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Wildcats Take Potentially Pivotal Big 12 Set…

By CB360 Contributor John Kurtz

It was a huge weekend for Kansas State, with its sweep of Texas Tech at Tointon Family Stadium. It was a tight series all the way with K-State’s wins coming 2-1, 4-3 and 4-1. Things really seem to be turning around for the Wildcats after a murderous stretch to start Big 12 Conference play (at Texas, at Baylor, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma) that saw the Cats go 4-8. K-State has now won four of its last six Big 12 games in large part due to a pitching staff that is really coming together.

James Allen's 27 saves are the most in KSU history (photo courtesy Kansas State).

James Allen saved all three games for the Wildcats this weekend against Texas Tech. With Saturday’s save in the series finale, Allen set the K-State record for season saves (13) and career saves (27). He is also the first Wildcat to save three games in a conference series in the Big 12 era and the first Big 12 closer to do so since 2009. Texas Tech struggled to get anything going against Allen all weekend as he fired three innings and allowed just one hit. Allen has the typical “lights out” attitude that any coach would want in their closer and he seemingly always maintains his composure, even in pressure situations.

Allen may grab the headlines, but his set-up man Evan Marshall was equally as effective and valuable for K-State in the series. Marshall threw 3.1 innings in the series and allowed just one unearned run. Marshall was particularly effective for K-State on Friday and Saturday when he mowed down the Red Raiders without allowing a hit in either appearance.

K-State got solid starts from Shane Conlon and Kyle Hunter on Thursday and Friday to win the series. Conlon, a freshman, has seen most of his time as a defensive replacement at first base this season, but he got the first win on the mound of his Wildcat career Thursday. Matt Applegate stole the show on Saturday by going 7 innings and allowing just one run while striking out 13 Red Raiders. Applegate’s emergence in 2011 (4-2, 3.57 ERA) is a big part of what is keeping K-State in the hunt for another NCAA regional appearance.

Texas Tech’s arms were solid in the series and probably weren’t indicative of being swept. The Red Raiders got by on Thursday with David Paiz giving up just 2 earned runs and were in a good position to win the game. The bats didn’t respond though and Tech fell 2-1. Friday starter Trey Masek struggled and gave up 4 earned runs in 5 innings, but Robbie Kilcrease shutout K-State through the final three innings to give the Red Raiders a chance. One bad inning on Saturday doomed Tech starter Brennan Stewart in the 4-1 Wildcat win to complete the sweep.

Jamodrick McGruder (courtesy Texas Tech)

Kansas State kept Jamodrick McGruder in check throughout the weekend, though he did produce three  hits in the series. Barrett Barnes had a hit and an RBI through the first two games of the series, but was held out of the lineup on Saturday. Just speculation here, but it was likely due to a rough spill Barnes took against the center field wall while making a spectacular catch on Friday night. Barnes clearly has the speed and talent in center to be a force.

This was a huge series for the NCAA regional hopes of both Texas Tech and K-State. The Wildcats shot up three spots in the Big 12 standings to 6th at 8-10 in league play thanks to the sweep. In the process they passed the Red Raiders, who are now 6-12 in the conference. Texas Tech clearly has plenty of work left to do and not salvaging a game from this series was a big blow.

KSU meanwhile is looking like the team that many expected this year in Manhattan after surviving a very sluggish start. The Cats’ pitching staff is really coming around as a whole and K-State is winning with pitching, defense and base running. K-State needs to continue to win games and a lack of pop in the lineup may hold them back, but things are looking much better for Brad Hill and the Wildcats than they did a week ago.

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We have finally made it around the infield. After this list of first basemen, we only have pitchers and outfielders remaining as we continue to look at some of the top players in the country at each position.

1. Paul Hoilman – East Tennessee State

Hoilman went from good as a sophomore in 2009 to great in 2010. The 6’4, 230 pound slugger hit .380 with 17 home runs, 19 doubles, 66 RBIs and a .740 slugging percentage in ’09.  He elevated those numbers to a .421 avg., 25 HR, 24 doubles, 84 RBIs, and a Division One-leading .860 slugging percentage last year. Hoilman had a Ruthian 1.386 OPS for the season, while his home run total tied for fifth in the nation. He won the inaugural TD Ameritrade Home Run Derby in July when he hit seven home runs in his first 11 swings in the contest at Rosenblatt Stadium. Hoilman received All-American accolades and was also named the 2010 Atlantic Sun Conference Male Scholar Athlete of the Year. He was drafted in the 49th round last June by the Tampa Bay Rays, but opted to return for his senior season at ETSU.

2. Jordan Ribera – Fresno State

Ribera finished second to Hoilman at the TD Ameritrade Home Run Derby. He came absolutely out of nowhere in 2010 to become one of the premiere power hitters in the country. His junior season included a .343 average with 20 doubles, 69 RBIs and a nation-leading 27 home runs. He also sported a healthy 1.187 OPS. That from a player who hit just nine home runs in 2008 and 2009 combined. Ribera was named WAC Player of the Year and also earned All-American honors from four different publications for his efforts. The 6’0, 220 pound senior is one of the few remaining players from Fresno State’s 2008 National Championship team.

3. Ricky Oropesa – USC

While Hoilman and Ribera are both more pure first basemen, Oropesa is one of several players on this list who play both 1B and 3B. Now a junior, Oropesa led the Trojans last year in the following categories: Batting average-.343, HR-20, RBIs-67, Doubles-22, Runs-53, Hits-83, Total Bases-167 (next closest was 87), Slugging % – .711, OBP-.434, Stolen Bases- 7, and BB – 33. He was a Freshman All-American in 2009 and earned All-Pac-10 Conference and All-American accolades in ’10 for a 28-32 Trojan team. Oropesa was a 24th round draft pick of the Boston Red Sox coming out of high school in 2008.

4. Nick Ramirez – Cal State Fullerton

Ramirez is one of the top two-way players in the nation. It showed last year when the sophomore hit .346 with 17 home runs, with team-highs of 28 doubles and 75 RBIs. He also recorded 11 saves (and made one start) with a 3.50 ERA as Fullerton’s closer. His efforts made him a finalist for the inaugural John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award and also garnered All-Big West first team and All-American honors. Ramirez also played for the USA Collegiate National Team last summer, with two HR and 16 RBIs, along with a save and a 1.59 ERA in 5 2/3 IP. Titan head coach Dave Serrano also served as his pitching coach for Team USA.

5. Riccio Torrez – Arizona State

Torrez could be the top all-around athlete on this list. He started 56 games at first base last year, while his now graduated brother, Rauol Torrez, played third base. He won the Pac-10 batting crown with his .393 average, and also had 10 home runs with a team-best 27 doubles, 54 RBIs, 65 runs, and 20 stolen bases. Torrez committed just four errors for a .992 fielding percentage and was hit by pitch a Pac-10 leading 25 times. His efforts earned First Team All-Pac-10 and Third Team All-American honors, while helping the Sun Devils to their second straight College World Series. With his brother gone, Torrez is expected to also see time at third base in 2011.

6. Barrett Barnes – Texas Tech

Barnes got his college career off to a fast start and he never really cooled down last year. He was 3-for-4 with two home runs and six RBIs on opening day, enroute to being named the Big 12 Freshman of the Year.  He also became just the fifth Texas Tech player to ever receive Freshman All-American honors in 2010. Barnes had team-highs with a .341 average, .641 slugging percentage, 14 home runs, and 71 runs. He also had 19 doubles and 12 stolen bases. His 71 runs were the second-most in the Big 12, while his 14 HR were the most by a Red Raider freshman since 1986 (he was the only TT player with double digit long balls). Barnes helped the Falmouth Commodores to a second place finish in the Cape Cod League over the summer.

7. Christian Walker – South Carolina

Walker’s 2010 freshman season was one to remember. His three-run Super Regional home run against Coastal Carolina on June 13 sent the Gamecocks to the College World Series, but Walker didn’t stop there. He was named to the CWS All-Tournament Team after helping South Carolina win its first National Championship. Walker batted .327 with nine home runs and 51 RBIs in 2010. He also batted a team-best .346 in SEC action, while striking out just 18 times in 226 at-bats-the fewest of any USC batter with at least 100 ABs during the ’10 campaign. Walker was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team and earned Freshman All-American honors.

8. Mike Nemeth – Connecticut

Nemeth’s junior season at UConn was a career-best for him as well as a program-best for his team. Nemeth was solid in his first two years for the Huskies, with a .314 batting average, six home runs and 76 total RBIs. He put those to shame though in 2010, batting .386 with 84 RBIs (both team-highs), 15 home runs and 20 doubles to help the Huskies to a school-record 48 wins and an NCAA Regional berth. He was also one of three UConn regulars to start and play in a program-topping 64 games. Nemeth sported an 1.120 OPS, while striking out just 24 times with 38 walks in 254 at-bats. He also played for the Bourne Braves in the Cape Cod League over the summer. Nemeth is part of a nucleus of returnees that includes George Springer and Matt Barnes who will try to take UConn even farther in 2011.

9. Nate Woods – Belmont

The 6’6 senior had a junior year to remember in 2010. Woods set Belmont school records with 20 home runs and 78 RBIs, while batting .319 to earn All-Atlantic Sun honors. It was also his first full season as an everyday starter. Woods had his 2009 season cut short due to injury after starting 35 times as an A-Sun All-Freshman performer in 2008. He has also made 30 starts on the mound over his first three seasons in Nashville, including 13 last year with a 5-6 record. The 2011 Preseason All-American was drafted in the 28th round of the 2007 draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers out of Cedar Rapids, IA.

10. Nick O’Shea – Minnesota

As a redshirt sophomore, O’Shea was the top run producer for the Big Ten champion Golden Gophers. He hit .334 with team-highs of 13 home runs and 60 RBIs to help Minnesota win its conference tournament and the Fullerton NCAA Regional bid that came with it. O’Shea was one of three Gophers to start all 62 of his team’s games in 2010. He scored 44 runs with 19 doubles to land on the All-Big Ten First Team. After a redshirt 2008 season, the Blaine, MN native hit 11 HR with 44 RBIs to earn Freshman All-American honors in 2009.

11. Cameron Seitzer – Oklahoma

Seitzer’s breakout 2010 season helped Oklahoma reach the promised land at the College World Series. He batted .323 with three home runs and 14 RBIs before his season ended with a broken wrist in 2009. Things went much better last year when Seitzer hit .305 with 16 home runs, 15 doubles and 53 RBIs. Seitzer’s .600 slugging percentage was second on his team to third baseman Garrett Buechele’s .630. His .431 OBP was helped by being hit by pitch a team-high 20 times. Like Buechele, Seitzer comes from good lineage. He is the the son of 12-year MLB veteran Kevin Seitzer (Buechele’s dad is 11-year MLB vet Steve Buechele).

Others To Watch…

Alex Aurrichio – Columbia

Troy Channing – St. Mary’s

Ryan Durrence – Bethune-Cookman

Dean Espy – UCLA

Kelvin Freeman – North Carolina A&T

Jonathon Griffin – Central Florida

Brian Johnson – Florida

Max Muncy – Baylor

Jerrud Sabourin – Indiana

Doug Schribman – Bucknell

Matt Snyder – Ole Miss

Aaron Westlake – Vanderbilt

Related

Top 11 Non-Conference Schedules In 2011

Top 11 Catchers To Watch In 2011

Top 11 Shortstops To Watch In 2011

Top 11 Second basemen To Watch In 2011

Top 11 Third basemen To Watch In 2011

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

Just click on any of the red links above or the image on the left to find the best selection of college baseball apparel.

Here’s a look at the official Division One NCAA baseball statistics leaders in selected categories.  Stats are through games played on 5/2/10.

Quintavious Drains

WINS

1.  Quintavious Drains-Jackson State  10

The following 11 players are tied with 9 wins

Corey Baker-Pittsburgh

Jake Borup-Arizona State

Cole Green-Texas

D.D. Hanks-South Alabama

Justin Jones-California

Merrill Kelly-Arizona State

Kyle Kraus-Portland

Anthony Meo-Coastal Carolina

Shawn Teufel-Liberty

Alex Wimmers-Ohio State

Brandon Workman-Texas

Drew Pomeranz

STRIKEOUTS

1. Drew Pomeranz-Mississippi  104

2. Chris Sale-Florida Gulf Coast  103

3. Asher Wojciechowski-The Citadel  102

4. Josh Smith-Lipscomb  100

5. Barret Loux-Texas A&M  97

6. Gerrit Cole-UCLA  95

7. Daniel Bibona-UC Irvine  94

7. Danny Hultzen-Virginia  94

9. Jason Mitchell-UT Arlington  93

10. Trevor Bauer-UCLA  92

Kevin Arico

SAVES

1. Kevin Arico-Virginia  13

1. Chris Patterson-Appalachian St.  13

3. Andrew Burkett-Cincinnati  12

Chris Dennis-Portland  12

Kevin McKague-Army  12

6. Neil Holland-Louisville  11

6. Matty Ott-LSU  11

8. Ryan Duke-Oklahoma  10

Andy Mee-Florida Atlantic  10

Chance Ruffin-Texas  10

Jordan Swagerty-Arizona St.  10

* Ten pitchers are tied for 12th with 9 saves

Trever Vermeulen

ERA

Minimum 40 IP & Pitchers must have 1 IP for every game played by team

1. Trever Vermeulen-South Dakota St.  0.82

2. Chance Ruffin-Texas  0.96

3. John Stilson-Texas A&M  1.07

4. Kenny Long-Illinois St.  1.35

5. Kevin Munson-James Madison  1.45

6. Brian Garman-Cincinnati  1.51

7. Alex Wimmers-Ohio St.  1.61

8. Cole Green-Texas  1.62

9. Brady Rodgers-Arizona St.  1.68

10. James Giuletti-Binghamton  1.72

TEAM ERA

1. Texas-2.17

2. Coastal Carolina-3.00

3. Oregon-3.01

4. UCLA-3.04

5. Arizona State-3.07

6. Portland-3.24

7. Vanderbilt-3.31

8. Louisiana-Lafayette-3.34

9. Miami (FL)-3.56

10. Virginia-3.58

Tom Clayton

BATTING AVERAGE

Minimum 90 Plate Appearances & Minimum 3.0 Plate Appearances Per Game

1. Tom Clayton-Youngstown St.  .473

2. Keith Werman-Virginia  .471

3. Kevin Tokarski-Illinois St.  .459

4. Effrey Valdez-New York Tech  .458

5. Phil Cerreto-Longwood  .457

5. Paul Hoilman-East Tennessee St.  .457

7. Joe Leonard-Pittsburgh  .452

8. Gary Brown-Cal State Fullerton  .450

9. Justin Howard-New Mexico  .449

10. Anthony Gomez-Vanderbilt  .445

Jacob Tanis

RUNS BATTED IN

1. Jacob Tanis-Mercer  72

2. Nate Woods-Belmont  67

3.  Mac Doyle-Wofford  64

3. Jake Overstreet-South Alabama  64

5. Paul Hoilman-East Tennessee St.  63

5. Matt Leeds-College of Charleston  63

7. Chris Duffy-Central Florida  62

Drew Lee-Morehead St.  62

Greg Wallace-Evansville  62

10. Brandon Williams-Georgia St.  61

Jordan Ribera

HOME RUNS

1. Jordan Ribera-Fresno St.  21

2. A.J. Kirby-Jones-Tennessee Tech  19

Jacob Tanis-Mercer  19

4. Alex Dickerson-Indiana  18

4. Dan Paolini-Siena  18

6. J.D. Ashbrook-Morehead St. 17

Jordan Ballard-VMI  17

Wes Cunningham-Murray St.  17

Chris Duffy-Central Florida  17

Ben Heath-Penn State  17

Paul Hoilman-East Tennessee St.  17

Matt Leeds-College of Charleston  17

Nate Woods-Belmont  17

Phil Wunderlich-Louisville  17

Paul Hoilman

SLUGGING PERCENTAGE

Minimum 90 Plate Appearances & Minimum 3.0 Plate Appearances PG

1. Paul Hoilman-East Tennessee St.  .880

2. A.J. Kirby-Jones-Tennessee Tech  .859

3. Wes Cunningham-Murray St.  .851

4. Rob Segedin-Tulane  .837

5. Phil Cerreto-Longwood  .829

6. Chris Duffy-Central Florida  .825

7. J.D. Ashbrook-Moorehead St.  .824

8. Mac Doyle-Wofford  .819

9. Jayson Langfels-Eastern Kentucky  .818

10. Chace Perkins-New Mexico St.  .812

Kevin Tokarski

ON-BASE PERCENTAGE

Minimum 90 Plate Appearances

1. Kevin Tokarski-Illinois St.  .579

2. Nate Roberts-High Point  .579

3. Michael Choice-UT Arlington  .571

4. Taylor Dugas-Alabama  .566

5. Effrey Valdez-New York Tech  .554

6. Paul Hoilman-East Tennessee St.  .553

7. Yasmani Grandal-Miami (FL)  .551

8. Kyle Roller-East Carolina  .550

9. Keith Werman-Virginia  .548

10. J.D. Ashbrook-Moorehead St.  .547

Ryan Aguayo

RUNS

1. Ryan Aguayo-New Mexico St.  68

2. Nate Roberts-High Point  67

3. Dallas Poulk-North Carolina St.  65

4. Paul Hoilman-East Tennessee St.  63

5. J.D. Ashbrook-Moorehead St.  62

Tyler Holt-Florida St.  62

Justin Howard-New Mexico  62

Jeff Rowland-Georgia Tech  62

9. Barrett Barnes-Texas Tech  61

Wes Cunningham-Murray St.  61

Perry Silverman-Canisius  61

Kolbrin Vitek-Ball State  61

TEAM BATTING AVERAGE

1.  Georgia State .373

2. Pittsburgh  .370

3. Utah Valley  .365

4. New Mexico St.  .362

5. New Mexico  .356

6. Southeast Missouri St.  .355

7. Arizona State  .348

7. Auburn  .348

9. South Dakota St.  .346

10. Wright State  .345

Stanford’s Kaskow, SC ace Cooper Lead Primtime Honors …

Stanford jr. 1B Jonathon Kaskow

CLICK HERE for archive of previous CB360 Primetime award winners (scroll down for earlier weeks).

South Carolina sr. RHP Blake Cooper

Kaskow has been named the national Primetime Player of the Week and Cooper is the Primetime Pitcher of the Week, while 15 others join them in comprising the Primetime Performer Weekly Honor Roll (as selected by CollegeBaseball360.com). Cooper delivered a 4-hit shutout in the series opener vs. Mississippi (#20 in the CB360 Composite National Rankings), countering a strong outing by Ole Moss ace Drew Pomeranz – while Kaskow reached base 10 times and drove in/scored 10 runs during the Cardinal’s series sweep at #14 Oregon State.

COOPER delivered in the clutch versus the Rebels, sending South Carolina on to the series win and a spot among the Southeastern Conference leaders. The 5-10, 180-pound righthander racked up a career-high 10 strikeouts in the 5-0 win over Ole Miss and issued only one walk over the course of his fifth career complete game. It marked the first complete game shutout by a South Carolina pitcher since May 13, 2005 (when Aaron Rawl also posted a noteworthy win over Ole Miss, 2-0).

Blake Cooper's 4-hitter countered 7.0 shutout innings from Ole Miss ace Drew Pomeranz, in South Carolina's 5-0 series opener (photo courtesy of South Carolina).

After working out of a bases-loaded jam to open the game, Cooper settled down and posted four 1-2-3 innings (3rd-5th, 7th) to keep the Rebels at bay. A pair of infield errors allowed the first two batters to reach in the 6th, but Cooper quickly responded with a strikeout and double-play groundball to end the threat.

CLICK HERE to listen to an exclusive podcast interview with Cooper.

The SEC co-lead in victories this season (7-0; giving him28 career wins), Cooper owns a 2.44 season ERA and a lowly .185 opponent batting average, along with a 2.7 K-to-walk ratio (57/21) and 40 hits allowed in 62.2 innings.

KASKOW delivered from his cleanup spot throughout the past week, posting multiple hits in all four games (14-0 vs. Santa Clara; 14-6/5-3 in 10/10-7 at Oregon State) as Stanford gave its NCAA Tournament hopes a major bolt. The imposing 6-4, 225-pound righthanded hitter batted .625 during the week (10-for-16; 8 RBI), including a 7-for-12 effort in the OSU series, with five RBI, five runs, a home run, double and three walks.

Currently the Pacific-10 Conference leader in league batting avg. (.500), Kaskow smacked his first home run of the season and had 4 RBI in the opener vs. Oregon State, followed by a 2-hit game in the series clincher and three more hits in the finale. Stanford entered last week barely over .500 (14-13), with only a 4-5 mark in Pac-10 play (now 18-13/7-5).

Stanford cleanup batter Jonathan Kaskow reached base 10 times and factored into 10 runs, during the Cardinal's series sweep at #10 Oregon State (photo courtesy of Stanford).

(note: additional action photos for some of the other honorees on this page may be added later today)

Primetime Performer Award Criteria
• Must have been playing for or against a CB360 top-50 team (in the Composite National Rankings) or performed a high level in a game that could be key to a team’s conference/NCAA postseason qualification.
• Involved in clutch performances, such as late game-winning hits, noteworthy comebacks, game-changing plays, team leadership, key defensive efforts, etc.
• Performing 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.
• Overcoming adversity or extreme circumstances (for the team and/or individual).
• Any accomplishment that is rare, historic, record-setting, etc., on a national level.

The other 15 members of the CB360 Primetime Performer Weekly Honor Roll include: Texas Tech fr. 1B Barrett Barnes (Sugarland, Texas) … Arkansas so. 2B Bo Bigham (Texarkansa, Ark.) … Southeastern Louisiana so. SS Justin Boudreaux (Prairieville, La.) … Georgia Tech jr. RF Chase Burnette (Buford, Ga.) … Univ. of the Pacific so. CF Brett Christopher (Livermore, Calif.) … LSU so. 3B Grant Dozar (Morgan City,  La.) … Texas jr. RHP Cole Green (Coppell, Texas) … Miami sr. RHP David Gutierrez (Miami, Fla.) … Arizona fr. RHP Kurt Heyer (Huntington Beach, Calif.) … Vanderbilt jr. RHP Taylor Hill (Old Hickory, Tenn.) … Auburn so. LHP Cory Luckie (Prattville, Ala.) … Florida Atlantic jr. RF/RHP Andy Mee (Palm Beach, Fla.) … Oregon sr. OF Curtis Raukinaitis (Sacramento, Calif.) … Liberty so. SS Matt Williams (Franklin, Tenn.) … and Ohio State jr. RHP Alex Wimmers (Cincinnati, Ohio).

The 17 honorees include nine pitchers (one of them a LHP and one a two-way player), along with two first basemen, a second baseman, shortstop, third baseman, centerfielder and rightfielder (plus a player who had stints at all three outfield spots during the past week). The selections feature three seniors, six juniors, five sophomores and three freshmen. The honorees hail from 11 different home states, led by three each from California and Texas, and two each from Florida, Louisiana and Tennessee, plus players from Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Ohio and South Carolina.

PRIMETIME PERFORMERS WEEKLY HONOR ROLL#9 (April 20, 2010)

(presented by CollegeBaseball360.com)

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

Player (Pos.) … School … Yr. … Hometown … Stats & Notes
Barrett Barnes (1B) … Texas Tech … Fr. … Sugarland, TX
Hit .500 in series and homered in both wins vs. #19 Oklahoma (1-12/7-3/8-3), as Red Raiders moved into 3rd place in Big 12 (6-12, 3RBI-3R-2B-BB)

Bo Bigham (2B) … Arkansas … So. … Texarkansa, AR
2-hole batter who offset subpar week by team’s top hitters, in 5-game stretch vs. #34 New Mexico (4-3 in 11/5-4) and SEC rival Georgia (10-2/10-2/13-5); hit 11-20 during week and scored 6 times (once in extra-innings), also 2RBI-2BB-SB-SAC

Justin Boudreaux (SS) … Southeastern Louisiana … So. … Prairieville, LA
Homered twice (5RBI) from 2-hole in key Southland Conf. series-clinching win vs. #37 Texas State (10-1/10-12 in 11/9-6); hit 6-14 with 9 RBI in series (3R-SB-SAC)

Chase Burnette (RF) … Georgia Tech … Jr. … Buford, GA
Helped rout in-state rival Georgia (25-6) and then sweep #16 Clemson (8-6 in 10/4-3/11-3) as Tech remained atop ACC; his HR from 6-hole won opener, then 2B & scored go-ahead run in 7th inn. of gm-2; factored into 8 runs during week (4RBI-5R-HR-2B-BB-2 SB-SF)

Brett Christopher (CF) … Univ. of the Pacific … So. … Livermore, CA
Played lead role in series win at #33 UC Irvine (2-4/7-4/7-2), as UOP jumped into race for BIG WEST title; 2-hole hitter’s strong all-around series included batting 4-9 with 6RBI, 4 sac-bunts & 3 extra-base hits (3B-2 2B-R)

Blake Cooper (RHP) … South Carolina … Sr. … Neeses, SC
Tossed 4-hit shutout (5-0) to beat #20 Mississippi in opener, with career-high 10 Ks and only one walk as SC went on to win series; countered strong outing by Ole Miss ace Drew Pomeranz (7IP-2H-4BB-10K)

Grant Dozar (3B) … LSU … So. … Morgan City,  LA
8-hole batter who had game-tying single in 9th and then homered in 14th to win series-sweeping game vs. #26 Alabama (12-5/9-7/6-5); went 2-2 (RBI-R) with 2 walks in opener vs. Tide (SB)

Cole Green (RHP) … Texas … Jr. … Coppell, TX
Crafted 1-hit shutout to beat #32 Texas A&M (14-0) in gm-2 or road sweep vs. rival Aggies (3BB-4K-32BF)

David Gutierrez (RHP) … Miami … Sr. … Miami, FL
Logged 7.0 “perfect-game” innings (21BF,  7Ks) vs. potent Florida Gulf Coast offense (.339 team batting avg.; nearly 9 runs/gm) before leaving due to pitch-count (84); Miami bullpen allowed 1H in 9-0 win

Kurt Heyer (RHP) … Arizona … Fr. … Huntington Beach, CA
Rookie who racked up 14 Ks and ended one out shy of complete game in 5-3 series-opening win at #44 Washington State (5-3; 8.2IP-3R/2ER-4H-BB)

Taylor Hill (RHP) … Vanderbilt … Jr. … Old Hickory, TN
Game-3 starter who turned in near-complete game in 3-2 finale,helping win series vs. #24 Auburn (8.2IP-2R-7H-7K)

Jonathan Kaskow (1B) … Stanford … Jr. … Coppell, TX
Cleanup hitter who Reached base 10 times and drove in/scored 10 runs, during huge Pac-10 sweep (14-6/5-3 in 10 inn./10-7) at #14 Oregon State (7-12; 5RBI-5R-HR-2B-3 BB)

Cory Luckie (LHP) … Auburn … So. … Prattville, AL
Delivered series-tying complete game at #21 Vanderbilt (12-2; 5H-2BB-3K-33BF-115 pitches)

Andy Mee (RF/RHP) … Florida Atlantic … Jr. … Palm Beach, FL
3-hole hitter who paced huge Sunbelt Conference sweep of #18 Western Kentucky (10-3/5-4/9-8), batting 8-13 while factoring into 9 runs (6RBI-4R-HR-2 2B-BB-SF); also saved series finale

Curtis Raukinaitis (OF) … Oregon … Sr. … Sacramento, CA
Delivered key offensive plays from #9 spot, as Ducks won Pac-10 series at #2 UCLA (5-4/8-4/1-5); had 4RBI-HR-3B in series clincher (2RBI in 1-run opener)

Matt Williams (SS) … Liberty … So. … Franklin, TN
5-hole batter who hit .500 (7-14) and played error-free in Big South Conference sweep of #42 VMI (12-9/9-6/13-8), which was coming off upset of #3 Virginia; factored into 10 runs vs. VMI (6RBI-4R-3B-2B-BB-SB)

Alex Wimmers (RHP) … Ohio State … Jr. … Cincinnati, OH
Opened key Big Ten road series with dominating win at #48 Michigan State (10-1; 8IP-R-7H-2BB-7K)

* – Kascow is the CB360 Primetime Player of the Week and Cooper the Primetime Pitcher of the Week … note that rankings above refer to the CB360 top-50 … class years are based on academic standing (some players may have an extra year of eligibility)