Philadelphia, PA – Louisville advanced to the College World Series as the Cardinals took down the No. 2 overall seed Vanderbilt, 2-1, to complete the sweep of the Commodores.
Jeff Thompson surrendered just one run on three hits over seven innings of work for the Cardinals. Zak Wasserman and Sutton Whiting drove in a run each in the bottom of the second inning to give Louisville an early lead. Cody Ege recorded the save as he struck out Mike Yastrzemski to conclude the series and send Louisville to the College World Series for the second time in school history.
Vandy's lone run came from a sixth-inning solo shot by Zander Wiel. Commodores' starter Tyler Beede lasted only 2 2/3 innings, his shortest outing of the year. The loss dropped Beede, who paces the nation in wins, to a 14-1 record.
The Cardinals advanced as did Indiana, which became the first Big Ten school to earn a College World Series berth since 1984 with an 11-6 victory over Florida State in the Tallahassee Super Regional.
The Hoosiers took control right away by scoring four runs in the opening frame of action. The Seminoles managed to tie it up in the top of the fifth before Indiana answered with two-run home run by Sam Travis in the bottom half of the inning that put it in front for good.
Travis finished with four RBI while Scott Donley and Justin Cureton drove in two runs apiece. Starter Aaron Slegers gave up five runs, three of which were earned, in 4 1/3 innings for Indiana, which received a solid relief appearance from Will Coursen-Carr, who gave up only one run and two hits in four innings.
FSU starter Scott Sitz struggled through his 4 1/3 innings as he allowed six earned runs on six hits. Josh Delph, D.J. Stewart, Marcus Davis, Josh Brizuela and Giovanny Alfonzo all had two hits in the Seminoles' season-ending setback.
It took 17 innings, including a 77-minute rain delay before NC State took its first lead in its second game versus Rice. Tarran Senay scored the go-ahead run in the top of the 17th inning and Ethan Ogburn stranded two runners in the bottom of the inning to give the Wolfpack a 5-4 win over the Owls.
Ogburn earned the victory after pitching five scoreless innings following the rain delay that took effect with the score tied, 4-4, in the 12th inning. Jake Fincher went 2-for-7 and drove in two runs in the winning effort.
Christian Stringer hit two solo home runs and Michael Aquino contributed four hits to go along with his one-run homer for Rice, which has not appeared in the College World Series since 2008. The game was the longest super regional game in NCAA history.
A double-header may be required to determine the winner of the Charlottesville Super Regional. Mississippi State held a 5-3 lead over Virginia before the contest was officially postponed in the seventh inning. Play will resume at 4 p.m. on Monday with the Bulldogs batting with no outs.
If the Cavaliers manage to mount a comeback, the rubber match will be played 55 minutes after the conclusion of game two.
South Carolina kept its season alive as Jordan Montgomery delivered a solid showing on the mound to help the Gamecocks force a game three. Montgomery allowed just four hits and registered a complete game as South Carolina powered past the No. 1 overall seed North Carolina for an 8-0 victory.
Joey Pankake and L.B. Dantzler drove in two runs each for South Carolina, which drew a total of nine walks in the game. None of the Tar Heels' pitchers lasted more than two innings on the hill. The loss was the most lopsided of the season for North Carolina.
Oregon State also kept its season alive as it responded from its game one loss with a 12-4 trouncing of Kansas State in the Corvallis Super Regional. The Beavers made a statement right away as they scored five runs with two outs in the first inning. Michael Confronto and Dylan Davis hit back-to-back solo home runs to begin the early run.
Tyler Smith went 4-for-5 with a double and three RBI in the leadoff spot for OSU, which finished with 21 hits. The Beavers scored nine runs in the first three innings and added one in the fifth, seventh and ninth for insurance.
Andrew Moore lasted eight innings before he allowed KSU to load up the bases with no outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. Scott Schultz relieved Moore and only let up one run before KSU's late rally ran out of steam.
Wildcats starter Blake McFadden lasted just 2/3 of an inning as he gave up four runs despite facing only six batters. Levi MaVorhis gave up five earned runs in 1 1/3 innings in relief before KSU's bullpen settled down.
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