College Baseball 360 Podcast-April 15

This week Sean Stires and Chris Webb (from Buckeyestatebaseball.com) are talking about how things are shaping-up in the Midwest.  They talk about this weekend’s key Big Ten series between Ohio State and Michigan State, as well as the future of OSU head coach Bob Todd, MAC leaders Toledo and Kent State and 2009 NCAA teams Xavier and Wright State.

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Segment #1

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Segment #2

Around The Bases-April 1

Passion Buckets Full Of Baseball And Final Four

By Collegebaseball360.com Editor Sean Stires

April is here, and my Passion Bucket is overflowing.  For those who’ve never heard of a Passion Bucket, it’s a term that was coined by UCLA football coach Rick Neuheisel and made popular on the Dan Patrick Radio Show.  It’s also a term that was used by Cornell basketball player Ryan Wittman prior to last week’s Sweet 16 basketball match-up with Kentucky.

Wittman’s use of the term stirred-up some unwarranted controversy when John Feinstein took it to mean “we’re the smart kids”.   Turned out Wittman’s coach, Steve Donohue,  had just told him to drop the “Passion Bucket” during the presser at Patrick’s request.  Turns out Passion Bucket just stands for how much enthusiasm or excitement you have for something, and mine is overflowing with thoughts of college baseball and the Final Four…and even how they run together…

Butler’s in the Final Four.  How cool is that?  Their home floor, Hinkle Fieldhouse, is where the movie Hoosiers was filmed.  The college baseball equal would be Creighton making it to the College World Series.  Wait…that happened in 1991.  Butler’s coach, Brad Stevens, is home grown, just like Brian O’Connor, who pitched at the Series for the Blue Jays in ‘91 and who took Virginia to Omaha last year.  Stevens looks so young he gets mistaken for the water boy, but he’s worked his way up the ladder since starting as Butler’s Coordinator of Basketball Operations ten years ago.  By the way, Minnesota Twins reliever Pat Neshek played college ball at Butler.

Tom Izzo is a guy you just have to respect.  He’s taken Michigan State to six Final Fours in 12 years.  His teams grind out possessions and games like a Polish lady with big forearms grinds out Kielbasa.  It got me thinking…what’s Michigan State’s college baseball counterpart?  I’m going with Texas:  Walk, sac bunt, infield hit, 4-3 RBI…Augie Garrido’s great pitching and small ball approach is college baseball’s answer to Izzo’s Spartans.  Augie’s obviously had some success at it too.  And how about Jake Boss, Jr.’s MSU baseball team?  At 16-4,  his Spartans open Big Ten play vs. Iowa this weekend with the best record in the conference.

Speaking of Texas, the Longhorns (18-7) leave their home state for the first time this season when they visit Oklahoma this weekend.  Texas has played road games at Rice and Texas Tech with three neutral site games at Minute Maid Park in Houston.

Arizona State (23-0) and UCLA (21-0) are the only two remaining unbeaten Division One teams in college baseball.

The Sun Devils visit Oregon this weekend in their second Pac 10 series, while UCLA hosts Stanford in it conference opener.  The most amazing thing to me about ASU’s unblemished record is the fact they’ve done it without Josh Spence (10-1, 2.37 ERA in ‘09) throwing one pitch so far this year.  The Aussie has been out all year with an arm injury, but his teammates have more than picked-up the slack.  Sophomore Jake Borup pitched all of 8.0 innings last year, but he’s 5-0, while juco transfer Merrill Kelly is tied for the national lead at 6-0.  Meanwhile, Gerrit Cole (6-0, 2.63 ERA) and Trevor Bauer (5-0, 2.33 ERA) have lived-up to their expectations at UCLA.  Both teams have off the charts talent and numbers in the line-up.  Too bad they don’t meet until the end of the month.  Oh, if you want to read a good rant on these teams and the national rankings check out what Chase Titleman has to say at Road2rosenblatt.com!

Who’s been impersonating as the three Conference USA teams that went to at least a Super Regional last year?  Last year’s CWS Cinderella, Southern Mississippi (14-9) , has lost five of its last seven games, including losing two of three last week to UAB.  East Carolina (17-9) just bludgeoned North Carolina Central by a combined 65-12 last weekend, but they just lost a 15-13 slug fest to UNC Wilmington and had losses to Monmouth and High Point.  ECU opens C-USA play this weekend vs. Tulane and then heads to Memphis next week.  Speaking of Memphis, the Tigers took two of three from Rice (14-12) last week for their first ever series win over the Owls, which are falling out of the polls with losses in five of their last eight games.  All three C-USA teams have played tough opponents, all three have hit in spots and consistent pitching has eluded all three as well.

Villanova (17-4) is off to its best start since head coach Joe Godri arrived in 2002.  The Wildcats have a tough task ahead of them this weekend if they want to keep it going.  Godri’s ‘Cats will be “big game hunting” when they travel to Louisville (21-3) for their second Big East series of the season.  Godri has a tradition of plastering the logo of top-caliber teams his team has beaten on his office wall, and just one win at Louisville this weekend would go a long way.  Wildcats Justin Bencsko (.485) and Matt Szczur (.500) have names that are hard to pronounce, but they’re among the nation’s hitting leaders.  Louisville’s Thomas Royse (5-0, 1.42 ERA) and Neil Holland (4-0, 0.42 ERA, 6 SVs) might be the best pitchers they’ll face this season.

That series and many others start on Thursday this weekend due to Easter coming this Sunday.  Here’s hoping your Easter Baskets and Passion Buckets are full!

College Baseball Notebook-Week 5

A By The Numbers Look At The Latest Week Of 2010

20 & 16…Wins without any defeats by Arizona State and UCLA, respectively, to start the season.  The Pac-10 teams are the only remaining undefeated Division 1 college baseball teams in the nation.  ASU’s start is the best since the 1961 team opened at 21-0, while the Bruin’s 16-0 start is a school record as is their 16-game winning streak.

41-7…Combined score of UCLA’s weekend 3-game sweep of 12-time defending Summit League champion Oral Roberts.

30 & 10…Strikeouts and walks in 27 IP in the series by the Bruin pitching staff.

1…Former Northern Iowa baseball player-Lucas O’Rear-who is in the NCAA Basketball Tournament’s Sweet 16 this week.  O’Rear, a junior forward on the UNI basketball team, helped 9th seeded Panthers beat UNLV 69-66 in the first

round of the tournament last Thursday, then shock overall #1 seed Kansas 69-67 Saturday night.

17 1/3…Innings O’Rear pitched for the UNI baseball team in 2009-it’s last season of existence.  Northern Iowa eliminated baseball after last season due to budget cuts.  The 6′6-255 pound O’Rear, whose fastball has touched 92 mph, struckout 15 batters and finished with a 4.67 ERA after making 10 appearances out of the Panther bullpen.

4.2 & 4.5…O’Rear’s scoring & rebounding averages this season for the 30-4 UNI basketball team, which faces Michigan State on Friday in St. Louis this week in the Sweet 16.

26…Consecutive scoreless innings pitched by Indiana’s Drew Leininger-who tossed 6 shutout frames in IU’s 10-3 win over Akron Saturday.  Leininger dropped his Big Ten-leading ERA to 0.70 while improving his record to 3-0.

14…Straight games in which TCU freshman Josh Elander had a hit to begin his career before going hitless in the Horned Frogs’ 6-4 win over Oral Roberts last Tuesday.

1…Career home run by Elander-it came in TCU’s next game, an 11-3 win over BYU last Friday.  It was also the freshman outfielder’s birthday.

1,825…Fans in attendance last Wednesday to see the first night game in James Madison history-a 6-3 loss to #1 Virginia-at the Dukes’ new Veterans Memorial Park.

10…Runs in 1+ inning pitched by Western Kentucky starter Taylor Haydel in Wednesday’s 17-6 loss to Vanderbilt.

32-5…Combined score of Arizona’s two mid-week wins over Wichita State in Tucson.

4…Wins in relief by Villanova’s Kevin Crimmel after pitching an inning in Friday’s 2-1 win over Niagara.

10…Strikeouts in 8 IP by VU starter Brian Streilein in that game.

9…Stolen bases by the Wildcats in a St. Patrick’s Day 11-8 win over Fairleigh Dickinson.

2…Home runs by Maryland’s Dan Gentzler in Friday’s 5-2 win over Georgia Tech to hand the Yellow Jackets just their second loss of the season. Both HR came off 2009 ACC Pitcher of the Year Deck McGuire.

4…Saves this season earned by Gentzler after pitching a scoreless 9th inning of that same game.  Terp starter Brett Harman struckout eight in eight innings to earn the win.

8…RBIs by Georgia Tech’s Jay Dantzler the next day in GT’s 24-4 win over Maryland.  Dantzler was 4-for-6 in the game with a pair of home runs.

4…Home runs hit by Clemson in an 8-run first inning of its 22-6 win over Georgia Southern.  The Tigers hit 6 home runs, 9 doubles and a triple in the game.

0…Losses by Clemson (17-2, 6-0 ACC) through the first two weekend’s of conference play, making the Tigers the only ACC team without a league blemish, after a 3-game sweep of Virginia Tech.

12…Strikeouts in 8 IP by Virginia’s Danny Hultzen (4-1) in Friday’s 7-1 win over Boston College to give him 43 Ks and just 4 BB in 34 innings this season.

30 of 34…Innings that Hultzen has pitched this season that have been “goose eggs” on the scoreboard.

1…Cycle achieved by Tommy LaStella in Coastal Carolina’s 29-13 win over Charleston Southern.  The redshirt sophomore drove-in seven runs en-route to his first career cycle.

7…Runs scored in the 7th inning by LSU in Saturday’s 8-7 win over Arkansas in game two of their SEC-opening series in Baton Rouge. Arkansas had won the first game of the series 6-3 a day prior.

2…Hits by the Tigers-both singles by Micah Gibbs-through the first six innings off Razorback starter Drew Smyly, who left after 6 IP with a 5-1 lead.

0…Games won by Kansas since winning 2 of 3 games vs. LSU.  The Jayhawks dropped four games vs. Tulane and St. Louis last week after their March 12-14 series win in Baton Rouge.

12…RBIs with 3 home runs in four games last week by St. Louis 1B Danny Brock.  The son of former Big Leaguer Greg Brock leads the Billikens in batting average (.405) HR (10) RBIs (36) and slg. % (.892) through 20 games this season.

9…Innings pitched and strikeouts-both career-highs-by Michigan State pitcher A.J. Achter (2-0) in Saturday’s 13-0 win over Notre Dame.

5…Errors committed by the Fighting Irish in that game, leading to 7 unearned runs scored by the Spartans.

6 & 1…Strikeouts and hits allowed by Ball State reliever Perci Garner in Saturday’s 5-1 win over Louisville to hand UL (17-2) just its second overall loss and first home loss of 2010.

1-for-20…What Louisville’s 4 through 9 batters combined to hit in that game.

141…Batters faced by Kansas State pitcher Evan Marshall without issuing a walk prior to Friday’s 3rd inning free pass in the Wildcat’s 2-1 win over Wisconsin-Milwaukee.  The sophomore’s no-walks streak spanned 29.0 innings.  He struckout a career-best eight batters in the no-decision to help K-State improve to 15-3.

11…RBIs with 4 home runs in five games last week by Florida’s Preston Tucker.  The Gator 1B homered in four straight games-the longest stretch by a UF player since 2007.  His efforts helped UF down Florida State 8-5 in a midweek game and then sweep its SEC opening series vs. Mississippi State.

2…Times Florida State scored game-winning runs in the 9th inning to take 2 of 3 games from North Carolina.  The Seminoles won 4-3 on Friday and 5-3 on Sunday.  FSU has claimed 9th inning wins 3 of the last 4 times it has faced UNC.

12…Nation-leading home runs by Central Florida outfielder Chris Duffy.  He also tops the nation with 39 RBIs.

3…Sacrifice flies last week by Duffy after none in his first three seasons at UCF.

BIG Ten/BIG EAST Challenge All-Tournament Team

CollegeBaseball360.com – in conjunction with coaches and media-relations representatives from the 20 teams – has selected the all-tournament team for the 2010 Big Ten/BIG EAST Challenge (held Feb. 26-28, in the St. Petersburg, Fla., area). The selections include 11 first-teamers, 11 second-teamers and seven honorable mention.

Selections were based on statistics during the three games, in addition to other criteria such as clutch play, defensive contributions, team leadership and other intangibles. The honorees include at least one from all 20 participating teams, led by three from Louisville and two each from seven other teams (Cincinnati, Iowa, Michigan State, Northwestern, Ohio State, St. John’s and Villanova).

Shortstop Joe Panik (pictured) helped St. John’s join Louisville as the only 3-0 teams at the Big Ten/BIG EAST Challenge. Panik batted 5-for-8 with 3 walks (also reached twice via HBP) and factored into nearly half of  SJU’s total runs (6 of 13) during the tournament. … Note: eight other teams went 2-1: Cincinnati, Connecticut, Iowa, Michigan State, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State and Villanova.

The all-tournament selections feature 11 juniors, nine sophomores, five seniors, three freshmen and a fifth-year senior. Four are New Jersey natives and four more are from Ohio, plus three from Kentucky, two each from California, Indiana, Illinois, New York and Pennsylvania – and one each from Florida, Iowa, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

The honorees include one pure leadoff hitter, two that batted in the #2 spot all weekend, a pair of 3-hole hitters and three cleanup batters (plus two 5-hole hitters, one 6-hole, two 7-hole, one 9-hole and six who batted in multiple lineup spots during the tournament).

Ohio State pitcher Alex Wimers is the only repeat selection to the Challenge all-tournament team. (Note: all class years referenced below refer to academic standing … additional headshots and action photos will be added to this release, time permitting).

2010 Big Ten/BIG EAST Challenge All-Tournament Team

(presented by CollegeBaseball360.com)

First-team position players included (top row, from left): Kevin Plawecki, Jerrud Sabourin, Matt Dittman, Adam Duvall and Joe Panik … (bottom row, from left) Stewart Ijames, Michael Stephens and Matt Szczur (the all-tournament first-team pitchers are pictured below).

First Team
C – #26 Kevin Plawecki (Purdue, fr., 7-hole … Carmel, IN)
… hit .700 (7-for-10 … 3 RBI, 2 R, 2 2B, BB, HBP, SB, E)
1B – #35 Jerrud Sabourin (Indiana, jr., 3-hole … San Diego, CA)
… hit .462 (6-for-13 … 4 RBI, 3 R, 2 2B, BB, 2 K)
1B – #17 Matt Dittman (Illinois, jr., cleanup … Libertyville, IL
… hit .667 (6-for-9, 3 RBI, 4 R, 2B, 2 BB, HBP, SB, 3K)
2B – #30 Adam Duvall (Louisville, sr., 2-hole … Louisville, KY)
… hit .500 (6-for-12, 4 RBI, 4 R, HR, 3 2B, BB, SAC, K, E)
SS – #2 Joe Panik (St. John’s, so., 5-hole … Hopewell Junction, NY)
… hit .625 (5-for-8, 2 RBI, 4 R, 3B, 2B, 3 BB, 2 HBP, 2K, E)
LF – #5 Stewart Ijames (Louisville, jr., 7-hole … Owensboro, KY)
… hit .500 (5-for-10, 3 RBI, 2 R, HR, 2B, BB, K, CS)
CF – #24 Michael Stephens (Ohio State, sr., cleanup … Victorville, CA)
… hit .667 (6-for-9 … 4 RBI, 4 R, HR, 2 2B, 2 BB, HBP, SB, SB, 2K, E)
RF – #20 Matt Szczur (Villanova, jr., leadoff … Erma, NJ)
… hit .600 (9-for-15, RBI, 6 R, 3B, 2B, 2K, CS)
UTIL (2B/RHP)–#14 Zach Morton (Northwestern, so., 9-hole; Rothschild, WI)
… hit .429 (3-for-7, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB, SAC, E
… 0.00 ERA, 0-1,  1 GS, 6 IP, 2 UER, 6 H, BB,  BK, 3K, .250 opp. batting
RHP – #18 Thomas Royse (Louisville, jr. … Lexington, KY)
… 0.00 ERA, 1-0, 1 GS, 6 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 2 BB, 9 K, .100 opp. batting
RHP (relief) – #47 Brian Sand (Cincinnati, sr. … Cincinnati, OH)
… 0.00 ERA, 1-0, 1 GP, 5 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 1 HB, 1K, .000 opp. batting

(from left) The 2010 Big Ten/BIG EAST Challenge first team all-tournament pitchers include Northwestern two-way player Zach Morton, Louisville game-1 starter Thomas Royse and Cincinnati’s Brian Sand (whose 5.0 shutout relief innings earned him the win vs. Ohio State).

Second Team
C/DH – #33 Ben Heath (Penn State, jr., cleanup … Huntersville, NC)
… hit .333 (6-for-18, 4 RBI, 6 R, 3 HR, 2 2B, 4K)
1B – #29 Mike Nemeth (Connecticut, jr., 5-hole … Washington, NJ)
… hit .500 (5-for-10, 3 RBI, 3 R, 2B, BB, 2K, E)
2B – #2 T.J. Jones (Cincinnati, so., 3/2-hole … Cincinnati, OH)
… hit .462 (6-for-13, 5 RBI, 4 R, 2B, 2 BB, HBP, 2E)
SS – #1 AJ Pettersen (Minnesota, so., 2-hole/leadoff … Minnetonka, MN)
… hit .455 (5-for-11, 3 RBI, 2 R, 2 2B, BB, HBP, SF)
3B – #12 Andrew Carpenter (Michigan State, so., 7/8-hole … Dayton, OH)
… hit .462 (6-for-13, 4 RBI, 3 R, 2B, SF, 4K)
LF – #18 Jeremy Baltz (St. John’s, fr., 6-hole … Vestal, NY)
… hit .462 (6-for-13, 2 RBI, 2 R, HR, 2K, 2 GDP)
CF/RF – #16 Ryan Durant (Iowa, sr., 3-hole … Eldridge, IA)
hit .545 (6-for-11, 6 RBI, 2 R, HR, 2B, BB, 2 SF, 3K)
RHP – #14 Alex Wimmers (Ohio State … jr., Cincinnati, OH
… 1.12 ERA, 1-0, 1 GS, 8 IP, 2 R/1 ER, 5 H, BB, WP, 6K,  .179 opp. batting
LHP – #32 Jarred Hippen (Iowa, so. … Rock Falls, IL)
… 3.12 ERA, 1-0, 1 GS, 8.2 IP, 3 R, 6 H, BB, 8K,  .188 opp. batting
LHP – #23 Kyle Helisek (Villanova, so. … Cranberry Township, PA)
… 1.29 ERA, 1-0, 1 GS, 7 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 5 BB, 2 K,  .167 opp. batting
RHP (relief) – #32 Chris Enourato (West Virginia, sr. … Bridgeport, WV)
… 0.00 ERA, 1-0, 1 GP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 7 K, .154 opp. batting

Honorable Mention
1B–#38 Casey Martin (Notre Dame, 5th-yr. sr., cleanup/7-hole; Charleston, IN)
… hit .556 (5-for-9, R, BB, E)
LF – #3 Junior Carlin (South Florida, jr., 2-hole … Riverview, FL)
… hit .462 (6-for-13, 2 RBI, 2 R, HBP, K)
LF – #7 Pat Biserta (Rutgers, jr., 2/6-hole … Pt. Pleasant Boro, NJ)
… hit .357 (5-for-14, 3 RBI, 2 R, HR, SB, K)
LF – #34 Quentin Williams (Northwestern, so., 7/8-hole … Pittsburgh, PA)
… hit .556 (5-for-9, 2 RBI, R, HR, 2K)
RHP – #29 Jon Prosinski (Seton Hall, fr. … Skillman, NJ)
… 0.00 ERA, 1-0, 1 GS, 6 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 2 BB, BK, 6K, .211 opp. batting
RHP – #26 Kurt Wunderlich (Michigan State, jr. … Des Peres, MO)
… 0.00 ERA, 1-0, 1 GS, 7 IP, 0 R, 4 H, BB, HB, 6K, .174 opp. batting
RHP (relief) – #17 Brandon Sinnery (Michigan, so. … Worcester, MA)
… 0.00 ERA, 0-0, SV, 2 GP, 5 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 6 K, .067 .opp batting

Day-3 Notebook from Big Ten/BIG EAST Challenge

The BIG EAST kept rolling on Sunday, winning 7-of-10 games for the second straight day to claim the series by a 17-13 margin (after trailing 6 games to 1 heading into Friday night).

BIG TEN/BIG EAST CHALLENGE – Day-3 Results
(Feb. 28, 2010 … BIG EAST 7-3 margin for the day, won series 17-13)
(BIG EAST wins in italics)

GAME 30 – Cincinnati 12, Ohio State 4 (Naimoli Complex)
FINAL STATS |  CIN Recap |  OSU Recap

GAME 29 – St. John’s 6, Illinois 4 (Naimoli Complex)
FINAL STATS |  SJU Recap |  ILL Recap

GAME 28 – Michigan 4, South Florida 2  (Naimoli Complex)
FINAL STATS |  MICH RECAP |  USF Recap

GAME 27 – Iowa 11, Villanova 2  (Jack Russell Stadium)
FINAL STATS |  IOWA Recap |  VILL Recap

GAME 26 – Michigan State 17, West Virginia 5  (Al Lang Stadium)
FINAL STATS |  MSU Recap |  WVU Recap

GAME 25 – Louisville 5, Minnesota 4 (Naimoli Complex)
FINAL STATS |  LOU Recap |  MINN Recap

GAME 24 – Connecticut 9, Indiana 5 (Naimoli Complex)
FINAL STATS |  UConn Recap |  IU Recap

GAME 23 – Notre Dame 9, Penn State 8  (10 innings … Naimoli Complex)
FINAL STATS |  ND Recap |  PSU Recap

GAME 22 – Rutgers 6, Purdue 5  (Jack Russell Stadium)
FINAL STATS |  RU Recap |  PUR Recap

GAME 21 – Seton Hall 3, Northwestern 0  (Al Lang Stadium)
FINAL STATS |  SHU Recap |  NU Recap

• • • • •

CollegeBaseball360.com again is compiling full tournament stats and will be announcing the Big Ten/BIG EAST Challenge all-tournament team (hopefully sometime tonight, assuming we have received all the game files), in addition to posting detailed tournament stats (team and individual) in PDF format. Check out the 23 players listed below – led by three each from Ohio State and Villanova – who each were batting .500 or better (min. 5 ABs) through the first two days of competition:

20201 Big Ten/BIG EAST Challenge Top Hitters (after day-2)
(tournament stats provided courtesy of CollegeBaseball360.com)

.750 – #35 Jerred Sabourin (Indiana, 3-hole, jr., 1B) … 6–for (4RBI, 2R, 2 2B, BB)

.727 – #20 Matt Szczur (Villanova, leadoff, jr., RF) … 8-for-11 (RBI, 5R, 3B, 2B, 0-1 SB, 2K)

.714 – #17 Matt Dittman (Illinois, cleanup, jr., 1B) … 5-for-7 (3RBI, 2R, 2B, BB, 2K)

.714 – #24 Michael Stephens (Ohio St., cleanup, sr., CF) … 5-7 (2RBI, 3R, 2 2B, BB, SB, SF, 2K)

.714 – #26 Kevin Plawecki (Purdue, 7-hole, fr., C) … 4-for-6 (RBI, R, 2B, BB, HBP, SB)

.667 – #34 Quentin Williams (Northwestern, 7/8-hole, so., LF) … 4-for-6 (2 RBI, R, HR, K)

.571 – #30 Adam Duvall (Louisville, 2-hole, sr., 2B) … 4-for-7 (3 RBI, 3 R, HR, 2 2B, BB, SAC, K)

.571 – #5 Stewart Ijames (Louisville, 7-hole, jr., LF) … 4-for-7 (3 RBI, 2 R, HR, 2B, K, CS)

.556 – #23 Ryan Dew (Ohio St., 5-hole, sr., DH) … 5-for-9 (2 RBI, 4 R, 2B, K)

.500 – #19 Arby Fields (Northwestern, 2-hole, fr., CF) … 5-for-10 (3 RBI, K)

.500 – #30 Jon Moore (Purdue, 2-hole, sr., CF) … 5-for-10 (RBI, 2 R, 2B, 2 K)

.500 – #18 Justin Gominsky (Minnesota, leadoff, so., CF) … 4-for-8 (RBI, R, 2 2B, 2 K)

.500 – #7 Chris Fontenelli (Seton Hall, 5th-yr. sr., 8-hole, 2B) … 4-for-8 (2 R, BB, SAC, 2K)

.500– #23 Michael Glantz (Penn St., 7-hole, jr., SS) … 4-for-8 (RBI, R, BB, SAC, 2K)

.500 – #25 Paul Snieder (Northwestern, 5-hole, so., DH/P) … 4-for-8 (2R, BB, HBP, 4K)

.500 – #44 Matt Fleishman (Villanova, 5-hole, so., LF) … 4-for-8 (RBI, 2R, 2 2B, BB, 2K)

.500 – #1 Drew Haynes (Louisville, 9-hole, jr., CF)  … 3-for-6 (2 RBI, 3R, 2B, BB, CS)

.500 – #2 Joe Panik (St. John’s, 5-hole, so., SS) … 3-for-6 (2 RBI, 2R, 3B, 2B, 2BB, HBP, 2K)

.500 – #3 Brandon Hohl (Illinois, 8-hole, fr., 3B) … 3-for-6 (2 RBI, R, 2K, GDP)

.500 – #9 Trevor Willis (Iowa, 8-hole, jr., LF) … 3-for-6 (3B, 2B, BB, SAC, 2K)

.500 – #1 Tyler Engle (Ohio St., 9-hole, jr., SS) … 3-for-6 (RBI, R, 2B, BB)

.500 – #22 Justin Bencsko (Villanova, 2-hole, sr., CF) … 3-for-6 (5R, 2B, 3BB, 2SB, 2 SAC, GDP)

.500 – #22 Mike Olt (UConn, cleanup, jr., 3B) … 3-for-6 (RBI, 2R, 3BB, SB, SF, 2K)

Day-2 Notebook (2010 Big Ten/BIG EAST Challenge)

BIG TEN/BIG EAST CHALLENGE – Day-2 Results
(Feb. 27, 2010 … BIG EAST 7-3 margin for the day, series tied 10-10)
(BIG EAST wins in italics)

GAME 20 – Louisville 17, Michigan State 6  (Jack Russell Stadium)
FINAL STATS |  LOU Recap |  MSU Recap

GAME 19 – St. John’s 2, Michigan 1  (Al Lang Stadium)
FINAL STATS |  SJU Recap |  MICH Recap

GAME 18 – South Florida 12, Illinois 3  (Bright House Networks Field)
FINAL STATS |  USF Recap |  ILL Recap

GAME 17 – Ohio State 10, Notre Dame 2  (Bright House Networks Field)
FINAL STATS |  OSU Recap |  ND Recap

GAME 16 – Northwestern 7, Rutgers 5  (Naimoli Complex)
FINAL STATS |  NU Recap |  RU Recap

GAME 15 – Cincinnati 7, Purdue 6  (Jack Russell Stadium)
FINAL STATS |  CIN Recap |  PUR Recap

GAME 14 – Connecticut 8, Minnesota 2  (Al Lang Stadium)
FINAL STATS |  UConn Recap |  MINN Recap

GAME 13 – West Virgnia 9, Iowa 5  (Naimoli Complex)
FINAL STATS |  WVU Recap |  IOWA Recap

GAME 12 – Penn State 3, Seton Hall  2 … 13 inn.  (Jack Russell Stadium)
FINAL STATS |  PSU Recap |  SHU Recap

GAME 11 – Villanova 8, Indiana 1  (Al Lang Stadium)
FINAL STATS |  VILL Recap |  IU Recap

Big Ten/BIG EAST Challenge Day-1 Notebook

Big Ten wins 7-of-10 games on day-1 (note: day-1 notes will be continually added to this post, in blog post format)

2:54 p.m. (2/27/10) – Game-3 highlightes and notes:

Seton Hall     001  200  000  –  3  6  2
Michigan State 000  011  12X  –  5  5  0

MSU Notes – Jr. RHP A.J. Achter 5.1IP-3R-5H-2BB-8K … so. LHP Trevor Popp (W-3.2IP-H-BB-3K) … tying run in 7th, 2R in 8th: sr LF Bo Felt/6-hole RBI triple, so. 3B/8-hole Andrew Carpenter (2RBI-R) added RBI single

SHU Notes – Jr RHP Joe DiRocco 5.1 IP-2R/1 ER-2H-3BB-4K … jr. 3B/7-hole Sean Gusrang solo HR … sr. 1B/5-hole Chris Spagnuolo 2-run 2B

• • • • •

1:02 p.m. (2/27/10) – Game-2 highlightes and notes:

Connecticut   000   040   100   0  –  5  10   4
Northwestern  001   004   000   1  –  6  12   3

NU NOTES – So. DH/RHP Paul Snieder (5-hole) scored winning run in 10th (2-for-4/2R-BB; middle relief 2.2IP-2H-3BB-K) … winning sequence in 10th: Snieder leadoff 1B to CF, Colby Everett SAC, so. IF/9-hole Zach Morton 2-out 1B to RF (2-for-3, 2 RBI-R-BB-SAC) … sr. LHP starter Jack Muraski 6.1IP-5R-7H-2BB … game had 8 combined errors

UCONN NOTES – So. CF/3-hole George Springer 3RBI-R-BB-2B-SF … jr. LHP Elliot Glynn 5IP-R-5H-BB-5K … 4R in 5th (4-1 lead) … both teams 10 LOB (UConn left man on 2nd in 8th-9th-10th) … so. RHP Ryan Thompson (L) 0.2IP-R-2H-BB

• • • • •

11:32 a.m. (2/27/10) – Game-1 highlightes and notes:

Rutgers    010   010   001  –  3    7   0
Iowa       101   010   03X  –  6   11   0

TOP IOWA PLAYERS: so. LHP Jarrod Hippen 8.2IP-3R-6H-BB-8K … jr. SS/9-hole Kurt Lee 2-3/2RBI-R-2B-SAC-SB … jr. LF/9-hole Kurt McCool 2-3/2R-3B-SAC

RUTGERS NOTES: sr. RHP Casey Gaynor (L) 6.1IP-3R-8H-BB-5K … jr. 1B/cleanup Jared Matthews 3B/R…jr. RF/leadoff Michael Lang RBI 2B … sr. catcher/7-hole Jayson Hernandez 2-out RBI single in 9th, brought tying run to plate (Iowa jr. RHP Kevin Lee rolle up game-ending 6-4 groundout from pinch-hitter Ryan Kapp)

• • • • •

10:29 p.m. (2/26/10) – Day-1 scores and links

The first day of competition in the second Big Ten/BIG EAST Baseball Challenge is complete, with the Big Ten winning 7-of-10 games to take a four-game cushion into Saturday’s series of 10 more games (followed by 10 more on Sunday, the tournament’s final day).

The Big Ten outscored the BIG EAST by only 10 runs (56-46), with the day’s action featuring three 1-run games (two of them in extra innings and four others decided by 2-run margins (plus one 3-run game). The BIG EAST had one blowout win (Villanova 13, Purdue 5), while the Big Ten posted the day’s biggest margin when Illinois defeated Notre Dame, 11-1.

BIG TEN/BIG EAST CHALLENGE – Day-1 Results
(Feb. 26, 2010 … Big Ten won 7-of-10)
(BIG EAST wins in italics)

GAME 10 – Louisville 2, Michigan 0  (Dunedin Staduim)
FINAL STATS |  LOU Recap |  MICH Recap

GAME 9 – Illinois 11, Notre Dame 1  (Jack Russell Stadium)
FINAL STATS |  ILL Recap |  ND Recap

GAME 8 – Ohio State 4, South Florida 2  (Al Lang Stadium)
FINAL STATS |  OSU Recap |  USF Recap

GAME 7 – St. John’s 5, Minnesota 4  (Dunedin Stadium)
FINAL STATS |  SJU Recap |  MINN Recap

GAME 6 – Villanova 13, Purdue 5  (Naimoli Complex)
FINAL STATS |  VILL Recap |  PUR Recap

GAME 5 – Indiana 10, West Virginia 8  (Jack Russell Stadium)
FINAL STATS |  IU Recap |  WVU Recap

GAME 4 – Penn State 5, Cincinnati 4 … 12 innings  (Al Lang Stadium)
FINAL STATS |  PSU Recap |  CIN Recap

GAME 3 – Michigan State 5, Seton Hall 3  (Naimoli Complex)
FINAL STATS |  MSU Recap |  SHU Recap

GAME 2 – Northwestern 6, Connecticut 5 … 10 inn. (Jack Russell Stadium)
FINAL STATS |  NU Recap |  UConn Recap

GAME 1 – Iowa 6, Rutgers 3  (Al Lang Stadium
FINAL STATS |  Iowa Recap |  RU Recap

Minnesota 2010 Baseball Schedule

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

Minnesota’s 2010 schedule features one non-conference team that competed in the

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)

West Virginia 2010 Baseball Schedule

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University Director of Athletics Ed Pastilong has announced the 2010 baseball schedule, highlighted by 32 home games and five matchups against 2009 NCAA Tournament participants.

“Coach Greg Van Zant has put together one of his most competitive schedules to date,” Pastilong said. “We are looking forward to another year of exciting baseball that features several quality opponents and some very challenging early-season tournaments.”

West Virginia opens the season with three competitive tournaments. The Mountaineers start off with the Caravelle Resort Tournament in Conway, S.C., featuring games against 2009 NCAA Tournament qualifier Coastal Carolina, Kentucky and Virginia Tech on Feb. 19-21.

WVU then makes a trip to the second annual Big Ten/BIG EAST Challenge in Clearwater/St. Petersburg, Fla., from Feb.

26-March 1. West Virginia will compete against reigning Big Ten champion Indiana, Iowa, Michigan State and will play an additional game against Purdue.

Complete 2010 West Virginia Schedule

The final early-season tournament is the Keith LeClair Classic in Greenville, N.C., from March 5-7. West Virginia faces Western Carolina, then battles 2009 Super Regional qualifier East Carolina before finishing with Illinois.

“All three of our tournaments are ranked as some of the top tournaments in the country,” Van Zant said. “We’re going to see some real good teams early in the season, and we’re looking forward to playing against them. We’re really going to be challenged these first 10 games.”

The Mountaineers make a return trip to Charleston, W.Va., to play Eastern Kentucky in the Mountaineer Diamond Classic at Appalachian Power Park on April 13. Last season’s contest in Southern West Virginia against Kentucky featured a capacity crowd of 2,452 that saw WVU defeat the Wildcats, 10-7.

“We always look forward to playing in our state capital,” Van Zant added. “Last year we had a great turnout and a huge win over Kentucky. We can’t wait to return to Charleston and play a different opponent in Eastern Kentucky, which is a strong program out of the Ohio Valley Conference.”

WVU’s Big East schedule includes five home series against NCAA Super Regional qualifier Louisville (April 16-18), Notre Dame (May 8-9), Big East postseason runner-up Connecticut (April 1-3), Pitt (April 23-25) and Villanova (May 20-22). The Mountaineers will play Seton Hall (March 26-28), St. John’s (April 9-11), Cincinnati (April 30-May 2) and Georgetown (May 14-16) on the road.

“The Big East schedule is always difficult, and this year we’ve got five of our opponents at home,” Van Zant mentioned. “It’s a big plus to have that extra weekend at home and all our games in the conference will be tough. We do feel that we have a real attractive home schedule.”

Also mixed into the non-conference portion is another matchup against Atlantic Coast Conference rival Maryland on April 7 in College Park, Md. The Mountaineers and Terrapins have played each other in five of the last eight seasons.

WVU plays host to a two-game series against defending MEAC champion and NCAA Tournament participant Bethune-Cookman from May 11-12.

West Virginia finished 37-18 last season, its best overall mark since 1998. The Mountaineers finished third in the BIG EAST and amassed 17 conference victories, its second-most since joining the BIG EAST in 1996.

Last year’s squad also set school records for batting average (.360), RBIs (491), doubles (161), extra base hits (242) and runs scored (525).

(Release)

Samford 2010 Baseball Schedule

Bulldogs open the 2010 season on Feb. 19 vs. Marshall

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Home games against SEC opponents Auburn and Alabama, and against Big 10 opponents Michigan State and Minnesota highlight Samford’s 2010 baseball schedule, released by head coach Casey Dunn on Tuesday.

“We are excited about our schedule, especially our home schedule,” Dunn said. “We were able to get Alabama and Auburn in home-and-homes again this year. We feel like it is important for our program to play the teams in our state, including UAB, Troy and Jacksonville State.”

Samford opens the 2010 schedule with a four-game series against the Marshall Thundering Herd. The teams will play

single games on Feb. 19 and 21, and a doubleheader on Feb. 20.

Complete 2010 Samford Schedule

“We’ve brought in some quality non-conference opponents,” Dunn said. “We’re bringing in Marshall out of Conference USA and also Minnesota and Michigan State out of the Big 10. These are teams that play good baseball but who people in our state are not used to seeing on a regular basis. We feel like the strength of our non-conference schedule should be great for us as we prepare for a tough conference schedule.”

The Bulldogs will play their next four games on the road. Samford plays at Troy on Feb. 23, and then plays a three-game series at Kennesaw State Feb. 26-28.

Samford will play host to the University of Alabama on Mar. 2. The Bulldogs and the Crimson Tide will square off at 6 p.m. at Joe Lee Griffin Field.

Samford will welcome Evansville to Joe Lee Griffin Field for a three-game series Mar. 5-7. The Bulldogs will play host to the first of two Big 10 opponents when they take on Michigan State on Mar. 9 at 6 p.m.

After paying at in-state rival Jacksonville State on Mar. 10, Samford will open Southern Conference play at College of Charleston, Mar. 12-14.

“This is a great conference with very good baseball,” Dunn said as his team prepares for its second season as a member of the Southern Conference. “We are excited about year two in the league. We are excited about the opportunity to compete and we feel like we have a Southern Conference caliber team this year.”

Samford will then play its next nine games at home. The Bulldogs will play host to Jacksonville State on Mar. 16, and they will play a four-game series with Minnesota Mar. 18-21.

Samford will play host to Auburn University on Mar. 23. The game between the Bulldogs and the Tigers is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start from Joe Lee Griffin Field.

Samford will host its first home conference series of the season Mar. 26-28, when the Bulldogs take on the Furman Paladins. The following weekend, Apr. 1-3, Samford will play at SoCon foe Davidson.

The Bulldogs will return home on Apr. 6, when Samford hosts in-state rival Troy at 6 p.m. at Joe Lee Griffin Field.

Samford will then play host to the UNC Greensboro Spartans in another SoCon series, Apr. 9-11. After playing a midweek game at Alabama, Apr. 13, Samford will travel to Georgia Southern for a conference series Apr. 16-18.

Next up, Samford will play two midweek games against cross-town rival UAB. The teams will play Apr. 20 at UAB’s Young Memorial Field, and Apr. 21 at Samford’s Joe Lee Griffin Field.

The weekend of Apr. 23-25, the Bulldogs will play host to Appalachian State in a league series. After playing at Auburn on Apr. 27, the Bulldogs will play host to The Citadel in a SoCon series Apr. 30-May 2.

The Bulldogs will play at conference foe Wofford, May 7-9, and then Samford will play its final home games in a SoCon series against Western Carolina, May 14-16.

Samford will wrap up its regular season with a SoCon series at Elon. The Bulldogs and Phoenix will meet May 19-21 in Elon, N.C.

The 2010 SoCon Baseball Tournament is scheduled for May 26-30 in Charleston, S.C.

(Release)

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