Sunday, June 5, 2022

College Baseball Update

They're playing the regionals in the NCAA baseball tournament this weekend, and it's obvious that something has gone wrong with the equipment.  We're back to have lots of scores in the teens and 20's, which we haven't seen in more than 10 years, and which I don't remember seeing much of in the regular season.  We can only hope that the NCAA gets everything straightened out by next year, but these playoffs could turn out to be very strange.  For example, Oklahoma State is hosting a regional as the number 7 overall seed.  OSU won its first game 10-5 over Missouri State.  Then OSU had a 10-5 lead over Arkansas after five innings, but Arkansas stormed back for a 20-12 victory.  Now OSU is playing an elimination game against Missouri State, and Missouri State leads 10-0 in the bottom of the third.

Anyway, here are the teams that have gone 2-0 so far -- except for the Coral Gables region, where rain has delayed everything:

Knoxville, Tenn:  Tennessee
Statesboro, Ga:  Notre Dame

Austin, Tex:  Texas
Greennville, N.C:  E. Carolina

College Station, Tex:  Texas A & M
Louisville, Ky:  Michigan

Gainesville, Fla:  Oklahoma
Blacksburg, Va:  Virginia Tech

Palo Alto, Calif:  Texas St.
College Park, Md:  Connecticut

Chapel Hill, N.C.:  Va. Commonwealth
Stillwater, Okla:  Arkansas

Coral Gables, Fla:  Miami of Fla. and Ole Miss are both 1-0
Hattiesburg, Miss:  Louisiana St.

Auburn, Ala:  Auburn
Corvallis, Ore:  Oregon St.

94 comments:

  1. Louisville beats Oregon 8-5 in the losers' bracket, and the Ducks are eliminated. Louisville now has to beat Michigan twice before the Wolverines beat them once.

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  2. By the way, ESPN used to have great coverage of the Regional Tournaments -- they would jump around from game to game, like they used to do in the NCAA basketball tournament back in the 1980's. But because we live in a fallen world, they have now moved all of that coverage over to ESPN Plus, so I have to watch one game at a time.

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  3. Oklahoma State is fighting back in its elimination game. Missouri State now leads 14-10 after five innings.

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  4. High drama in three elimination games: UVA and Coastal Carolina are tied 6-6 after 8. Florida and Central Michigan are tied 5-5 in the bottom of the 8th. And Florida State is tied 1-1 with UCLA in the top of the 7th.

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  5. Number-15 seed Maryland defeats Wake Forest 10-5 in an elimination game. The Terps now have to win two straight over UConn.

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  6. In an elimination game featuring two recent champions, Coastal Carolina beats UVA 7-6 with a run in the bottom of the 9th. Coastal now has to beat East Carolina twice in order to advance.

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  7. Oklahoma State scores 7 runs in the top of the 6th, and the Pokes now lead Missouri State 17-14.

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  8. Columbia beats Gonzaga 15-6 in an elimination game in Blacksburg.

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  9. Florida edges Central Michigan 6-5 in an elimination game. The Gators now have to beat Oklahoma twice.

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  10. UNC eliminates Georgia 6-5, thanks in part to a great catch in the bottom of the 9th. The Bulldogs are the first SEC team to be eliminated.

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  11. Louisville has jumped all over Michigan. The Cards lead 6-0 in the top of the 2d.

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  12. In the top of the 9th, UCLA hits a home run to take a 2-1 lead over FSU.

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  13. Texas Tech defeats Georgia Southern 3-1, and Georgia Southern -- the number 16 seed -- becomes the first regional host to be eliminated. Tech will now have to beat Notre Dame twice to advance.

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  14. In the top of the 8th, Oklahoma State leads Missouri State 17-15.

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  15. Kennesaw State and Southern Miss have gone into extra innings, tied at 3 all.

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  16. In a battle of the two worst teams in the National League, Washington takes 3 out of 4 from Cincinnati. The Nats win 5-4 today, and they get the last out when the Nats' catcher picks off a runner on first. Natstown!

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  17. In Auburn, UCLA leads Florida State 2-1 in the bottom of the 9th, but the Noles have the tying run on second with one out. UCLA changes pitchers, and the Noles fans are all chanting.

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  18. In College Station, Texas Christian eliminates Louisiana-Lafayette 6-1.

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  19. UCLA closes out FSU, and the Noles are eliminated. I wonder, if the Noles had it to do over, would they join the SEC back in 1991? We wanted them over South Carolina, but Bobby Bowden turned us down.

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  20. Maybe not: FSU won football National Championships in 1993, 1999, and 2013, and winning those titles would have been more difficult if the Noles had been in the SEC.

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  21. Southern Miss eliminates Kennesaw State 4-3 in 10 innings. Kennesaw State had a heartbreaking regional. In their other loss, they led LSU 11-4 going into the bottom of the 8th, but gave up 10 runs and lost 14-11.

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  22. In Knoxville, Georgia Tech eliminates Campbell 16-5.

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  23. In Austin, Air Force eliminates La Tech 9-7.

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  24. After 8, Oklahoma State leads Missouri State 22-15, so Air Force will be the only number-4 seed to reach the regional final.

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  25. Stanford, the overall number 2 seed, is in trouble. The Cardinal trail UC Santa Barbara 4-3 in the top of the 6th in an elimination game.

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  26. Louisville is going to force a Game Seven. The Cardinals lead Michigan 12-1 in the top of the 6th. It's never easy to eliminate Louisville.

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  27. Stanford scores two runs and now leads UCSB 5-4 in the top of the 6th.

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  28. Oklahoma State falls behind 10-0, and then comes back to crush Missouri State 29-15. The folks at Stillwater better be ready for a long evening tonight between Oklahoma State and Arkansas.

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  29. UNC probably won't be eliminated today. The Tar Heels put up 7 runs in the bottom of the first and lead VCU 7-2.

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  30. After 1, Coastal Carolina leads East Carolina 3-0. Just to give you a sense of how goofy the equipment is in this tournament, a batter for Coastal hit the ball and the pitcher pointed up to the sky, like they do for a pop-up. A few seconds later the ball disappeared over the left field fence.

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  31. Ole Miss wins a rare pitcher's duel, beating Miami 2-1. The Rebels are now 2-0 in the Coral Gables Region, while Miami will play Arizona in the elimination game.

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  32. Vandy has been struggling down the stretch, and after the Dores lost their first game 3-2 against San Diego, you had to wonder whether their season was basically over. But yesterday they beat New Mexico State 21-1, and today they beat San Diego 14-4. So they have reached the Regional Final, which is about as well as they could have expected to do. I don't think they can beat Oregon State twice, but they are going out with some dignity.

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  33. Louisville Louisville's its way past Michigan, hammering the Wolverines 20-1. That will set up a final Game Seven tomorrow.

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  34. Stanford eliminates UC Santa Barbara 8-4. Now the Cardinal have to beat Texas State twice.

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  35. I should point out that these college baseball games take forever, that the balls (or the bats) appear to be juiced, that they don't use ghost runners in extra innings, and that they haven't come up with any other weird gimmicks to change the game. But the popularity of this tournament continues to grow year by year. The stadiums have been packed all over the country, and the crowd enthusiasm is spectacular. Now that the MLB regular season is meaningless, I think more and more baseball fans will spend June watching the college playoffs.

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  36. Georgia Tech just showed off the juiced bat. The Tennessee pitcher through a fast ball that totally jammed the batter, and probably would have broken a wooden bat. Instead, the ball zoomed way out into the opposite field for a double. Tech has men on second and third in the bottom of the third with no score.

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  37. Lots of action going now (home teams listed first):

    Bottom 5: Coastal Carolina 6 - 0 E. Carolina
    Bottom 5: N. Carolina 12 - 5 Va Comm
    Top 4: Maryland 3 - 0 UConn
    Bottom 3: Ga Tech 0 - 0 Tennessee
    Bottom 3: Oklahoma 0 - 0 Florida
    Bottom 3: Texas Tech 0 - 1 Notre Dame
    Top 3: So. Miss 2 - 3 LSU
    Top 3: Va Tech 3 - 0 Columbia

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  38. With two out and runners on second and third, Georgia Tech hits a grounder to short. The shortstop's throw comes in low and skips away, two runs score, and Tech leads 2-0 in the bottom of the third.

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  39. I forgot one game:

    Bottom 2: Arkansas 1 - 3 Oklahoma St.

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  40. North Carolina is going to force a Game Seven and end VCU's 17-game winning streak. The Heels lead 16-5 in the bottom of the 5th.

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  41. Every college baseball team these days has a dozen different uniforms, and Tennessee is no exception. Tonight the Vols have gone in for what is probably their worst uniform: orange hats, white pants, and black shirts with the word "VOLS" in orange block lettering. Georgia Tech, on the other hand, has white uniforms with navy pinstripes and "Jackets" written in script across the front of the shirt. They look great.

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  42. In the bottom of the 4th, Georgia Tech whangs a two-run homer to left center field, and the Jackets lead 4-0.

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  43. Bottom 7: Coastal Carolina 7 - 0 E. Carolina
    Top 8: N. Carolina 16 - 8 VCU
    Top 5: Arkansas 2 - 5 Oklahoma St.
    Bottom 5: Ga. Tech 4 - 2 Tennessee
    Top 6: Maryland 4 - 0 UConn
    Bottom 6: Oklahoma 0 - 2 Florida
    Top 5: So. Miss 4 - 4 LSU
    Bottom 6: Texas Tech 0 - 2 Notre Dame
    Top 5: Va Tech 3 - 1 Columbia
    Bottom 2: Miami (Fla.) 1 - 0 Arizona
    Bottom 2: Air Force 0 - 5 Texas
    Bottom 2: Texas Christian 0 - 0 Texas A & M

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  44. With two out in the top of the 6th, Georgia Tech still leads 4-2, but UT has loaded the bases, and Tech's pitcher has thrown 109 pitches.

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  45. With a count of 1-2, the Tech pitcher throws a pitch that looked high and inside. But the Tech catcher does a great job of framing the pitch, and the umpire calls the Tennessee batter out to end the inning. Tech still leads 4-2, and these umpires are about to learn why Tennessee's manager is one of the most unpleasant people in college sports.

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  46. Tech is forced to change pitchers for the 7th inning, as their starter had thrown 113 pitches. The first UT batter greets the new pitcher with a double down the left field line.

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  47. Top 9: Coastal Carolina 9 - 0 E. Carolina
    Top 9: N. Carolina 19 - 8 VCU
    Bottom 6: Arkansas 5 - 6 Oklahoma St.
    Top 7: Ga Tech 4 - 2 Tennessee
    Top 7: Maryland 4 - 4 UConn
    Top 8: Oklahoma 2 - 4 Florida
    Bottom 6: So. Miss. 4 - 4 LSU
    Top 8: Texas Tech 0 - 2 Notre Dame
    Top 1: UCLA 0 - 2 Auburn
    Bottom 6: Va Tech 7 - 1 Columbia
    End 4: Miami 1 - 1 Arizona
    Top 4: Air Force 0 - 7 Texas
    Top 4: Texas Christian 1 - 0 Texas A & M
    Top 2: Vanderbilt 0 - 0 Oregon St.

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  48. UT normally just crushes teams, but they were built on scrappiness, much like Louisville. So they start scrapping away, bouncing balls off the artificial turf. The next batter beats out an infield single, putting runners on first and second. The next one almost beats out another infield single, and UT calls for a video review to challenge the umpire's call. The batter is out, but UT now has runners on second and third.

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  49. And now the next batter opposite field's a little fly off the end of his bat which sails over the second baseman's head and lands just in front of the right fielder. One run scores. Tech leads 4-3 with one out, and UT has runners on first and third. Knoxville is going nuts. Tech decides to have a meeting at the mound.

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  50. The mound meeting works, as UT goes to the well once too often. This time, the Vol batter who beats the ball into the ground ends up hitting into a double play. Tech leads 4-3 after 6 1/2 innings. What a great game this has been.

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  51. UNC finishes off VCU 19-8 to force Game Seven tomorrow. Coastal Carolina does the same, pounding East Carolina 9-1.

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  52. In the bottom of the 7th, Tech has two on and one out, but can't get any runs across. Tech still leads 4-3 going into the 8th.

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  53. In the top of the 8th, UT gets a hit batsman, another double play, and a fly out to center. Tech still leads 4-3.

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  54. Bottom 7: Arkansas 5 - 6 Oklahoma St.
    Bottom 8: Ga. Tech 4 - 3 Tennessee
    Bottom 7: Maryland 6 - 4 UConn
    Top 9: Oklahoma 2 - 7 Florida
    Top 7: So Miss 7 - 4 LSU
    Top 9: Texas Tech 1 - 2 Notre Dame
    Top 2: UCLA 0 - 2 Auburn
    Top 8: Va Tech 7 - 1 Columbia
    Top 6: Miami 1 - 1 Arizona
    Top 5: Air Force 0 - 6 Texas
    Top 5: Texas Christian 3 - 0 Texas A & M
    Top 3: Vanderbilt 3 - 0 Oregon St.

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  55. Tech gets the leadoff runner on in the bottom of the 8th, but can do nothing else. Tech leads 4-3 going into the top of the 9th.

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  56. Tennessee starts off the top of the 9th by grounding a single up the middle.

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  57. UT puts in a pinch runner and the next batter hits a slow roller to second. The second baseman flips to short to get the lead runner. The umpire calls the runner out, but the runner immediately jumps up and calls for a video review.

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  58. This time Tennessee wins the review, and the Vols have runners on first and second with no one out. Tech got what they deserved here; you have to go for the sure out at first.

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  59. The next batter sends a line drive out to center field. The center fielder comes charging in. But he's forgotten about the juiced ball and/or bat. The ball just keeps sailing. Finally the center fielder makes a desperate leap -- but it's too late, the ball's gone over his head. The runner on second scores, the game is tied, the Vols have men on 2d and 3d with no one out, and it will probably get pretty ugly from here.

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  60. If Tech had gotten the sure out at first, and the center fielder had simply caught that ball instead of charging it, Tech would still lead 4-3, and UT would have two outs. Now the game is probably lost. But give UT credit for going old school and not just swinging for the fences. In this tournament, you don't have time for the odds to turn in your favor; you need to win the game that you are playing.

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  61. Notre Dame becomes the first team to win a Regional. They beat Texas Tech 2-1 to capture the Statesboro Region. Most experts thought they were seeded too low, and it looks like the experts were right.

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  62. Virginia Tech wins its region with a 7-2 victory over Columbia.

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  63. Florida gets nine innings of amazing pitching from Carsten Finnvold and beats Oklahoma 7-2 to set up a Game Seven tomorrow.

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  64. Tech was dead once UT won that challenge at second base. The Vols score SIX runs in the top of the 9th, and they lead 9-4.

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  65. Bottom 8: Arkansas 6 - 7 Oklahoma St.
    Bottom 9: Ga Tech 4 - 9 Tennessee
    Bottom 9: Maryland 6 - 6 UConn
    Top 9: So Miss: 8 - 4 LSU
    Top 4: UCLA 0 - 2 Auburn
    Bottom 7: Miami 3 - 1 Arizona
    Top 7: Air Force 0 - 8 Texas
    Bottom 6: Texas Christian 3 - 2 Texas A & M
    Top 5: Vanderbilt 5 - 0 Oregon St.
    Bottom 2: Texas St. 2 - 1 Stanford

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  66. In the bottom of the 9th, Tech uses a hit batsman, a single, and an infield single to load the bases with one out. UT still leads 9-4.

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  67. Tech gets a two-run single, and UT now leads 9-6. Tech has men on first and second, and the tying run is coming to the plate.

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  68. The next batter strikes out, and Tech is down to its last out. The juiced balls and bats don't work if you can't put the ball in play.

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  69. The next batter walks, and now the winning run comes to the plate. UT leads 9-6, there are two outs, and the bases are loaded. UT has a meeting at the mound.

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  70. The last batter for Tech was their number-8 batter, and he appeared to be overmatched throughout the at-bat. He watched six pitches and only swung at one of them, which he fouled off. That left a full count. He watched the last pitch, hoping that it was a bit too high. But this umpire likes the high strike, and he called the batter out, ending the game and the regional tournament. UT beats Tech 9-6 and heads to the Super Regionals to take on Notre Dame.

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  71. Top 9: Arkansas 8 - 9 Oklahoma St.
    Top 11: Maryland 6 - 6 UConn
    Bottom 4: UCLA 0 - 4 Auburn
    Top 8: Miami 3 - 1 Arizona
    Top 8: Air Force 0 - 9 Texas
    Top 7: Texas Christian 3 - 4 Texas A & M
    Top 6: Vanderbilt 5 - 0 Oregon St.
    Top 3: Stanford 2 -1 Texas St.

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  72. Southern Miss beat LSU 8-4 to force a Game Seven in that region. Here are the confirmed Game Sevens so far:

    E. Carolina v. Coastal Carolina
    Louisville v. Michigan
    Florida v. Oklahoma
    N. Carolina v. Va. Commonwealth
    So. Mississippi v. Louisiana St.

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  73. In the bottom of the 11th, Maryland walks off UConn 7-6. So that's another Game Seven for tomorrow.

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  74. Top 10: Arkansas 10 - 10 Oklahoma St.
    Top 6: UCLA 0 - 5 Auburn
    Top 9: Miami 3 - 2 Arizona
    Bottom 9: Air Force 1 - 10 Texas
    Bottom 7: Texas Christian 3 - 7 Texas A & M
    Bottom 6: Vanderbilt 8 - 0 Oregon St.
    Top 5: Stanford 5 - 2 Texas St.

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  75. By the way, last year Vandy had all kind of trouble with Georgia Tech in the regionals. Vandy beat Tech 4-3, and then beat them 14-11 in 11 innings. Both games were brutally difficult. You just don't want those guys in your region.

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  76. Texas wins its region by rolling over Air Force 10-1.

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  77. Arizona comes from behind to beat Miami 4-3 and eliminate the Number 6 seed.

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  78. Bottom 10: Arkansas 10 - 14 Oklahoma St.
    Bottom 6: UCLA 0 - 9 Auburn
    Top 8: Texas Christian 7 - 8 Texas A & M
    Top 8: Vanderbilt 8 - 1 Oregon St.
    Bottom 5: Stanford 5 - 3 Texas St.

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  79. Oklahoma State beats Arkansas 14-10. The Cowboys scored 43 runs in two games today, and they have forced a Game Seven tomorrow.

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  80. So here's what the Super Regionals look like so far (with seedings):

    (1) Tennessee v. Notre Dame
    (8) E. Carolina or Coastal Carolina v. (9) Texas
    (5) Texas A & M or Texas Christian v. (12) Louisville or Michigan
    (4) Virginia Tech v. (13) Florida or Oklahoma

    (2) Stanford or Texas St. v. (15) Maryland or Connecticut
    (7) Oklahoma St. or Arkansas v. (10) N. Carolina or Va. Commonwealth
    Arizona or Mississippi v. (11) So. Mississippi or Louisiana St.
    (3) Oregon St. or Vanderbilt v. Auburn or UCLA

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    1. That last line should read:
      (3) Oregon St. or Vanderbilt v. (14) Auburn or UCLA

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  81. Here's Oklahoma State's experience in the regionals so far:

    Oklahoma St. 10, Missouri St. 5
    Arkansas 20, Oklahoma St. 12
    Oklahoma St. 29, Missouri St. 15
    Oklahoma St. 14, Arkansas 10 (10 innings)

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  82. In the bottom of the 8th, Texas Christian whacks a two-out, two-run homer to take a 9-8 lead over Texas A & M.

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  83. We could really see some zany scores tomorrow with all of these Game Sevens. I don't know how much pitching everyone has left.

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  84. Vandy finishes off Oregon State 8-1 to force another Game Seven. That's the score I was waiting for.

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  85. Here's the remaining action:

    Auburn is beating UCLA 9-0 in the bottom of the 6th, so it looks like the Tigers will win that region tonight.

    Texas A & M trails Texas Christian 9-8 going into the 9th. If the Aggies don't come back, they are looking at Game Seven tomorrow.

    Stanford leads Texas St. 5-4 going into the 7th. If the Cardinal hang on, they will force Game Seven tomorrow.

    GoHeath out.

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  86. Auburn's game didn't finish last night because of rain, but the Tigers finished off UCLA today by the score of 11-4. Auburn wins its region.

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  87. In their game with Michigan, Louisville scored seven runs in the first inning but haven't scored since. Michigan leads 9-7 in the top of the 8th.

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  88. Hold the phone! Louisville scores four runs in the bottom of the 8th, and beats Michigan 11 to 9! Louisville wins the region! Oh, doctor!

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