BA - Saturday Roundup: Kubat, Huskers Outlast Longhorns
Although Nebraska's lineup has been showing signs of life over the last couple weeks, its pitching has been carrying the banner since day one, and it's the Huskers' pitching that's led the way to a marquee series win against 19th-ranked Texas.
It's hard to believe it's now been nearly four full years since the Huskers left the Big 12 for the Big Ten, with this weekend marking the Longhorns' first trip to Lincoln since 2011. Nebraska won the opener 3-1 on Friday behind senior Chance Sinclair, and the Huskers sent another senior to the hill Saturday in Kyle Kubat. Kubat doesn't have overwhelming stuff, but the lefthander knows how to mix velocities and pitch types. He beguiled the Longhorns over eight shutout innings on Saturday (8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 9 K), setting a career high for strikeouts.
Despite Kubat's efforts, the Huskers were unable to mount anything against Texas' Kacy Clemens (7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K), who didn't allow a hit over his final five innings of work, and the game went to extras scoreless. Meanwhile, Texas went nine full innings between hits, from the fourth to the 13th, and four Nebraska pitchers combined on 19 strikeouts while allowing just four hits in 15 innings of work.
After leaving the bases loaded in the both the 11th and 13th, Nebraska finally broke the stalemate in the 15th. Huskers catcher Tanner Lubach led off the inning against Texas' Travis Duke by getting hit by a pitch. After a sac bunt moved Lubach into scoring position, senior Austin Darby poked a base hit to left field which was booted by Texas outfielder Ben Johnson, allowing Lubach to score uncontested and Nebraska to win 1-0.
The Huskers improved to 20-7 on the season, and they've won 13 of their last 14 games.
Top 25 Showdowns
(17) Houston at (6) Central Florida: The Cougars used homers from Ashford Fulmer and Chris Iriart, his second of the weekend, to knock off UCF 7-5 and level the series, setting up a rubber match Sunday in the biggest series of the year in the American. The Cougars got a fine effort from junior Kyle Dowdy (7 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K), holding UCF's explosive offense in check while Houston opened up a 6-1 lead. The Knights rallied for four unearned runs in the bottom of the eighth, keyed by JoMarcos Woods' bases-loaded double, but Seth Romero was able to strand Woods, the tying run, at second base, and Fulmer then homered in the top of the ninth to give UH some insurance again.
Top 25 Upsets
Tennessee at (2) Vanderbilt
Three Tennessee relievers combined on 6 1/3 scoreless innings as the Vols tied the series with the Commodores with a 9-5 win. The teams traded crooked numbers early, with Tennessee scoring five runs, all unearned, in the top of the third off Walker Buehler (5.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K), while the Commodores scored three in the second and tied it 5-5 with two in the bottom of the third. The score then stayed 5-5 until the Vols broke through for four in the top of the eighth against Philip Pfeifer (3.1 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER). The win snapped a six-game losing streak in SEC play for Tennessee and was its first in Nashville since 2009.
Missouri at (3) Texas A&M: The Tigers got a big game from talented freshman Tanner Houck (7 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K) and handed Texas A&M just its second loss of the season, and its first at home, 3-2. The Aggies got single runs in the second and third before Missouri answered with two in the fourth, and the game stayed deadlocked until Ryan Howard's RBI double in the top of the eighth. A&M outhit Missouri 12-7 for the game, but the Aggies stranded the tying run at third base in both the eighth and the ninth, with Missouri's Brecklin Williams (2 IP, 4 H, 0 R) picking up his seventh save.
Georgia at (12) South Carolina: In the completion of Friday's suspended game, Mike Bell's RBI single in the top of the 11th netted Georgia a 6-5 win. In the regularly scheduled game that followed, the Bulldogs clinched their first series win in Columbia since 1994 by beating the Gamecocks 4-3. The Gamecocks elected to use regular No. 2 starter Jack Wynkoop to finish the suspended game-he ended up throwing three innings-then called on Reed Scott (7 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K) to make his third start of the year in the second game. Georgia did all its scoring in the first two innings against Scott before holding off a late rally from the Gamecocks, who got three hits from Gene Cone and two apiece from Kyle Martin and Jordan Gore. The Gamecocks have lost six of their past seven games and fell to 4-4 in the SEC.
(22) Oregon at Arizona: Oregon is in an absolute tailspin. Not even blue-chip freshman David Peterson (4.1 IP, 7 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 3 BB, 3 K) was able to stop the bleeding in Saturday's 9-5 loss, which clinched the series for Arizona. The Ducks made five errors Friday, and their defense let them down again Saturday. Oregon made three more errors, all of them coming in Arizona's eight-run fifth inning. The Ducks have now lost all three of their Pac-12 series and eight of their past 12 games overall.
(24) Indiana at Iowa: Iowa's pitching has allowed only one run in two games after the Hawkeyes beat Indiana 5-1 Saturday, clinching the series. Big armed righthander Blake Hickman (8 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K) dominated for Iowa. The Hoosiers also got a solid effort from Jake Kelzer (6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K), but a four-run seventh against the IU bullpen put the game out of reach, highlighted by Jake Mangler's two-run double.
Other Top 25 Results
Kentucky at (1) Louisiana State: The Tigers bounced back from Friday's extra-innings loss with a closer-than-the-score-indicates 7-3 win. Freshman Alex Lange (7 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 5 BB, 13 K) was superb yet again for LSU, but the Tigers only led 2-1 when he was lifted. The Wildcats rallied to tie the game in the top of the eighth against the LSU bullpen, relegating Lange to a no decision. But in the bottom half of the frame, LSU's Chris Chinea hit an inside-the-park three-run homer and Jared Foster followed later on with a conventional over-the-fence two-run homer to give LSU the win.
Alabama at (4) Florida: Buddy Reed's two-run single in the bottom of the eighth scored the go-ahead runs as Florida won a hard-fought rubber match with Alabama, 7-4. The Crimson Tide led 4-3 after six innings, but Jeremy Vasquez's solo homer in the bottom of the seventh tied it, and A.J. Puk (3.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K) responded to being pulled out of the weekend rotation with a strong showing out of the bullpen, picking up his fifth win.
Wichita State at (5) Texas Christian: By his lofty standards, it was a relatively pedestrian outing for Preston Morrison (6.1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K) on Saturday, but it was still enough for him to improve to 6-0 as the Horned Frogs beat Wichita State 8-4, sealing the series. Freshman Connor Wanhanen (4-for-4) paced TCU's 13-hit attack, while Keaton Jones and Nolan Brown had two hits apiece.
Georgia Tech at (7) Louisville: The Yellow Jackets' rough week continued with an 8-3 loss in Louisville as the Cardinals clinched the series. Cardinals freshman Brendan McKay (7 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K) continued his strong work on the mound to improve to 4-0, while UofL scored six runs in the first two innings against a wild Cole Pitts (1 IP, 2 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 5 BB, 1 K) and never looked back. Sophomore outfielder Corey Ray did it all for the Louisville offense, going 3-for-5, driving in four runs and stealing four bases.
(8) Southern California at Washington
Nebraska-Texas wasn't even the longest scoreless game of the day. USC and Washington played to 0-0 draw through 15 innings before a wild 16th saw the Trojans emerge with a 3-2 win that tied the series. Starters Kyle Twomey (7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 7 BB, 4 K) for USC and Tyler Davis (8.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K) for Washington got the ball rolling, and the bullpens kept it 0-0 until the top of the 16th. RBI hits by Corey Dempster and Timmy Robinson put the Trojans up 3-0, but Braden Bishop hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning that pulled the Huskies back within 3-2. They got no closer though, Alex Chavarria striking out Levi Jordan to finally bring the game to an end after 4 hours and 41 minutes. It was the longest game by innings in USC's history.
(9) UCLA at Washington State: Luke Persico went 3-for-4, including a key two-run double in the sixth, as UCLA clinched the series with a 6-1 win. Bruins senior Grant Watson (6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K) picked up his fourth win of the year and 26th of his career, which moves him past former major leaguer Jim Parque to be the winningest lefthander in UCLA history.
Virginia Tech at (10) Florida State: The FSU offense erupted for 18 runs over its final three at-bats to lead the Seminoles to a 19-9 win that ties the series. Danny De La Calle and John Sansone led the way for FSU with three hits apiece, while the Seminoles, patient as always, drew 10 walks as a group. Most of the damage came in FSU's 11-run bottom of the eighth, during which the Noles had six hits and five walks to break open what was a one-run game.
Stanford at (11) Arizona State: After needing to rally late to beat Stanford on Friday, Saturday's 6-3 win as a little less stressful for the Sun Devils. ASU took the lead for good with two runs in the bottom of the second, and every Sun Devils starter reached base at least once. Ryan Kellogg (6 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K) ran his record to 5-0 with the victory.
(13) Miami at North Carolina: Zack Collins' solo homer in the top of the 11th was finally enough for Miami to subdue UNC in a back-and-forth 4-3 win, clinching the series for the Hurricanes. Miami had to overcome an ineffective outing from Andy Suarez (3 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 2 K), while star UNC freshman J.B. Bukauskas (7 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K) was outstanding. But the Canes managed to tie the game in the 7th and take leads in the 9th and 10th, only to see UNC rally to tie it each time against normally reliable closer Bryan Garcia. However, the Heels left 16 men on base, including the potential winning runs in scoring position in both the 9th and 10th, and they were unable to get off the mat a third time after Collins' jack.
Southern Mississippi at (14) Rice: Rice scored 10 runs in the bottom of the first inning, beating Southern Miss 11-4 to clinch the series. The Owls sent 14 men to the plate in the first, highlighted by junior Leon Byrd hitting two doubles in the inning and sophomore Charlie Warren hitting the first home run of his college career, a two-run shot. All those runs were plenty for Blake Fox (7 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 7 K), who breezed to his third win.
Illinois State at (15) Dallas Baptist: The Patriots clinched the series and improved to 21-3 overall with a dramatic 6-5 win. DBU fell into an early 4-0 hole as Cory Taylor (4 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K) struggled but rallied to tie the game in the seventh and again in the eighth, after ISU had taken a 5-4 lead. An error and a wild pitch set up Daniel Salters' walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth, as the Patriots stayed perfect at home at 10-0.
Long Beach State at (16) UC Santa Barbara: Getting a second straight brilliant game from their starting pitcher, the Gauchos didn't waste it this time, scratching out enough offense to beat Long Beach State 3-1. A day after Dillon Tate allowed just three hits in a complete-game loss for UCSB, Justin Jacome (9 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 12 K) was just as good Saturday, throwing a complete game of his own, the first of his career. Jacome allowed two hits in the top of the first but just two more the rest of the day, and his 12 strikeouts were a career high. UCSB was able to piece together a couple runs in the first and another in the eighth to give him support.
Kansas at (18) Texas Tech: The Red Raiders scored six runs over the first two innings and cruised to a 9-3 win, leveling the series. Eric Gutierrez, Tim Proudfoot and Orlando Garcia each had two RBIs for Tech, while Cameron Smith (7 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K) improved to 3-2 on the mound.
(20) Virginia at Notre Dame: After frigid temperatures in South Bend pushed back the series opener, the Cavaliers swept a doubleheader Saturday, 9-1 and 4-2. The top four hitters in Virginia's order combined for nine hits in the first game, led by Daniel Pinero's 3-for-3 effort, providing plenty of support for Nathan Kirby (6 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K). Standout UVa. freshman Adam Haseley hit his first collegiate home run in that one. The second game was much tighter. Connor Jones (7.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 9 K) gave Virginia a strong start, but the score was knotted 2-2 until the top of the ninth when the Cavs got back-to-back two-out RBI hits from Christian Lowry and Haseley.
(21) California at Utah: The Golden Bears are mashing their way through Salt Lake City, putting up double-digits for the second straight day in Saturday's 11-6 win. Star sophomore Lucas Erceg homered yet again, his eighth of the year, and he, Chris Paul and Brett Cumberland-Cal's Nos. 2, 3 and 4 hitters-combined for seven RBIs. Ryan Mason (5 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K) didn't dominate on the mound for Cal but managed to improve to 4-0.
Kansas State at (23) Oklahoma State: Another team that used a huge first inning to pave the way to a win, the Cowboys scored six in the first against K-State en route to a 12-3 win to draw even in the series. Conor Costello and Ryan Sluder each homered later on in the game, and OSU piled up 15 hits in all, while Tyler Buffett (5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K) picked up the win with strong work out of the bullpen.
(25) Illinois at Michigan State: Illinois got out to a 4-0 lead after three innings and went on to win 8-4 in the opener of this weather-delayed series, which will now run through Monday. Casey Fletcher and Matthew James each had two hits and two RBIs for the Illini, and Kevin Duchene (6 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K) picked up his fourth win. At 19-5-1 now, Illinois is off to its best 25-game start since 1989.
BA - Saturday Roundup: Kubat, Huskers Outlast UT