http://collegebaseball360.com/college-baseball-360-2012-team-previews/ http://collegebaseball360.com/college-baseball-360-2012-team-previews/#comments Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:51:29 +0000 http://collegebaseball360.com/?p=23990

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A Look At Teams 1-10…

Florida's Kevin O'Sullivan with ESPN's Kyle Peterson at the CWS

With the start of the season rapidly approaching, here’s a look at some of the top teams in the country heading into the 2012 college baseball season.

Our rankings are based on a “composite formula” that combines not only the existing weekly preseason national polls, but also other factors like strength of schedule and preseason conference polls. Other criteria will continually be added throughout the season to our composite rankings.

Here is a look at the top 10 teams heading into the season.

( ) Stats in parenthesis are from the 2011 season.

* After a statistic denotes team leader in that statistical category.

Top 10 By Conference: SEC: 4, ACC: 2, Big 12: 2, Pac-12: 1, Conference USA: 1

CLICK HERE to see the entire CB360 2012 Preseason Composite National Rankings

CLICK HERE to see capsules for teams 11-20

CLICK HERE to see capsules for teams 21-30

1. Florida

2011 Record: 53-19

In 2010, Kevin O’Sullivan led Florida to its first College World Series since 2005’s national runner-up appearance, but the Gators were two and ‘que in Rosenblatt Stadium’s swan song. Last year, virtually the same team stormed all the way to the CWS Championship Series, only to fall to SEC Eastern Division rival South Carolina.

The question O’Sullivan has this year is – Can that same core of players take things one step farther?

While the two-time defending champion Gamecocks have considerable losses to deal with (see below), the Gators return almost everyone from last year’s 53 win team.

Starting pitchers Hudson Randall (11-3*, 2.17 ERA, 124 1/3 IP*, 2 CG*), Karsten Whitson (8-1, 2.40 ERA, 97 1/3 IP, 92 K*) and two-way player Brian Johnson (8-1, 2.40 ERA/.307 BA, 5 HR, 29 RBIs) combined to pitch nearly half of the team’s 644 innings last year. A slew of heavy duty arms will back them up in the bullpen.

The line-up is led by catcher Mike Zunino (.371*, 19 HR*, 23 Doubles*, 67 RBIs, 75 Runs*, 1.116 OPS*) and senior Preston Tucker (.308, 15 HR, 74 RBIs*, 23 Doubles*). Daniel Pigott (.331, 5 HR, 40 RBIs, 15 SB*), Nolan Fontana (.289, 5 HR, 49 RBIs), Austin Maddox (.280, 6 HR, 35 RBIs/0.67 ERA, 21 App., 5 SV*), Tyler Thompson (.264, 27 Starts), and Vickash Ramjit (.382, 19 Starts) all fortify the best top to bottom everyday lineup in the country heading into the season. Tucker told us anything short of a national championship this year would be a disappointment and it’s hard to disagree.

The Gators challenge themselves right away when they host a three-game series vs. Cal State Fullerton to open the season.

CLICK HERE to listen to a podcast interview with Gator Preston Tucker.

2. South Carolina

2011 Record:  55-14

Ray Tanner’s Gamecocks won a second straight national title last year after returning a slew of talent from the 2010 championship squad. This year will be different though. South Carolina loses several key players from the back-to-back championship teams – including position players Jackie Bradley, Jr. (.247, 6 HR, 27 RBIs), Scott Wingo (.338, 4 HR, 31 RBIs), Brady Thomas (.316, 4 HR, 43 RBIs), Robert Beary (.289, 3 HR, 35 RBIs), Adrian Morales (.281, 3 HR, 40 RBIs), and relievers John Taylor (8-1, 1.14 ERA, 50 App., *) and Jose Mata (3-0, 1.76 ERA). The two pitchers combined to make 73 appearances (50 by Taylor) en-route to the team’s second crown last year.

While the losses are formidable, South Carolina does return arguably the most important pitcher in the country, Michael Roth (14-3*, 1.06 ERA, CG*, 145 IP*, 112 K*), over the last two seasons. Sophomore closer Matt Price (7-3, 1.83 ERA, 20 SV*, 59 IP, 70 K*), Forrest Koumas (6-1, 2.96 ERA) and Colby Holmes (7-3, 3.69 ERA) fortify a solid pitching staff.

Infield cornerstone Christian Walker (.358*, 10 HR*, 62 RBIs*, 21 Doubles*, 64 Runs*, .992 OPS*) and  Evan Marzilli (.291, 3 HR, 31 RBIs) are also back for a shot at another run at Omaha.

South Carolina is the only SEC team to reach the NCAA Tournament and also record 40 or more wins in each of the last 12 seasons. The Gamecocks have 577 overall wins, including 222 in SEC play (the most of any team in the conference) during that stretch.

3. Stanford

2011 Record: 35-22

You would be hard pressed to find a team that played a tougher schedule than Stanford last year. You would be even harder pressed to find a pitcher who had tougher head-to-head match-ups in 2011 than Cardinal ace Mark Appel (6-7, 3.02 ERA, 2 CG*, 110 1/3 IP*). Stanford opened its season with series at Rice, at Vanderbilt and at Texas, making the likes of Sonny Gray and Taylor Jungmann Appel’s counterparts on those nights. That’s not to mention match-ups with Sam Gaviglio, Gerrit Cole, Brady Rodgers, Kurt Heyer, and Erik Johnson in Pac-10 play.

The long and short of it is, while Appel won just six times for a 35 win Stanford team, both were battle tested when the NCAA Tournament rolled around as the Cardinal won the Fullerton Regional before falling to North Carolina in Super Regional play.

Appel leads a pitching staff that includes Dean McArdle (7-4*, 4.21 ERA), A.J. Vanegas (1-0, 3.35 ERA, 23 App.) and Brett Mooneyham, who missed all of last season due to injury. The lefty made 28 starts in his first two seasons in 2009 & ’10.

The everyday lineup is stocked with the likes of Stephen Piscotty (.364*, 3 HR, 40 RBIs, 13 Doubles), Brian Ragira (.329, 4 HR, 46 RBIs*, 5 Triples*), Tyler Gaffney (.327, 3 HR, 35 RBIs, 5 Triples*, 10 Doubles, 42 Runs*), Austin Wilson (.311, 5 HR*, 30 RBIs), Lonnie Kauppila (.298, 10 Doubles, 25 RBIs), Kenny Diekroeger (.293, 2 HR, 31 RBIs, 31 Runs), and Jake Stewart (.287, 19 RBIs, 15 Doubles*, 8 SB*, 32 Runs).

By the way, Texas, Rice and Vandy all visit Sunken Diamond this year.

4. North Carolina

2011 Record: 51-16

The good news for Mike Fox and his Tar Heels last year was, after being eliminated in the Regional round in 2010 (on the heels of four straight CWS appearances from 2006-2009), they got back to Omaha in 2011. The bad news was, it was one of their shortest CWS trips. North Carolina was just 1-2 at TD Ameritrade Park last year, with a win over Texas sandwiched between losses to Vanderbilt.

The good news for Fox this year is he returns the bulk of last year’s team. Colin Moran (.335*, 9*, 71 RBIs*, 20 Doubles*, .982 OPS*), Tommy Coyle (.311, 2 HR, 36 RBIs, 57 Runs*, 16 Doubles, 18 SB*), Jacob Stallings (.292, 4 HR, 43 RBIs), Chaz Frank (.278, 35 RBIs, 10 SB). Coyle and Stallings were two of just three Tar Heels to start all 67 games last year. The biggest blow to the lineup and infield is the loss of shortstop Levi Michael (.289, 5 HR, 48 RBIs).

The pitching staff loses ace Patrick Johnson (13-2*, 2.47 ERA, 113 IP*, 125 K*), but there are more than enough returning arms to pick-up the slack. Among them Kent Emanuel (9-1, 2.33 ERA*, 104 1/3 IP), Chris Munnelly (6-5, 4.09 ERA, 10 Starts, 1 SV), Tate Parrish (2.20 ERA, 32 App., 16 1/3 IP, 15 K), Andrew Smith (3-1, 2.77 ERA, 24 App., 26 IP, 27 K), Shane Taylor (2-3, 3.00 ERA, 36 IP, 38 K), R.C. Orlan (2-0, 3.79 ERA, 32 App., 19 IP, 24 K), and Michael Morlin (4-2, 4.64 ERA, 32 App., 6 Starts, 10 SV*, 64 IP, 66 K).

5. Texas A&M

2011 Record: 47-22

Like its arch rival, Texas, Texas A&M is coming-off a trip to the College World Series. It was the program’s first appearance under head coach Rob Childress and its first since 1999. Unlike Texas, this will be A&M’s last season in the Big 12, as the Aggies move to the SEC (along with Missouri) next season.

Kind of makes the April 27-29 series (first game in College Station with the second two in Austin) must see college baseball.

Regardless of next year’s conference address, Childress has the cupboard stocked with returning talent this year. Most notably, reigning Big 12 Player of the Year Tyler Naquin (.381*, 68 Runs*, 44 RBIs, 7 triples*, 23 doubles*, .987 OPS*). The Aggie leadoff man is joined by Jacob House (.301, 3 HR, 52 RBIs*), Matt Juengel (.308, 7 HR*, 50 RBIs), and 2011 Freshman All-American Krey Bratsen (.332, 36 RBIs, 19 sac bunts*, 31 SB*).

Childress has plenty of pitching back too, with Michael Wacha (9-4, 2.29 ERA, 2 CG, 129 2/3 IP*, 123 K*) and versatile Ross Stripling (14-2*, 2.29 ERA, 4 CG*, 4 SV, 125 2/3 IP) at the front of the weekend rotation. Those two combine to give the Aggies one of the top Friday-Saturday duos in the country.

6. Rice

2011 Record: 42-21

Time marches on as Ray Graham prepares for his 21^st season at the helm at Rice. The veteran has averaged an amazing 45 wins in his two decades at the helm. If he hits that number this year and next, he will move past 1,000 career victories.

Graham enters 2011 looking to replace, arguably, the best player in Rice history – Anthony Rendon (.327*, 6 HR, 20 Doubles*, 1.043 OPS*). The third baseman’s home runs dropped last year thanks to BBCOR, but he still hit 52 HR in his three seasons in an Owl uniform. He was the sixth overall pick and the first college position player selected in last year’s MLB Draft (Washington Nationals).

As good as Rendon is, the one thing Rice did not do while he was there is go to the College World Series. The Owls were the No. 8 national seed and hosted an NCAA Regional last year, but they went just 1-2 and saw Cinderella Cal advance all the way to the CWS out of their Regional.

Rice has both plenty of offense and pitching returning this year. Michael Ratterree (.327*, 6 HR*, 53 RBIs*, 20 Doubles*), Craig Manuel (.309, 35 RBIs, 26 Runs) and Shane  Hoelscher (.281, 3 HR, 37 RBIs, 13 Doubles, 30 Runs) are among the top position players back.

Austin Kubitza (6-5, 2.34 ERA*, 100 IP*, 102 K*) heads the weekend rotation, while Matthew Reckling (4-1, 3.10 ERA, 78 1/3 IP, 96 K), Tyler Duffey (8-2*, 2.52 ERA, 30 App., 60 2/3 IP, 76 K), and John Simms (3-2, 3.32 ERA, 62 1/3 IP, 63 K, 23 App.) all return as well. Reckling is the grandson of Rice alum T.R. Reckling, for whom Rice’s home stadium, Reckling Park, is named.

7. Texas

2011 Record: 49-19

After failing to advance to the College World Series from 2006-2008, Augie Garrido’s Longhorns have righted the ship with trips to Omaha two of the last three seasons. Last year’s Omaha appearance was historically short though. Texas was two-and-out for just the second time in its 25 CWS appearances since 1966 last year with losses to Florida and North Carolina.

Gone from last year’s team is first round draftee Taylor Jungmann (13-3, 1.60 ERA, 5 CG, 141 IP*, 126 K*), whose only three losses of the season came in consecutive weeks in NCAA play. Cole Green (8-4, 3.14 ERA, 106 IP, 104 K) is gone as well, leaving Garrido with nearly 250 innings pitched to replace. It’s Texas though, so arms won’t be a problem.  National Freshman of the Year Corey Knebel (3-2, 1.13 ERA, 19 SV*, 55 2/3 IP, 61 K), Sam Stafford (6-2, 1.77 ERA) and Hoby Milner (7-4, 2.45 ERA) are back along with a host of other options.

Erich Weiss (.348*, 4 HR, 7 triples*, 12 doubles, 45 RBIs*, 1.003 OPS*) was the Longhorns’ top bat as a freshman last year, but he’ll need others to step-up around him with the losses of veterans Brandon Loy (.342, 30 RBIs) and Tant Shepherd (.303, 5 HR*, 41 RBIs).

8. Arkansas

2011 Record:

If Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn knows nothing else about the 2012 season, he knows this – his Razorbacks will not have to go through Arizona State in Tempe in the NCAA Tournament. After both teams went to the 2009 College World Series, they squared-off in a 2010 Super Regional, with ASU again advancing to Omaha. Arkansas then bowed-out to the Sun Devils in Tempe in the Regional final last year. However, there is no way the two will meet in the postseason this year, because Arizona State is ineligible due to NCAA probation.

Freshman All-American Dominic Ficociello (.335*, 4 HR, 50 RBIs*, 15 Doubles) is back to lead a lineup that returns five position players from a team that won a tight race in the SEC Western Division. Only two games in the loss column separated first place from last place in the division. Bo Bigham (.291, 2 HR, 20 RBIs, 17 SB), Matt Reynolds (.243, 3 HR, 22 RBIs, 16 SB) and Tim Carver (.232, HR, 13 RBIs, 30 Runs, 24 SB*) are among those who will need to step-up to replace the power and production of James McCann (.306, 6 HR, 38 RBIs, 14 Doubles) and Kyle Robinson (.291, 10 HR*, 49 RBIs).

The Razorbacks will rely on a pitching staff whose 3.20 ERA in 2011 was the program’s best since 1982. All-SEC pitcher D.J. Baxendale (10-2*, 1.58 ERA*, CG, 3 SV, 81/3 IP*, 77 K*) is at the front of the weekend rotation and is among 10 returning Hog pitchers. Freshman All-Americans Barrett Astin (5-2, 2.72 ERA, 3 SV, 27 App.*) and Nolan Sanburn (2-4, 3.62 ERA, 8 SV) combined for 92 IP and 92 Ks last year.

9. Georgia Tech

2011 Record:

The Yellow Jackets hosted an NCAA Regional for the ninth time in 12 years in 2011, but failed to advance after being upset in the first round by Austin Peay and ultimately seeing Mississippi State advance to Super Regional play.

Danny Hall enters his 19^th season at Georgia Tech just 13 wins away from 1,000 in his career. He is also looking to take his team back to the College World Series for the first time since 2006.

Hall loses his top overall bat in Matt Skole (.348*, 10 HR, 58 RBIs*, .990 OPS*), but he has more than enough returning offense back in 2011 with Jake Davies (.347, 5 HR, 35 RBIs, 13 Doubles), Freshman All-American Kyle Wren (.340, 32 RBIs, 11 Doubles, 7 Triples*, 57 Runs*, 16 SB), Sam Dove (.310, 18 RBIs, 30 Runs), Brandon Thomas (.307, 3 HR, 29 RBIs, 29 Runs, 12 Doubles, 19 SB*), Daniel Palka (.297, 12 HR*, 52 RBIs, 18 Doubles, 41 Runs), Mott Hyde (.275, 4 HR, 47 RBIs, 39 Runs, 13 Doubles), and Zane Evans (.270, 5 HR, 46 RBIs, 34 Runs, 14 Doubles) all returning.

Mark Pope (11-4*, 1.74 ERA, 5 CG*, 113 2/3 IP*) is the biggest pitching loss, but the ’11 staff is still deep with Buck Farmer (11-3*, 2.91 ERA, 2 CG, 108 1/3 IP, 106 K*), Matthew Grimes (7-4, 4.15 ERA, 73 2/3 IP, 77 K), DeAndre Smelter (2-1, 0.52 ERA), Luke Bard (2-2, 2.72 ERA, 8 SV*, 25 App.*, 49 2/3 IP, 46 K), Dusty Isaacs (1-1, 2.72 ERA, 36 1/3 IP, 40 K, 25 App.*), and Devin Stanton (1-0, 3.38 ERA, 18 App.) all back looking for a deep NCAA run.

10. LSU

2011 Record: 36-20

Since winning the 2009 national championship, LSU was eliminated in NCAA Regional play in 2010 and just missed the NCAA field in 2011. Paul Mainieri’s young squad struggled to find consistency last year, but last year’s youngsters are all SEC-seasoned veterans now for a team that many considered a 2012 CWS favorite as soon as the 2011 season ended.

The biggest place where inexperience showed last year was in the weekend pitching rotation, where freshmen Kevin Gausman (5-6, 3.51 ERA, 89 2/3 IP*, 86 K*) and Kurt McCune (7-3*, 89 2/3 IP*, 3.31 ERA*) ate the bulk of the innings. Fellow Freshman Ryan Eades (4-1, 4.81 ERA, 6 starts, 18 App.) emerged and joined his classmates in the weekend rotation by season’s end, going 3-0 in his last three starts of the season. That included a win over eventual Super Regional team Mississippi State. Eades also went on to earn Cape Cod Pitcher of the Year honors last summer. Those three give Mainieri what he thinks is the best weekend rotation in the nation entering the season.

The Tigers must fill the void left by closer Matty Ott (1-3, 2.60 ERA, 6 SV*). Sophomore Nick Rumbelow (2-0, 4.85 ERA, 10 App.), All-American juco transfer Nick Goody and freshman Aaron Nola (the younger brother of Austin Nola) have been competing for that spot. The two who fall short in that battle will start the season as set-up men.

Mikie Mahtook (.383*, 61 Runs*, 12 doubles, 5 triples*, 14 HR*, 56 RBIs*), who hit 14 of the team’s 34 home runs last year, is gone. JaCoby Jones (.338, 4 HR, 32 RBIs, 11 Doubles, 12 SB) will take over for him in centerfield, while Raph Rhymes (.360, 3 HR, 42 RBIs, 43 Runs, 18 Doubles)), Mason Katz (.337, 4 HR, 53 RBIs, 40 Runs, 21 Doubles*), and Austin Nola (.296, 2 HR, 42 RBIs, 13 Doubles, 40 Runs) are all back in the everyday lineup.

CLICK HERE to listen to a podcast interview with LSU head coach Paul Mainieri.

 

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Bubble Teams Not Fans Of Lobos, Tigers…

Ray Birmingham

The Lobos had lost seven straight games heading into the MWC Tourney, but the first four of those losses came at Oklahoma and the last three setbacks were to conference rival TCU. Both of those teams have already eclipsed 40 wins this season as they shoot to get back to Omaha after trips there last year.

Birmingham’s Lobos have been seemingly unfazed by their late season misfortunes since arriving in San Diego, and now find themselves one win away from a return trip to the NCAA tournament. New Mexico (19-39) has beaten #3 seed BYU, #1 seed TCU and #2 seed Utah in succession to advance to Friday’s MWC Championship game against either TCU or Utah.

“This team has been through a lot,” Birmingham said after Thursday’s win over the Utes. ” There is a method to my madness and we’re getting there.”

That “madness” has included a brutal schedule this season after Birmingham guided New Mexico to its first NCAA bid in nearly five decades in 2010. The Lobos started the season by dropping three games at Arizona State (a fourth game was rained-out). Their non-conference slate also included games against Oklahoma State, Arizona, Texas Tech, Gonzaga and Oklahoma, finishing just 1-17 against those teams which are all in the NCAA conversation this weekend.

The Lobos also faced TCU, which was a preseason #1 team in some polls, six times (going 1-5) in conference play during the regular season.

“A lot of blogs said we had the hardest schedule in the nation and I believe we did,” Birmingham said after his team’s tournament win over TCU. “We’re not afraid to face the best now. We know how to face the best.”

New Mexico, a team with an RPI of 158 entering the week, is just the second No. 6 seed to advance to the championship game of the MWC Tournament. The only other team to do it was Utah in 2009. The Utes claimed the title that year.

TCU and Utah play at 6 p.m. ET Friday. New Mexico faces the winner at 10 p.m. A Lobo win would give them the tournament title and automatic NCAA bid. If the TCU/Utah winner beats UNM they would play an “if necessary” winner take all game on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. All games are televised by the Mtn. Network and CBS College Sports (channels 616 and 613, respectively on DirecTV).

Missouri players celebrate after Thursday's win (courtesy Big 12).

Missouri is another team that is causing migraines for NCAA bubble teams this week. The Tigers brought just a 24-30 record into this week’s Big 12 Tournament, but they won four of their last five conference series to close the regular season. Those wins all came against teams with higher seeds in this week’s tournament: Texas A&M (2), Baylor (5), Kansas State (6), and Texas Tech (7).

Two teams Missouri did not beat during the regular season were No. 1 seed Texas and No. 4 seed Oklahoma State. The Tigers dropped all six match-ups to the Longhorns and Cowboys in back-to-back weekends at the start of April, but their fortunes changed in rematches this week in Oklahoma City.

Missouri knocked-off top-seeded Texas 6-4 on Wednesday and then held-off OSU 6-5 on Thursday to advance to the tournament semifinals. Missouri led Oklahoma State 5-0, only to see the Cowboys score five runs over the last two innings to tie the game before Eric Garcia‘s walk-off hit with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning.

“I’m really proud of these guys, not just this weekend, but the last five or six weeks,” Mizzou head coach Tim Jamieson said after his team’s fifth walk-off win of the season. “These guys read the blogs and read the websites much more than I do. They know we have to finish above .500 or win the tournament. We can’t finish above .500, so it’s pretty simple math.”

The Tigers now have Friday off and wait until Saturday morning at 10 ET to face the winner of Friday’s Texas-Oklahoma State elimination game. The eight-team Big 12 Tourney is formatted similarly to the College World Series, so if Mizzou wins Saturday it moves on to Sunday’s championship game (Texas A&M is 2-0 in the other four-team pool). If the Texas/OSU winner beats Missouri Saturday morning there will be a rematch that afternoon.

The Big 12 Championship game is Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. ET on Fox Sports Regional Networks.

Elsewhere…

Auburn and Georgia were both teams with work to do to heading into the SEC Tournament, but the bubble has already burst for one of those teams. Georgia (29-29) eliminated Auburn (29-29) in more ways than one with Thursday’s 3-2 victory.

Since a team must finish above .500 to receive an NCAA at-large bid, Auburn’s season is now done. With that in mind, Georgia must not only beat South Carolina on Friday, but they would also have to beat Florida Saturday afternoon to meet the above .500 requirement. South Carolina fell 7-2 to Vanderbilt Thursday night, while Florida is 2-0 with wins over Mississippi State and Alabama.

The fact that Georgia and Auburn could both finish below .500 after qualifying for the SEC field could indirectly help the at-large cases of two teams that didn’t make it to Hoover. Three-time defending SEC champion LSU (36-20 overall) is home this week with an RPI of 23, while Ole Miss (30-25) awaits selection Monday with an RPI of 40.
The only realistic shot the Big East had to get two teams in the NCAA Tournament was for someone other than Connecticut to win its conference tourney. That’s closer to happening after defending champion St. John’s (34-18 and this year’s #2 seed) downed Pittsburgh 6-4 Thursday to improve to 2-0, while UConn (40-16-1) was upset 4-3 by #4 seed Seton Hall (31-23) to fall into the elimination bracket.

The Huskies (38 RPI) are still in good shape for an at-large bid, but anything other than a conference tournament title would all but kill any chances of hosting a regional for a second straight year.
Houston pulled-off its second straight upset at the Conference USA Tournament Thursday. The No. 6 seed Cougars downed No. 2 Southern Mississippi 7-6 a day after downing No. 3 East Carolina 8-5. As we reported earlier this week, Southern Miss. is without two of its top three starting pitchers, Geoffrey Thomas and Jonathon Thompson, who are suspended for academic reasons. Houston (27-30) now faces No. 7 Tulane (30-26).
It didn’t quite match Wednesday’s 20-inning marathon between Western Carolina and Elon in the SoCon Tournament, but Georgia Tech outlasted North Carolina State 6-5 in 15 innings Thursday at the ACC Tourney. Yellow Jacket Matt Hyde stole home in the top of the 15th to give his team the win in the longest game in ACC Tournament history. Georgia Tech, NC State, Clemson and Florida State all are 1-1 in Pool B.

No. 8 seed Arkansas-Little Rock has clinched spot in Sunday’s Sun Belt Championship game. UALR (22-32) has wins over No. 1 Troy and No. 4 Western Kentucky.

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Images From VT-GT Regular Season Finale…

Virginia Tech outfielder Andrew Rash

Georgia Tech pitcher Buck Farmer is 10-2 with a 2.89 ERA this season.

ACC Home Run leader Andrew Rash congratulates shortstop Tim Smalling on scoring after hitting triple.

Yellow Jackets catcher Zane Evans throws runner out at first base.

Right now, you can save 10% on everything – even sale items –  in stock at Dugouthats.com when you enter the coupon code CB360.

Save on 2011 College World Series apparel as well as authentic college baseball caps from teams like LSU, Texas, Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, UCLA, South Carolina, Miami and more at Dugouthats.com!

Georgia Tech's Kyle Wren

GT second baseman Matt Hyde

Matt Skole scores a run.

Kyle Wren

A big early April weekend of college baseball is in the books, so consider this your look back at some great action. The April 8-10 weekend saw some great baseball played around the country.

The weekend’s action included 39 series that featured College Baseball 360 Top-50 teams, with 12 of those series being won by the lower-ranked/unranked teams. Sunday’s games alone had 41 total games involving top-50 teams, with the higher-ranked teams winning 61% of those games (25-16). In fact, less than one-third of the weekend’s series involving CB360 top-50 teams (12 of 39) resulted in sweeps.

Click this link to find out how to save 50-75% on college baseball caps and 2010 College World Series gear and memorabilia at Dugouthats.com!!

Here’s a look back at some of the Top 50 highlights:

Big, Bad Beavers…

#19 Oregon State made history by sweeping #5 Arizona State in Corvallis over the weekend. It’s OSU’s first sweep of the Sun Devils at home and also marks its first sweep of ASU since 1966. Arizona State (22-9, 5-4) had not been swept in Pac-10 play since 1999.

Ryan Dunn (courtesy Oregon State).

Oregon State’s Ryan Dunn batted in the 8-hole for the Beavers (24-7, 5-1) all weekend. The shortstop batted 6-for-11 with three doubles, a home run and six RBIs. He helped OSU’s 6-9 batters go 22-for-42 (.523) over the three games, with 12 RBIs and 15 runs. Oregon State’s 24-7 start is the program’s best since its 2007 national championship season. 7,751 fans saw the three games at OSU’s Goss Stadium.

Cavs Cooled…A Little…

Virginia had its 12-game winning streak snapped when it lost 10-8 at Georgia Tech Sunday, but the Cavs still took two of three games from the Yellow Jackets in the big ACC series. Saturday’s 12-9 UVA win to clinch the series extended Virginia’s school record road winning streak to 11 games.

No surprise, Cavalier ace Danny Hultzen (7-0, 1.33 ERA) fanned 12 with just one walk in 8.0 IP in Friday’s 6-2 Virginia win. Hultzen is second in the nation with  90 strikeouts in  54 1/3 IP this season.

Virginia (31-3, 13-2) roughed-up Georgia Tech starters Mark Pope and Jed Bradley in the first two games. The duo combined to give-up 11 runs on 15 hits in 12 1/3 IP on Friday and Saturday. Virginia has won all five of its ACC series this season, including three on the road. It’s only other ACC loss also came on Sunday against Florida State.

Jake Davies was 4-for-4 with 3 RBIs to lead the Yellow Jackets to Sunday’s win. Georgia Tech (24-9, 12-3) suffered its first ACC series loss of the season. Buck Farmer earned his sixth straight win for GT, despite giving-up seven runs (four earned) in 7.0 innings on Sunday.

Woo Pig Sooie…

James McCann

Arkansas swept LSU in their 3-game SEC series in Fayetteville and if you were lucky enough to see any of the action you saw some great baseball. The Razorbacks won each of the last two games of the series in walk-off fashion. Saturday night’s game on ESPNU ended on James McCann’s 3-run home run that gave the Razorbacks a 4-3 win in front of a record 11,103 delirious fans. LSU, after going scoreless over the first 17 innings of the series, had scored three runs in the top of the 9th before McCann’s shot in the bottom of the inning.

Sunday’s game ended on Kyle Robinson’s sac fly to centerfield to score Bo Bigham for a 5-4 win and the series sweep. It’s just the third time Arkansas (23-8, 6-6) has swept LSU since joining the SEC in 1992. The Razorbacks are now a game behind Alabama in the SEC West. LSU (21-11, 3-9) has won just one of its four SEC series this season. Austin Nola’s 6th inning grand slam gave the Tigers their four runs. 28,657 fans packed Baum Stadium for the 3-game set.

Sooner Pain, Cowboys Gain…

Oklahoma State continues to make some noise in the Big 12 after a 3-game sweep of Missouri. The Cowboys’ 7-3 win over the Tigers on Sunday gives the program its first conference series sweep since April 27, 2008.

OSU (24-8, 8-4) are in third place in the Big 12 standings, behind Texas and Texas A&M. The Cowboys finished last season with a 29-26 overall record, including just 8-19 in conference play.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma (24-8, 6-5) dropped two of three games at Kansas State. The series loss is the second for the Sooners in Big 12 play this season, to equal their total from all of last year’s College World Series team. It’s a big series win for K-State (18-12, 4-8), which takes a series from OU for the first time in 10 years and earns its first conference series win of 2011.

California Crash…

Three California schools, Cal, Stanford and Fresno State, all suffered series upsets over the weekend. Maybe #18 Cal was breathing a sigh of relief after finding out the program had been spared the ax prior to its series at Arizona, but the Golden Bears lost two of three in Tucson to the Wildcats. Cal’s Justin Jones was tagged for 7 ER in 4 1/3 IP in Sunday’s 10-8 loss. Golden Bear Erik Johnson and Wildcat Kurt Heyer each fanned 11 in the series-opener, but neither earned a decision as Arizona scored three in the bottom of the 9th to win 5-4. Arizona pounded-out 40 hits in the series.

Jordan Ribera

#10 Fresno State didn’t lose its series, but that’s due in part to the fact that the WAC plays 4-game conference series. The Bulldogs (22-5, 2-2) dropped two of its first three games at #50 San Jose State (21-11, 2-2) and then pulled-out a 5-3 win in Sunday’s finale to settle for the tie. Last year’s DI home run leader, Jordan Ribera, hit a three-run homer to break out of a season-long swoon, while closer Charlie Robertson earned his 10th save of ’11. Ribera is still batting just .223 with 2 HR and 11 RBIs after belting 27 HR with 69 RBIs last year.

#14 Stanford dropped two of three in its series at USC as well. The Cardinal (15-9, 3-3) has played five of its first six weekend series on the road against the likes of Vanderbilt, Rice, and Texas. They host the aforementioned red hot Oregon State Beavers next weekend. The series win was the first for the Trojans (13-19, 4-5)  in their last five series vs. Stanford. Logan Odom tossed 7.0 scoreless innings in Sunday’s 6-2 series clincher. All three of his wins this year have come over ranked teams.

Tallahassee Tar Heels…

#8 North Carolina (29-5, 12-3) did something this weekend that it hadn’t done in 16 years-win a series against #7 Florida State (23-9. 9-6) in Tallahassee. The Tar Heels won 7-6 in Sunday’s series finale to end the Seminoles’ streak of 25 straight Sunday wins. UNC reliever Michael Morin earned saves Saturday and Sunday after relief stints of 1.0 and 3.0 innings, respectively.

Historic Spartans…

Michigan State made history after sweeping reigning Big Ten champion Minnesota for the first time ever. The MSU-Minnesota series dates all the back to 1925, and it also marks the first time the Spartans (20-7, 5-1) took back-to-back series against the Golden Gophers (10-12, 2-4) after taking two of three at Minnesota last year. Brandon Eckerle leads a Spartan offense that’s batting .316 with a .439 average. First baseman Jeff Holm is the top run-producer with a .398 average, 4 HR, 29 RBIs, 13 stolen bases, and an 1.102 OPS. The Michigan State pitching staff sports a 2.70 ERA. Starters Kurt Wunderlich and Tony Bucciferro are each 6-1.

(Front page photo courtesy Arkansas.)

Notes & Thoughts From Day 1 NCAA Action (updated)

CLICK HERE for DAY-1 NCAA SCOREBOARD

• Minnesota was the only #4 seed that won on Friday (3-1 at Cal State Fullerton, see notes below), while the collective #3 seeds went 9-7 vs. the #2s. The #3 seeds that posted the “minor upsets” (some may have been considered the favorites?) included: Louisiana-Lafayette 1, Rice 0 (in Austin) … The Citadel 7, Virginia Tech 2 (in Columbia) … Washington State 8, Kansas State 6 (in Fayetteville) … Arizona 10, Baylor 9 (in Ft. Worth) … New Mexico 9, Stanford 5 (in Fullerton, which also had the 4-vs.-1 upset) … Oregon State 6, Florida Atlantic 4 (in Gainesville) … North Carolina 12, California 3 (in Norman) … Oregon 5, Connecticut 3 (in Norwich) … and Hawaii 4, San Diego 2 (in Tempe). See bullet notes below for some highlights from Friday’s nine “upsets” (along with info. from the other games).

• Regional host teams have the option to take the first or second game on Day-1 of NCAA Regional play. The hosts traditionally take the second or “Prime Time” game, and this year was no different with 12 of 16 Regional hosts opting for game two. Coastal Carolina, Virginia, Arkansas, and Oklahoma were the only Regional hosts to opt for the early game rather than the night cap (some coaches prefer to get the game out of the way, avoid risk of rain delays, get their team a few hours more rest, etc.). All four of those teams won.
  

  11 year MLB veteran turned college baseball analyst Eric Byrnes

• Disclaimer: I (Sean Stires … Pete LaFleur ditto) like Eric Byrnes. That said, Byrnes was considered by many to be more style than substance in his playing days, so it’s only fitting that ESPNU has continued its tradition of going with style over substance by using the newly-retired Byrnes in the broadcast booth during the Coral Gables Regional. Case in point:  Texas A&M was trailing FIU 1-0 in the bottom of the first inning. After Aggie leadoff man Jaoquin Hinojosa reached base safely, 2-hole batter Tyler Naquin tried (unsuccessfully) to bunt him over. This prompted Byrnes to question why A&M was playing for only onw run so early in the game…. An inning later, with #9 batter Andrew Collazo at the plate in the same situation, Byrnes said, “We’re not bunting again are we?” Uh, yes Eric they were, and after Collazo executed his 8th sac-bunt of the season a graphic popped-up on the screen that showed that A&M had just tied a school record with its 59th sac-bunt of the season. The Aggies entered the day tied for 14th nationally in that department. Apparently game preparation was not high on Byrnes’ list of things to do prior to his college baseball broadcasting debut.
• Byrnes, who played at the 1997 College World Series for UCLA, again showed his lack of knowledge of the current college game later in the broadcast when the subject of NCAA bids came up. Minnesota was mentioned as the only Big Ten representative in the tournament, while the Pac-10 was one of three conferences to get eight bids. “How does that happen, though,” Byrnes asked. “We’re talking one team from the Big Ten and eight from the Pac.” Um…do I really need to say more? Thankfully, Kyle Peterson was there to keep Byrnes pointed in the right direction.
• In fairness to Byrnes, he did provide some needed entertainment when the game turned into a blowout in the middle innings.
• When Florida International pitcher Daniel DeSimone hit Caleb Shofner with a pitch in the bottom of the 5th inning, it marked the 100th HBP by the Golden Panther pitching staff this season. The dubious mark sets an NCAA single-season record.
• Garrett Wittels extended hit hitting streak to 55 games in FIU’s loss to Texas A&M. He doubled to right-center field by swinging at a 3-0 pitch to lead off the top of the 6th inning. A smattering of boos were directed at A&M pitcher Barret Loux when the count reached 3-0 and it looked like Wittels might not have a chance to swing in his third at-bat of the day.
• The hit by Wittels marked the 16th time he extended the streak with a hit between the 4th and 6th innings this season. He’s kept the streak going 25 times in the first three innings of a game, 13 times from the 7th through 9th innings, and once (March 26 vs. Arkansas-Little Rock) in the 12th inning.
• Five different Texas A&M players hit home runs in the 17-3 win, while Aggie winning pitcher Loux (11-2) struck out 10 in 8 IP. He’s now fanned 136 in 104 innings this season.
• The Aggies have won seven straight, 13 of their past 14 and 19 of 22 games dating back to April 27.
• Southern Mississippi’s got some work to do if they’re going to make a return trip to the College World Series (and possibly extend Brett Favre’s NFL career … although something tells us he’s coming back anyway!). The Golden Eagles fell 10-1 to Clemson in their Regional opener. USM ace Scott Copeland dropped to 11-1 with his first loss of the season, after winning as a starter and deep reliever at the C-USA Tournament (to earn CB360 national Primetime Pitcher of the Week honors).
  

  Brett Eibner hit 3 HR in Arkansas' Friday win over Grambling St. (Arkansas photo)

• Brett Eibner smacked 3 HR to help Arkansas rout Grambling State 19-7.  Eibner was 4-for-5 with 7 RBIs and 5 runs. Look for the two-way talent on the mound this weekend as well. Collin Kuhn and Andy Wilkins each homered twice for the Hogs.
• The Citadel pulled-off a minor upset as the #3-seeded Bulldogs beat #2 Virginia Tech, 7-2. The win is the 13th straight for The Citadel, but the best news is they didn’t even use ace Asher Wojciechowski (3.25 ERA, 12-2. 144 Ks in 119 IP). Lefty Matt Talley (8-3) tossed 7.0 innings and won, while 3B David Greene had a 2-run HR from the 7-hole. The jr. RHP “Wojo” is slated to be opposed on Saturday by South Carolina’s ace, sr. RHP Blake Cooper (2.94, 10-1, 88 Ks in 104 IP). Justin Wright was the losing pitcher on Friday vs. Citadel (5.1IP-6R-10H-BB-5K), as VT’s #1-3 hitters combined to hit only 2-for-14 (CF/leadoff Sean Ryan has a 2-run HR in the 7th).
• Zach Osborne registered Louisiana-Lafayette’s first NCAA Tournament shutout since 2002 by blanking Rice, 1-0. Catcher/cleanup hitter Chad Keefer’s 2-out single in the 8th inning plated the game’s lone run.
• Baylor scored five runs in the bottom of the 9th inning, but they came up short in a 10-9 loss to Arizona at the Ft. Worth Regional. The Bears left runners at first and third to end the game. They committed three errors to give the Wildcats five unearned runs in the 6th inning. Steve Selsky & DH/6-hole Josh Garcia (2RBI-2R-HBP) homered for the Wildcats, while SS Alex Mejia was 3-for-4 with 4 RBI, a double & run scored from the bottom of the order.
• Baylor’s Logan Vick walked twice to set a single-season school record with 56 BBs this year. The Bears left 12 men on base (including the two in the 9th), with Gregg Glime‘s home run and 3 RBI pacing the Baylor offense. Logan Verrett had no-decision (3.1IP-3R-5H-BB-2K) and Shawn Tolleson (2-7) was let down by his defense in the hard-luck loss (3.2IP-6R/1ER-5H-BB-2K).
• Closing in on 200: … Friday’s win by Coastal Carolina (6-0 vs. Stony Brook) is the 199th victory for the Chanticleers over past four seasons (199-50-0, from 2007-10).
  

  Oklahoma's Chris Ellison

• Chris Ellison drove in Cody Reine in the bottom of the 10th inning to give Oklahoma a 7-6 win over Oral Roberts. Reine had homered two innings earlier to tie the game (6-6) and ultimately force extra innings.
• One-time Little League World series participant Michael Broad hit one of Miami’s two 1st-inning, 3-run home runs to help the Hurricanes beat Dartmouth, 12-8. The ‘Canes held on after leading 11-0 thru five innings. Joe Sclafani homered twice for the Big Green.
• Oregon State beat Florida Atlantic, 6-4, in Gainesville, Fla. The start of the game was delayed a total of 3:15 by rain. Tyler Smith hit his first home run in nearly two months in the win.
• “Lobos fight scratch and claw baby, we’ll play anybody, anywhere anytime and we’re trying to spend a lot of our effort trying to prove that we can play with anybody in the country.” – Those were New Mexico third-year head coach Ray Birmingham’s comments during his in-game interview on ESPNU while his team was playing Stanford. Is it any wonder UNM is making its first NCAA appearance since 1962?
• New Mexico won that game, 9-5, for the second NCAA Tournament win in school history. Willy Kesler had no-decision (5.2IP-4R-11H-BB-5K) and Jason Oatman (1-2) picked up the relief win (3.1IP-R-3H-2K). RF Chris Juarez went 3-for-4 (3RBI-2B) from the 5-hole, while the 2-hole-batting catcher Rafael Neda homered and scored 4 times (1B/2-hole Justin Howard had 3R).
• Don’t know how to say his name, but Pi’ikea Kitamura was hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded in the top of the 9th inning to give Hawaii a 4-3 win over San Diego in Tempe, Ariz. San Diego ace Kyle Blair had another solid outing but did not figure into the decisions (8IP-3R/1ER-7H-8K). USD’s Mike Ferraro homered from the 7-hole and had 2 RBI, but USD’s #1-5 hitters combined for only 4 hits.
  

  LSU's Trey Watkins

• In his only at-bat of the night, LSU’s Trey Watkins smacked a 2-strike, 2-out double in the bottom of the 11th to lift LSU to an 11-10 over UC-Irvine. LSU’s Austin Nola forced extra innings when his blooper to right with 2 outs in the 9th scored Johnny Dishon, who motored all the way  aroundfrom first base.
• Jack Armstrong’s pinch-hit single scored Andrew Giobbi to give Vanderbilt an 8-7 win over Illinois State at the Louisville Regional opener. If the name of the offensive hero sounds familiar, it’s because Armstrong has been one of Vandy’s top starting pitchers this season and we’re sure to see him make a start over the weekend.
• Oregon beat Connecticut, 5-3, in Norwich, Conn., thanks to three runs in the top of the 9th inning.
• TCU didn’t use freshman ace Matt Purke (12-0), but the Horned Frogs still cruised to a 16-3 win over Lamar. Kyle Winkler and Greg Holle combined for 11 strikeouts to improve TCU to 20-0 this year when its pitchers have at least 10 K in a game. Purke will go Saturday vs. Arizona.
• Louisville also sat its ace, Thomas Royse (9-1), in its 11-2 win over Saint Louis. Head coach Dan McDonnell was not in the dugout, as he served the first game of his three-game suspension for last week’s dustup with an umpire at the Big East Tournament.
• Minnesota pulled-off the biggest Day-1 upset, as the #4 seed Golden Gophers downed #1 seed andnd host Cal State Fullerton, 3-1 in Fullerton. Jr. RHP  Seth Rosin (9-4) faced only 26 batters and struck out 7 with no walks in 8.0 innings to move his season totals to 95 Ks and only 12 BB. All the Gophers runs came in the opening frame, with RBI singles from Kyle Knudson and Matt Puhl scoring AJ Pettersen & AndyHenkmeryer (other run scores on error/unearned).
• Washington State registered its 19th come-from-behind win of the season, an 8-6 victory over Kansas State in Fayetteville, Ark. Adam Conley postedhis 19th save, while the Cougar bullpen notched its 18th win of the year (one away from tyingthe school record set in 1987). Cody Barlett’s 2-run HR in the 8th inning proved to be the game-winner.
• It took a 5-run 8th inning for South Carolina to rally to a 9-5 home win over Bucknell. It’s the Gamecock’s 12th straight postseason home win.
• Texas scored all 11 of its runs with 2-outs in an 11-0 win over Rider in Austin. Brandon Workman (12-1) tossed a complete game.
• Ole Miss held off St. John’s, 10-5, in Charlottesville, Va. The Red Storm scored all five of their runs in the last two innings.
• Tony Plagman was 5-for-5 in Georgia Tech’s 10-0 win over Mercer in Atlanta.
• Florida freshman Hudson Randall notched a career-best 10 strikeouts in 7.1 innings to help the Gators beat Bethune-Cookman, 7-3. Randall didn’t allow a hit until the 5th inning.
• UCLA routed Kent State, 15-1 in L.A., for the Bruins 25th home win of the season. Their 44 total wins are one away from tying the program’s single-season record set in 1997.
• North Carolina validated its NCAA berth with a 12-3 win over Cal in Norman, Okla. The Tar Heels have scored eight or more runs in 16 of their past 24 first- or second0round NCAA Tournament games.
• 5,684 fans saw Oregon beat UConn, 5-3 at Dodd Stadium in Norwich, Conn. The Ducks rallied for three runs in the top of the 9th. Reliever Madison Boer has notched a save in Oregon’s past four wins. An attendance of 1,948 was on hand earlier in the day to see Florida State beat Central Connecticut, 11-3.
• Kole Calhoun hit his team-leading 14th HR to help overall #1 seed Arizona State beat Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 6-2 in Tempe.

Arkansas Had The Four Most Attended Games Last Week

CLICK HERE to see the full report

Here’s the week 12 college baseball attendance report as compiled by Tami Cutler of the NCBWA.  We have included the top ten most attended games from last week as well as the top ten season to date attendance averages and the ten top single-game attendances of the 2010 season.

CLICK HERE to see this week’s full report.

Here’s the week 11 college baseball attendance report as compiled by Tami Cutler of the NCBWA.  We have included the top ten most attended games from last week as well as the top ten season to date attendance averages and the ten top single-game attendances of the 2010 season.

CLICK HERE to see the full report.

Streaks, Upsets And Other Notable Action…

38…Game hitting streak by Florida International’s Garrett Wittels.  The sophomore extended the nation’s longest active streak with an RBI single in his last at-bat of the game on Sunday with two on and two out in the bottom of the ninth to send the game to extra innings (an 8-7 loss to Louisiana-Monroe).  Wittels’ current streak is the longest in

Garrett Wittels (FIU photo)

Division One baseball in the last 11 years.

8…Underdogs that won weekend series vs. CB360 Top 50 teams.  The most notable wins were: #26 Auburn took two of three at #5 Arkansas and  unranked North Carolina State won two of three against #8 Georgia Tech.

7…Straight losses by defending national champion LSU (32-13, 11-10) after dropping all three games in its weekend series at Florida (31-11, 15-6).  The Tigers were swept by Ole Miss last weekend as well.

14…Years (1996) since Florida last swept a series against LSU.

.390…The Gators’ team batting average in their sweep while outscoring the Tigers by a combined 28-14.  Matt den Dekker led Florida’s nine starters who all had at least one hit in Sunday’s finale by going 5-for-5 with a home run and 4 RBIs.

4…Strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings pitched, wins this season and RBIs in Sunday’s game by freshman starting pitcher/designated hitter Brian Johnson (4-2), who hit the first grand slam of his young career.

Hunter Morris

2…Home runs hit in an 8-run fifth inning by Auburn’s Hunter Morris in Saturday’s win over Arkansas.  Morris started the inning with a homer and later launched a two-run blast to help the Tigers (30-15, 12-9) total four HR and all eight of their runs in the 8-7 victory.

38…Years since Ole Miss last swept a series vs. Mississippi State in Starkville, MS prior to taking three games from the rival Bulldogs over the weekend at Dudy Noble Field.  The three wins have the Rebels tied for first place with Arkansas in the SEC West.

20…Straight wins by Texas after Sunday’s 4-1 win over Baylor to cap a 3-game weekend sweep.  The 20 consecutive wins are the most at Texas since the 1988 team also rattled-off 20 in a row.

5…Consecutive Big 12 series sweeps by the Longhorns (38-7, 19-2) to help them set a new conference record with 17 straight wins in league play.  The previous record was set in 2008 by Texas A&M.

1…Earned run allowed by Texas starting pitchers, who combined to strike out 29 batters in 33.0 innings in the three games.

12…Scoreless innings pitched in the three games by the Longhorn bullpen, highlighted by Hoby Miner’s four perfect innings to pick-up the win in Saturday’s 2-1 win in 14 innings.

3…Games won by #1 Arizona State at #4 UCLA to give the Sun Devils their first sweep at Jackie Robinson Stadium since 1994.

23-4…Combined score by which the Sun Devils (38-5, 14-4) outscored the Bruins (30-10, 7-8) in the three games.  20 of the 23 runs allowed by the UCLA pitching staff, which came into the weekend with the second best ERA in the nation at 2.80, were earned.

Louisville 1B Andrew Clark (Louisville photo)

7…First inning RBIs by Louisville’s Andrew Clark, who hit both a 3-run blast and a grand slam in the 10-run opening frame of Saturday’s 24-6 win over Rutgers.  Clark ended the game 4-for-4 with 2 HR, 8 RBIs, 4 runs, and a HBP.

16…Barry Larkin’s jersey number, which was retired in Ann Arbor on Saturday prior to the Wolverine’s 3-2 loss to Ohio State.  Larkin played at Michigan from 1983 to 1986.

2…Wins by the Wolverines (27-15, 9-6) over the Buckeyes (24-15, 8-7) to remain tied with Northwestern (18-25, 9-6) atop the Big Ten conference standings.  Ohio State was part of a four-way tie first place heading into the weekend.

0…Innings pitched in the series by Ohio State’s Alex Wimmers, who was a scratch after he  injured a hamstring just moments before Friday’s 4-1 OSU loss.  Wimmers (9-0, 1.61 ERA) entered the weekend tied for the national lead with his nine wins.  His ERA ranks sixth nationally.

17…Game winning streak by #6 Coastal Carolina snapped in Tuesday’s 6-3 loss to #3 Virginia.

30…Straight Big South Conference home wins by Coastal Carolina after a weekend 3-game sweep of UNC Asheville in Conway, SC.

22…Game winning streak by # 18 Connecticut snapped in Wednesday’s 7-3 loss to Central Connecticut State.  The Huskies (35-9, 14-3) split two home games vs. #34 Pittsburgh (31-11, 13-4) (game three was rained-out) to maintain a narrow lead over Louisville (36-7, 14-4) at the top of the Big East Conference standings.

24…Game hitting streak by UConn’s Mike Nemeth that ended when he went o-for-4 in a 13-4 loss to Pitt in game two of Saturday’s doubleheader.  Nemeth had extended the streak to 24 earlier in the day when he hit his 9th home run of the season in UConn’s 11-7 game one victory.

12 & 487…Games played and batters faced by Notre Dame pitchers without giving-up a home run.  The longest such

Michael Choice (UTA photo)

stretch for the Irish pitching staff since 2006 ended Friday when Paul Karmas of St. John’s hit a solo shot in the fifth inning of Notre Dame’s 14-5 win.

13…Strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings by North Carolina State’s Jake Buchanen in Friday’s 6-5 win over #8 Georgia Tech.  The effort helped the Wolfpack (28-18, 11-13) take two of three games from the Yellow Jackets (36-9, 17-7) to keep their NCAA hopes alive.

32…Career home runs hit by UT Arlington’s Michael Choice to set a new program record.  Choice hit his 14th HR of the season in Saturday’s win over Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

16…Of Choice’s home runs that have come in “clutch” situations, including seven tie-breaking shots, five game-tying home runs and two that have provided the eventual winning runs for his team.

10…Strikeouts in 8.0 innings by Florida Gulf Coast pitcher Chris Sale (7-0)  in Friday’s 4-2 win over #27 Clemson to give the Eagles (28-15) their only win in the weekend’s non-conference 3-game series.

16…Strikeouts by Nicholls State’s Clint Dempster in Friday’s 5-3 complete game win over #44 Southeastern Louisiana.

15…RBIs last week by Wichita State’s Preston Springer, who hit .565 (13-for-23) with 9 runs, five doubles and three home runs last week.  Springer helped the Shockers to midweek wins over Big 12 teams Kansas and Oklahoma State.  He hit his first career grand slam against the Cowboys on Wednesday.

3…Home runs by Illinois State third baseman Ryan Court in Saturday’s 18-8 win over Wichita State.  The win gave the Redbirds their first ever run rule victory over the Shockers.

Texas Nipping On Virginia’s Heels…

The staff of Baseball America determines the Top 25 rankings. Records indicated are through games of May 2 and do not include ties.