College Baseball Regional 2024: Results, Highlights and Bracket from Friday
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It’s tournament time on the diamond.
The 2024 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament began Friday afternoon and 64 programs are hoping to cling to the dream of taking home a national championship in a few weeks.
This weekend will consist of 16 regionals featuring four teams. The winner of each regional will earn a trip to the super regionals next week. The winners of that round will then punch a ticket to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska for a chance to claim history.
Friday’s action saw some team’s take a step towards the regional final, while others are officially facing elimination and will face a gauntlet to reach the super regionals.
Here’s a look at the day’s action.
Knoxville Regional
Indiana def. Southern Miss, 10-4
No. 1 Tennessee def. Northern Kentucky, 9-3
Lexington Regional
No. 2 Kentucky def. Western Michigan, 10-8
Illinois def. Indiana State, 4-1
Bryan-College Station Regional
No. 3 Texas A&M def. Grambling, 8-0
Texas def. Louisiana, 12-5
Chapel Hill Regional
LSU def. Wofford, 4-3
No. 4 North Carolina def. LIU, 11-8
Fayetteville Regional
No. 5 Arkansas def. Southeast Missouri, 17-9
Kansas State vs Louisiana Tech, 8 P.M. ET
Clemson Regional
Coastal Carolina def. Vanderbilt 13-3
No. 6 Clemson def. High Point, 4-3 (10)
Athens Regional
No. 7 Georgia def. Army, 8-7
UNC Wilmington def. Georgia Tech, 9-0
Tallahassee Regional
No. 8 Florida State def. Stetson, 7-2
UCF def. Alabama, 8-7 (10)
Norman Regional
UConn def. Duke, 4-1
No. 9 Oklahoma def. Oral Roberts, 14-0
Raleigh Regional
South Carolina def. James Madison, 8-7 (10)
No. 10 NC State def. Bryant, 9-2
Stillwater Regional
Florida def. Nebraska, 5-2
No. 11 Oklahoma State def Niagara, 19-7
Charlottesville Regional
No. 12 Virginia def. Penn, 4-2
Mississippi State def. St. Johns, 5-2
Tucson Regional
West Virginia def. Dallas Baptist, 4-1
Grand Canyon def. No. 13 Arizona, 9-4
Santa Barbara Regional
Oregon def. San Diego, 5-4 (11)
No. 14 UC Santa Barbara def. Fresno State, 9-6
Corvallis Regional
UC Irvine def. Nicholls, 13-12
No. 15 Oregon State def. Tulane 10-4
Greenville Regional
Evansville def. No. 16 East Carolina, 4-1
VCU def. Wake Forest, 1-0
North Carolina 11, LIU 8
UNC was on the verge of being upset.
The Tar Heels were a strike away from sealing a 5-4 victory over Long Island, but the Sharks tied it and then added three to take the lead in the top of the ninth.
The situation looked bleak, but North Carolina wasn’t done. It got two runs to cut the lead to 8-7, and then Gavin Gallagher stepped up to the plate.
Carolina Baseball @DiamondHeelsWALK-OFF GALLAHER SLAM!!!! 11-8 HEELS! pic.twitter.com/vx3h4eQ74s
Harrison Cordell Fant @Fantavious9GAVIN GALLAGHER WALK OFF, NO DOUBTER GRAND SLAM FOR THE UNC TAR HEELS! 💣🤯
And an absolutely beautiful admiration & soft bat drop. 🥶@DiamondHeels @GallaherGavin @ACCBaseball pic.twitter.com/61yKS17Lmt
The freshman smashed a grand slam to secure the 11-8 victory and keep the Tar Heels in a solid position.
North Carolina will face LSU in the winner’s bracket.
Kentucky 10, Western Michigan 8
It looked like Kentucky was going to run away with a victory in the first game of the Lexington Regional, but fate had other plans.
The Wildcats took an 8-0 lead on Western Michigan, but a five-run fifth inning from the Broncos made things interesting. Kentucky scored two in the bottom of the inning, which proved to be consequential as Western Michigan tacked on three additional runs but came up just short at 10-8.
Kentucky Baseball @UKBaseballTO THE WINNERS BRACKET✅#WeAreUK x #RoadToOmaha pic.twitter.com/vNiDiHO0BC
Robert Hogan was huge in relief for Kentucky, as he pitched 3.1 innings and allowed just two hits and two walks while striking out four and not surrendering a single run.
Kentucky Baseball @UKBaseballBOBBY. SPINS. 🫨🫨
💻https://t.co/6a1iBmsEhk (@SECNetwork)#WeAreUK x #RoadToOmaha | @RobertHogan1423 pic.twitter.com/EFhnCOwgRZ
James McCoy had two hits and three RBIs, two of which came on a two-run blast in the second inning.
Kentucky Baseball @UKBaseballJIMMY BOMB 💣💥💪
💻https://t.co/6a1iBmsEhk (@SECNetwork)#WeAreUK x #RoadToOmaha | @j_mccoy2021 pic.twitter.com/T8QkQX0rzr
The Wildcats will face the winner of Illinois and Indiana State on Saturday.
LSU 4, Wofford 3
The defending national champion nearly had its back against the wall on Day 1 of the tournament.
Wofford took a 2-0 lead in the second inning and even made it 3-1 in the eighth inning. However, three Tiger runs in the final two innings guided the team to a 4-3 victory and a trip to the winner’s bracket.
LSU Baseball @LSUbaseballW pic.twitter.com/yD7OA7rDl2
The daggers came from late home runs, with Jared Jones supplying a game-tying home run in the eighth.
LSU Baseball @LSUbaseballBIG TIME BEAR BOMB@bearjones_3 | ESPNU pic.twitter.com/l9Av4fL5r2
And the Steven Milam hit his second home run of the day in the bottom of the ninth to secure the walk-off win.
LSU Baseball @LSUbaseballIt’s DEFINITELY the hair 😈@Monster_Milam99 | ESPNU pic.twitter.com/7nQR2qMTbO
With the dinger, Milam became the first player in program history to hit multiple walk-off home runs in a single season.
LSU Baseball @LSUbaseballMore than earned his stripes 🐅@Monster_Milam99 is the first LSU player with multiple walk-off HR’s in a single season.#ThePowerhouse | #PlugIn pic.twitter.com/De6oHqLR6A
The Tigers will face the winner of North Carolina in the winner’s bracket.
Georgia 8, Army 7
The Georgia Bulldogs had quite the battle with Army in its first matchup.
It was a back-and-forth matchup with the two sides trading leads three times. However, it was the Bulldogs who emerged with the 8-7 victory.
Georgia Baseball @BaseballUGA𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧’
Georgia will face the winner of Game 2 tomorrow at 6 p.m.#GoDawgs | @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/UHPEO66MaC
Army went up 2-0 in the first and even led 4-1 through the top of the fourth. Georgia would make it 4-3 in the bottom of the inning and would eventually tie it in the fifth. Army would once again take a lead in the top of the sixth, but Georgia broke out for three runs and made it 7-5 in the bottom of the sixth.
Army tied it in the eighth but a Fernando Gonzales sacrifice fly provided the dagger in the bottom of the inning
Georgia Baseball @BaseballUGADAWGS LEAD
📺 https://t.co/5V40L7jBNr (ESPN+)#GoDawgs pic.twitter.com/1CnGfS3YmM
Georgia will face Georgia Tech or UNC Wilmington in the Athens Regional winner’s bracket.
South Carolina 8, James Madison 7 (10)
Nine innings wasn’t going to be enough to declare a winner between South Carolina and James Madison.
James Madison was just one out away from securing the win, but instead South Carolina is heading to the winner’s bracket with an 8-7, 10-inning victory.
Gamecock Baseball @GamecockBasebllWHAT A GAME!#Gamecocks | #ForeverToThee pic.twitter.com/ACq7IkmXHK
James Madison had two outs on Cole Messina, but the junior delivered in the right moment.
Gamecock Baseball @GamecockBasebllWE ARE TIED!!!
🖥️ ESPN+#Gamecocks | #ForeverToThee pic.twitter.com/WklXLOIf5z
After shutting down the Dukes in the top of the 10th, South Carolina quickly got runners on second and third and Will Tippett smacked a walk-off sacrifice fly.
Gamecock Baseball @GamecockBasebllGAMECOCKS WIN#Gamecocks | #ForeverToThee pic.twitter.com/Wr7T7cArTr
Gamecock Baseball @GamecockBasebllWALK-OFF WINNER#Gamecocks | #ForeverToThee pic.twitter.com/6vpZNTUEyu
South Carolina will face Bryant of NC State in the winner’s bracket.
Oregon 5, San Diego 4 (11)
Oregon and San Diego saw South Carolina’s inning count and decided to add another.
Oregon led 4-1 in the bottom of the eighth, but a three run home run from Jakob Christian tied it at four.
Oregon would have to wait a few innings but would eventually claim the game in the 11th.
Oregon Duck Baseball @OregonBaseball𝐑𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐖#GoDucks pic.twitter.com/VMjF90G5zl
Oregon got it’s fifth run in the top of the 11th via a bomb from Bryce Boettcher.
Oregon Duck Baseball @OregonBaseballT11 | Boettcher’s home run puts the Ducks ahead in extras. #GoDucks
Oregon 5
San Diego 4
Watch 👉 ESPN U pic.twitter.com/NmRa5c7Gpf
The Ducks would then lock it down in the bottom of the inning to secure the victory and clinch a date with UC Santa Barbara in the winner’s bracket.
UC Santa Barbara 9, Fresno State 6
Trailing 2-1 through three innings, UC Santa Barbara scored eight runs over the next three innings to earn a 9-6 win over Fresno State in the opening game of the tournament for both teams.
The Bulldogs took the lead in the top of the second on Ben Newton’s two-run single off UC Santa Barbara starter Ryan Gallagher.
Mountain West @MountainWestThe ‘Dogs take the lead ‼️⚾️
Watch live: https://t.co/gzThms1llh#AtThePEAK | #MWBSB#GoDogs | @FresnoStateBSB pic.twitter.com/9YcYGqlIPs
UCSB finally broke through in the bottom of the fourth, with Jessada Brown delivering the big blow on a three-run homer to cap off a four-run frame. It was his second long ball of the game after a solo shot in the first inning.
The Big West @BigWestSportsJessada Brown goes yard for the second time tonight! @UCSB_Baseball back on top! #OnlyTheBold x #GoChos x #RoadToOmaha pic.twitter.com/rOMmD9J07j
The Gauchos really broke things open with a three-run sixth inning to take a 9-3 lead. Aaron Parker hit a solo homer in the inning as part of his 5-for-5 day at the plate.
UC Santa Barbara Baseball @UCSB_BaseballAP BLAST 💥
Aaron Parker adds insurance with a solo shot to left field to make it 7!
B6 | Bulldogs 3 – Gauchos 7
📺 Watch Live: https://t.co/cpSAmwv19L#GoChos pic.twitter.com/ok0MoTRAoZ
Fresno State tried to get back in the game with three runs in the top of the eighth. All three runs were unearned after a throwing error by third baseman Justin Trimble when he was trying to start a double play on a grounder.
Jackson Flora and Matt Ager closed the game for the Gauchos with 1.1 scoreless innings.
UC Santa Barbara will advance to the winner’s bracket to take on Oregon. Fresno State will look to keep its season alive against San Diego.