Texas blanked by Nebraska, 7-0!

When Texas catcher Preston Clark went out to visit starter James Russell in the fourth inning, he hoped to keep things under control.

With two away in the inning, Russell had a 2-0 count to Nebraska's Ryan Wehrle with runners on first and third.

The meeting didn't work out so well.

Wehrle launched the next pitch from Russell over the left-field fence for a three-run homer, giving the Cornhuskers a 5-0 lead.

"I knew he was going to come in with a fastball, so I was just waiting for it," said Wehrle, who was 4 for 5 with four RBIs.

That was how it went Friday for the Longhorns, who lost 7-0 at Haymarket Park.

It was easily the most lopsided showing of the season for Texas. Coach Augie Garrido was ejected, the Longhorns couldn't touch Nebraska's Tony Watson, and their pitching couldn't keep them close to the Cornhuskers (23-15, 8-8 Big 12) in the opener of a three-game series.

Watson threw a complete-game, two-hit shutout without walking a batter.

It was the first time since at least 1998 that Texas had fewer than three hits in a game.

"He was pretty impressive. That's the best-pitched game against us of the season," Garrido said. "On the other side of it, it was the total package. We didn't put the ball in play with any degree of difficulty. Most of the balls we hit were mishit."

Watson is 2-0 with a 0.64 earned-run average in three starts this season at Haymarket Park and has pitched 14 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings against Texas (31-12, 12-4).

"They were aggressive tonight, and I don't think my pitch count was all that high," said Watson, who threw 96 pitches. "If it's low like that, they're obviously swinging at pitches early in the count."

Texas was shut out for the first time since April 23, 2006, when the Cornhuskers beat the Longhorns 6-0.

"It was the perfect storm, that's pretty much how you can sum it up," Clark said. "They hit some good pitches, and (Watson) did a good job of mixing speeds and hitting his spots."

For his part, Garrido didn't have to witness the whole game, in which Russell gave up six runs and 11 hits in five innings. The Texas coach was ejected in the sixth for arguing that umpire Dave Aschwege missed a call at first base, where he ruled that Travis Tucker's foot never touched the base to force out Mitch Abieta, who had bunted.

"I didn't like the fact that (Aschwege) was so aggressive with me," said Garrido, who came out of the dugout to argue the call. "He got right in my face. He said I got in his, but I didn't.

"I'm right on the call. Ask the TV guys," said Garrido, who watched the rest of the game from the CSTV truck outside the stadium.

No matter who was right, Garrido knew Texas must right the ship, having lost two straight games for just the second time this season.

"It's about responding," Garrido said. "How do you respond to this? If we accept this as a challenge, maybe we can take this to another level."

Note: The Longhorns wore maroon Virginia Tech ballcaps to show their support for those associated with the university, which is trying to recover after a 23-year-old student killed 32 people Monday before committing suicide.

The idea to wear the hats came from Texas men's athletic director DeLoss Dodds, a spokesman said. The Longhorns planned to wear the hats only Friday, the same day Virginia Tech played in its first sporting event since the tragedy, a home baseball game against Miami.

Texas Recap

Texas.scout.com

Nebraska Recap

College of Charleston downs Furman

The College of Charleston picked up a 12-3 victory over Furman on Friday evening. The story of the night was Nick Chigges who struck out his 300th batter in his career while going eight strong innings to get his 7th victory without a loss. Stuart Haywood and Chris Campbell each had three hits to lead the Cougars offense. Furman starter Marc DeDecker got knocked around in his four innings of work while giving up eight runs to drop his record to 1-3. The teams will be back in action at 6:00 pm for Game 2.

College of Charleston Recap
Furman Recap

Davidson wins 6-4 over The Citadel

The Davidson Wildcats picked up a 6-4 victory over The Citadel on Friday evening. Greg Zage went 3-4 with two runs scored and an RBI to lead the Davidson charge. Davidson closer Matt Webb picked up his seventh save while starter Rob Wilson goes to 2-5 by pitching 7.1 innings while only giving up three runs. The Citadel starter Wes Wrenn gets the loss to drop his record to 3-4.

Davidson Recap
The Citadel Recap

ACC Recap for April 20th

Florida State 4 UNC 2

The Florida State Seminoles knocked off UNC 4-2 in the first game of their weekend series. Bryan Henry continued his strong pitching by giving the Noles eight innings while only one run on four hits to bring his record to 10-0. Robert Woodard was also strong as he allowed two runs in seven innings while striking out eight batters. This was Woodard first loss since March 26th, 2006 against Georgia Tech. Woodard's career record is now 30-4 and on the season 7-1. Mark Gildea led the Seminoles offense by going 3-4 with 3 RBI. Dustin Ackely hit his sixth homer on the season but his average dropped on the night because he went 1-4. Game 2 of the series will take place at 1 pm on Saturday.

FSU Recap
UNC Recap
Tallahassee Democrat Recap
SEBaseball Recap

Boston College 5 Wake Forest 4

The Boston College Eagles scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth to pick up a crucial 5-4 victory over Wake Forest in Game 1 of their series. The Eagles took advantage of Josh Ellis in the bottom of the ninth as he hit two batters and gave up three hits to drop his record to 2-2 on the season. James MacDonald picked up his first win of the year by getting the final out of the ninth. Kevin Boggan gave the Eagles seven innings while only allowing two runs while Wake Forest starter Brad Kledzik pitched 7.1 innings while also giving up two runs. The Eagles tied the game at two in the bottom of the eighth but Wake Forest broke through for two runs in the top of the ninth off of Geoff Oxley. I should be in attendance tomorrow in Brockton to see some baseball.

BC Recap
Wake Forest Recap

Virginia 5 Clemson 3

The Virginia Cavaliers stole nine bases while knocking off the Clemson Tigers 5-3. Jacob Thompson continued with his strong season as he went eight innings while giving up three runs. Thompson now has a record of 9-0 while Casey Lambert closed the door with a scoreless ninth to get his eighth save. Daniel Moskos started for Clemson but was roughed up for four runs in 3.1 innings. His record evens up at 3-3. Sean Doolittle went 3-4 with two RBI. Andy D'Alessio went 2-4 with a two run homer to lead the Tiger offense. The teams will be back in action at 7:00 PM Saturday.

UVA Recap
Clemson Recap

GT 2 NC State 1

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets scored two runs on a Wally Crancer walk-off double in the bottom of the ninth to lead the Jackets to the 2-1 victory. David Duncan and Eric Surkamp both pitched outstanding for both squads. Duncan went 8.2 innings while striking out a career high 11 batters but did not get the decision as Brad Rulon got the last out in the ninth to up his record to 2-1. Eric Surkamp was the only pitcher used in the game by the Wolfpack. He entered the ninth inning nursing a 1-0 lead when the top of the order in Danny Payne lead off the inning with an infield single to third base. Michael Fisher then laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to put Payne at second with Matt Wieters up to bat. The Wolfpack intentionally walked Wieters to face Wally Crancer. He drove the first pitch he saw into the left center gap which enabled both runners to score and give the Jackets the walkoff win. Surkamp's record drops to 3-2 on the season but should be much better then that. The teams continue their series at 7 pm on Saturday evening.

GT Recap
NC State Recap

Maryland 5 Duke 4 (11 innings)

The Maryland Terps outlasted the Duke Blue Devils in 11 innings to get a 5-4 victory. Dan Benick scored the winning run in the 11th on a throwing error by Duke's catcher Matt Williams to give Maryland the lead for good. Brett Cecil pitched the final 3.1 innings to get his fifth win of the season while Jonathan Anderson gets the loss to drop his record to 2-2. The teams will head back to the field on Saturday at 2 pm for Game 2 of the series.

Maryland Recap
Duke Recap

Miami 11 VT 9

The Virginia Tech athletic department hosted their first athletic event on Friday evening since the shooting incident earlier this week and they drew an English Field record crowd of 3,132. Nick Freitas made an incredible catch at the left field wall to rob Warren Schaeffer of the tying home run in the bottom of the eighth inning. Danny Gil picked up his third save of the season while Scott Maine picked up the win to up his record to 3-5. VT starter Adam Redd gets the loss by giving up seven runs in five innings of work to drop his record to 2-4. The teams will be back in action on Saturday for Game 2 at 5 PM.

Miami Recap
VT Recap
AP Article

The Citadel heads to Davidson

The Citadel Bulldogs will head to Davidson for a weekend set with the Wildcats. The Citadel enter with a 22-14 overall record but 6-6 in the Southern Conference while Davidson has a 16-22 overall record and struggling in the Southern Conference at 5-10.

Probable Pitching Matchups
Friday: Wes Wrenn (3-3, 5.90 ERA) vs Rob Wilson (1-5, 5.40 ERA)
Saturday: Matt Crim (4-2, 4.07 ERA) vs Matt Knight (2-5, 9.14 ERA)
Sunday: Chris McGuinness (2-0, 5.70 ERA) vs Thomas Middour (4-4, 8.24 ERA)

The Citadel Game Notes
Davidson Game Notes

ACC Weekend Preview for 4/20-4/22

UNC at FSU

The biggest series of the weekend in the country takes place in Tallahassee where the Seminoles take on the North Carolina Tar Heels. Each team leads their respective divisions in the ACC. Both schools also are in the top 5 in all major polls in the nation. North Carolina is led by Freshman sensation Dustin Ackley who leads the nation with a .474 batting average. Robert Woodard will take the ball on Friday night as he continues to be the ace of the staff. He leads the team with 7-0 record with an ERA of 1.98. Florida State is led by Tony Thomas Jr. who has the highest batting average on the team at .465. Bryan Henry is continuing to hold down the number 1 starter role as he is 9-0 with a 2.37 ERA. The CBB predicts that UNC sweeps the Seminoles in Tallahassee. (I am still not a fan of FSU pitching).
Probable Starters
Friday: Robert Woodard (7-0, 1.98 ERA) vs Bryan Henry (9-0, 2.37 ERA)
Saturday: Alex White (4-2, 3.04 ERA) vs Michael Hyde (8-2, 2.84 ERA)
Sunday: Luke Putkonen (5-1, 3.43 ERA) vs Ryan Strauss (8-0, 2.44 ERA)

UNC Game Notes
FSU Game Notes
Tallahassee Democrat Preview
SEBaseball Article on Woodard

Virginia at Clemson

The other big series this weekend is when Virginia heads down to Clemson for a three game set. The Cavaliers are ranked eighth in the nation and Clemson 13th by NCBWA. Virginia is led by one of the top pitchers in the country in Jacob Thompson who enters the weekend with an 8-0 record and 1.32 ERA. The Cavaliers are led by Brandon Guyer who currently has a 25 game hitting streak in which he is hitting .439 during that time. Greg Miclat also is hitting .404 on the season. The Cavs knocked off Richmond on Tuesday 12-5. The Tigers have moved closer Daniel Moskos to the starting the rotation the last two weekends where he has pitched 10 innings and only allowed two runs. Brad Chaulk leads the team with a .416 average and Marquez Smith leads the team with six homers on the season. The CBB predicts that Virginia takes 2 out of 3 games.

Probable Starters
Friday: Jacob Thompson (8-0, 1.32 ERA) vs Daniel Moskos (3-2, 2.27 ERA)
Saturday: Matt Packer (3-2, 3.75 ERA) vs David Kopp (4-2, 3.74 ERA)
Sunday: Sean Doolittle (6-2, 2.42 ERA) vs Ryan Hinson (3-1, 2.28 ERA)

Virginia Game Notes
Clemson Game Notes

NC State at Georgia Tech

The Wolfpack head down to Atlanta to take on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in another key ACC showdown. NC State enters the series with a 27-11 overall record and 11-7 in the ACC. NC State is led by starting pitcher Eric Surkamp who is 3-1 with a 2.98 ERA. Andrew Brackman fills the Saturday starter role but has been up and down throughout the season as his record is 6-3 with a mediocre ERA of 3.67 ERA. Mike Roskopf continues his hot hitting as he has a .435 average over the last 12 games. NC State rolled past Davidson on Wednesday with a 14-3 victory. Georgia Tech enters with a 23-14 record and a solid 10-7 in the ACC. They have had suspect starting pitching this year with Eddie Burns leading the staff with a 3-1 record and 2.74 ERA. Matt Wieters (.336 BA) and Danny Payne (.379 BA) still are the heart and soul of the Yellow Jackets attack. The CBB predicts that NC State takes 2 out of 3 games.

Probable Starters
Friday: David Duncan (5-2, 3.29) vs Eric Surkamp (3-1, 2.98)
Saturday: Eddie Burns (3-1, 2.74) vs Andrew Brackman (6-3, 3.67)
Sunday: Ryan Turner (3-3, 3.74) vs. Jimmy Gillheeney (3-1, 3.40)

GA Tech Game Notes
NC State Game Notes

Maryland at Duke

The Maryland Terrapins and Duke Blue Devils will meet in Durham NC. Both schools will be looking to get back into the ACC Tournament hunt as Maryland is two games behind Wake Forest for the last spot while Duke is four games behind Wake Forest. Maryland is led by Dan Benick who leads the every day players with a .333 average. The top starting pitcher for the Terps has been Casey Baron who is 4-3 with a 3.64 ERA. Duke has been receiving tremendous pitching performances from Tony Bajoczky who has beaten FSU, UVA, and Georgia Tech on the season. His record is 7-2 with a solid 2.94 ERA. The CBB predicts that Duke takes 2 out of 3 games.

Probable Starters
Friday: Alexander Hassan (2-3, 3.43 ERA) vs Casey Baron (4-3, 3.64 ERA)
Saturday: Tony Bajoczky (7-2, 2.94 ERA) vs Ryan Moorer (3-2, 4.21 ERA)
Sunday: Jonathan Anderson (2-1, 2.05 ERA) vs Kevin Biringer (3-7, 5.95 ERA)

Maryland Game Notes
Duke Game Notes

Miami at Va Tech

This series took on special meaning this week after the tragedies at Virginia Tech this past week. The game on Friday night will be the first athletic event since the incident on Monday in which the Hokies will participate in. The Miami athletic department in a pre-game ceremony will present a check for 10,000 dollars to the fund for the victims of Monday's tragedies. The Hurricanes are led by Yonder Alonso who is hitting .373 average while the Hokies are led by Sean O'Brien at .340. The CBB predicts that Miami takes 2 out of 3 games.

Miami Game Notes
VT Game Notes

Wake Forest at Boston College

Wake Forest heads up north to take on the Boston College Eagles. Wake Forest enters the weekend with a 22-19 overall record and 8-10 ACC record. Wake Forest currently has a two game lead over Boston College who enters with a 13-21-1 record and 6-12. Boston College needs to sweep the Deacons this weekend to put themselves in position to make the ACC Tournament as the season is winding down. Wake Forest is led by All-American candidate Allan Dykstra who leads the team in average at .351 and homers at 15. The Deacons might be without their second best hitter Willy Fox who is suffering from an injury he got from confronting an intruder on April 2nd. Boston College has struggled throughout the season with the worst hitting team in the conference. They broke out last weekend against Maryland on Sunday in a 18-6 victory over the Terps. BC is led by freshman catcher Tony Sanchez who is hitting .344 average. The CBB will be in attendance for Saturday's game in Brockton and we predict that Wake Forest sweeps the Eagles.

Probable Starters
Friday: Brad Kledzik (3-3, 5.33 ERA) vs Kevin Boggan (3-4, 4.24 ERA)
Saturday: Garrett Bullock (3-1, 5.50 ERA) vs Terry Doyle (2-3, 6.50 ERA)
Sunday: Charlie Mellies (1-1, 5.40 ERA) vs Nate Jeanes (0-3, 5.13 ERA)

Wake Forest Game Notes

BC and Northeastern to meet in Beanpot Final

The Boston College Eagles picked up a 5-2 victory over Harvard in Lynn Massachusetts in the opening round of the 2007 Baseball Beanpot. The Eagles received a complete game from Ted Ratliff who only allowed eight hits and two runs in his nine innings. Boston College was led on offense by Joseph Ayers who went 2-3 with an RBI for the only multiple hit game by a BC player. Harvard used a combination of nine pitchers as they used this game as preparation for their big series against Brown this weekend which will likely decided the Red Rolfe division title. Harvard offensive leader was Brendan Byrne who went 3-4 with a run scored.

BC Recap
Harvard Recap

In the other game in the Beanpot, Northeastern pounded UMass 17-6 at Friedman Diamond to put the Huskies in the Beanpot final next Wednesday at Fenway Park against Boston College. The Huskies used a four run first inning to jump on the Minutemen early and never gave them a chance to get comfortable in Brookline.

NU Recap
UMass Recap

Conference USA Wednesday recap

East Carolina 9, Old Dominion 5

GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, breaking a five-all tie to extend the Pirates' current winning streak of four games with a 9-5 victory over former Colonial Athletic Association foe Old Dominion Wednesday night at Clark-LeClair Stadium.

Harrison Eldridge and Stephen Batts put the Pirates (25-12) on top for good as each belted a pair of two-run shots in the seventh. Freshman shortstop Gerard Hall hit his first collegiate homer, a solo shot in the top of the fourth for Old Dominion (25-16).

ECU will be back in action this weekend when they play host to Savannah State in a non-conference series. The Monarchs return to action this weekend when they host Delaware in a three-game CAA series.

Old Dominion recap
East Carolina recap

Southern Miss 16, Louisiana-Monroe 4
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Southern Miss' Mike Cashion earned a victory in his second-straight start and the Golden Eagles scored 16 runs on 10 hits to defeat Louisiana-Monroe, 16-4, tonight, at Pete Taylor Park/Hill Denson Field in front of 3,115 in attendance.

Brian Dozier led the Golden Eagles with three hits, two RBIs and scored three runs. Jody Blount hit a three-run homer in the first inning, Drew Carson finished with two hits and Michael Ewing, Trey Sutton, James Ewing and Trey Cuevas each had one hit and two RBIs.

Matt Laird, Kyle Suire and Greg Manley led Louisiana-Monroe with two hits each. Laird, Suire, Bo Bowman and A.J. Siggers all finished with an RBI.

Southern Miss (23-15) scored 16 runs on 10 hits, while Louisiana-Monroe (23-16) scored four runs on 10 hits and committed five errors.

The Golden Eagles host C-USA rival UAB for the final three games of the current eight-game homestand this weekend, April 20-22. ULM kicks off a four-game home stand on Friday with a weekend series against Sun Belt foe Western Kentucky at Warhawk Field at 6 p.m.

Louisiana-Monroe recap
Southern Miss recap

Memphis 13, Austin Peay 7
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Michael Murray was perfect in four at-bats and freshman Dylan Cupples struck out a career-best five batter and allowed just three hits in six innings as Memphis earned a series sweep of the Governors with a 13-7 win on Wednesday evening. Memphis is now 24-14, marking the first time since 2001 that a Tiger squad has been 10 games over .500.

Austin Peay (20-16) got on the board first with a run in the opening frame, but Memphis set the tone for the contest by answering with a pair of tallies in the top half of the second. Kyle Norrid's four-pitch got the rally going and Michael Murray followed with a double into the left centerfield gap. Designated hitter Ben Grisham got Memphis on the board when he lined a two-run single to left center for two of six two-out scores for the Tigers.

Memphis will host Marshall in a Conference USA series beginning on Friday. Austin Peay will host Southeast Missouri in an OVC series, beginning with a doubleheader on Saturday.

Memphis recap
Austin Peay recap

UAB 15, Jacksonville State 5
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB Blazers bounced back from Tuesday's disappointing loss and returned the favor Wednesday night, taking advantage of 13 walks to beat the Jacksonville State Gamecocks, 15-5, at Young Memorial Field. The Blazers were led by junior outfielder Phil Bell who was 3-for-5 with three runs scored and two doubles. Junior right-hander Dustin Colburn earned the win on the mound.

UAB is now 17-22 on the year, just two wins shy of matching last season's win total. JSU falls to 21-17 with the loss.

The Blazers will return to Conference USA action when they travel to Southern Miss for a weekend series. The Gamecocks, who are tied for first place in the Ohio Valley Conference with a 9-3 mark in the Conference, return to action with a three-game Conference series at Eastern Kentucky this weekend.

UAB recap
Jacksonville State recap

UConn edges Brown

The UConn Huskies edged Brown on Wednesday 6-5 in a game which was moved from Providence to Storrs with tough weather in Providence over the last few days. Mark Burnett hit an RBI double in the bottom of the eighth inning to drive home the winning run in Ted O'Reilly. Freshman pitcher Robert Van Woert picked up his fifth win of the season by going four innings while allowing two runs on two hits. Brown used six different pitchers as this was the first mid-week game in three weeks so some pitchers needed some work before their key weekend series against Harvard. Paul Costa ended up getting the loss for the Bears to drop his record to 1-2 on the season.

UConn Recap
Brown Recap

Penn cruises pass Rider

The Penn Quakers scored four runs in the first inning as they cruised to a 13-5 victory over Rider on Wednesday. Kyle Armeny hit his seventh homer of the season while William Gordon and Matt Toffaletti each had three hits as they led the Quakers attack. Reid Terry got the win in relief by giving the Quakers three strong innings while only allowing one hit. His record goes to 2-2. Brian Herman gets the loss for Rider to drop his record to 0-1. Penn will be back in action on Saturday when they host Princeton for their final Ivy League series while Rider will head to Siena for a three game set.

Penn Recap
Rider Recap

Maryland beats UMES 16-2

The Maryland Terrapins got their second win in as many days as they knocked off Maryland-Eastern Shore 16-2 in action on Wednesday evening. Dan Benick had a great game as he led the Terps in hitting by goign 5-5 in the game. Kevin Biringer got his third win by workign the first two innings while only allowing one hit on a pre-determined staff day. Tyler Winch gets the loss to send his record to 0-5. Maryland will visit Duke this weekend while UMES will host FAMU on Saturday.

Maryland Recap
UMES Recap

No. 7 Rice pushes past No. 6 Texas 7-4!

He raised his arm and took his time starting around the bases, two things he never does.

"And I'll never do it again," Kyle Russell said.

But this home run meant something.

Russell, the Longhorns' right fielder, drilled a ball far over the left-field fence and pumped his fist because he knew.

Russell had just set Texas' single-season record for home runs with his 21st, a long rainbow that fell well outside of Reckling Park.

Russell was the lone bright spot Tuesday, when Texas' 10-game winning streak over Rice came to an end in a 7-4 loss in front of 5,003 fans.

"It's a great honor and a great relief for this to happen," said Russell, who typically just puts his head down and trots around the bases. "This is the second-best place for this to happen. The best being Austin."

Russell, who began his career as a Longhorn by hitting a homer against Rice, grew up in Magnolia, a suburb of Houston.

Behind 1-2 in the count in the sixth inning, he went with an outside pitch from Rice starter Chris Kelley.

"He just tried to put it in play, and that's what he has been doing," Texas coach Augie Garrido said. "He's been playing for the team, not the record. That's probably why he was able to get it."

His team-first attitude explained why Russell was upset that he raised his arm after his home run, which came with his team trailing 4-2.

"I guess my emotions got the better of me," said Russell, who was on the team bus after the loss, not even realizing the media would want to talk to him about his record-setting homer.

It took Russell just 42 games to accomplish the feat.

Rice, meanwhile, beat Texas for the first time since 2003, when the Owls topped the Longhorns 5-4 in Omaha, Neb., en route to the national championship.

Every time the Longhorns scored Tuesday, the Owls (30-11) responded.

"That's why they won the game, they did a better job of responding," Garrido said. "And they kept our offensive game in check with good defense and excellent pitching."

Texas (31-11) managed to push across the tying run in the fourth inning, when Russell walked, Bradley Suttle singled and Russell Moldenhauer sacrificed them to second and third. Russell scored on Preston Clark's grounder to short.

The Owls pushed a run across in the bottom of the inning to go up 2-1.

Russell homered in the sixth to make it 4-2, but Rice responded again, as Chad Lembeck hit a two-run double to give the Owls a four-run lead.

And after Texas came up with two runs in the seventh, cutting the lead to 6-4, Rice's Joe Savery hit his third home run of the season.

Jordan Danks and Chance Wheeless, who hit first and second for Texas, were a combined 0 for 9 with six strikeouts, but that wasn't the Longhorns' only problem.

Texas used six pitchers, who combined to walk seven and hit another batter.

"What happened on the mound between the two teams was the difference in the game," Garrido said. "It's baseball. Things like that happen."

So do home runs.

Especially off of Kyle Russell's bat.

Texas Recap

http://collegebaseball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=664875

Texas.scout.com

Conference USA roundup - Tuesday, April 17

HOUSTON -- Junior starting pitcher Chris Kelley scattered four hits and struck out a career-high seven batters and reliever Cole St.Clair closed it out with three hitless innings to lead the sixth-ranked Rice baseball team to a 7-4 victory over the visiting fifth-ranked Texas Longhorns Tuesday evening at Reckling Park in Houston. Longhorn outfielder Kyle Russell hit his 21st home run of the season to set a new single-season record at Texas in the sixth inning.

The Owls jumped on the scoreboard for a run in the bottom of the first inning and chipped away for scores in five of their eight offensive frames. Junior Tyler Henley led off the first by blasting a triple to the wall in center field and he scored on a sacrifice fly by junior Chad Lembeck.

Rice won its third game in a row to improve to 31-10 on the season. Texas fell to 31-11 on the year.

The current five-game homestand continues for Rice with a C-USA weekend series against Central Florida starting on Friday. Texas will continue its road trip, heading to Nebraska for a Big 12 series, also starting on Friday.

Texas recap
Rice recap

No. 24 Tulane 4, Northwestern State 3

METAIRIE, La. - Senior right-hander Matt Goebel gave the Green Wave a solid 6.0 innings of work and the defense made several highlight-reel plays behind him as the Tulane University baseball team defeated Northwestern State, 4-3, Tuesday afternoon at Zephyr Field.

Tulane's defense was flawless on the day, and made big plays with the leather late in the ballgame to thwart some Demon rallies. Northwestern State erased a 3-0 deficit with a three-run third, but Goebel came back to keep the Demons off the board the rest of his outing, and senior closer Daniel Latham went the final two frames to pick up his 10th save of the season.

With the win, Tulane improves to 28-11 on the year and 8-3 against teams from the state of Louisiana. Northwestern State, meanwhile, falls to 16-22 overall.

Northwestern State recap
Tulane recap

No. 16 Texas A&M 8, Houston 3

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Texas A&M jumped out to a 6-2 lead after three innings and never looked back in taking an 8-3 win over the University of Houston baseball team Tuesday in a non-conference game at Olsen Field.

The Cougars scored single runs in the second and third innings, but the Aggies had an answer in the next half inning. The Aggies scored a pair of runs in the first inning, one in the second and broke the game open with three more in the third inning before a rain and lightning delay halted the game for more than an hour.

With the win, the Cougars fell to 19-17 overall, while Texas A&M improved to 31-8. Houston returns to action this weekend, traveling to New Orleans for a C-USA series against No. 24 Tulane. The Friday game will be televised by CSTV. Texas A&M will host No. 15 Oklahoma State in a Big 12 series. The Saturday game will be televised by Cox Sports Television.

Houston recap
Texas A&M recap

Memphis 4, Austin Peay 3
Senior Michael Murray shot a single through the right side to score Kyle Norrid for the go-ahead run and Matt Yokley (4-2) sat Austin Peay down in order in the ninth to seal a 4-3 win for Memphis, Tuesday night at Nat Buring Stadium. Memphis snaps a five-game losing streak to the Governors and improves to 23-14 with its fourth straight win.

The two squads will square off again Wednesday in Clarksville, Tenn. First pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m.

Austin Peay recap
Memphis recap

South Florida 10, Central Florida 5

Tampa, Fla. - A three-run first inning was not enough to enable the UCF baseball team to knock off USF Tuesday in a 10-5 loss in Tampa. Both teams combined for 15 walks as the loss dropped the Knights to 18-20 on the season.

Tyson Auer wasted little time in stretching his hitting streak to 13 games by picking up a single in the first inning. Meanwhile, Eric Kallstrom finished his evening by tying a career-high with three hits and drove in two. The loss for the Knights was the second this season against the Bulls (April 3, 11-4 in Tampa).

USF (27-12) starter James Rowe faced just four batters before hitting the dugout in the top of the first. Matt Horwath and Shane Brown both were issued walks to get the game started and Auer followed with a single to center to load them up. Rowe then walked Kiko Vazquez to give the Knights a 1-0 lead, and left in favor of Yuri Higgins even though Rowe had gotten to two strikes on all four hitters he went up against. Higgins did pick up the first out, but gave up a two-run single to Kallstrom as the shortstop banged a 2-2 pitch through the left side.

The Knights will travel to No. 6 Rice in a C-USA series this weekend. The Bulls will host Rutgers in a Big East series.

UCF recap
USF recap

Eastern Kentucky 14, Marshall 3
RICHMOND, Ky. - Eastern Kentucky jumped out to a 7-1 lead after two innings and never looked back en route to a 14-3 win over the Marshall University baseball team on Tuesday at Turkey Hughes Field.

The Colonels (15-16-1) recorded 19 hits in the game, a Marshall opponent-high this season, sending the Thundering Herd (14-20) to its 15th straight loss while snapping its own four-game skid. The win also stopped a three-game Herd win streak in the all-time series with EKU.

Marshall will travel to Memphis for a C-USA series this weekend. Eastern Kentucky will host Xavier on Wednesday.

Marshall recap
EKU recap

Jacksonville State 14, UAB 5
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - UAB gave up at least one run in the final six Jacksonville State innings to give the Gamecocks a 14-5 victory over the Blazers at Rudy Abbott Field Tuesday night. Blazer catcher Danny Sawyer had two runs scored on a 1-for-3 night at the plate.

Jacksonville State improves to 21-16 with the triumph, while UAB is now 16-22 having lost its sixth straight. The teams complete the two-game series on Wednesday.

UAB recap
Jacksonville State recap

Maryland takes out UMBC

The Maryland Terrapins picked up a 11-6 victory over UMBC on Tuesday evening. Maryland used a six run third inning to cruise to the victory. Casey Baron got the win by working two innings and striking out five out of the six outs he recorded. Sean Rae got the loss for UMBC by giving up six runs in his two innings of work. Maryland will be back in action on Wednesday when they host Maryland Eastern-Shore while UMBC will host America East rival Binghamton on Friday for the start of a four game set.

Maryland Recap
UMBC Recap

Penn edges Lehigh

The Penn Quakers slipped by Lehigh on Tuesday by a score of 6-5 in ten innings. Freshman Matt Toffaletti hit a line drive through the infield with the bases loaded to drive home Kyle Armeny with the winning run. Armeny also led the offense by going 4-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored in the victory. Penn relief pitcher William Gordon gets the victory to up his record up to 2-0 while Rob Russell gets the loss to even his record at 1-1. Penn will be back in action on Wednesday when they head to Rider while Lehigh is off until this weekend when they head to Lafayette.

Penn Recap
Lehigh Recap

Charleston Southern-The Citadel preview

Charleston Southern will welcome The Citadel to Buccaneer Field on Wednesday for a non-conference match up between cross town rivals. Charleston Southern enters with a 15-27 record while The Citadel enter with a 22-13 record. The Citadel are expected to start Nick Sprowls will make his first collegiate start. He has pitched 7.0 innings this season with a 2.57 ERA. The Bucs will counter with T.J. Green who is 0-2 with a 3.62 ERA.

The Citadel Game Notes

Kulbacki and Bach earn National Player of the Week honor

FROM NCBWA RELEASE
DALLAS - The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA)­ released the Pro-Line Athletic National Player of the Week awards for the period ending April 17, today. James Madison senior outfielder Kellen Kulbacki was named National Hitter of the Week, while Monmouth junior right-handed pitcher Brad Brach was named National Co-Pitchers of the Week. The NCBWA Board reviews candidates from each Division I conferences each week and names winners each Tuesday throughout the season.

Kulbacki went 11-for-16 (.688) last week with five walks to reach base in 16 of 21 plate appearances (.762 on-base percentage).  He hit four home runs in four games, including his third multiple-home run game of the season, and added three doubles for 26 total bases and a 1.625 slugging percentage.  He also scored 10 runs, drove in 11, and stole a base.  Kulbacki's week included a span of six consecutive at bats with base hits and eight consecutive plate appearances reaching base.  He had multiple hits in each of the four games and nine total bases on Wednesday and Friday.

Brach hurled the NEC's first no-hitter in nearly three years on Friday in a 2-0 win over visiting Long Island.  The Freehold, N.J., native was perfect through eight and a third innings, allowed a walk with one out in the ninth on a 3-2 pitch for his only blemish.  Brach, who led the conference in ERA a year ago, struck out six and improved to 4-1 on the season with a 3.21 ERA following his second straight nine-inning, complete game effort.  It marked the first no-hitter in the NEC since Long Island's John Dooley and freshman Ryan Ekberg combined to no-hit Fairleigh Dickinson, 4-0, on April 29, 2004.  The last no-hitter by an NEC pitcher in a solo effort came on April 27, 2002 when Sacred Heart's Dan Scott stymied Long Island, 2-0.  The gem was also the first for a Monmouth pitcher since Glenn Spencer turned the trick against Mount St. Mary's in 1990.

With this week's honor, Brach automatically are named to the watch list for Roger Clemens Award, given to the national collegiate pitcher of the year, sponsored by the Greater Houston Baseball Organization.

C-USA baseball notebook

A pair of nationally-televised games on CSTV highlight this week's action in Conference USA baseball. On Tuesday, longtime rivals Rice and Texas meet at Reckling Park (7 p.m. CT) in a matchup of top six teams. On Friday, Houston and Tulane, the teams that own the most C-USA baseball championships, meet at Zephyr Field in suburban New Orleans (live at Noon CT and again at 7 p.m. CT).

HITTER OF THE WEEK

JESS BUENGER, RICE

Sophomore, 2B/DH, Bellville, Texas

Buenger had one of the best weeks of any Owl all year, leading the team with a composite .556 batting average as the team went 3-1. He went 10-for-18 with a home run, four doubles, seven runs scored and four RBI. Buenger had a .944 slugging percentage and he was walked once and hit by a pitch for a .600 on-base percentage. On defense at second base, he had 14 put outs and 10 assists while turning or starting three of the Owls four double plays last week. Buenger was selected to the All-Silver Glove Series Team for the annual showdown with crosstown rival Houston.

PITCHER OF THE WEEK

KYLE SWEAT, UCF

Sophomore, RHP, Apopka, Fla.

Taking on No. 17 Florida during a rainy evening in Gainesville April 10, Sweat had the best performance by a Golden Knight pitcher this season. The sophomore shut down the Gators by giving up just two hits and walking only two, keeping them scoreless over 8.0 innings of work. He struck out three and located his pitches extremely well to keep the Florida bats off-balance the entire game. Sweat is the only UCF starter in 2007 to last at least 8.0 innings as he has accomplished the feat in back-to-back starts (also went 8.0 in a win over Harvard March 26).

For entire C-USA notebook, click here.

SoCon Players of the Week for April 16th

The Citadel's Matt Crim picked up the Southern Conference Pitcher of the Week award by giving The Citadel a complete game shutout over Applachin State on April 14th. He struck out nine batters while only giving up nine hits and a walk in the 17-0 shutout. Elon's Chase Austin was named the Southern Conference Player of the Week by hitting .692 (9-13) in the weekend series with the Furman Paladins.

The Citadel Release
Elon Release
SoCon Pitcher of the Week Release
SoCon Player of the Week Release

ACC Players of the Week

The ACC has announced their players of the week for the period ending on April 16th in Buster Posey and Enrique Garcia. Posey led FSU to a 4-0 record by hitting .416 (5 for 12) in the weekend sweep over Virginia Tech. Posey also had a perfect week on defense as he didn't commit an error in his 29 fielding attempts. Garcia pitched a complete game against NC State on Saturday as the Hurricanes went on to win the game 5-1. Garcia pitched eight shutout innings before tiring in the ninth as he allowed a run on two hits in the final inning.

ACC Release
FSU Release
Miami Release

NCBWA Apr. 16 Division I Poll

FROM NCBWA RELEASE
DALLAS - The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association continues its
tradition of NCAA Division I polls for the 10th year with its 2007 weekly
surveys. Weekly polls will be circulated from Feb. 12-June 26 following the
NCAA World Series in Omaha, Neb.

The poll voters come from 32 college baseball writers and related media persons from throughout the nation. This week's poll has representation by 12 different conferences among the 293 baseball-playing schools in the '07 NCAA Division I ranks, and 17 leagues have had teams in the polls in '07. For more information or to join the NCBWA, please go to www.ncbwa.com.

Rank-School-Conference-Overall Record-Previous Rank
1 Vanderbilt Southeastern 32-6 1
2 North Carolina Atlantic Coast 32-6 2
3 Florida State ACC 35-4 4
4 South Carolina SEC 28-8 3
5 Texas Big 12 31-10 6
6 Rice Conference USA 29-11 5
7 Arkansas SEC 29-10 9
8 Virginia ACC 31-8 8
9 Oregon State Pacific-10 28-8 10
10 Arizona Pac-10 30-7 11
11 Arizona State Pac-10 29-10 12
12 Pepperdine West Coast 28-11 7
13 Clemson ACC 25-10 13
14 Wichita State Missouri Valley 30-8 16
15 Oklahoma State Big 12 26-9 14
16 Texas A&M Big 12 30-8 17
17 Cal State Fullerton Big West 23-12 18
18 Mississippi State SEC 23-8 19
19 Mississippi SEC 25-13 15
20 NC State ACC 26-11 21
21 Coastal Carolina Big South 30-7 20
22 San Diego West Coast 29-13 t25
23 Charlotte Atlantic 10 29-6 t25
24 Tulane Conference USA 27-11 28
25 Louisiana-Lafayette Sun Belt 28-9 23
26 Oklahoma Big 12 25-13 24
t27 Kentucky SEC 26-9-1 22
t27 UC Irvine Big West 25-10-1 26
29 Long Beach State Big West 21-12 NR
30 Stetson Atlantic Sun 30-9 30

Others receiving votes (listed alphabetically): Alabama (22-15), College of Charleston (27-9), East Carolina (24-12), Miami (Fla.) (22-16), Michigan (22-6), Missouri (25-11), Nebraska (22-14), New Orleans (24-12).

Dropped Out: Ohio State (29)
By conference: Southeastern 6, Atlantic Coast 5, Big 12 4, Big West 3, Pacific-10 3, Conference USA 2, West Coast 2, Atlantic 10 1, Atlantic Sun 1, Big South 1, Missouri Valley 1, Sun Belt 1

Texas completes sweep of Texas Tech!

The Texas Longhorns won on Sunday.

They swept a series.

They did it in a come-from-behind fashion.

All those things haven't happened very often this season.

With so many positives in Sunday's 4-2 Big 12 win over Texas Tech, the biggest one for Texas (31-10, 12-3) might have been overlooked: Joseph Krebs.

Texas' Sunday starter put his best outing of the season together with a two-run, five-hit performance over six innings. It was the first time Krebs pitched more than five innings this season. And he did it with a smile.

In the fifth inning, Texas Tech (22-15, 5-8) had taken a 2-1 lead on Krebs, and a runner on first was jumping around, bothering the left-handed starter.

"(Pitching coach Skip) Johnson just came out there and slowed me down," Krebs said. "I would throw over to first, and Chance (Wheeless) would throw it back. Right as Chance would throw it back, the guy would jump off first. Coach Johnson told Chance to fake the throw and tag the guy.

"It calmed me down a lot. I started thinking about that. I had a little smile on my face the rest of the outing."

Krebs struck out the next two guys and breezed through the sixth inning.

"Joe turned it around for two more innings," Texas coach Augie Garrido said. "He broke through and took it to another level."

Then the Horns broke through.

Trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the seventh, Travis Tucker walked and stole second and third base. After shortstop Michael Demperio grounded out, leadoff hitter Jordan Danks, who went 3 for 4, came up with his second RBI of the game, shortening up his swing with two strikes and hitting a single to center field.

"Tucker gets on base, steals second and steals third, and that pumps the rest of us up," Danks said. "You get the adrenaline flowing. You get the crowd behind you, and you just get going."

Kyle Russell, who did not hit a home run this series and remains tied for the Longhorns' single-season home run total with Jeff Ontiveros at 20, followed up with an RBI double, giving Texas a 3-2 lead. Russell advanced to third on a wild pitch and was driven in on a sacrifice fly by Wheeless, whose 17-game hitting streak came to an end.

That was plenty of runs as Randy Boone earned the win with three perfect innings.

He did get a little help from Russell, who made a great catch on what appeared to be a double down the right-field line.

"They swung at a lot of pitches early in the count. It was kind of surprising," Boone said. "I got a lot of ground balls and Kyle made a great play in right."

The sweep helped Texas keep a firm hold on first place in the Big 12, and it comes at the perfect time. The Longhorns now enter the toughest part of their schedule, traveling to Rice on Tuesday before heading to Nebraska and Oklahoma State the next two weekends.

Texas Recap

Texas Tech Recap

Texas.Scout.com

Conference USA recap for April 13-15

Rain was the big winner this past weekend, as several series had to work its way around the wet stuff. Highlighting the on-the-field action was Rice's victory in the Silver Glove series.

No. 5 Rice at Houston
Houston posted three runs in the sixth inning against NCBWA Pitcher of the Week Ryan Berry on its way to a 5-2 victory in the Silver Glove series-opener Friday. Joe Savery went 4-for-4 from the plate on Saturday to highlight Rice's 15-hit performance and Ryne Tracker scattered three hits from the mound as the Owls evened the series with a 12-0 shellacking. Jess Buenger went 4-for-5 to lead the Owls to an 11-6 decision on Sunday.

With consecutive wins over UH on Saturday and Sunday, Rice (29-11, 10-2) claimed the weekend series two-games-to-one and retained possession of the Silver Glove Trophy as the city's collegiate champion for a seventh-straight year. The Owls have won the annual trophy in nine of the 10 years it has been awarded dating back to 1998. Houston fell to 19-6 overall, 6-3 in C-USA play.

Rice recaps
Houston recaps

No. 28 Tulane at Southern Miss
Southern Miss scored in the bottom of the first, then saw Tulane plate five unanswered runs as the Green Wave claimed a 7-5 decision in the Friday contest. Torrential rains and tornado warnings cancelled all of Saturday's EagleFest activities, leading to a pair of seven-inning games on Sunday.

Barry Bowden tossed a complete game as Southern Miss took a 5-2 win in the first game of the Sunday doubleheader. The Green Wave scored seven runs in the top of the first and cruised to a 7-1 series-clinching win in the second game. Tulane moved to 27-11 overall, 8-4 in C-USA; Southern Miss is now 22-15, 4-8 in C-USA.

Tulane recaps
Southern Miss recaps

Memphis at UAB
Visiting Memphis held off a late UAB rally to take a 7-6 win on Friday. Blazer officials set Saturday's first pitch for 10:30 a.m. in an effort to beat the incoming storms. It didn't work; the game was suspended after five innings with Memphis holding an 8-4 lead, thanks to an eight-run fourth inning by the Tigers.

The Blazers scored three runs on Sunday in the resumption of Saturday's game, but Memphis' eight-run fourth inning on the previous day held up, as the Tigers claimed an 8-7 decision. A 9-4 final in the third game gave the Tigers a sweep of the weekend series. Memphis has won eight of its last nine conference games and stands at 22-14 overall, 8-4 in C-USA. UAB fell to 16-21 overall, 4-5 in league play.

Memphis recaps
UAB recaps

East Carolina at Marshall
In an effort to beat the incoming weather, the ECU-MU schedule was altered; the two teams played a Friday doubleheader. Freshman Kyle Roller hit his first career home run in the eighth inning of the opener to lift ECU past Marshall 7-4. The Pirates scored seven runs in the third of the nightcap to cruise to a 13-3 sweep of the doubleheader.

The doubleheader sweep turned into a series sweep, as the rains came in and forced the cancellation of the third game. East Carolina moved to 24-12 overall, 6-5 in C-USA. Marshall fell to 14-19 overall, 0-8 in league play.

East Carolina recaps
Marshall recaps

ACC Recap for April 15th

Florida State 8 Virginia Tech 5

Ryan Strauss pitched seven strong innings to pick up his eighth straight victory to start the season as his Seminoles knocked off the Hokies 8-5. The Seminoles bullpen gave up four runs over the final two innings but the Noles held off the late charge. Mark Gildea led the offense by going 3-5 with 2 RBI. FSU will be back in action on Wednesday when they host Florida while VT hosts William & Mary also on Wednesday.

FSU Recap
VT Recap

Clemson 5 Wake Forest 4

Wake Forest put the typing run on second base with one out in the bottom of the ninth when the rain came down in buckets thus calling the game after 8.1 innings. Ryan Hinson gets the win for the Tigers by giving a solid start for the Tigers. He went seven innings while only giving up two runs. The Tigers offense was led by Andy D'Alessio went 3-4 with three RBIs. The Tigers will be back in action on Wednesday when they go to South Carolina while Wake heads to High Point.

Clemson Recap
Wake Forest Recap

NC State 19 Miami 9

Jones in honor of Jackie Robinson wore the number 42 in remembrance of Jackie Robinson and had one of the best days of his career. Marcus Jones went 4 for 6 with 3 RBIs to lead the Wolfpack to the blow out victory over the Miami Hurricanes. Jimmy Gillheeney started for the Wolfpack but was roughed up for five runs in his first two innings. Andrew Taylor ended up getting the win in relief by going 3.1 innings without allowing a run. John Housey started for Miami but let up three runs in his only inning of work. NC State will be back in action on Wednesday when they play Davidson while Miami hosts North Florida.

NC State Recap
Miami Recap

GT at Virginia (CCD)

Virginia and Georgia Tech canceled the final game of their series do to the large rain event in the northeast. I am still wondering why the teams didn't play a doubleheader on Friday or Saturday. Virginia will be back in action on Tuesday when they host Richmond while GT will play Wednesday against Georgia.

GT Release
UVA Release

Texas gets two wins over Red Raiders!

It was the quickest two wins Texas will ever get.

First Randy Boone struck out Texas Tech's Geoff Byrns, recording the only out the Longhorns needed Saturday to complete a 7-2 victory, in a game that was suspended in the ninth inning Friday due to inclement weather.

Then, in Game 2 of their three-game series with the Red Raiders at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, the Longhorns scored five runs in the first inning.

That contest was all but over, as the Horns (30-10 overall, 11-3 Big 12) cruised to a 10-1 victory.

"Early in the year we jumped out a couple of times and lost the momentum, but we learned from that," Texas coach Augie Garrido said. "We are not forgetting the lessons we learned from some of the adversity we faced."

Texas' early lead was plenty for Adrian Alaniz, who returned to form after a rough outing in Kansas, giving up one run on three hits in seven innings.

"We didn't have a chance today," Texas Tech coach Larry Hays said. "They got a big home run in the first inning, we misplayed a couple balls in the outfield and their guy pitched extremely well."

Alaniz fought gusting winds and chilly temperatures to improve his record to 9-2.

"Last week really helped me a lot," Alaniz said of his struggles. "I just kind of put that behind me today and just went out and pitched. I really wasn't affected by the weather."

Chance Wheeless continued his impressive season by recording a hit for the 17th straight game, the eighth-best streak in Texas history. The Longhorns first baseman did it in style, too, stepping up to the plate in the first inning and ripping a two-run home run over the right-field fence to give Texas a 3-0 lead.

"I didn't think anybody would hit home runs today with the wind, but I knew that one was gone right off the bat," said Wheeless, who went 2 for 3.

After Wheeless' blast, third baseman Bradley Suttle hit a single and catcher Preston Clark, who was 3 for 5 with an RBI, reached on an error. Two batters later, Russell Moldenhauer's two-run single gave Texas a 5-0 lead with just one out in the first, knocking Texas Tech left-hander Josh Scofield out of the game.

Garrido wasn't surprised at his team's success.

"Teams don't recognize — and I don't care if they know it — but everybody sees our lineup and starts left-handed pitchers against us," Garrido said. "We're hitting 50 points higher against left-handed pitchers than we are against right-handed pitchers."

Maybe the Horns have their work cut out for themselves today, as Texas Tech (22-15, 5-8) sends righty Travis Young to the mound to face Texas' Joseph Krebs.

Texas Recap

Texas.Scout.com

Texas Tech Recap