Sunday, June 9, 2013

NCAA Baseball Super Regionals: Day One and Day Two

This weekend, eight teams will win a trip to the College World Series by winning a best two-out-of-three Super Regional playoff.  Only two Super Regional games were played on Friday, as rain knocked out games scheduled at UNC and N.C. State.  But all eight Super Regions played yesterday, and so here is where things stand:

Chapel Hill:  N. Carolina v. S. Carolina
On paper, this is the best match-up of the Super Regionals -- two ancient rivals, the number-one seed in the tournament (UNC) against the 2010 and 2011 national champion.  And yesterday's Game One was suitably epic, as the Tar Heels, who won two extra-inning games in the ACC Tournament, and scored a walk-off victory in the 13th inning on Monday to win their region, picked up another walk-off win.  UNC beat South Carolina 6-5 with a game-winning run in the bottom of the 9th, and they lead this series 1-0.

Raleigh:  N. Carolina St. v. Rice
A few hours after UNC's dramatic win, N.C. State picked up an even more dramatic victory -- scoring two runs in the bottom of the 9th to come from behind and beat Rice 4-3.  They lead 1-0.

Fullerton:  Cal-State Fullerton v. UCLA
Cal-State Fullerton was the number-5 seed in the tournament, but UCLA beat them.  The Bruins won Game One 5-3 in 10 innings, and then pitched a very unusual 11-hit shutout to win Game Two 3-0.  So UCLA is on to the College World Series.

Baton Rouge:  Louisiana St. v. Oklahoma
The Sooners gave it the old college try, but LSU was too much for them.  The Tigers swept Oklahoma, winning 2-0 and 11-1.  LSU leads the nation in attendance, and they had over 11,000 people at each of these games.

Nashville:  Vanderbilt v. Louisville
There are many reasons why Tom Jurich is the best Athletic Director in the country, and one of the best of all  time.  But one of the things I find most impressive about Jurich's reign at Louisville is that the U of L programs have developed a common personality.  When you play U of L, you won't be taking on the most talented team -- but you will be battling a scrappy team that presses for every advantage, plays a tough and physical style, and loves to pull upsets.  That's how Louisville won the Sugar Bowl, how they won the NCAA men's basketball tournament, and that's how their women fought their way to the finals of the NCAA women's basketball tournament.  So Louisville was a nightmare match-up for Vanderbilt, which is the number-two seed in the tournament, but which is usually mentally soft.  Sure enough, the Cardinals were too aggressive and too clever for the Dores in Game One, as U of L won 5-3.  Here is how Louisville scored their runs:

2d inning:  Hit by pitch, passed ball sends the runner to second, a walk and single load the bases, a sac fly brings home a run
7th inning:  Down 2-1, Louisville got a single, a ground out (to advance the runner to second), a two-out single to score the runner, another two-out single to put men on first and second, a passed ball to put runners on second and third, a walk to load the bases, and a two-out, two-run single to give Louisville a 4-2 lead.
8th inning:  Hit by pitch, runner steals second, ground out to send the runner to third, sac fly to give U of L a 5-2 lead

So that's five runs with only five singles, as U of L took advantage of every opportunity -- as the Cardinals have been doing in every major sport all year.  And now U of L is only one win from the College World Series.  Louisville probably won't go all the way, but they won't be beaten by a team playing as nervous and shaky as Vandy looked yesterday.

Tallahassee:  Florida St. v. Indiana
FSU has made 21 trips to the College World Series without ever winning the title.  One reason for this is that the Noles almost always get to play their regional and super regional tournaments at home, and the Noles are almost unbeatable at home.  But yesterday they were sandbagged by the Hoosiers, who scored five runs in the seventh and eighth innings to build a 10-6 lead, and who hung on for a 10-9 victory.  So IU leads 1-0.  But my guess is that FSU will keep scoring at this torrid pace, and that IU will not.

Charlottesville:  Virginia v. Mississippi St.
My working assumption is that Mississippi State won't win any sports competition that is not:  (1) played in Starkville, or (2) an SEC men's basketball tournament.  But the Bulldogs took a 1-0 lead in this series yesterday with a surprisingly easy 11-6 win over favored UVA.

Corvallis:  Oregon St. v. Kansas St.
As you can see, there have been a lot of exciting games in the Super Regionals so far, and Game One of this series was another one, as K-State came from 2-0 down to beat Oregon State 6-2 in 10 innings.

52 comments:

  1. Louisville takes out Vandy 2-1. For the second straight day, the Dores make the last out with the tying runs on base.

    Very typical performance from Louisville.

    Very typical performance from Vandy. The Dores now have to wait until next March, and hope that they get another shot at UK in the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament.

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  2. Indiana eliminated FSU with an 11-6 victory today, and they will meet Louisville in the College World Series. I hope Mitch Barnhart and the rest of the folks in Lexington enjoy that game.

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  3. South Carolina, showing Vandy what it means to play with real heart, beats UNC 8-0 to force a do-or-die game tomorrow.

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  4. N.C. State makes another amazing comeback against Rice. Down 4-1 in the top of the 9th, the Wolfpack score three runs to tie the game. Rice is now batting in the bottom of the 9th with the score 4-4.

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  5. So here's where we are:

    1. UNC and S. Carolina are tied 1-1. They will play off their Super Region tomorrow.

    2. NCSU leads Rice 1-0, and Game 2 is tied 4-4 in the bottom of the 9th.

    3. UCLA has beaten Cal-State Fullerton 2-0.

    4. LSU has beaten Oklahoma 2-0.

    5. Louisville has beaten Vandy 2-0.

    6. Indiana has beaten Florida St. 2-0.

    7. Mississippi State leads UVA 1-0, and their second game just got started.

    8. Kansas State leads Oregon State 1-0, and their second game starts at 9 P.M. Central.

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  6. In the bottom of the 9th, Rice had men on 2d and 3d with one out, but they couldn't score, so that game is going to extra innings. I can't remember the last time NCSU had this much good luck in any sport.

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    1. Well, of course, there was the 1983 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. But since then NCSU has usually been a hard-luck school. Suddenly everything's going their way.

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    2. The ESPN 30 for 30 about the 1983 Wolfpack is fantastic.

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  7. There is major cloud cover in Raleigh. I don't know how much longer it will be until the rains come.

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  8. In the top of the 10th, NCSU had runners at the corners with one out, but the next batter lined into a double play to end the inning. Rice now coming up in the bottom of the 10th.

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  9. Now it's raining in Raleigh. I don't know how much longer they're going to play. Still tied at 4-4 in the bottom of the 10th.

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  10. Rice goes down in the 10th. On to the 11th.

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  11. In Raleigh, the bottom of the 11th starts off with the rain coming down pretty hard. Very few Wolfpack fans have left.

    In the 9th inning in Nashville, by the way, the Louisville fans were so loud that you would have thought it was a home game for the Cardinals.

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  12. NCSU goes down in the top of the 11th. Still tied at 4.

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  13. On the Vandy message board, they are talking about whether this was the most disappointing result in Vandy athletic history. But I'm not disappointed, because Vandy did exactly what I thought they would do.

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  14. The rain seems to have stopped in Raleigh. Rice goes down in the 11th, and we are headed to the 12th in a 4-4 game.

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  15. In Charlottesville, Mississippi State has taken a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the third.

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  16. NCSU is retired without a run in the top of the 12th. We head to the bottom of the 12th, still tied at 4.

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  17. With a man on first and one out in the bottom of the 12th, the rains came down very hard in Raleigh. So the game has been stopped in the midst of a 4-4 tie. ESPN-U is switching us to the Mississippi State/UVA game, where the Bulldogs lead 3-1 in the bottom of the 4th.

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  18. Whack! MSU is in the midst of another rally, and they now lead 4-1 with runners on first and second and only one out.

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  19. In the top of the 6th, UVA is fighting back. Thanks to a two-out, two-run double, the Caviliers have shaved the MSU lead to 5-3, and they now have the lead run at the plate.

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  20. But the next UVA batter strikes out, so after five and one-half innings, Mississippi State still leads 5-3.

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  21. The rain has stopped in Raleigh and they hope to resume play in about 20 minutes.

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  22. OK, we're back underway in Raleigh. The rain delay lasted 1 hour and 16 minutes. This game started about six hours ago.

    The score is 4-4 in the bottom of the 12th. Rice has a runner on first and one out.

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  23. The Rice batter crushes the ball toward center field -- but the NCSU shortstop makes a leaping catch and doubles off the runner to end the 12th inning.

    Everything seems to be going NCSU's way.

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  24. In the top of the 13th, NCSU gets a one-out walk, but strands the runner. Rice will have another chance for a walk-off victory in the bottom of the 13th.

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  25. Rice can do nothing in the bottom of the 13th, and so we move on to the 14th. Still tied 4-4.

    ESPN-U just put up a graphic showing that NCSU hasn't been to the College World Series since 1968.

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  26. The rains have come back to Charlottesville. That game is stopped in the 7th inning with Mississippi State holding a 5-0 lead.

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  27. In the top of the first, Oregon State has jumped out to a 5-0 lead over Kansas State.

    It's striking that two prior champions -- Oregon State and South Carolina -- lost heartbreaking first games in the Super Regionals and came out roaring in the second games.

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  28. In the top of the 14th, NCSU gets a two-out walk but can do nothing more. Time for the 14th-inning stretch.

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  29. Rice goes down 1-2-3 in the 14th, and we are still tied 4-4.

    On to the 15th.

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  30. By the way, this will be Indiana's first ever appearance in the College World Series.

    Louisville is making its second appearance (its last was in 2007.

    LSU is going for the 16th time (It has six titles).

    UCLA is going for the fifth time.

    Kentucky has never been to the CWS.

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  31. In the NBA finals, the Heat blew out the Spurs 103-84 to tie the series 1-1. So there's still no reason to tune in.

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  32. NCSU goes out 1-2-3 in the top of the 15th. Rice will be sending up the top of its order in the bottom of the 15th.

    Remarkably, Rice has only used three pitchers in this game so far. NCSU is on its ninth pitcher.

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  33. In the top of the 2nd, Oregon State now leads K-State 7-0. So that series is probably going to a third game.

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  34. Rice goes down 1-2-3. On to the 16th.

    It's almost as if every batter is going to the plate looking to be the guy who hits the game-winning home run. So very few people are getting on base.

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  35. In Washington, Natstown swept a double-header from Minnesota to get back to .500. With 100 games left in the season, Natstown is 31-31.

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  36. Neither team scores in the 16th. Rice tried some small ball, but their inning ended with a strike-out/throw-out double play.

    On to the 17th.

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  37. NCSU has taken the lead in the 17th! With a runner on first, the NCSU batter blasted a double into the gap -- and an error by the right fielder in picking up the ball on the wet grass allowed the runner to come home! The Wolfpack lead 5-4 with one out.

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  38. Rice escapes the inning with no further damage, but NCSU has a 5-4 lead as we go into the bottom of the 17th.

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  39. Rice leads off the bottom of the 17th with a single to left.

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  40. For the record, this year's NCAA Baseball Tournament has been much better than the Basketball Tournament was.

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  41. Next up is the number-8 hitter, Skyler Ewing, who is 0-4 with three strikeouts in this game. He strikes out again.

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  42. The next batter hits a slow runner to shortstop. He is thrown out at first, but the runner on first moves into scoring position.

    Two outs and it's all up to the lead-off hitter, Ford Stainback, who is 0-7 in this game.

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  43. Ed Ogburn is trying to complete his fifth inning of relief for NCSU. So far, he has given up no runs, no walks, and only two hits. He also has six strikeouts.

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  44. Stainback hits a high chopper that bounds over the pitchers mound and dies about six feet in front of the second baseman. Everybody is safe. Runners on first and third.

    This brings up Christian Stringer, who is 2-4 with three walks and a home run. He is Rice's best hitter, and the Wolfpack have been working around him quite a bit.

    The remaining fans are all standing.

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  45. After a meeting on the mound, NCSU decides to pitch to Stringer. He swings at the first pitch and lofts a soft fly ball to left field. It is caught and NCSU is going to the College World Series for the first time since 1968!

    Now I know UNC will beat South Carolina tomorrow, because it is simply not possible for NCSU to have a better year than UNC.

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    1. WOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLF! PAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!

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