Foley’s Quick Hits for March 1st

Here are some of my thoughts from the mid-week action on Tuesday, March 1st. Most of the southern squads were in action while some northern squads were still stuck in the northeast as they haven’t started their spring trip yet. As always, follow us on Twitter @CB_Daily for the most up to date news on College Baseball on the Internet.

• The biggest game of the evening was number 1 ranked Florida facing off against intrastate rival Florida State at the Florida Four Classic. The Noles walked away with a 5-3 victory over the Gators handing them their first loss of the season. I was still questioning whether the Noles were a team to be reckoned with this season as they had not beaten a quality opponent before tonight. FSU’s offense scored four out of the five runs in the third inning with sophomore Jayce Boyd getting the big hit in the inning with a two run triple. Boyd is one of the top sophomore hitters in the country and even Mark Rafferty who had his first chance to see him in Omaha, commented on the amount of talent Boyd has.
• The other game at the Florida Four Classic saw the South Florida Bulls defeat Miami (FL) by a score of 4-2. The Bulls Andrew Longley broke up a 2-2 in the eighth inning with a single up the middle to score two runs and give them the victory. It was the Bulls first win over Miami since the 2004 season. The loss by the Hurricanes evens their record at 4-4. They will be back in action on Friday when they visit the University of Florida for a three game series.
• The other big name program struggling early on is the Oregon Ducks who dropped a tough 5-3 decision to Portland on Tuesday evening. The loss drops the Ducks record to 4-4 on the year. The biggest struggle has been the offense for them as they are only averaging less then three runs per game in losses (excluding a 11-10 loss to Hawaii). They did get some offense back on Tuesday evening with Cape Cod All-Star and All-Pac 10 performer KC Serna who went 1-5 at the plate. He missed the first seven games of the year after a suspension for breaking team rules.
• The wildest game of the evening was between Vanderbilt and Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers had a 5-4 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth. The Commodores loaded up the bases with two outs when freshman Tony Kemp coaxed a walk to tie up the game at 5. Western Kentucky starting catcher Matt Rice would get tossed from the game after the pitch by home plate umpire Jordan Ferrell for arguing the pitch. On the second pitch to subsequent hitter Mike Yastrzemski, the pitch from Rye Davis would get by new catcher J.P. Jackson allowing pinch runner Sonny Gray to score from third base with the winning run.
• The LSU Tigers picked up their most impressive victory of the early season on Tuesday night by defeating Southeastern Louisiana 7-3 to keep the Tigers perfect start to the season in tact. Sophomore Mason Katz had the best offensive performance going 3-4 with a run scored. The Tigers are now 8-0 on the year after the victory while SE Louisiana drops to 6-2 on the year.
• TCU Horned Frogs dropped their third straight game on Tuesday this time losing to Dallas Baptist 4-3. The Patriots were tied with the Horned Frogs at three heading into the ninth inning. They had runners on the corners with one out when Josh Wilson singled to score Duncan McAlpine from third to take the lead. They would be able to hold onto the lead as Patriots’ closer Chris Haney got his second save of the season by pitching a perfect bottom of the ninth.

Photos taken by CBD Photographer Aman Reaka