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UConn Head Coach Looks To Reload In 2012…

Jim Penders led UConn to a 2011 NCAA Regional win at Clemson before falling to South Carolina in Super Regional play.

The last two seasons have been nearly unprecedented for the Connecticut baseball team. Jim Penders led the Huskies to the program’s first Super Regional in 2011 before falling to eventual national champion South Carolina. UConn has won 93 games over the last two seasons after winning 45 games last year, while becoming the third Big East school to advance to a Super Regional.

Penders must now reload after losing home grown products George Springer and Matt Barnes in the first round of last year’s first year MLB Draft. In this exclusive interview with College Baseball 360 editor Sean Stires, Penders discusses his team’s success last season, replacing the two aforementioned Connecticut natives, how the Nutmeg State has come to produce other top talent like other college standouts Jason Esposito, A.J. Pollock and Matt Harvey, the one thing he would change about college baseball, and more.

Click the “Play” button below to listen to the interview.

Penders.mp3

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Preseason All-Conference Picks Named As Well…

24 Home Games, Early Events Set…

St. John’s has released its 2012 college baseball schedule. The Red Storm opens the season Feb. 17-19 at the fourth annual Big Ten/Big East Challenge in the St. Petersburg/Clearwater, Fla. area with games against Michigan State, Minnesota and Illinois.

The second weekend of the season takes SJU to Lubbock, Texas for the Brooks Wallace Memorial Classic. St. John’s faces host Texas Tech twice and Northern Illinois once at the event.

The Red Storm treks into the Carolinas for a Feb. 28 game at North Carolina, followed by a Feb. 29 game at UNC-Wilmington. From there, St. John’s heads to Conway and Myrtle Beach, SC for the Coastal Carolina Invitational. Games are set against Big East rival Pittsburgh as well as Coastal Carolina and a rematch with Illinois.

St. John’s plays its home opener on March 14 against Fairleigh-Dickinson and then hosts the March 16-18 Red Storm Baseball Tournament. Games there are slated against Albany and Holy Cross.

Big East play begins March 23-25 at Villanova. Other conference road series are at Rutgers, Cincinnati, Notre Dame, and Louisville. Conference home series are against West Virginia, UConn, South Florida, and Seton Hall.

Early Travels & Challenges Await Huskies…

Connecticut has released its 2012 college baseball schedule. Fresh-off the program’s first ever trip to a Super Regional in 2011, the Huskies open their season Feb. 17-19 at the fourth annual Big Ten/Big East Challenge in the St. Petersburg/Clearwater, Fla area. UConn will play Indiana, Purdue and Ohio State at the event.

The Huskies are at the Cougar Invitational in Mt. Pleasant, SC for games against Xavier, Rhode Island and host College of Charleston Feb. 24-26. They go to Starkville, Miss March 2-4 for the Mississippi State Tournament. They play two games each against the host Bulldogs and Lipscomb.

UConn travels cross country to the Pacific northwest for the March 9-11 Nike College Baseball Showcase in Eugene and Corvallis, Ore, with games there slated against Oklahoma, Oregon, Oregon State, and Illinois. They face Seattle University in Seattle on March 12 and then venture back to the Atlantic coast for the Coastal Carolina Tournament March 16-18. The Huskies play Alabama-Birmingham and the Chanticleers in Conway, SC and Michigan in Myrtle Beach.

After a March 21 home opener vs. Yale, UConn opens Big East play March 23-25 in West Virginia. Other conference road series are slated against Pittsburgh, St. John’s, Louisville, and South Florida. UConn hosts Seton Hall, Rutgers, Cincinnati, and Notre Dame in Big East play.

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25 Home Games Set For Pirates…

Challenging First Month Awaits Scarlet Knights…

Rutgers has released its 2012 college baseball schedule. The Scarlet Knights open their season February 17-19 with a three game series at Miami. The three games in Coral Gables means Rutgers will not participate in the fourth annual Big Ten/Big East Challenge that same weekend.

The Scarlet Knights make a Feb. 24-26 trip to Old Dominion in Norfolk, VA as well as a March 2-4 visit for three games at Georgia Tech.

A March 7 home opener against New Jersey Tech precedes an eight game spring break trip to Florida. Rutgers plays three games at Florida Atlantic, two games at Florida Gulf Coast and three at Stetson from March 9-18.

Big East Conference play begins March 23-25 with a trip to intrastate rival Seton Hall. Other conference road series are at Georgetown, Connecticut, Cincinnati, and Notre Dame. Rutgers hosts St. John’s, West Virginia, Pittsburgh, and Villanova in conference action.

Bubble Teams Not Fans Of Lobos, Tigers…

Ray Birmingham

The Lobos had lost seven straight games heading into the MWC Tourney, but the first four of those losses came at Oklahoma and the last three setbacks were to conference rival TCU. Both of those teams have already eclipsed 40 wins this season as they shoot to get back to Omaha after trips there last year.

Birmingham’s Lobos have been seemingly unfazed by their late season misfortunes since arriving in San Diego, and now find themselves one win away from a return trip to the NCAA tournament. New Mexico (19-39) has beaten #3 seed BYU, #1 seed TCU and #2 seed Utah in succession to advance to Friday’s MWC Championship game against either TCU or Utah.

“This team has been through a lot,” Birmingham said after Thursday’s win over the Utes. ” There is a method to my madness and we’re getting there.”

That “madness” has included a brutal schedule this season after Birmingham guided New Mexico to its first NCAA bid in nearly five decades in 2010. The Lobos started the season by dropping three games at Arizona State (a fourth game was rained-out). Their non-conference slate also included games against Oklahoma State, Arizona, Texas Tech, Gonzaga and Oklahoma, finishing just 1-17 against those teams which are all in the NCAA conversation this weekend.

The Lobos also faced TCU, which was a preseason #1 team in some polls, six times (going 1-5) in conference play during the regular season.

“A lot of blogs said we had the hardest schedule in the nation and I believe we did,” Birmingham said after his team’s tournament win over TCU. “We’re not afraid to face the best now. We know how to face the best.”

New Mexico, a team with an RPI of 158 entering the week, is just the second No. 6 seed to advance to the championship game of the MWC Tournament. The only other team to do it was Utah in 2009. The Utes claimed the title that year.

TCU and Utah play at 6 p.m. ET Friday. New Mexico faces the winner at 10 p.m. A Lobo win would give them the tournament title and automatic NCAA bid. If the TCU/Utah winner beats UNM they would play an “if necessary” winner take all game on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. All games are televised by the Mtn. Network and CBS College Sports (channels 616 and 613, respectively on DirecTV).

Missouri players celebrate after Thursday's win (courtesy Big 12).

Missouri is another team that is causing migraines for NCAA bubble teams this week. The Tigers brought just a 24-30 record into this week’s Big 12 Tournament, but they won four of their last five conference series to close the regular season. Those wins all came against teams with higher seeds in this week’s tournament: Texas A&M (2), Baylor (5), Kansas State (6), and Texas Tech (7).

Two teams Missouri did not beat during the regular season were No. 1 seed Texas and No. 4 seed Oklahoma State. The Tigers dropped all six match-ups to the Longhorns and Cowboys in back-to-back weekends at the start of April, but their fortunes changed in rematches this week in Oklahoma City.

Missouri knocked-off top-seeded Texas 6-4 on Wednesday and then held-off OSU 6-5 on Thursday to advance to the tournament semifinals. Missouri led Oklahoma State 5-0, only to see the Cowboys score five runs over the last two innings to tie the game before Eric Garcia‘s walk-off hit with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning.

“I’m really proud of these guys, not just this weekend, but the last five or six weeks,” Mizzou head coach Tim Jamieson said after his team’s fifth walk-off win of the season. “These guys read the blogs and read the websites much more than I do. They know we have to finish above .500 or win the tournament. We can’t finish above .500, so it’s pretty simple math.”

The Tigers now have Friday off and wait until Saturday morning at 10 ET to face the winner of Friday’s Texas-Oklahoma State elimination game. The eight-team Big 12 Tourney is formatted similarly to the College World Series, so if Mizzou wins Saturday it moves on to Sunday’s championship game (Texas A&M is 2-0 in the other four-team pool). If the Texas/OSU winner beats Missouri Saturday morning there will be a rematch that afternoon.

The Big 12 Championship game is Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. ET on Fox Sports Regional Networks.

Elsewhere…

Auburn and Georgia were both teams with work to do to heading into the SEC Tournament, but the bubble has already burst for one of those teams. Georgia (29-29) eliminated Auburn (29-29) in more ways than one with Thursday’s 3-2 victory.

Since a team must finish above .500 to receive an NCAA at-large bid, Auburn’s season is now done. With that in mind, Georgia must not only beat South Carolina on Friday, but they would also have to beat Florida Saturday afternoon to meet the above .500 requirement. South Carolina fell 7-2 to Vanderbilt Thursday night, while Florida is 2-0 with wins over Mississippi State and Alabama.

The fact that Georgia and Auburn could both finish below .500 after qualifying for the SEC field could indirectly help the at-large cases of two teams that didn’t make it to Hoover. Three-time defending SEC champion LSU (36-20 overall) is home this week with an RPI of 23, while Ole Miss (30-25) awaits selection Monday with an RPI of 40.
The only realistic shot the Big East had to get two teams in the NCAA Tournament was for someone other than Connecticut to win its conference tourney. That’s closer to happening after defending champion St. John’s (34-18 and this year’s #2 seed) downed Pittsburgh 6-4 Thursday to improve to 2-0, while UConn (40-16-1) was upset 4-3 by #4 seed Seton Hall (31-23) to fall into the elimination bracket.

The Huskies (38 RPI) are still in good shape for an at-large bid, but anything other than a conference tournament title would all but kill any chances of hosting a regional for a second straight year.
Houston pulled-off its second straight upset at the Conference USA Tournament Thursday. The No. 6 seed Cougars downed No. 2 Southern Mississippi 7-6 a day after downing No. 3 East Carolina 8-5. As we reported earlier this week, Southern Miss. is without two of its top three starting pitchers, Geoffrey Thomas and Jonathon Thompson, who are suspended for academic reasons. Houston (27-30) now faces No. 7 Tulane (30-26).
It didn’t quite match Wednesday’s 20-inning marathon between Western Carolina and Elon in the SoCon Tournament, but Georgia Tech outlasted North Carolina State 6-5 in 15 innings Thursday at the ACC Tourney. Yellow Jacket Matt Hyde stole home in the top of the 15th to give his team the win in the longest game in ACC Tournament history. Georgia Tech, NC State, Clemson and Florida State all are 1-1 in Pool B.

No. 8 seed Arkansas-Little Rock has clinched spot in Sunday’s Sun Belt Championship game. UALR (22-32) has wins over No. 1 Troy and No. 4 Western Kentucky.

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The University of South Florida has released its 2011 college baseball schedule. The Bulls open their season February 18-20 with a three-game series at intrastate rival Florida. The Gators are fresh off a trip to the 2010 College World Series. USF will play that series in lieu of participating in the third annual Big East/Big Ten Challenge, which is held just across Tampa Bay from the USF campus in the St. Petersburg and Clearwater, FL area. The Bulls will also host Florida on March 9.

CLICK HERE to see the complete 2011 USF baseball schedule.

Other teams from the state of Florida that USF will play include Florida A&M, Florida Gulf Coast, Central Florida, Bethune-Cookman, North Florida, Jacksonville, and Stetson.

USF opens Big East play March 25-27 when it hosts West Virginia. Other conference home series are against Rutgers, St. John’s and Pittsburgh. Conference road action is at Villanova, Seton Hall, Louisville, Connecticut, and Seton Hall.

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UConn Tabbed As Coaches’ Favorite…

Matt Barnes

The Huskies received nine of a possible 11 first-place votes in the preseason poll. The coaches also chose Connecticut outfielder George Springer as the BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year and named righthanded pitcher Matt Barnes the BIG EAST Preseason Pitcher of the Year.

Connecticut returns seven starting position players and its top two pitchers from last year’s team, which went 48-16 overall and 20-6 in the BIG EAST Conference, finishing a half-game behind Louisville in the regular-season standings. The Huskies advanced to the BIG EAST Championship final for the third time in the last four years and hosted the Norwich Regional of the NCAA Championship.

George Springer

Connecticut’s returning starters include Springer, who hit .337 with 18 home runs, 62 runs batted in and 33 stolen bases last season, and Barnes, the Huskies’ Friday starter who went 8-3 with a 3.92 ERA in 2010. First baseman Mike Nemeth (.386, 15 HR, 84 RBI) joined Springer and Barnes as unanimous Preseason All-BIG EAST selections, while designated hitter Kevin Vance (.322, 7 HR, 36 RBI) was named to the team as well.

St. John’s, which went 43-20 overall and 16-11 in BIG EAST play, was picked second in the preseason poll, edging Louisville with 107 points. The Red Storm won a record sixth BIG EAST Championship last season and were selected for the NCAA Regionals for the third time in the last four years. Outfielder Jeremy Baltz (.396, 24 HR, 85 RBI), a Baseball America All-America First Team pick and the BIG EAST Rookie of the Year last season, was named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team, along with righthanded pitcher Kyle Hansen (8-3, 3.71 ERA), who was the Most Outstanding Player of the 2010 BIG EAST Championship.

Louisville was picked third with 105 points following a 2010 season in which the Cardinals went 50-14 overall, won the BIG EAST regular-season title at 21-6 in the conference, and earned the No. 7 national seed in the NCAA Championship. Louisville set a school record for wins and finished the year ranked as high as No. 16 nationally. Second baseman Ryan Wright (.366, 16 HR, 80 RBI) was unanimously chosen to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team, joining outfielder Stewart Ijames (.324, 14 HR, 63 RBI).

USF (26-32, 16-11 BIG EAST) was picked fourth in the preseason poll with 87 points on the strength of two of the top pitchers in the BIG EAST. Southpaw Andrew Barbosa went 8-2 with a BIG EAST-leading 2.40 ERA, while righthander Randy Fontanez went 5-7 with a 3.59 ERA and led the conference in innings (110.1) and strikeouts (105)  last season. Both pitchers were chosen to the Preseason All-BIG EAST team.

Pittsburgh was tabbed fifth by the BIG EAST coaches with 82 points. The Panthers went 38-18 overall and 18-8 in the BIG EAST last year, finishing third in the regular-season standings, but will have to replace the production of 2010 BIG EAST Player of the Year Joe Leonard. Catcher Kevan Smith (.361, 5 HR, 46 RBI) and lefthanded pitcher Matt Iannazzo (11-2, 3.76 ERA) were the Panthers’ Preseason All-BIG EAST picks.

Rutgers was chosen sixth in the preseason poll with 75 points. The Scarlet Knights played a challenging schedule to a 30-26 overall record and a 15-12 mark in BIG EAST play last year, finishing sixth in the conference. Steve Nyisztor was the Preseason All-BIG EAST choice at shortstop after he hit .410 with four home runs and 51 RBI last year, while Ryan Kapp (.318, 9 HR, 39 RBI) was chosen as a designated hitter.

Cincinnati (29-29, 13-14 BIG EAST ) and Notre Dame (22-32, 10-17 BIG EAST) tied for seventh in the preseason poll with 56 points. The Bearcats will have 15 new players and 16 returning letterwinners in 2011, including righthanded pitcher Andrew Strenge, who set a BIG EAST record with a 0.62 ERA in BIG EAST games as a freshman. Overall, Strenge went 7-1 with a 1.93 ERA to lead a strong Bearcat staff. Notre Dame and new head coach Mik Aoki are led by second baseman Frank DeSico (.333, 1 HR, 25 RBI) as the Irish look to return to the BIG EAST Championship in 2011.

West Virginia was picked ninth in the preseason poll with 38 points. The Mountaineers were 27-30 overall and 10-17 in BIG EAST play last season, qualifying for the BIG EAST Championship on the last day of the regular season. Third baseman Grant Buckner (.363, 8 HR, 50 RBI) was the Mountaineers’ lone representative on the Preseason All-BIG EAST team.

Villanova was 10th in the preseason poll with 31 points, followed by Seton Hall (25 points ) and Georgetown (13 points). The Hoyas placed catcher Erick Fernandez (.315, 5 HR, 29 RBI) on the Preseason All-BIG EAST team.

The 2011 baseball season begins Feb. 18 with the early season highlighted by the third annual BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge taking place in Florida. The first weekend of league play is March 25-27 with all 12 schools in action. The 2011 BIG EAST Baseball Championship will return to Bright House Field in Clearwater, Fla., May 25-29, with the championship game to be televised on ESPNU.

2011 Preseason BIG EAST Baseball Coaches’ Poll

1.              Connecticut (9)                                 117

2.              St. John’s (2)                                     107

3.              Louisville (1)                                     105

4.              USF                                                    87

5.              Pittsburgh                                           82

6.              Rutgers                                               75

7.              Cincinnati                                            56

7.             Notre Dame                                        56

9.              West Virginia                                      38

10.             Villanova                                             31

11.             Seton Hall                                           25

12.             Georgetown                                        13

Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year:

George Springer, OF, Connecticut

Preseason BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year:

Matt Barnes, RHP, Connecticut

Preseason All-BIG EAST Team

Pos.    Name, Class, School                                           Key 2010 Stats

P    Matt Barnes, Sr., Connecticut *                         8-3, 3.92 ERA, 82.2 IP, 75K, 25 BB, .257 OBA

P    Matt Iannazzo, Jr., Pittsburgh                            11-2, 3.76 ERA, 93.1 IP, 58 K, 22 BB, .289 OBA

P    Kyle Hansen, So., St. John’s                                8-3, 3.71 ERA, 94.2 IP, 85 K, 38 BB, .227 OBA

P    Randy Fontanez, Sr., USF                                   5-7, 3.59 ERA, 110.1 IP, 105 K, 28 BB, .241 OBA

P    Andrew Barbosa, Sr., USF                                  8-2, 2.40 ERA, 86.1 IP, 95 K, 22 BB, .228 OBA

C    Erick Fernandez, Sr., Georgetown                      .315, 5 HR, 29 RBI

C    Kevan Smith, Sr., Pittsburgh                               .361, 5 HR, 46 RBI

1B    Mike Nemeth, Sr., Connecticut *                       .386, 15 HR, 84 RBI

2B    Ryan Wright, Jr., Louisville *                              .366, 16 HR, 80 RBI, 10 SB

SS    Steve Nyisztor, So., Rutgers                               .410, 4 HR, 51 RBI, 11 SB

3B    Grant Buckner, Sr., West Virginia                      .363, 8 HR, 50 RBI

OF    George Springer, Jr., Connecticut *                    .337, 18 HR, 62 RBI, 33 SB

OF    Stewart Ijames, Jr., Louisville                            .324, 14 HR, 63 RBI

OF    Jeremy Baltz, So., St. John’s *                            .396, 24 HR, 85 RBI

DH    Kevin Vance, Jr., Connecticut                              .322, 7 HR, 36 RBI

DH    Ryan Kapp, Jr., Rutgers                                       .318, 9 HR, 39 RBI

* – unanimous selection

Connecticut has announced its 2011 college baseball schedule. The Huskies will begin their 116th season of baseball February 18-20 at the Big East/Big Ten Challenge with games against Purdue, Minnesota and Michigan in Dunedin and Clearwater, FL.

UConn heads to Corpus Christi, TX the following weekend for three games at the Kleberg Bank College Classic. The Huskies face Oregon State, Indiana and Texas A&M Corpus Christi in the Feb. 25-27 event.

CLICK HERE to see the complete 2011 UConn baseball schedule.

A trip to California comprises UConn’s spring break trip that runs March 5-12. The Huskies face San Diego State and California at SDSU’s Tony Gwynn Stadium to start the trip. After a game at San Diego, UConn travels to Irvine to face UC Irvine on Mar. 8 and then returns to San Diego for three more games against the Toreros at Cunningham Stadium.

UConn is in Mt. Pleasant, SC March 18-20 for three games at the Cougar Invitational. The Huskies will face Rhode Island, the College of Charleston and Southern Mississippi. In all, Connecticut will play in 11 different states during the 2011 campaign.

The Huskies open Big East play when they host Pittsburgh March 25-27 at J.O. Christian Field. Other conference home action is against St. John’s, Georgetown, South Florida, and Louisville. Big East road series are at Notre Dame, Villanova, Rutgers, and Cincinnati.

The Big East Baseball Tournament is May 25-29 in Clearwater, FL.

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