Posted on 05/31/2009 3:13:45 PM PDT by buccaneer81
Texas tops Boston College in longest game in NCAA history Sunday, May 31, 2009 10:19 AM
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Travis Tucker hit an RBI single with one out in the top of the 25th inning, leading Texas to a 3-2 victory over Boston College on Saturday night in the longest game in NCAA history.
The game eclipsed the previous record of 23 innings, set in 1971 when Louisiana-Lafayette defeated McNeese State 6-5. The game began at 7:02 p.m. EDT Saturday and concluded 7 hours, 3 minutes later at 2:05 a.m. Sunday.
"I knew we were going to win as I ran down to first base," Tucker said. "We scored one, and no way our pitchers were going to let them score in the bottom of the inning."
Texas reliever Austin Wood pitched 13 innings, including 12 1-3 innings of no-hit ball before allowing a two-out single to Tony Sanchez in the 19th inning.
"In my 41 years of coaching, the effort by Austin Wood was the best pitching performance I have ever seen," said Texas coach Augie Garrido, the Division I leader in career victories.
Connor Rowe walked to lead off the top of the 25th for Texas (43-13-1) and was sacrificed to second by David Hernandez. Rowe advanced to third on a wild pitch, and Tucker grounded past second base through the drawn-in infield for the go-ahead run against Boston College (34-25).
"I've never been a part of anything like this," Boston College coach Mik Aoki said. "In fact, nobody in college baseball has been part of anything like this."
Tucker's hit came in his NCAA-record 12th at-bat to tie a mark he now shares with teammate Michael Torres, who also batted 12 times.
Texas reliever Austin Dicharry earned his eighth victory by pitching 5 2-3 innings of scoreless relief, striking out four and allowing one hit.
Wood got one out in the 20th before allowing a single to Barry Butera, then hitting Andrew Lawrence. Wood, who threw 169 pitches, including 120 strikes, was relieved by Dicharry, who retired the next two hitters.
"I can't believe I threw 13 innings," Wood said. "I was tired, but we never doubted that we were going to win that game."
Boston College reliever Mike Belfiore hurled 9 2-3 innings, allowing three hits and striking out 11 before leaving in the 19th.
"This is the most exciting game I have ever played in," Belfiore said. "And while it was too bad we lost, it was the experience of a lifetime."
Boston College used eight pitchers, with Mike Dennhardt (5-2) taking the loss.
Texas scored twice in the second inning when Preston Clark doubled and Kevin Keyes followed with a homer into the left-field bullpen for a 2-0 lead. Keyes added a fourth-inning double before being replaced by a pinch hitter in the eighth inning.
Belfiore's two-out, run-scoring single brought home Matt Hamlet with Boston College's first run in the bottom of the third inning. The Eagles tied it in the sixth when Hamlet doubled and sacrificed to third before scoring on a sacrifice fly by Sanchez.
Boston College will face Army on Sunday in an elimination game, and Texas will play the winner. The Longhorns would win the regional with a victory.
Amazing. I wonder who owns his rights in the Majors?
Record night
Some of the records set Saturday during the 25-inning game between Texas and Boston College
25 innings
Longest game in NCAA history. Surpassed 23-inning game between Louisiana-Lafayette and McNeese State in 1971.
191 plate appearances
The previous record was 175.
Texas’ 102 plate appearances
Surpassed the mark of 88 set in 1974. Boston College sent 89 batters to the plate.
171 total at bats
NCAA record surpassing old mark of 155. The NCAA tournament record used to be 135.
Texas’ 91 at bats
The Longhorns topped the 35-year-old NCAA mark of 78. Boston College tallied 80 at bats.
42 strikouts
The teams combined to surpass the mark 41 set by Arkansas and Auburn in 1994.
75 putouts by each team
The game provided more outs than the 66 each team collected in the four 22-inning games that led to the old mark.
Texas’ 24 runners left on base
The Longhorns tied the NCAA record.
Individual records
• Single game record was 10 at bats. Now it’s 12, by Texas’ Travis Tucker and Michael Torres. Torres was 1 for 12 and Tucker 2 for 12
• Single game record was 29 putouts. Texas 1B Preston Clark had 33 on Saturday.
• Texas’ Cameron Rupp and Boston College’s Barry Butera each tied the NCAA mark for most strikouts in a game with six.
By the Houston Astros.
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