College Baseball Roundup: Davidson upsets VCU to make Atlantic 10 semifinals

Davidson used 11 hits, including two home runs, to earn a 7-3 upset victory over second-seed Virginia Commonwealth at Atlantic 10 baseball championship Thursday morning at Fordham’s Houlihan Park.

The Wildcats (27-24) advance to Friday’s semifinals against top-seeded Rhode Island, a 10-1 winner against No. 5 Fordham. VCU (38-18) followed with a 12-4 win against George Washington in an elimination game.

Davidson scored four times during in the first two innings, including a solo home run by Eric Jones. After the Rams scored three in the fourth and fifth to make the game close, a three-run eighth, highlighted by a two-run homer run by Will Robertson, provided insurance for the Wildcats.

Max Bazin was 3-for-4 with an RBI to lead Davidson. Batting seventh and eighth, Jones and Robertson each were 2-for-4 with two RBIs apiece.

Evan Roberts (3-4) got the win, pitching 6 2/3 innings and allowing eight hits and three runs.

Louisiana Tech 13, Charlotte 3: Chase Lunceford had a solo homer, and Louisiana Tech (38-17) added four more runs during the second inning to jump ahead of the 49ers (23-32) and eliminate Charlotte from the Conference USA tournament in Hattiesburg, Miss.

The 49ers got homers from Zach Jarrett in the sixth and Brett Netzer in the eighth, but the Charlotte’s only error opened the door for the big second inning.

Texas A&M 4, South Carolina 1: Brigham Hill allowed only one unearned run in seven innings in Hoover, Ala.,, and the Aggies (42-14) handed South Carolina (42-15) its eighth consecutive SEC tournament loss. Texas A&M will face the Vanderbilt-Mississippi loser Friday.

Hill (8-1) struck out eight batters while allowing five hits and three walks. Gamecocks starter Braden Webb pitched 6 2/3 innings and allowed three runs.

Texas A&M scored three runs in the second, with RBI hits from Michael Barash, Jonathan Moroney and Nick Banks. The Aggies didn’t score again until the ninth when Banks singled, went to third on a throwing error and scored on Austin Homan’s single. Banks also made a leaping grab at the wall to prevent a home run and end the game.

Clemson 5, Virginia 4: Chase Pinder’s sacrifice fly in the ninth scored lifted the Tigers (39-18) past reigning national champion Virginia (36-19) at the ACC tournament in Durham.

The Cavaliers, who had pulled even in the eighth on a solo homer from Matt Thaiss, had the potential tying run on second base with one out in the bottom of the ninth on a single by pinch-hitter Kevin Doherty, who advanced to second on a throwing error. Pat Krall got Cameron Simmons to pop out and Ernie Clement to line out to shortstop Eli White to end it. Krall (9-1) worked two innings to earn the win.

Florida State 6, Georgia Tech 1: John Sansone and Dylan Busby each hit two-run homers to help the Seminoles (36-19) beat Georgia Tech (36-22) at the ACC tournament in Durham. Florida State’s win eliminated any chance N.C. State had of advancing to Sunday’s final.

Jackson Lueck went 3-for-3 for the fourth-seeded Seminoles, who are 2-0 in Pool A. Reigning champion Florida State finished with 10 hits, and Cole Sands (5-6) took the win after allowing one run over five innings.

Memphis 5, East Carolina 4: Jacob Elliott’s two-run single during the third inning proved to be the decisive hit as the Tigers (20-38) eliminated the Pirates from the American Athletic tournament in Clearwater, Fla. The loss means East Carolina (34-21-1) won’t win a conference tournament game for the first time since 1995, when the Pirates were members of the Colonial Athletic Association.

A run-scoring single by Travis Watkins in the fifth inning and a bases-loaded fielder’s choice by Kirk Morgan during the seventh pulled East Carolina within 5-4. It had a chance to score more in the seventh with runners on first and third and two outs, but Nolan Blackwood got pinch-hitter Zack Mozingo to strikeout to end the inning.

Coastal Carolina 4, Gardner-Webb 3: Zach Remillard crushed a two-run home run during the fourth inning to put the Chanticleers (42-15) ahead, but the Bulldogs (37-20) had the potential tying and winning runners on second and third when Mike Morrison struck out Justin Kunz to end the game. Gardner-Webb also had runners on first and second with no outs in the eighth but couldn’t score.

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This story was originally published May 26, 2016 at 9:53 PM with the headline "College Baseball Roundup: Davidson upsets VCU to make Atlantic 10 semifinals."