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

If you follow Collegebaseball360.com you know that we post a weekly Notebook every Monday throughout the college baseball season.  We try to hit as many happenings from across the nation as we can, but it’s tough to get everything.  With that in mind, we will be adding more “regional” notebooks this season.  Our first one covers the left side of the country.   (All stats are prior to games on Tuesday, March 23).

20…Wins by Arizona State to open the season.  It’s the best start for the ASU program since the 1961 team opened at 21-0.

79-76…Combined record of the nine Division One teams the Sun Devils have faced so far this season.  ASU opens Pac-10 play against Cal this weekend.

Zack MacPhee

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Marcus Pointer

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

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

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

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

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

Alex Pracher

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Matt Hauser

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

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

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

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Washington State And Gonzaga End NCAA Droughts

The state of Washington is not exactly synonymous with college baseball, but the Washington State Cougars and Gonzaga Bulldogs did their best to change that in 2009.  While Oregon State was giving that other state in the Pacific Northwest all the attention with a pair of National Championships in recent years, the Evergreen State was having trouble just getting a team to the NCAAs.

Prior to 2009 the last time the Cougars qualified for the NCAA Tournament was 1990 – the year after John Olerud finished his career in Pullman.  Meanwhile, future NBA Hall of Famer John Stockton was a freshman on the hardwoods the last time the Zags sniffed the NCAA diamond all the way back in 1981.  All that changed in 2009.

Washington State got off to just a 5-11 start thanks to a brutal non-conference schedule.  Donnie Marbut’s squad got off to just a 5-11 start, but seven of the losses were to teams that would eventually qualify for the NCAA field themselves.  The early season experience would prove invaluable once Pac 10 play began.

By the time the regular season was complete Wazzu stood at 31-23 overall, and tied a school record with the 1990 team’s 19 wins in Pac 10 play.  Here’s a look at some of the other notable milestones achieved by the 2009 Cougars:

• Broke a 13-game losing streak in Tempe, AZ to Arizona State with an Apr. 12 win over #1 ASU thanks to
  

  Michael Weber

  Michael Weber’s 8th inning home run.

• The losing streak in Tempe dated back to 2001 & the win put WSU above .500 in Pac 10 play for the first time since 1999.
• The Cougars won a series at USC to give them back-to-back series wins vs. the Trojans for the first time ever.
• WSU swept five series in 2009 (including three in Pac 10 action) all of the sweeps came on their home diamond, Bailey-Brayton Field, they had just three home sweeps in the previous 11 years combined.
• Their 3-game sweep of rival Washington to end the season was their first over the Huskies since 1984.
• Marbut’s Cougars also had 16 come from behind wins during the ’09 campaign.
• The Cougars also had a fourth straight winning season-something that hadn’t happened in Pullman since 1994
  

  WSU head coach Donnie Marbut

  when a 35-26 record capped a run 37 straight seasons above .500.

Marbu

Click play above to listen to Washington State head coach Donnie Marbut’s podcast interview with Collegebaseball360.com Editor Sean Stires.  The interview was recorded right after the Cougar’s selection to the NCAA field.

After all was said and done Washington State earned its first NCAA bid since 1990, and was was sent to the Norman, OK Regional as the #3 seed.  The Cougars lost 10-3 to eventual College World Series qualifier, Arkansas, in their opener.  Chad Arnold struckout 10 the next day in a 3-2 elimination game win over Wichita State, and then Wazzu bowed-out the next day with a 7-2 loss to the host Sooners.

The NCAA drought for Gonzaga, which is located less than two hours south of Washington State in Eastern Washington, was even longer.  1981 was the last time the Bulldogs had gone to the NCAA postseason, but that would change in Mark Machtolf’s sixth season in Spokane.

WCC Coach of the Year Mark Machtolf

Gonzaga got off to a 6-1 start, but then lost four straight (a streak that was started with an 8-4 setback to their Pac 10 neighbors to the north).  The Zags responded with eight straight wins after that though to propel themselves to a 33-16 regular season record.  Gonzaga and Washington State each won a game in head-to-head action.  A third scheduled game between the two was canceled due to weather.

Among the notable achievements for Gonzaga in 2009:

• The Zags won six of seven West Coast Conference series – including two sweeps.
• Gonzaga topped the 30 win mark for the third straight season – the first time that’s happened in more than 25 years.
• Machtolf was named WCC Coach of the Year – in six seasons his 180 wins are the third-most in school history.
• Matt Fields (8-1, 3.47 ERA) became the second Bulldog ever to win WCC Pitcher of the Year accolades.
• Five Zags earned All-WCC recognition.
• Senior firstbaseman Ryan Wiegand became Gonzaga’s all-time hits leader.
• The team also set a school record when five players- A.J. Proszek, Tyson Van Winkle, Steven Ames,
  

  WCC Pitcher of the Year Matt Fields

  Fields, and Wiegand - were taken in the June MlB draft.

The Bulldogs swept to games from Loyola Marymount in the WCC Championship Series to earn its first NCAA Tournament bid since the ’81 season.  They were sent to the Fullerton Regional as the #3 seed and out-slugged #2 Georgia Southern 19-10 in their opener.

Gonzaga exploded for seven first inning runs, knocking out Georgia Southern starter Chris Mederos (himself an MLB draftee) after only 2/3 of an inning.  Wiegand, Anthony Synegal and Mark Castellitto each homered for the Zags.  Gonzaga scored in all but one inning of the game, while every Zag scored a run and had at least one hit.

Things didn’t go as well the next two days as Gonzaga lost to eventual CWS qualifier Fullerton and Utah, but the opening round win gave Gonzaga the program’s first NCAA Tournament victory since 1980.

So now, after a combined 46-year NCAA drought for Gonzaga and Washington State, Mark Machtolf and Donnie Marbut each have a common goal for 2010:  Repeat.

Other Top Moments Of 2009

9.  Cal Poly Gets Its First NCAA Tournament Bid

10.  Kansas’ Field of Dreams: Kansas, Kansas State & Wichita State All Get NCAA Bids

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

Stillwater, OK Twelve NCAA Tournament teams from 2009 highlight Oklahoma State’s 2010 baseball schedule, which was released today.

OSU head coach Frank Anderson

will compete in the Dairy Queen Classic, which is held in the Metrodome in Minneapolis, and will battle host Minnesota, Northwestern and Loyola Marymount.

Complete 2010 Oklahoma State Schedule (PDF)

Following the back-to-back road trips, OSU will open a 12-game home stand at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium on March 12 against Massachusetts. The home stand includes a pair of games against Wright State, which was an NCAA Regional team last season. That stretch will take the Cowboys into Big 12 Conference play, where they open on the road at Kansas State on March 26.

In Big 12 Conference action, Anderson’s club will play host to Nebraska, Texas Tech, Kansas and Texas A&M. The conference home opener is against the Cornhuskers on April 2.

Among the Cowboys’ other non-conference opponents are Missouri State and Wichita State, both of which OSU will face at home and on the road this season. Anderson’s club will host a showdown against Rice on May 11.

OSU also has a non-conference game against Bedlam-rival Oklahoma in Stillwater on April 13. The two teams will alternate hosting a non-conference game each season, with the Cowboys making the trip to Norman in 2011. The games will not count towards either team’s Big 12 record.

“It’s been in the works for a while to get a game back on our campuses every year, and we’re excited to get this first one back in Stillwater,” said Anderson of the non-conference game agreement with OU. “It will be something the fans will enjoy, and it will only enhance the rivalry.”

The Cowboys and Sooners will continue their conference rivalry with the usual Bedlam Series, with the opener May 7 at the new Oneok Field in Tulsa, Okla., and the final two games at AT&T Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City.

The Big 12 Baseball Championship will be held at AT&T Bricktown Ballpark May 26-30, while NCAA Regionals get underway on June 4. The College World Series begins play on June 19 in Omaha, Neb.

(Release)

MINNEAPOLIS– The Minnesota baseball team released its 2010 schedule on according to an announcement by Golden Gopher head coach John Anderson.

Golden Gopher Head Coach John Anderson

NCAA Super Regionals in 2009 and four out of conference opponents that were part of NCAA Regional play in 2009.

Complete 2010 Minnesota Schedule

The Golden Gophers will start things off when they bring back the Pro-Alumni Game for the first time since 2007. It will take place on Saturday, Feb. 6 at 6:05 p.m.

Minnesota will open up the season against Akron (19-33, 12-15 in 2009) in Fort Myers, Fla. on Feb. 19-21. The next week, the Golden Gophers will travel to St. Petersburg, Fla. where they will compete in the Big East-Big Ten Challenge. Minnesota will face St. John’s (30-22, 16-11) in Dunedin on Friday, Feb. 26, Connecticut (36-24, 14-13) in St. Petersburg on Saturday, Feb. 27 and 2009 Super Regional participant Louisville in St. Petersburg on Sunday, Feb. 28.

The Golden Gophers will return home to host the Dairy Queen Classic on Mar. 5-7. Minnesota will welcome Loyola Marymount (30-29, 13-8), Northwestern (14-35, 5-17) and 2009 NCAA Regional participant Oklahoma State (34-24, 9-16) to the 26th annual installment of the Dairy Queen Classic. Minnesota will face Loyola Marymount on Friday, Mar. 5 at 6:35 p.m., Oklahoma State on Saturday, Mar. 6 at 6:35 p.m. and Northwestern on Sunday, Mar. 7 at 3:05 p.m.

Following the Dairy Queen Classic, the Golden Gophers will host Division III National Champion St. Thomas (41-13) at the Metrodome on Wednesday, Mar. 10. Minnesota will host the Metrodome Tournament on Mar. 12-14. The Golden Gophers will welcome Creighton (31-25, 14-9), Harvard (13-28, 10-10) and South Dakota State (26-30, 17-10) to the Metrodome that weekend. Minnesota will host Harvard on Friday, Mar. 12, Creighton on Saturday, Mar. 13 and South Dakota State on Sunday, Mar. 14.

After the Metrodome Classic, Minnesota will embark on six-game road trip to Alabama and Samford. The Golden Gophers will face 2009 NCAA Regional participant Alabama (37-21, 18-11) in a two-game series on Mar. 16-17. Minnesota will then head to Samford (17-35, 9-21) for a four-game series on Mar. 18-21.

Minnesota will host North Dakota State (16-28, 10-14) at the Metrodome on Mar. 23-24. The Golden Gophers will host a three-game series against Louisiana Tech (29-22, 13-11) on Mar. 26-28. The Saturday game will be played at Target Field at 1:05 p.m., while the Friday and Sunday games will be at the Metrodome.

The Golden Gophers will open up Big Ten play on the road at Purdue on Apr. 2-4. Minnesota will return home to the Metrodome for the first Big Ten series against Michigan State on Apr. 16-18.

Minnesota’s other road series in the Big Ten will be against Northwestern (Apr. 16-18), Iowa (Apr. 30-May 2) and 2009 Big Ten Regular-Season Champion Ohio State (May 20-22). The Golden Gophers will have home conference series at the Metrodome against 2009 Big Ten Tournament Champion Indiana (Apr. 23-25), Michigan (May 7-9) and Penn State (May 14-16).

The Golden Gophers will also play midweek games during the conference season against Concordia-Moorhead (Mar. 31), Hamline (Apr. 6), South Dakota State (at home Apr. 14, on the road Apr. 20), North Dakota State (on the road Apr. 28) and at Kansas State (May 4-5).

Minnesota returns 20 players who saw action from a 2009 squad that finished 40-19, finished second in the Big Ten regular-season at 17-6, advanced to the Big Ten Tournament Championship and advanced to the final game of the NCAA Regionals in LSU.

(Release)

Gaucho slate features nine games vs. 2009 postseason teams

UCSB Head Coach Bob Brontsema

UCSB also will play road games at Stanford – a 2008 College World Series participant – USC, UC Irvine, Cal Poly, Long Beach State, San Jose State, Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount.

Complete 2010 UC Santa Barbara Schedule (PDF)

“We’re looking forward to a challenging non-conference schedule to prepare us for the always-difficult Big West Conference season,” UCSB head coach Bob Brontsema said.

The Gauchos, 29-23 a season ago, return two players from their school-record nine players that were drafted in June. Left-handed pitcher Mario Hollands and infielder Matt Valaika, both chosen in the Major League Baseball amateur draft, will return and are expected to lead the Gauchos this year. Joining them will be All-American pitcher Mike Ford, all-conference honoree catcher Marty Mullins, senior Gunnar Terhune and top newcomers left-hander Kevin Gelinas and right-hander Nick Loredo.

The Big West Conference, which was recently ranked as the sixth-best in the nation, according to RPI ratings and is also a league that had two nationally-ranked teams in the NCAA postseason and has featured at least one team in the College World Series in eight of the past 11 seasons. UCSB led the conference with nine players drafted by Major League Baseball teams this past June, including the conference’s top player selected, Joe Gardner (third round, Cleveland Indians).

(Release)

EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern head coach Paul Stevens today (Dec. 7) announced the Wildcats’ 2010 schedule, featuring a doubleheader against the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee at Miller Park in Milwaukee.

NU Head Coach Paul Stevens (NU Photo)

After playing games at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (Minnesota Twins) and U.S. Cellular Field (Chicago White Sox) last season, the Wildcats can add a visit to another Major League ballpark to their resume. The twinbill against UWM will be played April 28 following a 12:10 p.m. game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Complete 2010 Northwestern Schedule

NU is scheduled to play its first 23 games away from Evanston beginning with two games apiece against George Mason and Winthrop Feb. 19-21 in Rock Hill, S.C. The Wildcats compete in the second-annual Big Ten/Big East Challenge the following weekend in Florida, taking on Connecticut, Rutgers and Seton Hall in the St. Petersburg/Clearwater area.

The Wildcats make a return trip to the Metrodome March 5-7 where participates in the 26th-annual Dairy Queen Classic against host Minnesota, Loyola Marymount and Oklahoma State. NU follows up the trip north by heading to Las Vegas March 11-13 for a four-game series against UNLV.

Northwestern embarks on its spring trip March 20 as it starts things off in Winter Haven, Fla., where the ‘Cats face Bucknell, UMBC, Cornell and Dartmouth. NU then heads to Deland, Fla, where it plays four contests against Stetson March 26-28.

The Wildcats return to Illinois and set to play a solo contest at UIC March 30 before opening Big Ten play at home April 2-4 against defending Big Ten regular season champion Ohio State.

On the heels of a mid-week game against Northern Illinois that is being played in Rockford, Northwestern hits the road in conference play for the first time April 9-11 as it treks to Penn State.

Minnesota invades Rocky Miller Park the following weekend, followed by a home game against Illinois State. NU then embarks on stretch during which it plays its next nine games on the road beginning with three games at Purdue April 23-25. Following the doubleheader against Milwaukee at Miller Park, the ‘Cats play a weekend series at Illinois and then a solo game against Valparaiso at U.S. Steel Yard in Gary, Ind.

Northwestern finally returns home May 7 as it faces defending Big Ten tournament champion Indiana in a weekend set. After a home game against UIC May 11, the Wildcats hit the road for the final time during the regular season as they travel to Michigan.

The 2010 regular season concludes May 20-22 as NU hosts Michigan State.

The 2010 Big Ten Tournament is slated for May 26-30 and is being held at Huntington Park in Columbus, Ohio, for the second consecutive year.

(Release)

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

St. Mary's Head Coach Jedd Soto

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

Complete 2010 St.Mary’s Schedule (PDF)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Release)

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

Oregon Head Coach George Horton

Complete 2010 Oregon Schedule

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Release)

Gonzaga opens the 2010 season at the Cactus Classic in Arizona

Mark Machtolf

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

Complete 2010 Gonzaga Schedule (PDF)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Press Release)

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. ­ Eleven games against Pac-10 Conference teams and three-game home series against USC, Houston, California, Long Beach State and UC Irvine highlight the 2010 Cal Poly baseball schedule announced Tuesday by head coach Larry Lee and director of athletics Alison Cone.

Full 2010 Cal Poly Schedule (PDF)

The Mustangs will open the 2010 campaign, Lee’s eighth as head coach at Cal
Poly, with a three-game set against the Southern California Trojans on Feb.
19-21 in Baggett Stadium.

Cal Poly also hosts the Cal Bears on March 19-21, visits UCLA for a
three-game series March 25-27 and will play Arizona State and Oregon State
in the Coca-Cola Classic hosted by the City of Surprise, Ariz., in Surprise
Stadium, the spring training home of the Texas Rangers and Kansas City
Royals.

The Mustangs will host four Big West series, including Long Beach State on
April 30 through May 2 and UC Irvine on May 7-9. In all, Cal Poly will play
29 of its 56 games in Baggett Stadium.

The schedule also includes 10 midweek games against some of the best teams
from the West Coast and WAC conferences.

“Our 2010 schedule will be very challenging with 11 games against the likes
of the best the Pac-10 has to offer and strong midweek games versus
Pepperdine, Fresno State and Loyola Marymount,” said Lee.

Other three-game sets at home include non-conference games against Houston
and Cal State Bakersfield and Big West series against UC Santa Barbara and
Pacific. The Mustangs also host Northern Illinois for two games March 9-10.

The 2009 Cal Poly baseball season will go into the Mustang record book as
one of the most successful campaigns, thanks in large part to the
achievement of its first NCAA regional playoff berth at the NCAA Division I
level.

The Mustangs won 37 games (one shy of the school’s Division I mark),
finished third in the Big West Conference, compiled a .325 team batting
average, posted their fifth winning season in the last six years, cracked
the 30-win mark for the seventh time in the last 10 seasons and earned a
spot in the national polls for 13 consecutive weeks.

Lee is now 223-175-2 overall in seven seasons at the helm of the Cal Poly
program.

The Mustangs, who finished third in the Big West, produced a pair of
eight-game winning streaks last season, another six-game string of victories
and a national ranking as high as No. 12 by both Baseball America and
Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. The Mustangs, who won 11 of 14 weekend
series.

Cal Poly won eight of its first nine games and 17 of 21 for its best start
since the 1997 squad went 18-2 to open the year. The Mustangs won 13 more
games than they did in all of 2008 and were 20 games above the .500 mark
three times last season — 30-10, 32-12 and 37-17 — and only the fourth
time since moving to Division I 15 years ago. The 2004 squad was 33-13-1 in
mid-April. Twenty is still the school’s Division I record.

(Courtesy Press Release)