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Which Teams Will Survive??

The NCAA baseball selection committee room in Indianapolis (courtesy NCAA).

It’s Sunday morning, and there’s work to be done for college baseball teams across the nation hoping to gain entrance into the 2011 NCAA baseball tournament. The problem is, the work has already been done for most of those teams and their fate is in the hands of the NCAA selection committee.

The bubble watch is on for teams that did not win their conference championships. The entire field of 64 is set to be unveiled at 12:30 p.m. ET on Monday, May 30. The selection show will air on ESPN.

Thirty of the 64 bids go to automatic qualifiers (AQ). Most of them win their conferences’ post-season tournament, while conferences like the Big West, Pac-10 and West Coast Conference give their bids to their regular season champs.

As of this morning, 10 AQ spots are yet to be determined. Gonzaga faces San Francisco today in the regular season finale for both teams, with the winner claiming the WCC bid.The loser of that game will not have the credentials to receive an at-large bid. Meanwhile, either UCLA or Oregon State will take the Pac-10 regular season title and NCAA bid that comes with it. The Pac-10 runner-up is a lock for an at-large entrance to the dance.

The remaining eight AQ spots will be determined today in conference championship games. (Click Here to see the list of AQ spots that have been claimed so far.)

That leaves 34 at-large spots for the teams that do not claim a conference crown. The selection committee is hunkered-down in Indianapolis breaking down those at-large spots.

Automatic qualifiers are placed on the board as the win their conference championships (courtesy NCAA).

Here’s the criteria they use:

• The committee uses the Rating Percentage Index (RPI), a computer program that provides the committee with (1) the institution’s Division I winning percentage, (2) opponents’ success and (3) opponents’ strength of schedule. The RPI is an additional tool used in the evaluation of at-large teams. Please note that the adjusted RPI takes into account a bonus/penalty structure. Bonus and penalty values only will be used for non-conference games.
• Regular-season conference standings and/or conference postseason competition shall be considered by the committee when selecting at-large teams.
• The committee may consider comparing data of individual teams, including, but not limited to, overall record, Division I record, overall RPI rank, non-conference record and RPI rank, conference regular-season record and conference tournament results, road record and RPI, last 15 games’ record, its record against teams ranked 1-25, 26-50, 51-100, 101-150 and below 150 in the RPI, head-to-head record, common opponents’ record and input from regional advisory committees.
• Make no mistake … RPI is a huge factor in the selection and seeding process.

With all that in mind, here’s a look at how those spots could be handed out and which teams are on the bubble:

At-Large Locks

1. North Carolina-Regional Host
2. Florida State – Regional Host
3. Vanderbilt – Regional Host
4. South Carolina – Regional Host
5. Georgia Tech – Regional Host
6. Arizona State – Regional Host
7. Clemson – Regional Host
8. Texas – Regional Host
9. Arkansas
10. TCU – Regional Host
11. Southern Mississippi
12. Oklahoma
13. Miami
14. Stanford
15. Oregon State – Regional Host
16. Arizona
17. Alabama
18. Mississippi State
19. Oklahoma State
20. California
21. UC Irvine

That’s 21 of the 34 at-large spots that look to be secured, which leaves just 12 remaining spots.

Here’s our bubble break-down (NCAA RPI followed by record):

In Good Shape

LSU-23 (36-20)
Central Florida-18 (38-21)
Stetson-21 (41-18)
North Carolina State 30 (33-25)
Florida International 31 (38-18-1)

In The Middle

Georgia-22 (31-30)
Baylor-26 (29-26)
Kansas St. 48 (36-23)
UConn 38 (41-17-1)
Troy 47 (42-17)
East Carolina 29 (39-19)
East Tenn. St 32 (36-19)
Elon 37 (36-21)
Dallas Baptist 45 (39-17)
Texas Tech 44 (33-25)
Ole Miss 40 (30-25)

In Trouble

Jacksonville 49 (36-22)
Florida Atlantic 43 (32-25)
SE Louisiana 51 (35-22)
St. John’s 54 (35-19)
Cal State Bakersfield 56 (31-22)
Mercer 58 (39-20)
Oregon 74 (32-26-1)

CLICK HERE to read more on the selection process and tournament format.

 

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Conference Races, Upsets & A Hit Streak Highlights…

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

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

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

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

Big 12 Standings

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

Chad Holbrook

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

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

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

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

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

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

Oregon State's Tony Bryant

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

Pac-10 Standings

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

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

Conference USA Standings

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

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

ACC Atlantic Standings

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

ACC Coastal Standings

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

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

WCC Standings

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

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

Big West Standings

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

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

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

Big Ten Standings

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

Big East Standings

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

Southern Conference Standings

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

Southland Conference Standings

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

WAC Standings

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

America East Standings

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

Atlantic-10 top-9

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

Atlantic Sun top-8

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

Big South Standings

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

Colonial Standings

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

Horizon League Standings

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

MAAC Standings

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

MAC East Standings

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

MAC West Standings

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

MEAC Standings

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

Missouri Valley Standings

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

Mountain West Standings

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

Northeast Conference Standings top-7

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

OVC Standings top-7

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

Summit League Standings

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

Sun Belt Standings top-8

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

SEC West Standings

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

SEC East Standings

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

SEC TOURNAMENT SEEDINGS AS OF 5/9/11

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

Tournament Seeding Information

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

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

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Notes On Pac-10, Big West, WCC, WAC Teams & More…

Zack MacPhee

2…Zac(k/h)s batting over .400 for the Sun Devils.  Zack MacPhee (.484) leads ASU, while Zach Wilson is hitting .441 for a team that’s hitting at a .362 clip.

16…Wins by UCLA to open the season.  It’s the best start in program history.  The 16-game winning streak is also a program best.

125-82…Combined record of the 12 Division One teams the Bruins have played this season.  After a midweek game vs. UC Santa Barbara this week UCLA hosts a 3-game non-conference series with Cal Poly this weekend.

7…Bruin batters hitting .360 or better.  Tyler Rahmatulla (.431) leads the way.  Steve Rodriguez and Dean Espy are each batting .395.

2.13 & 2.97…UCLA and ASU’s respective team ERAs.  UCLA’s staff has recorded 193 strikeouts in 135.0 innings, while ASU’s has 187 Ks in 176.0 IP.

11…Straight wins by the Arizona Wildcats (16-4) after a weekend sweep of Sacramento State.

92…Of 196 runs (46 %) Arizona has scored this year that have scored in the first three innings of a game.

12…Wins by Pacific through the first five weeks of 2010 after taking 2 of 3 games from USC in Stockton, CA over the weekend.  The Tigers won a total of 21 games last year.

Marcus Pointer

9-0…Combined record of Pacific starting pitchers Marcus Pointer (5-0, 2.04 ERA) and David Rowse (4-0, 3.09 ERA).

3…Straight wins over Washington by Cal State Fullerton over the weekend to match a season-high win streak.  The Titans (10-9) are above .500 for the first time this season after opening 2010 ranked in the top 10 nationally.

12…Wins by Cal State Northridge (12-6) , which is already half of the team’s win total from a year ago.

.406…Team-leading batting average of fifth-year senior C.J. Belanger to pace a Matador squad that’s averaging 7.7 runs a game.

6…Straight wins by UC Irvine to improve to 13-6 after a weekend 3-game sweep of Gonzaga.  Like Fullerton, the Anteaters started sluggishly after being among the highly ranked teams in the preseason polls.

Alex Pracher

8-11…Gonzaga’s record-a year after winning 36 games and claiming the program’s first WCC championship.

3-0…Record of Stanford reliever Alex Pracher, who has made eight relief appearances this season.  Pracher (2.19 ERA) has two saves-to directly factor in half of the 10-4 Cardinal’s wins to date.

4…Combined runs given-up by Oregon State relievers Sam Gaviglio, Ryan Gorton, Kraig Sitton, and Kevin Rhoderick who are  a combined 2-1 with 4 saves in 19 total relief appearances for the 13-4 Beavers.  The quartet has pitched 24 1/3 innings with 28 strikeouts.

15…Wins by Oregon (15-6) to surpass last year’s win total of 14 in the first year of baseball in Eugene since 1981.  The Ducks have won 11 of their last 12 games after a 4-game weekend home sweep of Nevada.  They open Pac-10 play this weekend at Arizona.

2.49…The Oregon pitching staff’s ERA.  Tyler Anderson (4-1, 1.60 ERA, 36 K in 33 2/3 IP) has been the top starter, while Drew Gagnier (3 SV, 1.00 ERA) leads the bullpen.

0…Series wins to date this season by Cal Poly, which won 11 of its 14 series last year en route to the program’s first NCAA Regional appearance.

7…Runs scored in the 7th inning by Fresno State in Sunday’s 16-10 win over Loyola Marymount.  It was the lone win by the Bulldogs (10-10) in the 4-game series.

39…Errors committed by San Diego this season (.950 fld %), a preseason favorite to win the WCC.  The Toreros were able to take 2 of 3 home games from Rice over the weekend despite committing 7 errors in the series.  USD plays a 3-game series at Coastal Carolina this weekend.

Matt Hauser

0…Runs allowed in 3 1/3 total innings by San Diego reliever Matt Hauser, who earned both a win and a save in his two appearances vs. Rice.

27…Errors committed by San Diego State this season (.963 fld %).  The Aztecs (9-10) have still won three straight vs. Santa Clara heading into Tuesday’s series finale.

5…Starts made by SDSU’s Addison Reed (4-1, 2.70 ERA), who has made a smooth transition to becoming a starter after saving 20 games while making 25 relief appearances last year.

A By The Numbers Rundown Of The Latest Action

Brett Bochy

13…Straight wins to open the season by Louisville-the best for the program since a 15-0 mark in 1957-after Friday’s 6-1 win at Ole Miss.

5…Runs scored by Louisville in the top of the 12th inning of that game to pick-up the victory.

17…Combined strikeouts by Rebel pitchers Drew Pomeranz (12 in 6 1/3 IP) and Brett Huber (5 in 4 1/3 IP) in the loss.

7…Walks issued by Louisville starter Thomas Royse in 6 1/3 IP.  Royse had walked just 3 batters in 18 innings in his previous three starts this season.

9…Ks by Mississippi starter Drew Barrett in Saturday’s 8-3 win to hand Louisville its first loss of the season.

2…Wins by Louisville (14-1) in the series after winning 10-8 in Sunday’s series finale in Oxford.  Cardinal head coach Dan McDonnell, a former Ole Miss assistant, was making his first trip back to Oxford since becoming Louisville’s head coach in 2007.

1 & 1…Win and save by Cardinal pitcher Neil Holland in the series.  Holland pitched a total of four innings in his two appearances with 6 strikeouts and a walk while allowing a run on one hit.

8…Combined home runs hit by North Florida and James Madison in UNF’s 22-19 win over the Dukes.

7…RBIs powered by two home runs by Ospreys shortstop Andrew Hannon in the win.

2…Wins by Duke over North Carolina in its 3-game ACC-opening series.  The Blue Devils also took 2 of 3 games from the Tar Heels last year.

8…Runs scored in the 6th inning of Duke’s 15-11 win, which came a day after falling 21-9 in the series-opener.

1/3…Inning pitched by Illinois starter Brian de la Torriente-who gave-up 6 runs on 5 hits in the Illini’s 11-10 over Coastal Carolina.

Casey McMurray (Illinois photo)

5…RBIs by Illinois DH Casey McMurray who doubled and hit his first home run of the season in that game to hand the Chants just their second loss of 2010.

6…Runs scored by Virginia in the top of the 9th inning to rally to beat Florida State 9-8 at Dick Howser Stadium on Saturday.

4…Of the UVA runs that scored with two outs to give the Cavs the first two games of the series and the first series win over the Seminoles in program history.

15…Strikeouts by UCLA’s Gerrit Cole in 7 2/3 innings Friday vs. Texas A&M Corpus Christi at the Whataburger Classic.

41 & 4…Strikeouts and walks by Cole (4-0) in 25 2/3 IP so far this year.

15…Strikeouts by Cole’s teammate, Trevor Bauer, in 8 plus innings in Saturday’s 5-2 win over Mississippi State.

13-0…Record by UCLA after Sunday’s win over 5-2 win over Oklahoma in their finale at the Whataburger Classic.

1969…The last time the Bruins had a 13-game winning streak.  The 13-0 start is UCLA’s best of the modern era (dating back to 1955).

10…Straight games Oklahoma had won prior to Sunday’s loss to the Bruins.

Mario Hollands (UCSB photo)

16…Strikeouts in eight innings by Santa Barbara pitcher Mario Hollands in Friday’s 8-1 win over Northern Illinois.  The lefty matched a school record held by Barry Zito (1997) and Walt Rehm (1970).

8…Runs scored by Georgia Tech in the bottom of the 6th inning Saturday to rally for a 15-8 win over Wake Forest.

24…Total runs scored by Rice in the 6th, 7th and 8th innings of Saturday’s 26-11 win over Cal.

12…Of the runs that scored in the 6th inning as the Owls sent 17 batters to the plate in the frame.

7…Times Rice SS Rick Hague reached base in the game to tie a program record.  He was 4-for-4 with two walks with four runs scored and 3 RBIs.

8…RBIs in the game by Owl 3B Anthony Rendon, who homered twice in the victory.

8…Strikeouts in 8 IP by Manhattan’s Tom Costigan in a 13-1 win over West Virginia to help the Jaspers to a Saturday sweep of the Mountaineers.

4 & 3…Strikeouts and walks, respectively, in 8 total IP by Notre Dame’s Brian Dupra in his first two starts against Mississippi Valley State and Ohio State.  The junior surrendered 9 ER as he started the season 0-1 with a 10.12 ERA.

13 & 1…Strikeouts and walks, respectively, in Dupra’s last 14 IP vs. Stetson and Gonzaga to improve to 2-1 and drop his ERA to 4.91.

8…Total errors committed by Pacific in its first 13 games of the season.

5…Errors committed by Pacific in the 7th inning of Saturday’s 10-1 loss to Bradley in San Antonio.  The five miscues led to five unearned runs.

35 & 7…Strikeouts and walks by the Texas pitching staff in a weekend 3-game sweep of Iowa.

17…Strikeouts in 7 2/3 IP by Longhorn starter Taylor Jungmann in Friday’s 2-1 win.  It took a 10th inning walk-off home run by Tant Sheppard to get Texas the victory.

Taylor Jungmann

30-24…The score of Sunday’s Georgia State win over New Mexico State.

12…Combined home runs hit in the game by the Panthers and Aggies.

4…Of the home runs that were grand slams.   Ryan Aguayo hit the lone slam for NM State, while Carl Moniz, Bradley Logan and Joey Wood all had them for Georgia State.  The three slams ties an NCAA team record for a single game, while the four combined slams also ties an NCAA record.

14…RBIs in five games last week by Wood.  The sophomore DH batted .640 with an 1.160 slugging percentage for the Panthers.

10…Strikeouts in 8 innings by Ohio State’s Alex Wimmers (4-0) in Sunday’s 2-0 win over Tennessee.

8…Double digit strikeout performances by Wimmers in his 20 career starts.  He also won for the fourth time on the heels of a Buckeye loss.

5…Home runs last week by Tennessee Tech’s A.J. Kirby-Jones.  The junior is now Tech’s all-time home run leader with 33.  Kirby-Jones hit three of the long balls in Friday’s 9-0 win over Buffalo.

Jabari Henry (FIU photo)

2006…The last time an Indiana pitcher tossed a complete game shutout prior to sophomore Drew Leininger accomplishing the feat in Sunday’s 9-0 win over Central Michigan.

17…RBIs in five games by Florida International OF Jabari Henry, who hit five home runs while hitting .500 (9-18) during the week.

6…Home runs in five games by VMI 1B Jordan Ballard who had 14 RBIs in 14 at-bats.  He ended the week with a 1.929 slugging percentage.

7…Extra base hits-3 home runs, 3 doubles and a triple-in four games by Rutgers’ Pat Biserta.  The junior had a grand slam and totaled 13 RBIs to help RU go 4-0 after a 1-8 start to the season.

Tigers To Open Season In Tucson

Missouri Head Coach Tim Jamieson

face Houston, TCU and Texas in a non-conference contest.

Complete 2010 Missouri Baseball

The home schedule will open up on March 10 against Western Illinois. That game will kick off a 10-game home stand at Taylor Stadium.

The Big 12 Conference schedule begins on March 26-28 when the Tigers head to College Station, Texas to take on Texas A&M. MU will also have road conference series against Oklahoma (April 9-11), Texas Tech (April 30-May 2) and Kansas (May 7-9).

Baylor will be in Columbia on April 2-4 in the first home Big 12 series of the season. Other home conference series include Oklahoma State (April 16-18), Kansas State (April 23-25), Nebraska (May 14-16) and Texas (May 21-23). The Tigers’ final six conference games of the year will be at Taylor Stadium.

Once again in 2010, Mizzou has games scheduled in both of the Major League Baseball stadiums in Missouri. MU and Illinois will meet at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on April 7 and the Tigers will face Kansas in a non-conference game at Kansas City’s Kauffman Stadium on April 21.

Mizzou will also continue the annual Wood Bat Classic, as it will take on Eastern Illinois on April 27 at T.R. Hughes Ballpark in O’Fallon, Mo.

The Big 12 Tournament will get underway on May 26 at Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City, Okla. and the NCAA Tournament will begin on June 4.

A schedule note, with the exception of the home opener on March 10, all of Missouri’s weeknight home games will start at 6 p.m., which is a change from the 6:30 p.m. starts of past seasons.

(Release)

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

St. Mary's Head Coach Jedd Soto

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

Complete 2010 St.Mary’s Schedule (PDF)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Release)

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Santa Clara University’s baseball program announced its 2010 schedule today. The 55-game slate, released by ninth-year head coach Mark O’Brien, begins February 19-21, with a home series against the University of Nevada.

Santa Clara Head Coach Mark O'Brien

“Every year we’re going to bring in some of the best teams on the West Coast to play us here,” said O’Brien. “Just as important is to go to different venues, into some hostile environments. We have an early-season series at Houston which will be a good test for us and games at San Diego State and Cal State Fullerton.”

Complete 2010 Santa Clara Schedule (PDF)

Three games with local rival San Jose State March 5-7, a midweek trip to play 2008 College World Series Champion Fresno State March 9 and an extended series at SDSU March 20-23 are also part of the non-conference schedule.

“We are going to be tested early and tested often,” said O’Brien. “In my mind you need to play teams that will prepare you for conference and we’ll do that.”

A 13-game homestand at Schott Stadium, March 26 through April 13, dominates the team’s midseason calendar. The Broncos will play its first two WCC series at home, matching up with Portland April 1-3 and Pepperdine April 9-11.

“What a great environment for college baseball,” O’Brien says about SCU’s Schott Stadium which opened in 2005. “We are very fortunate. It’s a perfect place for families to come out and watch a game.”

Twelve of Santa Clara’s final 16 games are on the road: at Gonzaga April 30 through May 2, at Stanford May 10, at UC Davis May 19, at 2009 CWS qualifiers Cal State Fullerton May 21-23 and finishing up the regular season at LMU May 28-30.

(Release)

EUGENE, Ore. – With its first-class ballpark less than four months away from completion, Oregon baseball unveiled its schedule and launched season ticket sales for the 2010 season today.

Oregon Head Coach George Horton

Complete 2010 Oregon Schedule

Oregon will begin the year with back-to-back weekends on the road.

The Ducks will open the season on Feb. 19, at Cal State Fullerton, the 17-year former home of current Oregon head coach George Horton.

The Ducks will play three more games that weekend while in Southern California, heading to Long Beach State, Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount.

Oregon will then cross the Pacific Ocean for a four-game slate with Hawai’i, before heading back to Eugene for opening day at PK Park.

The Ducks and their 24th ranked 2009 recruiting class will make their PK Park debut on Tuesday, March 2, hosting Washington in a non-conference tilt.

Other exciting non-conference homestands include Seattle (March 12-15) and Nevada (March 19-21).

Oregon opens the conference schedule on the road at Arizona on Friday, March 26, and then returns home to host a three-game stand against the defending Pac-10 champion Arizona State Sun Devils on Thursday, April 1. It will mark ASU’s first-ever appearance in Eugene.

Similar to the start of the season, Oregon has an eight-game road trip in the middle of the season with trips to Stanford (April 9-11), UCLA (April 16-18) and Gonzaga (April 20-21).

The Ducks then return home to host a three-game tilt with USC, as the Trojans return to Eugene for the first time since a 6-2 victory on May 20, 1971.

Oregon’s next Pac-10 series is against Washington State (April 30-May 2), a squad that placed second in the conference standings last season, and received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

The Civil War series with Oregon State will be played at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field from May 7-9. The instate rivals will also play two non-conference games during the year, April 27 at PK Park and May 26 at PGE Park in Portland. Last year, the Ducks and Beavers played back-to-back contests in Portland, bringing a combined 29, 249 fans through the gates of PGE Park.

After the Oregon State series, Oregon will take a break from the Pac-10 schedule and host East Tennessee State from May 14-16.

The Ducks then hit the road and play a three-game conference series at Washington (May 21-23), before closing the season at PK Park vs. California (May 28-30).

Oregon will also host several single-game contests during the year; Southern Utah on March 23, Oregon State on April 27, Portland on May 4, and San Diego on May 11.

(Release)

Gonzaga opens the 2010 season at the Cactus Classic in Arizona

Mark Machtolf

The Bulldogs, coming off of their third consecutive 30-win season and first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1981, will open the season Feb. 19-21 with the Cactus Classic held at Tucson Electric Park, the Arizona Diamondbacks spring training complex, in Tucson, Ariz. There the Zags will match up with NCAA Tournament participant Missouri twice and also play single games against New Mexico State and Washington.

Complete 2010 Gonzaga Schedule (PDF)

The following weekend will see Gonzaga return to Arizona, this time for the Peoria Spring Training Classic held at the San Diego Padres spring training home field in Peoria, Ariz. The Bulldogs are scheduled to meet up with NCAA Tournament participant Kansas and Western Athletic Conference member Sacramento State each twice throughout the weekend.

The first weekend of March the Zags will begin a stretch that will see them play 11 games in 12 days, starting with a trip to Shreveport, La. for a three-game series with Summit League member Centenary. Following the series with the Gents, Gonzaga heads to Lubbock, Tex. for a two-game series with Big-12 member Texas Tech Mar. 9-10. GU then travels to San Antonio, Tex. for the Irish Baseball Classic where the Zags will face Pacific, Bradley and Notre Dame.

“The early season tournaments always provide some good challenges and this season will be no different,” commented Machtolf. “The trips to Louisiana and San Antonio will be exciting because it gives us a chance to play a couple different teams in a different region of the country.”

Mar. 15-16 will be the first set of home games for the Zags as they wrap up the 11 games in 12 day stretch with a two-game set against BYU. The ensuing weekend has the Bulldogs traveling to southern California for a three-game series against 2009 Big West Conference champion and NCAA Regional host UC Irvine Mar. 19-21. This will be the first year of a home-and-home series with the Anteaters who will come to Spokane for a weekend series in 2011.

“The series with UC Irvine will be a very tough competitive series against a very good ball club that was the top-ranked team in the country at one point last season,” stated Machtolf. “That weekend will be a difficult test that will get us ready for WCC play.”

Gonzaga continues on the road the following week facing in-state rival and 2009 NCAA Tournament participant Washington State in Pullman, Wash. Mar. 23 before traveling to face Utah Valley Mar. 25-27. Following a midweek home matchup with WSU Mar. 30 the Zags will head to Honolulu for a three-game series with the University of Hawaii.

After the Hawaii series, the Bulldogs welcome another in-state rival out of the Pac-10 in Washington for a two-game midweek set at the Patterson Baseball Complex and Washington Trust Field Apr. 6-7.

Apr. 9-11 the Zags begin defense of their conference crown at San Francisco. They then play six of their next seven games at home, starting against Arizona Apr. 12. Following at trip to WSU to close out the season-series with the Cougars Apr. 14, GU opens up its WCC home schedule with a three-game weekend series against Pepperdine . The Bulldogs then close out the home stand with a two-game set against another Pac-10 opponent in Oregon Apr. 20-21.

“Those midweek matchups with the Pac-10 teams are always exciting,” stated Machtolf. “All of the Pac-10 teams on our schedule have really improved from last season and will provide us with some tough tests.”

The weekend of Apr. 23-25 will provide a showdown between the past two conference champions as the Zags head to San Diego for a weekend series with the University of San Diego. Gonzaga will wrap up its non-conference schedule at Washington Apr. 27-28 before returning home for a conference series against Santa Clara Apr. 30-May 2.

Following a conference series at Saint Mary’s May 14-16, the Zags are slated to close out the regular season playing their final six games at home, hosting a pair of WCC foes in Loyola Marymount May 21-23 and Portland May 28-30.

“Playing four conference series at home is a huge advantage for us,” explained Machtolf. “We were very tough at home in WCC play last year and playing those last two conference series in front of our home crowd here in Spokane could really help us down the stretch.”

The Bulldogs are coming off of arguably the best season in school-history, posting the sixth most wins in program history (36), capturing the school’s inaugural WCC Regular Season and Championship Series crowns, earning the program’s eighth trip to the NCAA Tournament, finishing with a No. 22 national ranking and having a program-best five players drafted by Major League Baseball.

(Press Release)

Fighting Irish will play six games against teams that reached the 2009 NCAA Tournament.

Complete Notre Dame 2010 Schedule (PDF)

Irish Head Coach Dave Schrage

In all, Notre Dame will play six games (Louisville, Ohio State, Gonzaga and Kansas State) against teams that reached the 2009 NCAA Tournament.

The Irish will open the 2010 season with a two-game series against Mississippi Valley State on Feb. 19-20. The Irish and Delta Devils will first play on the MVSU campus on Friday before travelling to Pearl, Miss. for a meeting at Trustmark Park – home of the Mississippi Braves (Class AA affiliate of the Atlanta Braves) on Saturday. Notre Dame concludes the opening weekend of the season with a second game at Trustmark Park against Jackson State on Sunday.

The Irish then head down to Clearwater, Fla. for the second annual Big Ten-BIG EAST Baseball Challenge on Feb. 26-28. Notre Dame plays Illinois on Friday at Jack Russell Stadium, Ohio State on Saturday at Bright House Networks Field and Penn State on Sunday at the Naimoli Complex.

Notre Dame returns to Florida the following week for the Stetson Tournament during the first stage of its Spring Break trip (March 6-7). The Irish will play Harvard and Kansas State on the first day of the tournament before facing the host Hatters on Sunday.

Notre Dame will then head west for a mid-week, two-game series at UT-Pan American on March 9-10 before concluding the Spring Break schedule in the familiar surroundings of San Antonio (March 11-14) at Wolff Stadium. The Irish will face Bradley on Thursday, Pacific on Friday, Gonzaga on Saturday. Notre Dame will play a fourth game that weekend against one of the previous three schools depending on a round-robin finish.

Each of the 12 BIG EAST baseball teams is again scheduled to play nine others in three-game series (Notre Dame will not face Connecticut or Pittsburgh in the 2010 regular season). All but one of the series involving Notre Dame will be three-day series, with a nine-inning doubleheader scheduled for the second day of the two-day series at West Virginia (May 8-9). Fans are reminded that the road series versus Georgetown (Bethesda, Md./Povich Field; April 1-3) and Villanova (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Villanova Ballpark; May 14-16) are played at off-campus venues.

In addition to those games mentioned above, dates for Notre Dame’s other BIG EAST road series include March 26-28 at USF and April 16-18 at Seton Hall. The BIG EAST home series are April 9-11 vs. Rutgers, April 23-25 vs. Cincinnati, April 30-May 2 vs. St. John’s and May 20-22 vs. Louisville.

The BIG EAST Tournament again will be played under an eight-team format from May 26-30, at Bright House Networks Field in Clearwater, Fla. The format will mirror the College World Series with two four-team brackets playing double-elimination games on the first four days. The bracket winners then will meet in a single title game on May 30.

(Press Release)