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Conference Races, Upsets & A Hit Streak Highlights…

The latest weekend of college baseball was, overall, light on upsets in the College Baseball 360 Top 50 Rankings. In fact, higher-ranked teams won 76% (29-9) of Sunday’s games involving the CB360 top-50. There were 40 series over the past few days involving CB360 top-50 teams, with 14 resulting in sweeps by the higher-ranked teams while 19 other favorites won their series 2-1.

The weekend saw a total of just six Top 50 series upsets, with Ole Miss pulling off the biggest series shocker-taking two of three games from #3 South Carolina.#21 Arkansas had the other big SEC upset by taking two of three from #4 Florida. (SEC Standings & potential Tournament seeding listed below.)

The rest of the series upsets came from the lower half of the Top 50. Wichita State took two of three from #36 Creighton, Missouri won its series at #44 Kansas State, and UNC Greensboro & Western Kentucky took series from #49 College of Charleston and #50 Florida Atlantic, respectively. #14 Fresno State didn’t lose its series, but did tie Louisiana Tech with two wins each.

Missouri started 2-9 in the Big-12, but has now won three straight series against Top 50 conference opponents Baylor, Texas A&M and K-State to move to 8-12 and seventh place in the Big 12.

Big 12 Standings

1. Texas A&M 15-6 2. Texas 17-7 3. Oklahoma St. 12-8 4. Oklahoma 13-9 5. Texas Tech & Baylor 9-12 7. Missouri 8-12 8. Kansas St. 9-14 9. Kansas 9-15 10. Nebraska 7-13

Chad Holbrook

This Tweet from South Carolina Associate Head Coach Chad Holbrook probably sums-up college baseball Sundays the best “Why do we talk about Sundays?? Its simple really-Teams that win on Sundays host regionals and play in Omaha. That’s what we are trying to do.”

Dallas Baptist dropped two out of three games in its series at #11 Texas A&M, but in winning the second game of the set the Patriots added to their quality win resume. DBU (32-15) has wins this season over Oklahoma State, TCU (2), Oklahoma, Rice, Texas Tech, and Texas A&M as the DI independent shoots for an at-large NCAA bid.

Speaking of TCU, the #15 Horned Frogs picked-up a Super Regional quality series win at#20 Oklahoma State. What’s probably most impressive about Jim Schlossnagle’s squad taking two of three in Stillwater is the fact that they did it without pitchers Matt Purke and Steven Maxwell. Purke (4-1, 1.55 ERA) is out with a shoulder injury, while Maxwell (5-0, 2.90 ERA) was sidelined due to a sore biceps. Purke threw on flat ground from 120 feet on Sunday. TCU hopes he will be available for the Mountain West Conference Tournament, which starts on May 24.

Princeton locked-up an NCAA bid by winning the Ivy League title Sunday.

Princeton locked-up an automatic NCAA bid by winning the Ivy League Championship Series over the weekend. The Tigers downed defending Ivy champion Dartmouth 8-5 on Sunday in the deciding game three of the series. The win gives Princeton (23-22) its 17th conference crown and first since 2006. While the Tigers are just a game over .500 this season, they handed LSU its first loss of the year back on March 6 in Baton Rouge.

The quarterfinalists for the National Pitcher of the Year Award were announced heading into the weekend, and it would be hard to make an argument against UCLA‘s Trevor Bauer as the current front runner for the honor. The junior fired his fifth straight complete game (and sixth this year) in Saturday’s 3-1 win over Oregon to help the Bruins to a three-game sweep in Eugene. Bauer (9-2) struckout 12 and leads the nation with 154 Ks. His 411 strikeouts make him the first Bruin with more than 400 in a career. He needs just 10 more Ks to set his own single season record from a year ago. Bauer’s efforts helped UCLA to its first road sweep of the season. The Bruin pitching staff has given-up just six runs over the last six games.

Oregon State's Tony Bryant

#7 Oregon State kept its steam train rolling by taking two of three games from #24 Cal. The Beavers (34-11, 14-4) have won each of their six Pac-10 Conferences series this season, while Cal (28-16, 12-9) has dropped two of its last three conference sets. OSU closer Tony Bryant earned his ninth save in as many chances this season in Sunday’s series clincher.

Pac-10 Standings

1. Oregon St 14-4 2. Arizona St 13-5 3. UCLA 14-7 4. Cal 12-8 5. Arizona 9-9 6. USC 8-10 7. Stanford 8-9 8. Oregon 5-12 9. Washington St. 4-13 and Washington 4-13

Ray Graham reached a career milestone over the weekend. The Rice head coach got carer win number 900 in Friday’s 8-2 win over cross-town rival Houston en-route to a series sweep. Graham and the Owls sit in second place behind Southern Mississippi in the Conference USA standings. The two teams meet in Hattiesburg, Miss to close the regular season.

Conference USA Standings

1. Southern Mississippi 14-4 2. Rice 12-6 3. East Carolina 11-10 4. Memphis & Houston 9-9 6. Tulane 8-10 7. UAB 9-12 8. UCF 7-11 9. Marshall 5-13

There were just two league series played in the ACC, with North Carolina and Wake Forest sweeping Maryland and Boston College, respectively. The rest of the teams in the league were either playing non-conference series or on break for final exams.

ACC Atlantic Standings

1. Florida State 16-8  2. Clemson 13-11  3. North Carolina State 11-13  4. Wake Forest 10-14  5. Boston College 7-19  6. Maryland 5-22 …

ACC Coastal Standings

1. Virginia 20-4  2. Georgia Tech 18-6  3. Miami 16-7  4. North Carolina 16-8  5. Virginia Tech 9-15  6. Duke 5-19

The West Coast Conference race got tighter when San Francisco dropped two of three at San Diego and Gonzaga swept Santa Clara. The Bulldogs now lead the WCC standings by percentage points over the Dons. Gonzaga (25-13-1, 9-3) has three conference series to play, while USF (25-22, 11-4) has just two left. The two teams meet in the regular season finale May 27-29 in Spokane. With no conference tournament, the WCC’s automatic NCAA bid is likely to be determined that weekend.

WCC Standings

1. Gonzaga 9-3 (.750)  2. San Francisco 11-4 (.733) 3. San Diego 8-7 4. Portland 6-6 5. Pepperdine 5-7 &  Loyola Marymount 5-7 7. St. Mary’s 6-9 8. Santa Clara 4-11

Cal State Fullerton has won five of its last seven games since dropping two of three Big West Conference games to Cal Poly two weeks ago. The Titans (33-13, 14-4) swept three at Riverside over the weekend to inch closer to another conference crown. UC Irvine (31-13, 10-5) took two of three from Cal Poly (21-21, 10-8) and sits in good shape to get at least an at-large NCAA bid. Poly likely needs to win at least nine of its final 12 games to have a chance at the program’s second bid in the last three years (and in program history). They close the season with three games at Pacific, a game at Stanford and three at Cal State Bakersfield.

Big West Standings

1. Fullerton 14-4  2. Irvine 10-5  3. Cal Poly 10-8  4. Long Beach & Davis 8-7  5. Riverside & Santa Barbara 6-9  7. Pacific 7-11  8. Northridge 3-12

The longest active Division One hitting streak in the nation is still alive at 33 straight games after Ryan Jones collected at least one hit in each of Michigan State’s (30-14, 13-5) three weekend wins over Purdue. Jones’ efforts helped the Spartans improve to 9-0 in Big Ten home games this season. They went into the weekend tied for first place with the Boilermakers in the conference standings, but now lead Minnesota (which they swept last month) by two games with two series to go. The top six teams advance to the Big Ten Tournament.

Michigan State's Ryan Jones extended his DI leading hitting streak to 33 games.

Big Ten Standings

1. Michigan St. 13-5  2. Minnesota 11-7  3. Purdue, Ohio St. & Illinois 10-8  6. Penn St. & Indiana 8-10  9. Iowa & Northwestern 7-11  11. Michigan 6-12

Big East Standings

1. UConn 17-3  2. St. Johns 13-7  3. West Virginia 13-8  4. Pittsburgh 12-9  5. South Florida 11-9  6. Louisville & Cincinnati 11-10  8. Notre Dame 10-10  9. Seton Hall 10-11

Southern Conference Standings

1. Elon 21-6  2. Greensboro 16-8  3. Charleston 15-9  4. Samford & Georgia  Southern 14-10  6. Appalachian St.  7. 12-11..Furman 10-13  8. Wofford & The Citadel 8-16

Southland Conference Standings

1. Texas St. 20-7  2. Stephen F. Austin 17-10  3. Sam Houston St. 16-11  4. Southeastern Louisiana 15-12  5. Texas A&M Corpus Christi 14-13  6. UT-Arlington & UT-San Antonio 13-14  8. McNeese & Nicholls 12-15

WAC Standings

1. Hawaii 12-4  2. Fresno St. 12-6  3. San Jose St. 9-7  4. New Mexico St. 7-8  5. Louisiana Tech 8-11  6. Nevada 6-9  7. Sacramento St. 3-12

America East Standings

1. Stony Brook 15-2  2.  Binghamton 12-4  3. Maine 12-5  4. Albany 9-7  5. Hartford 1-15  6. UMBC 0-16

Atlantic-10 top-9

1. Charlotte & Rhode Island 15-6  3. LaSalle & Dayton 11-7  5. Xavier & Richmond 10-8  7. Fordham & St. Bonaventure 9-8  9. StLouis 7-11

Atlantic Sun top-8

1. Stetson 20-4  2. Jacksonville 18-9  3. Belmont 14-10  4. Kennesaw St. 13-10  5. East TN 12-10  6. Mercer 12-11  7. Florida Gulf Coast 11-13  8. North Florida 13-14

Big South Standings

1. Coastal Carolina 17-4  2. Liberty 15-6  3. Charelston Southern & Gardner-Webb 12-9  5. Winthrop 11-10  6. Radford 10-11  7. VMI 9-11,  8. UNC-Asheville & High Point 7-14  10. Presbyterian 5-16

Colonial Standings

1. Old Dominion 16-8  2. James Madison & UNC-Wilmington 15-9  4. Towson 14-10  5. Delaware 15-12  6. Georgia State & William and Mary 13-11  8. Northeastern 10-14  9. VCU & Hofstra 9-15  11. George Mason 6-21

Horizon League Standings

1. Wright St. 13-5  2. Valparaiso 13-6  3. Illinois-Chicago 11-7  4. Milwaukee 11-8  5. Youngstown St. 7-11  6. Butler 7-12  7. Cleveland St. 4-17

MAAC Standings

1. Manhattan 16-1  2. Rider 15-6  3. Siena 10-8  4. Marist & Fairfield 9-9  6. Canisius 8-8  7. Iona 7-11  8. St. Peter’s 4-13  9. Niagara 4-17

MAC East Standings

1. Kent St. 17-4  2. Miami 14-7  3.  Bowling Green 10-11  4. Ohio 7-14  5. Akron 5-16  6. Buffalo 2-18

MAC West Standings

1. Central Michigan 14-7  2. Eastern Michigan & Toledo 13-8  4. Northern Illinois 12-9  5. Western Michigan 10-11  6. Ball St. 8-12

MEAC Standings

1. Bethune-Cookman 18-0  2. Delaware St 11-7  3. Norfolk St. & North Carolina A&T 9-8  5. Maryland-Eastern Shore 7-11  6. Florida A&M 6-12  7. Coppin St. 2-16

Missouri Valley Standings

1. Creighton 10-5  2. Wichita St. 9-6  3. Missouri St 8-6  4. Illinois St. & Southern Illinois 8-7  6. Evansville 6-8  7. Indiana St. 6-9  8. Bradley 4-11

Mountain West Standings

1. TCU 15-2  2. Utah 15-5  3. New Mexico 10-11  4. BYU 7-9  5. UNLV 7-10  6. San Diego State 7-11  7. Air Force 2-15

Northeast Conference Standings top-7

1. Monmouth 22-6  2. Sacred Heart 19-9  3. Long Island 18-9  4. Bryant 15-12  5. Central Connecticut St. 15-13  6. Wagner 12-16  7. Quinnipiac 11-21

OVC Standings top-7

Austin Peay 13-4…SE Missouri 10-6…Jacksonville (AL) St..TN Martin 9-8…E. Ill. 9-9…E. Kentucky 10-11..TN Tech 8-10

Summit League Standings

1. South Dakota St. 16-4  2. Oral Roberts 14-6  3. North Dakota St. 11-8  4. Western Illinois 10-10  5. Southern Utah & IPFW 8-12  6. Centenary 6-13

Sun Belt Standings top-8

1. Troy 16-7  2. Florida International 15-8  3. Florida Atlantic & Louisiana-Lafayette 14-9  5. Western Kentucky 13-10  6. South Alabama 11-12  7. Arkansas St. 10-13  8. Arkansas-Little Rock 8-15

SEC West Standings

1. Alabama & Arkansas 12-12  3. Auburn, Mississippi & Mississippi St. 11-13  6. LSU 8-16

SEC East Standings

1. Vanderbilt 19-5  2. South Carolina & Florida 18-6  4. Georgia 14-10  5. Kentucky & Tennessee 5-19

SEC TOURNAMENT SEEDINGS AS OF 5/9/11

1. VANDERBILT
2. ALABAMA (Won 2 of 3 vs. Arkansas)
3. SOUTH CAROLINA (Won 2 of 3 vs. UF)
4. FLORIDA (Lost 2 of 3 vs. SC)
5. GEORGIA
6. ARKANSAS (Lost 2 of 3 vs. Alabama)
7/8/9. AUBURN (2-1 vs. UM; 0-3 vs. MSU)
7/8/9. OLE MISS (1-2 vs. AU; TBD vs. MSU) 7/8/9. MISS. STATE (3-0 vs. AU; TBD vs. UM)
————————————————————————
10. LSU
11. TENNESSEE
12. KENTUCKY

Tournament Seeding Information

The eight teams that make up the 2011 Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament are determined by the best winning percentage in conference competition.

The divisional champion with the highest conference winning percentage is the first seed and the remaining divisional champion is the second seed.  All other teams are seeded 3-8 by conference winning percentage.

Dugouthats.com has officially licensed 2010 College World Series memorabilia year- round!

From t-shirts and caps to limited edition prints commemorating the last CWS ever played at historic Rosenblatt Stadium, Dugouthats.com also always has the caps of your favorite college teams like LSU, Texas, Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, UCLA, South Carolina, Miami and more.

 

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A Few Pre-NCAA Regional Thoughts

By Collegebaseball360.com Editor Sean Stires

1. There’s been a lot of talk this week about Virginia slipping to the #5 national seed, with Arizona State, Texas, Florida, and Coastal Carolina filling the respective top seeds in front of the Cavaliers.  I understand why Virginia fans would be upset with the likes of Coastal being in front of them in the seedings.  Virginia has its 2009 College World Series team virtually intact, and they navigated a tougher schedule than the Chanticleers.  However, for the purposes of getting to Omaha it doesn’t matter which national seed you are, it only matters that you are a national seed.  Coastal is potentially matched-up with South Carolina for a Super Regional, while Viginia would be pitted against the Oklahoma Regional.  Which take me to…

NCAA Selection Committee Chair Tim Weiser

2. I’m still chewing on NCAA Selection Committee Chairman Tim Weiser’s explanation of how Super Regional pairings are made.  In a conference call after selections were announced Monday Weiser said that after the top eight seeds are determined “everybody else (the other eight number one Regional seeds) becomes a nine”, adding “geography in large part’s gonna always drive our selections.”  Weiser said earlier in the call that teams like TCU and Cal State Fullerton were in the conversation for one of the top eight seeds, but instead of being a top eight seed TCU finds itself in a potential Super Regional match-up with #2 national seed Texas.  Why?  Because Ft. Worth is closer to Austin than say Norwich, CT.  The Norwich Regional winner vs. the Austin Regional winner and the Ft. Worth winner vs. the Louisville winner is probably the more fair road to Omaha, but it is not the best geographical (and thus financial) road to Omaha.

3. Eight teams each made it in from the ACC, Pac 10 and SEC.  Cal getting a #2 seed in the Norman Regional raise some eyebrows, but it’s understandable.  That many teams from each of those conferences makes seeding a nightmare.  Two teams from the same conference cannot be in the same Regional, and #1 Regional seeds from the same conference (IE-#1 Texas and #1 Oklahoma from the Big 12) cannot be matched in a potential Super Regional.

Mike Batesole and his Fresno State Bulldogs were left out of the field of 64.

4. We got some emails and messages this week from Fresno State fans who are upset they were left out of the field of 64.  It’s hard to make a strong case for the Bulldogs though.  They finished with a 38-25 record with an RPI of 77.  They had just one win over a top 50 team (Cal State Fullerton).  Florida Gulf Coast finished with the same amount of wins and was 33 RPI spots and they didn’t get in.  In the end, Fresno State was held to the same standard as other non “power conference” teams.  One more win against Nevada and even one win (instead of four losses) at home to Oregon may have gone a long way.  Oregon State missed the tournament in 2008 as the reigning national champion, so it’s hard to make the case that being two years removed from a championship makes a team tournament worthy.

5.  Want more proof that last year means NOTHING when it comes to this year’s selections and seedings?  Three of this year’s Super Regionals could each feature two of last year’s College World Series teams going head to head for the right to go back to Omaha.  Arizona State vs. Arkansas, Virginia vs. North Carolina and LSU vs. Cal State Fullerton are all potential Super Regional pairings if they successfully navigate their Regionals.

5a.  Want more proof?  Virginia and Ole Miss matched-up in the Super Regionals last year, but the Rebels were sent to Charlottesville for Regionals this year.  Meanwhile, two other 2009 Super Regional participants, Texas (CWS runner-up) and Rice, are both in this year’s Austin Regional.

6.  No offense Fullerton fans, but I would rather see the Los Angeles (UCLA) Regional on ESPNU than the Fullerton Regional.  UCLA is the #6 national seed and the defending national champion, LSU, is the #2 seed with #3 UC Irvine there as well.  I do like the Stanford vs. New Mexico match-up in the Fullerton Regional though.  Stanford’s a perrenial CWS team, while the Lobos are in the tournament for the first time in 48 years.  On second thought…

7.  Speaking of New Mexico…It didn’t take long for Ray Birmingham to “Kick Down The Door” at New Mexico.  As in

Ray Birmingham (Courtesy UNM)

“We’re gonna kick down the door and say here I am baby, I cannot be stopped”.  In just his third year as head coach in Albuquerque Birmingham has the Lobos in a place it hasn’t been since Kennedy was President.  Birmingham spent 18 years as head coach at New Mexico Junior College, and won the 2005 Juco World Series before making the move to the Division One ranks.  One of his stars, Justin Howard, told me this week that Birmingham is “old school” and the Lobos are “blue collar”.  Howard says that “Kick down the door” mantra of Birmingham’s isn’t just a slogan at UNM, it’s a way of life.  It’s good to see old school work ethic is valued by this year’s NCAA new kids on the block.

8.  If Florida International’s Garrett Wittels makes college baseball history this year we are guaranteed to see it on national television.  ESPNU will also televise the Coral Gables (Miami) Regional where Wittels puts his 54-game hitting streak on the line.  He needs hits in four more games to tie Robin Ventura for the longest DI streak ever.  The double-elimination Regional format means FIU needs to win at least two games to give Wittels the four games to tie Ventura.  If he does keep it going and FIU wins the Regional every Super Regional game next week will be on the ESPN family as well.  Wittels and the Golden Panthers face Texas A&M Friday at Noon Eastern.

9. How about Louisville head coach Dan McDonnell being suspended for the first three games of a home Regional for going berserk on an umpire during the Big East Tournament?  Three games is pretty stiff, but McDonnell is not known as a “quiet” guy in the dugout by any means.  Assistants Chris Lemonis and Roger Williams will run the team in McDonnell’s absence.  Lemonis is already one of the “hot” assistants for head coaching vacancies.

10. I’m glad I’m not an umpire.

Charlie Hickey

11.  #4 seed Central Connecticut State faces #1 Florida State Friday in the first round of the Norwich, CT Regional, but it won’t be the first time Blue Devils head coach Charlie Hickey has faced the Seminoles in tournament play.  Hickey is in his 11th season at CCSU, and he’s only there because Providence dropped baseball after the 1999 season.  Hickey led the last Providence team to an NCAA berth that year and faced Mike Martin’s eventual College World Series runner-up team that year in the Tallahassee Regional.  Hickey’s Friars were given a standing ovation by Seminole fans for their gritty play after the last game in Providence history.

12.  FSU fans aren’t happy about the fact that their Seminoles are headed to Connecticut for a Regional, but sending ‘Noles to the Nutmeg State might be the best decision the Selection Committee made this year.  There was at least some outrage last year when Rhode Island was left out of the NCAA field.  Analysts like Kyle Peterson said Rhode Island’s inclusion in the tournament was needed to “grow the game” in the Northeast, but Rhode Island was never going to actually host a Regional.  They would have been shipped out to the likes of  North Carolina or Atlanta.  However, if sending a perennial power like Florida State to New England doesn’t grow the college game there nothing will.  I tossed out some ideas on the subject last fall & winter.  You can read them here and here.

A By The Numbers Look At The Last Week Before The NCAA Tournament

Garrett Wittels (Sun Belt photo)

batting .414 this season.

4…Games shy of Robin Ventura’s all-time record 58 game hitting streak Wittels now stands.  FIU needs two wins in double-elimination regional play to give him a chance to tie the mark.

5…Of 27 #1 seeds, Bethune-Cookman, TCU, Coastal Carolina, The Citadel and Minnesota, that won their conference tournaments.

27…Years since Atlantic Sun champion Mercer had won a conference crown.  The Bears won what was then known at the Trans America Athletic Conference in 1983.

13…Straight conference tournaments Oral Roberts has won.  ORU’s Summit League (formerly the Mid-Continent) championship streak is the third longest in NCAA history behind Oklahoma State’s 16 and Wichita State’s 14.

30…Straight Summit League Tournament games won by ORU after going 3-0 at this year’s event.

9…Big Ten Championships won by Minnesota-a conference record-after the Golden Gophers beat Iowa to claim the 2010 crown.

12…Innings it took Virginia Commonwealth to beat UNC-Wilmington 7-5 in the CAA Championship game.  VCU’s Joe Van Meter homered in the top of the 12th for the eventual game winning runs.

VCU's Joe Van Meter

104…Hits this season by Van Meter-a new CAA single season record.  The third baseman was also named the CAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

8…Straight NCAA Tournament bids for Southern Mississippi after beating Rice 7-4 to claim just the program’s second Conference USA crown.  After running all the way to the College World Series last year, the Golden Eagles were an NCAA “bubble team” going into this year’s CUSA tourney.

2…Missouri Valley Conference title won by Illinois State after beating Wichita State 17-8 to claim the title.  WSU was playing in its 33rd MVC title game.

3…Grand slams hit in the same game by BYU in a 25-18 win over Utah in a Mountain West Conference elimination game.  Sean McNaughton hit two of the slams, while Austin Hall hit the other.  The three grand slams in one game ties an NCAA record.

27 & 4…Strikeouts recorded and runs allowed by TCU starting pitchers Matt Purke, Steven Maxwell and Kyle Winkler to help the Horned Frogs go 3-0 at the Mountain West Conference Tournament.

Kyle Winkler (TCU photo)

32-2…Combined record this season of Purke, Maxwell and Winkler to help TCU to its seventh straight NCAA bid.

13-1…LSU head coach Paul Mainieri’s record at the SEC Tournament after his Tigers completed a 2010 sweep of the event with Sunday’s 4-3 win over Alabama in the championship game.  LSU did not qualify for the tournament in Mainieri’s first season at the helm in 2007, but they have now won three straight SEC Tournament titles.

3…Shutout innings of relief pitched by LSU starter Anthony Ranaudo to help his team win the SEC title game in 11 innings.

4,895…Fans in attendance to see The Citadel win the Southern Conference Championship-a 10-3 win over Western Carolina in Charleston, SC.

12…Straight wins by The Citadel after winning the SoCon title game.  Bulldog ace Asher Wojciechowski is also 12-2 this season after striking out eight in eight innings to earn the victory.

Lamar's Anthony Moore (SLC photo)

7…Seed of Southland Conference Tournament champion Lamar, which beat #1 seed Texas State 17-7 to claim the crown.

.625…Batting average of Lamar centerfielder Anthony Moore to help the Cardinals sweep their four SLC Tournament games.  Moore was 10-for-16 at the plat with three home runs, two doubles, and 10 RBIs to earn tournament MVP honors.

18…Years since Hawaii had won a WAC Championship prior to beating Fresno State 9-6 in this year’s championship game in Mesa, AZ.

4…Straight WAC Tournament championships Fresno State had won before losing to the Rainbows in Sunday’s title game.

33…Wins this season by St. Louis-a new school record-after beating #1 seed Charlotte to win the program’s second Atlantic 10 Tournament championship.

25…Years since Grambling State had won a SWAC title before beating Alcorn State to win this year’s championship.

5…ACC Championships won by Florida State after the Seminoles downed North Carolina State 8-3 in Sunday’s championship game.

CLICK HERE to see the Collegebaseball360.com NCAA Tournament page for complete 2010 Tournament coverage.

2010 Conference Tournament Central

America East Tournament (May 26-28)

Bracket Champion: Stony Brook

All-Conference Team

ACC Tournament (May 26-30)

Bracket Champion:  Florida State

All-Conference Team

Atlantic Sun Tournament (May26-29)

Bracket Champion:  Mercer (First title since 1983)

All-Conference Team

Atlantic 10 Tournament (May 26-29)

Bracket Champion:  St. Louis

All-Conference Team

Big East Tournament (May 26-30)

Bracket Champion:  St. John’s

All-Conference Team

Big South Tournament (May 25-29)

Bracket Champion: Coastal Carolina

All-Conference Team

Big Ten Tournament (May 26-29)

Bracket Champion:  Minnesota

All-Conference Team

Big Twelve Tournament (May 26-30)

Bracket Champion:  Texas A&M

All-Conference Team

Big West Conference – No Post Season Tournament

Regular Season Champion: Cal State Fullerton

All-Conference team

CAA Tournament (May 27-29)

Bracket Champion:  Virginia Commonwealth

All-Conference Team

Conference USA Tournament (May 26-30)

Bracket Champion:  Southern Mississippi

All-Conference Team

Great West Tournament (May 26-29)

Bracket Champ: Utah Valley (No NCAA Bid)

All-Conference Team

Horizon League Tournament (May 26-30)

Bracket Champion:  Wisconsin-Milwaukee

All-Conference Team

Ivy League – Best of Three Series

Champion:  Dartmouth beat Columbia

All-Conference Team

Metro Atlantic Tournament

Bracket Champion:  Rider

All-Conference Team

Mid-American (MAC) Tournament (May 26-29)

Bracket Champion:  Kent State

All-Conference Team

Missouri Valley Tournament (May 26-29)

Bracket Champion:  Illinois State

All-Conference Team

Mountain West Conference Tournament (May 25-29)

Bracket Champion:  TCU

All-Conference Team

Northeast Conference Tournament (May 27-29)

Bracket Champion: Central Connecticut St.

All-Conference Team

Ohio Valley Tournament (May 26-30)

Bracket Champion:  Jacksonville St.

All-Conference Team

Pac 10 Conference – No Postseason Tournament

Regular Season Champion:  Arizona State

All-Conference Team

Patriot League – Best of Three Series

Champion:  Bucknell

All-Conference Team

SEC Tournament (May 26-30)

Bracket Champion:  LSU

All-Conference Team

Southern Conference Tournament (May 26-30)

Bracket Champion:  The Citadel

All-Conference Team

Southland Conference Tournament (May 26-29)

Bracket Champion:  Lamar

All-Conference Team

SWAC Tournament (May 26-30)

Bracket Champion:  Grambling St.

All-Conference Team

Summit League Tournament (May 27-29)

Bracket Champion:  Oral Roberts

All-Conference Team

Sun Belt Conference Tournament (May 26-29)

Bracket Champion:  Florida International

All-Conference Team

West Coast Conference – No Postseason Tournament

Regular Season Champion:  San Diego

All-Conference Team

Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Tournament (May 26-30)

Bracket Champion:  Hawaii (First since 1992)

All-Conference Team

The Last Notebook Of The Regular Season…

30 conference champions earn automatic berths into the field of 64 in the 2010 NCAA Division One baseball tournament.  We will list them as they secure their bids.

CLICK HERE to see the NCAA selection handbook, which includes at-large selection criteria and more information.

NCAA Tournament Selection Timeline

America East-Stony Brook

ACC:  Florida State

Atlantic Sun:  Mercer

Atlantic 10-St. Louis

Big East-St. John’s

Big South-Coastal Carolina

Big Ten-Minnesota

Big 12-Texas A&M

Big West-Cal State Fullerton

CAA-Virginia Commonwealth

CUSA-Southern Mississippi

Horizon:  Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Ivy League-Dartmouth

MAAC-Rider

MAC-Kent State

MEAC-Bethune-Cookman

Missouri Valley-Illinois State (Won First Ever Tournament)

Mountain West-TCU

Northeast-Central Connecticut St.

Ohio Valley-Jacksonville St.

Pac 10-Arizona State

Patriot League-Bucknell

SEC-LSU

Southern-The Citadel

Southland-Texas St.

SWAC-Grambling St.

Summit League-Oral Roberts (Won 13th straight tournament)

Sun Belt-Florida International

WCC-San Diego

WAC-Hawaii (First title since 1992)

A By The Numbers Look At The Latest Week Of 2010

Lucas O'Rear

round of the tournament last Thursday, then shock overall #1 seed Kansas 69-67 Saturday night.

17 1/3…Innings O’Rear pitched for the UNI baseball team in 2009-it’s last season of existence.  Northern Iowa eliminated baseball after last season due to budget cuts.  The 6’6-255 pound O’Rear, whose fastball has touched 92 mph, struckout 15 batters and finished with a 4.67 ERA after making 10 appearances out of the Panther bullpen.

4.2 & 4.5…O’Rear’s scoring & rebounding averages this season for the 30-4 UNI basketball team, which faces Michigan State on Friday in St. Louis this week in the Sweet 16.

26…Consecutive scoreless innings pitched by Indiana’s Drew Leininger-who tossed 6 shutout frames in IU’s 10-3 win over Akron Saturday.  Leininger dropped his Big Ten-leading ERA to 0.70 while improving his record to 3-0.

14…Straight games in which TCU freshman Josh Elander had a hit to begin his career before going hitless in the Horned Frogs’ 6-4 win over Oral Roberts last Tuesday.

1…Career home run by Elander-it came in TCU’s next game, an 11-3 win over BYU last Friday.  It was also the freshman outfielder’s birthday.

1,825…Fans in attendance last Wednesday to see the first night game in James Madison history-a 6-3 loss to #1 Virginia-at the Dukes’ new Veterans Memorial Park.

10…Runs in 1+ inning pitched by Western Kentucky starter Taylor Haydel in Wednesday’s 17-6 loss to Vanderbilt.

32-5…Combined score of Arizona’s two mid-week wins over Wichita State in Tucson.

4…Wins in relief by Villanova’s Kevin Crimmel after pitching an inning in Friday’s 2-1 win over Niagara.

10…Strikeouts in 8 IP by VU starter Brian Streilein in that game.

9…Stolen bases by the Wildcats in a St. Patrick’s Day 11-8 win over Fairleigh Dickinson.

Dan Gentzler (Maryland photo)

2…Home runs by Maryland’s Dan Gentzler in Friday’s 5-2 win over Georgia Tech to hand the Yellow Jackets just their second loss of the season. Both HR came off 2009 ACC Pitcher of the Year Deck McGuire.

4…Saves this season earned by Gentzler after pitching a scoreless 9th inning of that same game.  Terp starter Brett Harman struckout eight in eight innings to earn the win.

8…RBIs by Georgia Tech’s Jay Dantzler the next day in GT’s 24-4 win over Maryland.  Dantzler was 4-for-6 in the game with a pair of home runs.

4…Home runs hit by Clemson in an 8-run first inning of its 22-6 win over Georgia Southern.  The Tigers hit 6 home runs, 9 doubles and a triple in the game.

0…Losses by Clemson (17-2, 6-0 ACC) through the first two weekend’s of conference play, making the Tigers the only ACC team without a league blemish, after a 3-game sweep of Virginia Tech.

12…Strikeouts in 8 IP by Virginia’s Danny Hultzen (4-1) in Friday’s 7-1 win over Boston College to give him 43 Ks and just 4 BB in 34 innings this season.

Tommy LaStella (Coastal Car. photo)

30 of 34…Innings that Hultzen has pitched this season that have been “goose eggs” on the scoreboard.

1…Cycle achieved by Tommy LaStella in Coastal Carolina’s 29-13 win over Charleston Southern.  The redshirt sophomore drove-in seven runs en-route to his first career cycle.

7…Runs scored in the 7th inning by LSU in Saturday’s 8-7 win over Arkansas in game two of their SEC-opening series in Baton Rouge. Arkansas had won the first game of the series 6-3 a day prior.

2…Hits by the Tigers-both singles by Micah Gibbs-through the first six innings off Razorback starter Drew Smyly, who left after 6 IP with a 5-1 lead.

0…Games won by Kansas since winning 2 of 3 games vs. LSU.  The Jayhawks dropped four games vs. Tulane and St. Louis last week after their March 12-14 series win in Baton Rouge.

12…RBIs with 3 home runs in four games last week by St. Louis 1B Danny Brock.  The son of former Big Leaguer Greg Brock leads the Billikens in batting average (.405) HR (10) RBIs (36) and slg. % (.892) through 20 games this season.

9…Innings pitched and strikeouts-both career-highs-by Michigan State pitcher A.J. Achter (2-0) in Saturday’s 13-0 win over Notre Dame.

5…Errors committed by the Fighting Irish in that game, leading to 7 unearned runs scored by the Spartans.

6 & 1…Strikeouts and hits allowed by Ball State reliever Perci Garner in Saturday’s 5-1 win over Louisville to hand UL (17-2) just its second overall loss and first home loss of 2010.

1-for-20…What Louisville’s 4 through 9 batters combined to hit in that game.

141…Batters faced by Kansas State pitcher Evan Marshall without issuing a walk prior to Friday’s 3rd inning free pass in the Wildcat’s 2-1 win over Wisconsin-Milwaukee.  The sophomore’s no-walks streak spanned 29.0 innings.  He struckout a career-best eight batters in the no-decision to help K-State improve to 15-3.

Chris Duffy

11…RBIs with 4 home runs in five games last week by Florida’s Preston Tucker.  The Gator 1B homered in four straight games-the longest stretch by a UF player since 2007.  His efforts helped UF down Florida State 8-5 in a midweek game and then sweep its SEC opening series vs. Mississippi State.

2…Times Florida State scored game-winning runs in the 9th inning to take 2 of 3 games from North Carolina.  The Seminoles won 4-3 on Friday and 5-3 on Sunday.  FSU has claimed 9th inning wins 3 of the last 4 times it has faced UNC.

12…Nation-leading home runs by Central Florida outfielder Chris Duffy.  He also tops the nation with 39 RBIs.

3…Sacrifice flies last week by Duffy after none in his first three seasons at UCF.

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Florida Gulf Coast University baseball head coach Dave Tollett released the Eagles 2010 schedule on Friday and it includes 27 games at Swanson Stadium, 11 games against BCS Conference schools and 15 games against NCAA Regional teams, two of which advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals last season.

FGCU head coach Dave Tollett

newcomers to a squad that returns seven position starters and four starting pitchers.

Complete 2010 FGCU Schedule

The Eagles’ 55 game slate features six games against ACC competition, four games against Sun Belt teams, three games against the Missouri Valley Conference and the Atlantic 10, two games against the Big 12, along with single games against the SEC, Big East, & Big 10.

Head coach Dave Tollett talked about the Eagles’ schedule: “We wanted to play as tough a non-conference schedule as we could, knowing that this will be our first opportunity for postseason play.  With games against Wichita State, Florida, Michigan, Clemson, Oklahoma State, and Miami, we think we’ve got one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the country.  By playing quality teams throughout the season, we expect to be prepared not only for the A-Sun regular season, but also the conference tournament, and hopefully the NCAA tournament as well.”

The Eagles will open the 2010 season at home on Feb. 19-21 with a three-game series against Temple at Swanson Stadium before traveling south to face Miami in their first of two meetings on Feb. 24. The Hurricanes will travel to Fort Myers on Apr. 14 for the second meeting between the schools. Miami earned a berth in the 2009 NCAA Regionals after being ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation, posting a 38-22 record last season.

After their first road trip, the Eagles land back home to host a four-game set with Sacred Heart on Feb. 26-28. The series includes a double-header on Feb. 27.

On Mar. 3, FGCU hosts Michigan in the first meeting between the two schools.  After that, the Eagles hit the road to face Wichita State on Mar. 5-7. The Eagles will play a three-game series against the 2009 Missouri Valley Conference champions, who lost two one-run games in the 2009 NCAA Regionals.

The Eagles open A-Sun conference play on the road against USC Upstate on Mar. 12-13. The Eagles have an all-time winning record against nine of the ten A-Sun opponents they face; against Belmont, FGCU is 3-3 all-time.

Following a mid-week game against FIU on Mar. 16 at Swanson Stadium, the Eagles travel to Stetson for a weekend A-Sun matchup on Mar. 19-20. Along with FIU (Mar. 16 and May 18), FGCU will also face Sun Belt foe FAU (Apr. 20 and May 11).

The Eagles stay on the road to face Florida on Mar. 24 in Gainesville, Fla. Florida advanced to the NCAA Super Regional last season but fell to Southern Mississippi in two games. The Eagles have a 1-1 record against the Gators after each team earned road wins last season.

FGCU will host A-Sun foe Kennesaw State on Mar. 26-27 for the first time at Swanson Stadium. In the Eagles first two seasons, FGCU has beat out the Owls to earn back-to-back regular season titles.

On Mar. 30-31, FGCU will travel to Stillwater, Okla. for a two-game, mid-week series against 2009 NCAA Regional participant Oklahoma State.

The Eagles return home Apr. 2-3 for a weekend A-Sun series against Mercer.  FGCU has won five of the six meetings between the two schools.

Conference play continues the following weekend as the Blue and Green travel to Buies Creek, NC, for a three-game set with Campbell Apr. 9-10.  The Eagles have never lost to the Camels in their previous six meetings.

On April 14 the Miami Hurricanes will make their first trip to Fort Myers.  The Eagles have dropped the previous two meetings between the two schools, although the Blue and Green gave Miami a big scare in 2008, falling to the No. 1 ranked Hurricanes 4-2 in 11 innings.

FGCU heads back on the road to face A-Sun foe Lipscomb in a three-game series Apr. 16-18 in Nashville.  The Bison earned the No. 2 seed in the A-Sun tournament last season, finishing with a 17-13 conference record.

Following a home game against Florida Atlantic (Apr. 20), the Blue and Green will host Belmont Apr. 23-25.  The Bruins finished 29-29 overall last season, 15-15 in A-Sun play.

Beginning Apr. 27 FGCU will play five straight non-conference road games, beginning with a single game at South Florida on Apr. 27.  Following that the Eagles will travel to Clemson, SC for their first-ever meeting with the Clemson Tigers.  That four-game series starts on May 1 and wraps up May 4.

FGCU resumes conference play with a home series against ETSU on May 7-8, followed by a road game at Florida Atlantic (May 11).

The Eagles will travel to Jacksonville to do battle with last year’s A-Sun tournament No. 1 seed, the Jacksonville Dolphins, May 14-15.  The Dolphins took two out of three games from FGCU last year, but the Eagles swept JU in 2008.

After a road game at Florida International (May 18), FGCU returns home to close out the regular season against A-Sun foe North Florida May 20-21.  The Eagles swept the Ospreys in Jacksonville last year.

The 2010 A-Sun Championship is set for May 25-29 at Lipscomb’s Dugan Field at Marsh Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., for the Eagles’ first appearance. The 2010 NCAA Championship is set to begin on June 4 with regional play.

(Release)

XU to Face Six 2009 NCAA Tournament Participants in 2010

Musketeer head coach Scott Googins

teams will prepare us for our conference play. We’re excited about the atmosphere of where we’ll be playing, against teams in the ACC, SEC and Big XII, all good baseball conferences and good teams in those conferences.”

Complete 2010 Xavier Schedule

XU will open the season with 10 straight road games before its home opener on March 9 against LeMoyne. The Musketeers will take on tournament participant Missouri in Columbia Mar. 12-16 followed by a single game at Louisville and then will host Oakland for a three-game homestand Mar. 19-21. Xavier is set to play at Kentucky (Mar. 23) and at Indiana (Mar. 24) before opening Atlantic 10 conference play at Saint Louis Mar. 26-28.

“We have young arms but they have to be able to produce and we are definitely hoping to build off success from last year,” Googins mentioned. “It’s hard to look that far ahead, to the A-10 schedule, but I think we will be in the mix. Hopefully our guys will be up to the challenge.”

The Musketeers will play nine three-game A-10 series this season, including La Salle (Apr. 9-11), Duquesne (Apr. 16-18), Charlotte (May 7-9) and Massachusetts (May 14-16) at home. Other than SLU, Xavier will travel to Richmond (Apr. 2-4), Rhode Island (Apr. 23-25), Dayton (Apr. 30-May 2) and Saint Joseph’s (May 20-22) to round out its conference schedule.

Other teams in the Musketeers’ schedule in 2010 include Campbell University, Miami (Ohio), Ohio State, Cincinnati, Eastern Kentucky and Ohio. XU will once again be participating in the second annual Joe Nuxhall Classic Apr. 13-14, which will be hosted by Miami (Ohio) this season. Xavier will defend its 2009 title at the Classic in 2010 against the field that includes Cincinnati, Miami and Wright State.

(Release)

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – The Boston College baseball team released its schedule for the 2010 season. The 58-game slate begins on February 19 at Tulane and concludes with a nine-game home stand that features two perennial ACC powerhouses.

BC Head Coach Mikio Aoki

following weekend, BC will compete in a tournament at Auburn where it will face the host Tigers, Florida Atlantic and Missouri.

Complete 2010 Boston College Schedule

Boston College’s annual exhibition game with the Boston Red Sox is scheduled for March 3 at 6:05 p.m. at City of Palms Park in Fort Myers, Fla. Last season, BC nearly won for the first time as it led 1-0 after four and a half innings (in a six inning game). The Red Sox scored six runs in the bottom of the fifth and went on to win, 7-1.

The Eagles will stay in Florida until March 14 as they have a three-game series at Florida Atlantic (March 5-7) and then a two-game midweek set at Florida International (March 9-10). BC then opens ACC play at Miami on March 12. The Hurricanes finished No. 20 in the final USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll and reached the NCAA Regionals.

Boston College returns to New England for two more away contests at Connecticut (March 16) and Bryant (March 17) before traveling to Virginia, which reached the College World Series and finished No. 5 in the country.

The Eagles open their home schedule on March 23 when they host Hartford at Eddie Pellagrini Diamond at Commander Shea Field. Holy Cross visits Chestnut Hill the next day before Duke comes into town for a three-game ACC series beginning March 26.

BC’s early ACC away schedule does not get any easier as the next weekend it heads to South Carolina to take on Clemson, which finished No. 14 in the poll and advanced to the Super Regionals.

The Eagles will spend a good amount of time at home after their Clemson trip as it hosts Maryland beginning April 9, sandwiched by two non-conference games at Shea Field against Bryant (April 7) and Massachusetts (April 13).

Wake Forest will make a trip to Chestnut Hill on April 16 for a three-game series and BC will also host Harvard in a local tilt on April 21.

The Beanpot is also scheduled for April but dates and times will be announced at a later date. The championship game of the Beanpot is annually played at Fenway Park.

Boston College will be back on the road for two more ACC series at NC State (April 23-25) and Virginia Tech (April 30-May 2) before closing out the season with a nine-consecutive games in Chestnut Hill.

The Eagles will host non-conference match ups against Northeastern (May 4), Connecticut (May 10) and St. John’s (May 18) to finish up its out of league contests. BC will also host a pair of ACC and national powers to close out the season as Florida State (May 7-9) and Georgia Tech (May 20-22) come to town. The Seminoles reached the Super Regionals and finished No. 10 in the poll and the Yellow Jackets advanced to the Regionals and ended at No. 18.

The 2010 ACC Baseball Tournament will be held May 26-30 at NewBridge Bank Park in Greensboro, N.C.

(Release)