College Baseball Super Regionals 2015: Results, Highlights, Bracket from Friday
The journey to the 2015 College World Series continued Friday with the start of this year's super regionals. There are only 16 teams still standing, and before the weekend is over, that number will be down to eight.
There are 11 No. 1 seeds still alive, including seven of the eight national seeds, led by LSU, Louisville and Florida. The Gators are the only team in that trio in action, playing Florida State in the marquee matchup of the day.
The regionals narrowed the field by 75 percent, so the 16 teams still competing for a national title will play a best-of-three series this weekend to determine the eight-team field that goes to TD Ameritrade Park for the College World Series starting June 13.
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Super Regional Bracket (via DeSoto Times-Tribune)
Friday Results
| No. 4 VCU vs. No. 1 Miami | Miami def. VCU, 3-2 | Miami leads 1-0 |
| No. 3 Virginia vs. No. 3 Maryland | Virginia def. Maryland, 5-3 | Virginia leads 1-0 |
| No. 2 Arkansas vs. No. 1 Missouri State | Arkansas def. Missouri State, 18-4 | Arkansas leads 1-0 |
| No. 1 Florida State vs. No. 1 Florida | 7:30 p.m. | - |
Recap
Virginia def. Maryland, 5-3
Virginia got off to a slow start against Maryland, but finally broke out in the eighth inning to take Game 1 of the super-regional series by a score of 5-3.
The Cavaliers were trailing 3-0 after seven innings, despite outhitting the Terrapins 5-3 up to that point. Kevin Doherty provided the big blow in the eighth with a three-run double that was almost caught by center fielder LaMonte Wade to give Virginia the lead. Here’s how it looked, via NCAA Baseball:
It was a huge turn of events for Maryland, which was on cruise control for most of the game and cashing in on opportunities to score runs.
The Terrapins were helped by Virginia starter Connor Jones’ five walks. The right-hander walked the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth inning, setting up LaMonte Wade to do this via NCAA Baseball:
Kevin Biondic would put Maryland up 3-0 in the seventh inning with an RBI groundout, though Kevin Mooney was unable to hold it after taking over for starter Mike Shawaryn.
It was a stunning turn of events for Mooney, who had been lights out prior to this appearance, as Andrew Ramspacher of The Daily Progress noted:
Maryland was licking its chops to get another shot at Virginia, which knocked the Terrapins out of the NCAA tournament in last year's super regionals, as Terps starting pitcher Mike Shawaryn told Roman Stubbs of The Washington Post.
“It’s fun. We’re going to go back down there and get another chance at them,” said Shawaryn. “As a college baseball player, you live for that type of atmosphere.”
Shawaryn held his end of the bargain with two runs allowed on five hits in 7.1 innings, but now Maryland finds itself one loss away from being sent home by Virginia for the second straight season.
The Cavaliers had a pedestrian regular season with a 34-21 record after winning 97 total games the previous two years, but they are turning things on at the right time. They need just one more win to reach their second straight College World Series.
Arkansas def. Missouri State, 18-4
The first upset of Friday happened at Baum Stadium with Arkansas knocking off top-seed Missouri State in an 18-4 blowout. The Razorbacks scored in five consecutive innings from fourth through eighth, highlighted by two different six-run innings, to move within one win of the College World Series.
There were no shortage of offensive stars for Arkansas, with every starter recording at least one hit, but Joe Serrano stands out with two doubles and one home run leading to four RBIs and two runs scored.
It was also a good game for SEC Player of the Year Andrew Benintendi, who is also projected to be a first-round pick in the MLB draft on June 8, got in one the power display with his 19th home run of the season, via NCAA Baseball:
On the other side of the draft spectrum, Missouri State starter Jon Harris did not leave scouts with a good impression. The right-hander gave up eight runs on nine hits in 5.2 innings, with Bob Holt of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette noting Harris came into the game with a sub-2.00 ERA:
For the record, Harris would leave the game with a 2.45 ERA. It's not a debilitating blow to his draft standing, though teams may proceed with more caution before writing his name on the card.
There's nothing Missouri State can say after a game like this, just put it in the rear-view mirror and try to focus on Saturday. Arkansas continues to play great baseball after going 3-0 in the regionals and is emerging as a dangerous threat in the College World Series if it wins one more game.
Miami def. VCU, 3-2
Despite a 90-minute weather delay, the Miami Hurricanes held on to defeat VCU in their first super regional matchup by a final score of 3-2.
The Hurricanes rode a three-run second inning and strong pitching from Andrew Suarez and the bullpen to a victory. Jacob Heyward provided the big blow with a two-run single, seen below via NCAA Baseball:
Suarez gave up one run on three hits in five innings before departing. Cooper Hammond, Michael Mediavilla and Bryan Garcia combined to give up one run on three hits with five strikeouts and no walks over the final four innings.
Miami's offense has been its source of power all season, leading the nation with 525 runs scored during the regular season, but VCU's ability to prevent runs has been its strength that the Hurricanes needed to execute when opportunities came.
That three-run inning was a huge moment for Miami, as Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press noted VCU hasn't given up more than three runs in a game in a long time:
VCU starting pitcher JoJo Howie would settle in to keep Miami's offense off the board as he went 6.1 innings, but the damage was done and the Rams lineup didn't have enough power to make a comeback. They did outhit the Hurricanes 6-4.
Howie did make one error in the second inning on a Garrett Kennedy comebacker in which he tried to turn a double play but threw the ball away. That mistake opened things up for Miami, as Heyward and Ricky Eusebio had RBI singles with two outs.
The Rams were the only No. 4 seed to make it out of the regionals, but Miami head coach Jim Morris made sure that his team wasn't taking them lightly because of the group they beat, according to Andre Fernandez of the Miami Herald:
"I saw Dallas Baptist, Oregon State — which could have been a No.1 seed — and Texas and I said that could be the toughest regional across the board. ... To see VCU come out of that [regional] showed me a lot about the type of club they have and the coaching they have and the leadership on that team.
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VCU may not have been able to find the offense needed to knock off Miami in Game 1, but it has to be encouraged by this performance. The Rams didn't fall apart after the nation's best offense pushed across three runs early in the game and had a chance to tie the game late.
Miami didn't play its best game of the season, but it did enough to win against a good team. The Hurricanes have the benefit of playing in front of their home crowd and will try to close the series out with a win Saturday.
The No. 1 seeded Hurricanes will be riding high heading into Saturday, knowing the offense is capable of exploding at any given moment. They have been on a mission to Omaha all year and are on their way to fulfilling that promise based on how things played out Friday.
Stats via NCAA.com
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