It's been a busy weekend for brooms on the baseball diamond.
One day after No. 6 South Carolina swept No. 3 Florida and Georgia swept No. 5 Arkansas, three more top-10 teams fell to sweeps on Sunday. Here's a look at Sunday's big winners:
Wichita State dominates No. 7 ECU
Wichita State (24-15, 14-7) rose to share the first place slot tied with Houston.
Mustering only three runs against Wichita State, No. 7 East Carolina dropped its first series of the season at Eck Stadium this weekend. In the doubleheader on Saturday, the Shockers cracked the Pirates’ nine-game winning streak, silencing ECU 7-0 and 8-3.
Sunday’s contest was the nail in the Pirate coffin, as ECU was unable to get a run on the board and lost 8-0.
Shocker starting pitchers Payton Tolle and Grant Adler threw complete-game shutouts in games one and three respectively, propelling Wichita State to sweep a ranked team at home for the first time since 1991.
At the halfway point of conference play, East Carolina entered the series atop the standings and has now fallen to second place with a (29-11, 7-5). Wichita State (24-15, 14-7) rose to share the first-place slot, tied with Houston.
No. 19 Tennessee sweeps No. 2 Vanderbilt
With meaningful wins against the likes of then-No. 2 Florida, No. 1 LSU, and No. 12 Texas A&M, Tennessee is holding its own in the competitive SEC.
Three up, three down — that was the story of No. 19 Tennessee’s series sweep of No. 2 Vanderbilt. On Sunday, the Vols capped off their third straight win against the Commodores with a score of 10-5.
Tennessee took control of the game as early as the second inning. Thanks to a double to left field by freshman Jake Kendro, graduate Griffin Merritt was the first to score for the Vols. Four runs ensued in the bottom of that inning, followed up with four more in the 5th.
ROCKY TOP SWEEP 🧹@Vol_Baseball has won 7️⃣ straight games vs. its in-state rival, the longest stretch since 1993-94. pic.twitter.com/SOA8ZhcRad
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) April 23, 2023
Meanwhile, Vanderbilt was stagnant. All of its runs came in the 7th and 8th innings, but the Vols were able to hold on. Pitcher Drew Beam fortified Tennessee’s defense through the first six innings, finishing with a 3.40 ERA.
The team now holds a 26-14 record. With meaningful wins against the likes of then-No. 2 Florida, No. 1 LSU, and No. 12 Texas A&M, Tennessee is holding its own in the competitive SEC.
Notre Dame sweeps No. 8 Virginia
The Fighting Irish (23-15) have now won five games in a row.
Notre Dame made the most of Sunday’s doubleheader with No. 8 Virginia by capping off the weekend with a sweep.
The Fighting Irish took down the Cavaliers 10-2 in Sunday’s first game and followed that up with a 5-4 win in the late afternoon. Notre Dame won Friday’s matchup 10-7.
Sweep complete. 🧹
— Notre Dame Baseball (@NDBaseball) April 23, 2023
The Irish down No. 8 Virginia in the final game here at Frank Eck!#GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/NilZh1GZjY
Designated hittor Vinny Martinez powered the Fighting Irish’s offensive effort with seven hits and six RBIs on the weekend.
Pitchers Blake Heley (2-1), Caden Spivey (2-0) and Aidan Tyrell (7-1) picked up Notre Dame’s wins. The Fighting Irish (23-15) have now won five games in a row and will return to action on Tuesday against Michigan State.
Virginia (32-9) will play again Tuesday against Liberty.
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