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A By The Numbers Look At The First Full Week Of The Season

3…Weekend wins over Stanford by Texas.  The Longhorns had dropped 2 of 3 games at home to New Mexico on opening weekend, while the Cardinal had started the season with a home 3-game sweep of Rice.

20-5…Combined score of Texas’ three wins.

1…Home run by Longhorn DH Russell Moldenhauer in the series.  The single longball surpasses his 2009 regular season total.  All four of Moldenhauer’s home runs last season were at the College World Series.

Jason Mitchell (UTA photo)

0…Hits allowed in five innings of relief by UT pitcher Cole Green.  He fanned 6 with no walks in the series finale.

18…Strikeouts by UT Arlington pitcher Jason Mitchell in Friday’s win over Missouri State.  Mitchell lost a no-hitter with one out to go in the game, which the Mavericks won 1-0 in 14 innings.   The 18 Ks breaks a school and Southland Conference record.  He struck out at least two batters in all but the 8th inning (1).

0…Runs allowed in 5 innings of relief in that same game by Arlington reliever Adam Boydston, who fanned 8 himself with just one walk and one hit allowed.

2…Wins in three games  by TCU at Cal State Fullerton over the weekend.

4…Home losses by the Titans already this season.

8…Home losses by Fullerton in 2009.

2…Losses in his first two starts by Cal State Fullerton pitcher Daniel Renken after allowing 3 ER in 6 IP in Friday’s loss to the Horned Frogs.

3…Losses by Renken all of last year.

2…Wins by #19 Coastal Carolina over #4 UC Irvine on Saturday in Myrtle Beach, SC.

9…Runs in the 8^th inning of game two of the doubleheader by the Chanticleers to beat the Anteaters 13-6.

2…Combined losses by Irvine pitchers Daniel Bibona and Eric Pettis in Saturday’s twin bill.

3…Combined losses by Bibona and Pettis in 2009.

109…Pitches thrown in 5 1/3 IP by Bibona in his loss.

119…Pitches thrown in 6 2/3 IP by Pettis in his loss.

5…RBIs by Coastal Carolina catcher Jose Iglesias in the doubleheader sweep.  He was 6-for-8 at the plate in the games.

6…Runs scored by Irvine in the 8th inning on Sunday to beat James Madison 15-9 for their only win in Myrtle Beach.  In addition to their losses to Coastal Carolina the Anteaters also fell to North Carolina State.

Greg Peavey (OSU photo)

8…Strikeouts and earned runs allowed in 3 ½ innings by Tennessee’s Bryan Morgado in Friday’s 17-1 loss

to Oregon State.

0…Runs allowed with 9 strikeouts by Oregon State’s Greg Peavey in Sunday’s 1-0 win over the Vols.  Peavey allowed just three hits with one walk in his first win of the season.

0.64…Peavey’s ERA in his first 14 innings pitched this season.

9…Strikeouts in 6 innings by Louisville pitcher Thomas Royse in Friday’s 2-0 win over Michigan.

10…Strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings by Todd McInnis in 26th ranked Southern Mississippi’s 8-2 loss to LeMoyne.

2 of 3…Games Southern Miss. dropped to LeMoyne after falling 12-11 in the series finale.

20…Runners left on base by the Golden Eagles in the pair of defeats.

5…RBIs by Dolphin LF Chris Edomonson in the 12-11 win over USM.

84…Runs scored by Arizona State in its 7-0 start to the season.

18…Runs allowed by the Sun Devils (two unearned) for a 2.36 staff ERA.

15…Runs and hits by Georgia Tech in Saturday’s 15-0 win over Xavier.

1…Win over a top 10 team in the history of Xavier baseball after Sunday’s 7-6 win over #4 Georgia Tech.

4 & 3…Respective errors and unearned runs allowed by the Yellow Jackets in their first loss of 2010.

13…Errors in three games committed by Notre Dame en-route to a 1-2 weekend at the Big Ten/Big East Challenge.

Maine's Jeffrey Gibbs

6…Of those errors committed by the Fighting Irish in Sunday’s 8-7 10-inning win over Penn State.

1…Win this season for Maine (1-5) after Saturday’s 5-3 upset of #12 North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

1…Career win for Black Bear pitcher Jeffrey Gibbs, who earned the win vs. the Tar Heels.  He struckout seven and allowed 2 ER in 5 1/3 IP.

2…Career starts by Gibbs-a 6’4-190 lb. freshman from Toronto, Ontario.

12…Strikeouts in 7 IP by Virginia sophomore Danny Hultzen in a 13-0 win over Rhode Island.  The lefty allowed no runs and no walks on two hits to improve to 2-0.

43…Runs scored by the Cavs in their 3-game sweep of URI while allowing just 7 runs to improve to 6-1.

Manhattan's John Soldinger

0…Runs allowed in 4 IP by Manhattan freshman reliever John Soldinger in Sunday’s 12-7 win over the 10th ranked Miami Hurricanes.

7…Earned runs allowed in 5 IP by Jasper starting pitcher Mike Gazzola who got credit for the win after exiting with his team leading 9-5.

7 & 9…Combined runs scored and RBIs, respectively, by Manhattan 2-5 batters Mark Onorati, Mike McCann, Chad Salem, and Austin Sheffield in the upset of the Hurricanes.  The quartet also combined to hit .500 (10-for-20).

6-0…Washington State’s record after Sunday’s 10-7 win over Texas Tech in Lubbock, TX.  It’s Wazzou’s best start since going 9-0 to start the 1988 season.

Brian Fletcher (Auburn photo)

4, 11 & 13…Home runs, RBIs & runs scored by New Mexico State shortstop Ryan Aguayo.  The junior hit .440 with an 1.120 slugging percentage in six games last week.

3…Of Aguayo’s home runs that came in one game-a 17-5 win over Akron.  He hit half of the Aggies’ 6 HRs in the contest.

4 & 9…Home runs and RBIs by Eastern Kentucky’s Anthony Ottrando in the Colonel’s season-opening 3-game series vs. Western Carolina.

11…RBIs with 3 home runs in 3 games by Auburn’s Brian Fletcher.  His 10th inning walk-off home run gave the Tigers a Friday win over Boston College.

15…Strikeouts in 7 IP by Ole Miss lefty Drew Pomeranz in a win over Oakland.  He allowed just a run on a solo HR.

8-0…The deficit top-ranked LSU faced in the middle of the 6th inning at home Saturday vs. William & Mary. The Tigers scored 8 runs in the bottom of the 6th and then added two more runs in the 7th to win 10-9.

22…Years since LSU had overcome as big a deficit.  They came back from 10 runs down to beat Ole Miss in 1988.

13 1/3…Total innings pitched in two outings last week by Kansas pitcher Cameron Selik.  The junior allowed just one earned run with 10 strikeouts vs. Eastern Michigan and Sacramento State.

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JONESBORO, Ark. – Thirty-one home games, including 15 Sun Belt Conference matchups and a home clash with perennial national power Ole Miss highlight the schedule for the 2010 Arkansas State baseball season, which gets underway Feb. 19 when the Red Wolves host Southern Illinois in a three-game series at Tomlinson Stadium and Kell Field.

Three of the top four teams in last year’s Sun Belt Conference regular season standings will visit Tomlinson Stadium, including defending regular season co-champions Middle Tennessee State and Western Kentucky.  Florida International, which finished fourth in the regular season a year ago, and sixth-place

Arkansas State Head Coach Tommy Raffo

South Alabama will also travel to Jonesboro.  The Red Wolves will close out the regular season by hosting in-state and conference rival Arkansas-Little Rock.

Complete 2010 Arkansas State Schedule

Regional rivals Memphis, Southeast Missouri State, Murray State and UT Martin will all visit Jonesboro during the regular season as well, and the 2010 schedule marks the first time since the 2004 season that ASU’s schedule consists entirely of Division I opponents.

Arkansas State will play 11 of its first 12 games at home, hosting SIU, Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Portland in the season’s first three weekends.  The Red Wolves open SBC play March 12-14 at Louisiana-Lafayette before returning to Jonesboro to face MTSU in the March 19-21 SBC home opener.

“We are very excited about the 2010 baseball schedule,” said ASU head coach Tommy Raffo.  “We are presented with some early challenges before conference play begins that will help prepare us for play in the Sun Belt.  The 31 home games at Tomlinson Stadium will be a great opportunity for our players, our fans, and the people in Northeast Arkansas to watch quality baseball.”

Seven starters return from last year’s team, including All-Sun Belt Conference performer Murray Watts, who hit .305 a year ago and led the team with 16 doubles, 10 home runs and 44 RBIs.  Junior outfielder Todd Baumgartner, who hit a team-best .350 with 15 doubles, eight home runs and 43 RBIs returns as well.  The Red Wolves also return junior Andy Ferguson and sophomore Jacob Lee who were both weekend starters on the mound a year ago.

(Release)

Alabama’s Kent Matthes Launches Longballs

Kent Matthes tied for the NCAA lead with 28 home runs in 2009.

In his first three seasons Matthes had respectable college numbers with 20 career home runs, including a .303 average with 11 home runs and 52 RBIs as a junior in 2008.   However, the 6’2 Orlando, FL native saved his best for his last year in a college uniform, and it all started on February 22, 2009.

Matthes had a week to start his senior season that some guys never have in an entire career.  Here’s how it looked:

Sunday, Feb. 22: Matthes goes 2-for-4 with a pair of solo home runs in an 8-4 loss to Southeast Missouri State.

Tuesday, Feb. 24: Matthes starts a new week by hitting for the cycle in Alabama’s 11-4 win over Nicholls State.  He tripled in the 3rd inning, hit a solo home run in the 5th, led off the 7th with a double, and then capped his big night with an 8th inning RBI single.  It was the fifth single in Alabama history and the first since 2000.  It was also the third cycle in the history of Alabama’s Sewell-Thomas Stadium.

(rolltide.com photo)

Wednesday, Feb. 25: Matthes launches a 10th inning walk-off home run to cap Alabama’s improbable 8-7 comeback win over Nicholls State; the Tide trailed the game 7-0 in the 5th inning.  Matthes drew a walk and later scored in the Tide’s 4-run 5th, and later doubled and scored in the 7th.  Alabama tied the game in the 9th inning, and then Matthes launched a 1-0 pitch off the Sewell-Thomas scoreboard for the first walk-off HR of his career.

Saturday, Feb. 28: Matthes smacks another game-winning home run in game one of a doubleheader vs. Illinois-Chicago.  The 3-run shot in the 6th inning came with Alabama trailing the Flames 2-o.  The Tide would win the game 4-2.   In game 2 of the twin bill Matthes goes yard again en-route to a 2-for-3 game with 3 runs scored and 4 RBIs.  He exits the game in the 5th inning as Alabama wins 20-4.

Sunday, Feb. 29: The scheduled series finale vs. UIC in cancelled due to rain.

The Total Damage: In a seven day span Matthes hits .550 (11-for-20) with 6 home runs, 15 RBIs, 11 runs scored, 2 doubles, a triple, and a 1.650 slugging percentage.  He tied an Alabama record with home runs in five straight games.

For The Season: Matthes ended-up batting .358 with 28 home runs, 81 RBIs, 67 runs, 13 stolen bases, an .858 slg. %, and a .461 on-base percentage.  He 28 long balls tied with Middle Tennessee State’s Bryce Brentz for the NCAA lead.  His slugging percentage ranked 3rd nationally while his RBIs tied for 11th.  His gaudy numbers earned him 2009 SEC Player of the Year honors.

Matthes was drafted in the 4th round of the 2009 MLB draft by the Colorado Rockies.  Not bad for a guy who batted .200 with one home run as a freshman in 2006.

Other Top Moments Of 2009

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

23.  LSU Opens The New Alex Box Stadium

24.  Oregon Brings Back Baseball

CHARLESTON, Ill. – Eighteen home games and a return to Florida for the annual spring break trip highlights Eastern Illinois baseball’s 2010 schedule, unveiled by head coach Jim Schmitz.

EIU Head Coach Jim Schmitz

three-game series at USF this year, EIU is expected to take on Army, Akron, Indiana and Ohio State in neutral-site games in Bradenton, Fla.

Complete 2010 Eastern Illinois Schedule

“It is another demanding schedule, playing 22 of our first 23 games on the road,” Schmitz said. “The NCAA moved the start of the season up one week, which allowed us to play another series on the road. We play seven teams that were ranked in the Top 100 of the RPI ranking in 2009. Our spring break is going to be our biggest test, as we play a three-game set with USF and then finish the trip with Indiana and Ohio State. The last few years we have made the schedule tougher in order to improve our RPI. It is the only way we can possibly get an at-large bid (to the NCAA Tournament).

The weekend of May 14-16, EIU is scheduled to host Indiana State and SIU Edwardsville. The Panthers will play ISU on May 14 and SIUE on May 15 and 16. The Sycamores and Cougars will also square off at Coaches Stadium at noon on Saturday, May 15.

Eastern is slated to open the season in Hammond, La., against Southeastern Louisiana for the third year in a row. The Panthers won two-of-three last year after getting swept in 2008.

Eastern last visited Belmont during the 2007 spring break trip and last played at UAB in 2003, participating in a four-team tournament.

For the third year in a row, EIU is scheduled to take on Missouri at T.R. Hughes Ballpark in O’Fallon, Mo. The midweek game at the home of the Frontier League’s River City Rascals is expected to be played with wood bats.

(Release)

EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan State baseball program and head coach Jake Boss Jr. announced the 2010 Spartan schedule this week. The Spartans will open the 2010 campaign on Feb. 19 with the first of three games in Greenville, S.C., where they will take on Furman, Clemson and Miami (OH).

Jake Boss Jr.

The Spartans will then take part in the second annual BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge in St. Petersburg and Clearwater, Fla. MSU will meet Seton Hall (Feb. 26), Louisville (Feb. 27) and West Virginia (Feb. 28) in the Challenge.

Complete 2010 Michigan St. Schedule (PDF)

Following the Challenge, the Spartans’ will take on Southeast Missouri State, Samford, Eastern Michigan and two SEC opponents in Mississippi State and Alabama, in their seven-game spring trip (March 5-12) through Mississippi and Alabama.

“The BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge will be just that, as we will face three outstanding opponents,” said Boss. “The spring trip should be a great experience at Mississippi State, Samford and Alabama.”

After a three-game series with Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., March 20-21, MSU will open its home schedule at McLane Baseball Stadium with four games against Oakland University, beginning on March 26.

The Spartans kick off Big Ten play on April 2 when they host Iowa for a three-game set. The Spartans will also host conference foes Ohio State (April 16-18), Illinois (April 23-25) and Indiana (May 14-16). MSU will travel to Minnesota (April 9-11), Penn State (April 30-May 2), Purdue (May 7-9) and Northwestern (May 20-22).

The Green and White will meet rival Michigan just twice in 2010 – at home on May 11 and in Ann Arbor on May 12.

In addition to in-state schools Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Oakland, the Spartans will also take on Central Michigan (three times) and Western Michigan (once).

“Weekend series’ at Notre Dame and at home against Oakland will prepare us for a very challenging Big Ten slate,” Boss said. “Midweek games vs. EMU, WMU, CMU and Bowling Green will be equally challenging, but our players came to Michigan State to play against outstanding competition and we feel like we have given them that opportunity.”

Six teams on the Spartans’ schedule – Clemson, Louisville, Alabama, Minnesota, Ohio State and Indiana – all appeared in last year’s NCAA Tournament.

The Spartans will play four games at Oldsmobile Park, highlighted by the April 7 exhibition match-up with the Lansing Lugnuts in the Crosstown Showdown. Last year’s Showdown drew a stadium-record crowd of 12,992.

(Release)

STARKVILLE, Miss. – A slate of 33 games at Dudy Noble Field featuring 17 different opponents highlights a challenge-filled 56-game Mississippi State University baseball schedule announced this week by MSU head baseball coach John Cohen.

MSU Head Coach John Cohen

“We feel like we’ve put together another very good baseball schedule, with half of our games against teams from the NCAA tournament field and 15 against NCAA Super Regional teams,” said Cohen.

“We’re excited about playing an additional game at Trustmark Park in Pearl this season and giving our great fan base in the Jackson area three week-night opportunities to see the Bulldogs play. “With an extra week added to the playing season, our schedule is spread out over 14 weeks, and now in most weeks we’ll be playing just one mid-week game.”

Complete 2010 Mississippi State Schedule (PDF)

MSU launches its 120th season of baseball and a string of 13 consecutive games at Dudy Noble Field Feb. 19-21 with a three-game series against first-time opponent and Atlantic 10 Conference runner-up Rhode Island. State also hosts Southeastern Louisiana in a three-game weekend series (Feb. 26-28) and closes out the home stand with the second annual BankFirst Baseball Challenge (Mar. 5-7). The Bulldogs play two games each against Michigan State of the Big 10 Conference and Ohio Valley Conference foe Southeast Missouri State, coached by former Bulldog assistant Mark Hogan, in the three-day, six-game event.

The Bulldogs begin their 30-game SEC schedule March 19-21 in Gainesville, Fla., with a three-game series at Florida. State’s 15-game home SEC slate for 2010 includes series against SEC Western Division rivals Arkansas and Ole Miss and SEC East teams Georgia, Tennessee and Vanderbilt. The MSU-UT series (Apr. 16-18) will be part of the schedule for Mississippi State’s annual spring homecoming, Super Bulldog Weekend.

Mississippi State’s non-conference home schedule also includes single midweek contests against instate SWAC foes Alcorn State, Jackson State and Mississippi Valley State along with Memphis, Northwestern State, South Alabama, UAB, and Western Kentucky.

State makes a program-first trip to Corpus Christi, Texas, for its initial road competition of the 2010 season. The Bulldogs square off against Big 12 Conference power Oklahoma, UCLA of the Pac-10 Conference and tournament host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the fifth annual Whataburger Classic (Mar. 12-14). The event is held at Whataburger Field, the 5,000-seat home of the Corpus Christi Hooks, the Houston Astros’ Class AA Texas League affiliate.

The Bulldogs are scheduled to make three mid-week appearances at Trustmark Park in Pearl, Miss., in the coming season. MSU is the designated home team against Ole Miss in the fourth annual Governor’s Cup game (Mar. 30) at Trustmark Park, and later takes on Jackson State (May 4) and Southern Miss (May 5) at the home of the Atlanta Braves‘ Class AA Southern League affiliate.

Nine of MSU’s 26 baseball opponents in 2010 are newcomers to the MSU schedule, including season-opening foe Rhode Island and SEC opening weekend opponent Florida, which replaces Kentucky on the Bulldogs’ SEC league schedule in 2010.

State closes out its regular season schedule in Baton Rouge, La., with a Thursday-Friday-Saturday series against defending NCAA national champion LSU (May 20-22).

The 2010 SEC Baseball Tournament is set May 26-30 at Regions Park in Hoover, Ala., while the NCAA baseball tournament begins competition June 4 at 16 regional sites.

(Release)