There were many high profile games on Thursday night to get a big weekend in college baseball underway.
LSU Opens Huge Series With Extra Inning Win
OXFORD, Miss. – Junior first baseman Conner Hale collected three hits and scored three runs Thursday night to lead seventh-ranked LSU to a 4-3, 13-inning win over No. 10 Ole Miss at Swayze Field.
Hale was 3-for-5 at the plate, including a double, and scored the winning run for the Tigers in the top of the 13th.
LSU, which has won nine of its last 10 games, improved to 29-9-1 overall and 9-6-1 in the SEC. Ole Miss is 29-9 overall and 9-7 in conference play.
The teams resume the series at 6:30 p.m. Friday. The game will not be televised, but it can be heard on the LSU Sports Radio Network. Freshman left-hander Jared Poche’ will start on the mound for LSU, while the Rebels will counter with sophomore left-hander Christian Trent.
Finnegan Dominant in Win Over Longhorns
AUSTIN, Texas – The pitching duo of Brandon Finneganand Riley Ferrell stole the show Thursday night as TCU won the series opener against No. 4 Texas, 3-0. The Horned Frogs got all the offense it needed in the fifth inning.
Brandon Finnegan (7-2) was light’s out against the Longhorns as he tossed eight scoreless innings. The junior allowed just four hits and none after the third inning. He retired 16 of the final 17 batters he faced, including a streak of 12 straight from the third through the seventh inning. Finnegan finished the night with 11 strikeouts and just one walk.
Riley Ferrell came on in the ninth and slammed the door on TCU’s second-consecutive shutout. He fanned two in a 1-2-3 ninth for his seventh save of the season.
UCF Sweeps Louisville in Doubleheader
ORLANDO, Fla. – The UCF baseball team used a strong start from junior Eric Skoglund and a wild walk-off finish to sweep a doubleheader, and win the series, from No. 9 Louisville on Thursday from the UCF baseball complex.
The Knights (25-15, 12-2 American Athletic Conference) topped the Cardinals (27-11, 7-4), 8-2, in the opening contest before returning later in the evening and delivering a walk-off thriller in the nightcap, 4-3, in 11 innings.
Cal Poly Blanks Reeling Cal State Fullerton
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Junior southpaw Matt Imhof and junior right-handerDanny Zandona combined on a four-hitter as No. 3 Cal Poly blanked Cal State Fullerton 8-0 in a Big West Conference baseball series opener Thursday night before 2,402 in Baggett Stadium, the Mustangs’ first shutout over the Titans in their 20-year Division I history.
