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The continued game between Clemson and Oklahoma was an appropriate 3-inning appetizer on Wednesday for the main course thriller that was TCU’s dramatic 11-7 win over Florida State.

Our coverage of the 2010 College World Series is brought to you by The Dugout in Omaha, with everything you’re looking for when it comes to officially licensed CWS hats and shirts. If you can’t make it to Rosenblatt make sure to follow the link for all of your CWS gear!

Click For Great College World Series Specials This Week!

FINAL: Continuation of Clemson 6,  Oklahoma 4

FINAL: TCU  11, Florida State 7 (Elimination Game)

The rain was blowing sideways by the time we left the stadium after midnight on Wednesday evening. It was Sean Stires’ last memory of his favorite stadium.

(Blog entry by Chase Titleman)

What a difference a day makes here in Omaha … or does it?

For the third consecutive day here in Omaha, wewere awakened by an earsplitting thunderstorm that rocked the windows of our hotel. I wasn’t sure if it was a freight train, tornado or just another of my wild and willy dreams, but when the lightning flashed and the thunder instantly cracked at 5:25 a.m. this morning it was quite a way to wake up.

Oklahoma looks to benefit most from Wednesday evening’s sudden thunderstorm that cropped up with the high humidity and the stifling temperatures, spawning a tornado alert that never materialized. As of 10:00 this morning, a tornado watch box was up on the weather channel for the eastern half of Iowa, but sunny skies are predicted for today at the “Blatt.”

The heat index was 102 when I was sitting in the photo box along the first-base line. ESPN analyst Kyle Peterson (an Omaha native) looked like a camel jockey with towels draped all over his body trying to shade himself from the scorching sun.

With Clemson leading Oklahoma 6-1 going into the top of the 6th, the Sooners will need to get on it in a hurry if they expect to get back into the ballgame and avoid the losers bracket. At the start of yesterday’s game, the wind was howling out to left-center, but today the wind has switched directions and is blowing quite briskly to right-center – so look for some home runs coming in that direction.

If you are coming to the ballpark and have general-admission tickets, that would be the place to sit!

Yesterday’s first game between Arizona State and South Carolina was an example of what a team can accomplish when it plays the wind properly, for it is no secret that the ball will sail out of the “Blatt” with ease if aided by a driving wind (especially when the heat index is cranking as well).

Jackie Bradley Jr. hit a monster, wind-aided bomb to left-center yesterday to kick start an eight-run 2nd inning that sent the Sun Devils packing.

Rosenblatt Surprises: The weather hasn’t been the only surprise here in Omaha …

Coming into the CWS, Arizona State looked to be the premier team, leading the KSI Index that I have put together here over at Road2Rosenblatt.com!

Florida State and Clemson were 7th and 8th in the KSI Index and I boldly predicted that “if I were a betting man (which I am not), I wouldn’t bet that Clemson student-athletes would be roaming around in Omaha towards the end of the week. I ran into some Clemson players, parents and alumni over at The Union Pizzeria and Bar over near where the new TD Ameritrade Ball Park is going up in the old downtown area near Quest Arena, and boy did they let me hear about it!

Humbled but unfeathered, I promptly told them that the Tigers in my opinion are the most impressive team in Omaha thus far. I really like the way Jack Leggett has this team playing at present. They are peaking at the right time, playing fast and loose while brimming with confidence – all things needed to quiet the nerves of playing in front of 22,000 on a nightly basis.

Clemson won its game despite its 1-2-3 batters (Chris Epps, Mike Freeman and Jeff Schaus) combining to go 0-for-11.

The two teams that have been eliminated, Florida and Arizona State, both had that “deer in the headlights” look and used the same excuse of not playing like the team that got them to Omaha.

How about TCU? Or, more appropriately, how about Matt Curry’s grand slam! Curry had the biggest blast of the series so far with his 8th-inning slam to help the Horned Frogs to a stunning 8-run inning in their 11-7 win over Florida State. Just as clutch was TCU catcher Bryan Holaday’s double, which also came with two outs (two batters before Curry). I’d take eight guys like Holaday on my team any day.

Closing Comments:

In the postgame press conference yesterday after being eliminated, ASU Coach Tim Esmay had this to say:

“Well, obviously very disappointed in the outcome today. You can’t have a start like we did against a quality team of South Carolina. I thought they did a heck of a job of putting us on our heels, and I think you have to do that in a game like this where you lose and you go home.

“And I think the team that kind of takes control of that and is the aggressor and puts you on your heels, it really makes it tough for you to battle up climb.

“I’ll say this. I haven’t been any prouder in my years of being a Sun Devil than this team right here. It’s an amazing team. They were fighting until the end. They didn’t give up. They played hard and that’s what they did all year long.

“And I’m just very proud and very blessed that they gave me this opportunity to coach them this year, because this is a heck of a team. And having to deal with expectations, and expectations of Arizona State is to play deep in this tournament. And they know that. They battled that day-in, day-out, and they answered the bell all year long.

“Obviously we did not want to end this tournament the way it ended, but I’ll tell you this, there’s nobody that feels as bad or as upset than those 35 guys in that clubhouse, and I’m extremely proud of this ball club.”

Q: Could you talk a little bit about Sam Dyson and how he pitched today?
COACH ESMAY: “Man, boy, talk about grinding one out. I felt like we had opportunities every inning. I didn’t feel like he really breezed through any inning. But you look up and 100‑and‑some pitches later and he’s battling and making pitches when he needed to, and that’s a performance that I’m sure they’re proud of, because he was a warrior out there today.:

Q: You guys came in as the No. 1 seed. … I talked to a lot of Arizona State media that says it doesn’t even look like it’s the same team, like it’s imposters in the uniforms. Could you address what went wrong here over the last two games?

COACH ESMAY: “You’re playing good talent. I wouldn’t necessarily call them imposters. They are 18‑, 19‑, 20‑year‑old kids, that had a heck of a year and were playing very good baseball. But being in the College World Series enough to see that sometimes when balls aren’t hit or situations don’t come your way, it just happens.

“I’m not going to say that this is not the Sun Devil team that I saw all year long because it was. It was a team that showed up to play, they were ready to play, and they were confident enough to play. But when you have eight teams at the end, everybody’s had a sense of how to win and how to play and take advantage of things, and that’s what I saw happen. The other teams took advantage.

“We did a great job all year of not letting the crack, the door open, and these last couple of games, a crack opened and the other teams took advantage of it. And that’s what happens in a national championship type tournament.

* * * * *

First of all, that question that was posed to coach Esmay is a solid question, although I cringed myself when I heard the word imposters. Arizona State does have a recent history and questions to answer for – they typically are the top-ranked program every year that they have come to the CWS since the turn of the century, yet they have come up empty handed.

It was their tournament to lose. There are questions to answer, especially since they came off perhaps the toughest Super Regional as Arkansas took them to task in back-to-back, 12-inning grinders that smelled of national championship destiny.

But like coach Kevin O’Sullivan over at Florida, this was the first time in Omaha for the Esmay staff, and you could sense a little apprehension in the body language of the assistants and the players.

Esmay had made six trips to Omaha, as both a player and coach for the Sun Devils, but pitching coach Ken Knutson (former head coach at Washington) and Travis Jewett (former assistant at Washington State) were making their first visits. Although 15 members of the Sun Devil squad were returning to Omaha, led by Raoul Torrez who made his third appearance in the CWS, there also were 11 members of the squad that were first-timers and played as if they may have been a little overwhelmed by the environment (a fate that hits many CWS participants).

The other aspect that is important to consider in the Sun Devils’ demise is the fact that they played only 21 games away from Steven Packard Stadium in Tempe. Playing most of their career at home, as well as both the Regional and Super Regional, certainly doesn’t get a team battle-tested for a hostile environment on the road.

In my opinion, it is something to point a finger at, for the key to beating ASU this year was jumping out of the gate early with big innings. The old axiom in baseball is that the majority of the time, the winning team has scored more in one inning than the opposing team has scored the entire game.

In the elite field of Omaha, it is hard to overcome an 8-spot in the second inning. Although the Devils battled hard, they just didn’t peak at the right time. It reminds me of a conversation that Sean Stires and I had when I first arrived in Omaha near midnight on Friday evening. The Sun Devils were the only team that hadn’t really had any type of hiccup the entire year, as they hadn’t lost back-to-back games in 2010 … that is until they got to Omaha.

That will be hard to reflect on during the offseason.

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The Fifth-Year Senior Shined Bright In Wins Over Texas

Max Willett (UNM photo)

Max Willett led the high-powered New Mexico offense by batting .636 (7-11) with a triple and two doubles in two wins over then #1 Texas in Austin on opening weekend.  The center fielder had the game-winning RBI in the top of the 9th inning to give the Lobos a 6-5 win over the consensus #1 ranked team in the country heading into the 2010 season.  It was New Mexico’s first-ever win over a top-ranked team, and the Lobos followed that with a 3-1 series clinching win the following day.

In this exclusive interview with Collegebaseball360.com editor Sean Stires, Willett talks about his head coach, Ray Birmingham, his team’s big weekend, how the Lobos can keep their sudden momentum going, and more.

Willett

5’10 – 190 – Sr. – OF – Highlands Ranch, CO    Head Coach:  Ray Birmingham

Collegebaseball360.com To Stream Nine Games Live

ST. PETERSBURG, FL – Collegebaseball360.com, the fastest-growing college baseball website on the internet, will be providing live video webcasts for nine of the 30 scheduled games of the 2010 Big Ten/BIG EAST Baseball Challenge, hosted by the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Sports Commission Feb. 26-28, Scott Lowe, CEO of event manager API Sports announced today, The webcasts commence with one of the Challenge’s opening contests, Rutgers vs. Iowa, Friday, Feb. 26 at 10 a.m. at Al Lang Stadium in St. Pete.

“Last year we teamed up with the participating schools’ sports information directors to provide links to their live in-game statistics on our website at www.BigTenBIGEASTChallenge.com,” said API CEO Scott Lowe. “The amount of traffic generated that weekend indicated that there was tremendous interest in the event, so we decided to team up with CollegeBaseball360.com to provide live streaming action in 2010. We are very excited by the partnership and see this as a natural evolution as the Challenge continues to grow.”

In addition to the Rutgers-Iowa clash, other games available on the opening Friday include Cincinnati vs. Penn State at 1 p.m. from Al Lang Stadium as well as St. John’s vs. Minnesota (4 p.m.) and Louisville vs. Michigan (7:30 p.m.) from Dunedin Stadium. The Saturday Feb. 27 webcast slate features Villanova vs. Indiana (10 a.m. from Al Lang), Purdue vs. Cincinnati (4 p.m. from Jack Russell) and Ohio State vs. Notre Dame (4 p.m. from Bright House Field). Challenge webcasts wrap up with Northwestern vs. Seton Hall at 10 a.m. and Michigan State vs. West Virginia at 1 p.m. Sunday from Al Lang.  In addition, interviews with players and coaches and other interesting features will be provided from the 2010 Big Ten/BIG EAST Challenge.

Award-winning broadcaster Sean Stires will handle the bulk of the play by play duties during the 2010 Big Ten/Big East Challenge.  Tampa Bay Rays Broadcasting Coordinator Sean Houston will pitch-in with play by play duties at the Challenge as well.

The 2010 Challenge gets under way on Friday, Feb. 26, 2010, with 10 a.m. starts at the Naimoli Complex, Jack Russell and Al Lang. Naimoli hosts 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. games on Friday and Saturday, with Jack Russell and Al Lang offering starts at 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. those days. St. John’s takes on Minnesota at 4 p.m. Friday at Dunedin Stadium, followed by a matchup of traditional NCAA Tournament contenders when Michigan faces Louisville at 7:30 p.m. Saturday’s doubleheader at Bright House Field features Notre Dame against Ohio State at 4 p.m., with USF taking on Illinois in the nightcap at 7:30 p.m.  Sunday there will be 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. games at Jack Russell, Al Laing and Naimoli.

2010 Big Ten/BIG EAST Baseball Challenge Webcast Schedule

Friday Feb. 26

10 am      Rutgers vs. Iowa                             Al Lang Stadium

1 pm        Cincinnati vs. Penn State                Al Lang Stadium

4 pm        St. John’s vs. Minnesota                 Dunedin Stadium

7:30pm    Louisville vs. Michigan                   Dunedin Stadium

Saturday Feb. 27

10 am      Villanova vs. Indiana                      Al Lang Stadium

1 pm        Purdue vs. Cincinnati                      Jack Russell Stadium

4 pm        Ohio State vs. Notre Dame            Bright House Field

Sunday Feb. 28

10 am      Northwestern vs. Seton Hall           Al Lang Stadium

1 pm        Michigan State vs. West Virginia   Al Lang Stadium

A Few Things I’m Thinking About Right Now…

1.  A new year is here, but the question is how do you say the year?  You would think “2010” is pretty simple, but maybe not.  I guess ESPN has directed its employees to say “Twenty-Ten”.  I prefer “Two Thousand Ten”.   I think most people say “N-C-Double-A” when referring to the “NCAA”, but I have know some people who call it the “N-C-Two-A”.   It’s all “tomato-tomahto” to me.

2.  There’s a big part of the Mike Leach/Craig & Adam James situation at Texas Tech that hasn’t been talked about much that applies to all sports.  First a disclaimer, what Leach did with Adam James was wrong, so I am not condoning Leach putting Adam in a closet by any means.  That said, Leach and his staff have characterized Craig James as a “helicopter dad”.  They say he has hovered around the practice field, called repeatedly and lobbied for more playing time for his son, Adam.  James has downplayed that characterization, but there has to be something to it.  My point is, by the time a parent send their kid to college that “kid” is a young adult.  At that time it’s time for “junior” to take care of things on his own.  If Adam James or any other 18-22 year old has playing time issues they should approach their coach themselves.  Is Craig James preparing Adam for life if he’s still calling coaches to talk about playing time?  I’ve seen and heard too many instances of parents crossing the line to think there’s nothing to Leach’s claim.  From parents calling the press box during a game to question a hit/error scoring decision to a high profile booster verbally lambasting a head coach for not playing his silver spooned kid more.  If the Adam James’ of the world can’t take care of themselves without hiding behind their parent’s coat tails by their third year in college, when are they ever going to take care of themselves?

3.  I love college baseball and college football, but I don’t love college football overtime rules.  I’m not a huge hockey or soccer fan, but I follow them a little bit, and I don’t like their OT rules either.  I wish both college football and the NFL would just go to a system where they kickoff in overtime and just ensure that both teams get the ball at least once.  Hockey and soccer at least play overtime periods, but if things still are not resolved they go to a shootout to break the tie.  What if baseball did something similar?  What if they started an extra inning with one out an a runner at second base like they do in some little leagues?  The epic Texas-Boston College 25-inning game might have ended after 12 innings.  Are you kidding me?  It’s not natural.  It’s not the real game.  The other sports should take a lesson from baseball (and basketball as well).  Either play the game from start to finish by one set of rules or just let it end in a tie.

4.  There has been a lot of talk over the last couple of weeks about teams like the Colts and Saints not playing their starters at the end of the NFL season.  Things like competitive fairness and fairness to fans paying for tickets to a game absent of stars are being looked into by the NFL.   College baseball (and really most college sports) really doesn’t have the luxury to sit players regularly, because every game really does mean something.  The best players typically play almost every game.  What about the MLB though?  Big League baseball players get frequent rests throughout the season, and that’s just the way it is.  I’ve gone to a Cubs-Giants game expecting to see Barry Bonds in the line-up only to see him sit on the bench for nine innings instead.   I might not like it, but that’s the way it goes.  To the victor go the spoils, and resting players is the spoil of teams that win.

LSU Wins The College World Series

Louis Coleman

Louis Coleman was LSU’s opening day starter at the new Alex Box Stadium back on Feb. 20, and he appropriately got the last six outs of the season in the Tiger’s 11-4 win over Texas on June 24 in the last game of the 2009 college baseball season.  It was one of nine relief outings for Coleman (14-2, 2.93 ERA), who returned to Baton Rouge for his senior season for the chance to bring home a title.

Coleman and staff mate Anthony Ranaudo combined to go 3-0 with 30 strikeouts in 29 2/3 IP in seven combined appearances at the CWS.

In 2007 Mainieri inherited a team that had gone 35-24 a season prior to his arrival.  The Tigers were just 29-26-1 and missed the NCAA Tournament for a second straight year in his first season back in Baton Rouge (he played there for a year an met his wife before transferring).

Blake Dean and Sean Ochinko led LSU with 7 home runs apiece in ’07, but Dean’s 17

Anthony Ranaudo

HRs made him one of four Tigers to hit at least 11 long balls in 2009.   Ryan Schimpf led LSU with 22.

LSU’s run to the national championship actually started with a 4-1 loss to Vanderbilt on May 20 to open the SEC Tournament.  However, the Tigers rattled-off 14 straight wins before finally losing 5-1 to Texas in game two of the CWS Championship Series.   The Bayou Bengals outscored their opponents 117-47 in that month-long stretch.

Four of those wins came against 2008 College World Series teams (Georgia and Rice twice each).   LSU’s first game at the ’09 CWS was against Virginia, coached by Mainieri protege Brian O’Connor.  The two had taken Notre Dame to Omaha in 2002 when Mainieri was ND’s head coach and O’Connor was his pitching coach.

CWS MOP Jared Mitchell

LSU was simply across the board dominant in Omaha.  The Tigers posted a .313 team batting average, averaged 8.4 runs in 6 games, hit 13 home runs (2nd to Texas’ 14), had a 4.18 team ERA (Texas #1 at 4.02), an had a .991 fielding percentage with just two errors at the CWS.

Jared Mitchell was named College World Series Most Outstanding Player after hitting .348 with 2 HR, a triple, two doubles, 7 RBIs, and a .783 slg%.  Ochinko, who had hit 7 home runs prior to the CWS, had two home runs to cap his senior campaign.

When LSU Athletic Director Skip Bertman (himself a winner of five national titles as LSU baseball coach) hired Mainieri on June 28, 2006 he said “It would take someone special to lead this program … someone who would thrive in the high expectations of a championship program. I believe LSU has found that man.”

On June 24, 2009 the circle was completed.

CLICK HERE to listen to the exclusive podcast interview Collegebaseball360.com Editor Sean Stires recorded with Paul Mainieri after LSU’s national championship win.

Other Top Moments Of 2009

3.  Longhorn Longball In Omaha

4.  Southern Mississippi Sweeps Florida To Go To Omaha

5.  The Texas vs. Boston College 25-inning Game

6.  Andrew Darr Comes Off The Bench & Comes Up Big For Arkansas

7.  Virginia Beats Stephen Strasburg In Irvine Regional Opener

8.  Washington State And Gonzaga End Long NCAA Tournament Droughts

9.  Cal Poly Gets Its First NCAA Tournament Bid

10.  Kansas’ Field of Dreams: Kansas, Kansas State & Wichita State All Get NCAA Bids

11.  Stephen Strasburg Strikes out 17 in a no hitter

12.  Ohio State’s Alex Wimmers No-hits Michigan

13.  Kansas Sweeps #1 Texas

14.  Bryce Brentz Has An April To Remember

15.  Clemson’s Kyle Parker Does Double Duty

16.  #1 Arkansas Beats #1 Arizona State

17.  Rhode Island Beats Miami And Oklahoma State

18.  Kansas State’s A.J. Morris beats Arizona State’s Mike Leake

19.  North Carolina’s Mike Fox Wins His 1,000th Game

20.  Illinois Shocks #1 LSU In Baton Rouge

21.  Alabama’s Kent Matthes Launches Longballs

22.  Freshman Levi Michael Starts In North Carolina’s Season Opener

23.  LSU Opens The New Alex Box Stadium

24.  Oregon Brings Back Baseball

Virginia Beats Stephen Strasburg In Irvine Regional Opener

Virginia head coach Brian O'Connor

Strasburg was nothing less than stellar all season in leading the Aztecs to their first NCAA Tournament in 18 years.  The righthander was unbeaten at 13-0 and he was the national ERA and strikeout leader.  Virginia was a former also ran in the ACC, but they were in their sixth straight NCAA Tournament since Brian O’Connor had taken over as head coach.

Phil Gosselin's 1st inning HR helped UVA beat Stephen Strasburg (UVA photo)

Even if Virginia could somehow beat Strasburg  the Irvine Regional field was filled with other landmines.  The host Anteaters were ranked #1 in the nation and the defending national champion Fresno State Bulldogs were seeded fourth.

Virginia struck first when the second batter of the game, Phil Gosselin, connected on a solo home run.  Afterward O’Conner said the home run sent Strasburg and the Aztecs the message that the Cavs “weren’t going to back down”.   UVA was aggressive yet patient, making Strasburg throw 50 pitches while giving-up single runs in each of the first two innings.

Strasburg gave-up two runs on eight hits in his seven innings that afternoon.  He struckout 15 with no walks (but two wild pitches) in what turned out to be his only loss of the season in the last collegiate start of his All-American career.  SDSU reliever Andrew Leary gave up three runs, including a solo home run to Steven Proscia, in two innings of work.

Virginia starting pitcher Robert Morey couldn’t match Strasburg’s 15 strikeouts (Morey had 9 in six innings), but he put-up a number that was even more important:  zero runs.  “It’s hard to lose when you don’t

UVA pitcher Robert Morey

give-up any runs,” O’Connor later said.  “That’s what it came down to.”

That’s what Virginia’s Regional win and its entire NCAA Tournament came down to.  The Cavs’ pitching staff surrendered just two runs in three games en-route to winning the Irvine Regional.  (They outscored the Anteaters by a combined 9-1 in their two wins.)  After a 4-3 12-inning loss to Ole Miss in game one of their Super Regional Virginia battled back to win 4-3 and 5-1 to earn the program’s first College World Series berth.

OConnor

(Press “Play” above to listen to O’Connor talk about the Regional win in a podcast interview with Collegebaseball360.com Editor Sean Stires.)

Virginia’s 2.65 team ERA in nine games was second in the nation during the 2009 NCAA Tournament.  Vanderbilt had the lowest ERA at 2.45, but the Commodores played just five games.  Strasburg’s talent was good enough to make him the overall number one pick in the 2009 MLB draft, but Virginia’s team pitching carried them to Omaha.

Oak

(Press play to listen to another podcast interview with O’Connor.  This one was recorded as the Hoos were headed to the CWS.)

CLICK HERE to see more 2009 NCAA Tournament and College World Series statistics.

Virginia is ranked third (behind Texas and LSU) in the Collegiate Baseball 2010 preseason rankings.

Other Top Moments Of 2009

8.  Washington State And Gonzaga End Long NCAA Tournament Droughts

9.  Cal Poly Gets Its First NCAA Tournament Bid

10.  Kansas’ Field of Dreams: Kansas, Kansas State & Wichita State All Get NCAA Bids

11.  Stephen Strasburg Strikes out 17 in a no hitter

12.  Ohio State’s Alex Wimmers No-hits Michigan

13.  Kansas Sweeps #1 Texas

14.  Bryce Brentz Has An April To Remember

15.  Clemson’s Kyle Parker Does Double Duty

16.  #1 Arkansas Beats #1 Arizona State

17.  Rhode Island Beats Miami And Oklahoma State

18.  Kansas State’s A.J. Morris beats Arizona State’s Mike Leake

19.  North Carolina’s Mike Fox Wins His 1,000th Game

20.  Illinois Shocks #1 LSU In Baton Rouge

21.  Alabama’s Kent Matthes Launches Longballs

22.  Freshman Levi Michael Starts In North Carolina’s Season Opener

23.  LSU Opens The New Alex Box Stadium

24.  Oregon Brings Back Baseball

Ohio State’s Alex Wimmers No-Hits Michigan

Alex Wimmer & Dan Burkhart celebrate after Wimmers' no-hitter

Michigan for the first time since 2002.

As a freshman reliever in 2008, Wimmers had pitched just 2/3 of an inning in the Michigan series while his team was bludgeoned  by Wolverine batters.  However, he would do his own bludgeoning with 14 strikeouts and four walks in the crucial victory.  Three of the walks were erased by an old friend.  Wimmers’ battery mate, Dan Burkhart, threw out all three Wolverines who attempted a stolen base.  Burkhart and Wimmers had been teammates both in high school and back to their Little League days.

Michigan’s starting pitcher that day, Chris Fetter, was no slouch himself.  Fetter was a second team All-American in 2008, and he was named first team All-Big Ten in 2009.

Wimmers’ no-hitter came in the 250th all-time meeting between Ohio State and Michigan since the teams first played in 1895.  Wolverine head coach Rich Maloney made sure to find Wimmers after the series finale to congratulate him

Wimmers

Wimmers spoke with Collegebaseball360.com Editor Sean Stires right after his no-hitter.  Click the play button to listen to the exclusive podcast interview.

Wimmers finished the season with a 9-2 record, 3.27 ERA and 136 strikeouts in 104 2/3 IP.  He was named Co-Big 10 Pitcher of the Year (along with Indiana’s Eric Arnett) and was named to four All-American Teams.

Burkhart was named Big Ten Player of the Year and was a semi-finalist for the Johnny Bench Award.

Todd was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year.

Ohio State finished the season with a 42-19 overall record, a Big Ten regular season championship and an NCAA Regional berth.  Michigan missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2004.

The tide had turned.

Other Top Moments Of 2009

13.  Kansas Sweeps #1 Texas

14.  Bryce Brentz Has An April To Remember

15.  Clemson’s Kyle Parker Does Double Duty

16.  #1 Arkansas Beats #1 Arizona State

17.  Rhode Island Beats Miami And Oklahoma State

18.  Kansas State’s A.J. Morris beats Arizona State’s Mike Leake

19.  North Carolina’s Mike Fox Wins His 1,000th Game

20.  Illinois Shocks #1 LSU In Baton Rouge

21.  Alabama’s Kent Matthes Launches Longballs

22.  Freshman Levi Michael Starts In North Carolina’s Season Opener

23.  LSU Opens The New Alex Box Stadium

24.  Oregon Brings Back Baseball

Bryce Brentz Has An April To Remember

Bryce Brentz

during college baseball’s dog days he had achieved Zeus like status.  In 20 April games in the Blue Raider’s line up Brentz his .694 (50 for 72) with 9 home runs, 28 RBIs, 24 Runs, and 8 doubles.

Brentz homered in four straight and 4 out of 6 games in one stretch vs. Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Louisiana-Monroe, and Mississippi State.   The sophomore is a Knoxville, TN native, and the only game in which he failed to homer in that stretch was in his home town vs. the Volunteers.

The 6’0 also made four starts during the month, the best of which was an 8 inning effort with 9 strikeouts against just one walk in a 13-3 win over Sun Belt Conference rival ULM.  Brentz finished the season with a modest 5-3 record and 4.57 ERA, but consider this:  In his four starts as MTSU’s #1 pitcher Brentz struckout a combined 21 opposing batters. In 230 at-bats in the 2009 season Brentz fanned just 32 times himself while leading the nation with 28 home runs.

By season’s end Brentz had put-up just sick numbers.  He led MTSU with a .465 batting average, 28 home runs, and 73 RBIs with a .930 slugging percentage and .535 on-base percentage for a 1.465 OPS.

Brentz tied for the NCAA lead with 28 HR in '09.

His HR total tied with Alabama’s Kent Matthes for the NCAA lead, his slg % was tops in the nation by 68 points over the next closest hitter, and his OBP ranked fourth among individual batters.

Collegebaseball360.com Editor, Sean Stires, talked to Brentz just after his spectacular month of April.  CLICK HERE to listen to that exclusive podcast interview.

Brentz’s efforts helped Middle Tennessee State win the 2009 Sun Belt Conference Tournament and a trip to the Louisville NCAA Regional.

He played for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team over the summer with the likes of Florida State’s Tyler Holt, Michael Choice of UT Arlington, Yasmani Grandal of Miami, and Christian Colon from Cal State Fullerton.

Other Top Moments Of 2009

15.  Clemson’s Kyle Parker Does Double Duty

16.  #1 Arkansas Beats #1 Arizona State

17.  Rhode Island Beats Miami And Oklahoma State

18.  Kansas State’s A.J. Morris beats Arizona State’s Mike Leake

19.  North Carolina’s Mike Fox Wins His 1,000th Game

20.  Illinois Shocks #1 LSU In Baton Rouge

21.  Alabama’s Kent Matthes Launches Longballs

22.  Freshman Levi Michael Starts In North Carolina’s Season Opener

23.  LSU Opens The New Alex Box Stadium

24.  Oregon Brings Back Baseball

Illinois Shocks #1 LSU In Baton Rouge

Illinois was not intimidated by the daunting Alex Box Stadium environment.

games dating back to the end of the 2008 season.  Not only was Paul Mainieri’s squad winning games, they were bludgeoning opponents by a combined 109-25 score in their first nine games of the season.

Enter Illinois.  The Illini was a respectable 5-1, but this was a Big 10 team…in Baton Rouge no less.  Illinois was 6-13-2 all-time vs. LSU with all 21 games on the bayou.  No problem…right?  Think again.

In the 129 previous season of Illinois baseball it would be hard to find a better three days than head coach Dan Hartleb’s squad was about to have, and a new freshman phenom was about to emerge.  Here’s how it happened:

Aaron Johnson (Illinois Photo)

Friday, March 6: LSU and Illinois were tied 1-1 in the ninth inning when Illini catcher Aaron Johnson stepped to the plate with one on and two out.   Illinois had done next two nothing all night vs. LSU starter Anthony Ranaudo, who struckout 12 before exiting after seven innings.  Johnson, Illinois’ #5 batter, was responsible for 3 of those Ks.  The junior from Sussex Corner, Neb made up for it though by launching a first pitch slider from Louis Coleman off the massive video scoreboard above the wall in left field to put Illinois on top 3-1.  The Alex Box crowd of 7,640 was stunned and later silenced when Illinois pitcher Nick Chmielewski struckout the side in the bottom of the 9th to end the game.

The win came almost 14 years to the day after Illinois’ last win over a #1 ranked team (March 5, 1995-a 7-4 win over Miami).  Illini sophomore starter Phil Haig held an LSU team that was averaging 12 runs a game to just a run on eight hits through seven innings.  He induced 12 groundouts.  Freshman reliever Corey Kimes earned the win by fanning the side in the 8th inning.  That’s right…Kimes and Chmielewski combined to strikeout the last six LSU batters of the night.

Saturday, March 7: If the Tigers were licking their wounds after Friday night’s stunner, they didn’t show it.  LSU exploded for a 22-10 game two win.  The game featured 10 home runs, 3 grand slams (all by LSU), 32 runs, 32 hits, and 11 pitchers.  None of the pitchers for either side lasted more than three innings.  Illinois’ hurlers combined to walk 11 LSU batters.  The 3 grand slams by LSU tied an NCAA record for the most in a single game and set a new SEC mark.

Willie Argo (Illinois Photo)

However, the story of the game wasn’t what the vaunted Tigers did in victory, it was was an Illinois freshman did in defeat.  Outfielder Willie Argo had sat on the bench through the first seven games of his career, but he made the most of his first collegiate opportunity.  Making his first college start in rightfield (at LSU no less) Argo went 3-for-3 with 3 home runs in his first three official at-bats (he drew a walk his third time up).

The Davenport, Iowa native hit the leftfield foul pole with the second pitch of his first career at-bat for his first home run, and then launched two shots over the left field wall in his next two official trips to the plate.  After the game Argo said “I couldn’t believe it after the first one, and then I just laughed after the second and felt like it was just one of those days after the third. They made some mistakes by giving me fastballs in the middle of the plate, and I took advantage of it.”

Argo (Press play to listen to Argo talk about his big day & Illinois’ big weekend in his podcast interview with Collegebaseball360.com Editor Sean Stires.)

Sunday, March 8: Stellar pitching and shaky defense by LSU capped Illinois’ remarkable weekend with a 6-2 Illini win.  Senior Ben Reeser had the start of a lifetime with 9 Ks in 8 2/3 innings to give his team the series win.  Illinois

Ben Reeser (Illinois Photo)

scored its first two runs thanks to a pair of LSU errors in the 3rd (somewhat ironic since LSU’s stellar defense later in Omaha was such a big part of its national championship run).  Designated hitter Casey McMurray had a pair of RBIs for Illinois, while three of his teammates had an RBI apiece.  Illinois took a 6-0 lead into the bottome of the 9th before LSU finally scored.  Chmielewski came in with one on and two outs to strikeout Nick Pontiff to end the game.  A day after his 3 home run coming out party Willie Argo was 0-for-4 with 3 Ks in the loss.

Notes On The Illinois’ Stunning Series Win:

• Aaron Johnson earned Big 10 Player of the Week honors for his efforts.  He batted .500 in the series with 2 HRs and 5 RBIs.
• Ben Reeser was named Big 10 Pitcher of the Week.
• It was the first time since 1991 that Illinois took both Player and Pitcher of the Week honors in the same week.
• Illinois entered the national rankings the following week at #21 in the Collegiate Baseball poll.
• Willie Argo started the rest of Illinois’ 45 games in 2009.  He ended his freshman season with a .355 average, a team-high 12 HR, 47 RBIs, and a .651 slg %.
• Orange was not a kind color to LSU in 2009.  The only other series the Tigers lost all year, home or away, was when they dropped 2 of 3 at home to Tennessee in April.
• LSU outscored Illinois 25-19 in the 3 games, but lost the series.
• The Tigers hit .421 (16-for-38) in their 22-10 win, but they hit a combined .227 (15-for-66) in their two losses.
• Illinois is the first team to win a game and a series in Alex Box Stadium history.
• LSU, of course, would go on to win the 2009 national championship, while Illinois would go 34-20, but miss the NCAA Tournament.

Other Top Moments Of 2009

21.  Alabama’s Kent Matthes Launches Longballs

22.  Freshman Levi Michael Starts In North Carolina’s Season Opener

23.  LSU Opens The New Alex Box Stadium

24.  Oregon Brings Back Baseball

Oregon Brings Back Baseball

Oregon Head Coach George Horton

former Cal State Fullerton national championship head coach, George Horton, at the helm, but Ducks beat St. Mary’s 5-3 in Morago, CA.  (The Gaels would win the next two games of the series. A scheduled fourth game was canceled by weather.)

Senior Caleb Tommasni got Oregon’s first hit, while freshman left-hander Tyler Anderson pitched 5 2/3 innings in his first career start for the Duck’s first win since 1981.

The following week Oregon won its first home game at the new PK Park with a 1-0 win over defending National Champion Fresno State.  The Ducks won the game in dramatic fashion with a walk-off single by Andrew Schmidt-a redhirt sixth year senior graduate student who had attended Tallahassee Community College and Pensacola Junior College prior to his arrival in Eugene.  (Schmidt was granted a sixth year by the NCAA after suffering two previous season-ending injuries.)  Oregon won the next day as well, but the Bulldogs salvaged a win in the series finale.

With a high-profile head coach and the backing of Nike (the baseball team’s uniform combinations are rivaled only by that of the Duck football team), Oregon baseball was going to make a run at Oregon State and the national stage, right?

(goducks.com photo)

Well…not exactly.  The Ducks would win just 11 more games the rest of the season, including their last 13 of 2009, to finish at 14-42 overall and 4-23 in the Pac-10.  (They were 1-5 vs. Oregon State.)

Still, at a time when college budgets are tight and programs are being cut (two were announced during 2009) the return of baseball to a Pac-10 school like Oregon helps breath new life into the sport…especially with a man like Horton at the helm.

Horton and his Ducks open their 2010 campaign on February 19 at Cal State Fullerton, where Horton led the Titans to six College World Series appearances and the 2004 National Title.   Their 2010 home opener is on March 2 vs. Washington at the all new PK Park.