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A By The Numbers Look At Week 12 Action…

42…Game hitting streak by Florida International’s Garrett Wittels, who singled in the eighth inning of Sunday’s 5-4 loss to Arkansas State.  He’s now in fourth place in Division One history with Chuck Abbott of Austin Peay, who hit safely in 42 straight games in 1996.

Garrett Wittels (FIU photo)

58…NCAA record hitting streak set by Oklahoma State’s Robin Ventura in 1987.  Wittels needs hits in five more games to to Wichita State’s Phil Stephenson (1981) for the second longest streak in D1 history.

3 & 7…Home runs and RBIs by Wittels’ teammate, Mike Martinez, in the same game Wittels hit safely for the 41st game to help FIU down Arkansas State 15-4.

21…Game winning streak by Texas snapped in Friday’s 2-1 loss at Kansas State.  It’s the first ever home win against a number one ranked team for the Wildcats.

2…Consecutive Big 12 regular season titles for the Longhorns (41-8, 21-3), which clinched this year’s championship with wins in the last two games of the series with the Wildcats (32-15, 11-9), who are in third place in the Big 12.  Texas Tech (26-12, 12-9) is in second place.

50…Mile per hour wind gusts Saturday afternoon in the Buffalo, NY area where Canisius beat Manhattan 23-20.

Steve McQuail (Canisius photo)

68…RBIs this season by Canisus’ Steve McQuail-a new Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference single-season record-after the junior drove in 6 runs with the help of a grand slam in the Griffs’ win.  The previous record of 67 RBIs had stood since 1993.

3…Grand slams hit this season by McQuail, who is 8-for-9 with 24 RBIs this season with the bases loaded.

9…Saves this season by UCLA pitcher Dan Klein-the most for a Bruin pitcher since 1993.

28…Innings pitched without allowing an earned run by # 32 New Mexico’s Willy Kesler prior  to allowing a one out two run home run in the top of the 9th inning in Saturday’s 3-2 win over #12 TCU.

140…Pitches needed by Kesler (5-1) to pick-up his third complete game of the season.

6…Straight games New Mexico had lost to TCU prior to Saturday’s victory.

9 & 67…Home runs and total bases by TCU in Sunday’s series-clinching 26-4 win over New Mexico in Albuquerque.  The home runs ties a new single-game program record, while the total bases sets a new school record.  In addition to the nine long balls, the Horned Frogs tallied 20 singles, four doubles and a triple.

2 & 7…Home runs hit and RBIs by TCU’s Aaron Schultz, who was 4-for-4 with a double in the victory.

Aaron Schultz (Photo courtesy Brett Davis)

16…Straight series wins by the Horned Frogs dating back to last season.  TCU (36-10, 13-4) leads New Mexico (31-17, 13-7) by three games in the Mountain West Conference standings.

24-1…Record of TCU’s weekend pitching rotation.  Kyle Winkler (7-1) suffered his first loss Saturday to the Lobos, while Matt Purke (9-0) and Stephen Maxwell (8-0) remain unbeaten.

13…Combined earned runs given-up by Vanderbilt’s Sonny Gray and LSU’s Anthony Ranaudo in Friday’s 15-16 game won by the Tigers.

15…Strikeouts by San Diego’s Kyle Blair in Friday’s 2-0 win over Portland. Blair (7-3) gave-up just one hit in the complete game effort.

2…Outs in the 9th inning when Blair’s no-hit bid ended thanks to a double by Portland’s Kris Kauppila.

14…Wins with no losses in WCC play for San Diego after winning the first two games of the series.

3…Outs recorded on a ground ball off the bat of #30 Texas State’s Jeff McVaney in Saturday’s 5-2 upset loss to McNeese State.  Steven Irvine, Matt Fontenot and Bryn Thompson combined on the 5-4-3 triple play.

1…NCAA bid officially locked-up when Dartmouth beat Columbia 11-5 in Sunday’s deciding game three of the Ivy League Championship Series.

Quintavious Drains

4…Pitchers, Cole Green of Texas, Anthony Meo of Coastal Carolina, Quintavious Drains of Jackson State, and Pittsburgh’s Cory Baker, who share the Division One lead with 10 wins this season.

1,022…Career wins by Ohio State’s Bob Todd, who announced his retirement last week after 27 years as a college baseball head coach.  Todd has 898 wins in his time in Columbus.  His Buckeyes dropped two of three games to Illinois over the weekend after he announced his intentions to step down at the end of this season.

13…Runs scored by Tennessee in Saturday’s 25-5 win at Georgia.  The Vols hit four home runs in the inning and scored 9 runs before an out was recorded.

52…Total bases for the Vols in the game to break the previous program record of 47.

0 & 11…Runs allowed and strikeouts recorded in 8.0 IP by Arkansas’ Mike Bolsinger in Sunday’s 7-0 series-clinching win at Ole Miss.  The Rebels’ 1-7 batters combined to go 0-for-22 in the loss. The win has the Razorbacks (36-11, 15-8) tied with the Rebels (34-14, 15-8) tied for first place in the SEC’s Western Division.

2…Wins by #44 Kentucky ( 25-21, 8-15) over South Carolina (36-10, 17-6) to keep the Wildcats’ NCAA hopes alive.  The SEC series win is just the second of the season for the Wildcats.

10…Consecutive SEC series South Carolina had won (dating back to last season) prior to losing two of three games in Lexington.  The Gamecocks are now tied for first place in the SEC’s Eastern Division with Florida (33-11, 17-6), which took two of three games vs. Alabama over the weekend.  The Gamecocks and Gators meet in Columbia in two weeks in the final weekend of the regular season.

Rob Folsom's walk-off double capped Oregon State's sweep of Oregon (OSU photo)

3…Games won by #47  Oregon State (24-17, 7-11) over # 20 Oregon (30-18, 10-11) to give the Beavers just their second Pac 10 series win of 2010.

11 of 12…Games Oregon State had lost prior to sweeping its weekend series vs. the Ducks.

8…Teams within three games of one another in the Pac 10 Conference race.  Arizona State is 39-5 overall and leads the conference race with a 14-4 mark.  Cal (11-9) UCLA (10-8) and Stanford (10-8) are all tied for second place at four games back, followed by Arizona (9-9), Oregon (10-11), Washington State (8-9), Washington (8-10), and Oregon State (7-11).

4…Games won by Fresno State (30-20, 11-5) at #48 New Mexico State (35-16-1, 13-6-1) to move ahead of the Aggies and into first place in the WAC standings.

23…Years since Auburn (33-15, 15-9) had swept a series from Mississippi State prior to taking three games from the Bulldogs over the weekend.  The Tigers are in second place in the SEC East.

3…Consecutive SEC series lost by defending national champion LSU (34-14, 12-11) after dropping two of three vs. Vanderbilt of the weekend. The Bayou Bengals  are in fourth place in the SEC East.

11…Home runs hit this season by Notre Dame outfielder Ryan Connolly, who is the only Irish player with double digit long balls.  Connolly also leads the Irish with a .367 batting average and 1.140 OPS.

4…Home runs hit by Connolly from 2006-2009.  The fifth-year senior missed all of 2006 and most of the next three seasons due to shoulder injuries.  All four of his previous career home runs were hit over the last 13 games of the 2009 campaign.

10…RBIs by West Virginia’s Grant Buckner in Saturday’s 22-6 win over the Irish.  The third baseman was 4-for-5 with three home runs, while setting a new school record for single-game RBIs to help the Mountaineers to their first Big East series sweep of the season.

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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.

Here’s the week ten college baseball attendance report as compiled by Tami Cutler of the NCBWA.  We have included the top ten most attended games from last week as well as the top ten season to date attendance averages and the ten top single-game attendances of the 2010 season.

CLICK HERE to see the full report.

Here’s the weekly look at college baseball attendance around the nation.  Following are the top ten attendance games for the season, the top ten overall attendance average by school and the top attended games from last week’s games.

CLICK HERE to see the entire report (PDF), which is prepared by Tami Cutler at the NCBWA.

Last Week’s Top Attended Games (4/12-4/18)

1.  12,313 Alabama at LSU, 4/17
2.  11,332 Alabama at LSU, 4/16
3.  11,089 Tennessee at Mississippi State, 4/17
4.  10,835 Georgia at LSU, 4/3
5.  10,744 Alabama at LSU, 4/18
6.  8,523 New Mexico at Arkansas, 4/14
7.  8,273 Georgia at Arkansas, 4/16
8.  8,214 Clemson at South Carolina, 3/7
9.  8,123 Texas at Texas A&M, 4/17
10.  8,098 Georgia at Arkansas, 4/17
11.  7,995 New Mexico at Arkansas, 4/13
12.  7,952 Ole Miss at South Carolina, 4/17
13.  6,056 Tennessee at Mississippi State, 4/16
14.  6,027 Kansas at Nebraska, 4/17
15.  5,818 South Alabama at Mississippi State, 4/14

School / Avg. / Total #

1. LSU 10,669 / 309,425 / 29
2. Arkansas 7,357 / 191,293 / 26
3. Ole Miss 6,491 / 142,811 / 22
4. South Carolina 6,426 / 141,373 / 22
5. Texas 6,304 / 151,312 / 24
6. Mississippi State 6,076 / 145,835 / 24
7. Florida State 4,718 / 103,801 / 22
8. Clemson 4,621 / 97,057 / 21
9. Alabama 4,143 / 70,445 / 17
10. Texas A&M 3,849 / 88,541 / 23

Top Attendances Single Game (Min. 2,000)

1.  36,056 Louisiana Tech at Minnesota, 3/27
2.  14,588 UCLA vs. USC, 2/28
3.  12,313 Alabama at LSU, 4/17
4.  11,588 Centenary at LSU, 2/19
5.  11,332 Alabama at LSU, 4/16
6.  11,225 Arkansas at LSU, 3/19
7.  11,220 Pepperdine at LSU, 3/6
8.  11,157 Kansas at LSU, 3/12
9.  11,126 Centenary at LSU, 2/20
10.  11,089 Tennessee at Mississippi State, 4/17

Six SEC Teams In Top Ten For Season To Date

CLICK HERE to see the full report.

By Average (min. 1,200)

School/ Avg./ Total #

1. LSU 10,609 / 254,634 / 24
2. Arkansas 7,169 / 143,380/ 20
3. Ole Miss 6,517 / 136,860 / 21
4. Texas 6,273 / 106,651 / 17
5. South Carolina 6,178 / 111,219 / 18
6. Mississippi State 5,961 / 95,385 / 16
7. Florida State 4,656 / 88,469 / 19
8. Clemson 4,564 / 86,721 / 19
9. Alabama 4,200 / 63,001 / 15
10. Texas A&M 3,459 / 65,734 / 19

Top Single Game Attendances (min. 2,000)

1.  36,056 Louisiana Tech at Minnesota, 3/27
2.  14,588 UCLA vs. USC, 2/28
3.  11,588 Centenary at LSU, 2/19
4.  11,225 Arkansas at LSU, 3/19
5.  11,220 Pepperdine at LSU, 3/6
6.  11,157 Kansas at LSU, 3/12
7.  11,126 Centenary at LSU, 2/20
8.  11,074 Kansas at LSU, 3/14
9.  11,010 Georgia at LSU, 4/2
10. 10,944 Arkansas at LSU, 3/20

Three New Teams In BA Top 25

The 2010 college baseball season is underway, and fans across the south flocked to stadiums to see the action.  Four SEC teams, LSU, Arkansas, Mississippi, and South Carolina, had the top weekend averages.  Here’s a breakdown of average attendance for opening weekend games as well as top single-game attendance marks (list below on the page).
By Average (min. 1,200)
School/Avg./ Total #Games
1. LSU 10,992/ 32,976/ 3

LSU's Alex Box Stadium had the top attendance figures during college baseball's opening weekend (LSU photo).

2. Arkansas 7,300/ 21,899/ 3
3. Ole Miss 7,171/ 21,513/ 3
4. South Carolina 7,072/ 21,216/ 3
5. Texas 6,020/ 18,060/3
6. Mississippi State 5,848/ 17,545/ 3
7. Clemson 5,727/ 11,454/ 2
8. Texas A&M 5,164/ 10,328/ 2
9. Florida State 5,049/ 15,148/ 3
10. East Carolina 4,974/ 14,922/ 3
11. Southern Miss 3,512/ 10,536/ 3
12. Florida 3,484/ 10,454/ 3
13. Hawaii 3,355/ 10,065/ 3
14. Miami, Fla. 3,172/ 9,516/ 3
15. TCU 2,934/ 8,803/ 3
16. Tulane 2,837/ 8,510/ 3
17. Arizona State 2,780/ 5,560/ 2
18. Louisiana-Lafayette 2,758/ 5,516/ 2
19. Baylor 2,679/ 8,038/ 3
20. Fresno State 2,607/ 7,820/ 3
21. Cal State Fullerton 2,465/ 7,395/ 3
22. Auburn 2,439/ 7,318/ 3
23. Texas Tech 2,328/ 9,312/ 4
24. Stanford 1,921/ 3,841/ 2
25. Vanderbilt 1,917/ 5,752/ 3
26. Long Beach State 1,908/ 3,816/ 2
27. Georgia Southern 1,847/ 5,543/3
28. Georgia Tech 1,720/ 5,160/ 3
29. Cal Poly 1,246/ 3,738/ 3
30. North Carolina 1,217/ 3,652/ 3

Top Game Attendances (min. 2,000)
11,588 Centenary at LSU, 2/19
11,126 Centenary at LSU, 2/20
10,262 Centenary at LSU, 2/21
8,004 Ball State at Arkansas, 2/20
7,926 Duquesne at South Carolina, 2/20
7,713 ULM at Ole Miss, 2/20
7,611 ULM at Ole Miss, 2/19
7,359 Ball State at Arkansas, 2/19
6,910 Duquesne at South Carolina, 2/21
6,536 Ball State at Arkansas, 2/21
6,380 Duquesne at South Carolina, 2/19
6,352 New Mexico at Texas, 2/20
6,189 ULM at Ole Miss, 2/21
5,953 New Mexico at Texas, 2/21
5,920 Rhode Island at Mississippi State, 2/20
5,915 Miami (OH) at Clemson, 2/19
5,819 Rhode Island at Mississippi State, 2/19
5,806 Rhode Island at Mississippi State, 2/21
5,755 New Mexico at Texas, 2/19
5,539 Furman at Clemson, 2/21
5,392 Georgia State at Florida State, 2/20
5,318 Seton Hall at Texas A&M, 2/19
5,254 Georgia State at Florida State, 2/19
5,136 Virginia at East Carolina, 2/20
5,012 Virginia at East Carolina, 2/19
5,010 Seton Hall at Texas A&M (DH), 2/20
4,774 Virginia at East Carolina, 2/21
4,502 Georgia State at Florida State, 2/21
4,109 Oregon State at Hawaii, 2/19
3,723 USF at Florida, 2/20
3,607 Northwestern State at Southern Miss, 2/20
3,569 Northwestern State at Southern Miss, 2/19
3,563 Clemson vs. Michigan State, 2/20
3,464 Oregon at Cal State Fullerton, 2/19
3,422 USF at Florida, 2/21
3,360 Northwestern State at Southern Miss, 2/21
3,309 USF at Florida, 2/19
3,280 Nebraska at Fresno State, 2/19
3,228 Sam Houston State at TCU, 2/19
3,128 Oregon State at Hawaii, 2/21
3,072 Sam Houston State at TCU, 2/20
3,011 Northern Illinois at Arizona State, 2/19
3,003 Boston College at Tulane, 2/19
2,912 Nicholls State at Louisiana-Lafayette, 2/20
2,895 Michigan at Texas Tech, 2/20
2,828 Oregon State at Hawaii, 2/20
2,798 Boston College at Tulane, 2/20
2,715 Southeast Missouri at Auburn, 2/20
2,709 Boston College at Tulane, 2/21
2,706 Georgia at Baylor, 2/21
2,670 Duke & Georgia at Baylor (DH), 2/19
2,662 Duke at Baylor, 2/20
2,605 Nicholls State at Louisiana-Lafayette, 2/19
2,548 Northern Illinois at Arizona State (DH), 2/20
2,503 Sam Houston State at TCU, 2/21
2,494 Southeast Missouri at Auburn, 2/19
2,350 Nebraska at Fresno State, 2/20
2,300 Xavier at Tennessee, 2/19
2,243 Jacksonville State at Texas Tech, 2/19
2,190 Nebraska at Fresno State, 2/21
2,162 Jacksonville State at Texas Tech, 2/21
2,126 Rice at Stanford (DH), 2/20
2,109 Southeast Missouri at Auburn, 2/21
2,027 Long Beach State at Cal State Fullerton, 2/21
2,012 Michigan at Texas Tech, 2/21

(Report complied by Wichita State sports information)

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)

MOBILE, Ala. - University of South Alabama baseball head coach Steve Kittrell announced the Jags’ 2010 regular season schedule Wednesday afternoon. The 56-game slate features 32 home games, including the 25th annual South Alabama Classic.

USA head coach Steve Kittrell

“I think it’s a very competitive non-conference schedule, and it should prepare us for Sun Belt Conference play, which is getting better every year,” Kittrell said. “We’re excited about the challenges ahead and look forward to starting practice on Jan. 29.”

Kittrell’s club starts the season with 14 of its first 16 games at home. USA opens with a doubleheader against Jackson State (Feb. 19), then the Jags hit the road to take on Alabama the next day before returning home for a Sunday rematch with the Crimson Tide to round out the opening weekend.

Complete 2010 South Alabama Schedule

USA hosts the South Alabama Classic the following weekend. The tournament field includes another team with a great baseball history – Wichita State – along with North Florida and Eastern Michigan. Wichita State played in the 2002 Classic, while North Florida and Eastern Michigan will be visiting Stanky Field for the first time.

Following the tournament, the Jags take on a pair of storied programs in consecutive midweek games. USA travels to Mississippi State (March 2), then gets a visit from Tulane the following day. South Alabama’s last nonconference series is a four-game set with Siena (March 5-7).

After a pair of midweek games at home against Tennessee Tech, the Jags open Sun Belt Conference play with a three-game series at Arkansas-Little Rock. The Jags took two of three from the Trojans a season ago. The Jags follow that series with a pair of midweek games at Memphis, then return to Stanky Field for the conference home opener when they host longtime rival Louisiana-Lafayette (March 19-21).

After four more road games, including a series at Middle Tennessee, the Jags return for a five-game homestand when they host Southern Miss (March 30), New Orleans (April 2-4) and Southeastern Louisiana (April 6).

The Jags hit the road for Western Kentucky the following weekend (April 9-11), but not before making a stop along the way to take on Auburn (April 7). After the three-game set with the Hilltoppers, USA heads back home for games against Nicholls State (April 13) and Louisiana-Monroe (April 16-18). The Jags took both games of a rain-shortened two-game set against the Warhawks last year.

Kittrell’s squad then travels back to Arkansas, this time to take on Arkansas State (April 23-25), and on the way back the Jags stop for games with Nicholls State (April 27) and Southern Miss (April 28), before closing with seven of the last 10 at home.

USA rounds out the regular season hosting Florida Atlantic (May 7-9), Auburn (May 11) and Troy (May 20-22), and going on the road to face Florida International (May 14-16).

The Jags’ game against Auburn will be their fifth game of the season against an opponent from the Southeastern Conference. USA went a perfect 4-0 in home games against teams from the SEC in 2009, including a win over No. 6 Ole Miss that gave Kittrell his 1,000th career win, and a win against No. 21 Alabama in front of a Stanky Field record crowd of 4,436.

The Sun Belt Conference Championship is scheduled for May 26-29 in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com.  Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

(Release)

Bryce Brentz Has An April To Remember

Bryce Brentz

during college baseball’s dog days he had achieved Zeus like status.  In 20 April games in the Blue Raider’s line up Brentz his .694 (50 for 72) with 9 home runs, 28 RBIs, 24 Runs, and 8 doubles.

Brentz homered in four straight and 4 out of 6 games in one stretch vs. Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Louisiana-Monroe, and Mississippi State.   The sophomore is a Knoxville, TN native, and the only game in which he failed to homer in that stretch was in his home town vs. the Volunteers.

The 6’0 also made four starts during the month, the best of which was an 8 inning effort with 9 strikeouts against just one walk in a 13-3 win over Sun Belt Conference rival ULM.  Brentz finished the season with a modest 5-3 record and 4.57 ERA, but consider this:  In his four starts as MTSU’s #1 pitcher Brentz struckout a combined 21 opposing batters. In 230 at-bats in the 2009 season Brentz fanned just 32 times himself while leading the nation with 28 home runs.

By season’s end Brentz had put-up just sick numbers.  He led MTSU with a .465 batting average, 28 home runs, and 73 RBIs with a .930 slugging percentage and .535 on-base percentage for a 1.465 OPS.

Brentz tied for the NCAA lead with 28 HR in '09.

His HR total tied with Alabama’s Kent Matthes for the NCAA lead, his slg % was tops in the nation by 68 points over the next closest hitter, and his OBP ranked fourth among individual batters.

Collegebaseball360.com Editor, Sean Stires, talked to Brentz just after his spectacular month of April.  CLICK HERE to listen to that exclusive podcast interview.

Brentz’s efforts helped Middle Tennessee State win the 2009 Sun Belt Conference Tournament and a trip to the Louisville NCAA Regional.

He played for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team over the summer with the likes of Florida State’s Tyler Holt, Michael Choice of UT Arlington, Yasmani Grandal of Miami, and Christian Colon from Cal State Fullerton.

Other Top Moments Of 2009

15.  Clemson’s Kyle Parker Does Double Duty

16.  #1 Arkansas Beats #1 Arizona State

17.  Rhode Island Beats Miami And Oklahoma State

18.  Kansas State’s A.J. Morris beats Arizona State’s Mike Leake

19.  North Carolina’s Mike Fox Wins His 1,000th Game

20.  Illinois Shocks #1 LSU In Baton Rouge

21.  Alabama’s Kent Matthes Launches Longballs

22.  Freshman Levi Michael Starts In North Carolina’s Season Opener

23.  LSU Opens The New Alex Box Stadium

24.  Oregon Brings Back Baseball