College Baseball Update

Lots of regional action this weekend. Here's what's happened so far:

GAINESVILLE REGION:

Very little competition here. The Florida Gators, the number-one seed in the country, threw a no-hitter to beat Bethune-Cookman 4-0 in their first game, then beat Georgia Tech 6-2 and 15-3 to cruise into the Super Regionals.

RALEIGH REGION:

This region has turned into a battle between the top two seeds, N.C. State and Vandy. Vandy won the first meeting yesterday 9-8, the Wolfpack won the rematch today 6-5. These two squads will meet tomorrow night to decide the regional title.

CHARLOTTESVILLE REGION:

One big theme of this weekend is that the ACC was treated very generously by the NCAA, and the ACC teams significantly under-performed. UVA was the number-one seed in this region, and they were at home, and they were eliminated by losses to Appalachian State and Oklahoma. App State is 2-0 in this tournament, Oklahoma is 2-1, and those two teams will decide the region tomorrow.

COLUMBIA REGION:

South Carolina, the two-time defending champion, won this region at home with wins over Manhattan, Clemson (5-4 in 12 innings), and Clemson again (4-3).

EUGENE REGION:

The Pac-12 is also looking good. Oregon rolled through this region with one win over Cal-State Fullerton, and two wins over Austin Peay.

GARY REGION:

The key game in this region turned out to be the 21-inning battle between Kentucky and Kent State. (Great coverage, Eric!) After winning that game, Kent State beat Purdue (7-2) and Kentucky again (3-2) to win the region. The Wildcats became the fifth team from the Commonwealth to be eliminated from this year's title chase, and they have the satisfaction of knowing that they were better than Purdue (the number one seed in this region) and Miami of Florida -- who got the hosting assignment that should have gone to UK.

HOUSTON REGION:

Arkansas won this region with a 5-4 win over Sam Houston State, a 1-0 win over host Rice, and a 5-1 win over Sam Houston State.

WACO REGION:

This has turned into a battle between host Baylor and number-2 seed Dallas Baptist. Dallas Baptist beat Oral Roberts and UT-Arlington in their first two games. But Baylor, charging through the loser's bracket, beat Dallas Baptist 9-2 today to set up a winner-take-all game tomorrow.

LOS ANGELES REGION:

UCLA beat Creighton 4-0, then beat New Mexico 7-1, and is leading Creighton 13-3 in the bottom of the sixth. Once that game ends, the Bruins will be on to the Super-Regionals.

COLLEGE STATION REGION:

Ole Miss beat TCU 6-2, then beat Texas A & M 6-3. But TCU survived the loser's bracket, and then beat Ole Miss today 5-2. So the Horned Frogs and the Rebels will play tomorrow in a winner-take-all game for a trip to Super-Regionals against UCLA.

CORAL GABLES REGION:

Last week, the NCAA took a lot of criticism for picking Miami of Florida to host a region. That criticism turned out to be justified, as the Canes lost 10-2 to Stony Brook(!) and 12-2 to Missouri State (!!!). Based on those results, I am confident Miami was the worst team to ever host a region in the NCAA tournament. The two survivors in the region are Stony Brook and Central Florida, and they will meet for the title tomorrow.

BATON ROUGE REGION:

LSU had few troubles at home, beating Louisiana-Monroe 4-1, Oregon State 7-1, and Oregon State 6-5 in 11 innings to clinch the region. The Tigers now await the Stony Brook/Central Florida winner.

CHAPEL HILL REGION:

Five ACC teams hosted regionals. Three of them (UNC, UVA, and Miami (Fla.)) have been eliminated, and another (N.C. State) is fighting for its life against Vandy. The Heels, who were given the easiest possible ride to the College World Series, lost to St. John's twice, by scores of 5-4 and 9-5. So the Johnnies march on to the Super Regionals.

TUCSON REGION:

This region has come down to Arizona and Louisville. The Wildcats beat the Cardinals 16-4 yesterday, so Louisville has to beat Arizona twice to win the region. Right now, the Wildcats lead 4-0 in the top of the third, so they will probably advance to meet St. John's.

STANFORD REGION:

In another strong performance for the Pac-12, the Stanford Cardinal won this region with victories over Fresno State (9-1), Pepperdine (5-4), and Pepperdine again (8-7).

TALLAHASSEE REGION:

Unfortunately for Mississippi State, neither of their favorite opponents -- Kentucky and Vandy -- were sent to this region. Instead, the Bulldogs were eliminated via two losses to Samford. But Samford was twice beaten by Florida State, who is the only ACC team to advance to the Super Regionals so far. No wonder they want out of that conference.