The NCAA Baseball Regional tournaments began on Friday - with the Texas Longhorns, TCU Horned Frogs, Texas A&M Aggies and Rice Owls all not only playing in the regionals, but playing host to them as well.
The Longhorns, as aforementioned, defeated the Princeton Tigers 5-3, thanks in large part to Tant Shepherd as he went 1-2 with a home run, two RBIs, two runs scored and two walks. Texas will face Kent State on Saturday night at 6:30 p.m. CDT.
TCU crushed Oral Roberts 10-2, behind a strong start from Andrew Mitchell. Mitchell pitched seven innings, allowing just two hits and a walk while striking out three. Third baseman Jantzen Witte went 3-4 at the dish with three runs batted in and a run scored.
The Horned Frogs will take on Dallas Baptist on Saturday night at 7 p.m. CDT.
Texas A&M similarly cruised, defeating Wright State 11-0. Michael Wacha picked up the win for the Aggies, pitching six innings without allowing a run. Wacha gave up five hits and walked one while striking out two. Kevin Gonzalez and Matt Juengel both homered for the Aggies in the rout.
The Aggies will take on the Seton Hall Pirates on Saturday night, with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m. CDT.
Not to be outdone by TCU or Texas A&M, Rice routed Alcorn State 14-2. The Owls pounded out 22 hits and drew six walks en route to the 14 runs. Right fielder Ryan Lewis went 4-6 with three runs batted in. Abe Gonzales pitched a complete game for Rice (typical), giving up seven hits without walking a batter and striking out four.
The Owls will face off against the Baylor Bears, who won their first round game as well. Baylor defeated California 6-4 on Friday. Logan Verrett picked up the win for the Bears, pitching seven and a third innings while giving up three runs on seven hits and two walks. Verrett struck out four. Baylor jumped out to an early 6-0 lead, and held on at the end for the win.
Baylor and Rice will square off on Saturday night at 6 p.m. CDT.