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UCLA Next Faces Florida At CWS

UCLA topped Cal State Fullerton 8-1 Sunday night to win its Super Regional two games to one and advance to the College World Series for the first time since 1997.  Links to box scores and recaps of all three games of the series are located below.

Noe Ramirez had 13 Ks in Friday's 4-3 Fullerton win.

By clicking the “Los Angeles Super Regional” link above this page will expand to fully support the table below.

CLICK HERE for our Super Regional Central page which includes links to other Super Regionals.

Best two of three series (all times Eastern)

Gm 1 – Friday – FINAL:  Cal State Fullerton 4, UCLA 3 |  Final Stats
CSF Recap | UCLA Recap *Fullerton leads series 1-0
* Highlight: Fullerton’s Noe Ramirez (12-1) had 13 Ks in 7 IP

Gm 2 – Saturday – FINAL: UCLA 11, Cal State Fullerton 7 (10 inn.) |  Final Stats
UCLA Recap | CSF Recap *Series tied 1-1

Tyler Rahmatulla's 9th inn. HR helped UCLA force Sunday's game 3.

* Highlight: UCLA with four HR

Gm 3 – Sunday – FINAL UCLA 8,  Cal State Fullerton 1 |  Final stats
UCLA Recap | CSF Recap

* UCLA wins series (2-1)

The Skinny

UCLA: (#6 National Seed) The Bruins have already set a program record with 46 wins this season.  It’s one more than the 1997 Bruin College World Series team had.  The last time John Savage’s Bruins advanced to a Super Regional was 1997.

The Bruins are built on power pitching.  Starters Trevor Bauer (10-3, 2.72 ERA), Bob Rasmussen (10-2, 2.90 ERA) and Gerrit Cole (10-2, 3.11 ERA) and closer Dan Klein (5-0, 2.03 ERA, 9 SVs) all have more strikeouts than innings pitched.  The staff’s 611 strikeouts and 2.94 ERA both rank second in the nation.  Bauer, Rasmussen and Cole are the first trio of 10-game winners in the same season in program history.

The UCLA offense doesn’t have a player with double-digit home runs, but seven players are batting .311 or better.  Dean Espy has team highs with a .365 average and 48 RBIs.  He’s one of five Bruins to drive-in at least 35 runs.

Cal State Fullerton: The Titans are in a Super Regional for the seventh straight season.  Head coach Dave Serrano took Fullerton to Omaha in his second year as head coach last year after guiding UC Irvine to the CWS in 2007.  A Super Regional win would give Fullerton its 16th CWS appearance in 35 seasons as a Division One program.

Gary Brown (.438, 1.185 OPS) is the team’s top overall hitter, but he missed last week’s Regional due to injury.  Christian Colon (.360/16 HR/73 RBIs) and Nick Ramirez (.358/16 HR/67 RBIs) provide the punch in the middle of the order.  Ramirez also doubles as the team’s closer with 10 saves.

Freshman Dylan Floro (7-1, 3.08 ERA) has emerged over the course of the season as one of the team’s top starters.  He has two saves and two of the team’s six complete games.  Noe Ramirez (11-1, 2.63 ERA) and Daniel Renken (12-2, 3.95 ERA) provide a formidable counter to UCLA’s rotation.

Los Angeles Super Regional

TEAM	RECORD	CONF.	BA	Runs/ Gm.	HR	Slg%	OBP	SB-Att.	Fld%	ERA	CG	SV	K	BB	Opp. BA
UCLA	46-13	Pac 10	.309	7.0	56	.465	.403	89-118	.971	2.94	1	11	611	183	.220
Cal State Fullerton	44-16	Big West	.344	7.8	62	,523	.411	109-152	.973	3.68	6	14	469	143	.256

More from Chase Titleman at our partner site Road2rosenblatt.com

The Bruins Win If?

UCLA wins the series if a solid bevy of stallions on the bump limit a very potent Titan batting line-up.

Of great importance to the Bruins is jumping out early.

In the two games versus Fullerton earlier this season, the Titans jumped to big leads as they pulverized Garrett Claypool, one of UCLA’s best pitchers, to the tune of 8 runs over the course of two games.

UCLA cannot afford to let Fullerton jump ahead early and get into their bullpen.

On the bright side, Fullerton has yet to see Trevor Bauer and Dan Klein, two of the Bruins best pitching prospects, nor have they seen Rob Rasmussen, so the Bruins could have a few surprises for the Titans.

The Titans Win If?

The hot hitting continues from the top half of the order, especially Christian Colon, who gave Fullerton a huge boost in game two of their regional at home last weekend versus Stanford, when he connected for two home runs.

The Titans go as Colon goes, and if Nick Ramirez continues to send balls over the wall as well, it will be a long series for the Bruins.

Titan ball consists of the get on base, move runners over and drive runners in variety.

However, the Titans add a twist as they have great speed, have a tremendous bunt game, and have much more power than the Bruins up and down the line-up.

Unfortunately for the Bruins, if the Titans continue to hit the long ball with consistency, now you have to defend the short game, the first and third circus and the long ball threat.

Advantage Titans, but if Bauer, Rasmussen and Co. can keep the Titans in check, the only team that may be capable of beating the Bruins is the other school still alive in the PAC-10…Arizona State!

Should be one of the more entertaining series across the country on the Road to Omaha!

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A By The Numbers Look At The Weekend’s Action

Alex Kaminsky (WSU photo)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Blake Kelso (Houston photo)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kevin Chapman

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

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

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

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

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

Steve Fernandez

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

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

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

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

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

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.

A By The Numbers Look At The First Full Week Of The Season

Jason Mitchell (UTA photo)

0…Hits allowed in five innings of relief by UT pitcher Cole Green.  He fanned 6 with no walks in the series finale.

18…Strikeouts by UT Arlington pitcher Jason Mitchell in Friday’s win over Missouri State.  Mitchell lost a no-hitter with one out to go in the game, which the Mavericks won 1-0 in 14 innings.   The 18 Ks breaks a school and Southland Conference record.  He struck out at least two batters in all but the 8th inning (1).

0…Runs allowed in 5 innings of relief in that same game by Arlington reliever Adam Boydston, who fanned 8 himself with just one walk and one hit allowed.

2…Wins in three games  by TCU at Cal State Fullerton over the weekend.

4…Home losses by the Titans already this season.

8…Home losses by Fullerton in 2009.

2…Losses in his first two starts by Cal State Fullerton pitcher Daniel Renken after allowing 3 ER in 6 IP in Friday’s loss to the Horned Frogs.

3…Losses by Renken all of last year.

2…Wins by #19 Coastal Carolina over #4 UC Irvine on Saturday in Myrtle Beach, SC.

9…Runs in the 8^th inning of game two of the doubleheader by the Chanticleers to beat the Anteaters 13-6.

2…Combined losses by Irvine pitchers Daniel Bibona and Eric Pettis in Saturday’s twin bill.

3…Combined losses by Bibona and Pettis in 2009.

109…Pitches thrown in 5 1/3 IP by Bibona in his loss.

119…Pitches thrown in 6 2/3 IP by Pettis in his loss.

5…RBIs by Coastal Carolina catcher Jose Iglesias in the doubleheader sweep.  He was 6-for-8 at the plate in the games.

6…Runs scored by Irvine in the 8th inning on Sunday to beat James Madison 15-9 for their only win in Myrtle Beach.  In addition to their losses to Coastal Carolina the Anteaters also fell to North Carolina State.

Greg Peavey (OSU photo)

8…Strikeouts and earned runs allowed in 3 ½ innings by Tennessee’s Bryan Morgado in Friday’s 17-1 loss

to Oregon State.

0…Runs allowed with 9 strikeouts by Oregon State’s Greg Peavey in Sunday’s 1-0 win over the Vols.  Peavey allowed just three hits with one walk in his first win of the season.

0.64…Peavey’s ERA in his first 14 innings pitched this season.

9…Strikeouts in 6 innings by Louisville pitcher Thomas Royse in Friday’s 2-0 win over Michigan.

10…Strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings by Todd McInnis in 26th ranked Southern Mississippi’s 8-2 loss to LeMoyne.

2 of 3…Games Southern Miss. dropped to LeMoyne after falling 12-11 in the series finale.

20…Runners left on base by the Golden Eagles in the pair of defeats.

5…RBIs by Dolphin LF Chris Edomonson in the 12-11 win over USM.

84…Runs scored by Arizona State in its 7-0 start to the season.

18…Runs allowed by the Sun Devils (two unearned) for a 2.36 staff ERA.

15…Runs and hits by Georgia Tech in Saturday’s 15-0 win over Xavier.

1…Win over a top 10 team in the history of Xavier baseball after Sunday’s 7-6 win over #4 Georgia Tech.

4 & 3…Respective errors and unearned runs allowed by the Yellow Jackets in their first loss of 2010.

13…Errors in three games committed by Notre Dame en-route to a 1-2 weekend at the Big Ten/Big East Challenge.

Maine's Jeffrey Gibbs

6…Of those errors committed by the Fighting Irish in Sunday’s 8-7 10-inning win over Penn State.

1…Win this season for Maine (1-5) after Saturday’s 5-3 upset of #12 North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

1…Career win for Black Bear pitcher Jeffrey Gibbs, who earned the win vs. the Tar Heels.  He struckout seven and allowed 2 ER in 5 1/3 IP.

2…Career starts by Gibbs-a 6’4-190 lb. freshman from Toronto, Ontario.

12…Strikeouts in 7 IP by Virginia sophomore Danny Hultzen in a 13-0 win over Rhode Island.  The lefty allowed no runs and no walks on two hits to improve to 2-0.

43…Runs scored by the Cavs in their 3-game sweep of URI while allowing just 7 runs to improve to 6-1.

Manhattan's John Soldinger

0…Runs allowed in 4 IP by Manhattan freshman reliever John Soldinger in Sunday’s 12-7 win over the 10th ranked Miami Hurricanes.

7…Earned runs allowed in 5 IP by Jasper starting pitcher Mike Gazzola who got credit for the win after exiting with his team leading 9-5.

7 & 9…Combined runs scored and RBIs, respectively, by Manhattan 2-5 batters Mark Onorati, Mike McCann, Chad Salem, and Austin Sheffield in the upset of the Hurricanes.  The quartet also combined to hit .500 (10-for-20).

6-0…Washington State’s record after Sunday’s 10-7 win over Texas Tech in Lubbock, TX.  It’s Wazzou’s best start since going 9-0 to start the 1988 season.

Brian Fletcher (Auburn photo)

4, 11 & 13…Home runs, RBIs & runs scored by New Mexico State shortstop Ryan Aguayo.  The junior hit .440 with an 1.120 slugging percentage in six games last week.

3…Of Aguayo’s home runs that came in one game-a 17-5 win over Akron.  He hit half of the Aggies’ 6 HRs in the contest.

4 & 9…Home runs and RBIs by Eastern Kentucky’s Anthony Ottrando in the Colonel’s season-opening 3-game series vs. Western Carolina.

11…RBIs with 3 home runs in 3 games by Auburn’s Brian Fletcher.  His 10th inning walk-off home run gave the Tigers a Friday win over Boston College.

15…Strikeouts in 7 IP by Ole Miss lefty Drew Pomeranz in a win over Oakland.  He allowed just a run on a solo HR.

8-0…The deficit top-ranked LSU faced in the middle of the 6th inning at home Saturday vs. William & Mary. The Tigers scored 8 runs in the bottom of the 6th and then added two more runs in the 7th to win 10-9.

22…Years since LSU had overcome as big a deficit.  They came back from 10 runs down to beat Ole Miss in 1988.

13 1/3…Total innings pitched in two outings last week by Kansas pitcher Cameron Selik.  The junior allowed just one earned run with 10 strikeouts vs. Eastern Michigan and Sacramento State.

A Look At Some Movement From Opening Weekend Action

Six 2009 Semifinalists On 2010 List

USA Baseball announced Thursday its preseason Golden Spikes Award Watch List, marking the organization’s first step toward identifying the top amateur baseball player in the country. Sponsored by Major League Baseball, the Golden Spikes Award will be presented in 2010 for the 33rd time.

The Watch List features 50 of the nation’s top amateur talents, and it will be a “rolling” list to ensure that athletes can play themselves into consideration for the Golden Spikes Award, to be presented live on Tuesday, July 13, at the 2010 Major League Baseball All-Star FanFest in Anaheim, Calif.

Headlining the 2010 Watch List are six athletes who were among the 30 semifinalists for the 2009 Golden Spikes Award. Those players are Daniel Bibona (LHP, Sr., UC Irvine), Bryce Brentz (OF/RHP, Jr., Middle Tennessee), Deck McGuire (RHP, Jr., Georgia Tech), Addison Reed (RHP, Jr., San Diego State), Anthony Rendon (3B, So., Rice) and Alex Wimmers (RHP, Jr., Ohio State).

“We’re very pleased to announce the 50 members of the preseason Watch List for the 2010 Golden Spikes Award,” said Paul Seiler, Executive Director/CEO of USA Baseball. “The level of amateur baseball talent in our country continues to rise each year, and there is no greater evidence of this than seeing six 2009 semifinalists named to the 2010 Watch List.”

The list of 50 names also features Bryce Harper of the College of Southern Nevada, a junior. The freshman catcher is the only junior-college player named to the list. Alex Fernandez, as a sophomore pitcher for Miami Dade Community College (now Miami Dade College) in 1990, stands as the only junior-college player to ever win the Golden Spikes Award.

LSU leads all schools with four players named to the Watch List. Texas is second with three, and Alabama, Arkansas, Cal State Fullerton, Coastal Carolina, Florida State, Georgia Tech, University of Miami, Rice and Virginia have two apiece.

The SEC tops all conferences with 15 Watch List players. Other leading conferences include the ACC with 10 athletes, the Big 12 with five, and the Big West and Conference USA with three each. Juniors dominate the list with 35 players named. Sophomores are next with nine players, there are five seniors, and Harper is the lone freshman.

On Tuesday, June 1, USA Baseball officials will cut the list of players to 30 names. The final list of 30 will then be sent to a voting body consisting of select professional baseball personnel, past USA Baseball National Team coaches, select members of the media, former USA Baseball sports information directors, and current USA Baseball staff — about 150 voters in total.

All voters will be asked to choose five players from the list of 30 names. Fan voting will once again be a part of the Golden Spikes Award in 2010. June 1 will also mark the day when college baseball fans from across the country will be able to vote for their favorite player for the Golden Spikes Award on goldenspikesaward.com. On Tuesday, June 8, USA Baseball will announce the five finalists, and voting for a winner will commence that same day.

The 2010 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award will be presented nationally July 13 on an award show via live telecast from Anaheim on goldenspikesaward.com, USABaseball.com and MLB.com in conjunction with All-Star FanFest.

Past winners of the Golden Spikes Award include Terry Francona (1980), Will Clark (1985), Robin Ventura (1988), Jason Varitek (1994), J.D. Drew (1997), Mark Prior (2001), Jered Weaver (2004), Tim Lincecum (2006), David Price (2007), Buster Posey (2008) and last year’s winner, Stephen Strasburg.

2010 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Important Dates

Thursday, Feb. 18 – 50-player Watch List released, shaped by USA Baseball officials, advisors and college SIDs
Tuesday, June 1 – 30 semifinalists announced, selected by USA Baseball officials; semifinalist voting begins; voters select five
Friday, June 4 – Deadline to vote for finalists, 5:00 p.m. ET
Tuesday, June 8 – Five finalists announced; finalist voting begins; voters to select one
Friday, June 18 – Deadline to vote for winner, 5:00 p.m. ET
Tuesday, July 13 – Golden Spikes Award presentation live at All-Star FanFest in Anaheim

Complete 2010 preseason Golden Spikes Award Watch List:

Name, School, Position, Class (in order of name)

Chad Bettis, Texas Tech, RHP, Junior
Daniel Bibona, UC Irvine, LHP, Senior
Bryce Brentz, Middle Tennessee, OF/RHP, Junior
Michael Choice, Texas-Arlington, OF, Junior
Gerrit Cole, UCLA, RHP, Sophomore
Christian Colon, Cal State Fullerton, SS, Junior
Zack Cox, 3B/RHP, Arkansas, Sophomore
Todd Cunningham, OF, Junior
Blake Dean, LSU, Jacksonville State, 1B/OF, Senior
Sam Dyson, South Carolina, RHP, Junior
Brett Eibner, Arkansas, RHP/OF, Junior
Micah Gibbs, LSU, C, Junior
Sean Gilmartin, Florida State, LHP, Sophomore
Yasmani Grandal, University of Miami, C, Junior
Sonny Gray, Vanderbilt, RHP, Sophomore
Justin Grimm, Georgia, RHP, Junior
Jedd Gyorko, West Virginia, 2B/3B, Junior
Rick Hague, Rice, SS, Junior
Bryce Harper, College of Southern Nevada, C/3B/OF, Freshman
Cody Hawn, Tennessee, 1B, Junior
Chris Hernandez, University of Miami, LHP, Junior
Tyler Holt, Florida State, OF, Junior
Danny Hultzen, Virginia, LHP/1B, Sophomore
Kevin Jacob, Georgia Tech, RHP, Junior
Taylor Jungmann, Texas, RHP, Sophomore
Leon Landry, LSU, OF, Junior
Deck McGuire, Georgia Tech, RHP, Junior
Hunter Morris, Auburn, 1B/OF, Junior
Jarrett Parker, Virginia, OF, Junior
Drew Pomeranz, Mississippi, LHP, Junior
Anthony Ranaudo, LSU, RHP, Junior
Addison Reed, San Diego State, RHP, Junior
Anthony Rendon, Rice, 3B, Sophomore
Daniel Renken, Cal State Fullerton, RHP, Junior
Kyle Roller, East Carolina, 1B, Senior
Cameron Rupp, C, Junior, Texas
Chris Sale, Florida Gulf Coast, LHP, Junior
Jake Smith, Alabama, 3B/RHP, Senior
Josh Spence, Arizona State, LHP, Senior
Tony Thompson, Kansas, 3B, Junior
Preston Tucker, Florida, 1B, Sophomore
Kolbrin Vitek, Ball State, 3B/RHP, Junior
Austin Wates, Virginia Tech, OF, Junior
Cody Wheeler, Coastal Carolina, LHP, Junior
Ross Wilson, Alabama, 2B/SS, Junior
Alex Wimmers, Ohio State, RHP, Junior
Mickey Wiswall, Boston College, 3B/1B, Junior
Kolten Wong, Hawaii, 2B, Sophomore
Scott Woodward, Coastal Carolina, 3B, Junior
Brandon Workman, Texas, RHP, Junior

Cal State Fullerton Is Favored By Big West Coaches

Irvine, Calif. — Following a season that once again concluded in Omaha, Neb., at the College World Series, Cal State Fullerton was selected to capture the 2010
Big West Baseball Championship, a title they lost to UC Irvine last season, according to the Big West Conference preseason poll conducted by the league’s nine head coaches.  The Titans, who have claimed at least a share of seven of the last 11 titles and a conference-best 14, nabbed seven first-place votes for a total of 79 points and were followed by defending conference championship UC Irvine, who picked up two first-place votes en route to a 71 point total.  Rounding out the top three were the Cal Poly Mustangs, sitting third with 60 points.

The Titans, under third-year head coach Dave Serrano, finished the 2009 campaign with a 47-16 overall record and a 17-7 conference mark, good enough for second place in the Big West.  Cal State Fullerton swept both the NCAA Regionals and Super Regionals to advance to the College World Series for its 16th appearance.

Fullerton has a wealth of returning talent that includes an entire weekend pitching rotation, a closer, and a couple of top-round draft pick defenders up the middle to
go along with a Top 5 recruiting class.  Slated to headline the Fullerton rotation are Daniel Renken, Noe Ramirez and Tyler Pill, while Nick Ramirez returns as the team’s closer. All four of the hurlers achieved All-American status a year ago and accounted for 34 wins, seven saves and a 3.24 combined ERA.

The Anteaters of UC Irvine are coming off one of their best seasons in program history, which witnessed the ‘Eaters capturing their first league crown with an outstanding 22-2 mark.  UC Irvine also became the first team in conference history to go undefeated at home during league play and boasted the second-best conference winning percentage in Big West history at .917.  Like Cal State Fullerton, UC Irvine welcomes back a majority of their pitching staff, including All-Americans Daniel Bibona and Eric Pettis. Rejoining Bibona and Pettis on the mound in 2010 are Preseason All-America Christian Bergman and Crosby Slaught.

Cal Poly looking to continue its success of last season, was selected third in this year’s poll.  The Mustangs concluded 2009 with an overall mark of 37-21, a third place finish in the Big West at 14-10 and made its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since moving to Division I in 1995.  Leading the charge offensively in 2010 is Big West Freshman of the Year Matt Jensen who was sidelined late in the season due to a fractured clavicle.  Prior to his injury he sported a .375 batting average with 15 doubles, nine home runs and 53 RBI and recorded a 23-game hitting streak, the third longest in Cal Poly Division I history.  Also coming back from injury this season is pitcher Steven Fischback, who in 2008 finished seventh in the Big West with 79 strikeouts and posted a 5-4 record with a 4.55 earned run average.

Long Beach State secured the fourth slot with 50 points, UC Riverside landed in fifth after receiving 48 points and UC Santa Barbara grabbed 36 points to take the sixth spot.  Pacific locked down seventh with 30 points, followed by Cal State Northridge’s eight-place point total of 19.  Rounding out the nine-team field with 12 points was UC Davis, who is playing in just its third season at the Division I level.

(Release)

2010 Big West Coaches Poll Results
1. Cal State Fullerton (7) – 79
2. UC Irvine (2) – 71
3. Cal Poly – 60
4. Long Beach State – 50
5. UC Riverside – 48
6. UC Santa Barbara – 36
7. Pacific – 30
8. Cal State Northridge – 19
9. UC Davis – 12

( ) First-place vote

*Collegebaseball360.com is currently releasing our 2010 baseball conference previews, and we will have one soon for the Big West Conference.

LSU’s Ranaudo Tabbed Preseason National Player of the Year

The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association  has announced its 2010 Preseason All-America Team.  The first team looks like this:

Click Here To See The Complete NCBWA Release (PDF)

Yesterday was a day for mostly “big boys” with LSU, Fullerton, Arkansas, and Virginia all in action. Arkansas and Virginia have just three trips to the CWS between them in the last ten years (and obviously this is UVA’s first trip), but they’re still from power conferences.