Daniel Pigott homered to open the 10th inning, an opposite-field shot that barely cleared the fence, and Florida held on to beat North Carolina State 9-8 yesterday in Gainesville, Fla., and advance to the College World Series for the third consecutive season.
Pigott’s eighth homer of the season was key in a wild, back-and-forth game that included 26 hits, 12 pitchers, a lengthy weather delay, a little controversy and some unlikely heroes.
Top-seeded Florida (47-18) improved to 10-0 against teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference, including consecutive sweeps of Georgia Tech and North Carolina State (43-20).
Florida State 18, Stanford 7
In Tallahassee, Fla., Sherman Johnson homered and drove in five runs to lead Florida State past Stanford to earn its 21st trip to the College World Series.
Johnson’s three-run home run capped a four-run second inning that gave the Seminoles (48-15) a 6-0 lead. Jayce Boyd hit a two-run homer in the first.
Gage Smith (5-0) picked up the win in relief.
Stephen Piscotty had four of Stanford’s 18 hits. Stanford (41-18) was outscored 35-8 in the two games.
Arkansas 5, Baylor 4
In Waco, Texas, Arkansas scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning on hit batters with the bases loaded and the Razorbacks beat Baylor to force a decisive third game in the super regional.
Baylor (49-16) will host the Razorbacks (43-20) today, with the winner advancing to the College World Series.
Oregon 3, Kent State 2
In Eugene, Ore., freshman right-hander Jake Reed allowed two runs and five hits to steady Oregon as the Ducks rallied to snap Kent State’s 21-game winning streak and push the NCAA super regional to a deciding third game.