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

The College Baseball Season: To Extend Or Not To Extend

NCAA To Decide Season’s Length This Week

By Collegebaseball360.com Editor Sean Stires

An NCAA Committee will vote this Friday (Jan. 15) on whether or not to extend the length of the college baseball season from 13 to 14 weeks.  Actually, it will vote on whether to override a vote that has already added a 14th week to the beginning of the season.  What?

The 2010 season was originally supposed to start on Feb. 26, but in July a week was added at the front of the season, making the start date Feb. 19.

The vote on the issue was split pretty geographically.  Most Southern schools wanted the extra week, while most Northern schools opposed adding the extra week to the start of the season.  (Anyone who can look out their window and see the snow that I see on the ground right now can understand why.)

Here’s a compromise:  Add the week, but Southern schools from BCS Conferences have to start returning some hospitality & travel north at the end of the season.

We have the Big Ten/Big East Challenge again this year, but how about the Big Ten/SEC Challenge and the Big East/ACC Challenges next year?   Rutgers already traditionally goes to Miami (FL) and Georgia Tech early in the year.  Let the ‘Canes or Yellow Jackets go to Bainton Field in May & listen to that rock clank against the backstop for a weekend.  (Seriously.)  How about Ole Miss, Florida or LSU rolling into Columbus to face Ohio State in May?

Forget about Northern teams going South to start their seasons when many of them are seeing real ground balls  and high skies for the first time.  With the extra week at the end of the season the teams from the North can play host to their Southern counterparts in May in midweek contests when classes and finals are over.  Most schools have a conference bye week in May anyway, so it shouldn’t be hard to find room in the schedule.

I’ve talked before about being creative to grow college baseball in the Northern areas, and there would be nothing better than to get some of those traditional powers from the South to come North to create some buzz prior to postseason play.

How excited do North Carolina fans really get about having Maine, Michigan or St. John’s come to town?  It’s nice, but North Carolina going to Maine, Michigan or St. John’s would get Red Storm fans a lot more excited than another midweek game against Iona or NYIT.

It’s only fair for those teams from the South to make Northern cameos even if only once every couple years.  The whole issue is supposed to be about missed class time caused by playing more midweek games in 13 instead of 14 weeks.  How are Southern schools missing more class time than their Northern counterparts when they are playing roughly 35 home games compared to about 23 home games for teams in the North?

It’s not a stretch to think the issue is less about missed class time and more about not worrying about finding a fifth starter to pitch an extra midweek game every week.  Teams like Texas and Rice have already lightened their regular season slates by playing games in the fall to compensate for the shorter season.  Teams in the North that are serious about an NCAA at-large bid don’t have that luxury, because they need every game to try to get to 40 wins to build their NCAA case.

Here’s a quick look at the differences in a few schedules based on geography:

Texas:  Plays its first 27 games in the state of Texas, including 20 of those games in Austin.  Trips to Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas State are their only games outside of Texas prior to the postseason.  36 home games.

Florida State:  Plays its first 16 games in the state of Florida.  Doesn’t make its first road trip until March 19 at North Carolina.  35 home games.

Arizona State:  Plays its first 17 and 23 of its first 25 games in Arizona.  Plays 30 home games plus four more games in nearby Surprise, AZ.

North Carolina:  Doesn’t leave North Carolina until starting an ACC series on April 2 at Mayland.  23 of the Tar Heel’s first 27 games are in Chapel Hill, with a 3-game series just a Levi Michael line drive away in Durham vs. Duke.  38 home games.

LSU:  Plays its first 12 and 20 of its first 21 games at home (the other game in Natchitoches, LA).  March 26 is the first venture outside of Louisiana for the defending national champs.  38 home games.

Now the Northern schools:

Ohio State:  Plays its first 22 games on the road.  Plays its home opener on March 31.  21 home games.

Notre Dame:  Plays its first 15 games on the road.  Home opener is March 20.  25 home games.

St. John’s:  Plays its first 13 games on the road.  Home opener is March 16.  24 home games.

Michigan:  Plays its first 18 games on the road.  Home opener is March 26.  22 home games.

It’s easy to see that there’s an inherent competitive disadvantage for Northern teams.  They don’t just have to travel for those extra road games, they also have to fly to most of those games while many if not all of the road trips for the Southern teams are via bus.  That means even more cost (there’s no airline discount for baseball teams for checking 70 plus bags per trip.)

The argument can be made that the Northern schools I’ve mentioned are from BCS Conferences, so they should be able to afford the travel.  But what about teams from conferences like the America East, Atlantic 10 & Horizon League (and others)?  They don’t have the BCS trickle down (or even windfall from multiple NCAA basketball tourney bids), but they still have to fly south while their counterparts in the Big South, Atlantic Sun, etc. have shorter bus trips (mostly) and they also occasionally get teams from the ACC and SEC to play in their home parks.

A case can also be made that if Northern teams are serious about winning they should invest more in their baseball programs.  Scaling down their travel costs and adding a few more marquee games to get more fans through the turnstiles won’t change any program overnight, but it’s a step in the right direction.

Look at the Big Leagues.  Kansas City doesn’t come close to packing Kauffman Stadium on a daily basis, but they (and every other team) see attendance spikes when the Yankees and Red Sox come to town.  That’s the kind of effect teams like LSU, UNC, Florida State and the rest would have.

Fans in the South get to see top teams all the time, but most fans in the North don’t get to see those same teams until they’re on TV in Super Regionals and at the College World Series.

I have talked to a couple of coaches who don’t want to say anything on the record right now, but there is a good chance we will see a “major” program or two venture North in the near future.

True equity is never going to happen, because there are so many schools in so many parts of the country involved.  But what’s better for college baseball in May – Louisiana Tech vs. Texas in Austin or Texas vs. Michigan in Ann Arbor?

By the way, mercury actuall does exceed 80 degrees in Michigan in May.

Fordham 2010 Baseball Schedule

Bronx, N.Y. – Fordham baseball head coach Nick Restaino announced the team’s 2010 schedule today, as the Rams will begin play on February 19th in Virginia.

Except for 1944, the Fordham baseball program has played every year since 1859 and stands as the winningest program in NCAA history. The Rams will be competing for their fifth Atlantic 10 Championship tournament berth in

the last seven years, in hopes of being at the 2010 Atlantic 10 Championship, which will take place May 26-29 at Campbell’s Field in Camden, New Jersey.

Complete 2010 Fordham Schedule (PDF)

Fordham is scheduled to have 17 home games this season, which includes four Atlantic 10 weekend series at Houlihan Park.

Fordham will open the season at Old Dominion for a three-game series, February 19-21, followed by three games in Durham, North Carolina, against the Duke Blue Devils, February 26-28.

The Rams will then have their home opener on March 3rd, as they host cross town rival Manhattan College at Houlihan Park.

Fordham returns to the road for a three-game set at George Mason, March 5-7, before a home game against New York Tech on March 10th. The Rams then begin a seven-game stretch in Florida over Spring Break, where they have a three-game series with Pittsburgh (March 12-14) in West Palm Beach, Florida, a two-game series with Miami (Fla.) (March 16-17), and a three-game series versus Michigan at the Mets Training Facility in Port St. Lucie, Florida (March 19-20).

The Rams then begin Atlantic 10 play on the road at Richmond for three games, March 26-28. Besides Richmond, Fordham will play conference road series at St. Bonaventure (April 9-11), Dayton (April 23-25), Saint Joseph’s (May 7-9), and George Washington (May 14-16).

The Rams’ first home conference series will take place April 1-3, as they host Rhode Island. Fordham will also host Atlantic 10 opponents Saint Louis (April 16-18), La Salle (April 30-May 2), and Duquesne (May 20-22) at Houlihan Park.

In non-league play, Fordham will renew rivalries with Stony Brook, Fairfield, Rutgers, Iona, St. John’s, Columbia, Marist and Seton Hall this season.

(Release)

Northwestern 2010 Baseball Schedule

EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern head coach Paul Stevens today (Dec. 7) announced the Wildcats’ 2010 schedule, featuring a doubleheader against the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee at Miller Park in Milwaukee.

After playing games at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (Minnesota Twins) and U.S. Cellular Field (Chicago White Sox) last season, the Wildcats can add a visit to another Major League ballpark to their resume. The twinbill against UWM will be played April 28 following a 12:10 p.m. game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Complete 2010 Northwestern Schedule

NU is scheduled to play its first 23 games away from Evanston beginning with two games apiece against George Mason and Winthrop Feb. 19-21 in Rock Hill, S.C. The Wildcats compete in the second-annual Big Ten/Big East Challenge the following weekend in Florida, taking on Connecticut, Rutgers and Seton Hall in the St. Petersburg/Clearwater area.

The Wildcats make a return trip to the Metrodome March 5-7 where participates in the 26th-annual Dairy Queen Classic against host Minnesota, Loyola Marymount and Oklahoma State. NU follows up the trip north by heading to Las Vegas March 11-13 for a four-game series against UNLV.

Northwestern embarks on its spring trip March 20 as it starts things off in Winter Haven, Fla., where the ‘Cats face Bucknell, UMBC, Cornell and Dartmouth. NU then heads to Deland, Fla, where it plays four contests against Stetson March 26-28.

The Wildcats return to Illinois and set to play a solo contest at UIC March 30 before opening Big Ten play at home April 2-4 against defending Big Ten regular season champion Ohio State.

On the heels of a mid-week game against Northern Illinois that is being played in Rockford, Northwestern hits the road in conference play for the first time April 9-11 as it treks to Penn State.

Minnesota invades Rocky Miller Park the following weekend, followed by a home game against Illinois State. NU then embarks on stretch during which it plays its next nine games on the road beginning with three games at Purdue April 23-25. Following the doubleheader against Milwaukee at Miller Park, the ‘Cats play a weekend series at Illinois and then a solo game against Valparaiso at U.S. Steel Yard in Gary, Ind.

Northwestern finally returns home May 7 as it faces defending Big Ten tournament champion Indiana in a weekend set. After a home game against UIC May 11, the Wildcats hit the road for the final time during the regular season as they travel to Michigan.

The 2010 regular season concludes May 20-22 as NU hosts Michigan State.

The 2010 Big Ten Tournament is slated for May 26-30 and is being held at Huntington Park in Columbus, Ohio, for the second consecutive year.

(Release)

Miami 2010 Baseball Schedule

Series versus Florida, North Carolina and Virginia highlight home slate

CORAL GABLES, Fla. - Home series against Florida, North Carolina and Virginia and a total of 36 regular season games at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field highlight the 2010 University of Miami baseball schedule, as announced by head coach Jim Morris on Wednesday.

The 56-game slate also features an exhibition contest against the Florida Marlins on March 3, 19 games against 2009 NCAA Tournament teams and a total of 44 games played inside the state of Florida.

Complete 2010 Miami Schedule (PDF)

The Hurricanes will open the 2010 season with a seven-game homestand beginning with a weekend series versus Rutgers, Feb. 19-21. It marks the second straight year UM will open its season at home against the Scarlet Knights.

Miami will open the month of March with a trip to Tampa to play USF at George Steinbrenner Field – the spring training home of the New York Yankees – on March 2. The next day, the `Canes will take on the Marlins at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter before playing host to rival Florida for a three-game set at Alex Rodriguez Park, March 5-7.

The `Canes will open Atlantic Coast Conference play at home against Boston College, March 12-14. The remaining home series in league play include Wake Forest (April 2-4), North Carolina (16-18), Maryland (April 30 – May 2) and Virginia (May 20-22). The series against the Cavaliers will mark the conclusion of the regular season schedule.

Miami’s road schedule in league play begins with a series at Duke (March 19-21 at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park), followed by trips to NC State (March 26-28), Virginia Tech (April 9-11), Florida State (April 23-25) and Georgia Tech (May 14-16).

The 2010 ACC Tournament will be held May 26-30 at Greensboro’s NewBridge Bank Park. Full tournament passes are on sale now by calling (336) 268-BALL or by visiting www.theacc.com. Individual game tickets for the ACC Tournament will go on sale in April 2010.

Regional play of the NCAA tournament will be held the weekend of June 4-6, followed by Super Regionals, June 11-13, and the College World Series, June 19-30.

The `Canes return 17 letterwinners from last year’s 38-22 team, including 2009 All-ACC performers Chris Hernandez, Yasmani Grandal and Scott Lawson. In addition, two-time All-ACC performer Eric Erickson returns after missing the 2009 season rehabilitating from an injury.

Prior to the season-opener against Rutgers, the team will hold three of its biggest annual events — the preseason banquet, the alumni game and golf tournament – all in the same weekend. The weekend kicks off with the banquet on Friday, Feb. 12, followed by the alumni game on Saturday, Feb. 13 and the team’s golf tournament on Monday, Feb. 15. Former Hurricane and current MLB All-Star Ryan Braun will be the guest speaker at the banquet.

(Release)

Villanova 2010 Baseball Schedule

VILLANOVA, Pa.–The spring schedule for the 2010 season has been finalized and was released today, as Villanova will begin its 56-game regular season schedule on Friday, February 19. The team’s schedule includes 29 games against non-conference opponents in addition to the 27-game BIG EAST slate.

The highlight of the non-conference schedule is the Wildcats first appearance in the Big Ten/BIG EAST Baseball Challenge in the Tampa area in late February. Villanova will face 2009 Big Ten champion Indiana in the second of three games at the tournament, while also taking on Purdue and Iowa.

During the annual Spring Break trip to Florida – which begins with the Big Ten/BIG EAST competition – the Wildcats will take part in two different tournaments. The second is the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational, which is being held at Chain of Lakes Park in Winter Haven, the former spring training home of the Cleveland Indians.

Complete 2010 Villanova Schedule

Villanova will be playing in Winter Haven for the first time under ninth-year head coach Joe Godri, and will take on Duquesne, Kansas State, Western Michigan, Northeastern and St. Bonaventure at the tournament. The contest against Kansas State will be the Wildcats first against a team from the Big 12 Conference since Villanova played a three-game series at Texas back in 2006.

A pair of home tournaments are also featured on the Wildcats schedule, as the team will host the Villanova Classic as well as the Big Five Baseball Bash. The second of the two tournaments is being hosted in conjunction with La Salle, Saint Joseph’s and Temple.

“I am very pleased with the makeup of our non-conference schedule,” Godri said. “We are looking forward to playing in the Big Ten/BIG EAST challenge for the first time. I believe these are two evenly matched conferences in college baseball and it is exciting to have the opportunity to play the reigning Big Ten champion.”

The Wildcats open BIG EAST Conference play at home with a three-game series against Cincinnati from March 26-28. The Bearcats will be making just their second visit to the Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth and the first since 2006, when Villanova won two of three games. The other league opponents on the home schedule for the Wildcats are Pittsburgh (April 16-18), Georgetown (April 30-May 2) and Notre Dame (May 14-16). The series against the Fighting Irish will take place during the team’s annual Alumni Weekend.

On the road in BIG EAST play, Villanova will take on Louisville (April 1-3), Connecticut (April 9-11), USF (April 23-25), Rutgers (May 7-9) and West Virginia (May 20-22). The Wildcats end the regular season with the three-game set against the Mountaineers, which will be the first trip to West Virginia for Villanova since 2006. That series will also mark the first time since 2004 that the Wildcats end the regular season on the road.

(Release)

St. John’s 2010 Baseball Schedule

Red Storm schedule features 55 games, including 24 at home

QUEENS, N.Y. – Head baseball coach Ed Blankmeyer has officially announced the schedule for the 2010 season. The 55-game schedule features non-conference trips to Louisiana, Florida, Tennessee and Virginia, and four opponents that qualified for the 2009 NCAA Tournament.

“Our non-conference schedule is once again very challenging,” said Blankmeyer. “These early trips against tough opponents will prepare us for the always difficult BIG EAST schedule.”

Complete 2010 St. John’s Schedule (PDF)

The Red Storm will open the season with a three-game set at New Orleans beginning on Feb. 19. The series will mark the first time that the teams have met since St. John’s took a pair of games from the Privateers in 1989.

The schedule continues with three games as part of the second annual Big Ten-BIG EAST Challenge. After opening against Minnesota on Feb. 26, St. John’s will play Michigan on Feb. 27 and conclude play in the challenge against Illinois on Feb. 28.

St. John’s will then embark on a seven-game road trip that will take the team through Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia in a span of 10 days. The Red Storm will play three games at East Tennessee State from March 5-7 before taking on North Carolina for one game on March 10. St. John’s will conclude the trip with a three-game set at Liberty from March 12-14, the first-ever meetings between the Red Storm and the Flames.

The Red Storm then returns to Queens for a five-game home stand, beginning with the March 16 home-opener against Fairfield. After three games against Albany from March 19-21, St. John’s will host Columbia on March 23.

BIG EAST play opens for St. John’s with a three-game set at Pittsburgh from March 26-28. The Red Storm then hosts LIU for one midweek game on March 30, before hosting Seton Hall for three games. St. John’s and the Pirates will play a double-header on April 1 before a single game on April 3.

After traveling to Wagner for an April 7 contest, the Red Storm will play four-straight home games beginning with a three-game set with West Virginia from April 7-9 and ending with a game against Hofstra on April 14.

St. John’s takes to the road for a three-game series at Cincinnati from April 16-18 before returning home for five games in Queens beginning with a midweek game against Princeton on April 20. Following an April 21 game against Fordham, the Red Storm hosts Georgetown for three games from April 23-25.

Following an April 27 contest at NYIT and a home game against FDU on April 28, the Red Storm heads to Notre Dame for a three-game series from April 30-May 2.

The Red Storm returns home to host Iona on May 4 before welcoming USF for three games from May 7-9. St. John’s closes out play at home on May 11 against NYIT.

St. John’s will play its final seven games on the road, beginning with a three-game set at Louisville from May 14-16. Following a single game at Boston College on May 18, the Red Storm concludes regular season play with three games at Rutgers from May 20-22.

(Release)

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