UAB To Open Season Feb. 23 At Mississippi State

UAB head coach Brian Shoop

title in 2008.

Complete 2010 UAB Schedule

“We think it’s important to play great teams, and we’ve taken a trip like this every year,” UAB head coach Brian Shoop said. “We’re to the point now where we feel like we can compete at that level. It allows our guys the opportunity and forces them into the challenge of playing the best in the country. I think as long as you continue to improve mentally, you get better in every aspect by doing that.

“And that will certainly be good preparation for the remainder of our schedule, which is always tough. There are no easy wins out there.”

The Blazers’ early-season schedule also includes home weekend series with Ball State (Feb. 26-28), Eastern Illinois (March 5-7) and Western Illinois (March 19-21). Ball State won the Mid-American Conference West Division a season ago, and Eastern Illinois, the defending Ohio Valley Conference regular season champion, is receiving votes in the preseason Collegiate Baseball poll. UAB also has a home series later in the season against Manhattan (April 24-25), the defending Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regular season champion.

The Ball State and Eastern Illinois series are part of a season-long nine-game homestand that follows UAB’s season-opening midweek game Feb. 23 at SEC foe Mississippi State.

The Blazers get into Conference USA play March 26-28 with a home series against 2009 College World Series participant in Southern Mississippi. The home league slate also features series at Young Memorial Field against Marshall (April 9-11), Houston (April 30-May 2) and Tulane (May 14-16).

UAB will go on the road for conference series at UCF (April 2-3), defending regular-season champion East Carolina (April 16-18), Memphis (May 7-9) and perennial power Rice (May 20-22).

The 24-game league schedule builds toward the 2010 Conference USA Championship, slated for May 26-29 at Houston’s Cougar Field. The tournament has been reformatted to include the top six finishers in a pool play tournament. Previously, the event featured eight teams in a traditional double-elimination bracket.

The Blazers’ 2010 midweek slate is highlighted by home-and-home matchups with in-state rivals Alabama, Troy, Samford and Jacksonville State. For the fifth straight year, UAB will host Alabama at Regions Park, home of the Double-A Birmingham Barons, when the teams meet on March 31. UAB and Jacksonville State will meet four times in midweek games, twice in Birmingham and twice in Jacksonville.

(Release)

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

St. Mary's Head Coach Jedd Soto

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

Complete 2010 St.Mary’s Schedule (PDF)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Release)

BGSU Head Coach Danny Schmitz

season and defending their home field with an 81 percent success rate. The Cardinal pitching staff led the Big East in team ERA (4.32) as well as in homeruns (85) and total bases (1,124). Last year UL swept BG in a three game set by a combined score of 33-12.

Complete 2010 Bowling Green Schedule

The road trip through Ohio’s southern neighbor continues with three games against the University of Kentucky. Though UK baseball finished fifth in the SEC East Division, College Baseball Newspaper has tabbed the Wildcats as having the sixth-best recruiting class in the nation, an honor the program has received two years in a row.

To open the month of March the Falcons will head further south to the former home of the Cleveland Indians spring training program, Winter Haven, Florida. The Falcons will spend nine days (March 5-14) in Winter Haven and play as many games during that span. Only two of the eight opposing teams return for this year’s Russ Matt Central Florida Invitational with Indiana and Sacred Heart, but six very skilled teams will visit to provide the Falcons some tough competition.

The Falcons will take the field against Northeastern, who finished the 2009 season with a 28-25 overall mark, to open their slate during the invitational. The next three days will feature match ups against Rhode Island, Butler and Sacred Heart. Those three teams sport a combined record of 77-89-1 from a season ago with Rhode Island garnering the most success following a 37-20-1 campaign a season ago. After enjoying an off-day at the mid-way point of the week long trip, the Falcons will head back into battle against the Ivy League’s Yale University for a double-header against the Bulldogs. North Dakota State and Indiana will round out the schedule for the duration of the tournament before the Brown and Orange return to Bowling Green.

Last year, the Falcons finished 5-3 during their stay in Winter Haven with signature wins over Bradley in extra innings and against 2010 recurring opponent Eastern Kentucky University. Of the two teams that the Falcons will play in back-to-back years in the tournament, Indiana and Sacred Heart, the Falcons were 1-1 in games against those opponents having lost to the Hoosiers 15-7 and defeating the Pioneers in a pitcher’s duel, 1-0.
Bowling Green will bring baseball back to northwest Ohio when they open their home schedule with a local rival in the Findlay Oilers. The Falcons will engage in a battle for I-75 South on March 16 at Warren E. Stellar Field for the home opener. Bowling Green has won their last ten home openers at Warren Steller Field and has not lost since a 7-6 defeat to the Wright State Raiders in the 1999 season opener.

Schmitz and Company continue to yield southern hospitality as the team travels east straight from EKU to play another Big East team in the West Virginia Mountaineers. The Mountaineers finished third in the Big East last season and only lost five games at home. The Falcons had not played a Big East team since 2008 when the Falcons fell to Villanova 10-8 in Bradenton, FL. This year, the teams will meet at a neutral site at VA Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe, Ohio.

Of the early non-conference schedule, head coach Danny Schmitz said, “This is probably the toughest schedule we’ve put together. It is a schedule that we wanted to challenge our team with. We’re doing that for a reason. We have to get ourselves ready for conference play because the Mid-American Conference is an outstanding baseball conference.”

Schmitz continued, “We have high expectations [of the players]. You still have to earn it each day you cross the white lines. This schedule is going to be very, very competitive. We hope our kids are going to be up to the task.”

With their return back to Falcon country, BGSU will open its conference slate with MAC West foe Central Michigan on March 24. It will be the only time the Chippewas and the Falcons will play in 2010 but will ready Bowling Green for a home weekend set with Northern Illinois beginning two days later.

Bowling Green will step out of conference again to play Atlantic-10 power house Dayton for a single showdown to close out the month of March. The Dragons and Falcons have had three of their last five matchups cancelled due to weather since 2007. In those two matchups, the Dragons have come out on top both times. In their lone matchup in 2007, the Falcons took the Dragons to 12 innings before losing 8-7 in an extra-inning thriller.

The next four contests between April 2 and April 6 will take the Falcons into Michigan for a three-game series against Eastern Michigan. BG will then hop on the bus to East Lansing, MI. for its first contest with a Big Ten opponent in the Michigan State Spartans. Since 2001, Bowling Green has a 15-19 record when playing in the state of Michigan with nearly as many weather cancellations as wins.

The Falcons will then embark on their final game with a Michigan school against Michigan on April 14. Last year the Falcons beat the Wolverines 8-3 after not having played them since the 2002 season when the Falcons lost 4-3.

Right across the border heading back into Ohio, MAC rival Toledo will be waiting for the visiting Falcons for a weekend series to be held in the Glass City. Bowling Green possess 102 wins against Toledo over their 88 year rivalry. That stands as the most wins BGSU has over any school they have played in program history.

After back-to-back home games against Dayton and Western Michigan on April 20-21, the Falcons hit the road again, this time going to Athens for three games against Ohio and then heading to northeast Ohio for the season finale versus Cleveland State.

Six consecutive Mid-American conference home games follow on the Falcon schedule when Bowling Green plays host to the Miami Redhawks and Akron Zips to close out April heading into the first week of May (April 30-May 9).

For the first time since April 26, 2006 the Falcons will head back to South Bend, Ind. for a single out-of-conference game with the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. The last time Bowling Green took the trip to South Bend the Falcons outscored the Irish 11-8 on their home field. That win had broken a ten game winless streak against Notre Dame since 1990.

Bowling Green then heads to Kent, Ohio to take on the once nationally ranked Golden Flashes, who had taken two-of-three from the Falcons in 2009. Kent State finished one game behind the Falcons in the MAC standings last year after ranking second in the conference in team pitching as well as in team batting, finishing behind Bowling Green.

Another Horizon League team will come to the Falcons’ territory when the Penguins of Youngstown State come to Steller Field on May 18. Despite a 16-35 record a season ago, the Penguins return six of eight regular position players from their starting lineup and all three of their starting pitchers from last season.

“I think year in and year out there are some outstanding teams,” said Schmitz on the quality of MAC baseball this year. “Kent State as well as OU will be very strong again this year. Miami (OH) was a little young last year, but they’ve gained a lot of experience. We finished off the season with Akron and had a heck of a battle with them for three games and we expect Akron to be very much improved. You really have to bring the ‘A-game’ this year.”

This year the Mid-American Conference Tournament will be held in Chillicothe, Ohio at VA Memorial Stadium. Should the Falcons win a bid to be in field of eight MAC teams to participate in the tournament, they will return to the same field that they are scheduled to play West Virginia earlier in the season.

(Release)

MACOMB, Ill – Western Illinois University has announced the hiring of Mike Villano as its new head baseball coach, Monday, Nov. 23.

Mike Villano (Courtesy CMU)

eight seasons.

“This is a bittersweet announcement in that we will always remember Stan Hyman as a great person and a great baseball coach,” Western Illinois Director of Athletics Dr. Tim M. Van Alstine said.

“However, I am pleased to announce that Mike Villano will continue in Stan’s footsteps as the new Leatherneck baseball coach. Mike has an impressive and extensive background that spans from his time as a student-athlete to his professional playing career and his time as a coach.”

Villano spent the past six seasons at Central Michigan University, where he served as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator and spent last season as the team’s hitting coach.

“I am very excited about this great opportunity at Western Illinois,” Villano said. “I believe the program has tremendous potential because of its location in an area of the country that produces many great baseball players.”

Under his guidance, the Chippewa pitching staff led the Mid-American Conference in team ERA in 2008 (4.62) and 2005 (3.31). His pitching staff finished second in the MAC and 14th nationally in ERA (3.71) while also finishing second in the conference in opponent batting average (.256) and strikeouts (387) during the 2007 campaign.

His 2007 staff included the MAC Pitcher of the Year in Josh Collmenter, who was eventually drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

On the recruiting trail, Villano helped compile a class that was ranked 27th nationally and first in the Midwest Region by Collegiate Baseball in 2006. He has coached a total of 27 players who have gone on to professional careers.

The Chippewas posted an overall record 202-137 (.596) and a conference record of 99-55 (.643) in Villano’s time as an assistant.

Prior to his career at Central Michigan, Villano spent one season as the pitching coach at Oakland (Michigan) where he helped lower the pitching staff’s ERA from 7.00 in 2002 to 4.90 in 2003.

Villano enjoyed a successful playing career at both the collegiate and professional levels. He was a four-time all-conference selection as a pitcher at Saginaw Valley State University and was named as the Great Lakes Conference Freshman of the Year in 1991.

He was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 24th round of the 1994 amateur draft and played professionally for nine seasons, culminating with a Major League call-up from the Florida Marlins in 1998.

Villano earned his bachelor’s degree from Saginaw Valley State in 2001 and also earned a master’s degree in physical education from Central Michigan in 2008.

(Release)

Wildcats Face 15 NCAA Tournament Teams From 2009

Kentucky Head Coach Gary Henderson

and several difficult non-conference tests. The Wildcats will host a 29-game schedule at Cliff Hagan Stadium and play a total of 27 contests away from Lexington.

Complete 2010 Kentucky Schedule (PDF)

UK will open its 2010 campaign for the second consecutive season at Coastal Carolina (47-16, No. 28 RPI), a team that finished the season ranked in the top 25. The Chanticleers will host the Wildcats in its preseason tournament, with UK’s season opener coming against ACC power Virginia Tech (32-21, No. 50 RPI) on Feb. 19 at noon ET. UK will also face West Virginia (37-18, No. 102 RPI) for the second consecutive year on Feb. 20 at 11 a.m., before facing the host Chanticleers Feb. 21 at 3 p.m.

“I thought it was important that we test our kids early and get them ready for 10 weeks of SEC play,” Henderson said. “When we got the extra week of competition in the schedule, we were able to add the trip to Coastal Carolina, which we are really pleased about. The trip was a good experience for us last year and we are looking forward to going down there. It is obviously three very good teams and we are going to be tested early in the season.”

The Wildcats will return to Cliff Hagan Stadium for their home opener on Feb. 24, hosting in-state foe Murray State (34-21) at 4 p.m. ET, before beginning a three-game homestand Feb. 26-28 with Mid-American Conference member Bowling Green (28-22).

UK’s next test will be significant, as the Wildcats begin a four-game road swing with a stop in Morehead, Ky., to face off with the Eagles on March 2, before embarking on a trip to San Diego for three games on the west coast. UK will face 2009 NCAA Regional participant San Diego State (41-23, No. 45 RPI), coached by Tony Gwynn, on March 4 before facing traditional powers San Diego (29-25, No. 50 RPI) on March 5 and Monmouth on March 6.

“You are playing two regional teams again out in San Diego,” Henderson said. “I want the team to experience some travel and play against top level competition on the road. It is important for the team to understand what it is going to be like on the road against good teams.”

After the trip to the west coast, UK will embark on a six-game homestand that includes non-conference matchups with Evansville (25-30), IPFW (13-38) and Wright State (33-30). The Wildcats then begin the rugged SEC conference season, welcoming defending conference regular-season champion Ole Miss (44-20, No. 14 RPI) in the league opener, March 19-21 at Cliff Hagan Stadium.

“The conference is going to be extremely competitive again,” Henderson said. “We are going to have as many returning players as ever in the league. When you look at the rosters and stats from around the conference, there is no weak team. It is going to be a great challenge from week to week. It is an absolute grind, 10 weeks of tremendous competition in great environments for college baseball.”

UK will host SEC series with Ole Miss, Alabama (37-21, No. 39 RPI), Florida (42-22, No. 10 RPI), South Carolina (40-23, No. 21 RPI) and 2009 NCAA Champion LSU (56-17, No. 4 RPI) during the year. The Wildcats will take trips for SEC play to Vanderbilt (37-27, No. 27 RPI), Arkansas (41-24, No. 7 RPI), Auburn (31-25, No. 33 RPI), Tennessee (26-29, No. 58 RPI) and Georgia (38-24, No. 20 RPI).

Highlighting UK’s non-conference action are mid-week contests with 2009 NCAA Regional teams Xavier (39-21, No. 59 RPI), Western Kentucky (42-20, No. 41 RPI), Louisville (47-18, No. 17 RPI) and Indiana (32-27, No. 108 RPI). UK will also face Cincinnati (29-29) and Lipscomb (24-32), as part of its non-conference season.

UK will play rivals Murray State, Indiana, Western Kentucky, Louisville, Cincinnati and Morehead State during the season. The last few years the rivalry games have increased in fan excitement and interest, and in 2010 UK will hit the road to face Louisville in the River City, WKU in Bowling Green, Ky., Murray State in Paducah, Ky., Morehead State in Morehead, Ky., and Indiana in Bloomington, Ind.

“I think when you have as many good programs as we do in the state, it is important that everyone plays each other,” Henderson said. “The series’ that we have had in state have been extremely competitive and have created a lot of excitement and interest. As the programs continue to get better, the rivalries and fan support continues to grow, which makes for some great environments in the in-state contests.”

(Press Release)

Cards to play 31 home games, 41 games vs. BCS Conference foes & 12 games against 2009 NCAA teams

Louisville Head Coach Dan McDonnell

“The 2010 schedule features some great opponents in some great venues that should really challenge our squad each week,” said McDonnell, who is 135-63 in three seasons in Louisville, including three straight NCAA appearances and back-to-back BIG EAST Tournament titles in 2008 and 2009. “As in years past, we continue to put an emphasis on playing against the best competition in the nation by scheduling more than 40 games against teams from the BCS conferences, as well as numerous NCAA Regional caliber squads. And as always, we’ve made it a priority to take advantage of having one of the top home facilities in the nation by playing more than 30 games at Jim Patterson Stadium.”

Louisville will open the 2010 season at home on Feb. 19-21 with a three-game series against reigning Mid-American Conference champion Bowling Green at Jim Patterson Stadium and will follow that with a mid-week game at home against Morehead State on Feb. 23.

The Cardinals will then take to the road for the first time for their first appearance in the Big Ten/BIG EAST Challenge hosted by St. Petersburg/Clearwater Sports Commission on Feb. 26-28. Louisville will play Michigan on Feb. 26 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Dunedin Stadium, spring training home for the Toronto Blue Jays, in the only night game on the opening day of the event, which will feature 10 games each day matching up teams from the Big Ten and BIG EAST.

Following the opener, the Cardinals will face Michigan State on Saturday, Feb. 27 at 4:30 p.m. ET at Jack Russell Stadium, the longtime spring headquarters for the Philadelphia Phillies, while Louisville’s finale will be against Minnesota, a 2009 NCAA Regional squad, on Sunday, Feb. 28 at 1 p.m. ET at the Naimoli Complex, former spring training host for the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Cards will return home from Florida to host a five-game homestand at Jim Patterson Stadium. Louisville will host a mid-week game against Evansville (March 3), a three-game weekend series with NCAA Division I independent Le Moyne College (March 5-7) and a mid-week game against Indiana (March 9) in a rematch of the last year’s NCAA Regional first round game in Louisville. The Cardinals will play a return game against the Hoosiers on March 30 in Bloomington.

U of L will then return to the road for a three-game series in Oxford, Miss., against Ole Miss on March 12-14 in a match-up of reigning conference championship programs. It will also be a reunion for McDonnell, who served as an assistant coach at Ole Miss from 2001-06, and Cards’ senior first baseman Andrew Clark, who played one season for the Rebels before transferring to Louisville.

After hosting 2009 NCAA Regional team Xavier on March 15 for Elementary School Day at Patterson Stadium, the Cardinals will host their final non-conference weekend series on March 19-21 against Ball State.

Following a mid-week return game at Evansville on March 23, the Cards will the defense of their 2009 BIG EAST Conference title with a three-game series at home against Connecticut on March 26-28 at Jim Patterson Stadium. The series will be a rematch of last year’s BIG EAST Tournament title game, won by Louisville 11-3 in Clearwater, Fla.

Along with UConn, the Cardinals will host BIG EAST foes Villanova (April 1-3), Seton Hall (April 23-25), Rutgers (April 30-May 2) and St. John’s (May 14-16). Louisville will play four BIG EAST opponents on the road, including Pittsburgh (April 9-11), West Virginia (April 16-18), Georgetown (May 7-9) and Notre Dame (May 20-22).

The Cardinals will play the first of two games against rival Kentucky on April 6 in Lexington, while the Wildcats will visit Jim Patterson Stadium in Louisville on April 28. U of L will also play two games against 2009 NCAA Regional squad Western Kentucky on April 14 in Bowling Green and on April 21 in Louisville and a mid-week home game against in-state foe Eastern Kentucky on May 18.

On May 4-5, Louisville will travel to Columbus, Ohio for a two-game, mid-week series against 2009 NCAA Regional participant Ohio State, while on May 11, the Cards will be in Nashville, Tenn., for a mid-week game at Vanderbilt in a rematch of last year’s NCAA Regional title game, which was won by Louisville 5-3.

The 2010 BIG EAST Championship is set for May 26-30 at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Fla., where the Cardinals have won the last two tournament titles and have an 11-2 record overall. The 2010 NCAA Championship is set to begin on June 4 with regional play.

The 2010 Louisville squad returns seven position starters and most of its pitching staff from a team that finished the season ranked 14th in the nation after making the program’s second NCAA Super Regional appearance in McDonnell’s three years as the head coach.