The Road to Cary began yesterday as 52 of the 56 teams in the 2016 D2 Baseball tournament play. Here is a recap from Thursday's action in each of the eight Regionals.
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SOUTH CENTRAL REGIONAL
The Heartland Conference made their presence felt in the first day of action in the South Central Regionals in Grand Junction, Colo.
BR-36 Lubbock Christian’s first NCAA playoff game was a memorable one as home runs by Tony Reyes and Ryan Rogers powered the Chaparrals to an 8-6 upset win over top-seeded BR-21 Colorado Mesa.
Eric Hester earned his 10th win of the season while home runs from J.D. Arrowood, Romeo Cortina and Gable Whitacre pushed BR-10 St. Edward’s to an 8-4 win over BR-66 Texas A&M-Kingsville.
BR-47 Angelo State starter Bryce Zak set the school’s single season strikeout record and the Lone Star Conference all-time strikeout mark as the Rams defeated LSC rival BR-55 West Texas A&M 4-1.
Colorado Mesa will face Kingsville in an elimination game to open Friday’s action at 12:00 p.m. Mountain. Lubbock Christian will take on West Texas in a possible elimination game at 3:30 p.m. Mountain, while Angelo State and St. Edward’s close out the day at 7:00 p.m. Mountain.
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ATLANTIC REGIONAL
BB: Perry DellaValle Complete Game one hitter, strikes out 5 in the game. pic.twitter.com/7MgHkr7xig
— SHUGriffin Athletics (@GriffinsSports) May 19, 2016
A gem of a pitching performance as part of PSAC domination marked the start of Thursday’s Atlantic Regionals in West Lawn, Pa.
Perry Dellevalle threw a complete game one-hitter, striking out five and facing just one batter over the minimum as BR-50 Seton Hill blanked BR-87 Shepherd 3-0.
A four-run fifth inning powered BR-64 West Chester to a 12-6 win over BR-219 Chowan, who was making their first ever appearance in the NCAA tournament.
Austin Alonge and Camron Balego each smacked three hits at BR-14 Mercyhurst pulled away from BR-46 East Stroudsburg 6-3.
Chowan faces East Stroudsburg in an elimination game at 11:00 a.m. Eastern; host BR-4 Millersville opens tourney play against Seton Hill at 3:00 p.m. Eastern while West Chester vs. Mercyhurst closes out Friday’s slate at 7:00 p.m. Eastern.
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WEST REGIONAL
A pair of blowout marked opening round action at the West Regionals in Riverside, Calif.
BR-35 Cal State Monterey Bay overcame three errors and broke a 3-3 tie with three runs in the top of the ninth in a 6-3 win over BR-24 Dixie State.
BR-16 California Baptist scored five runs in the first and didn’t look back in a 14-0 pounding of BR-39 Cal State East Bay.
Michael Koval threw 7 1/3 shutout innings as BR-33 Cal Poly Pomona routed CCAA rival BR-27 Chico State 11-1.
Dixie State faces East Bay in an elimination game at 11:00 a.m. Pacific, followed by Cal Baptist vs. Chico at 3:00 p.m. Pacific with Monterey Bay and Pomona squaring off in the nightcap at 7:00 p.m. Pacific.
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MIDWEST REGIONALS
Brandyn Sittinger ties a career-high with 14 K's in the victory over Indy!
Sittinger (11-0) 8 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 14 K pic.twitter.com/6hTz2XmIrq
— Ashland Athletics (@goashlandeagles) May 20, 2016
If you like offense, the Midwest Regional in Quincy, Ill. may have fit the bill.
A three-run bottom of the fifth and a two-run bottom of the sixth proved decisive for BR-58 Southern Indiana in their 7-5 win over BR-94 Missouri S&T.
BR-30 Quincy, meanwhile, pounded out 21 hits while scoring early and often in a 20-0 rout of BR-162 Alderson Broaddus.
After allowing a pair of runs in the top of the ninth to tie the game, BR-99 Grand Valley reliever Matt Williams hit a game winning home run in the bottom of the frame to give the Lakers a 9-8 win over BR-145 Hillsdale.
BR-91 Ashland scored three runs in the first and twice in the second en route to an 8-1 rout over BR-88 Indianapolis.
Alderson Broaddus and Missouri S&T open Friday’s action with an elimination game at 10:00 a.m. Central, with the second elimination game, Hillsdale vs. Indianapolis, set for 1:30 p.m. Central. In the winner’s bracket, Quincy takes on Southern Indiana at 5:00 p.m. Central while Grand Valley and Ashland are set for an 8:30 p.m. Central first pitch.
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SOUTH REGIONALS
The first day of the South Regionals in Tampa were defined by a pair of blowouts and strong pitching across the board.
BR-9 Delta State got a pair of RBIs each from Ben Pickard, Colton Welch and Will Robertson in a 6-1 win over BR-51 Lynn.
BR-6 West Florida broke the game open with six runs in the bottom of the sixth and four runs in the eighth in a 17-1 rout of BR-230 Claiflin.
Daniel Zardon went 4-for-5, including three doubles and a home run, as BR-5 Nova Southeastern dominated BR-8 West Georgia in an 11-4 opening round win.
West Georgia faces Claflin in an elimination game at 11:00 a.m. Eastern while Nova Southeastern takes on West Florida at 3:00 p.m. Eastern. The defending national champions, BR-1 Tampa, opens tournament play when they face Delta State at 7:00 p.m. Eastern.
EAST REGIONALS
Baseball or a bull fight? @STACSpartans pic.twitter.com/FdeiT1Z47g
— FPU Ravens (@FPUathletics) May 20, 2016
Mother Nature disrupted the East Regionals in Rindge, N.H., forcing Thursday’s third game to be suspended due to rain, but not before pitchers dominated the day.
Matt Blandino scattered two hits over eight innings while striking out five as BR-95 Felician blanked BR-159 Bridgeport 3-0.
Bobby Morse’s leadoff homer in the top of the seventh sparked a four-run frame and Cody McParland threw a complete game for BR-157 Dowling in their 4-0 upset over BR-17 Southern New Hampshire.
The nightcap between BR-123 St. Thomas Aquinas and BR-116 Molloy was suspended in the first inning due to rain and will resume Friday morning at around 10:00 a.m. Eastern.
The loser of that game will turn around and face Southern New Hampshire in an elimination game at around 1:30 p.m. Eastern, while the winner will face Dowling at 8:30 p.m. Eastern. BR-12 Franklin Pierce will open their tourney run at 5:00 p.m. Eastern when they face Felician.
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SOUTHEAST REGIONALS
“Rain, rain, go away” was the rallying cry in Columbus, Ga. as an extra inning affair extended the first day of the Southeast Regionals until roughly 2:45 a.m. Eastern Friday morning.
Joe Marlow threw a complete game, scattering 11 hits while allowing just one run as BR-13 South Carolina-Aiken edged BR-28 Tusculum 2-1.
A four-run bottom of the seventh proved decisive as BR-3 Lander overcame a three-run BR-59 Mount Olive rally in the top of the eighth to hold on for a 6-4 win.
In a game that began at 11:00 p.m. Eastern due to earlier lightning delays, BR-53 Belmont Abbey clawed out a 6-5 extra inning win over BR-23 Catawba on Lorenzo White’s RBI single in the bottom of the 12th.
An elimination game between Mount Olive and Catawba is slated for 7:00 p.m. Eastern; the remainder of Friday's scheduled games were rescheduled to Saturday due to the rain.
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CENTRAL REGIONALS
The four winners in Thursday’s opening round of the Central Regionals in St. Cloud, Minn. combined to hold their opponents to one run.
Tyler House threw seven shutout innings as BR-32 Central Missouri scored twice in the first inning on a pair of errors in a 3-1 win over BR-62 Southwestern Oklahoma State.
BR-41 Arkansas-Monticello scored their first NCAA tournament win in resounding fashion with a 15-0 romp over BR-45 Missouri Western.
Chase Lonetti’s RBI groundout in the top of 11th was all the support Dalton Roach needed as he fanned 12 while pitching all 11 innings of BR-72 Minnesota State-Mankato’s 1-0 win over BR-25 St. Cloud State.
BR-15 Emproria State scored twice in both the seventh and eighth innings as Tyler Stubblefield’s complete game powered the Hornets to a 4-0 win over BR-63 Minnesota-Duluth.
Friday’s action begins with a pair of elimination games as St. Cloud State takes on Missouri Western (10:00 a.m. Central) while SWOSU battles Minnesota-Duluth (1:30 p.m. Central). In the winner’s bracket, Mankato takes on Arkansas-Monticello (5:00 p.m. Central) and Central Missouri faces Emporia State (8:30 p.m. Central).
