College Roundup: Midweek Madness
Tuesday was one of the final midweek dates of the season, and it provided a late shot of havoc into the college baseball landscape.
| HOW THE TOP 25 FARED |
| (1) Florida: off |
| (2) Texas A&M: lost, 5-0, vs. Sam Houston State |
| (3) Mississippi State: off |
| (4) Miami: won, 8-3, vs. Florida Gulf Coast |
| (5) Texas Tech: off |
| (6) Mississippi: lost, 8-6, at Arkansas State |
| (7) Louisville: won, 9-2, vs. Indiana |
| (8) Louisiana State: won, 7-2, vs. Northwestern State |
| (9) Virginia: cancelled vs. Richmond |
| (10) South Carolina: won, 16-4, vs. The Citadel |
| (11) Tulane: lost, 2-0, vs. Nicholls State |
| (12) Vanderbilt: won, 6-0, vs. Morehead State |
| (13) Southern Mississippi: cancelled vs. Louisiana-Monroe |
| (14) Florida State: cancelled at Stetson |
| (15) Texas Christian: won, 3-2, vs. Stephen F. Austin |
| (16) Rice: lost, 24-6, vs. Houston at Sugarland, Texas |
| (17) Florida Atlantic: off |
| (18) Cal State Fullerton: off |
| (19) North Carolina State: off |
| (20) Oklahoma State: lost, 3-1, at Oral Roberts |
| (21) Minnesota: lost, 7-6, in 10 innings vs. South Dakota State |
| (22) Coastal Carolina: won, 4-1, vs. UNC Wilmington |
| (23) Clemson: won, 3-2, vs. Charleston Southern |
| (24) Bryant: won, 15-4, at Massachusetts-Lowell |
| (25) Long Beach State: won, 5-2, at Loyola Marymount |
Sam Houston State scored the biggest upset of the night, going on the road to defeat No. 2 Texas A&M, 5-0. The Bearkats (34-19) became the first team to shut out the Aggies (39-12) in Blue Bell Park since Feb. 21, 2014, when Sacramento State beat Texas A&M, 1-0.
“It was a daunting task coming in here but our guys were up to the challenge,” coach Matt Deggs said. “They’ve risen to the occasion all year. No stage has been too big. Our schedule has prepared us for moments like this.”
Righthander Dakota Mills threw 6 2/3 scoreless innings for Sam Houston State, scattering six hits and one walk. Righthander Miles Manning held Texas A&M to one hit in the final 2 1/3 innings to close out the shutout.
Sam Houston State is 16-3 since being swept in a pair of midweek games last month at Texas Tech. It goes into the final weekend of the regular season a game behind Southeastern Louisiana in the Southland Conference standings and, with an RPI of 50 according to WarrenNolan.com, still in contention for an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament.
Texas A&M wasn’t the only ranked team in the state to be upset Tuesday. No. 16 Rice was routed, 24-6, by Houston at Constellation Field in Sugar Land, Texas. With the victory, Houston claimed the Silver Glove Series, two games to one, for the third straight year.
Houston, which also beat Rice 13-0 last week, pounded out 18 hits and drew nine walks Tuesday. DH Joe Davis (3-for-6, 3 R, 6 RBIs) hit a grand slam, his 11th home run of the season, to lead the offense. All nine of the Cougars batters had at least one hit and scored at least two runs, and Davis was one of six who scored three times.
The state of Texas produced one more upset Tuesday, as Texas State defeated Texas, 3-2, snapping a 24-game losing streak to the Longhorns that dated back to 2005.
The Longhorns (21-28) have lost seven of their last eight games and are 10-7 against in-state opponents going into this weekend’s series against Baylor.
Texas led the game, 2-1, going into the seventh inning. But the Bobcats (28-25) scored once in the seventh to tie the game, and then edged ahead on an unearned run in the eighth. Righthander Pasquale Mazzoccoli struck out the side in the ninth to earn his 12th save of the season, a program record.
Mazzoccoli, a senior, said the Bobcats were happy to have finally snapped the losing streak.
“We’ve been hearing about it for a while…too long,” Mazzoccoli told the San Marcos Record. “We’ve beaten the Texas Longhorns. That sounds really good, doesn’t it?”
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