Friday D1 Digest: Compelling Action Abounds Across College Baseball
Roundup
FRIDAY COVERAGE:
• Kendall Rogers on Day One at the Shriners College Classic
• Eric Sorenson on a compelling mound duel between Baylor and UCLA at Shriners
• Aaron Fitt on three transfer portal products looking like game-changers for Georgia Tech
• Patrick Ebert on big arms for West Virginia and Notre Dame shining in Minneapolis
• Walter Villa on YoYo Morales, Carson Palmquist and Andrew Walters leading Miami past Florida
• Burke Granger on Wichita State and Texas A&M taking openers at the Frisco College Classic
Kendall Rogers’ Five
1. Mississippi State Pummels Tulane … But At What Cost?
One thing we’ve wanted to see from the defending champs the past couple of weeks is a complete performance, and we saw exactly that for once in a 19-2 beatdown of Tulane on the road. However, the win did come with potentially a massive loss. MSU righthanded pitcher and First Team All-American Landon Sims was having the start of his life, striking out 10 batters in 3.2 innings of work before he removed himself from the game after experiencing discomfort after throwing a pitch. There’s not yet a final word on his status, but on the pitch he got injured, he landed awkwardly and immediately began to shake his hand in some pain. We’re hoping for the best. MSU can ill afford to lose him for the remainder of the season.
Now, for the good news. In the inning after Sims left the game with an injury, the Bulldogs scored nine runs to take total control. Kellum Clark, who had struggled offensively so far this season, hit a home run, had two hits, and knocked in three runs, while talented freshman slugger Hunter Hines also hit a home run, had two hits, and knocked in three runs. Furthermore, Brad Cumbest finished the evening with a pair of hits and two RBIs. MSU banged out 17 hits and knocked Tulane starting pitcher Tyler Hoffman out of the game after just 3.2 innings of work.
It was arguably MSU’s best performance of the year, and it might have come at a brutal cost.
It’s been a weird year thus far for the champs. Let’s hope we get lucky with the prognosis on Sims.
2. Palmquist, Miami Shut Down Florida
Miami nasty lefthanded pitcher Carson Palmquist was one of the nation’s premier relievers last season, but this season, head coach Gino DiMare moved him to the front of the weekend rotation. Palmquist didn’t disappoint in that role the last two weeks, and on Friday, facing his stiffest test to date against Florida, he once again dazzled. Palmquist struck out six, walked three and allowed just three hits in five shutout innings in a 5-2 win over the Gators.
The Miami bullpen also did an impressive job with Andrew Walters closing out the contest with 2.1 shutout innings.
From an offensive standpoint, the Hurricanes touched up Hunter Barco for four runs on seven hits in five innings of work. Yohandy Morales hit a home run to spearhead Miami’s offense, while Jacob Burke, who also had a big-time defensive play in the game, finished the night with a pair of hits.
Miami is on the verge of winning back-to-back series from the Gators. We’ll see if they can seal the deal Saturday in Coral Gables.
3. Kentucky Takes Slugfest From TCU
Want to know how wild the series opener was between the Horned Frogs and Wildcats? TCU lefthanded pitcher Austin Krob, who has been outstanding so far this season, allowed seven runs on seven hits in two innings, and usually reliable Kentucky starting pitcher Cole Stupp allowed three runs on four hits in 1.1 innings of work.
Whew, now that’s out of the way. Ugly, indeed, at least from a pitching standpoint.
Jacob Plastiak led the way for the Wildcats with a two-run home run in the game, while Chase Estep had a massive game with four hits and two RBIs — one of those hits a double. Daniel Harris and Ryan Ritter each added two hits, while Nolan McCarthy chipped in a three-hit performance. Furthermore, Alonzo Rubalcaba knocked in three runs for UK.
As for TCU, Elijah Nunez had a big night with four hits, while talented freshman slugger David Bishop impressed with two hits and three RBIs, and Gray Rodgers had a double and two RBIs.
It’s been tough to get a good read on UK the past couple of weeks, but Friday night proved it can be offensive against one of the nation’s best pitchers.
We’ll see if that trend continues tomorrow against righthander Riley Cornelio.
4. Oregon State Pitching Shines Against UC Irvine
With Will Frisch and Jake Pfennigs on the shelf for an undetermined amount of time, it’s hugely important for Oregon State lefthanded pitcher Cooper Hjerpe to be ultra-consistent this spring. Well, Hjerpe took matters into his own hands yet again Friday night in a 7-2 win over UC Irvine.
Hjerpe didn’t go the distance, but he put together a strong start, striking out 10, not walking anyone and allowing just two runs on seven hits in 5.1 innings of work. OSU righthanded reliever Ben Ferrer also impressed in the win, striking out seven in 3.1 no-hit innings.
Justin Boyd led the OSU offensive charge with a two-run home run and four RBIs, while Travis Bazzana had three hits and leadoff hitter Wade Meckler had two hits.
UC Irvine starting pitcher Michael Frias had a mixed bag of results in his start. He struck out seven over 4.2 innings of work, but also allowed four runs on six hits.
OSU continues to find ways to win important games.
5. Ole Miss Passes Road Test
The Rebels entered the weekend with an impressive 8-0 record, but it’s worth mentioning that the record didn’t include a road game until tonight against UCF. They were silenced by UCF starting pitcher David Litchfield early in the game but settled in and scored all eight runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to beat UCF 8-7.
Ole Miss spark plug Peyton Chatagnier had a strong night at the plate with a pair of homers and three RBIs, while Jacob Gonzalez, Tim Elko, and TJ McCants each hit a home run as well. Gonzalez and McCants each finished the night with two hits and a combined four RBIs.
As for the Knights, they had offensive success against Ole Miss righthanded pitcher Derek Diamond, touching up Diamond for six runs on six hits in 4.2 innings of work. Diamond did, however, finished the night with seven strikeouts and just two walks. Nick Romano had a huge night in the losing cause for UCF, hitting a three-run home run later in the game, this after hitting an RBI double earlier in the game.
It was a hard-fought game with an excellent atmosphere.
Let’s see what’s in store for Saturday.
Aaron Fitt’s Five
1. Clemson Outlasts Sanders In Comeback Win At South Carolina
For a while, it looked like South Carolina ace Will Sanders was going to be the big story in the first game of the Palmetto State rivalry series between the Gamecocks and Clemson. Sanders was outstanding, striking out 14 over seven innings of one-run ball, scattering six hits and five walks. He exited with a 2-1 lead, but the South Carolina bullpen couldn’t hold it.
Clemson’s Parker French tied the game with a solo homer in the eighth, and Bryar Hawkins broke that tie with an RBI single up the middle in the ninth, lifting the Tigers to a 3-2 victory on the road in this traveling series. Clemson also got a strong start from its own ace, Mack Anglin (6 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 9 K), and the Tigers won the battle of the bullpens, with scoreless relief from Jackson Lindley, Alex Edmondson and Ryan Ammons.
Now the scene shifts to the neutral site of Segra Park (albeit still in Columbia), with Sunday’s finale slated for Doug Kingsmore Stadium in Clemson. And South Carolina has fired its biggest bullet — Sanders — without getting a win; now we’ll find out if its injury-rattled pitching staff can keep the Tigers at bay the rest of the weekend.
2. Northeastern’s Schlittler Shuts Down Wolfpack
One of the sneaky-good series of the action-packed Week Three slate featured CAA favorite Northeastern taking on NC State in Raleigh, where the Huskies played in a regional in 2018. And we won’t go so far as to say Northeastern avenged that 2018 season-ending loss to the Wolfpack, but the Huskies did score a big road victory against a top-10 opponent.
NU ace Cam Schlittler, one of the CAA’s top prospects, held NCSU’s potent offense scoreless on three hits over eight innings of work, leading the Huskies to a series-opening 6-1 victory. Exciting freshman center fielder Mike Sirota went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs to lead the offense for the Huskies, who needed a strong showing this weekend after limping to a 3-5 start to the season entering Friday. And Northeastern won this game against second-team preseason All-American Sam Highfill, who allowed four runs (three earned) over five innings of work.
3. Hughes Leads Gonzaga Past Oklahoma State
In another matchup featuring a top-10 club hosting a preseason mid-major conference favorite, WCC power Gonzaga toppled No. 4 Oklahoma State 4-3 behind a standout start from ace Gabe Hughes. Over seven strong innings, Hughes racked up 11 strikeouts against one walk, allowing three runs on three hits. Gonzaga’s offense supported him with a balanced 10-hit attack against lefty Mitchell Stone (filling in for ace Justin Campbell) and the OSU bullpen. Veteran Stephen Lund led the way with three hits, and Cade McGee chipped in with a key two-run single in the fourth for the Zags.
Our man David Seifert is in Stillwater this weekend and will have plenty of notes from the weekend in Tuesday’s Scouting Trail. Here’s a taste:
4. UNC Rallies Late To Walk Off Coastal
No. 24 North Carolina trailed by a run heading into the bottom of the ninth Friday, but the Tar Heels came alive offensively with their backs to the wall. Four straight singles in the ninth – by Tomas Frick, Danny Serretti, Johnny Castagnozzi and Mac Horvath – propelled UNC to a walk-off 4-3 win in the series opener.
Brandon Schaeffer (6.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER) turned in another solid effort in a no-decision for the Heels, and Kyle Mott (2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K) was stellar in relief to earn the win. Coastal got a nice start from Nick Parker (5 IP, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K), but he took a no-decision as the bullpen couldn’t finish the job. The Tar Heels improved to 9-1.
5. Upset Alert: Matadors Take Down Stanford; SLU Knocks Off Arkansas
No. 6 Stanford looked like a buzzsaw last weekend at the Round Rock Classic, but the Cardinal followed up that tour de force weekend with a Monday loss at UTSA, and Cal State Northridge traveled to Palo Alto and handed Stanford its second straight loss Friday. And this one wasn’t close, as the Matadors cruised to a 9-3 victory. Blaine Traxel scattered nine hits over 7.1 innings of three-run ball to earn the victory for CSUN, which took command of the game on Gabe Gonzalez’s three-run homer in the third inning. Gonzalez added a two-run single in the seventh to finish the day with five RBIs, and Andrew Sojka chipped in with three hits, two runs and an RBI. After dropping two of three at UCLA during opening weekend, CSUN has won five straight to improve to 6-2 in Dave Serrano’s final season as head coach.
Elsewhere, Southeastern Louisiana beat No. 3 Arkansas 7-3. Will Kinzeler (6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER) held Arkansas’ talented but sputtering offense at bay, and Gage Trahan earned the save with 2.2 hitless innings of relief. The Lions took control of the game with a seven-spot in the sixth, capped by Tyler Finke’s two-run single after SLU had already scored three runs via bases-loaded walks and hit batsmen. The Hogs fell to 5-3, while Southeastern leveled its record at 5-5, following up Wednesday’s big win against Louisiana Tech with an even bigger victory Friday.
Quick Hits
• Florida State overcame a late two-run deficit against California, tying the game on a two-run homer by Alex Toral in the eighth and then winning it 4-3 on James Tibbs’ walk-off single in the ninth.
• Oregon State cruised to a 7-2 win against UC Irvine behind a strong start from ace Cooper Hjerpe (5.1 IP, 2 ER, 10 K) and four RBIs from Justin Boyd.
• North Dakota State, which lost three of four at Dixie State last weekend, rebounded with a 5-4 win against spiraling No. 25 Long Beach State, whose losing streak stretched to six games. Peter Brookshaw’s go-ahead two-run single in the sixth proved the decisive blow for the Bison, as Tristan Roehrich (2.2 IP, 0 R) was outstanding in relief of ace Max Loven (6.1 IP, 4 ER).
• Chris McElvain struck out a career-high 13 over seven strong innings to lead No. 5 Vanderbilt to a 9-2 win at Hawaii. Freshman Davis Diaz had three hits and two doubles to pace the Vandy offense.
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