College Takeaways: Kumar Rocker Stays Hot, Oklahoma State Earns Big Win

All of the Cowboys’ scoring came in the fifth inning, and they did it with just one ball leaving the infield, a Nolan McLean double to right-center field with one out. After a catcher’s interference put Caeden Trenkle on base, a groundout moved runners to second and third. 

McLean then scored on an RBI infield single off the bat of Noah Sifrit, which Sifrit beat out by a fraction of a second. If he’s a step slower than that, the inning is over and the game continues scoreless. Instead, it was enough to be the winning margin. Insurance came shortly thereafter, when Trenkle came home on a first-and-third double steal, getting just under the tag of Texas Tech catcher Braxton Fulford. 

The win puts Oklahoma State one victory away from a huge opening statement in Big 12 play. Not only is it an achievement for any road team to win a series in Lubbock – Texas Tech had won 23 straight home games, but this particular series win could very well signal that the Cowboys should be considered contenders in the league alongside Texas Tech and Texas. 

Kumar Rocker Dazzles Against South Carolina

Vanderbilt righthander Kumar Rocker has been excellent from the jump this season, and he continued that run of good form with a dominant performance Friday night in a 3-2 win against No. 12 South Carolina. 

He threw eight innings, giving up three hits and two runs with two walks and 14 strikeouts on 116 pitches. He also still appeared to have plenty of juice left in that final inning, as he struck out the side for the first and only time on the night and bounded off the mound with a huge smile on his face. 

The only real trouble he found himself in came in the sixth inning and even that was relatively mild in the grand scheme of things, as just one ball, a Josiah Sightler RBI double, left the infield. After that RBI double, he was able to limit the damage by navigating the heart of the Gamecocks order and getting Wes Clarke to hit into an RBI groundout and striking out Andrew Eyster. 

Rocker improved to 5-0, 0.58 with 48 strikeouts and 10 walks in 31 innings this season.

The No. 3 Commodores took the lead in the bottom of the seventh, putting Rocker in line for the win, thanks to a Cooper Davis RBI single. Once again, they showed how tough they are going to be to beat when Rocker pitches well, even on days when the offense isn’t putting up crooked numbers left and right. 

Meanwhile, after having its offense largely quieted by quality Texas pitching last weekend, it clearly wasn’t a great day for South Carolina on Friday, either. It will have another crack at an elite pitcher Saturday with righthander Jack Leiter on the mound and will have a lot to prove. 

Florida State Runs Away With Win At Miami

In recent weeks, Florida State has made great strides in trying to make that ACC-opening weekend sweep at the hands of Pittsburgh feel like a distant memory. Since that tough weekend, it has won consecutive conference series and, on Tuesday, blew out rival Florida. 

A series win this weekend at No. 5 Miami would be the most impressive result yet, and on Friday, the Seminoles took a big step toward that goal with an emphatic 13-1 win. 

Florida State (8-6, 5-5) jumped all over freshman righthander Alejandro Rosario, scoring eight runs in 1.1 innings. It swung the bats well, with center fielder Logan Lacey collecting an RBI hit in each of the first two innings, but it also got some help from sloppy play by Miami. The Hurricanes (9-5, 5-4) committed an error in the first and second innings, and Rosario walked two and uncorked two wild pitches in the second frame alone. 

On the other end of the spectrum, Florida State lefthander Parker Messick, who also went 1-for-4 with three RBI at the plate, threw 6.2 innings, giving up four hits and one run with one walk and 10 strikeouts. 

At the risk of getting carried away with a single result, it’s hard not to look at this as a potential breakout game for the Seminoles. An offense that hadn’t exactly been clicking on all cylinders up to this point of the season scored 13 runs on 14 hits, with right fielder Robby Martin putting up another monster game. After clubbing two home runs Tuesday against UF, he went 3-for-5 with two doubles on Friday. And on the mound, Messick pitched like the Friday starter Florida State needs him to be. 

For Miami, consistency on the pitching staff continues to be a concern. Rosario has been the Hurricanes’ best weekend starter so far, but he just wasn’t in good form to open this series, and that puts some pressure on Victor Mederos and Daniel Federman, who have both been inconsistent this season, to turn in good starts the next two days.  

UCLA Slows Arizona’s High-Powered Offense

Opening weekend of Pac-12 play includes one of the most interesting matchups of the conference slate, as No. 17 Arizona’s powerful lineup takes on No. 23 UCLA’s talented pitching staff. On Friday, it was the Bruins’ pitchers that got the better of the showdown in a 3-2 victory.

The Wildcats (12-5, 0-1) came into the day averaging 9.3 runs per game, the best of any major-conference program. But UCLA righthanders Zach Pettway, Jarred Karros and Sean Mullen held them at bay, limiting Arizona to two runs on six hits and one walk, which was intentional.

The Wildcats’ lone breakthrough of the night came with two outs in the eighth inning, when Donta Williams doubled off Karros and Jacob Blas followed with a home run off Mullen. Otherwise, UCLA pitching had the upper hand. After last weekend giving up 25 runs in a series loss at Cal Poly, it was an important start to the series for the Bruins.

UCLA’s offense was held in check as well, but it was able to edge out the victory on a bases-loaded, walk-off walk. Pinch hitter Jack Filby drew the decisive walk, his 19th of the season already, to give the Bruins (11-5, 1-0) a big win to start Pac-12 play.

Jared Glenn Saves The Day (And Potentially The Weekend) For Arizona State

No. 16 Oregon came out hot against Arizona State on Friday afternoon, scoring three runs in the first inning off of ASU righthander Seth Tomczak and then chasing him after just 1.2 innings. It’s not hyperbole to say that it was something of a worst-case scenario for a Sun Devils team that has seen its pitching depth shortened significantly with the recent news that three of its best pitchers, Cooper Benson, Boyd Vander Kooi and Erik Tolman, would all miss the rest of the season due to Tommy John surgery. 

But righthander Jared Glenn came on after Tomczak and not only struck out Oregon slugger Kenyon Yovan to strand a runner and end the second, but then went on to throw seven more scoreless innings after that to finish the game in a 6-3 ASU win. He wasn’t dominant in a traditional sense, as he struck out just one batter, but he didn’t walk anyone and he scattered three hits in those innings. 

The ASU (12-3, 1-0) offense also wasted little time in pulling the team out of the early deficit. It scored a run in the top of the second on a Sam Ferri groundout and then took the lead with a three-run third inning thanks to a two-RBI double from Hunter Jump and an RBI single off the bat of Ethan Long. Long later added two insurance runs with the first home run of his ASU career. 

With its pitching compromised the way it is, and without an offensive juggernaut of a lineup like the 2020 team, it’s quite possible ASU’s season will have some roller coaster stretches, but right now, it’s impressive that it continues to find ways to get it done. 

Ragin’ Cajuns Upset No. 24 Horned Frogs

Louisiana-Lafayette righthander Spencer Arrighetti began his career at Texas Christian, but on Friday, he was in a Ragin’ Cajuns uniform all but shutting down the Horned Frogs’ offense. 

In 6.2 innings, he gave up four hits and one run with two walks and eight strikeouts in a 7-2 victory against the No. 24 team in the nation. That’s more or less a continuation of what he’s done all season. In five appearances, which includes four starts, Arrighetti is 3-1 with a 1.01 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 26.2 innings. 

What the Cajuns’ lineup did against TCU lefthander Russell Smith is also impressive. They scored one run off of him in the fourth on a Drake Osborn sac fly, but after the big lefty settled in again after that, they put three more runs on him in the sixth on a Ben Fitzgerald three-run homer and then three more in the seventh on a three-run shot off the bat of Tyler Robertson. 

The Cajuns (11-8) are now one win away from a nice resume-building series victory before Sun Belt Conference play. For TCU (11-7), it’s gut-check time. Since winning its first two games of the Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic in Houston to run its record to 8-2, it has gone 3-5, including a home series loss last weekend to Gonzaga. The Frogs still have time to be the team they were projected to be, but they need to get things turned around soon. 

Mississippi State Claims SEC Opener At Louisiana State

Mississippi State lefthander Christian Macleod was outstanding on the road against Louisiana State in a 6-1 win on Friday night, throwing six innings, giving up three hits and one run with two walks and nine strikeouts on just 77 pitches. 

For much of the game, it looked like No. 2 Mississippi State (15-3, 1-0) would need every bit of that pitching performance because LSU righthander Jaden Hill was nearly as good. But that changed late in the game, when the Bulldogs scratched across a run in the seventh on a Brayland Skinner RBI single and then three more in the eighth on a Logan Tanner two-RBI single and an infield RBI single by Lane Forsythe. 

In the end, Hill was tagged with nine hits and six runs in 7.1 innings. While that’s not indicative of how well he pitched throughout most of the game, it does run his season ERA to 5.18, which is not what anyone expected from one of the best arms in college baseball at this point. 

On top of it being a huge win, it’s also good news for Mississippi State that it only had to use one arm out of its deep bullpen, Brandon Smith, who threw three nearly-perfect innings. That gives the Bulldogs a full staff to pull from the next two days. 

Led by Ryan Cusick, Wake Forest Stymies Powerful Georgia Tech Lineup

In a 6-2 win against No. 11 Georgia Tech, Wake Forest righthander Ryan Cusick did what few pitchers have done this season and severely limited the production of a fierce Yellow Jackets’ lineup. 

Cusick threw six scoreless innings, giving up three hits and two walks with 10 strikeouts. Just once, in the third inning, did Georgia Tech advance a runner to second base against Cusick, and the righthander struck out three of the best hitters in the opposing lineup, Kevin Parada, Drew Compton and Stephen Reid in his sixth and final inning. 

Credit is also due for the bullpen duo of Camden Minacci and Eric Adler, who didn’t let the Yellow Jackets (9-6, 6-4) build on a two-run seventh inning, throwing 2.2 scoreless frames to close it out. 

With the inconsistency of its pitching staff this season, it feels important for Georgia Tech to take advantage every time it gets quality innings from its staff, and it missed one such chance on Friday. That makes well-pitched games the next two days even more important. 

At the same time, Wake Forest (5-6, 2-4) has a chance the rest of the weekend to really get its season on track after getting off to a 1-4 start in ACC play against Notre Dame and Miami and suffering through a Covid-19 pause that cost it a conference weekend. 

Illinois Stays Hot With Win At Michigan

Illinois started the season with three straight losses to Ohio State in Greenville, S.C. The Illini bounced back to win the finale against the Buckeyes and have found their stride since.

That momentum carried into Friday’s game at No. 20 Michigan. After falling behind 2-0 against Preseason All-American lefthander Steve Hajjar in the first two innings, Illinois came back for a 7-4 victory.

With the game tied at four going into the eighth inning, the Illini (5-4) scored four runs (three earned) to take control late. Lefthander Nate Lavender pitched well out of the bullpen, holding Michigan (7-2) to one run over three innings to earn the victory.

After coming out of the gate slowly, Illinois now looks much more like the team that was projected to compete at the top of the league.

Ace watch

Friday night is for the aces. We’ve already highlighted the work of Vanderbilt’s Kumar Rocker, Oklahoma State’s Parker Scott, Louisiana’s Spencer Arrighetti and Wake Forest’s Ryan Cusick. But plenty more pitchers stepped up around the country. Here are seven more who had impressive games.

John Baker, RHP, Ball State: In the Mid-American Conference opener, fifth-year senior John Baker threw a four-hit shutout to lead Ball State to a 2-0 victory against Western Michigan. The righthander struck out 10 batters and walked two in his first career shutout. Baker improved to 2-1, 1.11 on the season and earned the 20th win of his career.

Andrew Braun, LHP, Central Connecticut State: Braun threw a five-hit shutout to lead CCSU to a 6-0 victory against Sacred Heart. He struck out 10 batters, walked none and didn’t allow a runner to advance past second base. Braun, a fifth-year senior, improved to 2-0, 0.95 with 22 strikeouts and one walk in 19 innings this season.

Chris Burica, LHP, Cal Baptist: Burica threw an eight-hit shutout to lead Cal Baptist to a 7-0 upset victory at California. The eight hits were all singles and he worked deftly around them by striking out eight batters and walking none. Burica, a fifth-year junior, extended his scoreless streak to 26.2 innings and improved to 3-1, 2.57 on the season.

Jonathan Fincher, LHP, Louisiana Tech: Fincher threw a one-hit shutout to outduel Braden Oltoff and lead LaTech to a 1-0 victory at Tulane. The fourth-year sophomore threw 95 pitches and held the Green Wave to one hit and one hit batsman to face just two batters over the minimum. Fincher improved to 3-0, 1.50 on the season.

Gunnar Hoglund, RHP, Mississippi: Hoglund continued his sensational start to the season with eight scoreless innings against Auburn in a 1-0 victory for Ole Miss. He struck out 13 batters and scattered five hits and a walk. Hoglund, the nation’s leader in strikeouts, improved to 3-0, 2.27 with 55 strikeouts and seven walks in 31.2 innings this season.

Michael Kirian, LHP, Louisville: Kirian saw his no-hit bid against North Carolina State broken up in the eighth inning, but he still led the Cardinals to a 13-1 victory in Raleigh. The fourth-year junior struck out a career-high 13 batters and held the Wolfpack to one run on two hits and two walks in 7.1 innings. Kirian improved to 4-0, 0.77 with 27 strikeouts and six walks in 23.1 innings on the season.

Blake Wimberly, RHP, Memphis: In the best pitchers’ duel of the night, Wimberly and the Tigers edged Aaron Brown and Middle Tennessee State for a 1-0 victory. Wimberly threw a three-hit shutout, struck out 12 batters and walked two. The lone run of the night came on a solo home run from Memphis shortstop Ben Brooks, spoiling an otherwise excellent outing from Brown, who struck out 13 batters and scattered four hits and one walk in eight innings.