http://collegebaseball360.com/college-baseball-360-weekend-wrapup-april-11/ http://collegebaseball360.com/college-baseball-360-weekend-wrapup-april-11/#comments Mon, 11 Apr 2011 17:00:37 +0000 http://collegebaseball360.com/?p=18242

www.simplesharebuttons.com

A big early April weekend of college baseball is in the books, so consider this your look back at some great action. The April 8-10 weekend saw some great baseball played around the country.

Going back to April 7, it was also the debut of Thursday Night college baseball on ESPNU. Not only was there South Carolina vs. Tennessee baseball on The U Thursday night, but there was also Arkansas vs. LSU Saturday night (drama) and Cal State Fullerton vs. UC Irvine on Sunday (not as much drama, but still good baseball).

The weekend’s action included 39 series that featured College Baseball 360 Top-50 teams, with 12 of those series being won by the lower-ranked/unranked teams. Sunday’s games alone had 41 total games involving top-50 teams, with the higher-ranked teams winning 61% of those games (25-16). In fact, less than one-third of the weekend’s series involving CB360 top-50 teams (12 of 39) resulted in sweeps.

Click this link to find out how to save 50-75% on college baseball caps and 2010 College World Series gear and memorabilia at Dugouthats.com!!

Here’s a look back at some of the Top 50 highlights:

Big, Bad Beavers…

#19 Oregon State made history by sweeping #5 Arizona State in Corvallis over the weekend. It’s OSU’s first sweep of the Sun Devils at home and also marks its first sweep of ASU since 1966. Arizona State (22-9, 5-4) had not been swept in Pac-10 play since 1999.

Ryan Dunn (courtesy Oregon State).

Oregon State’s Ryan Dunn batted in the 8-hole for the Beavers (24-7, 5-1) all weekend. The shortstop batted 6-for-11 with three doubles, a home run and six RBIs. He helped OSU’s 6-9 batters go 22-for-42 (.523) over the three games, with 12 RBIs and 15 runs. Oregon State’s 24-7 start is the program’s best since its 2007 national championship season. 7,751 fans saw the three games at OSU’s Goss Stadium.

Cavs Cooled…A Little…

Virginia had its 12-game winning streak snapped when it lost 10-8 at Georgia Tech Sunday, but the Cavs still took two of three games from the Yellow Jackets in the big ACC series. Saturday’s 12-9 UVA win to clinch the series extended Virginia’s school record road winning streak to 11 games.

No surprise, Cavalier ace Danny Hultzen (7-0, 1.33 ERA) fanned 12 with just one walk in 8.0 IP in Friday’s 6-2 Virginia win. Hultzen is second in the nation with  90 strikeouts in  54 1/3 IP this season.

Virginia (31-3, 13-2) roughed-up Georgia Tech starters Mark Pope and Jed Bradley in the first two games. The duo combined to give-up 11 runs on 15 hits in 12 1/3 IP on Friday and Saturday. Virginia has won all five of its ACC series this season, including three on the road. It’s only other ACC loss also came on Sunday against Florida State.

Jake Davies was 4-for-4 with 3 RBIs to lead the Yellow Jackets to Sunday’s win. Georgia Tech (24-9, 12-3) suffered its first ACC series loss of the season. Buck Farmer earned his sixth straight win for GT, despite giving-up seven runs (four earned) in 7.0 innings on Sunday.

Woo Pig Sooie…

James McCann

Arkansas swept LSU in their 3-game SEC series in Fayetteville and if you were lucky enough to see any of the action you saw some great baseball. The Razorbacks won each of the last two games of the series in walk-off fashion. Saturday night’s game on ESPNU ended on James McCann’s 3-run home run that gave the Razorbacks a 4-3 win in front of a record 11,103 delirious fans. LSU, after going scoreless over the first 17 innings of the series, had scored three runs in the top of the 9th before McCann’s shot in the bottom of the inning.

Sunday’s game ended on Kyle Robinson’s sac fly to centerfield to score Bo Bigham for a 5-4 win and the series sweep. It’s just the third time Arkansas (23-8, 6-6) has swept LSU since joining the SEC in 1992. The Razorbacks are now a game behind Alabama in the SEC West. LSU (21-11, 3-9) has won just one of its four SEC series this season. Austin Nola’s 6th inning grand slam gave the Tigers their four runs. 28,657 fans packed Baum Stadium for the 3-game set.

Sooner Pain, Cowboys Gain…

Oklahoma State continues to make some noise in the Big 12 after a 3-game sweep of Missouri. The Cowboys’ 7-3 win over the Tigers on Sunday gives the program its first conference series sweep since April 27, 2008.

OSU (24-8, 8-4) are in third place in the Big 12 standings, behind Texas and Texas A&M. The Cowboys finished last season with a 29-26 overall record, including just 8-19 in conference play.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma (24-8, 6-5) dropped two of three games at Kansas State. The series loss is the second for the Sooners in Big 12 play this season, to equal their total from all of last year’s College World Series team. It’s a big series win for K-State (18-12, 4-8), which takes a series from OU for the first time in 10 years and earns its first conference series win of 2011.

California Crash…

Three California schools, Cal, Stanford and Fresno State, all suffered series upsets over the weekend. Maybe #18 Cal was breathing a sigh of relief after finding out the program had been spared the ax prior to its series at Arizona, but the Golden Bears lost two of three in Tucson to the Wildcats. Cal’s Justin Jones was tagged for 7 ER in 4 1/3 IP in Sunday’s 10-8 loss. Golden Bear Erik Johnson and Wildcat Kurt Heyer each fanned 11 in the series-opener, but neither earned a decision as Arizona scored three in the bottom of the 9th to win 5-4. Arizona pounded-out 40 hits in the series.

Jordan Ribera

#10 Fresno State didn’t lose its series, but that’s due in part to the fact that the WAC plays 4-game conference series. The Bulldogs (22-5, 2-2) dropped two of its first three games at #50 San Jose State (21-11, 2-2) and then pulled-out a 5-3 win in Sunday’s finale to settle for the tie. Last year’s DI home run leader, Jordan Ribera, hit a three-run homer to break out of a season-long swoon, while closer Charlie Robertson earned his 10th save of ’11. Ribera is still batting just .223 with 2 HR and 11 RBIs after belting 27 HR with 69 RBIs last year.

#14 Stanford dropped two of three in its series at USC as well. The Cardinal (15-9, 3-3) has played five of its first six weekend series on the road against the likes of Vanderbilt, Rice, and Texas. They host the aforementioned red hot Oregon State Beavers next weekend. The series win was the first for the Trojans (13-19, 4-5)  in their last five series vs. Stanford. Logan Odom tossed 7.0 scoreless innings in Sunday’s 6-2 series clincher. All three of his wins this year have come over ranked teams.

Tallahassee Tar Heels…

#8 North Carolina (29-5, 12-3) did something this weekend that it hadn’t done in 16 years-win a series against #7 Florida State (23-9. 9-6) in Tallahassee. The Tar Heels won 7-6 in Sunday’s series finale to end the Seminoles’ streak of 25 straight Sunday wins. UNC reliever Michael Morin earned saves Saturday and Sunday after relief stints of 1.0 and 3.0 innings, respectively.

Historic Spartans…

Michigan State made history after sweeping reigning Big Ten champion Minnesota for the first time ever. The MSU-Minnesota series dates all the back to 1925, and it also marks the first time the Spartans (20-7, 5-1) took back-to-back series against the Golden Gophers (10-12, 2-4) after taking two of three at Minnesota last year. Brandon Eckerle leads a Spartan offense that’s batting .316 with a .439 average. First baseman Jeff Holm is the top run-producer with a .398 average, 4 HR, 29 RBIs, 13 stolen bases, and an 1.102 OPS. The Michigan State pitching staff sports a 2.70 ERA. Starters Kurt Wunderlich and Tony Bucciferro are each 6-1.

(Front page photo courtesy Arkansas.)

 

 

www.simplesharebuttons.com

]]> http://collegebaseball360.com/college-baseball-360-weekend-wrapup-april-11/feed/ 0

Sizzling Senior Excels On The Field & In Classroom…

Eckerle was named MVP of the Big East/Big Ten Challenge after helping MSU to a 3-0 record (MSU photo).

To make matters worse, Eckerle broke his leg on the football field that fall. He missed his senior season with the Corunna High basketball team in Durand, Mich to rehab and prepare for his last season with the baseball team.

Eckerle finally got the break he was looking for when he attended a February, 2007 winter camp at Michigan State and signed with the Spartans after they made him an offer.

Now a senior in East Lansing, Eckerle’s future looks decidedly brighter. The Spartan center fielder has one of the hottest bats in the country, batting .696 (16-for-23) through MSU’s first six games.

“It feels really good,” Eckerle said of his torrid start to his senior season. “Everything seems to be going my way, and I’m just feeling really comfortable at the plate right now. It’s only six games, but I don’t remember ever being this hot.”

Eckerle’s current clip is somewhat of a culmination that began at the end of his sophomore season in 2009. A .390 clip over MSU’s last 12 games brought his final season average to .270 by season’s end. He took that momentum and batted just below .400 over the summer for the Hays Larks in the Jayhawk Summer League.

“I think that kind of carried over, kinda get some confidence back,” Eckerle said of his summer in Kansas. “I think that really sort of carried over into my junior season here at Michigan State. That summer season really helped me out a lot.”

That junior season saw Eckerle hit .362, while scoring a team-high 57 runs for the 34-win Spartans. His average rose above .400 twice in late March and early April, and it never dipped below .351 after a 4-for-4 performance against Notre Dame on March 21.

Jake Boss, Jr.

Michigan State head coach Jake Boss, Jr. has watched his leadoff man’s progress at the plate since he took over in East Lansing prior to the 2009 season.

“He’s really starting to figure things out offensively,” said Boss. “He was kind of in and out of the zone really quick. That barrel didn’t stay in the hitting zone for very long a while back (earlier in his career). He runs very well, so anything that’s hit on the ground he feels like he’s got a chance to beat out. He’s bought into that concept and obviously he’s had some success so far.”

Eckerle bounced back and forth from the top to the bottom of the order last year. Seeing more fastballs at the bottom of the order gave him confidence and led to more success that has had him in the leadoff spot so far this season.

It’s a success that hasn’t happened by accident either. Boss said Eckerle’s day-to-day work ethic sets the senior co-captain apart.

“You get outstanding effort, first and foremost, every time he walks onto the field. Whether it’s a practice or a game, the kid is unbelievable to watch work. The best part of practice is watching him go after fly balls during batting practice. He’s out there diving all over the place, more dirty than anybody on the field. He’s trying to catch anything that’s hit out there. We tell our pitchers just to get out of the way, because he’s probably gonna run you over. It’s impressive to watch.”

Eckerle has shined in the classroom, at the plate and in the field during his collegiate career (MSU photo).

Eckerle has sparkled not only on the diamond, but in the classroom as well. The General Business Administration/ Pre-Law major carries a 3.98 GPA that has earned him Academic All-American honors. He is also one of 30 candidates for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award, which goes to a senior who excels in community, classroom, character, and competition.

With all that is going for him now, it’s hard to see how Eckerle had only drawn interest from schools like Central Michigan and Oakland (MI) before finally signing at Michigan State just before his senior high school season. Boss was still the head coach at Eastern Michigan when Eckerle signed with then MSU head coach David Grewe.

“We saw a guy with probably average arm strength who ran really well,” Boss remembers of seeing Eckerle. “He was a long way away with the bat at the time. It’s one of those things where as guys continue to grow and they continue to work, some guys figure it out and some guys don’t. That’s the tough part of recruiting. We didn’t have a need for an outfielder at that time, but Michigan State did. He ended-up coming here, and we’re reaping the benefits of that now.”

Part of the benefit of Eckerle’s presence has been a 5-1 start to the 2011 season. In fact, it’s the best start for a Michigan State team since 1964. An 8-0 setback to Clemson on Sunday in Greenville, SC is the only blemish on the Spartans’ record to date, but Eckerle chalks it up to a learning process for a program that hasn’t been to an NCAA Regional since 1979.

“If we want to go to a Regional and go on to have a good postseason, that’s the kind of team we’re going to have to play,” said Eckerle. “It’s always good to play some of those teams that are ranked high in the country to kind of show our team where we’re at and at the same time make us better. Playing lower competition isn’t really going to help us, but playing better teams and seeing what you need to work on will help us in the long run.”

While Michigan State’s postseason appearances are few, their current head coach has tasted success of his own. Boss was an assistant coach at Michigan when the Wolverines advanced to a Super Regional in 2007, before falling to eventual national champion Oregon State. He was also an assistant coach for Iowa Central Community College’s 1996 and ’97 NJCAA World Series teams.

Michigan State won 23 games in Boss’ first year in 2009 and improved to 34-19 last year. The 34 wins tied for the fifth-most in program history. Boss said that success has raised the bar heading into his third season.

“I feel good about where we’re at right now with out program as a whole in year three. We’ve raised the expectations within our own family here, and that’s the way it should be.”

While Eckerle’s start and the start of his team have been nice, the senior concedes there is a long way to go in 2011.

“It is a great start, but it is only six games,” said Eckerle. “But we’ve been in several one run games. I think it’s always important for a team to learn how to win those close games and learn how to handle some pressure. I think that’s an encouraging thing right now about our team.”

With a red-hot, hard charging leadoff man to lead the way, the Spartans have their sights set on a bright future the rest of the way.

Click here to listen to a podcast interview with Eckerle.

Hot Hitting Senior Has Team Off To Hot Start…

Michigan State center fielder Brandon Eckerle has one of the hottest bats in the country through the first two weeks of the season. The senior earned MVP honors at the season-opening Big East/Big Ten Challenge after going 8-for-12 (.666) at the plate while helping the Spartans to a 3-0 record. He followed that by batting 8-for-11 in three more games in South Carolina last weekend to up his average to .696.

Eckerle’s efforts have helped Michigan State to a 5-1 record for the program’s best six-game start since 1964. The only loss came to 2010 College World Series team Clemson.

In this podcast interview with College Baseball 360 Editor Sean Stires, Eckerle discusses the start to his senior season, college baseball’s new bats and more.

Eckerle

6’0- 175 – Sr. – OF – Durand, MI

Head Coach: Jake Boss, Jr.

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 hats of your favorite college teams like LSU, Texas, Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, UCLA, South Carolina, Miami and many more.

The TCU – Cal State Fullerton and Vanderbilt – Stanford series were two of the top match-ups of the second week of the 2011 college baseball season. This week’s Notebook includes those series as well as other notables from around the nation.

Taylor Jungman has thrown two complete game shutouts to open the season.

junior did it again Friday with a 2-0, 4-hit win at Hawaii. All nine hits Jungmann has given-up this year have been singles. He has 18 strikeouts and just one walk.

15…Innings it took on Saturday for Hawaii to scratch-out a 5-4 win over the Longhorns. David Peterson scored the winning run on a wild pitch with two outs in the bottom of the 15th. Pitchers from the two teams combined for 25 strikeouts, seven walks, four hit batters, and six wild pitches in the 4 1/2 hour maraton. Hawaii’s Pi’ikea Kitamura and Texas’ Paul Montalbano were each o-for-7 at the plate.

3…Big wins for Cal at the Baseball at the Beach Tournament in Myrtle Beach, SC. In the second weekend of their swan song season, the Golden Bears outscored Coastal Carolina, North Carolina State and Kansas State by a combined 29-1 to improve to 5-1. The bulk of the runs came in their 17-0 win over Coastal Carolina. Chanticleer ace Anthony Meo yielded 9 ER on 10 hits in just 5.0 IP in the drubbing.

7…RBIs to go along with 2 HR by Golden Bears CF Chad Bunting in the win over Coastal Carolina. Bunting was 7-for-12 (.583) for the weekend in Myrtle Beach.

5…Straight wins to open the season by Michigan State before dropping an 8-0 decision at Clemson Sunday. The 5-0 start for Jake Boss, Jr.’s squad is the best by MSU since 1964. Senior centerfielder Brandon Eckerle leads the Spartans with a .696 (16-for-23) average.

6…Straight losses to open the season by Michigan after being swept in three games by Rutgers in Port St. Lucie, FL. All six Wolverine losses are to Big East Teams (they were 0-3 at the Big East/Big Ten Challenge). Rutgers starter Tyler Gebler tossed a complete game to earn the win in the series-opener.

10…Combined runs allowed (7 earned) by UCLA aces Trevor Bauer and Gerrit Cole in Saturday and Sunday’s shocking 5-3 and 8-3 losses to San Jose State. After the losses, the Bruins fell to 4-2 after opening last year with 22 straight wins.

Matt Zahel saved both of Toledo's wins at Louisville.

2…Wins to start their series at Louisville by Toledo. The Rockets won by scores of 3-1 and 4-2 Friday and Saturday as the Cardinals lost their first two home games of a season for the first time in 20 years. Toledo closer Matt Zahel saved both wins with a total of 2.0 perfect innings with three strikeouts. Toledo had lost twice to Canisius and once to Creighton in the season’s opening weekend. Louisville won Sunday’s finale 4-2.

0…Hits allowed by Georgia Tech starter Jed Bradley in 7.0 IP in Saturday’s 5-0 win over St. John’s. Bradley fanned 10 with three walks to earn his first win of 2011. Bradley has 20 Ks and has allowed just four hits and one run in 12 1/3 innings this season.

.800…Batting average of Yellow Jacket 3B/1B/C Matt Skole in the 3-game series. Skole was 8-for-10 with a HR and 7 RBIs on the weekend.

0…Runs scored by St. John’s in their first two games of the series with the Yellow Jackets before finally erupting for a 13-3 win in Sunday’s series finale. The Red Storm has scored a total of 35 runs in their three games at the season-opening Big East/Big Ten Challenge.

10…Runs scored in the first inning by Georgia Tech in Friday’s 13-0 series-opening win. Red Storm starter Sean Hagan exited after allowing all 10 ER on 9 hits in just 2/3 IP.

2…Of 3 games won by Cal State Fullerton at TCU to hand the Horned Frogs their first series loss in nearly two years. After dropping Friday’s opener, the Titans won by finals of 8-4 and 2-1 Saturday and Sunday, respectively. TCU ace Matt Purke (17-0 in his career) did not pitch in the series due to a blister on his finger. TCU last lost a series in March 2009 when they lost two of three to San Diego State.

1…Career Division One win by Delaware pitcher Eric Young. It came in Friday’s 7-3 upset at Arizona State. Young, a transfer from Riverside CC, gave-up two runs in 5.0 IP in his first career start in the series-opener against the Sun Devils. Blue Hens DH Jimmy Yezzo helped Young by going 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs.

Danny Hultzen

15…Strikeouts with no walks in 7.0 IP by Virginia’s Danny Hultzen in Friday’s 10-1 win over East Carolina. Hultzen yielded a single to open the game and then retired 19 straight Pirates. He struckout the side three times.

19…Combined strikeouts by Texas A&M’s John Stilson and Gonzaga’s Ryan Carpenter in Friday’s 1-0 win in 11 innings by the Aggies. Stilson, who was one of the top closers in the country last year, fanned 9 in 9.0 shutout innings in his second start of 2011, while Carpenter rang-up 10 Ks in 7 1/3 IP.

2…Wins over Top-30 teams (CB360 composite poll) by Stanford’s Jordan Pries. The junior helped the Cardinal beat #26 Cal in his first start on Tuesday and then earned another victory at #3 Vanderbilt on Sunday for Stanford’s only win in the 3-game series in Nashville. Pries totaled 11.0 IP with 8 Ks and 6 BB. He didn’t allow a hit through the first four innings of the 5-2 win over Vandy (7-1), although the first seven pitches he threw were balls. Stanford (3-3) will rely on Pries even more this year after the announcement that teammate Brett Mooneyham will miss the season after requiring surgery to repair a finger he cut in January.

7 2/3…Scoreless innings pitched by Radford relievers Jason Patton, Brad Wimmers and Abram Williams in Friday’s 13-inning 8-6 win over Auburn. Highlander LF Matt Hillsinger led-off the to of the 13th with a home run to help Radford to the upset.

14…Runs allowed in 11.0 IP by Alabama starting pitchers Adam Morgan, Nathan Kilcrease and Tucker Hawley in losses at the Jaguar Classic, hosted by South Alabama. The Crimson Tide staff surrendered a total of 43 hits in setbacks to Southeastern Louisiana, South Alabama and Central Florida.

26…Game hitting streak, to tie a school record, by Central Florida’s Beau Taylor that ended in Saturday’s loss to Southeastern Louisiana . Taylor made-up for in by going 2-for-4 with a home run and 4 RBIs in Sunday’s 12-4 win over Alabama.

3…RBIs and a home run by Appalachian State’s Jeremy Dowdy in Friday’s 7-4 upset of Miami in Coral Gables. The Hurricanes still took two of three games in the series.

Lawrence Pardo

29…Years since Appalachian State had beaten a ranked opponent prior to that win at #19 Miami. Freshman (and Miami native) Lawrence Pardo earned his first win in his second career start in his return to his home town. Prado gave-up three unearned runs on four hits in 6.0 IP.

2…Wins in the first two weeks of the season by Connecticut. The Huskies entered the season with the program’s first top 10 ranking, but have stumbled to a 2-4 start. Their lone wins are over winless Michigan and Texas A&M Corpus Christi. Friday and Saturday starters Elliott Glynn and Matt Barnes, respectively, have suffered all four defeats.

1.2…Runs-a-game scored by UConn in its four losses, while averaging 11 runs in its two wins, but just 1.2 runs in its four losses. Coaches we spoke to at the Big East/Big Ten Challenge last weekend said the losses of Pierre LePage (.327-29 SB) and Mike Olt (.381-23 HR-76 RBIs) from last year’s line-up will be tough to overcome.

10…Strikeouts by Oregon State’s Sam Gaviglio in Friday’s complete game, two-hit 2-0 over UConn. The junior has 15 Ks with one BB and has allowed just two unearned runs in 15 2/3 IP this season.

2…RPI-boosting wins last week by Texas A&M Corpus Christi, which beat Texas 8-7 on Tuesday and then topped Oregon State by the same score on Saturday. Islanders catcher Jumpy Garcia was 2-for-5 with 4 RBIs in the win over the Longhorns.

16…Innings it took Elon to defeat South Florida 7-5 Sunday in Tampa to tie the longest game in USF history. The game featured 14 pitchers, but amazingly took just under 3 1/2 hours to play. 21 of the game’s 24 hits were singles, the other three went for doubles.

16…Strikeouts in 7 2/3 IP by Memphis pitcher Dan Langfield in Friday’s win over Kennesaw State. The sophomore gave-up a pair of first inning singles, struckout the side in the second innings and then retired 16 of the next 19 batters he faces.

240…Points raised on Mike McGee’s batting average (.440) after the Florida State outfielder went 9-for-15 with two HR, 9 runs and 11 RBIs. McGee made his first pitching appearance of the season in the top of the 8th inning  and then homered in the bottom of the inning Sunday against Hofstra. It marks the eighth time McGee has homered and pitched in the same game.

27…Consecutive batters retired, spanning two starts, by Florida’s Brian Johnson. The lefty set down 10 straight batters to end his first start of 2011 against South Florida and then retired the first 17 men he faced in last Thursday’s win over Boston College. He is 2-0 with 12 shutout innings to open his sophomore campaign.