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Sweeps WSU After Being Swept By OSU…

By CB360 Contributor Kevin Kennedy

Tenth ranked Arizona State bounced back from last weekend’s sweep at Oregon State with a three game sweep of Washington State this past weekend in Tempe. ASU defeated the Cougars 3-1, 8-2, and 10-4 on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday respectively.

Last weekend in Corvallis the Sun Devils were swept by a Pac-10 team for the first time since 1999 when they lost all three games to the Beavers. It was also the first time ASU had been swept by any opponent since 2005.

Brady Rodgers

ASU improved to 25-9 and 8-4 in the Pac-10, while Washington St. continued to struggle in conference action falling to 2-10 in the Pac-10 with a 14-17 overall record.

ASU won in a pitchers duel between sophomore Brady Rodgers, and WSU junior Adam Conley on Friday night. Rodgers pitched 6.1 innings allowing an earned run on five hits. Three ASU relievers pitched the final 2.1 innings allowing just one hit while striking out four. Junior Mitchell Lambson, who took the loss in last Saturday’s game against the Beavers, earned the save on Friday by striking out the side in order.

Rodgers continues to solidify his spot as the Sun Devils ace. He improved to 5-2 with a 2.92 ERA. Through seven appearances Rodgers has a 30 to 1 strike out to walk ratio.

On Friday the Sun Devils had trouble figuring out the Cougar’s ace. Conley pitched a complete game limiting the Sun Devils to seven hits while allowing only one earned run while striking out seven. Conley dropped to 4-4 with the tough loss.

ASU scored all three of its runs in the 5^th off Conley. The two deciding runs came when WSU junior 2^nd basemen Tommy Richards committed an error by allowing a two out ground ball to go though his legs.

The Sun Devils were without sophomore starting SS Deven Marrero for the first two games because of a back injury. The injury forced junior Riccio Torrez to move from 3B to SS, and sophomore Joey DeMichele moved into the starting line-up going to 3B.

DeMichele made two nice plays at third in Friday’s win, and followed up the defensive effort with a 3-4, 3 RBI night on Saturday. Marrero returned to SS on Sunday and went 1-4.

Chad Arnold

The Devils had more offensive success in the last two games of the series. They chased WSU’s Saturday starter, senior Chad Arnold, after he allowed seven runs in 3.1 innings. ASU led 7-1 after just four innings. Besides DeMichele junior 1B Zach Wilson led ASU by going 3-3.

Junior Kramer Champlin went 6.1 innings for the win improving to 5-1 with a 3.20 ERA in nine starts. Champlin allowed two earned on eight hits while striking out five.

ASU struck early again in Sunday’s 10-4 win. ASU jumped out to a 4-0 lead after five innings, and put the game away with a five run sixth inning, which gave the Devils a 9-2 lead. DeMichele has his second consecutive three hit game going 3-5 as the starting DH. Senior RF Matt Newman, sophomore CF Andrew Aplin, and Torrez were a combined 6-for-13 with five RBIs in Sunday’s victory.

For the second consecutive game WSU’s starter failed to get through five innings going 4.2 innings and falling to 3-4 with the loss. Sophomore Jake Barrett got the victory for the Devils improving to 4-3 by going 5.2 innings.

This weekend ASU continued to be aggressive on the base paths. The Sun Devils stole seven bases in the series. For the season has 58 stolen bases on 86 attempts – a 67% success rate.

Washington State continues to be one of the bigger disappointments in the conference through the first four weeks of conference play. There were high expectations in Pullman coming into this season after the team came within a game of the Super Regional’s in 2010. The Cougars are currently last in the Pac-10 – 7.5 games behind first place Oregon State. WSU has now dropped seven of its last eight Pac-10 games.

The Cougars need to play well the last month plus of the season to reach the tournament again. The Cougars have played one of the tougher conference schedules, with games at #16 Cal, vs. #17 Stanford, and vs. #23 UCLA. The schedule does not get any easier next weekend when they visit #9 Oregon State. WSU will have played the top four teams in the conference standings after the OSU series.

Following OSU, the Cougars do play three of their last four conference series at home.

The Sun Devils are going for a fourth straight conference title, and currently sit 1.5 games behind conference leader Oregon State, three games back in the loss column. The Beavers hold the tiebreaker over ASU with last weekend’s sweep.

Next weekend the Devils travel to northern California to play at Cal beginning on Thursday. The Bears are 9-3 in the Pac-10, just one-half game behind OSU.

The Sun Devils currently could be eligible for the NCAA Tournament, because they are appealing the NCAA’s postseason ban. The ban would not go into effect until the appeals process is over.

ASU has a decent shot to make the tournament because they are not set to have their case heard until May 14, about two weeks before the tournament field is selected. It is unlikely that the appeals committee will make a ruling by the time the 2011 tournament beings.

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By Collegebaseball360.com Editor Sean Stires

UCSD head coach Dan O'Brien (jacket) and his Tritons could be headed to the Big West.

A Big West Boom?

We started last week’s Notebook with the news that TCU was headed to the Big East Conference. This week we start with news that Hawaii, Cal State Bakersfield and UC San Diego have each applied for membership in the Big West Conference. Hawaii plans to join the Mountain West Conference for football, but the rest of its sports would join the Big West if membership goes through. The Big West would make travel much easier for Hawaii’s non-revenue sports since all nine current Big West teams are located in California.

Keep in mind, it’s UC San Diego – as in the Tritons –  not the University of San Diego – as in the Toreros – that wants to join the Big West. Dan O’Brien’s Tritons were the Division II national runner-ups this past season after advancing to the D II national semifinals in 2009. This year’s team won a school record 54 games with a record low eight losses. They would obviously have to make the move to Division One though to join the Big West.

CS Bakersfield, coached by Bill Kernen, just began playing college baseball in 2009 as part of the school’s transition to Division One. The Roadrunners won 13 games in 2009 and doubled that to 26 victories last season.

The Big West had put a moratorium on conference expansion back in 2005, but it just ended that ban last month.

The Call Of The Hall…

1988 NCAA Player of the Year John Olerud (courtesy Washington State)

He’s a long shot for induction, but former Washington State star John Olerud is on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America Hall of Fame ballot for the first time. The 17-year MLB vet was the 1988 college baseball Player of the Year. He was 15-0 with a 2.49 ERA on the mound that year, while also batting .464 with 23 home runs and 81 RBIs. Olerud was an integral member of the Toronto Blue Jays‘ World Series winning teams in 1992 and ’93, but his 2,239 career hits and 255 home runs are far from HOF benchmark numbers.

Other former college players in this year’s Hall of Fame ballot are: Mark McGwire (USC), Bret Boone (USC), Barry Larkin (Michigan), Bobby Higginson (Temple), Rafael Palmeiro (Mississippi State), Charles Johnson (Miami), Tino Martinez (Tampa), Kirk Rueter (Murray State), John Franco (St. John’s), and B.J. Surhoff (North Carolina). Franco tossed a pair of no-hitters during his freshman year at St. John’s. Surhoff was the National Player of the Year in 1985. He was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame earlier this year.

The results of HOF voting will be announced on January 11, 2011. The induction ceremony is July 24 in Cooperstown, NY.

Tigers Get Their Rings…

The Clemson baseball team recently received its 2010 College World Series rings. Jack Leggett’s squad received its hardware before last week’s Clemson-Michigan basketball game at Littlejohn Coliseum. Clemson finished 2010 with a 45-25 record after making its 12th trip to Omaha. CLICK HERE to see the video.

The Scouts Like Nino…

Nino Girratano

The Northern California Scouts Association has named University of San Francisco head coach Nino Giarratano its four-year college baseball Coach of the Year. The NCSA is comprised of at least 70 scouts who work for the 30 MLB clubs. Of Giarratano, Florida Marlins scout John Hughes said “He does such a great job at USF and his coaching staff does a great job overall. They do more than coach baseball at USF — they develop kids into great people. Nino is cooperative and communicates well with Major League Baseball scouts so that he can do what’s best for his players.” Giarratano was the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team head coach this past summer.

Two-Sport Playoff Push…

If you saw our latest Two-Sport Report last week, you know that several college baseball players who also play football were involved in the FCS (formerly I-AA) playoffs last week. In a head to head match-up, Landon Bennett (punter) and Wofford knocked Jacksonville State and freshman QB Coty Blanchard out of the playoffs with a 17-14 win. Wofford now takes on Georgia Southern.

Defending FCS national champion Villanova beat Stephen F. Austin 54-24 to advance to the FCS quarterfinals and the Wildcats have three baseball/football players. Matt Szczur (signed with the Chicago Cubs last summer) scored a touchdown, while Marlon Calbi threw a TD pass. Villanova next faces Appalachian State.

Assistants Get Raises As Well…

Donnie Marbut (WSU photo)

“Donnie and his staff have done a tremendous job bringing Cougar baseball back to national prominence and for that they should be rewarded,” said Moos. “During his tenure as WSU’s head coach the program has improved each year on the field and in the classroom. He has embraced the Cougars’ storied history by reconnecting with former players and bringing them back into the program while his vision and passion for the future cannot be matched. We have one of the best coaches in the country and this contract reflects the University’s commitment and belief that continued success is on the horizon.”

Marbut’s contract calls for a base salary of $170,000 for each of the three years, and includes a rollover option that by mutual agreement at the end of each season extends the contract an additional year. Additionally, Marbut will receive incentive compensation based upon conference finish, postseason play and Pacific-10 and National Coach of the Year honors.

Additionally, Cougar Assistant Coaches Gregg Swenson and Spencer Allen each received base salary increases and incentives for conference finish and postseason play. A baseball operations coordinator position was also created and Lindsey Weber was hired to fill those duties.

“I want to thank Dr. Floyd and Bill Moos for extending me and my assistants these contracts,” said Marbut. “Before I signed it was important to make sure the program continued to get better and the assistants be rewarded. The only way to build a program is with great people and I have been lucky enough to coach with great assistants. Not only did Bill make sure our assistants were rewarded, he added to our staff by creating a baseball operations position, which we sorely needed.

“Bill and I also share a common vision that coaching at Washington State is not a stepping stone, it is a destination and a place I would like to coach at for a long, long time,” Marbut continued. “He and Dr. Floyd have made that dream come true.”

Since taking over the head coaching duties in 2004, Marbut has guided the Cougars to five consecutive winning seasons, three-straight 30-win seasons for the first time since 1992-94, along with back-to-back postseason appearances for the first time since 1987-88. Over the past two seasons the Cougars have recorded the second-best record (34-20) in conference play and the second-best home record (44-11) among Pac-10 schools.

In the classroom WSU has collected 33 All-Pac-10 Academic awards during Marbut tenure, including 13 first-team recipients. The Cougars have won the Pac-10 Scholar-Athlete award for baseball each of the last three seasons and have raised their single-season Academic Performance Review (APR) score from 85.3 percent in 2003-04, the year before Marbut arrived, to 98.4 percent in 2008-09, the highest in school history.

(WSU Release)

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

Jason Coats led TCU with 6 RBIs vs. Cal State Fullerton

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

All-American Daniel Renken is 0-2 in his first two starts in 2010.

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.

Plenty Of Player Interviews To Get Fans Primed For The Season

LSU Head Coach Paul Mainieri – Reflects on winning the 2009 National Championship.

UT Arlington’s Michael Choice – Talks about his summer with Team USA & upcoming season.

Washington State’s Chad Arnold – On his summer & last year’s record-setting Cougar season.

George Washington’s Marshall Seedorf – Talks about balancing being a college pitcher and swimmer.

UConn’s Pierre LePage – Discusses big plans for 2010 & winning a Cape Cod League title.

Southern Mississippi’s B.A. Vollmuth – On the College World Series run & playing on The Cape last summer.

East Carolina’s Kyle Roller – Cape Cod MVP talks about going farther with ECU this year.

West Virginia’s Jedd Gyorko – On Cape Cod & getting the Mountaineers over the hump.

Florida Gulf Coast’s Chris Sale – Cape Cod Pitching MVP talks about FGCU being NCAA eligible this year.

Middle Tennessee’s Bryce Brentz – The 2009 NCAA hitting & HR leader on growing as a college baseball player.

Villanova two-sport star Matt Szczur – On winning a football national title & plans for the future.

Michigan’s Ryan LaMarre – The preseason All-American on returning Michigan to NCAA Tourney.

OVC Baseball Coaches - A handful talk about moving the OVC Tourney to Pringles Park this year.

Can ASU Keep On Winning Without Murphy?

2009 Pac 10 Champion:  Arizona State (No Pac 10 Postseason Tournament)

The More Things Change…:  There wasn’t much change at the top of the Pac 10 ranks, but there was some turnover in the middle.  Arizona State’s 2009 Pac 10 title was its third straight to give the Sun Devils their 10th straight NCAA appearance.  However, Washington State went from the bottom of the conference in 2008 to a second-place finish last year.  It was the Cougars’ first top five finish in the conference since 1991 and they earned their first NCAA Regional appearance since 1990.  Meanwhile, Oregon brought back baseball & played its first games since 1981, Oregon State was back in the tournament after staying home in 2008 and Stanford missed the NCAAs after a 2008 trip to the CWS.  The biggest news from the Pac 10 in 2009 though came in the off season with the departure of ASU head coach Pat Murphy.  The big question now is: Can ASU continue its success with a new head coach?

2010 Pac 10 Baseball Preview

Arizona

2009 Record:  (30-25, 13-14)

Mascot:  Wildcats

Head Coach:  Andy Lopez

Location:  Tucson, AZ

Vitals:  .314 BA, 46 HR, 71 SB, .387 OBP, .965 Fld%…5.46 ERA, 0 CG, 13 SV, 379 K, 215 BB, .293 opp. BA

Slight Returns:  The Wildcats have just 12 returning players from last year’s roster.  They will have as many as 16 freshman on the roster this season.

The Holes:  Pac 10 batting champion Dillon Baird (.433, 8 HR, 55 RBIs) leads the list of departed players.  Hunter Pace (.372, 15 SB) and Dwight Childs (.331) are gone from the line-up as well.  Arizona also loses its top starting pitcher, Preston Guilmet (6-5, 3.74 ERA), as well as relievers Cory Burns (2-0, 3.80 ERA, 40 appearances) and Jason Stoffel (2-1, 4.67 ERA, 39 app., 11 SV).

Who’s Back:  The top returning pitcher include Daniel Workman (3-1, 3.86 ERA), Joe Allison (5-1, 4.66 ERA) and Kyle Simon (3-5, 6.03 ERA, 11 starts).  Bryce Ortega (.324, 16 SB) and Steve Selsky (.318 will lead the offense).

Family Ties:  Brothers Michael and David Lopez will both wear the Wildcat uniform this season.  Their dad is head coach Andy Lopez.  Michael is a pitcher who redshirted last year, while David is a freshman infielder.

Tucson Time:  Arizona plays its first 26 games, including its conference-opening series vs. Oregon, on its home

Tim Esmay (ASU photo)

field in Tucson, AZ.  The Wildcats have a total of 44 home games in 2010.

Arizona State

2009 Record:  (51-14, 21-6)

Mascot:  Sun Devils

Head Coach:  Tim Esmay

Location:  Tempe, AZ

Vitals:  .303 BA, 75 HR, 116 SB, .418 OBP, .969 Fld%…2.90 ERA, 11 CG, 12 SV, 608 K, 157 BB, .239 opp. BA

Meet The New Boss:  Pat Murphy is gone after 15 seasons in the desert.  Murphy’s last win in a Sun Devil uniform was a 12-5 victory over North Carolina in Omaha, and it was the 1,000th of his career.  New head coach Tim Esmay is no stranger to the ASU

Kole Calhoun

program.  He played in the College World Series for Jim Brock’s Sun Devils in 1987 and ’88, and he was also an assistant to Murphy for the last five seasons.  Esmay was also the head coach at Utah from 1997-2004.

Line-Up Lowdown:  ASU returns 7 of its top 9 hitters who saw significant action in 2009.  The glaring losses are Pac 10 Player of the Year Jason Kipnis (.384, 16 HR, 71 RBIs, 27 SB) and catcher Carlos Ramirez (.338, 19 HR, 75 RBIs).  However, Kole Calhoun (.313, 12 HR, 53 RBIs) is back for his senior season.  Calhoun hit 3 HR with 11 RBIs in Omaha.  Sophomores Johnny Ruettiger (.360, 12 SB) & Drew Maggi (.309, 21 SB) and junior Matt Newman (.305, 7 HR, 54 RBIs) all return as well.

Oh Brother:  Senior co-captain Rauol Torrez (.250,15 SB) and soph. Riccio Torrez (.280, 6 HR) are the fifth set of brothers to play at ASU at the same time, but they are the first to start alongside one another in school history.  All 54 of Rauol’s starts came at third base, while most of Riccio’s were at first base.  The brothers are back as well to anchor the Sun Devil infield in 2010.

An Ace Down:  RHP Mike Leake (16-1, 1.71 ERA, 7 CG) and LHP Josh Spence (10-1, 2.37 ERA) were both good enough to be any team’s ace last year, but only senior Spence is back this season.  Leake signed after being taken in the first round of last year’s draft by Cincinnati.  Spence decided to return for his year after going in the third round to the Angels.  Other notable returning pitchers are LHP Mitchell Lambson (9-5, 3.01 ERA, 5 SV) and RHP Jordan Swaggerty (4-1, 4.50 ERA, 4 SV).

California

2009 Record:  (24-29, 9-18)

Mascot:  Golden Bears

Head Coach:  David Esquer

Location:  Berkeley, CA

Vitals:  .298 BA, 65 HR, 66 SB, .375 OBP, .966 Fld%…5.74, 2 CG, 13 SV, 423 K, 249 BB, .284 opp. BA

Big Bear Losses:  Cal loses three of its top four batters from last year, including two-way player Blake Smith (.319, 10 HR, 38 RBIs), who was drafted in the second round last year by the Dodgers.  Smith had two saves out of the

Mark Canha (Cal photo)

bullpen while starting three games as well.  Jeff Kobernus (.341, 8 HR, 20 SB) and Brett Jackson (.321, 8 HR, 11 SB) are both gone as well.

Top Bear Back:  Cal’s top overall hitter, Mark Canha, is returns.  The junior led Cal in average (.366), HR (12), RBIs (43), slg% (.634), and OBP (.444).  Brian Guinn (.315, 10 SB) and Danny Oh (.303, 7 HR) is back as well.

Plenty Of Pitching: The Golden Bears return most of their pitchers from a staff that finished with the worst ERA in the conference last year.  Reliver Dixon Anderson (3.98 ERA, 3 SV), LHP Chris Petrini (4-3, 3.98 ERA) and Erik Johnson (3-6, 4.41 ERA, 9 starts, CG, 4 SV) are among the top returnees.

No-Nonsense Non-Conference:  In consecutive weeks Cal plays non-conference games vs. 2009 CWS team Arkansas (3 at home), 2009 Super Regional team Rice (4 in Houston) and ’09 NCAA team Cal Poly (3 on the road).  They follow that with their Pac 10-opening series at Arizona State.

Call From The Hall:  Former Cal head coach Bob Milano was inducted into the ABCA Hall of Fame in January.  He won 688 games at Cal from 1978-1999 and led the Golden Bears to the College World Series in 1980, 1988 and 1992.

Oregon

2009 Record:  (14-42, 4-23)

Mascot:  Ducks

Head Coach:  George Horton

Location:  Eugene, OR

Vitals:  .227 BA, 16 HR, 60 SB, .296 OBP, .961 Fld%…5.07 ERA, 4 CG, 8 SV, 357 K, 239 BB, .271 opp. BA

Growing Pains:  Oregon fielded its first baseball team since 1981 last year, and things looked bright early when the Ducks beat St. Mary’s 5-3 in their season opener.  They lost the next two games of the series, but then won 2 of 3 games at home vs. defending national champion Fresno State.  That would be the high point of their inaugural season though, as they won just three games after March 31 en-route to a 14-win campaign.  Oregon finished last in the Pac 10 in these (and a few other) statistical categories:  Batting average, HR, runs, slg%, OBP, hits, RBIs, doubles, total bases, walks, strikeouts (by pitchers), saves.  They also committed the second most errors (85) in the conference behind USC”S 101.

The Bright Side:  After a bumpy first year George Horton returns all but five players who saw action last year, while nine freshmen and a handful of junior college transfers join the team.  Here’s a look at some of the returnees with the category in which they led the Ducks last year Curt Raulinaitis (batting avg.-.291), K.C. Serna (RBIs-19 & HR-3), Danny Pulfer (starts-55 & BB-19), Drew Gagnier (ERA-2.70, appearances-23, saves-7).  Starting pitchers Erik Stavert (5-6, 3.04 ERA, 14 starts) & Tyler Anderson (2-9, 15 starts) are both gone.

Homecoming:  Oregon opens the season at Cal State Fullerton, where Horton played and later spent 11 seasons as the Titans’ head coach.  Horton guided Fullerton to six College World Series appearances and the 2004 National Championship.  Current Fullerton head coach Dave Serrano was an assistant under Horton.

Oregon State

2009 Record:  (37-19, 15-12)

Mascot:  Beavers

Head Coach:  Pat Casey

Location:  Corvallis, OR

Vitals:  .278 BA, 23 HR, 53 SB, .392 OBP, .977 Fld%…3.93 ERA, 3 CG, 13 SV, 431 K, 199 BB, .245 opp. BA

Sam Gaviglio (OSU photo)

Locked Line-Up:  Oregon State returns six starters from last year’s team.  All-Pac 10 honoree Adalberto Santos (.320, 4 HR, 43 RBIs, 15 SB) and team HR and RBI leader Stefan Romero (..291, 5 HR, 51 RBIs) head the group.

Plus Pitching:  The Beavers’ 3.93 team ERA ranked second in the Pac 10 last year to Arizona State, and they return two starters, Sam Gaviglio (10-1, 2.73 ERA) and Tyler Waldron (6-4, 4.15 ERA), and closer Kevin Rhoderick (3-3, 4.18 ERA, 9 SV).  Gaviglio was a Freshman All-American last year.

Turn The Page:  Baseball America recently named Oregon State the #2 team of the past decade, while tabbing head coach Pat Casey the coach of the decade.  The Beavers won back-to-back National Championships in 2006 and 2007 and made an additional trip to Omaha.  They averaged 35.6 wins a season from 2000-2009.

Stanford

2009 Record:  (30-25, 13-14)

Mascot:  Cardinal

Head Coach:  Mark Marquess

Location:  Palo Alto, CA

Vitals:  .279 BA, 49 HR, 46 SB, .360 OBP, .977 Fld%…5.12 ERA, 2 CG, 8 SV, 381 K, 222 BB, .268 opp. BA

Rare Absence:  After a trip to the 2008 College World Series Stanford missed the NCAA Tournament last year.  It was

Colin Walsh (Stanford photo)

the second time in three seasons that the Cardinal failed to receive a post season bid, but it’s also just the third time since 1990 that Stanford did not at least go to an NCAA Regional.

Core Cardinals:  Stanford returns 2B Colin Walsh (.320, .466 OBP), SS Jeff Schlander (.232), catcher Zach Jones (.239, 3 HR), and OF Kellen Killsgard (.313, 9 HR, 46 RBIs).  Walsh was the team’s top hitter as a sophomore and was named a Cape Cod League All-Star last summer,  while Schlander was named the 2009 Pac 10 Defensive Player of the Year.  The team loses top run producer Brent Milleville (.306, 14 HR, 52 RBIs).

Cardinal Arms:  Starting pitchers Jordan Pries (4-4. 4.62 ERA) and LHP Brett Mooneyham (6-3, 4.14 ERA) are back to lead the weekend rotation.  The duo combined to make 22 starts last year as freshmen.

Gerhart’s Gone:  Two-sport sensation Toby Gerhart (.288, 7 HR, 36 RBIs, 7 SB) burst on the national scene on the football field in 2009.  He was the Heisman Trophy runner-up and won the Doak Walker Award after rushing for a school record 1,871 yards and 28 TDs.  Gerhart hit 16 home runs in three years with the Cardinal baseball team.  He was an outfield starter on the 2008 CWS squad.  He won’t play baseball this year as he prepares for the April NFL Draft.

Tough Tests:  Stanford opens the season by hosting a 3-game series with perennial power Rice.  They go to Austin, TX the next weekend for a 3-game set with 2009 national runner-up Texas.

UCLA

2009 Record:  (27-29, 15-12)

Mascot:  Bruins

Head Coach:  John Savage

Location:  Los Angeles, CA

Vitals:  .285 BA, 54 HR, 55 SB, .382 OBP, .969 Fld%…4.28 ERA, 5 CG, 12 SV, 509 K, 197 BB, .259 opp. BA

Power Outage:  UCLA loses its top two run producers, Cody Decker (.322, 21 HR, 53 RBIs) and Casey Haerther

Gerrit Cole

(.305, 9 HR, 42 RBIs) from last year’s team.  Haerther was selected in the 5th round of last year’s MLB Draft by the Angels, while Decker was tabbed in the 22nd round by San Diego.

The Line-Up:  Justin Uribe (.318, 3 HR, 23 RBIs) and Blair Dunlap (.301, 7 HR, 39 RBIs, 15 SB) are the top hitters back in the Bruin batting order.  Uribe will move from the outfield to first base this year.  Junior college transfer Dean Espy will be expected to step-in at third base as well.

Bruin Pitching:  Sophomores Gerrit Cole (4-8, 3.49 ERA) and Trevor Bauer (9-3, 2.99 ERA, 4 CG) will lead the pitching rotation.  Bauer had pitched a  team-high of 105 1/3 IP last year.  Cole is a Preseason All-American who struckout 104 in 85 IP last year.  He pitched for the USA Collegiate National Team last summer.

Big 12 West:  UCLA plays five games against three Big 12 teams in 2010.  The Bruins host Oklahoma State in one of their three games in the Dodgertown Classic (Vanderbilt & USC are the other two opponents there).  They also host a 3-game series vs. Nebraska and play Oklahoma in their last game of the Whataburger College Classic in Corpus Christi, TX.

USC

2009 Record:  (28-28, 13-14)

Mascot:  Trojans

Head Coach:  Chad Kreuter

Location:  Los Angeles, CA

Vitals:  .274 BA, 41 HR, 58 SB, .359 OBP, .954 Fld%…4.06 ERA, 5 CG, 10 SV, 438 K, 231 BB, .259 opp. BA

Top Losses:  USC loses three players, Grant Green (.374, 4 HR, 32 RBIs, 16 SB), Brad Boxberger (6-3, 3.16 ERA) and Robert Stock (5-4, 2.90 ERA, 4 SV), who were taken in the first two rounds of last year’s MLB Draft.  Green went with the 13th overall pick to Oakland.

Returning Trojans:  Ricky Oropesa (.314, 13 HR, 48 RBIs) was named a Freshman All-American last year.  He and Mike O’Neill (.319) are the top returning players in the USC line-up.  Sophomore RHP Andrew Triggs (5-3, 3.96 ERA) is expected to be the staff’s #1 starter.  Fellow Soph. Chad Smith (3-4, 3.40 ERA) and Sr. Kevin Couture (3-3, 5.66 ERA) return as well.

New Faces In Many Places:  A total of 15 newcomers (7 transfers and 8 freshman) will look to contribute for USC in 2010.  One of them is redshirt sophomore Mike Greco, who hit .250 with 2 HR and 27 RBIs in 46 games as a freshman at Army.  He sat out last year after transferring and will battle for a spot at first base this year.

Washington

2009 Record:  (25-30, 13-14)

Mascot:  Huskies

Head Coach:  Lindsay Meggs

Location:  Seattle, WA

Vitals:  .265 BA, 64 HR, 42 SB, .357 OBP, .967 Fld%…4.88 ERA, 1 CG, 14 SV, 387 K, 194 BB, .276 opp. BA

Lindsay Meggs

New Skipper:  2010 will be Lindsay Meggs’ first season as head coach at Washington.  He arrives after three seasons at Indiana State.  Meggs was named the 2009 Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year after guiding the Sycamores to a 33-21 record and a second-place conference finish.  Prior to that Meggs spent 13 seasons at head coach at Chico State, where he won Division II National Championships in 1997 & 1999.

Draft Losses:  The Huskies lose their top run producer, Ryan Conley (.303, 19 HR, 55 RBIs), who was taken by St. Louis in the 7th round of last year’s draft.  Top reliever Brian Pearl (3.05 ERA, 8 SV) and starter Jason Erickson (5-4, 4.34 ERA) were both drafted and signed as well.

Husky Returns:  Pierce Rankin (.299, 6 HR, 26 RBIs) and Troy Scott (11 HR, 31 RBIs) are the top returnees in the line-up.  Sophomore Andrew Kittredge (4-5, 4.27 ERA, 3 SV, 7 starts) and LHP Geoff Brown (4-4, 5.01), who made 31 relief appearances, are among the top returning pitchers.

Big Home Slate:  Washington’s first nine home games are three 3-game series vs. 2008 National Champion Fresno State, perennial power Cal State Fullerton and intrastate rival Washington State.

Washington State

2009 Record:  (32-25, 19-8)

Mascot:  Cougars

Head Coach:  Donnie Marbut

Location:  Pullman, WA

Vitals:  .273 BA, 56 HR, 44 SB, .358 OBP, .971 Fld%…4.34 ERA, 1 CG, 15 SV, 453 K, 184 BB, .279 opp. BA

The Drought Is Over:  Last year’s NCAA Regional appearance was the first for the program since 1990.  The Cougars swept five series in 2009, including three in Pac 10 play.  All of the sweeps came on their home diamond, where they had just three series sweeps in the previous 11 seasons combined.

Leaving & Staying:  WSU loses its top three hitters, Alex Burg (.346, 7 HR), Jared Prince (.343, 7 HR) and Greg Lagreid (.332, 5 HR), from last year’s NCAA squad.  They return stolen base leader Garry Kuykendall (.299, 11 SB), Matt Argyropoulos (.277), Shea Vucinich (.230, team-high 40 runs), and Derek Jones, who hit a team-best 12

Chad Arnold

home runs despite just a .223 batting average.

On The Mound:  Junior Chad Arnold (8-3, 4.39 ERA) will lead the weekend rotation.  Arnold got the team’s only NCAA win with an elimination game victory vs. Wichita State in the Norman, OK Regional.  He’s joined by David Stilley (3-3, 4.64 ERA) and reliever Seth Harvey (2.25 ERA, 22 app.).  The Cougars lose starter Matt Way (8-4, 2.43 ERA) and closer Jeremy Johnson (6-2, 2.90 ERA, 10 SV).

Texas Time:  Washington State plays 12 of its first 18 games in the state of Texas.   After four games in Lubbock they return home for a 4-game set vs. Utah and then return to the Lone Star State for three games at Texas A&M and two games at Dallas Baptist.  They end their spring trip with a 3-game series in Wichita, KS vs. Wichita State.

2010 Pac 10 Conference Predictions

Player of the Year:  Kole Calhoun – Arizona State

Pitcher of the Year:  Sam Gaviglio – Oregon State

Conference Champion:  Arizona State, with Oregon State giving the closest challenge

Arizona State Picked To Repeat As Champion

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. — ARIZONA STATE has been chosen as the favorite to win this year’s Pac-10 baseball title, according to a vote by the league’s coaches.

For the second-straight season, the Sun Devils were picked to win the Pac-10 crown receiving seven of nine first-place votes, earning 78 points overall. OREGON STATE also received two first-place votes and 67 total points for the No. 2 spot, while UCLA was picked third, totaling 65 points. Rounding out the top five was STANFORD, which nabbed 59 points overall and ARIZONA which grabbed a total of 44 points.

Winners of three-consecutive Pac-10 championships, the Sun Devils are coming off their 10th-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament and the program’s 21st trip to the College World Series. Last season, ASU’s pitching staff led the nation with a 2.90 ERA. This year marks the return of SR left-handed pitcher Josh Spence (10-1, 2.37 ERA, 125 strikeouts in 102.2 innings) and SO left-handed pitcher Mitchell Lambson (9-5, 3.01 ERA, 99 strikeouts in 83-plus innings). Spence and Lambson were two of four Pac-10 players named to the 10th-Annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Pro-Line Athletic Preseason All-American team.

The 2010 Conference baseball season gets underway Friday, March 25, when Arizona State hosts California in Tempe.

Results of the poll are as follows. Nine points are awarded for the first-place vote, eight points for a second-place vote, and so on. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their own team.

2010 Pac-10 Baseball Preseason Poll
1. Arizona State (7) 78
2. Oregon State (2) 67
3. UCLA 65
4. Stanford 59
5. Arizona 44
6. Washington State 42
7. California 36
8. USC 24
9. Washington 18
10. Oregon 17

(Pac-10 Release)

Washington State And Gonzaga End NCAA Droughts

The state of Washington is not exactly synonymous with college baseball, but the Washington State Cougars and Gonzaga Bulldogs did their best to change that in 2009.  While Oregon State was giving that other state in the Pacific Northwest all the attention with a pair of National Championships in recent years, the Evergreen State was having trouble just getting a team to the NCAAs.

Prior to 2009 the last time the Cougars qualified for the NCAA Tournament was 1990 – the year after John Olerud finished his career in Pullman.  Meanwhile, future NBA Hall of Famer John Stockton was a freshman on the hardwoods the last time the Zags sniffed the NCAA diamond all the way back in 1981.  All that changed in 2009.

Washington State got off to just a 5-11 start thanks to a brutal non-conference schedule.  Donnie Marbut’s squad got off to just a 5-11 start, but seven of the losses were to teams that would eventually qualify for the NCAA field themselves.  The early season experience would prove invaluable once Pac 10 play began.

By the time the regular season was complete Wazzu stood at 31-23 overall, and tied a school record with the 1990 team’s 19 wins in Pac 10 play.  Here’s a look at some of the other notable milestones achieved by the 2009 Cougars:

• Broke a 13-game losing streak in Tempe, AZ to Arizona State with an Apr. 12 win over #1 ASU thanks to
  

  Michael Weber

  Michael Weber’s 8th inning home run.

• The losing streak in Tempe dated back to 2001 & the win put WSU above .500 in Pac 10 play for the first time since 1999.
• The Cougars won a series at USC to give them back-to-back series wins vs. the Trojans for the first time ever.
• WSU swept five series in 2009 (including three in Pac 10 action) all of the sweeps came on their home diamond, Bailey-Brayton Field, they had just three home sweeps in the previous 11 years combined.
• Their 3-game sweep of rival Washington to end the season was their first over the Huskies since 1984.
• Marbut’s Cougars also had 16 come from behind wins during the ’09 campaign.
• The Cougars also had a fourth straight winning season-something that hadn’t happened in Pullman since 1994
  

  WSU head coach Donnie Marbut

  when a 35-26 record capped a run 37 straight seasons above .500.

Marbu

Click play above to listen to Washington State head coach Donnie Marbut’s podcast interview with Collegebaseball360.com Editor Sean Stires.  The interview was recorded right after the Cougar’s selection to the NCAA field.

After all was said and done Washington State earned its first NCAA bid since 1990, and was was sent to the Norman, OK Regional as the #3 seed.  The Cougars lost 10-3 to eventual College World Series qualifier, Arkansas, in their opener.  Chad Arnold struckout 10 the next day in a 3-2 elimination game win over Wichita State, and then Wazzu bowed-out the next day with a 7-2 loss to the host Sooners.

The NCAA drought for Gonzaga, which is located less than two hours south of Washington State in Eastern Washington, was even longer.  1981 was the last time the Bulldogs had gone to the NCAA postseason, but that would change in Mark Machtolf’s sixth season in Spokane.

WCC Coach of the Year Mark Machtolf

Gonzaga got off to a 6-1 start, but then lost four straight (a streak that was started with an 8-4 setback to their Pac 10 neighbors to the north).  The Zags responded with eight straight wins after that though to propel themselves to a 33-16 regular season record.  Gonzaga and Washington State each won a game in head-to-head action.  A third scheduled game between the two was canceled due to weather.

Among the notable achievements for Gonzaga in 2009:

• The Zags won six of seven West Coast Conference series – including two sweeps.
• Gonzaga topped the 30 win mark for the third straight season – the first time that’s happened in more than 25 years.
• Machtolf was named WCC Coach of the Year – in six seasons his 180 wins are the third-most in school history.
• Matt Fields (8-1, 3.47 ERA) became the second Bulldog ever to win WCC Pitcher of the Year accolades.
• Five Zags earned All-WCC recognition.
• Senior firstbaseman Ryan Wiegand became Gonzaga’s all-time hits leader.
• The team also set a school record when five players- A.J. Proszek, Tyson Van Winkle, Steven Ames,
  

  WCC Pitcher of the Year Matt Fields

  Fields, and Wiegand - were taken in the June MlB draft.

The Bulldogs swept to games from Loyola Marymount in the WCC Championship Series to earn its first NCAA Tournament bid since the ’81 season.  They were sent to the Fullerton Regional as the #3 seed and out-slugged #2 Georgia Southern 19-10 in their opener.

Gonzaga exploded for seven first inning runs, knocking out Georgia Southern starter Chris Mederos (himself an MLB draftee) after only 2/3 of an inning.  Wiegand, Anthony Synegal and Mark Castellitto each homered for the Zags.  Gonzaga scored in all but one inning of the game, while every Zag scored a run and had at least one hit.

Things didn’t go as well the next two days as Gonzaga lost to eventual CWS qualifier Fullerton and Utah, but the opening round win gave Gonzaga the program’s first NCAA Tournament victory since 1980.

So now, after a combined 46-year NCAA drought for Gonzaga and Washington State, Mark Machtolf and Donnie Marbut each have a common goal for 2010:  Repeat.

Other Top Moments Of 2009

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

Arnold

Arnold helped Washington State make its first NCAA Regional in nearly 20 years in 2009.  The right hander tied for the Cougar pitching staff’s team lead with 8 wins, and he struckout 10 in an NCAA Regional elimination game win over Wichita State.

He talks with Sean Stires about that as well as Washington State’s new attitude heading toward 2010.

6’3 – 210 – rs Jr. – Kennewick, WA    Head Coach: Donnie Marbut

FULL 2010 SCHEDULE

PULLMAN, Wash. – The Washington State University baseball team is scheduled to play 22 games in 2010 against teams that participated in the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship last season, Cougar Head Coach Donnie Marbut announced, Thursday.

Of the 22 games, 16 will take place in nonconference and a dozen will be played at Bailey-Brayton Field. The Cougars will play Bethune-Cookman in Lubbock, Texas (Feb. 26-27), host Utah for four games (March 5-7), play three games at Texas A&M (March 12-14), travel to Wichita State for three games (March 19-21), host Gonzaga (March 23 and April 14), play at the Bulldogs (March 30 and May 18) and host three-game Pac-10 series against Arizona State (April 9-11) and Oregon State (April 23-25).

“It should be another difficult and challenging schedule for the Cougs,” Marbut said. “Our first road trip to a hostile environment like Lubbock, Texas should test us and coming home to face a quality regional opponent in Utah will further strengthen us early in the season.”

WSU opens the season at home with a two-game series against Seattle (Feb. 20-21). In addition to Bethune-Cookman, the Cougars will play two games at Texas Tech (Feb. 27-28) before returning home for the series against Utah. An eight-game road trip is up next with two games at Dallas Baptist (March 16-17) sandwiched between the meetings with Texas A&M and Wichita State.

“I think our spring break trip will be as tough of an eight-game stretch you can possibly play on the road,” Marbut said. “We play two of the top programs in the country with great fans and facilities and one of the better mid-major programs in Dallas Baptist.”

After their first meeting with Gonzaga, the Cougars host Cal State Bakersfield for four games (March 26-28). WSU plays its next six on the road starting with the first bus trip to Gonzaga, three at Washington (April 1-3) to open Pac-10 play and two at BYU (April 5-6). After the series against Arizona State, WSU plays Seattle in Wenatchee (April 13), and travels to Arizona for three games against the Wildcats (April 16-18) following the final meeting with Gonzaga in Pullman.

WSU plays three games at Oregon (April 30-May 2) after Oregon State leaves Pullman, then hosts California (May 8-10) and plays at Stanford (May 14-16) in three-game series. After battling Gonzaga for the final time, the Cougars finish the season with three games at home against USC (May 21-23) and three games on the road against UCLA (May 28-30).

“I expect the Pac-10 to be extremely competitive this year,” Marbut said. “I know many people thought the Pac-10 was down last year. That will not be the case this year.”