The last 6 regional games just got finished, so we now know which teams will be in super regionals. Here's what happened tonight:
Greenville Regional
East Carolina 10, South Carolina 9
OF Devin Harris's 4-for-5 night at the plate and clutch 9th-inning homer led ECU to furious comeback win over the rival Gamecocks. The Pirates trailed 6-0 in the 5th inning, but battled back to win in 10. These were two very evenly-matched teams who played a similar style of baseball; this slugfest was easily predictable. East Carolina moves on to face North Carolina this weekend.
Clemson Regional
Clemson 6, Oklahoma State 5
I gladly watched the Cowboys fall in this game because they didn't even deserve to be here. Clemson mounted a big comeback (5 runs over the 7th and 8th innings) and got a solid relief appearance from RHP Tomas Cruz notch the victory. They'll now get to travel all the way to Tempe to face Mike Leake and Co.
Louisville Regional
Louisville 5, Vanderbilt 3
The Cardinals advanced to their 2nd super regional in 3 years by downing the red-hot Commodores, 5-3. Louisville rode freshman Tony Zych (6 IP, 2 R) and Ryan Wright (2-for-4, 1 HR) to the win.
Atlanta Regional
Southern Miss 12, Georgia Tech 8
The Golden Eagles were a surprise at-large selection for regionals, so it is pretty much stunning that the edged the Yellow Jackets. They do deserve it though; they lit up Tech ace and ACC Pitcher of the Year Deck McGuire (albeit a not-fully-rested McGuire) for 9 runs en route to the win. This earns them a trip to Gainesville, where I expect Florida to smash them in the weakest super regional, talent-wise.
Houston Regional
Rice 13, Kansas State 4
Never count the Owls out in a home regional. The Owls staffed it (Mark Haynes, Matthew Reckling, Jordan Rogers, Ryan Berry) and got 3 or more hits from a number of batters (Anthony Rendon, Brock Holt, Michael Fuda, Rick Hague, Jimmy Comerota) to win big on Monday and complete a nice weekend comeback. The Wildcats were an impressive story this year (they had never been to regionals) even though they couldn't pull this game out. K-State coach Brad Hill has to be in serious contention for national Coach of the Year honors.
Oxford Regional
Ole Miss 4, Western Kentucky 1
Sophomore lefty Drew Pomeranz threw 9 innings, allowed 2 hits, 1 run (unearned), and punched out 16 to carry the Rebels to victory. That has to be considered one of the best individual pitching performances of the year, especially since the Hilltoppers have a great offense and Pomeranz had just tossed 8 one-run innings on Friday. Ole Miss will host Virginia for super regionals.
Drew Pomeranz
*Photo courtesy of www.olemisssports.com
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