Week One College Baseball Attendance Feb. 22

The 2010 college baseball season is underway, and fans across the south flocked to stadiums to see the action.  Four SEC teams, LSU, Arkansas, Mississippi, and South Carolina, had the top weekend averages.  Here’s a breakdown of average attendance for opening weekend games as well as top single-game attendance marks (list below on the page).
By Average (min. 1,200)
School/Avg./ Total #Games
1. LSU 10,992/ 32,976/ 3

2. Arkansas 7,300/ 21,899/ 3
3. Ole Miss 7,171/ 21,513/ 3
4. South Carolina 7,072/ 21,216/ 3
5. Texas 6,020/ 18,060/3
6. Mississippi State 5,848/ 17,545/ 3
7. Clemson 5,727/ 11,454/ 2
8. Texas A&M 5,164/ 10,328/ 2
9. Florida State 5,049/ 15,148/ 3
10. East Carolina 4,974/ 14,922/ 3
11. Southern Miss 3,512/ 10,536/ 3
12. Florida 3,484/ 10,454/ 3
13. Hawaii 3,355/ 10,065/ 3
14. Miami, Fla. 3,172/ 9,516/ 3
15. TCU 2,934/ 8,803/ 3
16. Tulane 2,837/ 8,510/ 3
17. Arizona State 2,780/ 5,560/ 2
18. Louisiana-Lafayette 2,758/ 5,516/ 2
19. Baylor 2,679/ 8,038/ 3
20. Fresno State 2,607/ 7,820/ 3
21. Cal State Fullerton 2,465/ 7,395/ 3
22. Auburn 2,439/ 7,318/ 3
23. Texas Tech 2,328/ 9,312/ 4
24. Stanford 1,921/ 3,841/ 2
25. Vanderbilt 1,917/ 5,752/ 3
26. Long Beach State 1,908/ 3,816/ 2
27. Georgia Southern 1,847/ 5,543/3
28. Georgia Tech 1,720/ 5,160/ 3
29. Cal Poly 1,246/ 3,738/ 3
30. North Carolina 1,217/ 3,652/ 3

Top Game Attendances (min. 2,000)
11,588 Centenary at LSU, 2/19
11,126 Centenary at LSU, 2/20
10,262 Centenary at LSU, 2/21
8,004 Ball State at Arkansas, 2/20
7,926 Duquesne at South Carolina, 2/20
7,713 ULM at Ole Miss, 2/20
7,611 ULM at Ole Miss, 2/19
7,359 Ball State at Arkansas, 2/19
6,910 Duquesne at South Carolina, 2/21
6,536 Ball State at Arkansas, 2/21
6,380 Duquesne at South Carolina, 2/19
6,352 New Mexico at Texas, 2/20
6,189 ULM at Ole Miss, 2/21
5,953 New Mexico at Texas, 2/21
5,920 Rhode Island at Mississippi State, 2/20
5,915 Miami (OH) at Clemson, 2/19
5,819 Rhode Island at Mississippi State, 2/19
5,806 Rhode Island at Mississippi State, 2/21
5,755 New Mexico at Texas, 2/19
5,539 Furman at Clemson, 2/21
5,392 Georgia State at Florida State, 2/20
5,318 Seton Hall at Texas A&M, 2/19
5,254 Georgia State at Florida State, 2/19
5,136 Virginia at East Carolina, 2/20
5,012 Virginia at East Carolina, 2/19
5,010 Seton Hall at Texas A&M (DH), 2/20
4,774 Virginia at East Carolina, 2/21
4,502 Georgia State at Florida State, 2/21
4,109 Oregon State at Hawaii, 2/19
3,723 USF at Florida, 2/20
3,607 Northwestern State at Southern Miss, 2/20
3,569 Northwestern State at Southern Miss, 2/19
3,563 Clemson vs. Michigan State, 2/20
3,464 Oregon at Cal State Fullerton, 2/19
3,422 USF at Florida, 2/21
3,360 Northwestern State at Southern Miss, 2/21
3,309 USF at Florida, 2/19
3,280 Nebraska at Fresno State, 2/19
3,228 Sam Houston State at TCU, 2/19
3,128 Oregon State at Hawaii, 2/21
3,072 Sam Houston State at TCU, 2/20
3,011 Northern Illinois at Arizona State, 2/19
3,003 Boston College at Tulane, 2/19
2,912 Nicholls State at Louisiana-Lafayette, 2/20
2,895 Michigan at Texas Tech, 2/20
2,828 Oregon State at Hawaii, 2/20
2,798 Boston College at Tulane, 2/20
2,715 Southeast Missouri at Auburn, 2/20
2,709 Boston College at Tulane, 2/21
2,706 Georgia at Baylor, 2/21
2,670 Duke & Georgia at Baylor (DH), 2/19
2,662 Duke at Baylor, 2/20
2,605 Nicholls State at Louisiana-Lafayette, 2/19
2,548 Northern Illinois at Arizona State (DH), 2/20
2,503 Sam Houston State at TCU, 2/21
2,494 Southeast Missouri at Auburn, 2/19
2,350 Nebraska at Fresno State, 2/20
2,300 Xavier at Tennessee, 2/19
2,243 Jacksonville State at Texas Tech, 2/19
2,190 Nebraska at Fresno State, 2/21
2,162 Jacksonville State at Texas Tech, 2/21
2,126 Rice at Stanford (DH), 2/20
2,109 Southeast Missouri at Auburn, 2/21
2,027 Long Beach State at Cal State Fullerton, 2/21
2,012 Michigan at Texas Tech, 2/21

(Report complied by Wichita State sports information)

NCBWA 2010 Preseason College Baseball Poll

Texas Tops Another Preseason Poll

DALLAS - The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association continues
its tradition of NCAA Division I polls for the 13th year with its 2010
preseason predictions and weekly surveys. Weekly polls will continue
from Feb. 22 through June 29 following the NCAA World Series in Omaha,
Neb.

The poll voters come from 40 college baseball writers and related media
persons from throughout the nation. After a preseason Top 35 listing,
the remainder of the polls will feature a national Top 30.

Texas is the preseason NCBWA poll choice for the third time in history.
Last year coach Augie Garrido’s crew finished second to LSU (No. 2 in
the NCBWA pre-2010 survey) in the NCAA World Series during the
next-to-last venue at historic Rosenblatt Stadium, which will be razed
after the ‘10 CWS. The Longhorns also earned top billing in 2003 and ‘06
while North Carolina managed its first preseason top rating in 2009.

LSU held down the No. 1 slot in both the 1998 and 2001 NCBWA preseason
selections while other No. 1 placers in the initial polls are Southern
California (1999), Miami (Fla.) (2000), Stanford (2002), Cal State
Fullerton (2005), Rice (2004, 07), and Arizona State (2008). The three
final No. 1 choices prior to LSU in 2009 have come from the Far West in
Fresno State (2008) and two-time NCAA champ Oregon State (2006 and ‘07).

This week’s poll has representation by 12 different conferences among
the 302 baseball-playing schools in the 2010 NCAA Division I ranks. The
polls of 2009 had teams from 16 different DI conferences rated at least
one week. For more information or to join the NCBWA, please go to
www.ncbwa.com.

Rank-School-2009 Record-Final ‘09 Poll Place

1 Texas  Big 12 50-16-1 2

2 LSU  SEC 56-17 1

3 Virginia  ACC t 48-15-1 6

4 Cal State Fullerton  Big West 47-16 7

5 Rice   Conference USA 43-18 9

6 Florida State   ACC 45-18 10

7 UC Irvine   Big West 45-15 13

8 Arizona State  Pac-10 51-14 3

9 Georgia Tech ACC 38-19-1 19

10 Florida SEC 42-22 14

11 TCU   Mountain West 40-18 11

12 Miami (Fla.)   ACC 38-22 20

13 North Carolina   ACC 48-18 4

14 Clemson  ACC 44-22 15

15 Arkansas  SEC 41-24 5

16 East Carolina   C-USA 46-20 16

17 Coastal Carolina   Big South 47-16 21

18 Oregon State   Pac-10 37-19 24

19 Louisville   Big East 47-18 17

20 Mississippi   SEC 44-20 12

21 South Carolina   SEC 40-23 23

22 Southern Miss   C-USA 40-26 8

23 Ohio State   Big Ten 42-19 NR

24 San Diego   West Coast 29-25 NR

25 Oklahoma   Big 12 43-20 18

26 Georgia   SEC 38-24 26

27 UCLA   Pac-10 27-29 NR

28 Texas A&M   Big 12 37-24 25

29 Vanderbilt   SEC 37-27 29

30 Stanford   Pac-10 30-25 NR

31 Wichita State  Missouri Valley 30-27 NR

32 Alabama   SEC 37-21 30

33 Kansas   Big 12 39-24 NR

34 Kansas State   Big 12 43-18-1 22

35 Minnesota   Big Ten (40-19) NR

Others receiving votes (listed alphabetically): Army (26-21), Auburn
(31-25), Bethune-Cookman (32-28), Cal Poly (37-21), Charlotte (33-22),
Connecticut (36-24), Dallas Baptist (38-17), Dayton (38-19), Elon
(41-18), Florida Gulf Coast (36-18), Florida International (34-23),
Fresno State (32-30), George Mason (42-14), James Madison (30-24),
Kentucky (28-26), Long Beach State (25-29), Middle Tennessee State
(44-18), Mississippi State (25-29), Notre Dame (36-23), Oklahoma State
(34-24), Oral Roberts (33-15), Pepperdine (31-23), Rhode Island
(37-20-1), San Diego State (41-23), South Florida (34-25), Tennessee
(26-29), UCF (22-35), UNC Wilmington (31-23), Washington State (32-25),
Western Kentucky (42-20), Xavier (39-21) .

By conference: SEC 9, ACC 5, Big 12 5, Pac-10 4, Conference USA 3, Big
West 2, Big Ten 2, WCC 1, Big East 1, Big South 1, MVC 1, MWC 1.

Wright State 2010 Baseball Schedule

Horizon League Champs Look To Return To NCAAs

DAYTON, Ohio – The Wright State baseball team continues to upgrade their schedule and head coach Rob Cooper has put together another solid schedule for his team in 2010. The Raiders will look to defend their 2009 Horizon League Championship against a schedule that will have an unmatched degree of difficulty compared to any previous season. The Green and Gold will face six teams

that made the NCAA Tournament last season and square off against teams from 12 different conferences.

Complete 2010 Wright State Schedule

The Raiders will face 2009 College World Series participant Virginia, Super Regional Participant Clemson, along with Dartmouth, Oklahoma State, Vanderbilt and Xavier who were all among the field of 64 at season’s end in 2009. The Raiders appeared in their third NCAA Regional in 2009 – their second in four seasons under Cooper – and dropped a pair of tightly contests to nationally ranked TCU and Texas A&M at the Ft. Worth Regional.

In 2010, the Raiders will play 26 games versus Horizon League opponents and, in their 31 other scheduled contests, WSU will face teams from 12 separate conferences. WSU will face teams from the ACC, Atlantic 10, Big East, Big XII, Conference USA, Ivy Group, Mid-American Conference, Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, Missouri Valley Conference, SEC and Summit League, along with independent LeMoyne.

“Our 2010 schedule features a wealth of talented teams from around the nation,” said head coach Rob Cooper. “We will see many different styles of baseball to open the season and play some very good baseball teams to prepare us for the Horizon League schedule. Our goal is to play in an NCAA Regional every season and we have a handful of teams on our schedule, this season, which play at that level.”

The Green and Gold will open the season with four games in a round-robin tournament with Canisius and LeMoyne (2/19-21) at the USA Baseball Training Complex in Cary, NC. The following weekend, coach Cooper and his squad will head to Clemson, SC to tangle with the Tigers (2/26-28) in a three game series with the 11-time College World Series participant.

The next weekend will feature a pair of NCAA Tournament participants as the Raiders will head to Charlottesville, Virginia to play in the UVA Tournament. WSU will bookend their game against Dartmouth (3/6) with a pair of contests versus Virginia (3/5 and 3/7), who advanced to the College World Series last season. WSU will then co-host a round robin affair and kick off their home slate with a single game versus Oakland (3/12) and a twinbill with Indiana State (3/13), before traveling to Dayton for a contest on March 14.

The next three of the next four opponents for the Raiders will include a trio of NCAA Tournament regulars. WSU will travel south to take on Kentucky in a midweek tilt (3/17) before heading to Oklahoma State for a round robin tournament. The Green and Gold will take on Missouri State (3/19 and 3/21) twice and take on the host Cowboys (3/20 and 3/21) in a pair of contests. Wright State will conclude their road trip with a single game at Vanderbilt on Wednesday, March 24.

“The Horizon League has become a very competitive conference from top to bottom over the past few seasons,” said Cooper. “Every team has a chance to win on any day and our hope is that the non-conference schedule prepares our team for the grind of the league schedule. We want to be playing our best baseball at the end of the year and competing against the teams from our conference will prepare us to defend our Horizon League Championship.”

From there, WSU will open Horizon League play with a three-game set versus Valparaiso (3/26-27) at Nischwitz Stadium and then host Xavier (3/31) to close out the month. April will start with six of the first seven games on the road, with coach Cooper leading his squad into a series at Butler (4/2-3), before hosting Ohio (4/6) and traveling to Cleveland State (4/9-10) and taking part in the Joe Nuxhall Classic (4/13-14) hosted by Miami University.

The Green and Gold will then host eight-time defending Horizon League Regular Season Champion UIC for three games (4/16-17) and, then, square off with Dayton (4/21) in WSU’s Fifth Annual Military Appreciation Night at Nischwitz Stadium.

The next nine games will be on the road for the defending Horizon League Tournament Champions, starting with a double-header swing through the Chicago-area. WSU will compete at Valparaiso (4/23) and at UIC (4/24), before returning to the Buckeye State for five contests. After traveling to Toledo (4/28) for a midweek tilt, the Green and Gold will head to Niles, Ohio for a three-game series with Youngstown State (4/30-5/1).

The schedule sees a pair of contests with Cincinnati on back-to-back days, staring at Marge Schott Stadium on May 4 and then followed with a contest at Nischwitz Stadium on May 5. The next seven games will be played at Nischwitz Stadium with Milwaukee coming to town for a three game series on May 7 and 8. Cleveland State and Youngstown State will venture south for a pair of twinbills scheduled on Saturday, May 15 and Sunday, May 16, respectively.

The Green and Gold will close out the regular season with a trip to Huntington, WV to take on the Thundering Herd of Marshall. WSU will play one game each day versus the Herd starting on May 20 and ending on May 22.

The 2010 Horizon League Championship will take place at U.S. Steel Yard in Gary, Ind. as the Raiders will begin their title defense on Wednesday, May 26. A champion will be crowned on Saturday, May 29, with a rain date on Sunday, May 30, where WSU will be looking to defend their 2009 title and make a third NCAA Tournament appearance in the last five years.

(Release)

Top College Baseball Moments Of 2009 #2

LSU Wins The College World Series

Everthing came full-circle for LSU baseball when Paul Mainieri’s Tigers won the program’s sixth national championship on June 24th.  The program that started the decade with a title in 2000 ended the decade with a championship as well.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

On June 24, 2009 the circle was completed.

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

Other Top Moments Of 2009

3.  Longhorn Longball In Omaha

4.  Southern Mississippi Sweeps Florida To Go To Omaha

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

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

7.  Virginia Beats Stephen Strasburg In Irvine Regional Opener

8.  Washington State And Gonzaga End Long NCAA Tournament Droughts

9.  Cal Poly Gets Its First NCAA Tournament Bid

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

11.  Stephen Strasburg Strikes out 17 in a no hitter

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

13.  Kansas Sweeps #1 Texas

14.  Bryce Brentz Has An April To Remember

15.  Clemson’s Kyle Parker Does Double Duty

16.  #1 Arkansas Beats #1 Arizona State

17.  Rhode Island Beats Miami And Oklahoma State

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

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

20.  Illinois Shocks #1 LSU In Baton Rouge

21.  Alabama’s Kent Matthes Launches Longballs

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

23.  LSU Opens The New Alex Box Stadium

24.  Oregon Brings Back Baseball

Collegiate Baseball 2010 Preseason Poll

Texas Tops Collegiate Baseball Newspaper’s First 2010 Rankings

TUCSON, Ariz. — The University of Texas is the preseason favorite to capture the 2010 College World Series, according to Collegiate Baseball newspaper’s Fabulous 40 NCAA Division I preseason baseball poll.

The Longhorns, which finished second at the College World Series last year, are absolutely loaded with superb pitching, including three Louisville Slugger pre-season All-Americans in RHP Taylor Jungmann (11-3, 2.00 ERA, 101 K, 35 BB), RHP Chance Ruffin (10-2, 115 K, 25 BB) and RHP Cole Green (5-3, 3.34 ERA, 85 K, 34 BB, who is expected to be drafted in the first three rounds of next June’s Free Agent Draft).

The staff also includes stalwarts such as RHP Brandon Workman (3-5, 3.48 ERA, 82 K, 28 BB) who also is expected to be drafted in the first three rounds next June and RHP Austin Dicharry (8-2, 2.28 ERA, 59 K, 28 BB).

(Release)

Here’s a look at Collegiate Baseball’s entire Fabulous 40 NCAA Division I preseason baseball poll

1.  Texas

2.  LSU

3.  Virginia

4.  Cal State Fullerton

5.  Arizona State

6.  Georgia Tech

7.  Florida State

8.  UC Irvine

9.  Florida

10. Oregon State

11. Rice

12. Miami (FL)

13. North Carolina

14. Ohio State

15. TCU

16. Clemson

17. Coastal Carolina

18. East Carolina

19. Louisville

20. UCLA

21. Southern Mississippi

22. Mississippi

23. Arkansas

24. San Diego

25. Oklahoma

26. Stanford

27. Wichita State

28. South Carolina

29. Texas A&M

30. Minnesota

31. Georgia

32. Vanderbilt

33. Fresno State

34. Pepperdine

35. South Florida

36. Kansas

37. Middle Tennessee State

38. Florida Gulf Coast

39. Notre Dame

40. Dallas Baptist

Top College Baseball Moments Of 2009 #14

Bryce Brentz Has An April To Remember

(With the end of the year fast approaching, we’re counting down some of the top moments from the 2009 college baseball season.  We’ll have one a day through New Year’s Eve.)

Bryce Brentz was having a good season doing double duty as an outfielder and pitcher heading into last April, but

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Other Top Moments Of 2009

15.  Clemson’s Kyle Parker Does Double Duty

16.  #1 Arkansas Beats #1 Arizona State

17.  Rhode Island Beats Miami And Oklahoma State

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

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

20.  Illinois Shocks #1 LSU In Baton Rouge

21.  Alabama’s Kent Matthes Launches Longballs

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

23.  LSU Opens The New Alex Box Stadium

24.  Oregon Brings Back Baseball

Oklahoma State 2010 Baseball Schedule

Stillwater, OK Twelve NCAA Tournament teams from 2009 highlight Oklahoma State’s 2010 baseball schedule, which was released today.

“It’s a challenging schedule, and we’re going to face some great competition that will really test us,” said OSU head coach Frank Anderson, who is entering his seventh season with the Cowboys. “We continue to upgrade our schedule, and this schedule will be one of the toughest we’ve had and one that should allow us to do well in the RPI.”

OSU opens the 2010 season against Oklahoma Christian on Feb. 20 in Stillwater at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium, and the Cowboys follow that with a pair of tournament appearances. On Feb. 26, OSU faces USC in Los Angeles at the Jackie Robinson Classic, where the Cowboys will also take on tourney-host UCLA and Vanderbilt. The following weekend, OSU

will compete in the Dairy Queen Classic, which is held in the Metrodome in Minneapolis, and will battle host Minnesota, Northwestern and Loyola Marymount.

Complete 2010 Oklahoma State Schedule (PDF)

Following the back-to-back road trips, OSU will open a 12-game home stand at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium on March 12 against Massachusetts. The home stand includes a pair of games against Wright State, which was an NCAA Regional team last season. That stretch will take the Cowboys into Big 12 Conference play, where they open on the road at Kansas State on March 26.

In Big 12 Conference action, Anderson’s club will play host to Nebraska, Texas Tech, Kansas and Texas A&M. The conference home opener is against the Cornhuskers on April 2.

Among the Cowboys’ other non-conference opponents are Missouri State and Wichita State, both of which OSU will face at home and on the road this season. Anderson’s club will host a showdown against Rice on May 11.

OSU also has a non-conference game against Bedlam-rival Oklahoma in Stillwater on April 13. The two teams will alternate hosting a non-conference game each season, with the Cowboys making the trip to Norman in 2011. The games will not count towards either team’s Big 12 record.

“It’s been in the works for a while to get a game back on our campuses every year, and we’re excited to get this first one back in Stillwater,” said Anderson of the non-conference game agreement with OU. “It will be something the fans will enjoy, and it will only enhance the rivalry.”

The Cowboys and Sooners will continue their conference rivalry with the usual Bedlam Series, with the opener May 7 at the new Oneok Field in Tulsa, Okla., and the final two games at AT&T Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City.

The Big 12 Baseball Championship will be held at AT&T Bricktown Ballpark May 26-30, while NCAA Regionals get underway on June 4. The College World Series begins play on June 19 in Omaha, Neb.

(Release)

Belmont 2010 Baseball Schedule

Bruins Will Play 21 Of Their First 25 Games At Home

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Belmont baseball program will play 21 of the first 25 games at home and face five NCAA Tournament teams from last season as a part of the 2010 schedule head coach David Jarvis released on Monday.

HOME OPENER
The Bruins begin the season with a three-game series against Evansville (2009 record: 25-20) from Feb. 19-20 in

Shelby Park. It is the third time in four years that Belmont has faced a Missouri Valley Conference opponent to open the season. In last season’s home opener Belmont won two-of-three games against Illinois State, and in 2007 the Bruins opened up with two wins over Bradley.

Complete 2010 Belmont Schedule (PDF)

REGIONAL MATCHUPS
Belmont will trade home games with six area teams – Western Kentucky, Murray State, MTSU, Tennessee Tech, UT-Martin, and Austin Peay – which will make up a majority of the Bruins’ non-conference slate. The regional matchups begin at home with WKU (42-20) on Feb. 24. The Hilltoppers earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history after sharing the Sun Belt regular season title. Belmont will travel to WKU on April 7, to fulfill the two-game series.

OHIO VALLEY OPPPONENTS
Eleven of Belmont’s 28 non-conference games will be against teams from the Ohio Valley Conference, beginning with a three-game series against Eastern Illinois (36-14) from Feb. 26-28. After facing the 2009 regular season champions, the Bruins will travel to Murray State (34-21-1) on March 2 for the first of 21 road games during the season.

Belmont’s OVC tour resumes on March 23 when the Bruins host 2009 tournament champion Tennessee Tech (31-24-1) in Shelby Park. Senior Day is schedule for May 18 against Tennessee-Martin (20-31) – the last home game of the season. The Austin Peay series will take place on the road on April 20 and at home on the 28th.

SEC
Belmont will play two Southeastern Conference teams with Vanderbilt (37-27) on April 6 at Hawkins Field in Nashville, and Tennessee (26-29) on April 27 in Knoxville.

NEW BEGINNINGS
Belmont will face three new opponents in 2010 including Cleveland State, Eastern Michigan and Evansville. All games will be played at Shelby Park with Evansville opening the season on Feb. 19, Eastern Michigan (25-35) playing three games in two days from March 5-6, and a mid-week bout with Cleveland State (21-31) March 16 and 17.

The Bruins’ first substantial road trip will be a nine-game swing including a stop in Arkansas to play Arkansas-Little Rock for the first time since 1998.

CONFERENCE MATCHUPS
The Bruins open the conference season on the road against reigning Atlantic Sun Tournament Champion Jacksonville (37-22) on March 12. The Dolphins eliminated Belmont en route to their fourth A-Sun title and sixth berth in the NCAA Tournament.

The Bruins will play 27 conference games, three less than last season’s A-Sun slate which the Bruins finished with an even 15-15 record. All conference series are three games as most will occur over the span of two days, except Lipscomb and Florida Gulf Coast. ETSU is the lone conference member that the Bruins will not play in the regular season.

The baseball edition of the Battle of the Boulevard between arch-rival Lipscomb will be held in Shelby Park from March 19-21.

Belmont will conclude the regular season on road against Mercer on May 20 and 21.

The 2010 Atlantic Sun Championship will be held in Nashville at Lipscomb’s Dugan Field from May 25-29.

SHELBY IS HOME
Shelby Park will field all of Belmont’s 32 home games in 2009, ending nearly two decades of hosting teams at Greer Stadium – the home of the Nashville Sounds, Class AAA affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Illinois State 2010 Baseball Schedule

Red Bird to play eight games against 2009 NCAA Tournament Teams

NORMAL, Ill. - Illinois State will play five consecutive games against 2009 NCAA Tournament teams to begin its spring trip and will match-up with 11 teams that won at least 30 games last season in a highly competitive 2010 baseball schedule released Tuesday.

The Redbirds will begin spring break with games against 2009 NCAA Tournament qualifiers Indiana (March 5), Vanderbilt (March 6), and Kent State (March 7) at the Music City Classic hosted by the Commodores in Nashville, Tenn., before taking on Florida (March 9-10), last year’s No. 8 overall seed, in a two-game midweek series

in Gainesville, Fla. Illinois State’s schedule features 53 games, including 19 contests at home against regional foes Illinois, Northern Illinois, Eastern Illinois, Purdue, and Valley rivals Southern Illinois, Wichita State and Bradley.

Complete 2010 IllinoisState Schedule (PDF)

“This is a very challenging schedule as we look forward to 2010,” Illinois State head coach Mark Kingston said. “Our non conference opponents will prepare us for the demands of a very competitive Missouri Valley Conference. At one point, we will play five-consecutive games against 2009 NCAA tournament teams. Being able to play at Florida and Vanderbilt will also be an experience that pays dividends. This high level of competition will be good for us in the long term, both individually, and as a team.”

Illinois State will play its first 18 games on the road and begin the 2010 season at the Austin Peay Classic (Feb. 19-21) in Clarksville, Tenn., against Austin Peay and Iowa. The trip is the first of three the Redbirds will make to the state of Tennessee. Illinois State will then travel to Winter Haven, Fla., for the 2010 RussMatt Central Florida Invitational (Feb. 27-March1), where the Redbirds will play four games against four different opponents.

The Redbirds will then tackle the grueling five-game stretch against tournament teams to start its spring break trip, but the competition doesn’t let up with two games against James Madison (March 12 and 14) wrapped around a date with North Florida (March 13) in Jacksonville, Fla., before Illinois State returns home.

Illinois State opens the home portion of its schedule at Duffy Bass Field with a four-game series against Central Michigan (March 19-21). The Redbirds won’t have time to get too comfy, as the team plays nine of its next 11 games on the road, including the conference-opening series at Indiana State (March 26-28), another trip to Tennesse for a three-game series with Lipscomb (April 2-3), and a match-up with Valley foe Creighton in Omaha (April 9-11).

ISU will host mid-week match-ups with Illinois (March 30), Northern Illinois (April 6), Purdue (April 14) and Eastern Illinois (May 12). The Redbirds open the home-conference slate against Southern Illinois (April 16-18). Illinois State will also welcome Wichita State (April 30-May 2) and Bradley (May 14-16) to Duffy Bass Field in Missouri Valley Conference action. Keeping history alive, Illinois State will travel across town for the annual Horenberger-Bass Classic against Illinois Wesleyan (April 27). The Redbirds will close the season on the road at Evansville (May 20-22).

Postseason play begins Tuesday, May 25, with the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, hosted by Wichita State at Eck Stadium in Wichita, Kan. The NCAA Tournament begins on Friday, June 4.

(Release)

Middle Tennessee State 2010 Baseball Schedule

Blue Raiders Have 27 Home Games In 2010

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee head baseball coach Steve Peterson announced Wednesday the 2010 schedule for his defending Sun Belt Conference champion Blue Raiders.

The 2010 campaign is very attractive but includes an added bonus. The Blue Raiders will host the Sun Belt Conference Championships on May 26-29 for the first time in school history. It marks the first time Middle Tennessee has hosted a postseason conference tournament since 1997 (Ohio Valley).

Middle Tennessee will play a total of 27 home games, including a three-game series with a strong Ohio team to open the home season on February 26-27-28. The Blue Raiders will officially open the season a week earlier with a trio of games at Memphis on February 19-20-21.

“With the exception of Ohio University, our schedule looks much like it has in recent years,” noted Peterson. “It will feature a lot of familiar foes, and have a lot of road games close by that our fans can follow us to.”

Complete 2010 MTSU Schedule

Tennessee and Vanderbilt are home-and-home foes once again, as are Austin Peay, Belmont, David Lipscomb and Tennessee Tech.

Middle Tennessee will play Southern Illinois in multi-game series’ home and away, and will also have a three-game road trip to Jacksonville State in early March.

“We have a tough non-conference slate, as we always try to do, to prepare us for conference play,” said Peterson. “Tennessee was very good at the end of the season last year, and Vandy is being touted as perhaps having the best pitching staff in the country. Tennessee Tech made the NCAA tournament last year, and Southern Illinois and Jacksonville State are always a tough series for us.”

The 56-game schedule will include 18 games against Sun Belt Conference foes, beginning with a three-game home stand against Louisiana-Monroe March 12-13-14. It will close the regular season with what has become the traditional season-ending series with Western Kentucky.

Sunday, April 25th, is tentatively set as Little League Day at Reese Smith Field. Middle Tennessee will host SBC foe Arkansas-Little Rock on that day.

(Release)

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