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College Baseball Super Regionals 2018: Results, Highlights, Bracket from Sunday
June 10, 2018
The Oregon State Beavers and North Carolina Tar Heels have already clinched a berth in the 2018 College World Series, and more teams will join them Sunday as the NCAA tournament super regionals continue.
Six games are spread throughout Sunday afternoon and into the evening. By the time the action concludes, the bulk of the eight-team CWS field is likely to be set.
Here's a look at the results from Sunday and brief recap for each game as it wraps up. The full bracket is available on NCAA.com.
Super Regionals Results (June 10)
No. 2 Auburn def. No. 1 Florida, 3-2 (Series tied 1-1)
No. 1 Texas def. No. 2 Tennessee Tech, 4-2 (Series tied 1-1)
No. 2 South Carolina def. No. 1 Arkansas, 8-5 (Series tied 1-1)
Duke def. No. 1 Texas Tech, 11-2 (Series tied 1-1)
No. 2 Mississippi State def. No. 2 Vanderbilt, 10-6 (Mississippi State wins series 2-1)
No. 3 Cal State Fullerton vs. No. 3 Washington, 6-5 (Cal State Fullerton wins series 2-1)
Super Regionals Recap
Mississippi State 10, Vanderbilt 6 (11 innings)
Mississippi State exploded for four runs in the top half of the 11th inning to secure its spot in the College World Series.
The ninth inning is when everything went haywire for both teams. Mississippi State started the frame with three runs to take a 6-3 lead.
Knowing its season was on the line with three outs to play, Vanderbilt responded with a solo homer from Pat DeMarco that made it a two-run game. Ethan Paul set up extra innings with a game-tying blast off Bulldogs reliever Riley Self.
After a scoreless 10th, the Bulldogs used three hits and three walks (one intentional) to go ahead in the 11th. Tanner Allen broke the stalemate with an RBI double.
This marks the third straight year that Vanderbilt has lost in the NCAA tournament prior to reaching Omaha. The Commodores reached back-to-back championship series in 2014 and 2015, winning a title in 2014.
Mississippi State hasn't been to the College World Series since 2013. The Bulldogs are still in search of their first national title, but they gave themselves an opportunity to end that drought by knocking out their SEC rival on Sunday.
Washington 6, Cal State Fullerton 5
Two defensive miscues from Cal State Fullerton left the door open for Washington to steal a 6-5 victory and a trip to the College World Series on Sunday.
After Hank LoForte put the Titans up 5-4 in the top of the 10th, Washington tied it on Brett Conine's throwing error to first base when Levi Jordan was just trying to sacrifice an out.
Cal State Fullerton shortstop Sahid Valenzuela made an error two batters later when he tried to field an in-between hop that hit off his chest to load the bases. Kaiser Weiss ended the game with a sacrifice fly to left field.
Cal State Fullerton stunned Washington with three runs in the top of the ninth inning, erasing a 3-1 deficit.
The Titans were down to their final strike when Jacob Pavletich's bouncer hit off Washington pitcher Joe DeMers' glove to allow the tying run to score. Chris Prescott followed with a go-ahead RBI single that floated just over the glove of Huskies first baseman Jonathan Schiffer.
That rough ninth inning soured what was an otherwise stellar performance by DeMers. The 2018 All Pac-12 pitcher allowed just one hit over the first eight innings, taking a perfect game into the seventh.
Washington was able to bail its starting pitcher out on Schiffer's single that scored Weiss.
The win is Washington's 35th of the season, its most since 2014. That team lost a 10-inning contest against Mississippi in the regionals.
The Huskies had more drama than they would have liked to earn this win, but the outcome is good enough to ensure the program has a chance to capture its first-ever national title in Omaha.
Auburn 3, Florida 2
A walk-off single by second baseman Luke Jarvis ensured the Auburn Tigers' season will extend by at least one more day. Jarvis brought pinch runner Cade Evans home to give Auburn a 3-2 win over the Florida Gators.
Florida's pitching silenced Auburn's offense for most of the game. The Tigers' first run came on a solo homer by right fielder Steven Williams, and they had just three hits through the first seven innings.
Shortstop Will Holland gave Auburn a 2-1 lead with an RBI double in the bottom of the eighth before Florida left fielder Austin Langworthy tied the game in the top half of the ninth. Tigers third baseman Brendan Venter led off the bottom of the ninth with a walk and moved to second on a one-out single by center fielder Jay Estes. Then came the biggest hit of the game:
The duo of Tanner Burns and Cody Greenhill did well on the mound with little run support. Burns pitched the first six innings, allowing one earned run on five hits, and Greenhill surrendered two hits and an earned run over the final three innings.
Auburn and Florida return to the diamond Monday at 8:30 p.m. ET for the decisive third game of the super regionals.
Texas 4, Tennessee Tech 2
The Texas Longhorns pushed the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles to a third game in the super regionals with a 4-2 win Sunday.
Kody Clemens, the son of seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens, had a big day at the plate, going 2-for-4 and driving in two runs. The Longhorns second baseman drove home Texas' first run with an RBI double in the first inning and then gave his team a 3-1 lead with a solo homer in the third.
Clemens looked toward the Tennessee Tech dugout and made the Hook 'em Horns sign as he was rounding third base to put an exclamation point on his home run:
Golden Eagles coach Matt Bragga shared his thoughts after Clemens registered his 23rd homer of the season and second in as many days, per Dennis de la Pena of Fox 7 Austin:
Longhorns players aside from Clemens have combined for nine hits over the past two games, so giving the junior slugger a free pass is one way to potentially neutralize the Texas offense.
South Carolina 8, Arkansas 5
A five-run fifth inning helped propel the South Carolina Gamecocks to an 8-5 win over the Arkansas Razorbacks on Sunday.
South Carolina was holding on to a 2-1 lead before shortstop LT Tolbert cleared the fences with a grand slam. Catcher Hunter Taylor stepped to the plate next and deposited the ball over the left-field fence:
Despite Graham Lawson and Sawyer Bridges looking a bit shaky over the final four innings, a six-run cushion was more than enough for the Gamecocks to survive the must-win situation. Arkansas put four runs on the board after South Carolina starter Cody Morris exited the game but were unable to string together enough offense to change the outcome of the game.
Although Tolbert and Taylor grabbed the headlines, outfielder Carlos Cortes and second baseman Justin Row were a combined 5-for-7 at the plate and scored four runs. Row also had a solo homer in the bottom of the third.
South Carolina and Arkansas will face off Monday at 7 p.m. ET to determine the super regional champion.
Duke 11, Texas Tech 2
The Duke Blue Devils coasted past the Texas Tech Red Raiders, picking up an 11-2 win.
Even with Duke's offensive explosion, Graeme Stinson was arguably responsible for the Blue Devils' most impressive performance. The sophomore left-hander made just three starts this year entering Sunday, yet he looked like an experienced starter when he took the mound against the Red Raiders.
Stinson pitched six scoreless innings, allowing five hits and striking out six batters:
Duke and Texas Tech have a quick turnaround time for the third game of the super regionals, with first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m. ET. Stinson's dominant outing meant the Blue Devils didn't need to burn through their bullpen and could save their best arms for Monday.
On offense, first baseman Joey Loperfido and second baseman Max Miller drove in seven of Duke's 11 runs. Loperfido had a two-run triple in the fourth, and Miller plated three runs with a three-bagger in the fifth.