Is it Florida State’s year?
Posted by Eddie Griffin on Jun 11, 2008
So, is this the year that Mike Martin will finally be able to exhale?
Florida State is finally making their 19th trip to the College World Series after being absent since 2000, and the #4 national seed Seminoles will start the festivities on Saturday afternoon when they face Stanford.
So, the easy part is done. Now comes the hard part.
Fresno State and LSU complete comebacks to complete College World Series field
Posted by Eddie Griffin on Jun 9, 2008
After a late comeback gave LSU one more game in the old Alex Box Stadium, Paul Mainieri’s Tigers thought they’d send out the stadium with a vintage performance.
Good for LSU, very, very bad for UC Irvine. The Tigers pounded out 24 hits, including seven long balls, sending out the old stadium with a memorable 21-7 victory and sending themselves to their first trip to the College World Series since 2004.
Out west, however, Arizona State’s hitting prowess couldn’t save them, as Fresno State held off a late comeback to beat the #3 national seed Sun Devils 12-9, completing an unlikely comeback of their own and sealing their first berth in Omaha since 1991, while becoming the first #4 seed to go to Omaha since the 64-team format started in 1999.
Six teams in, last two College World Series berths to be decided on Monday
Posted by Eddie Griffin on Jun 9, 2008
Five national seeds are assured of a place in the College World Series, but it’ll be a manic Monday for two more top seeds.
Following #2 national seed North Carolina, #4 national seed Florida State, and Stanford, who swept #5 national seed Cal State Fullerton in two games, #1 Miami, #6 Rice, and #8 Georgia clinched Omaha berths on Sunday evening.
Florida State routs Wichita State to earn first CWS berth since 2000, North Carolina sweeps Coastal
Posted by Eddie Griffin on Jun 8, 2008
The Omaha drought is finally over for Florida State, but there’s still more to do to end another drought.
Just like they did last weekend at the Tallahassee Regional, FSU bounced back from a series-opening defeat to advance, as a big first inning spurred the Seminoles on to an 11-4 win over Wichita State in the decider of their super regional in Tallahassee.
Miami stays alive with slugfest win over Arizona, Arizona State pounds Fresno State to take series lead
Posted by Eddie Griffin on Jun 8, 2008
So, this is how Miami responds to being on the brink of elimination?
Following along with the big-hitting performances by ACC counterparts North Carolina State and Florida State earlier in the day, the Hurricanes rallied from an early 4-0 deficit to beat Arizona 14-10 and force a third and deciding game in their Super Regional in Coral Gables.
Stanford finishes off sweep of Fullerton to advance to Omaha, UC Irvine ends LSU’s win streak
Posted by Eddie Griffin on Jun 7, 2008
Well, I’m not always right.
After Stanford nipped Cal State Fullerton 4-3 last night in the opener of their super matchup at Goodwin Field, the Cardinal became the first team to book a berth in the College World Series with an 8-5 win over the Titans tonight.
In the process, Stanford qualifies for their first College World Series since 2003, when they were runner-up to Rice, and Cal State Fullerton is the first national seed to be eliminated.
Jason Castro must still be riding off a high from being taken 10th overall in the MLB Draft on Thursday, as Castro went 3 for 4 with 4 RBI in tonight’s win to lead Stanford at the plate.
Erik Davis lasted only 2.1 innings, but he left with a 4-3 lead. Austin Yount pitched the next 5.1 innings, staying in even after giving up two tying runs in the top of the 6th. That tie wouldn’t last long though, as Castro delivered the game’s decisive hit, a two-out, bases-clearing double that plated three runs and put the Cardinal up 8-5.
While one Big West team saw its season end today, another moved within a win of another College World Series trip, as UC Irvine ended LSU’s 23-game win streak with an 11-5 win, giving the Tigers a taste of their own medicine.
UC Irvine scored two in the first to take an early lead, but it was a close game until the 6th inning, when the Anteaters broke the game open. Sean Madigan’s three-run homer put UCI up 6-1, and they were far from done, as they scored two more in the 7th and three in the 8th, two coming on Brock Bardeen’s two-run homer.
Irvine out-hit LSU 13-9, and while the Tigers did add one more homer to their total, giving them 89 on the season, it was the relatively light-hitting Anteaters who had the day’s big blasts.
Scott Gorgen had a strong effort on the mound, going 6.2 innings, allowing six hits and one run, and he struck out eight to improve to 11-3 on the season.
The winning streak is over for LSU, but the season isn’t, and if they can come back with wins on Sunday and Monday, the Tigers can still have a chance at a national championship.
Bottom of the order, stellar pitching from St. Clair lead Rice to opening win over Texas A&M
Posted by Eddie Griffin on Jun 7, 2008
An early explosion of offense + Cole St. Clair late = a Rice win.
The Owls scored nine runs between the second and fifth innings, and their star reliever pitched 4.1 stellar innings out of the pen as Rice beat Texas A&M 9-7 in the first game of their Super Regional rematch at Rice’s Reckling Park.
Texas A&M took a 2-0 lead with runs in the first and second, but Rice scored two runs in the second, third, and fourth to take a 6-3 lead. The Aggies knotted the score at 6 in the 5th, but Rice went ahead to stay with three in the bottom of the inning, and with St. Clair in the game, it was a wrap from there.
St. Clair mowed A&M down 1, 2, 3 in the 6th and 7th, and after the Aggies put runners on first and second with no outs, St. Clair got out of trouble thanks to a flyout and a double play. He did allow a run in the 9th, but that was the only real blemish on his day, as he allowed only two hits and a run in 4.1 innings.
Texas A&M actually out-hit Rice 10-9, but the bottom of the order did a lot of damage for the Owls, as #8 hitter Chad Mozingo went 2 for 3 with two runs, and #9 hitter Jordan Dodson went 3 for 3 with two runs and four RBI.
In one game, the two teams scored more runs (16) than they did combined in the two games in last year’s meeting at this stage (12).
Tomorrow night’s game will start at 6 p.m. CT (7 ET), and it will be televised on ESPN2.
Mississippi State hires Kentucky coach Cohen, outgoing coach Polk displeased with choice
Posted by Eddie Griffin on Jun 7, 2008
I would’ve posted something on this already, but I wanted to take some time to digest everything before doing so.
Mississippi State has found its new head coach, and it’s no surprise to many MSU fans that it’s former Bulldog star John Cohen, who spent the last five seasons turning Kentucky from a doormat into a winner.
So, is it a great hire, or could new AD Greg Byrne have gone in another direction?
Florida State, N.C. State stay alive with Saturday wins
Posted by Eddie Griffin on Jun 7, 2008
Three ACC teams entered Saturday with their backs against the wall. Two have survived to fight another day, and the other will try to follow suit tonight.
In Athens, N.C. State broke out the bats in a big way today to force a third game with Georgia, pounding out 12 hits and taking advantage of wildness by the Bulldog hurlers in a 10-6 victory.
Wichita State’s bats overpower FSU, Gaston’s blast lifts ‘Zona over Miami
Posted by Eddie Griffin on Jun 6, 2008
Today wasn’t the best day to be a baseball team in the Sunshine State, as both #1 Miami and #4 Florida State fell in the openers of their Super Regional matchups today, and unless they win tomorrow and Sunday, are facing a long summer.
I said in my predictions here and in my preview on Southern College Sports that pitching needed to improve for FSU heading into their matchup against Wichita State, and while the bats did put up seven runs against Wichita State pitching, it wasn’t enough, as the Shockers were the ones who ruled the day with their bats in a 10-7 win.
