Stanford advances to College World Series

Stanford is the first team to punch their ticket to the 2008 College World Series, and three super regional series will need a third game to decide the champion. Here's a rundown of Saturday's results:

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Stanford sweeps Titans

A three-run rally in the sixth inning helped Stanford hold off a Cal State Fullerton comeback, giving the Cardinal an 8-5 win and a trip to the College World Series.

Stanford, which swept the Titans in an earlier series this year, got a big lift from Jason Castro, who hit a bases-clearing double in the sixth to give Stanford the lead for good. The hit came after Cal State Fullerton tied the game in the top of the inning on an RBI double by Erik Komatsu.

The loss was only the second time Cal State Fullerton lost a super regional in its history and the first time they were swept in 30 super regional appearances.

Wolfpack ties series with Georgia

A four-run seventh inning helped North Carolina State avoid elimination with a 10-6 win over Georgia Saturday.

The Wolfpack got two RBIs each from Jeremy Synan, Ryan Pond, Tommy Foschi and Russell Wilson to make a Sunday winner-take-all game neccessary.

Georgia has never lost a regional or super regional at home. North Carolina State is trying for their first CWS appearance since 1968.

Seminoles bounce back again

Last week, Florida State was shut out in its regional opener, then exploded for over 50 runs to win their regional.

They did it again Saturday, bouncing back from a first-game defeat to pound Wichita State 14-4 and require a third game in the super regional Sunday.

Matt Fairel threw eight innings of solid ball for the host Seminoles and ended Wichita State's 10-game winning streak. Dennis Guinn's two-run single sparked a five-run third inning that broke a 3-3 tie.

Miami hangs on against Arizona

Facing elimination at home, Miami hung on down the stretch and outscored Arizona 14-10 to tie their super regional series at 1-1.

Mark Sobolewski homered in the sixth to spark a four-run inning that gave Miami the lead for good. Miami trailed 4-1 going into the fourth and scored six to take the lead, but Arizona answered with three runs of their own to tie the game at 7-7 after four innings.

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Anteaters snap Tigers' winning streak

UC Irvine has no problem going on the road to earn a trip to the College World Series, and they proved it by beating LSU 11-5 in their super regional opener Saturday.

The win is a huge one, as it not only moves the Anteaters to within one game of a second straight CWS appearance, but it ended LSU's nation-leading 23-game win streak.

Sean Madigan and Brock Bardeen both homered for the Anteaters, who broke the game open with eight runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings.

UNC takes advantage of errors

North Carolina made the most of six Coastal Carolina miscues to post a 9-4 win in their regional opener on Saturday.

Kyle Seager, Kyle Shelton and Seth Williams each drove in a pair of runs to move the second-seeded Tar Heels to within a game of a third straight CWS trip. Alex White pitched well in the winning effort, striking out six and scattering eight hits over seven innings.

Owls hold off Texas A&M

Cole St. Clair pitched very well in relief and got some timely hitting to help Rice beat Texas A&M 9-7 in their first super regional matchup Saturday.

Jordan Dodson drove in four runs, two coming on a double in the fifth inning. He later came home on an error to help Rice regain the momentum after the Aggies tied the game at 5-5 with three in the top of the fifth.

Rice is one win away from their seventh CWS appearance in the last 12 seasons. They haven't lost a regional or super regional game since 2006.

Sun Devils have no problems

Arizona State took command early and got a pair of homers from Ryan Sontag to blast Fresno State 12-4 in their first super regional matchup.

The Sun Devils have been in double digits three times in four postseason games. Petey Paramore had a pair of RBIs and Jason Kipnis and Brett Wallace each had three hits for the Sun Devils.