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Wildcats Take Potentially Pivotal Big 12 Set…

By CB360 Contributor John Kurtz

It was a huge weekend for Kansas State, with its sweep of Texas Tech at Tointon Family Stadium. It was a tight series all the way with K-State’s wins coming 2-1, 4-3 and 4-1. Things really seem to be turning around for the Wildcats after a murderous stretch to start Big 12 Conference play (at Texas, at Baylor, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma) that saw the Cats go 4-8. K-State has now won four of its last six Big 12 games in large part due to a pitching staff that is really coming together.

James Allen's 27 saves are the most in KSU history (photo courtesy Kansas State).

James Allen saved all three games for the Wildcats this weekend against Texas Tech. With Saturday’s save in the series finale, Allen set the K-State record for season saves (13) and career saves (27). He is also the first Wildcat to save three games in a conference series in the Big 12 era and the first Big 12 closer to do so since 2009. Texas Tech struggled to get anything going against Allen all weekend as he fired three innings and allowed just one hit. Allen has the typical “lights out” attitude that any coach would want in their closer and he seemingly always maintains his composure, even in pressure situations.

Allen may grab the headlines, but his set-up man Evan Marshall was equally as effective and valuable for K-State in the series. Marshall threw 3.1 innings in the series and allowed just one unearned run. Marshall was particularly effective for K-State on Friday and Saturday when he mowed down the Red Raiders without allowing a hit in either appearance.

K-State got solid starts from Shane Conlon and Kyle Hunter on Thursday and Friday to win the series. Conlon, a freshman, has seen most of his time as a defensive replacement at first base this season, but he got the first win on the mound of his Wildcat career Thursday. Matt Applegate stole the show on Saturday by going 7 innings and allowing just one run while striking out 13 Red Raiders. Applegate’s emergence in 2011 (4-2, 3.57 ERA) is a big part of what is keeping K-State in the hunt for another NCAA regional appearance.

Texas Tech’s arms were solid in the series and probably weren’t indicative of being swept. The Red Raiders got by on Thursday with David Paiz giving up just 2 earned runs and were in a good position to win the game. The bats didn’t respond though and Tech fell 2-1. Friday starter Trey Masek struggled and gave up 4 earned runs in 5 innings, but Robbie Kilcrease shutout K-State through the final three innings to give the Red Raiders a chance. One bad inning on Saturday doomed Tech starter Brennan Stewart in the 4-1 Wildcat win to complete the sweep.

Jamodrick McGruder (courtesy Texas Tech)

Kansas State kept Jamodrick McGruder in check throughout the weekend, though he did produce three  hits in the series. Barrett Barnes had a hit and an RBI through the first two games of the series, but was held out of the lineup on Saturday. Just speculation here, but it was likely due to a rough spill Barnes took against the center field wall while making a spectacular catch on Friday night. Barnes clearly has the speed and talent in center to be a force.

This was a huge series for the NCAA regional hopes of both Texas Tech and K-State. The Wildcats shot up three spots in the Big 12 standings to 6th at 8-10 in league play thanks to the sweep. In the process they passed the Red Raiders, who are now 6-12 in the conference. Texas Tech clearly has plenty of work left to do and not salvaging a game from this series was a big blow.

KSU meanwhile is looking like the team that many expected this year in Manhattan after surviving a very sluggish start. The Cats’ pitching staff is really coming around as a whole and K-State is winning with pitching, defense and base running. K-State needs to continue to win games and a lack of pop in the lineup may hold them back, but things are looking much better for Brad Hill and the Wildcats than they did a week ago.

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Kansas State has released its 2011 college baseball schedule. The Wildcats open their season February 18-20 in Stockton, CA against Pacific. They face the Tigers the following weekend as well at the Caravelle Resort’s Baseball at the Beach Tournament in Myrtle Beach, SC. KSU’s other three opponents in the tournament are Coastal Carolina, Western Kentucky and California.

CLICK HERE to see the complete 2011 Kansas State schedule.

KSU opens Big 12 play March 18-20 when it visits Texas. Other conference road series are at Baylor, Nebraska and Oklahoma State. The Wildcats will host Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, and Missouri in conference action. They will also play a three-game split series with intrastate rival Kansas. The Wildcats host the May 20 series-opener and then play the next final two games at KU.

The Wildcats play a home and home series with Wichita State. They will also play a two-game series in the Metrodome on April 4 & 5 against reigning Big Ten champion Minnesota.

Give a unique gift this Christmas from Dugouthats.com.  The Dugout in Omaha has officially licensed 2010 College World Series memorabilia that would make the perfect gift this holiday season (click on the image to left to enlarge).

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 LSU, Texas, Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, UCLA, South Carolina, Miami and more.

Two NCAA Berths Get Deal Through 2015…

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State Director of Athletics John Currie announced Friday that head baseball coach Brad Hill has agreed to a new five-year contract through the 2015 season.

Brad Hill guided KSU to the program's first ever NCAA appearances in 2009 & 2010. (Courtesy KSU)

The new five-year deal is retroactive to June 15, 2010, and extends to June 14, 2015. It replaces the four-year agreement Hill signed in 2009.

“The progress and success of our baseball program over the past several seasons is a testament to Coach Hill’s leadership and vision,” Currie said. “K-State is committed to delivering a championship program as evidenced by the continued investments in the facilities and program, which is a credit to our donors. Coach Hill and his staff share the values of Kansas State and have built our baseball program into a consistent contender by recruiting and developing student-athletes who, both academically and athletically, are dedicated to success. We are excited that he will be the head coach at K-State for many years to come.”

The contract calls for an average annual compensation of $235,000, which includes a retention incentive of $125,000 should Hill remain at K-State through the life of the agreement. Hill could also earn up to an additional $172,500 in annual performance incentives for various achievements, including appearances in the Big 12 Baseball Championship and the NCAA Tournament, as well as for winning regular-season and postseason championships.

Success by the baseball program under Hill hasn’t been limited to just the field. With his emphasis on success in the classroom, the Cats have produced 37 Academic All-Big 12 selections, including a school-record-tying seven in 2010, while five Wildcats have also earned Academic All-District honors. In addition, K-State’s Academic Progress Rate (APR) has steadily improved to reflect an outstanding four-year average of 942.

The 2010 season was Hill’s seventh in Manhattan after taking over a program that hadn’t had a winning conference record since 1990. Hill has guided Kansas State to five years of growth, topped last season by a school-best third-place finish in the Big 12, making Wildcat baseball one of the most steadily advancing programs in the Big 12 Conference.

“I am extremely appreciative to our administration for their support,” said Hill. “Our success is directly related to the great staff we have assembled here at K-State and I am thankful for the dedication of Sean McCann, Andy Sawyers, Scott Bird and Justin Tadtman. We are also grateful for the fans from the Manhattan community and K-State students who have helped turn Tointon Family Stadium into a real home-field advantage. We are excited to be a part of President Schulz and John Currie’s vision and commitment to producing a championship program.”

K-State continued its trend of improvement in 2010 after its breakout season in 2009. The Wildcats, who were predicted to finish as low as ninth in some Big 12 in preseason polls, finished the 2010 campaign third in the conference – their highest finish since the league’s inception in 1997.

After setting a school record with 43 wins in 2009, Kansas State silenced the critics with another great season, posting 37 wins in 2010, the second-most in program history. Of the 37 wins, 14 came against Big 12 opponents, tying the 2009 squad for the most in school history.

Kansas State also earned its second-straight at-large bid into the postseason when the Wildcats were selected as the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Fayetteville Regional.

The Wildcats led the Big 12 in hitting for the second-straight year after posting a .323 team average. They were also the only program in the league to have three individuals in the top 10 of the conference in hitting, including 2010 Big 12 Player of the Year and batting champion Nick Martini. Under Hill’s guidance, five other Wildcats joined Martini as All-Big 12 selections with Adam Muenster, Carter Jurica, Evan Marshall, Daniel Dellasega and Kyle Hunter gaining recognition.

Martini’s designation as the conference’s player of the year marked the third Big 12 specialty award won by Kansas State in the past two seasons. Hill and A.J. Morris were named Coach of the Year and Pitcher of the Year, respectively, in 2009.

Since Hill took over the reins of the K-State baseball program in the 2004 season, 24 Wildcats have been selected in the Major League Baseball Draft, while the incoming signing class set a record for draft selections as four were taken in the 2010 draft.

Hill was named the 20th head baseball coach in Kansas State history on June 3, 2003, after an ultra-successful nine-year stint as the head coach at Central Missouri State (now the University of Central Missouri) as he left CMSU as the winningest active coach in Division II that included a National Championship in 2003.

(K-State Release)

No Surprise-The Longhorns Are Picked To Win

Texas has been named the preseason favorite to win the 2010 Big 12 regular-season crown in a vote of the league’s head coaches. The Longhorns are ranked No. 1 in all four of the major preseason polls (Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball, ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association) to start the year.

UT (81 points) received nine of the possible 10 first-place votes while Kansas earned the remaining first-place tally and 69 points to come in second. Texas A&M and Oklahoma were third and fourth, respectively, followed by Oklahoma State, Baylor and Kansas State. Missouri and Nebraska were tied for eighth place, and Texas Tech filled the final spot.

The Longhorns are coming off a runner-up finish in their NCAA-record 33rd College World Series appearance in 2009. Texas posted a 50-16-1 overall record and 17-9-1 conference mark en route to claiming the Big 12 regular-season and postseason titles. Head coach Augie Garrido returns 19 lettermen, including all four starting pitchers and five position starters. The Longhorn pitching staff finished second in the nation with a 2.95 team ERA and ranked first in hits allowed with 7.52 per nine innings.

The Big 12 baseball season gets underway on Friday, Feb. 19 with nine squads in action. Oklahoma State will open the 2010 campaign on Saturday.

2010 BIG 12 CONFERENCE BASEBALL PRESEASON COACHES’ POLL

Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams.

(Release)

Longhorns Look To Win Again

2009 Regular Season Champion:  Texas

2009 Tournament Champion:  Texas beat #3 seed Missouri 12-7 in the title game.

Postseason Power:  The Big 12 was well represented in the postseason with 8 of 10 teams that play baseball (Colorado and Iowa State do not) going to an NCAA Regional.  However, eventual national runner-up Texas was the only Big 12 team to even advance to a Super Regional.

Early Accolades:  Six Big 12 players, Tony Thompson (Kansas), Ryan Duke (Oklahoma) and Texas players Cameron Rupp, Chance Ruffin, Taylor Jungmann, and Cole Green have all received preseason All-American recognition.

Baylor

2009 Record:  (30-26, 10-16)

Mascot:  Bears

Head Coach:  Steve Smith

Location:  Waco, TX

Vitals:  .299 BA, 73 HR, .376 OBP, .983 Fld%…5.29 ERA, 2 CG, 10 SVs, 461 K, 224 BB, .292 opp. BA

Packed For Postseason:  2009 marked the 10th time in the last 12 seasons that Baylor made it to an NCAA Regional.  The Bears were 1-2 at last year’s Baton Rouge Regional.

Home Cookin’:  Baylor opens the season with an 18-game homestand.

Big Holes To Fill:  The Bears return five starters from last year’s team, but it’s not who’s back but who’s gone that is most significant.  Baylor loses it’s top thee run producers: Shaver Hansen (.330, 17 HR, 59 RBIs), Dustin Dickerson (.377, 10 HR, 41 RBIs) and Aaron Miller (.310, 12 HR, 47 RBIs).  They combined to hit more than half of the team’s 73 home runs.

Swing Man:  Logan Verrett (7-1, 5.13 ERA, 3 SVs) made five starts and 20 overall appearances.  He’s one of just three pitchers on the staff who had a winning record last year, and he’s the only one of the trio to pitch more than 37 innings.

Kansas

2009 Record:  (39-24, 15-12)

Mascot:  Jayhawks

Head Coach:  Ritch Price

Location:  Lawrence, KS

Vitals:  .301 BA, 61 HR, .389 OBP, .967 Fld%…4.46 ERA, 4 CG, 10 SV, 466 K, 179 BB, .267 opp. BA

Tourney Talk:  Kansas advanced to just the fourth NCAA Regional in school

Tony Thompson (KU photo)

history in 2009.  The Jayhawks were 2-2 at the Chapel Hill Regional.

Tony Terrific:  Junior 3B Tony Thompson exploded in 2009.  After hitting just .276 with 5 HR and 18 RBIs as a true freshman in 2008 Thompson won the first Triple Crown in Big 12 Conference history by batting .389 with 21 home runs and 82 RBIs.  He sported an 1.195 OPS, and struck out just 35 times in 247 at-bats.

Line-Up Losses:  While Thompson is KU’s biggest returning bat, the Jayhawks also lose two solid bats from last year’s team.  David Narodowski (.354) and Buck Afinir (.333) combined to hit 18 HR with 106 RBIs.

Family Ties:  Junior RHP Brett Bochy (5-0, 4.34 ERA) is the son of San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy, while Soph. OF Jason Brunansky (.280, 2 HR) is the son of former big leaguer Tom Brunansky.

Hurlin’ ‘Hawks:  Bochy is one of 8 veteran pitchers to return from last year’s NCAA squad.  Included are weekend starters Lee Ridenhour (6-3, 4.65 ERA) and T.J. Walz (8-3, 4.70 ERA), while bullpen stalwarts Bochy, Colton Murray (2-3, 3.23 ERA) and Travis Blankenship (3-2, 5.80 ERA) combined for 102 appearances (just two starts among them) 132 Ks and 45 BB.

Kansas State

2009 Record:  (43-18-1, 14-11-1)

Mascot:  Wildcats

Head Coach:  Brad Hill

Location:  Manhattan, KS

Vitals:  .317 BA, 58 HR, .399 OBP, .972 Fld%…4.52 ERA, 6 CG, 11 SV, 453 K, 169 BB, .282 opp. BA

Wild (cat) Ride: 2009 will forever be the season that all future K-State baseball teams are judged by.  The Wildcats set a school record for wins, while earning the first NCAA Tournament berth in the 113 years of the program.  Head Coach Brad Hill also earned Big 12 and ABCA Midwest Region Coach of the Year honors.

Losses On The Mound…:  KSU loses its top two starting pitchers, including Big 12 Pitcher of the Year A.J. Morris (14-1, 2.09 ERA) who had 5 of the team’s 6 complete games. He and Lance Hoge (6-4, 4.54 ERA) notched nearly half of the

Jason King (KSU photo)

team’s wins.

…And Losses At The Plate: The Wildcats also have to replace their top three run producers from 2009 with Justin Bloxom (.361 BA, 12 HR, 63 RBIs), Jordan Cruz (.324, 11 HR, 52 RBIs) and Drew Biery (.329, 9 HR, 44 RBIs) all gone.  That trio accounted for more than half of the Cat’s 58 HR.

Wildcats Back:  Carter Jurica (.353, 4 HR, 46 RBIs), Nick Martini (.336, 4 HR, 50 RBIs) and Jason King (.316, 7 HR, 61 RBIs) give K-State a solid base to the line-up, while pitchers Thomas Rooke (5-2, 4.33 ERA) and James Allen (2-1, 5.50 ERA) also return.  The two combined to make 56 appearances with 99 Ks in 90 IP last year.

Missouri

2009 Record:  (35-27, 16-11)

Mascot:  Tigers

Head Coach:  Tim Jamieson

Location:  Columbia, MO

Vitals:  .272 BA, 41 HR,.964 Fld% …5.08 ERA, 6 CG, 12 SV, 492 K, 177 K

Tiger Fact:  Missouri’s 2009 NCAA bid gave Tim Jamieson’s team a seventh straight NCAA Regional berth.  Mizzou is one of just 14 programs in the country to receive NCAA bids from 2003-2009.  Missouri was 1-2 at the Oxford, MS Regional.  They lost twice to Western Kentucky and beat Monmouth.

Tough Losses:  Missouri loses both its staff pitching, Kyle Gibson (11-3, 3.21 ERA, 131 K), who went to Minnesota with the 22nd pick in last year’s draft, as well as its top bat,  Greg Folgia (.326, 12 HR, 70 RBIs) who was taken by Cleveland in the 40th round.

Draft Dodger:  Aaron Senne (.305, 6 HR, 43 RBIs) was picked by Minnesota in the 32nd round of last year’s draft, but chose to return for his senior season.

Bullpen By Committee:  Missouri had eight pitchers who appeared in at least 24 games in 2009.  On several occasions the Tigers at least eight pitchers for an inning in conference games.  Brad Buehler (1-3, 4.29 ERA, 8 SVs) led the team with 35 relief appearances for a total of 35.2 IP.  He and Tyler Clark (3-0, 2.86 ERA, 28 app.) are among the top returning bullpen arms.

Nebraska

2009 Record:  (25-28-1, 8-19)

Mascot:  Cornhuskers

Head Coach:  Mike Anderson

Location:  Lincoln, NE

Vitals:  .282 BA, 48 HR, .368 OBP, .970 Fld%…6.22 ERA, 4 CG, 6 SV, 361 K, 256 BB, .291 opp. BA

Rare Absence:  Nebraska failed to advance to the NCAA Tournament in 2009, marking just the second time since 2000 that the Cornhuskers failed to reach the postseason.

Coaching Connections:  Nebraska assistant Dave Bingham led Kansas to the 1993 College World Series as head coach of the Jayhawks.  Nebraska head coach Mike Anderson was an assistant on the ‘Husker’s 2001 & 2002 CWS squads before leading his own team to Omaha in 2005.

Cornhusker Returnees:  Sr. OF Tyler Farst (.333, 3 HR, 36 RBIs) received honorable mention All-Big 12 honors.  He was the only Cornhusker to receive All-Conference recognition.  Adam Bailey (.325, 12 HR, 50 RBIs) returns as well. 

Mound Experience: The Cornhuskers return a group of pitchers who combined to earn 23 of the team’s 25 total wins last year.  Mike Nesseth (5-4, 5.01 ERA) leads the group.  The senior led the pitching staff in wins, ERA, saves (2), and strikeouts with 73 in 64.2 IP.  He made 8 starts with 20 overall appearances, and tossed one of the team’s four complete games.   A handful of junior college transfers will also try to bolster a staff whose ERA ranked second to last in the Big 12 in ’09.

Two-Sport Cooper:  Sophomore Khiry Cooper (.229, 2 HR, 9 RBIs) had just 70 at-bats as a true freshman, but he’ll look for bigger contributions this year.  The 6’2 receiver/outfielder had 13 catches for 80 yards and a TD last fall for the Nebraska’s Holiday Bowl champion team.  Cooper was drafted in the 5th round by the L.A. Angels Of Anaheim coming out of high school.

Bulldog Bound:  Nebraska opens its season with a four-game series at Fresno State Feb. 19-22.

Oklahoma

2009 Record:  (43-20, 17-10)

Mascot:  Sooners

Head Coach:  Sunny Golloway

Location:  Norman, OK

Vitals:  .317 BA,  91 HR, .407 OBP, .973 Fld%…5.09 ERA, 3 CG, 16 SV, 495 K, 198 BB, .275 opp. BA

Out At Home:  Oklahoma hosted an NCAA Regional last year that included Arkansas, Wichita State and Washington State.  The Sooners made it to the championship round, but the Razorbacks advanced all the way to Omaha.

Ryan Duke (OU photo)

Sunny Days:  Since taking the helm at Oklahoma head coach Sunny Golloway has led OU to five straight NCAA berths.  That includes 2005 when he was 12-6 after taking over after Larry Cochell resigned.

The Duke Of Saves:  Junior closer Ryan Duke (3-1, 3.22) became the first Sooner pitcher since 2000 to earn All-American status after saving 16 games last season.  His save total led the Big 12 and ranked 6th in the nation.

Powered Down:  OU led the Big 12 with 91 HR in 2009, but loses its top four home run hitters.  Big 12 Player of the Year J.T. Wise (17 HR), Aaron Baker (15), Jamie Johnson (13), and Bryant Hernandez (12) are all gone.

Oklahoma State

2009 Record:  (36-24, 9-16)

Mascot:  Cowboys

Head Coach:  Frank Anderson

Location:  Stillwater, OK

Vitals:  .300 BA, 81 HR, .379 OBP, .976 Fld%…4.69 ERA, 3 CG, 15 SV, 516 K, 199 BB, .264 opp. BA

Power Outage: The Cowboys lose their top four power hitters from last years team.  Michael Dabbs (13 HR, 38 RBIs), Tyrone Hambly (10 HR, 41 RBIs), Neil Medchill (14 HR, 57 RBIs), Doug Kroll (10 HR, 36 RBIs) combined to smack 47 of OSU’s home runs.

Depleted Pitching:  The losses of starting pitchers Andrew Oliver (5-6, 5.30 ERA, 97 K in 88.1 IP),  and Tyler Blandford (7-4, 5.31 ERA, 97 K in 78 IP) and Randy McCurry (4-1, 2.16 ERA, 10 SVs) leave big holes to fill in the weekend rotation as well as the back end of the bullpen.

California Dreamin’:  After opening its season at home on Feb. 20 with one game vs. Oklahoma Christian, OSU plays USC, UCLA and Vanderbilt the following weekend at the Dodgertown Classic in L.A.

Kevin Keyes hit 9 HR last year for Texas.

Texas

2009 Record:  (50-16-1, 17-9-1)

Mascot:  Longhorns

Head Coach:  Augie Garrido

Location:  Austin, TX

Vitals:  .288 BA, 53 HR, .377 OBP, .976 Fld%…2.95 ERA, 6 CG, 18 SV, 556 K, 189 BB, .227 opp. BA

Armed & Ready:  Closer Austin Wood (6-1, 2.61 ERA, 15 SVs) is one of the two pitchers Texas loses from a staff whose 2.95 ERA

Taylor Jungmann

ranked second in the nation.   Taylor Jungmann (11-3, 2.00 ERA), Cole Green (5-3, 3.34 ERA) and Chance Ruffin (10-3, 3.32 ERA) are among the notable returnees.

Play Small:  The Longhorn offense was second to last in the Big 12 with 53 home runs, but led the nation with 104 sacrifice bunts last year.

Loaded Line-Up:  Texas loses five players who started at least 43 games last year, but they return some of their most productive players including Kevin Keyes (.305, 9 HR, 46 RBIs), catcher Cameron Rupp (.292, 11 HR, 46 RBIs), Brandon Loy (.288) who tied for the NCAA lead with 25 sac bunts, and Russell Moldenhauer (.262, 4 HR, 14 RBIs).  Moldenhauer started just 26 games last year due to injury, and he hit all four of his home runs at the College World Series.

Texas A&M

2009 Record:  (37-24, 14-13)

Mascot:  Aggies

Head Coach:  Rob Childress

Location:  College Station, TX

Vitals:  .298 BA, 85 HR, .392 OBP, .971 Fld%…4.49 ERA, 2 CG, 13 SV, 568 K, 172 BB, .261 opp. BA

Crowd Favorites:  Texas A&M ranked 9th in the nation with an average of 4,076 fans per game at Olsen Field in 2009.

One Step Back:  After going to back-to-back Super Regionals for the first time in program history in 2007 & 2008, the Aggies were just 1-2 at the Ft. Worth Regional last year.  Both losses were to Oregon State.

Trade-Off:  While the Aggies did lose Luke Anders (13 HR) and Kyle Colligan (15 HR), Brodie Green and Joe Patterson return to lead a team that hit the second-most home runs in the conference last year.   Colligan hit his team-leading 15 HR in 233 AB, while Patterson’s 12 HR came in just 145 AB.

Pitching The Pill:  Head coach Rob Childress’ forte is piching, and while the Aggies didn’t have the eye-popping 2.95 ERA that Texas had in ’09 his staff still tied for second with Kansas in the Big 12 at 4.49.  Ross Hales (6-2, 4.11 ERA) is the top starter back, while Nick Fleece (4-1, 3.54 ERA, 5 SVs) is the only returning reliever (of four) who combined for the team’s 13 saves last year.

Texas Tech

2009 Record:  (25-32, 12-15)

Mascot:  Red Raiders

Head Coach:  Dan Spencer

Location:  Lubbock, TX

Vitals:  .299 BA, 40 HR, .382 OBP, .959 Fld%…6.31 ERA, 2 CG, 12 SV, 409 K, 266 BB, .304 opp. BA

Experience:  The Red Raiders return seven of their top nine batters from last year’s squad, including C Jeremy Mayo (.313, 11 HR, 35 RBIs).  Three other returnees hit .327 or better.  However, the team that finished last in the Big 12 with just 40 HR loses its top home run hitter, Chris Richburg (.341, 14 HR, 60 RBIs), who led the team in nearly every offensive category.

Home Boy:  Lubbock RHP Chad Bettis (6-1, 3.59 ERA) did a little of everything last year.  He was the only Tech pitcher with a winning record, he started four games, made 19 relief appearances, tossed one of the staff’s two complete games, and earned 7 of the Red Raider’s 12 saves.

2010 Big 12 Predictions

Player of the Year:  Tony Thompson-Kansas – The junior takes the honor a year after winning the first Triple Crown in the history of the Big 12 Conference.

Pitcher of the Year:  Taylor Jungmann-Texas

Conference Champion:  Texas – There’s just too much great pitching and too many key line-up contributors back for them not to repeat.

Kansas’ Field Of Dreams: KU, K-State & Wichita State Make The NCAA Tournament

Wichita State head coach Gene Stephenson

made in to an NCAA Regional in the same season for the first time ever.

While Wichita State has been as successful as its own high standards in recent years, 2009 was largely business as usual for the Shockers.  Stephenson’s squad advanced to its 27th NCAA regional this year.  But consider this:  WSU’s seven College World Series trips prior to ’09 are more than twice as many NCAA appearances (3) as Kansas and Kansas State had combined before last season.

Kansas State earned its first baseball win in program history back in 1897.  Entering 2009 the Wildcats had amassed a little more than 1,500 wins, but none of them had ever come in an NCAA Tournament game.  In fact, none of their losses had ever come in an NCAA game either.  Prior to head coach Brad Hill’s arrival in June of 2003 K-State had never been to the NCAAs, and they had qualified for exactly one Big 12 Tournament.

Hill came to Manhattan from Central Missouri State where he had guided the Mules to seven Division II College World

2009 Big 12 Coach of the Year Brad Hill

Series berths in his nine seasons in Warrensburg, Mo.   Hill’s program overhaul didn’t happen overnight, but the turning point toward respectability was probably in 2005.

On April 3, 2005, in Hill’s second season at the helm, Kansas State beat top-ranked Texas 5-3 in their series finale at Disch-Falk Field.  Texas would go on to win the national championship that season, while KSU wouldn’t sniff the postseason, but it was a monumental win for a program on the rise.  It marked the nearly 110 year old program’s first ever win over a number one ranked team, and after 17 tries it was also the Wildcat’s first ever win over the Longhorns-the standard bearer for baseball in the Big 12.

K-State finished 2008 with a 29-29 record, but the momentum of a run to the Big 12 title game (and loss to Texas) heading into the 2009 season.  The Wildcats went 43-18-1 this past season, and they were just flat better across the

A.J. Morris was 14-1 in 2009

board.  The team ERA dropped from 5.12 in ’08 to 4.52 in ’09, and the team batting average and home run totals jumped from .261/36 to .317/58.

The biggest individual improvements came from Justin Bloxom and A.J. Morris.  Bloxom hit just .288 with 8 HR and 49 RBIs as a junior, but he blossomed to .361/12/63 (all team-highs) in his final season in Manhattan.  Morris had won just 8 games in his first three seasons pitching in Wildcat purple (he redshirted his freshman season in 2006), but he was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year this past season after going 14-1 with a 2.09 ERA and 100 strikeouts in 116.1 innings.

K-State made its NCAA debut at the Houston Regional where Hill rolled the dice in the opener.  Instead of starting his ace, Hill went with Lance Hoge, who was victorious in a 16-8 win over Xavier.  Morris gave-up 13 hits the next day in a complete game 7-6 win over the host Owls.  KSU lost its next two games though to Rice, which advanced to a Super Regional match-up with eventual national champion LSU.

The transformation wasn’t quite as dramatic for Ritch Price as Kansas.  The Jayhawks had been to the NCAA

KU's Ritch Price

tournament twice prior to Hill’s arrival in Lawrence in July of 2002, but KU hadn’t been to an NCAA Regional since 1994-the year after the Jayhawks made it all the way to their only College World series appearance.

Price is now heading into his eighth season at the Kansas helm, and his teams have won at least 30 games six times.  Prices’s Jayhawks won their first conference title in nearly 50 years in 2006, to earn the program’s first NCAA bid since ’94.

Kansas started the season with the excitement of Schaeffer Hall’s no-hitter (click for podcast interview) vs. Air Force on opening day, and then started Big 12 play a little more than a month later with a 3-game sweep of top-ranked Texas.  The wins would propel the Jayhawks to a 39-24 overall record and 15-12

Tony Thompson won the Big 12 Triple Crown in 2009

conference mark-improvements of nine and six wins respectively from the previous season.

KU’s offense was spearheaded by Tony Thompson.  The sophomore third baseman hit just .276 with 5 HR and 18 RBIs as a freshman, but he made history in 2009 by becoming the first player to win the Big 12 Triple Crown.  Thompson led the conference in batting average (.389) home runs (21) and RBIs (82).  His efforts helped the Kansas offense go from a .261 hitting team with just 36 home runs in  2008 to a .301 average with 58 longballs last season.

Thompson

(Click play to listen to a podcast interview that Collegebaseball360.com Editor Sean Stires recorded with Thompson last spring.)

The Jayhawks’ 17-7 win over arch-rival Kansas State to end the regular season gave them 25 home wins in 2009-the 2nd most in program history.

Despite an 0-3 mark at the Big 12 Tournament, KU earned the fourth NCAA bid in the 118 years of the program.  The Jayhawks made it to the championship game of the Chapel Hill, NC Regional, but lost 12-1 to the host North Carolina.  The Tar Heels would go on to their fourth straight College World Series appearance.

Other Top Moments Of 2009

11.  Stephen Strasburg Strikes Out 17 In A No-Hitter

12.  Ohio State’s Alex Wimmers No-hits Michigan

13.  Kansas Sweeps #1 Texas

14.  Bryce Brentz Has An April To Remember

15.  Clemson’s Kyle Parker Does Double Duty

16.  #1 Arkansas Beats #1 Arizona State

17.  Rhode Island Beats Miami And Oklahoma State

18.  Kansas State’s A.J. Morris beats Arizona State’s Mike Leake

19.  North Carolina’s Mike Fox Wins His 1,000th Game

20.  Illinois Shocks #1 LSU In Baton Rouge

21.  Alabama’s Kent Matthes Launches Longballs

22.  Freshman Levi Michael Starts In North Carolina’s Season Opener

23.  LSU Opens The New Alex Box Stadium

24.  Oregon Brings Back Baseball

KSU’s A.J. Morris Beats ASU’s Mike Leake

It was a Super Regional caliber pitching match-up even if nobody really knew it…yet.  It was Tuesday, March 10, and Kansas State was going to play perreniall power Arizona State in Suprise Arizona at the spring training home of the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals.

The Sun Devils’ pitcher, Mike Leake, was a known commodity.  Leake was the reigning Pac 10 Pitcher of the Year and a Second Team All-American as a sophomore in 2008 after going 11-3 with a 3.49 ERA.  He was one of just two ASU pitchers to earn 20 wins in his first two seasons on the mound in Tempe.

At 3-0, the Kansas State pitcher, A.J. Morris, had pitched solidly to that point, but to say his first three years as a college pitcher were much more modest than Leake’s would be an understatement.

Morris red-shirted in 2006 in his first season at K-State after lettering twice at Humble (TX) High School.  He was 4-2 with a 3.78 ERA in 19 appearances (5 starts) in 2007, and an unspectacular 4-4 with a 6.04 ERA with 12 starts and 14 appearances in 2008.  Hardly ace-like stuff by any measure.

But  if nobody knew about Morris and the Wildcats before the game, they would

A.J. Morris was 14-1 in 2009.

remember them afterward.

In a head-to-head duel with one of the top pitchers and teams in the country Morris had what was to that point the best game of his career.  Morris gave-up two runs on five hits in a (then) career best 8 1/3 innings as K-State shocked Arizona State with a 6-2 win. The red-shirt junior did not allow a hit in 6 of the 8 full innings he pitched, and he faced the minimum in an inning three times.

Arizona State came into the contest averaging better than 9 runs through its first 12 games.  The only real offense the Sun Devils could manage against Morris was a solo home run by Carlos Ramirez that ended Morris’ run of 19 2/3 scoreless IP to start the season.

Leake didn’t pitch poorly, but he was far from dominant.  The righthander surrendered two runs (one earned) on seven hits with just three stikeouts in 7 IP to suffer the loss.

The 6 runs and 11 hits by the Wildcats were the most allowed to that point by a Sun Devil pitching staff that had a 1.01 ERA entering the game.

Both teams stood at 11-2 after the KSU win, and it would set the tone for what would be a record-setting season for both the team and its starting pitcher.

Morris finished with a 14-1 record and 2.09 ERA with 100 strikeouts in 116.1 IP. He was named the 2009 Big 12 Pitcher of the Year and received multiple All-American

KSU head coach Brad Hill & A.J. Morris

accolades.  His 14 wins tied with LSU’s Louis Coleman for the second-most in the nation.

K-State head coach Brad Hill was named the Big 12 Coach of the Year.  In his sixth season he led Kansas State to a school record 43-18-1 record and the program’s first ever NCAA Tournament berth.

Arizona State made it all the way to the College World Series.  Leake finished with an NCAA-leading 16 wins with a 1.71 ERA and 162 ks in 142 IP as the ASU staff ace.

The March 10 loss to Morris and Kansas State would be his only loss of the season.

Other Top Moments Of 2009

19.  North Carolina’s Mike Fox Wins His 1,000th Game

20.  Illinois Shocks #1 LSU In Baton Rouge

21.  Alabama’s Kent Matthes Launches Longballs

22.  Freshman Levi Michael Starts In North Carolina’s Season Opener

23.  LSU Opens The New Alex Box Stadium

24.  Oregon Brings Back Baseball