UNC Ace Patrick Johnson, Rice First Basemen J.T. Chargois Headline CB360 Week-14 Primetime Performers

May 25, 2011
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Rice sophomore first baseman J.T. Chargois (Sulphur, La.) and North Carolina senior ace pitcher Patrick Johnson (Conover, N.C.) delivered in the clutch during their teams’ final week of the regular season and lead the way on the CB360 week-14 Primetime Performers Honor Roll (for May 16-22, 2011), as selected by CollegeBaseball360.com.   front-page photo courtesy of Rice

North Carolina's Patrick Johnson

Rice's J.T. Chargois

Chargois is the CB360 Primetime Player of the Week and Johnson the Primetime Pitcher, with 12 other players (listed below) joining them on the week-14 Primetime Performers Weekly Honor Roll.

The switch-hitting CHARGOIS had multiple hits in all three of Rice’s wins during the past week, as the Owls boosted their chances for being an NCAA Tournament host with a 6-4 midweek win over Southland Conference champ Texas State (cb360 #34) before earning a share of the Conference USA regular-season title with a series win at #16 Southern Mississippi (4-0, 16-2, 3-7). The 2-hole batter hit at a .600 clip (9-for-15, plus a pair of walks) during the pressure-packed week while factoring into 11 of his team’s runs (7 RBI, 4 R, 2B, 2 sac. bunts).

Rice's J.T. Chargois had plenty to celebrate during a week that saw him hit 9-for-15 with seven RBI, four runs scored, a pair of walks, a double and two sac. bunts (spanning a key midweek win over Texas State and a series win at Southern Miss).

Chargois opened the week with a solid all-around game vs. Texas State (2-for-2, 2RBI-2R-2B-2B) before playing a key role in the first win over Southern Miss (2-for-3, R, 2 SAC), forging a tie atop the CUSA standings. The 6-foot-3, 200-pounder then was one of the offensive leaders in the game-2 blowout, batting 4-for-6 with four RBI and a run scored. He closed the week with his seventh hit of the series, adding an RBI and walk as the Eagles salvaged game-3.

JOHNSON delivered a 4-hit/no-walk shutout vs. #1 Virginia, launching UNC on to a series sweep of the Cavaliers – and placing the Tar Heels firmly in the discussion for an NCAA top-8 seed. The 5-11, 170-pound righthander faced two batters over the minimum (29), with nine strikeouts in the 136-pitch outing. The veteran hurler allowed only two baserunners into scoring position and retired the final 15 batters he faced.

For virtually all of his outing at Virginia, Johnson kept the ball in the infield – with 23 of his 27 outs coming via Ks, groundouts (10), infield popups/foulouts (3) and a pickoff move. John Barr had a 1-out single in the 1st but failed to advance, while a John Hicks single in the second was quickly erased when Johnson rolled up a 4-6-3 double play.

David Coleman singled in the 3rd and moved up on a sac.-bunt, but Johnson quickly ended the threat. Barr followed with a single in the 4th, only to see Johnson start the 1-3-6 pickoff that cleared the bases. Danny Hultzen singled leading off the 5th and advanced on a pair of groundouts, with Johnson then striking out Jared King as part of his game-ending 15 straight batters retired.

North Carolina's Patrick Johnson faced two batters over the minimum (4H-9Ks) in his series-opening, 6-0 win vs. #1 Virginia.

Seven of Johnson’s final 13 outs came on strikeouts, including all three UVa batters in the 8th (Kenny Swab, Coleman and King), plus pinch-hitter Reed Gragnani leading off the 9th. Johnson is entering the postseason with a 10-1 record and 2.74 ERA, plus 94 strikeouts, only 26 walks (3.6 K/BB ratio) and 71 hits allowed (.229 opp. avg.) in 85.1 innings.

Primetime Performer Award Criteria (not based solely on raw stats, but rather …)

• Must have been playing for or against a CB360 top-50 team (in the Composite National Rankings) or performed a high level in games that could be key to a team’s conference/NCAA postseason qualification; made significant contribution to team’s postseason positioning (single-game wins, “quality” wins, series wins, road wins, etc.).
• Involved in clutch performances, such as late game-winning hits, noteworthy comebacks, game-changing plays, team leadership, key defensive efforts, etc.
• Performed at a top level against a team rated highly nationally (or within its conference), with bonus consideration given for key performances away from home field and vs. traditional rivals.
• Overcame adversity or extreme circumstances (for the team and/or individual).
• Any accomplishment that is rare, historic, record-setting, etc., on a national level.

Note that headshots of the 12 honorees not pictured above will be added later to this release.

CB360 PRIMETIME PERFORMERS WEEKLY HONOR ROLL #14
(week of May 16-22, 2011 … presented by CollegeBaseball360.com)

“It’s not so much what you do, as it is when you do it.”

J.T. Chargois (Rice … 1B … So. … Sulphur, LA … 6-3/200 … 2-hole … Bats: S … #14)
Came to play during key week (6-4 vs. #34 Texas State; 4-0/16-2/3-7 series win at #16 Southern Mississippi, share of CUSA title), for Owls team looking to earn NCAA Regional hosting spot (9-15, 7RBI-4R-2B-2BB-2SAC)

Raymond Church (Florida Atlantic … 2B … West Palm Beach, FL … 5-10/170 … 3-hole … Bats: R … #14)
Helped deliver pair of key wins for NCAA hopeful FAU (7-4 at #21 Miami; 2-0 at #23 Florida International, ending 17-gm unbeaten streak); reached base nine times (7-for-17; BB-HBP) during strong all-around week (2RBI-3R-HR-2B-SF)

Jacob Clem (Washington … RHP … Sr. … Burlington, WA … 6-4/230 … #24)
Veteran hurler whose 6-hit shutout (3-0) knocked off #8 Arizona State (BB-2K-HB-13GO-34BF), preventing ASU from owning share of Pac-10 lead

Derek Hamblen (Belmont … LF … Sr. … Plano, TX … 6-0/185 … leadoff … bats: R … #9)
Hit .500 (7-14, RBI-5R-2BB-2SB) in series upset at #20 Stetson ( 4-7, 5-2, 11-5), earning Bruins spot in Atlantic-Sun Tournament

Patrick Johnson (North Carolina … RHP … Sr. … Conover, NC … 5-11/170 … #17)
His 4-hit/no-walk shutout (6-0) launched UNC on to series sweep of #1 Virginia, facing two over the minimum (29; 9K-136p) while helping put ‘Heels firmly in contention for NCAA top-8 seed; 23 of his 27 outs came via Ks, groundouts (10), infield popups/foulouts (3) and a pickoff move

Taylor Jungmann (Texas … RHP … Jr. … Temple, TX … 6-6/220 … Jr. … #26)
Moved to 12-0 with key complete-game win in 4-2 series opener at #11 Texas A&M (2R-7H-2BB-12K-35BF-120p), as Longhorns moved ahead of Aggies atop Big-12 standings

Nathan Kilcrease (Alabama … RHP … Sr. … Phenix City, AL … 5-6/160 … #28)
Turned in clutch complete game opposite ace Michael Roth, allowing only an unearned run in tense 2-1 opener vs. #3 South Carolina (5H-3BB-2HB-5K-10 GO-113p), as NCAA-hopeful Tide went on to earn SEC Tournament spot

Mike McCarthy (Cal State Bakersfield … RHP … 5th-Yr. Sr. … Brentwood, CA … 6-3/185 … #35)
Struck out 12 in 4-hitter that handed #18 Fresno State its first shutout loss since April 2010, in 6-0 game that sparked series sweep that revived Roadrunners’ NCAA tourney hopes (3BB-8GO-33BF-128p)

Alex Meyer (Kentucky … RHP … Jr. … Greensburg, IN … 6-9/220 … #17)
Became first pitcher this season to post wins over all four eventual SEC divisional champs/co-champs (Florida, South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Arkansas), with seven strong innings in 14-1 road win over #2 Gators (R-5H-3BB-HB-9K)

Jake Miller (Baylor … 3B … So. … Hosuton, TX … 6-2/185 … 7/8-hole … Bats: R … #20)
Hit 7-for-13 during key week (3RBI-2R-2HR-2B-BB), with 7-1 win over fellow NCAA hopeful Dallas Baptist and tightly-contested series vs. #14 Oklahoma (4-2/4-5/3-2)

Kenny Rowan (Alcorn State … RF … Sr. … Jackson, MS … 6-0/180 … 7-hole … #11)
Provided key production throughout SWAC Tournament, reaching base 11 times (4-for-10, 6BB-HBP) and factoring into 12 runs (7RBI-6R-HR, 2 2B), including big game in 12-6 title matchup vs. Southern (2-for-3; 3RBI-2R-HR-2B-BB) as Braves won first title in tournament’s 59-year history

Ross Stripling (Texas A&M … RHP … Jr. … Southlake, TX … 6-3/190 … #36)
Fashioned 4-hit/no-walk shutout at #6 Texas (6K-12GO-30BF-105p), as #11 Aggies won series finale (3-0) to earn share of Big-12 title

Steve Tedesco (Sacred Heart … CF … 5th-Yr. Sr. … Mission Viejo, CA … 6-1/185 … 2-hole … Bats: R … #10)
Factored into six of his team’s runs while providing key all-around production (3-for-8; 2RBI-4R-2B-SAC-SB) spanning pair of wins over top seed Monmouth (6-1/9-2), as Pioneers won Northeast Conference Tournament; also helped beat #3 seed Long Island in 10-1 opener (RBI-R-1B-BB-SB)

Scott Thornburg (Creighton … C … Jr. … Lakewood, CO … 6-2/200 … 7/5-hole … Bats: R … #7)
Directed Jays pitching staff that compiled lowly 1.33 series ERA in series vs. MVC contender Missouri State, in 3-2/3-1/3-1 sweep that decided league title; hit 4-for-10 with a walk, RBI, pair of runs and double in low-scoring weekend

* Chargois is the CB360 Primetime Player of the Week and Johnson the Primetime Pitcher … ranks referenced above are CB360 top-50

Action photos of the 14 honorees are included above and below:

Florida Atlantic's Raymond Church

Washington's Jacob Clem

Belmont's Derek Hamblen

Texas ace Taylor Jungmann

Alabama's Nathan Kilcrease

Cal State Bakersfield's Mike McCarthy

Kentucky's Alex Meyer

Baylor's Jake Miller

Alcorn State's Kenny Rowan

Texas A&M's Ross Stripling

Sacred Heart's Steve Tedesco

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