Will Receive Dick Howser On-Camus Salute…

In addition to being honored as the winner at the conclusion of the college baseball season, each Howser Trophy winner is saluted once again on his campus the following academic year so that fans and administrators at his school can be a part of recognizing his achievements.  Rendon will be re-presented the Howser Trophy by Jana Howser, daughter of Dick Howser and Executive Vice-President of the College Baseball Foundation, and Bo Carter, Executive Director of the NCBWA, during the first quarter of the Rice-UH football game which airs regionally on CSS.

The rising junior third baseman was the recipient of the 24th annual Dick Howser Trophy as college baseball’s player of the year.  The original presentation was made on July 2 in Lubbock, Texas as part of the festivities to recognize and induct the College Baseball Hall of Fame and award several other national honors for 2010.

Anthony Rendon (Courtesy Rice)

Rendon is just the second player in Conference USA history to be named Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons.  He picked up that honor again this year while leading the Owls to the regular season league championship and the school’s 16th consecutive NCAA Regional appearance.  The two-time first team All-C-USA selection was named to the C-USA Championship All-Tournament team and was named the Most Outstanding Player at the NCAA Austin Regional.  The Houston native was also named the Male Athlete of the Year for all sports in Conference USA.

He batted .402 in conference play and finished the season hitting .394 overall.  Rendon led Conference USA in home runs with 26 and had more homers than strikeouts (22) all season long.  Rendon ranks among the nation’s leaders in runs scored (83) and walks (65) while maintaining a .530 on-base percentage.  He had 12 doubles and 85 RBI, while posting an .801 slugging percentage.

Rendon was also been named the 2010 National Player of the Year by Baseball America and the American Baseball Coaches Association.

The Dick Howser Trophy, given in memory of the former Florida State University All-America shortstop and major league player and manager who died of brain cancer in 1987, is regarded by many as college baseball’s most prestigious award.  Criteria for consideration for the trophy include performance on the field, leadership, moral character and courage – qualities that were exemplified by Dick Howser’s life.

A Florida native, Howser was twice an All-America shortstop at Florida State University (1957-58), then coached the Seminoles in 1979 after a career as a major league player and coach. After one year in the college ranks, Howser returned to the majors to manage the New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals and won the World Series with the Royals in 1985. The baseball stadium on the Florida State campus is named for Howser.

NCBWA membership includes writers, broadcasters and publicists. Designed to promote and publicize college baseball, it is the sport’s only college media-related organization, founded in 1962.

The College Baseball Foundation was established in 2004 and has inducted 57 greats into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in Lubbock. The group promotes the highest ideals and recognition of greatness on college baseball diamonds in the 150 years since the first intercollegiate contest in 1859 between Amherst and Williams.

The Howser Trophy was created in 1987, shortly after Howser’s death.  Previous winners of the Howser Trophy are Mike Fiore, Miami, 1987; Robin Ventura, Oklahoma State, 1988; Scott Bryant, Texas, 1989; Alex Fernandez, Miami-Dade Community College South, 1990; Frank Rodriguez, Howard College (Texas), 1991; Brooks Kieschnick, Texas, 1992 and 1993; Jason Varitek, Georgia Tech, 1994; Todd Helton, Tennessee, 1995; Kris Benson, Clemson, 1996; J. D. Drew, Florida State, 1997; Eddy Furniss, LSU, 1998; Jason Jennings, Baylor, 1999; Mark Teixeira, Georgia Tech, 2000; Mark Prior, P, USC, 2001, Khalil Greene, SS, Clemson, 2002; Rickey Weeks, 2B, Southern U., 2003; Jered Weaver, P, Long Beach State, 2004; Alex Gordon, 3B, Nebraska, 2005; Brad Lincoln, P/DH, Houston, 2006; David Price, P, Vanderbilt, 2007; Buster Posey, C, Florida State, 2008 and Stephen Strasburg, P, San Diego State, 2009.

(NCBWA Release)

LUBBOCK, TX - Rice sophomore third baseman Anthony Rendon is the recipient of the 24th annual Dick Howser Trophy as college baseball’s player of the year. The presentation was made Friday evening in Lubbock, Texas as part of the festivities to recognize and induct the College Baseball Hall of Fame and the awarding of several other national honors for 2010.

Anthony Rendon (Rice photo)

Rendon is just the second player in Conference USA history to be named Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons. He picked up that honor again this year while leading the Owls to the regular season league championship and the school’s 16th consecutive NCAA Regional appearance. The two-time first team All-C-USA selection was named to the C-USA Championship All-Tournament team and was named the Most Outstanding Player at the NCAA Austin Regional. The Houston native was also named the Male Athlete of the Year for all sports in Conference USA.

Rendon batted .402 in conference play and finished the season hitting .394 overall. Rendon led Conference USA in home runs with 26 and had more homers than strikeouts (22) all season long. He ranks among the nation’s leaders in runs scored (83) and walks (65) while maintaining a .530 on-base percentage. He had 12 doubles and 85 RBI, while posting an .801 slugging percentage.

Rendon has also been named the 2010 National Player of the Year by Baseball America and the American Baseball Coaches Association.

He won the Howser Trophy over two other outstanding finalists: Miami (Fla.) catcher Yasmani Grandal and Mississippi pitcher Drew Pomeranz.

The Dick Howser Trophy, given in memory of the former Florida State University All-America shortstop and major league player and manager who died of brain cancer in 1987, is regarded by many as college baseball’s most prestigious award. Criteria for consideration for the trophy include performance on the field, leadership, moral character and courage, qualities that were exemplified by Dick Howser’s life.

A Florida native, Howser was twice an All-America shortstop at Florida State University (1957-58), then coached the Seminoles in 1979 after a career as a major league player and coach. After one year in the college ranks, Howser returned to the majors to manage the New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals and won the World Series with the Royals in 1985. The baseball stadium on the Florida State campus is named for Howser.

NCBWA membership includes writers, broadcasters and publicists. Designed to promote and publicize college baseball, it is the sport’s only college media-related organization, founded in 1962.

The College Baseball Foundation was established in 2004 and has inducted 57 greats into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in Lubbock. The group promotes the highest ideals and recognition of greatness on college baseball diamonds in the 150 years since the first intercollegiate contest in 1859 between Amherst and Williams.

The groups also have come together in 2010 to select the Dick Howser Trophy, Brooks Wallace Award (Division I Shortstop of the Year), NCBWA Stopper of the Year, CBF Pitcher of the Year, John Olerud Award (top two-way player) and NCBWA National Coach of the Year. The Pro-Line Athletic/NCBWA All-America and Freshman All-America teams, the NCBWA Freshman Player and Pitcher of the Year also are being presented by these national entities.

The Howser Trophy was created in 1987, shortly after Howser’s death. Previous winners of the Howser Trophy are Mike Fiore, Miami, 1987; Robin Ventura, Oklahoma State, 1988; Scott Bryant, Texas, 1989; Alex Fernandez, Miami-Dade Community College South, 1990; Frank Rodriguez, Howard College (Texas), 1991; Brooks Kieschnick, Texas, 1992 and 1993; Jason Varitek, Georgia Tech, 1994; Todd Helton, Tennessee, 1995; Kris Benson, Clemson, 1996; J. D. Drew, Florida State, 1997; Eddy Furniss, LSU, 1998; Jason Jennings, Baylor, 1999; Mark Teixeira, Georgia Tech, 2000; Mark Prior, P, USC, 2001, Khalil Greene, SS, Clemson, 2002; Rickey Weeks, 2B, Southern U., 2003; Jered Weaver, P, Long Beach State, 2004; Alex Gordon, 3B, Nebraska, 2005; Brad Lincoln, P/DH, Houston, 2006; David Price, P, Vanderbilt, 2007; Buster Posey, C, Florida State, 2008 and Stephen Strasburg, P, San Diego State, 2009.

A Look At Some Movement From Opening Weekend Action

Owls Fall To 0-4 With Home Loss To Lamar

(Lamar Photo)

HOUSTON – Senior Anthony Moore set the tone with a pair of extra base hits in the first two innings and scored three runs to lead Lamar University to a 13-7 win over No. 9-ranked Rice University Wednesday evening at Reckling Park.

Lamar improved to 4-0 on the season while Rice dropped to 0-4. The Cardinals snapped a 10-game losing streak to the Owls that dated back to the 2003 season, when Lamar swept the season series with Rice.

Lamar jumped on Rice starter Anthony Fazio as Moore opened with the game with a double off the wall in left field. After Clayton Farhat walked, Ryan Meade singled through the right side of the infield to drive in Moore with the game’s first run.

Joey Latulippe walked to load the bases. Pablo Salinas cleared the bases with a 3-run triple to right center field to give the Cardinals a quick 4-0 lead.

Moore tripled to the wall in straight away center field in the second inning and scored on Farhat’s sacrifice fly to left field to put Lamar up 5-0.

Rice scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the second inning. Diego Seastrunk singled to center and Steven Sultzbaugh followed with a single up the middle. Chase McDowell, who was 2-for-4 with three RBI, delivered an RBI single to right field, driving in Seastrunk. Jimmy Comerota drove in Sultzbaugh with a sacrifice fly to center field to make the score 5-2.

The Cardinals rallied for four runs in the top of the fourth inning to increase their lead to 9-2. Ted Zentek, Aaron Buchanan and Tyler Theriot all singled. Theriot’s single drove in Zentek with the first run and Buchanan was thrown out trying to go to third on the play.

After Moore drew a walk from left-handed reliever Abe Gonzales, Farhat hit a 3-run opposite field home run to left field. That was Farhat’s first home run of the season. He went 1-for-2 at the plate, drove in a season-best four runs, walked twice and scored twice.

Seastrunk led off the home half of the fourth inning with a solo home run to right center field, his first of the season, to make the score 9-2.

Rice kept up the pressure with two runs in the bottom of the sixth. Anthony Rendon led off the inning with a single. Michael Fuda followed with a single and Seastrunk walked to load the bases.

McDowell delivered a 2-run single to left field to make the score 9-5. The game was then halted for nine minutes due to a glare at home plate from the Medical Center buildings. When the game resumed, reliever Taylor McInnis coaxed Comerota into an inning-ending double play.

For the third time in the game, the Cardinals put up a four-run inning in the top of the seventh. This joined the first and fourth innings. Meade was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Latulippe reached on a two-base throwing error by Rendon at third base, which allowed Meade to score.

Salinas and Zentek both walked to load the bases. Buchanan, who was 2-for-4 with two RBI, followed with a 2-run double down the left field line. Zentek scored on a wild pitch from reliever Holt McNair to increase the Cardinals’ lead to 13-5.

The Owls closed out the scoring with single runs in the eighth and ninth innings. Fuda doubled down the right field line and scored on Sultzbaugh’s RBI single to right in the eighth. Rick Hague singled to lead off the ninth. Mozingo followed with a single and Rendon drove in Hague with a single up the middle to make the score 13-7.

Blake Ford (1-0) started and picked up his first win of the season for the Cardinals. He pitched four innings, allowing three runs on five hits with two strikeouts. Taylor McInnis added three innings of relief with one run on three hits and two strikeouts.

Fazio (0-1), who is a freshman from Beaumont (Kelly HS), took the loss for the Owls. He lasted just one-third of an inning, allowing four runs on three hits.

The Owls next host a talented group teams at the annual Rice Invitational Tournament, this Friday through Sunday (Feb. 26-28) at Reckling Park. Rice is joined in the tournament by Elon, Nebraska and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi for three full days of round-robin action.

(Lamar & Rice Releases)

Milestones & Upsets Highlight The First Week Of 2010

Max Willett (UNM photo)

2…wins by unranked New Mexico at #1 Texas in Austin.  The Lobos lost the season-opener on Friday, but came back with 3-1 and 6-5 wins Saturday and Sunday.  The wins are the first ever for New Mexico over a #1 ranked team.  Texas topped every national poll heading into the season.

.636…batting average by Lobo Max Willett in the 3-game series.  He had a 1.615 OPS with two doubles and a triple.  Willett also had the game-winning RBI in Saturday’s win.

23…runs by Washington State in Sunday’s 23-o rout of Seattle-the most runs by a Cougar team since 1999.  15 different Cougars had at least one hit.

5…Wazzou pitchers who combined in the shutout.

1,001…Career wins by LSU head coach Paul Mainieri after his Tigers’ 3-game weekend sweep of Centenary.  Mainieri hit the 1,000 win mark with Saturday’s 25-8 victory.

1,000…Career wins by Ohio State head coach Bob Todd after his Buckeyes won three games over the weekend in Jacksonville, FL.  OSU pounded Richmond 20-9 Sunday to get Todd to the milestone.

Danny Hall (GT photo)

901…career wins for Georgia Tech’s Danny Hall after a weekend sweep of Missouri State.

36…runs scored by Canisius in a doubleheader sweep of Illinois-Chicago Saturday at the USA Baseball Complex in Cary, NC.  The Golden Griffins won the first game 20-4 and took the second game 16-10.

3…games Stanford won vs. 5th ranked Rice in Palo Alto.

11…runs Stanford scored in the 7th inning of game two of the series on Saturday.  The Cardinal was trailing 4-2 at the time.

5…pitchers Rice used during Stanford’s biggest inning in nearly two years.

265…wins at Cal State Fullerton’s Goodwin Field by Oregon (and former Fullerton) head coach George Horton after Friday’s upset of the 4th ranked Titans.

6-5…the score of Friday’s Louisiana-Monroe win over Ole Miss.  It was the Rebels’ first season-opening loss since 1981.

Paul Karmas (St. John's photo)

1 & 15…combined hits and strikeouts by St. John’s starting pitchers Bruce Kern (5 IP-0H-0BB-8K) and Nick Cenatiempo (4 IP-1 H-0R-BB-7) in Friday and Saturday wins over New Orleans.

3…home runs by Red Storm 1B Paul Karmas in Sunday’s 31-6 win over UNO.

5…total runs by West Virginia in weekend losses to #17 Coastal Carolina, Kentucky and Virginia Tech.

9 1/2…runs a game scored by the Mountaineers last year-which ranked 12th in the nation.

14,922…fans who saw #2 Virginia win two of three games over #11 East Carolina at ECU’s Clark-LeClair Stadium.  Friday’s opening day crowd of 5,012 is the largest in stadium history.  Saturday’s crowd of 5,136 marked the first time ECU ever had back-to-back attendance of more than 5.000.

14…combined pitchers used by the Cavaliers (6) and Pirates (8) in Sunday’s 14-11 UVA series-clinching win.

3 2/3…innings pitched by UVA starter Cody Winiarski.  It was the longest stint for any of the 14 hurlers.  Virginia had 19 hits while East Carolina totaled 11.

4:11…the total time of the 9-inning game.

4:39…time of Lamar’s 5-4 win in 17-innings over Maine.  The game is the longest in Lamar history.  The two teams had played a 2 hour and 27 minute 9-inning game prior to the marathon.

12…strikeouts in 6 innings by Georgia Tech’s Jed Bradley in Sunday’s 13-0 win over Missouri State.  The lefty allowed just four hits and retired 6 of the first 8 batters he faced via strikeout.

13…strikeouts in 6 innings by Arizona freshman Kurt Heyer.  Heyer allowed just three hits and fanned 13 of the 22 batters he faced in Sunday’s win over Utah Valley in his collegiate debut.

2,500…all-time wins for the Arizona baseball program after Heyer’s performance Sunday.

Kevin Tokarski (ISU photo)

8…straight wins by UC Irvine pitcher Daniel Bibona after his 10 strikeout performance in a 5-1 win over Loyola Marymount.

3…the magic number during opening weekend for Illinois State’s Kevin Tokarski.  The redshirt sophomore tripled on the Redbirds’ first pitch of 2010.  He stole 3 bases with 3 doubles in his team’s first three games of the season.   Tokarski was a 2008 Freshman All-American, but missed last season due to wrist surgery.

8,803…total attendance of TCU‘s season-opening 3-game sweep of 2009 NCAA participant Sam Houston State.  The mark is a single-series TCU record.

.800…batting average by Horned Frog freshman Josh Elander.  He was 8-for-10 with a team-high six RBIs to start his career.

1…hit allowed in 6 innings on the mound by Conference USA Preseason Pitcher of the Year Todd McInnis.  The Southern Mississippi hurler didn’t give-up a hit until there were two outs in the 5th inning of Friday’s win over Northwestern State.  He exited the game after he reached his 75 pitch limit.

10 of 10…Pac 10 Conference teams that finished opening weekend with a winning record.  The Pac 10 is the only BCS conference that claimed that distinction over the first three days of the 2010 season.

Eleven Regular Season Games On Preliminary TV Slate

IRVING, Texas –Conference USA has announced its preliminary baseball television schedule for the 2010 season.  The schedule currently features games to appear nationally on CBS College Sports as well as regionally on Comcast Sports Southeast (CSS), Bright House Networks and Cox Sports Television.  Additional games remain a possibility and will be announced at a later date.

“Conference USA has established itself as a national power in baseball and we are pleased that more of our fans will be able to watch our teams play this season on television,” said Conference USA Commissioner Britton Banowsky.

Included in the current schedule are 11 regular season games as well as a live broadcast of the C-USA Baseball Tournament Championship Game on Saturday, May 29.  Additional C-USA Championship games may be added to the television schedule.

2010 C-USA Baseball Television Schedule

(as of February 4)

CBS College Sports

Saturday, April 24                   East Carolina at Rice                    3:00 p.m. EDT/2:00 p.m. CDT

Friday, April 30                       Southern Miss at Tulane               8:00 p.m. EDT/7:00 p.m. CDT

Friday, May 14                        Southern Miss at Rice                  8:00 p.m. EDT/7:00 p.m. CDT

Friday, May 21                        Houston at East Carolina              8:00 p.m. EDT/7:00 p.m. CDT

Saturday, May 29                    C-USA Championship Game         8:00 p.m. EDT/7:00 p.m. CDT

Comcast Sports Southeast (CSS) (regional coverage may vary within CSS footprint)

Tuesday, March 16                 Texas at Rice                              7:30 p.m. EDT/6:30 p.m. CDT

Thursday, April 1                     Houston at Rice                           7:30 p.m. EDT/6:30 p.m. CDT

Friday, April 2                         Houston at Rice                           7:30 p.m. EDT/6:30 p.m. CDT

Tuesday, May 18                    Rice at Houston                           7:30 p.m. EDT/6:30 p.m. CDT

Bright House Networks (Florida)

Tuesday, March 9                   Miami (Fla.) at UCF                      7:00 p.m. EDT/6:00 p.m. CDT

Tuesday, March 16                 South Florida at UCF                    7:00 p.m. EDT/6:00 p.m. CDT

Tuesday, March 9                   Stetson at UCF                            7:00 p.m. EDT/6:00 p.m. CDT

Cox Sports Television (Louisiana)

Tuesday, May 18                    LSU at Tulane                              7:30 p.m. EDT/6:30 p.m. CDT

Conference USA’s 15th baseball season gets underway on February 19.  The conference tournament is scheduled for May 26-30 in Houston, with UH serving as the host for the new six-team, pool-play format.  C-USA’s nine baseball schools have produced 62 NCAA appearances and nine College World Series teams over the past 14 seasons.

Which ’09 Super Regional Team Will Reign In 2010?

East Carolina slugger Kyle Roller

Rice & East Carolina).  All three teams are ranked in the 2010 preseason polls.

C-USA also has five preseason All-Americans heading into the 2010 campaign.

East Carolina

2009 Record:  (46-20, 17-7)

Mascot:  Pirates

Head Coach:  Billy Godwin

Location:  Greenville, NC

Vitals: .339 BA, 108 HR, .415 OBP, .971 Fld%…4.48 ERA, 513 K, 212 BB, .268 opp. BA

Missed It By That Much:  East Carolina advanced to a Super Regional after hosting an NCAA Regional last year, but North Carolina beat ECU to advance to a 4th straight College World Series.

Cape Crusher:  2009 Cape Cod League MVP Kyle Roller (.336, 16 HR, 75 RBIs) is back to lead the Pirate offense this season.  Roller helped the Bourne Braves win their first ever Cape Championship.

Supporting Cast: Devin Harris (.344, 14 HR, 48 RBIs) and Dustin Harrington (.318, 14 HR, 49 RBIs) are back to bat in the middle of the order as well.

Tough To Replace:  While three strong bats are back for ECU, they also lose three big hitters in Stephen Batts (.352, 14 HR, 19 SB),  Brandon Henderson (.330, 13 HR) and Ryan Wood (.379, 14 HR, 14 SB).

Arms Race:  East Carolina returns three starters who won at least nine games in 2009 as well as their closer – Brad Mincey (10-5, 3.16 ERA), Kevin Brandt (9-2, 3.64 ERA), Seth Maness (9-3, 4.71 ERA), Seth Simmons (3-1, 3.69 ERA, 9 SVs).

Early Tests:  ECU opens the season by hosting three games vs. 2009 CWS participant Virginia.  Two weeks later the Pirates host a 3-game set with South Carolina.

Houston

2009 Record:  (27-31, 13-11)

Mascot:  Cougars

Head Coach:  Rayner Noble

Location:  Houston, TX

Vitals:  .282 BA, 25 HR, .364 OBP, .966 Fld%…5.48 ERA, 453 K, 237 BB, .294 opp. BA

Bring It On:  Houston plays 10 teams that qualified for the NCAA Tournament last year, including CWS teams Texas (1), Arizona State (3) and Southern Mississippi (3).

Pass On The Pulp:  The Cougars face Texas, Missouri and Texas Tech at the Houston College Classic in the Astros’ Minute Maid Park the first weekend of March.

Speed Over Power:  Houston hit just 25 home runs last year, with Chris Wallace (9 HR) being the only player to hit more than 4 home runs.  However, the Cougars had 69 stolen bases on the season.

Solid Nucleus:  Wallace (.285, 34 RBIs) is one of three Houston players who played at Cape Cod last summer.  He’s joined by Blake Kelso (.335, 2 HR, 23 RBIs, 12 SB) & Caleb Ramsey (.332, 4 HR, 46 RBIs, 16 SB) both played for Yarmouth-Dennis.  Zak Presley (.301, 28 RBIs, 17 SB) is back as well.

Marshall

2009 Record:  (22-32, 9-15)

Mascot:  Thundering Herd

Head Coach:  Jeff Waggoner

Location:  Huntington, WVI

Vitals:  .280 BA, 58 HR, .364 OBP, .943 Fld%…5.45 ERA, 1 CG, 8 SV, 414 K, 290 BB, .276 opp. BA

Give ‘Em A Buckeye:  Marshall plays Ohio State on a neutral site in Tennessee in March and then in Columbus, OH

Marshall closer Austin Coan

in April.

Get It To The Pen:  Sr. closer Austin Coan earned all 8 of Marshall’s saves in 2009.  Coan (3-5, 3.49 ERA, 8 SVs) made 23 appearances with 45 Ks in 38.1 IP with a .217 opp. BA.  He once helped Grayson (TX) win the Juco national championship.

Big Bopper:  Jr. 1B/C Victor Gomez (.332, 18 HR, 62 RBIs) is back to anchor the offense.  Gomez has smacked 29 home runs in his first two seasons.

Memphis

2009 Record:  (21-32, 7-16)

Mascot:  Tigers

Head Coach:  Daron Schoenrock

Location:  Memphis, TN

Vitals:  .272 BA, 34 HR, .350 OBP, .959 Fld%…6.30 ERA, 0 CG, 11 SV, .300 opp. BA

Mound Presence:  Memphis returns 11 pitchers (including all five starters) from last year’s staff.  Among the returnees Marcus Barnes and Heith Hatfield combined for 31 appearances and five saves in 2009.  The three pitchers the Tigers lose combined for two wins last season.

Experience Counts:  The Tigers have seven starters back in the field.  The group combined for just 15 homes but still had 72 doubles.  Drew Martinez (.309, 11 doubles) and Adam McClain (.288, 11 doubles) were both named to the C-USA All-Freshman team.

New Digs:  Memphis will play home games in the new 2,000 seat FedEx Park beginning in February.  The $3 million dollar project is part of the renovation of Nat Buring Stadium, which was built in 1972.

Rice

2009 Record:  (43-18, 16-8)

Mascot:  Owls

Head Coach:  Wayne Graham

Location:  Houston, TX

Vitals:  .320 BA, 71 HR, .392, .971…4.21 ERA, 7 CG, 16 SVs, .257 opp. BA

Rice's Anthony Rendon

Freshman Phenom:  Anthony Rendon (.388, 20 HR, 72 RBIs) had the Rice team triple crown as a true freshman in ’09.  He had an 1.163 OPS.

Supporting Cast:  Rice always has a line-up filled with tough outs, and 2010 will be no exception.  Back with Rendon in the order are Steven Stultzbaugh (.324, 8 HR, 31 RBIs), Rick Hague (.319, 9 HR, 57  RBIs), Chad Mozingo (.319, 8 HR, 50 RBIs) and Diego Seastrunk (.288, 7 HR, 45 RBIs).  Seastrunk hit .353 as a sophomore, but struggled a bit last year due to injury last year.

On The Mound:  Mike Ojala (5-0, 2.17 ERA) and Taylor Wall (7-6, 3.72 ERA)are back to lead the rotation.  The Owls lose Ryan Berry (7-2, 2.42 ERA, 4 CG).

More Than A Legacy:  Matt Reckling (2 2, 5.84 ERA, 2 SVs) made 20 appearances with 3 starts.  Rice’s home field is named after his grandfather, T.R. Reckling, who played for the Owls from 1952-’54.

Southern Mississippi

2009 Record:  (40-26, 12-12)

Mascot:  Golden Eagles

Head Coach:  Scott Berry

Location:  Hattiesburg, MS

Vitals:  .305 BA, 73 HR, .399 OBP, .966 Fld%…5.14 ERA, 2 CG, 17 SVs, 438 K, 250 BB, .285 opp. BA

New Man In Charge:  Corky Palmer announced his retirement last April & then USM road a hot streak all the way to the College World Series.  Scott Berry now takes over the Golden Eagle helm after 9 seasons as an assistant to

Todd McInnis

Palmer.

Pitching Prowess:  Southern Miss. returns Jr. closer Collin Cargill (3.55, 4-3, 13 SVs) as well as Jr. starter Todd McInnis (9-4, 3.73 ERA).  Both have redshirt years under their belts.

Key Returnees:  Kameron Brunty (.336, 7 HR, 53 RBIs), Joey Archer (.306, 10 HR, 62 RBIs),  Taylor Walker (.305, 3 HR, 29 RBIs) as is B.A. Vollmuth who went from the College World Series straight to the Cape Cod League as a true freshman.

Big Bat Lost:  Bo Davis (.359, 14 HR, 53 RBIs, 10 SB)

Tulane

2009 Record:  (34-25, 13-11)

Mascot:  Green Wave

Head Coach:  Rick Jones

Location:  New Orleans, LA

Vitals:  .292 BA, 69 HR, .396 OBP, .968 Fld%…4.63 ERA, 6 CG, 13 SVs, .269 opp. BA

No Ordinary Jones:  Head coach Rick Jones has led the Green Wave to the NCAA Tournament in 12 of his 16 seasons at the Tulane helm, including College World Series berths in 2001 & 2005.

My Cousin Joe:  Jr. closer Nick Pepitone (9 SVs, 3.25 ERA) is the cousin of former big leaguer Joe Pepitone.

Holes To Fill:  Tulane loses its top three hitters in Josh Prince (.353, 48 SB), Sam Honeck (.313, 16 HR, 70 RBIs) & Scott Powell (.311, 18 SB).

Top Bat In The Rack:  Jeremy Schaffer (.311, 14 HR, 56 RBIs) is Tulane’s top retuning hitter.

UAB

2009 Record:  (31-26, 11-12)

Mascot:  Blazers

Head Coach:  Brian Shoop

Location:  Birmingham, AL

Vitals:  .305 BA, 58 HR, .400 OBP, .957 Fld%…5.91 ERA, 1 CG, 10 SVs, .288 opp. BA

Packing Some Pop:  Digger Towe, Andrew Manning and Luke Stewart combined to hit 34 home runs last year.

Speed To Burn:  Jonathon Merritt, Jamal Austin and Nick Crawford totaled 55 stolen bases in 2009…but the departed Brint Hardy swiped 46 by himself.

Central Florida

2009 Record:  (22-35, 9-15)

Mascot:  Knights

Head Coach:  Terry Rooney

Location:  Orlando, FL

Vitals:  .297 BA, 68 HR, .377 OBP, .957 Fld%…7.47 ERA, 0 CG, 13 SVs, .341 opp. BA

Soak Up The Sun:  UCF plays its first 22 games in Florida, including home and home gaves vs. Miami and a trip to Gainesville vs. Florida.

Power Outage:  UCF loses Brandon Romans and Kiko Vazquez who combined to hit 27 home runs in 2009.

Not So Fast:  Romans is back on the UCF coaching staff this season as the volunteer assistant.

Tools Of Distinction:  Soph. catcher Beau Taylor was named a Freshma All-American last season, making him the first UCF catcher to ever earn the honor.

Conference USA Predictions

2010 Champion:  Rice, but East Carolina and Southern Mississippi should make the race close.

2010 Player of the Year:  Kyle Roller – East Carolina

2010 Pitcher of the Year:  Mike Ojala – Rice