College Baseball 360 » notre dame http://collegebaseball360.com baseball news, college baseball stats, sean stires, pete lafleur, college world series video, college baseball podcast, Fri, 14 Feb 2025 21:33:52 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.0.38 ND’s Aoki Not Sold On B1G’s Fall Proposal http://collegebaseball360.com/nds-aoki-not-sold-on-b1gs-fall-proposal/ http://collegebaseball360.com/nds-aoki-not-sold-on-b1gs-fall-proposal/#comments Fri, 08 Mar 2013 02:28:04 +0000 http://collegebaseball360.com/?p=33740

Irish Coach Does See Merit To Fall Games…

The college baseball season is entering its fourth week of play, yet a blanket of snow covers a majority of the northern part of the United States. College baseball teams from Minneapolis to Maine and all points in between are annually forced to flock to Sun Belt states to open their seasons, which begin in mid February.

The Big Ten is again floating an idea to allow college baseball teams to play regular season games during the fall that would count against their spring 56-game limit and toward their regular season record. The fall games would cut down on early season travel and loss of potential home games for northern conferences that include the Big Ten, the Big East a portion of the Big 12 and other smaller conferences.

B1G sent an email to the Associated Press this week saying its coaches had voted to continue to study the possibility of fall games as it continues to look for support for the idea from coaches around the country.

Notre Dame head coach Mik Aoki knows all too well the issues of coaching in the north. His previous stops include Boston College and Columbia and he is in his third season with the Irish. Notre Dame will play its first 17 games of this season in four states (Florida, Louisiana, North Carolina, and California) and six different cities before its March 22 home opener.

“I’m definitely not categorically against it,” Aoki said of the proposal to play fall regular season games. “I definitely think that there’s some real merit to it, but at the same time as a conference (B1G) why don’t you step up to the table and ante up and see if your programs can get competitive in that regard as you do that. If then, after doing it for an extended period of time you see you still can’t compete with it then maybe reshuffle the deck.”

The Big Ten has floated the idea, which was first proposed by Purdue head coach Doug Schreiber, over the last few years and it has largely fallen on deaf ears to coaches around the country. The conference has also threatened to start its own post season tournament as a counter to the College World Series, because it says its teams are at a competitive disadvantage due to geography.

Aoki’s biggest beef with B1G is that while it has continually cried foul over the issue of geography and the weather that comes with it, conference members have also lagged behind in putting resources into its baseball programs. Purdue and Indiana will both play in new baseball stadiums this year, but even Cincinnati and non-BCS schools like Tulane, Texas State and Missouri State have played in more modern facilities for years.

“The Big 12, whose footprint isn’t all that much different than the Big Ten’s in terms of north-south geography has decided ‘hey, we’re gonna make this thing a priority’,” Aoki candidly began. “It isn’t until the Big Ten got some of their (Big Ten) Network money that they started saying ‘oh hey you know what’…and then Purdue ends up with a new stadium.”

“Northwestern is still languishing in terms of what they have going on (facility wise),” Aoki continued. “Iowa, I mean those poor guys, they barely have an indoor facility to workout in.”

The Big East is a conference whose schools sit just as far north as those in the B1G, but Aoki says Big East coaches took their own straw poll on the proposal about a year ago and voted against the idea of scheduling official fall games. It came down to what amount to resource conflicts.

“A lot of schools, with the resources that are poured into football at that time of year, are not going to be ready to devote marketing  and promotions and everything else to baseball at that time of year,” Aoki said. “There were also people who, quite frankly, said baseball should be played in the spring.”

“The Big East is a conference that might have been able to benefit from this thing,” Aoki continued. “There wasn’t a lot of traction on that conference call on this thing.”

While Aoki’s East Coast roots (raised just outside Boston) may make him cynical to the B1G’s ulterior motives he does see some upside to the idea of playing regular season fall games. He sees more upside to the overall promotion of college baseball than necessarily northern competitiveness.

“I think there are some really neat possibilities to it,” Aoki estimated. “You’re not otherwise going to see Southern Cal come to South Bend to play us in a mid week game, but we might be able to pull something like that off in conjunction with that great football rivalry.”

Notre Dame did actually host USC in 2005. Those games took place in May when the Trojans were able to make the trip, because it coincided with a conference bye week for both teams. It was a return trip after the Irish had gone to L.A. to open the 2004 season. That visit by USC marked the last time a traditional “sun belt” team has trekked to South Bend.

Football weekends at schools like Notre Dame, Michigan, Purdue and others in the B1G footprint have the most to offer teams from the south with such opportunities. The Wolverines are scheduled to host Oregon State on the gridiron in two years, and a Sept. baseball series in Ann Arbor between the two would be both an attractive matchup for both teams as well as much more likely to happen than a Feb. series on either home campus.

Notre Dame has the most to offer from attractive matchup standpoint with traditional southern schools. Oklahoma is coming to Notre Dame Stadium in 2013 and UCLA visited in 2006. Both have been to the College World Series in the last three years and Notre Dame will play them both this weekend in Los Angeles. The chance to host either in an October regular season game would be more likely to happen than either going north during the spring any time soon.

Several schools – Vanderbilt, Texas and Cal State Fullerton to name a few – have played fall exhibition games recently.  Notre Dame and Michigan State have played in recent falls as well. Those games do not count toward spring records, but they do count against the 56-game limits. Aoki does think there needs to be some governance if fall regular season games ever do become a reality.

“I think there needs to be a minimum number of games that get played, and I think there needs to be a maximum number of games that get played,” said Aoki. “I think everybody has to play maybe let’s just say nine games at a minimum. You might look at that as three weekends and then you can’t play more than let’s just say 15 games total.”

Aoki believes the minimum and maximum game counts need to be in place to ensure schools in the south actually participate. Otherwise, there would be no real incentive for traditional power schools like Texas, LSU and Florida State to play in the fall, because playing home games in February is not a concern for them.

The last time a B1G team advanced to the College World Series was 1984 when Michigan advanced to Omaha for the last time. That trip ended the Wolverine’s run of five Omaha appearances in a seven-year span.

B1G’s claims of competitive imbalance in regards to northern teams are not completely without merit, but the recent success of other northern schools in recent years mutes those cries. Kent State and Stony Brook both went to Omaha last year and neither has the resources of a B1G institution. Kent State’s CWS run began by beating Purdue in the NCAA Regional the Boilermakers hosted.

Big East schools Notre Dame and Louisville have both been to Omaha since 2000, and St. John’s, UConn and even Michigan have come within an eyelash of advancing to college baseball’s promised land in the last few years as well.

“I do think it has some merit, I really do,” Aoki reiterated of the fall scheduling proposal. “But I do feel to a certain extent like this reeks of the Big Ten just doing a little bit of excuse making.”

Notre Dame currently shares its early season geographic challenges with the majority of its Big East brethren (Louisville and South Florida both play February home games), but that will change with Notre Dame’s impending move to the more February friendly ACC. Aoki sees “no chance” ACC coaches will vote to approve fall regular season games.

]]> http://collegebaseball360.com/nds-aoki-not-sold-on-b1gs-fall-proposal/feed/ 0 Schedule Set For 2012 Big Ten/Big East Baseball Challenge http://collegebaseball360.com/schedule-set-for-2012-big-tenbig-east-baseball-challenge/ http://collegebaseball360.com/schedule-set-for-2012-big-tenbig-east-baseball-challenge/#comments Tue, 04 Oct 2011 20:37:13 +0000 http://collegebaseball360.com/?p=23187

19 Teams To Play 30 Games To Open Season…

PARK RIDGE, Ill. – The Big East and Big Ten conferences, in conjunction with the St. Petersburg/ Clearwater Sports Commission, today released the schedule for the fourth annual Big Ten/Big East Baseball Challenge. The 2012 Challenge will feature 10 teams from the Big Ten and nine teams from the Big East playing 30 games over three days to open the college baseball season from Feb. 17-19.

The 2012 Challenge will feature Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State and Purdue from the Big Ten and Cincinnati, Connecticut, Louisville, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, St. John’s, Seton Hall, South Florida and West Virginia from the Big East. The event will be played at current and former Major League facilities in the St. Petersburg/Clearwater area, including Bright House Field and Florida Auto Exchange Stadium, the respective spring homes of the Philadelphia Phillies and Toronto Blue Jays. Games will also be played at Clearwater’s Jack Russell Memorial Stadium and St. Petersburg’s Al Lang Stadium and Walter Fuller Baseball Complex.

The 2012 Challenge will feature tripleheaders at Al Lang and Jack Russell on Friday and Saturday and doubleheaders on Sunday. Friday features an evening doubleheader at Florida Auto Exchange, while Bright House will host a twin bill on Saturday night. The Challenge also includes 10 games at Walter Fuller with doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday and six games on Sunday.

The Big Ten won the inaugural Challenge in 2009, 15-9, while the Big East was victorious in 2010, 17-13, and in 2011, 14-10.

Ticket information for the 2012 Challenge will be released at a later date.

For more information, visit Bigtenbigeastbaseballchallenge.com

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2012

10 a.m.
West Virginia at Northwestern Al Lang Stadium
Louisville at Minnesota Jack Russell Memorial Stadium
South Florida at Ohio State Walter Fuller Baseball Complex

1 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Iowa Al Lang Stadium
Cincinnati at Purdue Jack Russell Memorial Stadium
Notre Dame at Illinois Walter Fuller Baseball Complex

4 p.m.
Connecticut at Indiana Al Lang Stadium
St. John’s at Michigan State Florida Auto Exchange Stadium
Seton Hall at Penn State Jack Russell Memorial Stadium

7:30 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Michigan Florida Auto Exchange Stadium

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2012

10 a.m.
Indiana at Cincinnati Al Lang Stadium
Notre Dame at Iowa Jack Russell Memorial Stadium
Connecticut at Purdue Walter Fuller Baseball Complex

1 p.m.
Seton Hall at Michigan Al Lang Stadium
Michigan State at South Florida Jack Russell Memorial Stadium
Minnesota at St. John’s Walter Fuller Baseball Complex

4 p.m.
Louisville at Illinois Al Lang Stadium
West Virginia at Penn State Bright House Field
Northwestern at Pittsburgh Jack Russell Memorial Stadium

7:30 p.m.
Ohio State at Seton Hall Bright House Field

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2012

10 a.m.
Purdue at Notre Dame Al Lang Stadium
Illinois at St. John’s Jack Russell Memorial Stadium
Michigan at West Virginia Walter Fuller Baseball Complex
Penn State at Cincinnati Walter Fuller Baseball Complex
Michigan State at Louisville Walter Fuller Baseball Complex

1 p.m.
Minnesota at South Florida Al Lang Stadium
Ohio State at Connecticut Jack Russell Memorial Stadium
Iowa at West Virginia Walter Fuller Baseball Complex
Indiana at Pittsburgh Walter Fuller Baseball Complex
Northwestern at Seton Hall Walter Fuller Baseball Complex

The Dugout in Omaha is your one stop for the most officially licensed 2011 College World Series apparel.

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]]> http://collegebaseball360.com/schedule-set-for-2012-big-tenbig-east-baseball-challenge/feed/ 0 College Baseball 360 Fall Notebook – Oct. 3, 2011 http://collegebaseball360.com/college-baseball-360-fall-notebook-oct-3-2011/ http://collegebaseball360.com/college-baseball-360-fall-notebook-oct-3-2011/#comments Mon, 03 Oct 2011 20:20:22 +0000 http://collegebaseball360.com/?p=23167

Here’s a look at some noteworthy players with college connections and other things going on in the world of college baseball…

The Ax Man Cometh…

If you have spent any time watching the MLB Playoffs, Baseball Tonight or the MLB Network this season you have likely heard the incredible story about how Milwaukee’s John Axford has gone from cell phone salesman to Big League closer in the course of the last few years. However, that’s not even half of the journey that “Ax”, “The Ax Man” – pick your moniker – has gone through to get to where is is now.

Axford, who posted a 1.95 ERA with 46 saves for the NL Central champs this season, turned down the Seattle Mariners after they drafted him in the seventh round of the 2001 MLB Draft. He opted to play instead at Notre Dame, where he went to the College World Series as a freshman in 2002.

He was 5-2 that year after making 12 starts with five appearances out of the Irish bullpen. His fourth relief appearance was one of his most memorable. Axford entered game two of the Tallahassee Super Regional in the middle innings of what would be a 12-5 Irish loss.

In the fifth inning of that game, Florida State fans did what they always do-sang Oh Canada as the Seminoles prepared to bat in the home half of the inning. It’s doubtful the FSU faithful even gave thought to the fact that the lanky 6’6 Axford-a native of Port Dover, Ontario-was on the mound during their spirited chorus. “It fired me up a little,” Axford told me the next day.

While Axford’s 4 2/3 innings in that loss won’t go down in the Irish records books, they were important none the less. Axford did that day what a pro does. He did the same thing Tim Wakefield did for the Red Sox in the 2004 ALCS when he chewed-up 3 1/3 innings in relief in a blowout loss to the Yankees-he held the line. Notre Dame, led by current LSU skipper Paul Mainieri (current Virginia head coach Brian O’Connor was his pitching coach), knocked off the top ranked Seminoles 3-1 the next day to advance to Omaha.

Axford made one relief appearance at the CWS, but it would be the last NCAA Tournament appearance of his career. While teammates like Steve Stanley and Brian Stavisky were drafted that year by Billy Beane and eventually mentioned in Michael Lewis‘ book Moneyball, Axford is one of just two players from that ’02 team to make it to the MLB (they other was Matt Macri who missed the postseason due to injury).

He pitched for Mainieri and O’Connor again in 2003, missed all of ’04 after Tommy John surgery and then complete his collegiate career at Canisus in 2006.

But it wasn’t the elbow surgery that held Axford back as much as his problems with control. The Ax Man had 133 strikeouts, but walked 109 with 21 wild pitches in his two seasons under the Golden Dome. Things were no better as Canisus, where he walked and struckout 79 with 15 wild pitches in 70 innings, while going 3-8.

The guy who was considered by some publications to be the top prep player in Canada in 2001 could lather and rinse, but he just couldn’t repeat. Axford could be brilliantly dominant one day and then dumbfoundedly disastrous the next. Think Nuke Laloosh.

It was never more evident that two midweek starts for the Irish in 2003. Axford struckout 12 with no walks in 7.0 innings in an April 9 win over Western Michigan. However, he followed that start with 5 BB and just 4 K in a win over Central Michigan. Throw-in a 7 BB performance in 2 1/3 innings of relief in a Big East Tournament loss to Rutgers that May and it’s easy to see why it took the guy who now sports the second most recognizable facial hair in the Big Leagues to matriculate his way to Milwaukee.

Ask anyone who knows John Axford though, and they will tell you he is as good a person as he is a pitcher. He’s a case study in perseverance paying off over the long haul. Axford is doing now what he did that day in June in Tallahassee-holding the line.

The Dan Man Can…

Dan Johnson

Tampa Bay Rays first baseman, Dan Johnson, is another big league player with college connections. Johnson is probably now best known for his two-out, two-strike home run in the bottom of the ninth last week against the Yankees to help propel the Rays into the AL Playoffs. Like Axford, Johnson is also well traveled.

Johnson started his collegiate career at Butler University in Indianapolis before transferring to a junior college and eventually Nebraska. He batted .361 with 25 home runs and 86 RBIs in 2001 to help the program reach its first ever College World Series.

The 32-year-old made his Big League debut with the Oakland A’s in 2005. He stayed there through 2008, when Tampa Bay claimed him off waivers. Johnson then spent the 2009 season with the Yokohama Baystars in Japan. He has spent the last two seasons back in Tampa. His last hit prior to last week’s dramatic home run was in April.

Johnson and Axford are among 175 former college players on the 40-man rosters of this year’s MLB Playoff teams. Click Here to see more.

Who Needs High School…

Vanderbilt's Chris Harvey

Bryce Harper is probably the most famous player to skip his final year of high school to prepare for a future in baseball, but he is not the only one. Harper skipped his last two years of high school to enroll and play for a year at a junior college before the Washington Nationals made him their top draft pick.

Like Harper, Chris Harvey has jumped from high school to college early. However, unlike Harper, Harvey is doing at a higher level – both academically and athletically.

Harvey, a catcher like Harper, should be a senior at Germantown Academy in Pennsylvania, but instead he is working toward a shot to be Vanderbilt’s catcher in a year Tim Corbin‘s Commodores are coming off their first College World Series appearance.

The 6’6 Harvey was projected by many to go in the first three rounds of the 2012 MLB Draft, but the itch to play college ball was something he could not resist.

“It’s something that I wanted to do for a while,” Harvey recently told Max Preps. “This gives me an extra year of college, it helps me become a more well-rounded person, and the academics had a lot to do with it. I always wanted to come to Vanderbilt, and to be honest, me and my family weren’t really depending on what we were hearing [from Major League scouts and teams]. I think they basically all said what I wanted to hear.”

Other players who left high school in recent years to begin their college careers early include Levi Michael of North Carolina and UCLA’s Trevor Bauer. Things worked out well for both of them, as both made it to Omaha with their teams. Bauer was the third overall pick by Arizona in this year’s MLB Draft, while Michael went 30th overall to Minnesota.

Who Needs Two?

Speaking of Vanderbilt, tickets are on sale now for the DeMarini Fall Classic between the Commodores and Cal State Fullerton. The two games will take place October 22 & 23 at Vandy’s Hawkins Field in Nashville. The Titans are led by first year head coach Rick Vanderhook, who was an assistant on UCLA’s 2010 CWS runner-up team. Vanderhook was hired after Dave Serrano left Fullerton to become head coach at Tennessee.

Missouri and Iowa Lending A Helping Hand…

The Missouri and Iowa baseball teams will play a pair of fall exhibition games this weekend (October 8 & 9) and the proceeds from the games will go to a worthy cause.

All proceeds from those games will go directly toward rebuilding Joplin, Missouri’s Little League baseball programs, which were ravaged by tornadoes last May. Saturday’s baseball game will be held prior to the Missouri-Kansas State football game. First pitch for the exhibition is set for 12:30 (Central Time) and kickoff for the football game is at 2:30 pm. Sunday’s game starts at 1 pm.

Fans who can’t attend the games but would like to donate to the cause can contact Missouri director of baseball operations, Evan Pratte, at 573-882-1917 or via e-mail at prattee@missouri.edu.

CLICK HERE to see a video with Mizzou head coach Tim Jamieson further discussing the Joplin relief effort.

Schedules, Schedules and More Schedules…

Now that October is here, we will continue to see more and more college baseball teams release their 2012 schedules. we will link them along with team rosters on our master Schedule Page as they are released.

Long Beach State has the best non-conference slate that I have seen so far. Cal, UCLA, USC, Oregon, Arizona State Washington State, and Wichita State are all among the teams the Dirt Bags will face in 2012.

]]> http://collegebaseball360.com/college-baseball-360-fall-notebook-oct-3-2011/feed/ 0 LSU 2012 Baseball Schedule http://collegebaseball360.com/lsu-2012-baseball-schedule/ http://collegebaseball360.com/lsu-2012-baseball-schedule/#comments Tue, 30 Aug 2011 12:12:28 +0000 http://collegebaseball360.com/?p=22892

38 Home Games On Tap For Tigers…

LSU is has released its 2012 college baseball schedule. The Tigers open their season when they host Air Force on Friday, February 17. They play the Falcons again on Sunday the 19th after playing Alcorn State on the 18th.

The Tigers play 20 of their first 22 games at home. Other non-conference opponents during that season opening stretch are McNeese State, Appalachian State, Grambling, Dartmouth (3), Michigan (2), and Notre Dame (2).

The games against Michigan and Notre Dame are March 9-10 and 11-12, respectively. Head coach Paul Mainieri is now entering his sixth season at LSU. He was the head coach at Notre Dame prior to that. This will be his first meeting against his former team since arriving in Baton Rouge. Mainier led the Irish to the College World Series in 2002. He guided the Tigers to Omaha in 2008 and 2009, capturing the ’09 national championship.

LSU opens SEC play when it hosts Mississippi State March 16-18. Other conference home opponents are Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, and Vanderbilt.

The Bayou Bengals go on the road in SEC play to face Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, and defending national champion South Carolina.

The Dugout is located right across the street from the Road To Omaha statue outside TD Ameritrade Stadium, but if you left Omaha without that College World Series hat, shirt or memorabilia you were thinking about you can still get it at Dugouthats.com!  The Dugout also has fitted college and minor league caps – just like the ones the players where on the field.

The best part is, when you click on one of the red links to Dugouthats.com you will save 20% on your order when you enter the coupon code CB360!

]]> http://collegebaseball360.com/lsu-2012-baseball-schedule/feed/ 0 College Baseball 360 Fall Notebook #10 http://collegebaseball360.com/college-baseball-360-fall-notebook-10/ http://collegebaseball360.com/college-baseball-360-fall-notebook-10/#comments Mon, 15 Nov 2010 13:54:48 +0000 http://collegebaseball360.com/?p=13884

By Collegebaseball360.com Editor Sean Stires

The Lights Are Bright In Prime Time…

 

Garrett Wittels became the story of the 2010 college baseball season and his pursuit of history will be at the forefront when the 2011 season begins. The Florida International outfielder will put his 56-game hitting streak on the line when FIU hosts Southeastern Louisiana to begin the new season and the ESPN family of stations will be there. Wittels needs hits in each of FIU’s three games to break former Oklahoma State star Robin Ventura’s 24-year-old Division One record 58-game hit streak. The first two games of the series will be on ESPN3.com, while Sunday’s possibly historic series finale will be televised at 7:30 p.m. ET by ESPNU. If I were a baseball betting man I would say it’s a pretty safe guess that Ventura will be in the broadcast booth working as an analyst for those games.

Speaking Of TV…

We received a Tweet this week from a college baseball fans who is trying to drum-up interest in getting more college baseball games on TV. He wanted us to ask this basic question on our site: “Would you watch a college baseball game of the week on TV”? ESPNU does a great job of putting SEC games on during the season and you can typically find games on Fox Sports Regional channels as well, but what about other national games?  CLICK HERE to send us an e-mail on the subject or Tweet us @CB360updates.

Get A Big Hat And Pass It Around…

The latest update on the on-going effort to save the Cal baseball program looks promising. According to a message from Doug Nickle, who runs the Save Cal Baseball Facebook page, the group had a “productive” meeting with Cal Chancellor Robert Birgeneau last week. Of that meeting, Nickle says “While he (Birgeneau) maintains that we have an uphill battle, he was eager to learn of our significant efforts thus far. He can’t give us a specific number or a time frame, but he did in fact say the door to reinstatement is open!” The Save Cal Baseball official pledge drive is about to start, and they already have roughly $3.5 million in pledges. They hope to have $10 million by the previously announced January 1, 2011 deadline.

Hooping And Hurling…

 

College baseball’s early signing period started last week and college basketball players can sign letters of intent in the same window. Turns out Patrick Connaughton plans to play both sports at Notre Dame. Connaughton stands 6’5″ and plans to play forward for Mike Brey on the basketball court and pitch for Mik Aoki as well. The Irish have had several football/baseball players in recent years like Jeff Samardzija, Golden Tate, Evan Sharpley, and Eric Maust, but Connaughton will be the first in a long time to hit the hardwood and the diamond under the Golden Dome. Look for Connaughton in future Two-Sport Reports here on Collegebaseball360.com. Current reports include current college baseball players who also play sports like football, soccer, swimming, and squash. We still haven’t found any wrestlers though.

Nomar Better Late Than Never…

The Cape Cod League will induct 10 players plus one into its Hall of Fame this weekend. Nomar Garciaparra was actually inducted in 2002, but he was not able to attend the ceremony due to a scheduling conflict. The five-time All-Star will be there this Saturday (Nov. 20) to receive his plaque at the Chatham Bars Inn. Garciaparra’s former Boston Red Sox teammate, Lou Merloni, is among this year’s inductees. The others are Tom Grieve (Chatham), David Aardsma (Falmouth), Wayne Granger (Sagamore), Peter Ford (Harwich), Casey Close (Harwich), Michael Loggins (Harwich), Jack Cressend (Cotuit), Tom Weir (Chatham), and Steve Robbins (Wareham).

It’s Not Heaven, It’s Iowa…

For the first time in three decades Iowa will have a completely new field when its new season begins. Iowa’s Duane Banks Field recently received a new Kentucky Bluegrass playing surface, with some other “tweaks” to the field. They also moved home plate up five feet, so the new distance to center field will go from 400 to 395 feet. The move was made to help with the grading and drainage of the field. Head coach Jack Dahm also told Hawkeyesports.com that they will have new batting cages and turf down the left field line.

North Carolina’s Chase Jones

King For A Day…

North Carolina bullpen catcher Chase Jones was recently named his school’s 2010 Homecoming King. Jones was diagnosed with brain cancer in the fall of 2006 and has survived to not only be a contributor to the Tar Heel baseball team, but he also founded the UNC BaseBald For A Cure Foundation. Proceeds have helped children’s cancer patients.

Inside The Webb…

If you missed it last week, we have a new addition to the web site. Inside The Webb made its debut last Friday with Chris Webb. Chris is a great advocate for college baseball and we’re excited to have him share his thoughts in this weekly column and we hope you enjoy his insights as well!

]]> http://collegebaseball360.com/college-baseball-360-fall-notebook-10/feed/ 0 Schrage Fired At Notre Dame http://collegebaseball360.com/schrage-fired-at-notre-dame/ http://collegebaseball360.com/schrage-fired-at-notre-dame/#comments Mon, 14 Jun 2010 17:23:12 +0000 http://collegebaseball360.com/?p=11250

National Search To Begin Immediately

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Dave Schrage will not be retained as head baseball coach at the University of Notre Dame after four seasons in that position.

Dave Schrage was 119-104-1 in four years at ND. (Notre Dame photo)

Schrage compiled a record of 119-104-1 (.533) with the Irish, including a 22-32 mark in 2010. He has a career record of 595-657-1 in 23 seasons, which includes a 535-591-1 mark in 20 years at the Division I level, including stints at Northern Iowa (1991-99), Northern Illinois (2000-02) and Evansville (2003-06).

“I appreciate all the contributions Dave has made over the past four seasons to Notre Dame baseball,” said Notre Dame athletics director Jack Swarbrick.

“Like Dave and his staff and his players, we all would have liked to have enjoyed more success, but it certainly wasn’t for lack of effort or commitment.

“I will begin today to work with (senior assistant athletics director and baseball administrator) Josh Berlo to conduct a national search for our next baseball coach.”

After an inexperienced squad finished 28-28 in 2007, Notre Dame improved its victory total each of the next two years (33-21-1 in 2008 and 36-23 in 2009) and earned top-25 rankings in consecutive years for the first time since 2005-06. Then in 2010, the Irish failed to qualify for the eight-team BIG EAST Conference Championship for the first time in 15 years following a 22-32 season.

In BIG EAST play under Schrage, the Irish finished 11-17 in 2007 for seventh place (0-2 at BIG EAST Championship), 16-10 for third place in 2008 (0-2 at BIG EAST Championship), 15-12 for fifth place in 2009 (3-2 at BIG EAST Championship) and 10-17 for an eighth-place tie in 2010.

Schrage was introduced July 18, 2006, as the 19th head coach in the history of the Notre Dame baseball program. Prior to accepting the position at Notre Dame, Schrage completed his fourth year at Evansville in 2006 while guiding the Aces to the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season and tournament titles, reaching the NCAA regional championship round and finishing 19th in the national polls. MVC coach of the year in 2006, Schrage guided the Aces in building the program victory total each season: 24-31 in 2003, 28-32 in ’04, 35-23 in ’05 and a 43-22 mark in 2006 that represents the second-most wins in Evansville history.

Schrage came to Evansville after a three-year stint at Northern Illinois. Collegiate Baseball magazine recognized Schrage as runner-up for its 2000 national coach-of-the-year award. Prior to his three years at Northern Illinois, Schrage spent nine seasons as head coach at Northern Iowa where he was MVC coach of the year in 1995 and ’97.

Schrage’s standout playing career at Creighton included all-MVC honors in 1982, after leading the conference with a .400 batting average. He raised that mark to .433 as a senior and received 1983 CoSIDA Academic All-America honors.

Former Notre Dame head coach Paul Mainieri gave Schrage his first job in coaching when he hired him to his staff at St. Thomas University (located in Miami and also known as Biscayne College). Schrage spent the 1983-84 season as a graduate assistant at Biscayne/St. Thomas before returning to Creighton to work two seasons with current Chicago Cubs general manager Jim Hendry.

Schrage coached overseas in 1987-88 with the Mt. Gravatt Eagles Club in Brisbane, Australia, and returned to direct the baseball team at Waldorf Junior College (now a four-year college in Forest City, Iowa) for three seasons (1988-90) before taking over at Northern Iowa.

A two-sport standout in baseball and basketball at Chicago’s Fenwick High School, Schrage received his bachelor of science degree in business administration from Creighton in 1983 and a master’s in sports administration from Biscayne/St. Thomas in 1987. The Chicago native was born April 29, 1961.

(Courtesy Notre Dame Sports Information)

]]> http://collegebaseball360.com/schrage-fired-at-notre-dame/feed/ 0 Sunday Regional Baseball Notebook http://collegebaseball360.com/sunday-regional-baseball-notebook/ http://collegebaseball360.com/sunday-regional-baseball-notebook/#comments Mon, 07 Jun 2010 13:07:01 +0000 http://collegebaseball360.com/?p=10637

A By The Numbers Look At Day 3 NCAA Play…

8…Winner take all Regional championship games that will take place on Monday (CLICK HERE to see our full Regional scoreboard with Monday’s match-ups.

8…Teams that went 3-0 in Regional play over the weekend to advance to Super Regionals: Arizona State, Florida, Florida State, Oklahoma, South Carolina, UCLA, TCU, and Texas.

15…Years since Oklahoma had started NCAA play with a 3-0 record before beating North Carolina 3-2 to advance to the second Super Regional in program history (the format switched in 1999).

Oklahoma celebrates after earning the program's second Super Regional appearance. (OU photo)

2005…The last time a North Carolina team failed to get out of the Regional round of the NCAA Tournament.  Mike Fox’s UNC squad had made four straight College World Series trips, but are eliminated in Regional play for the first time since falling to Notre Dame in ’05 at the Gainesville, FL Regional.

1…Super Regional match-up that is set.  TCU and Texas will square-off in a rematch of last year’s Super Regional that sent the Longhorns to Omaha.

3…Runs allowed in three Regional wins by the vaunted Texas pitching staff.

32…Strikeouts in its three Regional victories by the TCU pitching staff.

1…#4 seed, Minnesota, that started this year’s Regional action 2-0.  The Golden Gophers join the 2004 Pepperdine team and the 2008 eventual National Champion Fresno State squad as the only #4 seeds to start 2-0 since 2003.  Minnesota lost 7-2 to Cal State Fullerton Sunday night and will play for the Regional title Monday night.

8…First inning runs scored by St. John’s en-route to a 22-16 elimination game win over Ole Miss in Charlottesville.

7…Runs given-up in just 2/3 of an inning by Ole Miss starter David Goforth in that game.

Jereymy Baltz (SJU photo)

24…Home runs this season by St. John’s freshman Jeremy Baltz after he hit a pair in Sunday 6-5 upset of #5 national seed Virginia.  The win forced Monday’s Regional Championship game.

10…Runs scored in the first inning by Coastal Carolina in its 25-7 elimination game win over Stony Brook.

23-0…Dartmouth’s record this season when leading after 6 innings prior to Sunday’s 4-3 loss to Texas A&M.  The Big Green lost after Joe Patterson homered in the 8th to tie the game, followed by a long ball by Kevin Gonzalez to lead-off the 9th for the final margin.

10…Home runs hit so far in Regional play by the Aggies after they hit two more in Sunday night’s 11-7 win over Miami to force Monday’s title game.

36 2/3…Innings pitched without allowing an earned run by A&M closer John Stilson.  The sophomore (9-1, 10 saves) tossed 3 scoreless innings in the Dartmouth win, and then fired the final 3 2/3 innings of the win over Miami.

116…Strikeouts by Stilson in 82 2/3 IP this season.

6…Runs in just 2/3 of an inning by Oregon State starter Tyler Waldron in Sunday’s 11-7 elimination game loss to Florida Atlantic.

25-7…Final score of Coastal Carolina’s elimination game win over Stony Brook.  The Chanticleers broke the game open with 10 runs in the top of the 3rd inning.  They scored at least one run in each of the last seven innings of the game.

3…Straight at-bats with a home run by Virginia Tech’s Buddy Sosnoskie, who homered in his first AB of Sunday’s 4-3 win over The Citadel.  He also went deep in his last two trips to the plate in Saturday’s win over Bucknell.

Tyler Thompson and Florida celebrate a home run. (UF photo)

3…Home runs by Florida 9-home batter Tyler Thompson in Sunday’s 15-0 win over Florida Atlantic.  Thompson had hit just two HR all season, but had a power surge to help send the Gators to the Super Regionals for a second straight year.

3…Run home run in the 8th inning by Creede Simpson to propel Auburn to an 11-10 win over Clemson.  The teams rematch for the Regional championship Monday night.

5 1/3…Scoreless innings pitched by St. John’s reliever Kevin Kilpatrick to help the Red Storm shock #5 national seed Virginia 6-5 to force a Monday Regional final game in Charlottesville.

2…Outs in the bottom of the 8th inning when Red Storm freshman Jeremy Baltz homered to provide the eventual winning runs in the St. John’s win.  It was Baltz’s second homer of the game and his24th this season.  He already ranks fourth in the St. John’s all-time home run record book (career home runs, not single season).

5…RBIs by Baltz’s teammate, Matt Wessinger, earlier in the day in a 20-16 elimination game win over Ole Miss.  Wessinger finished a home run shy of the cycle.

8…Runs scored by the Red Storm in the first inning of that game, which sent the Rebels home and St. John’s to the Regional championship round.

Richie Goodnow is congratulated after his first career complete game. (Vandy photo)

0…Runs allowed by Vanderbilt pitcher Ritchie Goodenow in his first career complete game-a 7-0 upset of #7 national seed Louisville on Sunday to force Monday’s Regional final game.

68…Career appearances Goodenow has made.  The win over the Cardinals was just the lefty’s second career start.

5…Runs scored in the 9th inning by Vandy to beat Illinois State 10-4 in an elimination game earlier in the day just to advance for the right to play Louisville.

2…Years in a row Vanderbilt has beaten the Cardinals in an elimination game in Louisville to force a winner take all Regional final.  Louisville won last year to advance to the Fullerton Super Regional.  The winner this year faces Florida State.

1…Career complete game by Rice’s Mike Ojala, who went the distance in his 34th career start to help the Owls beat Louisiana-Lafayette in a Sunday elimination game (they would lose 4-1 to Texas in their next game to see their season end).  Ojala (6-2) had ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction surgery last June.

2…Starts made on Sunday by Washington State junior James Wise.  The junior gave-up six runs in just 2 1/3 innings in an eventual 9-6 elimination game win over Kansas State.  He then started and gave-up just a run in 3 IP to help WSU beat Arkansas 10-7, forcing a Monday Regional final.

James Wise

19…Wins this season by the Washington State bullpen with 6 1/3 shutout innings in the win over K-State.  Richie Ochoa (2-2)  tossed 4 1/3 scoreless frames to help the Cougar pen tie a school record that was originally set in 1987.

33….Years since Washington State last played in a Regional Championship game prior to Monday’s showdown with Arkansas in Fayetteville.

46…Wins this season by UCLA (46-13) to set a new single-season record after Sunday’s 6-2 Regional Championship win over UC-Irvine.  The Bruins are headed to the Super Regionals for the second time in the last four years.

18…50 win seasons by Arizona State (50-8) after beating Hawaii 8-4 to advance to the Super Regionals.

19…Combined College World Series appearances by Florida State head coach Mike Martin (13) and Oregon skipper George Horton (6 with Cal State Fullerton), whose teams met in the championship game of the Norwich Regional.  Martin’s Seminoles won 5-3 to advance to a third straight Super Regional.

1…Out and one runner on in the bottom of the 9th inning when  Rico Noel homered to give Coastal Carolina an 8-7 win over the College of Charleston to force a deciding game Monday in the Myrtle Beach Regional.  Charleston had beaten Coastal a day earlier.

]]> http://collegebaseball360.com/sunday-regional-baseball-notebook/feed/ 0 College Baseball’s Coaching Carousel Has Begun http://collegebaseball360.com/college-baseballs-coaching-carousel-has-begun/ http://collegebaseball360.com/college-baseballs-coaching-carousel-has-begun/#comments Tue, 25 May 2010 12:39:17 +0000 http://collegebaseball360.com/?p=9890

Collegebaseball360.com contributor Chase Titleman from Road2rosenblatt.com checks-in with a look at where coaches could be headed (and where some already are headed) during the off season.

By Chase Titleman

With the announcement by new UNLV Athletic Director Jim Livengood that head coach Buddy Gouldsmith will not be retained for the 2011 season, the first initial shot sailing over the bow of the annual coaching carousel has been fired.

With other coaching openings rumored to be open soon, which may include Tennessee, Georgia, USC, Notre Dame, UNC-Greensboro and Hawaii, this could be a monumental year for not only the experienced head coach who desires to move up the coaching ladder of success and on to greater challenges, but for developing assistant coaches looking for their first gig at running a Division I show.

This past month, Mike Weathers (Long Beach State) and Bob Todd (The Ohio State University) both announced their retirements, while earlier in the season, Mike Hutcheon was replaced via a forced resignation by interim head coach Mike Kazlausky at the Air Force Academy.

None of these positions carry the attractiveness of UNLV, which sports an outstanding baseball stadium with rich university athletic facilities, and is located within the heart of a 500 radial mile recruiting hot bed, which includes the Phoenix, Los Angeles and Bay Area markets, not to mention the fertile baseball grounds of Las Vegas itself.

Obviously attractive in it’s own right for the young developing coach looking to create a coaching resume before bolting to greater opportunities, neither The Ohio State University, nor the Air Force Academy are highly sought after positions, being from cold-weather climates and limited recruiting resources specific to baseball.

The one job that is attractive to experienced head coaching icons (Long Beach State) has already been filled with the announced hiring of Troy Buckley, a former alum, who after a years sabbatical with the Pittsburgh Pirates Organization, will run the “Dirtbags” over on “The Beach” next season.

The Ohio State University certainly has the resources to be a very attractive position given the wealth of the Athletic Department.

Bob Todd retired after 23 seasons at Ohio State.

A natural power harbinger for the developing Big-10 Network, but given Todd’s apparent success – or to some – “the lack of success” at the school, is there a serious contender with head coaching experience from outside the great lakes region who would consider the position?

The Todd debate is a convoluted affair as most of his supporters are thrilled with the 837 all-time victories, but the corporate power players are less than enthralled, especially considering the closest he came to Omaha were Super Regional losses in 2003 and 1999.

Todd, who has been a head coach at the Division I level for 37 of the 39 years he has been coaching, is one of the few in coaching who has achieved the much revered 1000-win milestone, and he is a member of the College Coaches Association Hall of Fame, as voted in 2009.

A winner of eight Big-10 regular season titles and eight Conference Tournament championships, as well as 13 trips to the post season tournament, is this – perhaps – as good as Ohio State can expect for a northern program with such a talented coach guiding the ship?

The obvious question to ask is if Todd couldn’t get it done with all of his credentials and accomplishments…who can?

Louisville head coach Dan McDonnell certainly can, but the former assistant at Ole Miss who led Louisville to the College World Series in 2007 has his sight set on a bigger horizon as he is rumored to favor a return to the SEC, where both the climate and fertile recruiting grounds harbor greater hopes of reaching college baseball’s promise land on an annual basis.

Gary Gilmore and Coastal Carolina have won 35 straight Big South Conference games.

With openings rumored at both Tennessee and Georgia by seasons end, McDonnell will have to fend off stiff challenges within the region, especially from Coastal Carolina head coach Gary Gilmore, who won his 600th game in a 7-2 win over Radford last week.

Gilmore, who is 600-300 in 21 seasons heading the Chanticleer ship, is currently in the middle of his most successful campaign as Coastal Carolina (47-7, 25-0 Big South) is a major player in the race for the national championship this season.

Not that he is necessarily looking, but if ever there was a season that led Gilmore to the SEC, this would be it as his overall coaching record of 853-402 certainly fits the SEC criteria of success, and he has a trip to a super-regional to tack on his rising resume.

Another rising star within the SEC footprint is Western Kentucky’s Chris Finwood, who had his most successful season last year in guiding the Hilltoppers to their first 40-win season in 21 years.

No stranger himself to the post-seasons of the past, but this season his Topper program has struggled to maintain the high benchmark the program has recently established, falling all the way to 5th in the Sun Belt Conference standings with a little over a week to go in the regular season.

Finwood may no longer be a “Flavor of the Month,” hire the SEC is so duly noted for, and he may in fact need another year or two of seasoning before getting his SEC invitation.

But with McDonnell waiting patiently in the wings for an SEC opening to occur, his decision to return to the SEC could set off a potentially wild off-season of coaching changes across the landscape of college baseball.

Imagine the following scenario:

McDonnell takes the Georgia job, which opens up Louisville.  Gilmore then takes the Tennessee position, which opens up Coastal Carolina.  Would Finwood be interested in the lateral move to Coastal, or would his sights be set upon the beautiful ballpark in Louisville?  Would Louisville even be interested in Finwood considering the program’s latest fall?

Would the assistants under McDonnell or Gimore stay to take over Louisville and Coastal, or would they follow their leader to the SEC schools of Tennessee and Georgia and the land of higher paychecks and greater prestige?

And who knows, given the surreal and unrealistic demands of the SEC, it wouldn’t be uncommon to see Mississippi State or even Kentucky open as well, which would send the carousel into an absolute shark frenzy, and potentially leading college administrators to some stressful and sleepless nights.

Which brings us back to UNLV and the urgency that Jim Livengood is faced with for the various scenario’s must be keeping him up at night wondering how to attack and take advantage of the timing surrounding his baseball opening.

Given the current opportunities at low profile schools, such as Ohio State and the Air Force Academy, coupled with what would now be potentially high profile openings at Louisville and Coastal Carolina, two teams that could end up in Omaha this season, should Livengood wait until the end of the post-season, which could extend the Rebels coaching search into July and risk trying to sell UNLV as a destination job when so many are jockeying for high profile positions, or should he strike while the opportunity is hot in taking the best assistant coaches the country has to offer?

Florida took this option three seasons ago in hiring Clemson assistant coach Kevin O’Sullivan after Florida failed to make the post-season and look where the Gators are now…a solid Top-5 program and a legitimate contender with a solid pitching staff to win the national championship.

Given this scenario, Livengood should narrow his focus to two longtime successful assistant coaches who have major west coast ties and get his program moving in the right direction now while the irons are hot.

In most circumstances, the failure to reach postseason play would be a fatal doom to many assistant coaches looking for head coaching positions as the “Flavor of the Month” factor is a vital key for young coaches looking to capitalize on a masterful season.

However, with both Oklahoma State and Washington in the midst of youthful rebuilding projects, ironically, the timing may be just right for assistant coaches Dave Nakama (Washington) and Billy Jones (Oklahoma State) to capitalize on the marketplace for they are not involved with the daily preparations on the post-season “Road to Omaha.”

Both are no strangers to post-season play as Nakama has been to Omaha with the Stanford Cardinal on more than one occasion, even participating in a national championship game in recent past, while Jones has been as close to Omaha as you can get without actually getting there, losing in game three of the super’s at both NC State and Oklahoma State, programs that were largely built on his recruiting efforts.

Livengood must face the music for UNLV is not a destination job to most, but rather a stepping stone job one can use to reach greater fortunes. He won’t attract names like McDonnell, Gilmore or Finwood for they would simply see a move to UNLV as a lateral move, or worse yet, a step down in stature.

For Jones and Nakama, however, who are no strangers to multiple second place finishes in multiple coaching searches across the country in the last decade, UNLV would in fact be the destination job that Livengood so intends to sell considering both have experienced the trials and tribulations of developing various schools into successful programs and recognize the importance of not only the timing, but the opportunity itself.

Plus their age, with both now over 40, is likely to make both realize the fragility of the opportunity.  Both can neither afford to take any job, for the job they take at their age may certainly be their last chance at the coaching carousel.

The ironic timing of the situation is that UNLV is not just any run of the mill coaching job.  It is a sleeping giant waiting for the right mix of coaching intelligence and fortitude to mold it into success.

With the Mountain West Conference on the verge of a possible automatic BCS invitation in the near future, the conference and its member schools may just be awash in revenue sooner than later.

With outstanding facilities and a state government friendly to the dynamic needs of the corporate world, UNLV could be a major player in the Western region if the right coach is hired, and the right coach is someone who recognizes that you can get to Omaha from Las Vegas if you are willing to develop the foundation and commit the time to see it to fruition.

If Livengood is serious about building a program in “Sin City,” he should focus on hiring a coach who is not intent on building a program for 5 years, padding his resume only to move on to greater exploits, which is exactly why Nakama and Jones make so much sense from the long term viewpoint.

If the small school baseball powers – all within the 500 radial mile footprint of UNLV – schools such as Cal-State-Fullerton, Cal-Irvine, Long Beach State or UC-San Diego can achieve success on the baseball diamond without a cash-cow football program generating substantial revenue for the entire athletic department, the Rebels certainly should have a major advantage over this list of baseball Titans in the west if they can get their act together.

In today’s climate of player motivation and team communication, you need a coach who can garnish the will of the athletes to grind out a championship.

You need a coach who can sell not only his institution, city or state, but himself.  You need a coach who can manage the educational demands of the classroom and the professional baseball aspirations of the family.  You need a coach who can sell the corporate sponsors within his region with excellent speaking and entertaining skill sets, as well as a grounded sense that the program is not about his personal coaching recognition, reputation and fame, but the recognition, reputation and fame of the university and the players who represent it.

For Livengood, he needs a coach who has been through the grind and recognizes that UNLV is not a stepping stone job and who isn’t going to bolt 5 years down the line, which is a rare combination when considering the current recycled head coaching candidates.

It is time for Livengood to give either Billy Jones or David Nakama, two often forgotten names among the coaching fraternity, a chance to develop a program that will one day play on the fertile soil in Omaha on a regular basis.

The Jones File

Jones began his coaching career in 1997 at Green River Community College in Washington State following in the footsteps of his coaching mentor Dan Spencer, who after over a decade of work at Oregon State and two national championship rings later, is now the head coach at Texas Tech.

Oklahoma State assistant Billy Jones

Green River College, under the direction of Jones, won the NWAACC’s Western Region championship in 1998 and a year later Spencer, then the lead assistant coach at Oregon State University under head coach Pat Casey, offered Jones the volunteer assistant position where he earned his degree in Liberal Studies.

Noted as an outstanding hitting coach (he hit .433 as a player at Lower Columbia College), his Green River wood bat program once hit 60 home runs in just 36 games.

The strong hitting trend has followed Billy’s coaching pursuits across the country as the Oklahoma State program led the Big-12 in home runs and batting average in 2005, his first season in Stillwater, and by year three at the school the Cowboys led the conference in batting average, home runs and slugging percentage altogether.

The 2008 team alone had 8 members in the starting line-up who hit .317 or higher!

A noted players coach, Jones developed national recruiting classes at both NC State and Oklahoma State after being mentored by Arizona State coach Pat Murphy, where he was the Director of Baseball Operations for two seasons.

While in Raleigh, North Carolina – Jones helped guide the Wolf Pack to two NCAA Regional appearances in three seasons and was one of five finalists for the Baseball America National Assistant Coach of the Year Award in 2003.

Although he coaches outfielders and hitting at present with the Cowboys, his troops at NC State improved their team fielding percentage every year, from .958 in 2002, to .966 in 2003 to .976 (4th best in the nation) in 2004, the year NC State lost in the super-regional finals.

Former Oklahoma State volunteer assistant coach Trevor Brown, who now works as the Northwest Area Scout for the Minnesota Twins Organization, has nothing but glowing words for his coaching mentor Jones.

Brown, a former NAIA All-American who won a national championship at Lewis and Clarke State College under the direction of Ed Cheff, claims that “Jones is the best coach he has worked for or played under in terms of getting the most talent out of his players.  “He has an innate ability to connect to all players of differing backgrounds as he approaches each player individually, playing to their strengths and masking their weaknesses to improve player performance.”

Brown played for both Cheff (Lewis & Clarke State) and Donny Harrel (the current head coach at Seattle University) at Lane Community College, and although not taking anything away from those other coaches, believes Jones has a special talent in developing players compared to most of the coaches around the country today.

“His players have extreme loyalty and he is somewhat of a master in identifying and recruiting diamond-in-the-rough type players and developing them into All-Americans and professional baseball prospects.  It would be a shame not to see him lead his own program in the near future as he is certainly qualified and well equipped to run a championship level program.”

The Nakama File

After spending 10 plus seasons at Stanford University, Dave Nakama has moved up north in the PAC-10 Conference joining coach Lindsey Meggs initial staff at Washington in 2010.

Washington assistant Dave Nakama

At Stanford, Nakama worked with the infielders and hitters while coaching first base, and was a central figure in recruiting, helping the Cardinal land four top-10 recruiting classes in the last 8 years according to BaseballAmerica.com

During his decade on “The Farm,” Nakama helped the team to four PAC-10 Championships, five NCAA regional titles and four trips to the College World Series.

Among the many he mentored as coach, Boston Red Sox shortstop Jed Lowrie, first-rounder John Mayberry Jr., and Seattle Mariners farmhand Chris Minaker stand out among a crowded and talented athletic baseball crop that populated the Stanford dugout.

Under Nakama’s watchful eye, the Cardinal posted their five best seasons for fielding percentage in school history, including a .977 mark in 2005 where they committed 51 errors in 59 games.  All in all, Nakama led the Cardinal to five top-10 finishes in his last eight years at the school, including another .977 mark in his last season.

According to Husky coach Lindsey Meggs, who worked with Nakama at Chico State and San Francisco State, “having Dave on the staff is like having another head coach in the dugout…he has all the intangibles needed to be a head coach as he can manage the game both offensively and defensively, and more importantly, he knows the PAC-10 Conference inside and out.”

Having personally watched Nakama work with the En Fuego Academy program in Seattle, he has an innate ability to communicate with young athletes and what impresses me the most is his genuine interest in helping players move on in college baseball, even if his school (currently the Huskies) isn’t on the players list of schools as he believes the college decision is one of the five defining choices a young man will make in his lifetime.

Like Jones, who has Junior College and collegiate summer-ball coaching experience, Nakama spent five seasons as the head coach at Mission Junior College (Santa Clara, CA), leading his squad to the California State Tournament in each of his final two seasons, earning conference Coach of the Year honors in 1996.

Although Nakama would be a great hire at UNLV, which is a job he wouldn’t turn down, the natural position for the Hawaiian native and perhaps the job he covets most is the Hawaii job.

A graduate from Kaiser High School in Honolulu and a former head and assistant coach for the collegiate summer-ball Hawaii Island Movers, it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if Nakama isn’t named the program’s next head coach.

That is if someone like UNLV doesn’t beat Hawaii to the punch.

The question athletic director Livengood should seriously consider is what other coaching candidates have ties to so many successful coaches and championships programs in comparison to Jones or Nakama?

Jones has worked with Pat Casey and Pat Murphy, no strangers themselves to the College World Series.

Since leaving NC State, the Wolf-Pack have not sustained the barometer set by Jones who led them to a super-regional.  Jones has also worked with Frank Anderson, who came to Oklahoma State after winning a national championship on the Texas staff in 2005.

For coach Nakama, is there another assistant coach in the country who has worked for two coaching icons like Mark Marquess at Stanford or Lindsey Meggs at Chico State?

With four trips to the College World Series and team records in fielding percentage, not to mention his recruiting prowess, what exactly is Livengood looking at to eliminate Nakama?

The same can be said of Jones.

]]> http://collegebaseball360.com/college-baseballs-coaching-carousel-has-begun/feed/ 0 College Baseball Notebook-Week 14 http://collegebaseball360.com/college-baseball-notebook-week-14/ http://collegebaseball360.com/college-baseball-notebook-week-14/#comments Mon, 24 May 2010 14:37:19 +0000 http://collegebaseball360.com/?p=9709

The Last Notebook Of The Regular Season…

48…Game hitting streak by Florida International shortstop Garrett Wittels.  The sophomore has the second-longest hitting streak in Division One history after hitting safely in Saturday’s regular season finale vs. rival Florida Atlantic. Former Oklahoma State and MLB star Robin Ventura owns the all-time record with hits in 58 straight games in 1987.

.415…Wittels‘ batting average during the streak (and season to date).  He has played in 48 of his team’s 53 games this season and has collected 66 singles, 15 doubles, two triples, and two home runs during the streak.

2 2/3…Innings Wittels has also pitched this season.  He has a 3.30 ERA.

34…Consecutive scoreless innings pitched by Rhode Island’s Tim Boyce, who tossed his second straight complete game shutout last Thursday vs. George Washington.  The scoreless streak is the longest in Division One baseball in 2010.

7 2/3…Innings pitched before Boyce gave-up a hit in that game.  The senior settled for a three-hitter with seven strikeouts and just one walk to improve to 5-3 this season.

.109…Batting average of the combined 119 batters Boyce has faced during his scoreless streak, which dates back to April 30.  Boyce has given-up just 12 hits with 29 strikeouts and four walks during the impressive streak.

32 1/3…Scoreless innings streak by Wichita State sophomore Jordan Cooper that ended Thursday when Dallas Baptist’s Jason Kizran hit his 11th home run of the season.  Cooper gave-up the lone run in 7 IP with eight strikeouts to improve to 9-2 on the year.

11…SEC regular season championships won by Florida after the Gators won their series at South Carolina over the weekend heading into this week’s SEC Baseball Tournament.

14…Years since the Gators last won a series in Columbia, SC prior to their weekend win.  Third-year Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan is the seventh head coach in school history to win an SEC crown.

332…Career strikeouts by Mississippi’s Drew Pomeranz to tie an Ole Miss school record.  Pomeranz fanned six in Thursday’s 5-3 loss to Auburn to hit the mark.  The junior lefty has 127 Ks in 86 2/3 IP this season.

19…Wins in SEC regular season play, the most in school history, by Auburn after taking the first two games of the series vs. Ole Miss.  The series win gives the Tigers their first SEC West Division crown since 1995.  Auburn will be the #2 seed at the SEC Tournament.

2,055…Combined career wins by Minnesota’s John Anderson (1,031) and Ohio State’s Bob Todd (1,024) prior to their weekend series in Columbus, OH.  Both have already been inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

2…Games won by Anderson’s Golden Gophers over Todd’s Buckeyes to give Minnesota the Big Ten regular season crown and knock Ohio State out of the Big Ten Tournament, which is being played this year on Ohio State’s Bill Davis Stadium.

3…Wins by Iowa over Purdue to end the regular season to give the Hawkeyes the #4 seed at the Big Ten Tourney.  It’s Iowa’s only season sweep of the season and the first for the Hawkeyes to end the regular season since 1980.  Iowa and Purdue will play in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.

4…Complete game shutouts this season by Pepperdine’s Matt Bywater.  The senior set Pepperdine’s single-season shutout record with Friday’s 5-0 win over San Diego.  He was previously in a nine-way tie for first place with the likes of former Major Leaguer Mike Scott.

1…West Coast Conference loss by San Diego, which was 15-0 in league play heading into Friday’s action.  The Toreros have already claimed the WCC regular season championship, which comes with an automatic NCAA bid.

5…Complete games tossed by Bywater (5-5) this season to help the Pepperdine pitching staff to a WCC-best 11 CGs this year.

5…Complete games combined by the Portland, San Francisco and Gonzaga pitching staffs in 2010.

17…Consecutive times Vanderbilt’s Jason Esposito reached base safely prior to striking out looking in the fifth inning of Thursday’s 4-3 win over Arkansas.  Esposito’s streak fell one short of tying the all-time NCAA record of 18, which was set by Shaun Larkin of Cal State Northridge in 2002.

3…Games won by Clemson over Florida State to end the regular season and give the Tigers the ACC’s Atlantic Division crown.

2…Games won in the series by Clemson reliever Alex Frederick, who pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings of relief in Saturday’s 8-3 win after earning the win in 2 1/3 innings of relief in Thursday’s 9-8 victory.

1994…The last time a Clemson pitcher won two games in an ACC three-game series prior to Frederick’s weekend feat.

4…Runs scored by Louisville with two outs in the 9th inning of Thursday’s 6-3 win over Notre Dame.  The Cardinals scored their runs on J.J. Ethel’s pinch-hit 3-run HR, which was followed by a solo shot by Jeff Arnold.

2…Runs scored by Louisville when the Cardinals were again down to their last out in game one of Saturday’s doubleheader vs. the Irish.  Adam Duvall’s 2-run triple gave Louisville the winning runs.

15…Wins by the Cardinals this season that have seen the winning runs scored in their last at-bat.  Louisville’s sweep of Notre Dame, coupled with UConn falling to Seton Hall in its regular season finale gave the Cards the Big East regular season championship.

3…Runs scored on a two out walk-off home run by West Virginia’s Kevin Griffin to give the Mountaineers a 3-2 win over Villanova The win clinched the #8 seed at the Big East Tournament for WVU and knocked Notre Dame out of a spot in the tourney.

1987…The last time Notre Dame (22-32) both finished with a losing record and failed to qualify for a conference tournament.  The Irish had been to the Big East Tournament every year since joining the conference in the 1996 season.

35… Straight Big South Conference games won by Coastal Carolina, which closed its 2010 regular season slate at 25-0 after taking two games from Radford (the finale was rained-out).

8…Runs scored by Washington from the 9th-11th innings to beat Oregon 13-11 in Friday’s series opener.  After the Huskies scored two in the 9th and four runs in the 10th inning to tie the game, freshman Chase Anselment capped the thriller with a two-run walk-off home run.

41…Regular season wins for UCLA after a weekend sweep of Cal.  It’s the first time in 31 years the Bruins (41-11, 16-8 Pac 10) have registered at least 41 regular season victories.

1969…The last time UCLA has been at least 30 games above .500.  With no Pac 10 Tournament, the Bruins conclude the regular season this week with a Tuesday game vs. Big West champion Cal State Fullerton and three games vs. Pac 10 foe Washington State.

9-1…Washington State’s record in its last 10 games after a weekend sweep of USC.  The hot streak has the Cougars (31-18, 14-10) in third place in the Pac 10, behind Arizona State (47-5, 18-6) and UCLA.

1…2009 College World Series team, North Carolina, that failed to qualify for its conference tournament this year.  The Tar Heels (36-20, 14-16 ACC) did not make the ACC Tournament despite a sweep of Viginia Tech to close the regular season.  Boston College made it in after a series of tie-breakers.

0…ACC teams that have ever made the NCAA Tournament without first qualifying for the ACC Tournament.  The Tar Heels, which had an RPI of 30 last week, will be on pins and needles until NCAA selections come out next Monday (May 31).

2…More NCAA Tournament automatic bids that were locked-up over the weekend.  Bethune-Cookman won the MEAC crown, while Bucknell took the Patriot League title.

1998…The last time Oral Roberts was not the #1 seed at the Summit League Baseball Tournament prior to this year.  The Golden Eagles were the regular season co-champs with South Dakota State this year, but are the tournament’s #2 seed after losing three of four games to the Jack Rabbits earlier this month.

27…Straight Summit League Tournament games Oral Roberts has won heading into this week’s tournament.

]]> http://collegebaseball360.com/college-baseball-notebook-week-14/feed/ 0 College Baseball Notebook-Week 12 http://collegebaseball360.com/college-baseball-notebook-week-12/ http://collegebaseball360.com/college-baseball-notebook-week-12/#comments Mon, 10 May 2010 13:31:51 +0000 http://collegebaseball360.com/?p=8765

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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