Angelo Altavilla homered, Robbie Palkert pitched 3 1/3 innings of shutout relief and Nebraska defeated Connecticut 8-5 even though the Huskies banged out 19 hits and their pitchers struck out 16 Friday in the NCAA Oklahoma City regional.
Pat Winkel homered to help UConn go up 4-1 early, but the No. 3 regional seed Cornhuskers (32-22) parlayed three singles and a double-play grounder into four runs to take the lead for good in the third.
John Toppa and Winkel had four hits apiece for the second-seeded Huskies (36-24), who had at least two hits in every inning through the seventh but were stymied by a Nebraska defense that turned four double plays.
UConn starter Mason Feole (2-3) struck out eight in five innings but allowed seven runs on eight hits and three walks.
Nate Fisher gave up five runs on 13 hits in 4 2/3 innings before Palkert (6-3) came on. Colby Gomes pitched the ninth for this 13th save.
Illinois State 8, Indiana 7
Joe Aeilts hit a go-ahead, RBI double in the top of the eighth inning, and Illinois State recovered from blowing a five-run lead to beat Indiana 8-7 on Friday in the opener of the Louisville regional.
Aeilts delivered the last of three doubles for the hard-hitting Redbirds (35-24), who collected 18 hits and led 7-2 after six innings. Second-seeded Indiana (36-22) tied it with a five-run seventh in which it scored twice on bases-loaded walks and another run on a hit batsman. Derek Parola, who had two RBIs, singled to lead off the eighth for No. 3 ISU before Aeilts doubled to left off Connor Manous (1-1).
Dalton Harvey (1-0) pitched 2 1/3 innings of relief for the victory as five Redbird pitchers combined for 18 strikeouts. ISU faces the Illinois Chicago-Louisville winner on Saturday. Indiana (36-22) aims to avoid elimination against the loser of that contest.
#6 Mississippi State 11, Southern 6
Rowdey Jordan had four hits, including a homer, Jordan Westburg hit a crucial two-run single and No. 6 national seed Mississippi State rallied to beat Southern 11-6 on Friday in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
Mississippi State (47-13) scored three runs in the seventh to take the lead for good at 9-6. Westburg’s hard grounder through the left side of the infield broke the tie.
Southern (32-23) played well on offense, pounding 11 hits. The Jaguars took a 4-2 lead after scoring three runs in the fourth and Johnny Johnson’s two-run homer in the seventh — which bounced off Jordan’s glove as he tried to leap over the wall and catch it — tied it at 6.
Florida State 13, Florida Atlantic 7
Tim Becker and Drew Mendoza each hit two home runs and drove in four runs to lead Florida State to a 13-7 win over Florida Atlantic in the opening game of the NCAA Athens regional on Friday.
Florida State (37-21) hit six homers and had a season-high 20 hits to open coach Mike Martin’s final bid for a College World Series title.
Martin, who is retiring after the season, has led the Seminoles to a tournament appearance in each of his 40 seasons. He has 16 CWS appearances but is still looking for his first championship.
Reese Albert and J.C. Flowers also hit homers for the Seminoles, who await the winner of Friday night’s Mercer-Georgia game in the double-elimination regional. Drew Parrish (8-5) allowed five runs in five innings.