Rice Super Regional!!

Rice dispenses of A&M in two Straight 5-2 on the way to Omaha. This will be Rice 6th appearance at Omaha since 1997.

Of all the things that could have crossed his mind as the final out of Rice's 5-2 win in the Houston Super Regional drifted his way, first baseman Joe Savery focused on something peculiar.

Instead of recalling the abundant success the Owls have enjoyed over his three seasons in a Rice uniform or the fact that he was completing his last game at Reckling Park, Savery readied to deliver a heaping dose of comeuppance to one persistent female heckler.

"All I could think about was throwing it to that lady who would not leave me alone the last two days," said Savery, who admitted to signing the ball. "I was like 'Don't drop it,' one, and two, 'Find her and throw it to her as a token.' I'd had about enough of that."

Savery delicately made the catch in foul territory before delivering an underhand toss to the woman who taunted him ceaselessly. And with that, Savery silenced his persecutor, closed out Texas A&M and sealed the Owls' sixth trip to the College World Series.

Houston Chronicle.com

Aggiessports.com

Rice Owls Recap

Texas A&M Recap

Oklahoma State takes Game 2 in extra innings

The Oklahoma State Cowboys picked up a solo home run from Ty Wright to tie the game at 2. The teams stayed tied until the twelfth inning when Oklahoma State got back to back base hits with two outs to drive in Tyler Mach with the eventual winning run. The Cowboys behind Jordy Mercer (3-1) was able to hold the Cardinals scoreless over the final four innings to get the victory. Travis Magnusson (3-2) got the loss for the Cardinals after giving up two runs on three hits in his five innings of work. The teams will play at 4 pm tomorrow with the winner going to the CWS.

Oklahoma State Recap
Louisville Recap

Mississippi State advances to CWS

The Mississippi State Bulldogs advanced to the College World Series with an 8-5 victory over Clemson which clinched the sweep for MSU. The Bulldogs used a four run second inning in which they got four hits and took advantage of a Tiger error to take control of the game with a 5-2 lead. St. Louis Cardinal second round draft pick David Kopp started for the Tigers but was lit up for five runs (two earned) in 1.2 innings. He ended up getting credited with the loss to end his season with a 6-3 record. Bulldog starter Justin Pigott got the start and went six innings while giving up five runs (four earned) to up his record to 7-6. Mitch Moreland was able to get the final two outs of the game with the tying run up to bat to get his second save of the season. Clemson ends the season with a 41-23 and the Bulldogs will head to Omaha to take part in the College World Series.

Mississippi State Recap
Clemson Recap

UC-Irvine vs. Wichita State Game 1

For four straight innings, starting in the fifth, Wichita State had at least one runner in scoring position and a record crowd buzzing with anticipation.

Every time, UC Irvine found a way to escape.

The Anteaters scored one run, on a bases-loaded grounder in the eighth that Noah Krol nearly fielded, and that was enough to take a ton of momentum in this best-of-3 super regional. UC Irvine won 1-0 today at Eck Stadium, and the Shockers are left shaking their heads.

The Anteaters (44-15-1) can win the super regional and advance to the College World Series with a victory over WSU (53-21) at noon Sunday.

There was not much offense through five scoreless innings. The Shockers had one hit in that span _ Conor Gillaspie's second-inning single up the middle _ but Irvine starter Scott Gorgen had faced the minimum through four.

In the fifth, WSU's Josh Workman drew a two-out walk and stole second base, but Tyler Hill grounded out to the first baseman.

The Anteaters' best threat came in the first inning when Taylor Holiday led off with a single, moved to second on a bunt and stole third base. But Shockers starter Aaron Shafer struck out Cody Cipriano and induced a lazy fly ball from Matt Morris.

Shafer allowed hits in the third and fourth inning _ including a double by Holiday _ but started getting stronger in the middle innings. After Morris' fourth-inning single, Shafer retired the next nine batters.

Defense played a part on Shafer's success, specifically Gillaspie's second inning at third base. The leadoff batter, Aaron Lowenstein, hit a short chopper that Gillaspie had to charge on a full sprint and then make a strong throw. The next batter, Tyler Vaughn, hit a one-hop rocket to Gillaspie's left. He made an all-out dive and the ball smacked into his glove as he bounced off the artificial turf. Gillaspie popped up and threw out Vaughn.

WSU's bats came to life in the sixth inning. Dusty Coleman hit a one-out single and tried to take second base on a hit-and-run with Andy Dirks at the plate. But the Anteaters pitched out and threw out Coleman.

That hurt because Dirks followed with a single to left field. He moved to third on Derek Schermerhorn's single through the left side. When Damon Sublett drew a five-pitch walk, the bases were loaded for Matt Brown. After two leave-his-shoes swings to make the count 0-2, Brown took two balls before striking out much to the big crowd's dismay.

The Anteaters had their chance in the top of the seventh. Bryan Peterson drew a one-out walk and moved to third base on Sean Madigan's hit-and-run single just over Sublett at second base.

Irvine then tried its small-ball tactics, having Ollie Linton lay down a one-strike bunt. Shafer fielded the ball and faked a hard throw to first, which drew Peterson down the line. The Shockers caught him in a run-down for the second out.

Facing Lowenstein, Shafer threw a full-count breaking ball that he thought was strike three. When he didn't get the call, Shafer stared at the umpire from off the mound. Home plate umpire Danny Mascorro told WSU coach Gene Stephenson to hold down his complaining. As those two talked from a distance, third base umpire Kevin Daugherty ejected pitching coach Brent Kemnitz, who didn't go quietly.

After Kemnitz had his say and the other umpires were satisfied he had left the dugout, Vaughn flew out to center field to end the inning. A fired-up Shafer bulled his way through teammates and he yelled then fired his glove into the dugout.

The Shockers got a hit-and-run call to work in the seventh, and it appeared it could finally lead to a run. Josh Workman hit a one-out single up the middle and was stealing second when Tyler Hill grounded a single through the big hole on the right side of the infield. That gave the Shockers runners on first and third with one out.

But Tyler Weber hit a line drive right at Orloff, Irvine's shortstop. Orloff then threw to third base to double off Workman.

Wichita State turned to reliever Andy Womack in the eighth. After getting two quick outs, Womack ran into trouble. Two walks sandwiched around a Matt Morris single loaded the bases before Stephenson Womack for Krol.

His first pitch was hit by Madigan right back at Krol. The ball popped out of his glove and flew to nearly the third-base line. By the time Krol caught up with it, he had no play and Irvine led 1-0.

WSU again had a chance to score in the eighth. Coleman led off with a single through the infield's left side, his third sharply hit ball of the game. Dirks tried to sacrifice Coleman to second but popped the bunt foul.

That worked out for the Shockers as Gorgan then threw three straight balls to walk Dirks. Schermerhorn then tried to bunt, but Gorgan fielded it and threw out Coleman at third base.

Sublett then grounded to second base, starting an inning-ending double play.

CSTV LIVESTATS

Wichita State Recap

OCRegister.com

UC IRVINE RECAP

Oregon State and Michigan Rained out

The Oregon State-Michigan Super Regional was scheduled to start at 3 pm on Saturday but rain has entered into the Corvallis area postponing Game 1 until Sunday. They have pushed the schedule back a full day with Game 1 on Sunday at 4 pm on ESPN, Game 2 on Monday at 1 pm or 4 pm on ESPN or ESPN 2, and Game 3 will be played on Tuesday at a TBA time.

Texas A&M let No. 1 slip away, 3-2

Right-hander Kyle Nicholson is the heart and soul of Texas A&M's pitching staff. He's an Aggie through and through. Even grew up in College Station and went to high school at A&M Consolidated.

But at the biggest moment of the biggest game of A&M's season, Nicholson found himself heading toward the dugout.

Pulling an All-American off the mound can't be easy. A&M coach Rob Childress did that in the 10th inning on Friday with his team locked in a game against No. 1-ranked Rice tied 2-2.

Inserting reliever Gary Campfield made sense at the time. But Jordan Dodson hit Campfield's first offering into left field, and Rice's Danny Lehmann chugged home for the winning run in a 3-2 victory in the NCAA super regionals.

The fourth-largest crowd in Reckling Park history was seemingly split 50/50 among A&M fans and Rice supporters. The 5,074 fans were half elated, half dejected.

"First pitch, I was definitely looking for the fastball in," Dodson said, "and he threw it exactly where I thought he would."

Rice (53-12) is one victory away from going to the College World Series for the second straight year. Game 2 in the best-of-3 format is 5 p.m. today.

The Owls will start right-hander Matt Langwell (7-1, 1.73 ERA). The Aggies will go with Kirkland Rivers (2-3, 5.61) or Kyle Thebeau (3-5, 4.50).

Childress hasn't been afraid to call on any of his pitchers in the postseason. They've rewarded him so far. Pulling Nicholson in the 10th made sense, Childress said, because Dodson led off the ninth with a sharp single through the left side.

"We needed a different look on him," Childress said. "It was the right move, and I'd make it again tomorrow."

The Aggies (48-18) may not have been in that predicament if their defense hadn't failed them earlier.

At this point in the season, the statistics don't lie. If the numbers say you're a bad defensive team, then you're a bad defensive team. And any team with 100 errors is a bad defensive team. The Aggies made three errors against the Owls and have 101 errors for the year.

In the fifth, Rice's J.P. Padron hit an easy chopper to third, and Brian Ruggiano handled it with ease. But then Ruggiano threw wide of the bag, and Padron collided with Blake Stouffer for an error.

The next batter, Brian Friday, hit an easy grounder to short, and Brandon Hicks simply didn't get his glove on the ground. The ball went through his legs for an error, and pinch-runner Derek Myers scored to cut A&M's 2-0 lead in half.

"We got out of it only giving up one run," Childress said. "It could have been a lot worse."

That unearned run proved huge when Diego Seastrunk hit a RBI single off Nicholson in the bottom of the ninth. It looked as if A&M's Kyle Colligan could have made a diving catch. But he let the ball bounce in front of him and the score was tied, 2-2.

A&M's David Newmann and Rice's Ryan Berry had solid outings. Newmann went six innings and allowed only three hits for the Aggies. Berry allowed two runs in 7 1/3 innings for the Owls.

Both teams knew coming in this series was relatively evenly matched. Little mistakes would get magnified greatly. If the Aggies make more little mistakes today, their season will be over.

Houston Chronicle.com

Rice Recap

Texas A&M Recap

Saturday Super Regional Game Links

The College Baseball Blog encourages everyone to get in front of a TV and watch the Super Regionals on ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU but if you can't watch then we are providing Gametracker links for all the games on Saturday which are available by clicking on the respective games. All game times are for the Eastern timezone.

Mississippi State vs Clemson at 12 pm (Game 2 MSU leads 1-0)

Oklahoma State vs Louisville at 12 pm (Game 2 UL leads 1-0)

UC-Irvine vs Wichita State at 12 pm (Game 1)

Oregon State vs Michigan at 3 pm (Game 1)

Rice vs Texas AM at 6 pm (Game 2 Rice leads 1-0)

Cal State Fullerton vs UCLA at 7 pm (Game 1)

North Carolina vs South Carolina at 7 pm (Game 2 UNC leads 1-0)

Ole Miss vs Arizona State at 9 pm (Game 1)

Rice takes Game 1

The Rice Owls slipped by Texas AM 3-2 in ten innings to grab the first game of their Super Regional match-up. The Rice Owls trailed 2-1 heading into the bottom of the ninth when they scored one run on two hits. Jordan Dodson led off the bottom of the ninth with a single into left field. He was sacrificed to second by Tyler Henley. The next batter was Diego Seastrunk who hit a single back up the middle to bring home the tying run. Texas AM was able to get out of the inning without allowing anymore runs. Rice held the Aggies scoreless in the top of the tenth setting up a chance for the Owls to walk-off with a victory. Danny Lehmann laid down a bunt with two outs to get on first base. The Aggies then worked around Joe Savery who got a walk to set up 1st and 2nd with two outs. Jordan Dodson hit a single through the left side to drive home Lehmann with the winning run.

The teams will be back in action on Saturday at 5 pm on ESPNU.

Rice Recap
Texas AM Recap

UNC takes Game 1

The North Carolina Tar Heels erased a 6-0 deficit by scoring nine runs over the sixth and seventh innings as the Tar Heels defeated South Carolina 9-6. UNC starter Robert Woodard gave up six runs in 6.1 innings of work in his last appearance at Boshamer Stadium but got the no decision. The UNC offense woke up in the sixth inning after being put in a 6-0 hole. The Tar Heels were able to take advantage of four hits and a South Carolina error to score three runs to get back in the game as they trailed 6-3. UNC held South Carolina scoreless in the top of the seventh. The Tar Heels were able to bat around in the bottom of the seventh when they got six hits and a South Carolina error again to score six big runs and take the 9-6 lead. Andrew Carignan pitched the final 2.0 innings to pick up his 15th save of the season. UNC reliever Rob Wooten got the after pitching 2/3 of an inning to put his record at 6-1. South Carolina reliever Curtis Johnson got the loss by pitching one inning while giving up four runs. His record drops to 1-3. North Carolina was led on offense by Josh Horton who went 3-5 while South Carolina was led by Reese Havens who went 2-4.

North Carolina will try to wrap up the series at 7 pm in the eastern timezone on ESPN .

UNC Recap
South Carolina Recap

Louisville takes Game 1

The Louisville Cardinals opened up their Super Regional series with the Oklahoma State Cowboys and came away with a 9-0 shutout victory. The Cardinals scored three runs in the top of the first inning on three hits to get the partisan crowd in the game. Zack Pitts gave the Cardinals seven strong innings while giving up four hits and two walks. His record goes to 10-3 on the season. Oklahoma State starter pitcher Oliver Odle ( was lit up for five runs in 3+ innings of work and was lifted after Chris Dominguez hit an opposite field homer to lead off the fourth inning. Isiah Howes went 2-5 with 2 RBI to lead the Cardinals offense. Jordy Mercer was the only Cowboy with multiple hits in the game.

The teams will be back on the field on Saturday at 12 pm in the eastern timezone on ESPNU.

Louisville Recap
OK State Recap

NCBWA NAMES 2007 DICK Howser Trophy Finalist!

The four finalists for the Dick Howser Trophy are Vanderbilt pitcher David Price, Texas outfielder Kyle Russell, Rice pitcher-first baseman-designated hitter Joe Savery, and Florida State second baseman Tony Thomas Jr.

One member of this quartet will be named the winner at a national news conference on Friday, June 15, at 10 a.m. (CDT) at the Omaha Press Club, 22nd Floor, 16th & Dodge Streets (the old First National Bank Building), as the 21st recipient of the prestigious award, given annually since 1987.

NCBWA

RiceOwls.com

TexasSports.com

Florida Stae.com

Vanderbilt.com

Mississippi State takes Game 1

The Mississippi State Bulldogs picked up an 8-6 victory over the Clemson Tigers in the opening game of their Super Regional match-up. The Tigers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning after Wilson Boyd led off the inning by reaching on an error by Jet Butler. Boyd was put in motion on the basepaths as Marquez Smith hit the ball where the second base would have been to put runners on the corners with no outs. Andy D'Alessio then proceeded to single to center to drive home Boyd and put runners on the corners again. Taylor Harbin then hit a sacrifice fly to right field to give the Tigers the 2-0 lead. Mississippi State then responded in the fifth inning with a two run homer from Connor Powers to tie the game at 2. In the top of the sixth inning, Marquez Smith got a lead-off walk and brought home on a homer from Andy D'Alessio to give the Tigers the 4-2 lead but the Tigers were not done as they tacked on another run to give them a 5-2 lead after 5.5 innings. The Bulldogs would come right back with a big rally in the bottom of the sixth which was started by a lead-off double by Joseph McCaskill. He was brought home by Edward Easley on a single to left field. Mitch Moreland then hit a two run homer to center field to tie the game at 5. Brandon Turner would follow with a double in the left-center gap which was followed by an error by J.D. Burgess putting runners on first and third. The Tigers would finally take out starter Daniel Moskos for Stephen Clyne. He promptly got Russ Sneed to hit into a double play which allowed the lead runner to score and give the Bulldogs a 6-5 lead. The Bulldogs tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the seventh on three hits as the Bulldogs led 8-5. Doug Hogan hit a homer in the top of the eighth to get the Tigers within two runs but they would not get closer.

The teams will be back in action at noon on Saturday.

Mississippi State Recap
Clemson Recap

McMahon out at Florida

The University of Florida has released head baseball coach Pat McMahon from his contract after back to back disappointing seasons. He led the Gators to the College World Series in 2005 but lost the championship series to Texas. Athletic Director Jeremy Foley (no relation) has announced a national search will begin immediately for a new coach.

Official Florida Release
SeBaseball Article

Super Regional Preview: Ole Miss at Arizona State

The Ole Miss Rebels head to Tempe Arizona to take on the Arizona State Sun Devils in a Super Regional with a spot in the College World Series on the line. The games will be played on Saturday at 9 pm on ESPN U, Sunday at 7 pm on ESPN 2, and on Monday at 7 pm on ESPN 2 (if necessary).

Ole Miss (40-23)

The Rebels are coming off a Regional Championship in which they hosted. They went a prefect 3-0 in their regional with victories over Sam Houston State 14-5, Southern Miss 4-0, and then took on Sam Houston State in the Regional Championship in which they won 21-13. The Rebels are led by seventh year head coach Mike Bianco who has a 282-155-1 record at Ole Miss and a career record of 382-226-1 including his days at McNeese State. The Rebels offense is led by catcher Alex Kliman who is hitting .333 on the season. Cody Overbeck leads the team with 14 homers on the season. The pitching staff is led by Will Kline (7-2, 3.72 ERA) who gets the ball in Game 1. The Rebels have not announced the rest of their rotation for the weekend but Lance Lynn (8-4, 2.55 ERA) and Craig Rodriguez (2-2, 4.21 ERA) should start the other two games.
The Rebels have Scott Bittle who leads the team with seven saves with a solid 2.79 ERA.

Ole Miss Series Notes
Ole Miss Season Stats

Arizona State (46-13)

The Arizona State Sun Devils swept through their regional in Tempe AZ with victories over Monmouth 5-3, UC-Riverside 9-2, and Nebraska 19-7. The Sun Devils are coached by Pat Murphy who is in his 12th season in Tempe with a record of 526-255-1. The Sun Devils are one of the top hitting teams in the nation with a team batting average of .351. They have seven players on the roster this season hitting over .349 on the season. Brett Wallace leads the team with a .420 average with 15 HR and 74 RBI. Kiel Roling also is tied for the team lead with 15 homers. The Sun Devils have a formidable pitching staff with Josh Satow (12-3, 2.56 ERA), Mike Leake (13-1, 3.58 ERA), and Brian Flores (10-1, 3.80 ERA). Jason Jarvis is the closer for the Sun Devils with a team leading eleven saves with a 3.86 ERA.

ASU Series Notes
ASU Season Stats

The CBB predicts ASU to defeat Ole Miss in three exciting games.

Super Regional Preview: UCLA at CS Fullerton

The UCLA Bruins head to Cal-State Fullerton for a spot in the College World Series. The Titans and Bruins will play on Saturday at 7 pm on ESPN, Sunday at 10 pm on ESPN 2, and Monday at 7 pm on ESPN 2 (if necessary).

UCLA (33-26)

The UCLA Bruins won the Regional Championship at Long Beach last weekend behind some strong Bruins pitching. UCLA opened up the tournament with a 7-3 victory over Pepperdine, 3-1 victory over UIC, and won the Regional Championship over Long Beach State 7-4. UCLA is led by John Savage who is in his 3rd year with the Bruins. He has an overall record of 81-92 at UCLA with a career record of 169-176-1 including his time with UC-Irvine. The Bruins have a solid pitching staff which is led by Tyson Brummett (10-5, 3.57 ERA) and Gavin Brooks (6-6, 4.65 ERA). Brant Rustich leads the team with six saves but has a hefty ERA of 6.67. The offensive leaders for UCLA are Alden Carrithers (.351 BA) and Gabe Cohen (.348 ERA, 10 HR). Cody Decker leads the Bruins with 14 homers on the season.

UCLA Series Notes
UCLA Season Stats
Orange County Register Article about the Bruins
The Daily Bruin

Cal-State Fullerton (36-23)

The Titans won the San Diego Regional by going 3-0 last weekend. Fullerton opened up with a 7-1 victory over Minnesota, then defeated Fresno State 6-4 in a winner's bracket game, then in the Regional final defeated the Bulldogs 13-2. The Titans are led by George Horton who is in his 11th season with the team. He has an overall record of 488-210-1 including a national championship in 2004. The Titans offense is led by Clark Hardman who is hitting .389 on the year. Wes Roemer is the ace of the pitching staff with a 10-6 record and an ERA of 3.33. He was the 50th overall selection by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the MLB draft that started on Thursday. Jeff Kaplan is the second starter on the staff with an 11-3 record. Adam Jorgenson leads the team with eight saves on the year with a 4.45 ERA.

Fullerton Series Notes
Fullerton Season Stats

Pitching Match-ups

Saturday: CSF Wes Roemer (10-6, 3.33 ERA) vs. UCLA Tyson Brummett (10-5, 3.57 ERA)
Sunday: CSF Jeff Kaplan (11-3, 3.35 ERA) vs. UCLA Gavin Brooks (6-6, 4.65 ERA)
Monday: TBA vs. TBA

The CBB predicts that UCLA wins the Super Regional in three tough games.

Other Previews
Rivals.com

Super Regional Preview: Michigan at Oregon State

The Oregon State Beavers welcome Michigan to Corvallis, Oregon for a Super Regional meeting. The games will be played on Saturday at 3 pm ESPN U, Sunday at 4 pm ESPN, Monday at 7 pm ESPN or ESPN 2.

Oregon State (42-18)

The Oregon State Beavers are making a return trip to a NCAA Super Regional after winning the National Championship last season. The Beavers won the Charlottesville Regional after defeating Rutgers 5-1. The Beavers then took on the Virginia Cavaliers in a winner's bracket game which they lost in 13 innings 7-4. OSU then had to fight through the loser's bracket as they defeated Rutgers 5-2 to advance to the Regional Final against Virginia. They defeated Virginia in Game 1 by a score of 5-3 and then 7-3. Oregon State is led by 13th year head coach Pat Casey who is 604-384-5 in his long career. The Oregon State offense is led by All-American catcher candidate Mitch Canham who is hitting .323 on the year with nine homers. The Beavers pitching staff is led by Daniel Turpen who is 9-1 with a 3.65 ERA. He is joined in the rotation by Mike Stutes (9-4, 4.05 ERA) and Joe Paterson (9-6, 3.81 ERA). Eddie Kunz closes for OSU with 10 saves on the year while making 28 appearances with a 3.05 ERA.

Oregon State Game Notes
Oregon State Season Stats

Michigan (42-17)

The Michigan Wolverines shocked the baseball world by winning the Nashville Regional last weekend which included the Vanderbilt Commodores who was the number 1 seed in the tournament. They opened the tournament up with a 10-7 victory over Memphis. Michigan then had to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores and were able to take them out 4-3 on a Kevin Cislo RBI single in the ninth inning. This sent Michigan to the Regional Championship game where they had to take on Vanderbilt. The Wolverines lost the first game to Vandy 10-7 but in game 2 were able to get a pinch hit homer from freshman Alan Oaks off of David Price (MLB Number 1 overall pick) to give the Wolverines a 4-3 lead which they were able to hold onto. The Wolverines are led by 5th year head coach Rich Maloney who has a career record of 447-254-1 including a head coaching stint with Ball State. The Wolverines offense is led by Nate Recknagel who picked up the MVP award of the Nashville Regional after going 6-17 with 7 RBI. He is hitting .359 on the year with twelve homers. The Michigan pitching staff is led by Chris Fetter who is 6-3 with a 4.50 ERA. Zach Putnam (8-4, 4.13 ERA) will start Game 1 for the Wolverines while Mike Wilson (7-0, 3.07 ERA) is scheduled for Game 2 with Fetter going in Game 3. Ben Jenzen leads the team with 5 saves but a 4.54 ERA.

Michigan Series Notes
Michigan Season Stats
Detroit Free-Press Article about Nate Recknagel

Pitching Match-ups

Saturday: UM Zach Putnam (8-4, 4.13 ERA) vs TBA
Sunday: UM Mike Wilson (7-0, 3.07 ERA) vs TBA
Monday: UM Chris Fetter (6-3, 4.50 ERA) vs TBA

The CBB predicts Oregon State to make it back to the CWS with a two game sweep.

Super Regional Preview: Texas AM at Rice

Texas A&M is making its first super regional appearance since the 1999 campaign after the Aggies hosted and won the College Station Regional, coming through the loser‘s bracket after falling to Louisiana-Lafayette. A&M won the regional with 4-1 and 5-2 wins over the Ragin‘ Cajuns. Rice, the national #2 seed, is the highest national seed remaining in the field. The Owls swept through their home Houston Regional with a win over Prairie View and two over TCU to book their third super in a row.

Starting Pitching

Texas A&M’s two guaranteed starting pitchers this weekend should be David Newmann and Kyle Nicholson. Rice has a quartet to choose from, with Ryan Berry, Ryne Tacker, Matt Langwell, and Joe Savery. Newmann and Nicholson are two outstanding arms, but Rice has the advantage with their four All-American quality arms.

It’s going to be a tall task for Texas A&M to go into Reckling Park and take two off of the Owls. The last time Rice lost two in a row at home was last March against Cal State-Fullerton and Texas. But the Aggies won’t be a pushover, and they’ll give the Owls their best shot and then some.

With a clear advantage overall and the home field in their favor, there’s no reason why Rice shouldn’t advance to their third CWS appearance in the last five seasons. They and Arizona State are the two best teams left in the field. But as Vanderbilt and four other national seeds proved, talent and home field advantage don’t always mean a win. Rob Childress is going to have his team ready to play, and they’ll go in with an attitude that they can win the series, and send A&M back to Omaha for the first time since ’99. While the team hasn’t been there, Childress was a part of several successful Nebraska teams, and his experience no doubt rubs off on his players, which is a big reason why Texas A&M is where they are now. It won’t be a surprise if they do pull off the upset, but it’s going to take a lot to overcome the Owls, who are one of the hottest teams in the land.

Southerncollegesports.com

HoustonChronicle article

Texas A&M Game Notes

Rice Owls Game Notes

Super Regional Preview: UC-Irvine at Wichita State

Wichita State and UC Irvine weren't garnering a lot of respect about this time last week as the Shockers were being frowned upon as the final of sixteen host site selections, while the Anteaters were assumed to be just a small bump in the road for Texas in the Round Rock Regional. And while WSU did stumble in their postseason opener, they bounced back to win at home and earn the right to host UCI this weekend, a team that beat the homestanding Longhorns twice last weekend to advance to this point. Though it may not be one of the more glamorous Super Regionals on this year's slate, it certainly is one of the more evenly matched series of the weekend.

Starting Pitching

The ace and opening night guy for the Wichita State staff is Travis Banwart, who has put together a 10-5 record and 2.68 ERA this season. After leaving last weekend's opener early, he came back to pitch (and win) the regional-clinching finale against Arizona. Rob Musgrave, the Shockers' number two pitcher, is not too shabby himself with a 10-2 mark and 2.71 ERA. In the event of a third game, WSU would likely turn to Anthony Capra (7-0, 1.54). For UC Irvine, meanwhile, Wes Etheridge and Scott Gorgen have been tremendous all year long. The former is 12-4 with a 2.68 ERA, while the latter has put together an 11-2 record and 2.91 ERA. In game three last week, the Anteaters went with Eric Pettis (4-0, 3.91). Considering that both squads have tremendous number one and two starters, there's no way to give either a huge advantage coming into the weekend.

As mentioned before, this Super matchup won't receive the same national attention as several others, but it is indeed one of the most evenly matched pairings of the eight. The starting pitching from these two teams is stellar, and each has a guy who can come in and shut the door when they take a lead into the final inning.

So with that in mind, the winner in Wichita will likely be decided by who has the hot bats. If one team can solve the other's star pitcher early on, they'll likely find themselves in a good position late in the game, allowing them to bring in their stud closer to shut things down.

SouthernCollegesports.com

Wichita State Preview
UC-irvine Preview

Super Regional Preview: Clemson at MSU

The Clemson Tigers and Mississippi State Bulldogs will meet with a berth in the College World Series on the line. The games will be played in Starkville Mississippi at Dudy Noble Field, Polk-Dement Stadium starting on Friday at 12 pm on ESPN, Saturday at 12 pm on ESPN 2, and Sunday at 1 pm also on ESPN.

Clemson (41-21)

The Clemson Tigers went to the Myrtle Beach Regional and had a perfect weekend after defeating St. John's 3-2, Coastal Carolina in the winner's bracket 11-8, and played Coastal Carolina again in the Regional Championship in which they beat them again 15-3. The Tigers are led by head coach Jack Leggett who is 649-280 in his 14 seasons at Clemson. He was also the head coach at Western Carolina for nine years and Vermont for five seasons. His career record at all schools combined is 1026-570. The Tigers offense is led by catcher Doug Hogan who is hitting .339 for the season which is top on the team. Andy D'Alessio leads the Tigers with 16 homers on the season. Daniel Moskos leads the pitching staff as he made the transition from closer to the starting rotation in the middle of the season. He has only a 3-5 record with a 2.91 ERA. Ryan Hinson (6-2, 2.61 ERA) and David Kopp (6-2, 3.57 ERA) round out the rotation with D.J. Mitchell (5-0, 3.27 ERA) as a solid fourth starter. The Tigers have only said that Daniel Moskos will start Game 1.

Clemson Tourney Notes
Clemson Season Stats

Mississippi State (36-20)

The Bulldogs were the champions on the Tallahassee Regional after defeating Stetson 6-3, Florida State 3-0, and in the Regional Championship defeated the Seminoles again this time 9-4. The Bulldogs are led by legendary head coach Ron Polk who has been with Mississippi State for 28 years in two different stints. He has accumulated an 1,114-555-2 all-time record at MSU and has a career record of 1,348-667-2 with stints at Georgia and Georgia Southern included. The Bulldogs offense is led by Brandon Turner who is hitting .400 in 51 games. Edward Easley is second on the team with a .367 batting average while leading the team with 12 homers. The Bulldog pitching staff is led by lefty Justin Pigott who pitched seven innings while only giving up three hits in the 3-0 victory over the Seminoles. He has a 6-6 record with a 4.31 ERA. Chad Crosswhite will start the opening game of the Super Regional with his 8-4 record with a 4.16 ERA. Aaron Weatherford picked up a save last weekend against FSU as he has four saves on the season with a 3.34 ERA.

Mississippi State Series Notes
Mississippi State Season Stats

Pitching Match-ups

Friday: CU Daniel Moskos (3-5, 2.91 ERA) vs MSU Chad Crosswhite (8-4, 4.16 ERA)
Saturday: CU TBA vs MSU Justin Pigott (6-5, 4.31 ERA)
Sunday: CU TBA vs MSU TBA

The CBB predicts that Clemson takes the Super Regional in three games behind a solid weekend from Andy D'Alessio.

Super Regional Preview: South Carolina at UNC

The South Carolina Gamecocks head north to take on Regional rivals North Carolina in a Super Regional showdown. The winner of the best of three series will head to the College World Series in Omaha NE. The games will be played at 7 pm Friday on ESPN, 7 pm Saturday on ESPN, and 7 pm Sunday on ESPN 2 (if necessary).

South Carolina (45-18)

The Gamecocks are coming off a perfect regional with victories over Wofford 9-1 in the opening game then defeated Charlotte in the winner's 12-8 and then in the Regional Championship they took on the 49ers again by knocking them off 11-6. South Carolina head coach Ray Tanner is in his 11th season at SC with a 499-218 record. He was at NC State for nine years before moving to SC as his overall record as a head coach is 894-391-3 in 20 years. He leads one of the top hitting teams in the country this season in which his team has a batting average of .302. The team is led by the potential number 1 draft pick in 2008 in Justin Smoak. He wowed scouts and players in the Cape Cod League in the summer of 2006. The CBB was also impressed by him last season when he saw Cotuit play Hyannis. Smoak is hitting .317 with 21 HR and 69 RBI. He is not the only power threat on the team as James Darnell leads the team in hitting with a .335 BA and 18 HR on the year. Phil Disher is also a potent hitter with a .327 BA and 15 HR. The South Carolina pitching staff is led by Harris Honeycutt who sports only an 8-5 record and 3.59 ERA. Arik Hempy (6-3, 3.38 ERA) and Mike Cisco (6-2, 3.76 ERA) round out the pitching staff. Jeff Jeffords leads the team with five saves. He sports an ERA of 2.87 and a record of 6-1 in 22 appearances.

South Carolina Game Notes
South Carolina Season Stats

North Carolina (51-12)

The North Carolina Tar Heels also had a perfect regional with victories over Jacksonville 6-0, East Carolina 11-10, and Western Carolina 6-5. The Tar Heels needed ninth inning rallies in the East Carolina and Western Carolina games but were able to survive. The Tar Heels are led by ninth year head coach Mike Fox who has a 392-172-1 record in his career at his alma mater. He was the head coach Wesleyan for 15 years to put his career record as a head coach at 932-313-5 in 24 years. The Tar Heels are making returning to the Super Regional round after making the College World Series final series eventually losing to Oregon State. They are led by freshman sensation Dustin Ackley who leads the team in hitting with a .427 batting average. He has also hit seven homers on the season. Tim Fedroff is also a freshman and is second on the team with a .363 batting average. Robert Woodard leads the starting pitchers with a 10-2 record and a 3.02 ERA. He is joined by Alex White (6-4, 3.87 ERA) and Luke Putkonen (7-1, 4.46 ERA) who round out the starting pitchers. Fox has also been using Rob Wooten out of the bullpen as he has 38 appearances with a 5-1 record and a 2.38 ERA. Andrew Carignan is the closer for the Heels as he leads the team with 14 saves with an ERA of 1.53. He carries experience in pitching in the CWS last season.

UNC Series Notes
UNC Season Stats
News and Observer Article about Woodard
News and Observer Article about Boshamer Stadium

Pitching Match-ups

Friday: UNC Robert Woodard (10-2, 3.02 ERA) vs SC Harris Honeycutt (8-5, 3.59 ERA)
Saturday: UNC Alex White (6-4, 3.87 ERA) vs SC Arik Hempy (6-3, 3.38 ERA)
Sunday: UNC Luke Putkonen (7-1, 4.46 ERA) vs SC Mike Cisco (6-2, 3.76 ERA)

The CBB predicts that South Carolina wins the Super Regional in three games as they take advantage of the UNC pitching staff.

Other Previews
UNC Scout.com
Greensboro News Record

Super Regional Preview: OK State at Louisville

The Louisville Cardinals will host Oklahoma State in a Super Regional this weekend. The games will be played on Friday at 2 pm ESPN 2, Saturday at noon ESPN U, and on Sunday at 4 pm ESPN (if necessary).

Oklahoma State (41-19)

The Cowboys head to Louisville coming off a perfect regional after defeating Creighton 6-4, then Arkansas twice 14-3 and 7-6. Oklahoma State is led by fourth year head coach Frank Anderson. He leads a team with a .326 team batting average including seven starters who are hitting above .312. Tyler Mach leads the team in average with a .401 batting average including 16 homers. Corey Brown leads the team with 21 homers. The College Baseball Blog had the chance to see Matt Mangini last summer in the Cape Cod League. I believe that he has a very good chance at playing at the next level if he can get better defensively. He is hitting .343 with nine homers on the year. According to some of my sources, Oklahoma State plays in a launching pad type stadium which might inflate the power numbers of the team. Joe Kent leads the pitching staff with a 4-2 record with a 3.42 ERA. Oliver Odle (7-4, 4.39 ERA) and Andrew Oliver (6-1, 5.18 ERA) round out the starting staff with more then ten starts. The Cowboys also have a solid closer in Justin Friend who leads the team with seven saves with a 6-3 record and a 2.36 ERA.

OK State Series Notes
OK State Season Stats

Louisville (44-21)

The Louisville Cardinals shocked the baseball world by heading to the Columbia (MO) Regional and coming away with a spot in a Super Regional. Louisville won their first game over Miami 13-7 before facing the host Missouri in the winners bracket. The Cardinals picked up a 7-5 deficit so that set up an elimination match-up with Miami in which Louisville survived a late Hurricane rally to get an 8-7 win then defeated the host Missouri 4-3 which sent the regional to Monday. Louisville jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the first inning as they cruised to a 16-6 win. The Cardinals are led by first year head coach Dan McDonnell who inherited a solid team from former head coach Lelo Prado who left for South Florida after last season. The Cardinals are led offensively by Isiah Howes who leads the team with a .392 average and also in home runs with 16 on the season. Boomer Whiting is the catalyst for the offense with a solid .368 average but he does most of his damage on the base paths with an unbelievable 72 steals in 84 attempts. Chris Dominguez had a huge regional by hitting five homers in the final four games of the weekend. He had 7 RBI in the 16-6 clinching victory over Missouri. The Cardinals starting pitching is led by Zack Pitts (9-3, 2.37 ERA) and Justin Marks (8-2, 2.61 ERA). Trystan Magnuson leads the Cardinals with nine saves in 34 appearances. He also has a 1.02 ERA.

UL Season Stats
UL Series Notes

Pitching Match-ups

Friday: UL Zack Pitts (9-3, 2.37 ERA) vs OSU Oliver Odle (7-4, 4.39 ERA)
Saturday: UL Justin Marks (8-2, 2.61 ERA) vs OSU Joe Kent (4-2, 3.42 ERA)
Sunday: UL TBA vs OSU TBA

Other published previews of Super Regional

NewsOK

The College Baseball Blog predicts that Louisville wins the Super Regional in three games with a deeper pitching staff.

Berry named National Freshman Pitcher of Year

Rice freshman righthander Ryan Berry has been named the Louisville Slugger/Collegiate Baseball National Freshman Pitcher of the Year, the newspaper announced on Wednesday. He is joined by Owls teammate Diego Seastrunk and Houston pitcher Wes Musick on the All-Freshman team. C-USA has produced at least three Freshman All-Americans in each of its 12 seasons.

Berry has produced a remarkable rookie campaign for the Owls as he was named First Team All-Conference USA and captured the league's Freshman of the Year honor. Heading into this weekend's super regional against Texas A&M, he is 11-2 with a 2.72 ERA. Berry has struck out 109 batters and walked just 30 in 109 innings. With 11 wins, Berry has tied the Rice freshman school record for victories, set by former first round draft pick Matt Anderson in 1995.

Berry becomes the seventh player from a current Conference USA school to earn National Freshman of the Year honors from at least one source since 1999. Included are four players from Rice.

Thoughts on NCAA Baseball Tourney

The game of College Baseball is starting to see a ton of parity. We have a Big East squad in Louisville making their first appearance in an NCAA Regional. They went into Missouri this weekend and defeated both Miami and Missouri twice. The Cardinals are just one of the northern teams that got through a regional as Michigan went into Vanderbilt and beat the Commodores twice. Vanderbilt was the number 1 overall seed in the tournament. The Texas Longhorns were also shocked by UC-Irvine and Arkansas went down to Oklahoma State. San Diego also went 0-2 in the Regional they hosted at San Diego State.

We also saw seven ACC teams receive bids to the NCAA Tournament but only two ended up getting into the next round of the tournament. The FSU Seminoles were a huge disappointment as they started the season with a perfect 23-0 record before losing to Jacksonville. The Seminoles were flawed as they did not have the pitching staff like the top teams in the country. They were exposed with only a two deep pitching staff in Bryan Henry and Michael Hyde. The history of the Seminoles have always been a strong hitting team but fail in the NCAA Tourney because of the lack of pitching depth. They have been to the CWS the most times without winning a title by making it 15 times to Omaha. Is it the coaching? I don't think it is Mike Martin's Sr. fault but his entire coaching staff needs to do a better job in recruiting better players. He needs to focus on getting some lights and pitchers that can dominate games like Jacob Thompson.

Tallahassee Democrat Article on Mike Martin and 2008

Virginia also bowed out of the tournament early this year but the injury bug hit the Cavaliers as they headed down the stretch. Greg Miclat had surgery on his torn labrum before the Boston College series while Brandon Guyer and Brandon Marsh each got injured in the NCAA Regional knocking them out of the NCAA Tournament. This meant the Cavaliers were missing a whole third of their lineup in which they were not able to overcome. The Cavaliers will lose All-American candidate Sean Doolittle but return Jacob Thompson who will headline the starting pitching rotation next season.

Daily Progress Article with O'Connor

I will be starting my Super Regional Previews on Wednesday and I expect to be done them by late Thursday evening so come back for some great Super Regional coverage.

2007 Super Regional TV Schedule

The NCAA has released the television schedule for the Super Regionals this weekend. The CBB will provide full previews of each Super Regional and will cover the NCAA Tourney in depth.



GAMES BEGIN FRIDAY, JUNE 8 – All Times are Eastern

Texas A&M (48-17) at No. 2 Rice (52-12)
7 p.m. (ESPN), 6 p.m. (ESPNU), 7 p.m. (ESPN2)

Oklahoma St. (41-19) at Louisville (44-21)
2 p.m. (ESPN2), Noon (ESPNU), 4 p.m. (ESPN)

Clemson (41-21) at Mississippi St. (36-20)
Noon (ESPN), Noon (ESPN2), 1 p.m. (ESPN)

South Carolina (45-18) at No. 3 North Carolina (51-12)
7 p.m. (ESPN), 7 p.m. (ESPN), 7 p.m. (ESPN2)

The following four best-of-three super regionals will be played Saturday, June 9, Sunday, June 10, and Monday, June 11 (if necessary). The four winners will play their first MCWS games Saturday, June 16.

GAMES BEGIN SATURDAY, JUNE 9 - All times are Eastern

Michigan (42-17) at Oregon St. (42-18)
3 p.m. (ESPNU), 4 p.m. (ESPN), 7 p.m. (*ESPN or *ESPN2)

UCLA (33-26) at Cal St. Fullerton (36-23)
7 p.m. (ESPN), 10 p.m. (ESPN2), 7 p.m. (ESPN2)

Ole Miss (40-23) at No. 5 Arizona St. (46-13)
9 p.m. (ESPNU), 7 p.m. (ESPN2), 7 p.m. (ESPN2)

UC Irvine (43-15-1) at Wichita St. (53-20)
Noon (ESPN2), 1 p.m. (ESPN), *12:30 p.m. or *7 p.m. (*ESPN or *ESPN2)

(*Time and station will be determined after completion of Sunday's games. Please consult www.NCAASports.com for updates on starting times)

Charlottesville Regional Championship

The Virginia Cavaliers and Oregon State Beavers are currently playing in the Regional Championship game in Charlottesville VA. The Cavaliers started Casey Lambert on the mound but he gave up five runs in 1.1 innings before being lifted for Jacob Thompson. He only lasted one inning while giving up 2 hits and two walks in relief. Oregon State was led by a strong game from transfer Jason Ogata who went 3-5 with four runs batted in. Oregon State now heads home to host Michigan for a Super Regional which starts on Saturday at 3 pm EST.

Oregon State Recap
Virginia Recap

Stretch run has USM feeling fine about future

After a dropping a second consecutive baseball game at Mississippi State in the last week of April, Southern Miss stood on shaky ground, just eight games over .500.

Four weeks later, the Golden Eagles had earned a fifth consecutive postseason invitation.

"A month ago, I don't think anybody gave us a chance to be in a regional, much less a two seed," USM coach Corky Palmer said.

While USM's season ended with two losses in three games at both the Conference USA Tournament and the Oxford Regional, that stretch run of the regular-season left Palmer feeling good about the future of the Golden Eagles' program.

"We've got a lot of good players coming back," Palmer said. "We lost some good seniors, but we're a young team, position-wise especially.

"It's been a learning experience, and we'll be better from it."

Complete story

Bulldogs ready to host Super Regional

The next step on Mississippi State's road to Omaha will be in Starkville.

The Bulldogs learned late Monday night that they'll host a best-of-three Super Regional against Clemson at Dudy Noble Field this weekend. Games will be played Friday and Saturday with an if-necessary third game set for Sunday.

Times are likely be set today to accommodate television.

The matchup with Clemson was assured after the second-seeded Tigers beat Conway (S.C.) Regional host and No. 1 seed Coastal Carolina 15-3 Monday afternoon.

Since both MSU (36-20) and Clemson (41-21) were No. 2 seeds in their respective regionals, the determination of the host site was up to the NCAA Division I Baseball Committee, which MSU athletic director Larry Templeton chairs.

The committee voted to send the Super Regional to Starkville, MSU spokesman Mike Nemeth said.

Complete story

Rebels relishing Super Regional road trip

The Ole Miss baseball team isn't crazy.

It knows the success rate of teams playing at home is much greater than those on the road in the NCAA Tournament. The Rebels also know the home field advantage has been a big reason, they advanced to Super Regional play for the third straight season.

But pitcher Will Kline said Ole Miss couldn't be happier about packing its bags, getting on a plane and flying across the country for this weekend's best-of-three Super Regional against Arizona State. The series begins Saturday. Gametimes could be announced as early as today.

Complete story

2007 Super Regional Matchups

The NCAA has released the match-ups for the Super Regionals that will be played this upcoming weekend. The Charlottesville Regional has one more game to play between Virginia and Oregon State with the winner hosting the Michigan Wolverines. All game times will be announced at a later date. The CBB will provided extensive coverage of the Super Regionals even better then out coverage of the Regionals because there are less teams. We will have full previews of each Super Regional up by Friday morning. If you have any questions, comments, or have information for the blog including pictures feel free to e-mail me by clicking here.

2007 Super Regional Match-ups

Friday-Sunday Series

Texas A&M at Rice

Oklahoma State at Louisville

Clemson at Mississippi State

South Carolina at North Carolina

Saturday-Monday Series

Michigan at Oregon State/Virginia (Game at noon on Tuesday)

UCLA at Cal State Fullerton

Ole Miss at Arizona State

UC-Irvine at Wichita State

Full NCAA Bracket available here.

Delmonico out at Tennessee

The University of Tennessee released Rod Delmonico from his contract after another unsuccessful season. Delmonico had just finished his 18th season in which he went 34-25. He led the Vols to three appearances in the CWS and made eight appearances in the NCAA Baseball Tournament. I heard some rumors about this move coming a few weeks ago from some of my unnamed sources but did not post them on the blog as I did not think it was the right time to be bringing up some of the issues with the program.

The baseball program at Tennessee has seen increased competition in the region for the best baseball talent with the move by Tim Corbin to Vanderbilt. Every key recruit in the state of Tennessee is signing with the Commodores and thus making it extremely difficult to get the best talent. I also heard there was some pressure getting put on Delmonico from the administration and alumni with the expansion of Lindsey Nelson Stadium to bring it up to SEC standards.

The College Baseball Blog will be writing an article in the near future about some of the candidates for the job. Expect the familiar names to be brought up.

Tennessee Release
SEBaseball Article

Wichita Regional Day 4 Recap

Wichita State 3 Arizona 0

Wichita State survived two straight elimination games to advance to a Super Regional. On Monday, Wichita State got a solid performance from Travis Banwart who pitched 7.2 innings while striking out 12 batters and keeping the Wildcats off the board. Banwart pitched on Friday evening against UNO but only lasted 1.2 innings in that start so was fresh for the Shockers. Wichita State will face UC-Irvine in a Super Regional while Arizona ends the season with a 42-17 record.

Wichita State Recap
Arizona Recap

Nashville Regional Day 4 Recap

Michigan 4 Vanderbilt 3

Alan Oaks hit a pinch hit homer in the top of the tenth inning off of upcoming number 1 draft pick David Price to break a 3-3 tie and send the Wolverines to a Super Regional. The Wolverines led the Commodores 3-1 going into the bottom of the eighth but gave up two runs in the eighth. Both teams were held scoreless until the tenth inning when Oaks was able to get a hold of a Price fastball and put it over the left center wall. Michael Powers was able to hold Vanderbilt scoreless in the bottom of the tenth to get his fourth save of the season. Vanderbilt ends the season with a 54-13 record and should be back next season in the NCAA Tourney. Michigan will likely head to Oregon State or Virginia for the Super Regional series.

Michigan Recap
Vanderbilt Recap
ESPN.com Article

Myrtle Beach Regional Day 4 Recap

Clemson 15 Coastal Carolina 3

The Clemson Tigers finished off Coastal Carolina by a 15-3 scoreline. The Tigers were led by starting pitcher D.J. Mitchell who pitched five innings while only giving up one run on six hits to put his record at a perfect 5-0. The Tigers offense was led by Marquez Smith and Andy D'Alessio. Smith went 4-6 including a home run with four runs scored and drove in three. D'Alessio also picked up a homer as he went 3-4 with three runs scored and two driven in. Clemson will head to Mississippi State for the Super Regional while Coastal Carolina ends the season with a 50-13 record.

Clemson Recap
Coastal Carolina Recap

Columbia (SC) Regional Day 4 Recap

South Carolina 11 Charlotte 6

The Gamecocks finished off a perfect weekend by eliminating the Charlotte 49ers 11-6 in the Columbia (SC) regional. The Gamecocks were led by a strong game from Phil Disher who hit a grand slam in the fourth inning to erase a three run deficit and give the Gamecocks the lead for good as they cruised to victory. South Carolina now heads to UNC for a Super Regional showdown while Charlotte ends the season with a 49-12 record.

South Carolina Recap
The State Column about USC
Charlotte Recap

Columbia (MO) Regional Day 4 Recap

Louisville 16 Missouri 6

The Louisville Cardinals advanced to their first ever Super Regional after knocking off Missouri 16-6 in the final game of the Columbia (MO) Regional. The Cardinals jumped on the Tigers early by scoring eight runs in the first inning. They were led by a monster day from Chris Dominguez who hit two homers in the game with a first inning grand slam and a three run shot to accumulate seven RBI. The Cardinals now advance to the Super Regional for the first time in their history and will host Oklahoma State next weekend. Missouri ends the season with a 42-17 record.

Louisville Recap
Missouri Recap

College Station Regional Day 4 Recap

Texas A&M 5 Louisiana 2

Texas A&M picked up a 5-2 victory over the Ragin' Cajuns in an elimination game for both teams. The Aggies used a complete game from Kyle Thebeau who struck out 13 batters including the last five he faced as he led the Aggies to the victory. Kyle Colligan went 3-4 with an RBI to lead the Aggies offense. The Aggies will head to Houston to take on Rice in a Super Regional while Louisiana will end the season with a 45-17 record.

Texas A&M Recap
Louisiana Recap

Charlottesville Regional Day 4 Recap

Oregon State 5 Rutgers 2

After enduring a washout on Sunday, Oregon State headed back to the diamond as they defeated Rutgers by a 5-2 score. Oregon State received a decent start from Jorge Reyes where he gave up two runs in six innings. Daniel Turpen was able to come in and close out the game by pitching the final three innings to get his second save. The Beavers offense was led by Lonnie Lechelt who went 3-4 with a homer. Oregon State advances in the regional to the Championship game against Virginia which took place at 6 pm on Monday while Rutgers ends the season with a 42-21 record.

OSU Recap
Rutgers Recap

Oregon State 5 UVA 3

The Beavers scored four runs in the last two innings to rally past the Virginia Cavaliers 5-3 and force a winner take all game on Tuesday for a Super Regional spot. The Beavers scored two runs off of each Jake Rule and Michael Schwimer to get the win. Daniel Turpen got the start for the Beavers after pitching the final three innings in the day game. He gave them 4.1 innings while giving up all three Cavaliers runs before getting lifted. The teams will play at noon on Tuesday to decide the Regional Championship.

Oregon State Recap
UVA Recap

Kellen Kulbacki named All-American

-courtesy of JMU-

HARRISONBURG, Va., May 30, 2007 – James Madison University junior outfielder Kellen Kulbacki (Palmyra, Pa./Hershey) was selected as a Louisville Slugger Second Team All-American as announced by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.

Kulbacki is just the second player in JMU history to earn All-America status twice, joining first baseman Eddie Kim, who was honored on Collegiate Baseball's third team in 2002 and 2003. Kulbacki's 2007 honor comes after earning first team honors from the organization in 2006 and being selected as its National Co-Player of the Year.

After a record-breaking sophomore season, Kulbacki was equally impressive in 2007, leading JMU (22-31 overall, 11-17 CAA) in nearly every offensive category while being named Colonial Athletic Association Co-Player of the Year. He joined Kim as the only players in CAA history to repeat as the conference's top player.

Kulbacki led the CAA with a .538 on-base percentage, a .785 slugging percentage, and a JMU single-season record 56 walks. He was also third with a .398 batting average, second with 19 home runs, and third with 150 total bases.

Kulbacki is JMU's career record holder in home runs (51), extra-base hits (105), and slugging percentage (.755). He has set or tied records for game home runs (3), season home runs (24), season extra-base hits (43), season RBIs (75), season total bases (183), game walks (5), season average (.464), season slugging (.943), and season on-base percentage (.568). He ranks second all-time in batting (.400), 10th in hits (238), 10th in doubles (50), 11th in RBIs (158), second in total bases (449), and fifth in hit by pitches (25).

The Louisville Slugger All-America teams are the first of at least six such honors to be handed out by various organizations following the season. Kulbacki is one of 16 semifinalists for the 2007 Dick Howser Trophy as the college baseball national player of the year. He was a semifinalist for the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award but did not make the list of five finalists. He was also among the list of 30 candidates for the Brooks Wallace Player of the Year Award but did not reach the list of 20 quarterfinalists.

Kulbacki is among several Dukes who could hear their name called during the 2007 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft to be held Thursday June 7 and Friday June 8. The draft will be televised for the first time in MLB history on Thursday afternoon from 2-6 p.m. on ESPN2. The entire first round will have picks revealed live on air. Live pick-by-pick coverage will be available for the entire draft at MLB.com on MLB Radio, whose hosts include JMU baseball alumnus Billy Sample.

Chapel Hill Day 4 Recap

North Carolina 6 Western Carolina 5

UNC scored two runs in the top of the ninth to grab the lead from Western Carolina and held on to win the NCAA Regional which gives them a spot in the Super Regionals. Josh Horton hit a two run single with two outs in the ninth to give the Tar Heels the lead. Andrew Carignan pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth to pick up his 14th save and send the Tar Heels back to a Super Regional where they will take on South Carolina. Western Carolina ends the season with a 42-20 overall record.

UNC Recap
Western Carolina Recap