College Baseball Regionals 2015: Results, Highlights and Bracket from Friday
The 2015 NCAA baseball tournament got underway on Friday with 32 games in 16 locations around the country featuring all 64 teams starting their journey to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.
Regionals are hosted by the 16 No. 1 seeds in a double-elimination format, so one loss on Friday doesn't spell doom for the tournament. It does increase the sense of urgency a team has, but there is time to right the ship.
Here's a recap of Friday's opening day of regionals, including highlights and an updated look at team records.
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| Tallahassee, Florida | No. 2 Charleston vs. No. 3 Auburn | Charleston def. Auburn, 7-6 (11 innings) | Charleston (1-0) | Auburn (0-1) |
| Stillwater, Oklahoma | No. 2 Arkansas vs. No. 3 Oral Roberts | Arkansas def. Oral Roberts, 8-6 | Arkansas (1-0) | Oral Roberts (0-1) |
| Gainesville, Florida | No. 2 Florida Atlantic vs. No. 3 South Florida | South Florida def. Florida Atlantic, 5-3 | South Florida (1-0) | Florida Atlantic (0-1) |
| College Station, Texas | No. 2 Coastal Carolina vs. No. 3 California | California def. Coastal Carolina, 9-3 | California (1-0) | Coastal Carolina (0-1) |
| Champaign, Illinois | No. 2 Notre Dame vs. No. 3 Wright State | Notre Dame def. Wright State, 13-7 | Notre Dame (1-0) | Wright State (0-1) |
| Coral Gables, Florida | No. 2 East Carolina vs. No. 3 Columbia | Columbia def. East Carolina, 6-3 | Columbia (1-0) | East Carolina (0-1) |
| Springfield, Missouri | No. 2 Iowa vs. No. 3 Oregon | Iowa def. Oregon, 3-1 | Iowa (1-0) | Oregon (0-1) |
| Louisville, Kentucky | No. 2 Bradley vs. No. 3 Michigan | Michigan def. Bradley, 10-5 | Michigan (1-0) | Bradley (0-1) |
| Nashville, Tennessee | No. 2 Radford vs. No. 3 Indiana | Indiana def. Radford, 7-1 | Indiana (1-0) | Radford (0-1) |
| Houston, Texas | No. 2 Rice vs. No. 3 Louisiana-Lafayette | Louisiana-Lafayette def. Rice, 7-6 | Louisiana-Lafayette (1-0) | Rice (0-1) |
| Fort Worth, Texas | No. 2 North Carolina State vs. No. 3 Stony Brook | North Carolina State def. Stony Brook, 3-0 | North Carolina State (1-0) | Stony Brook (0-1) |
| Dallas, Texas | No. 2 Oregon State vs. No. 3 Texas | Oregon State def. Texas, 5-4 | Oregon State (1-0) | Texas (0-1) |
| Baton Rouge, Louisiana | No. 1 LSU vs. No. 4 Lehigh | LSU def. Lehigh, 10-3 | LSU (1-0) | Lehigh (0-1) |
| Lake Elsinore, California | No. 2 USC vs. Virginia | Virginia def. USC, 6-1 | Virginia (1-0) | USC (0-1) |
| Tallahassee, Florida | No. 1 Florida State vs. No. 4 Mercer | Florida State def. Mercer, 5-4 | Florida State (1-0) | Mercer (0-1) |
| Fullerton, California | No. 2 Arizona State vs. No. 3 Clemson | Arizona State def. Clemson, 7-4 | Arizona State (1-0) | Clemson (0-1) |
| Louisville, Kentucky | No. 1 Louisville vs. No. 4 Morehead State | Louisville def. Morehead State. 7-2 | Louisville (1-0) | Morehead State (0-1) |
| Los Angeles, California | No. 2 Mississippi vs. No. 3 Maryland | Maryland def. Mississippi, 3-1 | Maryland (1-0) | Mississippi (0-1) |
| Stillwater, Oklahoma | No. 1 Oklahoma State vs. No. 4 St. John's | Oklahoma State def. St. John's, 5-4 | Oklahoma State (1-0) | St. John's (0-1) |
| Springfield, Missouri | No. 1 Missouri State vs. No. 4 Canisius | PPD (Rain) | - | - |
| Coral Gables, Florida | No. 1 Miami vs. No. 4 Florida International | Miami def. Florida International, 6-2 | Miami (1-0) | Florida International (0-1) |
| Dallas, Texas | No. 1 Dallas Baptist vs. No. 4 VCU | VCU def. Dallas Baptist, 7-2 | VCU (1-0) | Dallas Baptist (0-1) |
| Gainesville, Florida | No. 1 Florida vs. No. 4 Florida A&M | Florida def. Florida A&M, 19-0 | Florida (1-0) | Florida A&M (0-1) |
| College Station, Texas | No. 1 Texas A&M vs. No. 4 Texas Southern | Texas A&M def. Texas Southern, 5-0 | Texas A&M (1-0) | Texas Southern (0-1) |
| Baton Rouge, Louisiana | No. 2 UNC-Wilmington vs. No. 3 Tulane | UNC-Wilmington def. Tulane, 10-1 | UNC-Wilmington (1-0) | Tulane (0-1) |
| Houston, Texas | No. 1 Houston vs. No. 4 Houston Baptist | Houston def. Houston Baptist, 6-4 | Houston (1-0) | Houston Baptist (0-1) |
| Fort Worth, Texas | No. 1 TCU vs. No. 4 Sacred Heart | TCU def. Sacred Heart, 10-0 | TCU (1-0) | Sacred Heart (0-1) |
| Champaign, Illinois | No. 1 Illinois vs. No. 4 Ohio | Illinois def. Ohio, 10-3 | Illinois (1-0) | Ohio (0-1) |
| Nashville, Tennessee | No. 1 Vanderbilt vs. No. 4 Lipscomb | Vanderbilt def. Lipscomb, 9-1 | Vanderbilt (1-0) | Lipscomb (0-1) |
| Lake Elsinore, California | No. 1 UC Santa Barbara vs. No. 4 San Diego State | San Diego State def. UC Santa Barbara, 4-3 | San Diego State (1-0) | UC Santa Barbara (0-1) |
| Fullerton, California | No. 1 Cal State Fullerton vs. No. 4 Pepperdine | Cal State Fullerton def. Pepperdine, 9-3 | Cal State Fullerton (1-0) | Pepperdine (0-1) |
| Los Angeles, California | No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 4 CSU Bakersfield | UCLA def. CSU Bakersfield, 7-2 | UCLA (1-0) | CSU Bakersfield (0-1) |
Full Bracket (via Houston Baptist Athletics)
Friday Recap
Things got off to a rousing start with Charleston knocking off Auburn 7-6 in 11 innings. The Cougars won on a walk-off home run from catcher Erven Roper with two outs. The sophomore was solid all day, going 2-for-5 with three RBI.
NCAA Baseball provided video of Roper's celebration with his teammates at home plate:
Charleston put on a power display against Auburn starter Cole Lipscomb, launching four home runs, including Roper's game-winner. The right-hander allowed six runs (three earned) on five hits in 5.2 innings before the bullpen took over.
Per ESPN Stats & Info, Lipscomb allowed nearly as many homers on Friday as he had all season in 87 innings pitched:
Lipscomb's problems were compounded by a sixth-inning error by second baseman Melvin Gray that would have been the second out of the inning. Instead of Blake Butler's pop-up to Gray in the next at-bat ending the inning, there were only two outs and Charleston would go on to score three runs before the third out was recorded.
Charleston picked up right where it left off after last year's surprise run to the super regional against Texas Tech. The Cougars were shut out 1-0 in two games against the Red Raiders, but Butler told the Associated Press (via Northwest Georgia News) that series gave this team the confidence to win in 2015.
“That’s been the story of our season,” he said. “With the veterans that are here and played in that (Texas Tech) series, we knew could be a top-20, top-16 team capable of getting to Omaha.”
So far, things are looking good for Charleston. It's on the winner's side of the bracket in the Tallahassee regional.
Notre Dame wasn't going to be outdone by Charleston, hitting four homers of its own in a 13-7 shootout win against Wright State. The NCAA Baseball Twitter feed tweeted out video of all the Fighting Irish's blasts from the victory:
There were plenty of offensive slugfests on Friday, but pitching did make its presence felt in the Iowa-Oregon and North Carolina State-Stony Brook matchups.
NC State pitched a shutout against Stony Brook as Curt Britt and Will Gilbert combined on the six-hitter. The Wolfpack used two relievers in the victory, which John Manuel and Jim Shonerd of Baseball America note sets them up well heading into the weekend games:
Hawkeyes starter Tyler Peyton was terrific by throwing 7.1 innings of one-run ball. The junior allowed seven hits with five strikeouts and no walks in leading Iowa to victory.
Peyton was also shown respect in the batter's box, as Tyson Alger of the Oregonian noted the Ducks wanted no part of the right-hander's hitting ability:
The Ducks had a chance to tie things in the sixth inning with runners on first and second with one out, but Peyton would get Scott Heineman to strike out and Brandon Cuddy to ground out.
Iowa got the victory despite not having one extra-base hit. Nick Roscetti was involved in all three Hawkeyes' runs, driving in two and scoring the third. It was a monumental win for Rick Heller's team, as Steve Batterson of the Quad City Times noted it's the program's first NCAA tournament win since 1972:
The Hawkeyes were just the tip of the iceberg for Big Ten baseball on Friday, as Mike Pegram of Rivals noted Michigan and Indiana were also looking good:
The Big Ten conference has won six national championships in baseball but none since Ohio State knocked off Oklahoma State in 1966. There's still a long way to go before the celebration can truly begin, but this is an encouraging start for those Midwestern teams.
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