http://collegebaseball360.com/college-baseball-360-weekend-notebook-may-9/ http://collegebaseball360.com/college-baseball-360-weekend-notebook-may-9/#comments Mon, 09 May 2011 15:41:03 +0000 http://collegebaseball360.com/?p=19774

www.simplesharebuttons.com

Conference Races, Upsets & A Hit Streak Highlights…

The latest weekend of college baseball was, overall, light on upsets in the College Baseball 360 Top 50 Rankings. In fact, higher-ranked teams won 76% (29-9) of Sunday’s games involving the CB360 top-50. There were 40 series over the past few days involving CB360 top-50 teams, with 14 resulting in sweeps by the higher-ranked teams while 19 other favorites won their series 2-1.

The weekend saw a total of just six Top 50 series upsets, with Ole Miss pulling off the biggest series shocker-taking two of three games from #3 South Carolina.#21 Arkansas had the other big SEC upset by taking two of three from #4 Florida. (SEC Standings & potential Tournament seeding listed below.)

The rest of the series upsets came from the lower half of the Top 50. Wichita State took two of three from #36 Creighton, Missouri won its series at #44 Kansas State, and UNC Greensboro & Western Kentucky took series from #49 College of Charleston and #50 Florida Atlantic, respectively. #14 Fresno State didn’t lose its series, but did tie Louisiana Tech with two wins each.

Missouri started 2-9 in the Big-12, but has now won three straight series against Top 50 conference opponents Baylor, Texas A&M and K-State to move to 8-12 and seventh place in the Big 12.

Big 12 Standings

1. Texas A&M 15-6 2. Texas 17-7 3. Oklahoma St. 12-8 4. Oklahoma 13-9 5. Texas Tech & Baylor 9-12 7. Missouri 8-12 8. Kansas St. 9-14 9. Kansas 9-15 10. Nebraska 7-13

Chad Holbrook

This Tweet from South Carolina Associate Head Coach Chad Holbrook probably sums-up college baseball Sundays the best “Why do we talk about Sundays?? Its simple really-Teams that win on Sundays host regionals and play in Omaha. That’s what we are trying to do.”

Dallas Baptist dropped two out of three games in its series at #11 Texas A&M, but in winning the second game of the set the Patriots added to their quality win resume. DBU (32-15) has wins this season over Oklahoma State, TCU (2), Oklahoma, Rice, Texas Tech, and Texas A&M as the DI independent shoots for an at-large NCAA bid.

Speaking of TCU, the #15 Horned Frogs picked-up a Super Regional quality series win at#20 Oklahoma State. What’s probably most impressive about Jim Schlossnagle’s squad taking two of three in Stillwater is the fact that they did it without pitchers Matt Purke and Steven Maxwell. Purke (4-1, 1.55 ERA) is out with a shoulder injury, while Maxwell (5-0, 2.90 ERA) was sidelined due to a sore biceps. Purke threw on flat ground from 120 feet on Sunday. TCU hopes he will be available for the Mountain West Conference Tournament, which starts on May 24.

Princeton locked-up an NCAA bid by winning the Ivy League title Sunday.

Princeton locked-up an automatic NCAA bid by winning the Ivy League Championship Series over the weekend. The Tigers downed defending Ivy champion Dartmouth 8-5 on Sunday in the deciding game three of the series. The win gives Princeton (23-22) its 17th conference crown and first since 2006. While the Tigers are just a game over .500 this season, they handed LSU its first loss of the year back on March 6 in Baton Rouge.

The quarterfinalists for the National Pitcher of the Year Award were announced heading into the weekend, and it would be hard to make an argument against UCLA‘s Trevor Bauer as the current front runner for the honor. The junior fired his fifth straight complete game (and sixth this year) in Saturday’s 3-1 win over Oregon to help the Bruins to a three-game sweep in Eugene. Bauer (9-2) struckout 12 and leads the nation with 154 Ks. His 411 strikeouts make him the first Bruin with more than 400 in a career. He needs just 10 more Ks to set his own single season record from a year ago. Bauer’s efforts helped UCLA to its first road sweep of the season. The Bruin pitching staff has given-up just six runs over the last six games.

Oregon State's Tony Bryant

#7 Oregon State kept its steam train rolling by taking two of three games from #24 Cal. The Beavers (34-11, 14-4) have won each of their six Pac-10 Conferences series this season, while Cal (28-16, 12-9) has dropped two of its last three conference sets. OSU closer Tony Bryant earned his ninth save in as many chances this season in Sunday’s series clincher.

Pac-10 Standings

1. Oregon St 14-4 2. Arizona St 13-5 3. UCLA 14-7 4. Cal 12-8 5. Arizona 9-9 6. USC 8-10 7. Stanford 8-9 8. Oregon 5-12 9. Washington St. 4-13 and Washington 4-13

Ray Graham reached a career milestone over the weekend. The Rice head coach got carer win number 900 in Friday’s 8-2 win over cross-town rival Houston en-route to a series sweep. Graham and the Owls sit in second place behind Southern Mississippi in the Conference USA standings. The two teams meet in Hattiesburg, Miss to close the regular season.

Conference USA Standings

1. Southern Mississippi 14-4 2. Rice 12-6 3. East Carolina 11-10 4. Memphis & Houston 9-9 6. Tulane 8-10 7. UAB 9-12 8. UCF 7-11 9. Marshall 5-13

There were just two league series played in the ACC, with North Carolina and Wake Forest sweeping Maryland and Boston College, respectively. The rest of the teams in the league were either playing non-conference series or on break for final exams.

ACC Atlantic Standings

1. Florida State 16-8  2. Clemson 13-11  3. North Carolina State 11-13  4. Wake Forest 10-14  5. Boston College 7-19  6. Maryland 5-22 …

ACC Coastal Standings

1. Virginia 20-4  2. Georgia Tech 18-6  3. Miami 16-7  4. North Carolina 16-8  5. Virginia Tech 9-15  6. Duke 5-19

The West Coast Conference race got tighter when San Francisco dropped two of three at San Diego and Gonzaga swept Santa Clara. The Bulldogs now lead the WCC standings by percentage points over the Dons. Gonzaga (25-13-1, 9-3) has three conference series to play, while USF (25-22, 11-4) has just two left. The two teams meet in the regular season finale May 27-29 in Spokane. With no conference tournament, the WCC’s automatic NCAA bid is likely to be determined that weekend.

WCC Standings

1. Gonzaga 9-3 (.750)  2. San Francisco 11-4 (.733) 3. San Diego 8-7 4. Portland 6-6 5. Pepperdine 5-7 &  Loyola Marymount 5-7 7. St. Mary’s 6-9 8. Santa Clara 4-11

Cal State Fullerton has won five of its last seven games since dropping two of three Big West Conference games to Cal Poly two weeks ago. The Titans (33-13, 14-4) swept three at Riverside over the weekend to inch closer to another conference crown. UC Irvine (31-13, 10-5) took two of three from Cal Poly (21-21, 10-8) and sits in good shape to get at least an at-large NCAA bid. Poly likely needs to win at least nine of its final 12 games to have a chance at the program’s second bid in the last three years (and in program history). They close the season with three games at Pacific, a game at Stanford and three at Cal State Bakersfield.

Big West Standings

1. Fullerton 14-4  2. Irvine 10-5  3. Cal Poly 10-8  4. Long Beach & Davis 8-7  5. Riverside & Santa Barbara 6-9  7. Pacific 7-11  8. Northridge 3-12

The longest active Division One hitting streak in the nation is still alive at 33 straight games after Ryan Jones collected at least one hit in each of Michigan State’s (30-14, 13-5) three weekend wins over Purdue. Jones’ efforts helped the Spartans improve to 9-0 in Big Ten home games this season. They went into the weekend tied for first place with the Boilermakers in the conference standings, but now lead Minnesota (which they swept last month) by two games with two series to go. The top six teams advance to the Big Ten Tournament.

Michigan State's Ryan Jones extended his DI leading hitting streak to 33 games.

Big Ten Standings

1. Michigan St. 13-5  2. Minnesota 11-7  3. Purdue, Ohio St. & Illinois 10-8  6. Penn St. & Indiana 8-10  9. Iowa & Northwestern 7-11  11. Michigan 6-12

Big East Standings

1. UConn 17-3  2. St. Johns 13-7  3. West Virginia 13-8  4. Pittsburgh 12-9  5. South Florida 11-9  6. Louisville & Cincinnati 11-10  8. Notre Dame 10-10  9. Seton Hall 10-11

Southern Conference Standings

1. Elon 21-6  2. Greensboro 16-8  3. Charleston 15-9  4. Samford & Georgia  Southern 14-10  6. Appalachian St.  7. 12-11..Furman 10-13  8. Wofford & The Citadel 8-16

Southland Conference Standings

1. Texas St. 20-7  2. Stephen F. Austin 17-10  3. Sam Houston St. 16-11  4. Southeastern Louisiana 15-12  5. Texas A&M Corpus Christi 14-13  6. UT-Arlington & UT-San Antonio 13-14  8. McNeese & Nicholls 12-15

WAC Standings

1. Hawaii 12-4  2. Fresno St. 12-6  3. San Jose St. 9-7  4. New Mexico St. 7-8  5. Louisiana Tech 8-11  6. Nevada 6-9  7. Sacramento St. 3-12

America East Standings

1. Stony Brook 15-2  2.  Binghamton 12-4  3. Maine 12-5  4. Albany 9-7  5. Hartford 1-15  6. UMBC 0-16

Atlantic-10 top-9

1. Charlotte & Rhode Island 15-6  3. LaSalle & Dayton 11-7  5. Xavier & Richmond 10-8  7. Fordham & St. Bonaventure 9-8  9. StLouis 7-11

Atlantic Sun top-8

1. Stetson 20-4  2. Jacksonville 18-9  3. Belmont 14-10  4. Kennesaw St. 13-10  5. East TN 12-10  6. Mercer 12-11  7. Florida Gulf Coast 11-13  8. North Florida 13-14

Big South Standings

1. Coastal Carolina 17-4  2. Liberty 15-6  3. Charelston Southern & Gardner-Webb 12-9  5. Winthrop 11-10  6. Radford 10-11  7. VMI 9-11,  8. UNC-Asheville & High Point 7-14  10. Presbyterian 5-16

Colonial Standings

1. Old Dominion 16-8  2. James Madison & UNC-Wilmington 15-9  4. Towson 14-10  5. Delaware 15-12  6. Georgia State & William and Mary 13-11  8. Northeastern 10-14  9. VCU & Hofstra 9-15  11. George Mason 6-21

Horizon League Standings

1. Wright St. 13-5  2. Valparaiso 13-6  3. Illinois-Chicago 11-7  4. Milwaukee 11-8  5. Youngstown St. 7-11  6. Butler 7-12  7. Cleveland St. 4-17

MAAC Standings

1. Manhattan 16-1  2. Rider 15-6  3. Siena 10-8  4. Marist & Fairfield 9-9  6. Canisius 8-8  7. Iona 7-11  8. St. Peter’s 4-13  9. Niagara 4-17

MAC East Standings

1. Kent St. 17-4  2. Miami 14-7  3.  Bowling Green 10-11  4. Ohio 7-14  5. Akron 5-16  6. Buffalo 2-18

MAC West Standings

1. Central Michigan 14-7  2. Eastern Michigan & Toledo 13-8  4. Northern Illinois 12-9  5. Western Michigan 10-11  6. Ball St. 8-12

MEAC Standings

1. Bethune-Cookman 18-0  2. Delaware St 11-7  3. Norfolk St. & North Carolina A&T 9-8  5. Maryland-Eastern Shore 7-11  6. Florida A&M 6-12  7. Coppin St. 2-16

Missouri Valley Standings

1. Creighton 10-5  2. Wichita St. 9-6  3. Missouri St 8-6  4. Illinois St. & Southern Illinois 8-7  6. Evansville 6-8  7. Indiana St. 6-9  8. Bradley 4-11

Mountain West Standings

1. TCU 15-2  2. Utah 15-5  3. New Mexico 10-11  4. BYU 7-9  5. UNLV 7-10  6. San Diego State 7-11  7. Air Force 2-15

Northeast Conference Standings top-7

1. Monmouth 22-6  2. Sacred Heart 19-9  3. Long Island 18-9  4. Bryant 15-12  5. Central Connecticut St. 15-13  6. Wagner 12-16  7. Quinnipiac 11-21

OVC Standings top-7

Austin Peay 13-4…SE Missouri 10-6…Jacksonville (AL) St..TN Martin 9-8…E. Ill. 9-9…E. Kentucky 10-11..TN Tech 8-10

Summit League Standings

1. South Dakota St. 16-4  2. Oral Roberts 14-6  3. North Dakota St. 11-8  4. Western Illinois 10-10  5. Southern Utah & IPFW 8-12  6. Centenary 6-13

Sun Belt Standings top-8

1. Troy 16-7  2. Florida International 15-8  3. Florida Atlantic & Louisiana-Lafayette 14-9  5. Western Kentucky 13-10  6. South Alabama 11-12  7. Arkansas St. 10-13  8. Arkansas-Little Rock 8-15

SEC West Standings

1. Alabama & Arkansas 12-12  3. Auburn, Mississippi & Mississippi St. 11-13  6. LSU 8-16

SEC East Standings

1. Vanderbilt 19-5  2. South Carolina & Florida 18-6  4. Georgia 14-10  5. Kentucky & Tennessee 5-19

SEC TOURNAMENT SEEDINGS AS OF 5/9/11

1. VANDERBILT
2. ALABAMA (Won 2 of 3 vs. Arkansas)
3. SOUTH CAROLINA (Won 2 of 3 vs. UF)
4. FLORIDA (Lost 2 of 3 vs. SC)
5. GEORGIA
6. ARKANSAS (Lost 2 of 3 vs. Alabama)
7/8/9. AUBURN (2-1 vs. UM; 0-3 vs. MSU)
7/8/9. OLE MISS (1-2 vs. AU; TBD vs. MSU) 7/8/9. MISS. STATE (3-0 vs. AU; TBD vs. UM)
————————————————————————
10. LSU
11. TENNESSEE
12. KENTUCKY

Tournament Seeding Information

The eight teams that make up the 2011 Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament are determined by the best winning percentage in conference competition.

The divisional champion with the highest conference winning percentage is the first seed and the remaining divisional champion is the second seed.  All other teams are seeded 3-8 by conference winning percentage.

Dugouthats.com has officially licensed 2010 College World Series memorabilia year- round!

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

 

www.simplesharebuttons.com

]]> http://collegebaseball360.com/college-baseball-360-weekend-notebook-may-9/feed/ 0

2010 Conference Tournament Central

America East Tournament (May 26-28)

Bracket Champion: Stony Brook

All-Conference Team

ACC Tournament (May 26-30)

Bracket Champion:  Florida State

All-Conference Team

Atlantic Sun Tournament (May26-29)

Bracket Champion:  Mercer (First title since 1983)

All-Conference Team

Atlantic 10 Tournament (May 26-29)

Bracket Champion:  St. Louis

All-Conference Team

Big East Tournament (May 26-30)

Bracket Champion:  St. John’s

All-Conference Team

Big South Tournament (May 25-29)

Bracket Champion: Coastal Carolina

All-Conference Team

Big Ten Tournament (May 26-29)

Bracket Champion:  Minnesota

All-Conference Team

Big Twelve Tournament (May 26-30)

Bracket Champion:  Texas A&M

All-Conference Team

Big West Conference – No Post Season Tournament

Regular Season Champion: Cal State Fullerton

All-Conference team

CAA Tournament (May 27-29)

Bracket Champion:  Virginia Commonwealth

All-Conference Team

Conference USA Tournament (May 26-30)

Bracket Champion:  Southern Mississippi

All-Conference Team

Great West Tournament (May 26-29)

Bracket Champ: Utah Valley (No NCAA Bid)

All-Conference Team

Horizon League Tournament (May 26-30)

Bracket Champion:  Wisconsin-Milwaukee

All-Conference Team

Ivy League – Best of Three Series

Champion:  Dartmouth beat Columbia

All-Conference Team

Metro Atlantic Tournament

Bracket Champion:  Rider

All-Conference Team

Mid-American (MAC) Tournament (May 26-29)

Bracket Champion:  Kent State

All-Conference Team

Missouri Valley Tournament (May 26-29)

Bracket Champion:  Illinois State

All-Conference Team

Mountain West Conference Tournament (May 25-29)

Bracket Champion:  TCU

All-Conference Team

Northeast Conference Tournament (May 27-29)

Bracket Champion: Central Connecticut St.

All-Conference Team

Ohio Valley Tournament (May 26-30)

Bracket Champion:  Jacksonville St.

All-Conference Team

Pac 10 Conference – No Postseason Tournament

Regular Season Champion:  Arizona State

All-Conference Team

Patriot League – Best of Three Series

Champion:  Bucknell

All-Conference Team

SEC Tournament (May 26-30)

Bracket Champion:  LSU

All-Conference Team

Southern Conference Tournament (May 26-30)

Bracket Champion:  The Citadel

All-Conference Team

Southland Conference Tournament (May 26-29)

Bracket Champion:  Lamar

All-Conference Team

SWAC Tournament (May 26-30)

Bracket Champion:  Grambling St.

All-Conference Team

Summit League Tournament (May 27-29)

Bracket Champion:  Oral Roberts

All-Conference Team

Sun Belt Conference Tournament (May 26-29)

Bracket Champion:  Florida International

All-Conference Team

West Coast Conference – No Postseason Tournament

Regular Season Champion:  San Diego

All-Conference Team

Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Tournament (May 26-30)

Bracket Champion:  Hawaii (First since 1992)

All-Conference Team

Thoughts on Tar Heels, Golden Eagles, the Pac 10 and even Toby Gerhart and the NFL Draft with Collegebaseball360.com editor Sean Stires.

Two For Home? North Carolina and Southern Mississippi were two of the “Omaha Eight” last year, but more and more they are looking like teams that could be left entirely out of the field of 64 this season.  UNC (23-16, 6-12 ACC) enters this weekend’s series at Clemson tied with Duke for last place in the ACC Coastal Division.  However,

Mike Fox (UNC photo)

they’re technically not even tied with the Blue Devils, because Duke took two of three games from the Tar Heels last month.  That was the first of four ACC series losses by UNC already this season.  As we pointed out in our Notebook earlier this week, the Tar Heels lost just six ACC series over the last four seasons combined.  They entered the week with a solid 36 in the NCAA RPI, but  have lost seven of their last nine games while continuing to drop in every national poll.  In addition to Clemson, North Carolina’s remaining conference series are Wake Forest, at Virginia and Virginia Tech.

Meanwhile, Southern Mississippi (18-17, 2-7 CUSA) is completely reeling.  With an NCAA RPI of 102, last year’s CWS darlings have lost three straight and seven of their last nine games.   Mid-week losses to LSU and Ole Miss are one thing, but USM has lost its last three Conference USA series to UAB, Central Florida and Marshall to plummet to dead last in the conference standings.

The Pac Is Back: After a down year in 2009 the Pac 10 is looking very good.  Arizona State and UCLA grabbed most of the early season headlines with their long winning streaks to start the season, but the league is deep.  Seven teams, #1 Arizona State, #6 UCLA, #16 Arizona, #18 California, #20 Oregon, #24 Oregon State, and #29 Stanford,  are ranked among the CB 360 Composite National Rankings top 30. Each of those teams is

Toby Gerhart hit 16 HR and ran for 44 TDs in his two-sport career (Stanford photo)

also in the NCAA RPI top 30.  At least six of those teams should receive an NCAA bid this season, making it even tougher for a team like North Carolina to find a bid of its own.

Go Gerhart: As I write this the start of the 2010 NFL Draft is just hours away.  It’s hard to believe, but former Stanford two-sport star Toby Gerhart isn’t expected to be taken until the end of the second round…at the earliest.  This is a guy who set Pac 10 records and led the nation with 28 rushing touchdowns and 1,871 rushing yards in 2009.  He also played in 105 college baseball games, while helping the Cardinal to the 2008 College World Series.  He had good 40 times at the NFL Combine, but he’ll slip in the draft because the last white running back to have any real NFL success was John Riggins.  At least one scout has said “If Toby Gerhart was black, he would be drafted in the first round.”  I’m no scout, but was Gerhart too slow when he ran over and around USC’s Taylor Mays when he ran for 178 yards, while running for 3 TDs and catching another in Stanford’s 55-21 win at USC?  Mays is expected to be a first round pick.   Pete Carroll wanted Gerhart to be a fullback when he recruited him, but he ran over Carroll’s linebackers instead.   Gerhart proved Carroll and a lot of other doubters wrong in college, and let’s hope he does the same again in the NFL.

Conference USA Has Sponsored The Proposal

In July, the Legislative Council sustained its approval of the proposal. The Board allowed the Legislative Council action to stand, sending the proposal to the Convention.

Intended to address concerns about the amount of missed class time for baseball student-athletes, the new baseball rule (Proposal No. 2008-46) would allow coaches to spread a maximum of 56 games over 14 weeks instead of 13. Conference USA sponsored the proposal.

The Championships/Sport Management Cabinet opposed the legislation because it detracted from the competitive equity between northern and southern institutions.

The institutions that requested the override are all located in the North, including all 11 institutions in the Big Ten Conference. The institutions cited concerns about having to travel South to begin their seasons and incurring increased expenses for the programs and additional missed class time for student-athletes.

Many of the institutions calling for the override indicated they would add an additional week at the end of the season, when spring classes are complete for many student-athletes.

The Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee is split on the issue. Some members agree that the weather could put Northern schools at a disadvantage, but others believe that spreading the same number of contests over a shorter time (13 weeks) would likely mean more midweek contests and more missed class time. Others noted that a longer season, potentially including more travel, could take a physical toll on student-athletes. The SAAC will revisit the issue at its meeting next week before the override vote.

Bulldogs open the 2010 season on Feb. 19 vs. Marshall

Samford Head Coach Casey Dunn

single games on Feb. 19 and 21, and a doubleheader on Feb. 20.

Complete 2010 Samford Schedule

“We’ve brought in some quality non-conference opponents,” Dunn said. “We’re bringing in Marshall out of Conference USA and also Minnesota and Michigan State out of the Big 10. These are teams that play good baseball but who people in our state are not used to seeing on a regular basis. We feel like the strength of our non-conference schedule should be great for us as we prepare for a tough conference schedule.”

The Bulldogs will play their next four games on the road. Samford plays at Troy on Feb. 23, and then plays a three-game series at Kennesaw State Feb. 26-28.

Samford will play host to the University of Alabama on Mar. 2. The Bulldogs and the Crimson Tide will square off at 6 p.m. at Joe Lee Griffin Field.

Samford will welcome Evansville to Joe Lee Griffin Field for a three-game series Mar. 5-7. The Bulldogs will play host to the first of two Big 10 opponents when they take on Michigan State on Mar. 9 at 6 p.m.

After paying at in-state rival Jacksonville State on Mar. 10, Samford will open Southern Conference play at College of Charleston, Mar. 12-14.

“This is a great conference with very good baseball,” Dunn said as his team prepares for its second season as a member of the Southern Conference. “We are excited about year two in the league. We are excited about the opportunity to compete and we feel like we have a Southern Conference caliber team this year.”

Samford will then play its next nine games at home. The Bulldogs will play host to Jacksonville State on Mar. 16, and they will play a four-game series with Minnesota Mar. 18-21.

Samford will play host to Auburn University on Mar. 23. The game between the Bulldogs and the Tigers is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start from Joe Lee Griffin Field.

Samford will host its first home conference series of the season Mar. 26-28, when the Bulldogs take on the Furman Paladins. The following weekend, Apr. 1-3, Samford will play at SoCon foe Davidson.

The Bulldogs will return home on Apr. 6, when Samford hosts in-state rival Troy at 6 p.m. at Joe Lee Griffin Field.

Samford will then play host to the UNC Greensboro Spartans in another SoCon series, Apr. 9-11. After playing a midweek game at Alabama, Apr. 13, Samford will travel to Georgia Southern for a conference series Apr. 16-18.

Next up, Samford will play two midweek games against cross-town rival UAB. The teams will play Apr. 20 at UAB’s Young Memorial Field, and Apr. 21 at Samford’s Joe Lee Griffin Field.

The weekend of Apr. 23-25, the Bulldogs will play host to Appalachian State in a league series. After playing at Auburn on Apr. 27, the Bulldogs will play host to The Citadel in a SoCon series Apr. 30-May 2.

The Bulldogs will play at conference foe Wofford, May 7-9, and then Samford will play its final home games in a SoCon series against Western Carolina, May 14-16.

Samford will wrap up its regular season with a SoCon series at Elon. The Bulldogs and Phoenix will meet May 19-21 in Elon, N.C.

The 2010 SoCon Baseball Tournament is scheduled for May 26-30 in Charleston, S.C.

(Release)

Moraga, CA – The Saint Mary’s College baseball team and head coach Jedd Soto have announced the schedule for the 2010 season. Highlighting the season are a total of nine games against teams that made the NCAA Tournament last year, three series against conference champions, one series against a 2009 College World Series participant, and a total of 33 games against teams who finished .500 or better.
“Without question, this will be the strongest schedule we have played since my arrival at Saint Mary’s College,” said

St. Mary's Head Coach Jedd Soto

Soto. “We will have an opportunity early to compete at a very high level during our preseason contests which should help us prepare for the West Coast Conference play.” “Playing this type of schedule against quality opponents will give a chance to earn a post season bid.”

Complete 2010 St.Mary’s Schedule (PDF)

Fans will get their first chance to see the 2010 club February 19 when the Gaels take on the defending Western Athletic Conference regular season champion San Jose State Spartans, who finished with 41 wins last season. Opening weekend will continue February 20 on the road at San Jose State, and will finish with the Gaels hosting the Spartans again at Louis Guisto Field on February 21.

After hosting the Nevada Wolfpack in a mid-week contest on February 23, the Gaels will be on the road for eight of the next game games. They will travel down south for a tournament hosted by Cal State Bakersfield, February 26-28. In the tournament, SMC will play CS Bakersfield, Bay Area competitor and Pac-10 member California, and Central Michigan of the Mid-American Conference.

From there, the Gaels return home for a mid-week contest March 2 against Sacramento State, and return the favor by traveling to Sacramento, CA the following day, and then will make the trip down to Irvine March 5-7 to take on the Anteaters of UC Irvine. UC Irvine won the Big West Conference last season with a record of 45-14, was ranked no. 1 nationally for a period of time, and hosted an NCAA Regional.

The Gaels hit the road again March 19-21 when they travel to New Orleans, LA, and take on Conference USA member Tulane. Following another mid-week road affair with the Hornets of Sacramento State on March 23, the Gaels return to the friendly confines of Louis Guisto Field March 26-28 for a series against UC Riverside, from the Big West Conference, which finished the 2009 season with a record of 33-20.

Another eight-game road-trip begins on March 30 when the Gaels travel to UC Davis for a midweek game against the Aggies. The Gaels then head to Hattiesburg, MS for an April 1-3 series against Southern Mississippi. The Conference USA runner-ups with a 40-26 record, the Golden Eagles were one of eight participants in last year’s College World Series and finished the season with a no. 8 ranking nationally.

It doesn’t get any easier for the Gaels from there when they return to California, as they travel to Palo Alto for a midweek contest against Stanford, perennial powers in the Pac-10, on April 7. The road trip concludes when the Gaels open West Coast Conference play at the Portland from April 9-11.

Following the series at Portland, the Gaels will be local for the next seven contests when they return home and continue WCC play April 16-18 against Bay Area rivals, the San Francisco Dons. After a mid-week game against Sacramento State, the fourth meeting of the season, SMC will hit the road for WCC play and take on Santa Clara, April 23-25.

Following an April 30-May 2 WCC road series at Loyola Marymount, the Gaels will return to “The Guisto” for its longest home stand of the year. They will host WCC power Pepperdine May 7-9, UC Davis in a midweek contest May 11, and defending WCC champions Gonzaga May 14-16. The Bulldogs finished last season with a record of 36-18 and a no. 22 national ranking.

The Gaels will be on the road the last two weekends of the season, traveling to the Seattle University May 21-23 for a four-game series. Seattle is beginning its first season of baseball since the 1980 season. WCC play concludes with a series against the Toreros of San Diego May 28-30.

“We have a balanced club this year,” said Soto. “We will return some key offensive players and have added some very talented freshman, who should make an immediate impact. We have an experienced starting rotation and a deep bullpen consisting of three closers who have combined for 18 saves over the past three seasons. Overall, we have a fairly young team that should be exciting to watch for the next few years.”

There will be no West Coast Conference tournament or playoff for the 2010 season. The regular season champion will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

(Release)

New Pact Runs Through 2014

ECU Skipper Billy Godwin

Godwin has guided the Pirates to three consecutive NCAA Regional appearances in four seasons, and in 2009, led ECU to its first Super Regional since 2004 after claiming the Greenville Regional title at Clark-LeClair Stadium. In addition, he joined Keith LeClair on a short list of East Carolina coaches to record three-straight 40-plus win seasons after posting a league-best 46-20 mark last spring that also included a Conference USA regular season crown.

“Coach Godwin’s teams have achieved a great deal of success on the baseball field, but just as importantly, he and his program have embraced both East Carolina University’s values and Coach Keith LeClair’s vision for ECU Baseball,” Holland said. “The coaching staff and players represent the best of intercollegiate athletics in all they do and make us proud every time they take the field. We are pleased to do everything we can to keep Billy Godwin as our coach – he is a perfect fit for this institution.”

His 2009 squad spent 19 consecutive weeks in the national polls and ranked as one of the most prolific offenses in the nation – finishing with a NCAA-best 814 hits and standing among national leaders in runs (4th/565), doubles (6th/154), home runs (7th/108), slugging percentage (12th/.546) and batting average (15th/.339). For the third consecutive season, the Pirates topped Conference USA in home runs after belting a school-record 108 to follow 89 and 68 round-tripper totals in 2008 and 2007, respectively.

The 2009 C-USA Keith LeClair Coach-of-the-Year honoree has tutored 25 all-conference performers and four various player-of-the-year selections, and produced a total of 15 Major League Baseball draft choices since 2006.

“I would like to thank (ECU Chancellor) Dr. Ballard, Terry Holland and the Board of Trustees for their support and outstanding leadership,” Godwin said. “I am humbled and honored to be the head baseball coach at East Carolina. The commitment to our baseball program is phenomenal from our administration to our loyal Pirate fans. Our coaching staff is very excited about the future of Pirate Baseball and the continued ability to compete for championships.”

Godwin, who was elevated to the head coaching position during the fall of 2005 after a brief tenure as an assistant, has compiled an overall record of 161-90 as East Carolina’s skipper.

(Release)

Knights have a total of 36 games at home this season

UCF Head Coach Terry Rooney

“We are looking forward to a very competitive 2010 schedule,” said second-year head coach Terry Rooney. “As always Conference USA continuously ranks as one of the top five baseball leagues in the country. That combined with our non-conference schedule will give fans plenty of opportunities to see the Knights this year.”

Complete 2010 UCF Schedule

While UCF has three more home games this year compared to 2009, prices on season tickets remain unchanged for the 2010 campaign. Reserved chairback seating behind homeplate will be $199, while a reserved bleacher season ticket costs $150 for adults and $99 for faculty/staff, youth and seniors.  Orders can be placed through the ticket office at 407-823-1000.

Opening Day 2010 is set for Friday, Feb. 19, at 6:30 p.m. when Savannah State travels to Orlando for a three-game series in what will be the first meeting between the Knights and Tigers.

Following a midweek tilt at Florida Feb. 24, UCF will host Siena (Feb. 26-28), Duquesne (March 2), North Florida (March 3), Central Michigan (March 5-7), Miami (March 9), Hartford (March 12-14) and USF (March 16) in a 13-game homestand.

The clash with the Miami Hurricanes marks the first contest between the two programs since 1995. UCF eventually makes the return trip to face UM March 23.

The Knights’ remaining non-conference home series takes place March 19-21 against Presbyterian, another team UCF has never faced.

For the second-straight season, UCF kicks off the Conference USA slate on the road when it heads to Houston March 26-28. Rooney’s program also makes trips this year to square off against Southern Mississippi, Marshall and Tulane. USM is coming off its first appearance in the College World Series.

Meanwhile, UCF welcomes UAB, Rice, Memphis and East Carolina to its East Orlando campus. The Owls and Pirates are both hoping to ride momentum from last year as they both reached the 2009 NCAA Super Regionals.

(Press Release)

Pirates Play Six Teams That Appeared In 2009 NCAA Regionals

ECU Head Coach Billy Godwin

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Press Release)