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We are getting into the conference portions of the schedule with a couple of them opening up play. The biggest conference that opened up play this weekend is the ACC. Here are some of my thoughts on the biggest matchups on Friday night from around the country.
- The biggest matchup of the day was between the Cal-State Fullerton Titans and the LSU Tigers down in Baton Rouge at Alex Box Stadium. The Tigers picked up an exciting 7-6 victory over the Titans by using a four run eighth inning to turn a 4-3 deficit into a 7-4 lead. The Titans would score two runs in the ninth inning but LSU closer was able to finish the game off to give the Tigers their most impressive win of the season. Heading into the weekend, I questioned whether the Tigers were ready for the national stage but they will prove me wrong if they win the series.
- Danny Hultzen continues to dominate on Friday nights for the Virginia Cavaliers as he lasted 6.2 innings, giving up just five hits and three walks while striking out 14, Interesting enough, he struck out at least two batters in six out of the seven innings pitched. The Cavaliers were able to take the opening game of the series behind his strong performance by a scoreline of 5-0.
- Hultzen didn’t have the best night as Baylor’s Logan Verrett pitched a complete game one hitter against Louisiana Tech as the Bears won 7-0. Verrett struck out 14 while walking only one batter as Jake Miller lead the offense by going 2-4 with two runs scored and an RBI.
- The St. John’s Red Storm have now lost three straight games as they dropped a 3-2 decision on Friday night to Gardner-Webb. Kyle Hansen was solid for the Red Storm as he went seven innings giving up three runs on three hits while striking out 12 batters. The Red Storm need to pick up their game in the coming weeks if they expect to compete for a Big East conference title.
- Gerrit Cole dominated the Georgia lineup on Friday night for the first 6.1 innings by retiring the first 19 batters of the game that was broken up by a Levi Hyams one out double in the seventh. Cole would fall apart after the double as next batter Zach Cone would reach on an error. Chase Davidson followed with a single to tight field bring home to give the Bulldogs the 1-0 lead and put runners on the corners. Kyle Farmer then proceeded to extend the lead to 4-0 with a towering home run over the left field fence to give the Bulldogs the 4-0 lead as they cruised to a 6-2 victory over the Bruins. Alex Wood picked up the win for Georgia by giving up one run in seven innings. The biggest issue for the Bruins has been the offense as they now have scored 48 runs this year with 21 of those runs coming in two games. They will have to be much better at the plate if they expect to win the Pac-10 title this season.
Photos courtesy of UVA Media Relations/Jim Daves
