College Roundup: Cavs Topple Top-Ranked ‘Canes
Strike One: Virginia upsets Miami
For the last six years, Virginia has had Miami’s number. Coming into this weekend’s series, the Hurricanes hadn’t won a series against the Cavaliers since 2009 and were 6-15 against them in that stretch.
| HOW THE TOP 25 FARED |
| (1) Miami: lost, 6-5, vs. Virginia |
| (2) Florida: won, 6-0, vs. Georgia |
| (3) Texas A&M: won, 4-3, in 10 innings vs. Alabama |
| (4) Texas Christian: lost, 9-0, at Oklahoma State |
| (5) Louisiana State: lost, 12-8, vs. (7) Mississippi State |
| (6) Louisville: lost, 6-1, at Boston College |
| (7) Mississippi State: won, 12-8, at (5) Louisiana State |
| (8) Vanderbilt: won, 6-0, at Tennessee |
| (9) UC Santa Barbara: lost, 7-0, at Cal Poly |
| (10) Texas Tech: won, 13-6, vs. Texas |
| (11) Florida State: won, 12-6, vs. Notre Dame |
| (12) South Carolina: won, 8-5, vs. Missouri |
| (13) Rice: lost, 2-1, at Southern Mississippi |
| (14) North Carolina State: cancelled vs. North Carolina A&T |
| (15) Mississippi: won, 6-4, vs. Auburn |
| (16) North Carolina: lost, 6-1, at Wake Forest |
| (17) Long Beach State: lost, 4-3, at UC Riverside |
| (18) Michigan: won, 8-4, at Iowa |
| (19) Kentucky: lost, 1-0, in 10 innings vs. Arkansas |
| (20) California: lost, 3-0, vs. Arizona |
| (21) Florida Atlantic: lost, 7-6, at Florida International |
| (22) Oregon State: split DH at Utah, won 7-2 and lost 7-6 |
| (23) Michigan State: lost, 3-2, vs. Indiana |
| (24) Louisiana-Lafayette: won, 5-1, vs. Texas State |
| (25) Coastal Carolina: postponed vs. High Point |
The Hurricanes are the top-ranked team in the country, but on Friday night, Virginia continued its mastery of Miami. The Cavaliers scored five runs in the first inning, and held on for a 6-5 victory.
“It was a huge Friday night win for us against a great opponent and the No. 1 team in the country,” coach Brian O’Connor said.
Virginia jumped on Miami lefthander Thomas Woodrey, sending 10 batters to the plate in the first inning. The Cavaliers strung together six consecutive hits in the inning, and freshman Nate Eikhoff delivered the big blow with his first career home run, a three-run shot.
Staked to a five-run lead, righthander Connor Jones made sure it stood up. He held Miami to four runs (one earned) on eight hits and two walks in seven innings. Tommy Doyle pitched the final two innings, escaping a bases-loaded jam in the ninth to earn his first save.
The Hurricanes (29-7) have now lost three of their past four games after winning 12 straight and climbing atop the rankings for the first time since 2008. After its loss Wednesday to No. 21 Florida Atlantic, Miami has now lost back-to-back games for the first time this season.
Meanwhile, Virginia (25-16) might again be rounding into form in the second half of the season. If the defending national champions can win one of their final two games in Coral Gables, they will have consecutive series wins against ranked opponents after beating then-No. 14 North Carolina last week.
The Cavs played the game with a heavy heart after the driver of the bus that transported them to Coral Gables on Thursday died. The bus was involved in a crash Thursday after after the driver, Bernard Martin, had an undisclosed medical emergency and lost consciousness, The Associated Press reported. He died shortly after arriving at Mercy Hospital, Miami police told The Daily Progress in Charlottesville. Martin was 72.
Strike Two: WCC Flexes Muscles
Brigham Young and Saint Mary’s, two of the top three teams in the West Coast Conference, have stepped out of league play this weekend to play Creighton and Washington, respectively. The nonconference series give both teams, which are vying for at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament, another opportunity to improve their RPI and add to their resumes.
On Friday, both teams got the weekend off to a good start. BYU defeated Creighton, 13-4, and Saint Mary’s beat Washington, 5-3, on the road.
BYU (28-7) got a strong start from ace Michael Rucker, who carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning. While Creighton eventually got to Rucker (7.1 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 4 BB, 4 K), it was too little, too late. The Cougars exploded for 13 runs on 17 hits. Third baseman Jackson Cluff (4-for-4, 2 R) and center fielder Brennon Lund (3-for-4, 2 R, 3 RBIs) led the offense.
In Seattle, Saint Mary’s (22-12) improved to 10-0 in games started by righthander Corbin Burnes (7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 K). The Gaels’ ace improved to 6-0, 1.61, with 69 strikeouts and 17 walks in 67 innings this season.
Back in conference action, Gonzaga defeated Santa Clara, 7-4, to improve to 11-5 in the WCC and edge a half game in front of Saint Mary’s and BYU in the conference standings. And the race for the fourth and final spot in the conference tournament remains tight. Pepperdine is in fourth place at 9-7, but Pacific, Loyola-Marymount and San Francisco are just one game back. At 7-9, perennial power San Diego is two games behind Pepperdine.
Strike Three: Southern Miss Opens Challenging Stretch With Win
Entering the weekend Rice, Southern Mississippi and Florida Atlantic were separated by just a game at the top of the Conference USA standings. But some clarity is likely to come to the conference race in the next two weeks, as Southern Miss hosts Rice this weekend and visits FAU next week.
It is a difficult slate for the Golden Eagles, but they got off to a flying start Friday. Southern Miss defeated No. 13 Rice, 2-1, and, for now, edged into sole possession of first place, holding a one-game lead on Rice (24-12). Southern Miss (28-11) also expanded its lead on No. 21 Florida Atlantic (27-9), which lost, 7-6, at Florida International.
Southern Miss struck first against Rice, scoring a run in the first and another in the fourth against Rice ace Jon Duplantier (7 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 10 K). Righthander Cody Cockrell (5.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 6 K) and four relievers combined to hold the Owls at bay.
The game came down to a nail-biting finish, as Rice got the tying run to third in the ninth inning when outfielder Tristan Gray hit a one-out triple. Southern Miss summoned freshman closer Nick Sandlin to get out of the jam, and he quickly got out of the jam to earn his seventh save.
Coming into Friday, the Golden Eagles were in a bit of a funk, having lost three of their past four games, including a 12-0 rout Tuesday at Tulane. But back home against Rice, Southern Miss was able to find its form, and improved to 17-2 at Pete Taylor Park this season.
The Lineup
Logan Shore, rhp, Florida: After Florida lost Thursday night to Georgia in extra innings, it got just the start it needed from its ace. Shore (9 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K) faced the minimum, and the No. 2 Gators evened the series with a 6-0 victory. The junior improved to 8-0, 2.14 and set a program record by winning his 13th straight decision.
#Illini sliding to a six-game winning streak…@JYalo_13 pic.twitter.com/s83OQZfmty
— Illini Baseball (@IlliniBaseball) April 23, 2016
Cody Sedlock, rhp, Illinois: Against Ohio State, Sedlock (10.2 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 14 K) made the longest start in the country this season, throwing 10 2/3 scoreless innings. Despite his marathon outing, Sedlock took a no-decision, as Illinois was unable to push a run across until the 15th inning, for a 1-0 victory.
Dominic Taccolini, rhp, Arkansas: After throwing a total of 11 innings in his last five appearances, Taccolini (10 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 10 K) threw a 10-inning shutout, as Arkansas defeated No. 19 Kentucky, 1-0, in 10 innings. The junior improved to 4-2, 4.50 and helped the Razorbacks snap their eight-game losing streak in Southeastern Conference play.
Tanner Gardner, of/3b, Texas Tech: After falling behind 5-0 in the third against Texas, No. 10 Texas Tech scored 13 unanswered runs in a 13-6 victory. Gardner (4-for-5, 2 R, 2 RBIs) led the Red Raiders, as they extended their winning streak in Big 12 Conference games to 11 games.
Gio Brusa, of, Pacific: With two homers, Brusa (2-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBIs) helped Pacific defeat Loyola Marymount, 7-1, and extend its winning streak to six games. Brusa, who returned to school after a disappointing junior season led him to fall to the 23rd round in last year’s draft, is hitting .346/.423/.640 with 10 home runs.
Wayne Wages, lhp, Georgia State: The senior took a perfect game into the ninth inning against Appalachian State, before giving up a one-out single to end his bid for the first no-hitter in program history. Wages (9 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 9 K) settled for a one-hitter in a 10-0 Georgia State victory, which was coach Greg Frady’s 300th with the Panthers.
Nathaniel Lowe, 1b, Mississippi State: In a wild 12-8 victory at No. 5 Louisiana State, Lowe (3-for-4, HR, 3 R, 6 RBIs) powered No. 7 Mississippi State’s offense. The junior hit a first-inning grand slam off lefthander Jared Poche’, his third home run of the season.
Tyler Wilson, lhp, Rhode Island: Continuing a strong run in Atlantic-10 Conference play, Wilson (9 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K) turned in a gem in a 4-1 win against St. Bonaventure. It was his second straight complete game, as he improved to 4-0, 0.82 with 33 strikeouts and two walks in four conference starts.
Logan Gray, of, Austin Peay: In a 10-1 victory against Eastern Kentucky, Gray (4-for-5, 2 R, 4 RBI) homered and doubled twice to lead Austin Peay’s offense. The junior has homered three times in his last four games, and is hitting .372/.462/.795 with seven homers in 22 games this season.
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