Image credit:
Liam Peterson (Photo Courtest of UAA/John Paternoster)
A chaotic Friday night across college baseball led to upset losses for four top 10 teams—No. 2 Clemson, No. 6 Oregon State, No. 7 Arkansas and No. 8 Vanderbilt. Weather delayed the start of No. 4 LSU and No. 5 Tennessee, but a fifth will fall before the end of the night as well.
Here’s a quick breakdown of each game.
NC State 8, No. 2 Clemson 3
In Raleigh, NC State scored a pair of runs in both the fourth and fifth innings to propel it to a huge series-clinching victory over second-ranked Clemson. Outfielder Josh Hogue went 2-for-5 with a home run and three RBIs, while Alex Sosa’s three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh was the final nail in the coffin for the Tigers. At 14-6, the Wolfpack is now in sole possession of first place in the ACC and on its way to a top 25 ranking on Monday morning.
No. 20 Oregon 4, No. 6 Oregon State 2
Oregon versus Oregon State is one of the better rivalries in all of college sports, and Friday night’s contest did not disappoint. Following a two-run top of the third for Oregon State, Oregon’s Mason Neville blasted his nation-leading 20th home run to kickstart the Ducks’ offense. Neville has improved his draft stock a considerable amount this spring and he looks the part of a likely top-two round selection. The following inning, Ryan Cooney lined what ended up being a game-winning, two-run double down the left field line. Southpaw Grayson Grinsell spun a quality start to the tune of two runs across seven innings.
Florida 6, No. 7 Arkansas 4
Florida came into this weekend just 6-13 in SEC play, needing at least seven more conference wins to hit the magic number of 13 to keep its at-large hopes alive. It wasted no time picking up its first, knocking off the Razorbacks behind a six-inning, 13-strikeout performance from Liam Peterson.They weathered a pair of early solo home runs and took the lead for good in what was a four-run fifth inning. Luke Heyman provided the biggest swing of the day, as he got his barrel to a Dylan Carter elevated fastball and hammered a three-run home run onto the berm in left field. In relief of Peterson, Jake Clemente slammed the door with three strikeouts across 2.2 perfect innings.
No. 22 Ole Miss 8, No. 8 Vanderbilt 3
Having lost each of its last two series, Ole Miss came into this weekend in search of a spark. Tonight, it looked as if the Rebels found that spark. With the game tied at one in the bottom of the fifth, they exploded for four runs in the inning to put a stranglehold on the game. Luke Hill got the scoring started with a solo shot off the batter’s eye, while Will Furniss chipped in an RBI single. In the bottom of the eighth, Judd Utermark provided the exclamation point and crushed a two-run home run over the visitor’s bullpen. Southpaw Hunter Elliott worked around some traffic and allowed just one run in his five innings of work, while Will McCausland fired 1.2 perfect innings to close the game.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
