Four players currently slated to appear at the Lumberyard starting this May had stellar performances this past weekend. Pitchers Matt Warren (Creighton), and Kevin Roy (Columbia) both threw shutouts, while Ryne Birk (Texas A&M) and Aaron Knapp (California) both came up with multi- hit games to lead their teams to upsets over ranked opponents.
Warren continued his dominance on Saturday in Plymouth Meeting, PA, as Creighton defeated host Villanova, 4-0. Warren improved his perfect record to a dazzling 8-0. Warren's start came after his original start was pushed back a few days due to a dental issue, but the sophomore didn't seem fazed. He did however have some defensive help behind him as the Blue Jays were able to turn two inning- ending double plays in the third and fifth innings. Warren worked seven innings, giving up three hits, allowed zero runs, and struck out four.
Roy helped Columbia handle Cornell in a 2-0 win Sunday in Ithaca, NY. The win is part of a ongoing 13 game win streak for the Lions. The sophomore, right- hander improved to 4-3 on the season. Sunday's win is part of two consecutive one hit, complete game outings for the Houston native. Roy was able to avoid trouble in the second and fifth innings, as Cornell had two runners on in both innings, but he got a ground out in the second and a fly out in the fifth to end both innings. Roy finished the day pitching seven innings, allowing one hit, zero runs, and fanning four.
Birk played a pivotal role for Texas A&M's 14-2 victory over 17th- ranked Kentucky on Sunday in College Station, TX. The freshman infielder manned second base for the Aggies, and went 2-4 with a home run, two runs scored, and five runs batted in on the day. In the bottom of the first, Birk crushed a three- run home run to right field, and later in the seventh inning Birk hit a two- run RBI single to right. Coming into the day the Katy, TX native had six runs batted in, while sporting a .303 batting average.
Knapp batted lead off and played left field, as California upset 6th- ranked Washington on Saturday 7-1. The freshman went 3-5 on the day and also scored a run for the Golden Bears. Going into the day Knapp was batting .262, with one home run, and five RBI's.