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NCAA Baseball Regionals: Oregon State, Washington onto Super Regionals; Stanford, UCLA eliminated

by Jonathan Hawthorne
Jun 3, 2018
Oregon State Athletics /UW Athletics

Four Pac-12 teams took the diamond Sunday across the country during the third day of NCAA Regional play. Washington and Oregon State have punched their tickets to the Super Regional round, while Stanford and UCLA came up short after playing doubleheaders Sunday.

[Related: 2018 NCAA Baseball Championship bracket (NCAA.com]

Washington

Conway, South Carolina Regional: Washington 9, UConn 6

Talk about a thrilling run so far in the postseason. Washington is off to its first NCAA Super Regional in school history after stringing together three straight wins in South Carolina this weekend.

In a rematch of Friday's game, Washington broke a 6-6 tie in the eighth inning after A.J. Graffanino doubled to right field to score three runs — all of which were unearned. The inning was extended after the UConn shortstop committed an error to begin the inning. UW will face Cal State Fullerton in the Super Regionals next weekend.

“The fact that it is the programs first time, it is a special thing to be a part of,” said Graffanino in a UW release. “Being around these guys and the coaching staff, this is definitely the coolest baseball experience in my life.”

The Huskies from Montlake tallied five runs in the third to tie the game up, erasing an early deficit. Three of those runs came courtesy of Joe Wainhouse, who homered for the 17th time this season. Wainhouse was a cool 3-for-4 during the game. Graffanino talied three hits as well.

UConn, which was playing its second game of the day after outsting host Coastal Carolina, committed two errors in the eighth, opening the door for Graffanino to be the game's hero. Alex Hardy came in to finish off the game for UW and earn the save.

Oregon State

Corvallis Regional: Oregon State 12, LSU 0

A rematch of Saturday night's much-anticipated game went the Beavers' way thanks to another offensive onslaught.

Kevin Abel was superb for Oregon State, allowing just three hits while striking out eight over eight innings of work against the team that advanced to the SEC Tournament title game this season. On the offensive side, it was an all-around effort. In a bit of foreshawdowing, Steven Kwan went yard in the Beavers' first at-bat of the game. It only continued on from there.

Oregon State scored three times in the first, twice in the second and again in the third to give Abel plenty of breathing room. Oregon State's bats came alive again in the sixth when Kyle Nobach roped a two-run double. Nobach would later score himself when Jack Anderson singled.

For good measure, Oregon State tallied two more runs in the eighth on a pair of scoring-hits from Nobach and Kwan.

The Beavers will host Minnesota in Super Regional play next weekend.

UCLA

Minneapolis Regional Game 1: UCLA 10, Gonzaga 4

The Bruins staved off elimination by defeating the Zags for the second time in three days in the opening game, setting up a game against Minnesota in the nightcap. Starter Ryan Garcia was strong on the mound, pitching 7 1/3 innings of one-run ball while allowing just three hits. He took a no-hitter into the seventh inning.

Daniel Amaral knocked in a pair of runs with a single in the sixth to pad the Bruins' lead to 5-0 before Gonzaga scored its first run in the seventh inning. Garrett Mitchell had a bases-clearing triple in the eighth to give UCLA an 8-1 advantage.

Minneapolis Regional Game 2: Minnesota 13, UCLA 8

In the nightcap, the Bruins weren't able to extend their season another game. A six-run fourth inning proved to be insurmoutable as the UCLA pitching staff struggled to subdue the Gophers' offense. Starer Jack Ralston was chased after 1 1/3 innings (four runs) but UCLA's offense showed fight by scoring five runs over the first three innings. 

Mitchell had three RBIs and timely hitting paved the way for UCLA's biggest offensive inning in the third with three runs. The Bruins finish the season 38-20.

Stanford

Stanford Regional Game 1: Stanford 4, Baylor 2

Jack Little earned his 16th save of the season, tying a Stanford single-season record, and Stanford zoomed past Baylor to extend its postseason in the opening game of the eventual doubleheader.

The Cardinal pieced together a 4-0 burst over the first two innings before Baylor scored in the fifth and seventh innings. Andrew Daschbach hit his 17th homer of the season in the first inning, and the Cardinal added two more in the second. Will Matthiessen, who tallied a game-high two hits, tripled off the wall in center to score Brandon Wulff. Matthiessen came in to score on an Alec Wilson sacrifice fly.

Stanford Regional Game 2: Cal State Fullerton 5, Stanford 2

In the nightcap, the Cardinal stumbled in a rematch of Saturday's game. 

Alec Wilson had Stanford's two RBIs in the contest. His single with two outs in the seventh scored Will Matthiessen and Brandon Wulff, cutting into the Titans' lead at 5-2. 

Erik Miller allowed two hits over four innings of work for the Cardinal and the Titans added three more runs off Stanford's Austin Weiermiller over 2 1/3 innings of work.

The Cardinal finishes the season 45-13.

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