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Gaucho slate features nine games vs. 2009 postseason teams

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara baseball team released its 2010 schedule on Thursday, featuring 28 home games, 12 opponents who finished last season at .500 or better and nine games against teams that made the 2009 NCAA Regionals. The schedule pits UCSB against teams that had a combined .532 winning percentage last season. Four of UCSB’s opponents won 40 games last year while six others won at least 30 games.

Highlighting those that will be visiting Caesar Uyesaka Stadium this upcoming season will be UCLA, USC, Cal State Fullerton, Pepperdine, UC Riverside, Northern Illinois, New Mexico State, San Francisco and Loyola Marymount. The Gauchos open their season on Tuesday, Feb. 23 vs. Westmont.

UCSB Head Coach Bob Brontsema

UCSB also will play road games at Stanford – a 2008 College World Series participant – USC, UC Irvine, Cal Poly, Long Beach State, San Jose State, Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount.

Complete 2010 UC Santa Barbara Schedule (PDF)

“We’re looking forward to a challenging non-conference schedule to prepare us for the always-difficult Big West Conference season,” UCSB head coach Bob Brontsema said.

The Gauchos, 29-23 a season ago, return two players from their school-record nine players that were drafted in June. Left-handed pitcher Mario Hollands and infielder Matt Valaika, both chosen in the Major League Baseball amateur draft, will return and are expected to lead the Gauchos this year. Joining them will be All-American pitcher Mike Ford, all-conference honoree catcher Marty Mullins, senior Gunnar Terhune and top newcomers left-hander Kevin Gelinas and right-hander Nick Loredo.

The Big West Conference, which was recently ranked as the sixth-best in the nation, according to RPI ratings and is also a league that had two nationally-ranked teams in the NCAA postseason and has featured at least one team in the College World Series in eight of the past 11 seasons. UCSB led the conference with nine players drafted by Major League Baseball teams this past June, including the conference’s top player selected, Joe Gardner (third round, Cleveland Indians).

(Release)

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TEMPE, AZ Arizona State Baseball will begin its quest for its sixth National Championship and 22nd trip to Omaha and the College World Series on February 19th when the Sun Devils host the Northern Illinois Huskies at Winkles Field- Packard Stadium at Brock Ballpark in the 2010 Season Opener. Announced today by head coach Tim Esmay, the 2010 schedule features 35 games at Packard Stadium, including two non-conference match-ups with in-state rival Arizona on April 20 and May 4.

ASU Interim Head Coach Tim Esmay (ASU Photo)

regular season on March 16 and 17 at Goodwin Field in Fullerton.

Complete 2010 ASU Schedule

Arizona State will play an exhibition game at Winkles Field-Packard Stadium at Brock Ballpark on March 2, when they host Meiji University from Japan.

The rest of the non-conference slate features two straight four-game series to open the 2010 season. Northern Illinois opens the year in Tempe from Feb. 19-21, followed by Towson from Feb. 26-28. The SEC’s Auburn Tigers will visit Tempe for a three-game set beginning March 12, and the Houston Cougars will play at Packard Stadium for three games starting March 19. Grand Canyon (March 9), San Diego (April 5-6), San Francisco (April 27-28) and BYU (May 10-11) will also visit Tempe.

The leader in West Coast attendance for the past five years, Arizona State will once again enjoy one of the nation’s best home field advantages. Over 125,000 fans came through the turnstiles to watch the Devils play in 2009, as ASU averaged 3,207 fans per home game. Thanks to tremendous fan support that creates an unmatched atmosphere at home, the Sun Devils went 36-4 at home, winning their third consecutive Pac-10 championship and advancing to the College World Series for the third time in five years.

For the eighth straight year, Arizona State will travel to Surprise, Ariz., for the Coca-Cola Classic at Surprise Stadium, Spring Training home of the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals. The Devils will face 2009 NCAA Tournament participant Cal Poly, who played in the Tempe Regional, on March 4, Pac-10 rival Oregon State in a non-conference match-up on March 5, UC Riverside on March 6, then wrap up the weekend in Surprise against former ASU assistant coach and current Florida International head coach Turtle Thomas and the Golden Panthers on March 7.

In addition to an always difficult non-conference schedule, the three-time defending Pac-10 Champion Sun Devils will once again compete in one of the toughest conferences in all of college baseball. Conference adversaries visiting Tempe include Cal (March 26-28), USC (April 16-18), Washington (April 23-25) and 2009 NCAA Tournament participant Oregon State (May 21-23). The Sun Devils will travel to Eugene, Oregon for the first time in school history when they take on the Ducks for a three-game series beginning April 1. ASU will also travel to 2009 NCAA Tournament team Washington State (April 9-11), UCLA (April 30-May 2), in-state rival Arizona (May 15-17) and close out the regular season at Sunken Diamond in Palo Alto, Calif. for three games with Stanford (May 27-29).

Arizona State will be seeking its 11th straight trip to the NCAA Tournament, which will begin on June 4. Super Regionals will follow from June 11-14 with the college baseball season culminating in the College World Series, beginning June 19 at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska. 2010 marks the final season the College World Series will be played at Rosenblatt Stadium, as the annual championship tournament will move to TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha beginning in 2011.

(Release)

Red Bird to play eight games against 2009 NCAA Tournament Teams

ISU Head Coach Mark Kingston

in Gainesville, Fla. Illinois State’s schedule features 53 games, including 19 contests at home against regional foes Illinois, Northern Illinois, Eastern Illinois, Purdue, and Valley rivals Southern Illinois, Wichita State and Bradley.

Complete 2010 IllinoisState Schedule (PDF)

“This is a very challenging schedule as we look forward to 2010,” Illinois State head coach Mark Kingston said. “Our non conference opponents will prepare us for the demands of a very competitive Missouri Valley Conference. At one point, we will play five-consecutive games against 2009 NCAA tournament teams. Being able to play at Florida and Vanderbilt will also be an experience that pays dividends. This high level of competition will be good for us in the long term, both individually, and as a team.”

Illinois State will play its first 18 games on the road and begin the 2010 season at the Austin Peay Classic (Feb. 19-21) in Clarksville, Tenn., against Austin Peay and Iowa. The trip is the first of three the Redbirds will make to the state of Tennessee. Illinois State will then travel to Winter Haven, Fla., for the 2010 RussMatt Central Florida Invitational (Feb. 27-March1), where the Redbirds will play four games against four different opponents.

The Redbirds will then tackle the grueling five-game stretch against tournament teams to start its spring break trip, but the competition doesn’t let up with two games against James Madison (March 12 and 14) wrapped around a date with North Florida (March 13) in Jacksonville, Fla., before Illinois State returns home.

Illinois State opens the home portion of its schedule at Duffy Bass Field with a four-game series against Central Michigan (March 19-21). The Redbirds won’t have time to get too comfy, as the team plays nine of its next 11 games on the road, including the conference-opening series at Indiana State (March 26-28), another trip to Tennesse for a three-game series with Lipscomb (April 2-3), and a match-up with Valley foe Creighton in Omaha (April 9-11).

ISU will host mid-week match-ups with Illinois (March 30), Northern Illinois (April 6), Purdue (April 14) and Eastern Illinois (May 12). The Redbirds open the home-conference slate against Southern Illinois (April 16-18). Illinois State will also welcome Wichita State (April 30-May 2) and Bradley (May 14-16) to Duffy Bass Field in Missouri Valley Conference action. Keeping history alive, Illinois State will travel across town for the annual Horenberger-Bass Classic against Illinois Wesleyan (April 27). The Redbirds will close the season on the road at Evansville (May 20-22).

Postseason play begins Tuesday, May 25, with the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, hosted by Wichita State at Eck Stadium in Wichita, Kan. The NCAA Tournament begins on Friday, June 4.

(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)