College Baseball 360 » Mercer

Friday Regional Baseball Notebook

Sean Stires — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 10:01:23 +0000

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Notes & Thoughts From Day 1 NCAA Action (updated)

(note – this page now has a couple additional notes added around 9:45 a.m. eastern on Saturday – PL) …

CLICK HERE for DAY-1 NCAA SCOREBOARD

Minnesota was the only #4 seed that won on Friday (3-1 at Cal State Fullerton, see notes below), while the collective #3 seeds went 9-7 vs. the #2s. The #3 seeds that posted the “minor upsets” (some may have been considered the favorites?) included: Louisiana-Lafayette 1, Rice 0 (in Austin) … The Citadel 7, Virginia Tech 2 (in Columbia) … Washington State 8, Kansas State 6 (in Fayetteville) … Arizona 10, Baylor 9 (in Ft. Worth) … New Mexico 9, Stanford 5 (in Fullerton, which also had the 4-vs.-1 upset) … Oregon State 6, Florida Atlantic 4 (in Gainesville) … North Carolina 12, California 3 (in Norman) … Oregon 5, Connecticut 3 (in Norwich) … and Hawaii 4, San Diego 2 (in Tempe). See bullet notes below for some highlights from Friday’s nine “upsets” (along with info. from the other games).

Regional host teams have the option to take the first or second game on Day-1 of NCAA Regional play. The hosts traditionally take the second or “Prime Time” game, and this year was no different with 12 of 16 Regional hosts opting for game two. Coastal Carolina, Virginia, Arkansas, and Oklahoma were the only Regional hosts to opt for the early game rather than the night cap (some coaches prefer to get the game out of the way, avoid risk of rain delays, get their team a few hours more rest, etc.). All four of those teams won.
11 year MLB veteran turned college baseball analyst Eric Byrnes
Disclaimer: I (Sean Stires … Pete LaFleur ditto) like Eric Byrnes. That said, Byrnes was considered by many to be more style than substance in his playing days, so it’s only fitting that ESPNU has continued its tradition of going with style over substance by using the newly-retired Byrnes in the broadcast booth during the Coral Gables Regional. Case in point: Texas A&M was trailing FIU 1-0 in the bottom of the first inning. After Aggie leadoff man Jaoquin Hinojosa reached base safely, 2-hole batter Tyler Naquin tried (unsuccessfully) to bunt him over. This prompted Byrnes to question why A&M was playing for only onw run so early in the game…. An inning later, with #9 batter Andrew Collazo at the plate in the same situation, Byrnes said, “We’re not bunting again are we?” Uh, yes Eric they were, and after Collazo executed his 8th sac-bunt of the season a graphic popped-up on the screen that showed that A&M had just tied a school record with its 59th sac-bunt of the season. The Aggies entered the day tied for 14th nationally in that department. Apparently game preparation was not high on Byrnes’ list of things to do prior to his college baseball broadcasting debut.
Byrnes, who played at the 1997 College World Series for UCLA, again showed his lack of knowledge of the current college game later in the broadcast when the subject of NCAA bids came up. Minnesota was mentioned as the only Big Ten representative in the tournament, while the Pac-10 was one of three conferences to get eight bids. “How does that happen, though,” Byrnes asked. “We’re talking one team from the Big Ten and eight from the Pac.” Um…do I really need to say more? Thankfully, Kyle Peterson was there to keep Byrnes pointed in the right direction.
In fairness to Byrnes, he did provide some needed entertainment when the game turned into a blowout in the middle innings.
When Florida International pitcher Daniel DeSimone hit Caleb Shofner with a pitch in the bottom of the 5th inning, it marked the 100th HBP by the Golden Panther pitching staff this season. The dubious mark sets an NCAA single-season record.
Garrett Wittels extended hit hitting streak to 55 games in FIU’s loss to Texas A&M. He doubled to right-center field by swinging at a 3-0 pitch to lead off the top of the 6th inning. A smattering of boos were directed at A&M pitcher Barret Loux when the count reached 3-0 and it looked like Wittels might not have a chance to swing in his third at-bat of the day.
The hit by Wittels marked the 16th time he extended the streak with a hit between the 4th and 6th innings this season. He’s kept the streak going 25 times in the first three innings of a game, 13 times from the 7th through 9th innings, and once (March 26 vs. Arkansas-Little Rock) in the 12th inning.
Five different Texas A&M players hit home runs in the 17-3 win, while Aggie winning pitcher Loux (11-2) struck out 10 in 8 IP. He’s now fanned 136 in 104 innings this season.
The Aggies have won seven straight, 13 of their past 14 and 19 of 22 games dating back to April 27.
Southern Mississippi’s got some work to do if they’re going to make a return trip to the College World Series (and possibly extend Brett Favre’s NFL career … although something tells us he’s coming back anyway!). The Golden Eagles fell 10-1 to Clemson in their Regional opener. USM ace Scott Copeland dropped to 11-1 with his first loss of the season, after winning as a starter and deep reliever at the C-USA Tournament (to earn CB360 national Primetime Pitcher of the Week honors).
Brett Eibner hit 3 HR in Arkansas' Friday win over Grambling St. (Arkansas photo)
Brett Eibner smacked 3 HR to help Arkansas rout Grambling State 19-7. Eibner was 4-for-5 with 7 RBIs and 5 runs. Look for the two-way talent on the mound this weekend as well. Collin Kuhn and Andy Wilkins each homered twice for the Hogs.
The Citadel pulled-off a minor upset as the #3-seeded Bulldogs beat #2 Virginia Tech, 7-2. The win is the 13th straight for The Citadel, but the best news is they didn’t even use ace Asher Wojciechowski (3.25 ERA, 12-2. 144 Ks in 119 IP). Lefty Matt Talley (8-3) tossed 7.0 innings and won, while 3B David Greene had a 2-run HR from the 7-hole. The jr. RHP “Wojo” is slated to be opposed on Saturday by South Carolina’s ace, sr. RHP Blake Cooper (2.94, 10-1, 88 Ks in 104 IP). Justin Wright was the losing pitcher on Friday vs. Citadel (5.1IP-6R-10H-BB-5K), as VT’s #1-3 hitters combined to hit only 2-for-14 (CF/leadoff Sean Ryan has a 2-run HR in the 7th).
Zach Osborne registered Louisiana-Lafayette’s first NCAA Tournament shutout since 2002 by blanking Rice, 1-0. Catcher/cleanup hitter Chad Keefer’s 2-out single in the 8th inning plated the game’s lone run.
Baylor scored five runs in the bottom of the 9th inning, but they came up short in a 10-9 loss to Arizona at the Ft. Worth Regional. The Bears left runners at first and third to end the game. They committed three errors to give the Wildcats five unearned runs in the 6th inning. Steve Selsky & DH/6-hole Josh Garcia (2RBI-2R-HBP) homered for the Wildcats, while SS Alex Mejia was 3-for-4 with 4 RBI, a double & run scored from the bottom of the order.
Baylor’s Logan Vick walked twice to set a single-season school record with 56 BBs this year. The Bears left 12 men on base (including the two in the 9th), with Gregg Glime‘s home run and 3 RBI pacing the Baylor offense. Logan Verrett had no-decision (3.1IP-3R-5H-BB-2K) and Shawn Tolleson (2-7) was let down by his defense in the hard-luck loss (3.2IP-6R/1ER-5H-BB-2K).
Closing in on 200: … Friday’s win by Coastal Carolina (6-0 vs. Stony Brook) is the 199th victory for the Chanticleers over past four seasons (199-50-0, from 2007-10).
Oklahoma's Chris Ellison
Chris Ellison drove in Cody Reine in the bottom of the 10th inning to give Oklahoma a 7-6 win over Oral Roberts. Reine had homered two innings earlier to tie the game (6-6) and ultimately force extra innings.
One-time Little League World series participant Michael Broad hit one of Miami’s two 1st-inning, 3-run home runs to help the Hurricanes beat Dartmouth, 12-8. The ‘Canes held on after leading 11-0 thru five innings. Joe Sclafani homered twice for the Big Green.
Oregon State beat Florida Atlantic, 6-4, in Gainesville, Fla. The start of the game was delayed a total of 3:15 by rain. Tyler Smith hit his first home run in nearly two months in the win.
“Lobos fight scratch and claw baby, we’ll play anybody, anywhere anytime and we’re trying to spend a lot of our effort trying to prove that we can play with anybody in the country.” – Those were New Mexico third-year head coach Ray Birmingham’s comments during his in-game interview on ESPNU while his team was playing Stanford. Is it any wonder UNM is making its first NCAA appearance since 1962?
New Mexico won that game, 9-5, for the second NCAA Tournament win in school history. Willy Kesler had no-decision (5.2IP-4R-11H-BB-5K) and Jason Oatman (1-2) picked up the relief win (3.1IP-R-3H-2K). RF Chris Juarez went 3-for-4 (3RBI-2B) from the 5-hole, while the 2-hole-batting catcher Rafael Neda homered and scored 4 times (1B/2-hole Justin Howard had 3R).
Don’t know how to say his name, but Pi’ikea Kitamura was hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded in the top of the 9th inning to give Hawaii a 4-3 win over San Diego in Tempe, Ariz. San Diego ace Kyle Blair had another solid outing but did not figure into the decisions (8IP-3R/1ER-7H-8K). USD’s Mike Ferraro homered from the 7-hole and had 2 RBI, but USD’s #1-5 hitters combined for only 4 hits.
LSU's Trey Watkins
In his only at-bat of the night, LSU’s Trey Watkins smacked a 2-strike, 2-out double in the bottom of the 11th to lift LSU to an 11-10 over UC-Irvine. LSU’s Austin Nola forced extra innings when his blooper to right with 2 outs in the 9th scored Johnny Dishon, who motored all the way aroundfrom first base.
Jack Armstrong’s pinch-hit single scored Andrew Giobbi to give Vanderbilt an 8-7 win over Illinois State at the Louisville Regional opener. If the name of the offensive hero sounds familiar, it’s because Armstrong has been one of Vandy’s top starting pitchers this season and we’re sure to see him make a start over the weekend.
Oregon beat Connecticut, 5-3, in Norwich, Conn., thanks to three runs in the top of the 9th inning.
TCU didn’t use freshman ace Matt Purke (12-0), but the Horned Frogs still cruised to a 16-3 win over Lamar. Kyle Winkler and Greg Holle combined for 11 strikeouts to improve TCU to 20-0 this year when its pitchers have at least 10 K in a game. Purke will go Saturday vs. Arizona.
Louisville also sat its ace, Thomas Royse (9-1), in its 11-2 win over Saint Louis. Head coach Dan McDonnell was not in the dugout, as he served the first game of his three-game suspension for last week’s dustup with an umpire at the Big East Tournament.
Minnesota pulled-off the biggest Day-1 upset, as the #4 seed Golden Gophers downed #1 seed andnd host Cal State Fullerton, 3-1 in Fullerton. Jr. RHP Seth Rosin (9-4) faced only 26 batters and struck out 7 with no walks in 8.0 innings to move his season totals to 95 Ks and only 12 BB. All the Gophers runs came in the opening frame, with RBI singles from Kyle Knudson and Matt Puhl scoring AJ Pettersen & AndyHenkmeryer (other run scores on error/unearned).
Washington State registered its 19th come-from-behind win of the season, an 8-6 victory over Kansas State in Fayetteville, Ark. Adam Conley postedhis 19th save, while the Cougar bullpen notched its 18th win of the year (one away from tyingthe school record set in 1987). Cody Barlett’s 2-run HR in the 8th inning proved to be the game-winner.
It took a 5-run 8th inning for South Carolina to rally to a 9-5 home win over Bucknell. It’s the Gamecock’s 12th straight postseason home win.
Texas scored all 11 of its runs with 2-outs in an 11-0 win over Rider in Austin. Brandon Workman (12-1) tossed a complete game.
Ole Miss held off St. John’s, 10-5, in Charlottesville, Va. The Red Storm scored all five of their runs in the last two innings.
Tony Plagman was 5-for-5 in Georgia Tech’s 10-0 win over Mercer in Atlanta.
Florida freshman Hudson Randall notched a career-best 10 strikeouts in 7.1 innings to help the Gators beat Bethune-Cookman, 7-3. Randall didn’t allow a hit until the 5th inning.
UCLA routed Kent State, 15-1 in L.A., for the Bruins 25th home win of the season. Their 44 total wins are one away from tying the program’s single-season record set in 1997.
North Carolina validated its NCAA berth with a 12-3 win over Cal in Norman, Okla. The Tar Heels have scored eight or more runs in 16 of their past 24 first- or second0round NCAA Tournament games.
5,684 fans saw Oregon beat UConn, 5-3 at Dodd Stadium in Norwich, Conn. The Ducks rallied for three runs in the top of the 9th. Reliever Madison Boer has notched a save in Oregon’s past four wins. An attendance of 1,948 was on hand earlier in the day to see Florida State beat Central Connecticut, 11-3.
Kole Calhoun hit his team-leading 14th HR to help overall #1 seed Arizona State beat Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 6-2 in Tempe.

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College Baseball Notebook-Championship Weekend

Sean Stires — Mon, 31 May 2010 13:36:33 +0000

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A By The Numbers Look At The Last Week Before The NCAA Tournament

54…Game hitting streak by Florida International sophomore Garrett Wittels, who had at least one hit in each of FIU’s five Sun Belt Tournament games to help his team win the tournament and receive an NCAA bid. Wittels is

Garrett Wittels (Sun Belt photo)

batting .414 this season.

4…Games shy of Robin Ventura’s all-time record 58 game hitting streak Wittels now stands. FIU needs two wins in double-elimination regional play to give him a chance to tie the mark.

5…Of 27 #1 seeds, Bethune-Cookman, TCU, Coastal Carolina, The Citadel and Minnesota, that won their conference tournaments.

27…Years since Atlantic Sun champion Mercer had won a conference crown. The Bears won what was then known at the Trans America Athletic Conference in 1983.

13…Straight conference tournaments Oral Roberts has won. ORU’s Summit League (formerly the Mid-Continent) championship streak is the third longest in NCAA history behind Oklahoma State’s 16 and Wichita State’s 14.

30…Straight Summit League Tournament games won by ORU after going 3-0 at this year’s event.

9…Big Ten Championships won by Minnesota-a conference record-after the Golden Gophers beat Iowa to claim the 2010 crown.

12…Innings it took Virginia Commonwealth to beat UNC-Wilmington 7-5 in the CAA Championship game. VCU’s Joe Van Meter homered in the top of the 12th for the eventual game winning runs.

VCU's Joe Van Meter

104…Hits this season by Van Meter-a new CAA single season record. The third baseman was also named the CAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

8…Straight NCAA Tournament bids for Southern Mississippi after beating Rice 7-4 to claim just the program’s second Conference USA crown. After running all the way to the College World Series last year, the Golden Eagles were an NCAA “bubble team” going into this year’s CUSA tourney.

2…Missouri Valley Conference title won by Illinois State after beating Wichita State 17-8 to claim the title. WSU was playing in its 33rd MVC title game.

3…Grand slams hit in the same game by BYU in a 25-18 win over Utah in a Mountain West Conference elimination game. Sean McNaughton hit two of the slams, while Austin Hall hit the other. The three grand slams in one game ties an NCAA record.

27 & 4…Strikeouts recorded and runs allowed by TCU starting pitchers Matt Purke, Steven Maxwell and Kyle Winkler to help the Horned Frogs go 3-0 at the Mountain West Conference Tournament.

Kyle Winkler (TCU photo)

32-2…Combined record this season of Purke, Maxwell and Winkler to help TCU to its seventh straight NCAA bid.

13-1…LSU head coach Paul Mainieri’s record at the SEC Tournament after his Tigers completed a 2010 sweep of the event with Sunday’s 4-3 win over Alabama in the championship game. LSU did not qualify for the tournament in Mainieri’s first season at the helm in 2007, but they have now won three straight SEC Tournament titles.

3…Shutout innings of relief pitched by LSU starter Anthony Ranaudo to help his team win the SEC title game in 11 innings.

4,895…Fans in attendance to see The Citadel win the Southern Conference Championship-a 10-3 win over Western Carolina in Charleston, SC.

12…Straight wins by The Citadel after winning the SoCon title game. Bulldog ace Asher Wojciechowski is also 12-2 this season after striking out eight in eight innings to earn the victory.

Lamar's Anthony Moore (SLC photo)

7…Seed of Southland Conference Tournament champion Lamar, which beat #1 seed Texas State 17-7 to claim the crown.

.625…Batting average of Lamar centerfielder Anthony Moore to help the Cardinals sweep their four SLC Tournament games. Moore was 10-for-16 at the plat with three home runs, two doubles, and 10 RBIs to earn tournament MVP honors.

18…Years since Hawaii had won a WAC Championship prior to beating Fresno State 9-6 in this year’s championship game in Mesa, AZ.

4…Straight WAC Tournament championships Fresno State had won before losing to the Rainbows in Sunday’s title game.

33…Wins this season by St. Louis-a new school record-after beating #1 seed Charlotte to win the program’s second Atlantic 10 Tournament championship.

25…Years since Grambling State had won a SWAC title before beating Alcorn State to win this year’s championship.

5…ACC Championships won by Florida State after the Seminoles downed North Carolina State 8-3 in Sunday’s championship game.

CLICK HERE to see the Collegebaseball360.com NCAA Tournament page for complete 2010 Tournament coverage.

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Thursday Recap/Analysis (tournaments & top-50; 5/27)

Pete LaFleur — Fri, 28 May 2010 14:17:16 +0000

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Flies in the Ointment? …

The upsets kept flowing on Thursday, based on the CB360 Composite National Rankings, as more than half of the games (14 of 26) involving CB360 top-50 teams ended up in upsets. Most notably, five of the CNR’s top-10 teams (#2-3-7-8-10) all were knocked off, while several other teams emerged as potential “flies in the ointment” – underdogs that could win a conference automatic bid to the NCAAs (and, in the process, burst the bubble of an NCAA at-large hopeful).

CLICK HERE for CB360’s Conference Tournament Main Page

(Note – Scores for all games involving the CB360 top-50 are listed at the bottom of this page, with the customary links provided for the one non-tournament game … also be sure to access CB360’s conference tournament main page via the link posted above.)

There were 26 games on Thursday involving CB360 top-50 teams, including seven head-to-head match-ups (33 total top-50 teams in action). The only top-50 game outside a conference tournament setting was #1 Arizona State’s 4-2 series-opening win at #32 Stanford.

Here are teams from five leagues (seven teams total) that have the makings for NCAA-bid spoilers (the potential flies in the ointment):

• Mercer (Atlantic Sun) – The #2-seeded Bears were nowhere close to being in the discussion for an NCAA at-large bid, with a #157 official NCAA RPI this week (trailing six other A-Sun teams), but Mercer sits in the catbird seat as the only 2-0 squad at the six-team A-Sun Tournament … should the Bears win this event, the focus then will shift to whether Florida Gulf Coast still would get into the NCAA’s as an at-large (effectively making the A-Sun a two-bid league and taking a spot from some unfortunate budble team) … many tournament projections had FGCU as a solid at-large possibility (the Eagles ran away with the A-Sun regular-season title and entered the week with a #45 NCAA RPI, plus a #36 standing in the CNR top-50) … Thursday’s key results saw #4 seed North Florida knock off FGCU in shockingly easy fashion (13-2), while Mercer beat #3 seed East Tennessee State (10-7) in the day’s only match-up of teams that won on Wed. … next up: FGCU faces ETSU today in a noon elimination game, followed by another elimination game at 4:00 (UNF vs. Jacksonville) and Mercer’s 8:00 game vs. the FGCU-ETSU winner.

• Rutgers ad St. John’s (BIG EAST) – There teams have earned a day off on Friday, as each is 2-0 following their Thursday upsets (#6 seed RU beat #2 seed UConn, 9-6, one day after knocking off #3 seed Pittsburgh in a 9-5 opening-day game … #4 seed SJU knocked off top seed Louisville, 11-4) … if Rutgers or St. John’s win the BIG EAST Tournament, the league likely will have locked up three bids to the NCAAs … Pitt has been hoping to be that third entrant, but that was far from certain following the Panther’s first-day loss to #7 seed Cincinnati (9-6) …Louisville entered the tournament as the #5 team in the official NCAA RPI (#7 in the cb360 CNR) while UConn was the #24 RPI (CNR #18) and Pitt’s tenuous situation included a #47 RPI and #42 CNR … Friday’s games: Pitt and UConn will meet in a 4:00 elimination games, as will Louisville and #5 seed South Florida (7:00).

• Lamar and Texas Arlington – This is a similar situation to the one above, as these teams have started 2-0 in the Southland Conference Tournament … #5 seed UTA benefited from the day-1 upset that saw #8 seed Nicholls State beat regular-season champ Texas State, as the Mavericks then rallied to beat Nicholls (5-4) … on the other side of the bracket, the #7 seed Lamar stopped surging Northwestern (La.) State on Wed. and the earned its day off with a Thursday win over #6 seed McNeese State, 10-7 (McNeese earlier had edged #3 seed Southeastern Louisiana, 8-7) … should Lamar or UTA win the tournament, it’s likely that the Southland still could be a one-bid league for the NCAAs – as each of the top seeds have shaky at-large credentials (Texas State #48 NCAA RPI/#46 CNR … SLU #40 RPI, #50 CNR … NWLA #76 RPI and now eliminated from the Southland Tour.) … Friday’s games include a 10:00 a.m. CT elimination game (SLU-McNeese), followed by another elimination game between Texas St. and Nicholls … Lamar and UTA will be awaiting the winners in the night games (starting at 5:00).

• Arkansas State (Sunbelt) –The #7 seed has joined top seed Florida Atlantic as the 2-0 teams, but a Trojans title at this tournament might simply solidify the end of the season for #2 seed Louisiana (Lafayette) … UL-L entered the Sunbelt Championship with a #33 RPI (matching its spot in the CNR), but the regular-season co-champs already have been bounced back home and have to be considered a bubble team (especially if Arkansas State were to snatch the automatic bid) … the #3 and #4 seeds – Middle Tennessee and Florida International – entered the week as longshots for the NCAAs, with each facing elimination gaames on Friday (FIU plays #5 seed South Alabama in the brutal 9:00 AM game, followed by MTSU and #6 seed Troy) … #8 seed Western Kentucky was a top-25 team on the national scene at the midseason point, but the Hilltoppers wrapped up their second-half swoon by going 0-2 this week) … FAU will be awaiting the FIU-USA winner on Friday afternoon (4 ET), followed by Ark. St. s. the MTSU/Troy winner.

• Western Carolina (SoCon) – Speaking of teams that had strong starts to the season and then faded, WCU could jump back into the picture following its Thursday rally from a 6-0 deficit to upset CNR #28 College of Charleston (7-6) … #6 seed WCU joins regular-season champ The Citadel as 2-0 starters in the Southern Conference Tournament … #2 seed CofC (#29 RPI) may be secure for NCAA at-large consideration, meaning that a WCU tournament title could ensure three NCAA bids for the SoCon (WCU entered the event 57th in the official NCAA RPI) … #3 seed Elon (#51 RPI/#44 CNR) is another SoCon hopeful for the NCAAs, but the Phoenix likely need to win their Friday elimination game vs. #5 seed Samford (7 ET; winner has to beat Citadel twice on Sat.) … Friday’s 3:00 elimination game will pit C of C vs. #7 seed Appalachian State (winner has to beat WCU twice on Sat.).

In addition to games mentioned above, Thursday’s other top-50 upsets included:

• Texas Tech 4, #2 Texas 1 (Big 12)
• #17 Florida State 11, #3 Virginia 4 (Big 12)
• #25 Virginia Tech 6, #8 Georgia Tech 2
• #14 Auburn 3, #10 South Carolina 1 (Big 12)
• Boston College 12, #12 Miami 10 (Big 12)
• #34 LSU 7, #16 Vanderbilt 5 (Big 12)
• #29 Alabama 6, #23 Mississippi 3 (Big 12)
• Middle Tennessee State 3, #33 Louisiana-Lafayette 0 (Big 12)
• Florida International 7, #47 Western Kentucky 3 (Sunbelt)
• High Point 2, #49 Liberty 1 (Big South)

TOP TEAMS – Texas (0-2) already is out of title contention at the Big 12 Tournament, while Virginia now has a tougher road to repeating as ACC Tournament champion (in order to reach the title game, the Cavs first need BC to beat FSU on Friday, then UVa has to defeat Miami on Sat.). Note that the Big 12 and ACC both use a round-robin format in their tournaments. The losses by Texas and UVa, coupled with Arizona State’s win over Stanford, can only strengthen ASU’s position as the potential #1 national seed.

SEC – One day after all four SEC Tournament games resulted in upsets, Thursday’s slate saw the underdogs (based on the CNR) win three more times – including Auburn’s win that eliminated South Carolina. Two teams that filled the final two SEC spots – #8 seed Alabama and #7 LSU – now find themselves on the inside tracks to the title game.

BUBBLE SEEKERS – Boston College (#46 RPI) and Texas Tech (#48) kept alive their hopes for making the NCAAs. All four teams in BC’s bracket at the ACC Tournament (#1 seed Virginia, #4 Miami, #5 Florida St. and #8 BC) have started 1-1, with one team ultimately advancing to Sunday’s title game. BC will face FSU on Friday at noon, while UVa and Miami will meet on Sat. (also at noon). In order to reach the Big 12 title game, #5 seed Texas Tech need to beat #8 seed Missouri on Saturday while getting help in two others games (Missouri beating #4 seed Texas A&M on Fri. and top seed Texas then beating A&M on Sat.).

MORE BUBBLE WATCH – Liberty’s loss could extinguish the Flames’ hopes for an NCAA at-large spot (#44 official NCAA RPI, but lost on Wed.). Several other NCAA bubble teams also are 1-1 at their conference tournaments, after winning on Thursday:

• #38 New Mexico 7, BYU 6
• #42 Pittsburgh 13, Cincinnati 4
• #46 Texas State 8, Stephen F. Austin 2
• #50 Southeastern Louisiana 10, Northwestern (La.) State 4

THURSDAY’S TOP-50 RESULTS (5/27/10; upsets in italics)
(based on the CB360 Composite National Rankings)

Reminder – follow THIS LINK for CB360’s Conference Tournament Main Page (with links to all of the conference tournament central pages that include complete info., links, etc.)

• #1 Arizona State 4, at #32 Stanford 2 (Pac-10 reg.-season) | Final Stats
ASU Recap | STAN Recap

• Texas Tech 4, #2 Texas 1 (Big 12)

• #17 Florida State 11, #3 Virginia 4 (ACC)

• #4 Coastal Carolina 11, Radford 9 (Big South)

• #5 Florida 5, #13 Arkansas 4 (SEC)

• St. John’s 6, #7 Louisville 5

• #25 Virginia Tech 6, #8 Georgia Tech 2

• #14 Auburn 3, #10 South Carolina 1 (SEC)

• #11 TCU 5, UNLV 2

• Boston College 12, #12 Miami 10 (ACC)

• #34 LSU 7, #16 Vanderbilt 5 (SEC)

• Rutgers 6, #18 Connecticut 5 (BIG EAST)

• #22 Rice 24, Houston 3 (C-USA)

• #29 Alabama 6, #23 Mississippi 3 (SEC)

• #27 Texas A&M 7, Missouri 2 (Big 12)

• Western Carolina 7, #28 College of Charleston 6

• Middle Tennessee State 3, #33 Louisiana-Lafayette 0 (Sunbelt)

• #35 Florida Atlantic 10, South Alabama 9 (Sunbelt)

• North Florida 13, #36 Florida Gulf Coast 2 (Atlantic Sun)

• #38 New Mexico 7, BYU 6 (Mt. West)

• #39 The Citadel 6, #44 Elon 3 (SoCon)

• #42 Pittsburgh 13, Cincinnati 4 (BIG EAST)

• #46 Texas State 8, Stephen F. Austin 2 (Southland)

• Florida International 7, #47 Western Kentucky 3 (Sunbelt)

• High Point 2, #49 Liberty 1 (Big South)

• #50 Southeastern Louisiana 10, Northwestern (La.) State 4 (Southland)

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College Baseball Conference Tournament Central

Sean Stires — Thu, 27 May 2010 18:20:30 +0000

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2010 Conference Tournament Central

Below on this page you will find information on all of this week’s college baseball conference tournaments. Links to brackets (in most cases each conference’s tournament central page) as well as All-Conference Teams are provided.

Only five of 27 #1 seeds won their conference tournaments.

America East Tournament (May 26-28)

Bracket Champion: Stony Brook

All-Conference Team

ACC Tournament (May 26-30)

Bracket Champion: Florida State

All-Conference Team

Atlantic Sun Tournament (May26-29)

Bracket Champion: Mercer (First title since 1983)

All-Conference Team

Atlantic 10 Tournament (May 26-29)

Bracket Champion: St. Louis

All-Conference Team

Big East Tournament (May 26-30)

Bracket Champion: St. John’s

All-Conference Team

Big South Tournament (May 25-29)

Bracket Champion: Coastal Carolina

All-Conference Team

Big Ten Tournament (May 26-29)

Bracket Champion: Minnesota

All-Conference Team

Big Twelve Tournament (May 26-30)

Bracket Champion: Texas A&M

All-Conference Team

Big West Conference – No Post Season Tournament

Regular Season Champion: Cal State Fullerton

All-Conference team

CAA Tournament (May 27-29)

Bracket Champion: Virginia Commonwealth

All-Conference Team

Conference USA Tournament (May 26-30)

Bracket Champion: Southern Mississippi

All-Conference Team

Great West Tournament (May 26-29)

Bracket Champ: Utah Valley (No NCAA Bid)

All-Conference Team

Horizon League Tournament (May 26-30)

Bracket Champion: Wisconsin-Milwaukee

All-Conference Team

Ivy League – Best of Three Series

Champion: Dartmouth beat Columbia

All-Conference Team

Metro Atlantic Tournament

Bracket Champion: Rider

All-Conference Team

Mid-American (MAC) Tournament (May 26-29)

Bracket Champion: Kent State

All-Conference Team

Missouri Valley Tournament (May 26-29)

Bracket Champion: Illinois State

All-Conference Team

Mountain West Conference Tournament (May 25-29)

Bracket Champion: TCU

All-Conference Team

Northeast Conference Tournament (May 27-29)

Bracket Champion: Central Connecticut St.

All-Conference Team

Ohio Valley Tournament (May 26-30)

Bracket Champion: Jacksonville St.

All-Conference Team

Pac 10 Conference – No Postseason Tournament

Regular Season Champion: Arizona State

All-Conference Team

Patriot League – Best of Three Series

Champion: Bucknell

All-Conference Team

SEC Tournament (May 26-30)

Bracket Champion: LSU

All-Conference Team

Southern Conference Tournament (May 26-30)

Bracket Champion: The Citadel

All-Conference Team

Southland Conference Tournament (May 26-29)

Bracket Champion: Lamar

All-Conference Team

SWAC Tournament (May 26-30)

Bracket Champion: Grambling St.

All-Conference Team

Summit League Tournament (May 27-29)

Bracket Champion: Oral Roberts

All-Conference Team

Sun Belt Conference Tournament (May 26-29)

Bracket Champion: Florida International

All-Conference Team

West Coast Conference – No Postseason Tournament

Regular Season Champion: San Diego

All-Conference Team

Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Tournament (May 26-30)

Bracket Champion: Hawaii (First since 1992)

All-Conference Team

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2010 NCAA Baseball Tournament Automatic Qualifiers

Sean Stires — Mon, 10 May 2010 17:03:08 +0000

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30 conference champions earn automatic berths into the field of 64 in the 2010 NCAA Division One baseball tournament. We will list them as they secure their bids.

CLICK HERE to see the NCAA selection handbook, which includes at-large selection criteria and more information.

NCAA Tournament Selection Timeline

America East-Stony Brook

ACC: Florida State

Atlantic Sun: Mercer

Atlantic 10-St. Louis

Big East-St. John’s

Big South-Coastal Carolina

Big Ten-Minnesota

Big 12-Texas A&M

Big West-Cal State Fullerton

CAA-Virginia Commonwealth

CUSA-Southern Mississippi

Horizon: Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Ivy League-Dartmouth

MAAC-Rider

MAC-Kent State

MEAC-Bethune-Cookman

Missouri Valley-Illinois State (Won First Ever Tournament)

Mountain West-TCU

Northeast-Central Connecticut St.

Ohio Valley-Jacksonville St.

Pac 10-Arizona State

Patriot League-Bucknell

SEC-LSU

Southern-The Citadel

Southland-Texas St.

SWAC-Grambling St.

Summit League-Oral Roberts (Won 13th straight tournament)

Sun Belt-Florida International

WCC-San Diego

WAC-Hawaii (First title since 1992)

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Campbell 2010 Baseball Schedule

Sean Stires — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 13:48:13 +0000

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Non-Conference Games Vs. ECU And NC State Highlight Slate

BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Games against in-state rivals East Carolina, UNC Wilmington, and NC State, a matchup with 2009 regional opponent, Xavier University, and a 27-game conference schedule highlight the 2010 spring schedule for the Fighting Camels baseball squad.

This schedule marks the third in the tenure of Greg Goff but it promises to be one of the most challenging since his arrival in Buies Creek previous to the 2008 campaign. Campbell will face off against 21 different teams during the spring, with

Campbell Head Coach Greg Goff

these teams having won a combined 516 contests during the 2009 season.

Complete 2010 Campbell Schedule (PDF)

“We have put together another demanding, but exciting schedule for the 2010 season highlighted with in-state opponents NC State, East Carolina, and UNC-Wilmington,” head coach Greg Goff said. “Our goal with this schedule was to build on the momentum of our record-setting home attendance from last season, and being able to have 33 home games was definitely a bonus. This allows our fans a good opportunity to come out and have a great time watching our team compete against some first-rate opponents.”

Asheville and NC State highlight first week

Campbell opens the 2010 slate at home against UNC Asheville with a single contest on February 19th followed by a doubleheader on February 20th. The Bulldogs, under new head coach Tom Smith, are looking to be provide a tough challenge for the first weekend of the season. After the home weekend against UNC Asheville, the Fighting Camels hit the road for the short trip to Raleigh to face off against in-state ACC foe, North Carolina State.

Last season Campbell swept the home and home two-game series with the Wolfpack, marking the first time in school history they were able to accomplish that feat. The Fighting Camels will finish the month of February with a home and home matchup against North Carolina A&T. The first contest will take place in Greensboro on February 26th and the doubleheader at Taylor Field to follow on the 27th.

Nine game home stretch kicks off March for Fighting Camels

The month of March starts off with a two-week home stand for Coach Goff’s squad, as they square off against Xavier University, UNC Wilmington, Savannah State, and LaSalle University. Campbell will start off the month facing the defending Atlantic 10 champion and 2009 NCAA Regional participant Xavier University on March 2, followed by a contest against in-state rival and 2008 NCAA Regional Participant UNC Wilmington on the 3rd.

The Fighting Camels will be renewing one of their long standing rivalries with the Seahawks, having split their last home and home series in 2008, with UNC Wilmington taking the contest at Taylor Field 6-4, and Campbell knocking off the #22-ranked Seahawks 8-6 in Wilmington.

The 9-game home stand will conclude with a three-game weekend series against Savannah State, and a mid-week clash with the LaSalle Explorers on March 9 and 10. Campbell has won 3 of the last 4 games against these two teams, including a two game sweep of Savannah State last year, and a two game split against the Explorers in 2006.

Mercer to start off 2010 Atlantic Sun slate

Campbell will head on the road to Macon, Ga. for the first conference series of the young 2010 season against the Mercer Bears. Last year the series against Mercer was cancelled due to four days set of heavy rain in Buies Creek. In 2008, Campbell also opened conference play with the Bears, winning game one and then dropping the following two. But, the Fighting Camels got even that year by eliminating Mercer from the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament with an 11-3 victory in Deland.

The series between the Fighting Camels and Mercer has always been competitive as the series split is 27-26 in favor of Campbell. The Bears finished the 2009 slate with a 23-23 record and will be bringing back a load of talent from that squad and promises to be a frontrunner in the Atlantic Sun.

Following the trip to Macon, Campbell will return to the friendly confines of Taylor Field to face off against Maryland-Eastern Shore in a two game set starting on March 16th. The last time these two teams faced off against each other was in 2000 and Campbell holds a 3-0 series lead over the Eagles.

Campbell will then face its second Atlantic Sun opponent in Kennesaw State starting on March 19th. Last season the two split the conference series 1-1 as the third game was cancelled due to inclement weather. The Owls hold the series lead 3-6 over the Fighting Camels.

Campbell will conclude a 7-game home stand with North Carolina State coming to Buies Creek on March 23rd. They will then conclude the month of March with a three-game conference series against the Ospreys of the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, and return home to play Norfolk State on March 30, with Campbell returning the trip to Norfolk on May 11th.

April Presents Good Challenges for the Fighting Camels

Campbell will back to Florida over the first weekend of April, this time to Deland to face off against Atlantic Sun traditional power Stetson University. The Hatters have made regional appearances in 4 of the last 8 years, and will be an ASUN favorite once again in 2010. The Camels will then head down to Wilmington, N.C. for the completion of the home and home series with the Seahawks.

Taylor Field will play host to two of the last three weekends in April as the Camels will host the two-time defending Atlantic Sun regular season champs Florida Gulf Coast Eagles, on April 9 and 10, and the East Tennessee State on April 23 and 24. Campbell will hit the road to Spartanburg, SC to face Atlantic Sun foe USC Upstate on April 16 and 17.

April will also feature the annual two-game home and home series with 2009 NCAA Super Regional participant East Carolina Pirates. On April 13 the Fighting Camels will travel to Greenville where they were victorious last season 12-8 against the # 17 ranked Pirates. ECU will return the trip the next week, April 20, for a rematch of a thrilling 10-9 ECU victory at Taylor Field in 2009.

Camels Hit the Stretch Run in May

The Fighting Camels will begin May by playing a weekend series against in-state foe North Carolina Central University with the Friday game (April 30th) being played at Taylor Field and the following two being played in Durham at the legendary Durham Athletic Park on May 1. The DAP was showcased during the filming of the iconic baseball film Bull Durham, and now serves as the home field for the NCCU Eagles.

The non-conference slate for May will feature 4 games against Longwood University, beginning with a home weekend series on May 7-8, and a trip to Farmville, Va. on May 18th.

The conference schedule will feature the traditional May opponents for Campbell as they visit Nashville for a showdown with the Bruins from Belmont University on May 14 and 15, and host the Bisons from Lipscomb University on the final weekend of the regular season, May 20 and 21. In 2009, the Fighting Camels went 3-3 against these respective conference opponents, taking 2 or 3 from the Bruins at Taylor Field, and dropping 2 of 3 to the Bisons in Nashville.

The Atlantic Sun Championship will take place in Nashville, Tennessee, May 26-29, 2010. The top six seeds will advance to the conference tournament out of a possible ten teams, with the winner of the tournament earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Regional Tournament.

(Release)

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Belmont 2010 Baseball Schedule

Sean Stires — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 20:26:03 +0000

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Bruins Will Play 21 Of Their First 25 Games At Home

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Belmont baseball program will play 21 of the first 25 games at home and face five NCAA Tournament teams from last season as a part of the 2010 schedule head coach David Jarvis released on Monday.

HOME OPENER
The Bruins begin the season with a three-game series against Evansville (2009 record: 25-20) from Feb. 19-20 in

Belmont Head Coach David Jarvis

Shelby Park. It is the third time in four years that Belmont has faced a Missouri Valley Conference opponent to open the season. In last season’s home opener Belmont won two-of-three games against Illinois State, and in 2007 the Bruins opened up with two wins over Bradley.

Complete 2010 Belmont Schedule (PDF)

REGIONAL MATCHUPS
Belmont will trade home games with six area teams – Western Kentucky, Murray State, MTSU, Tennessee Tech, UT-Martin, and Austin Peay – which will make up a majority of the Bruins’ non-conference slate. The regional matchups begin at home with WKU (42-20) on Feb. 24. The Hilltoppers earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history after sharing the Sun Belt regular season title. Belmont will travel to WKU on April 7, to fulfill the two-game series.

OHIO VALLEY OPPPONENTS
Eleven of Belmont’s 28 non-conference games will be against teams from the Ohio Valley Conference, beginning with a three-game series against Eastern Illinois (36-14) from Feb. 26-28. After facing the 2009 regular season champions, the Bruins will travel to Murray State (34-21-1) on March 2 for the first of 21 road games during the season.

Belmont’s OVC tour resumes on March 23 when the Bruins host 2009 tournament champion Tennessee Tech (31-24-1) in Shelby Park. Senior Day is schedule for May 18 against Tennessee-Martin (20-31) – the last home game of the season. The Austin Peay series will take place on the road on April 20 and at home on the 28th.

SEC
Belmont will play two Southeastern Conference teams with Vanderbilt (37-27) on April 6 at Hawkins Field in Nashville, and Tennessee (26-29) on April 27 in Knoxville.

NEW BEGINNINGS
Belmont will face three new opponents in 2010 including Cleveland State, Eastern Michigan and Evansville. All games will be played at Shelby Park with Evansville opening the season on Feb. 19, Eastern Michigan (25-35) playing three games in two days from March 5-6, and a mid-week bout with Cleveland State (21-31) March 16 and 17.

The Bruins’ first substantial road trip will be a nine-game swing including a stop in Arkansas to play Arkansas-Little Rock for the first time since 1998.

CONFERENCE MATCHUPS
The Bruins open the conference season on the road against reigning Atlantic Sun Tournament Champion Jacksonville (37-22) on March 12. The Dolphins eliminated Belmont en route to their fourth A-Sun title and sixth berth in the NCAA Tournament.

The Bruins will play 27 conference games, three less than last season’s A-Sun slate which the Bruins finished with an even 15-15 record. All conference series are three games as most will occur over the span of two days, except Lipscomb and Florida Gulf Coast. ETSU is the lone conference member that the Bruins will not play in the regular season.

The baseball edition of the Battle of the Boulevard between arch-rival Lipscomb will be held in Shelby Park from March 19-21.

Belmont will conclude the regular season on road against Mercer on May 20 and 21.

The 2010 Atlantic Sun Championship will be held in Nashville at Lipscomb’s Dugan Field from May 25-29.

SHELBY IS HOME
Shelby Park will field all of Belmont’s 32 home games in 2009, ending nearly two decades of hosting teams at Greer Stadium – the home of the Nashville Sounds, Class AAA affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers.

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East Tennessee State 2010 Baseball Schedule

Sean Stires — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 14:41:58 +0000

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JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Dec. 7, 2009) – Road trips to Charleston, S.C. and Eugene, Ore., in addition to 30 home contests are all on tap for the 2010 ETSU baseball team, as head coach Tony Skole and his staff released their schedule Monday afternoon.

“We are excited for the upcoming season,” Skole said. “We have made a lot of great progress this fall and winter. Although we are still very young with only one senior, we have a lot of experience in our youth. We return a strong nucleus and have many new players that we will be relying upon to have an immediate impact.”

The Bucs will play three 2009 NCAA Tournament participants facing Jacksonville, Tennessee Tech and Kansas State

ETSU Head Coach Tony Skole

throughout the season.

Complete 2010 ETSU Schedule (PDF)

“We have a great schedule this season,” Skole added. We will be challenged early, there is no doubt about that, but we saw our schedule as an opportunity to help us get better early. The first part of our non-conference schedule will help us to get ready to open the Atlantic Sun season. I anticipate the Atlantic Sun Conference to once again be one of the top Division I baseball conferences in the country.”

ETSU opens the season on Feb. 19 against The Citadel in Charleston, S.C. The Buccaneers will also face Kansas State (Feb. 20) and Delaware (Feb. 21) to close out the opening weekend.

The team will close out its non-conference schedule as the Bucs make their first ever west coast trip on May 14-16 to Eugene, Ore. ETSU will face a reestablished Oregon program coached by George Horton, who led Cal State Fullerton to a national title in 2004.

St. Peter’s comes to town on Feb. 26-28 for the ETSU home opener as the Bucs will play 18 home non-conference games. Other notable non-conference home games include a weekend series against St. John’s (March 5-7) and games against Virginia Tech (March 31), Appalachian State (April 21) and Tennessee Tech (April 28).

“We are excited to have 30 home games so that our fans will be able to watch as many Buccaneer games as possible,” Skole said.

The Bucs face a tough conference schedule in 2010 as they will face Lipscomb (March 26-27), Jacksonville (April 9-10), Campbell (April 23-24), Florida Gulf Coast (May 8-9) and Kennesaw State (May 20-21) on the road.

ETSU opens Atlantic Sun play at home against USC Upstate on March 19-20. North Florida (April 2-3), Mercer (April 16-17) and Stetson (April 30-May 1) also come to Cardinal Park in 2010.

(Release)

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Chicago State 2010 Baseball Schedule

Sean Stires — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 14:45:45 +0000

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Cougars To Compete In The New Great West Conference

CHICAGO, IL – Second-year Chicago State baseball head coach Michael Caston has announced today the release of the team’s 55-game 2010 schedule. This year’s slate features 21 home contests that will be held at Brooks Field on the campus of Gwendolyn Brooks College Prep High School, located at 250 E. 111th Street on Chicago’s Far South Side.

In addition, the Cougars will enter their first season as a member of the Great West Conference after serving as an independent for the past three years. CSU also faces non-conference opposition from the Big Ten, Big 12, Big East and Missouri Valley Conferences.

“The Chicago State Baseball staff and team are very excited about our schedule for the upcoming 2010 season. We are moving into our first year in the Great West Conference and our conference schedule will allow us to be competitive within our conference in our first year,” said Caston. “Our non-conference schedule features Notre Dame, Purdue, Illinois, Kansas State and Mercer. We have put together a tough non-conference schedule that will give us experience and get us ready to challenge for the Great West Championship.”

Complete 2010 Chicago State Schedule

CSU begins a season-opening nine game road swing on March 6-8 with a four-game set at Mercer before traveling to Palm Beach, Fla., for a four-game series against former Mid-Continent Conference foe Southern Utah. Following a March 23 contest at Eastern Illinois, the Cougars welcome IPFW to Brooks Field for their home opener on March 24 before embarking on a 10-game road trip versus Purdue (March 26-28), Indiana State (March 30), Illinois (March 31), Valparaiso (April 2-3) and IPFW (April 6).

The Green and White continues its April stretch with an April 7 showdown versus Eastern Illinois at Brooks Field before traveling to New York on April 9-11 for its first-ever Great West Conference series against NYIT.

After a April 13 road game at perennial Big East Conference contender Notre Dame, CSU returns to Brooks Field for a season-best 11-game homestand with weekend conference series against NJIT (April 16-18) and Utah Valley (April 23-25) sandwiched between mid-week games versus Indiana State (April 14), Purdue (April 20) and North Park (April 21).

Following the homestand, the Cougars hit the road for a mid-week series at Kansas State on April 27-28 and a four-game Great West series at Houston Baptist from April 30-May 2. CSU closes its home slate with Great West weekend series against North Dakota (May 7-9) and Texas-Pan American (May 14-16) before battling Northern Colorado on the road on May 20-22 in its final conference series of the year.

The inaugural Great West Conference Tournament will take place on May 26-29 in Edinburg, Texas with all eight teams competing in the tournament.

CSU welcomes back 15 players and seven position starters from last season’s team that includes a pair of Academic All-Great West Conference honorees.

“We had a spectacular recruiting season this past year and we were able to attract some very good players to Chicago State University. My hat goes off to my recruiting coordinator, Assistant Coach Neal Frendling, for he has given us the opportunity to compete for a Great West Championship,” Caston added. “With a mixture of our returning players, junior college transfers and incoming freshman, look for the Chicago State Baseball team to put up some numbers offensively and defensively. We will be a completely different team in 2010. The Chicago State baseball team is headed in the right direction and I feel the foundation has been set in order to build a legitimate baseball program.”

(Release)

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A Batch Of New 2010 College Baseball Schedules

Sean Stires — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:11:05 +0000

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Here are several more 2010 college baseball schedules we found this week. We have also included season openers for each of the teams. CLICK HERE to see our comprehensive list of links to 2010 schedules.

Bucknell: Opens with four games @ VMI in Lexington, VA

Central Arkansas: Opens by hosting two games vs. SIU Edwardsville and one game vs. Creighton in Conway, AR

Davidson: Opens by hosting three games vs. Georgetown in Davidson, NC

Lafayette: Opens with three games @ VMI Feb. 26, 27 & 28

Lehigh: Opens in Wilmington, NC Feb. 26, 27 & 28 with a game each vs. UNC Wilmington and Liberty and two games vs. Morehead State

Lipscomb: Opens with three games vs. Murray State

Mercer: Opens by hosting four games vs. Morehead State in Macon, GA

Nicholls State: Opens with three games @ Louisiana Lafayette

UNC Greensboro: Opens with three games vs. Cleveland State

North Florida: Opens with home games vs. Ohio State, Richmond & Florida A&M

Northwestern State: Opens with three games @ Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, MS

Southeastern Louisiana: Opens at home with three games vs. Eastern Illinois

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