College Baseball 360 Primetime Performers #13

May 16, 2012

www.simplesharebuttons.com

With their teams’ NCAA tournament hopes hanging in the balance, a pair of juniors – Vanderbilt shortstop Anthony Gomez (Nutley, N.J.) and Oklahoma lefthander Jordan John (Curpus Christi, Texas) – rose to the occasion while each facing one of the nation’s top teams, thus earning the top spots among the CB360 Primetime Performers for the second week of May in 2012 (as presented by CollegeBaseball360.com). They are joined by 13 others in comprising the week-13 Primetime Performers Weekly Honor Roll (full list at bottom of page), with Gomez and John the top honorees as the respective CB360 Primetime Player of the Week and Primetime Pitcher of the Week. front-page photo courtesy of Oklahoma

(Headshots, action shots and player info. are in the process of being added to this release for all of the week-13 Primetime honorees)

Previous CB360 Primetime Performers (2012):
Week-1 … Week-2 … Week-3 … Week-4 … Week-5 … Week-6 … Week-7 … Week-8
Week-9 …Week-10 … Week-11 … Week-12

The Primetime Performer awards program – also utilized on affiliate sites CollegeSports360.com, CollegeSoccer360.com and CollegeFencing360.com – seeks to recognize players based on more than simple raw stats, instead taking into account quality of opponent, contribution to team success/postseason qualification, and various situational factors (such as clutch play, all-around performance, leadership, adversity overcome, etc.).

Anthony Gomez (Vanderbilt)

GOMEZ played a lead role in Vanderbilt’s pivotal 3-1 week that included a midweek win over cb360 #24 Louisville (3-2) before winning the series at #4 LSU (1-2, 6-3, 5-4 in 10). The Sunday win pushed the Commodores above .500 for the first time all season (26-25, after 1-7 start), thus becoming NCAA-tournament eligible. The pair of wins at LSU also helped solidify Vanderbilt’s spot in the 10-team SEC tournament.

Over the course of the four high-pressure games, Gomez hit 8-for-17 (.471) and reached base 10 times (2 BB) while having a hand in six of his team’s runs (4 RBI, 2 R), adding a double, stolen base and only one strikeout while batting out of the key 3-spot. The veteran shortstop played error-free during the week (on eight fielding chances) and started two of his team’s four double plays during the pivotal gm-2 of the LSU series.

Gomez opened the week batting 2-for-4 with a game-tying double, in the 3rd inning of the tight game vs. Louisville. He went on to register one of Vanderbilt’s five total hits vs. LSU ace Kevin Gausman in the series opener and then led the Commodores to the gm-2 win, after hitting 4-for-5 with two RBI and a pair of runs scored (his second 4-hit game of the season), with his 8th-inning RBI double helping secure that series-tying win. He went on to supply an RBI single in the series finale, adding a walk and stolen base.

As one of the top all-around hitters in the SEC, Gomez leads Vanderbilt in batting avg. (.357) and RBI (45), with 30 runs scored, 10 doubles and seven stolen bases. His impressive season-long plate discipline includes nine more “free passes” (16 walks + 5 hit-by-pitch) than strikeouts (12).

Jordan John (Oklahoma)

JOHN (who has two years of eligibility remaining, after 2012) similarly was up to the challenge as Oklahoma’s game-1 starter vs. cb360 #2 Baylor, logging 8.2 shutout innings while sparking the Sooners on to a 10-inning win (1-0) and series sweep (2-1, 12-6). Oklahoma – which had not faced a ranked opponent since early April – was running out of time to boost its NCAA-tournament resume, with the sweep providing a much-needed RPI boost.

The opener of the OU-Baylor series saw John outduel the Bears ace Josh Turley (7IP-3H-6K). John faced only 31 batters (five over the minimum) in his 8.2 innings, allowing five hits and a pair of walks while striking out five. Baylor entered the series with a .309 team batting avg., nearly seven runs per game and 31 home runs.

John’s clutch 117-pitch outing saw him total 20 of his 26 outs via strikeouts (5), groundballs (14, including a pair of double plays) and a pickoff play. He lowered his ERA to 2.23 (8-5 record), with a .236 opp. batting avg. and a 3.4 strikeout-to-walk ratio (86/25) in 96.2 innings. His past four starts now feature three complete games and the 8.2 innings vs. Baylor.

In most other weeks, John would have been honored as Big 12 Conference pitcher of the week – which went to Texas A&M senior righthander Ross Stripling (Southlake, Texas) following his no-hitter vs. San Diego State. Our decision for CB360 Primetime Pitcher of the Week likewise came down to the same two pitchers, with John getting the slight nod due to quality of opponent, significance of the series, and the momentum his performance provided for the eventual season-changing sweep.

The week-13 Primetime Performers include seven other starting pitchers (in addition to John and Stripling): Creighton jr. LHP Ty Blach (Centennial, Colo.) … Evansville fr. LHP Kyle Freeland (Denver, Colo.) … Mississippi State jr. RHP Kendall Graveman (Alexander City, Ala.) … Holy Cross sr. LHP Nick Koneski (North Dighton, Mass.) … Southern Mississippi jr. RHP Andrew Pierce (Stringer, Miss.) … Stetson fr. RHP Josh Powers (New Smyrna Beach, Fla.) … and Loyola Marymount fr. RH Colin Welmon (Tustin, Calif.).

The five other position players among the week-13 Primetime Performers include: Georgia Tech two-way talent (catcher/closer) Zane Evans (Roswell, Ga.) … Saint Louis sr. catcher Connor Gandossy (Madison, Conn.) … Auburn so. rightfielder Jay Gonzalez (Orlando, Fla.) … Sam Houston State fr. first baseman Ryan O’Hearn (Frisco, Texas) … and Louisville so. 3B/LF Ty Young (Coastesville, Pa.).

The 15 honorees include three seniors, five juniors, three sophomores and four freshmen. Three are natvies of Texas hometowns, plus two each from Colorado and Florida, along with one each from Alabama, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey and Massachusetts.

Primetime Performer Award Criteria (not based solely on raw stats, but rather …)
• Must have been playing for or against a CB360 top-50 team (in the Composite National Rankings or performed a high level in games that could be key to a team’s conference finish and conference/NCAA postseason qualification; made significant contribution to team’s success and potential postseason positioning (single-game wins, “quality” wins, series wins, road wins, etc.).
• Involved in clutch performances, such as late game-winning hits, noteworthy comebacks, game-changing plays, team leadership, key defensive efforts, etc.
• Performed at a top level against a team rated highly nationally (or within its conference), with bonus consideration given for key performances away from home field and vs.
traditional rivals.
• Overcame adversity or extreme circumstances (for the team and/or individual).
• Any accomplishment that is rare, historic, record-setting, etc., on a national level.

CB360 PRIMETIME PERFORMERS WEEKLY HONOR ROLL (2012; #13)
(May 7-13, 2012 … presented by CollegeBaseball360.com)

“It’s not so much what you do, as it is when you do it.”

Ty Blach (Creighton … LHP … Jr. … Centennial, CO … #31)
Zane Evans (Georgia Tech … C/RHP … So. … Roswell, GA … 5-hole/cleanup … bats: R … #10)
Kyle Freeland (Evansville … LHP … Fr. … Denver, CO … #21)
Connor Gandossy (Saint Louis … C … Sr. … Madison, CT … 8-hole … bats: R … #6)
*Anthony Gomez (Vanderbilt … SS … Jr. … Nutley, NJ … 3-hole … bats: R … #13)
Jay Gonzalez (Auburn … RF … So. … Orlando, FL … leadoff … bats: L … #7)
Kendall Graveman (Mississippi State … RHP … Jr. … Alexander City, AL … #49)
Jordan John (Oklahoma … LHP … Jr./So. … Corpus Christi, TX … #19)
Nick Koneski (Holy Cross … LHP … Sr. … North Dighton, MA … #11)
Ryan O’Hearn (Sam Houston State … 1B … Fr. … Frisco, TX … cleanup … bats: L … #27)
Andrew Pierce (Southern Mississippi … RHP … Jr. … Stringer, MS … #12)
Josh Powers (Stetson … RHP … Fr. … New Smyrna Beach, FL … #14)
Ross Stripling (Texas A&M … RHP … Sr. … Southlake, TX … #36)
Colin Welmon (Loyola Marymount … RHP … Fr. … Tustin, CA … #12)
Ty Young (Louisville … 3B/LF … So. … Coatesville, PA … cleanup … bats: L … #30)

Ty Blach
Creighton … LHP … Jr.
Centennial, CO … #31