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Ducks Skipper Sees Lack Of Respect For West Coast…

By CB360 Contributor Kris Anderson

Monday was a somber day in Eugene, Ore., as the Oregon Ducks learned that they were not selected to the NCAA Baseball Tournament’s field of 64.

Horton

Despite winning nine of their last 12 games and finishing the regular season by sweeping then No. 6 ranked Oregon State,  the preseason top-15 Ducks proved that three strong weeks could not save themselves from an 11-16 Pac-10 Conference record.

After learning of the tournament field, Ducks coach George Horton expressed his disappointment in not being selected, as well as the selection committee’s perception of college baseball’s western region.

“Those teams like us that thought they had an opportunity to play are devastated and confused,” Horton said on Monday. “You compare your numbers to others that get in, but ultimately, I didn’t think that west coast baseball was very well respected.”

Horton, who made six College World Series appearances and won a national championship during his 10 years as head coach of Cal State Fullerton, pointed to the fact that no national seeds were awarded to teams from the west. He also noted that western teams like Cal State Bakersfield, Gonzaga and Cal Poly—teams that were on the bubble—were not selected to regionals. He called the selections of three Big East teams and three Sun Belt teams “ridiculous.”

“I think the Fullerton regional and the Oregon State regional, they’re all tough, but that isn’t a typical western regional as far as level of difficulty, for me,” Horton said. “The UCLA one certainly is. For me, that’s the toughest regional on paper. And then the fact that all three of those teams match up with national seeds—one, three and six—I think is pretty ridiculous.”

Horton came to the defense of Pac-10 conference champion, UCLA , saying they “didn’t get much respect.”

“They played for the national championship last year, and have the same team back,” he said. “I thought the committee missed the mark there.”

“I thought the western region was under represented. I’m not taking anything away from the committee’s efforts or the national perspective in teams like St. John’s and some of those other team that got in. It’s too bad for western baseball and too bad for the Ducks. I don’t even know, ultimately, whether we were on the board….”

So, how does the west gain respect?

“You schedule all your games at home and play ‘Molly Putts University’ at home and get a bunch of great records,” said Horton, who has been the coach of the Ducks since the program was reinstated in 2009. “But that can’t happen because the budgets aren’t conducive to that, and we don’t have those kinds of stadiums like the ACC, SEC, Big 12 has.”

“They play all their games at home. They play weak opponents in the mid-week. Their leagues are very strong, make no mistake about it. But they all feed off each other because they all come into conference 24-3. And then whatever they do in conference, they do, and then they don’t lose a mid-week game.”

This season, Arkansas, for example, entered conference play with a 14-2 record, but went 15-15 vs. SEC teams. Also, they did not play any mid-week games against an SEC opponent.

Oregon played two mid-week games against No. 13 Oregon State, which they split. They also played two mid-week games against eventual West Coast Conference champion San Francisco and two against WCC runner-up, Gonzaga.

“In the west you play each other, so it’s almost like a conference wash where it’s fifty-fifty,” Horton said. “I’m a little west coast biased, of course, because I’ve been out here, but a third place team, a western team, a .500 team in the west, I think is a more difficult challenge than some of those teams that the others are playing. Not taking any respect from them. It’s always been a problem.”

“Every year you see two (Pac-10) teams, at least, in the College World Series, and the committee tends to forget that. I don’t know why.”

After the Ducks completed the sweep of their in-state rivals, the Beavers, Horton declared that his team had a 40-percent chance of being selected to regionals. After looking at tournament predictions and seeing how the committee treated teams from the west, he said 20-percent would have been more accurate.

The Ducks’ chances were also hurt by the results of certain conference tournaments, which Horton says he is not a “fan” of.

But none of that matters now. The Ducks will spend the off-season evaluating how a season that began with dreams of Omaha, is over before June.

 

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Which Teams Will Survive??

The NCAA baseball selection committee room in Indianapolis (courtesy NCAA).

It’s Sunday morning, and there’s work to be done for college baseball teams across the nation hoping to gain entrance into the 2011 NCAA baseball tournament. The problem is, the work has already been done for most of those teams and their fate is in the hands of the NCAA selection committee.

The bubble watch is on for teams that did not win their conference championships. The entire field of 64 is set to be unveiled at 12:30 p.m. ET on Monday, May 30. The selection show will air on ESPN.

Thirty of the 64 bids go to automatic qualifiers (AQ). Most of them win their conferences’ post-season tournament, while conferences like the Big West, Pac-10 and West Coast Conference give their bids to their regular season champs.

As of this morning, 10 AQ spots are yet to be determined. Gonzaga faces San Francisco today in the regular season finale for both teams, with the winner claiming the WCC bid.The loser of that game will not have the credentials to receive an at-large bid. Meanwhile, either UCLA or Oregon State will take the Pac-10 regular season title and NCAA bid that comes with it. The Pac-10 runner-up is a lock for an at-large entrance to the dance.

The remaining eight AQ spots will be determined today in conference championship games. (Click Here to see the list of AQ spots that have been claimed so far.)

That leaves 34 at-large spots for the teams that do not claim a conference crown. The selection committee is hunkered-down in Indianapolis breaking down those at-large spots.

Automatic qualifiers are placed on the board as the win their conference championships (courtesy NCAA).

Here’s the criteria they use:

• The committee uses the Rating Percentage Index (RPI), a computer program that provides the committee with (1) the institution’s Division I winning percentage, (2) opponents’ success and (3) opponents’ strength of schedule. The RPI is an additional tool used in the evaluation of at-large teams. Please note that the adjusted RPI takes into account a bonus/penalty structure. Bonus and penalty values only will be used for non-conference games.
• Regular-season conference standings and/or conference postseason competition shall be considered by the committee when selecting at-large teams.
• The committee may consider comparing data of individual teams, including, but not limited to, overall record, Division I record, overall RPI rank, non-conference record and RPI rank, conference regular-season record and conference tournament results, road record and RPI, last 15 games’ record, its record against teams ranked 1-25, 26-50, 51-100, 101-150 and below 150 in the RPI, head-to-head record, common opponents’ record and input from regional advisory committees.
• Make no mistake … RPI is a huge factor in the selection and seeding process.

With all that in mind, here’s a look at how those spots could be handed out and which teams are on the bubble:

At-Large Locks

1. North Carolina-Regional Host
2. Florida State – Regional Host
3. Vanderbilt – Regional Host
4. South Carolina – Regional Host
5. Georgia Tech – Regional Host
6. Arizona State – Regional Host
7. Clemson – Regional Host
8. Texas – Regional Host
9. Arkansas
10. TCU – Regional Host
11. Southern Mississippi
12. Oklahoma
13. Miami
14. Stanford
15. Oregon State – Regional Host
16. Arizona
17. Alabama
18. Mississippi State
19. Oklahoma State
20. California
21. UC Irvine

That’s 21 of the 34 at-large spots that look to be secured, which leaves just 12 remaining spots.

Here’s our bubble break-down (NCAA RPI followed by record):

In Good Shape

LSU-23 (36-20)
Central Florida-18 (38-21)
Stetson-21 (41-18)
North Carolina State 30 (33-25)
Florida International 31 (38-18-1)

In The Middle

Georgia-22 (31-30)
Baylor-26 (29-26)
Kansas St. 48 (36-23)
UConn 38 (41-17-1)
Troy 47 (42-17)
East Carolina 29 (39-19)
East Tenn. St 32 (36-19)
Elon 37 (36-21)
Dallas Baptist 45 (39-17)
Texas Tech 44 (33-25)
Ole Miss 40 (30-25)

In Trouble

Jacksonville 49 (36-22)
Florida Atlantic 43 (32-25)
SE Louisiana 51 (35-22)
St. John’s 54 (35-19)
Cal State Bakersfield 56 (31-22)
Mercer 58 (39-20)
Oregon 74 (32-26-1)

CLICK HERE to read more on the selection process and tournament format.

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Conference Races, Upsets & A Hit Streak Highlights…

The latest weekend of college baseball was, overall, light on upsets in the College Baseball 360 Top 50 Rankings. In fact, higher-ranked teams won 76% (29-9) of Sunday’s games involving the CB360 top-50. There were 40 series over the past few days involving CB360 top-50 teams, with 14 resulting in sweeps by the higher-ranked teams while 19 other favorites won their series 2-1.

The weekend saw a total of just six Top 50 series upsets, with Ole Miss pulling off the biggest series shocker-taking two of three games from #3 South Carolina.#21 Arkansas had the other big SEC upset by taking two of three from #4 Florida. (SEC Standings & potential Tournament seeding listed below.)

The rest of the series upsets came from the lower half of the Top 50. Wichita State took two of three from #36 Creighton, Missouri won its series at #44 Kansas State, and UNC Greensboro & Western Kentucky took series from #49 College of Charleston and #50 Florida Atlantic, respectively. #14 Fresno State didn’t lose its series, but did tie Louisiana Tech with two wins each.

Missouri started 2-9 in the Big-12, but has now won three straight series against Top 50 conference opponents Baylor, Texas A&M and K-State to move to 8-12 and seventh place in the Big 12.

Big 12 Standings

1. Texas A&M 15-6 2. Texas 17-7 3. Oklahoma St. 12-8 4. Oklahoma 13-9 5. Texas Tech & Baylor 9-12 7. Missouri 8-12 8. Kansas St. 9-14 9. Kansas 9-15 10. Nebraska 7-13

Chad Holbrook

This Tweet from South Carolina Associate Head Coach Chad Holbrook probably sums-up college baseball Sundays the best “Why do we talk about Sundays?? Its simple really-Teams that win on Sundays host regionals and play in Omaha. That’s what we are trying to do.”

Dallas Baptist dropped two out of three games in its series at #11 Texas A&M, but in winning the second game of the set the Patriots added to their quality win resume. DBU (32-15) has wins this season over Oklahoma State, TCU (2), Oklahoma, Rice, Texas Tech, and Texas A&M as the DI independent shoots for an at-large NCAA bid.

Speaking of TCU, the #15 Horned Frogs picked-up a Super Regional quality series win at#20 Oklahoma State. What’s probably most impressive about Jim Schlossnagle’s squad taking two of three in Stillwater is the fact that they did it without pitchers Matt Purke and Steven Maxwell. Purke (4-1, 1.55 ERA) is out with a shoulder injury, while Maxwell (5-0, 2.90 ERA) was sidelined due to a sore biceps. Purke threw on flat ground from 120 feet on Sunday. TCU hopes he will be available for the Mountain West Conference Tournament, which starts on May 24.

Princeton locked-up an NCAA bid by winning the Ivy League title Sunday.

Princeton locked-up an automatic NCAA bid by winning the Ivy League Championship Series over the weekend. The Tigers downed defending Ivy champion Dartmouth 8-5 on Sunday in the deciding game three of the series. The win gives Princeton (23-22) its 17th conference crown and first since 2006. While the Tigers are just a game over .500 this season, they handed LSU its first loss of the year back on March 6 in Baton Rouge.

The quarterfinalists for the National Pitcher of the Year Award were announced heading into the weekend, and it would be hard to make an argument against UCLA‘s Trevor Bauer as the current front runner for the honor. The junior fired his fifth straight complete game (and sixth this year) in Saturday’s 3-1 win over Oregon to help the Bruins to a three-game sweep in Eugene. Bauer (9-2) struckout 12 and leads the nation with 154 Ks. His 411 strikeouts make him the first Bruin with more than 400 in a career. He needs just 10 more Ks to set his own single season record from a year ago. Bauer’s efforts helped UCLA to its first road sweep of the season. The Bruin pitching staff has given-up just six runs over the last six games.

Oregon State's Tony Bryant

#7 Oregon State kept its steam train rolling by taking two of three games from #24 Cal. The Beavers (34-11, 14-4) have won each of their six Pac-10 Conferences series this season, while Cal (28-16, 12-9) has dropped two of its last three conference sets. OSU closer Tony Bryant earned his ninth save in as many chances this season in Sunday’s series clincher.

Pac-10 Standings

1. Oregon St 14-4 2. Arizona St 13-5 3. UCLA 14-7 4. Cal 12-8 5. Arizona 9-9 6. USC 8-10 7. Stanford 8-9 8. Oregon 5-12 9. Washington St. 4-13 and Washington 4-13

Ray Graham reached a career milestone over the weekend. The Rice head coach got carer win number 900 in Friday’s 8-2 win over cross-town rival Houston en-route to a series sweep. Graham and the Owls sit in second place behind Southern Mississippi in the Conference USA standings. The two teams meet in Hattiesburg, Miss to close the regular season.

Conference USA Standings

1. Southern Mississippi 14-4 2. Rice 12-6 3. East Carolina 11-10 4. Memphis & Houston 9-9 6. Tulane 8-10 7. UAB 9-12 8. UCF 7-11 9. Marshall 5-13

There were just two league series played in the ACC, with North Carolina and Wake Forest sweeping Maryland and Boston College, respectively. The rest of the teams in the league were either playing non-conference series or on break for final exams.

ACC Atlantic Standings

1. Florida State 16-8  2. Clemson 13-11  3. North Carolina State 11-13  4. Wake Forest 10-14  5. Boston College 7-19  6. Maryland 5-22 …

ACC Coastal Standings

1. Virginia 20-4  2. Georgia Tech 18-6  3. Miami 16-7  4. North Carolina 16-8  5. Virginia Tech 9-15  6. Duke 5-19

The West Coast Conference race got tighter when San Francisco dropped two of three at San Diego and Gonzaga swept Santa Clara. The Bulldogs now lead the WCC standings by percentage points over the Dons. Gonzaga (25-13-1, 9-3) has three conference series to play, while USF (25-22, 11-4) has just two left. The two teams meet in the regular season finale May 27-29 in Spokane. With no conference tournament, the WCC’s automatic NCAA bid is likely to be determined that weekend.

WCC Standings

1. Gonzaga 9-3 (.750)  2. San Francisco 11-4 (.733) 3. San Diego 8-7 4. Portland 6-6 5. Pepperdine 5-7 &  Loyola Marymount 5-7 7. St. Mary’s 6-9 8. Santa Clara 4-11

Cal State Fullerton has won five of its last seven games since dropping two of three Big West Conference games to Cal Poly two weeks ago. The Titans (33-13, 14-4) swept three at Riverside over the weekend to inch closer to another conference crown. UC Irvine (31-13, 10-5) took two of three from Cal Poly (21-21, 10-8) and sits in good shape to get at least an at-large NCAA bid. Poly likely needs to win at least nine of its final 12 games to have a chance at the program’s second bid in the last three years (and in program history). They close the season with three games at Pacific, a game at Stanford and three at Cal State Bakersfield.

Big West Standings

1. Fullerton 14-4  2. Irvine 10-5  3. Cal Poly 10-8  4. Long Beach & Davis 8-7  5. Riverside & Santa Barbara 6-9  7. Pacific 7-11  8. Northridge 3-12

The longest active Division One hitting streak in the nation is still alive at 33 straight games after Ryan Jones collected at least one hit in each of Michigan State’s (30-14, 13-5) three weekend wins over Purdue. Jones’ efforts helped the Spartans improve to 9-0 in Big Ten home games this season. They went into the weekend tied for first place with the Boilermakers in the conference standings, but now lead Minnesota (which they swept last month) by two games with two series to go. The top six teams advance to the Big Ten Tournament.

Michigan State's Ryan Jones extended his DI leading hitting streak to 33 games.

Big Ten Standings

1. Michigan St. 13-5  2. Minnesota 11-7  3. Purdue, Ohio St. & Illinois 10-8  6. Penn St. & Indiana 8-10  9. Iowa & Northwestern 7-11  11. Michigan 6-12

Big East Standings

1. UConn 17-3  2. St. Johns 13-7  3. West Virginia 13-8  4. Pittsburgh 12-9  5. South Florida 11-9  6. Louisville & Cincinnati 11-10  8. Notre Dame 10-10  9. Seton Hall 10-11

Southern Conference Standings

1. Elon 21-6  2. Greensboro 16-8  3. Charleston 15-9  4. Samford & Georgia  Southern 14-10  6. Appalachian St.  7. 12-11..Furman 10-13  8. Wofford & The Citadel 8-16

Southland Conference Standings

1. Texas St. 20-7  2. Stephen F. Austin 17-10  3. Sam Houston St. 16-11  4. Southeastern Louisiana 15-12  5. Texas A&M Corpus Christi 14-13  6. UT-Arlington & UT-San Antonio 13-14  8. McNeese & Nicholls 12-15

WAC Standings

1. Hawaii 12-4  2. Fresno St. 12-6  3. San Jose St. 9-7  4. New Mexico St. 7-8  5. Louisiana Tech 8-11  6. Nevada 6-9  7. Sacramento St. 3-12

America East Standings

1. Stony Brook 15-2  2.  Binghamton 12-4  3. Maine 12-5  4. Albany 9-7  5. Hartford 1-15  6. UMBC 0-16

Atlantic-10 top-9

1. Charlotte & Rhode Island 15-6  3. LaSalle & Dayton 11-7  5. Xavier & Richmond 10-8  7. Fordham & St. Bonaventure 9-8  9. StLouis 7-11

Atlantic Sun top-8

1. Stetson 20-4  2. Jacksonville 18-9  3. Belmont 14-10  4. Kennesaw St. 13-10  5. East TN 12-10  6. Mercer 12-11  7. Florida Gulf Coast 11-13  8. North Florida 13-14

Big South Standings

1. Coastal Carolina 17-4  2. Liberty 15-6  3. Charelston Southern & Gardner-Webb 12-9  5. Winthrop 11-10  6. Radford 10-11  7. VMI 9-11,  8. UNC-Asheville & High Point 7-14  10. Presbyterian 5-16

Colonial Standings

1. Old Dominion 16-8  2. James Madison & UNC-Wilmington 15-9  4. Towson 14-10  5. Delaware 15-12  6. Georgia State & William and Mary 13-11  8. Northeastern 10-14  9. VCU & Hofstra 9-15  11. George Mason 6-21

Horizon League Standings

1. Wright St. 13-5  2. Valparaiso 13-6  3. Illinois-Chicago 11-7  4. Milwaukee 11-8  5. Youngstown St. 7-11  6. Butler 7-12  7. Cleveland St. 4-17

MAAC Standings

1. Manhattan 16-1  2. Rider 15-6  3. Siena 10-8  4. Marist & Fairfield 9-9  6. Canisius 8-8  7. Iona 7-11  8. St. Peter’s 4-13  9. Niagara 4-17

MAC East Standings

1. Kent St. 17-4  2. Miami 14-7  3.  Bowling Green 10-11  4. Ohio 7-14  5. Akron 5-16  6. Buffalo 2-18

MAC West Standings

1. Central Michigan 14-7  2. Eastern Michigan & Toledo 13-8  4. Northern Illinois 12-9  5. Western Michigan 10-11  6. Ball St. 8-12

MEAC Standings

1. Bethune-Cookman 18-0  2. Delaware St 11-7  3. Norfolk St. & North Carolina A&T 9-8  5. Maryland-Eastern Shore 7-11  6. Florida A&M 6-12  7. Coppin St. 2-16

Missouri Valley Standings

1. Creighton 10-5  2. Wichita St. 9-6  3. Missouri St 8-6  4. Illinois St. & Southern Illinois 8-7  6. Evansville 6-8  7. Indiana St. 6-9  8. Bradley 4-11

Mountain West Standings

1. TCU 15-2  2. Utah 15-5  3. New Mexico 10-11  4. BYU 7-9  5. UNLV 7-10  6. San Diego State 7-11  7. Air Force 2-15

Northeast Conference Standings top-7

1. Monmouth 22-6  2. Sacred Heart 19-9  3. Long Island 18-9  4. Bryant 15-12  5. Central Connecticut St. 15-13  6. Wagner 12-16  7. Quinnipiac 11-21

OVC Standings top-7

Austin Peay 13-4…SE Missouri 10-6…Jacksonville (AL) St..TN Martin 9-8…E. Ill. 9-9…E. Kentucky 10-11..TN Tech 8-10

Summit League Standings

1. South Dakota St. 16-4  2. Oral Roberts 14-6  3. North Dakota St. 11-8  4. Western Illinois 10-10  5. Southern Utah & IPFW 8-12  6. Centenary 6-13

Sun Belt Standings top-8

1. Troy 16-7  2. Florida International 15-8  3. Florida Atlantic & Louisiana-Lafayette 14-9  5. Western Kentucky 13-10  6. South Alabama 11-12  7. Arkansas St. 10-13  8. Arkansas-Little Rock 8-15

SEC West Standings

1. Alabama & Arkansas 12-12  3. Auburn, Mississippi & Mississippi St. 11-13  6. LSU 8-16

SEC East Standings

1. Vanderbilt 19-5  2. South Carolina & Florida 18-6  4. Georgia 14-10  5. Kentucky & Tennessee 5-19

SEC TOURNAMENT SEEDINGS AS OF 5/9/11

1. VANDERBILT
2. ALABAMA (Won 2 of 3 vs. Arkansas)
3. SOUTH CAROLINA (Won 2 of 3 vs. UF)
4. FLORIDA (Lost 2 of 3 vs. SC)
5. GEORGIA
6. ARKANSAS (Lost 2 of 3 vs. Alabama)
7/8/9. AUBURN (2-1 vs. UM; 0-3 vs. MSU)
7/8/9. OLE MISS (1-2 vs. AU; TBD vs. MSU) 7/8/9. MISS. STATE (3-0 vs. AU; TBD vs. UM)
————————————————————————
10. LSU
11. TENNESSEE
12. KENTUCKY

Tournament Seeding Information

The eight teams that make up the 2011 Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament are determined by the best winning percentage in conference competition.

The divisional champion with the highest conference winning percentage is the first seed and the remaining divisional champion is the second seed.  All other teams are seeded 3-8 by conference winning percentage.

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Toreros Claim 3rd WCC Title In Four Years

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Courtesy San Diego Sports Information)

Former Big Leaguer Mike Benjamin Is Latest Addition

Gaucho slate features nine games vs. 2009 postseason teams

UCSB Head Coach Bob Brontsema

UCSB also will play road games at Stanford – a 2008 College World Series participant – USC, UC Irvine, Cal Poly, Long Beach State, San Jose State, Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount.

Complete 2010 UC Santa Barbara Schedule (PDF)

“We’re looking forward to a challenging non-conference schedule to prepare us for the always-difficult Big West Conference season,” UCSB head coach Bob Brontsema said.

The Gauchos, 29-23 a season ago, return two players from their school-record nine players that were drafted in June. Left-handed pitcher Mario Hollands and infielder Matt Valaika, both chosen in the Major League Baseball amateur draft, will return and are expected to lead the Gauchos this year. Joining them will be All-American pitcher Mike Ford, all-conference honoree catcher Marty Mullins, senior Gunnar Terhune and top newcomers left-hander Kevin Gelinas and right-hander Nick Loredo.

The Big West Conference, which was recently ranked as the sixth-best in the nation, according to RPI ratings and is also a league that had two nationally-ranked teams in the NCAA postseason and has featured at least one team in the College World Series in eight of the past 11 seasons. UCSB led the conference with nine players drafted by Major League Baseball teams this past June, including the conference’s top player selected, Joe Gardner (third round, Cleveland Indians).

(Release)

SAN ANTONIO — UTSA head baseball coach Sherman Corbett announced Wednesday his program’s 2010 schedule. Highlighted by six teams that played in the 2009 NCAA Tournament (Baylor, Sam Houston State, Texas, Texas A&M, TCU, Texas State), a full slate of 33 Southland Conference games and 26 home tilts, the ledger features a total of 52 contests this spring.

UTSA Head Coach Sherman Corbett

schedule for more than a decade. UTSA has won 20 of its last 26 tilts at the 16-year-old facility.

Complete 2010 UT San Antonio Schedule (PDF)

The Birds open the season with a six-game home stand at Roadrunner Field. UTSA will host Houston Baptist from Feb. 20-21 before welcoming Indiana State to the Bird Bath the following weekend (Feb. 26-28).

The year’s first road trip will take place from March 2-14 when UTSA plays eight games in a two-week span. The trip kicks off with a March 2 tilt at TCU, which came one game short of playing in last year’s College World Series. A four-game set at San Francisco follows from March 5-7 and the journey ends the weekend of March 12-14 when the Birds open conference play at Southeastern Louisiana.

The Roadrunners return to the Alamo City for the two-game series with Iowa and UT Arlington visits the Bird Bath two days later in the first of three conference contests that will be played from March 17-19.

Following a March 24 tilt at Baylor, UTSA returns to Roadrunner Field to host three-time defending Southland Tournament Champion Sam Houston State from March 26-27. The Birds have won 12 of the last 13 regular season meetings with the Bearkats.

A five-game road trip that includes stops at Houston (March 30), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (April 1-3) and Texas A&M (April 6) follows and the Birds then return home to square off against Stephen F. Austin (April 9-11) and Houston (April 13).

UTSA embarks on a season-long nine-game road trip from April 16-May 1 when they play at Northwestern State (April 16-18), Lamar (April 23-25), 2009 national runner-up Texas (April 27) and I-35 rival Texas State (April 30-May 1), which won the Southland’s regular season title a year ago.

The Roadrunners come back to the Bird Bath for a season-best eight-game home stand that begins on May 2 with the conclusion of the Texas State home-and-home series. Nicholls will come to town from May 7-9, along with McNeese State (May 14-16) and TCU (May 18).

UTSA closes out regular season play with a three contests at Central Arkansas from May 20-22.

The Southland Tournament is scheduled for May 26-29 at Whataburger Field in Corpus Christi. The circuit’s top eight teams will qualify for the four-day postseason event that determines the league’s automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.

(Release)

TEMPE, AZ Arizona State Baseball will begin its quest for its sixth National Championship and 22nd trip to Omaha and the College World Series on February 19th when the Sun Devils host the Northern Illinois Huskies at Winkles Field- Packard Stadium at Brock Ballpark in the 2010 Season Opener. Announced today by head coach Tim Esmay, the 2010 schedule features 35 games at Packard Stadium, including two non-conference match-ups with in-state rival Arizona on April 20 and May 4.

ASU Interim Head Coach Tim Esmay (ASU Photo)

regular season on March 16 and 17 at Goodwin Field in Fullerton.

Complete 2010 ASU Schedule

Arizona State will play an exhibition game at Winkles Field-Packard Stadium at Brock Ballpark on March 2, when they host Meiji University from Japan.

The rest of the non-conference slate features two straight four-game series to open the 2010 season. Northern Illinois opens the year in Tempe from Feb. 19-21, followed by Towson from Feb. 26-28. The SEC’s Auburn Tigers will visit Tempe for a three-game set beginning March 12, and the Houston Cougars will play at Packard Stadium for three games starting March 19. Grand Canyon (March 9), San Diego (April 5-6), San Francisco (April 27-28) and BYU (May 10-11) will also visit Tempe.

The leader in West Coast attendance for the past five years, Arizona State will once again enjoy one of the nation’s best home field advantages. Over 125,000 fans came through the turnstiles to watch the Devils play in 2009, as ASU averaged 3,207 fans per home game. Thanks to tremendous fan support that creates an unmatched atmosphere at home, the Sun Devils went 36-4 at home, winning their third consecutive Pac-10 championship and advancing to the College World Series for the third time in five years.

For the eighth straight year, Arizona State will travel to Surprise, Ariz., for the Coca-Cola Classic at Surprise Stadium, Spring Training home of the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals. The Devils will face 2009 NCAA Tournament participant Cal Poly, who played in the Tempe Regional, on March 4, Pac-10 rival Oregon State in a non-conference match-up on March 5, UC Riverside on March 6, then wrap up the weekend in Surprise against former ASU assistant coach and current Florida International head coach Turtle Thomas and the Golden Panthers on March 7.

In addition to an always difficult non-conference schedule, the three-time defending Pac-10 Champion Sun Devils will once again compete in one of the toughest conferences in all of college baseball. Conference adversaries visiting Tempe include Cal (March 26-28), USC (April 16-18), Washington (April 23-25) and 2009 NCAA Tournament participant Oregon State (May 21-23). The Sun Devils will travel to Eugene, Oregon for the first time in school history when they take on the Ducks for a three-game series beginning April 1. ASU will also travel to 2009 NCAA Tournament team Washington State (April 9-11), UCLA (April 30-May 2), in-state rival Arizona (May 15-17) and close out the regular season at Sunken Diamond in Palo Alto, Calif. for three games with Stanford (May 27-29).

Arizona State will be seeking its 11th straight trip to the NCAA Tournament, which will begin on June 4. Super Regionals will follow from June 11-14 with the college baseball season culminating in the College World Series, beginning June 19 at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska. 2010 marks the final season the College World Series will be played at Rosenblatt Stadium, as the annual championship tournament will move to TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha beginning in 2011.

(Release)

Bulldogs Will Play 35 games At Beiden Field In 2010

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)

MACOMB, Ill – Western Illinois University has announced the hiring of Mike Villano as its new head baseball coach, Monday, Nov. 23.

Mike Villano (Courtesy CMU)

eight seasons.

“This is a bittersweet announcement in that we will always remember Stan Hyman as a great person and a great baseball coach,” Western Illinois Director of Athletics Dr. Tim M. Van Alstine said.

“However, I am pleased to announce that Mike Villano will continue in Stan’s footsteps as the new Leatherneck baseball coach. Mike has an impressive and extensive background that spans from his time as a student-athlete to his professional playing career and his time as a coach.”

Villano spent the past six seasons at Central Michigan University, where he served as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator and spent last season as the team’s hitting coach.

“I am very excited about this great opportunity at Western Illinois,” Villano said. “I believe the program has tremendous potential because of its location in an area of the country that produces many great baseball players.”

Under his guidance, the Chippewa pitching staff led the Mid-American Conference in team ERA in 2008 (4.62) and 2005 (3.31). His pitching staff finished second in the MAC and 14th nationally in ERA (3.71) while also finishing second in the conference in opponent batting average (.256) and strikeouts (387) during the 2007 campaign.

His 2007 staff included the MAC Pitcher of the Year in Josh Collmenter, who was eventually drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

On the recruiting trail, Villano helped compile a class that was ranked 27th nationally and first in the Midwest Region by Collegiate Baseball in 2006. He has coached a total of 27 players who have gone on to professional careers.

The Chippewas posted an overall record 202-137 (.596) and a conference record of 99-55 (.643) in Villano’s time as an assistant.

Prior to his career at Central Michigan, Villano spent one season as the pitching coach at Oakland (Michigan) where he helped lower the pitching staff’s ERA from 7.00 in 2002 to 4.90 in 2003.

Villano enjoyed a successful playing career at both the collegiate and professional levels. He was a four-time all-conference selection as a pitcher at Saginaw Valley State University and was named as the Great Lakes Conference Freshman of the Year in 1991.

He was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 24th round of the 1994 amateur draft and played professionally for nine seasons, culminating with a Major League call-up from the Florida Marlins in 1998.

Villano earned his bachelor’s degree from Saginaw Valley State in 2001 and also earned a master’s degree in physical education from Central Michigan in 2008.

(Release)