TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Erven Roper hit a two-out home run in the bottom of the 11th inning Friday, leading second-seeded College of Charleston past Auburn 7-6 in the opening game of the NCAA Tallahassee Regional.
Roper's rising line drive to right off Izaac Yarbrough (0-2) sends the Cougars (44-13) into today's winner's bracket game against the winner of Friday's late game between top-seeded Florida State and fourth-seeded Mercer.
Auburn (35-25), which was playing in its first NCAA Tournament game since 2010, will face the loser of the late game in an elimination game today.
Charleston, which entered the game with 72 home runs, the third-most in the nation, hit four Friday to one by the Tigers.
"You can't defend the home run and that did us in today," Auburn Coach Sunny Golloway said. "We knew they had power coming, and we knew we were playing in a small ballpark, so our plan was not to walk them and give up the home run.
"When four balls leave the park to account for that many runs, that's really disappointing."
Roper also singled in two runs in the sixth that gave the Cougars a 6-4 lead. Blake Butler, Nick Pappas and Bradley Jones hit solo home runs for College of Charleston, while Melvin Gray's two-run shot for Auburn in the seventh made it 6-6.
Carter Love (6-0) did not allow a base runner in two innings to earn the victory. Yarbrough shut down the Cougars for three innings before Roper's home run, the only hit he allowed.
BATON ROUGE REGIONAL
Tigers swipe one
LSU (49-10) stole eight bases in a game for the first time in 20 years and overcame a rain delay and a 2-0 deficit to take a 10-3 victory over Lehigh (25-30) at Alex Box Stadium.
As planned, the Tigers used seven pitchers, and Austin Bain was the only to work more than an inning. The staff allowed only 5 hits with 2 walks and 7 strikeouts.
In winning its 26th consecutive NCAA regional opener, the Tigers stole eight bases for the first time since March 26, 1995, at Vanderbilt. They were 8 of 9 on steal attempts with Jared Foster, Alex Bregman and Andrew Stevenson each getting two.
GAINESVILLE REGIONAL
Gators roll by Rattlers
Florida (45-16) defeated Florida A&M (23-24) 19-0 on Friday night at McKethan Stadium, winning its first NCAA Tournament game since 2012 while spoiling the Rattlers' first NCAA Tournament appearance. .
The Gators, who won the SEC Tournament last week, had 17 hits against eight Florida A&M pitchers, who hit seven Florida batters. Gators starter Logan Shore breezed through five scoreless innings, limiting the Rattlers to two hits.
Florida designated hitter JJ Schwarz had four hits and five RBI, including his team-leading 15th home run.
In the other game at the Gainesville Regional, Kyle Teaf had two triples and two RBI, leading South Florida (34-24-1) to a 5-3 victory over Florida Atlantic (40-18). South Florida right-hander Jimmy Herget (10-3) allowed 3 runs on 9 hits and struck out 4 in 7 innings.
COLLEGE STATION REGIONAL
Aggies blank Tigers
Matt Kent threw seven shutout innings, Nick Banks hit a two-run home run and Texas A&M topped Texas Southern 5-0.
Kent (8-1) allowed 6 hits and walked 1 while tying his career high with 9 strikeouts for the Aggies (46-11).
Banks broke open a scoreless game in the fourth inning with a home run over the right-field bullpen. Mitchell Nau led off the inning with a double, and scored on Banks' sixth home run this season.
In the other game at the College Station Regional, Daulton Jefferies limited Coastal Carolina (38-20) to three hits and a run over seven innings and California (35-19) beat the Chanticleers 9-3.
LOS ANGELES REGIONAL
Terps handle Rebels
Mike Shawaryn (13-2) gave up one run in 5 1/3 innings and combined with three relievers on a two-hitter in Maryland's 3-1 victory over Mississippi on Friday in their NCAA regional opener.
Maryland (40-21) tied a school record for victories in a season.
Ole Miss (30-26) scored without a hit in the sixth when Sikes Orvis, Errol Robinson and Austin Knight drew one-out walks off Shawaryn, knocking him out of the game. J.B Woodman drew a walk off reliever Robert Galligan to force in a run, but Galligan got the final two outs to leave the bases loaded.
The Rebels' only hits were two singles in the first inning.
NASHVILLE REGIONAL
Fulmer paces Vandy
Carson Fulmer, the SEC pitcher of the year, allowed 1 run and 4 hits and struck out 11 in 7 innings and defending national champion Vanderbilt (43-19) beat Lipscomb (39-19) 9-1.
The loss ended Lipscomb’s road-neutral winning streak at 15 as Vanderbilt avenged an April 7 loss.
Vanderbilt freshman Jeren Kendall went 2 for 3 with 3 RBI, giving him seven RBI in the past four games. Leadoff hitter Ro Coleman went 3 for 3, reaching base in all five atbats by also drawing a walk and getting hit by a pitch.
In the other game, Kyle Hart (5-0) scattered five hits in seven innings, leading Indiana (35-22) to a 7-1 victory over Radford (43-15). The loss ended Radford’s 15-game winning streak.
Sports on 05/30/2015