Super Regionals: NC State stuns No. 1 Arkansas

Published 7:33 pm Sunday, June 13, 2021

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — North Carolina State freshman shortstop Jose Torres hit a shot heard ’round the college baseball world on Sunday, homering off Arkansas’ likely Golden Spikes Award winner Kevin Kopps leading off the top of the ninth inning, as the Wolfpack (34-12) stunned the top-seeded and top-ranked Razorbacks 3-2 to earn a berth in the College World Series.

Torres’ blast came after Arkansas (50-13) knotted the score at 2 in the bottom of the seventh on a two-out solo homer by Cayden Wallace.

Kopps, the front-runner for college baseball’s top award who entered the game with a 0.66 earned-run average and a 12-0 record with 11 saves, was tabbed to make his first start of the season with the Razorbacks on the brink of elimination and after Kopps (12-1) threw the final two innings in a 6-5 loss to NC State on Saturday. Kopps, who had allowed just six runs in 80 1/3 innings this season, surrendered three runs on seven hits in eight-plus innings, striking out nine.

Freshman Matt Willadsen started for the Wolfpack, allowing only an unearned run on two hits in four innings. Chris Villaman pitched the next three innings, yielding two hits and a run. Evan Justice (5-2) didn’t allow a hit in working the final two innings to pick up the win.

Arkansas took a 1-0 lead with an unearned run in the top of the second. Christian Franklin reached on an error by Wolfpack third baseman Vojtech Mensik and scored on a two-out double by Charlie Welch. NC State came into the game with a team fielding percentage of .983, second best in D-I.

The Wolfpack answered in the top of the third. Austin Murr walked with one out and scored on a two-out two-run home run to left field by Johnny Butler.

Virginia 4, Dallas Baptist 0

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Griff McGarry struck out a season-high 10 in seven innings and Virginia beat Dallas Baptist 4-0 in Game 2 of the Columbia Super Regional on Sunday.

The Cavaliers (34-25) improved to 5-0 this year in NCAA Tournament elimination games and forced a decisive Game 3 with the Patriots (41-17) on Monday for a trip to the College World Series.

Zack Gelof gave Virginia a 1-0 lead with a line drive home run off Dallas Baptist starter Rhett Kouba (6-2) to lead off the eighth inning. Alex Tappen followed with a two-out three-run homer off reliever Kragen Kechely.

The Patriots’ Andrew Benefield broke up McGarry’s no-hit bid with a lead-off double in the seventh. Virginia catcher Logan Michaels picked off Benefield at second after Ryan Wrobleski showed bunt. Wrobleski hit a single, advanced to second on a fielding error and stole third on pitch in the dirt, but McGarry closed out the inning with back-to-back strikeouts.

McGarry walked George Specht to lead off the eighth and left the game after taking a moment in the dugout to see if he could do something about bleeding on the ring finger of his pitching hand. Brandon Neeck (2-0) finished the inning to pick up the win and Kyle Whitten pitched the ninth for his second save of the season.

Tennessee 15, LSU 6

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Jake Rucker hit two home runs in Game 2 of the Nashville Super Regional, and No. 3 national seed Tennessee advanced to the College World Series with a 15-6 win over LSU, concluding the career of Tigers coach Paul Mainieri on Sunday.

The Volunteers (50-16) will make their fifth CWS appearance and first since 2005. They set program records for runs in a super regional game and home runs (six) in an NCAA Tournament game.

Mainieri had been the nation’s winningest active coach and finished seventh all-time with 1,505 wins. He won a national championship and made six CWS appearances in a combined 39 seasons at St. Thomas, Air Force, Notre Dame and LSU.

Mainieri announced his retirement before the Eugene Regional and the Tigers (38-25) were on the verge of a season-ending loss for most of the weekend after losing the opener 4-0 to Gonzaga on June 4. They rallied with four straight elimination game wins to take the region.

Blade Tidwell (10-3) struck out seven in seven innings for Tennessee. Jordan Beck, Connor Pavolony, Evan Russell and Drew Gilbert each hit a home run.

Dylan Crews hit a pair of home runs for the Tigers. Starter Landon Marceaux (7-7) went three innings and got the loss.

Saturday

Texas 4, South Florida 3

AUSTIN (AP) — Eric Kennedy hit a two-out walk-off double and Texas beat South Florida 4-3 on Saturday in the first game of the best-of-3 Austin Super Regional.

The Longhorns played USF late Sunday in Game 2.

Ty Madden had nine strikeouts and gave up three hits with four walks over 6 1/3 innings scoreless innings for No. 2 national seed Texas (46-15). Witt (4-0), who relieved Madden and gave up two home runs in the top of the ninth as USF erased a 3-0 deficit, got the win.

After Douglas Hodo III struck out and Trey Faltine flied out to open the bottom of the ninth, Silas Ardoin reached base on a fielding error and Kennedy hit the next pitch to warning track in center field to win it.

Brad Lord, who gave up two hits and an unearned run with three strikeouts over 1 2/3 innings, took the loss for South Florida (31-29), which played the first super regional game in program history.

Daniel Cantu led off the ninth with a home run to left center to make it 3-1 before Witt retired two in a row. Jarrett Eaton kept the Bulls alive with a double before pinch-hitter Drew Brutcher, on a full count, hit his first homer since March 16 and eighth of the season to tie it.

Mississippi 12, Arizona 3

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Jacob Gonzalez hit a lead-off home run in the bottom of the first inning to open the scoring and added a two-run double in the Mississippi’s six-run second and the Rebels beat Arizona 12-3 on Saturday night to avoid elimination from the best-of-3 Tucson Super Regional.

Mississippi (45-21), which dropped a 9-3 decision to Arizona in the series opener, forced a Game 3 on Sunday.

Gonzales, a true freshman, went 3 for 4 with a walk, three RBIs and three runs and Peyton Chatagnier hit a two-run homer to make it 7-0 in the second inning. Doug Nikhazy (12-2) gave up two runs on six hits and three walks with 10 strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings and his 12 wins are a single-season program record. The junior has 142 strikeouts this season, the second-highest total in Mississippi history. Lance Lynn struck out 146 batters for the Rebels in 2007.

Donta Williams went 2 for 4 with a solo shot in the top of the seventh inning for Arizona (44-16). Bullard and Holgate hit back-to-back RBI singles in the fourth.

Hayden Hurst went 3 for 4 with two RBIs for Mississippi.