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Upsets Highlight Latest Weekend…

Georgia Tech's Mott Hyde was 3-for-4 with a home run in Tuesday's 4-3 win over rival Georgia at Turner Field.

The last weekend in April saw the most series upsets of the season involving CB360 Top 50 teams. Five of eight lower ranked teams took series victories in head-to-head Top 50 matchups, while a total of 14 lower ranked teams pulled-off series upsets over the weekend.

The biggest of the upsets saw No. 3 Kentucky drop two of three games at Vanderbilt, while the West Coast Conference saw both No. 19 San Diego and No. 29 Gonzaga both drop important series to unranked conference foes.

RPI has become a hot topic in college baseball in recent weeks, but the upsets further go to show that the only RPIs that really matter are the ones that show up on Monday, May 28-Selection Monday. While RPI is, arguably, the most important number here’s our by the numbers look at another week in college baseball…

 

5…Teams that enter May with single digit losses: Florida State (36-7), Purdue (34-7), Baylor (38-8), Kentucky (36-9), and Appalachian State (32-9).

 

355…Times Georgia and Georgia Tech have met on the baseball diamond after Tuesday’s game at Turner Field in Atlanta. Nearly 20,000 were on hand to see the Yellow Jackets edge the Bulldogs 4-3.

 

Ross Stripling helped Texas A&M to a win in what could be the last series with rival Texas.

368…Times Texas and Texas A&M have played after their weekend series, which started Friday in College Station and continued Saturday and Sunday in Austin (the Aggies took two of three games). Unless they meet in the Big 12 or NCAA postseason tournaments their 368^th clash, won 2-1 Sunday by Texas, may have been their last. The longtime rivals will end their series with A&M headed to the SEC next year.

 

24…Game winning streak that ended when Baylor fell 4-1 to UT San Antonio Tuesday. The Bears had not lost since March 13 prior to Tuesday’s upset. Baylor is 3-4 this season vs. Southland Conference teams (Ls vs. UTSA, UT Arlington & Lamar-2) but 32-4 vs. all others.

 

22-2…Margin of victory of two Louisville wins over Kentucky in a two week span. The Cardinals beat the Wildcats 12-0 back on April 10 and 10-2 last Tuesday in the only two regular season meetings this season between the Bluegrass State rivals.

 

400…Career wins for Virginia head coach Brian O’Connor after Wednesday’s 7-5 victory over VCU. O’Connor’s career record improves to 402-144-2 after a pair of weekend wins over Miami (the series concludes Monday night on ESPNU). He has averaged better than 44 wins through eight-plus seasons. That includes a 30-14-1 mark with nine regular season games to go this year.

 

9,684…In attendance at Omaha’s TD Ameritrade Park Tuesday night to see Nebraska play Creighton. The Cornhuskers beat the Bluejays 4-1. The two teams play again at TDA on May 8.

The Dugout is where you’ll find authentic College Word Series shirts, hats and other gear year-round. Located right across the street from TD Ameritrade Park’s home plate entrance, they also have authentic hard to find college baseball caps of all your favorite teams.

The Dugout also has South Carolina, Florida and Clemson jerseys and other CWS apparel at drastically reduced prices! Get them now while they last, and make sure to tell ‘em you heard about it at Collegebaseball360.com!!

 

Adam Matthews

0…Hits allowed against South Carolina Thursday night by Alabama starting pitcher Spencer Turnbull through 7.0 innings before the game had to be halted due to severe weather. The game was resumed at 5 p.m. the next day prior to game two of the series. After Gamecock reliever Tyler Webb retired the Tide in order in the top of the 8^th, South Carolina’s Adam Matthews launched the first pitch he saw from Alabama reliever Jon Keller for a home run. It was South Carolina’s only hit and only run in the 1-0 victory. The win helped propel the Gamecocks to a series sweep.

 

6…Runs scored in the 8^th inning by LSU in Saturday’s 8-4 win over Georgia. A Mason Katz grand slam highlighted the late inning explosion and helped the Tigers clinch the SEC series. Western Division leader LSU (35-10, 14-7) shares the best record in the conference with Eastern Division leaders Kentucky (36-9, 14-7) and South Carolina (33-11, 14-7).

 

26…Career wins for Portland pitcher Kyle Kraus after helping the Pilots to an important 5-4 victory over No. 19 San Diego in Friday’s series opener between the two West Coast Conference teams. Kraus gave-up just two earned runs with no walks and five strikeouts in the complete game to become his program’s all-time leader in wins. Portland went on to win the series 2-1.

 

0.94…Oregon pitcher Alex Keudell’s ERA during his current 6-0 streak. The senior earned his 19^th career win after firing a complete game in Friday’s 4-1 win over Cal. He has allowed just five earned runs in 48.0 innings during his stellar six game run.

 

14-7…Oregon’s record in Pac-12 play after completing a weekend sweep of Cal to move into first place in the conference standings. The Ducks (30-13) have already totaled their most conference wins since the program was reinstated four seasons ago. They travel to Tucson next weekend for a showdown series with Arizona.

 

Kurt Heyer

2,600…All-time victories for the Arizona baseball program with Friday’s 24-7 pounding of East Tennessee State. Arizona is just the eighth school in NCAA history to reach the milestone win mark. Winning pitcher Kurt Heyer (8-1) was also the winning pitcher when Arizona notched its 2,500^th victory in last year’s season opener. The Wildcats also set a program record with six triples in the game. They went on to sweep the non-conference series from ETSU.

 

11…Wins in as many tries by No. 9 Purdue (33-6, 13-3) in games in which ace Joe Haase (7-0) has started this season. Haase allowed just a run in 7.0 innings in Friday’s win over Michigan State. Boilermaker reliever Blake Mascarello worked 2.0 innings in that game and saw a streak of 21 straight batters retired end with a bunt single by Torsten Boss to lead off the 9^th inning. The Boilermakers took the first two games of the series before falling 5-0 on Sunday-the first time they have been blanked in 2012. It’s also the Boilers’ first home shutout in three years.

 

5…Straight Ivy League Rolfe Division titles for Dartmouth after defeating Harvard 11-3 on Saturday. Gehrig Division champion Cornell will host Dartmouth May 5-6 in the first postseason event of the season –  the best-of-three Ivy League Championship Series. The winner receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

 

Gonzaga two way player Marco Gonzalez

11…Innings pitched by Gonzaga’s Marco Gonzalez in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Loyola Marymount. The sophomore struckout 15 with no walks on 139 pitches, but did not factor in the decision in the 12 inning game.  Gonzalez fanned six straight at one point from the end of the 8^th through the 10^th inning. He was also the Bulldogs’ DH in the game, going 0-for-5 with two strikeouts of his own at the plate. LMU took two of three games from the No. 29 Bulldogs.

 

9…Runs allowed in three games by Vanderbilt in taking two of three games from Kentucky over the weekend to hand the Wildcats their first SEC series loss of the year. Since a 1-7 start to the season the Commodores (21-23, 9-12) are creeping closer to .500 and a potential spot in the expanded 10-team SEC Tournament field.

 

5…Shutout innings pitched in relief by Stanford reliever Sahil Bloom on Sunday to help the Cardinal to a 7-2 series clinching win over UCLA. Bloom entered the game right after Stanford had plated six runs in the top of the 5^th inning to take a 6-2 lead. Teammate Tyler Gaffney also reached base safely all five times he came to the plate in the game. He did it with two walks, a hit by pitch, an infield single, and a triple.

 

8…Straight weekend series won, a school record, by New Mexico. The string includes series wins over Gonzaga and TCU. The Lobos (26-19, 12-3 MWC) have won 11 of their last 13 games and sit in first place in the Mountain West Conference heading into this weekend’s showdown at TCU (26-15, 11-4).

 

40…Years since Memphis had won a series against a top 10 team prior to taking two of three games from Central Florida (No. 8 NCBWA) over the weekend. The series loss is also the first of the season for UCF and also drops the Knights into second place in the Conference USA standings. Rice leads the conference with an 11-4 mark followed by UCF at 13-5. The two teams meet May 17-19 in the regular season finale for both.

 

2…No hitters thrown on the same day by St. Cloud State pitchers Logan Birr and Scott Lieser in Friday’s 9-0 and 19-0 wins over Minnesota Crookston. The Division II pitchers each fanned 14 and each faced 24 batters in their back-to-back no hit feat.

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The Latest Results & More On The Nation’s Top 50 Teams…

Lamar's Jim Gilligan earned his 1,200th career win over the weekend.

A pair of marquee series headlined the third week of the 2012 college baseball series. Palmetto State rivals No. 2 South Carolina and No. 14 Clemson played their annual series with three games in three different cities, while No. 10 Miami hosted No. 1 Florida in the Sunshine State.

Meanwhile, a team just outside of the Top 50, Texas State, is now chasing history with 50 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings pitched. The all-time NCAA record is 64 straight scoreless innings.

Hundreds of other significant games involving Top 50 teams (based on the CB360 Composite National Rankings) took place around the country and their results are all listed below.

_______________________________________________________________________________

The Dugout is where you’ll find authentic College Word Series shirts, hats and other gear year-round. They also have authentic hard to find college baseball caps of all your favorite teams.

Right now, The Dugout also has South Carolina, Florida and Clemson and other jerseys at drastically reduced prices! Get them now while they last, and make sure to tell ‘em you heard about it at Collegebaseball360.com!!

________________________________________________________________________________

(Overall Record, Record last week)

1. Florida (10-1, 3-0)

The #1 team in the nation swept #10 Miami this weekend in a three-game series.  They started on Friday night with a 7-5 win.  Catcher Mike Zunino went 4-for-5 with two doubles, a homer, 2 RBIs , and two runs scored.  On Saturday, the Gators won convincingly, 13-5.  First baseman Taylor Gushue went 3-for-4 with two home runs, four RBI’s, and two runs scored.   On Sunday, the Gators completed the sweep with an 8-5 win and are winners of seven straight.

2. Stanford (10-1, 3-1)

Beat UC-Davis 5-1 on Tuesday. Won two of threeg games in a weekend series at Fresno State, but suffered its first loss of the season in Friday’s 7-4 setback to the Bulldogs. Mark Appel (2-1) struck out 11, but gave-up 7 ER in 8.0 IP. Brett Mooneyham (3-0) struck out 13 in 7.0 IP to help the Cardinal bounce back with a 16-0 win Saturday. They won 9-2 on Sunday to clinch the series. Stanford pitchers tossed 16.0 shutout innings at one point.

3. South Carolina (9-1, 3-1)

Four pitchers combined for a five-hit effort, allowing only one run and one walk to Presbyterian on Tuesday in a 2-1 win.  Over the weekend the Gamecocks play in-state rival Clemson in a weekend series that saw all three games played in different cities.   On Friday, the two teams met in Charleston, SC in a game that took 11 innings to be decided but an RBI single from Connor Bright proved to be the game winner in a 3-2 victory.  On Saturday, the Gamecocks hosted Clemson and RF Adam Matthews went 2-for-4 with a three-run homer to catapult South Carolina to a 9-6 victory.  Sunday in Clemson the Gamecocks suffered their first loss of the season after blowing a 5-3 lead in the 8^th inning and fell 6-5.

4. Rice (11-1, 3-1)

Beat Houston 4-1 on Tuesday. Played Texas, Texas Tech & Tennessee the Houston College Classic. Lost 11-8 to Texas on Friday for its first loss of the season. Starting pitcher Austin Kubitza walked five in just 1.2 IP. The Owls beat Texas Tech 6-2 on Saturday, as Michael Ratteree drove-in three. Sunday starter Jordan Stephens earned tournament Most Outstanding Player honors after leading the Owls to an 11-1 win over Tennessee. Stephens allowed just two hits with a career best eight strikeouts in 7.0 shutout innings. Jeremy Rathjen and Craig Manuel earned All-Tourney honors as well, batting .500 and .385, respectively, over the weekend.

5. Texas A&M (11-1, 5-0)

Outslugged Northwestern State 14-10 and 8-1 Tuesday and Wednesday. Brandon Wood led the Aggies with four hits and 4 RBIs in Tuesday’s win. Tyler Naquin had 3 RBIs to lead the Aggies to Friday’s 7-3 win over Michigan State en-route to a three-game weekend sweep. Ross Stripling (2-0) fires 8.0 shutout innings in Saturday’s 4-0 victory. A&M had to overcome an early 4-0 deficit (thanks to three first inning errors) before coming back for a 9-8 win for the sweep.

6. North Carolina (9-2, 3-1)

Th  ird baseman Colin Moran went 4-for-5 on Tuesday as the Tar Heels topped St. John’s 8-4.  Junior Cody Stubbs had four hits including two doubles and a homer as UNC topped Southern Cal 11-1 on Friday to open a three game weekend series.  On Saturday, the Tar Heels used a 7-inning one-hit performance from junior Chris Munnelly to top the Trojans 1-0.   The Tar Heels lost the finale 5-2 for only their second loss of the season.

7. Arkansas (11-2, 4-1)

Took two midweek games from BYU, 5-0 and 8-1. Played No. 37 Texas Tech, Houston and Texas at the Houston College Classic. Sam Bates homered to lead the Razorbacks to Friday’s 3-1 win over the Red Raiders. Ryan Stanek (3-0) earned his third win with seven strikeouts in 7.0 IP. The Hogs fell 4-1 to Houston on Saturday. D.J. Baxendale (4-0) won for the fourth time in as many starts with 5.0 IP in Sunday’s 7-3 win over Texas.

8. Georgia Tech (10-2, 4-0)

The Yellow Jackets beat Kennesaw State 13-4 in a midweek game and then swept a three-game series from visiting Rutgers. GT pounded-out 23 hits in Friday’s 16-2 romp. Branden Thomas was 5-for-5 with two doubles and 2 RBIs. He was one of nine Yellow Jackets to drive-in a run. Connor Lynch drove-in four in Saturday’s 9-4 win. Sunday’s 6-3 win capped the series sweep and has head coach Danny Hall sitting just three victories away from the 1,000th of his career.

9. Florida State (9-1, 3-0)

The Seminoles outscored Maine in their three game weekend series with Maine 34-2.  On Friday, junior Seth Miller led the way with a 3-run triple as the Seminoles won 6-0.  Because of a rainout on Saturday, the two teams played a double header on Sunday.  The ‘Noles swept the double header winning 18-2 and 10-0.  Senior outfielder James Ramsey went 5-for-7 with four RBI’s, a double, triple, homerun, and six runs scored on the day.

Miami (8-3, 1-3)

The Hurricanes opened the week with a 10-5 win over Florida Atlantic.  Starting pitcher Steven Ewing struck out 8 over 7 IP to improve to 2-0.  Unfortunately for Miami, they ran into a buzz saw over the weekend, getting swept by Florida.  They dropped Friday night’s contest 7-5.  On Saturday, starting pitcher Eric Whaley went 4 1/3 innings allowing 10 hits and 8 runs, 7 of them earned, as the Hurricanes lost 13-5.  On Sunday, the Hurricanes took a 5-3 lead into the Top of the 9^th but gave up five runs and lost 8-5.

Arizona (8-2, 3-0)

Kurt Heyer scattered six hits and struck out 14 in Friday’s 7-1 win over Harvard in the Crimson’s season-opener. Arizona turned four double plays in Saturday’s 3-1 victory. Konnor Wade (2-0) fanned eight and gave-up just an unearned run in 7.0 IP. Eight Wildcats had an least one RBI in Sunday’s 13-2 win for the series sweep.
Georgia (10-2, 3-2)

Downed Savannah State 5-0 on Tuesday, then suffered its first loss of the season, 5-3 to Western Carolina on Wednesday. Took two of three games in a weekend series with Western Illinois. Alex Wood (3-0) fanned 14 in 8.0 IP in Friday’s 4-1 victory. Taylor Hicks made an early exit after allowing four runs in just 2.0 IP in Sunday’s eventual 7-4 series-clinching win. Hicks hadn’t allowed a run in his first two starts. The Bulldogs had committed just two errors in their first seven games, but had six last week.
LSU (10-2, 5-0)

After struggling offensively last weekend, the Tigers woke-up their offense with 36 combined midweek runs in 17-10 and 19-10 wins over Grambling State and at McNeese State, respectively. Raph Rhymes had four hits and 6 RBIs Tuesday, Tyler Hanover had 7 RBIs in the two games and Mason Katz drove-in five with four hits Wednesday. Used a four-run 6^th inning to hold-off a feisty Dartmouth team in Friday’s opener. Katz was again key with a home run and three hits. LSU won 16-3 on Saturday. Katz fell one short of an NCAA record when he reached base 17 straight times at one point.Tyler Hanover’s walk-off double in the bottom of the 9^th gave the Tigers a 5-4 Sunday win for the series sweep and a perfect 5-0 week. Katz finished the week by batting .684 (13-of-19) with three home runs, 8 RBIs and 12 runs scored.

Clemson (5-4, 1-2)

The Tigers were part of a weekend series with South Carolina that saw them play three games in three different cities.  On Friday night in Charleston, they fell 3-2 in 11 innings despite 6 strong innings from starting pitcher Kevin Brady who finished with seven strikeouts.  On Saturday in Columbia, Tigers starting pitcher Dominic Leone only lasted 2 1/3 IP and gave up 6 earned runs as the Tigers fell 9-6.   The Tigers pulled on out on Sunday as they came back from a 5-3 deficit to score two runs in the eighth inning before receiving an RBI single from Steve Wilkerson in the bottom of the 9^th to give them a 6-5 win.

Cal State Fullerton (8-3, 5-0)

Beat San Diego State 3-0 on Tuesday and Loyola Marymount 6-2 on Wednesday. Hosted a weekend series with Utah Valley. Dylan Floro (1-1) earned his first win with 8.0 five-hit innings in Friday’s 6-1 triumph. Richy Pedroza drove-in both runs in Saturday’s 2-0 win. Sunday’s 11-3 win clinched the series sweep and sent the Titans to their seventh straight win. Fullerton plays a midweek game at USC and then heads to Texas A&M for a weekend series.
Arizona State (8-2, 3-1)

ASU played in the Coca Cola Classic in Surprise, AZ Thursday-Sunday. Brady Rodgers (3-0) fired a complete game and Joey DeMichele had 5 RBIs in Thursday’s 9-1 win over St. Louis. Abe Ruiz’s walk-off single gave the Sun Devils a 4-3 win over Northern Illinois Friday at Alex Blackford struck out 10 in 7.0 innings. DeMichele had 5 RBIs again Saturday in a 17-2 romp over Winthrop. The Sun Devils left 16 runners on base in Sunday’s 11-inning 4-3 loss to St. Mary’s.
Oklahoma (7-3, 3-1)

Lost 10-3 to UT-Arlington on Wednesday. Swept a three-game series at New Mexico. Jack Mayfield had the game-winning single in Friday’s 7-6 win in 10 innings. Cody Reine was 4-for-4 with three doubles, a HR, four runs and 4 RBIs in Saturday’s 10-5 win. Jonathon Gray (1-0) earned his first win and Jordan John pitched the last 4.0 innings for his first save in Sunday’s 4-0 victory for the weekend sweep. OU is 15-1 all-time in series vs. the Lobos. Their only loss was in 1988.
UCLA (8-3, 4-0)

Beat Long Beach State 9-1 on Tuesday and then swept a three-game home series with Sacramento State. Adam Plutko (1-1) finally got his first win of the season with nine strike outs in 6.0 IP in Friday’s 5-2 victory. The Bruins took game two 6-2, behind Nick Vander Tuig’s (2-0) 8.0 IP. He allowed just an unearned run with seven strike outs. Jeff Gelalich was 3-for-3 with three RBI doubles to pace the Bruins to Sunday’s 11-2 win for the sweep. UCLA hit .319 and posted a 1.33 staff ERA with 27 strikeouts in 27.0 IP for the weekend.
Texas (4-7, 2-2)

Beat Houston Baptist 2-0 on Tuesday. Played Rice, Tennessee and Arkansas at the Houston College Classic. The Longhorns used a six-run 5^th inning to beat Rice 11-8 on Friday for their only win of the weekend. Tim Maitland, Jordan Etier and Alex Silver each had 2 RBIs. Texas starter Hoby Milner (1-2) gave-up four first inning runs in Saturday’s 5-4 loss to Tennessee. Arkansas used a four run fifth inning to beat UT 7-3 on Sunday.
20. Oregon (10-1, 3-0)

Swept a three-game home series with Long Beach State, winning all three in walk-off fashion. The Ducks got a walk-off win, 5-4, Friday. Vernell Warren scored the winning run from second base after a throwing error on a ground ball to shortstop. Kyle Garlick’s pinch-hit single in the bottom of the 13^th sent Oregon to a 3-2 win. Warren again scored the game-winner. The Ducks overcame a five-run deficit and won Sunday’s finale 8-7 thanks to a two-out game-winning single from Aaron Jones. Since losing its season-opener at Hawaii, Oregon has rattled-off 10 straight wins. The Ducks have five one-run victories this season to equal their total in such games from a year ago.
21. Louisville (8-3, 2-2)

Lost 3-2 to Eastern Illinois on Tuesday. Won two of three in a three-game series with No. 42 Pepperdine. After dropping the first game 3-2 Louisville won game two 3-1. Jeff Thompson (3-0) allowed just a run in 7.0 IP. Stewart Ijames had 3 RBIs in Sunday’s 7-3 win. Louisville played error-free in all three games vs. Pepperdine – its longest stretch without an error for the Cardinals since they went four straight without an error during the 2010 NCAA Regional
22. TCU (4-6, 2-2)

Lost 1-0 to Texas State on Tuesday. Took two of three games at home vs. Oklahoma State. The Horned Frogs fell 6-4 in Friday’s opener for their fourth straight loss, but then bounced-back with Saturday and Sunday wins. Stefan Crichton (1-0) scattered four hits in 8.0 IP in Saturday’s 2-0 win. Davy Wright’s 10^th inning RBI double plated the winning run in Sunday’s series clincher. The Horned Frogs tied the game in the 9^th thanks to an OSU error.
23. Ole Miss (9-2, 4-1)

Beat Memphis 7-2 and Jackson State 13-1 Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. Zach Kirksey homered and had 5 RBIs vs. JSU. Took two of three games from Miami (OH). Miami used a six-run third inning to shock the Rebels 9-8 in Friday’s opener. Kirksey homered with 3 RBIs and R.J. Hively (2-0) pitched 6.0 shutout innings in Saturday’s 11-3 win. Mike Mayers (1-1) had 7.0 scoreless frames, while Brett Huber earned his fourth save in Sunday’s 2-1 series-clincher.
24. California (8-2, 4-0)

Beat San Francisco 5-3 on Tuesday and swept a weekend series from Lehigh by finals of, 9-3, 10-0 and 18-3. Cal starting pitchers Justin Jones, Matt Flemer and Kyle Porter combined for 11 Ks and 2 BB in 15.0 IP. Porter, a freshman, pitched just an inning in the planned staff outing. The Golden Bears totaled 40 hits for the weekend.
25. Baylor (9-4, 3-2)

Defeated Sam Houston State 6-2 on Tuesday. Hosted the Baylor Classic, with two games each against Lamar and UC Irvine. Beat Irvine 4-2 on Friday after plating all four runs in the first two innings. The Bears also downed the Anteaters 6-1 on Saturday. Lost to Lamar 8-0 on Saturday and 8-7 on Sunday as Cardinals head coach Jim Gilligan earned his 1,200^th career victory. Max Muncy’s 28-game on-base streak ended Saturday.
26. Stetson

Beat Bethune-Cookman 7-1 on Tuesday. Hosted the Bright House Invitational, going 2-1. Beat Penn 14-1, lost 11-8 to Southern Illinois and beat Georgia State 5-0.
27. Virginia

Blanked 8-0 by Liberty on Tuesday. Hosted a tournament, with two games each against Wright State and Seton Hall.
28. Central Florida

Pounded South Florida 12-1 on Tuesday and beat Bethune-Cookman 8-4 on Wednesday. Swept a weekend three-game series with Sienna by scores of 12-4, 6-4 and 15-2.
29. Oregon State (8-4, 3-1)

Lost 5-4 on Thursday to St. Mary’s and then won three games at the Coca Cola Classic in Surprise, AZ. The Beavers used a five-run 8^th inning to overcome Winthrop 9-4 on Friday, beat St. Louis 6-5 on Saturday and defeated Northern Illinois 11-3 on Sunday.
30. USC

Lost 7-2 to Pepperdine on Tuesday to see its season-opening seven-game winning streak halted. Lost two of three games at North Carolina. On Saturday, the Trojans received a strong outing from RHP Ben Mount.  Mount went 7 2/3 innings and struck out six and allowed only a run, it just happened to be the only run of the game as the Trojans lost 1-0.   On Sunday, the Trojans used a 5-run fifth inning to top the Tar Heels 5-2.  LHP Stephen Tarpley struck out eight and allowed two runs over 6 IP.
31. UC Irvine (6-5, 2-2)

Beat Lamar twice and Lost to Baylor twice at the Baylor Classic in Waco, TX. The wins were by finals of 17-0 and 4-1, the losses were scores of 4-2 and 6-1.
32. Cal Poly (9-3, 2-2)

Played San Diego State, San Diego, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and San Francisco at the Aztec Invitational. Lost 4-3 to SDSU on Thursday to see a four-game winning streak end. Lost 5-4 to San Diego, beat Wisconsin-Milwaukee 6-2 and beat San Francisco 11-9.
33. Maryland (9-1, 4-0)

Swept a four-game series from Manhattan by finals of 3-2, 4-1, 10-1, and 9-0. Maryland is holding opponents to a .180 average through its first 10 games.
34. College of Charleston

Beat Jacksonville 7-0 on Tuesday.
35. Vanderbilt (4-7, 3-1)

Lost 9-3 to Louisiana Tech on Wednesday for its fourth straight defeat. Swept a three-game series from Rhode Island by finals of 9-4, 8-0 and 12-8.
36. Charlotte (9-3, 4-1)

Beat Winthrop 7-2 on Tuesday. Took three of four games from Wagner. The wins were by finals of 7-4, 7-3 and 11-0. The loss was 11-4. The 49ers have won 20 straight home series.
37. Texas Tech (9-3,1-2)

Played Arkansas, Rice and Houston at the Houston College Classic. Lost 3-1 Friday to Arkansas, lost to Rice 6-2 on Saturday and beat Houston 10-4 on Sunday.
38. East Carolina (8-2, 3-0)

Swept three games from Stony Brook by finals of 1-0, 2-1 and 4-3.
39. Mississippi State (10-2, 4-1)

Lost 7-6 to Memphis on Wednesday. Won two games each against Connecticut and Lipscomb. The UConn wins were by finals of 5-4 and 3-1. The Lipscomb decisions were 6-4 and 16-6.
40. Purdue (8-1, 3-0)

Won three games at the Auburn Tournament for the program’s best start since 1959. Beat host Auburn 9-8 and Southern Miss 10-9. Nick Wittgren finished Sunday’s 5-2 win over Charleston Southern to become the program’s saves leader with 15.
41. Florida Atlantic (8-4, 2-2)

Split a four-game series with Princeton. Won 9-1 and 6-2 and lost 11-4 and 8-5.
42. Pepperdine (8-4, 2-2)

Beat USC 7-2 on Tuesday, but lost two of three at No. 21 Louisville. Won 3-2 and lost 3-1 and 7-2.
43. Gonzaga (10-0, 3-0)

Beat Louisiana 6-1, UT San Antonio 4-1 and Kansas 7-2 in San Antonio, TX.
44. St. John’s (3-6, 1-1)

Blanked UNC-Wilmington 3-0 on Wednesday. Lost 4-0 Friday to Illinois at the Coastal Carolina Invitational, as ace Kyle Hanson suffered his third loss in as many starts to open the season. The Red Storm’s two other schedule games were rained-out.
45. Tulane (10-2, 3-1)

Pounded #49 Southeastern Louisiana 12-1 on Tuesday. Won two of three from Alabama at home. Won the first and third games 9-7 and 7-2, respectively. Lost the middle game 6-2.
46. Georgia Southern (6-6, 1-4)

Lost 12-4 to Mercer on Tuesday. Lost three of four games to North Florida. The losses were by finals of 8-5, 7-4 and 7-5. The lone win was 9-5.
47. Tennessee (8-3, 1-3)

Lost 5-2 to Middle Tennessee State on Tuesday for its first setback of the season. Played Houston, Texas and Rice at the Houston College Classic. Beat Texas 5-4, lost to Houston 7-4 and lost to Rice 11-1.
48. Southern Mississippi (8-4, 4-1)

Beat Mississippi Valley State 5-1 on Tuesday and rolled past Alabama 14-2 on Wednesday. And then played three games at the Auburn Tournament. Beat Charleston Southern 16-2 and Auburn 5-4, but lost to Purdue 10-9.
49. Southeastern Louisiana (9-2, 2-2)

Lost 12-1 to #45 Tulane on Tuesday. Beat Central Michigan 8-1 and topped McNeese State 9-1, but lost 7-6 to Central Michigan. The Lions stole a school record 10 bases in the 8-1 victory.

49. UNC Greensboro (8-2, 1-2)

Lost two of three games to Radford at home. Dropped a pair of 7-3 decisions and won 7-4.

The Good & Bad Through 2012’s First Two Weeks…

Maryland has been one of the top surprises in college baseball so far in 2012.

Through the first two-plus weeks of the 2012 season we have already seen our share of surprises. Probably the biggest to date was when Appalachian State won two of three games in its series at LSU. There have been plenty more hits and misses so far as well.

The Dugout is where you’ll find authentic College Word Series shirts, hats and other gear year-round. They also have authentic hard to find college baseball caps of all your favorite teams.

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Hits

Stanford (8-0)

It’s not a shock that Stanford is good this year, but who would have thought that it would be this good so soon? For a second straight year, the Cardinal started off with a brutal schedule that includes series against Vanderbilt, Texas and Rice. They went 4-5 against those three perennial powers last year, but they have started the season with three-game sweeps over Vandy and Texas, which both went to the College World Series last year.

Friday starter Mark Appel (2-0) took his lumps against that kind of competition, going 6-7 in 2011, but he’s been lights-out in the two marquee series so far. He sports a 1.29 ERA, and shares the staff lead with Brett Mooneyham (2-0) with 14.0 IP and 15 Ks. The Cardinal bullpen has been vulnerable at times, as displayed by the team’s overall 3.04 ERA.

The offense has been on fire as well, averaging 9.6 runs a game, including 26 runs over the weekend against traditionally pitching rich Texas. Stephen Piscotty is batting just .270, but he has been unconscious in RBI situations, with three home runs and a whopping 19 RBIs (he has driven-in 24 % of his team’s run to date). Piscotty has had plenty of RBI opportunities, with Jake Stewart and Tyler Gaffney on in front of him consistently (.488 and .500 OBPs, respectively). They share the team lead with 13 runs scored. Brian Ragira .400 BA, 8 RBIs) has given him protection in the clean-up spot as well.

Stanford has played seven of its eight games at home and gets out of its comfort zone for the first time this weekend with a three game series at Fresno State before hosting Rice next weekend.

Georgia (8-0)

The Bulldogs have been one of the fastest risers in the College Baseball 360 Composite Top 50 Rankings. They started out at No. 20 in the preseason rankings, but with eight wins to start the season, they are at No. 12 entering the season’s third week. To put that in perspective, after just two weeks Georgia is almost a fourth of the way to reaching last year’s 33-win total. Granted, the degree of difficulty to this year’s slate (three games each against Presbyterian and Winthrop) isn’t anywhere near the start of last year’s (three each against Stetson, Baylor and Florida State), but Georgia also lost early games last year to Furman and Kennesaw State.

Dave Perno’s offense continues to come alive. Curt Powell (.476) leads a team hitting .301, while Levi Hyams (.310) has been the top run producer with seven RBIs.

Pitching and defense have lead the way though for a team that is scoring just 6.1 runs a game. The Bulldogs are yet to allow an unearned run after committing just three errors in eight games. The pitching staff also boasts a 1.24 ERA, with Sunday starter Taylor Hicks (2-0) tossing 10.0 shutout innings to start the season.

Georgia’s first true test should come March 9-11 when it hosts UCLA. That series is followed by the SEC opener against Tennessee.

Tennessee (7-1)

It didn’t take long for Dave Serrano to make his mark on Tennessee baseball after leaving the west coast and Cal State Fullerton. Serrano’s Vols jumped out to a 7-0 start, with wins over Northern Illinois, Western Kentucky and Seton Hall, before falling 5-4 in 10 innings to Middle Tennessee State on Monday in Knoxville.

The early wins show the big picture, but Serrano’s mark is shown by looking deeper into the Tennessee stat sheet. Through eight games the Volunteers have a .423 on-base percentage, thanks in part to 49 walks, 18 HBP and just 38 strike outs – a plus-29 number in walks + HBP (67) minus Ks. Compare that to last year’s team ,which finished with a .354 OBP and drew just 170 walks all season, with 58 HBP and 311 strikeouts – a minus-83 in the BB + HBP – K total.

Chris Fritts exemplifies the early new direction for the Tennessee offense. The Junior centerfielder hit .455 last week and reached base in 11 of 18 plate appearances. His team-best 13 RBIs are also just one shy of the 14 he totaled in 45 games last season.

The Volunteer pitching staff, which includes reliever Dalton Saberhagen (son of former Cy Young winner Bret Saberhagen), has a 2.05 ERA. The younger Saberhagen is 1-0 with 4.0 shutout innings in three appearances. Meanwhile, starters Zack Godley (0.90 ERA) and Drew Steckenrider (1.29 ERA) are a combined 2-0 withh 16 K and five walks in 17.0 IP.

Things get tougher pretty quickly for the Vols this week when they face Houston, Texas and Rice at the Houston College Classic.

Appalachian State (5-2)

The Mountaineers caught everyone’s attention this past weekend by taking two of three games at LSU. There was hardly a sign that big things might have been on the horizon in Baton Rouge. Appalachian State was picked to finish just fifth in the Southern Conference this season in the preseason coaches’ poll. ASU also lost its season opener to George Mason before taking two games the next day against Arkon.

College Baseball 360 Primetime Pitcher of the Week, Ryan Arrowood, keyed the weekend by holding LSU to just two hits with 10 strike outs in 7.0 IP in Saturday’s 1-0 win. The Mountaineers kept the momentum going the next day by scoring in each of the first four innings and in seven of nine innings overall en-route to an 11-1 Sunday victory.

Chris Pollard’s squad didn’t feel an immediate hangover after the big wins either. They beat North Carolina A&T 5-3 on Tuesday in Greensboro, NC. The Mountaineers host a four game series with Rider this weekend in their first home games of 2012. Their next big shot at a big statement comes on March 14 when they play at two-time defending national champion South Carolina.

Maryland (5-1)

After going 21-35 last year, Maryland is off to a 5-1 start to 2012. What makes the five wins the most impressive though is the fact that four of the wins have come against top 50 teams. The Terps started the season by taking two of three games at preseason No. 16 UCLA and followed that by winning games against preseason No. 31 East Carolina and  No. 48 Purdue (now No. 40) this past weekend.

Third year head coach Erik Bakich has brought a new attitude to Maryland, with his sights set on Omaha from the start. His Terps aren’t hitting well overall (.253 as a team), but Tim Kiene has done his share, batting .360 with team bests of three home runs and seven RBIs. The defense has been solid though (seven errors in six games) and the pitching has been great. The staff boasts a 1.24 ERA and starters Brady Kirkpatrick (1-0) and Brett Harman (1-0) are yet to allow an earned run in a combined 22.2 IP. They also have combined to fire 21 strikeouts with eight walks.

Oregon (7-1)

Through two weeks of the season, Oregon has to be the most traveled team in college baseball. George Horton’s Ducks started by going west some 2,500 miles for four games at Hawaii. They followed that with a roughly 2,300 mile trek to the east to Nashville for a game against Belmont and three games against Vanderbilt.

If the Ducks are jet lagged they haven’t shown it. After dropping their season-opener to the Warriors they have rattled-off seven straight wins in times zones that are separated by five hours.

Scott Heineman has paced an offense that has averaged 7.6 runs by hitting .478 with 5 RBIs, while Ryon Healy (.323) has been the top run producer with 10 RBIs.

Jimmie Sherfy may give Horton an ulcer after walking nine and hitting two other batters in 10.1 relief innings, but he also has racked-up 19 Ks and is 1-0 with two saves and a 0.87 ERA. He has helped a pitching staff that has a 2.93 ERA and has held opposing batters to a .214 average.

Texas Tech (8-1)

It probably comes as no surprise to anyone on the Texas Tech baseball team that they have been so good in the first two weeks of the season, but Dan Spencer’s team has caught a few others off guard. After going unranked in any of the preseason polls, the Red Raiders debuted at No. 37 in this week’s CB360 Composite Rankings.

Tech shot up in the polls quickly with its 8-1 start, which includes wins over preseason top 50 teams Missouri State and St. John’s.

As expected, Barrett Barnes and Jamodrick McGruder have played key roles in the Red Raider offensive attack. Barnes leads the team with a .438 average, 3 HR and 12 RBIs, while McGruder is hitting .375 with eight stolen bases and is tied with Barnes with a team-leading 11 runs scored. Scott LeJeune (.412, 7 RBIs) and Tim Proudfoot (.367, 8 RBIs) are off to fast starts as well.

Three different pitchers, Duke von Schamann, Rusty Shellhorn and Shane Broyles, are each 2-0. Von Schamann, who is the son of former Miami Dolphins kicker Uwe von Schamann, has allowed just an unearned run on four hits through 14.0 IP in his two starts. Three different relievers have each earned saves for a pitching staff that has racked-up 78 strikeouts and issued just just 20 walks in 81 innings.

Things get much more difficult for Texas Tech this weekend when they face Arkansas, Rice and Houston at the Houston College Classic at Minute Maid Park.

Others: Cal Poly (7-1, at San Diego St. Tournament this weekend), Baylor (7-2, hosts UC-Irvine & Lamar this weekend), USC (7-1, at North Carolina this weekend)

Misses

Vanderbilt (1-7)

Considering Vanderbilt’s 1-7 start, it became very obvious very soon that its preseason No. 11 ranking was based more on head coach Tim Corbin’s reputation and last year’s CWS appearance than what the Commodores actually had on the field entering the season. The Commodores have dropped all the way to No. 35 in just two weeks after being swept both at Stanford and at home by Oregon. To add insult to injury, they also lost this Wednesday’s midweek game to Louisiana Tech.

We said this in our 2012 preview of the ‘Dores “If Commodore head coach Tim Corbin is to get back to the CWS in 2012, it may be his best coaching job ever.” Whether or not that happens is yet to be seen, but the fact is Corbin is still trying to deal with the loss of 11 players who signed professional contracts last year, including his entire weekend pitching rotation.

There is no single person to blame for the rough start, but the numbers don’t line. Vanderbilt is batting just .230, has committed 17 errors (.940 fielding percentage) and has a staff ERA of 6.60. The walks, hit batsmen and strikeouts are also completely turned around from both an offensive and pitching standpoint.

Vandy batters have 35 BB, 9 HBP and 48 Ks, for a minus-4 (four more strikeouts than combined BB + HBP), while its pitching staff has issued 33 BB and hit 17 batters with just 50 Ks for a plus-10 number (10 more BB + HBP than total Ks). Too many free base runners and errors and not enough free base runners of their own have led to being outscored 57-34.

It’s not going to get a lot easier either. The ‘Dores host a spirited Rhode Island team looking for some big wins this weekend and then hosts San Diego next week. SEC opening weekend is March 16-18 at No. 1 Florida.

LSU (6-2)

Paul Mainieri’s Tigers have been in this situation before. LSU, fresh-off seeing Appalachian State take two of three games at Alex Box Stadium over the weekend, lost two of three games to Illinois early in 2009. The Bayou faithful weren’t happy with the Tiger head coach then and there’s already rumbling on the Bayou now. Mainieri’s Tigers were able to put the sting of dropping that series behind them and went on to win the 2009 national championship. If the Appalachian State loss is to be just a speed bump on the way to glory, LSU is going to have to start hitting…soon.

Including Friday’s 4-0 win, LSU hit just .172 (16-for-94) in the three game series and .116 (7-for-60) in the two losses to the Mountaineers. In the process, they left nine runners on base in the win, but a combined eight on base in the two losses. The team is hitting a respectable .298 overall, but without Maton Katz (.417) and Raph Rhymes (.393) that drops to .277.

The question-Is the series loss to ASU just a speed bump? The Answer-Only time will tell.

Texas (3-5)

The Longhorns beat Houston Baptist 2-0 on Tuesday to snap a seemingly unheard of five-game losing streak. The skid started with a series-ending loss to Duke opening weekend, continued with a midweek loss to UT-Arlington and then reached its peak with a three-game sweep at the hands of No. 3 Stanford.

Pitching has long been the strength of Augie Garrido’s Longhorns, with the offense doing just enough to get by. Texas hasn’t been able to do either particularly well though so far, as evidenced by its .195 batting average and 4.16 ERA. Throw-in 12 errors in eight games and it’s a recipe for a slow start.

The Longhorns also have just a .330 on-base percentage, with 53 strikeouts, 35 BB, and 14 HBP (minus-4 in BB + HPB – K).

While the offense needs to get moving, the pitching needs to get better quickly too. The staff turned-in a 9.00 ERA in the three losses in Palo Alto.

The schedule stays tough this weekend as well, with games against Rice, Tennessee and Arkansas at the Houston College Classic. The three teams have a combined two losses between them.

St. John’s (3-5)

While most starting pitchers around the country haven’t stretched their inning very far yet this season, St. John’s has a problem it has had before at this time of year. Red Storm starting pitchers have averaged just under 4.0 innings per start over their first eight games. The result has been a 3-5 record and drop from a preseason No. 23 ranking to No. 44 this week.

Ed Blankmeyer’s squad has been known for its potent offenses in recent years, but the Red Storm have been lacking with the bats as well. The lineup is top heavy with Matt Weissinger and Sean O’Hare hitting .484 and .304, respectively, but the next best average is .238. St. John’s batters have already struck out 60 times and have only drawn 28 walks.

Dallas Baptist (3-5)

Since starting the season with a three-game sweep of Southeast Missouri State, Dallas Baptist has lost five straight. The skid started last Tuesday at Oklahoma State, continued with three losses at Rice and kept going this week with a home loss to UT-San Antonio. The Patriots, a surprise Super Regional team last year, hadn’t been below .500 since losing their 2009 season-opener.

The five losses have come by a combined 11 runs, but Dallas Baptist is batting just .240 and averaging four runs a game this season. They also have a tepid .334 on-base percentage due in part to 62 strikeouts, 34 walks and four batters HBP (a minus-24 total in BB + HBP – K ratio).

The DBU pitching staff also has a 5.06 ERA with 43 strikeouts and 33 walks and 72 hits allowed (.286 opponent batting average) in 72 IP.

Georgia Southern’s Victor Roache

It’s not his fault that Victor Roache suffered a potentially season-ending broken wrist last weekend, but he did and it’s a shame. Roache led the nation with 30 home runs and 84 RBIs in 2011, while hitting .326 and a .778 slugging percentage while helping his team receive and NCAA Regional bid.

Roache followed that by hitting .316 with six home runs and 28 RBIs for the Cotuit Kettleers in the Cape Cod League. He was named Cotuit’s team MVP and ranked as the sixth overall Cape Cod prospect. Roache was hitting .412 with two home runs and five RBIs through six games when he suffered his injury last weekend.

By Collegebaseball360.com Editor Sean Stires

• This week’s Notebook starts with some great news out of Berkley, where the announcement was made just weeks ago that baseball would be eliminated at Cal after the 2011 season. According to a direct message we received from the Save Cal Baseball Facebook page, Cal Baseball will be saved if the program can raise the money to fund the program on an annual basis. It’s estimated that around $1 million a year will be needed to keep Cal baseball going. The first step in Cal’s fund raising starts next Monday, Oct. 25 when it hosts the 2010 Cal Baseball Golf Classic at Contra Costa Country Club. Anyone from inside or outside the Cal Baseball family is welcome to play. The field will be limited to 144 players. For more information on the event or to find out how to donate to the Save Cal Baseball fund contact Sam Petke: spetke@gmail.com or Dave Baker: dbaker@moorebaker.com or visit the Save Cal Baseball Facebook page.

• Texas hosted Vanderbilt in a pair of weekend 12-inning exhibitions. Both teams advanced to Super Regionals earlier this year. The Commodores won the first one 7-2 on Friday, while the Longhorns were victorious 7-5 on Sunday. Texas starter Taylor Jungmann gave-up four runs in 4.0 innings Friday night, while Vanderbilt ace Sonny Gray faced nine batters with a walk and two strikeouts in his 3.0 hitless innings. St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday, who is the brother of Vandy assistant Josh Holliday, was in attendance. Matt lives in the Austin area. Texas fell behind 5-0 in Sunday’s scrimmage, but seven Longhorn hurlers then combined for 8.0 shutout innings to let Texas rally for a 7-5 win. Vandy starter Grayson Garvin tossed 3.0 perfect innings, while UT’s Cole Green allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits in his 3.0 innings.

• The Great One’s son has chosen baseball over hockey. Trevor Gretzky, the son of NHL Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky, has committed to play baseball for baseball Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn at San Diego State. Trevor hit .341 with two home runs at Oaks Christian High School in Westlake Village, CA. It’s the same high school
  

  Trevor and Wayne Gretzky

  current Carolina Panther and former Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen attended.

• Rice third baseman Anthony Rendon was honored during Saturday’s Rice-Houston football game. Rendon was re-presented this year’s Dick Howser Trophy by Jana Howser (Dick Howser’s daughter) and Bo Carter of the NCBWA. Rendon originally received the award in July as the National Player of the Year. The junior batted .394 with 26 home runs and 85 RBIs in 2010. His 26 home runs were four more than his strikeout total of 22.

• Florida State is among the most recent teams to unveil its 2011 schedule. A trip to Georgia for a three-game series the first weekend of March is the most notable non-conference trip the Seminoles will make. They also play four single games against Florida in Tampa, Jacksonville, Gainesville, and Tallahassee.

• Nebraska has a marquee non-conference series on its 2011 schedule. The Cornhuskers welcome 2010 College World Series runner-up UCLA to Lincoln for three games March 4-6. It will be decidedly colder in Nebraska than it was when the Bruins made their Omaha run in June. Nebraska also hosts three games with Fresno State March 11-13.
  

  Nebraska's Hawks Field at Haymarket Park

• Speaking of the Cornhuskers, the University of Nebraka’s Board of Regents has approved $4.75 million to build the school’s new indoor baseball/softball facility that we mentioned last week. The 22,000 square foot facility will be located at Haymarket Park, near the current playing facilities for both teams. The new building will include batting cages, pitching mounds and a turf system to allow the baseball and softball teams to take indoor infield practice.

• Michigan plays its first 18 games of the 2011 season in Florida, Texas, South Carolina, and California. The Wolverines concluded that season-opening swing with three games at Stanford March 18-19. They also play a 19th game, an exhibition against the New York Mets on February 27 in Port St. Lucie, FL.

• Speaking of Stanford, Baseball America recently released its ranking of college baseball’s top recruiting classes and Mark Marquess tops the list. Here’s a look at the top 10: 1. Stanford 2. LSU 3. UCLA 4. San Diego 5. Oregon 6. Florida 7. Georgia Tech 8. Arkansas 9. Rice 10. Cal State Fullerton. Who has the #11 class according to BA? None other than the Cal Golden Bears…which were supposed to become extinct after the 2011 season.

Spanning the country once again for college baseball nuggets during the off-season…

• Some sad news to start the Notebook this week. San Diego State head coach and MLB Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn has been diagnosed with cancer of the salivary gland. Gwynn’s cancer, which is located beneath his
  

  Tony Gwynn

  tongue, is said to have been diagnosed early. He will begin radiation and chemotherapy treatment.

• A much needed shot in the arm for college baseball  out of Lincoln, NE. The University of Nebraska announced it plans to spend $4.75 million to build an indoor baseball/softball practice facility that would be located at Haymarket Park, where the Cornhuskers play their home baseball games inside Hawks Field. The proposed 22,000 square foot facility would include indoor batting cages and pitchers mounds. It will also give Nebraska a big leg-up when it heads to the Big Ten. The news also comes just more than a week after Cal-Berkley announced it will eliminate baseball, which has been in existence since 1892, after the upcoming 2011 season. Cal is currently in the process of an estimated $321 million renovation of its football stadium. Nebraska also plans to renovated its football stadium. That proposed project will cost about $55.5 million. Both Nebraska projects are still subject to final approval by its Board of Regents.
  

  Future MLB great Steve Garvey played football & baseball at Michigan St. (courtesy MSU athletics).

• Former MLB great Steve Garvey was recently inducted into the Michigan State Athletics Hall of Fame. Garvey was a football and baseball player at MSU from 1966-1968. In those days freshmen were not eligible to play, so Garvey served as head coach Duffy Daugherty’s scout team quarterback the week before the epic 10-10 tie with #1 Notre Dame. Garvey recorded 30 tackles on the gridiron the next fall as a defensive back and then earned All-American honors on the diamond in the spring of 1968 with a .376 average, nine home runs and 38 RBIs. He belted a grand slam in his first career at-bat at MSU. Garvey left Michigan State after the LA Dodgers took him with the 13th overall pick in the 1968 draft. He went on to play in five World Series and earned 1974 NL MVP honors.

• Speaking of two sport athletes, we released our second Two-Sport Report of the fall last week. Among the notable recent performances noted there is Jacksonville State quarterback Coty Blanchard. The freshman earned All-Ohio Valley Conference honors last week for his efforts in the Gamecock’s win over Murray State. Jacksonville St. is ranked 4th in the most recent FCS national rankings. Blanchard was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles out of high school this June and plans to play shortstop at JSU next spring. The Two-Sport Report also includes updates on the likes of Clemson’s Kyle Parker, NC State’s Russell Wilson, Taiwan Easterling of Florida State, and many others.

• South Carolina head coach Ray Tanner has received a contract extension. Tanner earned the extension after leading the Gamecocks to the program’s first national championship earlier this year. The new deal runs through 2015 and will pay him $510, 000 annually.

• We also recently released a list of former college baseball players who are on the rosters of MLB Playoff teams. San Franciso Giants rookie Buster Posey is among those on the list. Each of the eight playoff teams has at least 16 former college guys on their active roster. Would you believe Kent State is tied with two other schools for the most players on the list? Click Here to see the full rundown.

• Florida and Ole Miss each released their schedules last week. The Rebels don’t have any eye-popping non-conference games, but the Gators host three games with Miami and also play four games against Florida State. The series is split with single games in Gainesville, Talahassee, Tampa, and Jacksonville. Florida and Ole Miss will also each host defending national champion South Carolina in SEC action.
  

  Cody Regis, Trevor Brown and Aaron Weimer were among UCLA players honored at Dodger Stadium (UCLA photo).

• The UCLA baseball team was recently honored at Dodger Stadium for its runner-up finish at the College World Series. The Bruins finished the 2010 season with the best record in school history at 51-17 before falling to South Carolina in the best-of-three CWS Championship Series. The Dodgers also announced the 2011 Dodgertown Classic, which will take place March 11-13 at Dodger Stadium. UCLA, USC, Georgia, and St. Mary’s (CA) will all participate.

• LSU has long been one of the most popular college baseball teams in the country, and it’s showing as well in the world of social media. According to sportsfangraph.com, LSU baseball ranks 29th in baseball social media followers. The Tiger’s combined Facebook and Twitter numbers total roughly 109,00o. The #29 ranking is tops among college baseball programs and comes in ahead of three MLB teams: the Pittsburgh Pirates, Arizona Diamondbacks and Washington Nationals. Sports Fan Graph tracks more than 84-million fans who follow teams on Facebook and more than 17-million who track teams on Twitter. The New York Yankees are the most followed baseball team with more than 4.5 million social media fans.

• Texas scrimmaged Texas State Sunday, and there were both old and new faces on the diamond for Augie Garrido’s Longhorns. Texas lost 9-0 in the 12-inning fall exhibition, but next season’s potential starting rotation pitched well. junior Taylor Jungmann, senior Cole Green and sophomore Hoby Miner combined to surrender just one hit and one walk over the first 6.0 innings. Jungmann fired two perfect innings, while Green gave-up the hit. Sophomore Keifer Nuncio and freshman Nathan Thornhill combined to give-up seven runs in the 10th and 11th innings. It is the fall, and the Longhorns had trouble trying to turn double plays in both of those innings that would have limited the Bobcat damage.