2023 College Baseball Conference Tournament Roundup (May 26)
Image credit: Caden Grice (Photo by Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Here’s a look at what happened in college baseball conference tournaments on Friday.
ACC
Clemson defeated Boston College, 4-1, behind a strong start from Austin Gordon to advance to the semifinals. The Tigers got off to a fast start with two runs in both the first and second innings. In the top of the first, Caden Grice hit a majestic, 411-foot two-run home run, while in the second Jack Crighton punched a two-run double into right field.
Gordon held the Eagles to just two hits across six shutout innings to go along with three strikeouts. Clemson is a likely lock for a top-eight national seed, while BC is still projected to host.
Miami took down Duke, 7-6, in what was a back-and-forth affair. The Hurricanes jumped out to a quick 2-1 lead in the first, but the Blue Devils pulled back in front thanks to a Luke Storm solo home run in the fifth inning and an Alex Stone solo home run in the sixth. On top of giving the Blue Devils the lead, Stone’s blast extended his hitting streak to a whopping 30 games.
After a Damon Lux RBI single extended Duke’s lead to 4-2, projected first-round draft pick Yohandy Morales tied the game with a two-run single in the sixth inning. In the eighth, Storm hit his second home run of the afternoon, this one a two-run blast, but Miami again would punch right back in the bottom half of the inning. After a C.J. Kayfus home run cut the Blue Devil lead to 6-5, Morales clobbered a solo blast of his own to once again tie the game.
Later in the inning, Renzo Gonzalez put the Hurricanes up for good as he grounded a go-ahead RBI single into center field. Andrew Walters slammed the door with a scoreless ninth inning in which he notched two strikeouts. The loss knocked Duke out of hosting contention, and while Miami was a lock to host regardless of yesterday’s results, it can thrust itself into the top-eight discussion with a conference championship.
Notre Dame needed to beat No. 1 seed Wake Forest to remain on the right side of the bubble, and while it led 4-2 in the fifth inning, Wake’s offense proved to be too much and the Demon Deacons earned a hard-fought 7-5 victory to advance to the semifinals. Nick Kurtz led the way with two home runs, while Brock Wilken punished his 27th long ball of the season.
Meanwhile, Notre Dame this weekend will hope for no stolen bids as it needs all the help it can get in order to sneak its way into the NCAA Tournament.
American Athletic
No. 1 seed East Carolina beat Central Florida 7-6 in 13 innings to punch its ticket to the semifinals. The Pirates mounted an early 5-0 lead, but the Knights scored five unanswered runs and would eventually tie the game in the seventh thanks to a two-run home run off the bat of Ben McCabe.
ECU again took the lead in the eighth after a Lane Hoover RBI double, but UCF was able to tie it in the ninth thanks to a Nick Romano run-scoring single. The score would remain at 6-6 until the 13th inning, when Carter Cunningham delivered a walkoff single.
The AAC tournament is one bubble teams will be paying close attention to, as anything other than an East Carolina conference championship will result in a stolen bid come selection Monday.
Big 12
Since its loss to TCU in the opening game of the conference tournament, Kansas State has won two games in a row to put itself on the right side of the bubble. Yesterday it beat in-state rival Kansas to advance to Saturday’s semifinal round, where it will once again take on the Horned Frogs. With a win, the Wildcats would be able to feel a lot safer about their at-large resume, whereas a loss would make for a stressful Selection Monday.
Oklahoma State dispatched of Oklahoma, 8-3, to also advance to Saturday’s semifinal round. The Cowboys built an early 5-0 lead thanks to a David Mendham three-run home run and never looked back. Mendham finished with a 3-for-4, five-RBI day to pace the Oklahoma State offense, while righthander Ben Abram allowed only one earned run in his six innings of work. Oklahoma State must beat Texas Tech twice in order to remain in the hunt to host.
Big Ten
Nebraska on Friday advanced to the tournament semifinals behind a lights-out performance from starter Will Walsh. Walsh threw a complete game shutout in which he struck out seven, walked none and allowed four hits—all singles. The Big Ten’s at-large bids are set in stone at this point with Iowa, Maryland and Indiana all in good shape, but a Nebraska or Michigan conference championship would result in a stolen bid.
Big West
Cal State Fullerton on Friday defeated Cal Poly 7-4 to secure the Big West’s automatic bid and will return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018. It is the Mastodons’ first regional appearance under second-year head coach Jason Dietrich, who has done an excellent job so far.
Pac-12
Oregon on Friday pounded out 20 hits to notch a 12-7 win over Washington and advance to the Pac-12 championship game. The Ducks had built a 6-0 lead by the second inning, but Washington scored five runs in the third to make it a 6-5 game. Oregon was able to pull away for good as it scored five runs in the fifth inning to take a commanding 11-5 lead. Colby Shade went 4-for-6 with a double and two RBIs, while Sabin Ceballos continued his hot hitting, going 3-for-6 with a home run and six RBIs.
Both Oregon and Washington are safely in the Field of 64 and Friday’s result did not effect either team’s status.
In the nightcap, Arizona run-ruled Stanford 14-4 to punch its ticket to the conference championship. Stanford took an early 2-0 lead thanks to a two-run home run off the bat of likely first-round pick Tommy Troy, but the Wildcats scored eight runs in the second inning and never looked back. Chase Davis led the way for Arizona, as he went 3-for-4 with six RBIs and had one of the more majestic home runs one will ever see at the collegiate level.
The win put Arizona right on the cusp of an at-large berth, but it can enjoy a stress-free Selection Monday with a win in Saturday’s conference championship game.
SEC
Texas A&M used a four-run seventh inning to topple Louisiana State, 5-4, and knock the Tigers out of the SEC Tournament. LSU was in command of the game after a strong start by righthander Ty Floyd (5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 7 K) and a pair of RBI doubles, but in what’s become a theme recently, the Tigers’ bullpen squandered the lead. Following a Brett Minnich sacrifice fly, Hunter Haas sat back on a Griffin Herring breaking ball and deposited it over the wall in left field for a game-winning three-run home run.
LSU made it interesting in the ninth inning after a wild pitch allowed Hayden Travinski to score and the tying run to move up to third with just one out, but Evan Aschenbeck got Gavin Dugas to strike out and Brayden Jobert to pop up to end the threat and seal a key win. The Aggies are now a lock for an at-large bid and Saturday they take on Arkansas in the semifinals, where they will look to avenge Wednesday’s one-run loss.
Vanderbilt on Friday defeated red-hot Alabama 9-2 thanks to a five-run first inning. R.J. Schreck laced a run-scoring double into right field and after a Parker Noland RBI groundout and a Chris Maldonado RBI single, true freshman R.J. Austin crushed a two-run home run.
Alabama true freshman Colby Shelton hit his 22nd long ball of the year to cut the Commodores’ lead to 5-2 in the third inning, but it never got closer than that as Vanderbilt scored three more runs in the fifth and cruised the rest of the way. Thomas Schultz was excellent out of the bullpen, throwing four shutout innings in which he struck out four and allowed only one hit.
Vanderbilt has a top-eight seed locked up and Alabama, with an RPI of 11 and 40 wins, is in great shape to host a regional for the first time since 2006. Vanderbilt on Saturday squares off with Florida in the semifinals and will look to snap its four-game losing streak against the Gators.
Other
In the WAC, two-seed Sam Houston State dismantled one-seed Grand Canyon, 22-8, to eliminate the Lopes and advance to the conference championship game, where it will need to beat three-seed Utah Valley twice in order to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017. Catcher Walker Janek went 4-for-7 with three doubles, a home run and seven RBIs to pace the Bearkats’ offense.
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