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A By The Numbers Look At Day 3 NCAA Play…

8…Winner take all Regional championship games that will take place on Monday (CLICK HERE to see our full Regional scoreboard with Monday’s match-ups.

8…Teams that went 3-0 in Regional play over the weekend to advance to Super Regionals: Arizona State, Florida, Florida State, Oklahoma, South Carolina, UCLA, TCU, and Texas.

15…Years since Oklahoma had started NCAA play with a 3-0 record before beating North Carolina 3-2 to advance to the second Super Regional in program history (the format switched in 1999).

Oklahoma celebrates after earning the program's second Super Regional appearance. (OU photo)

2005…The last time a North Carolina team failed to get out of the Regional round of the NCAA Tournament.  Mike Fox’s UNC squad had made four straight College World Series trips, but are eliminated in Regional play for the first time since falling to Notre Dame in ’05 at the Gainesville, FL Regional.

1…Super Regional match-up that is set.  TCU and Texas will square-off in a rematch of last year’s Super Regional that sent the Longhorns to Omaha.

3…Runs allowed in three Regional wins by the vaunted Texas pitching staff.

32…Strikeouts in its three Regional victories by the TCU pitching staff.

1…#4 seed, Minnesota, that started this year’s Regional action 2-0.  The Golden Gophers join the 2004 Pepperdine team and the 2008 eventual National Champion Fresno State squad as the only #4 seeds to start 2-0 since 2003.  Minnesota lost 7-2 to Cal State Fullerton Sunday night and will play for the Regional title Monday night.

8…First inning runs scored by St. John’s en-route to a 22-16 elimination game win over Ole Miss in Charlottesville.

7…Runs given-up in just 2/3 of an inning by Ole Miss starter David Goforth in that game.

Jereymy Baltz (SJU photo)

24…Home runs this season by St. John’s freshman Jeremy Baltz after he hit a pair in Sunday 6-5 upset of #5 national seed Virginia.  The win forced Monday’s Regional Championship game.

10…Runs scored in the first inning by Coastal Carolina in its 25-7 elimination game win over Stony Brook.

23-0…Dartmouth’s record this season when leading after 6 innings prior to Sunday’s 4-3 loss to Texas A&M.  The Big Green lost after Joe Patterson homered in the 8th to tie the game, followed by a long ball by Kevin Gonzalez to lead-off the 9th for the final margin.

10…Home runs hit so far in Regional play by the Aggies after they hit two more in Sunday night’s 11-7 win over Miami to force Monday’s title game.

36 2/3…Innings pitched without allowing an earned run by A&M closer John Stilson.  The sophomore (9-1, 10 saves) tossed 3 scoreless innings in the Dartmouth win, and then fired the final 3 2/3 innings of the win over Miami.

116…Strikeouts by Stilson in 82 2/3 IP this season.

6…Runs in just 2/3 of an inning by Oregon State starter Tyler Waldron in Sunday’s 11-7 elimination game loss to Florida Atlantic.

25-7…Final score of Coastal Carolina’s elimination game win over Stony Brook.  The Chanticleers broke the game open with 10 runs in the top of the 3rd inning.  They scored at least one run in each of the last seven innings of the game.

3…Straight at-bats with a home run by Virginia Tech’s Buddy Sosnoskie, who homered in his first AB of Sunday’s 4-3 win over The Citadel.  He also went deep in his last two trips to the plate in Saturday’s win over Bucknell.

Tyler Thompson and Florida celebrate a home run. (UF photo)

3…Home runs by Florida 9-home batter Tyler Thompson in Sunday’s 15-0 win over Florida Atlantic.  Thompson had hit just two HR all season, but had a power surge to help send the Gators to the Super Regionals for a second straight year.

3…Run home run in the 8th inning by Creede Simpson to propel Auburn to an 11-10 win over Clemson.  The teams rematch for the Regional championship Monday night.

5 1/3…Scoreless innings pitched by St. John’s reliever Kevin Kilpatrick to help the Red Storm shock #5 national seed Virginia 6-5 to force a Monday Regional final game in Charlottesville.

2…Outs in the bottom of the 8th inning when Red Storm freshman Jeremy Baltz homered to provide the eventual winning runs in the St. John’s win.  It was Baltz’s second homer of the game and his24th this season.  He already ranks fourth in the St. John’s all-time home run record book (career home runs, not single season).

5…RBIs by Baltz’s teammate, Matt Wessinger, earlier in the day in a 20-16 elimination game win over Ole Miss.  Wessinger finished a home run shy of the cycle.

8…Runs scored by the Red Storm in the first inning of that game, which sent the Rebels home and St. John’s to the Regional championship round.

Richie Goodnow is congratulated after his first career complete game. (Vandy photo)

0…Runs allowed by Vanderbilt pitcher Ritchie Goodenow in his first career complete game-a 7-0 upset of #7 national seed Louisville on Sunday to force Monday’s Regional final game.

68…Career appearances Goodenow has made.  The win over the Cardinals was just the lefty’s second career start.

5…Runs scored in the 9th inning by Vandy to beat Illinois State 10-4 in an elimination game earlier in the day just to advance for the right to play Louisville.

2…Years in a row Vanderbilt has beaten the Cardinals in an elimination game in Louisville to force a winner take all Regional final.  Louisville won last year to advance to the Fullerton Super Regional.  The winner this year faces Florida State.

1…Career complete game by Rice’s Mike Ojala, who went the distance in his 34th career start to help the Owls beat Louisiana-Lafayette in a Sunday elimination game (they would lose 4-1 to Texas in their next game to see their season end).  Ojala (6-2) had ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction surgery last June.

2…Starts made on Sunday by Washington State junior James Wise.  The junior gave-up six runs in just 2 1/3 innings in an eventual 9-6 elimination game win over Kansas State.  He then started and gave-up just a run in 3 IP to help WSU beat Arkansas 10-7, forcing a Monday Regional final.

James Wise

19…Wins this season by the Washington State bullpen with 6 1/3 shutout innings in the win over K-State.  Richie Ochoa (2-2)  tossed 4 1/3 scoreless frames to help the Cougar pen tie a school record that was originally set in 1987.

33….Years since Washington State last played in a Regional Championship game prior to Monday’s showdown with Arkansas in Fayetteville.

46…Wins this season by UCLA (46-13) to set a new single-season record after Sunday’s 6-2 Regional Championship win over UC-Irvine.  The Bruins are headed to the Super Regionals for the second time in the last four years.

18…50 win seasons by Arizona State (50-8) after beating Hawaii 8-4 to advance to the Super Regionals.

19…Combined College World Series appearances by Florida State head coach Mike Martin (13) and Oregon skipper George Horton (6 with Cal State Fullerton), whose teams met in the championship game of the Norwich Regional.  Martin’s Seminoles won 5-3 to advance to a third straight Super Regional.

1…Out and one runner on in the bottom of the 9th inning when  Rico Noel homered to give Coastal Carolina an 8-7 win over the College of Charleston to force a deciding game Monday in the Myrtle Beach Regional.  Charleston had beaten Coastal a day earlier.

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A Look Around The Country At Saturday’s NCAA Action

• The hitting streak continues, but the season is over.  Garrett Wittels extended his hitting streak to 56 games in Florida International’s 15-9 loss to Dartmouth.  The loss eliminated FIU from the Coral Gables Regional.  That means Wittels will begin the 2011 season needing hits in his first two games to tie Robin Ventura for the all-time Division One record hit streak.
  

  Garrett Wittels (FIU photo)

• ““Teams are gonna know what to anticipate.  He likes to drive the ball away.  Look for some teams to try to different things next season.  Try busting him hard inside.  Nobody tried to do that.  We know he can push the ball into right center field, but can he turn on the ball?  I think that’s gonna be the test.”  That’s what ESPNU studio analyst Jay Walker had to say about Wittels and how other teams might approach him next year.  So let me get this straight…Wittels batted .409 this season, hit safely in 56 games, smacked 20 doubles, and came to the plate 237 times, but nobody ever challenged him inside once and he never once turned on the ball?  Great analysis Jay (I hope the sarcasm is detected)!  Anyone who hits in 56 straight and bats .400 over the course of the season is going to do it by going to all fields.  More great analysis by someone we’ve never heard of who probably saw all of eight of Wittels’ at-bats this season.
• Dartmouth clean-up batter Jason Brooks was 2-for-5 in the win over FIU with a grand slam and a total of 6 RBIs.  The win was the first for Dartmouth in the NCAA Tournament since 1987 and the first for the Ivy League since Princeton won a game in 2004.
• Not to be outdone, Illinois State got its first NCAA win in 34 years by downing St. Louis 8-3 in the Louisville Regional elimination game.  Kevin Tokarski homered and drove-in four.
  

  Anthony Rendon (Rice photo)

• Anthony Rendon jacked 3 HR and totaled 7 RBIs to lead Rice to a resounding 19-1 elimination game win over Rider at the Austin Regional.  With the Owls leading 11-0 Wayne Graham lifted starter Taylor Wall after 3 2/3 hitless innings.
• Southern Mississippi’s Taylor Walker was 4-for-4 with a home runs, 4 runs and 4 RBIs in an Auburn Regional elimination win over Jacksonville State.
• Matt Weisinger hit two of St. John’s‘ four home runs in Charlottesville to help the Red Storm eliminate VCU 8-6.
• Baylor beat Lamar 6-5 in Ft. Worth.  Logan Vick had his 29th extra base hit to set a freshman school record.
• Florida Atlantic had a season-high 18 hits to eliminate Bethune-Cookman with a 12-6 win in Gainesville.
• Buddy Sosnoskie belted two HR with 6 RBIs to help Virginia Tech beat Bucknell 16-7.
• Stony Brook eliminated North Carolina State with a 6-2 win in Myrtle Beach.  Sophomore Tyler Johnson (10-3) set a new Seawolves single-season record for wins.  Johnson notched 10 Ks in 8 IP.
• Tyler Garwal hit a walk-off home run to keep Oral Roberts‘ season going with a 9-8 win over Cal in Norman.  The Golden Eagles hit 4 HR and won despite walking 9 batters.
• Francis Larson hit his 25th career home run to help UC Irvine beat Kent State 19-9 in the L.A. elimination game.  Larson has now hit the most home runs in Anteater history.
  

  Neil Holland (UofL photo)

• Louisville’s 7-1 win over Vanderbilt set a program record with the 50th win of the season for the Cardinals.  Neil Holland got his 17th save with 3 shutout innings of one hit ball.
• How confident was Louisville head coach Dan McDonnell that his team could start Regional play 2-0?  Cardinal ace Thomas Royse (9-1, 2.91 ERA) did not start either of his team’s first two games.  He’ll start Sunday, which is the final game of McDonnell’s 3-game suspension.
• Mike Olt is UConn’s all-time home run (44) and RBI (177) leader after belting two long balls with a career-best 8 RBIs as the Huskies routed Central Connecticut State 25-5.  UConn now faces Oregon, which lost 6-4  to Florida State.
• Rain and lightening caused two hours and 28 minutes of delay, but Miami cruised to a 14-1 win over Texas A&M.  Hurricane 1B Scott Lawson was 4-for-6 with 3 HR and 6 RBIs.
• Danny Hultzen gave-up 6 earned runs in 6 IP, but still improved to 10-1 as Virginia beat Ole Miss. 13-7.  The Cavaliers tied a school record with their 49th win.
• Mike Ferraro was 4-for-6 with a home run, two doubles and 6 RBIs to lead San Diego to a resounding 22-1 elimination game win over Wisconsin-Milwaukee in Tempe.
• Here’s a lesson to the kids at home: ALWAYS RUN IT OUT.  Stanford’s Colin Walsh hit a fairly routine fly ball to left field, but Cal State Fullerton’s Casey Watkins dropped it.  Walsh motored all the way to third on the play and scored on a single by Stephen Piscotty.  The Titans still won 6-5 thanks to a pair of 2-run home runs by Christian Colon.
• Stanford goes 0-2 at the Fullerton Regional.  It’s just the second time Stanford has gone two and out in Regional play.  The last time it happened was in 1994 in Austin, TX.
• There were a total of seven upsets on Saturday.  Five #4 seeds won, with three of those wins vs. #2 seeds.  Two #1 seeds lost to #2 seeds.
• Minnesota is the Cinderella of the Regionals so far.  The fourth-seeded Golden Gophers downed #3 New Mexico 6-4 in 10 innings the Fullerton winner’s bracket game to go to 2-0.
• Scott Matyas struckout 8 in three scoreless, hitless innings of relief to improve to 5-1.
• Eight of Saturday’s Regional games were decided by double digits.
• Citadel’s 1-3 batters combined to go just 2-for-12 in their 9-4 loss to South Carolina.  The Gamecocks used a 5-run 7th inning to take the win.
• Starting pitchers Blake Cooper (11-1) of South Carolina and Asher Wojciechowski (12-3) of The Citadel combined for 23 strikeouts and just 4 walks.
  

  Trevor Bauer (UCLA photo)

• Trevor Bauer had 11 strikeouts to lead UCLA to a 6-3 win over defending national champion LSU in the L.A. winner’s bracket game.  Anthony Ranaudo had 10 Ks in the loss.
• The Bruins (45-13) tied a program record for most wins in one season.  It equals the win total from the Bruins’ 1997 team (45-19-1), which was the last UCLA program to go to the College World Series.
• Junior Casey Harman tossed the first complete game of his career to help #2 seed Clemson topple #1 Auburn 5-2  in Auburn.  Harman scattered five hits with 8 strikeouts.
• Arizona State’s Seth Blair is 12-0 after giving-up just a run in 7 IP as the overall #1 seeded Sun Devils rolled Hawaii 12-1.
• Joe Weik smacked two home runs and had a career-high 6 RBIs to help TCU down Arizona 11-5.  The Horned Frogs improve to 48-11 to tie the school record for wins in a season.
• TCU pitchers Matt Purke (13-0) and Tyler Lockwood combined for 10 strikeouts, making TCU 21-0 when its pitchers have at least 10 Ks in a game.

2010 Conference Tournament Central

America East Tournament (May 26-28)

Bracket Champion: Stony Brook

All-Conference Team

ACC Tournament (May 26-30)

Bracket Champion:  Florida State

All-Conference Team

Atlantic Sun Tournament (May26-29)

Bracket Champion:  Mercer (First title since 1983)

All-Conference Team

Atlantic 10 Tournament (May 26-29)

Bracket Champion:  St. Louis

All-Conference Team

Big East Tournament (May 26-30)

Bracket Champion:  St. John’s

All-Conference Team

Big South Tournament (May 25-29)

Bracket Champion: Coastal Carolina

All-Conference Team

Big Ten Tournament (May 26-29)

Bracket Champion:  Minnesota

All-Conference Team

Big Twelve Tournament (May 26-30)

Bracket Champion:  Texas A&M

All-Conference Team

Big West Conference – No Post Season Tournament

Regular Season Champion: Cal State Fullerton

All-Conference team

CAA Tournament (May 27-29)

Bracket Champion:  Virginia Commonwealth

All-Conference Team

Conference USA Tournament (May 26-30)

Bracket Champion:  Southern Mississippi

All-Conference Team

Great West Tournament (May 26-29)

Bracket Champ: Utah Valley (No NCAA Bid)

All-Conference Team

Horizon League Tournament (May 26-30)

Bracket Champion:  Wisconsin-Milwaukee

All-Conference Team

Ivy League – Best of Three Series

Champion:  Dartmouth beat Columbia

All-Conference Team

Metro Atlantic Tournament

Bracket Champion:  Rider

All-Conference Team

Mid-American (MAC) Tournament (May 26-29)

Bracket Champion:  Kent State

All-Conference Team

Missouri Valley Tournament (May 26-29)

Bracket Champion:  Illinois State

All-Conference Team

Mountain West Conference Tournament (May 25-29)

Bracket Champion:  TCU

All-Conference Team

Northeast Conference Tournament (May 27-29)

Bracket Champion: Central Connecticut St.

All-Conference Team

Ohio Valley Tournament (May 26-30)

Bracket Champion:  Jacksonville St.

All-Conference Team

Pac 10 Conference – No Postseason Tournament

Regular Season Champion:  Arizona State

All-Conference Team

Patriot League – Best of Three Series

Champion:  Bucknell

All-Conference Team

SEC Tournament (May 26-30)

Bracket Champion:  LSU

All-Conference Team

Southern Conference Tournament (May 26-30)

Bracket Champion:  The Citadel

All-Conference Team

Southland Conference Tournament (May 26-29)

Bracket Champion:  Lamar

All-Conference Team

SWAC Tournament (May 26-30)

Bracket Champion:  Grambling St.

All-Conference Team

Summit League Tournament (May 27-29)

Bracket Champion:  Oral Roberts

All-Conference Team

Sun Belt Conference Tournament (May 26-29)

Bracket Champion:  Florida International

All-Conference Team

West Coast Conference – No Postseason Tournament

Regular Season Champion:  San Diego

All-Conference Team

Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Tournament (May 26-30)

Bracket Champion:  Hawaii (First since 1992)

All-Conference Team

30 conference champions earn automatic berths into the field of 64 in the 2010 NCAA Division One baseball tournament.  We will list them as they secure their bids.

CLICK HERE to see the NCAA selection handbook, which includes at-large selection criteria and more information.

NCAA Tournament Selection Timeline

America East-Stony Brook

ACC:  Florida State

Atlantic Sun:  Mercer

Atlantic 10-St. Louis

Big East-St. John’s

Big South-Coastal Carolina

Big Ten-Minnesota

Big 12-Texas A&M

Big West-Cal State Fullerton

CAA-Virginia Commonwealth

CUSA-Southern Mississippi

Horizon:  Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Ivy League-Dartmouth

MAAC-Rider

MAC-Kent State

MEAC-Bethune-Cookman

Missouri Valley-Illinois State (Won First Ever Tournament)

Mountain West-TCU

Northeast-Central Connecticut St.

Ohio Valley-Jacksonville St.

Pac 10-Arizona State

Patriot League-Bucknell

SEC-LSU

Southern-The Citadel

Southland-Texas St.

SWAC-Grambling St.

Summit League-Oral Roberts (Won 13th straight tournament)

Sun Belt-Florida International

WCC-San Diego

WAC-Hawaii (First title since 1992)

FAIRFIELD, Conn. - Fairfield University Baseball Head Coach John Slosar announced the Stags’ 2010 slate this afternoon. The schedule includes opponents from the Big East, the CAA, the Atlantic-10, the Horizon League, and the Ivy League.

Fairfield head coach John Slosar

13-14, for a three-game series with the Hornets.

Complete 2010 Fairfield Schedule

Fairfield returns to the Northeast on March 16 for a single game against Big East foe St. John’s. The Stags open play at Alumni Diamond on March 18 when they host Quinnipiac. It’s the first of three games against the Bobcats that the Stags will play this season. The two teams will also meet in Hamden, Conn. on April 10 and will be back at Alumni Diamond on April 11.

The Stags will head to Hofstra, March 20-21, for a four-game tilt with the CAA foes. Fairfield will also travel to Sacred Heart and Hartford before opening MAAC play at Saint Peter’s on March 27. After non-league home games against Fordham and Bryant, the Stags will host Rider during Easter weekend for their first MAAC home series. The two teams will play a doubleheader on April 3 followed by a single game on April 5. The Stags will host three additional MAAC series which includes Manhattan, Canisius, and the regular season finale against Marist, May 20-21.

Fairfield will have several weekday non-conference games throughout the month of April. The Stags travel to Yale for a doubleheader on April 14, host UConn on April 20 and Sacred Heart on April 27, head to Stony Brook on April 28, and will have home and home series with Central Connecticut.

Fairfield went 20-27 overall and 10-14 in the MAAC last season. The Stags return eight starting position players and six starting pitchers, including senior captains David Dudish, Bill Rafferty, and Rob Gariano, a First Team All-MAAC selection.

(Release)

Game At LSU Highlights Bearcat’s Slate

BU Head Coach Tim Sinicki (Binghamton Photo)

Other schedule highlights include a pair of games at SEC member Tennessee as part of the Volunteers’ tournament on March 5-7. Binghamton will also face Atlantic Sun runnerup Kennesaw State (30-22) in the tournament and play three games at Sun Belt member Louisiana-Monroe, which won 32 games in 2009.

Complete 2010 Binghamton Schedule

The team will also continue traditional games against in-state opponents Cornell (April 6 and 28), Siena (April 13) and Marist (April 20). The Red Foxes won 31 games and finished third in the MAAC last spring.

In all BU has a 51-game schedule – 27 non-conference games and 24 America East games. The Bearcats play their first 22 games on the road before hosting conference rival Stony Brook in a three-game set April 10-11 at Varsity Field.

The conference schedule is a new six-team format with two divisions. Binghamton will play a pair of three-game series’ against divisional mates Stony Brook and UMBC and play one four-game series against each of the other three teams (Hartford, Albany and Maine). The four teams with the best overall win percentage (in either division) will advance to the America East Championship, played May 26-28 at the highest seed.

“”I am very excited with the 2010 schedule we’ve assembled,” Sinicki said. “It has a great blend of traditional foes and new opponents. We’ve really tried to challege our guys with quality non-conference games both prior to and during the always-difficult America East Conference portion of the schedule.”

The Bearcats have won three straight America East regular season crowns and are the reigning conference champions. Last spring, BU went 30-22 to win the program’s first-ever conference title. In its first NCAA appearance, BU knocked out nationally-ranked George Mason and averaged nine runs in three NCAA games. The Bearcats became just the third America East team in 14 years to win an NCAA game. Under Sinicki, the America East Coach of the Year in three of the last five seasons, BU has increased its win total for an NCAA-record six consecutive seasons.

(Release)

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

Fordham Head Coach Nick Restaino

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

Complete 2010 Fordham Schedule (PDF)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Release)

UA Will Play 32 Games Against SEC Yeams And 22 Games Vs. 2009 NCAA Teams

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The University of Alabama announced its 2010 college baseball schedule on Monday, which includes 32 games against Southeastern Conference teams and 22 games with teams that played in last year’s NCAA Tournament.

The list of 2009 NCAA Regional qualifiers includes Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Minnesota, Mississippi, South Carolina and Vanderbilt.  Of those eight teams, four played in NCAA Super Regionals and two advanced to the College World Series.

Alabama’s non-conference series includes games against South Alabama, Illinois-Chicago, College of Charleston, Stony Brook and Minnesota.

First Year Alabama Skipper Mitch Gaspard

“I think the schedule sets up pretty well and that will be similar to the schedules we would like to play in the future,” first-year Alabama head coach Mitch Gaspard said  “We would like to play one non-conference series with an NCAA Regional-type team each year.  I would like for that to be regionalized, where it is a team that would draw some interest from our fans and when we go there it would draw some interest. So I think in the future we want to have one kind of marquee weekend before we hit conference play that puts us in an atmosphere, whether it be at home or on the road, that would be similar to an SEC weekend.”

In addition to its 10-week SEC regular-season schedule, Alabama will play two non-conference games with Georgia and Auburn in 2010. The Crimson Tide and Bulldogs, who do not play a league game in the regular season for the first time since 1994, will meet on Wednesday, March 3 at Regions Park in Hoover.  Alabama and Auburn will meet in the second annual Capital City Classic on Tuesday, March 9 at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery.

“I think the schedule is really good this year,” Gaspard added. “Minnesota has been really good.  They’ve been in a regional almost every year.  They are one of the better Big 10 teams out there.  It gives you some different flavor bringing some different folks in and the name has a lot to do with it so there is some excitement among our players and fans when you bring in a Big 10 school or someone from out of our region that traditionally plays good baseball. It’s a different look and a different style.

“That’s something that we want to continue to do, along with playing the teams in the state. It’s always important to play those people here and on the road.  When you put a schedule together, you want to put it together where it will continue to help you improve throughout the season.”

The Crimson Tide will also face Michigan State in a midweek game in Tuscaloosa and in-state foes Jacksonville State, Samford and UAB.

“I think early on in the season some of those marquee Tuesday and Wednesday games are important.  It gives you an opportunity to play some folks you would not otherwise play that you may match up with in a regional,” Gaspard said.

“I want to look at teams that play different styles, so you become comfortable with two or three different styles of play in your opponents, so when you run into a team that plays the short game, at least you’ve prepared for that for a weekend.  You may run into a base-to-base, power or power-pitching team, whatever it may be, and try to match up the best you can.  Normally the style and philosophy of the head coach does not change a lot, so you try to play some folks that will make you change a little bit as far as the style of play, where you can make some adjustments as the season goes along.”

Alabama will play SEC home series’ with Vanderbilt, Auburn, Mississippi State, Florida and Mississippi in 2010, while traveling to Arkansas, Kentucky, LSU, South Carolina and Tennessee.