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Play Begins With Suspended Game, Ends With Gamecock Win …

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If you’re going to the College World Series, your one stop for the most officially licensed 2011 College World Series apparel is the all new Dugout, located right across the street from the Road To Omaha statue outside TD Ameritrade Stadium. If you can’t make it to Omaha, simply follow this link to Dugouthats.com. You’ll save 20% on your order when you enter the coupon code CB360!

Game 6: Florida 3-5-1 def. Vanderbilt 1-4-2
Final Stats | FL Recap | Vandy Recap

After a 14-hour delay that started shortly after 8:00 p.m. local time, Florida and Vanderbilt resumed their game minutes after 10:00 a.m. Tuesday morning at TD Ameritrade Park.

Preston Tuckers 4th-inning home run was all the offense Florida needed in the Monday/Tuesday game.

The game picked up with two outs and nobody on, with Vanderbilt batting in the bottom of the sixth and Florida leading 3-1. Steven Rodriguez – who had entered the game in relief of Karsten Whitsen in the fifth inning Monday night – promptely struck out Jason Esposito to end the inning. Rodriguez (4-2) ultimately earned the win, after striking out six of the 10 batters he faced for a new career-high K total.

Reliever Will Clinard opened the seventh inning on the hill for the Commodores in relief of starter Grayson Garvin, who fanned nine batters in six innings but allowed three earned runs on Preston Tucker‘s 4th-inning home run that cleared the rightfield bullpen. Garvin (13-2) suffered the loss. Tucker’s 15th long ball of the season is onlythe second home run through six games of the 2011 CWS (Vanderbilt’s Connor Harrell homered Saturday for the other).

The teams combined to strike out 23 times (12 by Commodore batters and 11 for the Gators).

SEC player of the year Mike Zunino of Florida went 1-for-3 with a run scored, against the SEC pitcher of the year Garvin. Zunino was on base when Tucker homered.

A total of 19 batters came to the plate Tuesday morning to face Clinard, fellow Vanderbilt reliever Corey Williams and Florida’s Rodriguez. Only two of those 19 reached base, on a pair of walks (one for each team).

Attendance for this game was 20,182, for a six-game total of 132,748 (avg, of 22,125). Fans were allowed into the final three innings of the game Tuesday morning without a ticket.

CLICK HERE to read more about this game and the North Carolina-Texas game in our Day-3 Notebook.

– Quotable –

“It was actually a slider that I hung. Good Hitters, that’s what they do. He should have hit that where he hit it. It was kid of a tail of one pitch. I actually thought I pitched better yesterday than I pitched in about a month, but it was one swing.” – Vanderbilt starter Grayson Garvin, talking about the pitch Florida’s Preston Tucker hit for the Gators’ only offense in the game.

“He doesn’t pitch like a freshman. He’s a big, strong kid. He throws a big, heavy ball like he’s throwing bowling balls to the plate and he keeps coming. … You know, he’s a first-rounder [2010 MLB draft]. You’re not supposed to keep kids like that, and they did. That’s why Florida’s pretty good.” – Commodore head coach Tim Corbin on Florida freshman pitcher Karsten Whitson, who turned down first-round draft pick money to attend Florida.

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Game 7: Cal 7-9-1 elim. Texas A&M 3-10-2
Final Stats | Cal Recap | A&M Recap

The team that itself was eliminated for a time last fall staved off elimination at the 2011 College World Series, when Cal beat Texas A&M 7-3 Tuesday afternoon in Omaha.

The Golden Bear program was (infamously) set to be cut due to school budgetary restraints last September, but thanks to fundraising efforts it was spared this past spring. Tough times have brought the team together in its miraculous run to the CWS.

Meanwhile, Texas A&M went 0-2 and was eliminated in its first trip to Omaha since 1999.

Texas A&M scored first on Adam Smith‘s solo home run in the 4th inning over the left field, his seventh homer of the year. Aggies starter Michael Wacha didn’t allow a hit until the top of the 5th, when Darrel Matthews singled following an error that allowed Ben Bunting to reach safely to start the inning. An RBI single by Derek Campbell, a sac bunt by leadoff man Austin Booker and a sac fly by Tony Renda gave Cal a 3-1 lead and their first lead of any kind in two games in Omaha.

Wacha (9-4) surrendered seven runs, four earned, on nine hits in 6.2 innings. He walked two and struck out five in the loss.

The Golden Bears scored three more times in the 6th and added another run in the 7th to take a 7-1 lead before A&M pushed across two runs in the bottom of the frame to make it 7-3. Through seven games, Cal and Florida are the only teams to score runs in three consecutive innings.

Golden Bears starter Kyle Porter (6-0) allowed three earned runs in six innings. He struck out four and walked two.

Six different Cal players had at least one RBI in the game, with second baseman Derek Campbell leading the way with two.

Cal has won five straight NCAA Tournament elimination games this year, including four straight at the Rice Regional.

The win is Cal’s first at the College World Series since 1980. The team is playing in its first CWS since 1992.

The Golden Bears next will face the loser of the Virginia-South Carolina game, on Thursday night.

Cal head coach David Esquer was named the NCBWA’s National Coach of the Year prior to the game today.

– Quotable –

“I’m not disappointed in anybody. I’m disappointed for our guys that they didn’t play hard. There’s not a guy in our dugout that doesn’t wish we hadn’t played better collectively. Dave Esquer‘s done an amzing job this year. He’s talking about his team and the things he’s gone through. He definitely deserves coach-of-the-year nomination for being the rock in the storm.” – Texas A&M head coach Rob Childress

David Esquer

“I’m happy our guys kind of grinded it out, because that’s kind of how we do it. We don’t do it easy. … I thought we were a little too excited trying to make something happen that really wasn’t there and didn’t let the game come to us. … The whole day’s been amazing. You can’t be a good coach without good players – if our players can come out here and perform like they did today under elimination circumstances. Thankfully for us, one of our rallying clauses is to try to be as loose as possible and that serves us well in big moments.” – Cal head coach Dave Esquer

Game 8: South Carolina 7-13-0 def. Virginia 1-5-3
Final Stats | SC Recap | VA Recap

In a matchup of this year’s No. 1 national seed and the defending national champion, it was the champ that reigned supreme as South Carolina rolled past Virginia 7-1 Tuesday night in Omaha.

Star outfielder Jackie Bradley, Jr. was in the lineup for only the second time in the past two months. He batted from the cleanup spot, after batting 9th in South Carolina’s win over Texas A&M on Sunday, and got the scoring started with a 1st-inning RBI double. It was the first of three Gamecocks runs in the frame. Bradley finished the game with two hits and an RBI.

Jackie Bradley, Jr.

 

South Carolina added another run in the 3rd, two more in the 4th  and a run in the 7th on an RBI single by Christian Walker. The first baseman batted 2-for-5 and led his team with two RBIs.

South Carolina’s 3-4-5-6 batters combined to hit above .500 (10-for-19) with four runs scored and five RBIs. The team reached base in every inning but the 6th. Scott Wingo was the only Gamecocks starter without a hit or walk.

Virginia scored its only run when John Hicks hit a solo homer to left field in the bottom of the 4th. It’s the eighth homer of the year for the catcher but only the fourth home run hit through eight games in this CWS.

South Carolina starter Colby Holmes (7-3) struck out seven in 4.1 innings to match his career high. Sidearm reliever John Taylor (7-1) set a career high with his 4.1-inning outing. His previous high was a 4.0-inning effort against Mississippi State on April 24. Holmes (19) and Taylor (13) combined to face only 32 batters – six over the minimum.

Virginia starter Will Roberts (11-2) was touched for all six runs in only 3.1 innings. A pair of Cavaliers errors led to three unearned runs.

South Carolina played stellar defense all night. The Gamecocks have committed only one error in their two CWS games.

Florida State (12) and Georgia Tech (10; 9) are the only teams to score more than seven runs against Virginia this season.

Virginia has a rematch with California in Thursday night’s elimination game. South Carolina faces the winner of that game on Friday.

Tonight’s game marked the first time the two programs have met in the CWS.

South Carolina’s win makes the SEC 5-1 during the 2011 CWS. Florida is 2-0 as well, while Vanderbilt (1-1) suffered its first loss earlier today.

The start of the game was delayed 68 minutes by rain.

The loss is jonly the 11th of the year for Virginia (55-11), which owns an .833 winning percentage. South Carolina (52-14) has won 13 straight NCAA Tournament games (sharing a record with three other programs), dating back to the 2010 College World Series championship run in Omaha.

Attendance for the game was 22,027, for an eight-game total of 172,916 and an average of 21,615 fans per game. Both the average and total attendance are “slightly ahead” of the same point last year, according to the NCAA.

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Rain/Heavy Winds Halt Play In Florida/Vandy Game…

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If you’re going to the College World Series, your one stop for the most officially licensed 2011 College World Series apparel is the all new Dugout, located right across the street from the Road To Omaha statue outside TD Ameritrade Stadium.

The Dugout has all the hats, t-shirts, and special CWS memorabilia as well as the same game caps worn by the top college baseball teams.

If you can’t make it to Omaha, simply follow this link to Dugouthats.com. You’ll save 20% on your order when you enter the coupon code CB360!

Game 5: North Carolina 3-9-0 def. Texas 0-4-1
Final Stats | TX Recap | UNC Recap

UNC head coach Mike Fox (right) hits grounders during batting practice on Monday.

North Carolina catcher Jacob Stallings got the scoring started against Texas with his 2-out, 2-run single in the 3rd inning and Ben Bunting drove in UNC’s other run with an RBI double in the top of the 9th.

Stallings is the son of Vanderbilt men’s basketball coach Kevin Stallings. Coincidentally, the elder Stallings once worked for current Tar Heels basketball coach Roy Williams when Stallings was an assistant at Kansas. Williams was in attendance and in the stands for the game.

The game was the first meeting between Texas and North Carolina at the College World Series.

Freshman Kent Emanuel tossed a four-hit shutout for the Tar Heels for the first complete game of the 2011 CWS at TD Ameritrade Park. Emanuel walked only one and struck out five. His shutout is the first at the CWS since former Tar Heel (and current UNC assistant coach) Robert Woodard in 2006. It’s also the first shutout for a freshman in Omaha since LSU’s Brett Laxton beat Wichita State in the 1993 national championship game.

This is the fourth time the Longhorns have gone 0-2 in Omaha. The previous time was in 2000, with losses to Florida State and LSU. Texas had not been shut out at the CWS since a 1992 loss to eventual national champion Pepperdine.

North Carolina centerfielder Ben Bunting hit 4-for-5 in the win. He now is hitting 11-for-22 in six career CWS games.

Texas leadoff man Tant Sheppard had a 10-pitch at-bat before flying out to left field to start the bottom of the 1st against Emanuel. Sheppard later singled on the first pitch with two outs in the 6th inning.

UNC head coach Mike Fox moved shortstop Levi Michael down in the order from the two-hole to seventh. Michael was mired in a 4-for-24 slump. He went 1-for-4 in the game, with a single in his first at-bat.

Texas scored a run in only two of 18 innings during the CWS.

Attendance for the game was 19,630 for a five-game total of 112,566 and an average of 22,513, which is 8,772 ahead of the 2010 total at the same point.

Game 6: Florida 3-5-1 def. Vanderbilt 1-4-2
Final Stats | FL Recap | Vandy Recap

Heavy winds and rain stopped play shortly after 8 p.m. central time in game 6 of the 2011 College World Series, with Florida leading Vanderbilt 3-1 in the bottom of the 6th. The game resumed Tuesday morning at 10:06 a.m.

Before the rains came …

Vanderbilt starter Grayson Garvin cruised through the first three innings, but the Gators took a bite out of the SEC pitcher of the year in the 4th inning. Nolan Fontana started the rally with a walk, followed by an infield single by Mike Zunino. Preston Tucker then connected on his 15th home run of the season, a laser shot over the rightfield bullpen to give Florida a 3-0 lead. Garvin had allowed only one baserunner (on an error) through the first three frames, but four straight Gators reached safely (three on hits) in the 4th.

At that point in the game, all four runs Garvin had allowed to the Gators this year were via home runs.The only run he allowed in a May 14 meeting with Florida was a solo home run by Bryson Smith.

Florida starter Karsten Whitsen left the game with one out in the 5th, after giving up an RBI single to Anthony Gomez. With two on base, Gator lefty Steven Rodriguez came out of the bullpen to strike out first baseman Aaron Westlake to end the inning with Florida leading 3-1.

Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin and Florida skipper Kevin O’Sullivan were assistant coached together at Clemson prior to their current positions. They were on staff together on Jack Leggett‘s 2000 and 2002 CWS teams.

During the rain delay, the stadium grounds crew danced on the warning track to the Village People’s “Y-M-C-A” and then simulated a baseball game on the infield tarp.

CLICK HERE to read more about the conclusion of this game in the Day-4 Notebook.

Every weekend provides every team the opportunity to make a statement in the college baseball world, and this past weekend was no different. However, for the most part it was favorites and not underdogs that made statements from April 15-17.

Friday’s games saw higher ranked teams in the College Baseball 360 Composite National Rankings go 30-8, for a .790 winning percentage. That percentage dipped to .580 (25-18) on Saturday, but the higher ranked teams bounced-back on Sunday by winning at a .700 (26-11) clip.

Two underdogs that broke that trend were #4 South Carolina and #21 Oklahoma State, which each took two of three games in their high profile series against #3 Vanderbilt and #15 Oklahoma, respectively.

Gamecock Statement…

Considering South Carolina is the defending national champion, it’s kind of hard to consider its series win over #3 Vanderbilt an upset. However, the Commodores are the second SEC team that South Carolina has beaten this year (Florida is the other) that was ranked #1 in one of the national polls at the time the Gamecocks beat them in a best two-of-three series. Vandy’s (32-5, 11-4 SEC) series loss is its first since dropping last year’s Super Regional at Florida State, while South Carolina (28-7, 12-3 SEC) has won every series it has played in 2011.

Matt Price

This series was everything it was supposed to be, with great pitching, timely hitting and great defense. There were just two errors committed all weekend. Michael Roth (8-1) out-dueled Sonny Gray (7-2) to give South Carolina a 3-1 game one win. Each ace fired 7 2/3 innings, with Matt Price closing the door with 1 1/3 perfect innings and four strikeouts for his 11th save. The teams combined to use 11 pitchers in Saturday’s 6-4 Vanderbilt victory. Aaron Westlake and Mike Yastrzemski each had two RBIs to help Grayson Garvin improve to 7-1. South Carolina used a 4-run 7th inning to win Sunday’s finale 5-3. Roth was again spectacular out of the bullpen, notching 7 Ks in 3.0 shutout innings to improve to 4-2.

By the way, how would you like to be in the SEC East, where South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Florida all reside? The defending national champs now sit atop the division at 28-7 overall and 12-3 in conference play, followed by Florida (28-9) and Vandy (32-5), which are both 11-4 in the SEC. The Commodores and Gators go head-to-head in Nashville May 13-15.

Beavers Surging, Cardinal Slumping…

Sam Gaviglio

Oregon State swept Stanford in Palo Alto in a match-up of teams who are now heading in completely opposite directions. The Beavers (27-7, 8-1 Pac-10) have won nine straight, with eight of those wins coming against conference foes Arizona, Arizona State and now Stanford. Meanwhile, Stanford (16-12, 3-6 Pac-10) has dropped five of its last six games, including five straight in conference action.

OSU’s Sam Gaviglio (7-1) was masterful in Friday’s 1-0 series-opening win. He mixed enough fastballs in between his devastating curveballs to limit the Cardinal to four hits over 8.0 innings. Gaviglio and his staff mates combined to hold Stanford to five runs on the weekend. It doesn’t get any easier for the Cardinal next week, with UCLA coming to Sunken Diamond.

CLICK HERE for even more in-depth analysis of this series from CB360 contributor Jack Blanchat.

Bedlam Breakthrough…

Oklahoma State took two of three from Oklahoma in the Bedlam Series for its first series win over the arch-rival Sooners since 2008. Both Cowboys wins came in walk-off fashion. Davis Duren gave OSU the win on Sunday with a 10th inning walk-off RBI single for an 11-10 victory in Oklahoma City. Dane Phillips ended Friday’s 8-7 win in Tulsa with a 9th inning lead-off home run.

Break-up The Bruins…

Beau Amaral

The adage that good pitching beats good hitting held-up as UCLA picked-up its biggest series win of the season by taking two of three games from hot hitting Arizona. The Wildcats were averaging 7.5 runs-a-game with a .342 team batting average heading into the series, but the vaunted Bruins pitching staff limited Arizona to 3.3 runs-a-game and a .202 average over the weekend. Trevor Bauer (7-1) fanned 13 and gave-up just four hits in Saturday’s complete game win. Bauer has hit double digit Ks in eight of his nine starts this year. His 110 strikeouts leads the nation. Beau Amaral led the Bruins by hitting 7-for-12 (.583) for the weekend, including six RBIs in Sunday’s 8-5 series clincher.

Wolfpack Attack…

North Carolina was red hot entering its series with arch rival North Carolina State, but the Wolfpack red gave UNC the blues by sweeping the Tar Heels in Raleigh. North Carolina had won 16 of its previous 18 games, including a sweep of Clemson and 2-of-3 vs. Florida State, entering the weekend. Pratt Maynard led NC State by going 6-for-12 with five runs scored in the sweep.

Red Storm Rising…

Joe Panik

Louisville is finding out just how hard it is to maintain dominance over an extended period of time. St. John’s swept the Cardinals (20-15, 6-6 Big East) to hand Louisville its fifth straight loss. Louisville’s 15 losses are one more than it suffered all of last year. St. John’s shortstop Joe Panik was 6-for-14 (.428) with 5 RBIs and a home run in the sweep. Louisville committed 12 errors in the series and has just a .963 fielding percentage this season.

This week we gather some insights from a couple of the top series in the country, #3 Vanderbilt vs. #12 Stanford and #4 TCU vs. #11 Cal State Fullerton, from reporters who were there (rankings based on the College Baseball 360 Week Two Composite National Rankings).

Jordan Pries

Jordan Pries looked very solid in both of his starts this week (Tuesday against Cal and Sunday vs. Vanderbilt) – add them up and you have two wins, 11.0 innings pitched, 4 hits, and 2 earned runs. He varied his stuff well, and he will definitely be a stalwart this season who the Cardinal can count on all year long. Pries’ fastball reaches into the low 90s at times, but the impressive stuff is his off-speed pitches. He has t a slider that looks the same as his fastball coming out of his hand, but dives hard across the plate and ends up for a lot of called strikes.

Brett Mooneyham, unfortunately for Stanford, will miss the entire season with finger surgery on his pitching hand. The blow is definitely a big one for the Cardinal pitching staff, who will miss having a front line starter who could potentially eat up a ton of innings and help keep the bullpen fresh.

Sonny Gray

Friday’s game was a true pitcher’s duel, and both sophomore (Stanford’s) Mark Appel and (Vanderbilt) junior Sonny Gray brought some good stuff to the table. Personally, I thought Appel had better stuff, but I mean that as a compliment to Gray. Gray definitely didn’t have his A-plus stuff on a very cold Friday night, but he still managed to sneak his way to six strikeouts and give up just one run on three hits. To me, that’s the mark of a good pitcher – a guy who can silence a potent Stanford lineup when he is having control issues with his fastball and he frequently missed the strike zone with first pitches. Gray brought scouts out in droves to see his performance (there were probably 15 to 20 teams there), and even though his pitches weren’t great, his pitching was.

The depth of the Vandy staff is also a high point for a team that I think is legitimately a top five team in the country. Gray is far and away their best starter – Grayson Garvin wasn’t as impressive in his Sunday start – but the Commodore bullpen is a force to be reckoned with, particularly Navery Moore. Moore can reach 98 miles per hour on the radar gun, and he also throws a nasty 94-mile-an-hour sliding fastball that is nearly impossible to hit. Having a true closer separates the men from the boys in college baseball, and I think Moore gives the Commodores a big advantage late in games.

A good example of how important a solid closer is to a top team is how the Cardinal let a three-run lead slip away in Saturday’s game, even though they had 17 hits and seven runs (and stranded 13 base runners). Stanford knows what it’s like to have a pure closer – Drew Storen in 2009 – so they know how to develop a guy to compete at the end of games as well.

Offensively, both teams were about equal, but Vandy does stand out for one reason. Stanford trots out a lineup that is full of right-handed hitters, but Vanderbilt has a totally balanced lineup, with a near-equal number of righties and lefties in the lineup at any time.

Kenny Diekroger

For Stanford, shortstop Kenny Diekroeger had another good week, hitting his first dinger of the season on Tuesday against Cal, then going 4-for-5 on Saturday with three RBIs. Similarly, sophomore centerfielder Jake Stewart had another good weekend, as he’s hitting .367 after hitting just .209 last year. He leads the team with three doubles already, and he is blazing fast in centerfield. Senior DH Ben Clowe is also hitting at a nice rate (.385), and he blasted a big home run off Garvin on Sunday. A sore spot for the Cardinal, though, was the suddenly poor Austin Wilson. The big rightfielder struck out eight times this weekend, and had serious trouble with the sliders the Vandy staff kept throwing him.

Vandy’s balanced offense can score in a lot of different ways – Tony Kemp and Mike Yastrzemski are fast and scrappy (but couldn’t swipe a single base this weekend thanks to Stanford catcher Zach Jones, who threw out three baserunners), Aaron Westlake is a big power hitter, and Jason Esposito is a very solid hitter.

Overall, I think both of these teams are legitimately top ten teams. Stanford easily could have won both the Friday and Saturday games, and Vandy could have easily swept the series. Keep an eye on both of these teams – they will be around deep into the postseason this year.

Blanchat was also there last Tuesday when Stanford hosted rival Cal in a midweek game…

Tuesday’s night’s matchup against Cal was very positive for both teams- the reception for the Bears in their last year of baseball for the foreseeable future was pleasant, even though there was some heckling. (A couple choice insults – “That was a big cut! Kind of like your baseball program!” and “Better luck next year!”)

Dugouthats.com has officially licensed College World Series memorabilia year round as well as officially licensed college baseball caps.

From t-shirts and caps to limited edition prints commemorating the last CWS ever played at historic Rosenblatt Stadium. Dugouthats.com also always  hats of your favorite college teams like Cal State Fullerton, TCU, Vanderbilt, and Stanford.

Stephen Francis was on hand to see TCU host Cal State Fullerton…

Noe Ramirez

With Titan Friday starter Noe Ramirez, looks can be deceiving.  He doesn’t look like an overpowering pitcher, but he uses off-speed pitching and location with his fastball to throw hitters off and for the most part he did it with success against the TCU lineup.  They made solid contact on a few pitches in the second inning though and with the way Kyle Winkler was handling the Fullerton lineup, that was all they needed.

The TCU and Fullerton lineups compare pretty well to each other at this point, although seven games may be a small sample size.  What sets the two lineups apart though is the power and speed of the TCU lineup vs. the execution ability of the Fullerton hitters.

With TCU, hitters one through nine are capable of driving the ball every at-bat with authority, although things appear to be “all or nothing” at this point.  The Frogs also have a fast group of players that remain aggressive on the basepaths from beginning to end.  With the new bats and the addition of a new hitting coach, the Horned Frogs do appear to have some kinks to work out.

For Cal State Fullerton, they executed very well on the weekend with clutch hitting late in the game.  They seemed to look a little more “seasoned” at this point in the season and took the final two games of the series by winning in the late innings.

While it would be interesting to see what these two teams would do against each other late in the year, it’s clear that Fullerton’s lineup had the easier time this weekend.  That doesn’t tell the full story though because between both teams, pitching was very good across the board.

Andrew Mitchell

Kyle Winkler won TCU’s only game of the series in Friday’s matchup with Ramirez. Matt Purke did not start all weekend due to a blister on his finger. TCU right hander Andrew Mitchell made his second start of the week in Sunday’s series finale and tossed five scoreless innings. He also earned a win after holding Baylor scoreless over 6 2/3 IP in his start last Tuesday.  Although the bullpen couldn’t hold onto his lead in Sunday’s 2-1 loss, the freshman still ended the week with 11 2/3 innings pitched with a 0.00 earned run average, three hits allowed, six walks, six strikeouts and his first career win.

BOURNE, MA —– In a pitcher-dominated season, Bourne’s 6-6 southpaw Grayson Garvin (Vanderbilt) stood above all others, winning the BFC Whitehouse Top Pitcher Award in the Cape Cod Baseball League for his outstanding season on the mound.

Grayson Garvin (courtesy Bournebraves.org)

Garvin’s perfect 5-0 record, along with his league-leading 0.74 ERA in 36.2 innings pitched, was enough to earn the award over other pitching notables, such as Brewster’s Boston Red Sox-bound Anthony Ranaudo (LSU) and Cotuit’s Tampa Bay draftee Austin Wood (St. Petersburg).

“He was pleasantly surprised,” said Bourne general manager Mike Carrier. “I’m guessing he knew he had a shot at it. It basically came down to him and Wood, and as I was doing the stats myself, it was clear by the formula that Grayson was going to win it.”

The award is based on a formula that longtime league statistician and volunteer John Wylde devised, incorporating 10 criteria, from innings to ERA  to strikeouts-to-inning ratio.

“When Grayson took the mound you knew a ‘W’ was almost automatic as long as the offense did a little bit,” Carrier said. “He had a lot of confidence in what he was doing. He’s a tough left-hander, spotted the ball very well, and just competed every game.”

Garvin racked up 37 strikeouts, while allowing only 12 walks and 18 hits, and held opponents to a .146 average.

“What was nice about it was the turn-around, well maybe not ‘turn around,’ but the success from what he did in Falmouth last year,” Carrier said. ”I’m still not sure why Falmouth didn’t protect him, but their loss was our gain. I think after he had injuries in college and then coming here and doing what he did exceeded everyone’s expectations —– including his.”

The improvement from 2009 with Falmouth to Bourne this year was one of many contributing factors that landed Garvin on the West Division All-Star squad. Taking his place on the mound at Fenway Park for this year’s game, he pitched a perfect inning, striking out one as the West went on to win.

(Cape Cod Release)

Wong & Ribera Head The List…

West Pitching Steals Show At Fenway Park…

BOSTON, MA — The old adage that “Good pitching beats good hitting” rang true on a beautiful summer night at the oldest ballpark in the Major Leagues on Wednesday, as the West All-Stars beat the East All-Stars 5-0 before 10,470 fans in the Cape Cod League All-Star Game at Fenway Park.

Fenway Park at the 2010 Cape All-Star Game (courtesy capecodbaseball.org)

Pitching was the story for the first four innings. Andrew Gagnon (Long Beach State), Marcus Stoman (Duke), Derek Self (Louisville), and Matty Ott (LSU) each made their innings count for the East, combining to allow only two hits over four shutout innings.

The West staff matched the East’s dominance, as Austin Wood (St. Petersburg), Grayson Garvin (Vanderbilt), Max Perlman (Harvard), and Tyler Ray (Troy) held the high-powered East squad scoreless.

The scoreboard was awash in zeroes until the West struck in the top of the fifth. The East’s troubles began when Tyler Bream (Liberty) singled off Braden Kapteyn (Kentucky), and moved to second on a wild pitch. Bream stole third, and rode home on a wild pitch.

The East ran into more trouble in the sixth when the West roughed up East pitcher Kyle Simon (Arizona). Johnny Ruettiger (Arizona State) stroked a leadoff double and moved to third on a wild pitch. East shortstop Joe Panik (St. John’s) kept the score at 1-0 by throwing out Ruettiger at the plate on Zach Wilson’s (Arizona State) grounder up the middle. But Panik’s efforts went in vain when Casey McElroy (Auburn) drove in Jordan Leyland (UC-Irvine) for a 2-0 lead.

Now operating with some breathing room, the West pitching staff continued to shine. Jed Bradley (Georgia Tech), Christian Jones (Oregon), AJ Achter (Michigan State), and RJ Alvarez (Florida Atlantic) strung together four more unblemished innings and keep the shutout intact.

“Our guys pitched great,” West field manager Harvey Shapiro said. “It isn’t too taxing when you have nine great pitchers in the bullpen. It’s very stress free.”

(Cape Cod Release)

Game Set For July 28 At Fenway Park…

The Cape Cod All-Star Game will be played at Boston's historic Fenway Park.

The All-Star game is presented by the leading banks of Cape Cod —- Bank of America, Eastern Bank, TD Bank, Cape Cod Cooperative Bank and Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank.

Scott Pickler of the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox will be the field manager for the East Division, with Harvey Shapiro of the defending champion Bourne Braves piloting the West.

Leading the way for the East are Brewster outfielder Drew Martinez (Memphis) and Orleans second baseman Kolten Wong (Hawai’i), who are currently 1-2 in the league in batting average.

Wong will be joined on the right side of the infield by Chatham first baseman Aaron Westlake (Vanderbilt). Anchoring the left side will be two players from second-place Y-D —-  shortstop Joe Panik (St. John’s) and third baseman Tyler Hanover (LSU). This is the second All-Star selection for Hanover, who was a reserve last year.

Martinez will also have a friendly face beside him in the outfield as teammate Cohl Walla (Texas) was named a starter along with Y-D’s Caleb Ramsey (Houston).

The designated hitter is Harwich’s Clint Moore (West Point), with Harwich’s Pratt Maynard (N.C. State) named the starting catcher.

The Mariners also landed two reserve players in utility man Levi Michael (North Carolina) and outfielder Ronnie Richardson (Central Florida). Chatham catcher Joe Pavone (UConn) fills out the roster.

Leading the pitching staff for the East will be Brewster’s Andrew Gagnon (Long Beach State). Gagnon leads the league with five wins and sports a 1.69 ERA through six appearances. He also ranks second with 38 strikeouts. He will be joined by a strong supporting staff that includes teammate and closer Colton Murray (Kansas), Kyle Simon (Arizona) and Marcus Stroman (Duke) of Orleans, Derek Self (Louisville) and Logan Verrett (Baylor) of Chatham, and Adam Morgan (Alabama), Braden Kapteyn (Kentucky) and Matty Ott (LSU) of Harwich.

The Wareham Gatemen lead the West Division All-Stars with five selections, while the Braves had three players named.

Representing Bourne will be starter Grayson Garvin (Vanderbilt), and relievers, RJ Alverez (Florida Atlantic) and Tony Zych (Louisville). Alvarez and Zych have yet to allow an earned run this summer. Garvin is 3-0 in four starts with a 0.79 ERA.

Right-hander Austin Wood (St. Petersburg), who has dominated, going 3-0, with an 0.58 ERA in 31 innings, represents Cotuit. Joining him from the Kettleers is right-handed reliever AJ Achter (Michigan State), who has posted a 1.03 ERA in 10 appearances.

Making the team from the Gatemen are right-hander Max Perlman (Harvard) and lefty Jed Bradley (Georgia Tech). Hyannis’ Tyler Ray (Troy) will make the trip to Fenway, along with Falmouth southpaw Christian Jones (Oregon).

Falmouth’s Andrew Susac (Oregon State) gets the start behind the plate, with Hyannis’ Cam Seitzer (Oklahoma) at first base, Falmouth’s Kevin Medrano (Missouri State) at second, Wareham’s Tyler Bream (Liberty University) at third and Falmouth’s KC Serna (Oregon) manning shortstop.

The starting outfielders are Cotuit’s Chad Wright (Kentucky), Wareham’s  Zach Wilson (Arizona State) and Hyannis’ John Ruettiger (Arizona State).

The designated hitter will be Cotuit’s Jordan Leyland (UC Irvine).

The reserves are Wareham catcher Tony Caldwell (Auburn), utility infielder Casey McElroy (Auburn) and Bourne outfielder Scott Woodward (Coastal Carolina).

General admission tickets for the game, priced at $10, are still available and can be purchased on the Cape League website at www.capecodbaseball.org, or at any of the 10 ballparks.

(Cape Cod Release)

Day Two Super Regional Notes And Thoughts

Florida head coach Kevin O'Sullivan

Miami hasn’t won a postseason game in Gainesville since 2002.

The Big “E”s: Miami committed seven, that’s right seven errors in Saturday’s loss to Florida.  Only one of the four runs scored by the Gators was earned.  In fact, just two of Florida’s 11 runs in the two games was earned thanks to nine Hurricane miscues.  Miami hasn’t won a postseason game in Gainesville since 2002.

Mighty Mo: It didn’t take long for Texas to take back the momentum in it’s series with TCU.  After losing 3-1 in Friday’s opener the Longhorns drubbed the Horned Frogs 14-1 on Saturday to send the game to a deciding third game.  The rout was due in part to the dominant pitching of Taylor Jungmann, who struck out 9 in 8 1/3 IP, but also largely to three Horned Frog errors that led to six unearned runs scored by the Longhorns.  All five runs allowed in 3 2/3 IP by TCU starter Steven Maxwell (11-2) were unearned.

Crowded House: The first two games of the Texas-TCU Super Regional have drawn more than 7,300 fans each to Disch-Falk Field.  That makes 21 games this season in which the Longhorns have played in front of a crowd of more than 7,000.

Livin’ On The Edge: Vanderbilt downed Florida State 6-2 Saturday to force Sunday’s winner take all game.  The win makes the Commodores 4-0 in NCAA elimination games this year.  Saturday’s win halted Florida State’s seven game winning streak.

Not So Super: This is Florida State’s 10th Super Regional since 1999, but the Seminoles have won just one of their last seven Super Regional series since advancing to Omaha in the first two years of the format in 1999 and 2000.  Three of those Super Regional losses came on their home field.  Including their 1-1 mark this year, the Seminoles are 9-14 all-time in Super Regional games.

Great Garvin: Commodore reliever Grayson Garvin tossed three shutout innings to finish Saturday’s win.  Garvin has now given-up just two runs with 12 strikeouts in 13 1/3 innings in three postseason appearances this year.

Son Of A Yaz: Vanderbilt freshman Mike Yastrzemski is the grandson of Red Sox Hall of Famer Carl

Vanderbilt freshman Mike Yastrzemski

Yastrzemski, but he has a Seminole connection as well.  Mike’s dad, Michael, played at Florida State from 1980-’83.  Mike is 4-for-7 in the Super Regional with a double, a home run and two RBIs.

Is That A Girl, What’s She Know About College Baseball? Those were my wife’s words, not mine, when she heard Pam Ward doing the play-by-play of Virginia’s 3-2 win over Oklahoma in game one of their series.  I’ll admit I was skeptical of Ward doing the game, and I’m sure I wasn’t alone.  I have to say though that Ward did a solid job.  She’s got a lot of experience doing softball games, and she even used that to provide some baseball insight.  Ward talked about the current moratorium on composite bats in college baseball and how college softball may consider the same thing with all of the home runs hit at this year’s Women’s College World Series.

Hoos Boom: Virginia scored all three of its runs in that game on home runs.  Phil Gosselin led-off the bottom of the 1st inning with his 10th HR of the year and then Dan Grovatt hit the deciding two-run blast in the 6th.

Nice Lid: Did you see the hat UCLA pitcher Trevor Bauer wore during the Fullerton game at Jackie Robinson Stadium?  It’s so faded and worn looking that it looks like Jackie Robinson could have worn it during his playing days with the Bruins.

That’s A Bold Statement: “Of all the guys I’ve seen hit Harold Martinez is my favorite hitter.  Manny Ramirez is my guy in Major League baseball.  When I walk into a room and a Manny Ramirez at-bat is on I’m not walking out.   That’s how I felt about Harold Martinez.”  That’s what Eric Byrnes said about injured Miami third baseman Harold Martinez, who was hospitalized in Gainesville with an infected shin.  Byrnes got to see first hand last week just how explosive Martinez’s bat is when the sophomore had 9 RBIs and two HR in the Coral Cables Regional.

Jake Smith hit a home run and earned a save in Alabama's win.

Tide Rolling: Alabama beat Clemson 5-4 in Saturday’s series opener.  The Crimson Tide, which barely made the SEC Tournament field,  has won 13 of its last 15 games to move to within one win from Omaha.  One more win would make Mitch Gaspard just the second rookie coach in the last 30 years to take a team to the College World Series.  Dan McDonnell did it at Louisville in 2007.

The Two Jakes: How about Alabama’s Jake Smith?  The senior started at third base and hit his 14th home run of the season to help the Tide win Saturday’s game.  He then gave-up just a hit over the final two scoreless innings of the game to earn his sixth save.

It’s On Where? With all eight Super Regionals in action on Saturday it was a little hard to actually find where some of them were (or weren’t) being televised.  I was never actually able to watch the Alabama-Clemson game on TV.  I did watch parts of it on ESPN3.com.  That’s where I found most of the UCLA-Fullerton game, and then the video froze.  Turned out they moved it to ESPN2 after the Florida-Miami game was over. It’s just a shame that unless you were on the west coast most of the UCLA-Fullerton series was either on TV after 11pm ET Friday night (it ended after 2am) or was not on TV at all.

Bopping Bruins: UCLA hit four home runs in Saturday’s 11-7 10-inning win over the Titans.  Tyler Rahmatulla had the biggest of the blasts.  With UCLA down to its last two strikes of the season the sophomore’s 2-run shot gave the Bruins a 7-6 lead in the top of the 9th.  Fullerton tied the score 7-7 in the bottom of the inning, and then UCLA plated four in the 10th for the win.

Golden Gallego: Bruin shortstop Niko Gallego made two great plays in the bottom of the 10th to help force Sunday’s deciding game.  Niko is the son of 13-year MLB vetern Mike Gallego.

White Between The Eyes: When Arizona State reliever Mitchell Lambson went to the mound in the top of the 8th inning umpires apparently told him he had too much rosin on his hat.  The reasoning would be that the white from the rosin could be deceptive to Arkansas batters.  Sounds fairly reasonable, and the rationale would be in line with the fact that pitchers cannot have white on their gloves.  What I’ve never understood is how a few white stitches on a pitcher’s glove (or in this case rosin on a hat that’s also covered in white salt stains) aids in hiding the ball than a full home white uniform (like ASU was wearing Saturday night)…or even white lettering on a dark uniform (like Arkansas had).

Lights Out Lambson: Rosin or no rosin, Lambson had 2 Ks in a 1-2-3 inning, and he wasn’t done there.  In a game ASU eventually won 7-6 in 12 innings, Lambson (8-2) fired five shutout innings of relief with six strikeouts to earn the win.

Uggghh: I really want to watch the Arkansas-Arizona State series, just not with Justin “I continually second guess head coaches who have been to the College World Series four times” Kutcher calling the action.  Ok, so Dave Van Horn didn’t bring in Brett Eibner to pitch leading 6-5 in the 9th inning…we get it.  Now go back to criticizing umpires.

Tough Night: Eibner was called out not once, but twice for batter’s interference.  The second one ended the top of the 12th inning.  The two-way star (21 HR, 69 RBIs) then gave-up the game-winning hit to Deven Marrero in the bottom of the 12th.