Oregon State takes Game 1

The Oregon State Beavers took Game 1 of the College World Series Championship Series by a score of 11-4. Jorge Reyes pitched 6.1 innings while allowing only three runs to the North Carolina offense. Joe Patterson relieved Reyes by giving up only 1 run over the final 2.2 innings. North Carolina starter Alex White was lit up for five runs in 5.1 innings of work. Jordan Lennerton did most of the damage to the North Carolina offense by going 2-4 with a homer and two RBI. Mitch Canham also had a strong day as he went 1-2 with two RBI. The Tar Heels offense was led by Reid Fronk who had a two run double in the 5th inning.

Oregon State Recap
UNC Recap
Doug Kroll (CSTV) Recap
Rivals.com Recap

The teams will play Game 2 on Sunday at 7 pm eastern time. If Oregon State wins the game they will be the national champions for the second straight year while North Carolina will try to force a deciding game on Monday. The Beavers will send Mike Stutes (11-4, 4.03 ERA) to the mound while UNC sends Luke Putkonen (8-1, 4.44 ERA) to the mound.

Oregon State looked like a much more polished team on Saturday evening while North Carolina looked a little tired from the long week in Omaha. We will see tomorrow if the Tar Heels can get a big start from Putkonen as their bullpen has been extremely busy this past week.

Oregon State-UNC Game 1

The Gametracker for Game 1 of the College World Series Championship series is available here for anyone not able to watch the game on TV.

CWS Championship Series Preview: UNC vs Oregon State

North Carolina (57-14)

The North Carolina Tar Heels head back to the CWS Championship Series to face Oregon State for the second straight year. UNC has compiled a 4-1 record in Omaha as they fought through the loser's bracket. The Tar Heels are led on the mound by Robert Woodard who has struggled in the College World Series but has a 11-2 overall record with a 3.19 ERA. Rob Wooten has appeared in every single game in the NCAA. He has pitched 15.1 innings in the tournament compiling a 1.17 ERA. The Tar Heel offense woke up in the final elimination game against Rice on Thursday when four different hitters went deep. Josh Horton, who was a second round pick by the Oakland Athletics leads the CWS with a .389 average.

North Carolina is expected to start Alex White (6-6 4.74 ERA) in Game 1.

UNC CWS Game Notes
CBB report on UNC-BC

Oregon State (47-18)

The Oregon State Beavers enter the College World Series Championship Series seeking their second straight national championship. This is also their second straight year facing the North Carolina Tar Heels in the Championship series. The Beavers lost a ton of talent from last year's team but have been able to get hot at the right time of the year as they have compiled a 3-0 record in the CWS. The Beavers are led by catcher Mitch Canham who was the 57th overall pick by the San Diego Padres. Canham is hitting .321 with ten homers on the season. Daniel Turpen is the top starting pitcher for the Beavers. He was drafted in the eighth round by the San Francisco Giants. He has accumulated a 10-1 record with a 3.44 ERA.

Pat Casey will send Jorge Reyes (6-3, 3.00 ERA) to the mound for Game 1.

Oregon State CWS Game Notes

The College Baseball Blog predicts that Oregon State wins the championship in two games as UNC's starting pitching has been suspect all post season. North Carolina has a stronger bullpen so they need to have a solid five-six inning start in every game of the series to have a chance.

CWS Championship Series Previews from the Internet

Salem News (OR paper)
Corvallis (OR) Gazette Times
News and Observer (NC paper)
River Ave. Blues
Arizona Daily Star
Rivals.com
Doug Kroll of CSTV Preview (Great article)

Team USA picks up another win

Team USA continued their strong start to their summer season with a 5-0 victory over the Vermont Mountaineers. Pedro Alvarez led the team at the plate for the second straight day by going 3-4 with three RBI in the win. Brian Matusz started for Team USA while giving up one hit and hitting one batter in four scoreless innings of work. Team USA will be back in action on Saturday when they head down to Torrington CT.

Team USA Recap
Vermont Recap

Omaha adamant about keeping CWS

OMAHA, Neb. -- The city of Indianapolis has steel skyscrapers, slick presenters and the constant clatter of hardhats building the amateur sports capital of the world. Today, it juggles USA Track and Field and a dream to host the Super Bowl. Tomorrow, officials will contemplate something else, maybe the College World Series, because a bustling sports city never really sleeps.

Omaha has Jim Costello and 120 New York strip steaks.

Costello is with the Kiwanis Club, and for two weeks each summer, it's his job to make one of the eight teams at the CWS feel special. He grills up halibut, chicken and mounds of steaks for Oregon State, and lets the boys tool around on pontoons at Chris Lake. One time, his job took him to a Laundromat at 2 a.m., washing jockstraps and dirty socks, because "it had to be done."

"I almost try to treat them like they're a guest in my house," Costello says. "They're our team. We're Oregon State Beavers fans now."

Indianapolis, it seems, doesn't have a chance.

Elizabeth Merrill talks about keeping the CWS in Omaha
David Albright talks about moving the CWS

Midnight baseball??

I bet a lot of our readers already know about the Alaska Goldpanners tradition of playing a game at midnight on the summer solstice. Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports has written a very good article on the game which can be read here. Jim Caple of ESPN.com also visited the game in 2005. The full article is available for ESPN Insiders here.

Our buddy at Summer Ball is an excellent reference on all Summer Leagues including the Alaskan League.

Odd Story from St. Bonaventure

St. Bonaventure head coach Larry Sudbrook received a plea bargain after carrying a .357 Magnum revolver onto a commercial airplane at the Buffalo Airport on May 10th. The Bonnies were traveling down to Charlotte for a key Atlantic 10 showdown when Sudbrook was arrested for having the weapon in his carryon bag. He ended up getting a thousand dollar fine and will give up possession of the gun. He could face disciplinary action from the university after a panel reviews the case.

Sudbrook led the Bonnies to a 25-27 record in 2007 as the team finished in sixth place in the Atlantic 10 conference.

AP Article

Jim Wells out at Alabama

Jim Wells has announced his retirement as the head coach of Alabama. He was at the school for 13 seasons and accumulated a 553-272 record. This announcement means that at least three SEC programs will have new head coaches next season. A full national search for a successor will begin immediately.

Alabama Release
SEBaseball Article
AP Article

Team USA beats Keene

The USA National Team picked up a 5-0 rain-shortened victory in seven innings over the Keene Swamp Bats. The USA team was led by Pedro Alvarez who went 3-4 with a homer. Ryan Flaherty also picked up a homer as the Vanderbilt teammates provided the offense. Jacob Thompson started for Team USA and gave them two perfect innings before leaving due to a rain delay. (The CBB saw Thompson pitch this past season and can be read about here.) Thompson faced college teammate Tyler Cannon who led off for the Swamp Bats but did not pick up a hit. Team USA will be back in action on Friday when they play against the Vermont Mountaineers.

Team USA Recap
Keene Recap

UNC advances to CWS Championship Series

North Carolina hit four homers in a 7-4 victory over Rice to advance to the CWS Championship Series where they will take on Oregon State. The Tar Heels got a solid start from Adam Warren who gave up three runs in six innings as his record goes to a perfect 12-0 on the year. Rob Wotten came in to the game to relieve Warren but gave up a run on three hits in 0.2 innings. Andrew Carignan pitched a perfect 2.1 innings to get his 18th save of the year. The Tar Heels were led on offense by Dustin Ackley who went 2-3 with a homer and two runs scored. Tim Fedroff, Josh Horton, and Seth Williams also hit homers in the victory. The Owls were led by Diego Seastrunk who had two RBI in the loss.

This is the second straight year that the Rice Owls were denied a spot in the CWS Championship series with two consecutive losses. The Owls end the season with a 56-14 record while UNC will play Oregon State for the national championship.

UNC Recap
Rice Recap

Vols name Todd Raleigh new coach

According to multiple reports around the Internet including the Knoxville News, the University of Tennessee will name Todd Raleigh their next head coach. Raleigh is the current head coach of Western Carolina where he took the team to the NCAA Tournament on two separate occasions including the 2007 season. He compiled a record of 257-209 in eight seasons with the Catamounts.

Also, Tony Delmonico has decided to transfer to Florida State next season. This was expected as Delmonico's father Rod was an assistant under Mark Martin Sr. before heading to Tennessee.

Knoxville News
Western Carolina Release
Tennessee Release

Team USA knocks off North Adams

Team USA continued their tour of New England with a 9-1 victory over the North Adams Steeplecats who play in the NECBL. Justin Smoak from South Carolina and Roger Kieschnick of Texas Tech hit back to back homers while Ryan Flaherty went 2-4 with two RBI in the win. Mike Minor started the game and gave up only one hit and one run in three innings of work. Team USA is back in action on Thursday when they head to play against the Keene Swampbats who is also a member of the NECBL.

Team USA Recap
North Adams Recap

Oregon State knocks off UC-Irvine 7-1

The Oregon State Beavers ended the UC-Irvine Anteaters magical run in the College World Series as the Beavers won 7-1 to advance to the CWS Championship series which starts on Saturday. The Beavers starting pitcher Daniel Turpen went eight innings while only giving up five hits and one run to lead the Beavers. The offensive star for Oregon State was Mitch Canham as he went 3-5 with three RBI in the game. Darwin Barney also went 3-5 but only picked up two RBI. The UC-Irvine pitching finally caught up to them as Christian Bergman gave up four runs in four innings. The Irvine offense was dormant throughout the game as Cody Cipraino went 2-3 with a run scored.

UC-Irvine ends the season with a 47-17-1 record while Oregon State heads to the Championship series which starts on Saturday against either North Carolina or Rice. OSU is looking to repeat as National Champions.

UC-Irvine Recap
OSU Recap

Longhorn Baseball Players in the Summer Leagues!

We have compiled a list of the Texas Longhorns and where they are playing this summer.

Cape Cod Baseball League

Wareham Gatemen

Russell Moldenhauer
Bradley Suttle

Hyannis Mets

Hunter Harris
Austin Wood

Brewster Whitecaps

Keith Shinaberry

MINK League Baseball

Beatrice Bruins

Clint Stubbs
Kyle Lusson

California Collegiate League

Santa Barbara Foresters

Drew Bishop

Texas Collegiate League

Coppell Copperheads

Todd Gilfillan
Pat McCrory
Travis Tucker
Kyle Walker

Colleyville Lone Stars

Andy Reese
Blake Williams

Denton Outlaws

Alex Posey
Juston Street

North Carolina forces a deciding game against Rice!

Robert Woodard and two relievers limited Rice to six singles and a double, Dustin Ackley broke open the game with a three-run homer and North Carolina beat the Owls 6-1 in the College World Series on Wednesday.

The Tar Heels (56-14), the 2006 CWS runners-up and No. 3 national seed, forced another game against No. 2 Rice (56-13) Thursday at 7 pm. The winner meets defending national champion Oregon State in the best-of-three championship starting Saturday.

North Carolina
North Carolina Recap
Houston Chronicle .com
Rice Owls Recap

Stuck at Work??

If you are one of the many people that are stuck at work and can't watch the College World Series, we can help you out. We have provided Gametracker links below.

North Carolina vs Rice at 2:00 pm Eastern Time

UC-Irvine vs Oregon State at 7:00 pm Eastern Time

Links from the Web

We have been on the hunt for some great college baseball links. If you know of some feel free to e-mail us by clicking here.

Baseball Digest Daily is in Omaha covering the College World Series. They are great people so check it out.

The Kansas City Star has another article about a possible new Rosenblatt stadium.

The Valley Baseball League has announced their players of the week which includes players from around the country including Tampa, Western Carolina, and Butler.

The Cape Cod Baseball League has also released their players of the week.

ABCA has released all region teams for the entire country but right now we only have found the Northeast team right now.

The ABCA has also released their 2007 All-American teams for Division 1 which can be found here.

The Capital Times of Madison WI has an article today about the University of Wisconsin's lack of a baseball program and efforts to bring the program back.

Team USA starts summer with a win

Team USA opened their summer schedule on Tuesday in Pittsfield MA taking on the Oil Can Boyd All-Stars and picked up a 9-1 victory. Team USA was led by Josh Romanski of San Diego and Roger Kieschnick of Texas Tech each got two hits in the victory. The full article about the team is available here. Team USA will be back in action on Wednesday when they play against the North Adams SteepleCats who play in the NECBL.

The College Baseball Blog will be going into a full summer mode once the CWS is over and will be covering the Cape Cod League and Team USA. If any other summer leagues or teams would like to add us to their e-mail lists feel free to contact us through e-mail.

UC-Irvine wins a wild one over Arizona State

The UC-Irvine Anteaters picked up an 8-7 victory over the Arizona State Sun Devils in one of the most exciting games in the College World Series in recent history. The Anteaters trailed 7-3 heading into the bottom of the eighth. The Anteaters were able to pick up four runs in the bottom of the eighth to tie up the game. The Anteaters inning was brought to a halt as UC-Irvine third base coach Greg Bergeron and Cody Cipriano collided as the player was rounding third. Third base umpire David Buck recognized the contact and rightfully called Cipriano out on the play. It would stay tied until the tenth inning when the Anteaters got a single from Ollie Linton which brought home Matt Morris with the winning run. This was the second straight extra inning victory for the UC-Irvine baseball program.

ASU ends the season with a 49-15 record while UC-Irvine will face Oregon State at 7 pm as the Anteaters have to defeat OSU twice to get to the Championship series.

PS: I want a UC-Irvine Baseball Hat now as I have jumped on the bandwagon. Where can I buy one that the players wear? If you have the answer leave a comment or e-mail us.

UC-Irvine Recap
Arizona State Recap
SEBaseball Recap
ESPN Recap
Daily Pilot Recap
East Valley Tribune Recap

North Carolina edges Louisville 3-1

North Carolina sent home Louisville after a very strong outing by Luke Putkonen. Luke went 7 innings while giving up a single run on three hits while striking out seven batters and walking only one batter. Louisville came into the game scoring in double digits in both of their games in the CWS. The lone run scored by Louisville came in the first inning on a home run by Logan Johnson but they were not able to get anything else off of Luke Putkonen. North Carolina got all there runs in the second inning including two coming on a critical error by Louisville Chris Dominguez. The North Carolina offense was led by Seth Williams who got the only RBI in the game for the Heels.

Louisville ends the season with a 47-24 record in what is the greatest season for the Cardinals baseball program in their history. North Carolina now advances to play Rice at 2 pm eastern time on Wednesday. The Tar Heels have to knock off the Owls twice to advance to the Championship series.

North Carolina Recap
Louisville Recap
SEBaseball Recap
Courier-Journal Recap
News and Observer Recap

Oregon State defeats Arizona State

The Oregon State Beavers knocked off the Arizona State Sun Devils 12-6 in a winner's bracket showdown on Monday. The Sun Devils have rallied for four runs in the top of the seventh to put them down 12-5 but the Sun Devils were not able to make the great comeback as they lost 12-6. The Beavers got a solid start from Mike Stutes who went six innings while giving up only three hits and five walks as he gave up four runs. The Beavers were led on offense by Mike Lissman who went 3-4 with four RBI. Eric Sogard went 2-5 with two RBI to lead the Sun Devils in the losing effort. ASU will be back in action on Tuesday when they face UC-Irvine while Oregon State will play the ASU/UC Irvine winner on Wednesday.

OSU Recap
ASU Recap
SEBaseball Recap

UC Irvine wins in Wild Extra Inning Affair!

The game went for over 5 hours with UC Irvine winning in 13 innings 5-4. Bryan Peterson provided the heroics with a single to center field to drive in Cody Cipriano with the winning run to keep the Anteaters season alive. They will take on Arizona State on Tuesday at 7 pm with an elimination game.

Cal State Fullerton Recap
UC Irvine Recap
SeBaseball Recap

UofL batters way up in rout of Bulldogs

OMAHA, Neb. -- With the possibility of its season coming to an end, the University of Louisville baseball team came out swinging again, rolling 12-4 over Mississippi State in a losers' bracket game of the College World Series.

The Cardinals scored eight runs in the first four innings, scored in six of nine innings, hit four home runs and had eight players record at least one hit.

And then there was starting pitcher Justin Marks. The Big East Freshman of the Year turned in a gutsy performance before 18,187 fans at Rosenblatt Stadium.

Complete story

No joy in Omaha for Mississippi State

OMAHA, NEB. — Some 24 hours prior to Sunday's game, Chad Crosswhite was the life of the party.

At a Saturday afternoon picnic in nearby Papillion, he had teammates rolling with his descriptions of them, one by one. He is, after all, the team comedian.

But oh, what a difference a day makes.

The sophomore right-hander spoke softly and shook his head Sunday afternoon, moments after Louisville finished its 12-4 win over Mississippi State in a College World Series elimination game in front of an announced 18,187 at Rosenblatt Stadium.

Crosswhite was disappointed in himself for lasting just 2 1/3 innings, giving up five runs and hanging more pitches over the plate than he cared to remember.

"Well, there's not very much to say," Crosswhite said, when asked to describe his outing. "I was disappointed in myself. It's not the way you wanted to start off a game you want to win."

Complete story

Rice 14 Vs. North Carolina 4!

Alex White is on the mound for North Carolina and for Rice it is Joe Savery. It is in the top of the 2ND and Rice has grabbed a 4-0 lead. Alex White has just been pulled from the game after giving up 4 runs. He left the game with runners on 2ND and 3rd with 1 out.

Rice bats continue to show that they have come to OMAHA with an agenda. It is now 9-2 as North Carolina come to bat in the bottom of the 4th.




VS


To follow the game use the link.

Live Stats

No matter the vantage point, whether from the dugouts or the press box, Rosenblatt Stadium bears no resemblance to Clark-LeClair Stadium.

At this juncture, it might be next to impossible to convince top-ranked Rice of that.

In a fashion reminiscent of their offensive exploits at the Conference USA tournament last month in Greenville, N.C., the Owls pounded out their second consecutive College World Series victory, bashing third-seeded North Carolina 14-4 on Sunday before a crowd of 22,602.

Houston Chronicle

The third-seeded Tar Heels, whose come-from-behind style had lifted them into a winners' bracket game against No. 2 Rice, were thumped 14-4 by the Owls at windy Rosenblatt Stadium.

"It was a matter of time," said Tar Heels coach Mike Fox, whose team had won five postseason games after falling behind by two runs. This time, North Carolina was unable to recover from a six-run second inning by the Owls (56-12).

Charlotte.com

Rice Recap

North Carolina Recap

Why is Lissman playing?

The Oregon State athletic department has been allowing Michael Lissman play in this College World Series as he recently plead guilty to theft. OSU has a conduct policy in place and head coach Pat Casey planned on suspending Lissman but the athletic department convinced Casey to wait for more information to come available. He ended up pleading guilty on May 21st and has not faced any discipline yet from the OSU baseball team as the theft was for over $30,000 from an elderly relative. The full article is available here.

Oregon State knocks off CS-Fullerton 3-2

Oregon State picked up a 3-2 victory over Cal-State Fullerton in a real pitching duel between Jorge Reyes and Wes Roemer. Reyes gave the Beavers six strong innings while giving up only one run on three hits. Roemer was just as good by giving up three runs in eight innings. The Beavers offense was led with homers from Mike Lissman and Scott Santschi. The Titans got a homer from Nick Mahin in the losing effort. CS Fullerton will play UC-Irvine in an elimination game on Monday while Oregon State faces PAC-10 rival Arizona State in the winner's bracket.

Oregon State Recap
Fullerton Recap
SeBaseball Recap