SeBaseball Article

Mark Etheridge of SEBaseball.com checks in with an article about many different topics. The first topic which is discussed is the whole Oregon/UC-Irvine/Fullerton musical chair act that has been going on all summer including Rod Delmonico (former head coach at Tennessee) throwing his name in the hat at UC-Irvine. The next topic discussed is how Dave Perno of UGA has had to change up his staff for the 2008 season with an assistant coach moving on to a different school. He finishes up the article by talking about some of winners and losers in the summer in getting transfers. The full article is available here.

Arizona State opens fall practice with 29 scrimmages

The Arizona State Sun Devils have released their fall baseball schedule with 29 intra-squad scrimmages scheduled. The full release is available here. This is not the typical fall schedule as teams usually use this time to develop their players skills in practice and have a five game series at the end of the fall. I wonder why ASU has decided to play so many games this fall? Is there that much competition for spots on the team? Does Pat Murphy just want to take a look at his players in a game situation? I am just wondering. Thanks to Mark over at Pitch Fork Nation for bringing this interesting development to my attention.

Who else is bringing baseball back?

Doug Kroll of CSTV has recently checked in with an article about the prospects of bringing baseball back at some of the other BCS schools without the sport. He spoke with Wisconsin's AD Barry Alvarez and other administrators around the nation about the challenges they are facing in bringing back the sport. His full article is available here.

Schools opening up Fall season

Many schools have started Fall practice with classes starting back up recently. We have found six teams that have put out releases recently.

TCU
Vanderbilt
Penn State
Utah
Brown
Virginia Tech

Richmond annouces 2008 Schedule

The Richmond Spiders have released their 2008 schedule which is highlighted by 28 home games. The Spiders open the 2008 season on February 22nd when they take part in a tournament hosted by Jacksonville which also includes UNC-Wilmington, UW-Milwaukee, and the host Dolphins. They will play 13 games against seven 2007 NCAA participants. The full schedule is available here.

Southern Miss expanding stadium

The Southern Miss Department of Athletics has announced plans to give fans the opportunity to purchase chairback seating in an expansion plan that calls for the construction of a 580-seat grandstand down the third-base line at Pete Taylor Park/Hill Denson Field.

Sales of the seats will begin on Sept. 17.

"We felt that with our demand increasing each season for seats that this project allows more fans an opportunity to see Golden Eagle baseball," Southern Miss coach Corky Palmer said.

With a purchase, that person will have their name placed on the seat for a minimum of 10 years or as long as that person is a season ticket holder, whichever is longer. The cost of the seat is $400, which is a one-time fee.

Complete story

USF Baseball Begins Fall Workouts

FROM PRESS RELEASE
TAMPA, Fla. – The official start date for fall practices isn’t until October, but the University of South Florida baseball team opened season No. 2 under head coach Lelo Prado on Sept. 4, beginning fall 4-on-1 workouts with the coaching staff.

During the sessions, four players at a time are allowed to practice on the field with a coach.

“Our 4-on-1s have been outstanding defensively, offensively and pitching-wise,” said assistant coach Lazer Collazo. “These kids want to work. These kids are coming in on their own, getting here early in the afternoon and leaving late in the evening. They want to learn the system quickly, and as coaches, we are seeing that they want to grasp everything they can as early as they can.

The Bulls, who were 34-26 overall and 23-15 in the BIG EAST last season, are a mixed team of 11 returning players and 29 newcomers, including 16 freshmen.

“Everyone knows we have a young team,” said Collazo. “It is a team that has to gel little-by-little and get the chemistry going. We especially need to gel now in the fall because the quicker we can blend a young team like this, the better it is going to be for us on opening day in the spring.”

USF returns Third Team BIG EAST second baseman Dexter Butler and 2006 BIG EAST Rookie of the Year third baseman Addison Maruszak. The pitching staff looks forward to the return of junior right handed pitcher Daniel Thomas, who took a red-shirt year last season. Sophomores Shawn Sanford (3.10 ERA, 11 saves) and Matt Quevedo (4-3, 4.01 ERA) also return to the mound for the Bulls this year.

The Bulls welcome four newcomers who were selected in the Major League Baseball Draft, three in 2007 and one in 2006. Left handed pitcher Stephen Hunt (Tampa, Fla./Jesuit HS) was selected by Oakland in the 17th round and the Red Sox picked LHP Juan Carlin (Riverview, Fla./Riverview HS) in the 29th round. The Red Sox also selected right hander Derrick Stultz (Tampa, Fla./Wharton). In 2006 Brian Hobbs (Marietta, Fla./Chipola JC) was selected by the Angels in the 41st round.

The Bulls begin official fall full-team practice on Oct. 8.

Thanks to USF Media Relations for the press release and photo.

UNC announces Fall World Series

The North Carolina Tar Heels have released their fall schedule for 2007. They will play five game from October 9th-October 15th at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary NC. The full fall schedule is available here. The Tar Heels will play the entire 2008 season in Cary NC with Boshamer Stadium being renovated for the 2009 season. The full release on the ground breaking of Boshamer Stadium is available here.

Rivals checks in on the Big East

Kendall Rogers of Rivals.com has released an article about fall story lines around the Big East conference. The article discusses how Louisville's run to the CWS will impact the conference. Some people around the country forget that Louisville finished in third place in 2007 behind Rutgers and St. John's. It also discusses how the uniform start date will impact the conference but all schools need to put some money into their respective program. It also mentions how South Florida is one of the programs to watch in the Big East in 2008 and beyond. The full article is available here.

Marist welcomes eight players

The Marist baseball program will welcome eight new players for the 2008 season including three transfers. Chris Wojick from Maine, B.J. Martin from St. John's, and Zach Starkey from Wabash Valley College will join five freshman in the Red Fox program. The full release is available here.

Fullerton and UC-Irvine News

The Daily Pilot wrote an article this weekend on Dave Serrano leaving UC-Irvine for Fullerton. The article discusses some of the reasons Serrano left Irvine for Fullerton which is led by the fact that the Irvine athletic department is currently operating without an athletic director. Serrano also states that Cal-State Fullerton athletic director Brian Quinn spoke with him in 2004 when Serrano left for Irvine and told him that he would be the next coach at Fullerton if Horton ever left. Quinn also reiterated this at Rosenblatt Stadium when the Anteaters were making their magical run. The article also discusses that former Tennessee coach Rod Delmonico has already been in contact with Serrano about taking over the Irvine job. The full article is available here.

C of C Fall Baseball World Series

FROM PRESS RELEASE
The College of Charleston baseball team's annual Fall World Series will begin September 26th at Patriots Point Stadium in Mount Pleasant. Charleston will play a seven-game series between the Maroon and Gold squads. The Cougars won their fourth straight Southern Conference title in the spring after posting a 39-19 overall record and a 20-7 Southern Conference mark. It was Charleston's third regular-season crown in the past four seasons. The Cougars won the 2006 SoCon Tournament title.

Fall Schedule
Game 1 -- Wednesday, Sept. 26th, 5:00
Game 2 -- Friday, Sept. 28th, 6:00
Game 3 -- Saturday, Sept. 29th, 1:00 (Parents Day Cookout following game)
Game 4 -- Sunday, Sept. 30th, 1:00
Game 5 -- Thursday, Oct. 4th, 5:00
Game 6 -- Friday, Oct. 5th, 5:00
Game 7 -- Saturday, Oct. 6th, 11:00