Saturday’s Top-50 Results/Links (5/15)

Pete LaFleur — Sat, 15 May 2010 15:39:20 +0000

www.simplesharebuttons.com

Air Force Beats TCU Again, for One of Season’s Biggest Upsets; More Shakeup in the SEC; 15 Top-50 Series Still to Be Decided On Sunday …

Air Force had gone 1-17 in 2010 Mountain West Conference action prior to Saturday’s game at TCU (#11 in the CB360 top-50) – but the Falcons ended up recording one of the biggest upsets of the college baseball season, edging the homestanding Horned Frogs 4-2. Saturday’s results also provided more volatility in the SEC – as South Carolina (CB360 #14) won to clinch its series at Arkansas, as did underdog Kentucky (#45) in its series vs. #34 LSU. (front-page photo courtesy of Air Force)

(note: earlier this season, Air Force posted a win at home vs. TCU, 14-11 on March 26 … the Falcons also held a late 16-15 lead in the March 28 home game vs. TCU, but the Frogs rallied yesterday for a 19-17, 12-inning win in that game’s resumption/conclusion)

CLICK HERE for CB360’s Top-50 Wrapup Page from Friday (May 14)

The Division II NCAA Tournament also is underway. CLICK HERE for coverage.

Be sure to scroll down/peruse all of this page, for the assortment of team/player info. and various pregame/team/postgame links.

Saturday’s 12 upsets involving teams in the top-50 of the CB360 Composite National Rankings (CNR) – combined with the eight top-50 upsets from Friday – means that 15 of the top-50 series still will be up for grabs during Sunday’s action (all of these series stand 1-1):

• St. John’s at #6 Louisville
• North Carolina State at #9 Florida State
• #13 Miami at #10 Georgia Tech
• Air Force at #11 TCU
• #34 Alabama vs. #15 Mississippi
• Memphis at #17 Oklahoma
• Tennessee at #18 Auburn
• South Florida vs. #19 Connecticut
• #40 Southern Mississippi at #21 Rice
• Wake Forest vs. #23 Clemson
• #48 Washington State at #28 Stanford
• Nicholls State vs. #32 Texas State
• Kansas at #38 Kansas State
• Baylor at #43 Texas Tech
• #46 Louisiana (Lafayette) vs. #44 Western Kentucky
(note: Jacksonville upset #50 Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday, but FGCU won the second game of the doubleheader to emerge with a 2-1 series win)

In addition to the series-clinching wins by South Carolina (5-0, at Arkansas) and Kentucky (9-4, vs. LSU), there were eight other series involving head-to-head matchups of CB360 top-50 teams. Five different teams – #13 Miami (9-2 at #10 Ga. Tech) … #34 Alabama (4-1 vs. #15 Ole Miss) … #40 Southern Mississippi (11-10/2-10 DH at #21 Rice) … #48 Washington State (4-2 at #28 Stanford) … and #46 Louisiana-Lafayette (12-5 vs. #44 Western Kentucky – all posted series-tying wins on Saturday. Virginia (#3 in the CNR) swept its series-opening doubleheader vs. #36 North Carolina, with #5 Coastal Carolina (at #39 Liberty) also clinching its top-50 showdown series. The top team in the CNR, Arizona State, opened its series at #27 Arizona with a 12-4 win on Sunday.

Saturday’s 12 upsets of top-50 teams included (in addition to those mentioned above): at Nicholls State 7, #32 Texas State 2 … Kansas 7, at #38 Kansas State 3 … and Baylor 6, at #43 Texas Tech 3.

All but five of the CB360 top-50 teams were in action on Saturday, spanning a total of 40 games. Four of the top-50 teams (#22 San Diego, #26 California, #37 Florida Atlantic and #49 Elon) are idle throughout this weekend, while #2 Texas will return to action on Sunday with a doubleheader vs. Louisiana Tech.

South Carolina and Florida (both sporting 19-7 league records) now hold a 3-game cushion on the next teams in the SEC standings (Arkansas and Ole Miss are 16-10). The other four teams currently in line for the eight-team SEC Tournament field include Vanderbilt (14-10), Vanderbilt and LSU (both 12-14), followed by Kentucky and Alabama tied for 8th place (11-15). The final SEC series next week will include: Florida at South Carolina (series winner will finish atop the standings), Arkansas at Vanderbilt, Auburn at Mississippi, Alabama at Tennessee, Mississippi State at LSU, and Kentucky at Georgia.

The updated ACC standings include Virginia leading at 20-6, followed by Miami (19-7), Georgia Tech (18-8), Florida State (17-9), Virginia Tech (16-10) and Clemson (15-11). The three teams battling for the final two ACC Tournament spots: Boston College (13-14), N.C. State (12-14) and North Carolina (11-15). And the final-week ACC series: UVa at Miami, Ga. Tech at BC, FSU at Clemson, Va. Tech at UNC, and Duke at N.C. St. (also MD at Wake).

Oregon State (9-11)) has won five straight in the Pac-10, which does not sponsor a postseason tournament. OSU now finds itself in close proximity to Arizona (9-10), Oregon (10-11), WSU (10-10) and Cal (11-10) … with the top-3 being ASU (15-4), UCLA (12-8) and Stanford (11-0).

Three teams (13-10 Texas Tech, 12-10 Oklahoma and 12-10 K-St.) are battling to finish second behind Texas in the Big 12. Texas A&M and Kansas (both 11-11) also could finish in the #2 spot with strong finishes and some help. The final Big 12 weekend will see TT playing at 10th-place Nebraska, Oklahoma at KU, and K-State at A&M.

Saturday’s results have clarified the BIG EAST into a 3-team race between UConn (17-5), Pitt (7-5) and Louisville (17-6)., with the final-week series including 11th-palce Seton Hall at UConn, 5th-place USF at Pitt, and Louisville at 8th-place Notre Dame.

There’s a similar 3-team race in the Southern Conference (Citadel 20-6, Coll. of Charleston 20-8, Ga. Southern 19-8), with Elon (17-10) too far back to win the regular-season title. Next weekend: a huge series for The Citadel at Georgia Southern (GS needs a sweep to win the title … CofC has wrapped up SoCon play).

Saturday’s split kept Southern Mississippi (12-8) within striking distance of Conference USA leader Rice (14-6). The Owls can clinch the title by winning the series finale on Sunday (next week: Rice at home vs. UAB, and Southern Miss. home series vs. Memphis).

Texas State (21-8) is clinging to its lead on Southeastern Louisiaa (20-9) in the Southland Conference. Texas State will close the regular season next weekend at home vs. 5th-place Texas Arlington, while SELA will be playing host to 4th-place Northwestern (La.) State.

See below for CollegeBaseball360.com’s expanded gameday page for CB360 top-50 weekend series. The Fri.-Sat.-Sun. pages now include (scroll down to see pregame info. & links):

• Direct links to each team’s home page and listing of updated team overall/conf. record
• Assortment of team-info. links (game notes, roster, stats, media guide, etc.)
• Live coverage links for both teams (stats, audio, video, blog, TV)
• Conference links (standings, weekly release, stats, media guide, etc.)
• (time permitting) Pitching matchup capsules for head-to-head games between CB360 top-50 teams (capsules includes pitcher headshot, basic bio. info., bio. link, 2010 stats, career stats & previous outing) … the entire series rotation listing also may be added soon for quick reference/”sneak peek” to games 2 & 3
• Various postgame links added throughout the evening (results, boxscore/play-by-play, recaps from both teams, photo galleries, video highlights & interviews, blog recaps, etc.)

(Also be sure to follow the top college baseball feed on Twitter – with more than 1,500 followers – at cb360updates … see direct feed in right sidebar on collegeebaseball360.com … the sidebar feed includes the past 30 tweets and typically includes a quick rundown from every game involving a CB360 top-50 team, plus other info. throughout each week)

SATURDAY’S TOP-50 FINALS (5/15/10; upsets in italics)
(based on CB360 Composite National Rankings)

• #1 Arizona State 12, at #27 Arizona 4 (series opener) | Final Stats
ASU Recap | AZ Recap

• at #3 Virginia 3, #36 North Carolina 2 (series opener) | Final Stats
VA Recap | UNC Recap | Video HiLites

• at #3 Virginia 5, #36 North Carolina 1 (series clincher) | Final Stats
VA Recap | UNC Recap | Video HiLites

• at #4 Florida 4, Georgia 3 (series clincher) | Final Stats
FL Recap | GA Recap | Photos

• #5 Coastal Carolina 7, at Liberty 1 (series clincher) | Final Stats
CC Recap | LIB Recap

• at #6 Louisville 10, St. John’s 6 (series tied) | Final Stats
LOU Recap | SJU Recap |

• #14 South Carolina 5, at #7 Arkansas 0 (series clincher) | Final Stats
SC Recap | ARK Recap | Game Blog Recap

• at #8 UCLA 15, USC 2 (series clincher) | Final Stats
UCLA Recap | USC Recap | Video HiLites

• at #9 Florida State 7, North Carolina State 5 (series tied) | Final Stats
FSU Recap (w/ V ideo HiLites | NC-St. Recap

• #13 Miami 9, at #10 Georgia Tech 2 (series tied) | Final Stats
MIA Recap | GT Recap

• Air Force 4, at #11 TCU 2 (series tied) | Final Stats
AFA Recap | TCU Recap

• #12 Cal State Fullerton 8, at Long Beach State 0 (series clincher) | Final Stats
CSF Recap | LBSU Recap

• at #34 Alabama 4, #15 Mississippi 1 (series tied) | Final Stats
ALA Recap | OleMiss Recap

• #16 Vanderbilt 13, at Mississippi St. 7 (10 inn.; series clincher) | Final Stats
VAN Recap | MS Recap

• at #17 Oklahoma 14, Memphis 6 (series tied) | Final Stats
OU Recap | MEM Recap

• at #18 Auburn 18, Tennessee 0 (series tied) | Final Stats
AUB Recap | TN Recap | Photos

• #19 Connecticut 13, at South Florida 5 (series tied) | Final Stats
UConn Recap | USF Recap

• at #20 Virginia Tech 18, Duke 8 (series clincher) | Final Stats
VT Recap | Duke Recap

• #40 Southern Mississippi 11, at #21 Rice 10 (series opener) | Final Stats
SoMiss Recap | Rice Recap

• at #21 Rice 10, #40 Southern Mississippi 2 (series tied) | Final Stats
Rice Recap | SoMiss Recap

• #23 Clemson 17, at Wake Forest 5 (series tied) | Final Stats
CLEM Recap | WFU Recap | Photos

• at #45 Kentucky 9, #24 LSU 4 (series clincher) | Final Stats
KY Recap | LSU Recap

• at #25 Oregon 7, East Tennessee State 6 (series clincher) | Final Stats
ORE Recap | ETSU Recap

• #48 Washington State 4, at #28 Stanford 2 (series tied) | Final Stats
WSU Recap | STAN Recap

• at #29 UC Irvine 8, UC Santa Barbara 1 (series clincher) | Final Stats
UCI Recap | UCSB Recap

• #30 Pittsburgh 8, at Cincinnati 5 (series clincher) | Final Stats
Pitt Recap | CIN Recap

• #31 Coll. of Charleston 15, at Appalachian St. 5 (series opener) | Final Stats
CofC Recap | AppSt Recap

• #31 Coll. of Charleston at Appalachian St. (gm2) – postponed to Sun. (DH at 11)

• at Nicholls State 7, #32 Texas State 3 (series tied) | Final Stats
NICH Recap | TxSt Recap

• at #33 New Mexico 19, Delaware State 2 (series clincher) | Final Stats
NM Recap | DS Recap

• at #35 Oregon State 7, Washington 3 (series clincher) | Final Stats
OrSt Recap | WA Recap

• Kansas 7, at #38 Kansas State 3 (series tied) | Final Stats
KU Recap | K-St Recap | Photos

• #41 Texas A&M 5, at Oklahoma State 3 (series clincher) | Final Stats
A&M Recap | OkSt Recap

• at #42 The Citadel 5, UNC Greensboro 0 (series clincher) | Final Stats
CIT Recap | UNC-G Recap

• Baylor 6, at #43 Texas Tech 2 (series opener) | Final Stats
BAY Recap | TT Recap | Notes

• at #46 Louisiana (Lafayette) 12, #44 Western Kentucky 5 (series tied) | Final Stats
LL Recap | WKU Recap

• #47 Southeastern Louisiana 10, at S.F. Austin 6 (series clincher) | Final Stats
SELA Recap | SFA Recap

• at Jacksonville 8, #50 Florida Gulf Coast 4 (series tied) | Final Stats
J’ville Recap | FGCU Recap

• #50 Florida Gulf Coast 8, at Jacksonville 3 (series clincher) | Final Stats
FGCU Recap | J’ville Recap
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SATURDAY’S TOP-50 MATCHUPS (5/15/10)
(based on cb360 Composite National Rankings)

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP

ARIZONA STATE
#34 Seth Blair
RHP • Jr. … 6-2 • 190
Rock Falls, IL

2.79 ERA • 8-0 record
71 IP • 12 starts

70 Ks • 16 BB (4.38 K/BB ratio) … 10 HB • 6 WP
68 H (.257 opp. batting avg.) • 7 HR allowed … 10.65 WHIP (BB+H/9IP)

Previous Start: win vs. BYU (14-0 … 3 IP … H … 4 Ks … 11 BF)
Career: 4.14… 19-4… 48 GP/35 GS… 202.1 IP 93 ER … 182 K/68 BB… 217 H (.314), 19 HR… 38 HB/12 WP

ARIZONA
#26 Kurt Heyer
RHP • Fr. … 6-2 • 195 … Huntington Beach, CA
2.22 ERA • 6-1 record … 77 IP • 13 starts (13 appearances)
89 Ks • 18 BB (4.94 K/BB ratio) … 6 HB • 1 WP
68 H (.239 opp. batting avg.) • 4 HR allowed … 10.05 WHIP (BB+H/9IP)

Prev. Start: no-dec. in loss vs. CS Bakersfield (17-2 … 6.2IP-2R-5H-3BB-9Ks-28BF-109p/71K)

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• 4:30 ET (gm-2) – #36 North Carolina (32-17/11-13 ACC) … at #3 Virginia (40-9/18-6 ACC)
game coverage – Live Stats | VA Audio | UNC Audio

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP

#23 Danny Hultzen

LHP • So. … 6-3 • 200
Bethesda, MD

2.00 • 7-1
76.2 IP • 11 starts

94 Ks • 11 BB (8.55 K/BB ratio) … 3 HB • 3 WP
49 H (.179 opp. avg.) • 6 HR allowed … 7.04 WHIP (BB+H/9IP)

Previous Start: win at Duke (12-3) … 9 IP … 3 R/2 ER … 4 H … 13 K … 32 BF
Career: 2.09 … 16-2 … 26 GP/22 GS … 172 IP … 201 Ks/39 BB … 137 H (.219), 10 HR … 11 HB/5 WP

NORTH CAROLINA
#43 Matt Harvey
RHP • Jr. … 6-4 • 225
Mystic, CT

2.68 • 6-2
74 IP • 11 starts

80 K • 27 BB (2.96 K/BB ratio) … 2 HB • 8 WP
58 H (.212 opp. avg.) • 4 HR allowed … 10.34 WHIP (BB+H/9IP)

Previous Start: won vs. Wake Forest (18-5) … 6 IP … 3 R/2 ER … 8 H … 5 K … 27 BF … 95p (58K)
Career: 3.67 … 20-6 … 51 GP/40 GS … 216.2 IP … 241 Ks/116 BB … 198 H (.242), 13 HR … 13 HB/26 WP

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PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP

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PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP

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PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP

MIAMI
#27 Chris Hernandez
LHP • Jr. … 6-1 • 195
Miami, FL

3.04 • 7-2
71 IP • 13 starts

76 K • 19 BB (4.00 K/BB ratio) … 6 HB • 5 WP
64 H (.236 opp. avg.) • 4 HR allowed … 10.52 WHIP (BB+H/9IP)

Previous Start: won vs. Barry (6-0) … 6 IP … 6 H … 13 Ks … 21 BF … 84p (55K)
Career: 3.48… 25-7… 46 GP/45 GS… 274.1 IP… 286 Ks/68 BB… 251 H (.244), 13 HR… 31 HB/21 WP

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PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP

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PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP

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• 5:30 ET/430CT (gm2) – #40 Southern Mississippi … at #21 Rice
game coverage – Live Stats | Rice Audio | SoMiss Audio | TV: CBS College Sports

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP

RICE

#26 Taylor Wall
LHP • So. … 6-2 • 180
Houston, TX

3.82 • 4-4
70.2 IP • 12 starts (11 appearances)

51 Ks • 23 BB (2.22 K/BB ratio) … 8 HB • 8 WP
57 H (.218 opp. avg.) • 4 HR allowed … 10.19 WHIP (BB+H/9IP)

Previous Start: win at Marshall (20-4) … 6.2 IP … 3 R … 11 H … 4 BB … 2 K … 28 BF … 95p (59K)
Career: 3.76 … 11-10 … 30 GP/26 GS … 165 IP … 128 K/60 BB … 140 H (.233), 9 HR … 15 HB/16 WP

SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI

#34 Scott Copeland
RHP • Sr. …6-4 • 210
White Oak, TX

4.48 • 7-0
62.1 IP • 10 starts
46 Ks • 17 BB (2.71 K/BB ratio) … 9 HB • 2 WP
65 H (.271 opp. avg.) • 3 HR allowed … 11.84 WHIP (BB+H/9IP)

Prev. Start: win vs. East Carolina (14-4) … 7 IP … 4 R … 9 H … 2 BB … 7 K … 31 BF … 107p (73K)
Career: 5.22 … 9-5 … 26/17 GS … 101.2 IP … 68 K/34 BB … 120 H (.293), 7 HR … 20 HB/7 WP

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PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP

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PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP

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SATURDAY’S OTHER TOP-50 GAMES (5/15/10)
(based on cb360 Composite National Rankings)

College Baseball 360 » 2010 NCAA Divsion II baseball tournament

Saturday’s Top-50 Results/Links (5/15)