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NCAA College Baseball Regionals Recap Part II

Photo Credit: Oregon Live

As of Monday, the Regional round of the D1 College Baseball Playoffs has ended. With it, 16 teams moved on to the Super Regionals, and 48 went home. Here are the recaps of each of the regionals.

Lexington Regional Winner: Kentucky Wildcats

The one-seeded Kentucky Wildcats took home the crown in the Lexington Regional. They kicked off the tourney with a 10-8 win against Western Michigan. The Wildcats scored all 10 in the first five innings of the game, and were able to hold on for the victory on three and a third scoreless innings from junior Robert Hogan. They then defeated Illinois 6-1, with stellar performances from left fielder Ryan Waldschmidt (3-5, HR, 3 RBI) and starting pitcher Trey Pooser (7 IP, 7 K, 1 ER). Indiana State scrapped to a path to a championship after an early loss to Illinois. They beat Western Michigan 6-4, and then walloped Indiana 13-2 to survive elimination once more. Despite their best efforts, they ultimately fell to Kentucky by a score of 5-0. Mason Moore shined in the showdown, throwing six scoreless innings with six punchouts. Kentucky will face Oregon State in the Super Regional.

Corvallis Regional Winner: Oregon State Beavers

The Corvallis Regional had its fair share of drama. It opened with a thriller between UC Irvine and Nicholls State, a back-and-forth affair that UC Irvine came out on top of, 13-12. Senior Caden Kendle went 3-6 with 3 RBI, two of which being on a walk off single in the ninth. Oregon State beat Tulane handily, and then took care of UC Irvine in round two 5-3. Tulane’s Luc Fladda and Jacob Moore combined to shutout Nicholls State in the losers bracket. The Green Wave crashed not long after, getting walloped by UC Irvine 17-7 in its next game. The Anteaters had 15 hits and 11 walks in the victory. With a trip to the Super Regional on the line, UC Irvine was set to face Oregon State. The Beavers went up 6-4, but in the fourth inning the game had to be suspended due to rain and postponed to Monday. After a tedious wait, Oregon State and UC Irvine continued play, and held on to their lead for an 11-6 win. The Beavers will compete against Kentucky in the next round of the playoffs.

Athens Regional Winner: Georgia Bulldogs

In a Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate matchup, the Georgia Bulldogs bested the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets for a ticket to the Super Regionals. Georgia started by winning against Army West Point in an 8-7 nailbiter. Top prospect Charlie Condon (3-3, 2 BB, 3 R) shined, and a sac fly by Georgia catcher Fernando Gonzalez was the deciding factor in the eighth inning. Georgia Tech actually began the regional with a 9-0 loss to UNC Wilmington, who benefitted from seven and a third shutout innings from their starter, junior RJ Sales. Georgia Tech survived elimination against Army 4-2, and got a chance for revenge against UNC Wilmington after the Seahawks fell to Georgia 11-2. A grand slam from the nine hole hitter Kolby Branch was the capital exclamation mark of the Bulldog victory. In the Georgia Tech-UNC Wilmington rematch, Cam Jones excelled on the mound for the Yellow Jackets with a seven inning, one run performance, which was enough to lead Georgia Tech to a 3-1 win. With a berth to the Super Regionals on the line, the longtime rivals Georgia and Georgia Tech slugged it out through 10 innings, and the Bulldogs came out on top 8-6. Georgia crawled back from an early 2-5 deficit to push the game to extras, where first baseman Corey Collins won the game on a two-out, two-run double. Condon and the Bulldogs will match up against Alec Makarewicz and the NC State Wolfpack on June 8.

Raleigh Regional Winner: NC State Wolfpack

NC State had to beat each of the other three teams in the Raleigh Regional in order to advance in the tournament. They started with Bryant University, who they routed 9-2. Star third baseman Alec Makarewicz went 4-5 with three RBI. South Carolina University won their first matchup against James Madison University in comeback fashion, as catcher Cole Messina tied the game with a two-out, two-run bomb in the ninth to push the game to extras before Will Tippett walked it off on a sac fly in the tenth. James Madison beat Bryant in the elimination game handily, 8-1, and then NC State knocked down South Carolina 6-4. With a chance at redemption against the Gamecocks, JMU delivered, winning a tight game 2-0. The story of the game was grad student Donovan Burke, who entered the game with one out in the third and proceeded to shut down South Carolin for the rest of the game, going six and two thirds, allowing only five base runners and striking out seven. James Madison couldn’t take down the Wolfpack in the regional final though, even with a two-homer performance from second baseman Mike Mancini. Makarewicz (2-4, HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB) and Noah Soles (1-2, HR, 1 RBI, 3 BB) led the Wolfpack offense, and helped NC State to a matchup with the Georgia Bulldogs in the Super Regional.

Clemson Regional Winner: Clemson Tigers

Clemson University was one of ten hosts to win their regional bracket, but it didn’t come easy. They had to walk off their first opponent, High Point University, with a clutch single from redshirt sophomore Tristan Bissetta in a 4-3 win. Their next game was quite similar, as they entered the ninth inning against Coastal Carolina, who had beaten Vanderbilt 13-3 prior, tied 3-3. A Cam Cannarella sacrifice fly and Austin Gordon save later, Clemson found themselves in the final round of the Clemson Regional. Coastal Carolina had to rally to narrowly defeat High Point University in the losers bracket, defeating the Panthers 6-5. Things didn’t go quite as well in their rematch with Clemson, as they ultimately garnered their second loss by a score of 12-5. Clemson’s offense racked up 14 hits and eight walks as they moved on to the Super Regionals. Shortstop Jacob Hinderleider of Clemson was the MVP of the regional, thanks to a .600 batting average in the Tigers’ three games. He will look to continue that success against the University of Florida, as Clemson begins their best-of-three series with them on Saturday.

Stillwater Regional Winner: Florida Gators

The University of Florida upset the hosting Oklahoma State Cowboys in the Stillwater Regional. They started by defeating Nebraska 5-2, as right fielder Ashton Wilson went 4-5 with 3 RBI. Oklahoma State dismantled Niagara 19-5, then took down Florida by a considerable 7-1 margin. Cowboys starter Brian Holiday out-shoved Jac Caglione of the Gators, going the full nine innings and only allowing one run on 10 strikeouts. Florida then had to defeat Nebraska, who had won the elimination game against Niagara 7-5. Florida came out on top, defeating the Huskers 17-11. In the final round, Florida beat Oklahoma twice in a row, barely escaping elimination. They won the Sunday game 5-2, as Brandon Neely came into relief and threw 5.2 shutout innings, striking out a lucrative 11 batters. In the win or go home game, Florida jumped out to an early 3-1 lead, thanks to a Wilson two RBI single and a Michael Robertson RBI single. With a Tyler Shelnut homer, and three and a third shutout relief innings from Fisher Jameson, Florida closed out the regional with a 4-2 win. The third seed Gators will oppose the highly ranked Clemson Tigers in the next round.

Bryan-College Station Regional Winner: Texas A&M Aggies

The Aggies pitching staff is scary, to say the least. Through their three games, the Texas A&M Aggies allowed only six earned runs, striking out 32 along the way. They beat Grambling in Game 1 8-0, after which Grambling fell to the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns 12-5. Louisiana had fallen to the losers bracket after a loss to University of Texas in their first game. With a berth to the regional championship on the line, Texas A&M beat the rival Longhorns in an 11 inning showdown. University of Texas fell as a result of poor defense, making three errors in the loss. The Longhorns lost their momentum, then losing in a rematch against Louisiana 10-2. Louisiana catcher Jose Torres and outfielder Bryan Boussard each hit three-run homers in a massive seven-run 8th inning. Ultimately, the Ragin’ Cajun offense just couldn’t keep up with the Aggies, who hit five homers en route to a 9-4 victory. Texas A&M is slated to fight Oregon for a spot in the College World Series.

Santa Barbara Regional Winner: Oregon Ducks

The Ducks triumphed in Santa Barbara, sweeping the competition as the third seed of the regional. Oregon won a thriller to start, edging out San Diego 5-4 in 11 innings. Center fielder Bryce Boettcher had the deciding hit, mashing a homerun in the final inning to deep left field. UC Santa Barbara beat Fresno State 9-6, who then were eliminated by San Diego by a score of 7-5. Oregon managed to squeak out a 2-1 victory against UC Santa Barbara, thanks greatly to a stellar performance from sophomore Grayson Grinsell, who twirled seven stellar shutout frames, striking out nine. After UC Santa Barbara made it out of the losers bracket with a win against San Diego, Oregon once again bested the one-seeded Gauchos 3-0. Senior Kevin Seitter threw a complete game shutout to lead the Ducks onto the next round. They have a date with Texas A&M in the Super Regional on June 8.