College Baseball’s Coaching Carousel Has Begun

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Around The Bases-May 19

College Baseball Thoughts Heading Into The Season’s Home Stretch

By Collegebaseball360.com Editor Sean Stires

The “weekend” starts early this week.  With most conference tournaments starting next Tuesday and Wednesday the start of the last week of most conference regular season series will start this Thursday instead of Friday.  In fact, so many conferences are starting on Thursday this week (ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Big East to name a few) the Big 12 is about the only conference that is sticking with its regular Friday, Saturday, Sunday schedule.

The MEAC starts its tournament this Thursday.  It would be a major upset if Bethune-Cookman doesn’t win the championship.  The top-seeded Wildcats (32-18, 18-0) are one of just two teams in the six-team field with a winning record (North Carolina A&T at 25-23 overall & 15-3 in league play is the other).  BC’s Peter O’Brien leads the MEAC and is tied for fourth in the nation with 19 home runs.

What happened to Portland? Just two weeks ago the Pilots were the nation’s feel good story heading into a home series with West Coast Conference leader San Diego.  Winners of 11 straight heading into that showdown, they had a chance to make a case for at least an at-large NCAA berth and an outside chance to claim the WCC title.  All that is gone now though.  After being swept by San Diego, Portland (31-16) lost a mid-week game to Washington State and was swept again last weekend by San Francisco.  That’s seven straight losses heading into Wednesday’s (5/18) home game vs. Oregon.  Ben Roethlisberger has about as much of a chance at being named Georgia’s Man of the Year as Portland now has to get an NCAA bid.

What happened to the Big Ten? A year ago at this time there were three Big Ten teams that had a legitimate chance to receive an NCAA bid, and that’s how many bids the league ended-up with.  Ohio State, Minnesota and Indiana all went to regionals, while Illinois just missed out after the Hoosiers won the conference tournament.  There won’t be three bids for the Big Ten this year though.  All ten teams are still in contention for the six spots in the conference tournament, but only the tourney winner will be NCAA bound this year.  Minnesota (25-27, 13-8) leads the conference, while Michigan State (32-17, 10-11) has the best overall record, but sits in a four-way tie for fifth place

heading into the final weekend of the regular season.

Speaking of Ohio State…The Buckeyes have to be the biggest disappointment in the conference.  OSU returned the conference Player and Pitcher of the Year (Dan Burkhart and Alex Wimmers, respectively) from last year’s regular season championship team, but they have floundered their way to a 27-21 overall mark, including 10-11 in conference play.  And if head coach Bob Todd was hoping for a “Corky Palmer effect” by announcing his retirement it hasn’t worked.  Palmer’s Southern Mississippi squad ran a hot streak all the way to Omaha after he announced his retirement before season’s end last year, but Todd’s Buckeyes have gone 3-4 with series losses to Illinois and Iowa since he announced his impending retirement on May 5.

Kansas finds itself in a rough situation this weekend. As they head into this weekend’s regular season ending series with Oklahoma, most current bracket projections have the Jayhawks (31-21 DI record, #54 NCAA RPI) staying home for the NCAA Tournament.  A look at the stats shows this year’s team is not much different than last year’s team that finished 39-24 after playing at the Chapel Hill Regional.  This year’s respective team batting average and ERA of .303 and 5.15 are pretty similar to the 2009 marks of .301 and 4.46.  The biggest difference appears to be the absence of the big bat Tony Thompson provided when he won the Big 12’s first triple crown by hitting .389 with 21 home runs and 82 RBIs.  He was one of two Jayhawks to hit double-digit dingers last year, but so far no KU player has reached even 10 long balls in 2010.  Thompson fractured his left knee cap before the season started, and he hasn’t been able to fully regain his form in the 33 games he’s played since his return to the field.  Thompson is batting a respectable .325, but has just five home runs with 35 RBIs.  He also hasn’t seen as many pitches to hit this year.  After walking 21 times in 61 games and 247 at-bats as a sophomore, the junior has drawn 19 free passes in just 126 ABs this season.

College Baseball Notebook-Week 13

FIU’s Wittels Heads This Week’s “By The Numbers”…

45…Game hitting streak by Florida International’s Garrett Wittels.  The sophomore had at least one hit in each of FIU’s three wins over South Alabama over the weekend to tie Roger Schmuck of Arizona State (1971) for the third longest Division One hitting streak of all-time.

47…Game hitting streak by Phil Stephenson of Wichita State in 1981 for the second longest streak in NCAA history.  Oklahoma State’s Robin Ventura’s 58 game streak (which ended at the 1987 College World Series) is the longest in DI history.

3…Teams that have qualified for the 2010 NCAA Baseball Tournament.  San Diego and Cal State Fullerton joined Ivy League champ Dartmouth by claiming the their regular season crowns over the weekend.  San Diego won the WCC thanks to losses by Portland, while Fullerton claimed at least a share of the Big West after sweeping Long Beach State.  The Titans own the tie-breaker with UC Irvine and need just one win or one Cal State Northridge loss to win the title outright.

18-2…Fullerton’s record in its last 20 games since losing game one of its series vs. Irvine back on April 9th.

19…Straight NCAA Tournament appearances Fullerton will make when it plays in its NCAA regional this season.  It’s the third longest active streak in the nation behind Miami (37) and Florida State (32).

47…Days it took to complete TCU’s 19-17 win in 12 innings over Air Force to clinch the 2010 Mountain West

Conference Championship.  The game began on March 28th in Colorado Springs, and was suspended due to weather.  It resumed in the 7th inning Friday afternoon in Ft. Worth with TCU leading 16-15.

12…Strikeouts by TCU pitcher Matt Purke, who gave-up just a run on five hits in six innings of relief in that game to improve to 10-0.  The freshman is the Horned Frog’s regular Friday starter.

8…Home runs TCU hit in that game to help the Horned Frogs to a new school record total of 84 HR hit this season.  The record had stood since 1998.

3…Weekend wins by Kentucky (29-23, 12-15) over LSU to hand the defending national champions their fourth straight SEC series loss.  The Tigers (34-18, 12-15) have lost 11 of their last 12 SEC games and 12 of their last 14 games overall.

19…Years since Kentucky had last swept a weekend series from LSU.

21…Years since LSU played in the NCAA Tournament but did not host a Regional.  The Tigers played in College Station Texas that year.  LSU has hosted 18 NCAA Regionals since then, but could find themselves on the road when the tournament starts this year.

16-8…Score by which Indiana trailed Kentucky heading into the bottom of the 8th inning of Tuesday’s game vs. Kentucky.  The Hoosiers plated five runs with two outs in the 8th and then added three more in the 9th to force extra innings before Michael Early’s walk-off hit gave IU an improbable 18-17 victory.

0-for-6…What Early was at the plate in the game prior to drilling a pitch off the left field wall to plate Dylan Smith with the game-winning run.

4 & 7…Home runs hit and RBI’s by St. John’s left fielder Jeremy Baltz in Friday’s 8-5 win over #6 Louisville (the Red

Storm lost the other two games in the series).  The freshman leads St. John’s with a .412 average, 18 home runs and 68 RBIs this season.

14-0…Northwestern’s lead over Michigan in the middle of the third inning Sunday in Ann Arbor.

15-14…The final score of Michigan’s comeback win over the Wildcats.  The game ended on Mike Dufek’s walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th inning.

5 2/3…Scoreless innings pitched by Wolverine reliever Matt Miller to pick-up the win.  The junior struck out seven and gave-up just two hits to keep the Wildcats scoreless while Michigan scored the last nine of its 15 unanswered runs.

14…Straight games Virginia has won after sweeping North Carolina over the weekend.  North Carolina (32-20, 11-16) had won eight straight and 10 of its last 11 games heading into the series with the Cavs (43-9, 21-6).

2…Walk-off hits the Cavaliers needed to pull off the sweep.  John Barr’s 2-out RBI single capped Saturday’s game one 3-2 victory,  while John Hicks ended Sunday’s 5-3 win with a 3-run home run.

900…Wins at Ohio State by head coach Bob Todd after Sunday’s 11-6 win over Iowa for the Buckeyes’ lone win of the 3-game series.  Todd will retire at season’s end.

7…Scoreless innings pitched by South Carolina’s bullpen in a 3-game weekend sweep of Arkansas.  Five relievers combined to give-up just two hits after starter Tyler Webb left after giving-up three runs in three innings in Sunday’s 5-3 win to cap the sweep.

33…Consecutive Big South Conference games won by #5 Coastal Carolina (45-6, 23-0) after a 3-game sweep of #39 Liberty (37-15, 18-6).  The Chanticleers remain in good shape to receive a top 8 national seed after sweeping the second place team in their conference.

14,619…Fans who saw Florida’s 3-game sweep of Georgia over the weekend in Gainesville.  It’s the best 3-game attendance figure in program history.  Florida (37-12, 20-7) and South Carolina (41-11, 29-7) are tied for first place in the SEC East.  They go head to head this weekend.

4…Straight SEC series won by Auburn after taking two of three games from Tennessee.  The Tigers (35-17, 17-10) now lead the SEC West.

15…Years since Auburn last won the SEC’s Western Division.  They close the regular season this weekend at Ole Miss.

10…Run deficit faced by Rice as the Owls prepared to bat in the bottom of the third inning Sunday vs. Southern Mississippi.

19…Unanswered runs Rice scored to beat the Golden Eagles 21-14.  Anthony Rendon paced the Owls, going 4-for-5 with two home runs and 4 RBIs to help Rice lock-up the top seed in the Conference USA Tournament.

7…RBIs by USM’s B.A. Vollmuth in the loss.  The sophomore shortstop belted a pair of home runs himself, including a grand slam.

1,000…Career wins by Arizona head coach Andy Lopez after his Wildcats topped #1 Arizona State 12-4 Sunday night in Tucson.  Lopez is the 16th active coach and the 46th all-time Division One coach to reach the milestone.

1…Loss by ASU’s Merrill Kelly (9-1) this season after giving-up six runs (five earned) in just 3 2/3 IP-his shortest start of the season.  The 12 runs are the most given-up by the Sun Devils this year.

25…Consecutive scoreless innings pitched by Rhode Island’s Tim Boyce (a new URI school record).  The senior struck out 10 and gave-up just two singles with his second straight complete game shutout in Friday’s 6-0 win over Richmond.

27 1/3…Consecutive scoreless innings pitched by Wichita State’s Jordan Cooper after Friday’s 3-0 win over Missouri State.  The sophomore fanned 14 and struck out at least one batter in every inning to improve to 8-2.

69…Walks issued to UT Arlington outfielder Michael Choice this season to set a new Southland Conference single season record.  Choice is batting .401 with 16 home runs and 58 RBIs for the Mavericks (26-26).  He was walked

intentionally in the first inning of Sunday’s 11-8 win over Lamar to set the record.

19…Times Choice has been intentionally walked this season to help him lead the nation with his 69 free passes 2010.

10…Big Ten teams that are all still alive in the race to qualify for next week’s 6-team Big Ten Tournament. Four  teams, Michigan State, Ohio State, Indiana, and Iowa, are tied for fifth place.

.266…UC Riverside’s Tony Nix’s season batting average entering last week’s action.

.341…Nix’s current average after a week in which he was 17-for-26 with three home runs, five doubles, a triple, 11 runs scored, and 15 RBIs.  Nix had a stretch during which he had nine straight hits, including a 6-for-6 game against Loyola Marymount.

4…Home runs hit by Bucknell’s Paul Shribman to help the #4 seed Bison beat #1 seed Army in the Patriot League’s best two of three semifinal series.  Shribman belted a grand slam in the series clinching win and finished the weekend by batting 8-for-13 with 9 RBIs and 7 runs scored.  Bucknell faces #3 seed Holy Cross in this weekend’s Patriot League Championship Series.

College Baseball Notebook-Week 12

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

College Baseball Notebook-Week 11

Streaks, Upsets And Other Notable Action…

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

Division One baseball in the last 11 years.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

May Madness: Weekend College Baseball Preview

May is upon us, and my questions is:  What happened to April?  The last 30 days just flew right by.  Oh well, I guess that’s what happens.  You know what they say “April showers bring May Madness”…so maybe they don’t really say that, but they should.

Conference baseball tournaments are just a little more than a month away, and league baseball races are tightening-up.  There are some big match-ups around the country this weekend that will go a long way toward determining which teams have a shot at at-large NCAA berths a month from now and which teams are hitting the showers until next year.

Before I run down some of this weekend’s match-ups I want to take a second to give a shout to have been providing some great content for us this season:  Pete LaFleur is the co-editor at Collegebaseball360.com and he cranks out those CB360 Composite National Rankings in his lab each week and he also works tirelessly (maybe a little tired) on the daily Match-Ups and Results pages, which include pitching match-ups and other great information.  Chase Titleman provides us with great coverage of the Pac 10 at Road2rosenblatt.com, Chris Webb from Buckeyestatebaseball.com continues to give us great Big Ten coverage and Randy Rosetta from the Baton Rouge Advocate always has great insight on the SEC and LSU.  We have had recent podcasts with all of them, and we’ll have more as we go forward.

Now, on to the weekend…

(All rankings are based on the exclusive CB360 Composite National Rankings.  RPI is based on the official NCAA rank.)

#1 Arizona State (35-5, 11-4) RPI-3 at #4 UCLA (30-7, 7-5) RPI-8

This is the series we’ve been waiting for all season.  The two Pac 10 teams that started the season with a combined 46-0 record will play three this weekend at Jackie Robinson Stadium.  The six probable starting pitchers in the series have a combined 41-5 record.  UCLA entered the week with the second best team ERA in the nation (2.80), while ASU’s (3.21) was the fifth best.  The Sun Devils lead the Pac 10 with a .350 batting average and 84 stolen bases.

How High? The last time a top-five UCLA team played a top-five opponent was April 1997, when the #6 Bruins took two of three games from #2 Stanford.  Both of those teams advanced to the ‘97 College World Series.

#13 LSU (32-10, 11-7) RPI-11 at #7 Florida (28-11, 12-6) RPI-2

LSU has won 17 of its last 20 SEC series, but the defending national champions were swept last weekend at Ole Miss.  The Tigers are in second place in the SEC Western Division, two games behind Arkansas.  The Gators are coming off possibly their biggest series win of the season after taking two of three from the Razorbacks, which extended their winning streak to 13 games prior to losing the last two games of that series.  Florida is in second place in the SEC Eastern Division, two games behind overall SEC leader South Carolina.

Gator Bait: Florida has won three of the last four series between the two teams, including the last two series in Gainesville.  READ MORE about this week’s match-up.

#15 Cal State Fullerton (25-13, 10-2) RPI-20 at Pacific (25-14, 7-5) RPI-93

Pacific has never been to an NCAA Regional, which makes this weekend’s series in Stockton vs. Fullerton possibly the

biggest series in the history of the program.  Pacific sits in third place in the Big West, three games behind perennial bully Fullerton.  If they have any chance to make a Regional this year, they have to win this series.  Since a sluggish start to the season, Dave Serrano’s Titans have won seven straight and 13 of their last 15 games heading into this key conference series vs. Ed Sprague’s Tigers.  The Tigers made a statement two weeks ago when they won two of three games at UC Irvine.  Pacific took two of three from the Titans in Fullerton last year, but the Tigers have never won a home series vs. the Titans.  Fullerton is 72-11 all-time vs. Pacific.

Just The Stats: The Titans and Tigers rank first and second, respectively, in the Big West in batting average (.336/.333) and fielding percentage (.976/.973).  Fullerton has the second beast ERA (3.89) in the league, while Pacific (5.00) ranks fourth.

#18 UConn (34-8, 14-2) RPI-23 at #34 Pittsburgh RPI-39

This season’s Big East Conference race wasn’t supposed to be a race.  It was supposed to be Louisville and everyone else.  Someone forgot to tell UConn and Pittsburgh.  The Huskies and Panthers site in first and second place, respectively,  in the conference standings heading into the weekend.  UConn’s only Big East series loss was at Louisville, and started a program best 22-game winning streak

(snapped earlier this week by Central Connecticut State) by winning the finale of that set (they lost the first two games 1-0 & 4-2).  Meanwhile, Pittsburgh was a 9th inning rally away from sweeping Louisville a week after losing two of three to Rutgers.  Pitt’s Corey Baker (9-1, 4.40 ERA) shares the NCAA wins lead.  He is expected to match-up with Elliot Glynn (4-2, 2.16 ERA) in the series-opener.  Glynn’s ERA ranks 18th nationally.

Among The Best: Pitt’s .368 team batting average is second in the nation to Georgia State’s .375 average, while UConn’s 3.67 ERA ranks 10th nationally.  The Huskies also have an amazing five players who have stolen at least 20 bases.  They entered the week ranked fourth in both overall stolen bases (117 now 123) and stolen bases per game (2.93).

Ohio State (23-13, 7-5) RPI-91 at Michigan (25-14, 7-5) RPI-65

This would obviously be a much more attractive national match-up if it were football and not baseball, but this is a big series for both teams.  They enter the weekend in a four-way tie for first place in the Big Ten Conference standings.  OSU ace Alex Wimmers (9-0, 1.61 ERA) is tied for the NCAA lead with his nine wins, and his ERA also ranks sixth in the nation.  Wimmers started last year’s series vs. Michigan by pitching the first 9-inning no-hitter in Ohio State history, helping the Buckeyes take two of three games from their bitter rivals.  Michigan had won 18  of the previous 24 meetings between the two teams.

X-Factor: Michigan Preseason All-American Ryan LaMarre has played in only 18 games this season after injuring his hand during opening weekend at Texas Tech.  LaMarre is now back in the line-up, and has batted .500 (34-for-68) with two home runs, 24 runs, 17 RBIs, and a 1.286 OPS.

Podcast Interview: Michigan’s Rich Maloney

Wolverines vs. Buckeyes This Weekend In Big Ten

After a slow start to the season Michigan finds itself in a four-way tie for first place in the Big Ten Conference standings heading into this weekend’s showdown with Ohio State.  In this podcast interview Collegebaseball360.com Big Ten correspondent Chris Webb talks to Wolverine head coach Rich Maloney about his team’s turnaround this season as well as the extension of the college baseball season and its impact on Northern schools, RPI and more.

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* NOTE: Maloney references Notre Dame’s 2002 CWS team in this interview.  He is correct that Florida State was ranked #1 in the nation when the Irish defeated them in the Tallahassee Super Regional.

College Baseball 360 Podcast-April 15

This week Sean Stires and Chris Webb (from Buckeyestatebaseball.com) are talking about how things are shaping-up in the Midwest.  They talk about this weekend’s key Big Ten series between Ohio State and Michigan State, as well as the future of OSU head coach Bob Todd, MAC leaders Toledo and Kent State and 2009 NCAA teams Xavier and Wright State.

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Segment #1

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Segment #2

College Baseball Notebook-Week 8

A By The Numbers Look At The Latest Week’s Action

2…Wins by Washington State over #1 Arizona State.  By taking two of three games in the series in Pullman the Cougars won their first series in program history over the Sun Devils.

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Press Play To Listen As You Read!

6…Cougars who were hit by pitch in Sunday’s 9-5 series-clinching win over ASU.  Garry Kuykendall was plunked three times.

6…RBIs by Clemson second baseman Mike Freeman in Wednesday’s win over Georgia.  Freeman played for the Bulldogs in 2007 before transferring to Georgia.

300…Career wins by Georgia head coach Dave Perno with a 6-5 Sunday win over Ole Miss-UGA’s only win in the series. Perno is in his 9th season at the helm at his alma mater.

15…Strikeouts in 8 IP by Ole Miss pitcher Drew Pomeranz in Friday’s 4-1 win over Georgia.  It’s the second time this season Pomeranz has fanned 15 in a game.

14…School record runs scored in the first inning by Arkansas in Wednesday’s 32-8 win over visiting St. Louis.  The Razorbacks also combined to tie a school record with 30 RBIs in the game.

2…Men named Fred Hill who were head coaches at Rutgers last week.  Fred Hill, Sr.-of the RU baseball team and Fred Hill, Jr.-of the Scarlet Knight men’s basketball team.

1…Fred hill who is currently coaching at Rutgers after Fred Hill, Jr. was dismissed as basketball coach last week.  The younger Hill’s dismissal was in part precipitated in part by an alleged profanity laced tirade directed at Pittsburgh baseball coach Joe Jordano during an April 1 9-8 win by RU.

2…Wins at Notre Dame over the weekend by Rutgers.  Saturday’s 25-5 win gave the elder Hill and his team its first win at Notre Dame since 2002.  The road series win at Eck Stadium is RU’s first since the Irish and Scarlet Knights joined the Big East together in 1996.

7…Home runs hit by Rutgers in Saturday’s 25-5 onslaught.  Outfielder Michael Lang had two of the long balls with 7 RBIs.

3…Wins needed by Fred Hill, Sr. to reach 1,000 for his career.  He’s been the head coach at Rutgers since 1984.

1…Closer the Jersey coach could not use in Friday’s 9-8 loss to the Irish due to a jersey flap.  His closer, Tyler Gebler, was wearing jersey #4 instead of his usual #43 in the game and with the tying run at 2nd base and two outs in the bottom of the 8th Hill went to the pen to the freshman.  However, Gebler was ruled an illegal substitution in the game, because Hill had crossed-out Steve Nyisztor’s #41 instead of Gebler’s #43 on the line-up card he turned-in before the game.  Hill had to go to Kevin Lillis, who gave-up back-to-back RBI hits, including Adam Norton’s game-winning triple.  Gebler has a 1.50 ERA, while his 6 saves are tied for second-best in the Big East.

2…Triples hit and innings pitched by Notre Dame’s David Mills in Tuesday’s 13-6 win over Oakland.  The lefty started the game as the Irish DH and later entered the game on the mound.  He had 2 RBIs and pitched 4 innings in relief to earn another win on Friday in ND’s only win of the Rutgers series.

2…Wins by Pittsburgh over fifth-ranked Louisville in their weekend series at Pitt’s Trees Field.  Losses Friday and Saturday to start the series, combined with a midweek loss to Kentucky, gave the Cardinals their first back-to-back setbacks of the season as well as their first series loss.

4…Runs scored in the top of the 9th inning of Sunday’s series finale to give Louisville a 9-7 win and avoid the series sweep.  Adam Duvall and Ryan Wright each belted two-run home runs to provide the offense.

17…Combined runs surrendered 13 1/3 by Louisville starting pitchers Thomas Royse, Dean Kiekhefer and Gabriel Shaw in the three games vs. Pitt.  Royse (6-1) suffered his first loss in the series-opener.  Shaw was making his first start of the season in Sunday’s finale after 14 relief outings.

36…Combined runs that same trio had surrendered in 104 1/3 previous innings pitched this season.

14…Strikeouts with no walks by Ohio State’s Alex Wimmers (7-0) in Friday’s 7-1 win over Indiana.  Hoosier outfielder Alex Dickerson went 0-for-4 in the game to end his 21-game hitting streak.

4…Home runs in as many games to end the week by Duke’s Will Currier.  His 8 RBIs over the weekend helped the Blue Devils take two of three games from #12 Clemson.

2…Hits allowed by Oregon State’s Greg Peavey in Friday’s complete game 4-1 win over #2 UCLA.  Peavy’s efforts handed the Bruins their first consecutive losses after a midweek setback to Cal State Fullerton.

16…Innings needed for UCLA to beat OSU 3-1 in game two of the Pac 10 series on Saturday.  The game lasted 6 hours and 23 minutes.

39…Combined runners left on base by the Bruins (22) and Beavers (17) in Saturday’s marathon.

529…Pitches thrown in the game by a total of 12 pitchers, including eight sent to the mound by Oregon State.

11…Consecutive scoreless innings pitched by UCLA pitchers-with seven scoreless frames to end the 16-inning game combined with four shutout half innings to start Sunday’s series finale, which the Bruins won 8-2.

18…Combined pitchers used by LSU (8) and Southern Mississippi (10) in Wednesday’s 6-5 win in 12-innings in Metairie, LA.

2…Wins by Auburn over defending SEC & National Champion LSU in their weekend series at Auburn’s Samford Stadium.  The Tigers win game three 6-5 after a game-ending squeeze bunt by right fielder Justin Fredejas.

1998…The last time Auburn had won a home series vs. LSU prior to the weekend’s wins.  LSU had swept the last two series between the two teams and had won eight of the previous 11 series since 1999.

0…Outs recorded by Auburn starting pitcher Cole Nelson, who surrendered six earned runs on seven hits in Friday’s 14-10 loss to open the series.

0…Hits by Auburn catcher Tony Caldwell, who still had 3 RBIs in Saturday’s 11-7 Auburn win.  Caldwell was 0-for-1, but drove-in his runs with a bases loaded walk and two sac flies.  He also had a sacrifice bunt on the day.

7…RBIs in the series by Auburn’s Trent Mummey, who made his first three starts of the year after injuring his ankle prior to the start of the season.  Mummey hit two home runs, including his second career grand slam.

2 of 3…Wins by Oregon in its series at Stanford to give the Ducks their first Pac 10 series win since 1980 and their first Pac 10 road series win since 1976 at Washington.

21…Wins by Oregon through 32 games this season after winning just 17 games all of last year-the first year baseball was played at the school after it was disbanded following the 1981 season.

26…Game hitting streak by Kansas State’s Nick Martini-the longest active D1 streak in the nation this season.  A pair of 21-game hitting streaks ended over the weekend.  Martini had at least one hit in KSU’s series vs. Nebraska.  His streak is a school record and the fifth-longest in Big 12 history.

62…Career stolen bases by Martini’s teammate, Adam Muenster, to set a school record that had held since 1995.  Muenster’s record-breaker came in Sunday’s 8-3 win over the Cornhuskers.

8,540…Fans who saw K-State take two of three games from Nebraska to set a 3-game series attendance record at Tointon Family Stadium in Manhattan.

9-0…Kentucky’s lead over Alabama heading into the top of the sixth inning of Sunday’s game in Lexington, KY.

11-9…Final score of Alabama’s win in that game.  Jake Smith’s grand slam capped a 5-run sixth inning and the Tide scored five more runs in the 8th and another in the 9th to cap the biggest comeback in school history.

4…Combined shutout innings pitched by Alabama’s Tyler White and Nathan Kilcrease in Sunday’s improbable comeback.  White got the win to improve to 3-1 while Kilcrease earned his second save.

3…Home runs off three different pitchers by TCU’s Jason Coats in Sunday’s 12-2 win over Houston.   Coats’ efforts helped the Horned Frogs outscore the Cougars 33-3 in the series.

2…Wins by Virginia Tech over #14 Miami in their weekend series.  The Hokies’ first ever series win over the Hurricanes comes a week after their first win over another traditional college baseball power-Florida State.

3…ACC series won by Virginia Tech all of last season.  They have won four of five conference series already this season, with their only loss (a sweep) coming at the hands of Clemson.

2…Walk-off home runs in as many days by Bryant first baseman Jamie Skagerlind to help his team win three of four games vs. Central Connecticut State.  Skagerlind’s shot in the bottom of the 10th inning ended Saturday’s 3-2 win in game one of a doubleheader.  His blast to end Sunday’s 7-inning twin bill opener capped a 5-run Bryant rally.  The game-winning blasts are his only home runs of the season.

3…No-hitters thrown last week.  Fresno State’s Greg Gonzalez and Lehigh’s Greg Angelo each tossed 7-inning no-hitters, while Kevin Johnson of West Florida fired the second 9-inning no-no of 2010.  Gonzalez is the first Bulldog to pitch a no-hitter in 34 years, while Angelo had the first at Lehigh since 1988.

11…Shutout innings pitched across two games by North Florida’s John Atteo.  He earned the win with two scoreless innings in Tuesday’s 3-1 upset of Florida State, and then fired a complete game shutout in Sunday’s 10-0 win over USC Upstate.

1,201…Career wins by UNF head coach Dusty Rhodes-who will retire at season’s end-with Atteo’s Sunday victory.

Wimmers Fans 14 In Ohio State Win

Reigning Big 10 Pitcher of the Yr. Looks To Right Buckeyes

Chris Webb of Buckeyestatebaseball.com is a new contributor to Collegebaseball360.com.  He was at Friday’s 7-1 Ohio State win over Indiana to see OSU’s Alex Wimmers strike out 14 Hoosiers.  Here are his thoughts.

CLICK HERE to see more Friday results and performances.

Columbus, OH– Have you ever shared a hug with a longtime but forgotten friend that just felt right? That felt like for one small moment you were exactly where you needed to be, at exactly the right time?

Today I welcomed home Division I Ohio college baseball.

While I have seen a handful of games this season, wrote about hundreds of others, a certain feeling wasn’t there. Tonight that feeling returned. Led by Alex Wimmers dominating performance over Indiana, Ohio State showed the promised that had them being touted as a potential Omaha-bound team.

This was the team those who bleed Scarlet & Gray hoped and looked for. This was the team leading the way to another great spring of collegiate baseball in Ohio. Finally it felt like Ohio DI baseball is right where it should be.

Buckeyes Cruise in Showdown of Champions

Columbus- Few things in life ultimately live up to it’s hype. That trip to Myrtle Beach? Yeah you’re on vacation one of the 11 days of the year it rains. The bike you bought yourself as a New Year’s resolution to get in shape? It’s still sitting in the garage corner waiting to be rode. For whatever reason, things rarely turn out how you think, hope, and expect them to be.

Alex Wimmers is proving to be an exception of expectations.

Nothing was as hyped up as the right-handed pitcher Wimmers entering the 2010 collegiate baseball season here in Ohio. The Cape Cod League’s #3 prospect, a  Preseason All-American, a projected first-round draft pick, the makings where there, regardless of performance, to fail to meet what was expected of the Buckeye ace. Midway through the season Wimmers has not only met all expectations, he’s exceeding them.

With his first start from the Bill Davis mound this season, Wimmers made sure the cost of attendance was merited for the Scarlet and Gray faithful who braved a stiff wind and temperatures falling into the 40s to support the home team. Assuming one is sane and realizes a 14-strikeout, complete game effort in which he scattered six hits yielding just one run is worth the $5 or $10. Especially when the game features the reigning conference champions and tournament champions, with two teams coming off of Regional showings sharing the field.

While weather may have played a role in limiting the crowd to just 1,269 in attendance, the Hoosier bats needed no thermometer to find out why their bats were ice cold.

After outbursts of 26 and 12 runs in their previous two games, Indiana came into the contest as Wimmers toughest test to date. A leadoff double on a green-lighted 3-0 count, followed by a second-consecutive 3-0 count to the next batter, made it appear that the night was going to be long and un-Wimmerseque. The remainer of the inning showed it would be wise to doubt the All-American.

The 3-0 count quickly turned into the first of many strikeouts, a mere three pitchers later. Then facing the two most dangerous left-handed hitters in the Big Ten in Jerrud Sabourin and Alex Dickerson, strikeout victims two and three were rung up. Sabourin who entered with a .480 average saw the number fall to .466 with a 1-for-4 effort, while Dickerson who entered with a .444 clip and 21-game hitting streak, finished 0-for-4, losing .28 points on his average.

After sending two of the most prolific hitters in the conference down swining, the thought went from an off-night to, lights out night.

“Once he settled down, ther’s no doubt he made it tough on Indiana’s hitters tonight” Coach Bob Todd stated afterwards.

No doubt at all.

In the complete game, Wimmers threw 85 of his 121 pitches for strikes. 12 of the 14 strikeouts were swings-and-misses. While 21 balls were put in play, 28 pitches were swung on and missed by the Hoosiers. After a first inning in which 10 pitches were for balls, over the next six innings, only 11 pitches were balls.

“When he’s on the mound I don’t need a glove in the field” left-fielder Zach Hurley joked after another Wimmers gem. “I think maybe one or two balls all season have come my way.”

It was Hurley who put the Buckeyes out in front, doing enough himself to leave the game to Wimmers. The Buckeye leadoff hitter went 3-for-4 on the evening, drawing a walk, and driving in a run. Hurley also scored the games first run, coming around from first after a leadoff infield single, on a Cory Kovanda double.

“I take pride in being the leadoff hitter. Just trying to get a hit every single time. I’m the first up to represent or offense every game and I just look to get things going with a bang” the senior outfielder who turned down a  professional contract from the Florida Marlins added.

For nearly the entire game it appeared Hurley’s run would stand as the only support Wimmers needed.

“He had all three pitches tonight. He was able to keep hitters off balance with the curveball and change-up… When you have a guy like Alex Wimmers, who is an awfully good pitcher, having all three pitches going for him it’s going to be an awful night for hitters” Todd the reigning Big Ten Coach of the Year added.

With nearly a dozen scouts on hand, Wimmers showed why he is a highly-coveted prospect, but a few other Buckeyes would also make a lasting impression on Major League brass.

Providing all of the insurance Wimmers would need, in the bottom of the fourth, a first-pitch, opposite field leadoff

home run over the right-field wall for center-fielder Michael Stephens made it a 2-0 game. Stephens, the clean-up hitter, joined Hurley and Kovanda  as Buckeyes with multi-hit games, carrying the Ohio State offense.

“You gotta play loose. If you play tight that’s when you make start to make errors. The biggest thing for me is to go out there and have fun. If a team likes you, they’ll take a shot on you, if not you go out there and just enjoy it. For us as seniors, it’s our last year going out in front of Bill Davis and the crowd.” Stephens stated deflecting any additional pressure after a 2-for-4, two run effort, home run, and double effort.

“Mentally, you have t be sharp every game, whether 100 scouts, or no scouts, you have to play the same every game.” Stephens added.

If the performance Wimmers showed is duplicated game in and game out, the reigning Big Ten Pitcher of the Year is going to need a second trophycase for the hardware headed his way.

“Felt today I could throw any pitch, any count, against any batter” Wimmers said after the victory moved him to 7-0, a mark matched only by 2007 Big Ten Pitcher of the Year Cory Luebke.

“I knew Indiana was a great team coming in. They’re a good fastball-hitting team, and if they weren’t able to lay off my changeup, I’m going to keep going after them until they make an adjustment.”

If the Hoosiers who entered the contest with a .329 team average, the third-best collective average in Big Ten play, what is to expect of Wimmers over the final six weeks?

“I just attack hitters like anyone is the best in the country” Wimmers added.

Expect Wimmers to rise to the occassion with little exception.

Ohio State looks to capture the weekend series tomorrow in hosting Indiana at 1:05 from Bill Davis Stadium. Drew Rucinski will take the mound for Ohio State, opposite Indiana ace Drew Leininger, who enters the contest with a Big Ten leading 1.66 ERA, edging out Wimmers for the top honor after the Buckeye’s one-run complete game lowered his mark to 1.68.

Indiana (14-14, 1-3) @ Ohio State (18-7, 3-1)
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Indiana…………. 000 000 010 -  1  6  1
Ohio State………. 100 311 10X -  7 10  2
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