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Images From VT-GT Regular Season Finale…

Once again, Collegebaseball360.com photo journalist Dave Wolpert has some great photos for us. Dave was at the Virginia Tech-Georgia Tech series over the weekend in Blacksburg, Va, and he has some great shots of players like Buck Farmer, Andrew Rash, Kyle Wren, Matt Skole and others.

Dave will also be at this week’s ACC Baseball Tournament and we’ll have shots of the action from Durham soon!

Virginia Tech outfielder Andrew Rash

Georgia Tech pitcher Buck Farmer is 10-2 with a 2.89 ERA this season.

 

ACC Home Run leader Andrew Rash congratulates shortstop Tim Smalling on scoring after hitting triple.

Yellow Jackets catcher Zane Evans throws runner out at first base.

Right now, you can save 10% on everything – even sale items –  in stock at Dugouthats.com when you enter the coupon code CB360.

Save on 2011 College World Series apparel as well as authentic college baseball caps from teams like LSU, Texas, Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, UCLA, South Carolina, Miami and more at Dugouthats.com!

 

 

Georgia Tech's Kyle Wren

 

GT second baseman Matt Hyde

Matt Skole scores a run.

Kyle Wren

 

 

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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.

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.

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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.)

Duke’s Currier, Oregon State’s Peavey Take Top Primetime Honors …

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

Duke sr. DH Will Currier

Currier has been named the national Primetime Player of the Week and Peavey is the Primetime Pitcher of the Week, while 17 others join them in comprising the Primetime Performer Weekly Honor Roll (as selected by CollegeBaseball360.com).

Currier homered in all three games and totaled 8 RBI in Duke’s 2-1 series vs. #11 Clemson, while Peavey was masterful in his 2-hit victory over a potent #2 UCLA team.

Oregon State jr. RHP Greg Peavey

PEAVEY outdueled UCLA ace Gerrit Cole in the 7-1 series opener, allowing only two hits (3BB-6K) from a Bruins offense that entered the game with a gaudy .347 team batting average. The 6-1, 200-pound righthanded lowered his season ERA to 1.91 while opposing batters now are hitting at a lowly .167 clip vs. Peavey this season.

Oregon State jr. RHP Greg Peavey's 2-hitter knocked off a #2 UCLA squad that owned a .347 team batting average (photo courtesy of OSU).

UCLA’s only hits against Peavey came on cleanup batter Justin Uribe’s single through the left side in the 4th inning on a hit-and-run and #6 hitter Cody Regis’ soft  liner that knucked in for a 7th-inning single. Peavey allowed only three batters to reach scoring position (none after the 4th) and the only run he allowed came on a sacrifice fly. The Hudson Bay High School product retired 10 of the first 11 batters and allowed only one baserunner in his final 5.1 innings.

CURRIER led the way for a Duke program that now has taken an ACC series from two national powers (UNC and Clemson). The 6-4, 215-pound homered from the 3-hole in all four games during the past week, including a 9-5 win over William & Mary and every game in the series at Durham Bulls Park vs. #11 Clemson (10-9/5-11/7-2). His 8-RBI series vs. the Tigers included a grand slam and a pair of 2-run blasts.

Currier is riding an extended home run streak (6 HRs in past 9 games) and is slugging at a .691 clip for the season, with 22 RBI.

Duke senior DH Will Currier (#45) had a home run celebration in all four games last week, including the series win vs. #11 Clemson (photo courtesy of Duke).

Currier’s 2-out home run was part of Duke’s early explosion (9R in first 3 inn.) vs. William & Mary. The righthanded power hitter added a 2-run blast early in the opener vs. Clemson junior LHP Casey Harman, capping a 4-run bottom of the 3rd as the Blue Devils claimed a 4-3 lead (en route  to the 10-9 win). Currier later singled and scored in the 8th, sparking a 5-run outburst that thrust Duke into a 10-8 lead.

One day later, Currier delivered a clutch 2-out blast in the bottom of the 6th, pulling a pitch from RHP Scott Weismann and sending it down the leftfield line for a grand slam and 4-3 lead (Clemson rallied to win in 11 innings). Currier’s 1st-inning blast in the series finale (vs. LHP Will Lamb) staked Duke to a 2-0 lead, and the Devils went on to claim the series with a 7-2 victory.

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

(from left) Matt Argyopoulos (Washington St.), Ryan Behmanesk (Dallas Baptist), Jay Brown (South Carolina), Nate Brown (Ark.-Little Rock), Cory Brownsten (Pitt) and Jeremy Erben (Oklahoma).

The other 17 members of the CB360 Primetime Performer Weekly Honor Roll include: Washington State jr. 3B Matt Argyropoulos (Longview, Wash.) … Dallas Baptist so. 1B Ryan Behmanesh (Mansfield, Texas) …South Carolina sr. RHP Jay Brown (Brunswick, Ga.), Arkansas-Little Rock sr. CF Nate Brown (Bemidji, Minn.) …Pittsburgh sr. catcher Cory Brownsten (Lockport, N.Y.) … Oklahoma sr. RHP Jeremy Erben (New Braunfels, Texas) … Georgia Tech fr. RHP Buck Farmer (Conyers, Ga.) … Auburn jr. RF/CF Justin Fradejas (Pensacola, Fla.) … Kentucky 5th-yr.-sr. 1B Gunner Glad (Tulsa, Okla.) … Oregon fr. 1B Jack Marder (Calabasas, Calif.) … Virginia jr. CF Jarrett Parker (Stafford, Va.) … Cal State Fullerton so. RHP/RF Tyler Pill (Covina, Calif.) … Mississippi jr. LHP Drew Pomeranz (Collierville, Tenn.) … Virginia Tech sr. SS Tim Smalling (Raleigh, N.C.) … Indiana State sr. CF Ryan Strausborger (Osceola, Ind.) … Furman jr. 1B Aaron Thompkins (Canton, Ohio) … and Baylor so. RHP Logan Verrett (Corpus Christi, Texas).

(from left) Buck Farmer (Ga. Tech), Justin Fradejas (Auburn), Gunner Glad (Kentucky), Jarrett Parker (Virginia) and Tyler Pill (CS Fullerton).

The 19 honorees include seven pitchers (one of them a LHP and one a two-way player), four first basemen, three centerfielders, one rightfielders (two-way player), plus a catcher, shortstop, third baseman, outfielder (RF/CF) and DH.

The selections feature seven seniors, six juniors, three sophomores, two freshmen and a first-year senior. The honorees hail from 13 different home states, led by four from Texas and two each from the home states of California, Georgia and Washington – plus one each from Florida, Indiana, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Virginia.

(from left) Drew Pomeranz (Mississippi), Tim Smalling (Va. Tech), Ryan Strausborger (Indiana State), Aaron Tompkins (Furman) and Logan Verrett (Baylor).

PRIMETIME PERFORMERS WEEKLY HONOR ROLL#8 (April 13, 2010)

(presented by CollegeBaseball360.com)

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

Player (Pos.) … School … Yr. … Hometown … Stats & Notes
Matt Argyropoulos (3B) … Washington State … Jr. … Longview, WA
Doubled and scored 9th-inn. winning run in opener vs. #1 Arizona St.; hit 3-for-6 and factored into 4 runs (3RBI-2R-HR-2B-SAC-SF) during pair of wins in ASU series (6-5/7-11/9-5).

Ryan Behmanesh (1B) … Dallas Baptist … So. … Mansfield, TX
Hit 1st-inning grand slam, added leadoff 2B and run scored in 7-6 win at #30 Rice.

Jay Brown (RHP) … South Carolina … Sr. … Brunswick, GA
Logged 6.1 innings (2H-2K) in combined 2-hitter at #18 Vanderbilt (2-0), handing Commodores third loss of season and first shutout at home in SEC game since ’05; did not allow a batter past 2nd base; combined with two relievers to face min. 27 batters.

Nate Brown (CF) … Arkansas-Little Rock … Sr. … Bemidji, MN
Hit 2-run HR in 7th during 9-6 comeback win at #16 Mississippi (3-for-4, 3 RBI-2R-BB); Rebels had been 21-0 when leading after 6.

Cory Brownsten (C) … Pittsburgh … Sr. … Lockport, NY
Hit 7-for-12 and factored into 11 runs (7RBI-4R-3B-2B-BB), as Panthers took 2-of-3 from #5 Louisville (8-3/15-5/7-9).

*Will Currier (DH) … Duke … Sr. … Dripping Springs, TX
3-hole hitter who homered in all four games (one a grand slam) during week, with 8 RBI in Clemson series (as Blue Devils won 2-of-3 vs. #11 Tigers).

Jeremy Erben (RHP) … Oklahoma … Sr. … New Braunfels, TX
Turned in long-relief outing (7.2IP-2R/1ER-6H-4BB-9K; 120 pitches) to win at #14 TCU, in front of nearly 4,000 opposing fans (4-2); inherited bases-loaded threat in the 1st and induced double-play ball, plus another groundout to preserve 2-0 lead; improved to 6-0.

Buck Farmer (RHP) … Georgia Tech … Fr. … Conyers, GA
Inherited 2-0 deficit with no outs and bases loaded in 1st inning at #3 Virginia; charged with only 1 run over 6.0 innings en route to win (9-7) that tied series (4H-6K).

Justin Fradejas (RF/CF) … Auburn … Jr. … Pensacola, FL
Batted 9-for-19 (6RBI-6R, 3 2B) in 4-1 week, including 3-for-7 (2RBI-2R-SAC-SB) in pair of wins vs. #7 LSU (10-14/11-7/6-5); 9-hole hitter who shifted to leadoff in series finale (won game with safety-squeeze bunt); extended hit streak to 14 games.

Gunner Glad (1B) … Kentucky … 5th-Yr.-Sr. … Tulsa, OK
3-hole batter who led 5-0 win at #5 Louisville (HR-2RBI-R-HBP) and near-sweep vs. #22 Alabama (7-6/8-2/9-11); hit 5-13 in ‘Bama series (3RBI-R-2B-BB-SF-SB).

Jack Marder (1B) … Oregon … Fr. … Calabasas, CA
#6 hitter who went 4-7 with 4 RBI (3R-2 2B-2BB-SB) in pair of wins at #24 Stanford (5-2/9-6/1-2); had RBI single/R in 8th of gm-2, then 3-run 2B in 9th for 7-6 lead.

Jarrett Parker (CF) … Virginia … Jr. … Stafford, VA
7-hole batter who went 4-10 with 4 RBI (R-BB-3B-HBP-SF) in showdown series vs. #4 Georgia Tech (7-4/7-9/9-1).

*Greg Peavey (RHP) … Oregon State … Jr. … Vancouver, WA
Beat #2 UCLA (7-1) with masterful 2-hitter (3BB-6K; Bruins were batting .347 as a team), lowering his season ERA to 1.91 and opp. batting avg. to .167.

Tyler Pill (RHP/RF) … Cal State Fullerton … So. … Covina, CA
Cleanup hitter who helped upset #2 UCLA (6-1; RBI/R) and win series vs. #21 UC Irvine (4-7/6-3/6-1 … 3H-RBI-4R-2BB), adding near-CG to win finale vs. UCI (8.1IP-UER-7H-BB-4K).

Drew Pomeranz (LHP) … Mississippi … Jr. … Collierville, TN
Struck out 15 and allowed only 1 run (8IP-4H-3BB), as Rebels rallied to win 4-1 opener at Georgia; outdueled UGa ace and big-league prospect Justin Grimm.

Tim Smalling (SS) … Virginia Tech … Sr. … Raleigh, NC
3-hole batter who played lead role in pair of wins over #14 Miami (9-7/2-9-4-2); hit 5-for-8 in those wins (2RBI-2R-HR-2 2B-SB).

Ryan Strausborger (CF) … Indiana State … Sr. … Osceola, IN
Leadoff batter who hit 6-10 in pair of wins at #27 Citadel (3-4/11-7/4-2), with 2RBI-3R-2B-4SB-BB.

Aaron Thompkins (1B) … Furman … Jr. … Canton, OH
2-hole hitter who smacked 2-run HR in 11-3 opening win at #28 College of Charleston (also 2B), then had 2-out tying single/go-ahead run in 7th of clinching game-2 (8-5; BB); also doubled in finale.

Logan Verrett (RHP) … Baylor … So. … Corpus Christi, TX
Struck out 13 (12 “looking”) in 4-hitter vs. #26 Texas A&M (13-1; 2BB), Baylor’s biggest win margin in 266-game Battle-of-Brazos rivalry that dates back to 1904; helped preserve Bears bullpen that won series finale (2-1).

* – Currier is the CB360 Primetime Player of the Week and Peavey 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)