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The Honolulu Advertiser


By Eric Olson
Associated Press

Posted on: Friday, June 19, 2009

Calhoun powers ASU

 • Dodgers' Torre wins his 2,195th
Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Arizona State's Kole Calhoun watches his grand slam, which made it 4-4 in fifth, against North Carolina.

TED KIRK | Associated Press

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COLLEGE WORLD SERIES

At Rosenblatt Stadium

Omaha, Neb.

Double Elimination

Yesterday

Arizona State 12, North Carolina 5, North Carolina eliminated

Today

Game 11 — LSU (53-16) vs. Arkansas (41-23), 8 a.m.

Game 12 — Texas (48-14-1) vs. Arizona State (51-13), 1 p.m.

Tomorrow

Game 13 — LSU vs. Arkansas, 8 a.m. or 1 p.m., if necessary

Game 14 — Texas vs. Arizona State, 1 p.m., if necessary

NOTE: If only one game is necessary, it will be played at 1 p.m.

Championship Series

Best-of-3

Monday: Game 11 or 13 winner vs. Game 12 or 14 winner, 1 p.m.

Tuesday: Game 11 or 13 winner vs. Game 12 or 14 winner, 1 p.m.

Wednesday: Game 11 or 13 winner vs. Game 12 or 14 winner, 1 p.m., if necessary

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OMAHA, Neb. — Kole Calhoun can't explain it. He just keeps hitting.

Arizona State's junior left fielder continued his tear at the College World Series yesterday, hitting a game-tying grand slam in the fifth inning and the go-ahead double in the seventh in a 12-5 victory that eliminated North Carolina.

In the Sun Devils' three CWS games, Calhoun has hit three homers and driven in 10 runs.

Calhoun hemmed and hawed and fidgeted with his water bottle when asked why he's been so good in Omaha. Finally, ASU coach Pat Murphy intervened.

"He was saving it," Murphy said.

"Yeah, I was saving it," Calhoun said.

The Sun Devils (51-13) now must beat No. 1 national seed Texas twice to reach next week's best-of-three finals. Unbeaten LSU and once-beaten Arkansas will battle for the other finals berth.

Calhoun led an offensive attack that produced the most runs surrendered by Carolina (48-18) this season. It backed a strong pitching performance by Josh Spence (10-1), who went seven innings, allowing seven hits and four runs, three earned, during his 126-pitch outing. He struck out eight.

North Carolina's Colin Bates (4-4) took the loss in relief of Matt Harvey, who threw a CWS-record four wild pitches.

Harvey's control problems caught up to the Tar Heels in the fifth. He was pulled in favor of Brian Moran after hitting Jason Kipnis and walking Carlos Ramirez to load the bases.

Calhoun, the first batter to face Moran, slugged a 3-2 pitch into the seats 390 feet away in right-center field to tie it at 4.

Calhoun's homer was his 12th of the season, and second off Moran. Calhoun tagged Moran for a three-run homer in the 10th inning in ASU's 5-2 win Sunday.

Harvey and the six pitchers who followed him combined to walk 10, hit four and throw five wild pitches.

"We dodged bullets the first two, three, four, five innings with walks and hit batters," Carolina coach Mike Fox said. "If you continue like that, it's going to get you. And it got us."

ASU sent 13 to the plate in an eight-run seventh inning that included Calhoun's two-run double into the right-center gap. It was the Sun Devils' biggest inning of the season.

North Carolina's Dustin Ackley extended his NCAA tournament hitting streak to 22 games with a single in his last at-bat.

N.CAROLINA 002 300 001—5 11 0

ARIZONA ST. 000 040 80X—12 9 2

North Carolina, Harvey, Moran (5), Bates (6), Johnson (7), Striz (7), Munson (7), Messer (8) and Fleury; Arizona State, Spence, Swagerty (8) and Ramirez. W—Spence, 10-1. L—Bates, 4-4. HR— Arizona State, Calhoun (12).