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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.

Peter O'Brien

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

Retiring head coach Bob Todd (OSU photo)

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.

Tony Thompson (KU photo)

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.

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

Garrett Wittels (FIU photo)

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

Matt Purke (TCU photo)

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

Jeremy Baltz (SJU photo)

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.

Anthony Rendon (Rice photo)

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

Tony Nix (UC Riverside photo)

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.

Toreros Claim 3rd WCC Title In Four Years

USD is the 2nd team to earn an NCAA bid in 2010 (San Diego photo)

SAN DIEGO, Calif. - The 17th-ranked University of San Diego baseball tam has officially clinched a share of the West Coast Conference Championship, and earned the WCC’s automatic bid into the NCAA Regionals.

The Toreros have a bye this weekend as the team prepares for final exams, but with a perfect 15-0 record in WCC games, combined with a pair of Portland losses (to San Francisco) this weekend, San Diego has clinched at least a share of the WCC crown, which will make three conference championships in the past four seasons for the Toreros. USD will win the title outright should Portland lose its final game of the weekend against San Francisco on Sunday, or if USD wins at least one of its final remaining six conference games.

The Toreros already own the tie-breaker with Portland after sweeping their three game series last weekend in the Rose City.  The WCC does not play a post season tournament, so the regular season champion earns the league’s automatic NCAA bid.

San Diego is the second team  to earn a 2010 NCAA Tournament bid.  Dartmouth earned the first berth last weekend by claiming the Ivy League Championship.

USD will return to action on Friday May 21st as they head to Malibu to take on the Waves of Pepperdine University in a 3 p.m. game.

(Courtesy San Diego Sports Information)

Toreros Control Their Destiny In The WCC

San Diego

JONESBORO, Ark. – Thirty-one home games, including 15 Sun Belt Conference matchups and a home clash with perennial national power Ole Miss highlight the schedule for the 2010 Arkansas State baseball season, which gets underway Feb. 19 when the Red Wolves host Southern Illinois in a three-game series at Tomlinson Stadium and Kell Field.

Three of the top four teams in last year’s Sun Belt Conference regular season standings will visit Tomlinson Stadium, including defending regular season co-champions Middle Tennessee State and Western Kentucky.  Florida International, which finished fourth in the regular season a year ago, and sixth-place

Arkansas State Head Coach Tommy Raffo

South Alabama will also travel to Jonesboro.  The Red Wolves will close out the regular season by hosting in-state and conference rival Arkansas-Little Rock.

Complete 2010 Arkansas State Schedule

Regional rivals Memphis, Southeast Missouri State, Murray State and UT Martin will all visit Jonesboro during the regular season as well, and the 2010 schedule marks the first time since the 2004 season that ASU’s schedule consists entirely of Division I opponents.

Arkansas State will play 11 of its first 12 games at home, hosting SIU, Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Portland in the season’s first three weekends.  The Red Wolves open SBC play March 12-14 at Louisiana-Lafayette before returning to Jonesboro to face MTSU in the March 19-21 SBC home opener.

“We are very excited about the 2010 baseball schedule,” said ASU head coach Tommy Raffo.  “We are presented with some early challenges before conference play begins that will help prepare us for play in the Sun Belt.  The 31 home games at Tomlinson Stadium will be a great opportunity for our players, our fans, and the people in Northeast Arkansas to watch quality baseball.”

Seven starters return from last year’s team, including All-Sun Belt Conference performer Murray Watts, who hit .305 a year ago and led the team with 16 doubles, 10 home runs and 44 RBIs.  Junior outfielder Todd Baumgartner, who hit a team-best .350 with 15 doubles, eight home runs and 43 RBIs returns as well.  The Red Wolves also return junior Andy Ferguson and sophomore Jacob Lee who were both weekend starters on the mound a year ago.

(Release)

Tigers’ Schedule highlighted by 29 home games at FedExPark

Memphis Head Coach Daron Schoenrock

Schoenrock stated. “Conference USA weekend series’ are very tough and our non-conference schedule is designed to prepare the team for these weekends. Strength of schedule is a huge factor in developing the RPI necessary to make the NCAA Regionals. I look forward to seeing the 2010 Tiger team attack this schedule and the challenges that await us.”

Complete 2010 Memphis Schedule

With a more experienced club, Schoenrock has ramped up the competition for the upcoming season. In its 56-game schedule, Memphis will play 20 games against 2009 NCAA Regional participants, 14 contests versus five clubs that won either their respective regular season or conference tournament titles, 11 games against NCAA Regional champs and three against one College World Series qualifier.

With FedExPark set to open in February, Memphis will get the 2010 season underway, at home, with a three-game set against in-state rival and Sun Belt Tournament champs Middle Tennessee State–one of the Tiger’s seven opponents that advanced to NCAA postseason play in 2009. The MTSU series is just one of four weekends in which Memphis will host an NCAA Regional foe. The Tigers will also host 2009 Ohio Valley Tournament champ Tennessee Tech (Mar. 19-21), 2009 C-USA Tournament winner Rice (Mar. 26-28) and 2009 C-USA regular season title holders East Carolina (Apr. 9-11) at the new ballpark.

Memphis will welcome C-USA opponents Tulane (Apr. 23-25) and UAB (May 7-9) to its new home, while making weekend trips to Marshall (Apr. 2-3), Houston (Apr. 16-18), UCF (Apr. 30- May 2) and College World Series participant Southern Miss (May 20-22).

As is customary for the Tigers, they will participate in the Service Academies Spring Classic at Millington’s USA Stadium. There Memphis will take on Toledo, Pittsburgh and Bradley on Feb 26-28, respectively.

The Tiger’s non-conference slate is highlighted by a pair tilts versus NCAA Regional champions Ole Miss. Memphis will travel to Oxford, Miss. for a March 2 meeting, before hosting the Rebels in the annual clash at AutoZone Park on April 13. In efforts to boost its RPI late in the year, Memphis will travel to Big 12 member, Oklahoma for a three-game weekend, May 14-16. The U of M will make home-and-home trips with Louisiana-Monroe and Arkansas State. Other non-league sets include a two-game series’ at Dallas Baptist (Mar. 12-13) and against South Alabama (Mar. 16-17).

For the second-straight season, the Tigers will make the short drive to Jackson, Tenn., to play Austin Peay at Pringles Park, home of the Seattle Mariners Class AA affiliate West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx.

Memphis will play single road games at UT-Martin (Feb.23), at Mississippi State (Mar. 24). The Tigers will host single home contests against Portland (Mar. 8), UCA (May 11) and Murray State (May 12).

(Release)

Moraga, CA – The Saint Mary’s College baseball team and head coach Jedd Soto have announced the schedule for the 2010 season. Highlighting the season are a total of nine games against teams that made the NCAA Tournament last year, three series against conference champions, one series against a 2009 College World Series participant, and a total of 33 games against teams who finished .500 or better.
“Without question, this will be the strongest schedule we have played since my arrival at Saint Mary’s College,” said

St. Mary's Head Coach Jedd Soto

Soto. “We will have an opportunity early to compete at a very high level during our preseason contests which should help us prepare for the West Coast Conference play.” “Playing this type of schedule against quality opponents will give a chance to earn a post season bid.”

Complete 2010 St.Mary’s Schedule (PDF)

Fans will get their first chance to see the 2010 club February 19 when the Gaels take on the defending Western Athletic Conference regular season champion San Jose State Spartans, who finished with 41 wins last season. Opening weekend will continue February 20 on the road at San Jose State, and will finish with the Gaels hosting the Spartans again at Louis Guisto Field on February 21.

After hosting the Nevada Wolfpack in a mid-week contest on February 23, the Gaels will be on the road for eight of the next game games. They will travel down south for a tournament hosted by Cal State Bakersfield, February 26-28. In the tournament, SMC will play CS Bakersfield, Bay Area competitor and Pac-10 member California, and Central Michigan of the Mid-American Conference.

From there, the Gaels return home for a mid-week contest March 2 against Sacramento State, and return the favor by traveling to Sacramento, CA the following day, and then will make the trip down to Irvine March 5-7 to take on the Anteaters of UC Irvine. UC Irvine won the Big West Conference last season with a record of 45-14, was ranked no. 1 nationally for a period of time, and hosted an NCAA Regional.

The Gaels hit the road again March 19-21 when they travel to New Orleans, LA, and take on Conference USA member Tulane. Following another mid-week road affair with the Hornets of Sacramento State on March 23, the Gaels return to the friendly confines of Louis Guisto Field March 26-28 for a series against UC Riverside, from the Big West Conference, which finished the 2009 season with a record of 33-20.

Another eight-game road-trip begins on March 30 when the Gaels travel to UC Davis for a midweek game against the Aggies. The Gaels then head to Hattiesburg, MS for an April 1-3 series against Southern Mississippi. The Conference USA runner-ups with a 40-26 record, the Golden Eagles were one of eight participants in last year’s College World Series and finished the season with a no. 8 ranking nationally.

It doesn’t get any easier for the Gaels from there when they return to California, as they travel to Palo Alto for a midweek contest against Stanford, perennial powers in the Pac-10, on April 7. The road trip concludes when the Gaels open West Coast Conference play at the Portland from April 9-11.

Following the series at Portland, the Gaels will be local for the next seven contests when they return home and continue WCC play April 16-18 against Bay Area rivals, the San Francisco Dons. After a mid-week game against Sacramento State, the fourth meeting of the season, SMC will hit the road for WCC play and take on Santa Clara, April 23-25.

Following an April 30-May 2 WCC road series at Loyola Marymount, the Gaels will return to “The Guisto” for its longest home stand of the year. They will host WCC power Pepperdine May 7-9, UC Davis in a midweek contest May 11, and defending WCC champions Gonzaga May 14-16. The Bulldogs finished last season with a record of 36-18 and a no. 22 national ranking.

The Gaels will be on the road the last two weekends of the season, traveling to the Seattle University May 21-23 for a four-game series. Seattle is beginning its first season of baseball since the 1980 season. WCC play concludes with a series against the Toreros of San Diego May 28-30.

“We have a balanced club this year,” said Soto. “We will return some key offensive players and have added some very talented freshman, who should make an immediate impact. We have an experienced starting rotation and a deep bullpen consisting of three closers who have combined for 18 saves over the past three seasons. Overall, we have a fairly young team that should be exciting to watch for the next few years.”

There will be no West Coast Conference tournament or playoff for the 2010 season. The regular season champion will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

(Release)

CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Oregon State baseball team will play 34 home games at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field in 2010, which highlights the season’s upcoming schedule released Tuesday by head coach Pat Casey.

OSU Head Coach Pat Casey

games as possible. We have some of the greatest fans in the Pac-10 and across the nation and the 2010 season will represent a great opportunity for our players to compete in front of them and for our fans to lead the Pac-10 in attendance.”

Complete 2010 OregonState Schedule (PDF)

The schedule begins Feb. 19 when the Beavers travel to Hawai’i for a four-game series. It marks the second time in four seasons in which OSU will travel outside the continental United States to open the season. In 2007, OSU played at Hawai’i-Hilo, and swept its four games there en route to its second of two consecutive national championships.

After playing four in the islands, the Beavers will return to Corvallis for the 2010 home opener against Tennessee in the Papé Grand Slam, which will be held at Goss Stadium from Feb. 26-28. The third-annual Papé Grand Slam will be played in Corvallis instead of Portland due to a construction schedule at PGE Park that could not accommodate the Beavers. PGE Park, however, will be able to accommodate Oregon State and Oregon for a non-conference game on May 26, which will mark the Beavers’ only appearance this season at the Triple-A park.

Other non-conference home opponents for the Beavers include perennial West Coast power Long Beach State (March 26-28), Portland and Utah in OSU’s Spring Tournament (March 12-14), Maine (March 19-21), Southern Utah (March 24), San Diego (May 10) and Seattle (May 18-19).

Of the Beavers’ 23 road games, eight will be played amongst the team’s first 11. After the series against Tennessee, OSU travels to Surprise, Ariz., to play in a six-team tournament hosted by Arizona State. In addition to the host Sun Devils, OSU squares off against Cal Poly, Utah Valley and UC Riverside over the four days.

Oregon State opens its 2010 Pacific-10 Conference slate April 1 at USC. The Beavers also travel to Washington State, California and Arizona State for league games this season.

Casey and the Beavers open their Pac-10 home schedule April 9 against UCLA. Other conference foes OSU fans will be able to see at Goss Stadium include Stanford, Oregon, Washington and Arizona, whom the Beavers close out the season with in a three-game series from May 28-30.

The NCAA postseason begins June 4 with NCAA Regionals play. NCAA Super Regionals start June 11, with the College World Series, which is scheduled to be played at historic Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb., for the final year, being played June 19-30.

(Release)

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Santa Clara University’s baseball program announced its 2010 schedule today. The 55-game slate, released by ninth-year head coach Mark O’Brien, begins February 19-21, with a home series against the University of Nevada.

Santa Clara Head Coach Mark O'Brien

“Every year we’re going to bring in some of the best teams on the West Coast to play us here,” said O’Brien. “Just as important is to go to different venues, into some hostile environments. We have an early-season series at Houston which will be a good test for us and games at San Diego State and Cal State Fullerton.”

Complete 2010 Santa Clara Schedule (PDF)

Three games with local rival San Jose State March 5-7, a midweek trip to play 2008 College World Series Champion Fresno State March 9 and an extended series at SDSU March 20-23 are also part of the non-conference schedule.

“We are going to be tested early and tested often,” said O’Brien. “In my mind you need to play teams that will prepare you for conference and we’ll do that.”

A 13-game homestand at Schott Stadium, March 26 through April 13, dominates the team’s midseason calendar. The Broncos will play its first two WCC series at home, matching up with Portland April 1-3 and Pepperdine April 9-11.

“What a great environment for college baseball,” O’Brien says about SCU’s Schott Stadium which opened in 2005. “We are very fortunate. It’s a perfect place for families to come out and watch a game.”

Twelve of Santa Clara’s final 16 games are on the road: at Gonzaga April 30 through May 2, at Stanford May 10, at UC Davis May 19, at 2009 CWS qualifiers Cal State Fullerton May 21-23 and finishing up the regular season at LMU May 28-30.

(Release)

EUGENE, Ore. – With its first-class ballpark less than four months away from completion, Oregon baseball unveiled its schedule and launched season ticket sales for the 2010 season today.

Oregon Head Coach George Horton

Complete 2010 Oregon Schedule

Oregon will begin the year with back-to-back weekends on the road.

The Ducks will open the season on Feb. 19, at Cal State Fullerton, the 17-year former home of current Oregon head coach George Horton.

The Ducks will play three more games that weekend while in Southern California, heading to Long Beach State, Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount.

Oregon will then cross the Pacific Ocean for a four-game slate with Hawai’i, before heading back to Eugene for opening day at PK Park.

The Ducks and their 24th ranked 2009 recruiting class will make their PK Park debut on Tuesday, March 2, hosting Washington in a non-conference tilt.

Other exciting non-conference homestands include Seattle (March 12-15) and Nevada (March 19-21).

Oregon opens the conference schedule on the road at Arizona on Friday, March 26, and then returns home to host a three-game stand against the defending Pac-10 champion Arizona State Sun Devils on Thursday, April 1. It will mark ASU’s first-ever appearance in Eugene.

Similar to the start of the season, Oregon has an eight-game road trip in the middle of the season with trips to Stanford (April 9-11), UCLA (April 16-18) and Gonzaga (April 20-21).

The Ducks then return home to host a three-game tilt with USC, as the Trojans return to Eugene for the first time since a 6-2 victory on May 20, 1971.

Oregon’s next Pac-10 series is against Washington State (April 30-May 2), a squad that placed second in the conference standings last season, and received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

The Civil War series with Oregon State will be played at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field from May 7-9. The instate rivals will also play two non-conference games during the year, April 27 at PK Park and May 26 at PGE Park in Portland. Last year, the Ducks and Beavers played back-to-back contests in Portland, bringing a combined 29, 249 fans through the gates of PGE Park.

After the Oregon State series, Oregon will take a break from the Pac-10 schedule and host East Tennessee State from May 14-16.

The Ducks then hit the road and play a three-game conference series at Washington (May 21-23), before closing the season at PK Park vs. California (May 28-30).

Oregon will also host several single-game contests during the year; Southern Utah on March 23, Oregon State on April 27, Portland on May 4, and San Diego on May 11.

(Release)