College Baseball Notebook-Week 3

A By The Numbers Look At The Weekend’s Action

1…Run allowed in 7 IP by Wright State starter Alex Kaminsky in Friday’s 2-1 win over #1/#2 Virginia.  Kaminsky struckout 7 to earn his first win of the season in a head-to-head dual with UVA sophomore ace Danny Hultzen.

2…Wins in the last two years by the Raiders on a top ranked team’s home field.  WSU beat #1 Georgia last year in Athens.

10…Runs and hits allowed in 2 1/3 innings by Kentucky starter Taylor Rogers in Saturday’s 14-13 win over Monmouth.

0 & 9…Hits allowed & strikeouts recorded in 4 IP by Wildcat reliever Matt Little, who earned the win in that game after allowing just two hits.

10…Hit batters by Monmouth pitchers in the loss to Kentucky to tie an NCAA record.  It’s just the third time a pitching staff has hit 10 batters in a game.

4…Straight hit batters by Monmouth pitchers Andy McDonnell (1) and Stephen Prosapio, who hit Kentucky’s Braden Kapteyn with the bases loaded and the score tied 13-13 to give the Wildcats the winning run.

1…Career home run by 5′9-160 pound Kentucky redshirt junior Neiko Johnson, whose long ball on a 2-2 pitch in the bottom of the 9th inning tied the score at 13 just before the four straight hit batsmen.

103…Runs scored by Georgia State in a 4-game series vs. North Carolina Central.

14…Of the runs scored by Georgia State junior Mark Micowski, who transferred to the school this year after Vermont disbanded baseball last year.  Micowski hit for the cycle in the first four innings of Friday’s 32-3 victory.  He batted .636 with 10 RBIs in the four games.

17…Combined strikeouts by George Washington pitchers Matt Branham and Scott DeCecco in Friday’s 5-1 win over USC Upstate.  The combined effort tied a school record.

210…Career Ks by Branham-whose career high 12 strikeouts in the win made him the 3rd pitcher in GW history to top the 200 K mark.

6…Straight wins by USC Upstate prior to the loss-a record for the Spartans since joining the Division One ranks.

1…Hit allowed by West Virginia’s Jarryd Summers in 8 innings in a 1-0 loss to Western Carolina.  Summers fanned 11 in the loss.  The only hit he allowed was a solo home run by WCU third baseman Tyler Kirkpatrick.

3…Hits allowed by Catamount starter Jason Sullivan-who struckout 8 in 9 shutout innings to improve to 3-0 on the season with the win over the Mountaineers.

9…Strikeouts by Houston’s Michael Goodnight in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Texas at the Houston College Classic.

1…Wild pitch by Longhorn starter Brandon Workman-after a triple by Houston’s Blake Kelso-which allowed the game’s only run to score.

2…Losses by Cal State Fullerton in a 3-game series at Arizona to fall to 4-6 on the season.  The Titans started the year ranked in the top 10 in every poll.

1…Inning pitched by Titan All-American Daniel Renken in Friday’s 8-7 loss to the Wildcats.  Renken was lifted after hitting Wildcat CF Joey Rickard to lead-off the 2nd inning.

3…Walk-off wins by Arizona this season after freshman Seth Mejias-Brean singled home classmate Alex Mejia in the bottom of the 11th inning in that win over the Titans.

8…Strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings by Florida starter Alex Panteliodis in Friday’s 7-1 series-opening win over Miami (FL).

7…Strikeouts in 3 1/3 scoreless, hitless innings pitched by Gator reliever Nick Maronde to earn his first save of the season in that same win over the Hurricanes.

4…Shutout innings pitched by Florida reliever Kevin Chapman in Sunday’s series-clinching 4-2 win over Miami.  Chapman gave-up just one hit with two strikeouts to earn his second save of 2010.

17…Combined strikeouts in 12 innings pitched by Duke starters Eric Pfisterer (10) and Michael Ness (7) who each tossed six shutout innings to help the Blue Devils to a 3-game sweep of Temple.

11…Strikeouts in 6 IP by Florida Gulf Coast ace Chris Sale in a 7-2 win over Wichita State.

2…Home runs hit over the weekend by Middle Tennessee State’s Bryce Brentz.  The outfielder led the nation with 28 HR last year, but he had been shutout through the first two weeks of the season.

1…Loss this season by Washington State after falling 4-1 in Sunday’s finale of a 4-game series with Utah.  The Cougars had started 9-0 for their best opening to a season since 1988.

138…Pitches thrown by Santa Clara starter Alex Rivers in a 4-0 win over San Jose State.  Rivers scattered seven hits with five strikeouts for his third career complete game.

5…RBIs by St. Louis redshirt freshman Steve Fernandez to help St. Louis down Ohio State 10-9 on Saturday.

109…Pitches thrown by West Virginia’s Chris Enourato, who struckout 9 in seven innings of relief to help the Moutaineers to an 11-8 win over Illinois.  Enourato retired 16 of the first 17 batters he faced.

3…Wins by WVU (with seven losses) this season.  Enourato has earned two of the wins and a save in his five relief outings.

16…RBIs in five games by New Mexico State’s Wade Reynoso.  He batted .522 (12-23) with 3 home runs and 11 runs scored as well in wins over New Mexico and St. Joseph’s.

BIG Ten/BIG EAST Challenge All-Tournament Team

CollegeBaseball360.com – in conjunction with coaches and media-relations representatives from the 20 teams – has selected the all-tournament team for the 2010 Big Ten/BIG EAST Challenge (held Feb. 26-28, in the St. Petersburg, Fla., area). The selections include 11 first-teamers, 11 second-teamers and seven honorable mention.

Selections were based on statistics during the three games, in addition to other criteria such as clutch play, defensive contributions, team leadership and other intangibles. The honorees include at least one from all 20 participating teams, led by three from Louisville and two each from seven other teams (Cincinnati, Iowa, Michigan State, Northwestern, Ohio State, St. John’s and Villanova).

Shortstop Joe Panik (pictured) helped St. John’s join Louisville as the only 3-0 teams at the Big Ten/BIG EAST Challenge. Panik batted 5-for-8 with 3 walks (also reached twice via HBP) and factored into nearly half of  SJU’s total runs (6 of 13) during the tournament. … Note: eight other teams went 2-1: Cincinnati, Connecticut, Iowa, Michigan State, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State and Villanova.

The all-tournament selections feature 11 juniors, nine sophomores, five seniors, three freshmen and a fifth-year senior. Four are New Jersey natives and four more are from Ohio, plus three from Kentucky, two each from California, Indiana, Illinois, New York and Pennsylvania – and one each from Florida, Iowa, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

The honorees include one pure leadoff hitter, two that batted in the #2 spot all weekend, a pair of 3-hole hitters and three cleanup batters (plus two 5-hole hitters, one 6-hole, two 7-hole, one 9-hole and six who batted in multiple lineup spots during the tournament).

Ohio State pitcher Alex Wimers is the only repeat selection to the Challenge all-tournament team. (Note: all class years referenced below refer to academic standing … additional headshots and action photos will be added to this release, time permitting).

2010 Big Ten/BIG EAST Challenge All-Tournament Team

(presented by CollegeBaseball360.com)

First-team position players included (top row, from left): Kevin Plawecki, Jerrud Sabourin, Matt Dittman, Adam Duvall and Joe Panik … (bottom row, from left) Stewart Ijames, Michael Stephens and Matt Szczur (the all-tournament first-team pitchers are pictured below).

First Team
C – #26 Kevin Plawecki (Purdue, fr., 7-hole … Carmel, IN)
… hit .700 (7-for-10 … 3 RBI, 2 R, 2 2B, BB, HBP, SB, E)
1B – #35 Jerrud Sabourin (Indiana, jr., 3-hole … San Diego, CA)
… hit .462 (6-for-13 … 4 RBI, 3 R, 2 2B, BB, 2 K)
1B – #17 Matt Dittman (Illinois, jr., cleanup … Libertyville, IL
… hit .667 (6-for-9, 3 RBI, 4 R, 2B, 2 BB, HBP, SB, 3K)
2B – #30 Adam Duvall (Louisville, sr., 2-hole … Louisville, KY)
… hit .500 (6-for-12, 4 RBI, 4 R, HR, 3 2B, BB, SAC, K, E)
SS – #2 Joe Panik (St. John’s, so., 5-hole … Hopewell Junction, NY)
… hit .625 (5-for-8, 2 RBI, 4 R, 3B, 2B, 3 BB, 2 HBP, 2K, E)
LF – #5 Stewart Ijames (Louisville, jr., 7-hole … Owensboro, KY)
… hit .500 (5-for-10, 3 RBI, 2 R, HR, 2B, BB, K, CS)
CF – #24 Michael Stephens (Ohio State, sr., cleanup … Victorville, CA)
… hit .667 (6-for-9 … 4 RBI, 4 R, HR, 2 2B, 2 BB, HBP, SB, SB, 2K, E)
RF – #20 Matt Szczur (Villanova, jr., leadoff … Erma, NJ)
… hit .600 (9-for-15, RBI, 6 R, 3B, 2B, 2K, CS)
UTIL (2B/RHP)–#14 Zach Morton (Northwestern, so., 9-hole; Rothschild, WI)
… hit .429 (3-for-7, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB, SAC, E
… 0.00 ERA, 0-1,  1 GS, 6 IP, 2 UER, 6 H, BB,  BK, 3K, .250 opp. batting
RHP – #18 Thomas Royse (Louisville, jr. … Lexington, KY)
… 0.00 ERA, 1-0, 1 GS, 6 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 2 BB, 9 K, .100 opp. batting
RHP (relief) – #47 Brian Sand (Cincinnati, sr. … Cincinnati, OH)
… 0.00 ERA, 1-0, 1 GP, 5 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 1 HB, 1K, .000 opp. batting

(from left) The 2010 Big Ten/BIG EAST Challenge first team all-tournament pitchers include Northwestern two-way player Zach Morton, Louisville game-1 starter Thomas Royse and Cincinnati’s Brian Sand (whose 5.0 shutout relief innings earned him the win vs. Ohio State).

Second Team
C/DH – #33 Ben Heath (Penn State, jr., cleanup … Huntersville, NC)
… hit .333 (6-for-18, 4 RBI, 6 R, 3 HR, 2 2B, 4K)
1B – #29 Mike Nemeth (Connecticut, jr., 5-hole … Washington, NJ)
… hit .500 (5-for-10, 3 RBI, 3 R, 2B, BB, 2K, E)
2B – #2 T.J. Jones (Cincinnati, so., 3/2-hole … Cincinnati, OH)
… hit .462 (6-for-13, 5 RBI, 4 R, 2B, 2 BB, HBP, 2E)
SS – #1 AJ Pettersen (Minnesota, so., 2-hole/leadoff … Minnetonka, MN)
… hit .455 (5-for-11, 3 RBI, 2 R, 2 2B, BB, HBP, SF)
3B – #12 Andrew Carpenter (Michigan State, so., 7/8-hole … Dayton, OH)
… hit .462 (6-for-13, 4 RBI, 3 R, 2B, SF, 4K)
LF – #18 Jeremy Baltz (St. John’s, fr., 6-hole … Vestal, NY)
… hit .462 (6-for-13, 2 RBI, 2 R, HR, 2K, 2 GDP)
CF/RF – #16 Ryan Durant (Iowa, sr., 3-hole … Eldridge, IA)
hit .545 (6-for-11, 6 RBI, 2 R, HR, 2B, BB, 2 SF, 3K)
RHP – #14 Alex Wimmers (Ohio State … jr., Cincinnati, OH
… 1.12 ERA, 1-0, 1 GS, 8 IP, 2 R/1 ER, 5 H, BB, WP, 6K,  .179 opp. batting
LHP – #32 Jarred Hippen (Iowa, so. … Rock Falls, IL)
… 3.12 ERA, 1-0, 1 GS, 8.2 IP, 3 R, 6 H, BB, 8K,  .188 opp. batting
LHP – #23 Kyle Helisek (Villanova, so. … Cranberry Township, PA)
… 1.29 ERA, 1-0, 1 GS, 7 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 5 BB, 2 K,  .167 opp. batting
RHP (relief) – #32 Chris Enourato (West Virginia, sr. … Bridgeport, WV)
… 0.00 ERA, 1-0, 1 GP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 7 K, .154 opp. batting

Honorable Mention
1B–#38 Casey Martin (Notre Dame, 5th-yr. sr., cleanup/7-hole; Charleston, IN)
… hit .556 (5-for-9, R, BB, E)
LF – #3 Junior Carlin (South Florida, jr., 2-hole … Riverview, FL)
… hit .462 (6-for-13, 2 RBI, 2 R, HBP, K)
LF – #7 Pat Biserta (Rutgers, jr., 2/6-hole … Pt. Pleasant Boro, NJ)
… hit .357 (5-for-14, 3 RBI, 2 R, HR, SB, K)
LF – #34 Quentin Williams (Northwestern, so., 7/8-hole … Pittsburgh, PA)
… hit .556 (5-for-9, 2 RBI, R, HR, 2K)
RHP – #29 Jon Prosinski (Seton Hall, fr. … Skillman, NJ)
… 0.00 ERA, 1-0, 1 GS, 6 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 2 BB, BK, 6K, .211 opp. batting
RHP – #26 Kurt Wunderlich (Michigan State, jr. … Des Peres, MO)
… 0.00 ERA, 1-0, 1 GS, 7 IP, 0 R, 4 H, BB, HB, 6K, .174 opp. batting
RHP (relief) – #17 Brandon Sinnery (Michigan, so. … Worcester, MA)
… 0.00 ERA, 0-0, SV, 2 GP, 5 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 6 K, .067 .opp batting

Day-3 Notebook from Big Ten/BIG EAST Challenge

The BIG EAST kept rolling on Sunday, winning 7-of-10 games for the second straight day to claim the series by a 17-13 margin (after trailing 6 games to 1 heading into Friday night).

BIG TEN/BIG EAST CHALLENGE – Day-3 Results
(Feb. 28, 2010 … BIG EAST 7-3 margin for the day, won series 17-13)
(BIG EAST wins in italics)

GAME 30 – Cincinnati 12, Ohio State 4 (Naimoli Complex)
FINAL STATS |  CIN Recap |  OSU Recap

GAME 29 – St. John’s 6, Illinois 4 (Naimoli Complex)
FINAL STATS |  SJU Recap |  ILL Recap

GAME 28 – Michigan 4, South Florida 2  (Naimoli Complex)
FINAL STATS |  MICH RECAP |  USF Recap

GAME 27 – Iowa 11, Villanova 2  (Jack Russell Stadium)
FINAL STATS |  IOWA Recap |  VILL Recap

GAME 26 – Michigan State 17, West Virginia 5  (Al Lang Stadium)
FINAL STATS |  MSU Recap |  WVU Recap

GAME 25 – Louisville 5, Minnesota 4 (Naimoli Complex)
FINAL STATS |  LOU Recap |  MINN Recap

GAME 24 – Connecticut 9, Indiana 5 (Naimoli Complex)
FINAL STATS |  UConn Recap |  IU Recap

GAME 23 – Notre Dame 9, Penn State 8  (10 innings … Naimoli Complex)
FINAL STATS |  ND Recap |  PSU Recap

GAME 22 – Rutgers 6, Purdue 5  (Jack Russell Stadium)
FINAL STATS |  RU Recap |  PUR Recap

GAME 21 – Seton Hall 3, Northwestern 0  (Al Lang Stadium)
FINAL STATS |  SHU Recap |  NU Recap

• • • • •

CollegeBaseball360.com again is compiling full tournament stats and will be announcing the Big Ten/BIG EAST Challenge all-tournament team (hopefully sometime tonight, assuming we have received all the game files), in addition to posting detailed tournament stats (team and individual) in PDF format. Check out the 23 players listed below – led by three each from Ohio State and Villanova – who each were batting .500 or better (min. 5 ABs) through the first two days of competition:

20201 Big Ten/BIG EAST Challenge Top Hitters (after day-2)
(tournament stats provided courtesy of CollegeBaseball360.com)

.750 – #35 Jerred Sabourin (Indiana, 3-hole, jr., 1B) … 6–for (4RBI, 2R, 2 2B, BB)

.727 – #20 Matt Szczur (Villanova, leadoff, jr., RF) … 8-for-11 (RBI, 5R, 3B, 2B, 0-1 SB, 2K)

.714 – #17 Matt Dittman (Illinois, cleanup, jr., 1B) … 5-for-7 (3RBI, 2R, 2B, BB, 2K)

.714 – #24 Michael Stephens (Ohio St., cleanup, sr., CF) … 5-7 (2RBI, 3R, 2 2B, BB, SB, SF, 2K)

.714 – #26 Kevin Plawecki (Purdue, 7-hole, fr., C) … 4-for-6 (RBI, R, 2B, BB, HBP, SB)

.667 – #34 Quentin Williams (Northwestern, 7/8-hole, so., LF) … 4-for-6 (2 RBI, R, HR, K)

.571 – #30 Adam Duvall (Louisville, 2-hole, sr., 2B) … 4-for-7 (3 RBI, 3 R, HR, 2 2B, BB, SAC, K)

.571 – #5 Stewart Ijames (Louisville, 7-hole, jr., LF) … 4-for-7 (3 RBI, 2 R, HR, 2B, K, CS)

.556 – #23 Ryan Dew (Ohio St., 5-hole, sr., DH) … 5-for-9 (2 RBI, 4 R, 2B, K)

.500 – #19 Arby Fields (Northwestern, 2-hole, fr., CF) … 5-for-10 (3 RBI, K)

.500 – #30 Jon Moore (Purdue, 2-hole, sr., CF) … 5-for-10 (RBI, 2 R, 2B, 2 K)

.500 – #18 Justin Gominsky (Minnesota, leadoff, so., CF) … 4-for-8 (RBI, R, 2 2B, 2 K)

.500 – #7 Chris Fontenelli (Seton Hall, 5th-yr. sr., 8-hole, 2B) … 4-for-8 (2 R, BB, SAC, 2K)

.500– #23 Michael Glantz (Penn St., 7-hole, jr., SS) … 4-for-8 (RBI, R, BB, SAC, 2K)

.500 – #25 Paul Snieder (Northwestern, 5-hole, so., DH/P) … 4-for-8 (2R, BB, HBP, 4K)

.500 – #44 Matt Fleishman (Villanova, 5-hole, so., LF) … 4-for-8 (RBI, 2R, 2 2B, BB, 2K)

.500 – #1 Drew Haynes (Louisville, 9-hole, jr., CF)  … 3-for-6 (2 RBI, 3R, 2B, BB, CS)

.500 – #2 Joe Panik (St. John’s, 5-hole, so., SS) … 3-for-6 (2 RBI, 2R, 3B, 2B, 2BB, HBP, 2K)

.500 – #3 Brandon Hohl (Illinois, 8-hole, fr., 3B) … 3-for-6 (2 RBI, R, 2K, GDP)

.500 – #9 Trevor Willis (Iowa, 8-hole, jr., LF) … 3-for-6 (3B, 2B, BB, SAC, 2K)

.500 – #1 Tyler Engle (Ohio St., 9-hole, jr., SS) … 3-for-6 (RBI, R, 2B, BB)

.500 – #22 Justin Bencsko (Villanova, 2-hole, sr., CF) … 3-for-6 (5R, 2B, 3BB, 2SB, 2 SAC, GDP)

.500 – #22 Mike Olt (UConn, cleanup, jr., 3B) … 3-for-6 (RBI, 2R, 3BB, SB, SF, 2K)

Day-2 Notebook (2010 Big Ten/BIG EAST Challenge)

BIG TEN/BIG EAST CHALLENGE – Day-2 Results
(Feb. 27, 2010 … BIG EAST 7-3 margin for the day, series tied 10-10)
(BIG EAST wins in italics)

GAME 20 – Louisville 17, Michigan State 6  (Jack Russell Stadium)
FINAL STATS |  LOU Recap |  MSU Recap

GAME 19 – St. John’s 2, Michigan 1  (Al Lang Stadium)
FINAL STATS |  SJU Recap |  MICH Recap

GAME 18 – South Florida 12, Illinois 3  (Bright House Networks Field)
FINAL STATS |  USF Recap |  ILL Recap

GAME 17 – Ohio State 10, Notre Dame 2  (Bright House Networks Field)
FINAL STATS |  OSU Recap |  ND Recap

GAME 16 – Northwestern 7, Rutgers 5  (Naimoli Complex)
FINAL STATS |  NU Recap |  RU Recap

GAME 15 – Cincinnati 7, Purdue 6  (Jack Russell Stadium)
FINAL STATS |  CIN Recap |  PUR Recap

GAME 14 – Connecticut 8, Minnesota 2  (Al Lang Stadium)
FINAL STATS |  UConn Recap |  MINN Recap

GAME 13 – West Virgnia 9, Iowa 5  (Naimoli Complex)
FINAL STATS |  WVU Recap |  IOWA Recap

GAME 12 – Penn State 3, Seton Hall  2 … 13 inn.  (Jack Russell Stadium)
FINAL STATS |  PSU Recap |  SHU Recap

GAME 11 – Villanova 8, Indiana 1  (Al Lang Stadium)
FINAL STATS |  VILL Recap |  IU Recap

Big Ten/BIG EAST Challenge Day-1 Notebook

Big Ten wins 7-of-10 games on day-1 (note: day-1 notes will be continually added to this post, in blog post format)

2:54 p.m. (2/27/10) – Game-3 highlightes and notes:

Seton Hall     001  200  000  –  3  6  2
Michigan State 000  011  12X  –  5  5  0

MSU Notes – Jr. RHP A.J. Achter 5.1IP-3R-5H-2BB-8K … so. LHP Trevor Popp (W-3.2IP-H-BB-3K) … tying run in 7th, 2R in 8th: sr LF Bo Felt/6-hole RBI triple, so. 3B/8-hole Andrew Carpenter (2RBI-R) added RBI single

SHU Notes – Jr RHP Joe DiRocco 5.1 IP-2R/1 ER-2H-3BB-4K … jr. 3B/7-hole Sean Gusrang solo HR … sr. 1B/5-hole Chris Spagnuolo 2-run 2B

• • • • •

1:02 p.m. (2/27/10) – Game-2 highlightes and notes:

Connecticut   000   040   100   0  –  5  10   4
Northwestern  001   004   000   1  –  6  12   3

NU NOTES – So. DH/RHP Paul Snieder (5-hole) scored winning run in 10th (2-for-4/2R-BB; middle relief 2.2IP-2H-3BB-K) … winning sequence in 10th: Snieder leadoff 1B to CF, Colby Everett SAC, so. IF/9-hole Zach Morton 2-out 1B to RF (2-for-3, 2 RBI-R-BB-SAC) … sr. LHP starter Jack Muraski 6.1IP-5R-7H-2BB … game had 8 combined errors

UCONN NOTES – So. CF/3-hole George Springer 3RBI-R-BB-2B-SF … jr. LHP Elliot Glynn 5IP-R-5H-BB-5K … 4R in 5th (4-1 lead) … both teams 10 LOB (UConn left man on 2nd in 8th-9th-10th) … so. RHP Ryan Thompson (L) 0.2IP-R-2H-BB

• • • • •

11:32 a.m. (2/27/10) – Game-1 highlightes and notes:

Rutgers    010   010   001  –  3    7   0
Iowa       101   010   03X  –  6   11   0

TOP IOWA PLAYERS: so. LHP Jarrod Hippen 8.2IP-3R-6H-BB-8K … jr. SS/9-hole Kurt Lee 2-3/2RBI-R-2B-SAC-SB … jr. LF/9-hole Kurt McCool 2-3/2R-3B-SAC

RUTGERS NOTES: sr. RHP Casey Gaynor (L) 6.1IP-3R-8H-BB-5K … jr. 1B/cleanup Jared Matthews 3B/R…jr. RF/leadoff Michael Lang RBI 2B … sr. catcher/7-hole Jayson Hernandez 2-out RBI single in 9th, brought tying run to plate (Iowa jr. RHP Kevin Lee rolle up game-ending 6-4 groundout from pinch-hitter Ryan Kapp)

• • • • •

10:29 p.m. (2/26/10) – Day-1 scores and links

The first day of competition in the second Big Ten/BIG EAST Baseball Challenge is complete, with the Big Ten winning 7-of-10 games to take a four-game cushion into Saturday’s series of 10 more games (followed by 10 more on Sunday, the tournament’s final day).

The Big Ten outscored the BIG EAST by only 10 runs (56-46), with the day’s action featuring three 1-run games (two of them in extra innings and four others decided by 2-run margins (plus one 3-run game). The BIG EAST had one blowout win (Villanova 13, Purdue 5), while the Big Ten posted the day’s biggest margin when Illinois defeated Notre Dame, 11-1.

BIG TEN/BIG EAST CHALLENGE – Day-1 Results
(Feb. 26, 2010 … Big Ten won 7-of-10)
(BIG EAST wins in italics)

GAME 10 – Louisville 2, Michigan 0  (Dunedin Staduim)
FINAL STATS |  LOU Recap |  MICH Recap

GAME 9 – Illinois 11, Notre Dame 1  (Jack Russell Stadium)
FINAL STATS |  ILL Recap |  ND Recap

GAME 8 – Ohio State 4, South Florida 2  (Al Lang Stadium)
FINAL STATS |  OSU Recap |  USF Recap

GAME 7 – St. John’s 5, Minnesota 4  (Dunedin Stadium)
FINAL STATS |  SJU Recap |  MINN Recap

GAME 6 – Villanova 13, Purdue 5  (Naimoli Complex)
FINAL STATS |  VILL Recap |  PUR Recap

GAME 5 – Indiana 10, West Virginia 8  (Jack Russell Stadium)
FINAL STATS |  IU Recap |  WVU Recap

GAME 4 – Penn State 5, Cincinnati 4 … 12 innings  (Al Lang Stadium)
FINAL STATS |  PSU Recap |  CIN Recap

GAME 3 – Michigan State 5, Seton Hall 3  (Naimoli Complex)
FINAL STATS |  MSU Recap |  SHU Recap

GAME 2 – Northwestern 6, Connecticut 5 … 10 inn. (Jack Russell Stadium)
FINAL STATS |  NU Recap |  UConn Recap

GAME 1 – Iowa 6, Rutgers 3  (Al Lang Stadium
FINAL STATS |  Iowa Recap |  RU Recap

Baseball America Feb. 22 College Baseball Poll

Virginia Is Number One For The First Time

Virginia took two out of three on the road against East Carolina in the marquee series of college baseball’s opening weekend and moved up to No. 1 in the Baseball America Top 25 rankings for the first time ever.

While Virginia, which ranked second in the preseason, was winning on the road in a tough environment at then-No. 18 East Carolina, its path to the top of the rankings was cleared when preseason No. 1 Texas was upset at home by New Mexico. The Longhorns won the opener but dropped the next two games and fell to No. 3 in the rankings, with Louisiana State moving to No. 2 after sweeping Centenary.

Texas wasn’t the only top 10 team upset on opening weekend. Preseason No. 4 Cal State Fullerton lost its first two games to Oregon and Pepperdine before salvaging the finale with a win against rival Long Beach State. Meanwhile, Rice went on the road to Stanford and was swept in a three-game series, the first time that’s happened to the Owls in five years. Fullerton and Rice fell to No. 8 and No. 9, respectively.

Since most of the preseason Top 25 teams opened the season with series wins against lesser opponents, there wasn’t a lot of movement throughout the rankings. Stanford, thanks to sweeping Rice, was the only team to join the rankings this week, jumping in at No. 18. Georgia fell out of the rankings after a 2-2 weekend.

Rk.	Team	W-L	Last Week	Prev.
1.	Virginia	2-1	2-1	2
2.	Louisiana State	3-0	3-0	3
3.	Texas	1-2	1-2	1
4.	Georgia Tech	3-0	3-0	6
5.	Florida	3-0	3-0	7
6.	UC Irvine	3-0	3-0	8
7.	Florida State	3-0	3-0	9
8.	Cal State Fullerton	1-2	1-2	4
9.	Rice	0-3	0-3	5
10.	South Carolina	3-0	3-0	10
11.	Texas Christian	3-0	3-0	11
12.	Coastal Carolina	2-1	2-1	12
13.	Louisville	3-0	3-0	13
14.	Arizona State	3-0	3-0	14
15.	Clemson	3-0	3-0	15
16.	Miami	3-0	3-0	16
17.	Arkansas	2-1	2-1	17
18.	Stanford	3-0	3-0	NR
19.	San Diego	3-1	3-1	19
20.	North Carolina	3-0	3-0	20
21.	Southern Mississippi	2-1	2-1	21
22.	East Carolina	1-2	1-2	18
23.	UCLA	3-0	3-0	23
24.	Mississippi	2-1	2-1	24
25.	Oregon State	2-1	2-1	25
Dropped Out: Georgia (22) (BA Release)

NCBWA Feb. 22 College Baseball Poll

LSU Is New Number One

DALLAS – The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association continues
its tradition of NCAA Division I polls for the 13th year with its 2010
weekly surveys. Weekly polls will be circulated from Feb. 22-June 29
following the 64th annual NCAA World Series in Omaha, Neb., and final
CWS competition at historic Rosenblatt Stadium.

The poll voters come from 40 college baseball writers and related media
persons from throughout the nation. This week’s poll has representation
by 11 different conferences among the 302 baseball-playing schools in
the 2010 NCAA Division I ranks, and there have been 12 circuits in the
initial surveys this season. Last year there were 17 different leagues
(from 30 in NCAA Division I) among the Top 30 polls. For more
information or to join the NCBWA, please go to
www.ncbwa.com< target=_blank href=”http://www.ncbwa.com/”>http://www.ncbwa.com/>.

Rank School Conference Overall Record Previous Rank
1 LSU Southeastern 3-0 2
2 Florida State Atlantic Coast 3-0 6
3 Virginia ACC 2-1 3
4 UC Irvine Big West 3-0 7
5 Georgia Tech ACC 3-0 9
6 Arizona State Pacific-10 3-0 8
7 Florida SEC 3-0 10
8 Texas Big 12 1-2 1
9 TCU Mountain West 3-0 11
10 Miami (Fla.) ACC 3-0 12
11 Cal State Fullerton Big West 1-2 4
12 North Carolina ACC 3-0 13
13 Clemson ACC 3-0 14
14 Rice Conference USA 0-3 5
15 Louisville Big East 3-0 19
16 Arkansas SEC 2-1 15
17 Stanford Pac-10 3-0 30
18 South Carolina SEC 3-0 21
19 Coastal Carolina Big South 2-1 17
20 Oregon State Pac-10 2-1 18
21 East Carolina C-USA 1-2 16
22 Oklahoma Big 12 4-0 25
23 Ohio State Big Ten 3-0 23
24 Mississippi SEC 2-1 20
25 San Diego West Coast 3-1 24
26 Southern Miss C-USA 2-1 22
27 UCLA Pac-10 3-0 27
28 Texas A&M Big 12 3-0 28
29 Kentucky SEC 3-0 NR
30 Vanderbilt SEC 3-0 29

Others receiving votes (listed alphabetically): Others receiving votes
(listed alphabetically): Alabama (2-0), Army (2-1), Baylor (3-1), Boston
College (2-1), Connecticut (0-0), Dallas Baptist (3-0), Elon (3-0),
Florida Gulf Coast (3-0), Florida International (3-0), Fresno State
(3-0), Georgia (2-2), James Madison (0-0), Kansas (0-0), Lamar (3-0),
Middle Tennessee (1-1), Mississippi State (3-0), New Mexico (2-1), Notre
Dame (3-0), Old Dominion (3-0), Oral Roberts (0-0), Oregon (2-1),
Pepperdine (2-1), USF (0-3), St. John’s (3-0), Tennessee (3-0), Texas
State (3-0), Texas Tech (4-0), UC Riverside (3-0), UCF (3-0), UNC
Wilmington (2-1), Washington State (2-0), Western Kentucky (2-1),
Wichita State (0-0), Winthrop (3-0).
Dropped Out: Georgia (26).

By conference: SEC 7, ACC 6, Pac-10 4, Big 12 3, C-USA 3, Big West 2,
Big East 1, Big South 1, Big Ten 1, MWC 1, WCC 1.

Collegiate Baseball 2010 Week One Poll

LSU Takes Over Top Spot In First Regular Season Rankings

TUCSON, Ariz. – Defending national champion Louisiana St. is ranked No. 1 in the first regular season “Collegiate Baseball” newspaper NCAA Division I baseball poll after sweeping Centenary three straight over the past weekend.

The Tigers (3-0) took over the top spot when No. 1 pre-season selection Texas dropped two of three at home to start the season against New Mexico.  LSU captured its 11th straight season-opening series dating back to 2000.

In game two of the series, Tiger Head Coach Paul Mainieri celebrated the 1,000th win of his coaching career during a 25-8 win. His 28-year career includes stops at St. Thomas University in Miami (1983-88), Air Force (1989-94), Notre Dame (1995-2006) and LSU (2007-present).

Poll Notes: New Mexico stunned Texas by winning two of three in Austin against the Longhorns to start the season. It marked the first time in school history that the Lobos had beaten a No. 1 ranked team. Prior to the historic victories, New Mexico was 0-9 all-time when playing the No. 1 team in the nation. All nine games were against Arizona St. After Texas won the opener, 6-2, the Lobos captured the final two contests, 6-5 and 3-1.

Another red-hot team to start the season was Oregon. The Ducks knocked off highly regarded Cal. St. Fullerton to start the season in Fullerton, Calif. and followed that off with a win at Long Beach St. before losing at Pepperdine. New to the poll this week are New Mexico and Oregon. Two teams dropped out in Rice (0-3) and Minnesota (2-1).

The “Collegiate Baseball” newspaper poll is the oldest college baseball poll. Its birth took place during the 1957 college baseball season.

Collegiate Baseball Newspaper’s
NCAA Div. I Poll
(As of Feb. 22, 2010)

Rank School (Record)        Points    Previous
1. Louisiana St. (3-0)          492        2
2. Arizona St. (3-0)             490        5
3. Georgia Tech. (3-0)        488        6
4. Texas (1-2)                     487        1
5. Virginia (2-1)                   486        3
6. Cal. St. Fullerton (1-2)     484        4
7. Florida St. (3-0)               483        7
8. U.C. Irvine (3-0)               482        8
9. Florida (3-0)                     479        9
10. Oregon St. (2-1)            476        10
11. Miami, Fla. (3-0)             473        12
12. North Carolina (3-0)       471        13
13. Ohio St. (3-0)                 469        14
14. Texas Christian (3-0)    465        15
15. Clemson (3-0)               464        16
16. Louisville (3-0)              461        19
17. UCLA (3-0)                   459        20
18. Stanford (3-0)              457        26
19. New Mexico (2-1)        454        -
20. Oklahoma (4-0)            451        25
21. Coastal Carolina (2-1)  449        17
22. East Carolina (1-2)       447        18
23. South Carolina (3-0)    444        28
24. San Diego (3-1)           443        24
25. Oregon (2-1)               441        -
26. Southern Miss. (2-1)   435        21
27. Wichita St. (0-0)          430        27
28. Mississippi (2-1)         429        22
29. Texas A&M (3-0)        427        29
30. Arkansas (2-1)           425        23

NCBWA 2010 Preseason College Baseball Poll

Texas Tops Another Preseason Poll

DALLAS - The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association continues
its tradition of NCAA Division I polls for the 13th year with its 2010
preseason predictions and weekly surveys. Weekly polls will continue
from Feb. 22 through June 29 following the NCAA World Series in Omaha,
Neb.

The poll voters come from 40 college baseball writers and related media
persons from throughout the nation. After a preseason Top 35 listing,
the remainder of the polls will feature a national Top 30.

Texas is the preseason NCBWA poll choice for the third time in history.
Last year coach Augie Garrido’s crew finished second to LSU (No. 2 in
the NCBWA pre-2010 survey) in the NCAA World Series during the
next-to-last venue at historic Rosenblatt Stadium, which will be razed
after the ‘10 CWS. The Longhorns also earned top billing in 2003 and ‘06
while North Carolina managed its first preseason top rating in 2009.

LSU held down the No. 1 slot in both the 1998 and 2001 NCBWA preseason
selections while other No. 1 placers in the initial polls are Southern
California (1999), Miami (Fla.) (2000), Stanford (2002), Cal State
Fullerton (2005), Rice (2004, 07), and Arizona State (2008). The three
final No. 1 choices prior to LSU in 2009 have come from the Far West in
Fresno State (2008) and two-time NCAA champ Oregon State (2006 and ‘07).

This week’s poll has representation by 12 different conferences among
the 302 baseball-playing schools in the 2010 NCAA Division I ranks. The
polls of 2009 had teams from 16 different DI conferences rated at least
one week. For more information or to join the NCBWA, please go to
www.ncbwa.com.

Rank-School-2009 Record-Final ‘09 Poll Place

1 Texas  Big 12 50-16-1 2

2 LSU  SEC 56-17 1

3 Virginia  ACC t 48-15-1 6

4 Cal State Fullerton  Big West 47-16 7

5 Rice   Conference USA 43-18 9

6 Florida State   ACC 45-18 10

7 UC Irvine   Big West 45-15 13

8 Arizona State  Pac-10 51-14 3

9 Georgia Tech ACC 38-19-1 19

10 Florida SEC 42-22 14

11 TCU   Mountain West 40-18 11

12 Miami (Fla.)   ACC 38-22 20

13 North Carolina   ACC 48-18 4

14 Clemson  ACC 44-22 15

15 Arkansas  SEC 41-24 5

16 East Carolina   C-USA 46-20 16

17 Coastal Carolina   Big South 47-16 21

18 Oregon State   Pac-10 37-19 24

19 Louisville   Big East 47-18 17

20 Mississippi   SEC 44-20 12

21 South Carolina   SEC 40-23 23

22 Southern Miss   C-USA 40-26 8

23 Ohio State   Big Ten 42-19 NR

24 San Diego   West Coast 29-25 NR

25 Oklahoma   Big 12 43-20 18

26 Georgia   SEC 38-24 26

27 UCLA   Pac-10 27-29 NR

28 Texas A&M   Big 12 37-24 25

29 Vanderbilt   SEC 37-27 29

30 Stanford   Pac-10 30-25 NR

31 Wichita State  Missouri Valley 30-27 NR

32 Alabama   SEC 37-21 30

33 Kansas   Big 12 39-24 NR

34 Kansas State   Big 12 43-18-1 22

35 Minnesota   Big Ten (40-19) NR

Others receiving votes (listed alphabetically): Army (26-21), Auburn
(31-25), Bethune-Cookman (32-28), Cal Poly (37-21), Charlotte (33-22),
Connecticut (36-24), Dallas Baptist (38-17), Dayton (38-19), Elon
(41-18), Florida Gulf Coast (36-18), Florida International (34-23),
Fresno State (32-30), George Mason (42-14), James Madison (30-24),
Kentucky (28-26), Long Beach State (25-29), Middle Tennessee State
(44-18), Mississippi State (25-29), Notre Dame (36-23), Oklahoma State
(34-24), Oral Roberts (33-15), Pepperdine (31-23), Rhode Island
(37-20-1), San Diego State (41-23), South Florida (34-25), Tennessee
(26-29), UCF (22-35), UNC Wilmington (31-23), Washington State (32-25),
Western Kentucky (42-20), Xavier (39-21) .

By conference: SEC 9, ACC 5, Big 12 5, Pac-10 4, Conference USA 3, Big
West 2, Big Ten 2, WCC 1, Big East 1, Big South 1, MVC 1, MWC 1.

USA Today/ESPN 2010 College Baseball Preseason Coaches’ Poll

Texas Tops The First Coaches’ Poll Of The Season

The preseason coaches poll has just been released, and, like the other preseason polls, Texas is number one.  Here’s a look at the rest of the Top 25:

Jan. 29, 2010 — preseason poll

Rank	School (first-place votes)	Record	Points	Final 2009 rank
1	Texas (18)	50-16-1	760	2
2	LSU (10)	56-17	721	1
3	Cal State-Fullerton (2)	47-16	671	7
4	Virginia (1)	49-15-1	665	5
5	Florida State	45-18	575	10
6	Rice	43-18	547	9
7	UC Irvine	45-15	534	16
8	Arizona State	51-14	497	3
9	Florida	42-22	489	13
10	Georgia Tech	38-19-1	484	18
11	North Carolina	48-18	456	4
12	TCU	40-18	367	12
13	Miami (Fla.)	38-22	355	20
14	Oregon State	37-19	350	NR
15	Clemson	44-22	334	14
16	Arkansas	41-24	289	6
17	Mississippi	44-20	249	11
18	East Carolina	46-20	224	15
19	Coastal Carolina	47-16	203	23
20	Louisville	47-18	192	17
21	Ohio State	42-19	131	NR
22	Oklahoma	43-20	127	19
23	San Diego	29-25	95	NR
24	Southern Mississippi	40-26	94	8
25	Stanford	30-25	79	NR

Others receiving votes: South Carolina (40-23) 75; Vanderbilt (37-27) 75; UCLA (27-29) 73; Texas A&M (37-24) 51; Georgia (38-24) 48; Minnesota (40-19) 48; Arizona (30-25) 33; Kansas (39-24) 24; Kansas State (43-18-1) 19; Wichita State (30-27) 19; Oral Roberts (33-15) 18; Pepperdine (31-23) 15; Middle Tennessee (44-18) 13; Fresno State (32-30) 9; Missouri (35-27) 9; Oklahoma State (34-24) 9; Alabama (37-21) 6; North Carolina-Wilmington (31-23) 6; Boston College (34-26) 5; Florida Gulf Coast (36-18) 5; James Madison (30-24) 5; Kentucky (28-26) 4; Long Beach State (25-29) 4; Cal Poly (37-21) 3; Gonzaga (36-18) 3; St. John’s (30-22) 3; Florida International (34-23) 2; Jacksonville (37-22) 1; Nebraska (25-28) 1; Western Kentucky (42-20) 1.

The USA TODAY/ESPN Board of Coaches is made up of 31 coaches at Division I institutions. All are members of the American Baseball Coaches Association.

The 2010 board: The USA TODAY/ESPN Board of Coaches is made up of 31 coaches at Division I institutions. All are members of the American Baseball Coaches Association. The board for the 2010 season: Terry Alexander, Jacksonville; John Anderson, Minnesota; Ed Blankmeyer, St. John’s; Rob Cooper, Wright State; Sherman Corbett, Texas-San Antonio; Tim Corbin, Vanderbilt; David Eldredge, Southern Utah; Mike Gaski, North Carolina-Greensboro; Nino Giarratano, San Francisco; Gary Gilmore, Coastal Carolina; Keith Guttin, Missouri State; Danny Hall, Georgia Tech; Daniel Heefner, Dallas Baptist; Loren Hibbs, Charlotte; Charlie Hickey, Central Connecticut State; George Horton, Oregon; Steve Jaksa, Central Michigan; Omar Johnson, Jackson State; Rick Jones, Tulane; Steve Kittrell, South Alabama; Paul Kostacopoulos, Navy; Kevin Leighton, Manhattan; Gary McClure, Austin Peay; Mervyl Melendez, Bethune-Cookman; Gary Powers, Nevada; Mark Scalf, North Carolina-Wilmington; Jim Schlossnagle, TCU; Matt Senk, Stony Brook; Doug Smith, UC-Riverside; Steve Smith, Baylor; Bob Whalen, Dartmouth.

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