2010 Louisville Slugger All-American Team

Collegiate Baseball Names 1st, 2nd & 3rd Teams

TUCSON, AZ. — The Louisville Slugger NCAA Division I All-American baseball teams and National Player of The Year were announced today by Collegiate Baseball newspaper.

The 17-man first team, chosen by performances up to regional playoffs and picked by the staff of Collegiate Baseball newspaper, features 14 conference players or pitchers of the year, including:

	LHP Chris Sale, Florida Gulf Coast (Pitcher of Year Atlantic Sun Conference).
	LHP Drew Pomeranz, Mississippi (Pitcher of Year Southeastern Conference).
	LHP Daniel Bibona, U.C. Irvine (Pitcher of Year Big West Conference).
	RHP Alex Wimmers, Ohio St. (Pitcher of Year Big Ten Conference).
	RHP Cole Green, Texas (Pitcher of Year Big 12 Conference).
	LHP Danny Hultzen, Virginia (Pitcher of Year Atlantic Coast Conference).
	C Yasmani Grandal, Miami, Fla. (Player of Year Atlantic Coast Conference).
	1B Paul Hoilman, East Tennessee St. (Player of Year Atlantic Sun Conference)

	3B Garrett Wittels, Florida International (Player of Year Sun Belt Conference).
	SS Ryan Soares, George Mason (Player of Year Colonial Conference).
	OF Gary Brown, Cal. St. Fullerton (Player of Year Big West Conference).
	OF Alex Dickerson, Indiana (Player of Year Big Ten Conference).
	DH C.J. Cron, Utah (Player of Year Mountain West Conference).
	UT Kolbrin Vitek, Ball St. (Player of Year Mid-American Conference).

The first team features six starting pitchers who posted a combined 56-6 record with an ERA of 2.16. LHP Chris Sale of Florida Gulf Coast, Collegiate Baseball’s National Player of The Year, had the most strikeouts in the nation this season with 146 and only walked 14 over 17 appearances. Sale is expected to be chosen within the first 10 picks in the first round of the upcoming Free Agent Draft.

(College Baseball 360 recorded a podcast interview with Sale last fall.  CLICK HERE to listen.)

The first team relief pitcher is Chance Ruffin of Texas who posted a 6-1 record and saved 13 games as he compiled a 0.77 ERA for the Longhorns in 34 appearances.

The first team offense features remarkable power, line drive hitters and batters who hit for high averages as shown by eight of 10 players hitting .414 or higher. 3B Garrett Wittels of Florida International currently has a 54-game hitting streak, the second longest in NCAA Division I history. Robin Ventura of Oklahoma St. is No. 1 at 58 consecutive games set during the 1987 season

This marks the 14th year that Louisville Slugger has sponsored the Division I All-Americans.

The following are the first, second and third team Louisville Slugger All-Americans for 2010.

First Team

Pitchers

Pos	Player	School	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SV	IP	H	BB	SO
LHP••	Chris Sale	Florida Gulf Coast	11	0	2.01	17	15	2	2	103.0	83	14	146
LHP	Drew Pomeranz	Mississippi	8	2	2.21	15	15	0	0	93.6	64	46	134
LHP	Daniel Bibona	U.C. Irvine	9	2	2.10	12	12	1	0	90.0	66	15	100
RHP	Alex Wimmers	Ohio St.	9	0	1.60	10	10	2	0	73.0	58	23	86
RHP	Cole Green	Texas	10	1	2.64	15	14	4	0	99.6	77	23	66
LHP	Danny Hultzen	Virginia	9	1	2.43	14	14	1	0	92.6	62	20	111
Relief	Chance Ruffin	Texas	6	1	0.77	34	0	0	13	58.3	37	18	89

Position Players

Pos	Player	School	AVG	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB
C	Yasmani Grandal	Miami (Fla.)	.422	199	50	84	22	1	14	56	52	32	1
1B	Paul Hoilman	East Tenn. St.	.421	235	79	99	24	2	25	84	51	41	1
2B	Zack MacPhee	Arizona St.	.381	194	62	74	7	14	8	59	39	32	18
3B	Garrett Wittels	Fla. International	.414	227	44	94	18	2	2	(54-game hitting streak)
SS	Ryan Soares	George Mason	.438	194	57	85	29	2	13	71	10	13	4
OF	Gary Brown	Cal. St. Fullerton	.438	210	62	92	20	8	6	41	9	12	31
OF	Alex Dickerson	Indiana	.419	236	62	99	19	0	24	75	20	35	3
OF	Chad Oberacker	Tennessee Tech.	.452	239	67	108	29	5	6	70	34	23	14
DH	C.J. Cron	Utah	.431	197	55	85	16	0	20	81	17	23	0
UT	Kolbrin Vitek	Ball St.	.361	233	73	84	20	3	17	68	33	36	16

Second Team

Pitchers

Pos	Player	School	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SV	IP	H	BB	SO
RHP	Steven Maxwell	Texas Christian	10	1	2.73	15	15	0	0	89.0	76	29	77
LHP	Matt Purke	Texas Christian	12	0	3.34	16	14	1	0	89.0	75	25	113
RHP	Noe Ramirez	Cal. St. Fullerton	10	1	2.50	13	12	2	0	90.0	75	16	95
RHP	Brandon Workman	Texas	11	1	3.77	15	13	3	0	90.6	88	20	90
RHP	Anthony Meo	Coastal Carolina	13	1	1.80	15	15	0	0	90.0	71	30	88
RHP	Asher Wojciechowski	The Citadel	12	2	3.25	16	16	3	0	119.0	102	31	144
RHP	Trevor Bauer	UCLA	9	3	2.84	14	14	1	0	101.3	95	33	124
RHP	Gerrit Cole	UCLA	9	2	3.27	15	15	0	0	96.3	70	46	124
RHP	Seth Blair	Arizona St.	11	0	3.20	15	15	0	0	90.0	93	22	90
LHP	Cody Wheeler	Coastal Carolina	10	0	4.05	15	15	1	0	95.6	89	35	101
Relief	John Stilson	Texas A&M	8	1	0.87	31	0	0	9	72.3	44	20	106

Position Players

Pos	Player	School	AVG	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB
C	Ben Heath	Penn State	.369	198	53	73	16	1	19	57	31	38	3
C	Bryan Holaday	Texas Christian	.357	238	58	85	22	1	12	46	24	36	3
1B	Hunter Morris	Auburn	.392	250	61	98	17	5	21	70	25	49	6
1B	Jordan Ribera	Fresno St.	.343	251	65	86	20	2	27	69	24	35	1
2B	Dan Paolini	Siena	.368	212	62	78	13	2	26	64	22	27	12
3B	Anthony Rendon	Rice	.393	211	79	83	12	1	23	78	62	21	14
SS	Jedd Gyorko	West Virginia	.381	236	71	90	28	1	19	57	43	24	1
OF	Chris Duffy	Central Florida	.447	206	54	92	18	1	21	81	33	35	3
OF	Jeremy Baltz	St. John’s	.393	224	58	88	16	1	20	74	25	42	6
OF	Tyler Holt	Florida St.	.351	225	74	79	22	3	11	41	50	44	27
DH	A.J. Kirby-Jones	Tennessee Tech.	.388	206	64	80	19	0	26	71	58	53	0
UT	Nick Ramirez	Cal. St. Fullerton	.367	226	57	83	27	1	13	68	18	39	6

Third Team

Pitchers

Pos	Player	School	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SV	IP	H	BB	SO
RHP	Thomas Royse	Louisville	9	1	2.91	15	15	0	0	99.0	92	25	94
RHP	Scott Copeland	Southern Miss.	11	0	3.38	14	13	2	0	90.6	86	23	64
RHP	Blake Cooper	South Carolina	10	1	2.94	15	15	1	0	104.0	86	29	88
RHP	Barret Loux	Texas A&M	10	2	2.53	15	15	1	0	96.0	69	32	126
RHP	Daniel Renken	Cal. St. Fullerton	11	2	3.95	18	15	1	0	93.3	94	33	82
RHP	Matt Ridings	Western Kentucky	9	1	3.01	14	14	1	0	92.6	77	17	90
RHP	Jordan Cooper	Wichita St.	10	3	2.01	15	15	5	0	107.3	102	20	95
LHP	Chris Hernandez	Miami (Fla.)	8	3	3.02	16	16	1	0	89.3	80	30	95
RHP	Kyle Blair	San Diego	8	4	2.99	14	14	2	0	90.3	72	28	118
RHP	Deck McGuire	Georgia Tech.	8	4	3.01	15	15	2	0	104.6	86	31	112
Relief	Neil Holland	Louisville	8	0	2.10	27	0	0	16	51.3	26	14	52
Relief	Mike McGee	Florida St.	4	0	0.41	15	1	0	9	22.0	7	13	25
Relief	Jordan Swagerty	Arizona St.	1	0	2.12	31	0	0	14	29.6	29	10	39
Relief	Kevin Arico	Virginia	1	1	2.93	26	0	0	16	27.6	21	7	38
Relief	Kevin Munson	James Madison	8	1	1.64	28	0	0	10	55.0	33	24	70
Relief	Chris Dennis	Portland	5	1	1.88	30	0	0	14	43.0	31	11	51

Position Players

Pos	Player	School	AVG	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB
C	Rafael Neda	New Mexico	.369	222	43	82	22	0	10	63	20	31	1
C	Peter O’Brien	Bethune-Cookman	.392	194	50	76	12	0	20	56	18	36	0
1B	Aaron Senne	Missouri	.400	210	61	84	22	0	16	59	39	28	2
1B	Justin Howard	New Mexico	.455	257	74	117	32	2	10	72	29	18	5
1B	Wes Cunningham	Murray St.	.408	233	77	95	19	6	22	86	33	44	10
1B	Tony Plagman	Georgia Tech.	.357	221	62	79	16	2	19	73	31	45	8
1B	Riccio Torrez	Arizona St.	.391	207	58	81	23	1	9	50	18	38	16
2B	Phil Gosselin	Virginia	.379	232	60	88	21	4	9	54	36	40	16
2B	Dallas Poulk	N.C. State	.358	254	78	91	22	3	11	59	31	28	6
2B	Kevin Tokarski	Illinois St.	.429	191	67	62	25	3	7	49	50	37	33
3B	Joe Leonard	Pittsburgh	.433	240	62	104	23	4	8	71	22	30	6
3B	Jace Brinkerhoff	Utah Valley	.456	259	88	118	23	2	13	85	26	29	5
3B	Phil Wunderlich	Louisville	.357	241	51	86	20	1	20	58	20	15	12
3B	Jacob Tanis	Mercer	.382	254	66	97	24	1	22	86	22	47	7
SS	Tom Zebroski	George Washington	.429	240	75	103	15	2	18	58	27	18	13
SS	Sean Alaire	Central Conn. St.	.432	227	65	98	22	6	13	72	22	19	10
SS	Adam Bryant	Troy	.356	250	70	89	16	6	23	65	26	38	4
OF	Shane Brown	Central Florida	.428	208	58	89	25	0	10	43	34	19	4
OF	Robert Maddox	Ohio	.377	236	54	89	20	1	21	78	20	29	3
OF	Tommy Medica	Santa Clara	.386	228	60	88	21	2	13	67	20	29	15
OF	James Meador	San Diego	.391	215	43	84	22	1	7	62	16	19	8
OF	Nick Martini	Kansas St.	.416	219	47	91	16	4	3	53	38	19	19
OF	Anthony Gallas	Kent St.	.367	259	66	95	24	1	17	81	34	34	3

•• National Player Of The Year

College Baseball Notebook-Week 11

Streaks, Upsets And Other Notable Action…

38…Game hitting streak by Florida International’s Garrett Wittels.  The sophomore extended the nation’s longest active streak with an RBI single in his last at-bat of the game on Sunday with two on and two out in the bottom of the ninth to send the game to extra innings (an 8-7 loss to Louisiana-Monroe).  Wittels’ current streak is the longest in

Division One baseball in the last 11 years.

8…Underdogs that won weekend series vs. CB360 Top 50 teams.  The most notable wins were: #26 Auburn took two of three at #5 Arkansas and  unranked North Carolina State won two of three against #8 Georgia Tech.

7…Straight losses by defending national champion LSU (32-13, 11-10) after dropping all three games in its weekend series at Florida (31-11, 15-6).  The Tigers were swept by Ole Miss last weekend as well.

14…Years (1996) since Florida last swept a series against LSU.

.390…The Gators’ team batting average in their sweep while outscoring the Tigers by a combined 28-14.  Matt den Dekker led Florida’s nine starters who all had at least one hit in Sunday’s finale by going 5-for-5 with a home run and 4 RBIs.

4…Strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings pitched, wins this season and RBIs in Sunday’s game by freshman starting pitcher/designated hitter Brian Johnson (4-2), who hit the first grand slam of his young career.

2…Home runs hit in an 8-run fifth inning by Auburn’s Hunter Morris in Saturday’s win over Arkansas.  Morris started the inning with a homer and later launched a two-run blast to help the Tigers (30-15, 12-9) total four HR and all eight of their runs in the 8-7 victory.

38…Years since Ole Miss last swept a series vs. Mississippi State in Starkville, MS prior to taking three games from the rival Bulldogs over the weekend at Dudy Noble Field.  The three wins have the Rebels tied for first place with Arkansas in the SEC West.

20…Straight wins by Texas after Sunday’s 4-1 win over Baylor to cap a 3-game weekend sweep.  The 20 consecutive wins are the most at Texas since the 1988 team also rattled-off 20 in a row.

5…Consecutive Big 12 series sweeps by the Longhorns (38-7, 19-2) to help them set a new conference record with 17 straight wins in league play.  The previous record was set in 2008 by Texas A&M.

1…Earned run allowed by Texas starting pitchers, who combined to strike out 29 batters in 33.0 innings in the three games.

12…Scoreless innings pitched in the three games by the Longhorn bullpen, highlighted by Hoby Miner’s four perfect innings to pick-up the win in Saturday’s 2-1 win in 14 innings.

3…Games won by #1 Arizona State at #4 UCLA to give the Sun Devils their first sweep at Jackie Robinson Stadium since 1994.

23-4…Combined score by which the Sun Devils (38-5, 14-4) outscored the Bruins (30-10, 7-8) in the three games.  20 of the 23 runs allowed by the UCLA pitching staff, which came into the weekend with the second best ERA in the nation at 2.80, were earned.

7…First inning RBIs by Louisville’s Andrew Clark, who hit both a 3-run blast and a grand slam in the 10-run opening frame of Saturday’s 24-6 win over Rutgers.  Clark ended the game 4-for-4 with 2 HR, 8 RBIs, 4 runs, and a HBP.

16…Barry Larkin’s jersey number, which was retired in Ann Arbor on Saturday prior to the Wolverine’s 3-2 loss to Ohio State.  Larkin played at Michigan from 1983 to 1986.

2…Wins by the Wolverines (27-15, 9-6) over the Buckeyes (24-15, 8-7) to remain tied with Northwestern (18-25, 9-6) atop the Big Ten conference standings.  Ohio State was part of a four-way tie first place heading into the weekend.

0…Innings pitched in the series by Ohio State’s Alex Wimmers, who was a scratch after he  injured a hamstring just moments before Friday’s 4-1 OSU loss.  Wimmers (9-0, 1.61 ERA) entered the weekend tied for the national lead with his nine wins.  His ERA ranks sixth nationally.

17…Game winning streak by #6 Coastal Carolina snapped in Tuesday’s 6-3 loss to #3 Virginia.

30…Straight Big South Conference home wins by Coastal Carolina after a weekend 3-game sweep of UNC Asheville in Conway, SC.

22…Game winning streak by # 18 Connecticut snapped in Wednesday’s 7-3 loss to Central Connecticut State.  The Huskies (35-9, 14-3) split two home games vs. #34 Pittsburgh (31-11, 13-4) (game three was rained-out) to maintain a narrow lead over Louisville (36-7, 14-4) at the top of the Big East Conference standings.

24…Game hitting streak by UConn’s Mike Nemeth that ended when he went o-for-4 in a 13-4 loss to Pitt in game two of Saturday’s doubleheader.  Nemeth had extended the streak to 24 earlier in the day when he hit his 9th home run of the season in UConn’s 11-7 game one victory.

12 & 487…Games played and batters faced by Notre Dame pitchers without giving-up a home run.  The longest such

stretch for the Irish pitching staff since 2006 ended Friday when Paul Karmas of St. John’s hit a solo shot in the fifth inning of Notre Dame’s 14-5 win.

13…Strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings by North Carolina State’s Jake Buchanen in Friday’s 6-5 win over #8 Georgia Tech.  The effort helped the Wolfpack (28-18, 11-13) take two of three games from the Yellow Jackets (36-9, 17-7) to keep their NCAA hopes alive.

32…Career home runs hit by UT Arlington’s Michael Choice to set a new program record.  Choice hit his 14th HR of the season in Saturday’s win over Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

16…Of Choice’s home runs that have come in “clutch” situations, including seven tie-breaking shots, five game-tying home runs and two that have provided the eventual winning runs for his team.

10…Strikeouts in 8.0 innings by Florida Gulf Coast pitcher Chris Sale (7-0)  in Friday’s 4-2 win over #27 Clemson to give the Eagles (28-15) their only win in the weekend’s non-conference 3-game series.

16…Strikeouts by Nicholls State’s Clint Dempster in Friday’s 5-3 complete game win over #44 Southeastern Louisiana.

15…RBIs last week by Wichita State’s Preston Springer, who hit .565 (13-for-23) with 9 runs, five doubles and three home runs last week.  Springer helped the Shockers to midweek wins over Big 12 teams Kansas and Oklahoma State.  He hit his first career grand slam against the Cowboys on Wednesday.

3…Home runs by Illinois State third baseman Ryan Court in Saturday’s 18-8 win over Wichita State.  The win gave the Redbirds their first ever run rule victory over the Shockers.

College Baseball 2010 Stats Leaders-April 28

Here’s a look at the official Division One NCAA baseball statistics leaders in selected categories.

BATTING AVERAGE

1.  Tom Clayton-Youngstown State  .474

2.  Sean Allaire-Central Connecticut St.  .473

3.  Effrey Valdez-New York Tech  .472

4.  Jonathon Kaskow-Stanford  .462

5.  Phil Cerreto-Longwood  .457

6.  Joe Leonard-Pittsburgh  .455

7.  Gary Brown-Cal State Fullerton  .454

7.  Kevin Tokarski-Illinois State  .454

9.  Paul Hoilman-East Tennessee St.  .452

10.  Casey Jones-Southeast Missouri St.  .449

HOME RUNS

1.  Jordan Ribera-Fresno State  20

2.  Jacob Tanis-Mercer  19

3.  A.J. Kirby-Jones-Tennessee Tech  18

4.  J.D. Ashbrook-Morehead St.  17

4.  Alex Dickerson-Indiana  17

6.  Jordan Ballard-VMI  16

Chris Duffy-Central Florida  16

Paul Hoilman-East Tennessee St.  16

Matt Leeds-College of Charleston  16

Justin Miller-Middle Tennessee St.  16

Peter O’Brien-Bethune-Cookman  16

Dan Paolini-Siena  16

Kyle Parker-Clemson  16

Nate Woods-Belmont  16

RBIs

1.  Jacob Tanis-Mercer  71

2.  Mac Doyle-Wofford  63

3.  Drew Lee-Morehead St.  62

3.  Matt Leeds-College of Charleston  62

3.  Jake Overstreet-South Alabama  62

3.  Greg Wallace-Evansville  62

7.  Nate Woods-Belmont  61

8.  Chris Duffy-Central Florida  60

8.  Connor Powers-Mississippi St.  60

10.  Danny Brock-St. Louis  58

Justin Miller-Middle Tennessee St.  58

Anthony Ottrando-Eastern Kentucky  58

Brandon Williams-Georgia State  58

ON-BASE PERCENTAGE

1.  Taylor Dugas-Alabama  .575

2.  Nate Roberts-High Point  .573

3.  Michael Choice-UT Arlington  .571

4.  Kevin Tokarski-Illinois St.  .570

5.  Effrey Valdez-New York Tech  .561

6.  Jonathon Kaskow-Stanford  .551

7.  J.D. Ashbrook-Moorehead St.  .548

7.  Yasmani Grandal-Miami (FL)  .548

9.  Paul Hoilman-East Tennessee St.  .542

9.  Shane Brown-Central Florida  .542

SLUGGING PERCENTAGE

1.  Paul Hoilman-East Tennessee St.  .890

2.  Mac Doyle-Wofford  .876

3.  A.J. Kirby-Jones-Tennessee Tech  .854

4.  Chris Duffy-Central Florida  .836

5.  J.D. Ashbrook-Morehead St.  .834

6.  Rob Segedin-Tulane  .830

7.  Phil Cerreto-Longwood  .829

8.  Wes Cunningham-Murray St.  .827

9.  Dan Scheffler-Florida Atlantic  .825

10.  Jayson Langfels-Eastern Kentucky  .818

RUNS

1.  Nate Roberts-High Point  65

2.  J.D. Ashbrook-Morehead St.  62

3,  Ryan Aguayo-New Mexico St.  61

3.  Dallas Poulk-North Carolina St.  61

5.  Jeff Rowland-Georgia Tech  59

6.  Tyler Holt-Florida St.  58

7.  Wes Cunningham-Murray St.  57

8.  Jared Andreoli-Western Kentucky  56

8.  Mark Micowski-Georgia St.  56

8.  Jonathon Ross-Savannah St.  56

TEAM BATTING AVERAGE

1.  Georgia State  .375

2.  Pittsburgh  .369

3.  Utah Valley  .361

4.  Southeast Missouri St.  .357

5.  New Mexico St.  .356

6.  New Mexico  .350

7.  Auburn  .349

8.  Central Connecticut St.  .347

9.  Arizona  .346

10.  Dallas Baptist  .345

WINS

1.  Corey Baker-Pittsburgh  (9-1)

1.  Cole Green-Texas  (9-0)

1.  D.D. Hanks-South Alabama  (9-2)

1.  Alex Wimmers-Ohio St.  (9-0)

5.  Jake Borup-Arizona St.  (8-1)

Blake Cooper-South Carolina  (8-0)

Justin Jones-California  (8-3)

Merrill Kelly-Arizona St.  (8-0)

Anthony Meo-Coastal Carolina  (8-1)

Shawn Teufel-Liberty  (8-1)

Asher Wojciechowski-The Citadel  (8-1)

Brandon Workman-Texas  (8-1)

* 25 pitchers are tied for 13th with seven wins

ERA

Minimum 40 IP & Pitchers must have 1.0 IP for every game played by team

1.  Chance Ruffin-Texas  0.88

2.  John Stilson-Texas A&M  1.17

3.  Adam Izokovic-Gardner-Webb  1.43

4.  Nathan Forer-Southern Illinois  1.48

4.  Nathan Kilcrease-Alabama  1.48

6.  Alex Wimmers-Ohio St.  1.61

7.  Josh Slaats-Hawaii  1.71

8.  Chase Whitley-Troy  1.74

9.  Anthony Meo-Coastal Carolina  1.79

10.  Cole Green-Texas  1.82

STRIKEOUTS

1.  Asher Wojciechowski-The Citadel  98

2.  Drew Pomeranz-Mississippi  93

2.  Chris Sale-Florida Gulf Coast  93

4.  Josh Smith-Lipscomb  89

5.  Barret Loux-Texas A&M  88

6.  Taylor Jungmann-Texas  87

7.  Gerrit Cole-UCLA  86

8.  Trevor Bauer-UCLA  85

9.  Daniel Bibona-UC Irvine  84

10.  Eric Cantrell-George Washington  83

10.  Luke Irvine-Northwestern St.  83

10.  Jason Mitchell-UT Arlington  83

SAVES

1.  Kevin Arico-Virginia  13

1.  Chris Patterson-Appalachian St.  13

3.  Matty Ott-LSU  11

4.  Ryan Duke-Oklahama  10

Neil Holland-Louisville  10

Kevin McKague-Army  10

Jordan Swagerty-Arizona St.  10

8.  Andrew Burkett-Cincinnati  9

Lenny Linsky-Hawaii  9

Andy Mee-Florida Atlantic  9

Brooks Pinckard-Baylor  9

Chance Ruffin-Texas  9

Chad Sheppard-Northwestern St.  9

TEAM ERA

1.  Texas  2.30

2.  UCLA  2.80

3.  Coastal Carolina  3.02

4.  Oregon  3.14

5.  Arizona State  3.21

6.  Vanderbilt  3.29

7.  South Carolina  3.31

8.  Portland  3.39

9.  Louisiana-Lafayette  3.47

10.  Connecticut  3.56

10.  TCU  3.56

College Baseball 2010 Stats Leaders-April 21

Here’s a look at the official Division One NCAA baseball statistics leaders in selected categories.

BATTING AVERAGE

Minimum 3.0 Plate Appearances Per Game & Min. 80 Plate Appearances

1. Carlos Alonso-Delaware  .466

2. Kevin Tokarski-Illinois St.  .465

3. Anthony Gomez-Vanderbilt  .462

4. Phil Cerreto-Longwood  .461

5. J.D. Ashbrook-Morehead St.  .460

6. Justin Frane-Valparaiso  .459

7. Jonathon Kaskow-Stanford  .455

8. Jerrud Sabourin-Indiana  .454

9. Effrey Valdez-NY Tech  .453

10. Chris Benson-Utah Valley  .449

HOME RUNS

1. A-J Kirby-Jones-Tennessee Tech  18

1. Jacob Tanis-Mercer  18

3. J.D. Ashbrook-Morehead St.  17

4. Jordan Ballard-VMI  16

4. Alex Dickerson-Indiana  16

4. Matt Leeds-College of Charleston  16

4. Peter O’Brien-Bethune-Cookman  16

4. Nate Woods-Belmont  16

9. Pat Biserta-Rutgers  15

9. Drew Lee-Morehead St.  15

9. Jordan Ribera-Fresno St.  15

9. Mike Sodders-New Mexico St.  15

(7 tied with 14)

RUNS

1. J.D. Ashbrook-Morehead St.  62

2. Dallas Poulk-NC State 57

3. Ryan Aguayo-New Mexico St.  56

3. Nate Roberts-High Point  56

5. Wes Cunningham-Murray State  54

5. Tyler Holt-Florida St.  54

5. Jeff Rowland-Georgia Tech  54

8. Danny Lopez-Pittsburgh  51

8. Cory Spangenberg-VMI  51

8. Jacob Tanis-Mercer  51

RBIs

1.  Jacob Tanis-Mercer  68

2.  Drew Lee-Morehead St.  61

3.  Nate Woods-Belmont  59

4.  Jake Overstreet-South Alabama  58

5.  Matt Leeds-College of Charleston  57

6.  Chris Duffy-Central Florida  55

6.  A.J. Kirby-Jones-Tennessee Tech 55

8.  Dexter Kelley-Savannah St.  54

8.  Brandon Williams-Georgia St.  54

10. Danny Brock-St. Louis  53

10.  Tyler Huelsing-Memphis  53

10.  Connor Powers-Mississippi St.  53

SLUGGING PERCENTAGE

1.  A.J. Kirby-Jones-Tennessee Tech  .899

2.  Mac Doyle-Wofford  .874

3.  J.D. Ashbrook-Morehead St.  .867

4.  Jacke Healey-Youngstown St.  .860

5.  Paul Hoilman-East Tennessee St.  .859

6.  Chace Perkins-New Mexico St.  .853

7.  Chris Duffy-Central Florida  .847

8.  Wes Cunningham-Murray St.  .846

9.  Ryan Fleming-Georgia St.  .838

10.  Dan Scheffler-Florida Atlantic  .837

ON-BASE PERCENTAGE

1.  Kevin Tokarski-Illinois St.  .576

2.  Taylor Dugas-Alabama  .572

3.  Nate Roberts-High Point  .564

4.  Michael Choice-UT Arlington  .563

5.  J.D. Ashbrook-Morehead St.  .561

6.  Curtis Wilson-Southern  .556

7.  Chad Salem-Manhattan  .554

7.  Kyle Roller-East Carolina  .554

9.  Brian Harris-Vanderbilt  .552

10.  Anthony Rendon-Rice  .547

TEAM BATTING AVERAGE

1.  Georgia State  .378

2.  Pittsburgh  .370

3.  New Mexico St.  .367

4.  Arizona  .355

5.  Southeast Missouri St.  .354

5.  VMI  .354

7.  Utah Valley  .352

8.  Dallas Baptist  .348

9.  Auburn  .346

9.  New Mexico  .346

WINS

These seven pitchers are tied with eight wins

Corey Baker-Pittsburgh

Cole Green-Texas

D.D. Hanks-South Alabama

Justin Jones-Cal

Merrill Kelly-Arizona State

Alex Wimmers-Ohio State

Asher Wojciechowski-The Citadel

These 16 pitchers are tied with seven wins

Matt Andress-Appalachian State

Matt Barnes-UConn

Jake Borup-Arizona State

Blake Cooper-South Carolina

Quintavious Drains-Jackson State

Brandon Efferson-Southeastern Louisiana

Kyle Hunter-Kansas State

Kyle Kraus-Portland

Keegan Linza-Liberty

Anthony Meo-Coastal Carolina

Matt Ridings-Western Kentucky

Thomas Royse-Louisville

Josh Smith-Lipscomb

Shawn Teufel-Liberty

Brandon Workman-Texas

ERA

Minimum 35 IP & 1 IP for every game played by team

1.  Chance Ruffin-Texas  0.95

2.  John Stilson-Texas A&M  1.17

3.  Drew Leininger-Indiana  1.20

4.  Nathan Forer-Southern Illinois  1.23

5.  Drew Pomeranz-Mississippi  1.38

6.  Nathan Kilcrease-Alabama  1.46

7.  Neil Holland-Louisville  1.50

8.  Alex Wimmers-1.71

9.  Adam Izokovic-Gardner-Webb  1.75

10.  Garrett Claypool-UCLA  1.85

SAVES

1.  Kevin Arico-Virginia  12

2.  Matty Ott-LSU  11

2.  Chris Patterson-Appalachian St.  11

4.  Ryan Duke-Oklahoma  10

4.  Jordan Swaggerty-Arizona St.  10

6.  Kevin McKague-Army  9

6.  Brooks Pinckard-Baylor  9

6.  Chance Ruffin-Texas  9

9.  Andrew Burkett-Cincinnati  8

9.  Adam Conley-Washington St.  8

9.  Chris Dennis-Portland  8

9.  Tom Heithoff-Evansville  8

9.  Neil Holland-Louisville  8

9.  Ryne Purcell-Eastern Kentucky  8

9.  Chad Sheppard-Northwestern St.  8

STRIKEOUTS

1.  Drew Pomeranz-Mississippi  90

2.  Asher Wojciechowski-The Citadel  86

3.  Josh Smith-Lipscomb  80

4.  Taylor Jungmann-Texas  79

5.  Barret Loux-Texas A&M  78

5.  Chris Sale-Florida Gulf Coast  78

7.  Daniel Bibona-UC Irvine  76

7.  Gerrit Cole-UCLA  76

7.  Danny Hultzen-Virginia  76

10. Eric Cantrell-George Washington  75

TEAM ERA

1.  Texas  2.41

2.  UCLA  2.44

3.  Oregon  2.92

4.  Arizona State  3.06

4.  Vanderbilt  3.06

6.  Coastal Carolina  3.18

7.  South Carolina  3.27

8.  TCU  3.35

9.  Connecticut  3.37

10.  Portland  3.39

Stats through games as of 4/18/10

College Baseball 2010 Stats Leaders-April 16

Here are this week’s college baseball Division One leaders in selected categories, including Team ERA and Team Batting Average.  All stats are updated as of Thursday, April 15.

BATTING AVERAGE

1.  Effrey Valdez-New York Tech  .473

2.  Chris Benson-Utah Valley  .467

3.  Phil Cerrato-Longwood  .461

4.  Zach Wentz-North Dakota St.  .460

5.  J.D. Ashbrook-Morehead St.  .459

6.  Carlos Alonso-Delaward  .458

7.  Aaron Senne-Missouri  .457

8.  Casey Jones-SE Missouri St.  .453

9.  Kevin Tokarski-Illinois St.  .451

9.  Garrett Bivone-UT Pan American  .451

HOME RUNS

1.  A.J. Kirby-Jones-Tennessee Tech  17

1.  Jacob Tanis-Mercer  17

3.  Mike Sodders-New Mexico St.  15

4.  J.D. Ashbrook-Morehead St.  14

4.  Adam Bailey-Nebraska  14

4.  Jordan Ballard-VMI  14

4.  Wes Cunningham-Murray St.  14

4.  Alex Dickerson-Indiana  14

4.  Chris Duffy-Central Florida  14

4.  Matt Leeds-College of Charleston  14

4.  Peter O’Brien-Bethune-Cookman  14

4.  Jordan Ribera-Fresno St.  14

RBIs

1.  Jacob Tannis-Mercer  65

2.  Jake Overstreet-South Alabama  56

3.  A.J. Kirby-Jones-Tennessee Tech  53

4.  Danny Brock-St. Louis  52

5.  Chris Duffy-Central Florida  51

6.  Drew Lee-Morehead St.  50

6.  Ryan Soares-George Mason  50

8.  Phil Cerreto-Longwood  49

8.  Wes Cunningham-Murray St.  49

8.  Tyler Huelsing-Memphis  49

8.  Jose Iglesias-Coastal Carolina  49

8.  Matt Leeds-College of Charleston  49

8.  Nick Rogers-North Carolina A&T  49

8.  Nate Woods-Belmont  49

ON-BASE PERCENTAGE

1.  Taylor Dugas-Alabama  .577

2.  Brian Harris-Vanderbilt  .574

3.  J.D. Ashbrook-Morehead St.  .570

4.  Jon Kelton-Alabama  .568

5.  Kevin Tokarski-Illinois St. .566

6.  Michael Choice-UT Arlington  .563

6.  Chad Salem-Manhattan  .563

6.  A.J. Kirby-Jones-Tennessee Tech  .563

9.  Curtis Wilson-Southern  .556

10. Kyle Roller-East Carolina  .553

SLUGGING PERCENTAGE

1.  A.J. Kirby-Jones-Tennessee Tech  .941

2.  Mac Doyle-Wofford  .908

3.  Chris Duffy-Central Florida  .879

4.  Wes Cunningham-Murray St.  .869

5.  Paul Hoilman-East Tennessee St.  .867

6.  Ben Harty-New Mexico St.  .843

7.  Phil Cerreto-Longwood  .836

8.  J.D. Ashbrook-Morehead St.  .830

8.  Chace Perkins-New Mexico St.  .830

8.  Chad Salem-Manhattan  .830

RUNS

1.  J.D. Ashbrook-Morehead St.  56

2.  Ryan Aguayo-New Mexico St.  55

3.  Jeff Rowland-Georgia Tech  51

4.  Mike Sodders-New Mexico St.  50

5.  Wes Cunningham-Murray State  48

5.  Danny Lopez-Pittsburgh  48

5.  Nate Roberts-High Point  48

5.  Cory Spangenberg-VMI  48

9.  Tyler Holt-Florida St.  47

9.  Jacob Tanis-Mercer  47

TEAM BATTING AVERAGE

1.  Georgia State  .386

2.  New Mexico St.  .370

3.  Pittsburgh  .369

4.  VMI  .355

4.  SE Missouri State  .355

6.  Utah Valley  .354

7.  Arizona  .351

8.  Auburn  .350

9.  Central Connecticut St.  .347

10.  Arizona State  .346

WINS

These eight pitchers are tied with seven wins

Corey Baker-Pittsburgh

Cole Green-Texas

D.D. Hanks-South Alabama

Justin Jones-California

Merrill Kelly-Arizona State

Keegan Linza-Liberty

Alex Wimmers-Ohio State

Asher Wojciechowski-The Citadel

* 29 pitchers are tied with six wins each.

ERA

1.  Chance Ruffin-Texas  0.50

2.  Adam Izokovic-Gardner-Webb  1.06

3.  Neil Holland-Louisville  1.09

4.  Trever Vermeulen-South Dakota St.  1.21

5.  John Stilson-Texas A&M  1.25

6.  Drew Leininger-Indiana  1.38

7.  Chris Sale-Florida Gulf Coast  1.41

8.  Elliot Glynn-Connecticut  1.52

9.  Michael Wacha-Texas A&M  1.53

10.  Drew Pomeranz-Ole Miss  1.57

STRIKEOUTS

1.  Drew Pomeranz-Ole Miss  80

2.  Asher Wojciechowski-The Citadel  74

3.  Gerrit Cole-UCLA  71

4.  Barret Loux-Texas A&M  70

4.  Josh Smith-Lipscomb  70

6.  Daniel Bibona-UC Irvine  68

6.  Taylor Jungmann-Texas  68

8.  Trevor Bauer-UCLA  67

8.  Chris Sale-Florida Gulf Coast  67

10.  Danny Hultzen-Virginia  66

10.  Mike McCarthy-Cal St. Bakersfield  66

10.  Jason Mitchell-UT Arlington  66

10.  Tanner Peters-UNLV  66

10.  Noe Ramirez-Cal State Fullerton  66

10.  John Stilson-Texas A&M  66

SAVES

1.  Kevin Arico-Virginia  11

2.  Matty Ott-LSU  10

2.  Chris Patterson-Appalachian St.  10

4.  Brooks Pinckard-Baylor  9

4.  Chance Ruffin-Texas  9

6.  Adam Conley-Washington St.  8

6.  Neil Holland-Louisville  8

6.  Ryne Purcell-Eastern Kentucky  8

6.  Chad Sheppard-Northwestern St.  8

6.  Jordan Swagerty-Arizona St.  8

TEAM ERA

1.  UCLA  2.28

2.  Texas  2.58

3.  Vanderbilt  2.92

4.  Oregon  2.93

5.  Oregon State  2.97

6.  Arizona State  3.03

7.  Coastal Carolina  3.17

8.  Portland  3.25

8.  TCU  3.25

10.  Connecticut  3.34

College Baseball Notebook-Week 3

A By The Numbers Look At The Weekend’s Action

1…Run allowed in 7 IP by Wright State starter Alex Kaminsky in Friday’s 2-1 win over #1/#2 Virginia.  Kaminsky struckout 7 to earn his first win of the season in a head-to-head dual with UVA sophomore ace Danny Hultzen.

2…Wins in the last two years by the Raiders on a top ranked team’s home field.  WSU beat #1 Georgia last year in Athens.

10…Runs and hits allowed in 2 1/3 innings by Kentucky starter Taylor Rogers in Saturday’s 14-13 win over Monmouth.

0 & 9…Hits allowed & strikeouts recorded in 4 IP by Wildcat reliever Matt Little, who earned the win in that game after allowing just two hits.

10…Hit batters by Monmouth pitchers in the loss to Kentucky to tie an NCAA record.  It’s just the third time a pitching staff has hit 10 batters in a game.

4…Straight hit batters by Monmouth pitchers Andy McDonnell (1) and Stephen Prosapio, who hit Kentucky’s Braden Kapteyn with the bases loaded and the score tied 13-13 to give the Wildcats the winning run.

1…Career home run by 5′9-160 pound Kentucky redshirt junior Neiko Johnson, whose long ball on a 2-2 pitch in the bottom of the 9th inning tied the score at 13 just before the four straight hit batsmen.

103…Runs scored by Georgia State in a 4-game series vs. North Carolina Central.

14…Of the runs scored by Georgia State junior Mark Micowski, who transferred to the school this year after Vermont disbanded baseball last year.  Micowski hit for the cycle in the first four innings of Friday’s 32-3 victory.  He batted .636 with 10 RBIs in the four games.

17…Combined strikeouts by George Washington pitchers Matt Branham and Scott DeCecco in Friday’s 5-1 win over USC Upstate.  The combined effort tied a school record.

210…Career Ks by Branham-whose career high 12 strikeouts in the win made him the 3rd pitcher in GW history to top the 200 K mark.

6…Straight wins by USC Upstate prior to the loss-a record for the Spartans since joining the Division One ranks.

1…Hit allowed by West Virginia’s Jarryd Summers in 8 innings in a 1-0 loss to Western Carolina.  Summers fanned 11 in the loss.  The only hit he allowed was a solo home run by WCU third baseman Tyler Kirkpatrick.

3…Hits allowed by Catamount starter Jason Sullivan-who struckout 8 in 9 shutout innings to improve to 3-0 on the season with the win over the Mountaineers.

9…Strikeouts by Houston’s Michael Goodnight in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Texas at the Houston College Classic.

1…Wild pitch by Longhorn starter Brandon Workman-after a triple by Houston’s Blake Kelso-which allowed the game’s only run to score.

2…Losses by Cal State Fullerton in a 3-game series at Arizona to fall to 4-6 on the season.  The Titans started the year ranked in the top 10 in every poll.

1…Inning pitched by Titan All-American Daniel Renken in Friday’s 8-7 loss to the Wildcats.  Renken was lifted after hitting Wildcat CF Joey Rickard to lead-off the 2nd inning.

3…Walk-off wins by Arizona this season after freshman Seth Mejias-Brean singled home classmate Alex Mejia in the bottom of the 11th inning in that win over the Titans.

8…Strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings by Florida starter Alex Panteliodis in Friday’s 7-1 series-opening win over Miami (FL).

7…Strikeouts in 3 1/3 scoreless, hitless innings pitched by Gator reliever Nick Maronde to earn his first save of the season in that same win over the Hurricanes.

4…Shutout innings pitched by Florida reliever Kevin Chapman in Sunday’s series-clinching 4-2 win over Miami.  Chapman gave-up just one hit with two strikeouts to earn his second save of 2010.

17…Combined strikeouts in 12 innings pitched by Duke starters Eric Pfisterer (10) and Michael Ness (7) who each tossed six shutout innings to help the Blue Devils to a 3-game sweep of Temple.

11…Strikeouts in 6 IP by Florida Gulf Coast ace Chris Sale in a 7-2 win over Wichita State.

2…Home runs hit over the weekend by Middle Tennessee State’s Bryce Brentz.  The outfielder led the nation with 28 HR last year, but he had been shutout through the first two weeks of the season.

1…Loss this season by Washington State after falling 4-1 in Sunday’s finale of a 4-game series with Utah.  The Cougars had started 9-0 for their best opening to a season since 1988.

138…Pitches thrown by Santa Clara starter Alex Rivers in a 4-0 win over San Jose State.  Rivers scattered seven hits with five strikeouts for his third career complete game.

5…RBIs by St. Louis redshirt freshman Steve Fernandez to help St. Louis down Ohio State 10-9 on Saturday.

109…Pitches thrown by West Virginia’s Chris Enourato, who struckout 9 in seven innings of relief to help the Moutaineers to an 11-8 win over Illinois.  Enourato retired 16 of the first 17 batters he faced.

3…Wins by WVU (with seven losses) this season.  Enourato has earned two of the wins and a save in his five relief outings.

16…RBIs in five games by New Mexico State’s Wade Reynoso.  He batted .522 (12-23) with 3 home runs and 11 runs scored as well in wins over New Mexico and St. Joseph’s.

Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List

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

Atlantic Sun Baseball 2010 Preview

High Expectations For FGCU In First Year Of NCAA Eligibility

2009 Regular Season Champion: Florida Gulf Coast

2009 Tournament Champion: Jacksonville defeated Lipscomb 7-4 to win their 4^th A-Sun title.

End of the Rhodes: North Florida head coach Dusty Rhodes announced that 2010 will be his last season with the Ospreys.  Rhodes announced his retirement last August.  He will have spent 23 season at the helm, starting the program from scratch and guiding UNF to 16 postseason appearances, including 5 trips to the College World Series (2 in NAIA, 3 in NCAA Division II).  UNF announced that their home field will be named after Rhodes and will be dedicated March 6^th before their home game against Alcorn State.

Florida Gulf Coast is the unanimous choice to win the A-Sun title according to the coaches.  FGCU won the title last season winning 23 conference games becoming the first Atlantic Sun team to win back-to-back conference titles in its first 2 years in the league since the conference went to a one-division formant in 1999.

Belmont

2009 Season: (29-29, 15-15)

Nickname: Bruins

Head Coach: David Jarvis

Location: Nashville, TN

Vitals: .295 BA, 63 HR, .382 OBP, .959 Fld. %…6.47 ERA, 6 CG, 10 SVs, 294 K, 237 BB, .316 Opp. BA

Hole in the Middle: Belmont loses three top players from last year, including their 3-4 hitters Derek Wiley (.308, 17 HR, 51 RBI), the A-Sun’s career homerun hitter, and Brandon McCall (.344, 8 HR, 48 RBI) who combined to score or drive in 46.7 percent of Belmont’s runs in 2009.   The Bruins must also replace 2B Daniel Wagner (.323, 10 HR, 57 RBI).

Who’s Back: While Belmont loses a lot of offense they do bring back a couple key parts.  So. OF Dylan Craig (.397, 92 H, 9 triples) was the Atlantic Sun Freshman of the Year and a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American.  Jr. C Matt Zeblo (.335, 5 HR, 35 RBI) returns behind the plate.

Campbell

2009 Season: (27-24, 7-19)

Nickname: Fighting Camels

Head Coach: Greg Goff

Location: Buies Creek, NC

Vitals: .346 BA, 42 HR, .444 OBP, .966 Fld. %…6.95 ERA, 2 CG, 7 SVs, 337 K, 186 BB, .353 Opp. BA

Great Offense: Campbell’s offensive numbers in 2009 stack up with some of the best in the nation.  They were ranked in the top 10 nationally in team BA (.346), scoring (10.1), doubles per game (2.78), stolen bases per game (2.29), and hit by pitch (123).  They also had three players hit over .400 for the season.

Key Returners: Campbell loses top hitter Ryan Hamme (.438, 26 doubles, 51 RBI), but do bring back two key offensive players from a season ago.  Leading the offense this season will be Sr. OF Zach Johnson (.380, 29 doubles, 12 HR), who led the nation in doubles last year, and Jr. 2B Ellis Lowe (.404, 5 HR, 62 RBI).  On the mound, Sr. LHP Jeff Rydman (5-1, 5.43 ERA, 45 K) will lead the staff.

East Tennessee State

2009 Season: (25-28, 10-20)

Nickname: Buccaneers

Head Coach: Tony Skole

Location: Johnson City, TN

Vitals: .313 BA, 72 HR, .398 OBP, .948 Fld. %…8.27 ERA, 2 CG, 8 SVs, 293 K, 218 BB, .349 Opp. BA

Big Bucs: ETSU returns its top two sluggers from last year in Jr. 1B Paul Hoilman (.380, 17 HR, 66 RBI) and So. 3B Bo Reeder (.339, 15 HR, 53 RBI).  Both Hoilmand and Reeder earned 3^rd team preseason All-American honors from Louisville Slugger.

On the mound, the Bucs return Jr. RHP Chas Byrne (6-4, 5.53 ERA, 67 K), and Bo Reeder, who in addition to putting up big power number at the plate, went 4-4, with 1 CG and 1 SV on the rubber.

Traveling’ Men: ETSU makes its first ever trip to the West Coast this season when they travel to take on Oregon in Eugene May 14-16^th.

Florida Gulf Coast

2009 Season: (36-18, 23-7)

Nickname: Eagles

Head Coach: Dave Tollett

Location: Fort Myers, FL

Vitals: .320 BA, 74 HR, .409 OBP, .962 Fld. %…5.02 ERA, 3 CG, 14 SVs, 460 K, 169 BB, .290 Opp. BA

Conference Power: Florida Gulf Coast swept the preseason honors from the A-Sun.  They were picked to win the conference for the third year in a row by the coaches.  1B Zach Maxfield (.383, 20 HR, 66 RBI) was named the preseason A-Sun Player of the Year, while Jr. LHP Chris Sale (7-4, 2.72 ERA, 104 K) is the preseason Pitcher of the Year.  Sale also was named a 1^st team All-American by Baseball America, a 2^nd team All-American from Ping!, and was the Cape Cod Pitcher of the Year last summer.

Playing the Best: FGCU faces a tough slate this year.  The Eagles will face 12^th-ranked Miami, 16^th ranked Clemson, 9^th-ranked Florida, and 27^th-ranked Wichita State all on the road in 2010.

Jacksonville

2009 Season: (37-22, 19-11)

Nickname: Dolphins

Head Coach: Terry Alexander

Location: Jacksonville, FL

Vitals: .301 BA, 62 HR, .400 OBP, .952 Fld. %…5.18 ERA, 2 CG, 13 SVs, 451 K, 184 BB, .288 Opp. BA

Pitching Strength: Jacksonville won its 5^th A-Sun conference championship last year and should contend again behind a strong pitching staff this season.  Two JU pitchers are on the preseason All-A-Sun team led by Jr. RHP Matt Loosen (4-1, 4.16 ERA, 91 K) and Jr. RHP Chris Kaminski (5-1, 2.70 ERA, 8 SVs).

Offensive Leaders: The Dolphins lose top hitter Jeremy Gillan (.400, 11 HR, 62 RBI), but bring back plenty of speed and power with 1^st team preseason All-A-Sun player Sr. Chuck Opachich (.377, 42 RBI, 19 SB) and Sr. OF Alex Martinez (.306, 12 HR, 53 RBI).

Kennesaw State

2009 Season: (30-22, 20-9)

Nickname: Owls

Head Coach: Mike Sansing

Location: Kennesaw, GA

Vitals: .307 BA, 65 HR, .391 OBP, .963 Fld. %…5.08 ERA, 7 CG, 8 SVs, 475 K, 199 BB, .281 Opp. BA

Stepping Up: KSU loses 13 players overall, including 6 regular starters off their 2^nd place team last year.  The top five hitters are all gone, but two preseason All-Atlantic Sun performers do return in Sr. SS Tyler Stubblefield (.300, 7 HR, 27 RBI) and Jr. OF Josh Whitaker (.379, 4 HR, 25 RBI in 22 GP)

Owl Arms: The biggest concern for KSU has to be the pitching staff where 6 pitchers are gone from the 2009 team including A-Sun Pitcher of the Year Chad Jenkins (8-1, 2.54 ERA, 98 K, 5 CG).  The top returning pitcher is Jr. RHP Ryan Rodebaugh (1-1, 4.10 ERA, 2 SVs).

Lipscomb

2009 Season: (24-32, 17-13)

Nickname: Bison

Head Coach: Jeff Forehand

Location: Nashville, TN

Vitals: .280 BA, 42 HR, .356 OBP, .949 Fld. %…6.19 ERA, 6 CG, 9 SVs, 442 K, 258 BB, .279 Opp. BA

Strong Down the Stretch: Lipscomb finished 8 games below .500 overall, but still finished with a winning conference record, reaching the tournament championship game before falling to Jacksonville 7-4.

Ace in the Hole: While the Bison lose staff ace and first round MLB draft pick Rex Brothers (5-5, 3.26 ERA, 4 CG, 132 K), they do bring back Sr. RHP Josh Smith (7-4, 3.86 ERA, 101 K).

Offensive Production: Lipscomb will look to improve the offense this year behind CF Tyler Wilson (.320, 65 H, 25 SB), 1B Ryan Wilkins (.290, 5 doubles, 21 RBI).  Several newcomers expect to fill out the lineup as well with Jr. Cory Hale (.304, 14 HR, 41 RBI), a transfer from Columbia State CC, and Jr. Zach Messer (.378, 14 HR, 56 RBI) from Walters State CC who both figure to start.

Mercer

2009 Season: (23-23, 12-15)

Nickname: Bears

Head Coach: Craig Gibson

Location: Macon, GA

Vitals: .302 BA, 60 HR, .370 OBP, .965 Fld. %…6.39 ERA, 2 CG, 7 SVs, 346 K, 183 BB, .302 Opp. BA

Big Offense: Mercer loses top hitter Steven Karwatt (.374, 10 HR, 43 RBI), but do return the five other guys who hit over .300, including Sr. INF Michael Langley (.358, 7 HR, 27 RBI) and So. INF Jacob Tanis (.340, 11 HR, 35 RBI), who was named a Freshman All-American by Louisville Slugger.  Pitching wise Jr. RHP closer J.T. Odom (5-5, 3.88 ERA, 3 SVs) returns as does Sr. RHP Lath Guyer (2-4, 5.55 ERA, 76 K).

Home in Dixie: Mercer hosts 18 of their first 21 games with only trips to Tallahassee to play Florida A&M and Atlanta to face Georgia State the only road trips.  Mercer will not play north of Nashville, TN all season long while playing games in only four states (Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, and South Carolina).

North Florida

2009 Season: (23-31, 15-15)

Nickname: Ospreys

Head Coach: Dusty Rhodes

Location: Jacksonville, FL

Vitals: .295 BA, 59 HR, .377 OBP, .948 Fld. %…5.78 ERA, 6 CG, 9 SVs, 381 K, 183 BB, .296 Opp. BA

The American Dream: Dusty Rhodes announced that this will be his final season at the helom of North Florida.  Rhodes started the program in 1988 and has built the team from scratch.  He should win his 900^th game at UNF this season, playing on the newly named Dusty Rhodes Field at Harmon Stadium.

Foundation: North Florida’s lineup will center around Sr. OF Preston Hale (.371, 10 HR, 43 RBI) who led the Ospreys in batting average, slugging percentage, runs, hits, HR, and RBI.  Hale was a 2^nd-team All-conference performer in 2009 and enters 2010 a unanimous selection to the preseason All-Atlantic Sun team.

Stetson

2009 Season: (27-30, 16-14)

Nickname: Hatters

Head Coach: Pete Dunn

Location: DeLand, FL

Vitals: .314 BA, 60 HR, .395 OBP, .951 Fld. %…5.85 ERA, 1 CG, 9 SVs, 383 K, 223 BB, .305 Opp. BA

Poised for a Run: Stetson returns 19 letterwinners and 7 starters from last season’s 5^th place team.  Leading the offense will be Sr. DH Aaron Crittenden (.339, 13 HR, 66 RB) and So. 3B Mark Jones (.363, 82 H, .518 Slg. %).   Crittenden is a preseason All-conference pick this season, while Jones earned Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American honors last season.

Pitching Rotation: The Hatters will have a much different weekend rotation this season with So. RHP Lindsey Caughel (4-3, 6.30 ERA, 41 K) the only returner.  The other spots will be filled with two pitchers that missed last season with injuries.  R-Jr. RHP Justin Dechert (5.51 ERA, SV) and R-So. RHP Will Dorsey (2-1, 3.72 ERA, SV) will fill out the rotation.

USC Upstate

2009 Season: (17-37, 7-23)

Nickname: Spartans

Head Coach: Matt Fincher

Location: Spartanburg, SC

Vitals: .283 BA, 18 HR, .358 OBP, .964 Fld. %…7.81 ERA, 1 CG, 7 SVs, 345 K, 296 BB, .322 Opp. BA

Marching On: USC-Upstate enters its third season in Division I, still making the transition to the higher level.  After winning 17 conference games in 2008, they fell off to just 7 wins in 2009 finishing in last place.  This season they look for improvement behind 17 returning lettermen including 7 pitchers.

Key Returners: Jr. RHP Matt Branham (2-5, 4.39 ERA, 82 K) is back to lead the pitching staff, while Sr. 1B/C Jimmy Tanner (.354, 15 doubles, 34 RBI) the top hitter for the Spartans last year will once again power the lineup.

Silver Spartans: This year marks the 25^th season for baseball at the school.

2010 Atlantic Sun Predicitons

2010 Champion: Florida Gulf Coast

2010 Player of the Year: Preston Hale—North Florida

2010 Pitcher of the Year: Chris Sale—Florida Gulf Coast

Get Ready For 2010 With A College Baseball Podcast

Plenty Of Player Interviews To Get Fans Primed For The Season

The 2010 college baseball season starts Friday, and Collegebaseball360.com has spent the off-season talking with plenty of players for our “College Baseball Podcasts”.  We will have plenty more player podcasts throughout the season along with weekly analysis with our “College Baseball 360 Radio Podcasts” beginning in March.

For now here’s a list of interviews you can listen to before the season starts:

LSU Head Coach Paul Mainieri – Reflects on winning the 2009 National Championship.

UT Arlington’s Michael Choice – Talks about his summer with Team USA & upcoming season.

Washington State’s Chad Arnold – On his summer & last year’s record-setting Cougar season.

George Washington’s Marshall Seedorf – Talks about balancing being a college pitcher and swimmer.

UConn’s Pierre LePage – Discusses big plans for 2010 & winning a Cape Cod League title.

Southern Mississippi’s B.A. Vollmuth – On the College World Series run & playing on The Cape last summer.

East Carolina’s Kyle Roller – Cape Cod MVP talks about going farther with ECU this year.

West Virginia’s Jedd Gyorko – On Cape Cod & getting the Mountaineers over the hump.

Florida Gulf Coast’s Chris Sale – Cape Cod Pitching MVP talks about FGCU being NCAA eligible this year.

Middle Tennessee’s Bryce Brentz – The 2009 NCAA hitting & HR leader on growing as a college baseball player.

Villanova two-sport star Matt Szczur – On winning a football national title & plans for the future.

Michigan’s Ryan LaMarre – The preseason All-American on returning Michigan to NCAA Tourney.

OVC Baseball Coaches - A handful talk about moving the OVC Tourney to Pringles Park this year.

Atlantic Sun 2010 Preseason Coaches’ Poll

Florida Gulf Coast Picked Big In 1st Season Of NCAA Tourney Eligibility

MACON, Ga. – The Atlantic Sun conference announced its baseball preseason coaches’ poll and all-conference honors Wednesday with FGCU earning the nod as the conference favorite.

The Eagles also cleaned up in the superlative awards with first baseman Zach Maxfield earned the preseason Player of the Year honors and Chris Sale picked up the Pitcher of the Year nod by a unanimous decision.

Chris Sale earned Pitcher of the Year honors in a unanimous vote befitting the status of the Ping!Baseball and Louisville Slugger preseason All-American. The College Baseball Blog listed Sale as the fourth-best player in the nation and as the top left-handed starting pitcher in nation. Sale earned first-team all-conference honors a season ago after posting a 7-4 record with a 2.72 ERA. The criminal justice major earned the Pitcher of the Year honor during the summer in the talent-rich Cape Cod league. Baseball America named Sale the Top Prospect in the Cape Cod league after the lefthander earned MVP honors in the league’s All-Star game.  CLICK HERE to listen to an exclusive Collegebaseball360.com interview with Sale.

Maxfield burst on to the A-Sun scene a season ago, leading the conference in home runs with 20 while driving in a team-high 66 run for the Eagles. The power-hitting first baseman also picked up preseason all-conference honors after earning first-team all conference honors a season ago at the designated hitter position. The Northport, Fla. native ranked as one of only four underclassmen on the 2009 all-conference squad joining his teammates Chris Sale, Tim Roberson and ETSU’s Paul Hoilman.

Tim Roberson joins his fellow FGCU juniors on the preseason all-conference team holding the third base position. The West Palm Beach, Fla. native ranked second in the A-Sun in 2009 in home runs just one behind Maxfield. Roberson ranked fifth in the league in RBI a season ago with 18 multiple RBI games including eight contests in which he drove in three or more runs.

Robert Green rounds out the quartet of Eagles on the preseason all-conference team. Green played in all 54 games a season ago for FGCU and the junior spent 53 of those contest behind the plate for the team picked atop of the preseason coaches’ poll. Green hit 14 home runs and combined with Roberson and Maxfield total the trio hit more round trippers than three A-Sun teams in 2009.

FGCU earned the nod from coaches as the conference favorite grabbing 10 of a possible 11 first-place votes. The coaches also tabbed the Eagles as the favorite to win the postseason tournament. FGCU placed No. 25 in Ping!Baseball’s Preseason rankings and received votes in the first National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Poll and USA Today/ESPN Poll.

The coaches picked Jacksonville, the reigning conference champion, second in the preseason poll and the Dolphins also earned solid representation on the preseason All-Atlantic Sun team. Matt Loosen earned a unanimous selection after a season in which he boasted a 4-1 record with two saves and 4.16 ERA. Loosen ranked nationally in strikeouts (59th, 91) and strikeouts per nine innings (43rd, 10.24).

Chris Kaminski joins Loosen on the preseason all-conference squad as a relief pitcher. The junior posted a team-best 2.70 ERA a season ago with a record of 5-1 with eight saves and recorded 33 strikeouts in 34 innings. Chuck Opachich rounds out the Jacksonville selections as he picked up the spot at second base. The senior posted hit .377 a season a go with 42 RBI and 19 stolen bases.

Stetson took third in the preseason coaches’ poll and placed designated hitter Aaron Crittenden on the preseason team. The senior returns to the Hatters following a banner season in which he drove in 66 runs. Crittenden belted 13 home runs and amassed a .554 slugging percentage.

Kennesaw State enters the preseason poll fourth, followed by UNF in fifth. Both the Owls and Ospreys completed their transition to Division I after last season and for the first time, can compete for spots in the Atlantic Sun Championships, and thus a chance at earning the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. Mercer and Lipscomb tied for sixth. The coaches pick Belmont eighth, ETSU ninth, Campbell tenth and USC Upstate eleventh.

Lipscomb Josh Smith rounds out the pitching rotation on the preseason squad. Smith ranked second on the Bisons in ERA behind departed first-round draft pick Rex Brothers. The senior ranked nationally in strikeouts (32nd, 101) and in hits allowed per nine innings (29th, 7.1) in 2009. Smith posted a 3.86 ERA a season ago allowing only 38 earned runs in over 88 innings.

Tyler Stubblefield from Kennesaw State completes the infield filling in the shortstop position. The senior posted a .300 batting average a season ago to for the Owls. Stubblefield smacked seven home runs and drove in 27 runs.

Belmont’s Dylan Craig picked up preseason honors from the coaches after a freshman campaign which saw him rank second in the nation in triples. Craig earned A-Sun Freshman of the Year honors a season ago and Ping!Baseball named him to their Freshman All-American team. The Signal Mountain, Tenn. native also finished nationally ranked in hits (36th, 92), batting average (82nd, .397) and sacrifice flies (14th, eight)

UNF’s Preston Hale, a unanimous selection, joins Craig in the outfield after posting a .371 average to lead the Ospreys a season ago. The senior started all 53 games in 2009 driving in 43 runs, hitting 10 home runs while slugging .593. Hale picked up second-team all-conference honors at the end of last season after leading his team in multiple hit games and tying for the team lead in multi-RBI games.

Josh Whitaker from Kennesaw State completes the outfield after appearing in 22 games and making 15 starts for the Owls a season ago. Whitaker hit .379 with four home runs and 25 RBI.

2010 A-Sun Preseason Coaches Poll
#	School (1st Place Vote)	Points
1.	FGCU	120
2.	Jacksonville	106
3.	Stetson	82
4.	Kennesaw State	81
5.	UNF	69
T-6.	Mercer	62
T-6.	Lipscomb	62
8.	Belmont	53
9.	ETSU	45
10	Campbell	34
11.	USC Upstate	12
	Tournament Winner – FGCU

2010 Atlantic Sun Preseason All-Conference

Pos.	Player (Yr.)	School
SP	*Matt Loosen (Jr.)	Jacksonville
SP	*Chris Sale (Jr.)	FGCU
SP	Josh Smith (Sr.)	Lipscomb
RP	Chris Kaminski (Jr.)	Jacksonville
C	Robert Green (Jr.)	FGCU
1B	Zach Maxfield (Jr.)	FGCU
2B	Chuck Opachich (Sr.)	JU
3B	Tim Roberson (Jr.)	FGCU
SS	Tyler Stubblefield (Sr.)	Kennesaw State
DH	Aaron Crittenden (Sr.)	Stetson
OF	Dylan Craig (So.)	Belmont
OF	*Preston Hale (Sr.)	UNF
OF	Josh Whitaker (Jr.)	Kennesaw State
	Player of the Year: Zach Maxfield, FGCU
	Pitcher of the Year: *Chris Sale, FGCU

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