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Notes, Video & More…

Gary, Ind. — After playing the second-longest game in NCAA Tournament history Friday night Kent State and Kentucky showed no hangovers on Saturday. It took six hours and 38 minutes for Kent State to win that game 7-6, and not many thought either the Wildcats or Golden Flashes would come out of it with much left in the tank on Saturday.

They were wrong.

The Wildcats bounced back with a convincing 8-1 elimination game victory over Valparaiso, while No. 3 seed Kent State improved to 2-0 in the Gary Regional with its 7-3 win over No. 1 seed Purdue. Here are some more notes from Saturday’s action at the Steel Yard.

The Road To Omaha leads to TD Ameritrade Park and The Dugout – located right across the street from TDA’s home plate entrance. The Dugouthas a ton of authentic college baseball caps – just like the ones the players wear on the field.

If you’re going to Omaha for the College World Series make sure to make your first stop The Dugout for all officially licensed CWS apparel. If you can’t make it to Omaha just follow our red links to The Dugout!

 

Big League players shake teammate's hands after a game, but in college they still shake the other team's hands.

#2 Kentucky – 8 … # 4 Valparaiso – 1

(Video Interviews Below)

The best news for head coach Gary Henderson was after using five pitchers Friday night Kentucky used just two arms in Satuday’s win. Starter Jerad Grundy allowed just a run in 6.0 innings, while Chandler Shepherd worked the final 3.0 innings to earn his first save of the season.

“I don’t know the right word, but it was huge,” Henderson said of only needing two pitchers to get through the game. “We were set to throw anybody and everybody to win the game. We made that decision early this morning. This gives us a chance now to win a couple ball games tomorrow.”

The Wildcats now play Purdue in Sunday’s 4 p.m. ET elimination game and if they win that game they move into the championship round for a rematch with the Golden Flashes.

Kentucky’s Mike Williams caught all 21 innings of Friday’s 7-6 loss to Kent State. The senior was behind the plate for all nine innings of Saturday’s game. “He’s Superman,” is how Henderson referred to Williams after Saturday’s game.

In addition to going 21 innings, Friday’s game also lasted six hours and 38 minutes. In stark contrast, Saturday’s Kentucky-Valpo game was over in a tidy two hours and 24 minutes.

The final score is not as close as it actually was for almost two third of the game. The score was tied 1-1 until Kentucky erupted for five runs in the top of the 6^th. They added two more runs in the 8^th and 9^th.

The Wildcats have scored runs in nine of the 30 innings they have played in the regional. Their pitchers have posted goose eggs in 24 of the 30 innings they have pitched.

Kentucky players & head coach Gary Henderson discuss Saturday’s 8-1 elimination game win over Valparaiso at the Gary Regional.

Valparaiso head coach Tracy Woodson discusses his team’s loss to Kentucky in the Gary, IN Regional as well as the bright future of his program.

Purdue basketball great Robbie Hummel (talking to a fan) was at Saturday's baseball game.

#3 Kent State – 7…#1 Purdue – 3

(Video Interviews Below)

Like Kentucky, Kent State went through five pitchers in Friday’s 21-inning game. But while the Wildcats used two pitchers to eliminate Valparaiso, the Golden Flashes needed just Ryan Bores to get the job done against Purdue.

Bores tossed Kent State’s first complete game of the season to improve to 9-2 in the victory.

Meanwhile, Purdue starter Lance Breedlove lasted just 1 2/3 innings, while surrendering six earned runs in the loss.

“He wasn’t getting ahead of hitters like he usually can,” Purdue head coach Doug Schreiber said of Breedlove’s short outing. “He was down, so they weren’t even some challenge pitches I thought. They were getting barrel on the ball…it was just one of those days for Lance.”

Breedlove was knocked-out of the game in a five-run Kent State outburst in the bottom of the second inning that began with two outs.

The uncharacteristic short outing means Schreiber may bring Breedlove back this weekend.

“Possibly tomorrow,” Schreiber said when asked if he would send Breedlove to the mound again before the regional concludes. “If we get this thing going and rolling we haven’t seen the last of him this weekend.”

Joe Haase, who pitched 7.0 innings in Friday’s late night/early morning win over Valpo is the only pitcher Schreiber ruled out for Sunday.

Kent State players relax before Saturday's game.

Kent State’s game lasted just two hours and 20 minutes, meaning the combined total of Saturday’s two games was 4:44 and 18 innings, compared to the 6:38 and 21 innings it took to play the first game of the regional.

Kent State has won 19 straight games after the win over Purdue.

The Golden Flashes are one of three No. 3 seeds in the NCAA Tournament to start 2-0. St. John’s, which upset North Carolina Saturday in Chapel Hill, and Ole Miss, with a Saturday win over Texas A&M, are the others.

This is the fourth straight regional appearance for Kent State. The Golden Flashes also started 2-0 at the Austin Regional last year before dropping their last two games to host Texas.

“We’ve got good baseball players,” head coach Scott Stricklin said of his feisty squad. “Guys play hard and believe in what we’re doing. They’re experienced.”

While they might be experienced, they are far from intimidating looking in their uniforms.

“Jimmy Rider (a 5’10, 170 pound senior) looks like Opie Taylor,” Stricklin joked when asked about the unimposing look of his players compared to the more robust looking Purdue and Kentucky teams they’ve beaten so far. “He’s the all-time hit leader in our conference. He’s the best shortstop I’ve seen all year and I know there are good shortstops here, but I wouldn’t trade him for anybody in the country.”

Rider was 3-for-5 with 3 RBIs while hitting his team-leading 27^th double of the season in the victory.  George Roberts, a 6’0 195 pound first baseman, collected five RBIs to give him five in two games and a team-best 62 in 2012.

With a win over either Purdue or Kentucky Sunday night Kent State would become the first MAC team to advance to a Super Regional.

Purdue’s Angelo Cianfrocco is the son of former Major Leaguer Archie Cianfrocco. The younger Cianfrocco is a junior first baseman/outfielder/LHP for the Boilermakers. The elder Cianfrocco also played at Purdue before going on to a career with the Montreal Expos and San Diego Padres. Angelo was 2-for-4 with a double Saturday.

Eric Charles was suspended from Purdue’s first NCAA Tournament game since 1987 Friday night for his part in a fight at last weekend’s B1G Tournament. The red shirt second baseman was back in the lineup Saturday though. He was 1-for-4 at the plate in the loss.

Former Purdue basketball player Robbie Hummel was in attendance watching Saturday’s game at the Steel Yard in Gary. Hummel is a Valparaiso, Ind native. He finished his career as the 9^th leading scorer in Boilermaker history with 1,772 career points.

Sunday’s Schedule

Elimination Game: No. 1 Purdue vs. No. 2 Kentucky 4 pm ET

Championship Round: No. 3 Kent State vs. Elmination Game winner – a Kent State win would send the Golden Flashes to a Super Regional to face the Eugene Regional winner. A loss would force a Monday winner take all game with the same team.

Kent state head coach Scott Stricklin discusses his win over Purdue as well as the state of his program on Saturday at the Gary, IN Regional.

Purdue head coach Doug Schreiber discusses his team’s loss to Kent State on Saturday at the Gary, IN NCAA Regional.

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Reaction To 21 Inning Marathon In Gary…

Kent State head coach Scott Stricklin discusses his team’s 7-6 win in 21 innings over Kentucky on Friday in the first game of the Gary Regional.

The Road To Omaha leads to TD Ameritrade Park and The Dugout – located right across the street from TDA’s home plate entrance. The Dugout has a ton of authentic college baseball caps – just like the ones the players wear on the field.

If you’re going to Omaha for the College World Series make sure to make your first stop The Dugout for all officially licensed CWS apparel. If you can’t make it to Omaha just follow our red links to The Dugout!

Kentucky head coach Gary Henderson and players Mike Williams and A.J. Reed discuss the 21 inning game.

Marathon Sees Plenty Of Unique Marks…

Kentucky's Mike Williams (seated center) and head coach Gary Henderson (right) before the 21-inning game.

Friday’s Kentucky-Kent State 21-inning game at the Gary Regional marked the first extra inning game of this year’s NCAA Tournament, but the fact that it was the first extra inning game didn’t even begin  to scratch the surface of its significance.

The game, won 7-6 by the No. 3 seed Kent State, is the second longest in NCAA Tournament history. The only game to go longer was the 2009 25-inning game at the Austin Regional that saw Texas defeat Boston College 3-2. Texas would go on to a national runner-up finish at that year’s College World Series.

The game began at 3:01 pm Central Time and ended at 9:38 pm for a total time of six hours and 37 minutes.

An NCAA official said afterward that about 12 dozen baseballs were used during the game. He said the NCAA only shipped 30 dozen balls to use for the entire weekend.

Each team sent five pitchers to the mound in Friday’s game. Kentucky’s A.J. Reed, a freshman from Terre Haute, Ind making his return to his home state, had the longest outing of any of the 10 hurlers with his team’s last 9.0 innings on the mound. Kent State starter David Starn had his team’s longest stint on the mound with 6.0 IP.

A total of 678 pitches were thrown in the game. Reed and Starn led the way with 108 pitches each.

The two teams combined to strikeout 47 times. The Golden Flashes fanned 26 times but still won the game. Fittingly, the game ended when Thomas McCarthy struckout while trying to check his swing.

Six different pitchers, Starn and KSU teammate Brian Clark, and Reed, Taylor Rogers, Alex Phillips, and Trevor Gott for Kentucky, fanned at least six batters in their time on the hill. Reed had a game-high eight Ks.

Three different batters finished with “Golden Sombreros” – with 4 Ks each. They were DH Nick Hamilton and 2B Derek Toadvine for Kent State and Reed for Kentucky. That gives Reed the distinction of having the game-high with eight strikeouts as a pitcher and tying for the game-high with four Ks at the plate.

_____________________________

The Road To Omaha leads to TD Ameritrade Park and The Dugout – located right across the street from TDA’s home plate entrance. The Dugout has a ton of authentic college baseball caps – just like the ones the players wear on the field.

If you’re going to Omaha for the College World Series make sure to make your first stop The Dugout for all officially licensed CWS apparel. If you can’t make it to Omaha just follow our red links to The Dugout!

Kent State starters George Roberts and Toadvine each had 10 at-bats in the game. Roberts started the game by going 5-for-5 in the first nine innings, but was 0-for-5 the rest of the way. Toadvine was 2-for-10.

Kentucky catcher Mike Williams had 28 put outs. Kent State first baseman Roberts had 23.

The Wildcats are now 1-17 this season when trailing after the eighth inning.

Kentucky’s Steven Hoagland entered the game 1-for-3 at the plate for the season. He entered the game as a pinch-hitter and went 0-for-5.

Wildcat closer Trevor Gott pitched a season-high 4.0 innings. His previous long was a 2 1/3 inning stretch against Indiana on May 8. Gott was also 0-for-1 at the plate. He hit in Luke Maile’s spot in the order when the slugger was lifted for a pinch runner in the 9^th inning after injuring his leg.

Kent State brought centerfielder Evan Campbell in as a fifth infielder when Kentucky had the winning run at 3^rd base and one out in the bottom of the 10^th. Hoagland dropped down a squeeze bunt when he pinch-hit for Matt Reida and the runner at third was out when the bunt went right back to the mound.

Purdue and Valparaiso fans, who had packed the stadium waiting for the second game of the night, booed loudly at the end of the 19^th inning after Kentucky squandered a scoring opportunity.

The initial announced attendance for the game was less than 800, but it ended-up being 5,016 with those extra northwestern Indiana fans in attendance while the game continued into the night.

There were plenty of squandered scoring opportunities for both teams. Kent State left 20 runners on base, while Kentucky stranded 23.

Williams nearly ended the game, but instead only tied it, with an RBI double in the 18^th inning. Williams crushed a ball that would have been out of most parks in the country to plate one run, but Reed, who was on at first base and does not run well, was thrown out at the plate on a 9-6-2 relay. Kent State had scored a run in the top of the inning, so the game continued tied 6-6. The last run to score prior to that was by Kentucky in the bottom of the 9^th to send the game to extra frames.

The Kent State victory extends the nation’s longest D1 winning streak to 18 games. The Golden Flashes haven’t lost since April 25 at Penn State.

It was a very well played game with just two errors, one for each team, all night.

“It’s been a weird game.” – Kentucky radio PBP man Neil Price. He said it on the air in the top of the 13^th. The longest game of the year for Kentucky.

34 Home Games Set For Wildcats…

Kentucky is the final SEC school to release its 2012 college baseball schedule. The Wildcats start the season by hosting 18 of their first 21 games. They open Feb. 17-19 with their first three games in Spartanburg, SC with match-ups against Wofford, Eastern Michigan and USC Upstate.

The Wildcats then begin an 18-game homestand, beginning Feb. 24-26 with a three game series against Buffalo. Three game series vs. Illinois-Chicago and Canisius are included in the extended stretch.

SEC play begins with the last three games of the stretch March 16-18 against two-time defending national champion South Carolina. Other conference home series are against Ole Miss, Alabama, Florida, and LSU. Conference road series are at Tennessee, Georgia, Arkansas, Vanderbilt, and Mississippi State.

Midweek games against Indiana, Louisville, Western Kentucky, and Cincinnati among others.

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Kentucky has unveiled its 2011 college baseball schedule. The Wildcats will open their season February 18-21 when they travel to Charleston, SC to face the College of Charleston, Marshall and Miami (OH).

CLICK HERE to see the complete 2011 Kentucky baseball schedule.

Kentucky heads to Houston, TX March 4-6 for games against Rice, Utah and Houston at the Houston College Classic. The games will be played at Minute Maid Park.

The Wildcats open SEC play when they host Tennessee March 18-20. Other conference home series are against Auburn, Arkansas, Vanderbilt, and Georgia. Conference road series are at Alabama, Ole Miss, LSU, Florida, and defending national champion South Carolina.

Kentucky also plays a home and home series against intrastate rival Louisville.

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.

Milestones & Upsets Highlight The First Week Of 2010

Max Willett (UNM photo)

2…wins by unranked New Mexico at #1 Texas in Austin.  The Lobos lost the season-opener on Friday, but came back with 3-1 and 6-5 wins Saturday and Sunday.  The wins are the first ever for New Mexico over a #1 ranked team.  Texas topped every national poll heading into the season.

.636…batting average by Lobo Max Willett in the 3-game series.  He had a 1.615 OPS with two doubles and a triple.  Willett also had the game-winning RBI in Saturday’s win.

23…runs by Washington State in Sunday’s 23-o rout of Seattle-the most runs by a Cougar team since 1999.  15 different Cougars had at least one hit.

5…Wazzou pitchers who combined in the shutout.

1,001…Career wins by LSU head coach Paul Mainieri after his Tigers’ 3-game weekend sweep of Centenary.  Mainieri hit the 1,000 win mark with Saturday’s 25-8 victory.

1,000…Career wins by Ohio State head coach Bob Todd after his Buckeyes won three games over the weekend in Jacksonville, FL.  OSU pounded Richmond 20-9 Sunday to get Todd to the milestone.

Danny Hall (GT photo)

901…career wins for Georgia Tech’s Danny Hall after a weekend sweep of Missouri State.

36…runs scored by Canisius in a doubleheader sweep of Illinois-Chicago Saturday at the USA Baseball Complex in Cary, NC.  The Golden Griffins won the first game 20-4 and took the second game 16-10.

3…games Stanford won vs. 5th ranked Rice in Palo Alto.

11…runs Stanford scored in the 7th inning of game two of the series on Saturday.  The Cardinal was trailing 4-2 at the time.

5…pitchers Rice used during Stanford’s biggest inning in nearly two years.

265…wins at Cal State Fullerton’s Goodwin Field by Oregon (and former Fullerton) head coach George Horton after Friday’s upset of the 4th ranked Titans.

6-5…the score of Friday’s Louisiana-Monroe win over Ole Miss.  It was the Rebels’ first season-opening loss since 1981.

Paul Karmas (St. John's photo)

1 & 15…combined hits and strikeouts by St. John’s starting pitchers Bruce Kern (5 IP-0H-0BB-8K) and Nick Cenatiempo (4 IP-1 H-0R-BB-7) in Friday and Saturday wins over New Orleans.

3…home runs by Red Storm 1B Paul Karmas in Sunday’s 31-6 win over UNO.

5…total runs by West Virginia in weekend losses to #17 Coastal Carolina, Kentucky and Virginia Tech.

9 1/2…runs a game scored by the Mountaineers last year-which ranked 12th in the nation.

14,922…fans who saw #2 Virginia win two of three games over #11 East Carolina at ECU’s Clark-LeClair Stadium.  Friday’s opening day crowd of 5,012 is the largest in stadium history.  Saturday’s crowd of 5,136 marked the first time ECU ever had back-to-back attendance of more than 5.000.

14…combined pitchers used by the Cavaliers (6) and Pirates (8) in Sunday’s 14-11 UVA series-clinching win.

3 2/3…innings pitched by UVA starter Cody Winiarski.  It was the longest stint for any of the 14 hurlers.  Virginia had 19 hits while East Carolina totaled 11.

4:11…the total time of the 9-inning game.

4:39…time of Lamar’s 5-4 win in 17-innings over Maine.  The game is the longest in Lamar history.  The two teams had played a 2 hour and 27 minute 9-inning game prior to the marathon.

12…strikeouts in 6 innings by Georgia Tech’s Jed Bradley in Sunday’s 13-0 win over Missouri State.  The lefty allowed just four hits and retired 6 of the first 8 batters he faced via strikeout.

13…strikeouts in 6 innings by Arizona freshman Kurt Heyer.  Heyer allowed just three hits and fanned 13 of the 22 batters he faced in Sunday’s win over Utah Valley in his collegiate debut.

2,500…all-time wins for the Arizona baseball program after Heyer’s performance Sunday.

Kevin Tokarski (ISU photo)

8…straight wins by UC Irvine pitcher Daniel Bibona after his 10 strikeout performance in a 5-1 win over Loyola Marymount.

3…the magic number during opening weekend for Illinois State’s Kevin Tokarski.  The redshirt sophomore tripled on the Redbirds’ first pitch of 2010.  He stole 3 bases with 3 doubles in his team’s first three games of the season.   Tokarski was a 2008 Freshman All-American, but missed last season due to wrist surgery.

8,803…total attendance of TCU‘s season-opening 3-game sweep of 2009 NCAA participant Sam Houston State.  The mark is a single-series TCU record.

.800…batting average by Horned Frog freshman Josh Elander.  He was 8-for-10 with a team-high six RBIs to start his career.

1…hit allowed in 6 innings on the mound by Conference USA Preseason Pitcher of the Year Todd McInnis.  The Southern Mississippi hurler didn’t give-up a hit until there were two outs in the 5th inning of Friday’s win over Northwestern State.  He exited the game after he reached his 75 pitch limit.

10 of 10…Pac 10 Conference teams that finished opening weekend with a winning record.  The Pac 10 is the only BCS conference that claimed that distinction over the first three days of the 2010 season.