Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers and Dustin Pedroia of the Boston Red Sox were named Rookie of the Year in their respective leagues today. Braun was a standout player for the Miami Hurricanes from 2003-2005 while Pedroia starred for the Arizona State Sun Devils from 2002-2004.
Arizona State Press Release
Miami Press Release
Pedro Alvarez, Vanderbilt.
This hard-hitting, Junior third baseman from Horace Mann High School in the Bronx, New York is one of the pre-season favorites for the Golden Spikes Award and was the only 2007 Golden Spikes finalist to return in 2008. Alvarez is lethal at the plate, as a career .360 batter with an NCAA high 40 career home runs (among active players). In 2006, he hit .329 with 22 home runs and 64 RBI en route to earning National Freshman of the Year. In 2007, he improved to .386, 18, 68, which leading Vanderbilt to a number 1 ranking for the majority of the season. Alvarez is deadly from the left side of the plate and is protected in Coach Tim Corbin’s lineup by being sandwiched between another pair of returning all-America players, RF Dominic De la Osa (.378, 20, 62) and SS Ryan Flaherty (.381, 4, 57). Alvarez is also a spectacular fielder with cat-like reflexes and a cannon arm; however, Pedro’s flair for the dramatic defensive play also leads to his fair share of errors. Those errors and a tendency to strikeout too often will be the items Alvarez looks to improve in his swan song season.
Dominic de la Osa, Vanderbilt 
Hitting in the coveted “Mickey Mantle spot” (in front of Pedro Alvarez, as Mantle did when Roger Maris hit 61), Dominic de la Osa exploded in 2007, proving to be one of the top speed-power guys in the nation. Entering last season with a .300 average and 16 home runs in solid, if unspectacular Freshman and Sophomore years, “of the Bear” set career highs with a .378 average, 65 runs, 23 doubles, 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases. A consensus first team All-America, de la Osa was expected to be a first day pick in the MLB draft before plummeting to the 10th round and the Tigers. An abysmal summer on the Cape left de la Osa with more to prove and he returned to man Rightfield as a Senior for Coach Corbin.
Justin Smoak, South Carolina 
Joining Brett Wallace and Yonder Alonso as the elite first basemen in College Baseball, Smoak enters his Junior year in second place on the career homerun list among active players. As a Freshman, he hit .303 with 17 homeruns and 63 RBI. Smoak improved on those numbers last year, hitting .317 with 19 homeruns and another 63 RBI. Most impressive, however, is Smoak’s patience, with 94 walks against 79 strikeouts. The switch-hitting lefty is also thrifty with the glove, sporting a career .994 fielding percentage. Smoak is perfectly positioned for a true, breakout season in a good hitter’s ballpark.
Alonso was named the top first baseman in the Cape Cod League in 2007. He hit an outstanding .338 for the summer after hitting .376 with 18 homers during the 2007 season for the Hurricanes. Alonso is a patient hitter as he walked 64 times during the collegiate season and 36 times in the CCBL. He only struck out 56 times combined. He needs to work on his defense as he is limited to playing only first base. He should develop more power before getting drafted in 2008 as he will become stronger and a better hitter. Alonso should be able to compete for many National Player of the Year awards in 2008 in addition to conference accolades.
Buster Posey, Florida State
Posey is one of the College Baseball Blog's favorite players. He moved to catcher before the 2007 season as the Seminoles had an opening behind the plate. Buster hit .382 with 3 homers and 65 RBI at FSU while spending his summer with the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox where he batted .281 as he struggled to adjust to the Cape Cod League pitching. One scout told us that Posey improved his draft stock with the move behind the plate but needs to refine his catching skills as he is raw at calling games and blocking pitches. Posey should be one of the top catchers in the ACC competing with Tim Federowicz for conference awards. The CBB will be seeing Posey this season when FSU comes to Boston College for a three game set. The CBB expects Posey to be drafted in the top five rounds of the 2008 draft.
Wallace led the Sun Devils back to the College World Series in 2007 where he hit an outstanding .404 for the season while hitting 16 home runs. He won the Pac 10 Triple Crown as was named the Player of the Year in the conference. Brett spent the summer of 2007 with the USA National team where he competed in the Pan-Am Games and the World Port Tournament. He hit .312 with two homers and 26 RBI for the summer. Wallace is a big guy as he is listed at 6'1 245 pounds so he struggles in the field and will likely be stuck at first base in MLB or moved to DH if he is put in the American League. 
The University of Miami Hurricanes played another scrimmage on Saturday evening against Barry University. The Hurricanes picked up a 13-6 victory. The Hurricanes were led by sophomore Ryan Jackson who went 2-3 with three RBI. Eric Erickson pitched three shutout innings in the game to continue to hold his spot as the Canes number 1 starter. The full recap is available here.
The Miami Hurricanes welcomed Indian River Community College to Mark Light Field Friday night. The Hurricanes picked up a 12-5 victory in a ten inning scrimmage. The Hurricanes used Enrique Garcia for three innings where he struck out five batters. Southridge High School graduate Iden Nazario hit a three run homer for Canes to lead the offensive attack with Mark Sobolewski chipping in with three runs. The full recap is available here.
The Florida State Seminoles have released their 2008 schedule. They will play a 56 game schedule in 2008 which opens up on February 22nd when Duquesne University visits for a four game series over three days. They will follow that up with an exhibition game against the Philadelphia Phillies. They will then travel to Auburn to take on the Tigers for two games before coming back to Tallahassee to host the Tigers for two games. The Seminoles will open ACC play on March 7th when Maryland visits Tallahassee. The Seminoles will also host ACC series against Georgia Tech, Virginia, Miami, and NC State. They will head on the road this season to face Virginia Tech, Boston College, Wake Forest, North Carolina, and Clemson. They will not play Duke in 2008 or 2009 due to the rotating ACC schedule. The 2008 ACC Baseball Championship will take place in Jacksonville Florida again. The full schedule is available in HTML and PDF formats.
Baseball America has released their annual top 30 prospects from the Cape Cod League. Aaron Crow of Missouri leads the rankings after having an impressive summer with a 0.67 ERA and picking up the Top prospect award from MLB scouts. The top position player is Yonder Alonso of Miami after hitting .338 with an on-base percentage of .468. The full list is available here.
New Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan and The University of Florida athletic department has released the 2008 baseball schedule on Wednesday. The Gators will open the season on February 22nd when they take on Siena for a three game set. The Gators will make the trip down to the University of Miami the next weekend before coming back home to take on defending Ivy League Champs Brown. The Gators will play Florida State three times this season with a game in each teams respective ballpark and a neutral site game in Jacksonville. In addition to the strong OOC schedule, Florida will play a full 30 games in the SEC which is highlighted by a visit from SEC power Vanderbilt to end the season. The full schedule is available here.
Rivals.com has picked up wire reports announcing the incoming Miami Hurricanes and LSU Tigers incoming classes. Miami is bringing in 9 players, including 5 from the South Florida region.
Doug Kroll of CSTV checks in with an article about the top power hitters for the 2008 season. He discusses Pedro Alvarez, Justin Smoak, Kyle Russell to just name a few. It is an excellent read and can be found here.
The Pacific University Tigers coaching staff will be making an appearance on the Discovery channel show Mythbusters which is set to air on Wednesday August 8th at 9:00 pm (PST). Tiger Head Coach Ed Sprague and Undergraduate assistant coach John Devaney were invited to be involved in the shooting at Klein Family Field. The full release is available here
The Miami (FL) Media Relations Department has released a feature on Kyle Bellamy who played this summer in the NYCBL with the Geneva Red Wings. He recorded 16 saves in 26 innings while recording a perfect ERA of 0.00. The full article is available here with updates on other Hurricanes players progress throughout the summer.
The Daily Utah Chronicle checks in with an article previewing the Utah Utes 2008 team. The article discusses some of the disappointments of the 2007 season and the future of the program. The full article is available here.
The UCLA Bruins have released their 2008 schedule which includes a game in Compton CA against USC. They also have a visits from the Oklahoma Sooners and UC-Riverside as the highlights of their OOC schedule. The full schedule is available here.
Stay tuned to The College Baseball Blog for the most up to date news from around the country. If anyone has any comments or ideas feel free to e-mail me by clicking here.
The East defeated the West by a score of 3-2 in the 45th annual Cape Cod Baseball League All-Star Game which took place in Wareham this year. The East team picked up all three runs in an exciting fourth inning. Yonder Alonso (Miami, FL) got a single with one out in the inning off of Christian Friedrich (Eastern Kentucky). He was driven in on a ringing triple by Gordon Beckham (Georgia) to get the East squad on the board. Beckham would then score on a wild pitch to put the East up 2-0 but the East was not finished in the fourth as Dennis Raben (Miami, FL) homered to finish off the scoring in the top of the inning. The West would respond in the bottom of the fourth with Matt Hague (Washington) scoring on a fielder's choice. James Darnell (South Carolina) would homer later in the game but it was too late as the East was able to squeak out a 3-2 victory.
Dennis Raben was named the MVP for the East squad for hitting that homer and Aaron Crow (Missouri) of the West squad was named that team MVP for striking out all three batters in the first inning.
Remember that the Game will be shown on Monday, July 30th on NESN if you want to watch the premier college baseball players.
CCBL Recap
Box Score
CodBall Recap
The Cape Cod Baseball League has released their players of the week for June 25th-July 6th in Yonder Alonso (Miami FL) and Andy Oliver (Oklahoma State). Yonder Alonso hit .400 for the week in five games while slugging .750 to be named the Player of the Week. Andy Oliver only gave up two hits and one earned run in 15 innings last week to get the Pitcher of the Week award. The full release including news and notes around the Cape Cod League is available here. We will try to make it down to the Cape Cod League for a game this week but for full coverage of the CCBL you can check out Codball.com.
Baseball America published an interesting op-ed piece today, forecasting their predicted field for the 2008 College World Series. Obviously it's too soon to tell who will be a legitimate contender, with almost 2 months remaining before the August 15 deadline for MLB organizations to sign would-be college prospects, and injuries, weather and dozens of other factors looming on the horizon. But all the same, it's interesting to start thinking about it already as we watch the summer leagues take shape, and Aaron Fitt provides some interesting food for thought in the off-season. And no, as you near the end of the list, you'll discover that I am not unbiased in my evaluation of this article...
Lousiville sends Miami back Home with a 8-7 win!
U of L began the day with its win over Miami.
The Hurricanes (37-24) were eliminated before the super-regionals for the first time in 13 years, and some players from their own backyard helped send them packing.
Miami natives Dominguez and Jorge Castillo led the way for the Cards. Dominguez had a two-run homer, and Castillo had four RBIs, including a bases-loaded double.
"It was real sweet," Castillo said. "I wanted to show them what they could have had."
Zack Pitts (9-3), the team's ace who lasted only 1 2/3 innings on Friday, got the win with 2 1/3 innings of relief. Trystan Magnuson worked the final two innings for the save.
The Cards came into the regional having never won an NCAA Tournament game. Their only other appearance was in 2002. Now they're one win away from the super-regionals.
"This just shows that our program is on the rise," pitcher James Belanger said.
Cardinals stay alive with a 4-3 win over Missouri!
Chris Dominguez was the least popular guy on the University of Missouri campus last night.
Except in the University of Louisville dugout.
The third baseman's bat and legs kept the Cardinals alive in the NCAA baseball regionals, even if his dance moves and mouth made him the town's top villain.
Dominguez hit a two-run home run in the eighth inning to propel the Cards to a 4-3 victory over host Missouri last night at the Columbia Regional. Earlier, U of L eliminated Miami 8-7.
Louisville (43-21) will face the Tigers (42-17) again today at 2 p.m., with the winner advancing to a super-regional.
Louisville 8 Miami 7
The Louisville Cardinals were able to end the Hurricanes streak of winning 13 straight regional tournaments with an 8-7 victory. The Cardinals were led on offense by Jorge Castillo who picked up four RBI while Chris Dominguez hit a two run homer in the fifth inning. Louisville advances to the Regional Championship game against Missouri while Miami ends the season with a 37-24 record.
Louisville Recap
Miami Recap
Louisville 4 Missouri 3
Louisville forced a winner take all game on Monday with a 5-4 victory against Missouri. The Cardinals were led by a very strong pitching performance from four pitchers as they were able to survive the elimination game. Chris Dominguez led the Cardinals with a huge two run homer in the eighth inning to break a 2-2 tie. The Tigers threatened in the bottom of the ninth with a lead off homer from Jacob Priday which was followed up by a walk to Trevor Coleman. Kris Hollander was able to keep the Tigers off the board and get the victory for the Cardinals.
Louisville Recap
Missouri Recap
Miami 8 Kent State 7
The Kent State Golden Flashes season ended as they dropped a tough 8-7 decision to the Miami Hurricanes. The Canes started the game off with a home run from Blake Tekotte to jump out to a 1-0 lead. The Hurricanes dominated the game until the eighth inning when the Golden Flashes scored six runs in the inning to bring the deficit to one run but were unable to put any runs across in the bottom of the ninth to end the season with a 33-26 record. Miami advances to take on Louisville in an elimination game on Sunday.
Miami Recap
Kent State Recap
Missouri 7 Louisville 5
The Missouri Tigers advanced to the regional championship game by knocking off the Louisville Cardinals 7-5. Jacob Priday and Trevor Coleman hit back to back homers in the sixth inning. Priday also picked up another homer in the seventh inning. The Tigers advance to face the winner of the Miami/Louisville elimination game on Sunday.
Missouri Recap
Louisville Recap
A late season surge has given Missouri the opportunity to host at least one weekend of NCAA postseason play. The Tigers will be welcoming second-seeded Miami, on a roll themselves, as well as both Louisville and Kent State. That survivor will then take on the winner from Fayetteville next weekend. Arkansas, the top seed at home and the seventh overall national seed, will see Creighton, Oklahoma State, and Albany make their way to town this weekend. Are the Tigers and Hogs on a collision course, or will someone else break up the party?
COLUMBIA, MO REGIONAL
vs Fayetteville Regional
(1) Missouri (40-16)It’s been a great season for the Tigers, who finished a surprising second in the Big 12 at 19-8. Despite a 1-2 showing in the Big 12 tournament, they were still chosen to host a regional for the first time since 1965.(2) Miami (36-22)Miami was penciled in as a potential title contender, but finished in the middle of the pack in the ACC. This is the second straight year the Hurricanes go to a Big 12 school for the postseason, having gone to Nebraska a year ago.(3) Louisville (40-20)The 2007 season has been a historic one for Louisville. The Cardinals, under first-year coach Dan McConnell, have won a school-record 40 games, and make only their second regional appearance in school history. The Cards finished third in the Big East with a 19-8 record, one game behind St. John‘s and Rutgers, and went 2-2 in the Big East tourney.(4) Kent State (33-24)The Golden Flashes captured the Mid-American‘s Eastern Division title with a 19-8 record, then won four in a row to win the automatic bid, knocking off #1 seed Eastern Michigan twice in the process. The Golden Flashes enter their first postseason appearance since 2004 on a hot streak, having won 16 of their last 17 games.
Missouri Tigers
Southerncollegesports
 1. Missouri (40-16) |  2. Miami (Fla.) (36-22) |  3. Louisville (40-20) |  4. Kent State (33-24) |
| The Favorite: Missouri When looking at Missouri from a statistical standpoint, it's easy to come away unimpressed. But a closer look at the Tigers reveals a team that always finds a way to win games. While sophomore right-hander Aaron Crow leads the charge on the mound, the Tigers are led at the plate by junior outfielder Evan Frey. He's hitting a team-leading .346 with four home runs and 33 RBIs. Jacob Priday is a power producer for the Tigers, while Brock Bond has shown consistency with his .319 batting average. The Tigers have a tough field with Miami and Louisville. But as they've shown, they're not a team that likes to be doubted. | |||
| Dark horse candidate: Miami, Fla. If you want to see consistency, look no further than the Miami baseball program. With a bid to the Columbia Regional, the Hurricanes are attending their 35th straight NCAA Regional. Color me impressed. While hometown Missouri is the favorite over the Hurricanes, that won't get this team down. The Hurricanes have an impressive offense with Yonder Alonso and freshman third baseman Mark Sobolewski leading the charge. Second baseman Jemile Weeks is another versatile player to watch, while Roger Tomas routinely makes opposing pitchers pay for their mistakes. The Canes can win this Regional. | |||
| Best hitter: Miami 1B Yonder Alonso In his second season with the Hurricanes, Alonso has blossomed into one of the top hitters in college baseball. The sophomore enters the Columbia Regional hitting a team-leading .378 with 18 home runs and 74 RBIs. He's also slugging .724 and has a .519 on-base percentage. In addition, Alonso has stolen 13 bases and has 12 doubles in 196 at bats. | |||
| Best pitcher: Missouri RHP Aaron Crow There are several talented pitchers in this Regional, but the guy that stands out to me the most is Missouri right-hander Aaron Crow. After losing Max Scherzer and Nathan Culp last season, many critics thought the Mizzou pitching staff would take a giant step back. That assumption was wrong. Crow enters the weekend with an 8-3 record and a 3.17 ERA in 108 innings. He has also struck out 81 batters. | |||
| Regional review Missouri has a tough opening round matchup with four-seed Kent State, but if they can hold off the Golden Flashes, it will likely shake off any potential postseason jitters. The Tigers have a good one-two punch in the weekend rotation, while Evan Frey and Jacob Priday lead the way at the plate. As the host team, it's important for the Tigers to keep the fans involved in the action … Miami might have a better chance of winning this Regional than some might think. The Hurricanes have the most talented team in the field of four and have the postseason experience necessary to make it to the College World Series. For Miami, the key to the weekend is consistency across the board … Louisville is another team that could surprise this weekend. Roger Williams has done a phenomenal job with the Cards pitching staff, while Logan Johnson, Isaiah Howes and Boomer Whiting provide the offensive fireworks … Kent State enters the tournament just 6-13 against teams in the top 100. Rivals.com | |||
NC State 8 Georgia Tech 7 (Final)
In the opening game on Saturday, The NC State Wolfpack picked up an 8-7 victory over Georgia Tech. Both teams were eliminated before the game from making the championship game on Saturday so the game could only change the seedings for the upcoming NCAA Tournament as both teams are expected to receive at large berths. NC State started Jimmy Gillheeney who has been struggling recently and it continued on Saturday as he let up five runs in five innings. He ended up with a no-decision as Eryk McConnell picked up the victory by working the final 3.1 innings without allowing a run. His record goes to 3-2. Georgia Tech used this game to get some work for the pitching staff as they used six different pitchers. Matt Wieters (1-4) ended up getting the loss as he gave up a Caleb Mangum infield RBI single in the ninth. Marcus Jones went 4-5 and Dallas Poulk went 3-4 to lead the Pack offensive attack while Patrick Long led the Jackets by going 3-5 with three runs scored.
NC State Recap
GT Recap
North Carolina 5 Virginia 0 (Final)
Alex White (6-4) pitched seven shutout innings against the high powered offense of Virginia to give the Tar Heels a 5-0 victory and advance to the ACC Championship game on Sunday. White only gave up two hits and four walks over those seven innings. Andrew Carignan pitched two scoreless innings to get his 12th save. Casey Lambert (2-2) got the start for UVA and was effective but gave up two runs over seven innings as he was tagged with the loss. Reid Fronk led the Tar Heels with two RBI and two hits. John Scaglione was the only Cavalier with two hits in the game. UNC will take on Wake Forest for the ACC title at 1 pm on Sunday.
UNC Recap
UVA Recap
Daily Progress Recap
Clemson 5 FSU 1 (Final)
The Clemson Tigers kept their hopes alive of an ACC Championship game appearance as they defeated the Florida State Seminoles 5-1 in Day 4 of the ACC Tournament. Bryan Henry (14-1) picked up his first loss of the season by giving up four runs in 5.1 innings. David Kopp (6-2) pitched a complete game and gave up an unearned run in the top of the ninth while striking out seven strikeouts. Addison Johnson, J.D. Burgess, Taylor Harbin, and Marquez Smith each had two hits to lead the Tigers offense. Jack Rye went 3-4 to lead the Seminoles in the losing effort.
Clemson Recap
FSU Recap
Wake Forest 7 Miami 3 (Final)
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons picked up a big victory and got the help they needed to advance to the ACC Championship game as they defeated the Miami Hurricanes 7-3 in the final game of the round robin round of the ACC Tournament. Allan Dykstra finally did some damage tonight when I was watching as he hit a home run to tied the game at 2 in the third inning as he went 2-4 with 3 RBI including the homer. Ben Hunter (7-6) gave the Deacons six innings while giving up two runs to get the win. Enrique Garcia (7-4) got the loss for the Canes as he only lasted 4.1 innings while giving up five runs. Jemile Weeks went 2-4 in the losing effort. Wake Forest will play North Carolina at 1 pm for the ACC title and have likely clinched an at-large berth for the NCAA Tournament. Miami will wait until the brackets come out to find out where they will be heading.
Wake Forest Recap
Miami Recap
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