to come in and fight for your brothers."
Wichita State at (5) Texas Christian: For the 11th time this season, the Horned Frogs held an opponent to one run or less, but in a 14-1 win against the Shockers, they also flexed their offensive muscle. TCU scored five runs in the first and never looked back. Top freshman Evan Skoug led the charge, going 4-for-5, doubling twice and driving in three. Juco transfer Dane Steinhagen and right fielder Nolan Brown each added two hits in a 14-hit shelling. On the mound, righthander Mitchell Traver (6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K) earned his fourth win of the season.
Georgia Tech at (7) Louisville: Efficiency has been an issue at times for junior Louisville ace Kyle Funkouser, but that wasn't the case Friday, as the righthander delivered seven strong (7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7K) against a potent Georgia Tech lineup in a 4-1 win. Funkhouser's catcher, Will Smith, drove in two runs in a 10-hit day for the Cardinals, saddling Georgia Tech's Jonathan King (6.2 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 2 K) with his first loss of the season. Hard-throwing righthander Zack Burdi earned his second save of the season in a five-out appearance.
(9) UCLA at Washington State: The Bruins took advantage of sloppy Washington State defense to put up three runs in the sixth and take a 4-3 win-their first road Pac-12 victory this season. Usual suspects Kevin Kramer and Chris Keck paced the offense, going 2-for-5 and 3-for-4, respectively, in a nine-hit game. Meanwhile, UCLA followed a familiar pitching formula, riding ace righthander James Kaprielian (8 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 9 K) all the way to veteran closer David Berg for the save.
Stanford at (11) Arizona State: The Sun Devils have a penchant for the type of gritty come-from-behind effort they showed Friday. Arizona State walked off with a win for the fourth time this season, thanks to a pinch-hit, two-out, two-run single by Chris Beall that capped off a three-run bottom of the ninth. Stanford had been in control since the fifth inning, when it knocked out Sun Devil righthander Seth Martinez (4.1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K). But the Sun Devils opened the ninth with a single by Colby Woodmansee and an R.J. Ybarra walk to force a pitching change. Arizona State proceeded to deal that pitcher, Colton Hock, his first loss of the season in a 7-6 win.
Georgia at (12) South Carolina: The game between the Bulldogs and Gamecocks was suspended in the ninth inning, game tied 5-5, due to rain. It will resume today.
Southern Mississippi at (14) Rice: With a Leon Byrd sacrifice fly and an RBI single from Kirby Taylor, the Owls jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead. Southern Miss would take the lead with a three-run fourth, but Rice tacked on two runs in each of the next two innings to come away with a 6-3 victory. Righthander Kevin McCanna (7 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 8 K) matched a career-high with eight strikeouts before giving way to Josh Pettitte, who threw two scoreless innings out of the pen for his first career save.
Illinois State at (15) Dallas Baptist: The Patriots continue to roll, winning their 14th contest in the last 15 games. Third baseman Nash Knight doubled and drove in three runs to lead the offense in a 6-3 conference win. Junior righthander Joseph Shaw (6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K) reached 100 strikeouts for his career and pushed his record to 5-0 on the year, giving way to reliever Chance Adams, who tallied a three-inning save. Dallas Baptist has won all nine games it has played at home this season.
(20) Virginia at Notre Dame: Friday's game was postponed due to unseasonably cold weather in South Bend, Ind. The teams will play a doubleheader today.
(21) California at Utah: After homering in all three games of the Washington series last weekend, sophomore Lucas Erceg homered again for the Golden Bears on Friday, and powerful freshman catcher Brett Cumberland added two more home runs in a decisive 14-6 win over the Utes. Erceg and Cumberland combined for five RBIs as freshman righthander Jeff Bain (5 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K) was strong in his third straight Friday start.
BA - Friday Roundup: Hurricanes Rally Past Heels