College Baseball Notebook-Week 14

The Last Notebook Of The Regular Season…

48…Game hitting streak by Florida International shortstop Garrett Wittels.  The sophomore has the second-longest hitting streak in Division One history after hitting safely in Saturday’s regular season finale vs. rival Florida Atlantic. Former Oklahoma State and MLB star Robin Ventura owns the all-time record with hits in 58 straight games in 1987.

.415…Wittels‘ batting average during the streak (and season to date).  He has played in 48 of his team’s 53 games this season and has collected 66 singles, 15 doubles, two triples, and two home runs during the streak.

2 2/3…Innings Wittels has also pitched this season.  He has a 3.30 ERA.

34…Consecutive scoreless innings pitched by Rhode Island’s Tim Boyce, who tossed his second straight complete game shutout last Thursday vs. George Washington.  The scoreless streak is the longest in Division One baseball in 2010.

7 2/3…Innings pitched before Boyce gave-up a hit in that game.  The senior settled for a three-hitter with seven strikeouts and just one walk to improve to 5-3 this season.

.109…Batting average of the combined 119 batters Boyce has faced during his scoreless streak, which dates back to April 30.  Boyce has given-up just 12 hits with 29 strikeouts and four walks during the impressive streak.

32 1/3…Scoreless innings streak by Wichita State sophomore Jordan Cooper that ended Thursday when Dallas Baptist’s Jason Kizran hit his 11th home run of the season.  Cooper gave-up the lone run in 7 IP with eight strikeouts to improve to 9-2 on the year.

11…SEC regular season championships won by Florida after the Gators won their series at South Carolina over the weekend heading into this week’s SEC Baseball Tournament.

14…Years since the Gators last won a series in Columbia, SC prior to their weekend win.  Third-year Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan is the seventh head coach in school history to win an SEC crown.

332…Career strikeouts by Mississippi’s Drew Pomeranz to tie an Ole Miss school record.  Pomeranz fanned six in Thursday’s 5-3 loss to Auburn to hit the mark.  The junior lefty has 127 Ks in 86 2/3 IP this season.

19…Wins in SEC regular season play, the most in school history, by Auburn after taking the first two games of the series vs. Ole Miss.  The series win gives the Tigers their first SEC West Division crown since 1995.  Auburn will be the #2 seed at the SEC Tournament.

2,055…Combined career wins by Minnesota’s John Anderson (1,031) and Ohio State’s Bob Todd (1,024) prior to their weekend series in Columbus, OH.  Both have already been inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

2…Games won by Anderson’s Golden Gophers over Todd’s Buckeyes to give Minnesota the Big Ten regular season crown and knock Ohio State out of the Big Ten Tournament, which is being played this year on Ohio State’s Bill Davis Stadium.

3…Wins by Iowa over Purdue to end the regular season to give the Hawkeyes the #4 seed at the Big Ten Tourney.  It’s Iowa’s only season sweep of the season and the first for the Hawkeyes to end the regular season since 1980.  Iowa and Purdue will play in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.

4…Complete game shutouts this season by Pepperdine’s Matt Bywater.  The senior set Pepperdine’s single-season shutout record with Friday’s 5-0 win over San Diego.  He was previously in a nine-way tie for first place with the likes of former Major Leaguer Mike Scott.

1…West Coast Conference loss by San Diego, which was 15-0 in league play heading into Friday’s action.  The Toreros have already claimed the WCC regular season championship, which comes with an automatic NCAA bid.

5…Complete games tossed by Bywater (5-5) this season to help the Pepperdine pitching staff to a WCC-best 11 CGs this year.

5…Complete games combined by the Portland, San Francisco and Gonzaga pitching staffs in 2010.

17…Consecutive times Vanderbilt’s Jason Esposito reached base safely prior to striking out looking in the fifth inning of Thursday’s 4-3 win over Arkansas.  Esposito’s streak fell one short of tying the all-time NCAA record of 18, which was set by Shaun Larkin of Cal State Northridge in 2002.

3…Games won by Clemson over Florida State to end the regular season and give the Tigers the ACC’s Atlantic Division crown.

2…Games won in the series by Clemson reliever Alex Frederick, who pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings of relief in Saturday’s 8-3 win after earning the win in 2 1/3 innings of relief in Thursday’s 9-8 victory.

1994…The last time a Clemson pitcher won two games in an ACC three-game series prior to Frederick’s weekend feat.

4…Runs scored by Louisville with two outs in the 9th inning of Thursday’s 6-3 win over Notre Dame.  The Cardinals scored their runs on J.J. Ethel’s pinch-hit 3-run HR, which was followed by a solo shot by Jeff Arnold.

2…Runs scored by Louisville when the Cardinals were again down to their last out in game one of Saturday’s doubleheader vs. the Irish.  Adam Duvall’s 2-run triple gave Louisville the winning runs.

15…Wins by the Cardinals this season that have seen the winning runs scored in their last at-bat.  Louisville’s sweep of Notre Dame, coupled with UConn falling to Seton Hall in its regular season finale gave the Cards the Big East regular season championship.

3…Runs scored on a two out walk-off home run by West Virginia’s Kevin Griffin to give the Mountaineers a 3-2 win over Villanova The win clinched the #8 seed at the Big East Tournament for WVU and knocked Notre Dame out of a spot in the tourney.

1987…The last time Notre Dame (22-32) both finished with a losing record and failed to qualify for a conference tournament.  The Irish had been to the Big East Tournament every year since joining the conference in the 1996 season.

35… Straight Big South Conference games won by Coastal Carolina, which closed its 2010 regular season slate at 25-0 after taking two games from Radford (the finale was rained-out).

8…Runs scored by Washington from the 9th-11th innings to beat Oregon 13-11 in Friday’s series opener.  After the Huskies scored two in the 9th and four runs in the 10th inning to tie the game, freshman Chase Anselment capped the thriller with a two-run walk-off home run.

41…Regular season wins for UCLA after a weekend sweep of Cal.  It’s the first time in 31 years the Bruins (41-11, 16-8 Pac 10) have registered at least 41 regular season victories.

1969…The last time UCLA has been at least 30 games above .500.  With no Pac 10 Tournament, the Bruins conclude the regular season this week with a Tuesday game vs. Big West champion Cal State Fullerton and three games vs. Pac 10 foe Washington State.

9-1…Washington State’s record in its last 10 games after a weekend sweep of USC.  The hot streak has the Cougars (31-18, 14-10) in third place in the Pac 10, behind Arizona State (47-5, 18-6) and UCLA.

1…2009 College World Series team, North Carolina, that failed to qualify for its conference tournament this year.  The Tar Heels (36-20, 14-16 ACC) did not make the ACC Tournament despite a sweep of Viginia Tech to close the regular season.  Boston College made it in after a series of tie-breakers.

0…ACC teams that have ever made the NCAA Tournament without first qualifying for the ACC Tournament.  The Tar Heels, which had an RPI of 30 last week, will be on pins and needles until NCAA selections come out next Monday (May 31).

2…More NCAA Tournament automatic bids that were locked-up over the weekend.  Bethune-Cookman won the MEAC crown, while Bucknell took the Patriot League title.

1998…The last time Oral Roberts was not the #1 seed at the Summit League Baseball Tournament prior to this year.  The Golden Eagles were the regular season co-champs with South Dakota State this year, but are the tournament’s #2 seed after losing three of four games to the Jack Rabbits earlier this month.

27…Straight Summit League Tournament games Oral Roberts has won heading into this week’s tournament.

College Baseball Notebook-Week 13

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

West Coast College Baseball Notebook

Notes On Pac-10, Big West, WCC, WAC Teams & More…

If you follow Collegebaseball360.com you know that we post a weekly Notebook every Monday throughout the college baseball season.  We try to hit as many happenings from across the nation as we can, but it’s tough to get everything.  With that in mind, we will be adding more “regional” notebooks this season.  Our first one covers the left side of the country.   (All stats are prior to games on Tuesday, March 23).

20…Wins by Arizona State to open the season.  It’s the best start for the ASU program since the 1961 team opened at 21-0.

79-76…Combined record of the nine Division One teams the Sun Devils have faced so far this season.  ASU opens Pac-10 play against Cal this weekend.

2…Zac(k/h)s batting over .400 for the Sun Devils.  Zack MacPhee (.484) leads ASU, while Zach Wilson is hitting .441 for a team that’s hitting at a .362 clip.

16…Wins by UCLA to open the season.  It’s the best start in program history.  The 16-game winning streak is also a program best.

125-82…Combined record of the 12 Division One teams the Bruins have played this season.  After a midweek game vs. UC Santa Barbara this week UCLA hosts a 3-game non-conference series with Cal Poly this weekend.

7…Bruin batters hitting .360 or better.  Tyler Rahmatulla (.431) leads the way.  Steve Rodriguez and Dean Espy are each batting .395.

2.13 & 2.97…UCLA and ASU’s respective team ERAs.  UCLA’s staff has recorded 193 strikeouts in 135.0 innings, while ASU’s has 187 Ks in 176.0 IP.

11…Straight wins by the Arizona Wildcats (16-4) after a weekend sweep of Sacramento State.

92…Of 196 runs (46 %) Arizona has scored this year that have scored in the first three innings of a game.

12…Wins by Pacific through the first five weeks of 2010 after taking 2 of 3 games from USC in Stockton, CA over the weekend.  The Tigers won a total of 21 games last year.

9-0…Combined record of Pacific starting pitchers Marcus Pointer (5-0, 2.04 ERA) and David Rowse (4-0, 3.09 ERA).

3…Straight wins over Washington by Cal State Fullerton over the weekend to match a season-high win streak.  The Titans (10-9) are above .500 for the first time this season after opening 2010 ranked in the top 10 nationally.

12…Wins by Cal State Northridge (12-6) , which is already half of the team’s win total from a year ago.

.406…Team-leading batting average of fifth-year senior C.J. Belanger to pace a Matador squad that’s averaging 7.7 runs a game.

6…Straight wins by UC Irvine to improve to 13-6 after a weekend 3-game sweep of Gonzaga.  Like Fullerton, the Anteaters started sluggishly after being among the highly ranked teams in the preseason polls.

8-11…Gonzaga’s record-a year after winning 36 games and claiming the program’s first WCC championship.

3-0…Record of Stanford reliever Alex Pracher, who has made eight relief appearances this season.  Pracher (2.19 ERA) has two saves-to directly factor in half of the 10-4 Cardinal’s wins to date.

4…Combined runs given-up by Oregon State relievers Sam Gaviglio, Ryan Gorton, Kraig Sitton, and Kevin Rhoderick who are  a combined 2-1 with 4 saves in 19 total relief appearances for the 13-4 Beavers.  The quartet has pitched 24 1/3 innings with 28 strikeouts.

15…Wins by Oregon (15-6) to surpass last year’s win total of 14 in the first year of baseball in Eugene since 1981.  The Ducks have won 11 of their last 12 games after a 4-game weekend home sweep of Nevada.  They open Pac-10 play this weekend at Arizona.

2.49…The Oregon pitching staff’s ERA.  Tyler Anderson (4-1, 1.60 ERA, 36 K in 33 2/3 IP) has been the top starter, while Drew Gagnier (3 SV, 1.00 ERA) leads the bullpen.

0…Series wins to date this season by Cal Poly, which won 11 of its 14 series last year en route to the program’s first NCAA Regional appearance.

7…Runs scored in the 7th inning by Fresno State in Sunday’s 16-10 win over Loyola Marymount.  It was the lone win by the Bulldogs (10-10) in the 4-game series.

39…Errors committed by San Diego this season (.950 fld %), a preseason favorite to win the WCC.  The Toreros were able to take 2 of 3 home games from Rice over the weekend despite committing 7 errors in the series.  USD plays a 3-game series at Coastal Carolina this weekend.

0…Runs allowed in 3 1/3 total innings by San Diego reliever Matt Hauser, who earned both a win and a save in his two appearances vs. Rice.

27…Errors committed by San Diego State this season (.963 fld %).  The Aztecs (9-10) have still won three straight vs. Santa Clara heading into Tuesday’s series finale.

5…Starts made by SDSU’s Addison Reed (4-1, 2.70 ERA), who has made a smooth transition to becoming a starter after saving 20 games while making 25 relief appearances last year.

Loyola Marymount 2010 Schedule

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Second-year Head Coach Jason Gill has announced a 2010 Loyola Marymount University baseball schedule that features 16 games against 2009 NCAA Regional teams, including a home-and-home two-game series against 2009 College World Series qualifier Cal State Fullerton. In just his first season as a Division I Head Coach last year, Gill guided LMU to its first West Coast Conference Championship appearance since 2005.

The Lions will begin the 2010 campaign on the road at perennial powerhouse and 2009 NCAA Regional qualifier UC Irvine on Friday, February 19. That game is the first of a three-game set on Opening Weekend that will see the Lions

host the Anteaters on Saturday before returning to Irvine for Sunday’s finale. LMU’s current 56-game schedule will see 29 of the contests played within the walls of Page Stadium, and the other 27 on the road, including three games at the Metrodome from March 5 to 7 as part of the 2010 Dairy Queen Classic hosted by Minnesota.

Full 2010 Loyola Marymount Schedule

Playing in Southern California, a well-known hotbed for college baseball, LMU is consistently playing one of the toughest schedules in all of Division I baseball. Last season, the Lions finished the year 36th in terms of strength of schedule according to Boyd’s World (boydsworld.com).

After opening the season with the three games against UC Irvine, LMU will host Oregon, the program that Gill left as an assistant coach to take the reins at LMU prior to last year, on February 22. The Lions will then travel to USC for the first of two meetings between the two teams on February 23, capping a run of five games in five days to open the year.

With just two full days of rest following the string of games to start the season, LMU will host UC Riverside on Friday, February 28 to open a four-game series with the Highlanders, a series that will consist of home games on Friday and Sunday and a doubleheader at UCR on Saturday.

A midweek contest at home against UC Santa Barbara (March 2) will precede the 2010 Dairy Queen Classic, in which LMU will square-off against host Minnesota (March 5), Northwestern (March 6) and 2009 Regional qualifier Oklahoma State (March 7) in the Metrodome.

A three-game series against Cal State Northridge, consisting of back-to-back home games on March 12 and 13 and a road game on the 14th, will flow into a Tuesday matchup with another Big West Conference opponent, Long Beach State on Tuesday, March 16.

Things really start to pick up on March 19 as the Lions travel to Fresno State for a four-game series against the Bulldogs (March 19-21), kicking-off a portion of the schedule that will pit the Lions against 2009 NCAA qualifiers in six of its next 11 games. Although the competition will be tough, LMU will be at home for seven of those 11 games, hosting Cal State Fullerton (March 23), a four-game series against Albany NY (March 26-28), and single games against USC (March 30) and 2009 NCAA Tournament participant Cal Poly (March 31).

A Tuesday game at UC Santa Barbara on April 6 will be the last game before WCC play begins on April 9 at San Diego. The conference schedule will consist of 21 games, 12 of which will be played at Page Stadium. LMU will host San Francisco (April 23-25), Saint Mary’s (April 30-May 2), Pepperdine (May 14-16), and Santa Clara (May 28-30) to close the regular season. The Lions will travel to San Diego (April 9-11), Portland (April 16-18) and 2009 WCC Champion Gonzaga (May 21-23).

The Lions will host two seven-game homestands this year. The first runs from March 23 to March 31, while the second runs from April 30 to May 16. Moreover, LMU will host 11 of its 12 games from April 20 to May 16, with the only road contest coming at Cal State Bakersfield on April 27.

Between conference games, the Lions will continue to boast a non-conference schedule packed with some of the best teams on the west coast, if not in the all of Division I baseball. The second half of the non-conference schedule will feature games against Long Beach State (April 13), two more against Cal Poly (May 11 at home and May 25 on the road), and the final game against Cal State Fullerton (May 18). LMU will also play a home-and-home against Cal State Bakersfield, with the home game coming on April 20.

UNLV 2010 Baseball Schedule

Rebels To Play Home Heavy Slate

LAS VEGAS – A total of 35 home games, matchups with three teams that went to the NCAA Tournament last year and tilts with perennial powers Arizona and Long Beach State highlight the 2010 UNLV baseball schedule, which was announced by the athletics department Friday.

The Rebels open their season at home on Feb. 19 against Sacramento State and that begins a stretch where 19 of UNLV’s first 22 games will be at Earl E. Wilson Stadium, with a total of five teams visiting in the season’s first four weeks. Head coach Buddy Gouldsmith will begin his seventh season guiding the Rebels against his alma mater, as he graduated from Sacramento State in 1992, and he expects it to be the start to an exciting year at Wilson Stadium for Rebel fans.

Complete 2010 UNLV Baseball Schedule (PDF)

“We are keeping season ticket prices the same as last year, and with the new RBI Family Pack, it will make Rebel

baseball affordable fun for families to attend,” Gouldsmith said. “We live in a destination city that teams want to visit and we owe it to our season tickets holders, fans and our community to play as many home games as possible. I feel like this season’s home schedule is very attractive for our fans.”

Other teams that will be traveling to Las Vegas during that span include Southern Utah (Feb. 23), Temple (Feb. 26-28), Columbia (March 5-7), Northwestern (March 11-13) and Long Beach State (March 19-21). The Rebels will also play non-conference games at Arizona (March 2-3) and at Cal State Northridge (March 16) during the first month of the season. This season also has fewer doubleheaders than last year, as the NCAA reverted back to its previous start time, with the season lasting longer and allowing teams to play more midweek games.

It will be great for college baseball and for our team to get back to playing more four-game weeks,” Gouldsmith said. “That will surely make for better matchups in the middle of the week.”UNLV opens up Mountain West Conference play on the road, traveling to BYU for a three-game series on March 25-27, and the Rebels’ league opener will be against New Mexico the following week on April 1-3. The rest of the league home slate includes Air Force (April 30-May 2), BYU (May 6-8) and Utah (May 14-16), while the Rebels will travel to Utah (April 9-11), TCU (April 23-25) and San Diego State (May 20-22). The Aztecs, Horned Frogs and Utes represented the MWC in the 2009 NCAA Tournament, with TCU advancing to a super regional.

The rest of the Rebels’ non-conference home schedule includes a two-game series with Texas Tech (April 5-6) and single games against UC Riverside (April 27) and Cal State Northridge (May 18). UNLV will also travel to in-state rival Nevada, Reno (March 30), Southern Utah (April 13), Tulane (April 16-18) and UC Riverside (May 11). This will be the first trip to Tulane for Gouldsmith as a coach since he left after serving as an assistant for the Green Wave for four years, helping the school to its first-ever College World Series appearance in 2001.

“Our schedule is well-balanced and we have worked hard to ensure that it minimizes the days of school we have to miss, while giving us the opportunity to earn a regional bid without having to win the conference tournament,” Gouldsmith said. “I am excited for our team to visit New Orleans. It will be a good road test in what will surely be a great college baseball atmosphere as Tulane always has big crowds, creating a difficult environment to play in.”

The MWC Tournament will be hosted by San Diego State this season and it will be played at Tony Gwynn Stadium in San Diego on May 25-29, where the league’s automatic bid for the NCAA Tournament will be up for grabs. Last year the MWC set a record by having three teams advancing to play in the NCAA Tournament, with Utah earning the league’s automatic bid and San Diego State and TCU receiving at-large selections.

(Press Release)

East Carolina Baseball Announces 2010 Schedule

Pirates Play Six Teams That Appeared In 2009 NCAA Regionals

GREENVILLE, N.C. - Thirty-six home games at Lewis Field inside Clark-LeClair Stadium, including the Seventh-Annual Keith LeClair Classic, highlight the 2010 East Carolina baseball schedule announced Wednesday morning by head baseball coach Billy Godwin.

The 2010 slate features 17 games against teams that earned a bid to the 2009 NCAA Regionals; 32 against teams with 30-plus wins; five that topped the 40-plus win plateau; two that made trips to the College World Series and five that finished ranked in the Top 25 polls, including three in the Top 10.

ECU will open play on Friday, Feb. 19 against College World Series participant Virginia in a three-game tilt and will stay home for their next four games, a midweek match-up against former Colonial Athletic Association foe Old Dominion (Feb. 23) and three games against 2009 Greenville Regional participant South Carolina (Feb. 26-28).

Conference USA play opens April 2 for the Pirates when they welcome league foe Tulane to town for a three-game series. Other C-USA schools making the trek to Greenville in 2010 include UAB (Apr. 16-18), Marshall (Apr. 30-May 2) and Houston (May 20-22).

League road trips include Memphis (Apr. 9-11), Super Regional participant Rice (Apr. 23-25), College World Series participant Southern Miss (May 7-9) and UCF (May 14-16).

ECU’s home non-conference schedule is highlighted by the annual Keith LeClair Classic that pits the Pirates against Illinois (Mar. 5), West Virginia (Mar. 6) and Western Carolina (Mar. 7). Also scheduled for weekend series in Greenville are NCAA Regional participant Monmouth (Mar. 19-21) and North Carolina Central (Mar. 26-28), which serves as the Pirates’ C-USA open weekend.

The first of 20 games away from Clark-LeClair Stadium occurs when the Pirates travel to High Point (Mar. 2), which is followed by a west-coast trip to face Cal State Northridge (Mar. 10) and Pepperdine (Mar. 11-13) during their spring break.

Along with NCAA Regional participant Elon (Mar. 30 and May 11), ECU will have home-and-home series against UNC Wilmington (Mar. 31 and Apr. 27) and Campbell (Apr. 13 and 20), while also playing High Point (Mar. 23), Gardner Webb (Mar. 16), N.C. State (Apr. 21) and James Madison (May 18).

”We have put together another outstanding schedule,” said Godwin. ”Our players look forward to playing on a national stage and our conference and non-conference schedules give them the opportunity to compete with some of the top teams in the country.”

The Pirates, who have made 10 NCAA Regional appearances in the last 11 seasons, claimed the 2009 Conference USA regular season and 2009 Greenville Regional titles before advancing to their third NCAA Super Regional on the way to a 46-20 overall record.

(Press Release)