Aggies advance to Omaha while Vols, Rebels and Razorbacks win

It was a banner day for Southeastern Conference baseball, with all four teams playing in super regionals on Saturday afternoon winning. 

Photo courtesy of Texas A&M athletics.

Aggies move on to Omaha

Texas A&M will make its first trip to the College World Series since 2017 after the Aggies’ 4-3, come-from-behind win over Louisville in the College Station super regional on Saturday afternoon.

Ryan Targac tied the game at 3 with a seventh-inning home run, and then, Dylan Rock’s sacrifice fly in the seventh provided the game’s final run.

There were anxious moments in the ninth. Louisville was the home team on Saturday and the Aggies had freshman Brad Rudis on the mound to face the dangerous Ben Metzinger with the tying run on first. Metzinger worked the count to 3-2 and kept fouling off pitches, at which point A&M coach Jim Schlossnagle went to lefty Jacob Palisch, who threw 30 pitches in picking up the win on Friday night. Palsch struck out Metzinger on one pitch and got the next two in order. 

Jack Moss led Texas A&M with two hits. Will Johnson got the win with 1 2/3 scoreless innings. 

This will be the Aggies’ seventh CWS appearance; they’ve never won the event. 

Noland’s gem puts Arkansas in the driver’s seat in Chapel Hill

Arkansas starter Connor Noland threw 6 2/3 scoreless innings, leading the Razorbacks to a 4-1 win over North Carolina in the Chapel Hill super regional on Saturday afternoon. 

Noland, one of the league’s most consistent pitchers most of the year, changed speeds and pounded the strike zone in an 89-pitch outing that put the Razorbacks up 1-0 in the series. He scattered six hits and walked just one.

The game was scoreless until the fifth, until Peyton Stovall homered. The freshman struggled much of the season, but has come alive in the postseason, where he’s 12-for-20 with six runs scored. 

Brady Slavens and Cayden Wallace also drove in runs in the fifth, with Slavens adding an RBI single in the seventh.

Arkansas has not named a starter for Sunday’s Game Two. 

Bombs power Vols past Notre Dame

Tennessee erupted for four home runs and eight runs in the fifth inning, two of those bombs coming from first baseman Luc Lipcius, as the Vols evened the series with Notre Dame at a game apiece in a 12-4 win on Saturday afternoon at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in the Knoxville super regional. 

Evan Russell and Jordan Beck also homered in the inning. Tennessee plated six runs off Fighting Irish ace John Bertrand. Ten Vols accounted for 14 hits, with Lipcius (three) and Beck (two) leading the way. 

Tennessee starter Chase Dollander was terrific, firing seven innings, allowing five hits and two runs with five strikeouts and no walks. 

The Vols haven’t named a starter for Sunday’s deciding game, but it will likely be either of freshmen Drew Beam or Chase Burns.

DeLucia, Daugherty pitch Rebels to victory

Ole Miss’s pitching hasn’t been its strength in 2022, but Dylan DeLucia and Jack Dougherty combined on a four-hit shutout in the Rebels’ 10-0 win over Southern Miss in the Hattiesburg super regional on Saturday.

With the help of eight walks, the Rebels turned 10 hits into 10 runs. Tim Elko and Calvin Harris each had two hits, with Elko adding a team-leading three RBIs and Kevin Graham chipping in two. 

The Rebels have freshman All-Amercain Hunter Elliott, who was one of the league’s best pitchers after his insertion into the rotation, available for either Sunday’s game or a possible Game Three on Monday. 

NOTE: Auburn and Oregon State play Saturday evening.