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West Pitching Steals Show At Fenway Park…

BOSTON, MA — The old adage that “Good pitching beats good hitting” rang true on a beautiful summer night at the oldest ballpark in the Major Leagues on Wednesday, as the West All-Stars beat the East All-Stars 5-0 before 10,470 fans in the Cape Cod League All-Star Game at Fenway Park.

Fenway Park at the 2010 Cape All-Star Game (courtesy capecodbaseball.org)

Pitching was the story for the first four innings. Andrew Gagnon (Long Beach State), Marcus Stoman (Duke), Derek Self (Louisville), and Matty Ott (LSU) each made their innings count for the East, combining to allow only two hits over four shutout innings.

The West staff matched the East’s dominance, as Austin Wood (St. Petersburg), Grayson Garvin (Vanderbilt), Max Perlman (Harvard), and Tyler Ray (Troy) held the high-powered East squad scoreless.

The scoreboard was awash in zeroes until the West struck in the top of the fifth. The East’s troubles began when Tyler Bream (Liberty) singled off Braden Kapteyn (Kentucky), and moved to second on a wild pitch. Bream stole third, and rode home on a wild pitch.

The East ran into more trouble in the sixth when the West roughed up East pitcher Kyle Simon (Arizona). Johnny Ruettiger (Arizona State) stroked a leadoff double and moved to third on a wild pitch. East shortstop Joe Panik (St. John’s) kept the score at 1-0 by throwing out Ruettiger at the plate on Zach Wilson’s (Arizona State) grounder up the middle. But Panik’s efforts went in vain when Casey McElroy (Auburn) drove in Jordan Leyland (UC-Irvine) for a 2-0 lead.

Now operating with some breathing room, the West pitching staff continued to shine. Jed Bradley (Georgia Tech), Christian Jones (Oregon), AJ Achter (Michigan State), and RJ Alvarez (Florida Atlantic) strung together four more unblemished innings and keep the shutout intact.

“Our guys pitched great,” West field manager Harvey Shapiro said. “It isn’t too taxing when you have nine great pitchers in the bullpen. It’s very stress free.”

(Cape Cod Release)

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Game Set For July 28 At Fenway Park…

The Cape Cod All-Star Game will be played at Boston's historic Fenway Park.

The All-Star game is presented by the leading banks of Cape Cod —- Bank of America, Eastern Bank, TD Bank, Cape Cod Cooperative Bank and Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank.

Scott Pickler of the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox will be the field manager for the East Division, with Harvey Shapiro of the defending champion Bourne Braves piloting the West.

Leading the way for the East are Brewster outfielder Drew Martinez (Memphis) and Orleans second baseman Kolten Wong (Hawai’i), who are currently 1-2 in the league in batting average.

Wong will be joined on the right side of the infield by Chatham first baseman Aaron Westlake (Vanderbilt). Anchoring the left side will be two players from second-place Y-D —-  shortstop Joe Panik (St. John’s) and third baseman Tyler Hanover (LSU). This is the second All-Star selection for Hanover, who was a reserve last year.

Martinez will also have a friendly face beside him in the outfield as teammate Cohl Walla (Texas) was named a starter along with Y-D’s Caleb Ramsey (Houston).

The designated hitter is Harwich’s Clint Moore (West Point), with Harwich’s Pratt Maynard (N.C. State) named the starting catcher.

The Mariners also landed two reserve players in utility man Levi Michael (North Carolina) and outfielder Ronnie Richardson (Central Florida). Chatham catcher Joe Pavone (UConn) fills out the roster.

Leading the pitching staff for the East will be Brewster’s Andrew Gagnon (Long Beach State). Gagnon leads the league with five wins and sports a 1.69 ERA through six appearances. He also ranks second with 38 strikeouts. He will be joined by a strong supporting staff that includes teammate and closer Colton Murray (Kansas), Kyle Simon (Arizona) and Marcus Stroman (Duke) of Orleans, Derek Self (Louisville) and Logan Verrett (Baylor) of Chatham, and Adam Morgan (Alabama), Braden Kapteyn (Kentucky) and Matty Ott (LSU) of Harwich.

The Wareham Gatemen lead the West Division All-Stars with five selections, while the Braves had three players named.

Representing Bourne will be starter Grayson Garvin (Vanderbilt), and relievers, RJ Alverez (Florida Atlantic) and Tony Zych (Louisville). Alvarez and Zych have yet to allow an earned run this summer. Garvin is 3-0 in four starts with a 0.79 ERA.

Right-hander Austin Wood (St. Petersburg), who has dominated, going 3-0, with an 0.58 ERA in 31 innings, represents Cotuit. Joining him from the Kettleers is right-handed reliever AJ Achter (Michigan State), who has posted a 1.03 ERA in 10 appearances.

Making the team from the Gatemen are right-hander Max Perlman (Harvard) and lefty Jed Bradley (Georgia Tech). Hyannis’ Tyler Ray (Troy) will make the trip to Fenway, along with Falmouth southpaw Christian Jones (Oregon).

Falmouth’s Andrew Susac (Oregon State) gets the start behind the plate, with Hyannis’ Cam Seitzer (Oklahoma) at first base, Falmouth’s Kevin Medrano (Missouri State) at second, Wareham’s Tyler Bream (Liberty University) at third and Falmouth’s KC Serna (Oregon) manning shortstop.

The starting outfielders are Cotuit’s Chad Wright (Kentucky), Wareham’s  Zach Wilson (Arizona State) and Hyannis’ John Ruettiger (Arizona State).

The designated hitter will be Cotuit’s Jordan Leyland (UC Irvine).

The reserves are Wareham catcher Tony Caldwell (Auburn), utility infielder Casey McElroy (Auburn) and Bourne outfielder Scott Woodward (Coastal Carolina).

General admission tickets for the game, priced at $10, are still available and can be purchased on the Cape League website at www.capecodbaseball.org, or at any of the 10 ballparks.

(Cape Cod Release)

Can Anyone End Coastal Carolina’s Dominance?

2009 Regular Season Champion: Coastal Carolina

2009 Tournament Champion: Coastal Carolina defeated Winthrop 7-1 to win their 7^th Big South title in the past 9 yearsl

Coastal Carolina continued its dominance of this conference by once again sweeping the regular season and tournament championships, while making its 9^th straight NCAA tournament appearance.  The Chanticleers also saw 5 members of their squad garner All-American recognition, with three players named Freshman All-American.

Heading into the season all eyes are on Coastal Carolina again, as they begin this season ranked anywhere from 12^th to 17^th in the various preseason polls.  So the question is, can anyone contend with Coastal Carolina in 2010?

2010 Big South Preview

Charleston Southern

2009 Season: (16-37, 10-16)

Nickname: Buccaneers

Head Coach: Stuart Lake

Location: Charleston, SC

Vitals: .288 BA, 51 HR, .355 OBP, .961 Fld. %…7.00 ERA, 3 CG, 5 SVs, 316 K, 237 BB, .324 Opp. BA

Offensive Bounty: Charleston Southern returns 3 of their top 4 hitters from last year including top hitter Jr. 1B Nick Chinners (.339, 13 doubles, .408 OBP), So. UTL Patrick Dolan (.309, 8 HR, 35 RBI) and Sr. OF Scotty Radabaugh (.300, 51 H, 27 R).  They also welcome back their top power threat in Jr. OF Tyler Thornburg (.292, 12 HR, 49 RBI)

Double Duty: In addition to his power, Thornburg could be the top returning pitcher for CSU as well.  Last year, Thornburg went 4-4 with a 3.73 ERA and a SV in 16 appearances out of the pen.

Friendly Start: The Buccaneers play 12 of their first 13 games at home with the lone road trip coming against city rival the College of Charleston in Patriots Point, SC.

Coastal Carolina

2009 Season: (47-16, 21-5)

Nickname: Chanticleers

Head Coach: Gary Gilmore

Location: Conway, SC

Vitals: .329, 86 HR, .419 OBP, .968 Fld. %…4.04 ERA, 1 CG, 19 SVs, 456 K, 201 BB, .250 Opp. BA

These Guys are Good: Coastal Carolina earned its 9^th straight trip to the NCAA tournament and swept the

Cody Wheeler

conference regular season and tournament championships while placing 5 players on the All-conference 1^st team.  They also appear to have the upper hand in accomplishing that feat again with 7 of 9 position starters and 8 pitchers back.

Big Returns: The Chanticleers will have to replace Big South Player of the Year David Anderson (.377, 21 HR, 82 RBI), but do have a wealth of talent back with the return of Sr. Adam Rice (.368, 20 doubles, 59 RBI) and preseason Big South Player of the Year Jr. Rico Noel (.315, 8 HR, 48 SB).  The pitching staff also brings back key guys, including 2009 Big South Pitcher of the Year Jr. LHP Cody Wheeler (10-1, 3.83 ERA, 1 CG, 98 K) and So. RHP Anthony Meo (9-2, 2.93 ERA, .233 Opp. BA)

Challenges Aplenty: The Chants have several tough games on their schedule this year.  Games against Virginia Tech, Kentucky, Wake Forest, UC-Irvine, NC State, Michigan, Clemson, North Carolina, and Virginia all dot the slate.

Gardner-Webb

2009 Season: (25-25, 13-14)

Nickname: Runnin’ Bulldogs

Head Coach: Rusty Stroupe

Location: Boiling Springs, NC

Vitals: .327 BA, 65 HR, .398 OBP, .964 Fld. %…6.57 ERA, 2 CG, 9 SVs, 247 K, 173 BB

Record Setting: The 2009 GW squad was the most prolific offensive team in nearly 40 years.. they set single season school records for team batting average (.327), HRs (65), slugging percentage (.512), and on-base percentage (.398).

Leaders Gone: The Bulldogs will have plenty of holes to fill this season as all four players earning All-Big South accolades have graduated.  3B Justin Loyd (.400, 20 doubles, 9 HR, 56 RBI) and OF Brock Miller (.373, 61 R, 37 SB) both earned 1^st team honors.  OF Daniel Cooke (.353, 7 HR, 47 RBI) was a 2^nd team selection, while OF Jonathan Ahearn (.327, 29 R, 8 doubles) garnered 3^rd team honors.  Ahearn was also named Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

High Point

2009 Season: (21-32, 11-12)

Nickname: Panthers

Head Coach: Craig Cozart

Location: High Point, NC

Vitals: .317 BA, 22 HR, .401 OBP, .969 Fld. %…7.39 ERA, 8 SVs, 308 K, 226 BB, .345 Opp. BA

Prolific Pair of Panthers: High Point will miss the duo of Billy Alvino and Alfie Wheeler.  Both finished the season batting a team-leading .400.  Alvino collected 84 hits and Wheeler tallied 82 for the second and third most in a single season.  The pair also finished third and fourth, respectively, in career hits with 238 and 235.  The Panthers will also miss all-time career hit leader Jeff Cowan (.290, 60 H, 11 doubles) who finished his career with 268.

Pitching Holes: The Panthers graduate their best pitcher as well in Jeremy Berg (4-2, 1.88 ERA, 5 SVs) who was just 5 innings short of qualifying for the national ERA race.  His 1.88 ERA would have been 5^th best in the country.  This year, look for Jr. RHP Corey Swickle (2-2, 4.81, 2 SVs) and  Jr. RHP Spencer Andrews (1-0, 2.79 ERA, 7 APP) to log more time on the mound.

Home Presence: High Point could get off to a fast start.  18 of their first 21 games are at home, with their 3 road games still within North Carolina (UNC—Charlotte, North Carolina A&T, East Carolina).

Liberty

2009 Season: (33-21, 17-9)

Nickname: Flames

Head Coach: Jim Toman

Location: Lynchburg, VA

Vitals: .310 BA, 60 HR, .388 OBP, .974 Fld. %…5.27 ERA, 2 CG, 11 SVs, 390 K, 171 BB, .295 Opp. BA

Looking for More in ’10: The 33-wins last year marked the fifth straight season Liberty won 30 or more games, the

Doug Bream

first time in program history.  Also, their 17 conference wins were the most ever recorded since joining the conference in 1992.

Youth Movement: The Flames currently have 14 freshman or sophomores on their roster.  Returning to lead the team is Freshman All-American Tyler Bream (.337, 8 HR, 57 RBI) and Jr. OF Doug Bream (.355, 6 HR, 33 RBI).  Tyler is the son of former Major League Sid Bream, who was an All-American at Liberty (1979-’81).  Doug Bream is Sid’s cousin.

Pitching Prowess: Liberty deals with the loss of All-Big South first teamer Shawn Teufel (9-2, 4.33 ERA, 72 K), but still return several top pitchers including Sr. RHP Mark Swanson (4-0, 2.79 ERA, 35 K), Sr. RHP Carter Browning (2-2, 3.94 ERA, 4 SVs), and Jr. LHP Steven Evans (7-2, 3.96 ERA, 2 CG, 1 SV).

Presbyterian

2009 Season: (13-38, 7-19)

Nickname: Blue Hose

Head Coach: Elton Pollock

Location: Clinton, SC

Vitals: .294 BA, 57 HR, .355 OBP, .965 Fld. %…8.54 ERA, 2 CG, 5 SVs, 263 K, 211 BB, .338 Opp. BA

New Kid on the Block: 2009 was Presbyterian’s first season in the Big South as they continued their transition to Division I.  While only winning 13 games, they did accomplish a couple of feats that will go down in the history books.  The Blue Hose defeated 19^th ranked Coastal Carolina on April 25^th to record their first ever win over a top-20 ranked team.  They also beat The Citadel for the first time in 81 years.

Holes to Fill: Presbyterian looks to improve in 2010, but will have to do so without it top two hitters from last year in Jared Combs (.332, 16 doubles, 8 HR, 51 RBI) and Cory Lyda (.330, 10 HR, 38 RBI).  Top pitcher Mitchell Odom (5-3, 4.94 ERA, 1 CG) also is gone.

Radford

2009 Season: (26-24, 16-9)

Nickname: Highlanders

Head Coach: Joe Raccuia

Location: Radford, VA

Vitals: .319 BA, 30 HR, .400 OBP, .966 Fld. %…6.24 ERA, 10 SVs, 279 K, 180 BB, .305 Opp. BA

Banner Year: 2009 saw Radford grab their first winning season since 2000, only their fifth in school history, while their 16 conference wins were also the second-most in school history.  Radford also won 10 games away from home, just the sixth time that has ever happened.

Key Players: The Highlanders lose top hitter Alex Gregory (.407, 10 HR, 42 RBI), who became the first Big South Player ever to hit .400 or better for three straight seasons.  Radford does, however, return Big South Freshman of the Year Jeff Kemp (.337, 5 HR, 13 SB) plus pitchers Aerik Taylor (5-4, 4.90 ERA, 41 K) and Jake Quigg (5-1, 4.36 ERA, 19 APP).

UNC Asheville

2009 Season: (9-42, 5-21)

Nickname: Bulldogs

Head Coach: Tom Smith

Location: Asheville, NC

Vitals: .261 BA, 27 HR, .325 OBP, .948 Fld. %…8.27 ERA, 3 CG, 3 SVs, 281 K, 223 BB, .351 Opp. BA

In Good Hands: Head Coach Tom Smith was inducted into the North Carolina Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame earlier this year.  Smith coached for 28 years at T.C. Roberson High School winning three state championships before retiring in 2006.  He joined UNC-Asheville in 2008 as a volunteer assistant, before being named head coach last July.

Need More Offense: First task for Smith is to upgrade their offense.  The Bulldogs hit just .261 as a team and lose top hitter Kevin Weidenbacher (.309, 64 H, 28 R).  They do return the only other player to hit over .300 last season in So. OF Cody Buch (.302, 7 doubles, HR), and their top slugger Jr. INF Mike Vaughn (.237, 7 HR, 28 RBI).

Unfriendly Start: UNC-Asheville may be in the South, but will hit the road for most of the first month.  The Bulldogs only have 2 home games in their first 18 contests.

VMI

2009 Season: (18-35, 10-15)

Nickname: Keydets

Head Coach: Marlin Ikenberry

Location: Lexington, VA

Vitals: .295 BA, 55 HR, .366 OBP, .953 Fld. %…6.48 ERA, 2 CG, 6 SVs, 371 K, 189 BB, .316 Opp. BA

Jordan Ballard

Offense Will Be Key: VMI returns 7 of 9 position starters from last year including leading hitter Sr. 1B Jordan Ballard (.366, 11 HR, 48 RBI), Jr. INF Sam Roberts (.335, 6 HR, 34 RBI), and Sr. 3B Tanner Biagini (.317, 9 HR, 35 RBI).  They will have to step up even further with the loss of 1^st team All-Big South performer A.J. Yoder (.349, 13 doubles, 11 SB).  Yoder’s 80 hits set a single-season team record.

Pitching Returns: While VMI their top starter Travis Smink (8-4, 4.33 ERA, 1 CG) and top closer Matt Edwards (3-6, 5.72 ERA, 3 SVs), they welcome back 11 pitchers total including 3 that missed 2009 due to injury in Jr. Chris Duty (5-0, 1.95 ERA, 2 SVs, ‘08), So. Ryan Barefoot (1-1, 4.00 ERA, ’08) and So. Jason Farley (3-2, 2 SVs, ‘08).

Winthrop

2009 Season: (35-25, 18-9)

Nickname: Eagles

Head Coach: Joe Hudak

Location: Rock Hill, SC

Vitals: .323 BA, 55 HR, .394 OBP, .968 Fld. %…5.18 ERA, 1 CG, 14 SVs, 378 K, 197 BB, .291 Opp. BA

Tyler Mizenko

Eagle Soaring: Two Winthrop players have earned preseason honors was the Eagles look to return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2006.  So. RHP Tyler Mizenko (2-4, 3.77 ERA, 14 SVs) is a 2^nd team All-American by the NCBWA.  The 14 saves by Mizenko set a school record.  Jr. C Eddie Rohan (.348, 14 HR, 53 RBI) was named a 3^rd team preseason All-American by Louisville Slugger.  Rohan was a 1^st team All-Big South performer last year as the primary DH.

Strong Arms: Pitching should be the strength of this year’s team as the Eagles bring back all 4 starting pitchers from a year ago.  The staff will be led by Jr. RHP Matteo D’Angelo (8-3, 3.09 ERA, 60 K) and Jr. RHP Wade Newman (7-4, 5.42 ERA, 55 K).

Starting Off Well: Winthrop should have a chance to get off to a good start.  They will play 20 of their first 25 games at home.  The first road trip does feature tough contests against Wake Forest and Texas A&M.

2010 Predictions

2010 Champion: Coastal Carolina

2010 Player of the Year: Rico Noel—Coastal Carolina

2010 Pitcher of the Year: Cody Wheeler—Coastal Carolina

(By Collegebaseball360.com contributor Shawn Lewallen)