The first day of the 2024 NCAA baseball tournament was everything fans could’ve asked for. The opening games of regionals featured six walk-offs — a record number for a single day in tournament history — and no shortage of impressive pitching performances and big days at the plate. Here’s our regionals roundup, taking a look at the top hitters and pitchers throughout the bracket.
Find an updated bracket available here and games available to stream here.
Hitters
Oklahoma State put up 19 runs, the most by any team, in a convincing win over Niagara. It’s no surprise that yesterday’s top hitter was Zach Ehrhard, who went 3-for-3 with two walks, two doubles, a home run, four RBIs, and five runs. Teammate Nolan Schubart (3-for-5, 2B, HR) enjoyed a similarly strong day at the plate.
In Chapel Hill, North Carolina freshman Gavin Gallaher had a massive day: He clubbed two home runs, including a walk-off grand slam in the ninth. Gallaher finished 3-for-4 with a double as well on a six-RBI day.
Florida’s Ashton Wilson — who made his first start of the season on May 16 — paced the Gators’ with three doubles in a win over Nebraska. Wilson finished 4-for-5 with three RBIs and added a home run for good measure.
For a full list of yesterday’s top performers, see below:
Pitchers
It’s hard to pick a favorite performance from yesterday when you consider the efforts put in by the pitchers at the top of this list.
VCU’s Christian Gordon powered his team past heavy favorite Wake Forest, striking out a career-high 13 over seven-plus innings while allowing just two hits and a walk. West Virginia’s Derek Clark, meanwhile, outdueled Dallas Baptist’s Ryan Johnson and turned in a complete game effort. Clark allowed one run on four hits with eight strikeouts.
Illinois’ Jack Crowder was in prime form against Indiana State, allowing a lone run over eight innings with five strikeouts. The outing of the day might very well have been Evansville’s Kenton Deverman, who went eight innings of one-run ball against host East Carolina and struck out four.
We’d be remiss not to mention outings from UNCW’s RJ Sales (7.1 IP, 6 K against Georgia Tech), Florida State’s Carson Dorsey (8.2 IP, 2 R, 7 K), and Wofford’s Branton Little (5 IP, 2 H, 3 K). The top head-to-head matchup was found in the Mississippi State and St. John’s game, which the Bulldogs won via a walk-off. Xavier Kolhosser and Khal Stephen combined for 16.2 IP, four runs, and 17 strikeouts.
Featured Image via Evansville Athletics