College Baseball Takeaways: Pitching Leads Auburn, Florida To Key Wins

Auburn Stops Streaking Arkansas

Top-ranked Arkansas came into the weekend on an eight-game winning streak during which it was averaging 10 runs per game. But that momentum came to a crashing halt Thursday in its series opener against Auburn.

Led by righthander Cody Greenhill, the Tigers defeated the Razorbacks, 2-1. In addition to halting Arkansas’ winning streak, Auburn’s victory was its first this season in SEC play. The Tigers (12-11, 1-6) had been swept in both of their first two SEC series.

Greenhill held the Razorbacks to three hits and no walks in seven innings. He retired the first nine batters he faced before Braydon Webb homered to lead off the fourth inning. Greenhill brushed off the blast to match his longest start of the season—he also threw seven innings two weeks ago against Mississippi—and turned a lead over to the bullpen. Lefthander Carson Skipper and righthander Mason Barnett followed with a scoreless inning apiece to finish the victory.

The Razorbacks (20-4, 5-2) have produced several late-game rallies already this season and threatened to do so again Thursday. They got the tying run on base in both the eighth and ninth innings, but Skipper and Barnett made sure neither runner advanced, snuffing out the rally before it could begin.

Auburn got just enough offense itself against Arkansas lefthander Patrick Wicklander. Brody Moore homered in the third inning and the Tigers pushed another run across in the fourth on a sacrifice fly from Nate LaRue.

While the Tigers had lost six straight games, they had largely been playing close games against Ole Miss and Kentucky to begin the SEC season. Five of the six games were decided by one or two runs and the sixth, a 19-11 loss in the series finale against Ole Miss, saw Auburn score 11 runs in the final two innings after falling behind, 14-0, showing the team’s resolve.

As close as the Tigers have been in recent weeks, perhaps a result like Thursday’s will prove to be a breakthrough. They’re still dealing with some key injuries on the mound, but its clear the Tigers aren’t going to roll over against a brutally difficult SEC West schedule.

Florida Piggy-Backs To Victory Against Ole Miss

After getting swept last weekend at South Carolina, Florida returned home with a new strategy on the mound. Righthanders Tommy Mace and Jack Leftwich, who have been the Gators’ Nos. 1 and 2 starters for three seasons, would now be used in piggy-back tandems with Franco Aleman and Christian Scott.

Thursday night against No. 3 Mississippi, the plan worked to perfection. Aleman held the Rebels to one run (unearned) in four innings and then turned the ball over to Mace, who threw five scoreless innings to finish a 4-1 victory. Ole Miss (20-5, 6-1) had its seven-game winning streak snapped.

Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan said he made the decision to shake up the pitching strategy Sunday on the trip back from South Carolina. Aleman, a junior college transfer, has been a successful starting pitcher throughout his career but with Mace and Leftwich surprisingly returning to Gainesville following the shortened 2020 draft, he began the season in the bullpen. On Thursday, making his first start for Florida, he pitched well, holding Ole Miss to three hits and no walks. Mace, who had not made a relief appearance since 2018, was excellent when he entered to start the fifth inning. He scattered one hit and two walks and struck out seven over the final five innings.

O’Sullivan said the game went to plan.

“Tommy to start a clean inning and Franco to give us four, Tommy to go five,” O’Sullivan said. “It worked out really well.”

Aleman and Mace didn’t shut down just any offense. Ole Miss averaged 7.43 runs per game during its winning streak and has a potent offense led by infielders Peyton Chatagnier and Tim Elko.

Florida will hope for a similar result Friday with Scott and Leftwich. If that duo provides it, the Gators will have a strong blueprint coming out of the weekend.

Arizona Overpowers Arizona State

In a rivalry showdown between No. 16 Arizona and Arizona State, the key question was whether the Sun Devils’ pitching staff would be able to slow down the Wildcats’ offense. ASU came into the weekend with a 2.98 team ERA, the second-best mark in the Pac-12. Arizona, meanwhile, was averaging 9.2 runs per game, the most of any major-conference team.

In Thursday’s opener, the Wildcats had a clear upper hand. They scored twice in the first inning and never stopped hitting en route to a 10-5 victory.

ASU’s defense didn’t do its pitching staff any favors, as it committed four errors that led to six unearned runs. Against an offense as potent as Arizona’s, giving away so many extra outs is not a recipe for success.

The Wildcats (17-7, 4-3) were relentless, pounding out 14 hits and drawing five walks. Every starter recorded at least one hit except for leadoff man Donta Williams, who walked twice and added a sacrifice bunt. Meanwhile on the mound, lefthander Chandler Murphy threw five hitless innings of relief to earn the victory.

Washington Upsets UCLA

This season has been a roller coaster for UCLA. Every time you think the Bruins have got things straightened out, there’s another twist or turn just around the corner. 

On Friday, the next twist came in the form of an 8-6 loss to Washington at home. The Huskies got to righthander Zach Pettway early, scoring three runs against him in the first inning on the way to putting up five total runs on eight hits against him. 

While the offense was going to work, Washington righthander Logan Gerling was stifling the Bruins’ lineup. In seven innings, he gave up three hits and one run. 

Trailing 7-1 going to the bottom of the eighth, UCLA made a late surge with a five-run eighth inning that included runs coming home on an infield single, a wild pitch, a foul sac fly and two bases-loaded walks to make it 7-6, but it still came up short, with UW putting up an insurance run in the top of the ninth and righthander Davis Delorefice closing it out with a scoreless bottom half. 

UCLA (15-8, 4-3) is now just 3-4 this season in weekend openers. To compete for the Pac-12 title, the Bruins need to find a way to shore up their play in series openers.

Boston College Upsets Virginia Tech

On a light day of action around the ACC, which will mostly kick off its weekend on Friday, Boston College scored a much-needed 7-3 upset at No. 13 Virginia Tech. 

He wasn’t dominant by any stretch, but righthander Mason Pelio turned in his best start since March 5 when he threw 5.2 scoreless innings at Auburn. On Thursday, he gave up eight hits and three runs in 6.2 innings. 

Meanwhile, the Eagles’ lineup had no issue getting to Hokies starter Peyton Alford, who was charged with six runs on four hits and six walks in two innings. When it was all said and done, eight of the nine BC starters had at least one hit, with right fielder Dante Baldelli going 3-for-4. 

BC (13-11, 4-9) came into Friday reeling, having lost three straight ACC series after early series wins over Duke and Auburn pushed it into the Top 25, but now it’s one win away from getting going back in the right direction. 

Jace Jung, Texas Tech Power Up

In a 17-1 victory at Kansas State, second baseman Jace Jung and the Texas Tech offense ran wild. The fourth-ranked Red Raiders hit six homers, three of which came from Jung, a second-year freshman.

With the victory, Texas Tech (20-4, 3-1) ran its winning streak to six games. Thursday marked the fifth time this season the Red Raiders have scored at least 15 runs.

Jung went 3-for-6 and drove in four runs. His first home run came in the third inning as a part of back-to-back blasts with Dru Baker that gave Texas Tech an early 2-0 lead. Jung’s second homer of the night came in the seventh inning and sparked a back-to-back-to-back barrage. The Red Raiders batted around in the inning and he homered again in the seventh, his final blast of the night.

Jung, the younger brother of former Texas Tech All-American Josh Jung, is hitting .396/.504/.824 with 20 walks and 19 strikeouts. His 11 home runs this season rank third nationally.

West Virginia Downs Oklahoma State In Stillwater

In a game that marked coach Randy Mazey’s return to the West Virginia dugout after an extended leave from the team, the Mountaineers claimed a big 4-3 win at Oklahoma State. 

Lefthander Jackson Wolf wasn’t quite as good as he was last weekend when he pitched 7.1 scoreless innings and struck out eight against Kansas, but he was solid in allowing three runs on five hits with eight strikeouts in 6.1 innings against the Cowboys. 

Wild Night In The Southland Conference

It has already been a season filled with unpredictable happenings in the Southland Conference, and Friday only continued that trend. Here are the highlights: 

• Coming off of a four-game sweep of preseason conference favorite McNeese State, Stephen F. Austin kept the ball rolling with a 14-0 win over Incarnate Word that included a seven-inning complete game one-hitter from lefthander Angelo Gennari. 
• After getting swept by SFA, McNeese bounced back by taking down league-leading Southeastern Louisiana, 6-4. The Cowboys scored two runs in the top of the ninth on a Clayton Rasbeary single to break a 4-4 tie. 
• With an 8-2, 12-inning win over Abilene Christian, Northwestern State got the rare win that was both a close game and something of a blowout in the end. The Demons scored six runs in the top of the 12th, with the big blow coming on a Marshall Skinner three-run homer. 
• In perhaps the best-played game of the night, Sam Houston State snuck by Central Arkansas on the road, 3-2. Sam Houston righthander Tyler Davis threw 8.1 innings, giving up three hits and two runs (one earned) with no walks and four strikeouts. 

Indiana State Back To Playing, Winning

After a gap in its schedule left No. 25 Indiana State off the field last weekend, it showed no rust from the layoff in an 8-2 win at Saint Louis. 

Righthander Connor Cline, a St. Louis native, led the way with 6.2 innings, giving up four hits and one run with one walk and eight strikeouts, with lefthander Cam Edmonson tossing the final 2.1 frames. 

Offensively, the Sycamores scored runs in five different innings and turned a close game in the middle innings into a boat race with two-run innings in the sixth, seventh and ninth. First baseman Brian Fuentes, catcher Max Wright and right fielder Sean Ross all had home runs, with Wright and Ross going back-to-back in the sixth inning. 

Offensively, the damage was done when WVU scored a run in the third on an error by OSU shortstop Hueston Morrill and then three more in the fourth on a three-run blast off the bat of Mikey Kluska. 

In the bottom of the ninth, a triple by pinch-hitter Jaxson Crull and a Caeden Trenkle walk put two men on with two outs, but righthander Jacob Watters struck out Nolan McLean to strand the runners and end the game. Watters threw 2.1 scoreless innings to earn the save.

Ace Watch

Friday night is for the aces. We’ve already highlighted the work of Cody Greenhill, Angelo Gennari and Logan Gerling. Here are seven more of the best pitching performances of the night.

Aaron Brown, RHP, Middle Tennessee State: Brown threw a two-hitter to lead MTSU to a 4-1 victory against Rice. He struck out nine batters, walked one and held the Owls to one run. Brown improved to 4-2, 3.40 with 61 strikeouts and nine walks in 42.1 innings on the season.

Chris Burica, LHP, Cal Baptist: Burica threw a four-hit shutout in a 3-0 victory at Texas-Rio Grande Valley. He struck out six and walked none in his second shutout of the season. Burica is 5-1, 1.93 with 45 strikeouts and six walks in 51.1 innings this season.

Alek Jacob, RHP, Gonzaga: In a 9-0 victory against Pacific, Jacob threw eight scoreless innings. He struck out 11 batters, walked none and scattered three hits. Jacob this season is 2-1, 4.13 with 49 strikeouts and 11 walks in 32.2 innings.

Robert Gasser, LHP, Houston: Gasser on Thursday turned in another impressive start as he led Houston to a 5-3 victory against Wichita State. He threw 7.2 scoreless innings, struck out 12 batters and scattered two hits and three walks. Gasser is now 4-2, 1.65 with 57 strikeouts and 13 walks in 43.2 innings.

Zachary Leigh, RHP, Texas State: Leigh threw a three-hit shutout to lead Texas State to a 2-0 victory against Texas-Arlington. He struck out seven batters, walked one and didn’t allow a hit after the sixth inning. Leigh picked up his first win of the season.

Ty Madden, RHP, Texas: Madden continued his impressive season with a strong start in a 5-2 victory against Kansas. He struck out five and held the Jayhawks to one run (unearned) on seven hits and a walk in eight innings. It was Madden’s sixth-straight quality start as he improved this season to 4-1, 1.52 with 55 strikeouts and 15 walks in 47.1 innings.

Tyler Thomas, LHP, Baylor: Thomas threw a four-hit shutout in a 6-0 victory against North Carolina A&T. He struck out eight batters, walked three and threw the Bears’ first shutout since 2018. Thomas is 3-2, 1.65 with 45 strikeouts and 18 walks in 43.2 innings on the season.