College Baseball Notebook-Week 3

A By The Numbers Look At The Weekend’s Action

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Week One College Baseball Attendance Feb. 22

The 2010 college baseball season is underway, and fans across the south flocked to stadiums to see the action.  Four SEC teams, LSU, Arkansas, Mississippi, and South Carolina, had the top weekend averages.  Here’s a breakdown of average attendance for opening weekend games as well as top single-game attendance marks (list below on the page).
By Average (min. 1,200)
School/Avg./ Total #Games
1. LSU 10,992/ 32,976/ 3

2. Arkansas 7,300/ 21,899/ 3
3. Ole Miss 7,171/ 21,513/ 3
4. South Carolina 7,072/ 21,216/ 3
5. Texas 6,020/ 18,060/3
6. Mississippi State 5,848/ 17,545/ 3
7. Clemson 5,727/ 11,454/ 2
8. Texas A&M 5,164/ 10,328/ 2
9. Florida State 5,049/ 15,148/ 3
10. East Carolina 4,974/ 14,922/ 3
11. Southern Miss 3,512/ 10,536/ 3
12. Florida 3,484/ 10,454/ 3
13. Hawaii 3,355/ 10,065/ 3
14. Miami, Fla. 3,172/ 9,516/ 3
15. TCU 2,934/ 8,803/ 3
16. Tulane 2,837/ 8,510/ 3
17. Arizona State 2,780/ 5,560/ 2
18. Louisiana-Lafayette 2,758/ 5,516/ 2
19. Baylor 2,679/ 8,038/ 3
20. Fresno State 2,607/ 7,820/ 3
21. Cal State Fullerton 2,465/ 7,395/ 3
22. Auburn 2,439/ 7,318/ 3
23. Texas Tech 2,328/ 9,312/ 4
24. Stanford 1,921/ 3,841/ 2
25. Vanderbilt 1,917/ 5,752/ 3
26. Long Beach State 1,908/ 3,816/ 2
27. Georgia Southern 1,847/ 5,543/3
28. Georgia Tech 1,720/ 5,160/ 3
29. Cal Poly 1,246/ 3,738/ 3
30. North Carolina 1,217/ 3,652/ 3

Top Game Attendances (min. 2,000)
11,588 Centenary at LSU, 2/19
11,126 Centenary at LSU, 2/20
10,262 Centenary at LSU, 2/21
8,004 Ball State at Arkansas, 2/20
7,926 Duquesne at South Carolina, 2/20
7,713 ULM at Ole Miss, 2/20
7,611 ULM at Ole Miss, 2/19
7,359 Ball State at Arkansas, 2/19
6,910 Duquesne at South Carolina, 2/21
6,536 Ball State at Arkansas, 2/21
6,380 Duquesne at South Carolina, 2/19
6,352 New Mexico at Texas, 2/20
6,189 ULM at Ole Miss, 2/21
5,953 New Mexico at Texas, 2/21
5,920 Rhode Island at Mississippi State, 2/20
5,915 Miami (OH) at Clemson, 2/19
5,819 Rhode Island at Mississippi State, 2/19
5,806 Rhode Island at Mississippi State, 2/21
5,755 New Mexico at Texas, 2/19
5,539 Furman at Clemson, 2/21
5,392 Georgia State at Florida State, 2/20
5,318 Seton Hall at Texas A&M, 2/19
5,254 Georgia State at Florida State, 2/19
5,136 Virginia at East Carolina, 2/20
5,012 Virginia at East Carolina, 2/19
5,010 Seton Hall at Texas A&M (DH), 2/20
4,774 Virginia at East Carolina, 2/21
4,502 Georgia State at Florida State, 2/21
4,109 Oregon State at Hawaii, 2/19
3,723 USF at Florida, 2/20
3,607 Northwestern State at Southern Miss, 2/20
3,569 Northwestern State at Southern Miss, 2/19
3,563 Clemson vs. Michigan State, 2/20
3,464 Oregon at Cal State Fullerton, 2/19
3,422 USF at Florida, 2/21
3,360 Northwestern State at Southern Miss, 2/21
3,309 USF at Florida, 2/19
3,280 Nebraska at Fresno State, 2/19
3,228 Sam Houston State at TCU, 2/19
3,128 Oregon State at Hawaii, 2/21
3,072 Sam Houston State at TCU, 2/20
3,011 Northern Illinois at Arizona State, 2/19
3,003 Boston College at Tulane, 2/19
2,912 Nicholls State at Louisiana-Lafayette, 2/20
2,895 Michigan at Texas Tech, 2/20
2,828 Oregon State at Hawaii, 2/20
2,798 Boston College at Tulane, 2/20
2,715 Southeast Missouri at Auburn, 2/20
2,709 Boston College at Tulane, 2/21
2,706 Georgia at Baylor, 2/21
2,670 Duke & Georgia at Baylor (DH), 2/19
2,662 Duke at Baylor, 2/20
2,605 Nicholls State at Louisiana-Lafayette, 2/19
2,548 Northern Illinois at Arizona State (DH), 2/20
2,503 Sam Houston State at TCU, 2/21
2,494 Southeast Missouri at Auburn, 2/19
2,350 Nebraska at Fresno State, 2/20
2,300 Xavier at Tennessee, 2/19
2,243 Jacksonville State at Texas Tech, 2/19
2,190 Nebraska at Fresno State, 2/21
2,162 Jacksonville State at Texas Tech, 2/21
2,126 Rice at Stanford (DH), 2/20
2,109 Southeast Missouri at Auburn, 2/21
2,027 Long Beach State at Cal State Fullerton, 2/21
2,012 Michigan at Texas Tech, 2/21

(Report complied by Wichita State sports information)

Baseball America Feb. 22 College Baseball Poll

Virginia Is Number One For The First Time

Virginia took two out of three on the road against East Carolina in the marquee series of college baseball’s opening weekend and moved up to No. 1 in the Baseball America Top 25 rankings for the first time ever.

While Virginia, which ranked second in the preseason, was winning on the road in a tough environment at then-No. 18 East Carolina, its path to the top of the rankings was cleared when preseason No. 1 Texas was upset at home by New Mexico. The Longhorns won the opener but dropped the next two games and fell to No. 3 in the rankings, with Louisiana State moving to No. 2 after sweeping Centenary.

Texas wasn’t the only top 10 team upset on opening weekend. Preseason No. 4 Cal State Fullerton lost its first two games to Oregon and Pepperdine before salvaging the finale with a win against rival Long Beach State. Meanwhile, Rice went on the road to Stanford and was swept in a three-game series, the first time that’s happened to the Owls in five years. Fullerton and Rice fell to No. 8 and No. 9, respectively.

Since most of the preseason Top 25 teams opened the season with series wins against lesser opponents, there wasn’t a lot of movement throughout the rankings. Stanford, thanks to sweeping Rice, was the only team to join the rankings this week, jumping in at No. 18. Georgia fell out of the rankings after a 2-2 weekend.

Rk.	Team	W-L	Last Week	Prev.
1.	Virginia	2-1	2-1	2
2.	Louisiana State	3-0	3-0	3
3.	Texas	1-2	1-2	1
4.	Georgia Tech	3-0	3-0	6
5.	Florida	3-0	3-0	7
6.	UC Irvine	3-0	3-0	8
7.	Florida State	3-0	3-0	9
8.	Cal State Fullerton	1-2	1-2	4
9.	Rice	0-3	0-3	5
10.	South Carolina	3-0	3-0	10
11.	Texas Christian	3-0	3-0	11
12.	Coastal Carolina	2-1	2-1	12
13.	Louisville	3-0	3-0	13
14.	Arizona State	3-0	3-0	14
15.	Clemson	3-0	3-0	15
16.	Miami	3-0	3-0	16
17.	Arkansas	2-1	2-1	17
18.	Stanford	3-0	3-0	NR
19.	San Diego	3-1	3-1	19
20.	North Carolina	3-0	3-0	20
21.	Southern Mississippi	2-1	2-1	21
22.	East Carolina	1-2	1-2	18
23.	UCLA	3-0	3-0	23
24.	Mississippi	2-1	2-1	24
25.	Oregon State	2-1	2-1	25
Dropped Out: Georgia (22) (BA Release)

NCBWA Feb. 22 College Baseball Poll

LSU Is New Number One

DALLAS – The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association continues
its tradition of NCAA Division I polls for the 13th year with its 2010
weekly surveys. Weekly polls will be circulated from Feb. 22-June 29
following the 64th annual NCAA World Series in Omaha, Neb., and final
CWS competition at historic Rosenblatt Stadium.

The poll voters come from 40 college baseball writers and related media
persons from throughout the nation. This week’s poll has representation
by 11 different conferences among the 302 baseball-playing schools in
the 2010 NCAA Division I ranks, and there have been 12 circuits in the
initial surveys this season. Last year there were 17 different leagues
(from 30 in NCAA Division I) among the Top 30 polls. For more
information or to join the NCBWA, please go to
www.ncbwa.com< target=_blank href=”http://www.ncbwa.com/”>http://www.ncbwa.com/>.

Rank School Conference Overall Record Previous Rank
1 LSU Southeastern 3-0 2
2 Florida State Atlantic Coast 3-0 6
3 Virginia ACC 2-1 3
4 UC Irvine Big West 3-0 7
5 Georgia Tech ACC 3-0 9
6 Arizona State Pacific-10 3-0 8
7 Florida SEC 3-0 10
8 Texas Big 12 1-2 1
9 TCU Mountain West 3-0 11
10 Miami (Fla.) ACC 3-0 12
11 Cal State Fullerton Big West 1-2 4
12 North Carolina ACC 3-0 13
13 Clemson ACC 3-0 14
14 Rice Conference USA 0-3 5
15 Louisville Big East 3-0 19
16 Arkansas SEC 2-1 15
17 Stanford Pac-10 3-0 30
18 South Carolina SEC 3-0 21
19 Coastal Carolina Big South 2-1 17
20 Oregon State Pac-10 2-1 18
21 East Carolina C-USA 1-2 16
22 Oklahoma Big 12 4-0 25
23 Ohio State Big Ten 3-0 23
24 Mississippi SEC 2-1 20
25 San Diego West Coast 3-1 24
26 Southern Miss C-USA 2-1 22
27 UCLA Pac-10 3-0 27
28 Texas A&M Big 12 3-0 28
29 Kentucky SEC 3-0 NR
30 Vanderbilt SEC 3-0 29

Others receiving votes (listed alphabetically): Others receiving votes
(listed alphabetically): Alabama (2-0), Army (2-1), Baylor (3-1), Boston
College (2-1), Connecticut (0-0), Dallas Baptist (3-0), Elon (3-0),
Florida Gulf Coast (3-0), Florida International (3-0), Fresno State
(3-0), Georgia (2-2), James Madison (0-0), Kansas (0-0), Lamar (3-0),
Middle Tennessee (1-1), Mississippi State (3-0), New Mexico (2-1), Notre
Dame (3-0), Old Dominion (3-0), Oral Roberts (0-0), Oregon (2-1),
Pepperdine (2-1), USF (0-3), St. John’s (3-0), Tennessee (3-0), Texas
State (3-0), Texas Tech (4-0), UC Riverside (3-0), UCF (3-0), UNC
Wilmington (2-1), Washington State (2-0), Western Kentucky (2-1),
Wichita State (0-0), Winthrop (3-0).
Dropped Out: Georgia (26).

By conference: SEC 7, ACC 6, Pac-10 4, Big 12 3, C-USA 3, Big West 2,
Big East 1, Big South 1, Big Ten 1, MWC 1, WCC 1.

Collegiate Baseball 2010 Week One Poll

LSU Takes Over Top Spot In First Regular Season Rankings

TUCSON, Ariz. – Defending national champion Louisiana St. is ranked No. 1 in the first regular season “Collegiate Baseball” newspaper NCAA Division I baseball poll after sweeping Centenary three straight over the past weekend.

The Tigers (3-0) took over the top spot when No. 1 pre-season selection Texas dropped two of three at home to start the season against New Mexico.  LSU captured its 11th straight season-opening series dating back to 2000.

In game two of the series, Tiger Head Coach Paul Mainieri celebrated the 1,000th win of his coaching career during a 25-8 win. His 28-year career includes stops at St. Thomas University in Miami (1983-88), Air Force (1989-94), Notre Dame (1995-2006) and LSU (2007-present).

Poll Notes: New Mexico stunned Texas by winning two of three in Austin against the Longhorns to start the season. It marked the first time in school history that the Lobos had beaten a No. 1 ranked team. Prior to the historic victories, New Mexico was 0-9 all-time when playing the No. 1 team in the nation. All nine games were against Arizona St. After Texas won the opener, 6-2, the Lobos captured the final two contests, 6-5 and 3-1.

Another red-hot team to start the season was Oregon. The Ducks knocked off highly regarded Cal. St. Fullerton to start the season in Fullerton, Calif. and followed that off with a win at Long Beach St. before losing at Pepperdine. New to the poll this week are New Mexico and Oregon. Two teams dropped out in Rice (0-3) and Minnesota (2-1).

The “Collegiate Baseball” newspaper poll is the oldest college baseball poll. Its birth took place during the 1957 college baseball season.

Collegiate Baseball Newspaper’s
NCAA Div. I Poll
(As of Feb. 22, 2010)

Rank School (Record)        Points    Previous
1. Louisiana St. (3-0)          492        2
2. Arizona St. (3-0)             490        5
3. Georgia Tech. (3-0)        488        6
4. Texas (1-2)                     487        1
5. Virginia (2-1)                   486        3
6. Cal. St. Fullerton (1-2)     484        4
7. Florida St. (3-0)               483        7
8. U.C. Irvine (3-0)               482        8
9. Florida (3-0)                     479        9
10. Oregon St. (2-1)            476        10
11. Miami, Fla. (3-0)             473        12
12. North Carolina (3-0)       471        13
13. Ohio St. (3-0)                 469        14
14. Texas Christian (3-0)    465        15
15. Clemson (3-0)               464        16
16. Louisville (3-0)              461        19
17. UCLA (3-0)                   459        20
18. Stanford (3-0)              457        26
19. New Mexico (2-1)        454        -
20. Oklahoma (4-0)            451        25
21. Coastal Carolina (2-1)  449        17
22. East Carolina (1-2)       447        18
23. South Carolina (3-0)    444        28
24. San Diego (3-1)           443        24
25. Oregon (2-1)               441        -
26. Southern Miss. (2-1)   435        21
27. Wichita St. (0-0)          430        27
28. Mississippi (2-1)         429        22
29. Texas A&M (3-0)        427        29
30. Arkansas (2-1)           425        23

NCBWA 2010 Preseason College Baseball Poll

Texas Tops Another Preseason Poll

DALLAS - The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association continues
its tradition of NCAA Division I polls for the 13th year with its 2010
preseason predictions and weekly surveys. Weekly polls will continue
from Feb. 22 through June 29 following the NCAA World Series in Omaha,
Neb.

The poll voters come from 40 college baseball writers and related media
persons from throughout the nation. After a preseason Top 35 listing,
the remainder of the polls will feature a national Top 30.

Texas is the preseason NCBWA poll choice for the third time in history.
Last year coach Augie Garrido’s crew finished second to LSU (No. 2 in
the NCBWA pre-2010 survey) in the NCAA World Series during the
next-to-last venue at historic Rosenblatt Stadium, which will be razed
after the ‘10 CWS. The Longhorns also earned top billing in 2003 and ‘06
while North Carolina managed its first preseason top rating in 2009.

LSU held down the No. 1 slot in both the 1998 and 2001 NCBWA preseason
selections while other No. 1 placers in the initial polls are Southern
California (1999), Miami (Fla.) (2000), Stanford (2002), Cal State
Fullerton (2005), Rice (2004, 07), and Arizona State (2008). The three
final No. 1 choices prior to LSU in 2009 have come from the Far West in
Fresno State (2008) and two-time NCAA champ Oregon State (2006 and ‘07).

This week’s poll has representation by 12 different conferences among
the 302 baseball-playing schools in the 2010 NCAA Division I ranks. The
polls of 2009 had teams from 16 different DI conferences rated at least
one week. For more information or to join the NCBWA, please go to
www.ncbwa.com.

Rank-School-2009 Record-Final ‘09 Poll Place

1 Texas  Big 12 50-16-1 2

2 LSU  SEC 56-17 1

3 Virginia  ACC t 48-15-1 6

4 Cal State Fullerton  Big West 47-16 7

5 Rice   Conference USA 43-18 9

6 Florida State   ACC 45-18 10

7 UC Irvine   Big West 45-15 13

8 Arizona State  Pac-10 51-14 3

9 Georgia Tech ACC 38-19-1 19

10 Florida SEC 42-22 14

11 TCU   Mountain West 40-18 11

12 Miami (Fla.)   ACC 38-22 20

13 North Carolina   ACC 48-18 4

14 Clemson  ACC 44-22 15

15 Arkansas  SEC 41-24 5

16 East Carolina   C-USA 46-20 16

17 Coastal Carolina   Big South 47-16 21

18 Oregon State   Pac-10 37-19 24

19 Louisville   Big East 47-18 17

20 Mississippi   SEC 44-20 12

21 South Carolina   SEC 40-23 23

22 Southern Miss   C-USA 40-26 8

23 Ohio State   Big Ten 42-19 NR

24 San Diego   West Coast 29-25 NR

25 Oklahoma   Big 12 43-20 18

26 Georgia   SEC 38-24 26

27 UCLA   Pac-10 27-29 NR

28 Texas A&M   Big 12 37-24 25

29 Vanderbilt   SEC 37-27 29

30 Stanford   Pac-10 30-25 NR

31 Wichita State  Missouri Valley 30-27 NR

32 Alabama   SEC 37-21 30

33 Kansas   Big 12 39-24 NR

34 Kansas State   Big 12 43-18-1 22

35 Minnesota   Big Ten (40-19) NR

Others receiving votes (listed alphabetically): Army (26-21), Auburn
(31-25), Bethune-Cookman (32-28), Cal Poly (37-21), Charlotte (33-22),
Connecticut (36-24), Dallas Baptist (38-17), Dayton (38-19), Elon
(41-18), Florida Gulf Coast (36-18), Florida International (34-23),
Fresno State (32-30), George Mason (42-14), James Madison (30-24),
Kentucky (28-26), Long Beach State (25-29), Middle Tennessee State
(44-18), Mississippi State (25-29), Notre Dame (36-23), Oklahoma State
(34-24), Oral Roberts (33-15), Pepperdine (31-23), Rhode Island
(37-20-1), San Diego State (41-23), South Florida (34-25), Tennessee
(26-29), UCF (22-35), UNC Wilmington (31-23), Washington State (32-25),
Western Kentucky (42-20), Xavier (39-21) .

By conference: SEC 9, ACC 5, Big 12 5, Pac-10 4, Conference USA 3, Big
West 2, Big Ten 2, WCC 1, Big East 1, Big South 1, MVC 1, MWC 1.

USA Today/ESPN 2010 College Baseball Preseason Coaches’ Poll

Texas Tops The First Coaches’ Poll Of The Season

The preseason coaches poll has just been released, and, like the other preseason polls, Texas is number one.  Here’s a look at the rest of the Top 25:

Jan. 29, 2010 — preseason poll

Rank	School (first-place votes)	Record	Points	Final 2009 rank
1	Texas (18)	50-16-1	760	2
2	LSU (10)	56-17	721	1
3	Cal State-Fullerton (2)	47-16	671	7
4	Virginia (1)	49-15-1	665	5
5	Florida State	45-18	575	10
6	Rice	43-18	547	9
7	UC Irvine	45-15	534	16
8	Arizona State	51-14	497	3
9	Florida	42-22	489	13
10	Georgia Tech	38-19-1	484	18
11	North Carolina	48-18	456	4
12	TCU	40-18	367	12
13	Miami (Fla.)	38-22	355	20
14	Oregon State	37-19	350	NR
15	Clemson	44-22	334	14
16	Arkansas	41-24	289	6
17	Mississippi	44-20	249	11
18	East Carolina	46-20	224	15
19	Coastal Carolina	47-16	203	23
20	Louisville	47-18	192	17
21	Ohio State	42-19	131	NR
22	Oklahoma	43-20	127	19
23	San Diego	29-25	95	NR
24	Southern Mississippi	40-26	94	8
25	Stanford	30-25	79	NR

Others receiving votes: South Carolina (40-23) 75; Vanderbilt (37-27) 75; UCLA (27-29) 73; Texas A&M (37-24) 51; Georgia (38-24) 48; Minnesota (40-19) 48; Arizona (30-25) 33; Kansas (39-24) 24; Kansas State (43-18-1) 19; Wichita State (30-27) 19; Oral Roberts (33-15) 18; Pepperdine (31-23) 15; Middle Tennessee (44-18) 13; Fresno State (32-30) 9; Missouri (35-27) 9; Oklahoma State (34-24) 9; Alabama (37-21) 6; North Carolina-Wilmington (31-23) 6; Boston College (34-26) 5; Florida Gulf Coast (36-18) 5; James Madison (30-24) 5; Kentucky (28-26) 4; Long Beach State (25-29) 4; Cal Poly (37-21) 3; Gonzaga (36-18) 3; St. John’s (30-22) 3; Florida International (34-23) 2; Jacksonville (37-22) 1; Nebraska (25-28) 1; Western Kentucky (42-20) 1.

The USA TODAY/ESPN Board of Coaches is made up of 31 coaches at Division I institutions. All are members of the American Baseball Coaches Association.

The 2010 board: The USA TODAY/ESPN Board of Coaches is made up of 31 coaches at Division I institutions. All are members of the American Baseball Coaches Association. The board for the 2010 season: Terry Alexander, Jacksonville; John Anderson, Minnesota; Ed Blankmeyer, St. John’s; Rob Cooper, Wright State; Sherman Corbett, Texas-San Antonio; Tim Corbin, Vanderbilt; David Eldredge, Southern Utah; Mike Gaski, North Carolina-Greensboro; Nino Giarratano, San Francisco; Gary Gilmore, Coastal Carolina; Keith Guttin, Missouri State; Danny Hall, Georgia Tech; Daniel Heefner, Dallas Baptist; Loren Hibbs, Charlotte; Charlie Hickey, Central Connecticut State; George Horton, Oregon; Steve Jaksa, Central Michigan; Omar Johnson, Jackson State; Rick Jones, Tulane; Steve Kittrell, South Alabama; Paul Kostacopoulos, Navy; Kevin Leighton, Manhattan; Gary McClure, Austin Peay; Mervyl Melendez, Bethune-Cookman; Gary Powers, Nevada; Mark Scalf, North Carolina-Wilmington; Jim Schlossnagle, TCU; Matt Senk, Stony Brook; Doug Smith, UC-Riverside; Steve Smith, Baylor; Bob Whalen, Dartmouth.

Baseball America 2010 Preseason College Baseball Poll

TEXAS TOPS BA’S PRESEASON TOP 25

DURHAM, N.C–Texas is No. 1 in Baseball America’s preseason Top 25 for a record sixth time in the 30-year history of the rankings. The Longhorns, who last topped the preseason rankings in 2006, broke a tie with Stanford for most years starting atop the rankings. Texas was also preseason No. 1 in 1983 (when it became one of four teams ever to start the season in the top spot and go on to win the national title) and in ‘85-’87. The ‘Horns, who finished as the national runner-up last year, claim the top spot based largely on the strength of the nation’s most talented pitching staff.

Three other 2009 College World Series participants fill the next three slots, highlighted by defending national champ Louisiana State at No. 3. Second-ranked Virginia leads a group of three Atlantic Coast Conference teams in the top 10 and six in the top 25. The Southeastern Conference ties the ACC for most among all conferences with three teams in the top 10 and six in the top 25.

All eight participants in last year’s CWS start in the 2010 rankings, including No. 21 Southern Mississippi, which opens in the rankings for the second time ever. The Golden Eagles started the 2001 season at No. 25. Twelfth-ranked Coastal Carolina is ranked in the preseason for the first time.

The staff of Baseball America determines the Top 25 rankings. Last year’s records do not include ties.

Team

1.   Texas

2.   Virginia

3.   Louisiana State

4.   Cal State Fullerton

5.   Rice

6.   Georgia Tech

7.   Florida

8.   UC Irvine

9.   Florida State

10.   South Carolina

11.   Texas Christian

12.   Coastal Carolina

13.   Louisville

14.   Arizona State

15.   Clemson

16.   Miami

17.   Arkansas

18.   East Carolina

19.   San Diego

20.   North Carolina

21.   Southern Mississippi

22.   Georgia

23.   UCLA

24.   Mississippi

25.   Oregon State

By Conference Poll Breakdown

SEC -6

ACC -6

C-USA – 3

Pac 10 -3

Big West -2

Big 12 – 1

Big East – 1

Big South – 1

Mountain West – 1

WCC – 1

South Florida 2010 Baseball Schedule

All 2010 Big East Schedules Have Been Released

TAMPA – University of South Florida head coach Lelo Prado announced the release of the 2010 USF baseball schedule, a slate that includes five 2009 NCAA Tournament participants (11 games) and seven in-state opponents.

Prado also announced that, the Bulls will play a portion of their home schedule away from Red McEwen Field at George Steinbrenner Field and the

University of Tampa Baseball Stadium to accommodate the construction set to begin in early April.

“2010 is going to be an exciting year for USF baseball,” said Prado. “This schedule is going to challenge us every time we take the field right from the beginning when we go to Gainesville.”

The Bulls will be tested by the challenging 27-game BIG EAST schedule and will also face Sunshine State rivals Florida, Miami, Florida Atlantic, Stetson, Jacksonville, North Florida and UCF.

The Bulls will kick off 2010 by heading north on Interstate-75 to Gainesville to face Florida in a three-game set on Feb. 19-21. The Gators will make a return trip to Tampa on April 21 for a mid-week tilt at George Steinbrenner Field.

Complete 2010 USF Schedule

USF will then participate in the 2010 Big Ten – Big East Challenge in Clearwater for the second consecutive year. Last year’s Challenge, which featured eight programs from the BIG EAST and all of the Big Ten baseball-playing institutions,  was very well attended, including a final-day attendance of 5,000 for the six games played at the Naimoli Complex.

On Friday, February 26, the first day of the 2010 Challenge, USF will take on Ohio State University at 4:30 p.m. at Al Lang Field. The meeting will mark the eighth meeting and first since 1997 between the Bulls and Buckeyes, with USF holding a 4-3 edge.

The Bulls’ second contest will be under the lights of Bright House Stadium on Saturday against the Fighting Illini of Illinois. The Bulls will look to snap a four-game losing streak dating back to 2004 and even the all-time series at four apiece as the Illini have taken four of the seven all-time meetings.

Prado and his Bulls will wrap up the Challenge on Sunday against familiar opponent Michigan at 1:00 p.m. at the Naimoli Complex.  They will have a chance to avenge a loss suffered in the inaugural Big East – Big Ten Challenge when they dropped a 6-5 decision to the Wolverines in the opening game.

Tickets for the second BIG EAST-Big Ten Baseball Challenge, hosted by the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Sports Commission, are available online at www.BigTenBIGEASTChallenge.com.

After the Challenge, the Bulls will collide with Miami in Tampa at George M. Steinbrenner Field as part of the Inaugural Florida Four Tournament on March 2. It will mark the first of two mid-week clashes with the Hurricanes, who made their 37th consecutive NCAA appearance in 2009. USF will make the trip to Miami on April 28.

Following the Florida Four, the Bulls will make the trek to Norman, Okla., March 4-7 for four games including a pair of contests against the Sooners, another 2009 NCAA tournament team.  The Bulls will also take on Stephen F. Austin and Western Illinois during their stay in Norman.

After returning from Norman, USF will stay in Florida for the rest of the month hosting a pair of mid-week games against Jacksonville (March 9-10), and then host a pair of weekend series against Eastern Illinois (March 12-14) and Mercer (March 19-21).

USF will get another crack at Ohio State in March, as the Bulls and Buckeyes will meet on the 24th in a final tune-up before BIG EAST conference play begins at Red McEwen Field.

Due to the recently announced construction of a new USF baseball stadium, all home games played after the Notre Dame series (March 26-28) will be played at either George Steinbrenner Stadium or University of Tampa’s Spartan Stadium.

The new baseball stadium will remain on the same footprint as the existing field, but will be realigned in order to create a plaza and ticketing area that is shared with the new softball stadium. Current plans have the softball field located south of the baseball stadium.

“We are very pleased with the progress and design of the new baseball stadium ,”  said USF Executive Associate Director of Athletics Bill McGillis.’ It is on a fast-track, and we have every intention of having it completed in time for the first pitch of 2011.  We are anticipating a spectacular facility – a very intimate setting with team and spectator amenities that will be first class in every way.  There is not doubt it will be one of the premier college baseball stadiums in the entire country.”

The baseball stadium is expected to include new step-down team dugouts, bullpens, covered batting cages, multiple party pavilions, a press box and a 1,500 seat spectator grandstand with a shade canopy, an elevated, shaded entertainment or hospitality deck and service amenities. The overall capacity of the stadium is expected to exceed 3,000 and is being designed to accommodate additional seating that will enable USF to host NCAA Regionals and Super Regionals.

“We are very happy to accommodate the construction plans for the new stadium by moving to games to Steinbrenner Stadium,” added Prado. “I want to personally the thank New York Yankees, Felix Lopez (Senior Vice President with the New York Yankees), Mark Newman (senior VP of baseball operations of the New York Yankees) along with the University of Tampa because of their help it allows us to begin construction of our facility and have it completed for the 2011 season.”

The 27-game BIG EAST schedule consists of home series against Notre Dame (March 26-28), Georgetown (April 9-11), Villanova (April 23-25), Seton Hall (April 30-May 2) and Connecticut (14-16). The road slate consists of trips to Cincinnati (April 1-3), Rutgers (April 16-18), St. John’s (May 7-9) and will close out the 2010 season with a trip to Pittsburgh (May 20-22) for a three game set in the Steel City.

USF will host home series against Georgetown, Villanova and Connecticut at Steinbrenner Stadium, along with a mid-week match-up against UCF on April 6. UT Spartan Stadium will serve as the Bulls’ home for the Seton Hall series and April 27 game against Florida Gulf Coast.

Times for most home weekend series are as follows: Friday and Saturday night games will be at 7 p.m. and the first pitch for Sunday games will take place at 1 p.m however times may very.

Weekday games are slated for a 7 p.m. start, however times are subject to change. Be sure to check GoUSFBulls.com regularly for any schedule changes and updates.

Earlier this year, the BIG EAST Conference announced the return of the BIG EAST Championships to Clearwater at Bright House Field. It has been chosen as the site of the 2010 and 2011 BIG EAST Conference Baseball Championships.

Bright House Field served as the venue for the 2006, 2008 and 2009 BIG EAST Championships. The 2010 BIG EAST Conference Baseball Championship will be played May 26-30 (Wednesday through Sunday), with the top eight teams in the regular season standings qualifying. The 2011 conference tournament will take place May 25-29. The winner of the BIG EAST Championship receives the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.

The championship game of the 2010 BIG EAST tournament is scheduled to be televised live on ESPNU.

The Bulls lost just five players from a 2009 ball club that went 18-9 in the BIG EAST en route to a second place finish, just a half game back of regular and tournament champion, Louisville. The 2009 BIG EAST Coach of the Year, Lelo Prado, enters his fourth year at USF with a vision to take his program to next level.

2009 Freshmen All-Americans Sam Mende and Todd Brazeal headline a solid core of returners, and the Bulls also bring back their ace in Randy Fontanez, who went 7-3 in 13 starts last season. 2009 BIG EAST Batting Champion Junior Carlin and 2008 Freshman of the Year Ryan Lockwood, also return for the 2010 season.

(Release)

Florida Gulf Coast 2010 Baseball Schedule

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Florida Gulf Coast University baseball head coach Dave Tollett released the Eagles 2010 schedule on Friday and it includes 27 games at Swanson Stadium, 11 games against BCS Conference schools and 15 games against NCAA Regional teams, two of which advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals last season.

The Eagles enter their third year as a member of Division I, and have already claimed two A-Sun regular season titles. This season, the 38^th ranked Eagles will be eligible for postseason play for the first time in the program’s history. The Eagles look to defend their back-to-back A-Sun regular season titles as they welcome 13

newcomers to a squad that returns seven position starters and four starting pitchers.

Complete 2010 FGCU Schedule

The Eagles’ 55 game slate features six games against ACC competition, four games against Sun Belt teams, three games against the Missouri Valley Conference and the Atlantic 10, two games against the Big 12, along with single games against the SEC, Big East, & Big 10.

Head coach Dave Tollett talked about the Eagles’ schedule: “We wanted to play as tough a non-conference schedule as we could, knowing that this will be our first opportunity for postseason play.  With games against Wichita State, Florida, Michigan, Clemson, Oklahoma State, and Miami, we think we’ve got one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the country.  By playing quality teams throughout the season, we expect to be prepared not only for the A-Sun regular season, but also the conference tournament, and hopefully the NCAA tournament as well.”

The Eagles will open the 2010 season at home on Feb. 19-21 with a three-game series against Temple at Swanson Stadium before traveling south to face Miami in their first of two meetings on Feb. 24. The Hurricanes will travel to Fort Myers on Apr. 14 for the second meeting between the schools. Miami earned a berth in the 2009 NCAA Regionals after being ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation, posting a 38-22 record last season.

After their first road trip, the Eagles land back home to host a four-game set with Sacred Heart on Feb. 26-28. The series includes a double-header on Feb. 27.

On Mar. 3, FGCU hosts Michigan in the first meeting between the two schools.  After that, the Eagles hit the road to face Wichita State on Mar. 5-7. The Eagles will play a three-game series against the 2009 Missouri Valley Conference champions, who lost two one-run games in the 2009 NCAA Regionals.

The Eagles open A-Sun conference play on the road against USC Upstate on Mar. 12-13. The Eagles have an all-time winning record against nine of the ten A-Sun opponents they face; against Belmont, FGCU is 3-3 all-time.

Following a mid-week game against FIU on Mar. 16 at Swanson Stadium, the Eagles travel to Stetson for a weekend A-Sun matchup on Mar. 19-20. Along with FIU (Mar. 16 and May 18), FGCU will also face Sun Belt foe FAU (Apr. 20 and May 11).

The Eagles stay on the road to face Florida on Mar. 24 in Gainesville, Fla. Florida advanced to the NCAA Super Regional last season but fell to Southern Mississippi in two games. The Eagles have a 1-1 record against the Gators after each team earned road wins last season.

FGCU will host A-Sun foe Kennesaw State on Mar. 26-27 for the first time at Swanson Stadium. In the Eagles first two seasons, FGCU has beat out the Owls to earn back-to-back regular season titles.

On Mar. 30-31, FGCU will travel to Stillwater, Okla. for a two-game, mid-week series against 2009 NCAA Regional participant Oklahoma State.

The Eagles return home Apr. 2-3 for a weekend A-Sun series against Mercer.  FGCU has won five of the six meetings between the two schools.

Conference play continues the following weekend as the Blue and Green travel to Buies Creek, NC, for a three-game set with Campbell Apr. 9-10.  The Eagles have never lost to the Camels in their previous six meetings.

On April 14 the Miami Hurricanes will make their first trip to Fort Myers.  The Eagles have dropped the previous two meetings between the two schools, although the Blue and Green gave Miami a big scare in 2008, falling to the No. 1 ranked Hurricanes 4-2 in 11 innings.

FGCU heads back on the road to face A-Sun foe Lipscomb in a three-game series Apr. 16-18 in Nashville.  The Bison earned the No. 2 seed in the A-Sun tournament last season, finishing with a 17-13 conference record.

Following a home game against Florida Atlantic (Apr. 20), the Blue and Green will host Belmont Apr. 23-25.  The Bruins finished 29-29 overall last season, 15-15 in A-Sun play.

Beginning Apr. 27 FGCU will play five straight non-conference road games, beginning with a single game at South Florida on Apr. 27.  Following that the Eagles will travel to Clemson, SC for their first-ever meeting with the Clemson Tigers.  That four-game series starts on May 1 and wraps up May 4.

FGCU resumes conference play with a home series against ETSU on May 7-8, followed by a road game at Florida Atlantic (May 11).

The Eagles will travel to Jacksonville to do battle with last year’s A-Sun tournament No. 1 seed, the Jacksonville Dolphins, May 14-15.  The Dolphins took two out of three games from FGCU last year, but the Eagles swept JU in 2008.

After a road game at Florida International (May 18), FGCU returns home to close out the regular season against A-Sun foe North Florida May 20-21.  The Eagles swept the Ospreys in Jacksonville last year.

The 2010 A-Sun Championship is set for May 25-29 at Lipscomb’s Dugan Field at Marsh Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., for the Eagles’ first appearance. The 2010 NCAA Championship is set to begin on June 4 with regional play.

(Release)

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