A pivotal eighth inning gave the Arizona Wildcats (44-19) a comeback 4-3 victory over the No. 5 North Carolina Tar Heels (46-15) in the decisive Game 3 of the Chapel Hill super regional.
Garen Caulfield hit a solo shot in the second inning to notch Arizona’s first run of the game. North Carolina infielder Jackson Van De Brake responded with a three-run homer in the third to give North Carolina an early lead.
Both teams were scoreless over the next four innings, until the Tar Heels’ defense and bullpen faltered in the eighth. An error put runners on first and second, then an Easton Breyfogle bunt drove in a run to make the game 3-2.
Mason White hit a 2-RBI single with the bases loaded to put the Wildcats up 4-3 for good. Arizona’s bullpen was lights out late, tossing three innings without surrendering a hit.
Louisville 3, Miami 2
Eddie King Jr.’s RBI double in the seventh inning pushed the Cardinals (40-22) past the Hurricanes (35-27) in a Game 3 win at the Louisville super regional.
Max Galvin hit a two-run shot to right field in the third inning for Miami’s only runs of the game. The Hurricanes tallied eight hits, but failed to go for extra bases and went 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position. Miami starting pitcher was pulled after only 3 2/3 innings, forcing the Hurricanes to use five pitchers in the game.
Louisville tied the game at 2-all in the fourth inning after a Zion Rose RBI double and a Bayram Hot grounder drove in Rose on a fielder’s choice.
With two outs in the seventh frame, Cardinals infielder Jake Munroe singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch. King Jr. then drove in Munroe for a 3-2 lead that Louisville would not relinquish.
Murray State 19, Duke 9
The Racers (43-15) exploded for 17 hits, four home runs and a nine-run seventh inning in a blowout 19-9 win against the Blue Devils (41-20) in Game 2 of the Durham super regional to force a Game 3.
Duke used eight pitchers in the contest, including starter Kyle Johnson, who was pulled after allowing six runs in only three innings.
The Blue Devils scored first with back-to-back solo homers to right center in the first inning from AJ Gracia and Ben Miller. Murray State one-upped them with a Jonathan Hogart solo shot, followed by back-to-back walks and consecutive RBI singles with the bases loaded to go up 3-2.
Murray State struck again in the second inning when Carson Garner hit a two-run shot. The Racers reached double-digit runs with a five-run fourth inning. Macon Winslow hit a two-run homer to cap a five-run sixth inning for Duke and narrow the score to 10-8.
The Racers put an exclamation point on their offensive outburst with a nine-run seventh inning, featuring two-run homers by Dan Tauken and Conner Cunningham.
–Field Level Media
