Davidson within 1 win of NCAA regional title
Davidson followed up its program's biggest victory with another one that ranks right up there — and it put the upstart Wildcats in control of the Chapel Hill Regional in the NCAA baseball tournament.
Davidson followed up its program’s biggest victory with another one that ranks right up there — and it put the upstart Wildcats in control of the Chapel Hill Regional in the NCAA baseball tournament.
A 2-1 victory over Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday night — after the shocking 8-4 win over No. 2 national seed North Carolina the night before — means Davidson is one win from the super regionals in its first appearance in the tournament.
So how’s the latest victory rank?
“It’s certainly 1-A,” coach Dick Cooke said.
Davidson will play for the regional title on Sunday night against the winner of the afternoon game between North Carolina and FGSU. If Davidson loses, another regional final would be played Monday.
Justin Lebek and Eric Jones drove in runs and Evan Roberts pitched eight strong innings for the No. 4 regional seed Wildcats (3424).
“The energy from last night was clearly evident, certainly through the fan base, leading up to this ballgame tonight,” Cooke said. “A couple of folks here working for the NCAA commented to me about how loose and relaxed these guys were from the dugout, unsolicited.
“We’ve had that comment a bunch for a while, so that told me that they weren’t overly distraught about what this means in the grand scheme of life.” TITANS MOVING ON No. 2 regional seed Cal State Fullerton became the first team to advance to super regionals, beating No. 8 national seed Stanford 4-2 in what was 41st-year Cardinal coach Mark Marquess’ final game. Colton Eastman and two relievers combined on a three-hitter for the Titans, who will play the winner of the Long Beach Regional.
CRUSADERS KEEP GOING
Holy Cross won its first regional game since 1978 when it eliminated Big Ten regular-season champion Nebraska 7-4 in Corvallis, Oregon.
The Crusaders (24-28) scored four runs with two outs and hit .455 (5 for 11) with runners in scoring position. They also got solid pitching from senior pitchers Joe Cravero, George Capen and Phil Reese.
“I told them before the game that I liked where we’re at,” 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.”
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.
SEC, ACC LEAD PACK The Southeastern Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference are faring best so far. SEC teams are 12-3 after going 5-2 on Saturday (Mississippi State was rained out). ACC teams are 10-3 after going 6-1.
FEELING SUPER
Cal State Fullerton became the first team to advance to the super regionals with a 4-2 victory over host Stanford. Scott Hurst and Chris Hudgins both homered for Cal State-Fullerton (37-21). The loss by Stanford (42-16) ended the 41-year career of coach Mark Marquess, who finished with 1,621 wins and two national championships.