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Connecticut Ousts USF From Big East

Published: May 26, 2007

BROOKLYN, N.Y. - Fifth-seeded South Florida lost 2-0 to eighth-seeded Connecticut on Friday night at the Big East Championship at KeySpan Park, missing a chance to play for the conference title today.

The Bulls started play Friday 2-0 in the tourney and needed just one win to qualify for today's final, but Connecticut freshman left-hander Greg Nappo threw a three-hitter to beat the Bulls 3-0 in the day's second game. Senior lefty Brendan McGinn pitched a four-hitter for the Huskies in the day's final game.

In the other bracket, second-seeded Rutgers beat third-seeded Louisville twice, 12-10 and 3-1, to make today's 1 p.m. final, set to be televised on ESPNU.

In his fifth start of the season, South Florida senior right-hander Yuri Higgins (5-4) struck out six batters, but allowed two runs on two hits to take the loss. Senior Danny Otero came in for relief in the seventh, striking out one while allowing one run in 1 1/3 innings.

The Bulls (34-26) now await the possibility of a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Selections to the regional tournaments will be made at 12:30 p.m. Monday.

Miami Knocks Off Florida State 9-3

JACKSONVILLE - Florida State missed its chance to control its Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament fate Friday night.

Or maybe Miami took it from them.

"Tonight, Miami just took us to the woodshed," Florida State coach Mike Martin said. "You always like to be able to control your own destiny.

"We got beat soundly, so maybe we don't deserve to control our own destiny."

The Seminoles mustered only four hits after the fourth inning, and the Hurricanes scored in bunches to pound Florida State 9-3 at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.

With Wake Forest's 3-2 win against Clemson in the early game and Florida State's loss, all four teams in Division A are 1-1 after two games of pool play and are eligible to advance to Sunday's championship game. But they all will need another team to win.

"It is tough going into it knowing that you making the championship is not in your hands," said Florida State second baseman Tony Thomas, a former Bloomingdale High player who was 2-for-4 with a homer and a double. "You just have to go out there and not worry about other teams and just play our game. We still have to win to advance."

Florida State needs to beat Clemson today at 4, and hope Wake Forest knocks off Miami tonight at 7. If both Florida State and Miami win, the Hurricanes will advance. After the Seminoles secured their first win of the tournament, Martin decided to hold ACC Pitcher of the Year Bryan Henry (14-0, 2.50) until today, but regardless of how Henry fares against the Tigers, the quirkiness of pool-play format leaves a lot to be determined today.

"A lot of things have to happen," Martin said. "Wake Forest is capable of beating anyone in the country, so it will be interesting to see what will happen [today]."

Florida State was on its heels early after Richard O'Brien laced a 3-2 pitch over the right-field wall to give Miami a 3-1 lead in the second inning.

Thomas responded in the top of the third with a homer of his own, but Seminoles starter Ryan Strauss gave up a two-out, two-run single to Jemile Weeks in the fifth and then the Hurricanes jumped on the Seminoles bullpen for four runs in the fifth.

"When they score one it is easy to bounce back," Thomas said. "But when they score in bunches you usually start putting too much pressure on yourself."

In today's Division B games, Georgia Tech (1-1) plays North Carolina State (0-2) at 10 a.m., followed by North Carolina (1-1) vs. Virginia (2-0) at 1 p.m.

South Carolina Ends Florida's Baseball Season

HOOVER, Ala. - Mike Cisco pitched seven strong innings, Travis Jones hit a two-run single and third-seeded South Carolina beat sixth-seeded Florida 5-3 Friday at Regions Park to stay alive in the Southeastern Conference Tournament and end the Gators' season.

The Gamecocks (42-17) face Arkansas today, needing to win twice to advance to the championship game.

In the other half of the bracket, top-seeded Vanderbilt must beat fifth-seeded Mississippi twice to get to the Sunday's final.

The loss gave the Gators a losing record at 29-30, making them ineligible for an NCAA regional. They have failed to make a regional the past two years after advancing to the College World Series championship game in 2005.

Cisco (6-2) allowed only one hit after the first inning, striking out eight and walking one. He worked around an error and a walk to retire 13 of the last 15 batters he faced.

The Gators nearly mounted a rally in the ninth. Josh Jeffords issued a pair of two-out walks and gave up Cole Figueroa's RBI single, but Avery Barnes grounded out to third to end the game.

Florida got off to a promising start. SEC player of the year Matt LaPorta got his first hit of the tournament with a two-run homer in the first.

But South Carolina scored three in the second, capped by Jones' two-run single off Patrick Keating, who was making his first college start.

Figueroa had three of the Gators' five hits.

LaPorta and cleanup batter Brian Leclerc went a combined 2-for-20 in three tournament games for the Gators, who managed just nine runs.