http://collegebaseball360.com/sunday-super-regional-notebook/ http://collegebaseball360.com/sunday-super-regional-notebook/#comments Mon, 14 Jun 2010 14:48:41 +0000 http://collegebaseball360.com/?p=11232

www.simplesharebuttons.com

Some Thoughts/Notes After A Super Day 3…

Five Alive: Five More teams clinched spots in the College World Series by clinching Super Regional series on Sunday.  Florida State beat Vanderbilt, UCLA downed Cal State Fullerton, TCU toppled Texas, South Carolina erased Coastal Carolina, and #1 national seed Arizona State outlasted Arkansas to join Florida in Omaha.  The Gators had clinched their spot with Saturday’s win over Miami.

Game two Super Regional hero Drew Maggi.

24 = 2: It goes down as a sweep, but what a series between Arizona State and Arkansas.  The Sun Devils won a pair of 12 inning games to advance to the CWS for the 22ndt time.  ASU won 7-5 Sunday night thanks to Drew Maggi’s home run in the top of the 9th, but the game only got that far because of Brett Eibner’s two-strike, two-out home run for the Hogs in the bottom of the 9th inning.  Great clutch hitting all the way around.  it’s just a shame the series didn’t go to what was sure to have been an epic third game.

Austin Shocker: TCU beat #2 national seed Texas 4-1 Sunday to clinch the first CWS appearance in Horned Frogs history.  Texas outscored TCU 16-8, but lost the series 2-1.  Unearned runs led to Saturday’s 14-1 laugher, which was the Longhorn’s only win in the series, but it turns out TCU has a pretty good pitching staff of its own.  Games one and three starters Matt Purke and Kyle Winkler combined for 15 1/3 IP with 17 Ks while allowing just one run.

Bruins On The Brink: UCLA was down to its last out against Cal State Fullerton Saturday night before Tyler Rahmatulla’s home run put the Bruins in front in a game they would eventually win in extra innings.  UCLA #3 starter Rob Rasmussen then fired his first career complete game to help UCLA win 8-1 in Sunday’s finale.

Rob Rasmussen tossed his first complete game to send UCLA to Omaha. (UCLA photo)

Good Point: UCLA is in just its third College World Series, while Fullerton was biding for its 17th trip to Omaha.  As Robin Ventura pointed out during Sunday’s broadcast, the Bruins lack Omaha appearances in part because the Titans have owned them over the years, including in NCAA play.  Fullerton had won 19 of 22 games vs. UCLA over the last six years prior to losing Saturday and Sunday.  They’ve also still won 39 of the last 50 meetings between the two teams.

Match (up) Points: There was a lot of talk about the unfairness of some of the Super Regional match-ups, which are largely made due to geography.  To many TCU vs. Texas didn’t seem fair, neither did South Carlina vs. Coastal, UCLA-Fullerton, or ASU-Arkansas, which pitted two teams from last year’s CWS field.   Fans, players, coaches, and analysts looking at those match-ups argued that any of those teams were Omaha worthy, and they were right.  However, Arkansas vs. UCLA, Arizona State vs. Cal State Fullerton, TCU vs. South Carolina, or Coastal Carolina vs. Texas would have been brutal match-ups as well.  It’s not a great system, but with so many very good teams somebody’s gotta go home…

On A Mission: That said, if the NCAA really “Puts its money where its mission is” (you know, like all those commercials during the games say) shouldn’t they just seed the #1 seeds 1-16 (to match the Regional sites) rather than just the top eight national seeds?  Should saving a few bucks on air fares trump at the least the perception of fairness in seeding the field?

Lack Of Legacies: Texas, Miami, USC, and LSU have combined to make 91 College World Series appearances, but none of them will be in Omaha for Rosenblatt Stadium’s swan song.  How rare is that?  Since the CWS moved to Rosenblatt in 1950 this season marks just the eighth time that at least one of those four teams has not been a part of the eight team College World Series field.

I’m Mobile: I’m still getting used to my new tricked-out cell phone, but it came in handy again on Sunday.  I was able to watch part of the Virginia-Oklahoma game on my phone while I was at my daughter’s game.  I’m still not giving-up the name of my provider, but it’s definitely a cool perk.

Omaha Bound: The eight CWS teams will be heading to Omaha this week and so will we.  I’ll be in Omaha Friday for open practice and pre-series press conference day.  We will post several videos with player and coach interviews that day, and we will have extensive coverage from Omaha during the entire series.  Among our coverage:  Daily video & audio, daily CWS scoreboard pages and a daily Notebook/blog.  Collegebaseball360.com will have someone in Omaha from start to finish for the 2010 College World Series!

Goaaaalllll: Soccer, seriously?  When there’s college baseball on?

More Coverage

Friday Super Regional Notebook

Saturday Super Regional Notebook

Super Regional Central

www.simplesharebuttons.com

]]> http://collegebaseball360.com/sunday-super-regional-notebook/feed/ 0

ASU Faces Clemson/Alabama Winner At CWS

Drew Maggi sent ASU back to Omaha with his 12th inning two run HR.

of the 9th.

By clicking the “Tempe Super Regional” link above this page will expand to fully support the table below.

CLICK HERE for our Super Regional Central page where you will find links to other Super Regionals.

Arizona St. Super Regional Media Guide

Best two of three series (all times Eastern)

Gm 1  Saturday - FINAL: Arizona State 7,  Arkansas 6 (12 inn.)  |  Final Stats
ASU Recap | ARK Recap

Gm 2  Sunday – FINAL:  Arizona State 7,  Arkansas 5 (12 inn.) |  Final Stats
ASU Recap | ARK Recap

* ASU wins series (2-0)

The Skinny

This Super Regional pits two teams that both advanced to last year’s College World Series.  They also played against each other in Fayetteville during the 2009 regular season with Arkansas ranked #1 in one national poll and Arizona State ranked #1 in another poll.

Arizona State: (#1 National Seed) The Sun Devils are the overall #1 national seed in this year’s tournament.  Tim Esmay is in his first year as the Sun Devil’s head coach, but he is no stranger to Omaha.  He played in the CWS twice at ASU and he was an assistant coach on four of Pat Murphy’s Omaha teams.

Esmay is 50-8 in his first season at the helm, and what’s probably the most impressive is the fact that he’s done it without two pitchers who led last year’s Pac 10 champs to Omaha.  Josh Spence (10-1, 2.37 ERA last yr.) returned to ASU after being drafted, but he’s missed the entire season due to injury, while Mike Leake (16-1, 1.71 ERA in ’09) is 5-0 with a 2.22 ERA in 11 starts this year for the Cincinnati Reds.  Starters Merrill Kelly, Jake Borup and Seth Blair have combined to go 33-3 this season, while Jordan Swaggerty (2.05 ERA, 14 SVs) slams the door at the end.  The 3.10 team ERA ranks third nationally.

Arizona State’s line-up is filled with tough outs.  Seven different players who have started at least 33 games are batting .325 or better this year, and three different players lead the team in the triple crown categories.  Riccio Torrez is batting .404, Zack McPhee leads the team with 63 RBIs and Kole Calhoun has a team best 16 HR.  McPhee also leads the nation with 14 triples.  The athletic Sun Devils have also stolen 130 bases this season and the team’s .975 fielding % is 11th.

Arkansas: Dave Van Horn’s Razorbacks limped toward this year’s NCAA Tournament by winning just two of its last five SEC series and then going 0-2 at the conference tournament.  The late season slump cost the Hogs any shot they had at being a national seed.  However, like last year, Arkansas was 3-0 in Regional play.  Only this year they got to host rather than go on the road.

Third baseman Zack Cox (.427, 9 HR, 48 RBIs) is considered one of the best pure hitters in the nation.  Brett Eibner (.337, 21 HR, 69 RBIs) is the team’s top run producers.  He made 11 starts on the mound this season, but his only outing at last week’s Regional was one inning in relief.

Sophomore Drew Smyly (9-1, 2.56) has both of the pitching staff’s complete games this season.  T.J. Forrest (8-0, 3.10 ERA) started two Regional games, and picked-up his 8th win in the title game vs. Washington State.

Tempe Super Regional

More From Chase Titleman at our partner site Road2rosenblatt.com

The Sun Devils Win If?

The Sun Devils will need to ignore their past transgressions as this is the best program in the country (kind of like Vanderbilt in the SEC) that has not won a national title recently.

If the Devils continue to play as they have all season, under the calm collective influence of Esmay and staff, they have more than a snowballs chance.

Lurking in the shadows of the Sun Devil mindset, however, is the fact that Washington State gave the Sun Devils their only series loss of the season, and Arkansas just defeated the Cougars last weekend from the field of 64.

Other common opponents between the two include California, which the Devils swept, while the Hogs took two-of-three in Berkeley in the early spring.

Arizona State is loaded with talent and depth, and I would really be surprised if they botch this series, but it has happened to the Sun Devils before, losing to Oregon State in Omaha in both 2006 & 2007, and losing in a home super-regional match-up with the Wonderdogs of Fresno State in 2008.

Like Casey said, “the best teams don’t always win the title.”

Should be an entertaining series with both teams having a host of players drafted in the 2010 MLB Draft.

The Razorbacks Win If?

Zach Cox will play a pivotal role in this series, but he limped off the field on the final day of the Fayetteville Regional and his health is in doubt for the game on Saturday.

Drew Smyly will have to perform his magic in Game #1, as this is a must win for the Hogs, and they must get into the bullpen and the psyche of the Sun Devils.

This has been a hard thing to do as the Sun Devil Regional was the 10th weekend sweep for the Sun Devils this year, 11 if you count the Coca-Cola Classic.

ASU is number one for a reason.

Arkansas will need to score runs in bunches to win this series as they don’t have the pitching to match up with one of the deepest bullpens in the country.

Smyly, however, does have the stuff needed to get the Hogs off to a fast start.

The question becomes, should the Hogs hold Smyly back from Game #1 and try to work backwards in their pitching match-ups, or should they come right out and attack ASU head-to-head?

This would be a gutsy move by Arkansas skipper Dave Van Horn, who is no stranger to the College World Series, being one of a small number of coaches that have taken two schools (Nebraska & Arkansas) to the greatest show on dirt.

Notes & Thoughts From Day 1 NCAA Action (updated)

CLICK HERE for DAY-1 NCAA SCOREBOARD

• Minnesota was the only #4 seed that won on Friday (3-1 at Cal State Fullerton, see notes below), while the collective #3 seeds went 9-7 vs. the #2s. The #3 seeds that posted the “minor upsets” (some may have been considered the favorites?) included: Louisiana-Lafayette 1, Rice 0 (in Austin) … The Citadel 7, Virginia Tech 2 (in Columbia) … Washington State 8, Kansas State 6 (in Fayetteville) … Arizona 10, Baylor 9 (in Ft. Worth) … New Mexico 9, Stanford 5 (in Fullerton, which also had the 4-vs.-1 upset) … Oregon State 6, Florida Atlantic 4 (in Gainesville) … North Carolina 12, California 3 (in Norman) … Oregon 5, Connecticut 3 (in Norwich) … and Hawaii 4, San Diego 2 (in Tempe). See bullet notes below for some highlights from Friday’s nine “upsets” (along with info. from the other games).

• Regional host teams have the option to take the first or second game on Day-1 of NCAA Regional play. The hosts traditionally take the second or “Prime Time” game, and this year was no different with 12 of 16 Regional hosts opting for game two. Coastal Carolina, Virginia, Arkansas, and Oklahoma were the only Regional hosts to opt for the early game rather than the night cap (some coaches prefer to get the game out of the way, avoid risk of rain delays, get their team a few hours more rest, etc.). All four of those teams won.
  

  11 year MLB veteran turned college baseball analyst Eric Byrnes

• Disclaimer: I (Sean Stires … Pete LaFleur ditto) like Eric Byrnes. That said, Byrnes was considered by many to be more style than substance in his playing days, so it’s only fitting that ESPNU has continued its tradition of going with style over substance by using the newly-retired Byrnes in the broadcast booth during the Coral Gables Regional. Case in point:  Texas A&M was trailing FIU 1-0 in the bottom of the first inning. After Aggie leadoff man Jaoquin Hinojosa reached base safely, 2-hole batter Tyler Naquin tried (unsuccessfully) to bunt him over. This prompted Byrnes to question why A&M was playing for only onw run so early in the game…. An inning later, with #9 batter Andrew Collazo at the plate in the same situation, Byrnes said, “We’re not bunting again are we?” Uh, yes Eric they were, and after Collazo executed his 8th sac-bunt of the season a graphic popped-up on the screen that showed that A&M had just tied a school record with its 59th sac-bunt of the season. The Aggies entered the day tied for 14th nationally in that department. Apparently game preparation was not high on Byrnes’ list of things to do prior to his college baseball broadcasting debut.
• Byrnes, who played at the 1997 College World Series for UCLA, again showed his lack of knowledge of the current college game later in the broadcast when the subject of NCAA bids came up. Minnesota was mentioned as the only Big Ten representative in the tournament, while the Pac-10 was one of three conferences to get eight bids. “How does that happen, though,” Byrnes asked. “We’re talking one team from the Big Ten and eight from the Pac.” Um…do I really need to say more? Thankfully, Kyle Peterson was there to keep Byrnes pointed in the right direction.
• In fairness to Byrnes, he did provide some needed entertainment when the game turned into a blowout in the middle innings.
• When Florida International pitcher Daniel DeSimone hit Caleb Shofner with a pitch in the bottom of the 5th inning, it marked the 100th HBP by the Golden Panther pitching staff this season. The dubious mark sets an NCAA single-season record.
• Garrett Wittels extended hit hitting streak to 55 games in FIU’s loss to Texas A&M. He doubled to right-center field by swinging at a 3-0 pitch to lead off the top of the 6th inning. A smattering of boos were directed at A&M pitcher Barret Loux when the count reached 3-0 and it looked like Wittels might not have a chance to swing in his third at-bat of the day.
• The hit by Wittels marked the 16th time he extended the streak with a hit between the 4th and 6th innings this season. He’s kept the streak going 25 times in the first three innings of a game, 13 times from the 7th through 9th innings, and once (March 26 vs. Arkansas-Little Rock) in the 12th inning.
• Five different Texas A&M players hit home runs in the 17-3 win, while Aggie winning pitcher Loux (11-2) struck out 10 in 8 IP. He’s now fanned 136 in 104 innings this season.
• The Aggies have won seven straight, 13 of their past 14 and 19 of 22 games dating back to April 27.
• Southern Mississippi’s got some work to do if they’re going to make a return trip to the College World Series (and possibly extend Brett Favre’s NFL career … although something tells us he’s coming back anyway!). The Golden Eagles fell 10-1 to Clemson in their Regional opener. USM ace Scott Copeland dropped to 11-1 with his first loss of the season, after winning as a starter and deep reliever at the C-USA Tournament (to earn CB360 national Primetime Pitcher of the Week honors).
  

  Brett Eibner hit 3 HR in Arkansas' Friday win over Grambling St. (Arkansas photo)

• Brett Eibner smacked 3 HR to help Arkansas rout Grambling State 19-7.  Eibner was 4-for-5 with 7 RBIs and 5 runs. Look for the two-way talent on the mound this weekend as well. Collin Kuhn and Andy Wilkins each homered twice for the Hogs.
• The Citadel pulled-off a minor upset as the #3-seeded Bulldogs beat #2 Virginia Tech, 7-2. The win is the 13th straight for The Citadel, but the best news is they didn’t even use ace Asher Wojciechowski (3.25 ERA, 12-2. 144 Ks in 119 IP). Lefty Matt Talley (8-3) tossed 7.0 innings and won, while 3B David Greene had a 2-run HR from the 7-hole. The jr. RHP “Wojo” is slated to be opposed on Saturday by South Carolina’s ace, sr. RHP Blake Cooper (2.94, 10-1, 88 Ks in 104 IP). Justin Wright was the losing pitcher on Friday vs. Citadel (5.1IP-6R-10H-BB-5K), as VT’s #1-3 hitters combined to hit only 2-for-14 (CF/leadoff Sean Ryan has a 2-run HR in the 7th).
• Zach Osborne registered Louisiana-Lafayette’s first NCAA Tournament shutout since 2002 by blanking Rice, 1-0. Catcher/cleanup hitter Chad Keefer’s 2-out single in the 8th inning plated the game’s lone run.
• Baylor scored five runs in the bottom of the 9th inning, but they came up short in a 10-9 loss to Arizona at the Ft. Worth Regional. The Bears left runners at first and third to end the game. They committed three errors to give the Wildcats five unearned runs in the 6th inning. Steve Selsky & DH/6-hole Josh Garcia (2RBI-2R-HBP) homered for the Wildcats, while SS Alex Mejia was 3-for-4 with 4 RBI, a double & run scored from the bottom of the order.
• Baylor’s Logan Vick walked twice to set a single-season school record with 56 BBs this year. The Bears left 12 men on base (including the two in the 9th), with Gregg Glime‘s home run and 3 RBI pacing the Baylor offense. Logan Verrett had no-decision (3.1IP-3R-5H-BB-2K) and Shawn Tolleson (2-7) was let down by his defense in the hard-luck loss (3.2IP-6R/1ER-5H-BB-2K).
• Closing in on 200: … Friday’s win by Coastal Carolina (6-0 vs. Stony Brook) is the 199th victory for the Chanticleers over past four seasons (199-50-0, from 2007-10).
  

  Oklahoma's Chris Ellison

• Chris Ellison drove in Cody Reine in the bottom of the 10th inning to give Oklahoma a 7-6 win over Oral Roberts. Reine had homered two innings earlier to tie the game (6-6) and ultimately force extra innings.
• One-time Little League World series participant Michael Broad hit one of Miami’s two 1st-inning, 3-run home runs to help the Hurricanes beat Dartmouth, 12-8. The ‘Canes held on after leading 11-0 thru five innings. Joe Sclafani homered twice for the Big Green.
• Oregon State beat Florida Atlantic, 6-4, in Gainesville, Fla. The start of the game was delayed a total of 3:15 by rain. Tyler Smith hit his first home run in nearly two months in the win.
• “Lobos fight scratch and claw baby, we’ll play anybody, anywhere anytime and we’re trying to spend a lot of our effort trying to prove that we can play with anybody in the country.” – Those were New Mexico third-year head coach Ray Birmingham’s comments during his in-game interview on ESPNU while his team was playing Stanford. Is it any wonder UNM is making its first NCAA appearance since 1962?
• New Mexico won that game, 9-5, for the second NCAA Tournament win in school history. Willy Kesler had no-decision (5.2IP-4R-11H-BB-5K) and Jason Oatman (1-2) picked up the relief win (3.1IP-R-3H-2K). RF Chris Juarez went 3-for-4 (3RBI-2B) from the 5-hole, while the 2-hole-batting catcher Rafael Neda homered and scored 4 times (1B/2-hole Justin Howard had 3R).
• Don’t know how to say his name, but Pi’ikea Kitamura was hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded in the top of the 9th inning to give Hawaii a 4-3 win over San Diego in Tempe, Ariz. San Diego ace Kyle Blair had another solid outing but did not figure into the decisions (8IP-3R/1ER-7H-8K). USD’s Mike Ferraro homered from the 7-hole and had 2 RBI, but USD’s #1-5 hitters combined for only 4 hits.
  

  LSU's Trey Watkins

• In his only at-bat of the night, LSU’s Trey Watkins smacked a 2-strike, 2-out double in the bottom of the 11th to lift LSU to an 11-10 over UC-Irvine. LSU’s Austin Nola forced extra innings when his blooper to right with 2 outs in the 9th scored Johnny Dishon, who motored all the way  aroundfrom first base.
• Jack Armstrong’s pinch-hit single scored Andrew Giobbi to give Vanderbilt an 8-7 win over Illinois State at the Louisville Regional opener. If the name of the offensive hero sounds familiar, it’s because Armstrong has been one of Vandy’s top starting pitchers this season and we’re sure to see him make a start over the weekend.
• Oregon beat Connecticut, 5-3, in Norwich, Conn., thanks to three runs in the top of the 9th inning.
• TCU didn’t use freshman ace Matt Purke (12-0), but the Horned Frogs still cruised to a 16-3 win over Lamar. Kyle Winkler and Greg Holle combined for 11 strikeouts to improve TCU to 20-0 this year when its pitchers have at least 10 K in a game. Purke will go Saturday vs. Arizona.
• Louisville also sat its ace, Thomas Royse (9-1), in its 11-2 win over Saint Louis. Head coach Dan McDonnell was not in the dugout, as he served the first game of his three-game suspension for last week’s dustup with an umpire at the Big East Tournament.
• Minnesota pulled-off the biggest Day-1 upset, as the #4 seed Golden Gophers downed #1 seed andnd host Cal State Fullerton, 3-1 in Fullerton. Jr. RHP  Seth Rosin (9-4) faced only 26 batters and struck out 7 with no walks in 8.0 innings to move his season totals to 95 Ks and only 12 BB. All the Gophers runs came in the opening frame, with RBI singles from Kyle Knudson and Matt Puhl scoring AJ Pettersen & AndyHenkmeryer (other run scores on error/unearned).
• Washington State registered its 19th come-from-behind win of the season, an 8-6 victory over Kansas State in Fayetteville, Ark. Adam Conley postedhis 19th save, while the Cougar bullpen notched its 18th win of the year (one away from tyingthe school record set in 1987). Cody Barlett’s 2-run HR in the 8th inning proved to be the game-winner.
• It took a 5-run 8th inning for South Carolina to rally to a 9-5 home win over Bucknell. It’s the Gamecock’s 12th straight postseason home win.
• Texas scored all 11 of its runs with 2-outs in an 11-0 win over Rider in Austin. Brandon Workman (12-1) tossed a complete game.
• Ole Miss held off St. John’s, 10-5, in Charlottesville, Va. The Red Storm scored all five of their runs in the last two innings.
• Tony Plagman was 5-for-5 in Georgia Tech’s 10-0 win over Mercer in Atlanta.
• Florida freshman Hudson Randall notched a career-best 10 strikeouts in 7.1 innings to help the Gators beat Bethune-Cookman, 7-3. Randall didn’t allow a hit until the 5th inning.
• UCLA routed Kent State, 15-1 in L.A., for the Bruins 25th home win of the season. Their 44 total wins are one away from tying the program’s single-season record set in 1997.
• North Carolina validated its NCAA berth with a 12-3 win over Cal in Norman, Okla. The Tar Heels have scored eight or more runs in 16 of their past 24 first- or second0round NCAA Tournament games.
• 5,684 fans saw Oregon beat UConn, 5-3 at Dodd Stadium in Norwich, Conn. The Ducks rallied for three runs in the top of the 9th. Reliever Madison Boer has notched a save in Oregon’s past four wins. An attendance of 1,948 was on hand earlier in the day to see Florida State beat Central Connecticut, 11-3.
• Kole Calhoun hit his team-leading 14th HR to help overall #1 seed Arizona State beat Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 6-2 in Tempe.

Big Pitching Performances Headline The Week

Justin Jones

the first to do it Friday afternoon.  He was followed by: Alex Wimmers-Ohio St., Cole Green-Texas, Justin Jones-Cal, D.D. Hanks-South Alabama, Merrill Kelly-Arizona St., and Asher Wojciechowski-The Citadel.

1…Freshman among that group of eight game winners-Cal LHP Justin Jones (8-2, 2.62 ERA), who has both of his team’s complete games this season.

12…Strikeouts by Wojciechowski in his Friday complete game 4-2 win over Furman.

4…ACC series lost by North Carolina this season after being swept in Miami over the weekend.

4…ACC series lost by the Tar Heels over the previous three seasons combined.  UNC lost three conference series last year, none in 2008 and one in 2007.  They also lost just two in 2006 for a total of six ACC series defeats from ’06-’09 en-route to four trips to the College World Series.

David Guetierrez (Miami photo)

7…RBIs by Hurricane catcher Yasmani Grandal, who homered to help his team to the weekend sweep of the Tar Heels.

7…Perfect innings pitched by Miami’s David Guetierrez in Wednesday’s 9-0 win over Florida Gulf Coast.  The senior struck out seven and retired all 21 batters he faced in just his second start of the season before leaving the game after throwing 84 pitches.  Hurricane reliever Eric Whaley lost the perfect game and no-hitter when he hit a batter and gave-up a single in the 8th inning.

3…Wins by #6 Georgia Tech over visiting #16 Clemson.  The sweep was sparked by Friday’s 10th inning walk-off home run by Yellow Jacket right fielder Chase Burnett.

15…Consecutive games in which a Georgia Tech player has homered after second baseman Jacob Esch went deep in Sunday’s 11-3 series finale, which gave Clemson its fifth straight loss.

9…Of Clemson’s 13 losses this season (including three in its five-game slide) which have been decided by one or two runs.

5…Runs scored by #25 Virginia Tech in the top of the 9th inning in Sunday’s 8-5 win over #3 Virginia, which avoided a 3-game sweep.  The rally was capped by Buddy Sosnoskie’s 2-out bases clearing double.

3…Walks issued in just 1/3 of an inning by Cavalier closer Kevin Arico, who had earned his Division One leading 12th save earlier in the series, in that Hokie rally.

4…Walks issued by Arico (0-1)  in 20 innings pitched prior to Sunday’s outing.

0 & 23…Runs allowed and strikeouts totaled in 25 combined innings by Texas starting pitchers Brandon

Brandon Workman (Texas photo)

Workman, Taylor Jungmann and Cole Green in the Longhorns’ weekend sweep of arch rival Texas A&M.  The trio also surrendered a grand total of seven hits on the weekend.

12 & 6…Consecutive wins by Texas and losses by Texas A&M, respectively, after the Aggies’ fourth sweep at the hands of the Longhorns in the last five seasons.  The sweep keeps Texas 2 1/2 games ahead of Kansas State in the Big 12 Conference standings.

14…Big 12 leading home runs hit by Nebraska’s Adam Bailey this season.

1…Hit by Bailey in 13 at-bats vs. Kansas (not a home run), while the Jayhawks took two of three games in the series from the Cornhuskers.

1996…The last time Kansas won a series in Lincoln prior to the weekend’s wins.

1,000…Career wins by Rutgers head coach Fred Hill after his Scarlet Knights beat South Florida 6-1 Saturday en-route to a 3-game weekend sweep of South Florida.  The wins move RU into a first place tie with Connecticut atop the Big East Conference standing.

1…Home run this season by LSU sophomore Grant Dozer-a walk-off shot that ended Sunday’s 6-5 14-inning win over Alabama to cap a 3-game weekend sweep.

2002…The last time LSU (30-6, 11.4) swept a series from Alabama (22-15, 5-10).

7…Ride or die innings pitched by LSU closer Matty Ott to earn his first win of the season.  The sophomore allowed two runs on four hits in the longest outing of his career.  He gave-up the runs in the 8th inning and then proceeded to toss six scoreless frames.

32…Division One leading wins by Coastal Carolina, which beat Gardner-Webb 13-0 Sunday for its 13th straight win.

4…Third inning home runs hit by UC Riverside in Sunday’s 7-5 win over Long Beach State.

Marcus Stroman

3…Hits by Duke second baseman Marcus Stroman in Saturday’s upset of #8 Florida State.

3…Scoreless innings pitched by Stroman, who moved to the mound and earned his fourth win in relief in that same game.

4…RBIs along with a home run hit by Arkansas’ Brett Eibner in Saturday’s win over Georgia.  He is tied for the team lead with 11 HR this season.

7…Innings pitched in that game by Eibner, who earned his third win in his ninth start of the season.

11…Straight wins by the Razorbacks (31-6, 12-3) after Sunday’s 13-5 win over the Bulldogs.  Arkansas has the most overall wins and conference wins of any team in the SEC.

20…Combined strikeouts by starting pitchers Blake Cooper of South Carolina and Drew Pomeranz of Ole Miss in Friday’s Gamecock win over the Rebels.  Cooper (7-0) scattered four hits with 10 K in the complete game effort to help

Christian Walker (USC photo)

South Carolina win two of three games in the series.

9…Straight South Carolina batters who reached base safely in a seven-run 2nd inning-capped by Christian Walker’s grand slam-in Saturday’s 9-5 win over the Rebels.

4…Runs scored by Arizona in the bottom of the 9th inning to rally to beat Washington State 12-11 Sunday in Tucson.

11…Straight wins by the home team in the series between the Wildcats and Cougars.

14…Strikeouts in 8 2/3 IP by Arizona’s Kurt Heyer in Friday’s 5-3 win over Wazzou.

18…Scoreless inning streak by Pepperdine’s Matt Bywater that ended when Gonzaga scored a 1st inning run en-route to a 16-3 win.

8…Runs scored by Miami (OH) in the bottom of the 9th inning of Tuesday’s 12-11 win over Xavier.

SLU’s Brock, ‘Bama’s Morgan Headline Primetime Performers Weekly Honor Roll … CollegeBaseball360.com has announced its fifth group of Primetime Performers, for action during the third week of March. St. Louis University senior first baseman Danny Brock (Loveland, Colo.) is the CB360 Primetimer Player of the Week while Alabama sophomore lefthander Adam Morgan (Marietta, Ga.) is the Primetime Pitcher of the Week.

Danny Brock

Adam Morgan

Brock and Morgan are joined by 14 other clutch players from throughout the nation in comprising the CB360 Primetime Performer Weekly Honor Roll for May 15-21.

BROCK – son of 10-year Major Leaguer Greg Brock (’82-86 Dodgers; ’87-’91 Brewers) – played a lead role in SLU’s doubleheader sweep of a Kansas team that was #25 in the CB360 Composite National Rankings (KU was fresh off a pair of wins at national power LSU). During the pair of convincing wins (12-8/8-5), the 3-hole hitter Brock smacked his 10th home run of the season while batting 4-for-8, reaching base two other times (BB, HBP) and factoring directly into half  of the Billikens’ 20 runs (6 RBI, 5 R).

Danny Brock scored or drove in 10 of SLU's 20 runs during the convincing doubleheader sweep of #25 Kansas.

The 6-1, 210-pount righthanded hitter led the way for a SLU offense that roughed up a pair of the KU pitching staff’s top righthanded starters – junior T.J. Walz (a 2009 all-Big 12 Conference performer) and senior Cameron Selik. Walz was touched for eight runs and nine hits in 6.1 innings (2BB-6K) while Selik surrendered seven runs and eight hits in 6.0 IP (2BB-7K). Walz was the Jayhawks’ game-1 winner one week earlier at LSU while Selik had started and won the series clincher vs. the defending national champions.

Brock’s three-run homer in the bottom of the 7th put SLU ahead for good in the opener vs. Kansas (3-for-4, 5RBI-3R-BB) and he tacked on another strong effort in the game-2 victory (1B-RBI-2R-HBP). He ended the week with a .405 season batting average and was the Atlantic 10 Conference leader in home runs (10), RBI (36), slugging percentage (.892), walks (17) and runs scored (24), plus third in the A-10 with a .525 on-base percentage. He entered this week with an eye-popping 1.417 season “OPS” (on-base plus slugging), through 20 games.

CLICK HERE to listen to a podcast interview with Brock.

MORGAN delivered #21 Alabama’s 4-1 opening victory in its series win vs. a Vanderbilt team listed 17th in the CB360 composite rankings. The 6-1/180-pound lefthander shut out the Southeastern Conference’s top offense through six innings, ultimately allowing only on run on six hits and three walks through 6.2 innings (3 Ks). The Commodores entered the game with a gaudy .352 team batting average while averaging nearly nine runs and 12 hits per game in the first 17 games of the season (VU was 15-2 before losing to Morgan and the Tide in game-1). Morgan did not allow a Vanderbilt runner to reach second base until there was two outs in the seventh, which also is when VU managed its only extra-base hit of the day vs. Morgan (an Anthony Gomez double; VU’s five other hits vs. Morgan included four 2-out singles with nobody on base).

Adam Morgan shut out the SEC's top offense (#17 Vanderbilt) through six innings, leading the Tide to a game-1 victory and eventual series win.

In addition to the challenge of facing the Vanderbilt hitters, Morgan had the added pressure of knowing that VU sophomore RHP Sonny Gray (a projected 1st-rounder in 2011) would be facing his teammates. Morgan proved up to the task, rolling up a 1-2-3 inning to start his outing, then allowing a leadoff walk to Jason Esposito but quickly erasing the runner on a pickoff play. Brian Harris had a 2-out single vs. Morgan in the third but was stranded at first, as was cleanup hitter Andrew Giobbi after his single in the fourth.

Gomez managed a 2-out single in the fifth, but was forced out at second. Bryan Johns earned a leadoff walk vs. Morgan in the sixth, but he was caught stealing and Giobbi later was stranded at first following his 2-out single. Vanderbilt’s only run came in the seventh, courtesy of two more 2-out hits.

Similar to the weekly awards presented on sister site CollegeSoccer360.com, the CB360 Primetime Performer honors various players based on any/all of the following “primetime” criteria…not solely based on raw stats.

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, 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 14 members of the CB360 Primetime Performer Weekly Honor Roll include: Utah sophomore catcher C.J. Cron (Phoenix, Ariz.), Arkansas jr. CF/RHP Brett Eibner (Houston, Texas), Ball State righthanded reliever Perci Garner (Dover, Ohio), Maryland 1B/RH closer Dan Gentzler (Berwyn, Pa.), Stanford jr. catcher Zach Jones (Draper, Utah), LSU so. LHP Chris Matulis (Lake Worth, Fla.), Florida State jr. RF/RH closer Mike McGee (Port St. Lucie, Fla.), Mississippi LHP Drew Pomeranz (Collierville, Tenn.), Fordham 5th-yr. sr. DH Angelo Ponte (Old Tappart, N.J.), Arizona fr. LF Robert Refsnyder (Laguna Hills, Calif.), High Point jr. RF Nate Roberts (Spring Grove, Ill.), San Diego jr. SS Tony Strazzara (Scottsdale, Ariz.), Florida so. 1B Preston Tucker (Tampa, Fla.) and Charlotte senior catcher Zane Williams (Claremore, Okla.).

C.J. Cron

Brett Eibner

Perci Garner

Dan Gentzler

Zach Jones

Chris Matulis

Mike McGee

Drew Pomeranz

Angelo Ponte

Robert Refsnyder

Nate Roberts

Tony Strazzara

Preston Tucker

Zane Williams

The 16 honorees include three two-way players (RHP/RF; CF/RHP; 1B/RHP), four other pitchers (three of them lefties), three catchers, two first basemen, a shortstop, leftfielder, rightfielder and DH. The selections feature a 5th-year senior, three seniors, seven juniors, four sophomore and the freshman Refsnyder. Three of the players are Florida natives and two are Arizona products, with all of the others coming from different home states: California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas and Utah.

Primetime Performer Weekly Honor Roll #5 (March 15-21)

(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
*Danny Brock (1B) … St. Louis … Sr. . … Loveland, CO
Smacked 10th HR of season while batting 4-8 from 3-hole and factoring into 10 runs (6RBI-5R; BB-HBP) during sweep of #25 Kansas (12-8/8-5)

C.J. Cron (C) … Utah … So. . … Phoenix, AZ
Went 6-10 with 10 RBI (7R-2HR-2B) from cleanup spot, in pair of wins over #29 New Mexico (16-2/9-8 in 10)

Brett Eibner (CF/RHP) … Arkansas … Jr. . … Houston, TX
Homered twice (4 RBI) in gm-1 win at  #6 LSU; started series finale on mound (6IP-3R/2ER-7H-2BB-7K)

Perci Garner (RHP) … Ball State … Jr. . … Dover, OH
Flamethrower posted 4-inning win at #8 Louisville (R-2H-6K; 5-1/UL’s 2nd loss in ’10)

Dan Gentzler (1B/RHP) … Maryland … Sr. . …  Berwyn, PA
Homered twice (4RBI-3R-BB) and took mound in 9th for save (man on 3rd; 1-3 groundout/KL/4-3), in 5-2 win over #12 Ga. Tech

Zach Jones (C) … Stanford … Jr. . … Draper, UT
9-hole hitter who went 8-12 (2 RBI-3R) in sweep of Pepperdine (9-8/10-6/11-6)

Chris Matulis (LHP) … LSU … So. . … Lake Worth, FL
Starting pitcher in series finale 5-1 win vs. #13 Arkansas (5.1IP-R-5H-4BB-6K)

Mike McGee (RF/RHP) … Florida State … Jr. . … Port St. Lucie, FL
3-hole hitter who went 4-for-9 (RBI, R) and saved both wins (1.2 total shutout IP; 4-3/5-3) in series at #19 UNC

*Adam Morgan (LHP) … Alabama … So. . … Marietta, GA
Held SEC’s top offense to one run, in 4-1 series opener at #17 Vanderbilt (6.2IP-6H-3BB-3K)

Drew Pomeranz (LHP) … Mississippi … Jr. . … Collierville, TN
Logged 6.0 shutout innings in 9-0 opener at #28 Kentucky (H-2BB-9K)

Angelo Ponte (DH) … Fordham … 5th-Yr.-Sr. . … Old Tappart, NJ
Factored into all of Rams’ runs (3RBI-R) during 4-3 win at #20 Miami

Robert Refsnyder (LF) … Arizona … Fr. . … Laguna Hills, CA
Hit 6-10 with 8 RBI (2R) in dominating DH vs. #32 Wichita St. (13-5/19-0)

Nate Roberts (RF) … High Point … Jr. . … Spring Grove, IL
Went 3-4 (3RBI-2R) as 3-hole hitter in 13-12 win over #24 East Carolina, then 2-4 (RBI-3R) vs. #42 VMI (15-14)

Tony Strazzard (SS) … San Diego … Jr. . … Scottsdale, AZ
2-hole hitter who went 4-for-9 (4R-RBI) in pair of wins over #22 Rice (6-4/6-5 in 10)

Preston Tucker (1B) … Florida … So. . … Tampa, FL
#3 hitter who had 4 RBI and went 2-for-4 (HR, BB) in 8-5 rivalry win over #7 Florida St.;  batted 5-12 (4 RBI-3R-2 HR-2B) in sweep of #43 Mississippi St. (7-2/5-4/4-1)

Zane Williams (C) … Charlotte … Sr. . … Claremore, OK
Factored into 5 runs (4RBI-R-2B-2 BB) during 11-10 win over #5 Clemson

* – Brock is the CB360 Primetime Player of the Week and Morgan 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)

Six 2009 Semifinalists On 2010 List

USA Baseball announced Thursday its preseason Golden Spikes Award Watch List, marking the organization’s first step toward identifying the top amateur baseball player in the country. Sponsored by Major League Baseball, the Golden Spikes Award will be presented in 2010 for the 33rd time.

The Watch List features 50 of the nation’s top amateur talents, and it will be a “rolling” list to ensure that athletes can play themselves into consideration for the Golden Spikes Award, to be presented live on Tuesday, July 13, at the 2010 Major League Baseball All-Star FanFest in Anaheim, Calif.

Headlining the 2010 Watch List are six athletes who were among the 30 semifinalists for the 2009 Golden Spikes Award. Those players are Daniel Bibona (LHP, Sr., UC Irvine), Bryce Brentz (OF/RHP, Jr., Middle Tennessee), Deck McGuire (RHP, Jr., Georgia Tech), Addison Reed (RHP, Jr., San Diego State), Anthony Rendon (3B, So., Rice) and Alex Wimmers (RHP, Jr., Ohio State).

“We’re very pleased to announce the 50 members of the preseason Watch List for the 2010 Golden Spikes Award,” said Paul Seiler, Executive Director/CEO of USA Baseball. “The level of amateur baseball talent in our country continues to rise each year, and there is no greater evidence of this than seeing six 2009 semifinalists named to the 2010 Watch List.”

The list of 50 names also features Bryce Harper of the College of Southern Nevada, a junior. The freshman catcher is the only junior-college player named to the list. Alex Fernandez, as a sophomore pitcher for Miami Dade Community College (now Miami Dade College) in 1990, stands as the only junior-college player to ever win the Golden Spikes Award.

LSU leads all schools with four players named to the Watch List. Texas is second with three, and Alabama, Arkansas, Cal State Fullerton, Coastal Carolina, Florida State, Georgia Tech, University of Miami, Rice and Virginia have two apiece.

The SEC tops all conferences with 15 Watch List players. Other leading conferences include the ACC with 10 athletes, the Big 12 with five, and the Big West and Conference USA with three each. Juniors dominate the list with 35 players named. Sophomores are next with nine players, there are five seniors, and Harper is the lone freshman.

On Tuesday, June 1, USA Baseball officials will cut the list of players to 30 names. The final list of 30 will then be sent to a voting body consisting of select professional baseball personnel, past USA Baseball National Team coaches, select members of the media, former USA Baseball sports information directors, and current USA Baseball staff — about 150 voters in total.

All voters will be asked to choose five players from the list of 30 names. Fan voting will once again be a part of the Golden Spikes Award in 2010. June 1 will also mark the day when college baseball fans from across the country will be able to vote for their favorite player for the Golden Spikes Award on goldenspikesaward.com. On Tuesday, June 8, USA Baseball will announce the five finalists, and voting for a winner will commence that same day.

The 2010 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award will be presented nationally July 13 on an award show via live telecast from Anaheim on goldenspikesaward.com, USABaseball.com and MLB.com in conjunction with All-Star FanFest.

Past winners of the Golden Spikes Award include Terry Francona (1980), Will Clark (1985), Robin Ventura (1988), Jason Varitek (1994), J.D. Drew (1997), Mark Prior (2001), Jered Weaver (2004), Tim Lincecum (2006), David Price (2007), Buster Posey (2008) and last year’s winner, Stephen Strasburg.

2010 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Important Dates

Thursday, Feb. 18 – 50-player Watch List released, shaped by USA Baseball officials, advisors and college SIDs
Tuesday, June 1 – 30 semifinalists announced, selected by USA Baseball officials; semifinalist voting begins; voters select five
Friday, June 4 – Deadline to vote for finalists, 5:00 p.m. ET
Tuesday, June 8 – Five finalists announced; finalist voting begins; voters to select one
Friday, June 18 – Deadline to vote for winner, 5:00 p.m. ET
Tuesday, July 13 – Golden Spikes Award presentation live at All-Star FanFest in Anaheim

Complete 2010 preseason Golden Spikes Award Watch List:

Name, School, Position, Class (in order of name)

Chad Bettis, Texas Tech, RHP, Junior
Daniel Bibona, UC Irvine, LHP, Senior
Bryce Brentz, Middle Tennessee, OF/RHP, Junior
Michael Choice, Texas-Arlington, OF, Junior
Gerrit Cole, UCLA, RHP, Sophomore
Christian Colon, Cal State Fullerton, SS, Junior
Zack Cox, 3B/RHP, Arkansas, Sophomore
Todd Cunningham, OF, Junior
Blake Dean, LSU, Jacksonville State, 1B/OF, Senior
Sam Dyson, South Carolina, RHP, Junior
Brett Eibner, Arkansas, RHP/OF, Junior
Micah Gibbs, LSU, C, Junior
Sean Gilmartin, Florida State, LHP, Sophomore
Yasmani Grandal, University of Miami, C, Junior
Sonny Gray, Vanderbilt, RHP, Sophomore
Justin Grimm, Georgia, RHP, Junior
Jedd Gyorko, West Virginia, 2B/3B, Junior
Rick Hague, Rice, SS, Junior
Bryce Harper, College of Southern Nevada, C/3B/OF, Freshman
Cody Hawn, Tennessee, 1B, Junior
Chris Hernandez, University of Miami, LHP, Junior
Tyler Holt, Florida State, OF, Junior
Danny Hultzen, Virginia, LHP/1B, Sophomore
Kevin Jacob, Georgia Tech, RHP, Junior
Taylor Jungmann, Texas, RHP, Sophomore
Leon Landry, LSU, OF, Junior
Deck McGuire, Georgia Tech, RHP, Junior
Hunter Morris, Auburn, 1B/OF, Junior
Jarrett Parker, Virginia, OF, Junior
Drew Pomeranz, Mississippi, LHP, Junior
Anthony Ranaudo, LSU, RHP, Junior
Addison Reed, San Diego State, RHP, Junior
Anthony Rendon, Rice, 3B, Sophomore
Daniel Renken, Cal State Fullerton, RHP, Junior
Kyle Roller, East Carolina, 1B, Senior
Cameron Rupp, C, Junior, Texas
Chris Sale, Florida Gulf Coast, LHP, Junior
Jake Smith, Alabama, 3B/RHP, Senior
Josh Spence, Arizona State, LHP, Senior
Tony Thompson, Kansas, 3B, Junior
Preston Tucker, Florida, 1B, Sophomore
Kolbrin Vitek, Ball State, 3B/RHP, Junior
Austin Wates, Virginia Tech, OF, Junior
Cody Wheeler, Coastal Carolina, LHP, Junior
Ross Wilson, Alabama, 2B/SS, Junior
Alex Wimmers, Ohio State, RHP, Junior
Mickey Wiswall, Boston College, 3B/1B, Junior
Kolten Wong, Hawaii, 2B, Sophomore
Scott Woodward, Coastal Carolina, 3B, Junior
Brandon Workman, Texas, RHP, Junior

National Champ LSU And Arkansas Look For CWS Returns

2009 Eastern Division Champion:  Florida

2009 Western Division Champion:  LSU & Ole Miss Tied with 20-10 records

2009 SEC Tournament Champion:  LSU

Banner Year:  Teams outside the SEC often complain the conference gets too much respect when it comes to NCAA Tournament bids, but the SEC lived-up to its lofty status last year.  Eight SEC teams received NCAA bids in 2009, with half of them, LSU, Ole Miss, Florida, and Arkansas, advancing to at least a Super Regional.  Arkansas and LSU both made it to Omaha, while the Tigers winning the 2009 National Championship.

Big Crowds:  The SEC drew a record of nearly 1.9 million fans to its on-campus ballparks in 2009, the fourth year in a row to draw over 1.6 million. Seven SEC teams drew in excess of 100,000 fans to their parks in 2009. The SEC averaged a record 4,689 fans per game in 2009, the third straight year to exceed the 4,000 mark.

2010 SEC Western Division Preview

Alabama

2009 Record:  (37-21, 18-11)

Mascot:  Crimson Tide

Head Coach: Mitch Gaspard

Location:  Tuscaloosa, AL

Vitals:  .330 BA, 107 HR, 60 SB, .415 OBP, .971 Fld%…5.13 ERA, 4 CG, 11 SV, 487 K, 182 BB, .277 opp. BA

New Head Coach:  Mitch Gaspard took the reigns of the Alabama program after long time skipper Jim Wells

Ross Wilson (ESPN.com)

retired last summer.  Gaspard served two stints as an assistant to Wells, including the last two seasons as Alabama’s recruiting coordinator.  He was the head coach at Northwestern State from 2002-2007.  Prior to that he helped Wells take Alabama to the College World Series three times as a Crimson Tide assistant.

Solid Returns:  Preseason All-American 2B Ross Wilson (.353, 9 HR, 57 RBIs) is one of four returning players who started at least 49 games last year.  Senior Jake Smith (.359, 18 HR, 54 RBIs), Freshman All-American Taylor Dugas (.352, 13 SB) and Josh Rutledge (.305) are back as well, as is Clay Jones (.331, 7 HR, 39 RBIs), who started just 35 games last year.  The biggest loss to the line-up is OF Kent Matthes (.358, 28 HR, 81 RBIs), who tied for the NCAA home run lead.

Pitching Questions:  Alabama loses starters Austin Hyatt (8-3, 3.76 ERA) and Del Howell (5-3, 6.33 ERA).  Those two combined to make 26 starts & tossed three of the staff’s four complete games.  With nine starts last year soph. LHP Adam Morgan (4-2, 4.17 ERA) is the team’s most experience returning starter.  Redshirt soph. reliever Tyler White (1-0, 2.28 ERA, 2 SV) and Jr. Nathan Kilcrease (4-4, 4.11 ERA, 2 SV) are among the top returning relievers.

Arkansas

2009 Record:  (41-24, 14-15)

Mascot:  Razorbacks

Head Coach:  Dave Van Horn

Location:  Fayetteville, AR

Vitals:  .273 BA, 80 HR, 67 SB, .368 OBP, .968 Fld%…4.67 ERA, 1 CG, 16 SV, 511 K, 245 BB, .267 opp. BA

Andy Wilkins

All-American Trio:  Juniors Brett Eibner (.231, 12 HR, 54 RBIs) & Andy Wilkins (.319, 19 HR, 58 RBIs) and sophomore Zach Cox (.266, 13 HR, 39 RBIs) have all received preseason All-American recognition.  Arkansas, LSU and Texas are the only three schools in the country to have three players receive All-American recognition.  Cox was a Freshman All-American last year as well.

Two-Way Duo:  Eibner and Cox are pitchers as well.  Eibner (5-5, 5.00 ERA) tied a team-high with 17 starts last year with the staff’s only complete game.  Cox (5-1, 4.82 ERA, SV) mad all 14 of his appearances out of the bullpen.

Plenty More Pitching:  Senior Mike Bolsinger (6-4, 2.99 ERA, 2SV) is among the top returning pitchers to the Razorback staff.  He picked-up the only save at last year’s College World Series.  Drew Smyly (3-1, 4.66 ERA, 14 starts).  Dallas Keuchel (9-3, 3.92 ERA) and Stephen Richards (6-2, 2.19 ERA, 9 SV) are the biggest staff losses

Auburn

2009 Record:  (31-25, 11-19)

Mascot:  Tigers

Head Coach:  John Pawlowski

Location:  Auburn, AL

Vitals:  .286 BA, 103 HR, 40 SB, .381 OBP, .969 Fld%…6.12 ERA, 0 CG, 12 SV, 411 K, 228 BB, .321 opp. BA

Notable Drought:  Since going to the NCAA Tournament five times from 2000-2005 Auburn has missed the tourney the last four years.

Mound Presence:  Junior LHP Grant Dayton (2-6, 5.92 ERA) and soph. Jon Luke Jacobs (3-4, 5.74 ERA) are back to lead the weekend rotation.  They are expected to be joined by 6’7 lefty Cole Nelson, a junior college transfer who was drafted in the 48th round by Tampa Bay last year.  Austin Hubbard (3-3, 4.20 ERA, 12 SV) and Bradley Hendrix (7-3, 5.09 ERA) are back to lead the bullpen.  Hendrix’s 7 wins led the staff as did his 24 relief appearances.  Another juco transfer, Stephen Kohlscheen, helped lead Cowley College to last year’s Junior College World Series.

A Lot In The Line-Up:  Auburn returns seven of its top nine hitters from 2009.  Justin Hargett led the Tigers in average (.330) and on-base percentage (.426).  He’s joined by Brian Fletcher (.301, 17 HR, 54 RBIs), Casey McElroy (.286, 7 HR), Hunter Morris (.282, 12 HR), and Tony Caldwell (.281, 9 HR).

No Mummey…For Now:  Auburn recently announced that centerfielder Trent Mummey (.289, 15 HR) will miss at least a month with a severely sprained right ankle.  Mummey had 17 of Auburn’s 40 stolen bases last year.  He was also named to the SEC All-Defensive Team.   Junior college transfer Justin Fradejas will fill-in until he returns.

Desert Challenge:  The Tigers go to Tempe, AZ for a 3-game series with Arizona State March 12-14.

LSU

2009 Record:  (56-17, 20-10)

Mascot:  Tigers

Head Coach:  Paul Mainieri

Location:  Baton Rouge, LA

Vitals:  .315 BA, 107 HR, 114 SB, .405 OBP, .974 Fld%…4.02 ERA, 679 K, 186 BB, .257 opp. BA

Anthony Ranaudo (ESPN.com photo)

LSU Line-Up Losses:  The Tigers lose four of their top five batters from last year’s National Championship team.  D.J. LeMahieu (.350, 12 SB), Ryan Schimpf (.336, 22 HR, 70 RBIs, 18 SB), Sean Ochinko (.333, 9 HR), and Jared Mitchell (.327, 11 HR, 36 SB) are all gone.

Top Bats Back:  LSU still returns the like of Sr. Blake Dean (.328, 17 HR, 71 RBIs), Tyler Hanover (.321), SEC Tournament MVP Mikie Mahtook (.316, 7 HR), Leon Landry (.300, 12 HR), and slick fielding Austin Nola, who didn’t join the starting line-up until LSU’s 40th game of the season last year.  He did not commit an error at shortstop in 24 chances at the College World Series.

On The Hill:  While they lose top overall pitcher Louis Coleman (14-2, 2.93 ERA, 142 K), the Tigers return several top notch pitchers to carry the load.  The group is led by junior Anthony Ranaudo (12-3, 3.04, 159 K).  He’s joined by Austin Ross (6-8, 5.18 ERA), soph.closer Matty Ott (4-2, 2.68 ERA, 16 SV), Daniel Bradshaw (4-0, 3.04 ERA), Paul Bertuccini (2-0, 3.86 ERA, 3 SV), and Chris Matulis (6-2, 4.82 ERA).

On The Bayou:  LSU plays its first 21 games of the season in Louisiana.  The only road game is at Northwestern State in Natchitoches.

Mississippi

2009 Record:  (44-20-, 20-10)

Mascot:  Rebels

Head Coach:  Mike Bianco

Location:  Oxford, MS

Vitals:  .310 BA, 56 HR, 92 SB, .398 OBP, .970 Fld%…4.06 ERA, 4 CG, 17 SV, 623 K, 189 BB, .271 opp. BA

Dealing With Draft Losses:  After setting a school record with 20 wins in SEC play Ole Miss had 11 players drafted last year, including five underclassmen who signed pro contracts.  Jordan Henry (.343, 38 SB), Logan Power (.311, 7 HR, 20 doubles) and Kyle Henson (.338, 8 HR) are the top losses in the line-up.   Scott Bittle (5-2, 2.17 ERA), Phillip Irwin (8-3, 3.84 ERA), Brett Bukvich (9-3, 4.42 ERA), and Nathan Baker (4-3, 3.63 ERA) are all gone from the pitching staff.

Matt Smith (secsports.com)

Bats That Are Back:  The good news for the Rebles is three players shared the team lead with 8 home runs, and two of those players, Matt Smith (.336, 8 HR, 59 RBIs) and Matt Snyder (.298, 8 HR, 31 RBIs) are back this year.  Smith was the team RBI leader.  Snyder and his twin brother, Mike, are expected to share the corner infield spots.  Tim Ferguson (.358, 18 SB) and Zac Miller (.341) are among other top returnees to the line-up.

Mound Returnees:  Junior LHP Drew Pomeranz (8-4, 3.40 ERA) will lead the weekend rotation.  Closer Jake Morgan (4-1, 3.46 ERA, 9 saves) suffered an injury in the off-season, so David Goforth (1-1, 2.80 ERA, 3 SV) is expected to move into that role.   Senior Rory McKean (5-1, 4.53 ERA) is among a handful of other experience relievers who return.

Welcome Back?:  The Rebels will host a 3-game series with reigning Big East Champion Louisville March 12-14.  The Cardinals are coached by former Ole Miss assistant Dan McDonnell and have been to Super Regionals in two of the last three seasons.

Mississippi State

2009 Record:  (25-29, 9-20)

Mascot:  Bulldogs

Head Coach:  John Cohen

Location:  Starkville, MS

Vitals:  .298 BA, 61 HR, 72 SB, .398 OBP, .968 Fld%…6.57 ERA, 5 CG, 12 SV, 365 K, 246 BB, .304 opp. BA

Dogs Absent:  Since making NCAA Tournament appearances from 2003-2007, including the ’07 CWS, Mississippi State has missed the last two NCAA Tourneys.  In fact, the Bulldogs have not been to the SEC tournament for the last two years either.

Big Dogs Back:  1B Connor Powers (.301, 19 HR, 63 RBIs) and DH Ryan Duffy (.339, 10 HR, 33 RBIs) were MSU’s top home runs hitters last year, and they’re both back to lead the offense.  Jet Butler (.335) and Russ Sneed (.333, 9 HR, 43 RBIs) return as well.  Leading hitter Scott DeLoach (.353) and Grant Hogue (.315, 29 SB) are the biggest offensive losses.

Hard Working Dogs:   Nick Routt (5-3, 4.15 ERA, 4 CG) and Tyler Whitney (3-4, 5.18 ERA, CG), who accounted for 24 of the staff’s 54 starts and all five complete games last year, are both back.   The Bulldogs lose saves leader Chad Crosswhite (6 SV, 7.38 ERA).  Routt is expected to lead the rotation, while Whitney could move to the closer role.  Lefty junior college transfer Trey Johnson and freshman Chris Stratton could factor in the weekend rotation.  Johnson hit 19 HR as a two-way player last year at Blinn (TX) CC.

Special Delivery:  For the second straight year Mississippi State players hand delivered tickets in neighborhoods throughout Starkville to local fans who ordered 2010 season tickets.  Head coach John Cohen started the program when he was the head coach at Kentucky.

2010 SEC Western Division Predictions

Top Western Division Player:  Andy Wilkins – Arkansas

Top Western Division Pitcher:  Anthony Ranaudo – LSU

Western Division Champion:  LSU

CLICK HERE to see the Eastern Division Preview & Predictions

2010 SEC Baseball Overall Predictions

SEC Player of the Year:  Preston Tucker – Florida

SEC Pitcher of the Year:  Anthony Ranaudo – LSU

Overall SEC Champion:  South Carolina

LaMarre

The junior outfielder went from a .303 hitter with 3 home runs with a .780 OPS as a freshman to a .344 average with 12 HR, 62 RBIs and a 1.052 OPS as a sophomore.  He played for the Wareham Gatemen in the Cape Cod League last summer, and now LaMarre’s a NCBWA Preseason All-American as he prepares for his junior campaign. In this interview with CB360 Editor Sean Stires he talks about the strides he’s made in his career, what it will take for Michigan to get back to the NCAA Tournament and more.

6’2 – 206 – Jr. – Jackson, MI  Head Coach: Rich Maloney

LaMarre and Michigan will compete in the second annual Big Ten-Big East Baseball Challenge, hosted by the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Sports Commission, Feb. 26-28. For tickets visit  www.BigTenBIGEASTChallenge.com.

#1 Arkansas Beats #1 Arizona State

17.  Rhode Island Beats Miami And Oklahoma State

18.  Kansas State’s A.J. Morris beats Arizona State’s Mike Leake

19.  North Carolina’s Mike Fox Wins His 1,000th Game

20.  Illinois Shocks #1 LSU In Baton Rouge

21.  Alabama’s Kent Matthes Launches Longballs

22.  Freshman Levi Michael Starts In North Carolina’s Season Opener

23.  LSU Opens The New Alex Box Stadium

24.  Oregon Brings Back Baseball

Collegebaseball360.com Editor Sean Stires with some thoughts on Friday’s LSU-Arkansas and Texas-Arizona State games…