East Carolina and Tulane concluded their seasons at the NCAA Baseball Championships.
East Carolina at Charlottesville Regional
East Carolina 8, Oklahoma 5 -
Box Score
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – East Carolina broke open a close contest in the middle innings Sunday afternoon, posting an 8-5 victory over Oklahoma in an elimination game at the Charlottesville Regional from Davenport Field.
ECU has now qualified for a regional final the last four full seasons.
Landon Ginn (6-0) remained perfect on the mound, retaining his unbeaten record by tossing a scoreless inning. James Hitt (6-2) allowed five runs on five hits in 4.0 innings in his final performance of the year.
Cam Clonch was one of three Pirate batters to register two hits as he finished with a pair of runs driven in while Jacob Starling was 2-for-5 with two runs scored. Josh Moylan also chipped in with two RBI and a run scored. Bryce Madron and Dakota Harris paced the Sooners (32-28) with three hits apiece.
Virginia 8, East Carolina 3 -
Box Score
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – A pair of late-inning home runs proved the difference Sunday night at Davenport Field as No. 7 national seed and host Virginia downed East Carolina 8-3 to capture the Charlottesville Regional title and secure a spot in the super regional round.
The Pirates (47-19) closed out yet another highly successful campaign that featured 47 wins, their fourth-straight American Athletic Conference regular season title, an appearance in the AAC Tournament title game, a fifth-straight NCAA regional berth and fourth consecutive spot in a regional final.
Connelly Early (11-2) picked up the win, allowing two runs on seven hits with 10 strikeouts over 6.1 innings of work. Landon Ginn (6-1) was tagged with the loss after yielding three runs on two hits with three strikeouts and one walk in 2.1 frames.
Jacob Starling and Justin Wilcoxen rapped out two hits apiece while Wilcoxen also drove in a pair of runs. Kyle Teel stole the show offensively for the Cavaliers, going 4-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBI.
Tulane at Baton Rouge Regional
Sam Houston 10, Tulane 2
BATON ROUGE, LA – After a 20-hour delay, the Sam Houston baseball team finished off a 10-2 victory over Tulane Sunday afternoon in the third game of the 2023 Baton Rouge Regional.
The Bearkats improved to 39-24 with the win and will face the loser of 2 p.m.'s game between host LSU and Oregon State at 8 p.m. this evening at Alex Box Stadium.
The Green Wave, who qualified with for this year's tournament with a stirring charge from the seven seed at last week's AAC Championship, finished its campaign at 19-42.
Both teams battled into the seventh inning on Saturday, but Mother Nature had the final say as the contest was suspended due to lightning and rain in the vicinity of LSU's Alex Box Stadium.
The game was halted at 4:07 p.m. Saturday with the two outs in the top of the seventh and the Bearkats holding a 7-2 lead. Green Wave third baseman Simon Baumgardt was at the plate with the bases loaded when game management stopped the game citing lightning within an eight-mile radius of the stadium.
The tarp was initially applied and removed by the grounds crew and, initially, the game appeared headed for a 5:55 p.m. restart. However, inclement weather in the area persisted, the tarp was re-applied and the decision was made to resume the game on Sunday at noon.
The Bearkats scored first with a run in the second inning, but Tulane shortstop Gavin Schulz tied the affair with an RBI single through the left side in the fourth.
Sam Houston scored the game's next six runs, with the big blow coming off the bat of center fielder Joe Redfield, courtesy of a three-run homer in the bottom of the fourth.
Carlos Contreras added the Bearkats' third homer with a solo shot to right in the sixth.
The Green Wave pulled one back when Brennan Lambert was plunked by Sam Houston relief pitcher Chandler David with the bases loaded, forcing home Tulane catcher Seth Beckstead. It was at that moment that the game was halted.
When the game resumed on Sunday, Sam Houston sent a new pitcher to the mound in right hander Logan Hewitt to face Baumgardt. After three straight balls, Hewitt worked the count full and got Baumgardt to ground out as the bases were left full.
Sam Houston third baseman Justin Wishkoski tacked on the team's fourth home run with a three-run blast off Michael Fowler in the bottom of the eighth for the game's final margin.
Sam Houston starter Steven Beard (8-3) pitched well to get the win, scattering nine hits and one run over six innings with three strikeouts and one walk. Hewitt finished the game for the Bearkats for his first save. He got the team's final seven outs while allowing just two walks with one strikeout.
Tulane starter Ricky Castro (4-7) was chased in the fourth inning after yielding five runs on six hits with three strikeouts and two walks in three and two-thirds innings. Castro gave way to Chandler Welch, who allowed two runs on three hits with two strikeouts and one walk. Billy Price then came in for the final two pitches of the bottom of the sixth inning, where he got a pair of flyouts.