College Baseball 360 » San Diego State

How Will Big East’s Expansion Affect College Baseball?

Sean Stires — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:42:15 +0000

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New Addresses, More Uncertainty For Many Teams…

By Collegebaseball360.com Editor Sean Stires

It’s all about football (and BCS money), but the latest round of conference shuffling – brought to you by the Big East Conference – will ripple through college baseball as well.

As of this writing, an official announcement is apparently imminent that Boise State, San Diego State, Houston, Central Florida (UCF), and Southern Methodist (SMU) will all join the Big East to bolster its sinking BCS football status. Boise State and San Diego State would join as football only members, while the other three would be full fledged Big East members in all sports. The planned moves would go into effect for the 2013-2014 academic year.

We’re not going to go into all of the football implications. You can find that on 800 other sites. We also won’t touch the irony that the new look “Big East” will include schools that are not even remotely in the “east”.

The question we are most concerned with is: How does all this affect college baseball?

First, neither Boise State nor SMU have baseball teams, so those schools are out of this discussion (how SMU does not have a baseball team though is a head-scratcher). So, let’s start out west and work our way back east to look at how this latest conference shuffle will affect the college baseball landscape.

San Diego State currently plays in the Mountain West Conference in all sports. Since the Aztecs are joining the Big East in football only, the other sports are in line for a new landing spot. According to multiple reports, that landing spot will be the Big West Conference.

It’s a move that would make perfect sense for Tony Gwynn‘s baseball team. The farthest his team would travel for a conference game would be Hawaii (set to join the Big West for the 2013 season) every other year, rather than current jumps to Colorado Springs, Albuquerque and Ft. Worth.

Gwynn would also add another big name to the coaching ranks in the conference. The Big West already includes another former Big Leaguer – Ed Sprague (Pacific) – as well as Hall of Famer Mike Gillespie (UC Irvine) and a hot up and comer – Rick Vanderhook (Cal State Fullerton) – who is returning to his roots after helping UCLA reach the College World Series as an assistant.

The conference that will feel the most ill effects from all the maneuvering is the Mountain West. The conference, which has been somewhat underrated when it comes to college baseball anyway, has just five teams – Air Force, New Mexico, San Diego State, TCU, and UNLV – that will field baseball teams in 2012.

TCU, which was originally set to join the Big East, will leave the Mountain West after the current season to align with the Big 12. Fresno State and Nevada have agreed to leave the WAC for the MWC next year, but they could easily reconsider that move considering there will be no Boise State and no San Diego State in two years. And don’t forget, Utah left the MWC to help form the Pac-12 this season, while BYU left the conference for football independence, while baseball and other BYU sports are now in the WCC.

As it stands, the Mountain West would be left with just Air Force, New Mexico, UNLV and possibly Fresno State in 2014. Odds are those schools will either all be somewhere else or the MWC will align with another conference – the WAC? – before then.

From a baseball standpoint, it’s just a shame. The MWC, especially with the addition of Fresno State, was shaping into what would have been a great conference. The Bulldogs won the 2008 national championship, TCU went to Omaha in 2010, New Mexico is coming off back-to-back NCAA appearances, and Utah and San Diego State have each gone to NCAA regionals in the last three years as well.

Moving east…

Houston and UCF will leave Conference USA to join the Big East in all sports, including baseball starting with the 2014 baseball season.

Houston has experienced an NCAA drought in recent years. The Cougars were a win away from a Super Regional in 2008, but that is their only NCAA appearance over the last five seasons. Houston improved from 25 wins to 27 victories in Todd Whittling’s first season as head coach in 2011.

UCF has made upward movement in head coach Terry Rooney‘s three seasons as head coach after helping LSU reach the CWS as an assistant in 2008. The Knights were one of four C-USA teams to receive an NCAA bid in 2011.

The move to the Big East for those two schools comes as Syracuse and Pittsburgh head to the ACC and West Virginia exits to the Big 12. Syracuse does not have baseball, while neither Pitt nor WVU have sniffed the NCAA Tournament in nearly two decades.

The argument can be made that the addition of two southern schools like UCF (located in Orlando) and Houston will make the Big East a better baseball conference. That argument was made when South Florida (USF-located in Tampa) joined the Big East after the 2005 season, but it hasn’t turned out that way.

USF has not received an NCAA bid in its six seasons as a Big East member. The Bulls compiled a 7-10 record at the Big East Tournament from 2006-2010, but did not qualify for the Big East’s postseason tournament in 2011.

Meanwhile, northern teams in the same conference have been more successful in that stretch. Notre Dame, Rutgers, Seton Hall, St. John’s, and UConn (all dugout space heater spots in March and early April) have all received NCAA bids since 2006, while UConn advancing to the program’s first Super Regional this past season. Louisville also earned NCAA bids from 2007-2010, but the Cardinals are the only Big East school not in Florida to play home games in February.

The losses of Houston and UCF leaves C-USA with seven baseball playing schools, while the net for the Big East is unchanged at 12 baseball schools (lose Pitt and West Virginia and gain UCF and Houston).

Other smaller conferences are set to shuffle as well. UT San Antonio and Texas State (as well as Denver, which doesn’t play baseball) will soon join the WAC. Houston Baptist will join the Southland after leaving the Great West Conference (a conference that does not an automatic NCAA bid), while Oral Roberts will leave the Summit League for the Southland Conference.

Dallas Baptist, which went all the way to a Super Regional in 2011 as a DI Independent, joined the Missouri Valley Conference this year, but will leave to join the WAC for the 2012-2013 season.

Nebraska is also in its first season in the Big Ten after leaving the Big 12 after last season, while Missouri and Texas A&M will jump to the SEC next year. As of now, the only change in the ACC will be the addition of Pitt.

The X-factor in the entire situation is the BCS contract will likely be redone prior to the 2013-2014 season, so this latest move by the Big East might not even keep the conference in the BCS.

Confused?

The only certainty in any of this is – there is bound to be much more uncertainty before the smoke clears.

Here’s a look at how many of the aforementioned conferences are currently aligned and how they will potentially look in 2014. Keep in mind that seemingly every move is tentative and all of this could be moot before any of the changes actually take place.

Potential College Baseball 2014 Conference Baseball Alignment

Current Big East	Big East 2014	Current C-USA	C-USA 2014	Current Big West	Big West 2014	Current MWC	MWC 2014	Current WAC	WAC 2014	Current SEC	SEC 2014	Current Big 12	Big 12 2014	Current Southland	SLC 2014
Cincinnati	Central Florida	East Carolina	East Carolina	Cal Poly	Cal Poly	Air Force	Air Force	Fresno State	Cal State Bakersfield	Alabama	Alabama	Baylor	Baylor	Central Arkansas	Central Arkansas
UConn	Cincinnati	Houston	Marshall	Cal State Fullerton	Cal State Fullerton	New Mexico	Fresno State	Hawaii	Dallas Baptist	Arkansas	Arkansas	Kansas	Kansas	Lamar	Houston Baptist
Georgetown	UConn	Marshall	Memphis	Cal State Northridge	Cal State Northridge	San Diego State	Nevada	Louisiana Tech	Louisiana Tech	Auburn	Auburn	Kansas State	Kansas State	McNeese State	Lamar
Louisville	Georgetown	Memphis	Rice	Long Beach State	Hawaii	TCU	New Mexico	Nevada	New Mexico State	Florida	Florida	Missouri	Oklahoma	Nicholls	McNeese State
Notre Dame	Houston	Rice	Southern Mississippi	Pacific	Long Beach State	UNLV	UNLV	New Mexico State	Sacramento State	Georgia	Georgia	Oklahoma	Oklahoma State	Northwestern State	Nicholls
Pittsburgh	Louisville	Southern Mississippi	Tulane	UC Davis	Pacific			Sacramento State	San Jose State	Kentucky	Kentucky	Oklahoma State	Texas	Sam Houston State	Northwestern State
Rutgers	Notre Dame	Tulane	UAB	UC Irvine	San Diego State			San Jose State	Seattle	LSU	LSU	Texas	TCU	Southeastern Louisiana	Oral Roberts
St. John's	Rutgers	UAB		UC Riverside	UC Davis				UT San Antonio	Ole Miss.	Ole Miss.	Texas A&M	Texas Tech	Stephen F. Austin	Sam Houston State
Seton Hall	St. John's	UCF		UC Santa Barbara	UC Irvine				Texas State	Mississippi State	Mississippi State	Texas Tech	West Virginia	Texas A&M Corpus Christi	Southeastern Louisiana
South Florida	Seton Hall				UC Riverside					South Carolina	Missouri			Texas State	Stephen F. Austin
Villanova	South Florida				UC Santa Barbara					Tennessee	South Carolina			UT Arlington	Texas A&M Corpus Christi
West Virginia	Villanova									Vanderbilt	Tennessee			UT San Antonio	UT Arlington
											Texas A&M
											Vanderbilt

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West Coast College Baseball Notebook

Sean Stires — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 13:08:13 +0000

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Notes On Pac-10, Big West, WCC, WAC Teams & More…

If you follow Collegebaseball360.com you know that we post a weekly Notebook every Monday throughout the college baseball season. We try to hit as many happenings from across the nation as we can, but it’s tough to get everything. With that in mind, we will be adding more “regional” notebooks this season. Our first one covers the left side of the country. (All stats are prior to games on Tuesday, March 23).

20…Wins by Arizona State to open the season. It’s the best start for the ASU program since the 1961 team opened at 21-0.

79-76…Combined record of the nine Division One teams the Sun Devils have faced so far this season. ASU opens Pac-10 play against Cal this weekend.

Zack MacPhee

2…Zac(k/h)s batting over .400 for the Sun Devils. Zack MacPhee (.484) leads ASU, while Zach Wilson is hitting .441 for a team that’s hitting at a .362 clip.

16…Wins by UCLA to open the season. It’s the best start in program history. The 16-game winning streak is also a program best.

125-82…Combined record of the 12 Division One teams the Bruins have played this season. After a midweek game vs. UC Santa Barbara this week UCLA hosts a 3-game non-conference series with Cal Poly this weekend.

7…Bruin batters hitting .360 or better. Tyler Rahmatulla (.431) leads the way. Steve Rodriguez and Dean Espy are each batting .395.

2.13 & 2.97…UCLA and ASU’s respective team ERAs. UCLA’s staff has recorded 193 strikeouts in 135.0 innings, while ASU’s has 187 Ks in 176.0 IP.

11…Straight wins by the Arizona Wildcats (16-4) after a weekend sweep of Sacramento State.

92…Of 196 runs (46 %) Arizona has scored this year that have scored in the first three innings of a game.

12…Wins by Pacific through the first five weeks of 2010 after taking 2 of 3 games from USC in Stockton, CA over the weekend. The Tigers won a total of 21 games last year.

Marcus Pointer

9-0…Combined record of Pacific starting pitchers Marcus Pointer (5-0, 2.04 ERA) and David Rowse (4-0, 3.09 ERA).

3…Straight wins over Washington by Cal State Fullerton over the weekend to match a season-high win streak. The Titans (10-9) are above .500 for the first time this season after opening 2010 ranked in the top 10 nationally.

12…Wins by Cal State Northridge (12-6) , which is already half of the team’s win total from a year ago.

.406…Team-leading batting average of fifth-year senior C.J. Belanger to pace a Matador squad that’s averaging 7.7 runs a game.

6…Straight wins by UC Irvine to improve to 13-6 after a weekend 3-game sweep of Gonzaga. Like Fullerton, the Anteaters started sluggishly after being among the highly ranked teams in the preseason polls.

Alex Pracher

8-11…Gonzaga’s record-a year after winning 36 games and claiming the program’s first WCC championship.

3-0…Record of Stanford reliever Alex Pracher, who has made eight relief appearances this season. Pracher (2.19 ERA) has two saves-to directly factor in half of the 10-4 Cardinal’s wins to date.

4…Combined runs given-up by Oregon State relievers Sam Gaviglio, Ryan Gorton, Kraig Sitton, and Kevin Rhoderick who are a combined 2-1 with 4 saves in 19 total relief appearances for the 13-4 Beavers. The quartet has pitched 24 1/3 innings with 28 strikeouts.

15…Wins by Oregon (15-6) to surpass last year’s win total of 14 in the first year of baseball in Eugene since 1981. The Ducks have won 11 of their last 12 games after a 4-game weekend home sweep of Nevada. They open Pac-10 play this weekend at Arizona.

2.49…The Oregon pitching staff’s ERA. Tyler Anderson (4-1, 1.60 ERA, 36 K in 33 2/3 IP) has been the top starter, while Drew Gagnier (3 SV, 1.00 ERA) leads the bullpen.

0…Series wins to date this season by Cal Poly, which won 11 of its 14 series last year en route to the program’s first NCAA Regional appearance.

7…Runs scored in the 7th inning by Fresno State in Sunday’s 16-10 win over Loyola Marymount. It was the lone win by the Bulldogs (10-10) in the 4-game series.

39…Errors committed by San Diego this season (.950 fld %), a preseason favorite to win the WCC. The Toreros were able to take 2 of 3 home games from Rice over the weekend despite committing 7 errors in the series. USD plays a 3-game series at Coastal Carolina this weekend.

Matt Hauser

0…Runs allowed in 3 1/3 total innings by San Diego reliever Matt Hauser, who earned both a win and a save in his two appearances vs. Rice.

27…Errors committed by San Diego State this season (.963 fld %). The Aztecs (9-10) have still won three straight vs. Santa Clara heading into Tuesday’s series finale.

5…Starts made by SDSU’s Addison Reed (4-1, 2.70 ERA), who has made a smooth transition to becoming a starter after saving 20 games while making 25 relief appearances last year.

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Around The Bases-March 11

Sean Stires — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:48:17 +0000

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A Look At Teams Trending In Different Directions

The fourth week of the college baseball season is under way, and we are starting to get a true feel for what teams are (and aren’t). UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton were each top 10 teams at the start of the season, so who could have predicted they would be a combined 9-12 heading into this weekend’s action?

Here are a few teams that caught my eye this week:

Stock-Up

UCLA: The Bruins lost a lot of offensive production from last year’s team, but they’re 11-0 thanks to solid contributions throughout the line-up as well as stellar pitching. UCLA is batting .372 and averaging 8.7 runs a game while the pitching staff has a 2.00 ERA with 130 strikeouts and just 24 walks in 90 innings. Dean Espy (.440, 3 HR, 12 RBIs), Steve Rodriguez (.400, 5 HR, 11 RBIs) and Niko Gallego (.314, 3 HR, 13 RBIs) have powered the offense, while Gerrit Cole (3-0, 2.50 ERA) and Trevor Bauer (2-0, 2.45 ERA) have combined for 49 strikeouts with just 6 BB in 32 2/3 IP.

Duke: Since going 1-3 to open the season in Waco, TX vs. Baylor and Georgia (with a win over the Bulldogs) Duke has rattled-off eight straight wins. Granted, the wins have been over Fordham, Temple and Quinnipiac, but 3 of the Blue Devil’s last four wins have been by shutout. The Duke pitching staff has a 0.80 ERA over its last five games with 55 strikeouts and 13 walks. It would be easy to write the Blue Devils off as they prepare to open ACC play this weekend vs. arch rival North Carolina, but Duke did take 2 of 3 games from the Tar Heels last year. Could this be the year Duke gets to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1961?

Kansas State: The Wildcats, fresh off the program’s first NCAA Tournament in 2009, had a lot of questions coming into the season. They lost Big 12 Pitcher of the Year A.J. Morris as well as several key bats, including Justin Bloxom. They’re 9-2, and while they don’t have a “signature” win, they’re hitting .342 with 30 stolen bases and averaging 9.6 runs a game. Carter Jurica leads the way with a .449 average, 15 runs, 20 RBIs, and 6 SB. But what’s most impressive is K-State’s pitching. The Wildcats aren’t overpowering anyone, but they don’t walk anyone either. The pitching staff has a 3.83 ERA with 77 Ks and just 17 walks in 101 IP. Ryan Daniel (3-0, 2.81 ERA) has 10 strikeouts and just one free pass in 16 IP, while Evan Marshall (2-0, 1.71 ERA) is yet to walk a batter with 13 Ks in 20 IP.

Villanova: If we’re going to mention the K-State Wildcats we have to mention the Villanova Wildcats, which handed KSU its last loss last week in Winter Haven, FL. The win over K-State along with an 8-1 victory over Indiana at the the Big Ten/Big East Challenge gives VU two wins over 2009 NCAA Tourney teams. Outfielder Justin Bencsko is batting .525 with a 1.218 OPS to lead the Wildcats (10-2) to their best start in head coach Joe Godri’s nine years at the helm. The senior has spearheaded an offense that is averaging 9.0 runs a game despite just one home run.

Stock-Down

Georgia: The Bulldogs have lost five straight after Tuesday’s 11-1 drubbing at the hands of Kennesaw State. Georgia (6-7) was outscored 62-11 in those games by KSU, Alabama and Florida State (3 games). Bulldog batters are hitting just .288 and they’ve struckout 95 times while drawing just 45 walks. Those numbers combined with 21 errors (.957 fielding %) and a 7.55 staff ERA make it easy to see why Georgia is struggling. They’ll hope to get better with a 3-game series with Siena this weekend and a midweek game at Georgia Tech before opening SEC play next week vs. Auburn.

San Diego: Since opening the season with three home wins over Indiana, the Toreros have lost 7 of their last 10 games to fall to 6-7. San Diego has plenty of pop with 11 home runs, but it’s batting just .283 with a .363 on-base percentage. 18 errors have led to 12 unearned runs that have proven costly.

San Diego State: The Aztecs are just 5-7 heading into their SDSU Invitational this weekend. With the losses of Stephen Strasburg and two other starters pitching would have appeared to be the concern heading into 2010. However, Addison Reed, who saved 20 games last year, has transitioned nicely into a starter. The junior (2-1, 3.20 ERA) leads the pitching staff with 23 strikeouts and has issued just five walks. Bryan Crabb (1-1, 1.72) has also been solid. Tony Gwynn’s .963 fielding percentage (17 errors) and .261 batting average have been the biggest problem.

Fresno State: Just two years removed from a National Championship, Fresno State is a shell of the 2008 Wonderdog team. The Bulldogs are hitting .312 with 16 home runs but….(drum roll please)…defense (the recurring theme this week) is the worst of any team mentioned this week. FSU (6-6) has committed 26 errors already this season to lose 6 of their last 9 games since opening 2010 with three wins over Nebraska. Fresno State should be fine once WAC play begins if Mike Batesole’s defense can cure itself.

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Thursday’s Top-50 Results/Links

Pete LaFleur — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:24:46 +0000

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Eight teams ranked in CB360’s Composite National Rankings were in action on March 4, with the most noteworthy matchups including LSU-Pepperdine, ASU-Cal Poly, Kentucky-San Diego St., and Oklahoma-So. Florida. (front-page photo courtesy of ASU/Jason Wise).

Thursday’s games did not involve any matchups between fellow CNR top-50 teams, but #1 LSU (home vs. Pepperdine) and #6 Arizona State (at Cal Poly) each defeated teams that were listed in the CNR top-50 the previous week. Oklahoma (#26 in the CNR) also faced a challenge at home vs. a South Florida team that was picked to finish second in the BIG EAST Conference, while #23 Kentucky played across the country and lost at San Diego State (which took 2-of-3 from previous CNR #21/current #37 San Diego).

CollegeBaseball360.com provides regular updates of games involving CNR top-50 teams, via the on-site Twitter feed (located in the right sidebar of all the site’s pages) and also now on the “Today’s Top-50 Games” page (which often will include links for live coverage, team rosters, gamenotes, etc.). Time permitting, CB360 also will begin providing in-game Twitter updates (in addition to final scores/details) – with the new offerings to include starting pitchers, lineups for big games, and in-game updates/details (particularly for matchups of fellow top-50 teams or when a potential upset is brewing).

March 4 Noteworthy Games

(ranks indicate CB360 Composite National Rankings top-50)

Final Scores (upsets in italics)

• at #1 LSU 8, Pepperdine 1 | Final Stats
LSU Recap | PEP Recap (not yet posted) | Photos

• #6 Arizona State 12, Cal Poly 9 (Surprise, AZ) | Final Stats
ASU Recap | CP Recap

• at #15 North Carolina 6, Gardner Webb 5 | Final Stats
UNC Recap | GW Recap | Photos

• at #16 Oregon State 10, UC Riverside 3 | Final Stats
OSU Recap | UCR Recap

•at San Diego State 12, #23 Kentucky 4 | Final Stats
SDSU Recap | KY Recap

• #25 Stanford 10, at UC Davis 6 | Final Stats
STAN Recap | UCD Recap

• at #26 Oklahoma 5, South Florida 4 | Final Stats
OU Recap | USF Recap | Photos

#42 Florida International 5, Utah Valley 4 (Surprise, AZ) | Final Stats
FIU Recap | UV Recap

Schedule (with links)

• 3:00 ET – Gardner Webb at #15 North Carolina

UNC info. – NOTEBOOK | ROSTER | 2010 STATS | MEDIA GUIDE | QUICK FACTS

• 3:00 CT – South Florida at #26 Oklahoma

OU info. – GAME NOTES | ROSTER | 2010 STATS | MEDIA GUIDE | QUICK FACTS
Sooner Classic MAIN PAGE (March 4-7; field includes USF, W. Illinois & S.F. Austin)

• 2:00 PT – #25 Stanford at UC Davis

STAN info. – GAME NOTES | ROSTER | 2010 STATS | MEDIA GUIDE | QUICK FACTS

• 3:00 PT – UC Riverside vs. #16 Oregon St.

(Surprise, AZ)

OSU info. – GAME NOTES | ROSTER | 2010 STATS | MEDIA GUIDE

• 4:00 PT – #6 Arizona State vs. Cal Poly (Surprise, AZ)

ASU info. – GAME NOTES | ROSTER | 2010 STATS

• 6:30 CT – Pepperdine at #1 LSU

• 6:00 PT – #23 Kentucky at San Diego State

• 7 MT – #42 FIU vs. Utah Valley (Surprise, AZ)

FIU info. – GAME NOTES | ROSTER | 2010 STATS | MEDIA GUIDE

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Mountain West Conference Baseball 2010 TV Schedule

Sean Stires — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 06:52:06 +0000

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At Least 33 Games To Be Nationally Televised

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The Mountain West Conference announced its 2010 baseball television schedule today. This season’s slate features 33 games on national television, with the possibility of a 34th game if a second championship contest is necessary at the 2010 Conoco MWC Baseball Championship. It will be the fourth consecutive season that all games from the baseball championship will be televised.

Thirty-two games will be shown on The Mtn. – MountainWest Sports Network, while one is set to be telecast on CBS College Sports Network (CBS C).

In addition to game broadcasts, The Mtn. will feature The Mountain View – Diamond Edition, which brings viewers scores and highlights of all the baseball action from across the Conference every Thursday at 7 p.m. MT during the season beginning in March. Live pre- and post-game shows from The Mtn. studios will be part of all MTN-produced baseball telecasts, including the full slate of 2010 Conoco Mountain West Conference Baseball Championship games.

The Mtn. is carried nationally by DIRECTV (Channel 616) and numerous cable operators representing over 200 municipalities in nine states. CBS College Sports Network is widely available on cable systems across the country and via satellite on DIRECTV (Channel 613) and Dish Network (Channel 152).

Below is a listing of the 2010 broadcast schedule:

2010 MWC Baseball Television Broadcast Schedule
Date	Game	Time	Broadcast Network	Broadcast Date/Time
Tue., Mar. 2	UT-San Antonio at TCU	6:30 p.m. CT	*	Tue., Mar. 2/11:00 p.m. CT
Fri., Mar. 12	Texas Tech at TCU	6:30 p.m. CT	*	Mar. 13/1 p.m. CT
Tue., Mar. 23	Texas State at TCU	6:30 p.m. CT	*	Live
Tue., Mar. 30	UT-Arlington at TCU	6:30 p.m. CT	*	Live
Thu., Apr. 1	San Diego State at TCU	6:30 p.m. CT	*	Thu., Apr. 1/8:30 p.m. CT
Fri., Apr. 2	San Diego State at TCU	6:30 p.m. CT	*	Fri., Apr. 2/8:30 p.m. CT
Sat., Apr. 3	San Diego State at TCU	2:00 p.m. CT	*	Live
Tue., Apr. 6	Oklahoma at TCU	6:30 p.m. CT	*	Live
Tue., Apr. 13	Texas A&M at TCU	6:30 p.m. CT	*	Live
Thu., Apr. 15	TCU at BYU	6:30 p.m. MT	(re-air)	Live Fri., Apr. 16/3:00 p.m. MT
Sat., Apr. 17	TCU at BYU	1:00 p.m. MT	(re-air)	Live Sun., Apr. 18/3:00 p.m. MT
Fri., Apr. 23	UNLV at TCU	6:30 p.m. CT	*	Fri., Apr. 23/8:30 p.m. CT
Fri., Apr. 23	Utah at BYU	6:30 p.m. MT	(re-air)	Live Sat., Apr. 24/6:00 p.m. MT
Sat., Apr. 24	Utah at BYU	1:00 p.m. MT	(re-air)	Live Sun., Apr. 25/3:00 p.m. MT
Sat., Apr. 24	UNLV at TCU	4:00 p.m. CT	*	Live
Sun., Apr. 25	UNLV at TCU	1:00 p.m. CT	*	Live
Tue., Apr. 27	Baylor at TCU	6:30 p.m. CT	*	Live
Sat., May 1	New Mexico at San Diego State	6:00 p.m. PT	*	Live
Sat., May 1	TCU at Utah	5:00 p.m. MT		Live
Thu., May 13	San Diego State at BYU	6:30 p.m. MT	(re-air)	Live Fri., May 14/3:00 p.m. MT
Fri., May 14	San Diego State at BYU	6:30 p.m. MT	(re-air)	Live Sat., May 15/3:00 p.m. MT
Sat., May 15	San Diego State at BYU	1:00 p.m. MT	(re-air)	Live Sun., May 16/Noon MT
Tue., May 18	Utah Valley at BYU	6:30 p.m. MT	(re-air)	Live Wed., May 19/8:00 p.m. MT

2010 CONOCO MWC BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Tuesday, May 25
3:00 p.m. PT	Game #1	Live
7:00 p.m. PT	Game #2	Live
Wednesday, May 26
11:00 a.m. PT	Game #3	Live
3:00 p.m. PT	Game #4	Live
7:00 p.m. PT	Game #5	Live
Thursday, May 27
11:00 a.m. PT	Game #6	Live
3:00 p.m. PT	Game #7	Live
7:00 p.m. PT	Game #8	Live
Friday, May 28
3:00 p.m. PT	Game #9	Live
7:00 p.m. PT	Game #10	Live
Saturday, May 29
1:00 p.m. PT	Game #11 (If necessary)	Live

Broadcast schedule times subject to change.
* TCU Film/Television/Digital Media Dept. Production

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Stony Brook 2010 Baseball Schedule

Sean Stires — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 17:36:55 +0000

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Seawolves To Play Three NCAA Tournament Teams

Stony Brook, N.Y. – Contests against three 2009 NCAA Tournament participants including Alabama highlight the 2010 schedule for the Stony Brook University baseball team, as released on Tuesday by head coach Matt Senk.

Stony Brook opens the season with a neutral site game at UNC Wilmington against Akron on Friday, March 5. The Seawolves play UNCW the next day before playing both Akron and UNCW on March 7.

Stony Brook head coach Matt Senk

Complete 2010 Stony Brook Schedule

The Seawolves will then head to Tuscaloosa, Alabama for a three-game series with the University of Alabama, who advanced to the NCAA Tournament a season ago. Following the series at Alabama, who was ranked in the top-25 much of last season, the Seawolves will take on Big East foe Seton Hall before returning to University Field for its home opener on March 17 against Iona.

SBU then returns to the road for the Seton Hall Strike Out Cancer Tournament before heading to California from March 26-31 for a six-game trip which will include tilts against Pepperdine, San Diego State and Cal State Bakersfield. San Diego State advanced to the NCAA Regional in 2009.

Following a four-game series at LeMoyne after the California trip, the Seawolves will begin America East Conference play. The conference schedule will incorporate a new six-team format with two divisions. Stony Brook will play a pair of three-game series’ against the two teams in their division (Binghamton and UMBC) and will play one four-game series against each of the other three teams (Hartford, Albany and Maine).

The Seawolves open conference play at defending America East champion Binghamton (April 10-11) before hosting UMBC the next weekend (April 17-18) at University Field. SBU will then play consecutive road series’ against Albany (April 24-25), Maine (May 1-2) and UMBC (May 8-9).

Stony Brook concludes the regular season with home series against Hartford (May 15-16) and Binghamton (May 21-22). The four teams with the best overall win percentage (in either division) will advance to the America East Championship, played May 26-28 at the highest seed.

Stony Brook returns 13 letter-winners from a season ago including all-conference selections- senior first baseman Robert Dyer (Selden, N.Y.), junior infielder Chad Marshall (Paris Ontario), sophomore right hander Tyler Johnson (Chatsworth, Calif.) and sophomore right hander Nick Tropeano (West Islip, N.Y.).

(Release)

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Fresno State 2010 Baseball Schedule

Sean Stires — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:09:37 +0000

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Bulldogs Will Play 35 games At Beiden Field In 2010

FRESNO, Calif. – Fresno State baseball head coach Mike Batesole announced the 2010 schedule Wednesday afternoon. The Bulldogs have 35 home games at Pete Beiden Field and hit the road for 20 games. The `Dogs host various schools from conferences like the Big 12, Big West and Pac-10.

“Our non-conference schedule is outstanding with 21 games against Big 12, Big West and Pac-10 opponents leading into

FSU Head Coach Mike Batesole

league games,” said Batesole. “If we play well, it gives us the opportunity to be in a solid position to have a great RPI headed into WAC play. This schedule is difficult enough to give us the ability to do something we haven’t done at Beiden Field in 15 years – host an NCAA Regional.”

Complete 2010 Fresno St. Schedule

Fresno State opens the 2010 season with a four-game series on Feb. 19 against Huskers of Nebraska. The Huskers went 25-28-1 in 2009 and the last time the teams met was in 2002 in Fresno, Calif.

The first road trip of the season for the Bulldogs is in Seattle, Wash., against first-year head coach Lindsay Meggs and Washington. The Huskies visited Beiden Field last season for the 2009 home opener.

The Bulldogs host second year program Oregon in March. George Horton and the Ducks were 14-42 last season. The Ducks are one of three Pac-10 teams the Bulldogs face in 2010.

The `Dogs head South for the San Diego State Invitational Tournament. Fresno State faces Cal State Fullerton, San Diego, San Diego State and San Francisco. Three of the five teams in the tournament made it to an NCAA regional last season and Fullerton made an appearance in the College World Series in 2009.

“The San Diego Tournament is a great chance for us to experience a Regional atmosphere,” said Batesole. “Several teams invited participated in a Regional last year – and that is how we will approach it.”

Fresno State begins Western Athletic Conference play in April and hosts three WAC series at Beiden Field. The `Dogs look to win their fifth-consecutive WAC championship. The Bulldogs have won four-straight conference championships and are one of four teams west of Texas to make four-consecutive NCAA Regional appearances.

“The WAC will be the toughest it has been in five years,” said Batesole. “I would anticipate we will be a two or three team bid league in 2010.”

(Release)

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Oklahoma 2010 Baseball Schedule

Sean Stires — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 23:05:55 +0000

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Sooners will host 28 home games in 2010

NORMAN, Okla. — University of Oklahoma Vice President/Athletics Director Joe Castiglione and head coach Sunny Golloway released the Sooners’ 2010 baseball schedule consisting of 56 regular season games on Wednesday.

Overall, Oklahoma will face 12 opponents, for a total of 28 games, that participated in last year’s NCAA

OU Head Coach Sunny Golloway

Tournament, including five non-conference opponents in Arkansas, Indiana, Jacksonville, San Diego State and TCU.

Complete 2010 Oklahoma Schedule (PDF)

Five of the 12 NCAA participants from 2009 (Arkansas, Kansas State, San Diego State, TCU and Texas) recorded 40 or more wins a year ago, while Arkansas (College World Series), TCU (Super Regional) and Texas (College World Series) advanced deep into the tournament.

The Sooners will kick things off on Feb. 19 in the San Diego State Tournament held at Tony Gwynn Stadium. OU begins action in San Diego against the host Aztecs. The Sooners also face Indiana and San Diego over the weekend.

The SDSU Tournament is just one of four that the Sooners will participate in during the 2010 regular season. Following the trip to San Diego, OU travels across the country to Florida for the Jacksonville Tournament hosted by Jacksonville University. OU will face a trio of first-time opponents in Valparaiso, Jacksonville and Richmond.

Oklahoma will host its first regular season tournament in Norman from March 4-7 as South Florida, Western Illinois and Stephen F. Austin visit L. Dale Mitchell Park for the Sooner Classic. The 1985 season was the last time OU hosted a regular season tournament (Knor Sooner Shootout) but it was held at the All Sports Stadium in Oklahoma City.

The fourth and final tournament, The Whataburger Classic in Corpus Christi, Texas, is one of the top tourneys in Division I baseball each of the last five years. The 2010 field includes OU, Mississippi State, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and UCLA.

The non-conference slate also features home games against Dallas Baptist, Houston Baptist, Massachusetts, Arkansas Pine Bluff, TCU, Memphis and Arkansas, while OU travels to DBU, TCU and Oklahoma State for midweek games.

The game on Tuesday, April 13 with OSU marks the first year that the Bedlam Series will be extended to four regular season games, with the home team alternating each season. The contest will not count towards either team’s Big 12 records and the Cowboys will return the trip in 2011.

“Year in and year out we look to schedule some of the best non-conference competition in order to prepare us for the grueling Big 12 season,” said Golloway. “This year’s schedule is once again evidence of that. We are excited for our fans as we host several exciting match ups at home in and out of conference play, including the extra Bedlam game.”

The 27-game Big 12 schedule begins at home against Baylor (March 19-21). The Bears are the first of four 2009 NCAA Tournament teams to visit Norman in Big 12 play. OU also welcomes Texas (April 1-3), Missouri (April 9-11) and Kansas State (April 30-May 2) for three-game sets.

The Big 12 road series include Nebraska (March 26-28), Texas Tech (April 16-18), Texas A&M (April 23-25) and Kansas (May 21-23).

The Bedlam Series, presented by The Oklahoman and Oklahoma Farm Bureau Insurance, will be held May 7-9. Game one between OU and Oklahoma State is set for May 7 in Tulsa at Drillers Stadium. Then the teams return to Oklahoma City for the final two games of the series slated for May 8 and 9 at the AT&T Bricktown Ballpark.

For the sixth consecutive year, the Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament will be held in Oklahoma City at the Bricktown Ballpark from Wednesday, May 26 through Sunday, May 30.

The NCAA Tournament begins on campus sites with the NCAA Regional (June 4-7) and NCAA Super Regional (June 11-14). The 2010 College World Series will be played in Omaha, Neb., at Rosenblatt Stadium from June 19-30.

The Sooners return 17 letterwinners from the 2009 squad that made the program’s fourth appearance in an NCAA Regional Final in the last five years. OU finished second in the Big 12 standings and earned a No. 7 national seed while hosting a regional for the second time in four years.

(Release)

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Santa Clara 2010 Baseball Schedule

Sean Stires — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:58:09 +0000

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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.

The Broncos will host 29 games at its state-of-the-art on-campus facility, Stephen Schott Stadium. Stanford visits Santa Clara on April 13 and 26. SCU will also host four of its seven West Coast Conference series and the four-team Jack Gifford Classic, March 11-14.

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)

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Kentucky 2010 Baseball Schedule

Sean Stires — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:00:35 +0000

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Wildcats Face 15 NCAA Tournament Teams From 2009

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Kentucky baseball program will take on 15 NCAA Tournament teams from 2009 and host 29 games at Cliff Hagan Stadium, as part of its 2010 schedule, released Tuesday by head coach Gary Henderson.

“We are very excited about our 2010 schedule, it is one of the best in the country,” Henderson said. “It is important to us to play a challenging non-conference schedule in order to prepare us for the weekly grind of playing in the SEC. Our schedule has some great teams and there will be some great games for our fans at Cliff Hagan Stadium this year.”

Kentucky’s 2010 schedule marks the toughest in recent history, with 10 weekends in the Southeastern Conference

Kentucky Head Coach Gary Henderson

and several difficult non-conference tests. The Wildcats will host a 29-game schedule at Cliff Hagan Stadium and play a total of 27 contests away from Lexington.

Complete 2010 Kentucky Schedule (PDF)

UK will open its 2010 campaign for the second consecutive season at Coastal Carolina (47-16, No. 28 RPI), a team that finished the season ranked in the top 25. The Chanticleers will host the Wildcats in its preseason tournament, with UK’s season opener coming against ACC power Virginia Tech (32-21, No. 50 RPI) on Feb. 19 at noon ET. UK will also face West Virginia (37-18, No. 102 RPI) for the second consecutive year on Feb. 20 at 11 a.m., before facing the host Chanticleers Feb. 21 at 3 p.m.

“I thought it was important that we test our kids early and get them ready for 10 weeks of SEC play,” Henderson said. “When we got the extra week of competition in the schedule, we were able to add the trip to Coastal Carolina, which we are really pleased about. The trip was a good experience for us last year and we are looking forward to going down there. It is obviously three very good teams and we are going to be tested early in the season.”

The Wildcats will return to Cliff Hagan Stadium for their home opener on Feb. 24, hosting in-state foe Murray State (34-21) at 4 p.m. ET, before beginning a three-game homestand Feb. 26-28 with Mid-American Conference member Bowling Green (28-22).

UK’s next test will be significant, as the Wildcats begin a four-game road swing with a stop in Morehead, Ky., to face off with the Eagles on March 2, before embarking on a trip to San Diego for three games on the west coast. UK will face 2009 NCAA Regional participant San Diego State (41-23, No. 45 RPI), coached by Tony Gwynn, on March 4 before facing traditional powers San Diego (29-25, No. 50 RPI) on March 5 and Monmouth on March 6.

“You are playing two regional teams again out in San Diego,” Henderson said. “I want the team to experience some travel and play against top level competition on the road. It is important for the team to understand what it is going to be like on the road against good teams.”

After the trip to the west coast, UK will embark on a six-game homestand that includes non-conference matchups with Evansville (25-30), IPFW (13-38) and Wright State (33-30). The Wildcats then begin the rugged SEC conference season, welcoming defending conference regular-season champion Ole Miss (44-20, No. 14 RPI) in the league opener, March 19-21 at Cliff Hagan Stadium.

“The conference is going to be extremely competitive again,” Henderson said. “We are going to have as many returning players as ever in the league. When you look at the rosters and stats from around the conference, there is no weak team. It is going to be a great challenge from week to week. It is an absolute grind, 10 weeks of tremendous competition in great environments for college baseball.”

UK will host SEC series with Ole Miss, Alabama (37-21, No. 39 RPI), Florida (42-22, No. 10 RPI), South Carolina (40-23, No. 21 RPI) and 2009 NCAA Champion LSU (56-17, No. 4 RPI) during the year. The Wildcats will take trips for SEC play to Vanderbilt (37-27, No. 27 RPI), Arkansas (41-24, No. 7 RPI), Auburn (31-25, No. 33 RPI), Tennessee (26-29, No. 58 RPI) and Georgia (38-24, No. 20 RPI).

Highlighting UK’s non-conference action are mid-week contests with 2009 NCAA Regional teams Xavier (39-21, No. 59 RPI), Western Kentucky (42-20, No. 41 RPI), Louisville (47-18, No. 17 RPI) and Indiana (32-27, No. 108 RPI). UK will also face Cincinnati (29-29) and Lipscomb (24-32), as part of its non-conference season.

UK will play rivals Murray State, Indiana, Western Kentucky, Louisville, Cincinnati and Morehead State during the season. The last few years the rivalry games have increased in fan excitement and interest, and in 2010 UK will hit the road to face Louisville in the River City, WKU in Bowling Green, Ky., Murray State in Paducah, Ky., Morehead State in Morehead, Ky., and Indiana in Bloomington, Ind.

“I think when you have as many good programs as we do in the state, it is important that everyone plays each other,” Henderson said. “The series’ that we have had in state have been extremely competitive and have created a lot of excitement and interest. As the programs continue to get better, the rivalries and fan support continues to grow, which makes for some great environments in the in-state contests.”

(Press Release)