Wolfpack fight off Gaels

The Nevada Wolfpack fought off a good comeback by the Saint Mary's Gaels to win 6-5 on Saturday. Nick Sansone had the tie-breaking hit in the top of the ninth to drive in Chris Siewart to take the 6-5 lead which proved to be the winning run. Rod Scurry led the Wolfpack on the mound for 6 innings and only surrendered one run and two hits. Nick Sanson led the Wolfpack offense by going 3-5 with an RBI. The Saint Mary's starter Brandon Berl gave up four runs and seven hits in his 5.2 innings of work. Eric Cattoni was the only Saint Mary's starter to have multiple hits in the game by going 2-3 with 2 runs scored, 3 stolen bases, and an RBI. The teams finish the series off on Sunday.

Saint Mary's Recap
Nevada Recap

Northridge routs UNLV

The Matadors of Cal-State Northridge routed the Rebels of UNLV on Saturday by a score of 16-7. The Matadors were led by DH Kris Kasarjian who went 3-4 with 4 RBI's. UNLV starter Matt Hutchison only lasted 3.1 innings while giving up 7 runs (3 earned) . This was a tough start to Hutchison's career and hopefully he bounces back soon. The teams finish the series on Sunday.

Northridge Recap
UNLV recap

San Diego knocks off Cal Poly

San Diego pulled out a thrilling 7-6 victory over Cal Poly today in 10 innings. The winning hit was delivered by Logan Gelbrich who was pinch hitting for AJ Griffin with the bases loaded in the bottom of the tenth inning. Shane Buschini led the Torero offense by going 2-4 with a homer and 4 RBI's. Brent Morel led the Cal Poly offense by going 3-5 with 2 RBI's. Both teams will be at it on Sunday to finish out the series.

University of San Diego Recap
Cal Poly Recap

Oregon State sweeps Hawai'i-Hilo

The Oregon State Beavers completed the sweep on Saturday of the Vulcans of Hawai'i-Hilo. They were led by a solid pitching performance by Anton Maxwell who pitched 5 innings while surrendering 4 hits and one run in the 10-2 victory. The offense was led by Darwin Barney again with a 2-3 performance while scoring 2 runs and driving 2 in. Oregon State will be off next weekend before heading to Georgia to take on the Dawgs.

Oregon State Recap
Hawai'i-Hilo Recap
Salem News article

CSTV Ole Miss article

CSTV contributer Jean Neuberger checked in with the Ole Miss baseball team as they are preparing for the opener on February 10th against New Orleans. The article focuses on Zack Cozart who was named an All-American in some pre-season publications. The full article is available here.

Hawai'i knocks off Santa Clara

The University of Hawaii Baseball program came up with a solid 8-1 victory on Friday evening over the Santa Clara Broncos. They were led by a great earlt season start by Ian Harrington who gave them 6.2 innings of one run baseball. The Rainbows were led on offense by Kris Sanchez who went 3-4 with two doubles and two runs. Santa Clara starter Matt Wickswat was roughed up in his 2.2 innings of work while giving up five runs while walking four batters. Broncos senior Kevin Drever went 3-4 and scored the only run.

Santa Clara's recap
Hawaii's recap

Saint Mary's knocks off Nevada

The Saint Mary's Gaels knocked off the Wolfpack of Nevada by a 5-4 score on Friday evening. The Wolfpack led 3-0 after six innings but the Gaels put up four runs in the bottom of the seventh and then one in the eigth to pick up the victory. The winning pitcher for the Gaels was Scott Schneider and Taylor Stanton pitched a perfect ninth inning with two K's to pick up the save. Randy Wells picked up a 2-4 night including a big 2-run single in the seventh inning. Senior catcher Ian Gordon drove in the winning run in the eighth inning to win the game for the Gaels. Ryan Rodriguez started the game for Nevada but tired in the seventh inning where he was responsible for all four runs scored in the inning. Daniel Kastam led the offense with a 2-4 night with 2 RBI's. The teams return to action on Saturday at 1 pm local time. Brandon Berl will start for the Gaels and Rod Scurry for the Wolfpack in both starters first collegiate starts.

St. Mary's Recap
Nevada Recap

UNLV knocks off Northridge

The UNLV Rebels got off to a good start on Friday by knocking off the Cal-State Northridge Matadors by a score of 10-4. Craig Heyer pitched a solid 6.1 innings while giving up seven hits, 4 runs (3 earned), 4 walks, and striking out 6 batters. Xavier Scruggs hit a two run homer in the 6th inning to give the Rebels a 5-1 led at the time. Chuckie Fick started the game for the Matadors by pitching 5.2 innings and surrendering five runs (four earned). Jowen Murray-Thorton led the Matadors on offense by going 2-4 on the afternoon.

UNLV Recap
Cal-State Northridge Recap

USD knocks off Cal-Poly

The University of San Diego opened the season tonight with a 9-6 victory of Cal Poly. The Toreros were led by a great pitching performance in Brian Matusz. He gave them six shutout innings while striking out 13 batters and giving up only one run. Anthony Slama followed Matusz but got destroyed in his one inning of work by giving up 5 runs (3 earned) and committing a balk in the seventh inning. AJ Griffin came in to pitch the last two innings to pick up the save. The only blemish was one hit. The Toreros were led by Jordan Abruzzo who hit a 3 run homer in the sixth inning. Cal Poly was led by Brett Morel who went 2-4 while scoring a single run. The Mustangs starting pitcher DJ Mauldin lasted four innings while giving up five earned runs. The teams continue the series on Saturday at 1 pm local time.

Cal Poly Game Recap
USD Game Recap

Oregon State sweeps Doubleheader

The Oregon State Beavers swept a doubleheader from Hawai'i-Hilo Friday afternoon by taking the first game 17-4 and the second one by 9-3. In game 1, the Beavers were led by Joe Peterson who pitched 5 innings giving up only 1 unearned run. The offensive side was led by lead-off hitter and shortstop Darwin Barney who went 2-4 with 3 RBI's. In game 2, Daniel Turpen led the pitching by going 4 innings and giving up 5 hits while only surrendering one run. Darwin Barney again led the offense by going 2-5 with 3 RBI's. Jordan Lennerton also chipped in with a 3-4 performance while scoring 2 runs. They will conclude the series on Saturday at 1:00 PM Hawaii time.

Full story from OSU

Conference USA Previews Tulane

Conference USA is continuing the series of previews today focusing on the Tulane Green Wave. They have been consistently picked to finish second in the conference behind the Rice Owls. The Green Wave are led by Head Coach Rick Jones. They return some big name pitchers including Brandon Gomes and Sean Morgan. They have also added transfer Shooter Hunt from Virginia who was rated as the number 9 prospect in the CCBL this past summer. Tulane also returns second baseman Brad Emaus and Jonny Weiss (BC transfer) are expected to led the offense. Full preview available here.

News and Notes from the West Coast

Bob Keissner checks in with some news and notes on some of the action on the West Coast. He discusses the impact Chad Kreuter is going to have on the Trojan program. Also discussed is how strong the Pepperdine program has become again under Steve Rodriguez. The full article is available here.

Santa Clara visits Hawaii

The Santa Clara Broncos are opening the season tonight against the Hawai'i Rainbows. Santa Clara is scheduled to start their ace on Friday night in lefty Matt Wickswat (9-2, 3.54 ERA in 2006) and Hawai'i is planning on countering with senior lefty Ian Harrington.

Honolulu Star-Bulletin preview
Santa Clara's series preview
Hawaii's series preview

USA Today Top 25

USA Today has released their first Top 25 for the season. They have Rice leading the poll with 22 first place votes out of a possible 31 first place ballots. Clemson comes in at number 2 with 4 first place votes. Miami, South Carolina, and North Carolina all round out the Top 5. The University of Texas picked up a first place vote but finished 6th in the poll. Oregon State, the defending national champions picked up 4 first place votes but ended up in 15th position in the poll.

Full Poll
Poll Story
Poll Outlook
Chat with Kendall Rogers

Cincinnati to open season

The University of Cincinnati will be opening the season on Febraury 9th against FAU for a three game set. The program at Cincinnati is coming off a 32-26 record last season and they hope to improve on that. The athletic department is doing a great job of getting articles written about the program.

Scout.com preview
Cincinnati Media Relations: Pitching Preview
Cincinnati Media Relations: Getting to know you

OSU opens season with a No-Hitter

Oregon State opened the season last night in Hawai'i and they got off to a fantastic start with four pitchers combining for a no-hitter which was the first in 40 years for the Beavers. Oregon State won the game 5-0 over Hawai'i-Hilo. Mitch Canham was the star on offense going 4-5 at the plate with one run scored and one batted in. He also caught the no hitter which was thrown by Mike Stutes (5 IP, 7 K's, and 2 BB), Josh Keller (2 IP and 2 K's), Mark Grbavac (1 IP and 2 K's), and Jorge Reyes (1 IP and 1BB) who pitched the ninth. Lars Knepper started the game for the Vulcans and pitched 4.2 innings giving up 2 runs (1 earned) while striking out ten batters. He was followed up by Jeffrey Germain (2.1 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, and zero earned runs) and Emil DeAndreis (2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 Earned run, and 3 BB).

Press Release from Oregon State available here.
Press Release from Hawai'i-Hilo available here.

Another Oregon State article

I know that I have been posting about the Oregon State Beavers often but they are getting a ton of press for being the defending national champion. The Register-Guard in Eugene, OR checks in with an article about the losses that Oregon State has had to graduation and the MLB draft. It can be read here.

Columbia Pitcher faces Tommy John

Columbia starting pitcher Joe Scarleta (Walpole, MA) had Tommy John surgery on his throwing elbow during the 2006 season after experiencing pain during the spring trip to Florida. The article is an excellent tool to learn about this particular surgery and can be read here.

East Carolina Preview

Conference USA is still posting previews on a team every day. Today they have previewed the Pirates of East Carolina. Head Coach Billy Goodwin is entering his second season at East Carolina. He brought them to a 33-26 record and an NCAA appearance. The full preview is available here.

McNeese State picked in Southland

The McNeese State Cowboys were picked to finish in 1st place in the East Division of the Southland conference by both the media and the coaches. In the West Division it is an absolute mess. The Coaches poll is led by the University of Texas-Arlington and Texas State which tied for first place. The Media poll is led by UT-Arlington but University of Texas-San Antonio is right behind them with the second most first place votes. The full release is available in HTML format and PDF format.

Arkansas Preview

The Arkansas Razorbacks are expected to compete for the SEC title this year behind Preseason All-American pitcher Nick Schmidt. They are coming off a 39-21 record overall and a respectable 18-12 record in the conference. There is some heat on Head Coach Dave Van Horn to produce since his teams have been talented but have failed in the eyes of the Razorbacks supporters. The full article from Scout.com is available here.

Oregon State article

The Statesman Journal in Salem Oregon has posted an article about the Oregon State Beavers. Gary Horowitz talks with the players and coaches about how they are going to put the 2006 season behind them and focus on winning back to back titles in 2007. The full article is available here.

Top 5 storylines

One of the top college baseball writers in the country in Kendall Rodgers checks in with an article about the top 5 storylines for the upcoming season. He discusses how Oregon State has become a key player in the college baseball world in addition to how Paul Mainieri is going to adjust to the pressure of LSU. The full article is available here.

SEBaseball previews Big South

SeBaseball has posted a preview on the Big South Conference. The Eagles of Winthrop are picked to win the conference for the second consecutive season with Coastal Carolina and Liberty trying to knock off the Eagles from their perch atop the standings. The full preview is available here.

Vandy Articles

CSTV has posted two articles on the Vanderbilt Baseball team. The first article deals with ace pitcher David Price. It talks about how dominant he has been the last few summers on the USA National Team. He has a 95+ fastball with two off-speed pitches that he can through for strikes. The full article is available here.

The second article is about David Price's teammate Pedro Alvarez who spurned the Boston Red Sox in 2005 to pursue a college education at Vanderbilt. Alvarez has become a superstar at Vandy nailing 22 home runs as a freshman. The full article is available here.

Navy Relief Pitcher Preview

The Navy Media Relations Department is continuing the series of previews on the Midshipmen baseball team. This week's release focuses on the relief pitching of the team. They need to replace career leader in saves Ryan Hefner and career appearance leader Joe Koessler. This will be a tough task but players are available for Paul Kostacopoulos including transfer from Wofford JD Melton who is expected to close. The full preview is available here.

Going to Turf

The Oregon State Beavers have decided to change the surface of their infield from natural grass to FieldTurf at Goss Stadium. This type of field is the same type that the Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Devil Rays play on. The surface change is expected to be ready for the home opener for the Beavers on March 8th against Evansville. They are also adding a new scoreboard and a new seating area to the ballpark in the near future. The full article from The Daily Barometer writer Casey Grogan is available here.

Conference USA Previews Rice

Conference USA has posted their preview on the Rice Owls for the 2007 season. Every publication is expecting the Owls to take the title this year but I believe that Tulane will keep the race competitive. Rice superstar two-way player Joe Savery is expected to lead the team on the mound and also at the plate where he has a .356 career average. The full preview is available here.

GoJackets previews Miami

GoJackets.com has continued previewing the programs in the ACC by releasing a preview on the Miami Hurricanes. As usual, it is an excellent read if you do not see the Hurricanes every week. I will not see the Hurricanes until at least next season when they hopefully make an appearance at Boston College. The full article is available here.

OSU and SD getting ready!

Can you believe it that the season starts on Thursday in Hawai'i with Oregon State taking on Hawai'i-Hilo in the first official game of the season. They ended the season in Omaha by winning the national championship and they begin their title defense in the first game. They will be playing a 5 game set in Hawai'i before returning to the mainland of USA. They will not be the only team in action as many other west coast schools start the season this weekend including San Diego which will be hosting Cal Poly for a 3 game set.

Game Notes for Oregon State
Game Notes for San Diego

D'Alessio article

The Anderson Independent Mail has an article about Clemson senior first baseman Andy D'Alessio who turned down an opportunity to play professional baseball with the Los Angeles Dodgers where he was picked in the tenth round. It was a tough decision for him to go back to college with all the guaranteed money he was due to make but decided that finishing his school work was the right thing to do. The full article from Greg Wallace is available here.

SEBaseball adds C-USA and A-Sun

SeBaseball has now added two more previews with Conference USA and Atlantic Sun added to the mix. They pick Rice to win the Conference USA title over the Tulane Green Wave which is the consensus pick in the media. SeBaseball also picked Jacksonville over Stetson and Mercer to win the Atlantic Sun Conference.

Conference USA
Atlantic Sun

Ole Miss

There is a very good article by Scout.com today on Justin Henry of the Ole Miss Baseball Team. The article talks about how he motivates the team as the captain of the squad. He also discusses how he has been a member of some of the best teams in teh history of the school. The full article is available here.

Bogany granted release from LSU

Jarred Bogany was released from his scholarship at LSU by new head coach Paul Mainieri. He played in 49 out of 59 games last season and was expected to contribute this year but something changed along the way.

Official Release from LSU
The Daily Reveille
Baseball America

UAB preview

Conference USA has posted a preview on the UAB Blazers. They enter the season with a new head coach in Brian Shoop who comes from Birmingham-Southern where he had a record of 692-307-1. He returns 21 letter winners with 4 transfers from Birmingham-Southern in addition to the 11 newcomers from the high school and junior college ranks. The full preview is available here.

UAB Media Relations Department also has posted a preview on the upcoming season which is available here.

Confederate Flag issues

In the long standing tradition of the NCAA of trying to run the entire country, They are meeting this week to discuss the issue of banning post season play in states where the confederate flag still flies. They are thinking of extending the rule to hosting baseball regionals and super-regionals. The only two states which it flies in are Mississippi and South Carolina. The full article from WLTX is available here.

UPDATE: The NCAA has decided to make no changes to the current rules. The full NCAA release is available here.

Grover Powell

I know that you might not know who Grover Powell was but he is one of the best pitchers ever for the University of Pennsylvania (1966 grad). He is a interesting character because in his sophomore season which was 1962, he went 4-0 with 166 strikeouts which led the nation that season. He was kicked off the team before his junior season by future NBA player/coach/GM Jack McCloskey for basically being an odd character. He ended up turning pro with the New York Mets. He had one tremendous start against the Phillies and in his next appearance was struck int he face by a line drive off a bat. He recovered but never won another game. He died in 1985 after being diagnosed with acute leukemia. A very nice article abotu him is available here.

Southern Cal Season Preview

The USC Trojans athletic department has posted a season preview on the USC Trojan baseball program. The Trojans enter a new era by naming former MLB player Chad Kreuter who is the son-in-law of former head coach Mike Gillespie. He spent the 2005 season as the Director of Baseball Operations for the USC Trojans before becoming the Manager in 2006 of the Modesto Nuts which is an affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. The full preview of the Trojans is available here.

Sebaseball adds ACC and SEC previews

SeBaseball.com has posted a previews for the ACC and the SEC conferences. They pick North Carolina to win the conference over Clemson which they have winning the Atlantic division. In the SEC, they pick South Carolina to win the East and Arkansas in the West. The SEC is by far the deepest conference as any team can logically win if they get their players rolling.

ACC Preview
SEC Preview

Back to normal?

Tulane University is trying to get back to normal and this includes the baseball program. The team is rebuilding Turchin Stadium and will be in the stadium by the end of the year. The team will start the season playing at Zephyr Field but will move back to Turchin when the stadium is ready. The full article is available here.

Houston Baseball Preview

Conference USA has also posted a preview of the Houston Cougars. They are coming off a 39-22 record and an NCAA tourney berth where they where knocked out by the Oklahoma Sooners. The full preview is available here.

UCF Preview

Conference USA is doing a series of previews on each team in the Conference. The first one is on the University of Central Florida. The Golden Knights are a young team and will be battling their youth to get to the top of the conference. The full preview is available here.

Mitch Harris and Milan Dinga

Everyone that follows this blog knows that I have been a huge fan of Milan Dinga's game since I saw him pitch up at Holy Cross when he was pitching for Army last year. He came into a tight game and throw some fire to close the game out. He registered 94 MPH on the radar guns around me and really impressed me with his composure. He ended up spending the summer in the Cape Cod League playing for the Hyannis Mets where he impressed some scouts even more against the best competition in the country.

Mitch Harris is of a similar mode since he plays the Naval Academy. Harris was named the second best pro prospect in the Cal Ripken Sr. Collegiate Baseball League. I will have the chance to see Harris pitch against Holy Cross this year and I will give my impressions on this stud of a pitcher.

Doug Kroll of CSTV wrote an article about how Harris and Dinga face challenges that other college baseball players don't have to deal with. The article is available here.

Roemer and Clark injured for Titans

Wes Roemer and Jared Clark both of Cal State Fullerton have recently been injured according to Aaron Fitt of Baseball America. He states that Roemer has a broken pinky finger on his throwing hand. The Titans are trying to have Roemer pitch through the injury. Jared Clark is out for the 2007 season with a torn ACL. This a huge loss for the Titans since Clark hit five home runs last season and was expected to contribute significantly this season. There are also some more news in notes in this article from Aaron Fitt.

Arizona Baseball

University of Arizona Head Coach Andy Lopez will return this season to coaching the pitching staff. Last year, he took the year off from coaching the pitchers so he could deal with his ailing father who passed away after last season. He has been the Pitching coach in addition to his head coaching duties every time the Wildcats have made a trip to the CWS. He will try to lower the team ERA this season from a 5.41 in conference play in 2006. The full article from the Arizona Daily Star is available here.

John Schiffner article

The current Chatham A's head coach John Schiffner (Providence college grad) has just come back from the World Baseball Coaches Convention in Connecticut. He was a presenter of "Coaching the Bases" and made a great speech. The article deals how successful he has become as a head coach in Connecticut for high schools and also with Chatham. The full article is available here.

Bethune-Cookman Preseason Number 1

Bethune-Cookman has been named the top team in the nation in by BlackCollegeBaseball.com. They are the defending champions of the MEAC conference where they went 30-27. They tied Prairie View A&M in 2006 in the final poll. The top ranked team in the lower division poll is West Virginia State who went 45-9-1 in 2006.

UIC opens new facility

The University of Illinois-Chicago Flames have moved into a new facility called the Colvin Center. It features locker rooms for players, coaches, and umpires in addition to a study lounge, lounges, new coaches offices, equipment room, shower facilities, and other amenities. The full release is available here.

Zags former coach passes away

The Gonzaga Baseball program has lost former head coach Dick Busch who coached the Zags from 1949 through the 1967 season. He also taught civil engineering at the school from 1949-1982. He was responsible for building four baseball fields during his tenure at the university. Current Zags head coach Stave Hertz said "Dick Busch was a friend and a colleague, "He loved baseball and was a true Zag. Although I never played for him, it was a pleasure to be both a player and a coach and wear the uniform for the program he helped shape. We shared many good conversations about Gonzaga baseball and he was a frequent visitor to the field. He not only loved Bulldog baseball, he loved Gonzaga University." He was 86 years old. The full release from the Gonzaga athletic department is available here.