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.

The Last Notebook Of The Regular Season…

Teams Lock-Up NCAA Bids

Worcester, Mass. – Patriot League Tournament Most Valuable Player Doug Shribman belted a three-run home run in the seventh inning of game three to give Bucknell the lead for good and the Bison completed a sweep of Saturday’s contests over Holy Cross to win the Patriot League Baseball Championship at Fitton Field.

After losing game one, 8-7, on Friday, Bucknell mounted a comeback by claiming a 4-3 victory in game two and rallying from a 6-3 deficit for a 12-7 victory in the winner-take-all game three to complete the Saturday sweep. The Bison became the first road team to win the Patriot League Championship series after losing the first game, and only the third to make that comeback overall.

Bucknell (25-33) earns the Patriot League’s automatic berth to the NCAA Regionals, and will now await its opponent and destination when the field is announced on May 31.

It is the fifth Patriot League title for the Bison, tying Army and Navy for the most in League annals. They won it all for the second time in the past three years, also claiming the crown as the first No. 4 seed in the field in 2008.

Holy Cross (26-26) was playing in the Championship round for the first time.

The Bison set multiple offensive records for the Patriot League Tournament, but none were more impressive than Shribman’s performance. He belted seven home runs and totaled 16 RBIs in the six games, including a pair of three-run home runs in game three.

For more information on the entire Patriot League Tournament, including box scores from Saturday’s games, visit the Championship page

Shribman was joined by 10 other players on the All-Tournament Team, which is listed below.

Patriot League Baseball All-Tournament Team

Bucknell junior first baseman Doug Shribman (Tournament MVP)
Bucknell senior outfielder Andrew Brouse
Bucknell senior second baseman Ben Yoder
Bucknell sophomore relief pitcher Ryan Ebner
Holy Cross senior third baseman Matt Perry
Holy Cross freshman catcher Stephen Wadsworth
Holy Cross sophomore starting pitcher Nate Koneski
Army junior outfielder/starting pitcher Ben Koenigsfeld
Army junior first baseman/relief pitcher Kevin McKague
Lehigh senior starting pitcher Andrew Berger
Lehigh senior starting pitcher Ken Longernecker

(Courtesy Patriot League)

Bethune-Cookman Wins MEAC Championship

Daytona Beach, Fla., May 23, 2010- Bethune-Cookman won its fifth consecutive Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Baseball title with a 7-4 victory over the North Carolina A&T Aggies at the Jackie Robinson Ballpark on Sunday afternoon.

The championship game will air in a tape-delayed broadcast on ESPNU, Monday, May 24 at 5 p.m.

Bethune-Cookman junior DJ Leonard earned Outstanding Tournament Performer honors.

Head Coach Mervyl Melendez was named the Outstanding Tournament Coach for the tenth time in his career.

Bethune-Cookman (35-20) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning when Jeremy Davis doubled to score Justin Hoyte. Davis then scored on a DJ Leonard double to left field.

Alejandro Sanchez scored in the second on a Juan Perez single to increase the Wildcats lead to 3-0 lead.

North Carolina A&T (31-26) came back in the fourth and scored two runs to bring the Aggies to within one. Marquis Riley scored on a Mark Nales single and Kelvin Freeman scored when Dario Little was walked by B-CU pitcher Roman Lancara with the bases loaded.

In the bottom of the fifth, Bethune-Cookman attacked again with a Davis tripled to right field. Ryan Durrence followed with a fly out left field to score Davis. Sanchez hit a solo home run in the sixth to extend the Wildcat lead 5-2.

The Aggies attempted a comeback in the seventh when Nick Rogers scored off a Freeman single.

Bethune-Cookman added two runs in the seventh and North Carolina A&T responded with one more run in the eighth for the final score of 7-4.
Roman Lancara (4-2), who pitched for the first time this season against MEAC competition, earned the victory. He allowed seven hits, two runs and struck out four in six innings of work.

Nick Oelker (5-6) took the loss for the Aggies in 6.1 innings, allowing 11 hits, seven runs and six strikeouts.

With the win, Bethune-Cookman earned the conference’s automatic qualification to the NCAA Baseball Championship. The pairings will be announced on Monday, May 31 at 12:30 p.m. on ESPN.

2010 MEAC Baseball All-Tournament Team

Nick Rogers, North Carolina A&T
DJ Leonard, Bethune-Cookman
Kelvin Freeman, North Carolina A&T
Jeremy Davis, Bethune-Cookman
Alejandro Sanchez, Bethune-Cookman
Sammy Serefine, Norfolk State
Phil Vaughn, Maryland Eastern Shore
Esterlin Paulino, North Carolina A&T
George Hines, North Carolina A&T
Nick Oelker, North Carolina A&T
Dwight Robinson, Coppin State

Outstanding Performer: DJ Leonard, Bethune-Cookman

Outstanding Coach: Mervyl Melendez, Bethune-Cookman

Series To Conclude Saturday

Holy Cross' Matt Perry (Courtesy Patriot League)

In the bottom of the ninth, Matt Perry walked to get on base and moved to second on a wild pitch. The Crusaders were down to their final strike before Eric Oxford drove in Perry with the tying run on a single up the middle. Steve Tkowski came up next, and hit what appeared to be a routine fly ball to right field. However, Bucknell’s Andrew Brouse lost the ball in the lights and pinch-runner Chris Blanchard came around to score on what ended up as a double for Tkowski.

Bucknell used the long ball to even the score in the top of the ninth inning, and added another run to take the lead. Bob Donato hit a two-run home run and Scott Reed followed with a solo shot to tie the score at 6-6, and Ben Yoder singled in a run with two outs to give the Bison a 7-6 edge heading to the bottom of the ninth.

The Crusaders led most of the way leading into the final inning. After scoring the first run of the game in the third inning, Bucknell took a brief lead when Brouse hit a two-run home run in the fourth. Holy Cross responded with two runs on a Brendan McCrea double in the bottom of the frame, and added another run in the bottom of the fifth.

Holy Cross built a 6-2 lead in the seventh inning on a two-run home run by Stephen Wadsworth, while Bucknell got a run back in the eighth to set up the wild ninth inning.

Perry finished 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs to pace the Crusader offense, while Tkowski was 2-for-5 with a run and an RBI. Nate Koneski had a strong start through eight innings before giving up the home runs in the ninth, and ended with six runs and 10 hits allowed over eight innings. Bobby Holmes gave up the go-ahead run in the ninth but picked up the victory as the offense rallied.

Yoder, Brouse and Donato each had two hits with a run and two RBIs for the Bison. David Duffett was 2-for-4 with the go-ahead run in the ninth. Dylan Seeley allowed six runs, five earned, in seven innings on the mound, while Steve Carlin suffered the loss in relief.

A Look At The Selection Process & Tournament Format

CLICK HERE to see the up to date list of teams that have received automatic bids.

According to the NCAA’s 2010 Division One Baseball Championship Handbook (PDF)  here is how at-large selections are made:

• The committee uses the Rating Percentage Index (RPI), a computer program that provides the committee with (1) the institution’s Division I winning percentage, (2) opponents’ success and (3) opponents’ strength of schedule. The RPI is an additional tool used in the evaluation of at-large teams. Please note that the adjusted RPI takes into account a bonus/penalty structure. Bonus and penalty values will only be used for non-conference games.
• Regular-season conference standings and/or conference postseason competition shall be considered by the committee when selecting at-large teams.
• The committee may consider comparing data of individual teams, including, but not limited to, overall record, Division I record, overall RPI rank, non-conference record and RPI rank, conference regular-season record and conference tournament results, road record and RPI, last 15 games’ record, its record against teams ranked 1-25, 26-50, 51-100, 101-150 and below 150 in the RPI, head-to-head record, common opponents’ record and input from regional advisory committees.
• Make no mistake…RPI is a huge factor in the selection and seeding process.
• Regional host sites will be announced on Sunday, May 30, while the field of 64 will be announced on Monday, May 31 (Memorial Day).

The same criteria is also used in determining seeding for Regionals and the top eight national seeds.  The top eight national seeds are essentially the eight teams that (at least in theory) should make it to the College World Series.  Top eight seeds are guaranteed they would not have to play each other until the CWS.

It should also be noted that while making last year’s at-large selections 2009 Selection Committee Chairman, Tim Weiser, added an additional selection criteria to the process “Who are you least gonna wanna play,” is how Weiser explained how some teams were picked over others.

Here’s how the tournament is formatted:

Regionals

• Sixteen four-team regional tournaments take place at different locations around the country.
• Ordinarily, all regional and super regional tournaments are located on or near the campus of one of the competing institutions; however, a regional or super regional tournament may be scheduled at a neutral site provided advance approval is obtained from the Division I Championships/Sports Management Cabinet.
• The committee shall attempt to place regional tournaments so that maximum national balance can be obtained, preferably at least one regional in each of the eight Division I baseball regions.
• Except for the 16 No. 1 regional seeds, the pairings for the regionals, whenever possible, will be based on closest geographical location of the teams to the tournament sites. Teams may be moved outside their regions, if necessary, to balance the bracket, or if the proximity to an opponent outside the region would be comparable and a better competitive match-up would occur.
• Two teams from the same conference cannot be placed in the same regional.
• Teams from the same conference and seeded first in their respective regional will be placed on the bracket to avoid meeting in the super regionals.
• Typically, #1 seeds host regionals, but it is possible for a #2 seed to host.
• Teams are seeded 1-4, with the #1 seed playing the #4 seed and the #2 seed playing the #3 seed on the first day of the tournament.
• The tournament is played out in a double-elimination format, with the winner advancing to one of eight Super Regionals.

Here’s the Regional format:
Day 1
Game 1—No. 1 vs. No. 4
Game 2—No. 2 vs. No. 3
Day 2
Game 3—Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
Game 4—Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
Day 3
Game 5—Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4
Game 6—Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5
Day 4
Game 7—If necessary, same teams as in Game 6.

Super Regionals

• Two teams will play a best two of three format to determine the Super Regional winner.
• Super regional competition takes place at on-campus sites or alternate sites approved by the baseball committee.
• Consideration for hosting shall be given to the higher seed, including the eight national seeds, if a suitable hosting proposal has been received (e.g., meets financial guarantee and quality of facility criteria). If the higher seed has not submitted a proposal, the lower-seeded team will host if their proposal is acceptable.
• If the super regional match-up is between equally seeded teams, the committee shall review the hosting proposals according to the site selection criteria (e.g., quality and availability of the facility, revenue potential and other available accommodations) to determine the host. If only one of the teams has submitted a
  proposal, that team shall host if the proposal is acceptable.
• Winners of the eight super regional tournaments will qualify for the Men’s College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.

Here’s the Super Regional format:

Day 1:  Game 1—Team A vs. Team B
Day 2: Game 2—Team A vs. Team B
Day 3: Game 3—If necessary, Team A vs. Team B.

College World Series

• The eight winners of the super regional competitions will advance to the Men’s College World Series.
• Two four-team bracket will play a double-elimination tournament to determine the bracket champions (similar to the regional format).
• The MCWS Finals best two of three format consists of single games Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (if necessary), June 28-30.
• The College World Series begins on Saturday, June 19 at Omaha’s Rosenblatt Stadium.

FIU’s Wittels Heads This Week’s “By The Numbers”…

Garrett Wittels (FIU photo)

45…Game hitting streak by Florida International’s Garrett Wittels.  The sophomore had at least one hit in each of FIU’s three wins over South Alabama over the weekend to tie Roger Schmuck of Arizona State (1971) for the third longest Division One hitting streak of all-time.

47…Game hitting streak by Phil Stephenson of Wichita State in 1981 for the second longest streak in NCAA history.  Oklahoma State’s Robin Ventura’s 58 game streak (which ended at the 1987 College World Series) is the longest in DI history.

3…Teams that have qualified for the 2010 NCAA Baseball Tournament.  San Diego and Cal State Fullerton joined Ivy League champ Dartmouth by claiming the their regular season crowns over the weekend.  San Diego won the WCC thanks to losses by Portland, while Fullerton claimed at least a share of the Big West after sweeping Long Beach State.  The Titans own the tie-breaker with UC Irvine and need just one win or one Cal State Northridge loss to win the title outright.

18-2…Fullerton’s record in its last 20 games since losing game one of its series vs. Irvine back on April 9th.

19…Straight NCAA Tournament appearances Fullerton will make when it plays in its NCAA regional this season.  It’s the third longest active streak in the nation behind Miami (37) and Florida State (32).

47…Days it took to complete TCU‘s 19-17 win in 12 innings over Air Force to clinch the 2010 Mountain West

Matt Purke (TCU photo)

Conference Championship.  The game began on March 28th in Colorado Springs, and was suspended due to weather.  It resumed in the 7th inning Friday afternoon in Ft. Worth with TCU leading 16-15.

12…Strikeouts by TCU pitcher Matt Purke, who gave-up just a run on five hits in six innings of relief in that game to improve to 10-0.  The freshman is the Horned Frog’s regular Friday starter.

8…Home runs TCU hit in that game to help the Horned Frogs to a new school record total of 84 HR hit this season.  The record had stood since 1998.

3…Weekend wins by Kentucky (29-23, 12-15) over LSU to hand the defending national champions their fourth straight SEC series loss.  The Tigers (34-18, 12-15) have lost 11 of their last 12 SEC games and 12 of their last 14 games overall.

19…Years since Kentucky had last swept a weekend series from LSU.

21…Years since LSU played in the NCAA Tournament but did not host a Regional.  The Tigers played in College Station Texas that year.  LSU has hosted 18 NCAA Regionals since then, but could find themselves on the road when the tournament starts this year.

16-8…Score by which Indiana trailed Kentucky heading into the bottom of the 8th inning of Tuesday’s game vs. Kentucky.  The Hoosiers plated five runs with two outs in the 8th and then added three more in the 9th to force extra innings before Michael Early’s walk-off hit gave IU an improbable 18-17 victory.

0-for-6…What Early was at the plate in the game prior to drilling a pitch off the left field wall to plate Dylan Smith with the game-winning run.

4 & 7…Home runs hit and RBI’s by St. John’s left fielder Jeremy Baltz in Friday’s 8-5 win over #6 Louisville (the Red

Jeremy Baltz (SJU photo)

Storm lost the other two games in the series).  The freshman leads St. John’s with a .412 average, 18 home runs and 68 RBIs this season.

14-0…Northwestern’s lead over Michigan in the middle of the third inning Sunday in Ann Arbor.

15-14…The final score of Michigan’s comeback win over the Wildcats.  The game ended on Mike Dufek’s walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th inning.

5 2/3…Scoreless innings pitched by Wolverine reliever Matt Miller to pick-up the win.  The junior struck out seven and gave-up just two hits to keep the Wildcats scoreless while Michigan scored the last nine of its 15 unanswered runs.

14…Straight games Virginia has won after sweeping North Carolina over the weekend.  North Carolina (32-20, 11-16) had won eight straight and 10 of its last 11 games heading into the series with the Cavs (43-9, 21-6).

2…Walk-off hits the Cavaliers needed to pull off the sweep.  John Barr’s 2-out RBI single capped Saturday’s game one 3-2 victory,  while John Hicks ended Sunday’s 5-3 win with a 3-run home run.

900…Wins at Ohio State by head coach Bob Todd after Sunday’s 11-6 win over Iowa for the Buckeyes’ lone win of the 3-game series.  Todd will retire at season’s end.

7…Scoreless innings pitched by South Carolina’s bullpen in a 3-game weekend sweep of Arkansas.  Five relievers combined to give-up just two hits after starter Tyler Webb left after giving-up three runs in three innings in Sunday’s 5-3 win to cap the sweep.

33…Consecutive Big South Conference games won by #5 Coastal Carolina (45-6, 23-0) after a 3-game sweep of #39 Liberty (37-15, 18-6).  The Chanticleers remain in good shape to receive a top 8 national seed after sweeping the second place team in their conference.

14,619…Fans who saw Florida’s 3-game sweep of Georgia over the weekend in Gainesville.  It’s the best 3-game attendance figure in program history.  Florida (37-12, 20-7) and South Carolina (41-11, 29-7) are tied for first place in the SEC East.  They go head to head this weekend.

4…Straight SEC series won by Auburn after taking two of three games from Tennessee.  The Tigers (35-17, 17-10) now lead the SEC West.

15…Years since Auburn last won the SEC’s Western Division.  They close the regular season this weekend at Ole Miss.

Anthony Rendon (Rice photo)

10…Run deficit faced by Rice as the Owls prepared to bat in the bottom of the third inning Sunday vs. Southern Mississippi.

19…Unanswered runs Rice scored to beat the Golden Eagles 21-14.  Anthony Rendon paced the Owls, going 4-for-5 with two home runs and 4 RBIs to help Rice lock-up the top seed in the Conference USA Tournament.

7…RBIs by USM’s B.A. Vollmuth in the loss.  The sophomore shortstop belted a pair of home runs himself, including a grand slam.

1,000…Career wins by Arizona head coach Andy Lopez after his Wildcats topped #1 Arizona State 12-4 Sunday night in Tucson.  Lopez is the 16th active coach and the 46th all-time Division One coach to reach the milestone.

1…Loss by ASU’s Merrill Kelly (9-1) this season after giving-up six runs (five earned) in just 3 2/3 IP-his shortest start of the season.  The 12 runs are the most given-up by the Sun Devils this year.

25…Consecutive scoreless innings pitched by Rhode Island’s Tim Boyce (a new URI school record).  The senior struck out 10 and gave-up just two singles with his second straight complete game shutout in Friday’s 6-0 win over Richmond.

27 1/3…Consecutive scoreless innings pitched by Wichita State’s Jordan Cooper after Friday’s 3-0 win over Missouri State.  The sophomore fanned 14 and struck out at least one batter in every inning to improve to 8-2.

69…Walks issued to UT Arlington outfielder Michael Choice this season to set a new Southland Conference single season record.  Choice is batting .401 with 16 home runs and 58 RBIs for the Mavericks (26-26).  He was walked

Tony Nix (UC Riverside photo)

intentionally in the first inning of Sunday’s 11-8 win over Lamar to set the record.

19…Times Choice has been intentionally walked this season to help him lead the nation with his 69 free passes 2010.

10…Big Ten teams that are all still alive in the race to qualify for next week’s 6-team Big Ten Tournament. Four  teams, Michigan State, Ohio State, Indiana, and Iowa, are tied for fifth place.

.266…UC Riverside’s Tony Nix’s season batting average entering last week’s action.

.341…Nix’s current average after a week in which he was 17-for-26 with three home runs, five doubles, a triple, 11 runs scored, and 15 RBIs.  Nix had a stretch during which he had nine straight hits, including a 6-for-6 game against Loyola Marymount.

4…Home runs hit by Bucknell’s Paul Shribman to help the #4 seed Bison beat #1 seed Army in the Patriot League’s best two of three semifinal series.  Shribman belted a grand slam in the series clinching win and finished the weekend by batting 8-for-13 with 9 RBIs and 7 runs scored.  Bucknell faces #3 seed Holy Cross in this weekend’s Patriot League Championship Series.

bucknell To Meet Holy Cross For NCAA Bid

30 conference champions earn automatic berths into the field of 64 in the 2010 NCAA Division One baseball tournament.  We will list them as they secure their bids.

CLICK HERE to see the NCAA selection handbook, which includes at-large selection criteria and more information.

NCAA Tournament Selection Timeline

America East-Stony Brook

ACC:  Florida State

Atlantic Sun:  Mercer

Atlantic 10-St. Louis

Big East-St. John’s

Big South-Coastal Carolina

Big Ten-Minnesota

Big 12-Texas A&M

Big West-Cal State Fullerton

CAA-Virginia Commonwealth

CUSA-Southern Mississippi

Horizon:  Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Ivy League-Dartmouth

MAAC-Rider

MAC-Kent State

MEAC-Bethune-Cookman

Missouri Valley-Illinois State (Won First Ever Tournament)

Mountain West-TCU

Northeast-Central Connecticut St.

Ohio Valley-Jacksonville St.

Pac 10-Arizona State

Patriot League-Bucknell

SEC-LSU

Southern-The Citadel

Southland-Texas St.

SWAC-Grambling St.

Summit League-Oral Roberts (Won 13th straight tournament)

Sun Belt-Florida International

WCC-San Diego

WAC-Hawaii (First title since 1992)

Army, Lehigh, Holy Cross, & Bucknell To Vie For NCAA Bid

Joe Sottolano's Black Knights are the #1 seed heading into the Patriot League Tourney.

Outstanding Year in West Point
Army capped an outstanding regular season by winning three of four games from Bucknell over the weekend. The Black Knights earned their sixth regular-season crown since the Patriot League went to a one-division format in 1995, and third consecutive regular-season title. They clinched the outright title for the fifth time, adding to previous instances in 1997, 2004, 2005 and 2008. Army’s 16-4 Patriot League record and four-game advantage in the standings were each the best totals since Lafayette went 17-3 and won by four and a half games in 2007. The Black Knights are in the Patriot League Tournament for the fourth year in a row, and will enjoy home-field advantage at Doubleday Field where they are 14-3 this season. Army won every Patriot League series it played this year, taking three of four games four times and sweeping Lehigh.

Impressive Turnaround in Bethlehem
Picked to finish sixth in the preseason poll, Lehigh finished off its best season since 2006 by winning three of four games against Holy Cross over the weekend to take the No. 2 seed in the League Tournament. The Mountain Hawks are in the postseason for the first time since winning the League title in 2006. Lehigh had only won a total of 13 League games in the past three years before going 12-8 this season. It has an 11-3 home record, and went 7-1 at home against League foes.

Three in a Row For Crusaders, Bison
Holy Cross and Bucknell have each advanced to the Patriot League Tournament for the third straight season. The Crusaders are the No. 3 seed for the third year in a row, and will look for their first Patriot League title. The Bison are the No. 4 seed for the second time in the past three years, which could be good news after winning the title from the No. 4 spot in 2008.

(Courtesy Patriotleague.org)