Associated Press
The NCAA baseball roundup …
TEMPE, Ariz. ó Carlos Ramirez singled three times and drove in three runs to help Arizona State beat Clemson 7-4 in its super regional opener on Saturday night.
After the Tigers had rallied from two down to tie it, Matt Newman doubled off the center field fence to bring home Ramirez for the go-ahead run in the seventh inning.
Ramirez’s bases-loaded single brought in two more in the eighth as the Sun Devils, seeded fifth nationally, won for the 15th time in 16 games.
The last six of Arizona State’s runs came with two outs.
Mike Leake (16-1), the NCAA leader in victories, got the win despite one of his shakiest outings. He allowed four runs, three of them earned, on eight hits in eight innings. The three earned runs matched his season-high.
Pac-10 player of the year Jason Kipnis homered and made a sliding, shoestring catch at the fence in center field that saved a run.
Chris Epps drove in three runs with a pair of singles for Clemson, including a two-run hit that tied it at 4-4 in the seventh.
Graham Stoneburner (7-4) relieved starter Casey Harman and took the loss.
Virginia 4, Mississippi 3
OXFORD, Miss. ó Robert Morey pitched four hitless innings after giving up two runs on his first three pitches and Virginia took advantage of an eighth-inning error to keep its bid for the College World Series alive with a win over Mississippi.
An errant throw by second baseman Evan Button helped Virginia (47-13-1) to a two-run eighth inning when Franco Valdes drove in one run and John Barr beat out a double-play attempt to put the Cavs ahead.
Arkansas 9, FSU 8
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. ó Andrew Darr’s two-run double in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted Arkansas to a 9-8 NCAA super regional win Saturday over Florida State and a berth in the College World Series.
Darr, who was hitting just .215 coming in, had four of Arkansas’ 10 hits, including his fourth homer.
Arkansas (39-22) returns to the CWS in Omaha, Neb., for the first time since 2004 when it also beat Florida State in the super regionals.
The Seminoles (45-18) had taken an 8-7 lead in the top of the ninth.
LSU 5, Rice 3
BATON ROUGE, La. ó Louis Coleman pitched eight strong innings, Derek Helenihi drove in two runs and LSU (51-16) beat Rice to win the super regional and clinch the Tigers’ 15th College World Series appearance.
Cal St. Fullerton 11, Louisville 2
FULLERTON, Calif. ó Jared Clark homered and drove in three runs and Noe Ramirez struck out a career-high 10 over eight strong innings, sending Cal State Fullerton to the College World Series.
Fullerton (47-14) has yet to be challenged in five NCAA tournament contests, winning them by a combined score of 64-11.
Southern Miss 9, Florida 7
GAINESVILLE, Fla. ó Corey Stevens drove in three runs, reliever Jonathan Johnston pitched 3 2-3 scoreless innings and Southern Mississippi beat Florida in their super regional opener.
The Golden Eagles (39-24) are one win away from their first College World Series berth.
Texas 10, TCU 4
AUSTIN, Texas ó Michael Torres hit two home runs and had four RBIs to lead top-seeded Texas past TCU.
Torres, who was 4 for 5, hit a solo home run in the second inning for the Longhorns (45-13-1).