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Regional Madness: Friday’s Instant Analysis

Five Takes From Friday

by KENDALL ROGERS

1. The Big Ten Conference: What A Day

We’ve spent much of the season talking about how much of a step forward the Big Ten was expected to take. And you know, it’s one thing for the league to do some nice things in the regular season, but another topic all together to do it in the postseason. Well, the Big Ten was terrific on Friday, going 5-0 with Michigan putting on an offensive show in an easy win over Bradley, Maryland’s Mike Shawaryn helping pitch his team past Ole Miss, Illinois cruising past Ohio, Indiana trashing Radford and Iowa taking care of Oregon behind some strong pitching.

As impressive as Friday was, the conference has a chance to make another strong statement on Saturday with these games on the docket in winners’ bracket games:

Indiana vs. Vanderbilt (Nashville)

Michigan vs. Louisville (Louisville)

Iowa vs. Missouri State/Canisius Winner (Springfield)

Maryland vs. UCLA (Los Angeles)

Illinois vs. Notre Dame (Champaign)

As for my predictions in those games, I’ll go with Vanderbilt, Louisville, Iowa, UCLA and Illinois, so I have the Big Ten going 2-3 on Saturday. Will I be wrong? We’ll find out.

2. As good as the Big Ten was, ouch for the Big South, Conference USA

While the Big Ten made a bold statement to start the weekend, representatives from the Big South and C-USA were the opposite.

For the Big South, Radford dropped a 7-1 decision to Indiana in Nashville, while Coastal Carolina was crushed in College Station, 9-3, to California. There’s still plenty of time this weekend to turn the tide, but Friday wasn’t a good look for the Big South.

The same can be said for C-USA. In Houston, as I detailed here, Rice’s usually stout bullpen with Matt Ditman and Austin Orewiler leading the charge, imploded in the ninth inning, and Louisiana-Lafayette had one of the more impressive comebacks on the day with a five-run ninth to advance to the winners’ bracket with a 7-6 victory. Meanwhile, in Gainesville, Florida Atlantic dropped a tough 5-3 decision to South Florida despite getting good bullpen work from the trio of John Sebelle, Bo Logan and Reily Monkman.

Hoping to stay alive in Gainesville, FAU gets a much easier task on Saturday in an elimination game against Florida A&M, while Rice, which ruined a potential dandy of a rivalry matchup Saturday night against Houston, will now face Houston Baptist in an elimination game. And before you think this is a cakewalk, Curtis Jones will start for the Huskies against the Owls. The last time he faced the Owls? It was earlier this season and he allowed just two runs on six hits in seven innings of work.

3. Most of the top seeds are safe, sans Dallas Baptist and UC Santa Barbara

We’re still waiting for Missouri State to play its first game of the weekend against Canisius on Saturday, but for now, it’s looking like a quiet first round for the top seeds. If you remember, the situation last year was significantly different with several upsets, such as Jackson State over Louisiana-Lafayette, College of Charleston over Florida and Georgia Southern over Florida State in dominant fashion.

Dallas Baptist, which certainly was a hot topic of discussion over the past week because of its national seed chances and high RPI, dropped an ugly 7-2 contest to Virginia Commonwealth, a contest that was dominated by the Rams. DBU righthander Joseph Shaw has a big-time arm but struggled against the Rams, allowing six runs on nine hits in 4.2 innings, while funky VCU starting pitcher JoJo Howie silenced DBU’s offense by allowing just two hits in six innings.

Speaking of Dallas Baptist’s offense, the unit was one of the nation’s more impressive lineups most of the season, drawing very good reviews from opposing coaches. However, the Patriots have scored more than five runs just once in their last eight games. That might need to change Saturday in an elimination game against Texas, which dropped a gut-wrenching opener in Dallas against Oregon State.

In Lake Elsinore, projected top-five pick and UCSB righthander Dillon Tate struck out 11, walked just one and allowed four runs on six hits in eight inning, but San Diego State’s Steven Pallares, in eighth inning, broke a 3-3 tie with a two-out steal of home to make it 4-3 in the Aztecs’ advantage

4. Colonial Athletic Association has a chance to shine

Though some mid-major conferences struggled on Friday, the CAA wasn’t part of that equation as College of Charleston used an Erven Roper 11th-inning walk-off home run to beat Auburn in the first game of the postseason, while UNC Wilmington dominated a good Tulane club 10-1 late into the night in Baton Rouge.

Charleston now faces Florida State in tomorrow’s winners’ bracket, and will need a strong start from position player turned starting pitcher Brandon Glazer. Meanwhile, UNCW could very well pull an upset of No. 2 national seed LSU. Why, you ask? Well, as unimpressive as UNCW’s starting pitching can sometimes be, it possesses several quality arms out of the pen, including Jordan Ramsey and others. UNCW did not have to use those guys against the Green Wave, and they’ll be fresh against LSU on Saturday.

Perhaps it’s the perfect storm for the CAA.

5. How the conferences are faring

With another day of postseason action arriving, here’s our look at how the multi-bid conferences fared.

Big Ten: 5-0

Colonial: 2-0

ACC: 6-1

SEC: 5-2

Pac-12: 4-2

Big 12: 2-1

American Athletic: 2-2

Big West: 1-1

Missouri Valley: 0-2

Big South: 0-2

Wrapping Up Friday, Peeking At Saturday

by MARK ETHERIDGE

In Lake Elsinore, Steven Pallares stole home to break an eighth inning tie and Bubba Derby pitched a complete game at #4 seed San Diego State knocked off top seeded UCSB 4-3. Derby (8-4) struck out nine and did not walk a batter as he dueled with top draft prospect Dillon Tate (8-5). Tate worked eight innings and struck out 11. He allowed six hits and four runs. Pallares went 3-3 with a home run in one of the best individual performances in regional action. UCSB’s Andrew Calica went 4-4 with two doubles.

The top seeded Gauchos will face second second Southern California Saturday in an elimination game. San Diego State takes on Virginia in the winners’ bracket.

In Baton Rouge, #2 seed UNC-Wilmington used a seven-run fourth inning to beat #3 seed Tulane 10-1. Zach Shields had a pair of hits and scored three runs to pace the Seahawk offense. Ryan Foster worked a complete game and scattered eight hits. Six Tulane pitchers allowed 11 hits and seven walks in the defeat.

UNC-Wilmington will face LSU Saturday night. Tulane takes on Lehigh.

In Fullerton, top seed Cal State Fullerton drew eight walks and had nine hits in a 9-3 victory over #4 seed Pepperdine. The Titans rolled the dice and did not start ace Thomas Eshelman. They instead started John Gavin and used three other pitchers to hold Pepperdine to five hits. Tanner Pinkston had a pair of doubles to lead the Titan offense.

Cal State Fullerton faces Arizona State Saturday while Pepperdine takes on Clemson.

In Los Angeles, #1 seed UCLA got a strong start from James Kaprielian as the Bruins beat #4 seed CS Bakersfield 7-2. Grant Dyer worked the eighth and David Berg pitched the ninth. Kevin Kramer, Luke Persico, and Christoph Bono each had a pair of hits to lead the UCLA lineup. Chance Gusbeth had two of the Roadrunners’ five hits.

UCLA takes on Maryland Saturday night in a winners’ bracket game. UC Bakersfield is in an elimination game with Ole Miss.

Saturday’s Regional contests sorted by start time (ET)

#1 Dallas Baptist (43-14) vs. #3 Texas (30-26), 12 PM ET (ESPN2)

#3 Auburn (35-25) vs. #4 Mercer (35-22), 12 PM ET (ESPN3)

#2 Bradley (35-20) vs. #4 Morehead St. (38-21), 12 PM ET (ESPN3)

#2 East Carolina (40-21) vs. #4 FIU (29-30), 1 PM ET (ESPN3)

#3 Oral Roberts (41-15) vs. #4 St. John’s (NY) (39-15), 1 PM ET (ESPN3)

#1 Missouri St. (45-10) vs. #4 Canisius (34-28), 1 PM ET (ESPN3)

#3 Wright St. (41-16) vs. #4 Ohio (36-19), 1 PM ET (ESPN3)

#2 Coastal Caro. (38-20) vs. #4 Texas Southern (31-18), 1 PM ET (ESPN3)

#2 Fla. Atlantic (40-18) vs. #4 Florida A&M (23-24), 1 PM ET (ESPN3)

#2 Rice (35-21) vs. #4 Houston Baptist (28-26), 3:30 PM ET (ESPN3)

#3 Stony Brook (34-15-1) vs. #4 Sacred Heart (23-31-1), 3:30 PM ET (ESPN3)

#1 Louisville (44-16) vs. #3 Michigan (38-23), 4 PM ET (ESPN3)

#2 Radford (43-15) vs. #4 Lipscomb (39-19), 4 PM ET (ESPN3)

#3 Tulane (34-24) vs. #4 Lehigh (25-30), 4 PM ET (ESPN3)

#3 Oregon (37-24) vs. Missouri State or Canisius, 5 PM ET (ESPN3)

#1 Florida St. (42-19) vs. #2 Col. of Charleston (44-13) (ESPN3)

#1 Texas A&M (46-11) vs. #3 California (35-19), 7 PM ET (ESPN3)

#1 UC Santa Barbara (40-16-1) vs. #2 Southern California (37-20), 6 PM ET (ESPN3)

#2 Ole Miss (30-27) vs. #4 Bakersfield (36-23-1), 7 PM ET (ESPN3)

#1 Florida (45-16) vs. #3 South Fla. (34-24-1), 6 PM ET (ESPN3)

#2 Oregon St. (38-16-1) vs. vs. #4 VCU (37-22), 7 PM ET (ESPN3)

#1 *Miami (FL) (45-14) vs. #3 Columbia (32-15), 7 PM ET (ESPN3)

#3 Clemson (32-28) vs. #4 Pepperdine (30-28), 7 PM ET (ESPN3)

#1 Oklahoma St. (38-18) vs. #2 Arkansas (36-22), 7 PM ET (ESPN3)

#1 Vanderbilt (43-19) vs. #3 Indiana (35-22), 8 PM ET (ESPN3)

#1 Illinois (48-8-1) vs. #2 Notre Dame (37-21), 8 PM ET (ESPN3)

#1 LSU (49-10) vs. #2 UNCW (40-16), 8 PM ET (ESPN3)

#1 TCU (44-11) vs. #2 North Carolina St. (35-21), 8 PM ET (ESPN3)

#1 Houston (43-18) vs. #3 La.-Lafayette (40-21), 8 PM ET (ESPN3)

#2 Iowa (39-16) vs Missouri State or Canisius, 9 PM ET (ESPN3)

#3 Virginia (35-22) vs. #4 San Diego St. (41-21), 10 PM ET (ESPN3)

#1 Cal St. Fullerton (35-22) vs. #2 Arizona St. (35-21), 11 PM ET (ESPN3)

#1 UCLA (43-14) vs. #3 Maryland (40-21), 11 PM ET (ESPNU)

Five Takeaways From The Evening

by MARK ETHERIDGE

Miami faces Columbia Saturday

If Miami was going to sleepwalk through a regional opener against an overmatched opponent, the bracket pairing took care of that chance. Facing intra-city rival FIU, the Hurricanes had all of the motivation they needed and got the win. The two head coaches, UM’s Jim Morris and FIU’s Turtle Thomas, are not on speaking terms and the teams have not scheduled a game since Thomas took over the Panther program. Thomas was a Miami assistant and left the team during the CWS. After a stint as an assistant at LSU, he got the head coaching job at FIU. This season has not gone as expected however, as any felt his club would be one of the best teams in Conference USA. Instead, they finished eighth in the league but then rallied to win the conference tournament.

So far, Dallas Baptist is the only #1 seed to drop a game as they fell to VCU on their home field. This was just one of those games where VCU played very well and just took the game. Some may want to pile onto the Patriots for the loss but it was just one of those days when the opponent played better. As an aside, the day was a tough one for the Missouri Valley squads. In addition to DBU losing, Bradley fell hard to Michigan, and Missouri State’s game with Canisius was rained out. The Bears will have to play twice Saturday. With all of the chatter regarding their RPI, the MVC could have used a strong start to avoid the inevitable sniping.

Early on, the Big 10 continues to be the story as they sit at 5-0 after the first round. The tally includes wins by a #1 seed in Illinois, a #2 seed in Iowa many felt would lose to Oregon, and a trio of #3 seeds in Michigan, Indiana, and Maryland that looked like the better teams in their openers. With five winners’ bracket games Saturday, this may be the biggest day in modern Big 10 baseball history.

Fans in Tallahassee got their money’s worth Friday. In two games, they saw 21 innings and a pair of walkoff victories. FSU was able to slip past a game Mercer club 5-4 in 11 innings and now awaits College of Charleston Saturday in what should be a fun matchup. The Seminoles have to be thrilled to avoid the opening loss – they just needed to survive. Now they turn their focus to slowing down a hot-hitting Cougar club.

Looking ahead to Saturday, here are the ten games I am most anticipating:

College of Charleston at Florida State Arkansas at Oklahoma State Indiana at Vanderbilt Texas at Dallas Baptist NC State at TCU Cal at Texas A&M Arizona State at Cal State Fullerton UCSB vs Southern California Michigan at Louisville UNC-Wilmington at LSU

Top Seeds Prevail In Evening Contests

by MARK ETHERIDGE

In Baton Rouge, #1 seed and host LSU used seven pitchers and smacked 13 hits en route to a 10-3 victory over #4 seed Lehigh. Andrew Stevenson had three hits to lead the Tiger lineup. LSU used Austin Bain for three innings and six other pitchers for an inning each in attempt to dodge rain and keep arms rested for later in the regional.

LSU will face the winner of Friday evening’s #2 seed Tulane versus #3 seed UNC-Wilmington contest. Lehigh faces the loser.

In Lake Elsinore, #3 seed Virginia broke open a scoreless game in the seventh inning to beat #2 seed Southern California 6-1. Connor Jones (6-2) and John Sborz (13th save) combined to five hit the Trojans. USC starter Kyle Davis took a no-hitter into the seventh inning.

Virginia takes on the winner of tonight’s Cal Santa Barbara versus San Diego State game. Southern California awaits the loser.

In Gainesville, #1 seed Florida cruised to a 19-0 victory over #4 seed Florida A&M. The Gators had 17 hits and J.J. Schwarz added his 15th home run of the season. UF starter Logan Shore allowed only two hits in his five inning stint. Eight Florida A&M pitchers hit seven Gator batters – including Richie Martin the last three times be batted.

Florida moves on to face South Florida while Florida A&M opens the games Saturday against Florida Atlantic.

In Coral Gables, #1 seed and host Miami scored six runs in the first two innings to defeat cross-town rival #4 seed Florida International 6-2. The Hurricanes’ starter Andy Suarez (8-1) worked seven solid innings before Cooper Hammond worked the final two hitless frames. David Thompson went 3-4 with three RBI to pace the UM lineup.

Florida International faces East Carolina in the early game Saturday. Miami takes on Columbia in the nightcap.

In Louisville, the top seed Louisville defeated #4 seed Morehead State 7-2. Devin Hairston went 4-4 with a pair of doubles to pace a 10 hit Cardinals’ lineup. Kyle Funkhouser (8-5) worked seven innings to pick up the victory.

Louisville returns to face Michigan Saturday evening. Morehead State takes on Bradley.

In Champaign, top seed and host Illinois rode a complete game pitching effort from Kevin Duchene to a 10-3 victory over #4 seed Ohio. Duchene scattered seven hits in the 114 pitch effort. The Illini only had ten hits but turned that into 10 runs thanks to a pair of home runs – one each by David Kerian and Ryne Roper.

Illinois will take on Notre Dame in the winners’ bracket Saturday. Ohio faces Wright State in the losers’ bracket.

In Los Angeles, Mike Shawaryn and three relievers held #2 seed Ole Miss to two hits as #3 seed Maryland won 3-1. The Terrapins scored two runs in the first and another in the fourth and kept the Rebels in check all evening. Shawaryn had nine strikeouts and walked five.

Maryland will face the winner of Friday evening’s UCLA versus Cal State Bakersfield game. Ole Miss gets the loser.

In Tallahassee, top seed Florida State escaped with a ten-inning, 5-4 victory over #4 seed Mercer. The Seminoles got an RBI single from Josh Delph to collect the walkoff win. Charlie Madden led Mercer with three hits. The FSU bullpen (Dylan Silva and Billy Strode) worked the final five innings of shutout ball.

Florida State takes on College of Charleston Saturday. Mercer gets a shot at Auburn.

In Fullerton, #2 seed Arizona State scored three runs in both the seventh and eighth innings to beat #3 seed Clemson 7-4. Ryan Kellogg (9-2) worked seven innings for the Sun Devils. Matthew Crownover (10-3) struck out nine but took the loss for the Tigers.

Arizona State now faces the winner of Cal State Fullerton and Pepperdine. Clemson plays the loser.

In Stillwater, top seed Oklahoma State survived a scare from #4 seed St. John’s winning 5-4. The Cowboys used a four hit outing from Gage Green as part of their 13 hit attack. Jon Perrin and Trey Cobb combined to hold the Red Storm to six hits.

Oklahoma State now gets a showdown with Arkansas Saturday evening. St. John’s faces Oral Roberts.

In College Station, top seed and host Texas A&M got another strong pitching effort from Matt Kent in a 5-0 victory over #4 seed Texas Southern. Kent, coming off of an SEC Tournament victory over Vanderbilt, worked seven shutout innings and struck out nine Friday evening. Andrew Vinson worked the final two innings to pick up the save and preserve the shutout. Nick Banks homered for the Aggies who struggled a bit for them with only nine hits.

Texas A&M returns to action Saturday evening against California. Texas Southern faces Coastal Carolina in the early game.

In Dallas, we had a #1 seed fall as #4 seed VCU knocked off Dallas Baptist 7-2. Daane Berezo and Brett Hileman each had three hits as the Rams slugged 12 hits and three doubles in the victory. JoJo Howie (8-6) worked 6 2/3 innings and a pair of relievers kept the Patriots in check from there. DBU had just seven hits in the loss.

Saturday should be a fun elimination game as the top seed Dallas Baptist takes on Texas. VCU plays Oregon State in the night game.

In Nashville, top seed Vanderbilt used an 11 strikeout performance from starting pitcher Carson Fulmer in a 9-1 victory over #4 seed and intra-city rival Lipscomb. Fulmer (12-2) allowed only four hits in seven innings. Ro Coleman and Bryan Reynolds each had three hits and Jeren Kendall had a home run.

Vanderbilt takes on Indiana Saturday while Lipscomb faces Radford.

In Houston, the top seeded Houston Cougars fell behind early but rallied for a 6-4 victory over #4 seed Houston Baptist. Trailing 4-0 in the third inning, the Cougars scored all six of their runs in the third and make it hold up for the win. Andrew Lantrip (9-3) worked a complete game on the hill for Houston. Connor Wong had three hits and Corey Julks added a home run.

Houston returns to face Louisiana-Lafayette Saturday evening. Houston Baptist faces Rice in the losers’ bracket.

In Fort Worth, top seed Texas Christian held #4 seed Sacred Heart to four hits in a 10-0 victory. Mitchell Traver worked seven innings and allowed just four hits. Brian Trieglaff capped the shutout with the final two frames. Derek Odell drove in three Horned Frog runs.

TCU advances to face NC State Saturday evening. Sacred Heart faces Stony Brook.

Five Takeaways From The Early Action

by MARK ETHERIDGE

College of Charleston’s offense looked impressive. The Cougars smacked four home runs and were a phenomenal defensive play away from a fifth in their win over Auburn. While Auburn is not the deepest pitching staff still playing, Cole Lipscomb is a legitimate ace and Monte Lee’s group was not fazed facing him. I am anxious to see how the Cougars bats react as we get deeper into the weekend and more importantly, deeper into the pitching staffs. Many of us felt the Cougars should have been a host site and today they took Auburn’s best shot and survived. Meanwhile, the Tigers needed to stay in the winners’ bracket to have a realistic shot at taking the regional. They may be able to win Saturday behind Rocky McCord but after that they have more questions than answers on the hill.

Several teams drew the ire of the pundits last week after the brackets were announced. Oregon slipped into the tournament as one of the final teams with a mid-60s RPI rank. The Ducks lost today to Iowa. Bradley was thought to be a bubble team and ended up a mystery two-seed. The Braves fell hard to Michigan. Auburn finished ninth at 13-17 in the SEC which made some folks question their worthiness. They played well but lost in extras. All eyes now turn to bubble teams Clemson and Maryland who were listed in the final four to get invitations to the tournament. One bubble team that passed scrutiny with flying colors is South Florida who knocked off FAU today.

What a nice start for the Big 10. With five teams getting bids and Michigan State and Ohio State also having good seasons, this was the best season of B1G baseball ever. That success continued Friday as Iowa, Indiana, and Michigan all won to advance to the winners’ bracket. Maryland and Illinois will try to join them tonight.

This is a great time to be a Louisiana-Lafayette fan. In their conference tournament, they stormed through the losers’ bracket and then won the final on an extra inning grand slam. Today, they appeared to be in trouble down four in the ninth inning but rallied to get five to take the victory over Rice. Tony Robichaux’s club has got the magic.

Rain played a huge role in today’s games and has resulted in a postponement in Springfield. That delay puts the home team Missouri State at a disadvantage Saturday, because they will play two games while their opponent will play only one. Also, this could become a huge liability should the regional extend until Monday and lead to one day less rest for the pitchers. That makes me think if coaches really wanted to maximize their home field advantage, they should do what LSU does and play the first game of the day. If they can handle the impact on the turnstiles, there is no doubt regarding the advantage this provides.

Let’s Get This Started

by MARK ETHERIDGE

For those stuck at work Friday, here is what you missed in the rain-soaked early games.

In Tallahassee, #2 seed College of Charleston hit four solo home runs including one in the bottom of the 11th inning to beat #3 seed Auburn 7-6 Friday. Erven Roper got to experience a walkoff home run to win a regional opener as lefthanded hitter did the honors over the 30 feet hall wall in right field.

Half of the Cougars eight hits left were solo home runs as Bradley Jones, Blake Butler, and Nick Pappas also homered. Auburn’s Melvin Gray added his first home run of the season.

The game was billed as a matchup between Cougar ace Taylor Clarke and Tiger ace Cole Lipscomb. Clarke worked seven innings and allowed eight runs and all six runs. He struck out seven and walked one in an 124 pitch effort. Lipscomb worked 5 2/3 innings and allowed five hits, six runs, three earned, with seven strikeouts and no walks. He left after 94 pitches. Izaac Yarbrough (0-2) pitched three hitless innings for Auburn before the game-ending home run. Carter Love (6-0) pitched the final two innings for Charleston.

Auburn’s Jackson Burgreen had a memorable day. Playing left field, he scaled the wall at Dick Howser Stadium and robbed a home run. He also popped up in the infield but it was misplayed and ended up with an 12-feet triple.

College of Charleston will face the winner of tonight’s Florida State versus Mercer game. Auburn gets the loser Saturday at noon ET.



In Gainesville, #3 seed South Florida jumped on #2 seed Florida Atlantic early and held on for a 5-3 victory. USF scored three runs in the first two innings off of FAU starter Drew Jackson (6-4) and chased him with another run in the fourth. Kyle Teaf had four hits for the Bulls including a pair of triples. Jimmy Herget (10-3) got the win for USF. He worked seven innings and scattered nine hits. He allowed three runs – two earned, walked three, and fanned four. Tommy Peterson collected his 16th save with two hitless innings.

USF will face the winner of tonight’s Florida versus Florida A&M game. FAU gets the loser Saturday in the early game.

In Stillwater, #2 seed Arkansas overcame an early deficit to defeat #3 seed Oral Roberts 8-6 Friday. Trailing 3-2 in the sixth inning, the Razorbacks rallied with a four-run inning to grab a lead they would not release.

Trey Killian started for Arkansas and went five innings. Jackson Lowery (7-1) worked a pair of scoreless innings and got the win. Josh Alberius got the last out to notch a save. Guillermo Trujillo (10-4) got the loss for ORU after allowing six hits and four runs in five innings.

Arkansas will face the winner of the Oklahoma State versus St. John’s game tonight. Oral Roberts get the loser.

In Champaign, #2 seed Notre Dame slugged four home runs in a 13-7 victory over #3 seed Wright State. Zak Kutsulis, Ryan Bull, Cavan Biggio, and Robert Youngdahl all homered in the 16 hit Fighting Irish victory. The game featured six home runs as Wright State added a pair of their own. The Irish used three pitchers in the win with Brandon Bielek (6-2) picking up the win. Wright State led 3-0 in the third before Notre Dame cranked up the offense.

Notre Dame advances to the winners’ bracket to face the winner of tonight’s Illinois versus Ohio game. Wright State gets the loser.

In College Station, #3 seed Cal got a strong pitching effort from Daulton Jefferies and slugged 13 hits in a 9-3 victory over #2 seed Coastal Carolina. Jefferies worked seven innings of three hit ball and allowed just one run. Mitchell Kranson had three hits to lead the Bear offense.

Cal will face the winner of tonight’s Texas A&M versus Texas Southern game. Coastal Carolina gets the loser.

In Coral Gables, we had our first true upset of the day as #3 seed and Ivy League champ Columbia knocked off #2 seed American Tournament champion East Carolina 6-3. The Lions scored five runs in the sixth inning that really decided the contest. Columbia starter Georgia Thanopoulos (6-5) worked 5 2/3 innings before Adam Cline allowed just one hit over the last 3 1/3 innings for the save.

Columbia awaits the winner of tonight’s Miami versus FIU game. East Carolina meets the loser in an elimination game.

In Louisville, #3 seed Michigan continued their hot play with a 10-5 victory over #2 seed Bradley. Kendall Patrick hit a pair of home runs and Michigan led 10-1 before Bradley scored four in the bottom of the ninth. In addition to the two home runs, Patrick also had a double and drove in five. Matt Ogden (5-1) struck out seven in 6 2/3 innings to get the win.

Michigan faces the winner of Louisville versus Morehead State Saturday night. Bradley gets the loser.

In Nashville, #3 seed Indiana had 13 hits and got a strong pitching effort from Kyle Hart to defeat #2 seed Radford 7-1. Hart (5-0) allowed just five hits and only an unearned run in seven innings. Radford ace Michael Boyle (10-3) took the loss with four earned runs and seven hits in six innings.

Radford got off to an awful start as they ran into a triple play in the first. With no outs, and runners on the corners, the runner at first tried to steal second on a two-strike pitch. The batter struck out and the runner was thrown out. The runner at third scampered too far off the bag as well as was tripled off.



In Houston, #3 seed Louisiana-Lafayette scored five runs in the ninth inning to shock #2 seed Rice 7-6. Trailing 6-2 entering the ninth, the Ragin’ Cajuns tied the game with outs and got the eventual winning run on a sac fly from Blake Trahan. UL-Lafayette got their seven runs on just seven hits, three from Evan Powell.

Louisiana-Lafayette advances to face the winner of tonight’s Houston versus Houston Baptist game. The loser faces Rice.

In Springfield, #2 seed Iowa got their first regional victory since 1972 as they defeated #3 seed Oregon 3-1. Tyler Peyton worked 7 1/3 quality innings of seven hit ball to get the win. Iowa only got six hits but scored all three runs on balls that did not leave the infield.

Rain in the area halted the game in the ninth inning and has caused the delay of the nightcap between the host team Missouri State and Canisius. As a result, that game will now be played Saturday as part of a triple-header at 1, 5, and 9 PM ET.

In Fort Worth, Curt Britt and Will Gilbert combined for a 3-0 shutout as #2 seed North Carolina State defeated #3 seed Stony Brook. Logan Ratledge homered for the Wolfpack.

NC State advances to face the winner of tonight’s TCU versus Sacred Heart contest. Stony Brook faces the loser.

In Dallas, #2 seed Oregon State won a hard-fought contest with #3 seed Texas 5-4. OSU ace Andrew Moore and Longhorn ace Parker French each surrendered more hits than most were expecting. French gave up 11 hits and four runs while Moore allowed nine hits and four runs of his own. The game was tied in the bottom of the eighth before Kyle Nobach’s RBI double provided the winning margin.

Stay tuned for more updates as games complete and analysis of the day’s action later tonight.