Davidson followed up its program’s biggest victory with another one that ranks right up there — and it put the upstart Wildcats in control of the Chapel Hill Regional in the NCAA baseball tournament.
A 2-1 victory over Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday night — after the shocking 8-4 win over No. 2 national seed North Carolina the night before — means Davidson is one win from the super regionals in its first appearance in the tournament.
So how’s the latest victory rank?
“It’s certainly 1-A,” coach Dick Cooke said.
Davidson will play for the regional title on Sunday night against the winner of the afternoon game between North Carolina and FGSU. If Davidson loses, another regional final would be played Monday.
Justin Lebek and Eric Jones drove in runs and Evan Roberts pitched eight strong innings for the No. 4 regional seed Wildcats (34-24).
“The energy from last night was clearly evident, certainly through the fan base, leading up to this ballgame tonight,” Cooke said. “A couple of folks here working for the NCAA commented to me about how loose and relaxed these guys were from the dugout, unsolicited.
“We’ve had that comment a bunch for a while, so that told me that they weren’t overly distraught about what this means in the grand scheme of life.”
CRUSADERS KEEP GOING
Holy Cross, one of three teams with a losing record to make the NCAA Tournament, won its first regional game since 1978 when it eliminated Big Ten regular-season champion Nebraska 7-4 in Corvallis, Oregon.
The Crusaders (24-28) made the most of 10 singles and two doubles, scoring four runs with two outs and batting .455 (5 for 11) with runners in scoring position. They also got solid pitching from senior pitchers Joe Cravero, George Capen and Phil Reese.
“I told them before the game that I liked where we’re at,” 10th-year Holy Cross coach Greg Dicenzo said. “I liked the fact we’re going to have to face some adversity. To be honest with you, this program and this team have been built around people who said they can’t do things. We’re in the losers’ bracket of a four-team double-elimination tournament. That’s a tough road ahead. No better way, no better group to keep fighting and keep punching back with than this one.”
Nebraska, a No. 2 regional seed, went two-and-out after losing to No. 3 Yale 5-1 on Friday and to No. 4 Holy Cross. Neither Yale nor Holy Cross offer baseball scholarships.
THAT LEFT A MARK
UCLA went 0-2 in regionals for the second time in 21 appearances, and first since 1986. The Bruins lost 3-2 to No. 4 regional seed San Diego State, with the winning run scoring in the top of the 13th when Scott Burke hit Danny Sheehan with a pitch with the bases loaded.
MARVELOUS ON MOUND
— Casey Mize scattered seven hits and struck out 12 in Auburn’s 5-3 win over Tennessee Tech.
— Garrett Schilling and Trey Schramm combined on a two-hitter, striking out six and walking one in Xavier’s 3-1 win over Radford.
— Tyler Holton struck out 13 to tie his career high and had double-digit Ks for the sixth time this season in Florida State’s 6-1 win over UCF. Holton’s 132 strikeouts this season are the most by an FSU pitcher since 2000.
— North Carolina’s Gianluca Daltari allowed five hits and one run in seven innings in an 8-1 win over Michigan.
BIG HITTERS
— Vanderbilt’s Jeren Kendall doubled twice and drove in three runs, and Will Toffey had three hits in a 9-4 win over Clemson.
— Gavin Sheets’ one-out single in the bottom of the ninth drove in Jonathan Pryor to give Wake Forest a 4-3 walkoff win over West Virginia.
— Jake Scheiner homered and drove in six runs and Lael Lockhart had four RBIs to lead Houston past Baylor 17-3.
— Kevin Smith hit a pair of three-run homers to lead Maryland in a 16-2 victory over UMBC.
— Indiana’s Logan Sowers homered three times, drove in five runs and scored four times against Ohio.
— Oral Roberts’ Michael Huntgate went 4 for 4 with a home run and five RBIs for Oral Roberts.
___
AP Sports Writer Anne Peterson contributed from Corvallis, Oregon.
