Holy Cross wins first regional game since 1978

Holy Cross, one of three teams with a losing record to make the NCAA Tournament, will keep playing Sunday after winning its first regional game since 1978.

The Crusaders eliminated Big Ten regular-season champion Nebraska 7-4 in Corvallis, Oregon, on Saturday. It was their second win of the season over a team from a power five conference. They beat Southern California in March.

Holy Cross (24-28) lost 8-2 to No. 1 national seed Oregon State on Friday in what was a close game through five innings. Against the Huskers, the Crusaders made the most of 10 singles and two doubles, scoring four runs with two outs and batting .455 (5 for 11) with runners in scoring position. They also got solid pitching from senior pitchers Joe Cravero, George Capen and Phil Reese.

The Crusaders play Oregon State or Yale on Sunday after becoming the second team in two years to come into the tournament under .500 and win a game. Utah was 25-27 when it knocked off Mississippi in 2016.

“I told them before the game that I liked where we’re at,” 10th-year Holy Cross coach Greg Dicenzo said. “I liked the fact we’re going to have to face some adversity. To be honest with you, this program and this team have been built around people who said they can’t do things. We’re in the losers’ bracket of a four-team double-elimination tournament. That’s a tough road ahead. No better way, no better group to keep fighting and keep punching back with than this one.”

Radford and Texas Southern also entered regionals with losing records.

Nebraska, a No. 2 regional seed, went two-and-out after losing to No. 3 Yale 5-1 on Friday and to No. 4 Holy Cross. Neither Yale nor Holy Cross offer baseball scholarships.

Summit breakthrough

The Summit League picked up its first tournament win since 2012 when Oral Roberts beat Oklahoma State 14-6 in an elimination game in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Golden Eagles are in regionals for the 27th time and took two of three against the Big 12’s Cowboys in the regular season. Summit teams had lost nine straight tournament games.

Marvelous on mound

◆ Garrett Schilling and Trey Schramm combined on a two-hitter, striking out six and walking one in Xavier’s 3-1 win over Radford.

◆ Tyler Holton struck out 13 to tie his career high and had double-digit Ks for the sixth time this season in Florida State’s 6-1 win over UCF. Holton’s 132 strikeouts this season are most by an FSU pitcher since 2000.

◆ Jonathan Stiever scattered seven hits in Indiana’s 11-2 win over Ohio in an elimination game in Lexington, Kentucky.

◆ North Carolina’s Gianluca Daltari allowed five hits and one run in seven innings in an 8-1 win over Michigan.

◆ Tyler Norris allowed six hits and struck out seven in Bethune-Cookman’s 4-2 win over Marist.

◆ Matt Frisbee and Andrew Wants combined on a fivehitter as UNC-Greensboro beat St. John’s 3-1.

Big hitters

◆ Kevin Smith hit a pair of three-run homers to lead Maryland in a 16-2 victory over UMBC in WinstonSalem, North Carolina. The Terrapins set school NCAA tournament records for runs in a game and an inning (six in the fourth).

◆ Indiana’s Logan Sowers homered three times, drove in five runs and scored four times against Ohio.

◆ Oral Roberts’ Michael Huntgate went 4 for 4 with a home run and five RBIs for Oral Roberts.