Streaks, Upsets And Other Notable Action…

38…Game hitting streak by Florida International’s Garrett Wittels.  The sophomore extended the nation’s longest active streak with an RBI single in his last at-bat of the game on Sunday with two on and two out in the bottom of the ninth to send the game to extra innings (an 8-7 loss to Louisiana-Monroe).  Wittels’ current streak is the longest in

Garrett Wittels (FIU photo)

Division One baseball in the last 11 years.

8…Underdogs that won weekend series vs. CB360 Top 50 teams.  The most notable wins were: #26 Auburn took two of three at #5 Arkansas and  unranked North Carolina State won two of three against #8 Georgia Tech.

7…Straight losses by defending national champion LSU (32-13, 11-10) after dropping all three games in its weekend series at Florida (31-11, 15-6).  The Tigers were swept by Ole Miss last weekend as well.

14…Years (1996) since Florida last swept a series against LSU.

.390…The Gators’ team batting average in their sweep while outscoring the Tigers by a combined 28-14.  Matt den Dekker led Florida’s nine starters who all had at least one hit in Sunday’s finale by going 5-for-5 with a home run and 4 RBIs.

4…Strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings pitched, wins this season and RBIs in Sunday’s game by freshman starting pitcher/designated hitter Brian Johnson (4-2), who hit the first grand slam of his young career.

Hunter Morris

2…Home runs hit in an 8-run fifth inning by Auburn’s Hunter Morris in Saturday’s win over Arkansas.  Morris started the inning with a homer and later launched a two-run blast to help the Tigers (30-15, 12-9) total four HR and all eight of their runs in the 8-7 victory.

38…Years since Ole Miss last swept a series vs. Mississippi State in Starkville, MS prior to taking three games from the rival Bulldogs over the weekend at Dudy Noble Field.  The three wins have the Rebels tied for first place with Arkansas in the SEC West.

20…Straight wins by Texas after Sunday’s 4-1 win over Baylor to cap a 3-game weekend sweep.  The 20 consecutive wins are the most at Texas since the 1988 team also rattled-off 20 in a row.

5…Consecutive Big 12 series sweeps by the Longhorns (38-7, 19-2) to help them set a new conference record with 17 straight wins in league play.  The previous record was set in 2008 by Texas A&M.

1…Earned run allowed by Texas starting pitchers, who combined to strike out 29 batters in 33.0 innings in the three games.

12…Scoreless innings pitched in the three games by the Longhorn bullpen, highlighted by Hoby Miner’s four perfect innings to pick-up the win in Saturday’s 2-1 win in 14 innings.

3…Games won by #1 Arizona State at #4 UCLA to give the Sun Devils their first sweep at Jackie Robinson Stadium since 1994.

23-4…Combined score by which the Sun Devils (38-5, 14-4) outscored the Bruins (30-10, 7-8) in the three games.  20 of the 23 runs allowed by the UCLA pitching staff, which came into the weekend with the second best ERA in the nation at 2.80, were earned.

Louisville 1B Andrew Clark (Louisville photo)

7…First inning RBIs by Louisville’s Andrew Clark, who hit both a 3-run blast and a grand slam in the 10-run opening frame of Saturday’s 24-6 win over Rutgers.  Clark ended the game 4-for-4 with 2 HR, 8 RBIs, 4 runs, and a HBP.

16…Barry Larkin’s jersey number, which was retired in Ann Arbor on Saturday prior to the Wolverine’s 3-2 loss to Ohio State.  Larkin played at Michigan from 1983 to 1986.

2…Wins by the Wolverines (27-15, 9-6) over the Buckeyes (24-15, 8-7) to remain tied with Northwestern (18-25, 9-6) atop the Big Ten conference standings.  Ohio State was part of a four-way tie first place heading into the weekend.

0…Innings pitched in the series by Ohio State’s Alex Wimmers, who was a scratch after he  injured a hamstring just moments before Friday’s 4-1 OSU loss.  Wimmers (9-0, 1.61 ERA) entered the weekend tied for the national lead with his nine wins.  His ERA ranks sixth nationally.

17…Game winning streak by #6 Coastal Carolina snapped in Tuesday’s 6-3 loss to #3 Virginia.

30…Straight Big South Conference home wins by Coastal Carolina after a weekend 3-game sweep of UNC Asheville in Conway, SC.

22…Game winning streak by # 18 Connecticut snapped in Wednesday’s 7-3 loss to Central Connecticut State.  The Huskies (35-9, 14-3) split two home games vs. #34 Pittsburgh (31-11, 13-4) (game three was rained-out) to maintain a narrow lead over Louisville (36-7, 14-4) at the top of the Big East Conference standings.

24…Game hitting streak by UConn’s Mike Nemeth that ended when he went o-for-4 in a 13-4 loss to Pitt in game two of Saturday’s doubleheader.  Nemeth had extended the streak to 24 earlier in the day when he hit his 9th home run of the season in UConn’s 11-7 game one victory.

12 & 487…Games played and batters faced by Notre Dame pitchers without giving-up a home run.  The longest such

Michael Choice (UTA photo)

stretch for the Irish pitching staff since 2006 ended Friday when Paul Karmas of St. John’s hit a solo shot in the fifth inning of Notre Dame’s 14-5 win.

13…Strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings by North Carolina State’s Jake Buchanen in Friday’s 6-5 win over #8 Georgia Tech.  The effort helped the Wolfpack (28-18, 11-13) take two of three games from the Yellow Jackets (36-9, 17-7) to keep their NCAA hopes alive.

32…Career home runs hit by UT Arlington’s Michael Choice to set a new program record.  Choice hit his 14th HR of the season in Saturday’s win over Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

16…Of Choice’s home runs that have come in “clutch” situations, including seven tie-breaking shots, five game-tying home runs and two that have provided the eventual winning runs for his team.

10…Strikeouts in 8.0 innings by Florida Gulf Coast pitcher Chris Sale (7-0)  in Friday’s 4-2 win over #27 Clemson to give the Eagles (28-15) their only win in the weekend’s non-conference 3-game series.

16…Strikeouts by Nicholls State’s Clint Dempster in Friday’s 5-3 complete game win over #44 Southeastern Louisiana.

15…RBIs last week by Wichita State’s Preston Springer, who hit .565 (13-for-23) with 9 runs, five doubles and three home runs last week.  Springer helped the Shockers to midweek wins over Big 12 teams Kansas and Oklahoma State.  He hit his first career grand slam against the Cowboys on Wednesday.

3…Home runs by Illinois State third baseman Ryan Court in Saturday’s 18-8 win over Wichita State.  The win gave the Redbirds their first ever run rule victory over the Shockers.

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.

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