College Baseball Super Regionals 2018: Results, Highlights, Bracket from Friday

The 2018 NCAA Division I baseball tournament field has been narrowed down to 16 teams, and with it comes the Super Regionals series.

The best-of-three stage got underway on Friday, although not every team was in action. Eight teams took the diamond looking to move one step closer to the 2018 College World Series. While four teams would be able to do exactly that, four teams would also find themselves one loss closer to elimination.

Below is a look at all of the action from Friday's Super Regionals.

Bracket

Friday's Schedule/Results

North Carolina 7, Stetson 4

Washington 8, Cal State Fullerton 5

Oregon State 8, Minnesota 1

Mississippi State 10, Vanderbilt 8

Recap

North Carolina 7, Stetson 4

The Stetson Hatters got off to a strong start, but in the end, the North Carolina Tar Heels pulled out Game 1 with the help of a strong offense.

Stetson got the scoring underway in the top of the first, getting a line-drive home run from Mike Spooner in the second at-bat of the game:

Hatters right-hander Logan Gilbert could not protect that lead, though. The Tar Heels answered with a run of their own with a walk and a double in the bottom of the inning:

Just like, it was a brand new game.

Gilbert (5.1 innings, six hits, four runs, six strikeouts) and North Carolina starter Cooper Criswell (five innings, four hits, one run, three strikeouts) would trade zeroes until the fifth.

The Tar Heels used a single and a walk to set the table for catcher Cody Roberts. That's when Gilbert hung a pitch right in the zone, leaving him seeking a new baseball:

Stetson managed to get to North Carolina's bullpen in the seventh to close the gap to one run. However, just like in the first, the Tar Heels quickly responded. They took advantage of wildness by Hatters relievers (three walks, one hit by pitch) to tack on three insurance runs and extend the lead to four.

The Hatters managed to plate one in the top of the ninth and even put the tying run on base. But right-hander Austin Bergner wiggled out of trouble and sealed the victory.

Roberts (2-for-4, walk, double, home run, three RBI) led the Tar Heels offense. Spooner (2-for-5, home run, two RBI) starred at the plate for the Hatters.

North Carolina is now just one win away from Omaha, Nebraska, while Stetson must win the next two games to avoid elimination. Game 2 will start at noon on Saturday. 

Washington 8, Cal State Fullerton 5

The Huskies entered the Super Regionals 0-8 all-time against the Titans, and even after grabbing a four-run lead in the seventh, getting that elusive first victory would not be easy.

Cal State Fullerton jumped out to an early lead, plating a run in both the first and second innings.

And while the offense powered the way early on, it was a tough day on the mound for junior Colton Eastman.

The Titans right-hander was unable to protect the two-run lead, surrendering a pair of runs in the top of the third to even the score and coughing up two more just two innings later.

Washington continued to add, scoring another two runs in the seventh. All three of the scoring innings against Eastman featured an error. It was a sloppy day for the Titans defense, which committed five errors—and yet, they still had a chance to win.

Cal State Fullerton rallied with a walk, a double, a triple and a single after the stretch to cut the deficit to just a single run:

The Titans would keep the pressure on, loading the bases in the eighth against freshman Stevie Emanuels. However, they were unable to push across the tying run. That proved costly, as the Huskies added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the ninth.

Eastman had a tough time keeping Washington off the bases in this game. He allowed six runs on 12 hits and one walk in seven innings and also had to work around a struggling defense. He managed to escape further damage thanks to eight strikeouts. Meanwhile, Washington redshirt freshman Lucas Knowles turned in a solid performance, holding Cal State Fullerton to two runs on five hits in five innings.

Knowles shook off a bumpy start and settled in more as the game went on. Cal State Fullerton had plenty of chances to score in this game, though, as it stranded 12 runners.

Second baseman A.J. Graffanino (3-for-3, two walks, 2 RBI) was a key bat for the Huskies, while leadoff man Hank LoForte (2-for-4, walk, 2 runs) helped set the tone for the Titans.

The two teams will meet again on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. ET. Washington advances to Omaha with a victory, while Cal State Fullerton forces a Game 3 with a win.

Oregon State 8, Minnesota 1

Not even a little rain could cool off the Oregon State bats. The Beavers jumped all over the Golden Gophers right out of the gates and never let up. 

After Minnesota starter Max Meyer set down the first two Oregon State hitters of the game, he quickly ran into trouble. Nick Madrigal—who was taken with the fourth overall pick in the 2018 MLB draft earlier this week—got a two-out rally started with a single, and fellow first-round pick Trevor Larnach and Adley Rutschman then went back-to-back:

Oregon State powered its way to a 3-0 lead, but it turned to small ball in the second to pad its lead:

The Beavers offense wasn't done, though. It strung together three consecutive hits in the fourth to add a pair of runs to its lead.

That would be more than enough for Oregon State southpaw Luke Heimlich. The Golden Gophers got a leadoff homer in the eighth, but the game was already in hand by that point. Heimlich allowed just one run on seven hits in 8.2 innings, striking out nine. He was lifted to a standing ovation with one out to go after throwing 124 pitches.

Both Larnach and Rutschman went 2-for-3 with a walk, a home run, two RBI and two runs scored to lead Oregon State at the plate. Designated hitter Tony Hanson (1-for-3, solo home run) was the lone offense for the Minnesota offense.

First pitch for Game 2 will be at 9:30 p.m. ET on Saturday night. A win advances the Beavers to Omaha, but a Golden Gophers victory sets up a winner-take-all Game 3.

Mississippi State 10, Vanderbilt 8

In an entertaining day of Super Regionals action, the best was saved for last.

Mississippi State opened the scoring with a pair in the bottom of the second, only for Vanderbilt to take advantage of a pair of errors in their next at-bat and ultimately even the score. The first run came around to score on an excuse-me swing by Stephen Scott that resulted in an infield single.

The tying run was made possible due to a crafty slide by Scott:

The Bulldogs, however, would quickly take control of the game in the bottom of the inning. They managed to get to Commodores starter Drake Fellows for five runs in the third, starting the inning with a walk and three straight singles. That set the stage for Elijah MacNamee to seemingly blow the game open with a no-doubter:

That gave Mississippi State left-hander Ethan Small a comfortable lead to work with—but as it turned, it would not be big enough.

Vanderbilt forced Small out of the game in the fifth, leading off the inning with two walks and a single. The rally continued, though, against Bulldogs reliever JP France, who allowed all three inherited runners to score. Then, he gave up two runs of his own when Commodores outfielder Pat DeMarco tied the game at 7-all with a blast to left:

Before a single out was recorded in the inning, five runs had scored. And it was a brand new ballgame. 

The two would battle the rest of the game to try to draw first blood in the series. For three innings, neither team blinked—and then an error by Vanderbilt to lead off the bottom of the eighth gave Mississippi State life. Despite getting nothing more than a single in the frame, the Bulldogs scrapped together the go-ahead run to take a lead into the ninth.

Once again, though, the Commodores had an answer. Down to their final out, they got a triple from DeMarco, who scored the tying run on an error, which was fitting given the way the Bulldogs had just taken the lead.

That set the stage for McNamee to play the role of hero in the bottom of the ninth:

The walk-off blast gave Mississippi State a 10-8 victory, capping off a 3-for-5 day for the Bulldogs right fielder that featured two home runs and five RBI.

Game 2 will get underway at 9:30 p.m. ET on Saturday night.