The Fifth-Year Senior Shined Bright In Wins Over Texas

Max Willett (UNM photo)

Max Willett led the high-powered New Mexico offense by batting .636 (7-11) with a triple and two doubles in two wins over then #1 Texas in Austin on opening weekend.  The center fielder had the game-winning RBI in the top of the 9th inning to give the Lobos a 6-5 win over the consensus #1 ranked team in the country heading into the 2010 season.  It was New Mexico’s first-ever win over a top-ranked team, and the Lobos followed that with a 3-1 series clinching win the following day.

In this exclusive interview with Collegebaseball360.com editor Sean Stires, Willett talks about his head coach, Ray Birmingham, his team’s big weekend, how the Lobos can keep their sudden momentum going, and more.

Willett

5’10 – 190 – Sr. – OF – Highlands Ranch, CO    Head Coach:  Ray Birmingham

Top Performers Shine During Opening Weekend

Max Willett (NewMexico/CF)

CollegeBaseball360.com has recognized a group of players from throughout the nation for their “primetime performances” during the season’s opening weekend (Feb. 19-21). Leading the way are three top honorees – as New Mexico senior centerfielder Max Willett (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) and Oregon sophomore second baseman Danny Pulfer (Cypress, Calif.) share the inaugural honor as Co-Primetime Players of the Week while Ball State senior righthander Morgan Coombs (West Terre Haute, Ind.) is the first Primetime Pitcher of the Week. These three players headline the first Primetime Performers Weekly Honor Roll (listed below).

Willette batted 7-for-11 (RBI, 3R, 2B) in leading New Mexico to a series win at top-ranked Texas, while Pulfer hit .412 (7-for-17) and had a hand in nearly 40% of Oregon’s 32 runs (6 RBI, 6 R) during the Ducks’ breakout southern-California roadswing (highlighted by wins over #3 Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State). Coombs delivered in a pressure-packed situation at #15 Arkansas, closing Ball State’s 5-2 win with 5.0 strong innings (UER, 4H, 8K) despite 8,000-plus spirited Razorbacks fans cheering against him.

Danny Pulfer (Oregon/2B)

Similar to the weekly awards presented on sister site CollegeSoccer360.com, the CB360 Primetime Performer honors various players based on any/all of the following “primetime” criteria…not solely based on raw stats.

Primetime Performer Award Criteria

• Must have been playing for or against a CB360 top-50 team (in the Composite National Rankings)  or performed a high level in a game that could be key to a team’s conference/NCAA postseason qualification.

Morgan Coombs (Ball St./RHP)

• Involved in clutch performances, such as late game-winning hits, noteworthy comebacks, game-changing plays, team leadership, etc.

• Performing at a top level against a team rated highly nationally (or within its conference), with bonus consideration given for key performances away from home field.

• Overcoming adversity or extreme circumstances (for the team and/or individual).

Additional information and bio. data on the Primetime Performers, along with headshots and action photos, is being added to this release.

The other 17 members of the CB360 Primetime Performer Weekly Honor Roll include New Mexico senior 1B Justin Howard, two sophomores (LHP/1B Danny Hultzen and 3B Steven Proscia) from the Virginia team that took 2-of-3 at East Carolina en route to the #1 national ranking, and two players (so. RHP Jordan Pries, jr. SS Jake Schlander) from the Stanford team that swept Rice, along with the following clutch performers: Northwestern State so. OF/1B Colin Bear … Hawaii so. RF Collin Bennett … Georgia Tech so. LHP Jed Bradley … East Carolina so. LHP Kevin Brandt … Louisiana-Monroe jr. RHP Wil Browning … Pepperdine jr. LHP Matt Bywater … Florida sr. CF Matt den Dekker … TCU fr. RF/C Josh Elander … Gonzaga sr. CF Drew Heid … Kentucky so. RHP/1B Braden Kapteyn … Baylor sr. RHP Willie Kempf … and Fresno State jr. 1B Jordan Ribera.

The 20 honorees include nine pitchers (pair of 2-way players; 5 RHP/4 LHP), five first baseman (including both 2-way players, plus one who also played OF), three centerfielders, three corner outfielders (one also played 1B, one C), one second baseman, one shortstop, one third baseman and one catcher (also played OF). TCU’s Elander is the only freshman among the Primetime players, which also include a fifth-year senior, six seniors, three juniors and a big sophomore-class representation of nine honorees.

The group includes four Texas natives – Bear, Elander, Howard and Kempf – and four more from California (Bywater, Pries, Pulfer and Ribera), along with two Primetime players from Washington and one each from Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New York and North Carolina.

(from left) Oregon second baseman Danny Pulfer, Ball State closer Morgan Coombs and New Mexico centerfielder Max Willett headline CB360’s first group of Primetime Performers (photos courtesy of each school).

WILLETT – batting from the #6 spot – combined with Howard to lead a Lobos offense that hit .284 with 10 extra-base hits in a three-game road series versus #1-ranked Texas and its vaunted pitching staff. UNM shocked the college baseball world by taking the series in Austin (2-6/6-5/3-1), with Willett batting 7-for-11 (.636, RBI, 3 R, 3B, 2B, HBP, SF) and playing error-free in center field.

After a solid showing in the opener (2-for-4, 2B), Willett went 3-for-4 in UNM’s game-2 upset. He led off the 6th by placing and opposite-field triple into the right-center gap and scored moments later for a 5-4 deficit. Three innings later, moments after Howard’s game-tying home run, Willett delivered in a situational plate appearance – flying out the left field for a sacrifice fly that plated Devon Conley as the eventual winning run.

Willett’s game-3 effort (2-for-3, 2R, 2B) helped produce another win over the Longhorns. He hit a 1-out single up the middle and scored the game’s first run in the 4th, later adding the game’s final run in the 8th (after a 2-out double down the leftfield line).

A second team all-Mountain West Conference selection in 2009 (.355, 46 RBI, 4 HR, 15 2B, 12-13 SB, 15 sac. bunts, 0 errors), Willett played sparingly in his first three seasons at UNM – totaling only 59 games played and 31 starts spanning the 2006-08 seasons. He batted only .229 as a sophomore in 2007 before seeing his junior season (12 GS) cut short by a hand injury. He is a product of Colorado’s Thunder Ridge High School, where he played on state-championship teams in both baseball and football.

Primetime Performer Weekly Honor Roll (Feb. 19-21)

“It’s not so much what you do, as it is when you do it.”

Player (Pos.) … School … Yr., Ht./Wt. … Hometown … Stats & Notes

Colin Bear (OF) … Northwestern St. … So., 6-3/210 … Houston, TX

Collin Bennett (RF) … Hawaii … So., 6-1 … Bellevue, WA

Jed Bradley (LHP) … Georgia Tech … So., 6-4/210 … Huntsville, AL

Kevin Brandt (LHP) … East Carolina … So., 6-2/190 … Fuquay Varina, NC

Wil Browning (RHP) … La. Monroe Jr., 6-3/200 … Kosciusko, MS

Matt Bywater (LHP) … Pepperdine … Jr., 6-2/195 … Thousand Oaks, CA

*Morgan Coombs (RHP) … Ball State … Sr., 6-1/190 … West Terre Haute, IN

Matt den Dekker (CF) … Florida … Sr., 6-1/210 … Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Josh Elander (RF/C) … TCU … Fr., 6-0/205 … Round Rock, TX

Drew Heid (CF) … Gonzaga … Sr., 5-10/175 … Touchet, WA

Justin Howard (1B) … New Mexico … Sr., 6-0/205 … Ennis, TX

Danny Hultzen (LHP/1B) … Virginia … So., 6-3/200 … Bethesda, MD

Braden Kapteyn (RHP/1B) …Kentucky … So., 6-4/220 … Lansing, IL

Willie Kempf (RHP) … Baylor … Sr., 6-0/195 … Castroville, TX

Jordan Pries (RHP) … Stanford … So., 6-0/190 … Alameda, CA

Steven Proscia (3B) … Virginia … So., 6-2/215 … Suffern, NY

*Danny Pulfer (2B) … Oregon … So., … 5-10/190 … Cypress, CA

Jordan Ribera (1B) … Fresno State … Jr., 6-0/220 … Fresno, CA

Jake Schlander (SS) … Stanford … Jr., 6-2/195 … Scottsdale, AZ

*Max Willett (CF) … New Mexico … Sr., 5-10/190 … Highlands Ranch, CO

* – Note: Pulfur and Willett shared the CB360 Primetime Player of the Week award, while Coombs was the inaugural Primetime Pitcher of the Week

NC State’s Poulk, Georgia Tech’s Bradley receive ACC Baseball weekly honors

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. –­ New Mexico senior Max Willett and junior Mike Lachapelle have been named the Mountain West Conference Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively.  This is the second career weekly honor for Willett and first for Lachapelle.

Willett, from Highlands Ranch, Colo., batted .636 (7-for-11) from the plate with two doubles, a triple, three runs scored and one RBI as the Lobos earned the program’s first-ever victories against a No. 1 ranked opponent, going 2-1 at top-ranked Texas last weekend.  In the 6-2 season-opening loss to the Longhorns on Friday, Willett went 2-for-4 with a double.  In New Mexico’s 6-5 come-from-behind game two win on Saturday, he went 3-for-4, scoring one run and driving in another that gave the Lobos their final margin of victory.  His RBI-sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth put the Lobos up for good at 6-5 after trailing in the game, 5-2.  In the Lobos’ 3-1 series finale win on Sunday, he went 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored.  For the series, Willett posted a .615 on-base percentage and a 1.000 slugging percentage, while tallying six putouts from his outfield position with no errors defensively.

Lachapelle, a transfer from Pima Community College, allowed just one run over six innings to earn the first win of his Division I career in New Mexico’s 3-1 victory over No. 1 Texas on Sunday. The lefthander from Tucson, Ariz., scattered seven hits, surrendering only one extra-base rap, while striking out one batter and issuing one walk.

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.

Lobos Get First Ever Win Over A #1 Team

Max Willett (UNM photo)

AUSTIN, Texas – The University of New Mexico Lobo baseball team down 5-2, scored four answered runs to defeat the top-ranked team in the nation Texas, 6-5. The New Mexico victory over Texas is the first in school history over a No. 1 ranked team. Senior Justin Howard rocked a solo home run to tie the game at five a piece in the top of the ninth. Senior Max Willett drove a ball to deep left field that allowed true freshman Devon Conley to score from third to put the Lobos ahead 6-5. The Lobos improve their record at 1-1 on the season. Texas is also 1-1 on the season.

“It’s a great day for Lobo baseball,” said head coach Ray Birmingham. “It’s a great win for the young men on this baseball team. Our pitching staff was fearless and our offense was special today. If you didn’t believe in Lobo baseball before today, you will now. Beating Texas in Texas is extremely hard to do no matter who you are.”

The Lobos were 0-9 all-time when playing the No. 1 team in the nation before today. All nine games were against Arizona State.

The Lobos got off to a hot start in the top of the first inning as junior Ryan Honeycutt sent a two-run home run over the right field fence. Junior All-America candidate Rafael Neda was walked prior to Honeycutt’s home run.

The top-ranked Longhorns came roaring back with four runs in the bottom of the first.

Texas’ final run came in the bottom of the second and put the Longhorns on top 5-2 and were held scoreless over the final seven innings.

From there on it was all Lobos. New Mexico would get a run in the top of the third and sixth and two in the top of the ninth.

Howard led off the top of the third with a single. After a failed pick off attempt to first base from Texas catcher Cameron Rupp, Howard advanced to third. Neda grounded out to Texas second baseman Jordan Etier to score Howard to make the score 5-3 Texas.

Senior Max Willett led off the top of the sixth with a triple to right center. Junior transfer Kenny Held grounded out to Etier at second base that allowed Willett to score from third. The Lobos trailed the 2009 College World Series runner-up by only a run at that point.

After coming up empty in the top of the seventh and eighth the Lobos scored two runs in the top of the ninth. Howard hit a one-out home run over the right field fence to tie the game at five. Neda reached on an infield single after Texas third baseman Kevin Lusson was unable to handle the chopper and make the throw.

In his first collegiate experience, Conley came on to pinch run for Neda. Conley advanced to third on a Honeycutt single. With runners on the corners and one out, Willett hit a sacrifice fly to deep left field to score Conley.

Howard led the way for the Lobos at the plate and went 3-for-5 with one RBI. Honeycutt went 3-for-5 with one RBI, Willett went 3-for-4 with one RBI and freshman Alex Allbritton went 2-for-4.

The Lobo pitching staff put together a gem after giving up five runs in the first two frames. Starter Willy Kesler got his first start since April 15, 2009 and went 1.1 innings with four of five runs unearned. Kesler gave up six hits and faced 12 batters against one of the toughest lineups in the country. Junior Kenny Toves faced the next 23 batters over the next 5.2 innings and gave up only four hits while striking out five Texas batters and more importantly gave up no runs.

True freshman Austin House (1-0) pitched two innings of hitless baseball and struck out the final two batters to earn his first career collegiate win.

Chance Ruffin (0-1) picked up the loss for the Longhorns. The Longhorns’ starter Brandon Workman went six innings with three of four runs earned off nine Lobo hits.

The Lobos finish the three game series against Texas Sunday at 12 p.m. MT.

(Release)

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