Langeliers’ 11 RBIs lift Baylor
LOS ANGELES — Shea Langeliers hit three home runs and set an NCAA baseball tournament record with 11 runs batted in as Baylor defeated Nebraska-Omaha 24-6 on Saturday to eliminate the Mavericks from the Los Angeles Regional.
The previous record was 10 RBIs, which was shared by Vanderbilt’s Connor Kaiser (2018) and Miami’s Kevin Brown (2001).
Langeliers, a junior catcher, went 5-for-6. More than half of his RBIs came in the sixth and seventh innings with a three-run double and a three-run homer.
“It’s a pretty cool,” said Langeliers, who also had a two-run single. “It’s a team accolade. I was up in the right situations and happened to come through.”
The Bears (35-18) scored a run in every inning but the eighth and totaled 23 hits, 13 of which went for extra bases. Josh Bissonette added four hits, and Andy Thomas, Richard Cunningham and Nick Loftin each had three as 10 Baylor players got at least one hit.
Paul Dickens went 62⁄3 innings for the Bears and allowed six runs on seven hits with five strikeouts. Joey Machado started for Nebraska-Omaha and was one of six pitchers used. The sophomore surrendered three runs on three hits in 12⁄3 innings.
Breyden Eckhout had three hits, and Parker Smejkal drove in three runs for the Mavericks (31-24-1).
Baylor (35-18) will face the loser of the UCLALoyola Marymount game Sunday.
TEXAS TECH 3 DALLAS BAPTIST 2
Cameron Warren hit a two-run homer early, and reliever Taylor Floyd pitched out of trouble twice during four-plus hitless innings as the Red Raiders advanced to the championship of their home regional at Lubbock with a victory over the Patriots.
Floyd (5-3) coaxed inning-ending outs in the fifth and sixth innings with the tying run at third base and retired the last eight batters after a one-out walk in the seventh. The sidewinding righthander struck out five.
Texas Tech (41-17) will play the winner of an elimination game between Dallas Baptist (42-19) and Florida on Sunday night.
ARKANSAS 3, TCU 1
Isaiah Campbell allowed four hits over eight innings, matching the longest outing of his career and helping the Razorbacks advance to the final of their home regional at Fayetteville, Ark., with a victory over the Horned Frogs.
Casey Opitz broke a scoreless tie with a two-run single in the sixth inning, and Trevor Ezell pushed the margin to three with an RBI double as Arkansas (43-17), the No. 5 national seed, moved within a victory of hosting its second consecutive super regional.
TCU (33-27) will face Central Connecticut State in an elimination game Sunday, with the winner getting a rematch with Arkansas on Sunday night.
Campbell (11-1) struck out eight, and Matt Cronin pitched a perfect ninth for his 11th save.
ODDS AND ENDS
Defending national champion Oregon State was among the first teams eliminated from the NCAA tournament, marking the first time the Beavers have gone 0-2 in regionals in 14 appearances since 1985. Oregon State’s 4-1 loss to
Big East champion Creighton, which followed a 7-6 loss to American Athletic Conference champ Cincinnati on Friday, knocked it out in the regional round for the first time since 2015. … Illinois State sprung a surprise by beating No. 7 national seed Louisville 4-2 on the Cardinals’ home field to move within one win of making its first super regional. No. 4 regional seeds Central Connecticut State, Jacksonville State and Ohio State all won elimination games to stay alive.