Gem vs. Radford First In Tourney History…

Anthony Meo

With the victory, Coastal Carolina improves to 38-18 and advances to play the loser of the No. 3 Charleston Southern-No. 4 Winthrop matchup on Thursday at 3:00 pm.  Radford falls to 31-24 and moves to the loser’s bracket, and will face the loser of No. 2 Liberty-No. 5 Gardner-Webb, Thursday at 11:00 am.

Meo retired the first 16 Highlanders in order (six ground outs, six fly outs, four strikeouts), until Blake Sipe reached on an error by Coastal first baseman Rick Witten in the top of the sixth.  Meo proceeded to strike out Zach Costello and Matt Hillsinger to end the frame.  Meo then retired the next four batters before walking Matt Mack with two outs in the seventh.  Mack moved to second on a passed ball, but Meo fanned Ryan Burgess to end any momentum.

“This was exciting and to do it in a tournament makes it more special,” Meo said “I really settled in through the middle innings and got in a great groove.  I had good command today and my slider was really sharp.  I am glad I was able to help our team out and keep out bullpen fresh.”

In the ninth, Meo got Costello to line out to left for the first out, and after Hillsinger reached on a two-base error in shallow left field, Meo struck out Brett Mollenhaur and induced Alex Guerra into a line out to center for the historical victory.  Meo improves to 9-3 on the season and 3-0 in his three career Big South Tournament starts.

“This was one for the record books for sure,” said Chanticleer head coach Gary Gilmore. “Anthony and (coach) Drew (Thomas) had a great plan and Anthony really executed it.  He was in total command.  To see Anthony pitch like that with as many scouts that were here today and this close to the draft was really awesome.

The game was scoreless until the sixth inning when Coastal Carolina broke through for two runs.  Tripp Martin walked to start the inning and moved to second on Scott Woodward’s sacrifice.  Witten was hit-by-pitch to put runners on first and second, and Tommy La Stella’s fielder’s choice grounder loaded the bases.  Daniel Bowman then delivered the first pitch from new pitcher Brad Wimmer into left field for a two-RBI single that put the Chanticleers ahead, 2-0.

Martin put Coastal ahead 5-0 in the seventh with a three-run home run that hit the top of the light tower beyond the left field wall.  It was his second home run of the season and drove in Hayes Orton and Tucker Frawley, who reached on a hit-by-pitch and single, respectively.

Radford starter Mark Peterson did not allow a hit in his three innings before leaving with an injury.  Jacob Palese suffered the loss after giving up two runs in 2.1 innings of relief.

The victory marks Coastal’s fourth consecutive shutout of the Highlanders this season.

Coastal Carolina has released its 2011 college baseball schedule. The Chanticleers will host four separate events in Conway and Myrtle Beach, SC to open the season.

The Caravelle Resort’s Baseball at the Beach Tournament is Feb. 24-27, with most of the games to be played at BB&T Coastal Field in Myrtle Beach. Teams in the field are Kansas State, North Carolina State, Pacific, Western Kentucky, and California.

CLICK HERE to see the complete 2011 Coastal Carolina schedule.

The Caravelle Resort Invitational is March 4-6. Teams in the field are Quinnipiac, Marshall and Ball State.

And the Caravelle Resort Classic is March 11-13. Notre Dame, Kent State and Alabama-Birmingham will be in the field there.

The Chants will play two games at San Diego on March 15 & 16 and then three games at Pepperdine in Malibu, CA March 18-20.

Coastal Carolina will also host the reigning American League champion Texas Rangers in a March 29 exhibition game at BB&T Coastal Field.

Give a unique gift this Christmas from Dugouthats.com.  The Dugout in Omaha has officially licensed 2010 College World Series memorabilia that would make the perfect gift this holiday season (click on the image to left to enlarge).

From t-shirts and caps to limited edition prints commemorating the last CWS ever played at historic Rosenblatt Stadium. Dugouthats.com also always  hats of your favorite college teams like LSU, Texas, Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, UCLA, South Carolina, Miami and more.

A Look At Who’s Hot & Who’s Not In College Baseball

Jason Coats led TCU with 6 RBIs vs. Cal State Fullerton

Stock-Up

TCU:  The Horned Frogs went to Cal State Fullerton and took two of three games from the Titans to improve to 5-1.  They did it by out-scoring Fullerton 13-3 in their two wins.  Those wins were against All-Americans Daniel Renken and Tyler Pill.  TCU is batting .341 with a .943 team OPS, while the pitching staff has a 2.82 ERA with 47 Ks in 51 IP.

Coastal Carolina:  The Chanticleers were already ranked, and then they went and swept two games from UC Irvine last Saturday.  It wasn’t like they were facing the Anteaters’ 3rd & 4th starters either.  Coastal beat Daniel Bibona and Eric Pettis on the same day.  Bibona was 12-1 last year with a 2.63 ERA, while Pettis was 5-2 with 17 saves as Irvine’s closer.

Texas:  After losing two of three games at home to New Mexico to open the season the Longhorns swept a Stanford team that had swept Rice on opening weekend.  The vaunted Longhorn pitching staff showed why it’s considered the best in the nation in the process.  Taylor Jungmann, Cole Green, Chance Ruffin, and  Brandon Workman combined to give-up just two runs with 26 strikeouts in 21 1/3 innings during the series.

East Carolina:  Typically a 4-3 team wouldn’t be considered one whose stock is rising, but the Pirates have essentially played two Super Regionals to open the season.  They lost two of three vs. a loaded Virginia team and then then took two of three from a very good South Carolina squad.   ECU will rack-up a lot of wins by season’s end.

St. John’s:  The Red Storm is off to a 6-0 start with wins over New Orleans (3), Minnesota, Michigan, and Illinois.  They won their three games at the Big Ten/Big East Challenge by a total of four runs.  The biggest long-term question Ed Blankmeyer’s team would appear to have is pitching.   Bruce Kern and Nick Cenatiempo have both been good so far, but while it’s still early, neither has gone deep into a game yet.  In their combined four starts neither has pitched more than five innings.

Washington State:  The Cougars’ 6-0 start is their best since 1988.  They have a staff ERA of 3.74 and a batting average of .363 in those six games.   Wins over the likes of Seattle, Bethune-Cookman and Texas Tech haven’t been the stiffest of tests, but it’s been more than 20 years since they started as well against similar schedules as well.

Southeastern Louisiana:  A 3-game sweep at Mississippi State last week has earned the Lions (8-0) the program’s first ever national ranking (#29 in this week’s Collegiate Baseball Poll).   They’ve done it with good pitching and a well-rounded offense.  Tyler Watkins and Brandon Efferson have each made two starts and have totaled 14.0 and 12.0 innings, respectively.  Three relievers have also combined to post four saves for a staff with a 2.70 ERA.  Meanwhile, the team is hitting .304 and 11 different batters have at least 3 RBIs.

Tim Esmay:  One of the questions we raised coming into the season was whether Esmay could continue what Pat Murphy had done for the last 15 years.  ASU is 7-0 in Esmay’s first seven games as head coach at his alma mater.  Northern Illinois and Towson haven’t provided high-octane competition, but games vs. Cal Poly, Oregon State and Florida International this week should test the Sun Devils more.

Stock Down

UC Irvine:  In addition to the previously mentioned losses to Coastal Carolina the Anteaters also lost to North Carolina State last weekend at the Baseball By The Beach Tournament in Myrtle Beach.  They also lost 6-0 Tuesday

All-American Daniel Renken is 0-2 in his first two starts in 2010.

night at Pepperdine to fall to 4-4.  Irvine is built on pitching, but it must improve its 6.75 staff ERA.

Cal State Fullerton:  First the Titans lost to Oregon and Pepperdine on opening weekend, then they suffered two more home losses to TCU last weekend.  The four losses at Goodwin Field are half as many as they had all of last year.   Stud pitchers Daniel Renken, Tyler Pill and Noe Ramirez are a combined 1-4, while the offense has hit just .236 during the 3-4 start.

Minnesota:  The Golden Gophers’ 0-3 performance at the Big Ten/Big East Challenge was probably the shocker of the event.  They did face arguably the toughest slate of anyone in the field with losses to St. John’s (5-4), UConn (8-2) and Louisville (5-4).  Those could be the top three teams in the Big East by season’s end.  Minnesota has a solid 2.89 staff ERA, but like St. John’s their starters have not gone deep into games yet.  The offense is hitting just .273 during a 2-4 start, but the Gophers should still be alright once Big Ten play starts.

Oregon:  Yes, I did have the Ducks on the “Stock-Up” list last week after wins over Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State and Loyola Marymount, but I also warned not to get too excited too quickly.  Sure enough, Oregon went to Hawaii and lost 3 of 4 games to the Warriors.  It’s likely to be a roller coaster ride again for the Ducks in George Horton’s second season.

Southern Mississippi:  The curse of a Cinderella going to the College World Series is the expectation(and bulls eye on the back) it brings the following year.  That appears to be what happened to the Golden Eagles after they dropped 2 of 3 home games last weekend to LeMoyne.  They also lost at home to Northwestern State on opening weekend.  USM is hitting and pitching solidly, but they’re going to get the best effort of every team they play all season.

Baseball At The Beach Tourney Games Pushed Due To Cold Temps

CONWAY, S.C. – Due to the temperatures in the Myrtle Beach area, the Baseball at the Beach Tournament schedule has been adjusted.  The #19 Coastal Carolina-#4 UC Irvine game Thursday, Feb. 25 has been postponed.  The game was the only head-to-head match-up of ranked teams scheduled for Thursday.  There now will be a doubleheader between the Chanticleers and Anteaters Saturday, Feb. 27 starting at 12 p.m., at BB&T Coastal Field.  The N.C. State-James Madison game will take place Saturday at Watson Stadium/Vrooman Field at 1 p.m.

BASEBALL AT THE BEACH UPDATED SCHEDULE

Friday, Feb. 26

12 p.m. – N.C. State vs. UC Irvine

4 p.m. – Coastal Carolina vs. James Madison

Saturday, Feb. 27

12 p.m. – #19 Coastal Carolina vs.#4  UC Irvine (DH)

1 p.m. – James Madison vs. N.C. State (at Watson Stadium/Vrooman Field)

Sunday, Feb. 28

11 a.m. – UC Irvine vs. James Madison

2:30 p.m. – Coastal Carolina vs. N.C. State

Milestones & Upsets Highlight The First Week Of 2010

Max Willett (UNM photo)

2…wins by unranked New Mexico at #1 Texas in Austin.  The Lobos lost the season-opener on Friday, but came back with 3-1 and 6-5 wins Saturday and Sunday.  The wins are the first ever for New Mexico over a #1 ranked team.  Texas topped every national poll heading into the season.

.636…batting average by Lobo Max Willett in the 3-game series.  He had a 1.615 OPS with two doubles and a triple.  Willett also had the game-winning RBI in Saturday’s win.

23…runs by Washington State in Sunday’s 23-o rout of Seattle-the most runs by a Cougar team since 1999.  15 different Cougars had at least one hit.

5…Wazzou pitchers who combined in the shutout.

1,001…Career wins by LSU head coach Paul Mainieri after his Tigers’ 3-game weekend sweep of Centenary.  Mainieri hit the 1,000 win mark with Saturday’s 25-8 victory.

1,000…Career wins by Ohio State head coach Bob Todd after his Buckeyes won three games over the weekend in Jacksonville, FL.  OSU pounded Richmond 20-9 Sunday to get Todd to the milestone.

Danny Hall (GT photo)

901…career wins for Georgia Tech’s Danny Hall after a weekend sweep of Missouri State.

36…runs scored by Canisius in a doubleheader sweep of Illinois-Chicago Saturday at the USA Baseball Complex in Cary, NC.  The Golden Griffins won the first game 20-4 and took the second game 16-10.

3…games Stanford won vs. 5th ranked Rice in Palo Alto.

11…runs Stanford scored in the 7th inning of game two of the series on Saturday.  The Cardinal was trailing 4-2 at the time.

5…pitchers Rice used during Stanford’s biggest inning in nearly two years.

265…wins at Cal State Fullerton’s Goodwin Field by Oregon (and former Fullerton) head coach George Horton after Friday’s upset of the 4th ranked Titans.

6-5…the score of Friday’s Louisiana-Monroe win over Ole Miss.  It was the Rebels’ first season-opening loss since 1981.

Paul Karmas (St. John's photo)

1 & 15…combined hits and strikeouts by St. John’s starting pitchers Bruce Kern (5 IP-0H-0BB-8K) and Nick Cenatiempo (4 IP-1 H-0R-BB-7) in Friday and Saturday wins over New Orleans.

3…home runs by Red Storm 1B Paul Karmas in Sunday’s 31-6 win over UNO.

5…total runs by West Virginia in weekend losses to #17 Coastal Carolina, Kentucky and Virginia Tech.

9 1/2…runs a game scored by the Mountaineers last year-which ranked 12th in the nation.

14,922…fans who saw #2 Virginia win two of three games over #11 East Carolina at ECU’s Clark-LeClair Stadium.  Friday’s opening day crowd of 5,012 is the largest in stadium history.  Saturday’s crowd of 5,136 marked the first time ECU ever had back-to-back attendance of more than 5.000.

14…combined pitchers used by the Cavaliers (6) and Pirates (8) in Sunday’s 14-11 UVA series-clinching win.

3 2/3…innings pitched by UVA starter Cody Winiarski.  It was the longest stint for any of the 14 hurlers.  Virginia had 19 hits while East Carolina totaled 11.

4:11…the total time of the 9-inning game.

4:39…time of Lamar’s 5-4 win in 17-innings over Maine.  The game is the longest in Lamar history.  The two teams had played a 2 hour and 27 minute 9-inning game prior to the marathon.

12…strikeouts in 6 innings by Georgia Tech’s Jed Bradley in Sunday’s 13-0 win over Missouri State.  The lefty allowed just four hits and retired 6 of the first 8 batters he faced via strikeout.

13…strikeouts in 6 innings by Arizona freshman Kurt Heyer.  Heyer allowed just three hits and fanned 13 of the 22 batters he faced in Sunday’s win over Utah Valley in his collegiate debut.

2,500…all-time wins for the Arizona baseball program after Heyer’s performance Sunday.

Kevin Tokarski (ISU photo)

8…straight wins by UC Irvine pitcher Daniel Bibona after his 10 strikeout performance in a 5-1 win over Loyola Marymount.

3…the magic number during opening weekend for Illinois State’s Kevin Tokarski.  The redshirt sophomore tripled on the Redbirds’ first pitch of 2010.  He stole 3 bases with 3 doubles in his team’s first three games of the season.   Tokarski was a 2008 Freshman All-American, but missed last season due to wrist surgery.

8,803…total attendance of TCU‘s season-opening 3-game sweep of 2009 NCAA participant Sam Houston State.  The mark is a single-series TCU record.

.800…batting average by Horned Frog freshman Josh Elander.  He was 8-for-10 with a team-high six RBIs to start his career.

1…hit allowed in 6 innings on the mound by Conference USA Preseason Pitcher of the Year Todd McInnis.  The Southern Mississippi hurler didn’t give-up a hit until there were two outs in the 5th inning of Friday’s win over Northwestern State.  He exited the game after he reached his 75 pitch limit.

10 of 10…Pac 10 Conference teams that finished opening weekend with a winning record.  The Pac 10 is the only BCS conference that claimed that distinction over the first three days of the 2010 season.

Next Week’s Series vs. Marist Canceled

HARRISONBURG, Va., Feb. 12, 2010 – Due to the recent heavy snowfalls in the Shenandoah Valley, James Madison has cancelled its season-opening baseball series scheduled for next weekend, Feb. 19-21, at Veterans Memorial Park.  The games are unlikely to be rescheduled.

With the cancellation and previous movement of the Feb. 23 Radford game to March 30, JMU will now open its season at the Baseball at the Beach tournament in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Feb. 26-28.  The Dukes will be looking at a challenging first four games with #12 Coastal Carolina Feb. 26 at 4 p.m., N.C. State Feb. 27 at 3:30 p.m., and #8 UC Irvine Feb. 28 at 11 a.m.  Two days later, JMU will be in Charlottesville to take on #2 Virginia at 4 p.m.

With its first four home games pushed back, JMU is now looking at March 3 against Longwood at 4 p.m. as the first game contested in Veterans Memorial Park.  Should that game also be affected by the weather, the home opener would be March 16 against Liberty.

(Release)

Can Anyone End Coastal Carolina’s Dominance?

2009 Regular Season Champion: Coastal Carolina

2009 Tournament Champion: Coastal Carolina defeated Winthrop 7-1 to win their 7^th Big South title in the past 9 yearsl

Coastal Carolina continued its dominance of this conference by once again sweeping the regular season and tournament championships, while making its 9^th straight NCAA tournament appearance.  The Chanticleers also saw 5 members of their squad garner All-American recognition, with three players named Freshman All-American.

Heading into the season all eyes are on Coastal Carolina again, as they begin this season ranked anywhere from 12^th to 17^th in the various preseason polls.  So the question is, can anyone contend with Coastal Carolina in 2010?

2010 Big South Preview

Charleston Southern

2009 Season: (16-37, 10-16)

Nickname: Buccaneers

Head Coach: Stuart Lake

Location: Charleston, SC

Vitals: .288 BA, 51 HR, .355 OBP, .961 Fld. %…7.00 ERA, 3 CG, 5 SVs, 316 K, 237 BB, .324 Opp. BA

Offensive Bounty: Charleston Southern returns 3 of their top 4 hitters from last year including top hitter Jr. 1B Nick Chinners (.339, 13 doubles, .408 OBP), So. UTL Patrick Dolan (.309, 8 HR, 35 RBI) and Sr. OF Scotty Radabaugh (.300, 51 H, 27 R).  They also welcome back their top power threat in Jr. OF Tyler Thornburg (.292, 12 HR, 49 RBI)

Double Duty: In addition to his power, Thornburg could be the top returning pitcher for CSU as well.  Last year, Thornburg went 4-4 with a 3.73 ERA and a SV in 16 appearances out of the pen.

Friendly Start: The Buccaneers play 12 of their first 13 games at home with the lone road trip coming against city rival the College of Charleston in Patriots Point, SC.

Coastal Carolina

2009 Season: (47-16, 21-5)

Nickname: Chanticleers

Head Coach: Gary Gilmore

Location: Conway, SC

Vitals: .329, 86 HR, .419 OBP, .968 Fld. %…4.04 ERA, 1 CG, 19 SVs, 456 K, 201 BB, .250 Opp. BA

These Guys are Good: Coastal Carolina earned its 9^th straight trip to the NCAA tournament and swept the

Cody Wheeler

conference regular season and tournament championships while placing 5 players on the All-conference 1^st team.  They also appear to have the upper hand in accomplishing that feat again with 7 of 9 position starters and 8 pitchers back.

Big Returns: The Chanticleers will have to replace Big South Player of the Year David Anderson (.377, 21 HR, 82 RBI), but do have a wealth of talent back with the return of Sr. Adam Rice (.368, 20 doubles, 59 RBI) and preseason Big South Player of the Year Jr. Rico Noel (.315, 8 HR, 48 SB).  The pitching staff also brings back key guys, including 2009 Big South Pitcher of the Year Jr. LHP Cody Wheeler (10-1, 3.83 ERA, 1 CG, 98 K) and So. RHP Anthony Meo (9-2, 2.93 ERA, .233 Opp. BA)

Challenges Aplenty: The Chants have several tough games on their schedule this year.  Games against Virginia Tech, Kentucky, Wake Forest, UC-Irvine, NC State, Michigan, Clemson, North Carolina, and Virginia all dot the slate.

Gardner-Webb

2009 Season: (25-25, 13-14)

Nickname: Runnin’ Bulldogs

Head Coach: Rusty Stroupe

Location: Boiling Springs, NC

Vitals: .327 BA, 65 HR, .398 OBP, .964 Fld. %…6.57 ERA, 2 CG, 9 SVs, 247 K, 173 BB

Record Setting: The 2009 GW squad was the most prolific offensive team in nearly 40 years.. they set single season school records for team batting average (.327), HRs (65), slugging percentage (.512), and on-base percentage (.398).

Leaders Gone: The Bulldogs will have plenty of holes to fill this season as all four players earning All-Big South accolades have graduated.  3B Justin Loyd (.400, 20 doubles, 9 HR, 56 RBI) and OF Brock Miller (.373, 61 R, 37 SB) both earned 1^st team honors.  OF Daniel Cooke (.353, 7 HR, 47 RBI) was a 2^nd team selection, while OF Jonathan Ahearn (.327, 29 R, 8 doubles) garnered 3^rd team honors.  Ahearn was also named Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

High Point

2009 Season: (21-32, 11-12)

Nickname: Panthers

Head Coach: Craig Cozart

Location: High Point, NC

Vitals: .317 BA, 22 HR, .401 OBP, .969 Fld. %…7.39 ERA, 8 SVs, 308 K, 226 BB, .345 Opp. BA

Prolific Pair of Panthers: High Point will miss the duo of Billy Alvino and Alfie Wheeler.  Both finished the season batting a team-leading .400.  Alvino collected 84 hits and Wheeler tallied 82 for the second and third most in a single season.  The pair also finished third and fourth, respectively, in career hits with 238 and 235.  The Panthers will also miss all-time career hit leader Jeff Cowan (.290, 60 H, 11 doubles) who finished his career with 268.

Pitching Holes: The Panthers graduate their best pitcher as well in Jeremy Berg (4-2, 1.88 ERA, 5 SVs) who was just 5 innings short of qualifying for the national ERA race.  His 1.88 ERA would have been 5^th best in the country.  This year, look for Jr. RHP Corey Swickle (2-2, 4.81, 2 SVs) and  Jr. RHP Spencer Andrews (1-0, 2.79 ERA, 7 APP) to log more time on the mound.

Home Presence: High Point could get off to a fast start.  18 of their first 21 games are at home, with their 3 road games still within North Carolina (UNC—Charlotte, North Carolina A&T, East Carolina).

Liberty

2009 Season: (33-21, 17-9)

Nickname: Flames

Head Coach: Jim Toman

Location: Lynchburg, VA

Vitals: .310 BA, 60 HR, .388 OBP, .974 Fld. %…5.27 ERA, 2 CG, 11 SVs, 390 K, 171 BB, .295 Opp. BA

Looking for More in ’10: The 33-wins last year marked the fifth straight season Liberty won 30 or more games, the

Doug Bream

first time in program history.  Also, their 17 conference wins were the most ever recorded since joining the conference in 1992.

Youth Movement: The Flames currently have 14 freshman or sophomores on their roster.  Returning to lead the team is Freshman All-American Tyler Bream (.337, 8 HR, 57 RBI) and Jr. OF Doug Bream (.355, 6 HR, 33 RBI).  Tyler is the son of former Major League Sid Bream, who was an All-American at Liberty (1979-’81).  Doug Bream is Sid’s cousin.

Pitching Prowess: Liberty deals with the loss of All-Big South first teamer Shawn Teufel (9-2, 4.33 ERA, 72 K), but still return several top pitchers including Sr. RHP Mark Swanson (4-0, 2.79 ERA, 35 K), Sr. RHP Carter Browning (2-2, 3.94 ERA, 4 SVs), and Jr. LHP Steven Evans (7-2, 3.96 ERA, 2 CG, 1 SV).

Presbyterian

2009 Season: (13-38, 7-19)

Nickname: Blue Hose

Head Coach: Elton Pollock

Location: Clinton, SC

Vitals: .294 BA, 57 HR, .355 OBP, .965 Fld. %…8.54 ERA, 2 CG, 5 SVs, 263 K, 211 BB, .338 Opp. BA

New Kid on the Block: 2009 was Presbyterian’s first season in the Big South as they continued their transition to Division I.  While only winning 13 games, they did accomplish a couple of feats that will go down in the history books.  The Blue Hose defeated 19^th ranked Coastal Carolina on April 25^th to record their first ever win over a top-20 ranked team.  They also beat The Citadel for the first time in 81 years.

Holes to Fill: Presbyterian looks to improve in 2010, but will have to do so without it top two hitters from last year in Jared Combs (.332, 16 doubles, 8 HR, 51 RBI) and Cory Lyda (.330, 10 HR, 38 RBI).  Top pitcher Mitchell Odom (5-3, 4.94 ERA, 1 CG) also is gone.

Radford

2009 Season: (26-24, 16-9)

Nickname: Highlanders

Head Coach: Joe Raccuia

Location: Radford, VA

Vitals: .319 BA, 30 HR, .400 OBP, .966 Fld. %…6.24 ERA, 10 SVs, 279 K, 180 BB, .305 Opp. BA

Banner Year: 2009 saw Radford grab their first winning season since 2000, only their fifth in school history, while their 16 conference wins were also the second-most in school history.  Radford also won 10 games away from home, just the sixth time that has ever happened.

Key Players: The Highlanders lose top hitter Alex Gregory (.407, 10 HR, 42 RBI), who became the first Big South Player ever to hit .400 or better for three straight seasons.  Radford does, however, return Big South Freshman of the Year Jeff Kemp (.337, 5 HR, 13 SB) plus pitchers Aerik Taylor (5-4, 4.90 ERA, 41 K) and Jake Quigg (5-1, 4.36 ERA, 19 APP).

UNC Asheville

2009 Season: (9-42, 5-21)

Nickname: Bulldogs

Head Coach: Tom Smith

Location: Asheville, NC

Vitals: .261 BA, 27 HR, .325 OBP, .948 Fld. %…8.27 ERA, 3 CG, 3 SVs, 281 K, 223 BB, .351 Opp. BA

In Good Hands: Head Coach Tom Smith was inducted into the North Carolina Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame earlier this year.  Smith coached for 28 years at T.C. Roberson High School winning three state championships before retiring in 2006.  He joined UNC-Asheville in 2008 as a volunteer assistant, before being named head coach last July.

Need More Offense: First task for Smith is to upgrade their offense.  The Bulldogs hit just .261 as a team and lose top hitter Kevin Weidenbacher (.309, 64 H, 28 R).  They do return the only other player to hit over .300 last season in So. OF Cody Buch (.302, 7 doubles, HR), and their top slugger Jr. INF Mike Vaughn (.237, 7 HR, 28 RBI).

Unfriendly Start: UNC-Asheville may be in the South, but will hit the road for most of the first month.  The Bulldogs only have 2 home games in their first 18 contests.

VMI

2009 Season: (18-35, 10-15)

Nickname: Keydets

Head Coach: Marlin Ikenberry

Location: Lexington, VA

Vitals: .295 BA, 55 HR, .366 OBP, .953 Fld. %…6.48 ERA, 2 CG, 6 SVs, 371 K, 189 BB, .316 Opp. BA

Jordan Ballard

Offense Will Be Key: VMI returns 7 of 9 position starters from last year including leading hitter Sr. 1B Jordan Ballard (.366, 11 HR, 48 RBI), Jr. INF Sam Roberts (.335, 6 HR, 34 RBI), and Sr. 3B Tanner Biagini (.317, 9 HR, 35 RBI).  They will have to step up even further with the loss of 1^st team All-Big South performer A.J. Yoder (.349, 13 doubles, 11 SB).  Yoder’s 80 hits set a single-season team record.

Pitching Returns: While VMI their top starter Travis Smink (8-4, 4.33 ERA, 1 CG) and top closer Matt Edwards (3-6, 5.72 ERA, 3 SVs), they welcome back 11 pitchers total including 3 that missed 2009 due to injury in Jr. Chris Duty (5-0, 1.95 ERA, 2 SVs, ‘08), So. Ryan Barefoot (1-1, 4.00 ERA, ’08) and So. Jason Farley (3-2, 2 SVs, ‘08).

Winthrop

2009 Season: (35-25, 18-9)

Nickname: Eagles

Head Coach: Joe Hudak

Location: Rock Hill, SC

Vitals: .323 BA, 55 HR, .394 OBP, .968 Fld. %…5.18 ERA, 1 CG, 14 SVs, 378 K, 197 BB, .291 Opp. BA

Tyler Mizenko

Eagle Soaring: Two Winthrop players have earned preseason honors was the Eagles look to return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2006.  So. RHP Tyler Mizenko (2-4, 3.77 ERA, 14 SVs) is a 2^nd team All-American by the NCBWA.  The 14 saves by Mizenko set a school record.  Jr. C Eddie Rohan (.348, 14 HR, 53 RBI) was named a 3^rd team preseason All-American by Louisville Slugger.  Rohan was a 1^st team All-Big South performer last year as the primary DH.

Strong Arms: Pitching should be the strength of this year’s team as the Eagles bring back all 4 starting pitchers from a year ago.  The staff will be led by Jr. RHP Matteo D’Angelo (8-3, 3.09 ERA, 60 K) and Jr. RHP Wade Newman (7-4, 5.42 ERA, 55 K).

Starting Off Well: Winthrop should have a chance to get off to a good start.  They will play 20 of their first 25 games at home.  The first road trip does feature tough contests against Wake Forest and Texas A&M.

2010 Predictions

2010 Champion: Coastal Carolina

2010 Player of the Year: Rico Noel—Coastal Carolina

2010 Pitcher of the Year: Cody Wheeler—Coastal Carolina

(By Collegebaseball360.com contributor Shawn Lewallen)

Coaches Tab Coastal Carolina As Favorite

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – For the third consecutive year, Coastal Carolina University‘s baseball team has been voted the Big South Conference’s preseason favorite by the League’s Head Baseball Coaches, it was announced today by the Conference office.  In addition, the coaches voted Chanticleers’ junior outfielder Rico Noel (Lawton, Okla.) the Conference’s Preseason Player of the Year and Coastal Carolina junior Cody Wheeler (Spotsylvania, Va.) the League’s Preseason Pitcher of the Year.

Coastal received eight first-place votes and 97 out of a possible 100 points to win the Big South in 2010.  The Chanticleers are coming off their third consecutive Big South Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance, and are led by 15-year head coach Gary Gilmore – the Big South’s second-winningest baseball coach with a record of 553-294 ( =.653 percent).  Coastal Carolina returns seven starters and 18 letterwinners from last year’s 47-16 team and enters the 2010 season ranked No. 16 in the Ping!Baseball preseason Top 30 rankings as well as No. 17 in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Fabulous 40 preseason poll.

Coastal Carolina finished ahead of Liberty in the preseason poll, as the Flames collected one first-place vote and 88 points.  Winthrop – last year’s Tournament runner-up, was picked third with one first-place vote and 81 points, while Radford finished fourth in the voting with 68 points.  High Point received 59 points for fifth-place, while VMI placed sixth in the poll with 48 points.  Charleston Southern garnered seventh-place (40 points), followed by Gardner-Webb at No. 8 (36 points).  Presbyterian College, which is eligible for the League’s regular-season championship but not the Conference tournament, finished ninth in the poll with 18 points.  UNC Asheville rounded out the voting with 15 points for the 10^th and final spot.

Noel enjoyed a breakout season as a sophomore in 2009, as he earned First-Team All-Big South honors after hitting .315 with 17 doubles, one triple, eight home runs and 45 RBI in 63 games.  He led the Big South with 48 stolen bases in 51 attempts, tying Tulane’s Josh Prince for first nationally in that category.  Noel had a .500 slugging percentage, a .427 on-base percentage and stole two-or-more bases 12 times a year ago.  He also had 19 multi-hit games and 11 multi-RBI performances.  Among his highlights last season included a 4-for-5 game with four RBIs in the win over West Virginia on Feb. 27, four stolen bases in the Charleston Southern win on May 15, a perfect 4-for-4 with four runs scored against Wake Forest on April 29, and a 2-for-3 day with three runs scored in the win over Kansas in the NCAA Chapel Hill Regional.  Noel also earned Big South All-Tournament Team honors last year and was named an All-Ping! Baseball Preseason All-American earlier this month.

Noel received four first-place votes and 11 points in the voting.  Winthrop catcher/designated hitter Eddie Rohan was second in the voting with one first-place vote and five points, followed by Charleston Southern’s Tyler Thornburg (two first-place votes, four points) and Liberty’s Curran Redal and Radford’s Jeff Kemp (three points each).

Wheeler was the Big South Pitcher of the Year in 2009 after posting a 10-1 record with a 3.83 earned run average in 15 starts for the Chanticleers.  A Second-Team All-American by Collegiate Baseball, Wheeler had 98 strikeouts in 91.2 innings pitched, and led the Big South in wins, innings pitched and strikeouts while ranking sixth in ERA.  He threw a complete-game no-hitter in a 4-0 win at Hawai’i on March 26 – earning National Player of the Week honors by Collegiate Baseball and the NCBWA.  Wheeler also gave up one hit in seven innings vs. VMI on May 10 and had 10 strikeouts in seven innings in defeating Radford on April 10.

Already named a preseason All-American by Collegiate Baseball, the NCBWA and Ping!Baseball, Wheeler was a near unanimous choice for Big South Preseason Pitcher of the Year, as he received nine first-place votes and 19 out of a possible 20 points in the voting.  Liberty’s Shawn Teufel was second with five points, with Winthrop’s Tyler Mizenko finishing third with three points.

The 2010 Big South baseball season begins Friday, February 19 with all 10 teams in action.  The first Conference meeting is set for the weekend of March 19-21, while the 2010 Royal Purple Big South Baseball Championship tournament is slated for May 25-29 and will be hosted by Winthrop University at The Winthrop Ballpark in Rock Hill, S.C.

2010 Big South Conference Preseason Baseball Poll (total points)

Rk  Team (first-place votes)     1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9     10    Points
1.   Coastal Carolina (8)……..80   9    8    —   —   —  —    —   —    —         97
2.   Liberty (1)………………….10 54  24    —   —   —  —    —   —    —         88
3.   Winthrop (1)………………10  18  32   21   —   —  —    —   —    —         81
4.   Radford……………………..–   9  16   28    6    5   4    —   —    —         68
5.   High Point…………………..–  —   —   14   36   5   4    —   —    —         59
6.   VMI…………………………..–  —   —     7    6  20  12    3   —    —         48
7.   Charleston Southern………–  —   —    —    6    5  20    9   —    —        40
8.   Gardner-Webb……………..–  —   —    —    6   10  —   18   2     —        36
9.   Presbyterian College……..–  —    —    —   —    5   —    —   8     5        18
10. UNC Asheville………………–  —    —    —   —    —  —    —  10    5         15

Note: points are based on a weighted system, with first-place votes receiving 10 points, followed by nine points for second-place, and so on.