Tyler Rocklein hit a two-run single as part of Florida Atlantic’s nine-run second inning Sunday in Lafayette, La., and the Owls coasted to a 16-8 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette to earn their first Sun Belt Conference tournament title and secure an automatic spot in the NCAA regionals.
Rocklein went 2-for-4 with four RBIs for fourth-seeded FAU (39-20), which finished the tournament 4-0 and has won 11 consecutive games. The third-seeded Cajuns fell to 41-18.
Brendon Sanger, a freshman second baseman, was 2-for-5 with three RBIs for the Owls and was named the tournament’s most outstanding player.
Tallahassee among NCAA regional sites: Dick Howser Stadium in Tallahasse was named Sunday night as one of 16 sites for NCAA tournament regional play.
By virtue of being awarded a regional, Florida State (44-15) was chosen to the 64-team NCAA field. The Seminoles, ranked No. 7 in the nation by Baseball America, went 0-3 in the ACC tournament and are on a four-game losing streak.
Each regional features four teams playing in a double-elimination format. All 16 regionals are scheduled to be held Friday through June 3. This will be the 30th time FSU has hosted a regional.
The full NCAA field will be announced at noon today on the NCAA selection show (ESPNU).
The other 15 regional sites are: Baton Rouge, La. (LSU); Blacksburg, Va. (Virginia Tech); Bloomington, Ind. (Indiana); Chapel Hill, N.C. (North Carolina); Charlottesville, Va. (Virginia); Columbia, S.C. (South Carolina); Corvallis, Ore. (Oregon State); Eugene, Ore. (Oregon); Fullerton, Calif. (Cal State Fullerton); Los Angeles (UCLA); Louisville, Ky. (Louisville); Manhattan, Kan. (Kansas State); Nashville, Tenn. (Vanderbilt); Raleigh, N.C. (N.C. State); and Starkville, Miss. (Mississippi State).
PB State stays alive: Thanks to a complete game from sophomore right-hander Ryan Pistey, Palm Beach State remained alive with a 7-1 win over Kaskaskia (Ill.) College on the second day of the National Junior College Athletic Association Division I World Series in Grand Junction, Colo.
PBSC (39-20), needing another today win to stay alive in the double-elimination tournament, faces Navarro (Texas) College at noon. Former Dwyer right-hander Bryan Coughlin is expected to start.
Sophomore J.D. Underwood, who earned a no-decision in Saturday’s 6-4 loss to Central Alabama Community College, went 2-for-4 with a solo homer and four RBIs as the designated hitter for the Panthers on Sunday.
— MATT PORTER
ACC tournament: North Carolina defeated Virginia Tech 4-1 in the title game in Durham, N.C. Taylore Cherry (1-0), a 6-foot-8 freshman, allowed one run in five innings in his first career start to help the top-seeded Tar Heels (52-8) capture their sixth ACC title. North Carolina beat Virginia Tech (38-20) a 19th straight time.
SEC tournament: Chris Sciambra's RBI single in the top of the 11th lifted LSU to its 10th SEC tournament title with a 5-4 win over Vanderbilt in Hoover, Ala. The Tigers (52-9) are ranked No. 2 in the nation, and the Commodores (51-9) are No. 1.
SOFTBALL
Florida reaches World Series: Freshman first baseman Taylor Schwarz, a former Palm Beach Gardens High School standout, hit a two-out RBI double in the top of the fourth inning as Florida defeated Alabama-Birmingham 1-0 in the Gainesville Super Regional and clinched a spot in the Women's College World Series for the fifth time in six years.
The Gators (57-7) will face SEC foe Tennessee (49-10) at 2:30 p.m. Thursday in opening-round play in Oklahoma City.
FSU falls to Texas: A two-run homer by Taylor Thom highlighted a four-run fifth inning that led Texas to a 4-0 victory over Florida State in an NCAA Super Regional in Austin, Texas, sending the Longhorns to the Women's College World Series. Texas improved to 49-8; FSU finished its season 44-19.
