Moldenhauer's grand slam lifts Texas to win, 7-2!

Russell Moldenhauer hit a grand slam during a five-run fifth-inning outburst as Texas beat Oklahoma State 7-2 on Saturday, the Longhorns' second win in as many games in a key Big 12 Conference baseball series.

First-place Texas (36-12, 16-4 Big 12) entered the three-game series at Oklahoma State (31-12, 10-7) with a one-game lead over the Cowboys in the loss column. The loss dropped Oklahoma State one game behind Missouri in the league standings.

Corey Brown's team-leading 17th home run of the season, which followed a single by Ty Wright, gave Oklahoma State a 2-0 lead in the first inning, but the Cowboys managed only five hits after that.

Texas' Preston Clark tied the game in the fourth inning with a two-run home run off Oliver Odle (4-4).

In the fifth, Moldenhauer hit his grand slam off reliever Tyler Lyons, and Nick Peoples followed with a solo homer, putting the Longhorns ahead 7-2.

Texas starter Adrian Alaniz (11-2) allowed seven hits, walked four and struck out six in 6 1/3 innings.

Oklahoma State loaded the bases with one out in the seventh, but Joseph Krebs relieved Alaniz and struck out Brown and Tyler Mach to end the threat.

Texas Recap

Texas.Scout.com

OSU Recap

No. 5 Texas takes series opener against Oklahoma State, 3-2

They couldn't bunt or sacrifice runners over.

They walked too many batters (six) early in the game.

They didn't run the bases well.

The Texas Longhorns did everything in their power early on to help Oklahoma State pull closer in the Big 12 baseball standings.

They overcame it, though.

The Longhorns strengthened their grip on first place in the conference thanks to great relief performances by pitchers Joseph Krebs and Randy Boone, who recorded the final out with the tying run on third base as Texas pulled out a 3-2 victory over Oklahoma State on Friday at Reynolds Stadium.

"This was one of the most competitive games we've had this season," said Texas coach Augie Garrido, whose team has a 3 1/2-game lead in the Big 12. "Both teams made mistakes, us with bunting and sacrificing, them with baserunning."

The Cowboys' most costly baserunning blunder came in the ninth, after Boone, who picked up his 11th save, walked the leadoff hitter.

After Texas forced out the lead runner at second on an attempted sacrifice, Cowboys leadoff hitter Keanon Simon singled on a ball under first baseman Chance Wheeless' glove. OSU's Martin Beno moved to third on the play.

But Simon, looking to head to second on Kyle Russell's throw to third base, became caught in a rundown, and the Longhorns executed it perfectly, with Travis Tucker finally tagging out Simon.

"That was something we've practiced for maybe 10 minutes this season, and it paid off because everybody executed it perfectly," Wheeless said.

Boone retired Ty Wright on a groundout to short to end the game.

Texas (35-12, 15-4 Big 12) took the lead in the seventh inning thanks to Nick Peoples, who led off with a triple.

After Clark walked, Cowboys relief pitcher Justin Friend was called for a balk, giving Texas the lead as Peoples scored and Clark advanced to second.

It was a lucky break for the Longhorns, who struggled to score. Tucker was picked off first base in the sixth, and twice Longhorn runners were doubled up.

"It was a championship-type game," Garrido said, "and we were able to overcome those things."

Texas fell behind in the fifth inning, when starter James Russell walked two batters and plunked another, which led to two OSU runs. The Longhorns fought back as Russell Moldenhauer put them on the board in the fifth inning, slamming a 1-1 pitch over the right-field fence.

He crossed home plate screaming, "Let's go! Let's go."

Texas added another run in the sixth inning, as Wheeless drilled a ball to the same spot, tying the game at 2.

The Cowboys (31-11, 10-6) threatened in the sixth inning, when reliever Pat McCrory came in and walked two batters, who were sacrificed to second and third on a bunt.

After McCrory came up with a big strikeout of pinch hitter Steve Ptak, Krebs entered the game and struck out Keanon Simon to end the inning. Krebs (6-0) struck out two more in the seventh and another in the eighth, pitching a perfect 1 2/3 innings.

"That's not going to happen too often," Krebs said of the strikeouts. "They were just swinging at a lot of pitches."

When Krebs left, Boone took over, striking out the final two batters in the eighth and finishing it off in the ninth

"Any close game is going to be good for relievers," Texas pitching coach Skip Johnson said. "Our bullpen did a great job coming into a tough atmosphere. That's really going to help down the road."

OSU Recap

Texas.scout.com

Texas Recap

College of Charleston wins 7-2 over The Citadel

Nick Chigges (8-0) threw eight strong innings while giving up only five hits to lead the College of Charleston to a 7-2 victory over The Citadel. College of Charleston was led on offense by Stuart Haywood who went 2-5 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored. The Cougars took advantage of five Bulldogs errors to score three unearned runs. Wes Wrenn got the loss for the Bulldogs to drop his record to 3-5.

College of Charleston Recap
The Citadel Recap

ACC Recap for April 27th

Florida State 7 Miami 6

The Florida State Seminoles scored four runs in the ninth to pick up a come from behind victory over Miami 7-6 in a key ACC series. FSU got to Dennis Raben for three runs in his 1/3 inning of work. FSU was led by Tony Thomas Jr. who went 2-5 with 2 RBI including a two run homer in the ninth that tied the game and was followed by Mark Hallberg who hit the tie-breaking homer as the next batter. Miami's leading offensive player was Roger Tomas who picked up three hits in his four at bats including two runs scored.

FSU Recap
Miami Recap

NC State 11 UNC 1

The NC State Wolfpack jumped all over starter Robert Woodard for eight runs in 4.1 innings to cruise to a 11-1 victory over UNC. Marcus Jones led the Wolfpack by driving in five runs including a grand slam in the second inning. Eric Surkamp scattered eight hits in seven strong innings to up his record to 4-2.

NC State Recap
UNC Recap

UVA 14 Maryland 0

Jacob Thompson pitched a complete game four hitter to up his record to 10-0. The Cavalier offensive stars were Brandon Marsh and Jeremy Farrell who each got four hits. Kevin Biringer got the loss to drop his record to 3-9.

UVA Recap
Maryland Recap

Clemson 3 Georgia Tech 2 (11 innings)

The Clemson Tigers got a walk-off homer from junior catcher Doug Hogan off of Matt Wieters in the bottom of the eleventh to walk off with a 3-2 victory over Georgia Tech.

Clemson Recap
GT Recap

Wake Forest 13 Duke 6

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons picked up a key ACC victory over Duke 13-6. The Deacons scored six runs in the first and sixth innings to get the victory. Allan Dykstra, Willy Fox, Dustin Hood, and Brett Linnenkohl all had three hits in the winning effort.

Wake Forest Recap
Duke Recap

Virginia Tech at BC

The game was postponed due to rain and the teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday and a single game on Sunday.

BC Recap
VT Recap

The CBB is moving

The College Baseball Blog will be moving this weekend to a bigger office so the Blog might have an outage in terms of updates. I hope to have Internet access all weekend and make it to the BC-Virginia Tech game on Sunday but I am not guaranteeing anything. I hope everyone stays healthy and continues to visit the blog. I am actually thinking about getting some real web space on the Internet and upgrading this blog soon to a more powerful server this summer.

College of Charleston heads to The Citadel

The College of Charleston heads across town to face The Citadel in a crucial Southern Conference match-up. College of Charleston enters the weekend with a 31-10 overall record and an impressive 12-3 in the Southern Conference. The Cougars took two out of three games last weekend over the Furman Paladins. The Citadel enter with a respectable 24-16 overall record and 8-7 in the Southern Conference.

Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday: Wes Wrenn (3-4, 5.88 ERA) vs Nick Chigges (7-0, 3.01 ERA)
Saturday: Matt Crim (4-2, 5.00 ERA) vs Jeff Beliveau (3-1, 3.79 ERA)
Sunday: Chris McGuiness (2-0, 5.19 ERA) vs Michael Bunton (3-0, 6.19 ERA)

CSTV Going Yard series

The Going Yard blog from CSTV is a very interesting read as two guys are traveling across the country covering college baseball from North Carolina to California. They are currently in the Los Angelos area and the full series of posts from the trip are available here.

ACC Weekend Preview for 4/27-4/29

Florida State at Miami

The Florida State Seminoles head down to Miami in a big conference showdown this weekend. FSU enters the series with a 37-6 overall record and are in first place in the Atlantic Division with a 15-3 conference record. Florida State is coming off a tough series with North Carolina last weekend in which the Noles took two out of the three games. Miami enters with a 26-17 record and only 11-10 in the ACC. The Miami program is in a rebuilding mood and they took a three game series up in Blacksburg VA last weekend. The CBB predicts that FSU takes two out of three games.

Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday: Scott Maine (3-5, 3.43 ERA) vs Bryan Henry (10-0, 2.24 ERA)
Saturday: Enrique Garcia (4-2, 2.67 ERA) vs Ryan Strauss (8-1, 2.98 ERA)
Sunday: Eric Erickson (5-3, 2.29 ERA) vs TBA

FSU Game Notes
Miami Game Notes

North Carolina at NC State

The North Carolina Tar Heels head to Raleigh to take on their arch rival NC State in a key ACC series. North Carolina enters with a 35-9 overall record and 14-7 in the ACC. UNC is led by All-American candidate Robert Woodard who leads the team with a 7-1 record and has a very solid ERA of 2.05. Dustin Ackley leads the offense with .451 batting average which is second in the ACC and fourth overall in the country. NC State enters with a 28-14 record and 11-10 in the ACC. NC State was swept last weekend by Georgia Tech but picked up a non-conference win over UNC-Wilmington on Wednesday. Mike Roskopf over his last 15 games has six homers to lead the Pack attack. The CBB predicts UNC to take 2 out of 3 games.

Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday: Robert Woodard (7-1, 2.05 ERA) vs Eric Surkamp (3-2, 2.88 ERA)
Saturday: Alex White (4-3, 3.26 ERA) vs Andrew Brackman (6-4, 3.90 ERA)
Sunday: Luke Putkonen (6-1, 3.78 ERA) vs Jimmy Gillheeney (3-2, 4.32 ERA)

UNC Game Notes
NC State Game Notes

Maryland at Virginia

The Virginia Cavaliers will welcome the Maryland Terrapins for an ACC series this weekend. The Cavaliers are in second place only a half game back of North Carolina while Maryland is in last place in the Atlantic Division where they are a whooping eleven games back in the loss column behind Florida State. The Cavaliers are currently on a two game losing streak by losing the final game of their series with Clemson last weekend and picking up a non-conference loss to James Madison on Wednesday in 14 innings. That loss dropped the Cavaliers overall record to 34-10 and they have a 13-7 record in the ACC. Maryland enters with a 23-21 record but 7-14 in the ACC. They lost to West Virginia on Tuesday 13-2 and lost two out of three to Duke last weekend. The CBB predicts UVA to sweep Maryland.

Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday: Jacob Thompson (9-0, 1.54 ERA) vs Casey Baron (4-3, 3.66 ERA)
Saturday: Matt Packer (3-2, 3.38 ERA) vs Ryan Moorer (3-3, 4.97 ERA)
Sunday: Sean Doolittle (6-3, 2.33 ERA) vs Kevin Biringer (3-8, 5.98 ERA)

Maryland Game Notes
Virginia Game Notes

Georgia Tech at Clemson

Georgia Tech (26-15, 13-7 ACC) heads to Clemson University (27-14, 11-7 ACC) as both teams are trying to increase their potential seeding in the end of season ACC Tournament. Georgia Tech is led by Danny Payne (.391 BA) and Matt Wieters (.359 BA, 7 HR). Clemson has moved All-American closer candidate Daniel Moskos into the number 1 starter role and he has just been average in that role. Doug Hogan leads the Clemson offense with a with a .319 average. The CBB predicts that GT takes 2 out of 3 games.

Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday: David Duncan (5-2, 3.03) vs. Daniel Moskos (3-3, 2.29)
Saturday: Eddie Burns (3-0, 2.98) vs. David Kopp (4-2, 3.32)
Sunday: Ryan Turner (3-3, 3.99) vs. Ryan Hinson (4-1, 2.03)

GT Game Notes
Clemson Game Notes

Duke at Wake Forest

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons (24-22, 8-13 ACC) snapped a three game losing streak by picking up two non-conference road wins over Charlotte and Appalachian State. Duke (26-17, 6-15 ACC) took two out of three games last weekend against Maryland and also picked up a 12-0 victory over Campbell on Tuesday. The Blue Devils have been getting outstanding pitching from Tony Bajoczky who has a 8-2 record and a 2.70 ERA. The CBB predicts Duke to take two out of three games from the Deacons.

Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday: Alexander Hassan (2-3, 3.83 ERA) vs Brad Kledzik (3-3, 4.75 ERA)
Saturday: Tony Bajoczky (8-2, 2.70 ERA) vs Garrett Bullock (3-1. 4.91 ERA)
Sunday: TBA vs Charlie Mellies (1-2, 9.00 ERA)

Wake Forest Game Notes
Duke Game Notes

Virginia Tech at Boston College

Peter Hughes leads his Virginia Tech Hokies into Chestnut Hill in a battle between old friends. Peter Hughes was the head coach of Boston College for eight seasons but left after the 2006 season for Virginia Tech to replace coaching legend Chuck Hartman. Hughes former assistant coach and former teammate at Davidson Mikio Aoki was named the new head coach and he has seen some success this season by putting the Eagles into the race for an ACC tourney spot. The Eagles enter with a 16-22-1 overall record but are in eighth place in the conference with a 9-12 mark. The CBB predicts that BC takes 2 out of 3 from the Hokies.

Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday: Kevin Boggan (3-4, 4.02 ERA) vs Greg Fryman (2-7, 7.63 ERA)
Saturday: Nate Jeanes (1-3, 4.70 ERA) vs Andrew Wells (2-4, 5.84 ERA)
Sunday: Terry Doyle (2-3, 5.40 ERA) vs Adam Redd (2-4, 4.02 ERA)

Virginia Tech Game Notes
Boston College Stats

Stan Widmann is recovering

The Clemson Tigers Stan Widmann has been sidelined most of the year after discovering a benign tumor in his neck. The Charleston SC based Post and Courier recently wrote an article checking in on his recovery which can be read here.

ACC Recap for April 25th

Clemson 14 South Carolina 5

The Clemson Tigers bats came alive at Doug Kingsmore Stadium by grabbing 16 hits as the Tigers rolled to a 14-5 victory over South Carolina. Wilson Boyd led the Tigers with 4 RBI with Ben Paulsen and Taylor Harbin with three hits and three RBI. D. J. Mitchell picked up his second win of the season by pitching six solid innings while giving up only one run on four hits and three walks. His record goes to 2-0 on the season. South Carolina starter Blake Cooper went four innings while giving up 2 runs (one earned) but grabbed the loss to drop his record to 5-1. The Tigers did most of their damage against Alex Farutto who gave up four runs in 0.2 innings. Clemson will be back in action when they host Georgia Tech while South Carolina will head to Alabama.

Clemson Recap
South Carolina Recap

North Carolina 3 High Point 1

The North Carolina Tar Heels got 6.2 innings of shutout relief from Rob Wooten, Matt Danford, and Andrew Carignan combined which carried the Tar Heels to the 3-1 victory over High Point. North Carolina was led on offense by Josh Horton who hit a homer to drive in a run while Seth Williams and Tim Federowicz each had an RBI to account for all the Tar Heels run. North Carolina will be back in action this weekend when they head to NC State while High Point heads to Longwood on Thursday.

UNC Recap
High Point Recap

James Madison 7 Virginia 6 (14 innings)

The James Madison Dukes scored five runs in the top of the 14th inning but ended up giving up four runs in the bottom of the 14th to hold onto a 7-6 victory over Virginia on Wednesday. The Dukes were led by Mitchell Moses who went 3-6 with four RBI including two homers while lead-off hitter Davis Stoneburner went 4-7. Virginia was led by David Adams who went 3-6. James Madison will head to Georgia State in a conference match-up while Virginia hosts Maryland.

UVA Recap
JMU Recap

NC State 6 UNC-Wilmington 1

Caleb Mangum drove in four runs to lead the Wolfpack to the 6-1 victory over the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks in non-conference action on Wednesday. Clayton Shunick (4-2) got the win by going 2.2 innings while giving up only one hit. Andrew Morgan got the loss to drop to 0-1 on the season. NC State will host UNC for a weekend series while Wilmington heads to William & Mary.

NC State Recap
UNC-Wilmington Recap

Miami 7 Stetson 3

Dennis Raben led the Hurricanes to a 7-3 victory by going 2-3 with a homer and 2 RBI. Yonder Alonso also hit a homer with his only hit in the game. Manny Miguelez went seven strong innings while only giving up only three runs to send his record to 1-2 on the season. Corey Kluber got his first loss of the season by giving up five runs in five innings to drop his record to 8-1. Miami will host FSU for a weekend showdown while Stetson heads to UCF next Wednesday for another mid-week match-up.

Miami Recap
Stetson Recap

Virginia Tech 8 Radford 3

Rob Whitley pitched six shutout innings in his first start in over a month to lead the Hokies to a 8-3 victory over Radford. The win was Whitley's first of his young career. He was led on offense by Jose Cueto who went 2-5 with an RBI. The Hokies will be back in action on Friday at Boston College. The CBB will be moving their offices on Saturday and MIGHT be at Sunday's series finale. Radford will host Mars Hill for a weekend series.

VT Recap
Radford Recap

Wake Forest 13 Appalachian State 5

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons won their second straight game in as many days with a 13-5 victory over Appalachian State in Boone NC. The Demon Deacons used a 17 hit attack but the biggest news of the game was the return of Willy Fox who missed the last 15 games with a laceration to his leg from a botched robbery at his residence in which he was stabbed by the intruder. Wake Forest will be back in action on Friday when they host Duke while ASU will play host to UNC-Asheville.

Wake Forest Recap
Appalachian State Recap

Northeastern 2 Boston College 0

Click here for Full Recap

Conference USA Wednesday recap

Memphis 19, SE MO State 8

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - The University of Memphis record books were rewritten on Wednesday afternoon as the Tigers (27-16) exploded for a school-record 12 runs in the fifth inning to take command of the ballgame en route to a 19-8 thrashing of Southeast Missouri (25-17) in the series finale at Capaha Field. Adam Amar went 3-for-4 on the day to claim Memphis' all-time hits mark, surpassing former Tiger standout Steve Moss' 240 career hits.

The Tiger offense reset a total of four single-inning marks with the 12-run outburst. Among those new records are the 15 plate appearances, 14 at-bats and the 18 total bases. The former mark for runs scored in a single frame was 11, set by the 1978 Tigers in a 39-run route of Delta State.

Memphis recap
Southeast Missouri State recap

Tulane 11, Nicholls State 5
METAIRIE, La. - The top six hitters in the Green Wave lineup combined to go 11-for-23 at the plate and the Green Wave used a nine-run fifth inning to erase a 5-0 deficit as the Tulane University baseball team defeated Nicholls State, 11-5, Wednesday evening at Zephyr Field.

Trailing 5-0 after four and a half innings, the team held a players-only meeting in the dugout and came out with a purpose as the Green Wave pounded out seven of their 13 hits in the stanza to snap a three-game losing streak. With the victory, Tulane improves to 29-14 on the year. Nicholls State, meanwhile, falls to 5-27.

Nicholls State recap
Tulane recap

No. 19 Mississippi State 7, Southern Miss 4
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Edward Easley finished with a walk, a double, two home runs and four RBIs to lead Mississippi State to a 7-4 win over Southern Miss, tonight, in the second midweek game, completing the two-game sweep.

The home team has swept the series for the past two years. Southern Miss won both games in 2006 in Hattiesburg, winning 13-6 and 6-3.

Mississippi State (27-10) scored seven runs on 11 hits and committed one error, while Southern Miss (25-18) scored four runs on eight hits and committed one error. Each team turned two double plays. The Golden Eagles left seven runners on base, while the Bulldogs stranded only four runners.

Southern Miss recap
Mississippi State recap

Ohio 7, Marshall 6
ATHENS, Ohio - For the second time this season Ohio used a come-from-behind effort at Bob Wren Stadium to upend the Marshall baseball team, this instance thanks to a game-tying, two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth followed by the winning run in the 11th for a 7-6 Bobcat victory on Wednesday.

Marshall led 6-4 heading into Ohio's final at bat when freshman first baseman Marc Krauss hit a Nick Wolle (Coatesville, Pa.) offering over the left centerfield wall, his second home run of the game, to tie the contest and send it into extra innings. In the 11th inning, right fielder Matt Stiffler doubled and scored on a single by Jared Willis that was aided by a Herd error in left field.

Marshall (17-22) out-hit the Bobcats (15-23) 13-11 and stole two bases to Ohio's zero.

Marshall recap
Ohio recap

Northeastern wins the Beanpot

The Northeastern Huskies won the Baseball Beanpot 2-0 over the Boston College Eagles on Wednesday afternoon at Fenway Park. Dan Milano hit an RBI single to drive in Mike Lyon with the first run of the game and took second base on the throw to the plate. The Huskies used some small ball tactics to get Milano home as he advanced to third on a fly out to the outfield and came home on a sacrifice fly by James Donaldson to stake Northeastern to the 2-0 lead. The Eagles only got five hits in the game with Jett Ruiz and Michael Belfiore each getting two hits in the game. Husky pitchers Sheldon McDonald, Bobby Carrington, Dan Zehr, and Ryan Quigley all combined to give Northeastern the shutout victory over BC. Bobby Carrington (1-0) got the victory by working two innings while Ryan Quigley picked up his fifth save. Ted Ratliff picks up the loss to drop to 4-2 on the season.

Northeastern Recap
BC Recap

Russell hits for cycle as Longhorns rout UT-Pan American!

The question is would you rather hit for the cycle or hit a two-run home run in the first inning for three consecutive games?

Some baseball players don't have to choose. Texas right fielder Kyle Russell accomplished both feats Tuesday night.

Russell's first-inning two-run homer against UT-Pan American was the beginning of his hitting for the cycle in the Longhorns' 11-1 victory, which was called in the seventh inning at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. The game ended early because UT-Pan American wanted to try to avoid the severe weather sweeping across the state.

Russell, who leads the nation with 24 home runs, tripled in the fifth, doubled in the sixth and singled in Jordan Danks in the seventh to end the game.

"It's the first cycle I've ever hit," said Russell, who was 4 for 5 with a career-high five RBIs. "To do it at home in front of the burnt orange nation is really special."

And the first-inning home runs are becoming routine. It's the same runner on base, in the same inning, ending with the same result.

First Chance Wheeless, the Longhorns' No. 2 hitter, gets on base, as he did Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday. Then Russell hits a home run.

Not only that, but Russell has hit each of the home runs to the same spot in left-center field.

"We were talking about it in the dugout. It's been amazing. Kyle told me before we went up there that if I got on base, he would knock me in," Wheeless said.

"I didn't want to break my promise," Russell responded.

He didn't. In fact, Russell drove Wheeless in three times Tuesday, and both players scored in the first, fifth and sixth innings.

"I think he got tired of running today," Russell joked.

Both the cycle and the home runs have impressed Texas coach Augie Garrido.

"It's the many miracles of baseball," Garrido said. "They pop up all the time, like Boston hitting four home runs in a row (against the Yankees on Sunday)."

Russell and Wheeless got Texas (34-12) going, and Austin Wood and reliever Josh Prince shut down UT-Pan American (15-34). Wood gave up a run on four hits in six innings.

Texas Recap

Texas.scout.com

River Ave. Blues checks in with The CBB

River Ave. Blues recently sat down with us and wanted to discuss the upcoming MLB draft. I spoke about many different players and their draft stock based on my observations and my conversations with MLB scouts. The full interview is available here.

I know that Red Sox and Yankees fans are not suppose to get along but River Ave. Blues has a ton of great information on the Yankees and is well run.

ACC Recap for April 24th

UNC 10 ECU 0

The North Carolina Tar Heels rolled over East Carolina 10-0 behind a strong pitching performance from Adam Warren who went seven shutout innings to up his record to 8-0. Tim Fedroff picked up four RBI to lead the UNC offense. UNC will be back in action on Wednesday when they host High Point before going to NC State for a key ACC showdown. East Carolina will be back in action this weekend when they host Southern Mississippi.

UNC Recap
East Carolina Recap

Elon 13 Clemson 12

The Phoenix were able to edge the Clemson Tigers 13-12 in a classic slugfest in Clemson SC. Pat Irvine went 2-2 with 3 RBI including a homer and teammate Mike Melillo picked up a homer to lead the Phoenix offense to the victory. Doug Hogan went 2-3 with 5 RBI including a homer to lead the Clemson offense in the loss. Elon will host UNC-Greensboro for a weekend series while Clemson plays South Carolina on Wednesday.

Elon Recap
Clemson Recap

Wake Forest 3 Charlotte 2 (11 innings)

Brett Linnenkohl hit a homer in the top of the 11th inning to give the Wake Forest Demon Deacons a 3-2 lead and Josh Ellis pitched a scoreless bottom of the 11th to break a three game losing streak for the Deacons. Aaron Bray led the 49ers with three hits while Evan Ocheltree went 2-4. Wake Forest will head to Appalchin State on Wednesday while Charlotte will head to George Washington for a conference series on Friday.

Wake Forest Recap
Charlotte Recap

Duke 12 Campbell 0

Nate Freiman hit two homers and Jimmy Gallagher went 5-6 only a triple shy of the cycle to lead the Blue Devils to the 12-0 victory over Campbell. Jonathan Anderson got the victory on the mound by pitching five scoreless innings. Duke will be off until Friday when they head to Wake Forest while Campbell hosts Gardner-Webb in a conference series.

Duke Recap
Campbell Recap
Duke Chronicle

Georgia 10 Georgia Tech 7

The Bulldogs picked up a 10-7 victory over Georgia Tech. The Bulldogs were led by Matt Olson who went 4-5 with six RBI. The Bulldogs jumped on GA Tech starter John Goodman who only lasted 1.1 innings while giving up four runs on two hits and three walks to drop his record to 1-2 on the season. Jason Leaver picked up the victory by pitching going his scheduled three innings while giving up three runs. His record goes to 1-1 on the season. Josh Fields who has struggled throughout the season pitched a scoreless ninth to get his fourth save of the season. Georgia Tech will host Clemson for a weekend series while Georgia plays at Western Carolina on Wednesday.

UGA Recap
GT Recap

West Virginia 13 Maryland 2

The West Virginia Mountaineers blew out the Maryland Terrapins 13-2 in a battle between the Big East and ACC. West Virginia used a 16 hit attack led by Tyler Kuhn who went 3-6 with four RBI in the win. Maryland starter Mike Sufczynski picked up the loss to drop his record to 0-2 while Josh Whitlock got the win by pitching eight innings while allowing only two runs to up his record to 6-3. West Virginia is back in action on Friday when they host St. John's while Maryland will head to Virginia on Friday.

WVU Recap
Maryland Recap
The Diamondback Recap

James Madison 8 Virginia Tech 6

The James Madison Dukes scored four runs on wild pitches as they took a non-conference game from Virginia Tech on Tuesday. Matt Browning went 3-4 with two runs scored to lead the Dukes offense. The Hokie offense was led by Nate Parks who also went 3-4 with one run scored. The Hokies will be back in action on Wednesday when they host Radford while JMU visits UVA on Wednesday.

VA Tech Recap
VT Student Paper Recap

Coastal Carolina beats The Citadel

Coastal Carolina headed to Riley Park on Tuesday to take on The Citadel Bulldogs and came away with a 5-1 victory. Matt Rademacher led the offense with 3 RBI and freshman starting pitching Nick McCully pitched 5.0 innings while only allowing one run on four hits and a walk. His record goes to 3-2 on the season. The Citadel starter Matt Reifsnider gave up three runs (two earned) over his five innings to drop his record to 2-2. The offensive star for the Bulldogs were Chris Swauger and Matt Arnold who each had two hits in the game. Both teams will head back to conference action with The Citadel hosting the College of Charleston while Coastal Carolina will host Liberty. Both series start Friday.

Coastal Carolina Recap
The Citadel Recap

NCBWA National Players of the Week

FROM NCBWA RELEASE
DALLAS - The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) released the Pro-Line Athletic National Player of the Week awards for the period ending April 24, today. Oakland senior first baseman Ryan Heath was named National Hitter of the Week, while St. John's sophomore left-handed pitcher Scott Barnes was named National Pitcher of the Week. The NCBWA Board reviews candidates from each Division I conferences each week and names winners each Tuesday throughout the season.

Heath was 9-25 (.360) with 10 runs scored, two doubles, four home runs and 18 RBI for the week. In Saturday's doubleheader against Western Illinois, he hit a combined 5-7 at the plate with four home runs-including three grand slams-a double, 14 RBI and five runs scored. The Ostrander, Ohio, native was 3-3 with two grand slams, a double, a career high nine RBI and three runs scored in game one. He followed that by going 2-4 with a grand slam, a solo home run, a walk, five RBI and two runs scored in the nightcap. Prior to that day, Heath had not hit a home run this season and had never hit a grand slam. His 14 RBI more than doubled the 12 runs he'd driven home in the 30 games leading up to his career day and his nine RBI in the first game surpassed his previous best of four which he had done twice last year.

Barnes threw the first no-hitter in St. John's Head Coach Ed Blankmeyer's 12-year tenure at the school as he blanked Georgetown, 16-0, and finished with 14 strikeouts, tying his career high. He was three walks from a perfect game and threw 130 pitches in the complete-game shutout. Barnes became the first St. John's pitcher to throw a no-hitter since Gerry McKiernan did it in 1976. The Chicopee, Mass., native punched out the final batter he faced with his 130th pitch of the night on Friday, completing his no-hit bid and earning the Red Storm's second-straight shutout. He worked five 1-2-3 innings, struck out the side three times and helped his own cause by saving a hit in the Georgetown sixth.

With this week's honor, Barnes automatically are named to the watch list for Roger Clemens Award, given to the national collegiate pitcher of the year, sponsored by the Greater Houston Baseball Organization.

Fort Worth-based Pro-Line Athletic supplies the official cap to more than 100 Division I college teams and official uniforms and team wear to six Division 1 college teams. This is the third season Pro-Line has sponsored the NCBWA's Players of the Week. The sponsorship provides for plaques to be awarded to each of the weekly winners and other promotional consideration. For more information about Pro-Line, visit their Website at: www.prolineathletic.com.

C-USA baseball notebook

After posting its first-ever three-game sweep at Tulane, the Houston Cougars are back in the national rankings. Houston appeared at No. 28 in this week's Collegiate Baseball poll, becoming the fifth different Conference USA school to be ranked this season. The Cougars sit alone in second place in the conference standings, trailing cross-town rival Rice. The Owls, who were 4-0 last week, including a win over No. 6 Texas, have moved up to No. 3 in the national polls. The entire notebook can be viewed here.

Florida State to change rotation?

Mike Martin is looking at the starting rotation and might be mixing things up this weekend when the Seminoles visit Miami. Florida State has one of the top pitchers in the country in Bryan Henry but Michael Hyde has started to struggle with two consecutive losses and a no-decision in his last start against North Carolina in which he only lasted 3.1 innings. Ryan Strauss also struggled mightly against North Carolina on Sunday by giving up five runs in 3.2 innings. The Tallahassee Democrat discusses the topic here.

Baseball America Update

Aaron Fitt of Baseball America has recently posted an article about the Big East conference, Houston Cougars, and the Minnesota Gophers. The full article is available here.

Aaron also did a chat about the new Top 25 that Baseball America released Monday. He discusses many different teams and issues in college baseball. The full chat can be read here.

Beanpot Final Preview

The Boston College Eagles (16-21-1) will head to Fenway Park this Wednesday to take on the Northeastern Huskies in the Beanpot Final. BC is coming off a weekend sweep over Wake Forest in which they had walk-off wins on Friday and Saturday, On Sunday, the Eagles offense came together and put an 18 hit attack to blow out the Demon Deacons 11-5. The Eagles will probably send Ted Ratliff to the mound who has been a very solid mid-week starter. He enters with a 4-1 record and a 4.69 ERA.

Northeastern enters Wednesday game with a solid 19-10 record and took two out of three games with Georgia State this past weekend. The Huskies have been getting solid pitching throughout the season with a Team ERA of 4.80. The Huskies are led on offense by Mike Tamsin (.364 BA) and Dan Milano (.351 BA, 8 HR). The Huskies are expected to start Dan Zehr who is 3-2 with a 4.50 ERA.

I would like to see a great crowd at Fenway on Wednesday supporting college baseball in New England. The weather is suppose to be fine and enjoy a day of baseball at Fenway Park. It is not too often that you can get box seats at Fenway for five bucks.

Harvard will not be participating in the consolation game because of a scheduling conflict with Yale. According to the UMass Athletics site, They will take on Holy Cross at 12pm.

NU Stats
BC Stats
BC Student Paper Preview

Southern Conference Players of the Week

The Southern Conference has announced Alex Garabedian of College of Charleston was named the player of the week for the week ending on April 23rd. He hit .522 (12 for 23) with two homers while scoring five runs and driving six runs in.

College of Charleston Release
Southern Conference Release

The Southern Conference also has announced that Western Carolina's Greg Holland. He picked up three wins in four appearances last week.

Western Carolina Release
Southern Conference Release

The Citadel hosts Coastal Carolina

The Citadel Bulldogs will welcome Coastal Carolina who is ranked 20th in the nation by the NCBWA. The Bulldogs are coming off a series with Davidson over the weekend in which they took two out of three games from Davidson. Matt Reifsnider will get the mid-week start with a 2-1 record and an ERA of 4.39. Coastal Carolina swept VMI in a weekend series and enter with an overall record of 33-8 and also an impressive 11-1 in the Big South. The Chanticleers will send Nick McCully to the hill sporting a 2-2 record and a 3.60 ERA.

The Citadel Game Notes
Coastal Carolina Game Notes

ACC Players of the Week

Danny Payne of Georgia Tech was named the ACC Player of the Week after hitting .545 over four games last week. The Yellow Jackets won all four games of the week with a victory over Georgia on Wednesday and sweeping NC State in a three game ACC series this past weekend.

David Duncan also of Georgia Tech and Bryan Henry of FSU were named Co-Pitchers of the Week for the ACC. Duncan pitched 8.2 innings on Friday against NC State in which he only allowed one run on two hits while striking out eleven batters. The Jackets ended up scoring two runs in the bottom of the ninth to walk-off with a 2-1 victory. Bryan Henry also started on Friday and held the North Carolina Tar Heels to one run on four hits in eight innings. He upped his record to 10-0 on the season.

ACC Release
GT Release
FSU Release

NCBWA Apr. 23 Division I Poll

FROM NCBWA RELEASE
DALLAS - The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association continues its tradition of NCAA Division I polls for the 10th year with its 2007 weekly surveys. Weekly polls will be circulated from Feb. 12-June 26 following the NCAA World Series in Omaha, Neb.

The poll voters come from 32 college baseball writers and related media persons from throughout the nation. This week's poll has representation by 13 different conferences (ties for highest representation in a 2007 weekly polls by various leagues) among the 293 baseball-playing schools in the '07 NCAA Division I ranks, and 17 circuits have had teams in the polls in '07. For more information or to join the NCBWA, please go to www.ncbwa.com.

Rank-School-Conference-Overall Record-Previous Rank
1 Vanderbilt Southeastern 35-8 1
2 Florida State Atlantic Coast 37-6 3
3 Rice Conference USA 33-11 6
4 South Carolina SEC 31-10 4
5 Texas Big 12 33-12 5
6 North Carolina ACC 33-9 2
7 Virginia ACC 34-9 8
8 Arkansas SEC 32-11 7
9 Oregon State Pacific-10 31-8 9
10 Arizona State Pac-10 32-10 11
11 Wichita State Missouri Valley 34-9 14
12 Oklahoma State Big 12 31-10 15
13 Arizona Pac-10 31-9 10
14 Cal State Fullerton Big West 26-12 17
15 Pepperdine West Coast 30-13 12
16 Texas A&M Big 12 32-10 16
17 Clemson ACC 26-13 13
18 Mississippi SEC 27-15 19
19 Mississippi State SEC 25-10 18
20 Coastal Carolina Big South 33-8 21
21 San Diego West Coast 32-14 22
22 Charlotte Atlantic 10 32-7 23
23 UC Irvine Big West 28-11-1 t27
24 NC State ACC 27-14 20
t25 College of Charleston Southern 31-10 NR
t25 East Carolina C-USA 28-12 NR
27 Oklahoma Big 12 27-15 26
28 Long Beach State Big West 23-14 29
29 Michigan Big Ten 26-8 NR
30 Stetson Atlantic Sun 32-11 30

Others receiving votes (listed alphabetically): Creighton (27-11), Georgia Tech(26-14), Kentucky (27-12-1), Louisiana State (23-18-1), Louisiana-Lafayette (29-12), Louisville (28-11), Miami (Fla.) (25-17), Minnesota (26-7), Missouri (28-12), Nebraska (23-17), New Orleans (27-13), Ohio State (23-10), St. John's (25-12), TCU (30-10), Tulane (28-14), UC Riverside (23-16), Western Carolina(27-12).

Dropped Out: Tulane (24), Louisiana-Lafayette (25), Kentucky (t27)

By conference: Atlantic Coast 5, Southeastern 5, Big 12 4, Big West 3, Pacific-10 3, Conference USA 2, West Coast 2, Atlantic 10 1, Atlantic Sun 1, Big South 1, Big Ten 1, Missouri Valley 1, Southern 1.

Conference USA weekend recap

The city of Houston broke out the brooms this weekend, as Rice and Houston both swept Conference USA series. The two schools are now 1-2 in the C-USA standings. Marshall also broke into the league win column in convincing fashion over the weekend.

Houston at No. 24 Tulane

Quality pitching was this weekend's story for Houston, as well. Aaron Brown set the tone with seven shutout innings in Friday's 7-0 win. The Cougars received a quality effort from Wes Musick (one run on five hits with eight strikeouts) on Saturday, but it was Bryan Pounds two-RBI single in the top of the ninth that gave UH a 2-1 win. Freshman John Touchton was solid in Sunday's 6-4 win, allowing three runs on six hits over seven innings.

Houston recaps

Tulane recaps

UCF at No. 6 Rice

Rice's three wins in a row over UCF marked the 36th consecutive home series that the Owls have won, including sweeps in 23 of those. Solid pitching was the key to this series victory, as Rice allowed just three runs in three games. Joe Savery finished off the sweep with his best pitching effort of the season in Sunday's 8-0 win, allowing on hit over a season-long seven innings.

UCF recaps

Rice recaps

Marshall at Memphis

Memphis posted a 5-3 victory over Marshall on Friday night before that series took a dramatic turn. The Thundering Herd scored a season-high 21 runs in a 21-7 win on Saturday and then posted their first-ever shutout in C-USA play, defeating the Tigers, 11-0. Marshall scored 32 runs on 34 hits in the final two games of the series and were aided by seven Memphis errors. The wins snapped a 16-game losing streak for the Herd, which moved into eighth place in the league standings.

Marshall recaps

Memphis recaps

UAB at Southern Miss

UAB opened its series at Southern Miss with a 6-1 win, as Ben Styes earned the victory with 5.2 shutout innings. But, the Golden Eagles rebounded to take the final two games of the series, 6-4 and 8-4. David Clark tied a career high with eight strikeouts in Sunday's win.

UAB recaps

Southern Miss recaps

Savannah State at East Carolina

East Carolina stepped out of league play this weekend and posted three consecutive victories over Savannah State, outscoring them 34-7. The Pirates are now 28-12 on the season.

Savannah State recaps

East Carolina recaps

C-USA Players of the week

After setting the tone for a three-game sweep at No. 23 Tulane, Houston junior righthander Aaron Brown has been named Conference USA Pitcher of the Week for the period of April 16-22. Hitter of the Week honors went to Marshall junior C Tommy Johnson, whose career-best weekend helped the Thundering Herd to a series win at Memphis.

Conference USA Release

Furman outlasts College of Charleston

The Furman Paladins edged the College of Charleston 12-10 in 12 innings to salvage the final game of the series. Connor Lind scored the winning run for the Paladins on a throwing error by Chris Campbell who threw the final out of the top of the 12th into the Charleston bullpen to allowing Lind to score from second base. Furman reliever Nick Hollstegge (1-5) picks up his first win of the season. College of Charleston reliever Curtis Dowling (2-1) picks up his first loss on the season. College of Charleston will be back in action on Friday when they visit The Citadel while Furman heads to Gardner-Webb on Wednesday.

Furman Recap
College of Charleston Recap

The Citadel takes final game with Davidson

The Citadel got three hits from Matt Arnold, Bryan Altman, and Zach Brown while Jamie Maxwell pitched two scoreless innings to get the victory for the Bulldogs 9-6 over Davidson on Sunday. Maxwell evens his record at 1-1 for the season. Davidson starter Travis Middour picks up the loss to drop his record to 4-5 by going 6.1 innings and giving up five runs (four earned). The Citadel will be back in action on Tuesday when Coastal Carolina visits Riley Park.

The Citadel Recap
Davidson Recap

Princeton sweeps Penn

The Penn Quakers could have clinched the Gehrig Division title with a doubleheader sweep of Princeton but instead the Tigers took both games by scores of 7-3 (10 innings) and 10-6. Doug Brown started Game 1 for the Quakers and pitched into the 10th inning in his final home start while giving up four runs on twelve hits. He picks up the loss to drop his record to 2-5. Princeton starter David Hale allowed three runs in five innings and was relieved by Brad Gemberling who also went five innings to up his record to 2-0. After the marathon game, The Penn Quakers scored three runs in the bottom of the first but Princeton starter Eric Walz settled down to pitch the complete game and gave up six runs to get his third win on the season. William Gordon came in to close the game in the eighth inning but the Tigers were able to scratch across six runs to take the lead and cruise to the 10-6 victory.

Penn Recap
Princeton Recap

Texas takes advantage of Husker miscues

Joseph Krebs put together his longest start of the season to lead No. 5 Texas to a 6-2 win over Nebraska in Big 12 Conference baseball action at Haymarket Park on Sunday evening. With the win, Texas has won all six conference series on the year.

Krebs (5-0) picked up the victory with his longest career outing. He allowed just two unearned runs in the first inning. For the game, Krebs scattered four hits and four walks while striking out three over 6.1 innings. Boone finished the game with 2.2 innings of one-hit relief. He struck out three of the eight batters he faced.

For the second consecutive game, Texas (33-12, 14-4) pounced early with two runs in the top of the first inning. With one out, Chance Wheeless tripled to the wall in right centerfield and Kyle Russell followed with his 23rd home run of the season, a shot over the wall in left centerfield. With the dinger, Russell moved into 10th place on the Big 12 Conference single season home run list.

Nebraska (23-17, 8-10) responded with a pair of error-aided runs in the bottom of the first to tie the score at 2-2. With one out, Jeff Tezak reached on a fielding error by UT shortstop Michael Demperio. A fielder’s choice by put Andrew Brown in Tezak’s place at first. Jake Opitz drew a walk and another error by Demperio on a grounder by Craig Corriston loaded the bases, setting up a two-run single up the middle by Andy Gerch.

Texas regained the lead in the top of the fourth. Nick Peoples hit a leadoff single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Preston Clark. Travis Tucker hit an infield single to put runners at first and second. Jordan Danks followed with a single to leftfield, plating Peoples. Wheeless kept the rally alive with a single to leftfield driving in Tucker. Russell hit a double to rightfield pushing Danks across. The Longhorns’ fourth run of the inning scored on a fielding error by Nebraska’s first baseman.

Matt Foust (1-2) was saddled with the loss for Nebraska. Foust allowed six runs, five earned on six hits over 1.2 innings.

Russell led UT’s attack, going 3-for-5 with one double, one home run and three RBI. Wheeless went 3-for-5 with two runs scored, one triple and one RBI.

Texas returns to action on Tuesday with a 6:05 p.m. contest against UT Pan American at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.

Nebraska Recap
Husker Extra
Texas.scout.com

ACC Recap for April 22nd

UNC 10 FSU 6

The North Carolina Tar Heels were able to salvage the final game of their series with Florida State on Sunday 10-6. Josh Horton, Tim Federowicz, and Kyle Seager all drove in three runs to account for nine out of the ten runs scored. North Carolina starting pitcher Luke Putkonen went 5.2 innings while surrendering four runs on eight hits. His record goes to 6-1 on the season. Andrew Carignan came in to relieve Putkonen and was roughed up for two runs on a hit and four walks. Tim Federowicz came in to close out the game for the Tar Heels and worked out of a bases-loaded jam with the potential leading run on base to get his second career save. FSU starter Ryan Strauss was roughed up in 3.2 innings giving up five runs. He picks up his first loss of the season to drop to 8-1. Mark Gildea led the FSU offense with his second three hit game of the weekend.

UNC Recap
FSU Recap

Clemson 2 Virginia 1

Ryan Hinson pitched 6.1 scoreless innings while allowing only one hit to Patrick Wingfield in the seventh inning. Hinson gets his record to 4-1 on the season. Alan Farina pitched the final 2.2 innings giving up a run on two hits. He picks up his first save of the season. Sean Doolittle was also strong in his start when allowing only one run in his six innings. Doolittle's record drops to 6-3. Andy D'Alessio and Taylor Harbin each went 2-4 to lead the Tiger attack. Greg Miclat, Sean Doolittle, and Patrick Wingfield each registered a hit to account for all the hits from the Cavs on the day.

Clemson Recap
Virginia Recap

Georgia Tech 7 NC State 3

Luke Murton went 3-4 with two runs scored and two driven in to lead the Yellow Jackets to the 7-3 victory. The Yellow Jackets jumped on NC State starter Jimmy Gillheeney for six runs in his 2.1 innings of work. His record drops to 3-2 on the season. Yellow Jackets starter Ryan Turner only lasted 3.1 innings while giving up three runs. Chris Hicks picked up the victory in relief by going a scoreless two innings to up his record to 2-0.

GT Recap
NC State Recap

Duke 4 Maryland 2

The Duke Blue Devils took the rubber game of their series with the Maryland Terrapins by a 4-2 score. The Devils received a solid outing from Andrew Wolcott who went six strong innings while only giving up two runs (one earned) on five hits. Wolcott ups his record to 4-3. He was relieved by Michael Seader who pitched three hitless innings to earn his eighth save on the season. Maryland starter Kevin Biringer who only lasted 4.1 innings while giving up four runs (three earned) to drop his record to 3-8.

Duke Recap
Maryland Recap

Miami 9 Virginia Tech 5

The Miami Hurricanes showed no mercy this weekend as they swept the Virginia Tech Hokies by score of 9-5 on Sunday. Miami got to Virginia Tech starter Andrew Wells (2-4) for all nine runs in the first six innings of the game. Mark Sobolewski went 4-4 with three runs scored while Dennis Raben went 3-5 with three runs scored and two RBIs. Eric Erickson got the win to get his record to 5-3 with five innings and allowing all five Hokie runs (only three earned).

Miami Recap
Virginia Tech Recap

Boston College 11 Wake Forest 5

Boston College completed the sweep of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons to take over the eighth spot in the ACC standings. Boston College emergency starter Dan Houston got off to a rough start by allowing three runs in the first inning but settled down to throw six innings allowing four runs on six hits and seven walks. The Boston College offense have come alive lately and continued the trend by pounding out 18 hits. The offense was led by second baseman Joseph Ayers who went 4-4 with an RBI and three runs scored. Michael Belfiore also drove in three runs and went 3-5 at the plate. Wake Forest starter Charlie Mellies who is coming off elbow surgery gave up six runs in four innings of work. The Wake Forest bullpen combined to give up five runs on eight hits over the final four innings.

Boston College Recap
Wake Forest Recap

Texas takes Game 2

Despite gusting winds, a hostile crowd, a bad start and a high pitch count, Longhorns pitcher Adrian Alaniz stayed the same.

Same pitches.

Same focus.

Same result.

Alaniz won his 10th game of the season Saturday, shaking off a rough start to pitch 7 2/3 innings as Texas beat Nebraska 8-4 at Haymarket Park, evening the three-game Big 12 series.

Alaniz (10-2) gave up four runs on seven hits and threw 60 pitches in the first three innings. He looked ready to fall apart.

Instead, he turned everything around, pitching the next five innings without giving up a hit and finished with 10 strikeouts, tying a career high.

"It's just working from inning to inning, from pitch to pitch," Alaniz said. "You don't want to look to the future or to the next inning. It's just staying within the game, within the process. And I was able to do that."

It was what the Longhorns (32-12 overall, 13-4 Big 12) needed after Nebraska (23-16, 8-9) shut out Texas 7-0 on Friday.

"It was about responding," Texas coach Augie Garrido said. "About how the players were going to respond to last night's domination. They did a good job."

The Longhorns, who took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on Kyle Russell's 22nd home run of the season, responded to a 4-2 deficit in the fourth inning. Preston Clark singled in Nick Peoples to cut the lead to 4-3, and with runners on second and third with two outs, the unlikeliest of Longhorns came through.

Shortstop Michael Demperio, who spent the first part of the season nursing a shoulder injury, singled up the middle to give the Horns a 5-4 lead.

"It's a bonus," Garrido said of Demperio's offense. "He's in there because with (Travis Tucker), we have the widest range on defense up the middle."

Demperio realized the importance of the situation before it happened.

"I looked at the scoreboard right before I went up there and thought, 'Oh, man, there are two runners in scoring position,' " Demperio said. "I knew what I was looking for, and I got it."

Texas added two more runs in the fifth inning as Russell (3 for 4) singled and went to second on an error, before scoring on Russell Moldenhauer's double. Peoples singled to center to score Moldenhauer and give the Horns a 7-4 lead.

"I thought five or six runs would win the game today," Nebraska coach Mike Anderson said. "We knew Alaniz was going to be tough. He started getting his slider over on the first and second pitch, and that made things real tough for us."

Alaniz' effort allowed Randy Boone to pick up his 10th save of the season, as Boone pitched 1 1/3 perfect innings.

Texas Recap

Husker Extra

Nebraska Recap

Texas.scout.com

Towson 6 UNC-Wilmington 5

FROM UNC-WILMINGTON RELEASE

WILMINGTON, N.C. - Sophomore second baseman Gary Helmick homered, singled and scored three runs as Towson evened its weekend series at UNC Wilmington with a 6-5 win Saturday at Brooks Field.

The Tigers improved to 15-20 with the win overall and moved to 7-9 in the CAA. The Seahawks, meanwhile, dropped to 18-23 and 9-10.

Senior Matt Holly (3-0), who remained perfect on the season with the win, allowed two runs, one earned, on seven hits and a walk over five innings. Freshman Zach Umberger picked up his first career save. The Tiger pitching staff recorded 16 ground ball outs on the game.

Senior third baseman Hans Falkenhan and junior outfielder Brian Conley each collected two hits on the afternoon for the Tigers.

Junior Jeff Hatcher was tagged with the loss to fall to 4-4 on the season. Hatcher, who has dropped three of his last four decisions, allowed five runs, three earned, on six hits in six innings.

Junior outfielder Jason Appel went 3-for-5 while juniors first baseman Daniel Hargrave and third baseman Nate Hall each had tow hits.

UNCW grabbed an early 1-0 lead with a run in the bottom of the first. Appel singled with one out, stole second and scored on senior catcher Jonathan Batts' two-out single to leftcenter.

The Tigers plated two in the third, one earned, to take their first lead of the series. Helmick drew a leadoff walk and stole second. After a strike out, he moved to third on a throwing error by sophomore shortstop Steve Halford on Skellchock's routine ground ball. Falkenhan delivered a RBI single through the right side for the first run and senior catcher Ryan Schreiter plated the second with a ground out to third later in the inning.

Towson extended its lead to 4-1 with two in the fourth on three hits, a hit batter and an error. With the bases loaded and one out, Skellchock lined a single to left to score one run and junior outfielder Mark Carver mishandled the ball to allow the second to score on the same play.

The Seahawks loaded the bases with none out in the bottom of the inning, but junior designated hitter Shane French grounded into a double play that scored one to make it 4-2, and UNCW lost its momentum.

In the fifth, Halford lifted a fly ball to center to score red-shirt freshman second baseman Matt Holt, who reached base on a throwing error by Falkenhan, to make it a 4-3 game.

Towson answered that run in the top of the fifth on Helmick first home run of the season to lead off the inning.

The Tigers added what would prove to be the winning run with two out in the ninth off junior reliever Larry Salefsky. The 6-7 righthander retired the first batters, but surrendered a single to Conley to keep the inning going. Schreiter then lined a double off the centerfield wall to score Conley from first to make it 6-3.

UNCW would rally in the ninth loading the bases again with none out. Holt struck out looking for the first out, but Appel followed with a single to right to narrow the deficit to 6-4. Halford trimmed it to 6-5 with a RBI ground out one batter later.

The series concludes on Sunday with a 2 p.m. start.