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Play Begins With Suspended Game, Ends With Gamecock Win …

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Game 6: Florida 3-5-1 def. Vanderbilt 1-4-2
Final Stats | FL Recap | Vandy Recap

After a 14-hour delay that started shortly after 8:00 p.m. local time, Florida and Vanderbilt resumed their game minutes after 10:00 a.m. Tuesday morning at TD Ameritrade Park.

Preston Tuckers 4th-inning home run was all the offense Florida needed in the Monday/Tuesday game.

The game picked up with two outs and nobody on, with Vanderbilt batting in the bottom of the sixth and Florida leading 3-1. Steven Rodriguez – who had entered the game in relief of Karsten Whitsen in the fifth inning Monday night – promptely struck out Jason Esposito to end the inning. Rodriguez (4-2) ultimately earned the win, after striking out six of the 10 batters he faced for a new career-high K total.

Reliever Will Clinard opened the seventh inning on the hill for the Commodores in relief of starter Grayson Garvin, who fanned nine batters in six innings but allowed three earned runs on Preston Tucker‘s 4th-inning home run that cleared the rightfield bullpen. Garvin (13-2) suffered the loss. Tucker’s 15th long ball of the season is onlythe second home run through six games of the 2011 CWS (Vanderbilt’s Connor Harrell homered Saturday for the other).

The teams combined to strike out 23 times (12 by Commodore batters and 11 for the Gators).

SEC player of the year Mike Zunino of Florida went 1-for-3 with a run scored, against the SEC pitcher of the year Garvin. Zunino was on base when Tucker homered.

A total of 19 batters came to the plate Tuesday morning to face Clinard, fellow Vanderbilt reliever Corey Williams and Florida’s Rodriguez. Only two of those 19 reached base, on a pair of walks (one for each team).

Attendance for this game was 20,182, for a six-game total of 132,748 (avg, of 22,125). Fans were allowed into the final three innings of the game Tuesday morning without a ticket.

CLICK HERE to read more about this game and the North Carolina-Texas game in our Day-3 Notebook.

– Quotable –

“It was actually a slider that I hung. Good Hitters, that’s what they do. He should have hit that where he hit it. It was kid of a tail of one pitch. I actually thought I pitched better yesterday than I pitched in about a month, but it was one swing.” – Vanderbilt starter Grayson Garvin, talking about the pitch Florida’s Preston Tucker hit for the Gators’ only offense in the game.

“He doesn’t pitch like a freshman. He’s a big, strong kid. He throws a big, heavy ball like he’s throwing bowling balls to the plate and he keeps coming. … You know, he’s a first-rounder [2010 MLB draft]. You’re not supposed to keep kids like that, and they did. That’s why Florida’s pretty good.” – Commodore head coach Tim Corbin on Florida freshman pitcher Karsten Whitson, who turned down first-round draft pick money to attend Florida.

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Game 7: Cal 7-9-1 elim. Texas A&M 3-10-2
Final Stats | Cal Recap | A&M Recap

The team that itself was eliminated for a time last fall staved off elimination at the 2011 College World Series, when Cal beat Texas A&M 7-3 Tuesday afternoon in Omaha.

The Golden Bear program was (infamously) set to be cut due to school budgetary restraints last September, but thanks to fundraising efforts it was spared this past spring. Tough times have brought the team together in its miraculous run to the CWS.

Meanwhile, Texas A&M went 0-2 and was eliminated in its first trip to Omaha since 1999.

Texas A&M scored first on Adam Smith‘s solo home run in the 4th inning over the left field, his seventh homer of the year. Aggies starter Michael Wacha didn’t allow a hit until the top of the 5th, when Darrel Matthews singled following an error that allowed Ben Bunting to reach safely to start the inning. An RBI single by Derek Campbell, a sac bunt by leadoff man Austin Booker and a sac fly by Tony Renda gave Cal a 3-1 lead and their first lead of any kind in two games in Omaha.

Wacha (9-4) surrendered seven runs, four earned, on nine hits in 6.2 innings. He walked two and struck out five in the loss.

The Golden Bears scored three more times in the 6th and added another run in the 7th to take a 7-1 lead before A&M pushed across two runs in the bottom of the frame to make it 7-3. Through seven games, Cal and Florida are the only teams to score runs in three consecutive innings.

Golden Bears starter Kyle Porter (6-0) allowed three earned runs in six innings. He struck out four and walked two.

Six different Cal players had at least one RBI in the game, with second baseman Derek Campbell leading the way with two.

Cal has won five straight NCAA Tournament elimination games this year, including four straight at the Rice Regional.

The win is Cal’s first at the College World Series since 1980. The team is playing in its first CWS since 1992.

The Golden Bears next will face the loser of the Virginia-South Carolina game, on Thursday night.

Cal head coach David Esquer was named the NCBWA’s National Coach of the Year prior to the game today.

– Quotable –

“I’m not disappointed in anybody. I’m disappointed for our guys that they didn’t play hard. There’s not a guy in our dugout that doesn’t wish we hadn’t played better collectively. Dave Esquer‘s done an amzing job this year. He’s talking about his team and the things he’s gone through. He definitely deserves coach-of-the-year nomination for being the rock in the storm.” – Texas A&M head coach Rob Childress

David Esquer

“I’m happy our guys kind of grinded it out, because that’s kind of how we do it. We don’t do it easy. … I thought we were a little too excited trying to make something happen that really wasn’t there and didn’t let the game come to us. … The whole day’s been amazing. You can’t be a good coach without good players – if our players can come out here and perform like they did today under elimination circumstances. Thankfully for us, one of our rallying clauses is to try to be as loose as possible and that serves us well in big moments.” – Cal head coach Dave Esquer

Game 8: South Carolina 7-13-0 def. Virginia 1-5-3
Final Stats | SC Recap | VA Recap

In a matchup of this year’s No. 1 national seed and the defending national champion, it was the champ that reigned supreme as South Carolina rolled past Virginia 7-1 Tuesday night in Omaha.

Star outfielder Jackie Bradley, Jr. was in the lineup for only the second time in the past two months. He batted from the cleanup spot, after batting 9th in South Carolina’s win over Texas A&M on Sunday, and got the scoring started with a 1st-inning RBI double. It was the first of three Gamecocks runs in the frame. Bradley finished the game with two hits and an RBI.

Jackie Bradley, Jr.

 

South Carolina added another run in the 3rd, two more in the 4th  and a run in the 7th on an RBI single by Christian Walker. The first baseman batted 2-for-5 and led his team with two RBIs.

South Carolina’s 3-4-5-6 batters combined to hit above .500 (10-for-19) with four runs scored and five RBIs. The team reached base in every inning but the 6th. Scott Wingo was the only Gamecocks starter without a hit or walk.

Virginia scored its only run when John Hicks hit a solo homer to left field in the bottom of the 4th. It’s the eighth homer of the year for the catcher but only the fourth home run hit through eight games in this CWS.

South Carolina starter Colby Holmes (7-3) struck out seven in 4.1 innings to match his career high. Sidearm reliever John Taylor (7-1) set a career high with his 4.1-inning outing. His previous high was a 4.0-inning effort against Mississippi State on April 24. Holmes (19) and Taylor (13) combined to face only 32 batters – six over the minimum.

Virginia starter Will Roberts (11-2) was touched for all six runs in only 3.1 innings. A pair of Cavaliers errors led to three unearned runs.

South Carolina played stellar defense all night. The Gamecocks have committed only one error in their two CWS games.

Florida State (12) and Georgia Tech (10; 9) are the only teams to score more than seven runs against Virginia this season.

Virginia has a rematch with California in Thursday night’s elimination game. South Carolina faces the winner of that game on Friday.

Tonight’s game marked the first time the two programs have met in the CWS.

South Carolina’s win makes the SEC 5-1 during the 2011 CWS. Florida is 2-0 as well, while Vanderbilt (1-1) suffered its first loss earlier today.

The start of the game was delayed 68 minutes by rain.

The loss is jonly the 11th of the year for Virginia (55-11), which owns an .833 winning percentage. South Carolina (52-14) has won 13 straight NCAA Tournament games (sharing a record with three other programs), dating back to the 2010 College World Series championship run in Omaha.

Attendance for the game was 22,027, for an eight-game total of 172,916 and an average of 21,615 fans per game. Both the average and total attendance are “slightly ahead” of the same point last year, according to the NCAA.

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Golden Bears Take Game One From Dallas Baptist…

DBU's Brandon Williamson delivers the game's first pitch to Cal's Austin Booker.

The #3 seed Bears (36-21) dominated the #3 Dallas Baptist Patriots (42-19) 7-0 in Saturday’s Game-1 of the Santa Clara Super Regional at Stephen Schott Stadium.

The Bears received six strong innings from sophomore lefthander Justin Jones (9-6) and a pair of three-run home runs to give them the 1-0 lead in the best-of-three Super Regional.

“I was really happy with our starting pitching. Justin (Jones) was fantastic. He was in control the whole time he was in there,” Cal head coach David Esquer said. “The key with our team is to be able to play loose and in the moment.”

The Bears have become one of the great stories in college baseball this season. In late September, the school announced the program along with four other sports would be eliminated because of budget cuts.

Immediately following the announcement, private fundraising began to try and save the program, and in early April the school announced that enough private funds had been raised to save the team.

Now a win away from their first trip to Omaha since 1992, Cal has gone from a big story for all the wrong reasons to a big story for all the right reasons.

Cal seemed unfazed by the TV cameras, playing energized and loose from the start and feeding off the energy from the crowd.

“Couldn’t have asked for more from the home crowd. They came out and supported us. That was a big lift,” said Esquer.

The game was played 50 miles from Cal’s Berkeley campus at Santa Clara University, because both Cal and Dallas Baptist lacked the facility requirements to host NCAA Tournament games.

Cal's Chad Bunting (45) touches the plate after his three run home run.

Despite Cal being the designated road team on Saturday the standing-room-only crowd of 1,431 gave the club a big boost.

The atmosphere was something new to the Bears, who are not used to playing in front of such a big pro-Cal crowd.

“It was pretty awesome,” said Jones. “It’s not a normal thing over at Evans Diamond. To get this big of a crowd, to have everyone in it, backing us up – they are part of our team and it was wonderful.”

Jones allowed a single to Dallas Baptist star hitter senior rightfielder Jason Krizan (.419 average) in the top of the first, but he then retired 15 straight Patriots hitters before a 2-out walk in the 6th.

“In pregame, I felt pretty good. I just went out there and had all my stuff,” said Jones. “Once I had everything, they weren’t going to hit me. It takes confidence to be out there, and tonight I had tons of it.:

The only thing that stopped Jones was a bicep injury that occurred in warmups prior to the start of the bottom of the 7th. Jones immediately was taken out of the game and replaced by sophomore reliever Logan Scott.

Esquer said the Bears coaching staff erred on the side of caution when it came to removing Jones. “He experienced some tightness in his bicep, some discomfort, so we didn’t want to take any chances with that,” said the 12th-year Cal coach.

“We had it checked already, nothing structural with his shoulder or elbow, just muscle tightness in his bicep. Sowe’re going to test that further, and go from there.”

Jones threw only 75 pitches in six full innings allowing one hit, one walk with three strikeouts in the shutout outing.

Scott picked up where Jones left off, pitching the final three innings while allowing no runs and only two hits.

“It’s so important, because if someone comes in with a four-run lead and is a wreck, it can change the game,” Esquer said. “If the guy walks one or two guys, or if they pop [a home run], it’s a different game. So [for Scott] to be able to stabilize and take the baton from Justin and be rolling pretty good was big for us.”

Cal gave Jones and early lead to work with in the bottom of the 2nd.

After Patriots starter senior Brandon Williamson (10-4) began the game by setting down the first four Bear hitters he faced, a pair of sophomores – first baseman Devon Rodriguez and third baseman Mitch Delfino – reached on back-to-back singles. Junior rightfielder Chad Bunting followed the singles by launching a 3-run home run, his team-leading seventh, to left field to give Cal the 3-0 lead.

“He left a changeup over the middle part of the plate,” said Buning. “It was up a little bit. I was able to keep my hands back and put a good swing on it.”

Williamson did not find trouble again until the top of the 6th, when junior shortstop Marcus Semien ripped a triple down the rightfield line with one out. Semien scored on Rodriguez’s sacrifice fly, making it 4-0.

The Bears put the game away when Semien hit another 3-run home run, giving the Bears the final 7-0 cushion. Semien finished the game 2-for-4 with a triple, home run and 3 RBIs.

Williamson left after going 7.2 innings, allowing seven runs, 10 hits, a walk, and four strikeouts. He threw 118 pitches, with more than 80 of them going for strikes.

Dallas Baptist head coach Dan Heefner said he still felt good about Williamson’s performance.

“I thought Brandon threw really well though. He did what he’s done all year long for us, he competes,” said Heefner.

“He had us in the game for the majority of the game when he had us within four. But I even thought that the two home runs he gave up were decent pitches on his part.”

Cal also had two-hit games from Delfino, sophomore centerfielder Darrel Matthews and senior leftfielder Austin Booker.

The Pac-10 player of the year, sophomore Tony Renda, started as the team’s DH instead of second base, after hurting his quad scoring the game-winning run in Monday’s win over Baylor. Renda left the game for a pinch-runner in the 8th, after reaching on a dropped third strike.

Dallas Baptist, playing in the program’s first ever Super Regional, never created anything going on offense. The Patriots finished with only three hits and no player had multiple hits. Krizan was 1-for-4.

The Patriots had only one inning, the 9th, in which multiple runners reached base.

Heefner said Jones and his changeup were a reason for the Patriots’ struggles at the plate.

“[Jones] was throwing that for a strike and really dictating their timing up there, got to give him a lot of credit on that. I also thought he did make a few mistakes, he left some balls up, but we didn’t take advantage of those,” said the DBU coach.

Dallas Baptist came into the series with one of the top offenses in the country, sporting a .311 team batting average. They were shut out for the first time since March 12 at Washington.

The Cal-DBU matchup was billed as Cal’s pitching (2.88 team ERA) vs. the Patriots high-powered offense and Cal proved the cliche that good pitching beats good hitting.

Other than being a pitching vs. hitting series, the Super Regional has been dubbed the “Cinderella Super Regional” –  with two #3 Regional seeds playing each other in a Super Regional for the first time since 2007.

Other than facing the budget axe this season, Cal fought its way through the losers bracket to win in Houston last weekend. Cal won the regional on Monday vs. Baylor by rallying from a 7-1 deficit and scoring twice in the 8th and four more runs in the bottom of the 9th for a 9-8 win. Rodriguez was the hero of the game, with a 2-run blast in the 8th before singling in two more runs, with two outs and two strikes in the 9th.

Dallas Baptist, an independent that has played DI baseball since 2006, was making its second NCAA Tournament appearance (2008) in school history. The Patriots baseball team is the only program at DBU that plays at the Division I level.

The Patriots won the Ft. Worth regional last weekend, after going 3-1. They beat 2010 CWS participants Oklahoma and TCU before beating Oral Roberts on Monday to advance to play Cal.

Cal, which struggled down the stretch by finishing the regular season 12-13, now has won four games in a row. It’s the Bears longest winning streak since a five-gamer in mid-April.

The Patriots will need to get their offense going on Sunday if they want to keep their season alive.

“We didn’t do a great job of executing our plan up there but we’ll give [Jones] credit first on that,” said Heefner. “We definitely need to come out tomorrow and do a better job with that.”

The Cal contingent is stressing that it’s still too early to be thinking about Omaha.

“We can’t even think about that at this point,” Esquer said. “We’ve got a tough opponent on the other side that is going to play for their lives. We know what that’s like,” he said.

Game 2 is Sunday at 10 p.m. ET, 7 p.m. local time. DBU will start senior Jared Stafford (8-4, 3.03 ERA). Cal likely will go with junior ace Erik Johnson (6-4, 2.91).

__________________________________________

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Both The Good & The Bad…

It’s no surprise that offense has been down, while pitching numbers have been better so far this season. However, nobody predicted James Madison would erupt for 91 runs with those new bats in a four-game sweep of Bucknell to open the season. Jake Lowery and David Herbek have combined to lead not only the Dukes, but also the nation with 14 and 12 home runs, respectively, while also sitting among the nation’s Division One leaders in sever other offensive categories.

Following is a look at some other surprises, both good and bad, to this point in the season.

Pleasant Surprises…

Danny Hultzen is 6-0 with a 1.36 ERA in 2011

Virginia was supposed to be good this year, but Brian O’Connor’s Cavaliers have been flat-out great so far. UVA debuted at #15 in our Preseason Composite National Rankings, but is 29-2 overall and 11-1 in ACC play heading into this weekend’s showdown with Georgia Tech. The Cavs lost just one game in the month of March-their series finale against Florida State. They’ve done anything but mash the ball out of the yard en-route to their 29 victories. Keith Werman has nearly twice as many sac bunts (13) as his team has home runs (7), while they still average 7.3 runs a game with a .300 team batting average. Danny Hultzen (6-0, 1.36 ERA) is second in the nation with 78 strikeouts for a pitching staff that’s so deep that midweek starter Will Roberts, who pitched a perfect game last week, is riding a 21-inning scoreless streak. Virginia has a 1.93 team ERA with 333 strikeouts and just 64 walks this season.

Fresno State was a team that many thought deserved an NCAA bid in 2010, but the Bulldogs (38-25) just missed the field of 64 after Hawaii ended their reign of four straight WAC Tournament titles. Offense wasn’t a problem for Mike Batesole’s squad, but the pitching staff ended the season with a 6.05 ERA. Things have been much different for the 2011 edition of the Bulldogs (20-3). Greg Gonzalez (6-0, 1.36 ERA) fronts a pitching staff that sports a 2.50 ERA. The senior led the staff with 73 strikeouts last year, but he already has 52 Ks with just 9 BB in 46 1/3 IP in 2011. Charlie Robertson has slammed the door at the end of games with 9

Fresno State's Charlie Robertson is among the DI leaders with 9 saves.

saves in 10 appearances. He is yet to surrender an earned run in 16 1/3 IP this year. Like everyone, Fresno State’s offense is still adjusting to the new bats. Most notably Jordan Ribera, who hit .343 and led the nation with 27 home runs last year. He is batting just .244 with one HR and 7 RBIs in 23 starts in ’11. Dusty Robinson has picked-up the slack though, with a .321 BA, 6 HR and 19 RBIs.

Georgia was just 16-37 last year with a dismal 5-23 record in the SEC. Outfielder Zach Cone (.363, 10 HR, 53 RBIs) was practically the entire offense for Dave Perno’s Bulldogs, while the pitching staff had a bloated 8.51 ERA with no complete games. The Bulldogs (15-14, 6-3) are one win from matching last year’s overall win total, while a series win over LSU and a sweep of Mississippi State has already exceeded last year’s conference win total. Georgia also boasts wins over UCLA, Florida State and South Carolina. There’s still work to be done, but where UGA is now is a far cry from a season that started by being swept in a 3-game series at Stetson.

Cal State Bakersfield is well on its way to eclipsing last year’s win total. The Roadrunners are off and running to a 20-7 start after finishing with a 26-30 record in 2010. Bill Kernan’s squad hasn’t shied away from tough competition either. The DI independent has wins over top 10 opponents Arizona State and defending national champion South Carolina along with series wins over Washington and Ohio State. Ryan McIntyre (.363, 10

Tommy Hoenshell has helped spearhead Bakersfield's pitching staff.

doubles, 4 triples, .966 OPS) leads an offense that has five regulars hitting above .300, but it’s pitching that’s really fueled Bakersfield so far. Tommy Hoenshell (5-3, 1.97 ERA) has two complete games and leads the nation with 64.0 IP, Jonathon Montoya (5-1, 3.06 ERA) is tied for the DI lead with four complete games and closer Martin Medina (1-1, 2.45 ERA, 5 saves) has 19 strikeouts in 14 2/3 innings to date.

Cal may or may not be reinstated beyond this season, but the Golden Bears are doing everything they can to make 2011 memorable. Dave Esquer has his team off to a 19-7 record, including 5-1 in the Pac-10, in what could be the program’s swan song. The pitching was expected to be good in 2011, but so far it’s been flat-out great. Justin Jones and Erik Johnson are each 4-1 with respective 2.47 and 2.08 ERAs, while Kevin Miller (3-2, 0.63 ERA, 1 save) has been nearly lights-out in a swing role. The senior has made three relief appearances and five starts, with a team-high 53 strikeouts and just 7 BB in 43.0 IP. Cal has a balanced offensive attack. Six regulars are batting between .317 and Austin Booker’s team-best .346, while eight players have accounted for the team’s 12 home runs.

Central Florida’s sites have been set on Omaha since Terry Rooney left his job as an LSU assistant to take over in Orlando. Now in his third year, Rooney has a team that’s starting to make some noise. The Knights (20-9) opened Conference USA with the program’s first ever series win over Rice only to be swept last weekend by Southern Mississippi.  However, UCF responded by toppling Florida 4-3 Tuesday night in Gainesville. D.J. Hicks (.347, 6 HR,

UCF's D.J. Hicks is among the top overall Conference USA hitters this season.

1.008 OPS) leads an offense that has seven starters batting above .300. Freshman Ben Lively (5-0, 1.88 ERA) has been UCF’s top weekend starter, while relievers Nick Cicio (1.08 ERA) and Joe Rogers (2.04 ERA) have each made 11 appearances out of the Knight’s bullpen, combining for 8 saves and 42 Ks with 5 BB in 44.0 IP.

Stetson (22-7) is another Florida school that’s exceeded most expectations so far. The Hatters need just five wins to match the win total of last year’s team that finished 27-31. Head coach Pete Dunn’s 32nd edition of the Hatters is also just five wins away from matching its 14 Atlantic Sun Conference win total from 2010. Robert Crews (.378, 3 HR), Nick Rickles (.345, 10 doubles, 3 HR, 28 RBIs) and Mark Jones (.343) have provided the bulk of the offense, while relievers Robbie Powell (4-0, 1.05 ERA) and Jake Boyd (2-0, 2.45 ERA) have combined for 8 saves in 31 appearances. The pitching staff has notched 232 strikeouts with 94 walks so far this season.

Head-scratching Surprises…

Connecticut was the darling of the north heading into the 2011 season. The Huskies brought back most of their line-up and pitching from last year’s team that won a school record 48 games and hosted an NCAA Regional. Most is the key word. UConn struggled to an 8-9-1 start to the new campaign without table setter Pierre LePage (.327, 63 R, 29 SB) and top run producer Mike Olt (.318, 23 HR, 76 RBIs), who were both drafted last June. The Huskies (15-10-1) have won seven of their last eight and look like they are back on the right track after sweeping St. John’s last weekend. Ace pitcher Matt Barnes (5-2, 1.00 ERA, 2 CG) has been as dominant as advertised. After starting the season in the Saturday starting role, he’s now the Friday night man. The UConn staff currently sports a 2.78 ERA, which should go a long way toward curing what ails Jim Penders‘ team now that Big East play is here.

UCLA road its pitching and a scrappy offense to a national runner-up finish in Omaha last year. The Bruins might have to lean on the arms of Trevor Bauer and Gerrit Cole even more this year. UCLA hit .304 as a team and averaged 6.8 runs a game last year, but those numbers are down to .244 and 4.0 through 24 games this year. John Savage’s Bruins (14-10) weren’t a team built on power to begin with (Dean Espy’s 9 HR led the club last year), but they have just four home runs to date in ’11. Seven different Bruin regulars batted .308 or better last year, but Cody Keefer’s .293 currently leads the team. Bauer (5-1, 1.46 ERA), who leads the nation with 82 Ks, and Cole (3-2, 2.06 ERA, 57 K) and the staff have been overpowering, with a 2.06 staff ERA and 259 strikeouts vs. just 74 walks in 218 2/3 innings this season. But consider this: After a 22-game win streak to start the season, UCLA didn’t lose its first game until April 2 last year. They lost 17 times in 68 games last year, but they have already lost 10 games this season.

San Diego has been to the NCAA Tournament in four of the last five seasons, but the Toreros will have a tough time getting back this year. San Diego (7-19) is off to one of the worst starts in Rich Hill’s 13-year tenure. USD currently sports a .256 team batting average, .325 on-base percentage and 4.82 ERA. The holes in the weekend pitching rotation left by Kyle Blair (8-4, 2.84 ERA) and Sammy Solis (9-2, 3.42 ERA) have been tough to fill on the mound, while the bats of Chris Engall (.416) and James Meador (.391) have left a big offensive void as well. To its credit, San Diego has played a tough schedule, with losses to the likes of Vanderbilt, Oklahoma, Cal, Coastal Carolina, and Fresno State.

New Mexico had its best season in nearly 50 years in 2010, but things have been different this year. After earning the program’s first NCAA bid since 1962, the 2011 Lobos are off to a 9-20 start, including eight straight losses to start the campaign. However, Ray Birmingham’s squad returned just one position starter and six pitchers from last year’s team that went 38-22. Birmingham’s teams have always been offensive minded, but it’s hitting a whopping 80 points below last year’s .346 team batting average, while reaching base at a .342 clip (down nearly 70 points). The lack of offense, combined with a 6.05 staff ERA has been a recipe for  misfortune so far. Give Birmingham credit though. He knew what kind of turnover he would be facing this year, but still scheduled the likes of Arizona State, Oklahoma State, Arizona, and Oklahoma. The first of two conference series against TCU is this weekend.

Oregon is off to just a 14-12 start after an NCAA berth in just the second year of existence in the program’s return. The 40-24 record and that postseason appearance brought high expectations and a top 10 ranking coming into 2011. Like UCLA, George Horton’s offense is know for its small ball approach, but the Ducks are waddling to the tune of a dismal .229 team batting average and a .310 slugging percentage. Aaron Jones (.310) and Danny Pulfer (.301) are the only Ducks batting above .300, while K.C. Serna, who hit a team-best .348 in ’10, is struggling at .194 this season. Oregon scored just three runs in last week’s sweep at the hands of Arizona State to open Pac-10 play, making this weekend’s home series against Washington huge.

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