Texas Baseball Fall Schedule

Two Games vs. Vandy Among Three Oct. Contests…

AUSTIN, TX – The Texas Longhorns will play three fall baseball games this season the team announced on Monday. All three of the games will be played at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.

The Longhorns host Texas State on Sunday, Oct. 10 at 1 p.m.

Texas hosts Vanderbilt in a pair of games, including a 5 p.m. contest on Friday, Oct. 15 and a 1 p.m. game on Sunday, Oct. 17.

The Horns open practice with a Scout Day on September 19 and conclude their fall allotment of team practices on Oct. 28.

Around The Bases-March 3

A Look At Who’s Hot & Who’s Not In College Baseball

March is here and week three of the college baseball season is underway.  Most parts of the Midwest and Northeast are still digging out of the snow, but it’s only a matter of time before it melts and spring officially gets here.  It won’t be long until everyone is smelling the green grass that’s taken for granted in the nation’s sunbelt states.

With more games under everyone’s belts we’re getting a better gauge for what each team has.  Here’s a look at this week’s Stock-Up/Stock-Down around college baseball.

Stock-Up

TCU:  The Horned Frogs went to Cal State Fullerton and took two of three games from the Titans to improve to 5-1.  They did it by out-scoring Fullerton 13-3 in their two wins.  Those wins were against All-Americans Daniel Renken and Tyler Pill.  TCU is batting .341 with a .943 team OPS, while the pitching staff has a 2.82 ERA with 47 Ks in 51 IP.

Coastal Carolina:  The Chanticleers were already ranked, and then they went and swept two games from UC Irvine last Saturday.  It wasn’t like they were facing the Anteaters’ 3rd & 4th starters either.  Coastal beat Daniel Bibona and Eric Pettis on the same day.  Bibona was 12-1 last year with a 2.63 ERA, while Pettis was 5-2 with 17 saves as Irvine’s closer.

Texas:  After losing two of three games at home to New Mexico to open the season the Longhorns swept a Stanford team that had swept Rice on opening weekend.  The vaunted Longhorn pitching staff showed why it’s considered the best in the nation in the process.  Taylor Jungmann, Cole Green, Chance Ruffin, and  Brandon Workman combined to give-up just two runs with 26 strikeouts in 21 1/3 innings during the series.

East Carolina:  Typically a 4-3 team wouldn’t be considered one whose stock is rising, but the Pirates have essentially played two Super Regionals to open the season.  They lost two of three vs. a loaded Virginia team and then then took two of three from a very good South Carolina squad.   ECU will rack-up a lot of wins by season’s end.

St. John’s:  The Red Storm is off to a 6-0 start with wins over New Orleans (3), Minnesota, Michigan, and Illinois.  They won their three games at the Big Ten/Big East Challenge by a total of four runs.  The biggest long-term question Ed Blankmeyer’s team would appear to have is pitching.   Bruce Kern and Nick Cenatiempo have both been good so far, but while it’s still early, neither has gone deep into a game yet.  In their combined four starts neither has pitched more than five innings.

Washington State:  The Cougars’ 6-0 start is their best since 1988.  They have a staff ERA of 3.74 and a batting average of .363 in those six games.   Wins over the likes of Seattle, Bethune-Cookman and Texas Tech haven’t been the stiffest of tests, but it’s been more than 20 years since they started as well against similar schedules as well.

Southeastern Louisiana:  A 3-game sweep at Mississippi State last week has earned the Lions (8-0) the program’s first ever national ranking (#29 in this week’s Collegiate Baseball Poll).   They’ve done it with good pitching and a well-rounded offense.  Tyler Watkins and Brandon Efferson have each made two starts and have totaled 14.0 and 12.0 innings, respectively.  Three relievers have also combined to post four saves for a staff with a 2.70 ERA.  Meanwhile, the team is hitting .304 and 11 different batters have at least 3 RBIs.

Tim Esmay:  One of the questions we raised coming into the season was whether Esmay could continue what Pat Murphy had done for the last 15 years.  ASU is 7-0 in Esmay’s first seven games as head coach at his alma mater.  Northern Illinois and Towson haven’t provided high-octane competition, but games vs. Cal Poly, Oregon State and Florida International this week should test the Sun Devils more.

Stock Down

UC Irvine:  In addition to the previously mentioned losses to Coastal Carolina the Anteaters also lost to North Carolina State last weekend at the Baseball By The Beach Tournament in Myrtle Beach.  They also lost 6-0 Tuesday

night at Pepperdine to fall to 4-4.  Irvine is built on pitching, but it must improve its 6.75 staff ERA.

Cal State Fullerton:  First the Titans lost to Oregon and Pepperdine on opening weekend, then they suffered two more home losses to TCU last weekend.  The four losses at Goodwin Field are half as many as they had all of last year.   Stud pitchers Daniel Renken, Tyler Pill and Noe Ramirez are a combined 1-4, while the offense has hit just .236 during the 3-4 start.

Minnesota:  The Golden Gophers’ 0-3 performance at the Big Ten/Big East Challenge was probably the shocker of the event.  They did face arguably the toughest slate of anyone in the field with losses to St. John’s (5-4), UConn (8-2) and Louisville (5-4).  Those could be the top three teams in the Big East by season’s end.  Minnesota has a solid 2.89 staff ERA, but like St. John’s their starters have not gone deep into games yet.  The offense is hitting just .273 during a 2-4 start, but the Gophers should still be alright once Big Ten play starts.

Oregon:  Yes, I did have the Ducks on the “Stock-Up” list last week after wins over Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State and Loyola Marymount, but I also warned not to get too excited too quickly.  Sure enough, Oregon went to Hawaii and lost 3 of 4 games to the Warriors.  It’s likely to be a roller coaster ride again for the Ducks in George Horton’s second season.

Southern Mississippi:  The curse of a Cinderella going to the College World Series is the expectation(and bulls eye on the back) it brings the following year.  That appears to be what happened to the Golden Eagles after they dropped 2 of 3 home games last weekend to LeMoyne.  They also lost at home to Northwestern State on opening weekend.  USM is hitting and pitching solidly, but they’re going to get the best effort of every team they play all season.

Max Willett Podcast Interview

The Fifth-Year Senior Shined Bright In Wins Over Texas

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.

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

Week One College Baseball Notebook By The Numbers

Milestones & Upsets Highlight The First Week Of 2010

2…wins by unranked New Mexico at #1 Texas in Austin.  The Lobos lost the season-opener on Friday, but came back with 3-1 and 6-5 wins Saturday and Sunday.  The wins are the first ever for New Mexico over a #1 ranked team.  Texas topped every national poll heading into the season.

.636…batting average by Lobo Max Willett in the 3-game series.  He had a 1.615 OPS with two doubles and a triple.  Willett also had the game-winning RBI in Saturday’s win.

23…runs by Washington State in Sunday’s 23-o rout of Seattle-the most runs by a Cougar team since 1999.  15 different Cougars had at least one hit.

5…Wazzou pitchers who combined in the shutout.

1,001…Career wins by LSU head coach Paul Mainieri after his Tigers’ 3-game weekend sweep of Centenary.  Mainieri hit the 1,000 win mark with Saturday’s 25-8 victory.

1,000…Career wins by Ohio State head coach Bob Todd after his Buckeyes won three games over the weekend in Jacksonville, FL.  OSU pounded Richmond 20-9 Sunday to get Todd to the milestone.

901…career wins for Georgia Tech’s Danny Hall after a weekend sweep of Missouri State.

36…runs scored by Canisius in a doubleheader sweep of Illinois-Chicago Saturday at the USA Baseball Complex in Cary, NC.  The Golden Griffins won the first game 20-4 and took the second game 16-10.

3…games Stanford won vs. 5th ranked Rice in Palo Alto.

11…runs Stanford scored in the 7th inning of game two of the series on Saturday.  The Cardinal was trailing 4-2 at the time.

5…pitchers Rice used during Stanford’s biggest inning in nearly two years.

265…wins at Cal State Fullerton’s Goodwin Field by Oregon (and former Fullerton) head coach George Horton after Friday’s upset of the 4th ranked Titans.

6-5…the score of Friday’s Louisiana-Monroe win over Ole Miss.  It was the Rebels’ first season-opening loss since 1981.

1 & 15…combined hits and strikeouts by St. John’s starting pitchers Bruce Kern (5 IP-0H-0BB-8K) and Nick Cenatiempo (4 IP-1 H-0R-BB-7) in Friday and Saturday wins over New Orleans.

3…home runs by Red Storm 1B Paul Karmas in Sunday’s 31-6 win over UNO.

5…total runs by West Virginia in weekend losses to #17 Coastal Carolina, Kentucky and Virginia Tech.

9 1/2…runs a game scored by the Mountaineers last year-which ranked 12th in the nation.

14,922…fans who saw #2 Virginia win two of three games over #11 East Carolina at ECU’s Clark-LeClair Stadium.  Friday’s opening day crowd of 5,012 is the largest in stadium history.  Saturday’s crowd of 5,136 marked the first time ECU ever had back-to-back attendance of more than 5.000.

14…combined pitchers used by the Cavaliers (6) and Pirates (8) in Sunday’s 14-11 UVA series-clinching win.

3 2/3…innings pitched by UVA starter Cody Winiarski.  It was the longest stint for any of the 14 hurlers.  Virginia had 19 hits while East Carolina totaled 11.

4:11…the total time of the 9-inning game.

4:39…time of Lamar’s 5-4 win in 17-innings over Maine.  The game is the longest in Lamar history.  The two teams had played a 2 hour and 27 minute 9-inning game prior to the marathon.

12…strikeouts in 6 innings by Georgia Tech’s Jed Bradley in Sunday’s 13-0 win over Missouri State.  The lefty allowed just four hits and retired 6 of the first 8 batters he faced via strikeout.

13…strikeouts in 6 innings by Arizona freshman Kurt Heyer.  Heyer allowed just three hits and fanned 13 of the 22 batters he faced in Sunday’s win over Utah Valley in his collegiate debut.

2,500…all-time wins for the Arizona baseball program after Heyer’s performance Sunday.

8…straight wins by UC Irvine pitcher Daniel Bibona after his 10 strikeout performance in a 5-1 win over Loyola Marymount.

3…the magic number during opening weekend for Illinois State’s Kevin Tokarski.  The redshirt sophomore tripled on the Redbirds’ first pitch of 2010.  He stole 3 bases with 3 doubles in his team’s first three games of the season.   Tokarski was a 2008 Freshman All-American, but missed last season due to wrist surgery.

8,803…total attendance of TCU’s season-opening 3-game sweep of 2009 NCAA participant Sam Houston State.  The mark is a single-series TCU record.

.800…batting average by Horned Frog freshman Josh Elander.  He was 8-for-10 with a team-high six RBIs to start his career.

1…hit allowed in 6 innings on the mound by Conference USA Preseason Pitcher of the Year Todd McInnis.  The Southern Mississippi hurler didn’t give-up a hit until there were two outs in the 5th inning of Friday’s win over Northwestern State.  He exited the game after he reached his 75 pitch limit.

10 of 10…Pac 10 Conference teams that finished opening weekend with a winning record.  The Pac 10 is the only BCS conference that claimed that distinction over the first three days of the 2010 season.

New Mexico Knocks Off #1 Texas

Lobos Get First Ever Win Over A #1 Team

Max Willett (UNM photo)

AUSTIN, Texas – The University of New Mexico Lobo baseball team down 5-2, scored four answered runs to defeat the top-ranked team in the nation Texas, 6-5. The New Mexico victory over Texas is the first in school history over a No. 1 ranked team. Senior Justin Howard rocked a solo home run to tie the game at five a piece in the top of the ninth. Senior Max Willett drove a ball to deep left field that allowed true freshman Devon Conley to score from third to put the Lobos ahead 6-5. The Lobos improve their record at 1-1 on the season. Texas is also 1-1 on the season.

“It’s a great day for Lobo baseball,” said head coach Ray Birmingham. “It’s a great win for the young men on this baseball team. Our pitching staff was fearless and our offense was special today. If you didn’t believe in Lobo baseball before today, you will now. Beating Texas in Texas is extremely hard to do no matter who you are.”

The Lobos were 0-9 all-time when playing the No. 1 team in the nation before today. All nine games were against Arizona State.

The Lobos got off to a hot start in the top of the first inning as junior Ryan Honeycutt sent a two-run home run over the right field fence. Junior All-America candidate Rafael Neda was walked prior to Honeycutt’s home run.

The top-ranked Longhorns came roaring back with four runs in the bottom of the first.

Texas’ final run came in the bottom of the second and put the Longhorns on top 5-2 and were held scoreless over the final seven innings.

From there on it was all Lobos. New Mexico would get a run in the top of the third and sixth and two in the top of the ninth.

Howard led off the top of the third with a single. After a failed pick off attempt to first base from Texas catcher Cameron Rupp, Howard advanced to third. Neda grounded out to Texas second baseman Jordan Etier to score Howard to make the score 5-3 Texas.

Senior Max Willett led off the top of the sixth with a triple to right center. Junior transfer Kenny Held grounded out to Etier at second base that allowed Willett to score from third. The Lobos trailed the 2009 College World Series runner-up by only a run at that point.

After coming up empty in the top of the seventh and eighth the Lobos scored two runs in the top of the ninth. Howard hit a one-out home run over the right field fence to tie the game at five. Neda reached on an infield single after Texas third baseman Kevin Lusson was unable to handle the chopper and make the throw.

In his first collegiate experience, Conley came on to pinch run for Neda. Conley advanced to third on a Honeycutt single. With runners on the corners and one out, Willett hit a sacrifice fly to deep left field to score Conley.

Howard led the way for the Lobos at the plate and went 3-for-5 with one RBI. Honeycutt went 3-for-5 with one RBI, Willett went 3-for-4 with one RBI and freshman Alex Allbritton went 2-for-4.

The Lobo pitching staff put together a gem after giving up five runs in the first two frames. Starter Willy Kesler got his first start since April 15, 2009 and went 1.1 innings with four of five runs unearned. Kesler gave up six hits and faced 12 batters against one of the toughest lineups in the country. Junior Kenny Toves faced the next 23 batters over the next 5.2 innings and gave up only four hits while striking out five Texas batters and more importantly gave up no runs.

True freshman Austin House (1-0) pitched two innings of hitless baseball and struck out the final two batters to earn his first career collegiate win.

Chance Ruffin (0-1) picked up the loss for the Longhorns. The Longhorns’ starter Brandon Workman went six innings with three of four runs earned off nine Lobo hits.

The Lobos finish the three game series against Texas Sunday at 12 p.m. MT.

(Release)

Ten College Baseball Questions For 2010

Ten Questions On The Eve Of The College Baseball Season

By Collegebaseball360.com Editor Sean Stires

A new college baseball season is about to begin.  It’s a season that is started a week earlier than it was originally slated to begin, and one school (James Madison) has already canceled its season opener, because (spoiler) it snows in roughly two-thirds of the country in mid-February.

Anyway, from time to time different thoughts pop into my head and I have managed to corral a few of them here.  So, here are Ten College Baseball Questions For 2010… (in no particular order)…

1.  Can LSU Repeat? The odds say it’s not going to happen.  Oregon State (2006-2007), LSU (1996-1997) and Stanford (1987-1988) are the only teams to win back-to-back crowns since Rod Dedeaux’s USC Trojans ended a streak of five straight titles from 1970-1974.  Paul Mainieri’s Tigers have a lot of key elements returning, like Blake Dean’s bat and Anthony Ranaudo & Matty Ott’s arms, but the odds just aren’t in their favor.  On the other hand…

2.  Can Texas Be Stopped? The odds (along with a sick pitching staff and a lot of returning everyday players) would seem to be in Augie Garrido’s favor.  The Longhorns return three starters, Taylor Jungmann, Cole Green and Chance Ruffin who could all be just about anyone’s number one starter.  The trio combined to win 26 games last year.  Cameron Rupp, Kevin Keyes and Omaha long ball ace Russell Moldenhauer are also back to lead the offense.  With all that back the biggest question right now seem to be can they stay number one from now until season’s end?

3.  Would An LSU vs. Texas Championship Re-Match Be Good For College Baseball? It would be good for TV ratings, but I don’t know that it would actually be good for the game as a whole.  Does anyone who’s not a Yankees fan think that the cash cow’s 27th title is good for any other MLB team other than the one in the Bronx with the new stadium and overpriced (and often empty) seats?  Texas and LSU at the College World Series is good for college baseball, because it gets casual fans a little more interested.  But when it comes time for all the marbles David vs. Goliath  is just more fun.

4.  Speaking Of David…Who Will Be This Year’s Cinderella? Fresno State was the ultimate Cinderella two years ago, but Mike Batesole’s great-great-great grand children will be playing before we see that kind of run again.  But that doesn’t mean there won’t be more Cinderellas.  They’re quite common when it comes to the CWS.  Fresno State, Southern Mississippi, Louisville, Southwest Missouri State, Notre Dame, and San Jose State all made it to Omaha in the last decade in what was either their first appearance or their first trip after a long CWS drought.  The odds say there’ll be a Cinderella, but the waiting is the hardest (and most fun) part.

5.  Will Bryce Brentz Win the NCAA’s Triple Crown? The Middle Tennessee State slugger just about did it last year.  He led the nation with his .465 batting average, and he tied Alabama’s Kent Matthes for the home run title with 28.  Brentz also topped the charts with his .930 slugging percentage, but he missed the Triple Crown with “just” 73 RBIs.  That technically tied for 31st nationally, but Brentz was just 14 RBIs behind NCAA leader Paul Goldschmidt of Texas State.  Logical thinking would say Brentz, now a junior, doesn’t have a chance, but logic never pitched to Brentz.

6.  Can Arizona State Overcome The Loss Of Pat Murphy? Love him or hate him, it’s hard to argue with the success that Murphy had in his 15 years in the ASU dugout.   But it’s not like ASU had never won prior to Murph’s arrival.  He led his team to Omaha four times, but the program has 21 CWS appearances since 1964 thanks to Bob Winkles and Jim Brock.  Now it’s Tim Esmay’s turn to guide the cruise ship Sun Devil.  Esmay, a former Utah head coach, himself played for Brock in Omaha twice, and he was also on Murphy’s staff for the last five seasons.  He also has a lot of experience sitting with him in the dugout.  Ken Knutson is in his first year as an assistant on the ASU staff after 17 seasons as the Washington Huskies’ head coach.  ASU’s line-up is loaded again, and there’s plenty of pitching too.  For now anyway the good ship ASU doesn’t show any signs of running aground.

7.  Is Virginia The Next National Power Or A One-Hit Wonder? The Cavaliers can hardly be considered a Cinderella.  Yes, last year was their first-ever College World Series trip, but they are from the ACC and they won their conference tournament last year.  Glass slippers aside, it would be easy to write-off UVA as a team that got hot and made a big run.  However, last year’s CWS squad included 23 underclassmen and set 11 school records…and the most prominent components-like Danny Hultzen, Jarrett Parker and Kevin Arico to name a few-are all back this year.  Who saw North Carolina coming prior four years ago?  Mike Fox’s Tar Heels hadn’t been to Omaha since 1989 prior to 2006 & now they’ve gone four straight times.  Cavalier head coach Brian O’Connor has now guided the Cavs to six straight NCAA berths, and he has been a guy whose destiny has always seemed to be Omaha.  He grew-up in the shadow of Rosenblatt Stadium in Council Bluffs, NE, pitched in the ‘91 CWS for Creighton, helped Notre Dame get to Omaha in 2002 as the Irish pitching coach, and finally took his own team to the promised land last year…not to mention the fact that his mug is one of the players on the famed “Road To Omaha” statue outside Rosenblatt.  So, if you’re asked what lies in the shadow of the statue the safe answer might be “O’Connor’s Cavaliers”.

8.  Is A Northern Team Ready To Make A Real National Statement? Michigan and Notre Dame flirted with it last decade.  St. John’s has had its moments, and Ohio State and Minnesota have each had some success, but it all comes down to pitching.  Or more specifically, pitching depth.  The biggest difference in teams in the good southern teams and the good northern teams is pitching depth.  There are guys coming out of the bullpen in the ACC and SEC who could be starters on most Big Ten and Big East teams.  Just look at last year’s save numbers in those conferences:  157 in the SEC & 160 saves in the ACC compared to 110 and 121 in the Big Ten and Big East, respectively.  But save totals don’t even tell half the story.

When it comes to playing in an NCAA Regional winning the first game is important, but for a northern team winning the first two games of a regional is critical.  The team that starts 2-0 at a regional is at least one starting pitcher ahead of each opponent it plays the rest of the weekend.  Look at Minnesota last year:  They lost their regional opener to Baylor, then out-slugged Southern 11-8 and Baylor 15-12 atfter that before falling 10-3 to LSU.  They played respectably, but they gave-up 10 runs a game over their last three contests, while LSU gave-up 3 runs with its third starter on the mound.   Ohio State lost 24-8 to Georgia to its regional opener last year, then won 6-4 and 13-6 in elimination games before getting trounced 37-6 by Florida State in game four (game 3 for FSU).  OSU’s starting pitcher gave-up 7 runs without getting an out in that game.  But what about Michigan in 2007?  The Wolverines won the first two games of their regional, lost game three, but then beat Vanderbilt in the deciding game four to advance to a Super Regional.  In 2002 Notre Dame used just five pitchers while going 3-0 at their Regional en-route to being the only northern team to advance to Omaha since the ’80s.  The Irish also used just two pitchers in their two Super Regional wins over Florida State the following week.   It’s no coincidence that in recent years only teams from the south have come back  to win a Regional after losing one of their first two games.

9.  Is Conference USA The Most Underrated Baseball Conference In The Country? Quick question…what three conferences have sent at least one team to the College World Series in each of the last five seasons?  If you said the SEC, Pac 10 and Conference USA you get the gold star for the day (but remember to raise your hand before blurting out the answer next time).  Rice, Tulane and last year’s darling Southern Mississippi have all gone to Omaha in that stretch.  Terry Rooney left LSU after a trip to the 2008 CWS in part because C-USA had earned a reputation as a three bid league.  But Conference USA didn’t just get three bids last year.  Rice, Southern Miss. and East Carolina all advanced to Super Regionals, and ECU and USM did it by beating South Carolina and Georgia Tech, respectively, in Regional action.  USM then beat Florida on the road to advance to Omaha, Rice lost to eventual National Champ LSU in its Regional while ECU fell to a North Carolina team that made a fourth straight CWS appearance.  C-USA has arrived, and based on the talent the aforementioned ‘09 Super Regional teams have back, the conference doesn’t appear to be going anywhere anytime soon.

10.  Will The Season Just Start Already? Really, aren’t you tired of waiting?  Oops, that’s another question, we don’t have room for eleven.  Is it here yet?  That’s another questions too…

Big 12 Baseball 2010 Preseason Coaches’ Poll

No Surprise-The Longhorns Are Picked To Win

Texas has been named the preseason favorite to win the 2010 Big 12 regular-season crown in a vote of the league’s head coaches. The Longhorns are ranked No. 1 in all four of the major preseason polls (Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball, ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association) to start the year.

UT (81 points) received nine of the possible 10 first-place votes while Kansas earned the remaining first-place tally and 69 points to come in second. Texas A&M and Oklahoma were third and fourth, respectively, followed by Oklahoma State, Baylor and Kansas State. Missouri and Nebraska were tied for eighth place, and Texas Tech filled the final spot.

The Longhorns are coming off a runner-up finish in their NCAA-record 33rd College World Series appearance in 2009. Texas posted a 50-16-1 overall record and 17-9-1 conference mark en route to claiming the Big 12 regular-season and postseason titles. Head coach Augie Garrido returns 19 lettermen, including all four starting pitchers and five position starters. The Longhorn pitching staff finished second in the nation with a 2.95 team ERA and ranked first in hits allowed with 7.52 per nine innings.

The Big 12 baseball season gets underway on Friday, Feb. 19 with nine squads in action. Oklahoma State will open the 2010 campaign on Saturday.

2010 BIG 12 CONFERENCE BASEBALL PRESEASON COACHES’ POLL

Rank	Team (First-place votes)	Points
1.	Texas (9)	81
2.	Kansas (1)	69
3.	Texas A&M	64
4.	Oklahoma	57
5.	Oklahoma State	47
6.	Baylor	39
7.	Kansas State	29
8.	Missouri	22
	Nebraska	22
10.	Texas Tech	20

Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams.

(Release)

Conference USA Announces 2010 Baseball TV Schedule

Eleven Regular Season Games On Preliminary TV Slate

IRVING, Texas –Conference USA has announced its preliminary baseball television schedule for the 2010 season.  The schedule currently features games to appear nationally on CBS College Sports as well as regionally on Comcast Sports Southeast (CSS), Bright House Networks and Cox Sports Television.  Additional games remain a possibility and will be announced at a later date.

“Conference USA has established itself as a national power in baseball and we are pleased that more of our fans will be able to watch our teams play this season on television,” said Conference USA Commissioner Britton Banowsky.

Included in the current schedule are 11 regular season games as well as a live broadcast of the C-USA Baseball Tournament Championship Game on Saturday, May 29.  Additional C-USA Championship games may be added to the television schedule.

2010 C-USA Baseball Television Schedule

(as of February 4)

CBS College Sports

Saturday, April 24                   East Carolina at Rice                    3:00 p.m. EDT/2:00 p.m. CDT

Friday, April 30                       Southern Miss at Tulane               8:00 p.m. EDT/7:00 p.m. CDT

Friday, May 14                        Southern Miss at Rice                  8:00 p.m. EDT/7:00 p.m. CDT

Friday, May 21                        Houston at East Carolina              8:00 p.m. EDT/7:00 p.m. CDT

Saturday, May 29                    C-USA Championship Game         8:00 p.m. EDT/7:00 p.m. CDT

Comcast Sports Southeast (CSS) (regional coverage may vary within CSS footprint)

Tuesday, March 16                 Texas at Rice                              7:30 p.m. EDT/6:30 p.m. CDT

Thursday, April 1                     Houston at Rice                           7:30 p.m. EDT/6:30 p.m. CDT

Friday, April 2                         Houston at Rice                           7:30 p.m. EDT/6:30 p.m. CDT

Tuesday, May 18                    Rice at Houston                           7:30 p.m. EDT/6:30 p.m. CDT

Bright House Networks (Florida)

Tuesday, March 9                   Miami (Fla.) at UCF                      7:00 p.m. EDT/6:00 p.m. CDT

Tuesday, March 16                 South Florida at UCF                    7:00 p.m. EDT/6:00 p.m. CDT

Tuesday, March 9                   Stetson at UCF                            7:00 p.m. EDT/6:00 p.m. CDT

Cox Sports Television (Louisiana)

Tuesday, May 18                    LSU at Tulane                              7:30 p.m. EDT/6:30 p.m. CDT

Conference USA’s 15th baseball season gets underway on February 19.  The conference tournament is scheduled for May 26-30 in Houston, with UH serving as the host for the new six-team, pool-play format.  C-USA’s nine baseball schools have produced 62 NCAA appearances and nine College World Series teams over the past 14 seasons.

Big 12 Announces College Baseball TV Schedule

Big 12 Baseball 2010 Preview

Longhorns Look To Win Again

2009 Regular Season Champion:  Texas

2009 Tournament Champion:  Texas beat #3 seed Missouri 12-7 in the title game.

Postseason Power:  The Big 12 was well represented in the postseason with 8 of 10 teams that play baseball (Colorado and Iowa State do not) going to an NCAA Regional.  However, eventual national runner-up Texas was the only Big 12 team to even advance to a Super Regional.

Early Accolades:  Six Big 12 players, Tony Thompson (Kansas), Ryan Duke (Oklahoma) and Texas players Cameron Rupp, Chance Ruffin, Taylor Jungmann, and Cole Green have all received preseason All-American recognition.

Baylor

2009 Record:  (30-26, 10-16)

Mascot:  Bears

Head Coach:  Steve Smith

Location:  Waco, TX

Vitals:  .299 BA, 73 HR, .376 OBP, .983 Fld%…5.29 ERA, 2 CG, 10 SVs, 461 K, 224 BB, .292 opp. BA

Packed For Postseason:  2009 marked the 10th time in the last 12 seasons that Baylor made it to an NCAA Regional.  The Bears were 1-2 at last year’s Baton Rouge Regional.

Home Cookin’:  Baylor opens the season with an 18-game homestand.

Big Holes To Fill:  The Bears return five starters from last year’s team, but it’s not who’s back but who’s gone that is most significant.  Baylor loses it’s top thee run producers: Shaver Hansen (.330, 17 HR, 59 RBIs), Dustin Dickerson (.377, 10 HR, 41 RBIs) and Aaron Miller (.310, 12 HR, 47 RBIs).  They combined to hit more than half of the team’s 73 home runs.

Swing Man:  Logan Verrett (7-1, 5.13 ERA, 3 SVs) made five starts and 20 overall appearances.  He’s one of just three pitchers on the staff who had a winning record last year, and he’s the only one of the trio to pitch more than 37 innings.

Kansas

2009 Record:  (39-24, 15-12)

Mascot:  Jayhawks

Head Coach:  Ritch Price

Location:  Lawrence, KS

Vitals:  .301 BA, 61 HR, .389 OBP, .967 Fld%…4.46 ERA, 4 CG, 10 SV, 466 K, 179 BB, .267 opp. BA

Tourney Talk:  Kansas advanced to just the fourth NCAA Regional in school

history in 2009.  The Jayhawks were 2-2 at the Chapel Hill Regional.

Tony Terrific:  Junior 3B Tony Thompson exploded in 2009.  After hitting just .276 with 5 HR and 18 RBIs as a true freshman in 2008 Thompson won the first Triple Crown in Big 12 Conference history by batting .389 with 21 home runs and 82 RBIs.  He sported an 1.195 OPS, and struck out just 35 times in 247 at-bats.

Line-Up Losses:  While Thompson is KU’s biggest returning bat, the Jayhawks also lose two solid bats from last year’s team.  David Narodowski (.354) and Buck Afinir (.333) combined to hit 18 HR with 106 RBIs.

Family Ties:  Junior RHP Brett Bochy (5-0, 4.34 ERA) is the son of San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy, while Soph. OF Jason Brunansky (.280, 2 HR) is the son of former big leaguer Tom Brunansky.

Hurlin’ ‘Hawks:  Bochy is one of 8 veteran pitchers to return from last year’s NCAA squad.  Included are weekend starters Lee Ridenhour (6-3, 4.65 ERA) and T.J. Walz (8-3, 4.70 ERA), while bullpen stalwarts Bochy, Colton Murray (2-3, 3.23 ERA) and Travis Blankenship (3-2, 5.80 ERA) combined for 102 appearances (just two starts among them) 132 Ks and 45 BB.

Kansas State

2009 Record:  (43-18-1, 14-11-1)

Mascot:  Wildcats

Head Coach:  Brad Hill

Location:  Manhattan, KS

Vitals:  .317 BA, 58 HR, .399 OBP, .972 Fld%…4.52 ERA, 6 CG, 11 SV, 453 K, 169 BB, .282 opp. BA

Wild (cat) Ride: 2009 will forever be the season that all future K-State baseball teams are judged by.  The Wildcats set a school record for wins, while earning the first NCAA Tournament berth in the 113 years of the program.  Head Coach Brad Hill also earned Big 12 and ABCA Midwest Region Coach of the Year honors.

Losses On The Mound…:  KSU loses its top two starting pitchers, including Big 12 Pitcher of the Year A.J. Morris (14-1, 2.09 ERA) who had 5 of the team’s 6 complete games. He and Lance Hoge (6-4, 4.54 ERA) notched nearly half of the

team’s wins.

…And Losses At The Plate: The Wildcats also have to replace their top three run producers from 2009 with Justin Bloxom (.361 BA, 12 HR, 63 RBIs), Jordan Cruz (.324, 11 HR, 52 RBIs) and Drew Biery (.329, 9 HR, 44 RBIs) all gone.  That trio accounted for more than half of the Cat’s 58 HR.

Wildcats Back:  Carter Jurica (.353, 4 HR, 46 RBIs), Nick Martini (.336, 4 HR, 50 RBIs) and Jason King (.316, 7 HR, 61 RBIs) give K-State a solid base to the line-up, while pitchers Thomas Rooke (5-2, 4.33 ERA) and James Allen (2-1, 5.50 ERA) also return.  The two combined to make 56 appearances with 99 Ks in 90 IP last year.

Missouri

2009 Record:  (35-27, 16-11)

Mascot:  Tigers

Head Coach:  Tim Jamieson

Location:  Columbia, MO

Vitals:  .272 BA, 41 HR,.964 Fld% …5.08 ERA, 6 CG, 12 SV, 492 K, 177 K

Tiger Fact:  Missouri’s 2009 NCAA bid gave Tim Jamieson’s team a seventh straight NCAA Regional berth.  Mizzou is one of just 14 programs in the country to receive NCAA bids from 2003-2009.  Missouri was 1-2 at the Oxford, MS Regional.  They lost twice to Western Kentucky and beat Monmouth.

Tough Losses:  Missouri loses both its staff pitching, Kyle Gibson (11-3, 3.21 ERA, 131 K), who went to Minnesota with the 22nd pick in last year’s draft, as well as its top bat,  Greg Folgia (.326, 12 HR, 70 RBIs) who was taken by Cleveland in the 40th round.

Draft Dodger:  Aaron Senne (.305, 6 HR, 43 RBIs) was picked by Minnesota in the 32nd round of last year’s draft, but chose to return for his senior season.

Bullpen By Committee:  Missouri had eight pitchers who appeared in at least 24 games in 2009.  On several occasions the Tigers at least eight pitchers for an inning in conference games.  Brad Buehler (1-3, 4.29 ERA, 8 SVs) led the team with 35 relief appearances for a total of 35.2 IP.  He and Tyler Clark (3-0, 2.86 ERA, 28 app.) are among the top returning bullpen arms.

Nebraska

2009 Record:  (25-28-1, 8-19)

Mascot:  Cornhuskers

Head Coach:  Mike Anderson

Location:  Lincoln, NE

Vitals:  .282 BA, 48 HR, .368 OBP, .970 Fld%…6.22 ERA, 4 CG, 6 SV, 361 K, 256 BB, .291 opp. BA

Rare Absence:  Nebraska failed to advance to the NCAA Tournament in 2009, marking just the second time since 2000 that the Cornhuskers failed to reach the postseason.

Coaching Connections:  Nebraska assistant Dave Bingham led Kansas to the 1993 College World Series as head coach of the Jayhawks.  Nebraska head coach Mike Anderson was an assistant on the ‘Husker’s 2001 & 2002 CWS squads before leading his own team to Omaha in 2005.

Cornhusker Returnees:  Sr. OF Tyler Farst (.333, 3 HR, 36 RBIs) received honorable mention All-Big 12 honors.  He was the only Cornhusker to receive All-Conference recognition.  Adam Bailey (.325, 12 HR, 50 RBIs) returns as well. 

Mound Experience: The Cornhuskers return a group of pitchers who combined to earn 23 of the team’s 25 total wins last year.  Mike Nesseth (5-4, 5.01 ERA) leads the group.  The senior led the pitching staff in wins, ERA, saves (2), and strikeouts with 73 in 64.2 IP.  He made 8 starts with 20 overall appearances, and tossed one of the team’s four complete games.   A handful of junior college transfers will also try to bolster a staff whose ERA ranked second to last in the Big 12 in ‘09.

Two-Sport Cooper:  Sophomore Khiry Cooper (.229, 2 HR, 9 RBIs) had just 70 at-bats as a true freshman, but he’ll look for bigger contributions this year.  The 6′2 receiver/outfielder had 13 catches for 80 yards and a TD last fall for the Nebraska’s Holiday Bowl champion team.  Cooper was drafted in the 5th round by the L.A. Angels Of Anaheim coming out of high school.

Bulldog Bound:  Nebraska opens its season with a four-game series at Fresno State Feb. 19-22.

Oklahoma

2009 Record:  (43-20, 17-10)

Mascot:  Sooners

Head Coach:  Sunny Golloway

Location:  Norman, OK

Vitals:  .317 BA,  91 HR, .407 OBP, .973 Fld%…5.09 ERA, 3 CG, 16 SV, 495 K, 198 BB, .275 opp. BA

Out At Home:  Oklahoma hosted an NCAA Regional last year that included Arkansas, Wichita State and Washington State.  The Sooners made it to the championship round, but the Razorbacks advanced all the way to Omaha.

Sunny Days:  Since taking the helm at Oklahoma head coach Sunny Golloway has led OU to five straight NCAA berths.  That includes 2005 when he was 12-6 after taking over after Larry Cochell resigned.

The Duke Of Saves:  Junior closer Ryan Duke (3-1, 3.22) became the first Sooner pitcher since 2000 to earn All-American status after saving 16 games last season.  His save total led the Big 12 and ranked 6th in the nation.

Powered Down:  OU led the Big 12 with 91 HR in 2009, but loses its top four home run hitters.  Big 12 Player of the Year J.T. Wise (17 HR), Aaron Baker (15), Jamie Johnson (13), and Bryant Hernandez (12) are all gone.

Oklahoma State

2009 Record:  (36-24, 9-16)

Mascot:  Cowboys

Head Coach:  Frank Anderson

Location:  Stillwater, OK

Vitals:  .300 BA, 81 HR, .379 OBP, .976 Fld%…4.69 ERA, 3 CG, 15 SV, 516 K, 199 BB, .264 opp. BA

Power Outage: The Cowboys lose their top four power hitters from last years team.  Michael Dabbs (13 HR, 38 RBIs), Tyrone Hambly (10 HR, 41 RBIs), Neil Medchill (14 HR, 57 RBIs), Doug Kroll (10 HR, 36 RBIs) combined to smack 47 of OSU’s home runs.

Depleted Pitching:  The losses of starting pitchers Andrew Oliver (5-6, 5.30 ERA, 97 K in 88.1 IP),  and Tyler Blandford (7-4, 5.31 ERA, 97 K in 78 IP) and Randy McCurry (4-1, 2.16 ERA, 10 SVs) leave big holes to fill in the weekend rotation as well as the back end of the bullpen.

California Dreamin’:  After opening its season at home on Feb. 20 with one game vs. Oklahoma Christian, OSU plays USC, UCLA and Vanderbilt the following weekend at the Dodgertown Classic in L.A.

Texas

2009 Record:  (50-16-1, 17-9-1)

Mascot:  Longhorns

Head Coach:  Augie Garrido

Location:  Austin, TX

Vitals:  .288 BA, 53 HR, .377 OBP, .976 Fld%…2.95 ERA, 6 CG, 18 SV, 556 K, 189 BB, .227 opp. BA

Armed & Ready:  Closer Austin Wood (6-1, 2.61 ERA, 15 SVs) is one of the two pitchers Texas loses from a staff whose 2.95 ERA

ranked second in the nation.   Taylor Jungmann (11-3, 2.00 ERA), Cole Green (5-3, 3.34 ERA) and Chance Ruffin (10-3, 3.32 ERA) are among the notable returnees.

Play Small:  The Longhorn offense was second to last in the Big 12 with 53 home runs, but led the nation with 104 sacrifice bunts last year.

Loaded Line-Up:  Texas loses five players who started at least 43 games last year, but they return some of their most productive players including Kevin Keyes (.305, 9 HR, 46 RBIs), catcher Cameron Rupp (.292, 11 HR, 46 RBIs), Brandon Loy (.288) who tied for the NCAA lead with 25 sac bunts, and Russell Moldenhauer (.262, 4 HR, 14 RBIs).  Moldenhauer started just 26 games last year due to injury, and he hit all four of his home runs at the College World Series.

Texas A&M

2009 Record:  (37-24, 14-13)

Mascot:  Aggies

Head Coach:  Rob Childress

Location:  College Station, TX

Vitals:  .298 BA, 85 HR, .392 OBP, .971 Fld%…4.49 ERA, 2 CG, 13 SV, 568 K, 172 BB, .261 opp. BA

Crowd Favorites:  Texas A&M ranked 9th in the nation with an average of 4,076 fans per game at Olsen Field in 2009.

One Step Back:  After going to back-to-back Super Regionals for the first time in program history in 2007 & 2008, the Aggies were just 1-2 at the Ft. Worth Regional last year.  Both losses were to Oregon State.

Trade-Off:  While the Aggies did lose Luke Anders (13 HR) and Kyle Colligan (15 HR), Brodie Green and Joe Patterson return to lead a team that hit the second-most home runs in the conference last year.   Colligan hit his team-leading 15 HR in 233 AB, while Patterson’s 12 HR came in just 145 AB.

Pitching The Pill:  Head coach Rob Childress’ forte is piching, and while the Aggies didn’t have the eye-popping 2.95 ERA that Texas had in ‘09 his staff still tied for second with Kansas in the Big 12 at 4.49.  Ross Hales (6-2, 4.11 ERA) is the top starter back, while Nick Fleece (4-1, 3.54 ERA, 5 SVs) is the only returning reliever (of four) who combined for the team’s 13 saves last year.

Texas Tech

2009 Record:  (25-32, 12-15)

Mascot:  Red Raiders

Head Coach:  Dan Spencer

Location:  Lubbock, TX

Vitals:  .299 BA, 40 HR, .382 OBP, .959 Fld%…6.31 ERA, 2 CG, 12 SV, 409 K, 266 BB, .304 opp. BA

Experience:  The Red Raiders return seven of their top nine batters from last year’s squad, including C Jeremy Mayo (.313, 11 HR, 35 RBIs).  Three other returnees hit .327 or better.  However, the team that finished last in the Big 12 with just 40 HR loses its top home run hitter, Chris Richburg (.341, 14 HR, 60 RBIs), who led the team in nearly every offensive category.

Home Boy:  Lubbock RHP Chad Bettis (6-1, 3.59 ERA) did a little of everything last year.  He was the only Tech pitcher with a winning record, he started four games, made 19 relief appearances, tossed one of the staff’s two complete games, and earned 7 of the Red Raider’s 12 saves.

2010 Big 12 Predictions

Player of the Year:  Tony Thompson-Kansas – The junior takes the honor a year after winning the first Triple Crown in the history of the Big 12 Conference.

Pitcher of the Year:  Taylor Jungmann-Texas

Conference Champion:  Texas – There’s just too much great pitching and too many key line-up contributors back for them not to repeat.

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