NC State & Charleston win; ECU and Coastal Carolina lose opening day NCAA games

Note: Chance Shepard, Shane Shepard and Joe O’Donnell all live in Wilmington. They’re on the NC State team. Chance Shepard was 1 for 4 at the plate. Shepard had a double in his last at-bat. 

FORT WORTH, TX ( NC STATE) —  Logan Ratledge hit a two-run homer in the fifth inning and North Carolina State beat Stony Brook 3-0 on Friday in their NCAA regional opener.

NC State (35-21) will face the Texas Christain-Sacred Heart winner Saturday. Stony Brook (34-15-1) will play the loser.

Curt Britt (3-0) threw 5 1-3 innings for the victory, and Will Gilbert got a double-play grounder in relief in the sixth and finished for the save.

Daniel Zamora (7-3) took the loss.

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Note: Hunter Allen of ECU is a West Brunswick grad. Allen was 1 for 4 at the plate. 

MIAMI, FL (AP) — Columbia used a five-run sixth inning to rally past East Carolina 6-3 in the opener of the NCAA regional on Friday.

Third-seeded Columbia (32-15), the Ivy League champions, advanced to play either Miami or FIU in Saturday night’s game at Mark Light Stadium.

This was just the second tournament win in Columbia history – the first came in 2013.

Second-seeded East Carolina (40-21), the American Athletic Conference champions, will play the Miami-FIU loser on Saturday.

Columbia scored in the sixth to cut the deficit to 3-2. Then with bases loaded and one out, Columbia’s Logan Boyher hit what looked like an inning-ending double play to the shortstop.

But East Carolina second baseman Charlie Yorgen threw wildly on the relay, allowing Columbia to score twice for a 4-3 lead.

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TALLAHASSEE, FL (AP) — Erven Roper hit a two-out homer in the bottom of the 11th inning Friday, leading second-seeded College of Charleston past Auburn 7-6 in first-round NCAA regional play.
Roper’s rising line drive to right off Izaac Yarbrough (0-2) sends the Cougars (44-13) into Saturday’s winner’s bracket against the winner of Friday’s late game between top-seeded host Florida State and fourth-seeded Mercer (Georgia).

Auburn (35-25) will play the loser in an elimination game Saturday.

Roper also singled in two runs in the sixth that gave the Cougars a 6-4 lead. Blake Butler, Nick Pappas and Bradley Jones hit solo homers for College of Charleston while Melvin Gray’s two-run shot for Auburn in the seventh made it 6-6.

Carter Love (6-0) pitched two perfect innings for the victory.

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COLLEGE STATION, TX (AP) —  Daulton Jefferies limited Coastal Carolina to a run over seven innings and third-seeded California beat the second-seeded Chanticleers 9-3 on Friday in their NCAA regional opener.
Jefferies (6-5) allowed three hits, including a solo home run by Tyler Chadwick in the second inning.

The Golden Bears (35-19) scored two runs in the fifth on RBI doubles by Aaron Knapp and Devin Pearson for a 3-1 lead. Mitchell Kranson had two RBIs for Cal.

On Saturday, California will play the Texas A&M-Texas Southern winner. Coastal Carolina (38-20) will face the loser.

Cal made the tournament for the first since playing in the 2011 College World Series.

(Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)