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College Baseball Super Regionals 2019: Saturday Results, Highlights and Bracket
June 8, 2019
Vanderbilt pitcher Kumar Rocker tossed a 19-strikeout no-hitter as the Commodores beat the Duke Blue Devils 3-0 to stave off NCAA men's baseball tournament elimination Saturday.
Rocker's gem was the highlight of the biggest tournament day to date, with four teams having a chance to secure a spot in the College World Series.
After the first day of games at the super regionals, three No. 1 seeds faced elimination, with UCLA, Oklahoma State and Vanderbilt all losing their opening games Friday.
With so much at stake around the country, here are results and recaps from all eight of Saturday's matchups as they go final.
Super Regional Bracket
Super Regional Scores
Fayetteville Super Regional Game 1: No. 1 Arkansas def. No. 1 Mississippi, 11-2
Louisville Super Regional Game 2: No. 1 Louisville def. No. 1 East Carolina, 12-0
Chapel Hill Super Regional Game 1: No. 2 Auburn def. No. 1 North Carolina, 11-7
Baton Rouge Super Regional Game 1: No. 3 Florida State def. No. 1 LSU, 6-4
Lubbock Super Regional Game 2: No. 1 Oklahoma State def. No. 1 Texas Tech, 6-5
Starkville Super Regional Game 1: No. 1 Mississippi State def. No. 1 Stanford, 6-2
Nashville Super Regional Game 2: No. 1 Vanderbilt def. No. 3 Duke, 3-0
Los Angeles Super Regional Game 2: No. 1 UCLA def. No. 3 Michigan, 5-4
Vanderbilt 3, Duke 0
The Commodores forced a winner-take-all Game 3 thanks to Rocker's 19 strikeouts, 13 of which came in the final five innings.
The Blue Devils had no answer for Rocker, who allowed only four baserunners via two walks, a hit-by-pitch and a wild pitch following a strikeout.
That latter baserunner did allow Rocker to punch out four batters in the fifth inning, however:
Rocker threw 131 pitches en route to leading Vanderbilt to a bounce-back victory after the Commodores fell to the Blue Devils 18-5 the night before. He also struck out the side to end the game.
At the dish, Philip Clarke knocked home Ethan Paul with an RBI single in the fifth to give Rocker the only run he needed.
Vandy scored twice in the eighth courtesy of a Stephen Scott sacrifice fly and a Julian Infante bunt single. Pat Demarco tripled before scoring on the Scott sac fly, and Harrison Ray hit a single to get on base for Infante's RBI. Ray led Vanderbilt's offensive charge with three hits and a run.
Rocker's night obscured Duke pitcher Blake Jarvis' performance: The Blue Devils starter tossed seven frames of one-run ball and struck out nine Commodores.
Vanderbilt will host Duke on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET in Nashville, Tennessee, with the winner advancing to the College World Series.
Mississippi State 6, Stanford 2
Mississippi State beat Stanford 6-2 to win Game 1 of their Super Regional round, but the game's result paled in comparison to a medical emergency suffered by Bulldogs left-handed pitcher Jack Eagan.
The southpaw, who Tyler Horka of the Clarion-Ledger reported is in "stable" condition, suffered what MSU called a "non-athletic medical event" in the dugout before the seventh inning began.
The broadcast captured images featuring players forming a human shield around Eagan, who appeared on the ground being attended to by medical personnel. Horka later reported that Eagan was having a seizure and got transported to a local hospital via an ambulance.
MSU manager Chris Lemonis told reporters postgame that Eagan was stable and with family members.
As for the game, MSU held serve at home thanks to 12 hits, including two apiece from Jordan Westburg, Tanner Allen, Dustin Skelton and Josh Hatcher. Skelton delivered the biggest blow: a two-run double that scored Westburg and Justin Foscue to give MSU a 3-1 edge in the third.
All six of MSU's runs occurred in the second, third or fourth inning.
MSU pitcher Ethan Small punched out eight Stanford batters and scattered five hits in six frames. Stanford only scored one unearned run with Small on the mound before adding another run in the eighth.
MSU will host Stanford for Game 2 on Sunday at 9 p.m. ET in Starkville, Mississippi.
Oklahoma State 6, Texas Tech 5
Oklahoma State was able to fight off elimination with a 6-5 walk-off win against Texas Tech.
Texas Tech's ongoing bullpen issues cost it again Saturday. Noah Sifrit scored the game-winning run on a wild pitch by Taylor Floyd, who also had two four-pitch walks in the four batters he faced.
In the first two games, the Red Raiders' bullpen has given up six runs (five earned) on seven hits and five walks in 6.1 innings.
Both games in the series thus far have been wild back-and-forth affairs. The Red Raiders held on to an 8-6 win Friday after jumping out to a 6-2 lead in the fourth inning.
Oklahoma State nearly blew Game 2 when Ben Leeper gave up the tying run on Brian Klein's sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth inning.
The Red Raiders had the go-ahead run on third base with one out, but Cameron Warren flied out and Cody Masters grounded out to end the inning.
This game was a testament to the Cowboys' resiliency. Colin Simpson put them up 5-4 in the bottom of the eighth with a two-run homer after Texas Tech took its first lead in the top half of the frame.
Oklahoma State figures to have the advantage on Sunday in front of its home crowd with a chance to go to Omaha on the line. Texas Tech's offense has answered the call through the first two games, but its pitching let it down Saturday.
Both teams will have all hands on deck in a must-win situation for the right to compete for a national title.
Florida State 6, LSU 4
Florida State chipped away at a 4-0 deficit by scoring six unanswered runs to take a 1-0 advantage against LSU in the Baton Rouge super regional.
This game can be divided into two parts. The first was all LSU with single runs in four straight innings and solid pitching from Cole Henry and Todd Peterson. That duo held the Seminoles hitless for the first five innings.
Florida State finally got on the board in the sixth thanks to Mattheu Nelson's RBI single off Peterson. Reese Albert delivered the key blow in the seventh with his first of two homers, a three-run blast off Trent Vietmeier to tie the game.
The Seminoles' pitching turned things around after a slow start to keep the game in hand. LSU managed just two singles over the final four innings.
The Tigers did have the winning run at the plate in the bottom of the ninth thanks to a Chris Reid single and Zach Watson walk, but Antoine Duplantis fouled out to the catcher to end the game.
Florida State is riding an emotional wave this postseason in head coach Mike Martin's final season. He's never won a national title in 40 years with the program. This group is one win away from giving him a chance to have the storybook ending.
Arkansas 11, Mississippi 2
After splitting two games in the SEC tournament, Arkansas routed Mississippi 11-2 to take a 1-0 series lead in their super regional.
The Razorbacks wasted no time putting pressure on their conference rivals. Ole Miss jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead in the top of the first before Arkansas responded with 11 unanswered runs, including six in the first two innings.
Jack Kenley delivered the big blast in the bottom of the first with a three-run homer off Mississippi starter Will Ethridge.
While Arkansas' offense was busy lighting up Mississippi's pitching staff, Isaiah Campbell's breakout season on the mound continued in spectacular fashion. The redshirt junior lowered his season ERA to 2.26 after allowing just two runs on five hits with seven strikeouts in 8.1 innings.
Following last year's runner-up finish in the College World Series, Arkansas is on track to be a major factor in Omaha with one more win. The Razorbacks will have a chance to sweep Mississippi on their home field Sunday.
Louisville 12, East Carolina 0
Louisville became the first team to lock up a spot in the College World Series with an easy 12-0 win over East Carolina.
If the Cardinals were using the super regionals to make a statement, they accomplished their mission. The ACC regular-season champions outscored the Pirates 26-1 in two games. Their offense scored three runs in four different innings Saturday.
The bottom of Louisville's lineup did a lot of damage against East Carolina pitching. Their 7-9 hitters went 9-for-13 with eight RBI and seven runs scored.
Bobby Miller's start shouldn't get lost in the shuffle of Louisville's blowout win. The sophomore carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning before Thomas Francisco's pinch-hit single broke it up.
This marks Louisville's fifth trip to the College World Series since 2007. It hasn't advanced past the second round the previous four times.
Auburn 11, North Carolina 7
Auburn rallied for nine runs in the final two innings to stun North Carolina 11-7 in the first game of the Chapel Hill super regional.
North Carolina looked to be in control from the start with a three-run first inning highlighted by Ashton McGee's single that scored a pair.
After falling behind 5-2 heading into the top of the eighth, Auburn's bats came to life. Rankin Woley and Edouard Julien each drove in three runs over the final two innings.
The Tar Heels entered the super regional on a roll with seven straight wins dating back to the ACC tournament. They find themselves one defeat away from an early exit from the NCAA tournament.
Auburn, meanwhile, is trying to lock up its first appearance in the College World Series since 1997. Head coach Butch Thompson has done a terrific job in his four seasons with the program, guiding the Tigers to the NCAA tournament in three consecutive years for the first time since 2001 to 2003.