Picture provided By Donald J Boyles
I was able to get away from work and make it out to Disch Falk Field by the 2nd inning. It was a great Friday Afternoon to take in a game of baseball. Texas open the game with Sophomore Chance Ruffin and UI-C counter with junior left-hander Chris Kovacevich.
The Longhorns manufactured one run in the bottom of the first inning to take a 1-0 lead. Travis Tucker led off the frame with a single through the right side of the infield. A sacrifice bunt by Brandon Loy and a wild pitch pushed Tucker to third and he scored on a sacrifice fly by Brandon Belt.
UIC knotted the game in the top of the second inning. Brett Schaeffer led off with a single through the right side, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on a single down the leftfield line by Rafael Garcia.
The Horns stampeded to four runs in the bottom half of the second to take a 5-1 lead. Kevin Keyes singled and Cameron Rupp singled to start the rally. Tant Shepherd placed a sacrifice bunt down the third base line and UIC pitcher Chris Kovacevich threw errant to first base allowing Keyes to score and putting runners on second and third. David Hernandez and Connor Rowe each plated a run with sacrifice flies to inflate the cushion to 4-1. The Horns reloaded the bases with Tucker getting hit by a pitch, Loy singling to rightfield and Belt walking. Preston Clark pushed the final run of the inning across, drawing a base on balls.
Oklahoma 17 Western Illinois 2
The No. 16 Oklahoma baseball team cruised in Friday’s season opener with a 17-2 win over Western Illinois in front of 806 fans at L. Dale Mitchell Park. The Sooners led 5-2 after six innings and broke open the game with nine runs in the seventh inning, keyed by freshman Tyler Ogle’s bases-clearing double and senior J.T. Wise’s two-run homer.
Oklahoma State 17 BYU 14
Oklahoma State rallied for six runs in its final two at bats to propel the 13th-ranked Cowboys to a 17-14 win over BYU in their 2009 season opener Friday at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium. The win marked a milestone for sixth-year OSU head coach Frank Anderson as it was his 200th career win. He is one of five Cowboy head coaches to reach 200 wins and the third fastest — behind Gary Ward and Tom Holliday — to achieve the feat.
BYU Recap
Kansas 5- Air Force 0
Junior lefty Shaeffer Hall tossed the fifth no-hitter in Kansas baseball history Friday as the Jayhawks downed Air Force, 5-0 in their first game of the tournament at USA Stadium. Despite rallying from a late two-run deficit, KU fell in the nightcap, 5-4 to host Memphis.
Monreal, Cloud Lift Tech Past UT-Pan American 6-5
The College Baseball Blog has a special report from William Knox that can be viewed by clicking here.
(#1) Texas A&M 18, Wright State 2
A grand slam by Nick Fleece and a three-run home run by Adam Smith blew open a close game and lifted the No. 1-ranked Texas A&M
baseball team to a season-opening 18-2 win over Wright State Friday night before an overflow crowd of 7,343 fans at Olsen Field.
Texas A&M Recap
Wright State Recap
Huskers Slip by UL-Lafayette in 15 Innings
– Nebraska’s pitching staff established a school record with 22 strikeouts, while Tyler Farst took advantage of a costly miscue by Louisiana Lafayette, scoring the winning run in the Huskers’ 4-3 victory Friday night.
Dan Evatt’s bases-loaded, walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th snapped a 1-1 tie and gave No. 8 Baylor a 2-1 victory over Pacific in the 2009 season opener for both teams Friday night at Baylor Ballpark. It was the first career hit for Evatt, a redshirt freshman.
K-State Swings Its Way to Season-Opening Win
Kansas State junior pitcher A.J. Morris struck out a career-high eight batters and the Wildcats pounded out 16 runs on 19 hits as they opened the 2009 season with a 16-2 win over Houston Friday night at Cougar Field.
