Saturday's Capsules

By The Associated Press

Clemson 8, Arkansas 7

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Matt Henrie pitched seven innings and Clemson relievers held off an Arkansas rally to send the series to a final game.

The Tigers (51-15) led 8-2 before Arkansas (35-27) scored five runs in the final two innings. With the tying run on first, B.J. LaMura struck out Andrew Wishy and Cody Clark to get his first career save.

Henrie (12-4) settled in after giving up two early unearned runs and retired 16 of 17 in 5 1-3 hitless innings, but he ran out of steam with Clemson leading 8-2 in the eighth.

Clemson's Khalil Greene extended his hitting streak to 32 games in the third inning with his 25th homer of season, tying teammate Jeff Baker for the school record.

Texas 17, Houston 2

AUSTIN (AP) — Jeff Ontiveros homered twice and drove in three runs as Texas broke out of its offensive slump with 21 hits in a rout of Houston to force a Game 3.

Ryan Hubele went 5-for-6 with a homer, two doubles, two RBIs and four runs scored for Texas (52-15), which is seeking a record 29th College World Series appearance and first national title since 1983.

Houston (48-16), which won the first game Friday night 2-0, hasn't been to the CWS since 1967.

Longhorns ace Justin Simmons, who went 14-0 during the regular season, lasted just 2 2-3 innings Saturday night, giving up six hits, two runs and three walks.

Miami 5, South Carolina 2

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Dan Touchet held South Carolina to five hits over 7 2-3 innings, and Danny Matienzo hit his third homer of the super regional to keep Miami alive and force a Game 3.

The Hurricanes (34-28) had a losing record on May 17 and were in danger of not making the NCAA tournament and defending their national title. Now they can reach the College World Series for the eighth time in nine years with a win Sunday at Sarge Frye Field.

South Carolina (52-16) had the bases loaded in the sixth and eighth, but could only score on Brian Buscher's sacrifice fly.

Richmond 6, Nebraska 2

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Vito Chiaravalloti's grand slam in the bottom of the ninth gave Richmond a victory over Nebraska and forced a Game 3.

Thomas Martin (8-0) struck out eight, allowing two runs and four hits.

A.J. Board led off the ninth for the Spiders (53-12) with a single. After a sacrifice and two intentional walks around a wild pitch, reliever Steve Hale came on and Chiaravalloti hit his 23rd homer of the year. He was 3-for-5 with five RBIs.

Jeff Blevins drove in the only runs for Nebraska (46-19) with a homer in the seventh.

Rice 3, Louisiana State 0

HOUSTON (AP) — Justin Crowder pitched a five-hitter and Eric Arnold had four hits, including a two-run homer, as Rice advanced to the College World Series with a 3-0 victory over Louisiana State on Saturday in the NCAA super regionals.

Rice (52-12), which beat LSU 6-0 in the first game of the best-of-three series Friday night, will play the winner of the Houston-Texas super regional in Omaha, Neb.

Crowder (10-2) struck out five and walked three for his first shutout and second complete game of the season.

"When you get that kind of pitching, you can beat anybody," Rice coach Wayne Graham said. "He kept changing speeds and was one pitch ahead of them all day."

Arnold, Rice's career hits leader with 289, also had a double and two singles and scored two runs.

"I was going to beat them, and not let them beat me," Arnold said.

LSU (44-22) missed a CWS berth for the second consecutive year, the first time the Tigers have missed two straight since former coach and current athletic director Skip Bertman took the school to its first trip to Omaha in 1985.

"We got beat by a better team," LSU first-year coach Smoke Laval said. "Rice is the best club we have played all year. They pitched well and they have tough outs all through the lineup."

The Tigers are the first team to be shut out in consecutive NCAA tournament games since Arkansas lost to Stanford and Oregon State in 1986.

Stanford 5, Southern Cal 3

STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Scott Dragicevich had four hits and drove in two runs as Stanford beat Southern California and advanced to its fourth straight College World Series.

Tim Cunningham pitched 5 2-3 innings as Stanford (45-16) won its season-high eighth straight and beat the Trojans for the seventh time in eight meetings. Cunningham (10-2) allowed two runs on four hits, walked four and struck out two to win his fifth consecutive decision.

"One thing we've tried to tell the younger guys all year is how hard it is to get to Omaha and how many things have to go right," said second baseman Chris O'Riordan, one of six Cardinal seniors.

Cory Campos (6-3) made just his second start of the season, allowing five runs - one earned - on eight hits over 6 2-3 innings for USC (37-24). The Trojans, who won the Pac-10 regular-season title by a game over Stanford, had been to the last two College World Series.

Georgia Tech 11, Florida Atlantic 5

ATLANTA (AP) — Eric Patterson went 5-for-6 with five RBIs to lead Georgia Tech to its first College World Series appearance since 1994.

Patterson, the Yellow Jackets' leadoff hitter and younger brother of Chicago Cubs rookie Corey Patterson, had a double, triple and three singles and stole his 39th base.

"I never really expected to have a game like this," Patterson said. "I just tried to stay focused and relaxed."

Matthew Boggs went 5-for-5 for Georgia Tech (51-14), which last went to Omaha when Nomar Garciaparra, Jay Payton and Jason Varitek were Yellow Jackets.

Jeff Fiorentino hit a grand slam in the ninth off closer Jeff Watchko for Florida Atlantic (46-21).

Notre Dame-Florida State, ppd., rain

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The super regional game between Notre Dame (48-15) and Florida State (59-13) was postponed because of rain and rescheduled for Sunday at 1:30 p.m. EDT.

The Fighting Irish (48-15) won Friday 10-4 and ended the Seminoles' 25-game winning streak. The Irish, who have won 30 of their last 33 games, need one more victory to earn their first College World Series berth since 1957.

If Florida State, the tournament's top seed, wins Sunday a deciding Game 3 would be played Monday at noon.

Copyright 2002 Associated Press.  All rights reserved.  This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Bonesville.net contributed to this report.