Update on Dave Serrano!

Dave Serrano said Wednesday he has withdrawn as a candidate for the Oregon job, choosing to stay at UC Irvine and continue to build the Anteaters into a perennial national contender.

In his third season at Irvine, Serrano took the Anteaters to the College World Series and garnered National Coach of the Year honors. Along with the recognition came interest from Oregon, which is looking to resurrect its baseball program after 26 years.

"I want to thank the University of Oregon for their interest," Serrano said. "And I apologize to both universities for any distraction this has caused.

"I am excited to move on and continue to be the coach of the players who are in our program now."

Serrano said the decision, reached after long discussions with his wife, came down to family. He said the time and effort to start up a new program would cost him too much time away from his wife, Tracy, and his three young sons.

Orange County Register

UC Irvine coach Dave Serrano has taken his name out of the running for Oregon’s vacant head coaching job.

Baseball America’s 2007 Coach of the Year had delayed his scheduled visit to Eugene so he and his wife and staff could make a trip to Las Vegas to celebrate and relive the Anteaters’ College World Series run, and the Ducks allowed him a few more days to think about it before his visit, which he never wound up making. Serrano said he woke up this morning with a decision to remain at Irvine.

“As intriguing and as challenging as the Oregon job would have been–and we would have been up to the task–I hope this shows my commitment to UC Irvine and our team,” Serrano said. “We still have lofty goals here at Irvine. I think this is a good program that can continue to grow and grow as long as I can keep my coaching staff intact, and we can take it to the highest level."

Baseball America

NCBWA June 25 Division I Poll – Final 2007 Survey

FROM NCBWA RELEASE

DALLAS - The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association continued its tradition of NCAA Division I polls for the 10th year with its 2007 weekly surveys. Weekly polls were circulated from Feb. 12-June 25 following the NCAA World Series in Omaha, Neb. Oregon State became the first school since LSU in 1996-97 to repeat as Division I champ after sweeping North Carolina last Sunday night at Rosenblatt Stadium.

The poll voters come from 32 college baseball writers and related media persons from throughout the nation. The final poll had representation by a season-most 14 conferences (tied for a weekly high for the fourth time in ‘07) among the 293 baseball-playing schools in the ‘07 NCAA Division I ranks, and 17 circuits had teams in the polls in ‘07. For more information or to join the NCBWA, please go to www.ncbwa.com

NCBWA POLL (FINAL)
Rk.	School	Conference	Overall	Week	Pvs.
1.	Oregon State	Pacific-10	49-18	5-0	10
2.	North Carolina	Atlantic Coast	57-16	4-3	2
3.	Rice	Conference USA	56-14	2-2	1
4.	Arizona State	Pacific-10	49-15	1-2	3
5.	UC Irvine	Big West	47-17-1	2-2	4
6.	Vanderbilt	Southeastern	54-13	-	5
7.	Louisville	Big East	47-24	1-2	12
8.	South Carolina	Southeastern	46-20	-	6
9.	Mississippi State	Southeastern	38-22	0-2	8
10.	Cal State Fullerton	Big West	38-25	0-2	13
11.	Texas A&M	Big 12	48-19	-	7
12.	Texas	Big 12	46-17	-	9
13.	Virginia	Atlantic Coast	45-16	-	11
14.	Florida State	Atlantic Coast	49-13	-	t14
15.	Clemson	Atlantic Coast	41-23	-	t14
16.	Wichita State	Missouri Valley	53-22	-	t14
17.	Mississippi	Southeastern	40-25	-	13
18.	Oklahoma State	Big 12	42-21	-	14
19.	Coastal Carolina	Big South	50-13	-	15
20.	Michigan	Big Ten	42-19	-	17
21.	Arizona	Pacific-10	42-17	-	16
22.	Arkansas	Southeastern	43-21	-	18
23.	San Diego	West Coast	43-18	-	19
24.	Charlotte	Atlantic 10	49-12	-	25
25.	Missouri	Big 12	42-18	-	23
26.	UCLA	Pacific-10	33-28	-	29
27.	Long Beach State	Big West	39-20	-	26
28.	TCU	Mountain West	48-14	-	28
29.	Louisiana-Lafayette	Sun Belt	45-17	-	27
30.	Creighton	Missouri Valley	45-16	-	30
Others receiving votes (listed alphabetically): Austin Peay (40-22), East Carolina (40-23), Kent State (33-26), Minnesota (41-18), Ohio State (38-24), Southern Mississippi (39-23), Rutgers (42-21), St. John's (41-19), UC Riverside (38-21), Western Carolina (42-20).
Dropped out: None.
By conference: Southeastern 5, Atlantic Coast 4, Big 12 4, Pacific-10 4, Big West 3, Missouri Valley 2, Atlantic 10 1, Big East 1, Big South 1, Big Ten 1, Conference USA 1, Mountain West 1, Sun Belt 1, West Coast 1.

Oregon State wins Back to Back Titles

Oregon State defeated the North Carolina Tar Heels 9-3 in Game 2 of the CWS Championship Series to clinch their second championship in as many years. The Oregon State offense jumped on Tar Heel starter Luke Putkonen for three runs in the second inning which knocked him out after only 1.2 innings. Mike Fox, head coach of North Carolina replaced him with Andrew Carignan who acts as the team closer. Carignan ended up going 3.2 innings while giving up two runs. The Oregon State offense was led by many players but Darwin Barney went 2-5 with a homer and Jordan Lennerton hit a two run homer. Oregon State pitcher Mike Stutes struggled through 5.1 innings while giving up three runs on seven hits but picked up the win to give himself a 2-0 record in the CWS. The North Carolina offense was led by Dustin Ackley who went 2-4 with a homer and two RBI in the loss.

The Oregon State Beavers overcame many different obstacles this season who were on the bubble to make the NCAA Tournament when the selections were announced. They also had some major distractions this season with Mike Lissman's legal trouble. I would like to congratulate the team that started the entire College Baseball season with a trip to Hawaii-Hilo and ended it as the National Champions for the second straight season which is the first time it has happened in College Baseball since LSU won the championship in 1996-1997.

Oregon State Recap
UNC Recap
SeBaseball Recap
Baseball Daily Digest Recap

No TV, No Problem!

Game 2 of the College World Series Championship Series is tonight between Oregon State and North Carolina with Oregon State holding a 1-0 lead in the best of three series. Gametracker is available by clicking here.

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)

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

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

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

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

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

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

CWS Game 3 UC-Irvine and Arizona State! ASU 5- UC Irvine 4

In the game three of the College World Series Arizona State jump out on top in the bottom of the 2nd inning with a 3 run home run by Spencer. In the top of the 4th the Anteaters erupted for 4 runs not by using small ball but with a triple and a double and they sent 9 runners to the plate. It is now in the bottom of the 4th. ASU comes back and uses the long ball to beat UC-Irvine. ASU gets solo Home runs from CJ Retherford in the 5th and Ike Davis in the 8th for the win.


To follow all the action click on the link.

http://www.ncaa-baseball.com/daily/061607.htm


UC-Irvine Recap

Arizona State Recap

CWS Day 1 Recap

Rice 15 Louisville 10

The Louisville Cardinals jumped out to an early 5-0 victory but the Rice Owls were able to come back and win a wild game 15-10. Aaron Luna led the Owls by going 2-4 with three RBI. Rice reliever Bobby Bramhall pitched the final two innings without giving up a run to get the victory and up his record to 7-2. Louisville was led on offense by Logan Johnson who picked up two hits while driving in three runs. Cardinals closer Trystan Magnuson got rocked in his only inning of work as he let up six runs as he got the loss to drop his record to 3-3. Louisville will play an elimination game on Sunday against Mississippi State at 2 pm while Rice will play North Carolina at 7 pm.

Rice Recap
Louisville Recap
SEBaseball Recap

UNC 8 Mississippi State 5

The North Carolina Tar Heels erased a 4-0 deficit with eight runs in the fourth and sixth innings combined as the Tar Heels picked up a 8-5 victory over Mississippi State. UNC starter Robert Woodard struggled in only 1.2 innings as he let up four runs on seven hits. Adam Warren relieved Woodard and gave the Tar Heels 4.1 scoreless innings while only giving up three hits and a walk. Warren's record goes to 11-0. Andrew Carignan pitched the final inning to get his 16th save of the year. Chad Flack led the UNC offense by going 3-4 with a RBI. Justin Pigott started for the Bulldogs as he gave up six runs in 5.1 innings as he got the loss to put his record at 7-7. Mitch Moreland led the Bulldogs offense by going 2-4 with a homer. UNC plays Rice on Sunday at 7 pm and Mississippi State plays Louisville at 2 pm.

UNC Recap
Mississippi State Recap
SEBaseball.com Recap

CWS Preview of Oregon State

Oregon State Beavers will be making their third straight trip to the College World Series. The Beavers are not normally known for baseball success up until three years ago the Beavers last visited Omaha was in 1952. In 2005 was the first time that they made it back to Omaha and they went 0-2. As they say it, are two and barbecue. In 2006, they defeated a very good ball club in North Carolina that was led by Andrew Miller.

Oregon State is coached by Pat Casey, which has built Oregon State into a baseball national champion. Casey and OSU wrote one of the great chapters in college baseball history in 2006, when the Beavers became the first-ever team from the Pacific Northwest to win the NCAA Division I College World Series. Pat has coached at Oregon State since 1995.

The Pitching staff has four proven starters who lead the way for this team. Jorge Reyes, pitched in the Super Regional on Saturday against Michigan, Jorge has a record of 5-3 with nine starts. The opposing teams are batting .238 against him. Daniel Thurpen is 9-1 with an era of 3.65 and opposing teams are batting .265. Joe Patterson is 10-6 with an era of 3.77 and opposing teams are batting .264. Mike Stutts has made 19 starts for OSU and has a record of 9-4 with an era of 4.06 and opposing teams are batting .234. When they get to the late stages of the games, they turn it over to the bullpen to close it out. The man for the job is Eddie Kunz he has 11 saves on the year.

As a team, the offense is batting .282 for the year. At the top are some very capable young men. Leading the way are Mike Lissman, Jordan Lennerton, and Mitch Canham. Those three combine have 24 of OSU 38 homeruns.

If OSU can get some quality starts from the pitching staff and with the way, the defense plays, 55 errors all year, look for this ball club to make some noise at OMAHA!