NCBWA names National Players of the Week

DALLAS - The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) released the Pro-Line Athletic National Player of the Week awards for the period ending May 8, today. Texas A&M junior infielder/outfielder Blake Stouffer was named National Hitter of the Week, while Hawai'i sophomore right-hander Matt Daly was named National Pitcher of the Week. The NCBWA Board reviews candidates from each Division I conferences each week and names winners each Tuesday throughout the season.

Stouffer hit .900 (9-for-10) for the week with eight RBIs in three games. The San Antonio, Texas, native also contributed three doubles, a home run and seven runs scored against Dallas Baptist. He slugged 1.500 and had an on-base percentage of .875, drawing four walks and was hit by a pitch. In Thursday's series opener and victory (11-10), Stouffer went 5-for-5 with two doubles, four RBIs and three runs scored. Friday the Aggies defeated the Patriots, 3-0 and Stouffer went 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. In the series sweep on Saturday (14-6), Stouffer went 1-for-1 with a two-run homer and bases-loaded walk.

Daly, a Yorba Linda, Calif., native threw a one-hit complete-game shutout in Hawai'i's 8-0 victory at Hawai'i-Hilo on Friday. Daly took a no-hitter into the ninth inning, before giving up a single with one out. He walked the leadoff hitter to start the game before retiring the next 25 batters. He also struck out a career-high nine in the game.

With this week's honor, Daly automatically are named to the watch list for Roger Clemens Award, given to the national collegiate pitcher of the year, sponsored by the Greater Houston Baseball Organization.

Fort Worth-based Pro-Line Athletic supplies the official cap to more than 100 Division I college teams and official uniforms and team wear to six Division 1 college teams. This is the third season Pro-Line has sponsored the NCBWA's Players of the Week. The sponsorship provides for plaques to be awarded to each of the weekly winners and other promotional consideration. For more information about Pro-Line, visit their Website at: www.prolineathletic.com.

Founded in 1962, the NCBWA is dedicated to the advancement of college baseball. Membership is open to writers, broadcasters and publicists of the sport. For more information about the NCBWA, visit the association's official Website, www.ncbwa.com.

For more information, contact NCBWA Assistant Executive Director Mike Montoro (601-266-5947, michael.montoro@usm.edu).

2007 WINNERS:
Pro-Line Athletic Co., Hitter of the Week - Feb. 13 - Pedro Alvarez, Vanderbilt; Feb. 20 - Jericho Jones, Louisiana Tech; Feb. 27 - Mike Bianucci, Auburn; March 6 - David Doss, South Alabama; March 13 - Justin Bour, George Mason; March 20 - Corey Brown, Oklahoma State; March 27 - Matt LaPorta, Florida; April 3 - Tony Thomas, Jr., Florida State; April 10 - Travis Jones, South Carolina; April 17 - Kellen Kulbacki, James Madison; April 24 - Ryan Heath, Oakland; May 1 - Matt Horwath, UCF; May 8 - Blake Stouffer, Texas A&M.
Pro-Line Athletic Co., Pitcher of the Week - Feb. 13 - Spencer Steedley, Charlotte; Feb. 20 - James Simmons, UC Riverside; Feb. 27 - Brian Matusz, San Diego; March 6 - Sean Urena, Cal State Fullerton; March 13 - David Price, Vanderbilt; March 20 - Lance Lynn, Ole Miss; March 27 - Eric Rohr - Saint Louis; April 3 - Trey Barham, VMI; April 10 - Ryan Berry, Rice; Rick Zagone, Missouri; April 17 - Brad Brach, Monmouth; April 24 - Scott Barnes, St. John's; May 1 - James Adkins, Tennessee; May 8 - Matt Daly, Hawai'i.

Conference USA baseball notebook

As Conference USA enters the final two weeks of the regular season, there is still a lot to be decided. While Rice has a stranglehold on first place, the race for second contains many contenders, as does the quest for NCAA Tournament at-large selections. And, elsewhere in the standings, the jockeying for tournament seeding continues.

HITTER OF THE WEEK

MICHAEL EWING, SOUTHERN MISS Sophomore, OF, Beaumont, Texas Ewing batted .600 (6-for-10) to help lead the Golden Eagles to a 3-0 series sweep over Marshall this past weekend. He had three doubles, one home run and seven RBI in the series, while also drawing three walks and scoring three runs. In Friday night's opener, Ewing had a sacrifice fly and a three-run homer to account for four RBI. He finished with a .643 on-base percentage and collected 12 bases for a 1.200 slugging percentage for the week.

PITCHER OF THE WEEK
T.J. HOSE, EAST CAROLINA Junior, RHP, Hagerstown, Md. Hose improved to 6-4 on the season after picking up the win in Friday night's 3-1 victory at Houston on CSTV. He went 7.2 innings, allowing four hits and one walk while striking out five. After giving up a hit in the first inning, Hose retired 16 of the next 18 batters, including 14 in a row at one point, and did not allow a runner past second base. The 7.2 innings worked tied a season-high and his four hits allowed was the second-fewest he has given up this season.

Click here for entire notebook.

The Citadel prepares for non-conference action

The Citadel Bulldogs will head to East Carolina on Tuesday and South Carolina on Wednesay in key out of conference game for the Bulldogs. The Citadel are comign off a weekend series in which they lost two out of three games against Southern Conference foe UNC-Greensboro. On Tuesday, the Bulldogs will send Senior starter Justin Smith (5-3, 6.75 ERA) to the mound to make his first start since April 1st to face East Carolina who has not annouced a starter yet. East Carolina picked up a weekend sweep over Houston in Conference USA action. On Wednesday, The Citadel will head to Columbia SC to take on the University of South Carolina. South Carolina is coming off a weekend in which they took two out of their three games with Kentucky. The starter for the Gamecocks is expected to be Mike Cisco (3-2, 4.63 ERA) against an undetermined starter for The Citadel.

The Citadel Game Notes
ECU Game Notes
South Carolina Game Notes

ACC Recap for May 7th

GA Tech 15 South Florida 7

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets completed a sweep over South Florida on Monday by knocking off the Bulls 15-7. The Yellow Jackets received three RBI from Patrick Long, Wally Crancer, and Luke Murton. Ryan Turner started for the Jackets and was effective but not outstanding as he let up five runs in six innings but picked up the victory to head to 5-3. South Florida starter Matt Quevado was roughed up in the first inning for four runs. He was lifted after the inning and relieved by Chris Delaney who only went 3.1 innings while giving up seven runs on eight hits. He picked up the loss to drop his record to 8-2.

GT Recap
South Florida Recap

New College World Series Home?

The mayor of Omaha NE Mike Fahey is pursing an option to build a new 50 million dollar baseball stadium. The seating capacity would be topped out at 9,000 but would be expandable to 25,000 for the CWS. The full article from the Omaha World-Herald is available here.

NCBWA May 7 Division I Poll

DALLAS - The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association continues its
tradition of NCAA Division I polls for the 10th year with its 2007 weekly
surveys. Weekly polls will be circulated from Feb. 12-June 26 following the
NCAA World Series in Omaha, Neb.

The poll voters come from 32 college baseball writers and related media persons
from throughout the nation. This week's poll has representation by 13 different
conferences (season-high number for the fifth time this season) among the 293
baseball-playing schools in the '07 NCAA Division I ranks, and 17 circuits have
had teams in the polls in '07. For more information or to join the NCBWA, please
go to www.ncbwa.com.

Rank-School-Conference-Overall Record-Previous Rank
1 Vanderbilt Southeastern 41-9 1
2 Florida State Atlantic Coast 42-7 2
3 Rice Conference USA 37-11 3
4 North Carolina ACC 37-10 5
5 Virginia ACC 38-10 6
6 Texas Big 12 38-14 4
7 South Carolina SEC 35-14 8
8 Arizona State Pacific-10 34-12 10
9 Arkansas SEC 36-14 7
10 Texas A&M Big 12 38-11 11
11 Wichita State Missouri Valley 41-13 12
12 Oregon State Pac-10 35-11 9
13 Arizona Pac-10 35-11 15
14 San Diego West Coast  38-14 16
15 Oklahoma State Big 12 34-13 17
16 Clemson ACC 31-16 14
17 Coastal Carolina Big South 38-9 19
18 Mississippi State SEC 31-12 20
19 Mississippi SEC 32-18 13
20 Long Beach State Big West 30-14 23
21 Pepperdine West Coast 31-16 21
22 UC Irvine Big West 31-13-1 22
23 Charlotte Atlantic 10 38-9 25
24 Missouri Big 12 33-13 28
25 Cal State Fullerton Big West 28-18 18
26 Michigan Big Ten 34-10 26
27 College of Charleston Southern 36-12 24
28 NC State ACC 31-16 27
29 TCU Mountain West 37-11 29
30 East Carolina C-USA 32-15 NR

Others receiving votes (listed alphabetically): Creighton (32-12), Kentucky (31-15-1), LSU (28-21-1), Louisiana-Lafayette (35-13), Miami (Fla.) (30-19), Minnesota (33-10), Southern Miss (30-19), St. John's (32-13), Stetson (36-12), UC Riverside (30-17), UCLA (27-19).

Dropped Out: Minnesota (30)

By conference: Atlantic Coast 5, Southeastern 5, Big 12 4, Big West 3, Pacific-10 3, Conference USA 2, West Coast 2, Atlantic 10 1, Big South 1, Big Ten 1, Missouri Valley 1, Mountain West 1, Southern 1.

Big 12 Baseball Weekly Awards Announced (May 7)

Blake Stouffer (Texas A&M) has been named Big 12 Baseball Player of the Week, while Wade Mackey (Baylor) was chosen as Pitcher of the Week for games of April 30-May 7, the conference announced on Monday.

Big 12 Release
Texas A&M Release
Baylor Release

Conference USA recap for May 4-6

Two Conference USA schools posted three-game sweeps this past weekend. East Carolina won all three games at Houston to move up to third place in the league standings, while Southern Miss took three straight from Marshall to climb back above .500 in C-USA play for the first time since they defeated Rice in their conference opener in late March.

East Carolina earned a 3-1 win on Friday night in front of a national television audience on CSTV. T.J. Hose was outstanding in posting his first win in conference play and Shane Mathews picked up his league-leading 11th save. On Saturday, the Pirates used a dramatic rally in the top of the ninth inning to post a 6-1 victory. Jamie Ray highlighted the five-run inning with a grand slam. In the series finale on Sunday, ECU used a six-run fourth inning to come away with a 9-2 win.

Southern Miss was more than convincing in its sweep, outscoring the Thundering Herd, 35-9. After opening with an 8-4 win on Friday night, the Golden Eagles smacked a season high 18 hits and scored a season-best 18 runs in an 18-3 win that was called after seven innings due to Conference USA's Saturday run rule. Righthander Barry Bowden picked up his fifth straight victory in C-USA play and his sixth of the season. Southern Miss completed the sweep with a 9-2 victory on Sunday.

With Houston being swept, it opened the door for Memphis to move into second place. After a 9-6 loss to UCF on Friday night where the Knights rallied from a 5-1 deficit, the Tigers took the final two games of the series to move behind idle Rice in the league standings. On Saturday, Memphis was held hitless by Knights starter Kyle Sweat until the fourth inning and did not score until the sixth, but came up with seven runs over the sixth and seventh innings to post a 7-3 win. On Sunday, the Tigers jumped out to a 5-0 first inning lead but had to fight off a furious UCF rally to get a 10-9 win. Will Hudgens made his first career start and earned the win to improve to 4-0 for Memphis, while Mat Yokley tied the Tiger single-season save record with his eighth.

In New Orleans, UAB won two-of-three at Tulane to increase its lead to earn a berth in the Conference USA Tournament to 2 ½ games. After Friday's game was suspended due to heavy rain, the teams resumed play on Saturday. After Tulane rallied in the bottom-of-the-ninth inning to tie it on a three-run homer by Aja Barto, Blazer freshman Jonathan Merritt hit his first career home run, a three-run shot in the top of the 11th, to give UAB an 11-8 win. On Sunday, the two teams played a pair of seven-inning games, with UAB winning the first one, 4-2, and Tulane taking the night cap, 2-1.

*****
Conference USA Players of the week

After setting the tone for a three game sweep at Houston with a brilliant performance on Friday night, East Carolina junior righthander T.J. Hose has been named Conference USA Pitcher of the Week for the period of May 1-6. Hitter of the Week honors went to Southern Miss sophomore outfielder Michael Ewing, who had an outstanding weekend at the plate as the Golden Eagles swept Marshall.

Hose improved to 6-4 on the season after picking up the win in Friday night's 3-1 victory at Houston on CSTV. He went 7.2 innings, allowing four hits and one walk while striking out five. After giving up a hit in the first inning, Hose retired 16 of the next 18 batters, including 14 in a row at one point, and did not allow a runner past second base. The 7.2 innings worked tied a season-high and his four hits allowed was the second-fewest he has given up this season.

Ewing batted .600 (6-for-10) to help lead the Golden Eagles to a 3-0 series sweep over Marshall this past weekend. He had three doubles, one home run and seven RBI in the series, while also drawing three walks and scoring three runs. In Friday night's opener, Ewing had a sacrifice fly and a three-run homer to account for four RBI. He finished with a .643 on-base percentage and collected 12 bases for a 1.200 slugging percentage for the week.

Texas drops series vs. Missouri!!

Texas is going to win the Big 12 championship.

That's what Longhorns coach Augie Garrido said after his team blew its first opportunity to do just that.

"We're going to do it. We're the best team," Garrido said.

They probably will win a conference championship, and they might be the best team in the conference.

But they weren't this weekend.

That title went to Missouri, who completed a series win against Texas on Sunday as Dripping Springs' product Trevor Coleman hit two home runs to help the Tigers claim a 5-4 victory in the rubber match at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.

The Longhorns (38-14, 18-6), who have three games remaining against Texas A&M, need any combination of three Texas victories and three losses by Missouri, which has six conference games remaining, to claim the Big 12 for the second consecutive year.

They could have completed both those tasks with a win Sunday.

It didn't happen.

The Longhorns, who were playing without left fielder Jordan Danks — shoulder — and right fielder Kyle Russell, who injured his wrist in the fifth inning diving for a ball, couldn't contain Coleman, a freshman.

After Texas took a 2-0 lead in the first inning, the Missouri catcher hit a solo home run in the second inning off starter Austin Wood.

With the game tied at 2-2 in the sixth, Coleman, who had three home runs in the series, hit a two-run blast off Texas reliever Joseph Krebs, putting the Tigers (33-13, 14-7) up for good.

"It feels great to come here, where I've watched a few games, and play like this," said Coleman, who talked with Texas a few times about playing in Austin but never got a scholarship offer. "Any time you come into this atmosphere and play like this and win the series, it's big."

The Tigers got both victories off poor bullpen performances by Krebs, who gave up three runs — two earned — in one-third of an inning Sunday.

"I just didn't have it," said Krebs, whose been one of Texas' most reliable pitchers this season. "I was getting too many balls up in the zone and they took advantage.

The Horns tried to fight back.

They scored a run in the seventh on Preston Clark's home run, and brought the game within one in the eighth when Travis Tucker scored on Chance Wheeless' sacrifice fly.

But they couldn't pull it off in the ninth as the game ended when Kyle Lusson flied out, leaving runners on first and second.

The Horns, who fell to 0-9 in games they've trailed after seven innings, stranded 14 runners Sunday.

And Texas always seems to strand the tieing run late in the game.

"That's just the way it's gone,"Peoples said. "We seem to put pressure on the other team but fall one hit short. It's a gross feeling. I hope that everybody realizes how much this hurts."

Garrido gave the Tigers credit.

"They got more confidence, more competitive and more mentally tough as the game went on," Garrido said. "They didn't win because we rolled over. We had our opportunities, and we kept fighting. They won because they played good baseball."

Texas will have time to regroup from its first series loss since losing two of three at Long Beach State in February. They're off this weekend before taking on the Aggies beginning May 18 in College Station.

"There are a lot of positives we can take from this," Clark said. "We just have to realize that we need to regroup and come out and give 110 percent next game."

Texas should be back to full strength when they invade Texas A&M.

"Both Danks and Russell should be back by then," Garrido said. "Neither has serious injuries. This was the best time for them to get injured because we have time for them to heal."

Texas.Scout.Com

Texas Recap

MU Recap

ACC Recap for May 6th

Florida State 3 Maryland 2

Brett Cecil made his first start of the year for the Terrapins as he went 7.1 innings while also striking out six Seminoles but that was not enough as the Seminoles picked up a tough 3-2 victory. Danny Rosen started for the Noles and gave them 7.1 innings limiting the Terps to four hits and two runs to pick up his first win of the season as a starter. The Noles offense was led by Mark Hallberg who went 2-3 with the only RBI for the Seminoles. Dan Benick hit a two run single in the eighth inning to set up the final scoreline of 3-2. FSU will be back in action on Friday when they host Clemson while Maryland will host West Virginia on Tuesday before taking time off for finals.

FSU Recap
Maryland Recap

Game 1: BC 8 Clemson 6

The Boston College Eagles scored three runs in the top of the ninth to take an 8-6 lead and hold on in the bottom of the ninth to pick up a key ACC victory in the race for the final spot in the ACC Tournament. BC was led by Jared McGuire and Eric Campbell who each led the team with three hits in the first game of the doubleheader. Senior relief pitcher Ted Ratliff got the win by working the final 1.2 innings while allowing two runs on three hits. His record goes to 6-2. Alan Farina blew the save opportunity and picked up the loss to drop his record to 3-2. Taylor Harbin led the Tigers with two homers in the game.

BC Recap
Clemson Recap

Game 2: Clemson 7 BC 6

Marquez Smith hit a two run homer in the third inning and a grand slam in the bottom of the seventh to give the Tigers a 7-6 lead which Tiger reliever Matt Vaughn was able to hold onto to give the Tigers a great come from behind victory over the Eagles. Vaughn picks up the win to up his record to 4-0 while Terry Doyle pitched the entire game for the Eagles but gave up all seven runs to drop his record to 3-4 on the season. Jared McGuire continued his recent hot streak with three hits, two RBI, and two runs scored in the losing effort. BC will be off all week for exams and will host UMES Saturday and Sunday for a three game set while Clemson will head to Greenville SC to face Wofford on Tuesday.

BC Recap
Clemson Recap

Georgia Tech 12 South Florida 2

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets picked up a 12-2 victory over the South Florida Bulls in Tampa on Sunday. The Jackets exploded for 12 runs over the final two innings to give the Bulls their second straight loss to Georgia Tech in as many days. The GT offense was led by Luke Murton who went 3-5 with four RBI in the win. GT reliever Jared Hyatt picked up the win by pitching 1.2 scoreless innings to put his record at 8-0. South Florida starter Shawn Sanford got the loss to put his record at 1-4. GT and South Florida will finish their series on Monday at noon.

GT Recap
South Florida Recap

Miami 13 Wright State 5

Eric Erickson pitched five strong innings while only allowing three hits and one unearned run to put his record at 7-3 and give the Hurricanes a 13-5 sweep over the Wright State Raiders. Mark Sobolewski and Yonder Alonso each picked up three RBI to lead the Canes offense. Wright State starter Kyle Kearcher gave up eight runs in 3.0 innings to drop his record to 7-4. Wright State was led on offense by Dan Biedenharm who got two hits. The Canes will be back in action next weekend when they travel to Wake Forest while Wright State will face Bowling green on Tuesday.

Miami Recap
Wright State Recap

The CBB checks out UMass-Richmond

The College Baseball Blog made the trek out to Amherst to check out the Richmond Spiders and UMass Minutemen in Atlantic 10 action. Richmond jumped all over Minuteman starter Tim Comisky for three runs in the first two innings but Comisky used an appeal play on a sacrifice fly to pick up the third out in the second inning in which Richmond head coach Ron Atkins was ejected for arguing with home plate umpire Steve Drescher. Richmond tacked on a run in the sixth inning on a Alex Wotring solo homer and two runs in the seventh to get a 6-0 lead. UMass bats finally came to life in the bottom of seventh when the Minutemen put together four hits and took advantage of an error to scratch across four runs. The Spiders brought in closer Brian Alas who shut the door in his 2.1 innings to pick up the victory.

Richmond Recap
UMass Recap
Daily Collegian Recap from Eli Rosenswaike

Longhorns beat Missouri, move closer to Big 12 title!

They talk about picking each other up like it's a job.

So late Friday night after the emotional fireworks following a 7-6 loss to Missouri, Texas pitcher Adrian Alaniz sent Preston Clark a text message.

"Keep your head up. I'm going to need you," Alaniz's text said.

Clark, the Longhorns catcher, was upset because his error in the 11th inning allowed the winning run to score. Saturday was different.

Clark had three hits and scored two runs, and Alaniz continued his dominant pitching as the Longhorns beat Missouri 5-1 in front of 4,971 fans at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.

If the Longhorns beat the Tigers today, Texas will claim its second consecutive Big 12 regular-season title. If Missouri wins, the Longhorns will need any future combination of two victories or Missouri losses to clinch the title.

"This feels so much better," Clark said. "My teammates put last night's loss as a team loss, but I thought it was my fault."

There was no finger pointing after the Horns evened up the series. Alaniz (12-2) threw 8 1/3 innings, allowing just three hits and a run on 118 pitches.

Alaniz worked inside and battled as he has all season.

That's the approach Texas pitching coach Skip Johnson preaches.

"Adrian's performance was really big today, because he allowed us to save the bullpen after we used them Friday," Johnson said.

Alaniz received the offensive support he needed in the fourth inning, when Bradley Suttle singled, Clark doubled and, two batters later, Chais Fuller knocked in both of them with a two-out single.

Fuller, who was 3 for 4, knocked in Clark again in the sixth inning, when Texas scored three more runs to take a 5-0 lead. The final runs came when Kyle Russell knocked a two-run single between first and second base with two outs.

"The difference in the game was that we had two chances with two outs and we couldn't come through. They had two chances with two outs and they came through," Jamieson said.

Russell thought it was more than that.

"This win really showed something about our team after last night," he said. "We all went home and went to bed early and came back here ready to fight for a victory. And that's exactly what we did."

For Texas, the only negative from Saturday's game was an injury to outfielder Jordan Danks, who bruised his shoulder when he ran into the wall making a critical catch in the fifth inning. The Tigers had the bases loaded with two outs when Danks made the play .

"It's not separated, it's just bruised," Texas coach Augie Garrido said. "How long he's out will depend on how much it swells up."

Texas Recap

Missouri Recap

Texas.Scout.Com

ACC Recap for May 5th

Florida State 20 Maryland 5

The FSU offense continued their recent hot hitting on Saturday by pounding out 26 hits and putting 20 runs on the board to crush the Maryland Terrapins 20-5. Florida State shortstop Mark Hallberg went 5-7 with four runs scored and two RBI in the win. Michael Hyde gave the Seminoles 5.2 innings while giving up five runs (3 earned) to up his record to 9-2. Ryan Moorer started for the Terps but the Noles got to him early for eight runs in 2.2 innings of work. Moorer's record drops to 3-5. The teams will finish the series at 1:00 pm.

FSU Recap
Maryland Recap

Clemson 4 Boston College 3

The Boston College Eagles and Clemson Tigers got together at Doug Kingsmore Stadium for a key ACC series in terms of seeding for the NCAA and ACC Tourneys. Andy D'Alessio broke a tie at three with a solo homer to lead off the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Tigers a 4-3 lead which ended up being the final score. Daniel Moskos started for the Tigers and gave up three runs in 7.1 innings in the longest outing for a Clemson starter this season. He picks up a no decision as Stephen Clyne gets the win by working the final 1.2 innings without allowing a run to get his record to 5-1. Kevin Boggan started for the Eagles and gave up four runs on ten hits but got the complete game as his record drops to 4-5. The teams will play a doubleheader on Sunday starting at 2 pm.

Clemson Recap
BC Recap

NC State 7 Campbell 3

The NC State Wolfpack finished off a two game sweep over the Campbell Camels on Saturday by a 7-3 scoreline. Marcus Jones continued his strong hitting since getting into the lineup by going 4-4 with 2 RBI and six pitchers combined on a three hitter. NC State pitcher Nate Kearns got the victory to put his record at 3-2 while Quinn LeSage gets the loss to go to 1-8. NC State returns to action on Wednesday at UNC-Wilmington.

NC State Recap
Campbell Recap

Georgia Tech 11 South Florida 3

The Yellow Jackets headed down to Tampa to take on the South Florida Bulls in a rare non-conference road series for the Yellow Jackets. The Jackets came out after a week off for final exams and jumped on USF starter Danny Otero (transfer from Duke) for six runs in five innings. Otero record drops to 7-6 while David Duncan picked up the win by going six innings while giving up three runs (two earned) to put his record at 6-2. Matt Wieters who is likely a first round pick this upcoming draft hit a homer and drove in five runs in the victory. The teams will be back in action on Sunday at noon.

GT Recap
USF Recap

Miami 11 Wright State 2

The Miami Hurricanes clinched an out of conference series victory by knocking off visiting Wright State 11-2 on Saturday. Yonder Alonso led the Hurricanes with four hits and six RBI while Enrique Garcia struck out seven batters in seven innings to up his record to 5-3 while Wright State starter Garret Holleran got the loss to put his record at 3-5. The teams finish their series at noon on Sunday.

Miami Recap
Wright State Recap

The CBB heads to Ivy League Championship

The College Baseball Blog headed down to Providence to check out the Ivy League Championship between the Pennsylvania and Brown.

In Game 1, The story of the game was the starting pitching. Penn freshman ace Todd Roth pitched a complete game by letting up an unearned run in the eighth inning but Brown starter Jeff Dietz was better by pitching a complete game shutout while only giving up three Quaker hits to give the Bears the 1-0 victory. Dietz also drove in the winning run in the bottom of the eighth by hitting a sacrifice fly to second baseman Steve Gable in foul territory but Gable made a poor throw to the plate allowing Steve Daniels to score the winning run. This was the CBB first time seeing each team and came away impressed by freshman Todd Roth who has a plus curveball but an average fastball. Dietz kept the Quaker hitters on the defensive by throwing a solid slider that was getting the outside corner from home plate umpire Joe Cacciatore. Penn coach John Cole also got into a heated argument around the sixth inning with second base umpire Nick Zebilli over an issue that was not obvious to the fans or myself.

In Game 2, The Brown Bears jumped all over Penn starter Jim Birmingham for five runs in the first inning including a grand slam from Robert Papenhause. He would finish the day with three hits and six RBI. The second inning did not get better for Birmingham as the Brown Bears picked up another four runs on a Devin Thomas grand slam. Thomas finished the day with four hits in seven at-bats and seven RBI. The Bears would cruise to the 20-6 victory to win the Ivy League Championship for the first time in the school's history. Brown is now scheduled to have a few weeks off until they head to the NCAA Tourney.

Brown Recap
Penn Recap

Longhorns fall inches short of victory against Missouri!

Clay Van Hook didn't have a chance.

The ball was there, Missouri catcher Trevor Coleman was in front of the plate and so Van Hook was tagged out inches from scoring the tying run for Texas in the 11th inning on Friday night.

Coleman's tag ended a thrilling 7-6 matchup between the Big 12's top two teams in front of 4,851 fans at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.

The play began with Van Hook on first, and Jordan Danks hitting a line drive to right field.

Van Hook took off on contact, and Tigers right fielder Ryan Lollis dived for the ball, which bounced out of his glove and rolled away.

Lollis reached the ball as Van Hook was rounding third.

"I didn't think he would go home, that's why I wasn't running to the ball that fast," Lollis said. "But I looked up and he was going, so luckily I threw a good ball to the plate."

The victory brought Missouri, which scored the winning run on an unusual error by Longhorns catcher Preston Clark, closer to Texas in the conference race. The Longhorns (37-13, 17-5 Big 12) need two victories against the Tigers (32-12, 13-6) to clinch the league's regular-season title. Texas will get another chance to get one at 2 p.m. today.

So should Texas third-base coach Tommy Harmon have sent Van Hook?

"I don't know," Garrido said. "That's something you're going to have to ask somebody else."

Harmon probably would do it again.

"I took a chance, and it was the wrong move," Harmon said. "There were two outs, and I didn't want to leave the tying run at third base."

Texas left the winning run on third base in the bottom of the ninth after Clark hit a two-run, two-out single between first and second base to tie the game at 6.

But it was Clark who believed he cost the Longhorns the game in the 11th.

With Missouri's Kurt Calvert on third and two outs, Clark had just caught a strike from pitcher Randy Boone. He tossed the ball back to Boone, as he had thousands of times before.

This one sailed over Boone's head, landing just past the pitcher's mound.

Texas second baseman Travis Tucker picked up the ball and fired it home, but Calvert slid in safely before Clark could get the tag down.

The tough loss overshadowed two more home runs from Kyle Russell, who leads NCAA Division I players with 26.

Russell almost had the game-winner in the 10th, ending the inning by hitting a ball to the warning track in right field.

Chance Wheeless also hit a ball to the warning track in left center to lead off the 11.

TexasRecap

Texas.scout.com

Missouri Recap

Ivy League Championship Series Preview

The Penn Quakers will head to Providence RI to take on the Brown University Bears in the Ivy League Championship series (Best of three). The winner of the series will punch the first ticket to the NCAA Tournament.

The Quakers won the Gehrig Division title last weekend after Princeton lost their final game of the year against Cornell in extra innings. Penn is led by second year head coach John Cole. He led the Quakers to a second place finish in 2006 in the Gehrig Division and won the Division title in only his second season. He had a ton of success at the Division 3 level at Rowan College where he compiled a 229-73 record. Cole has been receiving outstanding pitching from freshman pitcher Todd Roth who enters the weekend with a outstanding 6-1 record and an ERA of 2.25. He has thrown six consecutive complete game compiling a 1.50 ERA and 32 strikeouts while only walking six batters. Roth picked up a 5-3 victory over Brown on April 9th. He is expected to start Game 1 for the Quakers on Saturday. In Game 2, Penn is expected to send another freshman to the hill in Jim Birmingham who has a 4-1 record and a 3.30 ERA. The top hitter for the Quakers is Kyle Armeny who leads the team with a .326 average and eight homers.

The Brown Bears will be taking part in their first Ivy League playoff series in the 15 years of the playoff format. The Bears are led by Jeff Dietz who is tied in wins at 6 with Todd Roth of Penn. Dietz has had some outstanding performances throughout the season on the mound with a 6-3 overall record and an ERA of 3.57. He is expected to start Game 1 against Roth in a battle of aces. Dietz is also a solid hitter for the Bears as he plays first base when he is not pitching and has a .352 average with seven homers and 48 RBI in 39 games. Devin Thomas who is the starting catch for Brown has a very strong average of .372 and has hit 14 homers on the season.

The College Baseball Blog will be making the road trip down to Providence to check out the first two games of the series on Saturday and will provide a full report on Saturday evening.

Brown Game Notes
Penn Game Notes
John Cole Preseason interview with CBB
Baseball America Preview of series

UMass takes Game 1

The UMass Minutemen took Game 1 of their series with Richmond 5-4 on Friday afternoon in Amherst MA. Travis Munsey drove in Bill Rankin from second base in the bottom of the tenth to pick up a key Atlantic 10 victory. The Spiders and the Minutemen will continue the series at Noon on Saturday. The College Baseball Blog will be heading out to Amherst on Sunday for the series finale.

UMass Recap
Richmond Recap

ACC Recap for May 4th

Florida State 9 Maryland 3

The Florida State Seminoles picked up another ACC victory on Friday evening behind Bryan Henry who picked up his 12th win of the season without a loss by going six innings while giving up three runs on five hits. The Seminole offense was led by Mark Gildea who went 3-5 with a solo home run. Travis Anderson also had a big night by picking up four RBI on two hits. Casey Baron got the loss for the Terps by giving up eleven hits and seven runs in 5.1 innings. Dan Melvin picked up two hits and three RBI in the losing effort. FSU and Maryland will play Game 2 at 1:00 pm.

FSU Recap
Tallahassee Democrat Recap
Maryland Recap

NC State 12 Campbell 4

The NC State Wolfpack continued their strong hitting by pounding out 16 hits and cruising to a 12-4 victory over Campbell. The Wolfpack offense was led by Ryan Pond who went 3-4 with an RBI and three runs scored. Mike Roskopf went 3-5 with a homer, three RBI, and two runs scored. NC State starter Sam Brown got his first career win by going five innings while giving up two runs (only one earned) on three hits. Campbell starter Justin Lilly continued his season long struggle by picking up the loss to drop his record to 0-6. Lilly only lasted three innings while giving up eleven hits and eight runs (seven earned). The teams finish their brief two game series on Saturday at 2:00 pm.

NC State Recap
Campbell Recap

Miami 3 Wright State 2

The Miami Hurricanes got a strong start from Scott Maine who gave up one run through eight strong innings while giving up the homer to first batter of the game for Wright State in Ross Oeder. Miami was led on offense by Jemile Weeks who hit a three run homer in the sixth inning which accounted for all the runs the Canes would need in the victory. The teams will be back in action on Saturday at 7 pm.

Miami Recap
Wright State Recap

Twins back together at Southern Miss

HATTIESBURG — It's not like Michael and James Ewing never had spent any time away from one another.

After all, James beat his brother into the world by five minutes.

But in the fall of 2006, James headed north from their home in Beaumont, Texas, to Arkansas, while Michael traveled east to Mississippi.

But after being separated by nearly 575 miles for the better part of a year, the brothers were reunited on the Southern Miss baseball diamond this fall, when James left the University of Arkansas to join his twin as a Golden Eagle.

Read entire story here.

Out of Conference ACC Preview for May 4th-May 6th

Campbell at NC State

The NC State Wolfpack welcome the struggling Campbell Camels to Raleigh for a weekend series. NC State enters with a 29-16 record overall while Campbell has been struggling throughout the season with a 10-35 record.

Probable Pitching Matchups

Friday: Sam Brown (0-0, 5.29 ERA) vs Blake Herring (3-7, 6.11 ERA)
Saturday: Nate Karns (2-2, 2.86 ERA) vs Quinn LeSage (1-7, 5.78 ERA)

NC State Game Notes

Wright State at Miami

The Miami Hurricanes also go out of conference this weekend when they welcome Wright State to Coral Gables. Miami enters with a 27-19 record while Wright State is 27-15.

Probable Pitching Matchups

Friday: Scott Maine (3-5, 3.44 ERA) vs TBA
Saturday: Enrique Garcia (4-3, 3.34 ERA) vs TBA
Sunday: Eric Erickson (6-3, 2.21 ERA) vs TBA

Miami Game Notes

Georgia Tech at USF

Georgia Tech enters the Saturday-Monday series with USF with a 27-17 record while USF has a 28-18 record.

Probable Pitching Matchups

Saturday: Danny Otero (7-5, 2.91 ERA) vs David Duncan (5-2, 2.76 ERA)
Sunday: TBA vs Eddie Burns (3-2, 3.46 ERA)
Monday: TBA vs Ryan Turner (4-3, 3.92 ERA)

GT Game Notes
USF Game Notes

ACC Weekend Preview for May 4th-May 6th

Florida State at Maryland

The Florida State Seminoles head to College Park this weekend to take on the Terrapins in a battle between the first place and last place in the ACC Atlantic Division. FSU heads to UMD with an all-time record of 48-3 and 20-1 in College Park. Maryland picked up their only victory in College Park on May 2, 1993. FSU last loss to Maryland was on March 26th 1998. Florida State enters with a 39-7 overall record and 17-4 in the ACC. Florida State has been led by number 1 pitcher Bryan Henry who has a perfect 11-0 record and a solid ERA of 2.45. Michael Hyde has been holding down the number 2 starter role with an 8-2 record and a 2.79 ERA. Hyde picked up a loss earlier this season against Duke ace Tony Bajoczky. The Seminoles have made a change in their rotation with Danny Rosen taking over the Sunday starter role with a 1-1 record and a marginal ERA of 3.77. Rosen started his first game for the Seminoles last weekend against the Miami Hurricanes and gave up four runs (three earned) on four hits. Maryland enters with a 25-24 overall record but are struggling in the ACC at 7-17 and are virtually out of the ACC Tournament hunt. Brett Cecil is the team's best pitcher with a 5-4 record and eight saves. His ERA is 3.12 but should be lower since he had some rough outings at the beginning of the season. The CBB predicts FSU to sweep the Terps.

Probable Pitching Matchups

Friday: Bryan Henry (11-0, 2.45 ERA) vs. Casey Baron (4-3, 3.56 ERA)
Saturday: Michael Hyde (8-2, 2.79 ERA) vs Ryan Moorer (3-4, 4.45 ERA)
Sunday: Danny Rosen (1-1 3.77 ERA) vs TBA

FSU Recap
Maryland Recap

Boston College at Clemson

The Boston College Eagles head down to Clemson for the first time as an ACC opponent. Boston College has been on a recent hot streak winning eight of their last ten games. BC enters in a tie for the eighth spot in the ACC with Wake Forest with identical conference records of 11-13. BC's overall record is 20-23-1 after picking up two non-conference wins over Quinnipiac and Dartmouth. Boston College has been getting solid pitching from both Kevin Boggan (4-4, 4.01 ERA) and Terry Doyle (3-3, 4.83 ERA) the last few weeks. The other starting spot has been going to Nate Jeanes (1-4, 5.09 ERA) who has been up and down throughout the season. Johnny Ayers has been the Eagles top hitter and returned to the lineup last weekend series with Virginia Tech. He leads the team with a .380 BA. Clemson enters as the 14th ranked team in the country and have an overall record of 29-15 and 13-8 record. Doug Hogan picked up player of the week from the ACC this week after batting .500 in four games. All-American closer candidate Daniel Moskos has made the move to the starting rotation and enters with a 3-3 record and a 1.94 ERA in four starts and 21 appearances. Brad Chalk is the leading hitter for the Tigers with a .407 batting average but is nursing an injury so is questionable for the weekend series. The CBB predicts that Clemson takes two out of three from the Eagles.

Probable Pitching Matchups

Saturday: Kevin Boggan (4-4, 4.01 ERA) vs Daniel Moskos (3-3, 1.94 ERA)
Sunday Game 1: Terry Doyle (3-3, 4.83 ERA) vs David Kopp (5-2, 3.16 ERA)
Sunday Game 2: Nate Jeanes (1-4, 5.09 ERA) vs Ryan Hinson (4-2, 2.05 ERA)

Clemson Game Notes

I will be posting an Out of Conference preview for the other teams that are in action outside of the ACC.

ACC Recap for May 2nd

Boston College 12 Dartmouth 6

Boston College continued their recent winning ways with a 12-6 victory over regional rival Dartmouth. BC was led by Ryan Hutchinson and Eric Campbell who each went 3-5. Kurt Hayer picked up his first career victory by pitching the first 2.2 innings while giving up five runs. Dartmouth starter Chase Carpenter picked up the loss by giving up seven runs in 1.1 innings of work.

BC Recap
Dartmouth Recap
Maryland 7 UMES 2

Brett Jones pitched two perfect innings in relief to pick up a 7-2 victory over local rival UMES. Maryland was led on offense by Dan Melvin and Joe Palumbo who each went 2-4 at the plate. Maryland Eastern Shore starter Tyler Winch got the loss by going seven innings while giving up four runs.

Maryland Recap
UMES Recap

Wake Forest 6 UNC-Greensboro 5

Wake Forest held off a late comeback attempt by UNC-Greensboro to pick up a 6-5 victory. Brett Linenkohl led off the game with a homer and finished the game 2-5 with an RBI and two runs scored. Wake Forest starter Kirby Wedekind picked up the win by working four innings while only giving up a run. Josh Ellis got his seventh save by pitching a perfect bottom of the ninth. Alex Shelton got the loss for UNC-Greensboro by giving up two runs in two innings.

Wake Forest Recap
UNC-Greensboro Recap

Conference USA recap for May 1

New Orleans 7, Tulane 4
UNO scored six runs in the first two innings to carry the Privateers to a 7-4 victory over Tulane on Tuesday night at Zephyr Field in the WOW Caf'é and Wingery Cup Series.

The Privateers, who won the series 2-1, scored four runs in the second inning when they chased Green Wave starter Matt Goebel. UNO was then silenced by Tulane's Aaron Loup for four innings, but pushed its lead to 7-4 with two doubles in the seventh.

The series victory by UNO (29-16) is its first over Tulane (29-18) since 2004 and only its second since 1997. The Green Wave return to action on Friday, May 4, when they open a three-game series against Conference USA foe UAB at noon at Zephyr Field. The Privateers will kick off a Sun Belt Conference series against Western Kentucky beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Friday at Maestri Field.

Times-Picayune game story
UNO recap
Tulane recap

Houston 5, McNeese State 4
LAKE CHARLES, La. - Dustin Kingsbury's two-run double in the top of the ninth inning broke a tie and helped lift the University of Houston baseball team to a 5-4 win over McNeese State on Tuesday at Cowboy Diamond.

Bryan Tully and Jimmy Cesario drew back-to-back, one-out walks to start the Cougar rally in the top of the ninth inning. Following a MSU pitching change, Kingsbury smashed a 1-0 offering from reliever Chris Denton to the wall in right center to plate both runners.

The Cougars needed both runs as McNeese State rallied in the final frame, pulling to within a run on Thomas Zabasky's RBI-single to right field.

With the loss, the Cougars improved to 25-19 overall, while McNeese State fell to 16-28. The Cougars also swept the regular-season series against the Cowboys after taking a 12-4 win on Feb. 20 at Cougar Field.

The Cougars return to Cougar Field this weekend to play host to Conference USA rival East Carolina in a three-game series. In addition, Friday's game will be televised live on CSTV with Carter Blackburn calling the play-by-play action and Buck Martinez providing color analysis. McNeese will return to action on Friday when it begins a three game home Southland Conference series with Central Arkansas.

Houston recap
McNeese State recap

NCBWA Players of the Week

DALLAS - The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) released the Pro-Line Athletic National Player of the Week awards for the period ending April 29, today. UCF senior third baseman Matt Horwath was named National Hitter of the Week, while Tennessee sophomore lefthander James Adkins was named National Pitcher of the Week. The NCBWA Board reviews candidates from each Division I conferences each week and names winners each Tuesday throughout the season.

Horwath, the Knights leadoff hitter, had one of the best offensive weeks in UCF history.  In four games, he went 11-for-16 for a .688 average, scored eight runs, drove in three, stole a base and had four doubles, a home run and his first two triples of his career.  The senior scored twice and had at least two hits in all four games to help the Knights go 4-0 on the week, including a three-game sweep of Tulane, its first-ever sweep of a C-USA series.  In Friday night's series opener against Tulane he hit for UCF's first-ever cycle.  Horwath was hit by a pitch in the first, singled in the third, tripled in the fourth and homered to lead-off the seventh.  He came to the plate with the score tied at 6-6 in the eighth and delivered with a RBI double to complete the cycle and also give UCF a 7-6 win.

Adkins broke the Tennessee school record for strikeouts during a complete-game win at LSU last Friday in which he allowed just three hits and struck out 14 batters.  The preseason All-America selection got Jason Lewis to strikeout looking in the bottom of the sixth inning to break former big-leaguer and Vol great R.A. Dickey's school record of 345 strikeouts from 1994-96.  Adkins now boasts 350 Ks for his career and has 103 on the season.  A junior from Mt. Juliet, Tenn., Adkins needed just three pitches for six of his 14 Ks Friday. He allowed only one run while notching his sixth career complete game and his second of 2007.

With this week's honor, Adkins automatically are named to the watch list for Roger Clemens Award, given to the national collegiate pitcher of the year, sponsored by the Greater Houston Baseball Organization.

Fort Worth-based Pro-Line Athletic supplies the official cap to more than 100 Division I college teams and official uniforms and team wear to six Division 1 college teams. This is the third season Pro-Line has sponsored the NCBWA's Players of the Week. The sponsorship provides for plaques to be awarded to each of the weekly winners and other promotional consideration. For more information about Pro-Line, visit their Website at: www.prolineathletic.com .

ACC Recap for May 1st

Virginia 5 VCU 4

The Virginia Cavaliers picked up a 5-4 walkoff victory over Virginia Commonwealth on Tuesday night. Tyler Cannon hit a two out single to drive in Tim Henry with the winning run. Sean Doolittle led the Cavs by going 3-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. Andrew Carraway picked up the victory in relief by pitching 1.1 scoreless innings to up his record to 5-0 while Rams reliever Mick Mattaliano pitched 3.1 innings while giving up only the losing run in the ninth to even his record at 2-2.

Virginia Recap
VCU Recap

Virginia Tech 12 Liberty 9

The Virginia Tech Hokies got ten hits and Liberty committed seven errors as the Hokies easy got by the Flames of Liberty in Blacksburg on Tuesday. Bryan Thomas went 3-5 with 2 RBI to lead the Hokie offense. Rhett Ballard got the victory in relief for the Hokies by giving them six strong innings while limiting the Flames to three runs. His record is now 6-2. Liberty reliever Ryan Page picked up the loss as he gave up two unearned runs in his two innings of work to drop his record down to 2-3.

VT Recap
Liberty Recap

Boston College 13 Quinnipiac 2

Boston College continued their hot hitting as they knocked around the Bobcats pitching for 18 hits and 13 runs. Johnny Ayers led the Eagles attack by going 4-4 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored. Ted Ratliff pitched eight strong innings while giving up no runs on four hits and striking out ten batters as his record heads to 5-2. Ryan Walfield picked up the loss by giving up seven runs in 3.2 innings of work to put his record at 1-1.

BC Recap
Quinnipiac Recap

Maryland 1 Towson 0

Four Maryland pitchers combined on a four hit shutout over Towson which broke a Terps losing streak of six games. Brad Taylor pitched 3.2 innings in relief to pick up the victory to up his record to 1-0 while Brett Cecil got his eighth save of the season. Nate Curd pitched four innings in relief for the Tigers but picked up the loss to drop his record to 1-4.

Maryland Recap
Towson Recap
Diamondback Online Recap

Apr. 30 NCBWA Division I poll

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Apr. 30, 2007

NCBWA Apr. 30 Division I Poll

DALLAS - The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association continues its
tradition of NCAA Division I polls for the 10th year with its 2007 weekly
surveys. Weekly polls will be circulated from Feb. 12-June 26 following the
NCAA World Series in Omaha, Neb.

The poll voters come from 32 college baseball writers and related media persons
from throughout the nation. This week's poll has representation by 13 different
conferences (season-high number for the fourth time this season) among the 293
baseball-playing schools in the '07 NCAA Division I ranks, and 17 circuits have
had teams in the polls in '07. For more information or to join the NCBWA, please
go to www.ncbwa.com.

Rank-School-Conference-Overall Record-Previous Rank
1 Vanderbilt Southeastern 39-8 1
2 Florida State Atlantic Coast 39-7 2
3 Rice Conference USA 37-11 3
4 Texas Big 12 37-12 5
5 North Carolina ACC 37-10 6
6 Virginia ACC 37-10 7
7 Arkansas SEC 35-12 8
8 South Carolina SEC 33-13 4
9 Oregon State Pacific-10 34-9 9
10 Arizona State Pac-10 34-12 10
11 Texas A&M Big 12 35-11 16
12 Wichita State Missouri Valley 36-12 11
13 Mississippi SEC 30-16 18
14 Clemson ACC 29-15 17
15 Arizona Pac-10 32-11 13
16 San Diego West Coast 34-14 21
17 Oklahoma State Big 12 31-13 12
18 Cal State Fullerton Big West 27-15 14
19 Coastal Carolina Big South 36-9 20
20 Mississippi State SEC 28-12 19
21 Pepperdine West Coast 30-15 15
22 UC Irvine Big West 31-12-1 23
23 Long Beach State Big West 27-14 28
24 College of Charleston Southern 34-10 t-25
25 Charlotte Atlantic 10 34-9 22
26 Michigan Big Ten 30-8 29
27 NC State ACC 29-16 24
28 Missouri Big 12 31-12 NR
29 TCU Mountain West 34-10 NR
30 Minnesota Big Ten 30-8 NR

Others receiving votes (listed alphabetically): Alabama (25-20), Creighton
(30-11), East Carolina (29-15), Kentucky (30-13-1), Lafayette (28-14),
Louisiana-Lafayette (32-13), Miami (Fla.) (27-19), Oklahoma (28-17), St. John's
(29-12), Stetson (32-12), UC Riverside (27-16), UCLA (24-18).

Dropped Out: East Carolina (t-25), Oklahoma (27), Stetson (30).

By conference: Atlantic Coast 5, Southeastern 5, Big 12 4, Big West 3,
Pacific-10 3, Big Ten 2, West Coast 2, Atlantic 10 1, Big South 1, Conference
USA 1, Missouri Valley 1, Mountain West 1, Southern 1.
-www.NCBWA.com-

Jacob Thompson and Doug Hogan garner honors

Jacob Thompson of Virginia and Doug Hogan were each honored by the ACC as Conference Pitcher and Player of the Week for the week ending on April 29th. Jacob Thompson pitched a complete game shutout while allowing four hits to lead the Cavaliers to a 14-0 victory. Thompson did not allow a runner past first base and has not allowed an earned run in his last 27.2 innings. Doug Hogan had a solid week for the Clemson Tigers as he hit .500 (9 for 18) with three homers last week. His Tigers went 3-2 for the week.

ACC Release
Clemson Release
UVA Release

Conference USA baseball notebook

Although Rice has a solid hold on first place, the remainder of the Conference USA race has become quite wild the past couple of weeks. UCF is coming off its first-ever sweep in C-USA, Marshall has won back-to-back league series and Houston and Memphis are just a game apart for second place. There are only six games separating second place from ninth as the league gets ready for its final three conference weekends before the C-USA Tournament in Greenville, N.C., May 23-27.

To read entire notebook, click here.

Austin Wood named Big 12 Pitcher of the Week!

PITCHER OF THE WEEK

Austin Wood, Texas, LHP, So., Kingwood, Texas, Kingwood
Wood went 2-0 on the week with a 0.75 ERA in two starts. He held Oklahoma State's offense scoreless for six innings, scattered three hits with two walks while striking out three as Texas earned the first-ever three-game sweep of OSU at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium. The Cowboys came into the three-game series with the conference's highest batting average and most runs scored. Wood's pitching contributed to handing the Cowboys thier its first shutout at Reynolds Stadium in nine years. In Texas' game on Tuesday, Wood held UT-Pan American to one run on four hits while striking out five over six innings.

Big 12 Release

Texassports.com

Texas in firm control of Big 12.

This wasn't supposed to happen. No matter how things went at Oklahoma State, Texas wasn't going to come away with a sweep.

After all, the Cowboys never had lost more than two consecutive games at Reynolds Stadium since it opened in 1981. They'd destroyed opponents, winning 693 of 831 home games.

Teams didn't come to Oklahoma State and dominate.

But Texas did.

The fifth-ranked Longhorns took full control of the Big 12 Conference by finishing off a three-game sweep of the No. 13 Cowboys on Sunday, with a convincing 7-0 victory in front of 2,200 fans at Reynolds Stadium.

"That means a lot," Texas' Kyle Russell said. "That means we can be a very tough team against a good opponent in a tough environment. And this was a tough place to play."

But not much of the expected happened this weekend.

Instead of a slugfest between the top two offenses in the best hitter's park in the conference, the teams combined to score just 21 runs.

Instead of the home run hitters adding to their large totals, it was the little guys coming through. Sunday was the perfect example.

Texas' Joseph Krebs was expected to start, but after he pitched in relief on Friday and Saturday, the Horns (37-12,17-4) started Austin Wood. Six shutout innings later, Wood (who picked up his sixth victory) gave way to Krebs and Randy Boone, who did the same thing they did in Games 1 and 2: shut the Cowboys (31-13, 10-8) down.

"Aside from scoring runs, our bullpen was the most important aspect of this series," Texas coach Augie Garrido said.

The bullpen threw 9 2/3 scoreless innings in the sweep. "They're dealing with the process," Texas pitching coach Skip Johnson said. "They're staying within themselves and really keeping focused on going pitch by pitch."

And Wood, who gave up just three hits and two walks, showed the Horns could count on him against a top-notch opponent.

"If we can start Wood whenever we need him and keep Krebs and Boone in the bullpen, now we've got a Division I pitching staff," Garrido said. "We are a much better team with Wood as a consistent starter."

The Cowboys were shut out for the first time at Reynolds Stadium since March 13, 1998, when Texas A&M did it in an 8-0 win.

As for the UT offense, the Horns won the series without their top four hitters taking control. Kyle Russell, Chance Wheeless, Jordan Danks and Bradley Suttle went a combined 6 for 45.

Texas, which will take on second-place Missouri (31-12, 12-6) next weekend at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, jumped on Oklahoma State in the third inning Sunday as Chais Fuller and Travis Tucker hit back-to-back singles. Nick Peoples reached on a throwing error to load the bases, and scored on a balk by starter Joe Kent.

Tucker scored on a sacrifice fly by Russell, and after Wheeless walked to load the bases, Suttle worked a walk, allowing Peoples to score for a 3-0 lead.

"This series proved that we're a team one through nine," Russell said. "When our big bats aren't coming through in the clutch, we've got other guys who are able to step up and carry us to victories."

Guys such as Fuller, who took advantage of his first starts at shortstop since the beginning of the season by going 5 for 9. Or Peoples, who was 5 for 10 in the series.

"Baseball is a game of infinite possibilities," Garrido said.

One possibility continues to get greater and greater: Texas winning its second consecutive Big 12 regular-season championship.

Texas Rexap
Texas.scout.com
OSU Recap

Conference USA recap for April 27-29

UCF completed its first-ever sweep of a Conference USA series with its 8-4 win over Tulane on Sunday. The Knights posted a season-high 15 hits in Sunday's contest, which followed a pair of one-run victories (7-6 on Saturday and 4-3 on Friday) over the Green Wave earlier in the series.

Rice also completed a three-game sweep, taking all three against UAB in Birmingham. The Owls, who allowed a total of just six runs in the series, have now won 10 games in a row. At 16-2 in league play, Rice has a 4 ½ game lead over second place Houston with two conference series left to play.

For the first time since joining C-USA last season, Marshall has posted back-to-back series wins in league play. The Thundering Herd took two-of-three from Houston, notching double-digit runs in both wins (10-4 on Sunday and 12-4 on Friday).

Southern Miss took the first two games of its series at East Carolina, before the Pirates captured the finale on Sunday. The win on Sunday allowed ECU to stay in sole possession of fourth place in the league standings.

Third place Memphis was idle this weekend.

Conference USA heads into the final three weeks of the regular season only Rice having clinched a berth in the conference tournament, May 23-27 in Greenville, N.C. A total of only six games separate the league's ninth place team from the league's second place squad.

*****

Southern Miss pitcher Barry Bowden has been named Conference USA Pitcher of the Week.
The junior right-hander threw he first nine-inning complete game of his career in a 5-1 win over East Carolina on. He allowed one run on four hits while striking out seven without a walk.
Bowden (5-3) retired 17 of the final 19 batters he faced. He is on a four-game C-USA winning streak.

Central Florida designated hitter Matt Horwath was named Hitter of the Week.
The senior was 11-for-16 (.688) in four games. He hit a home run, four doubles, the first two triples of his career and three RBIs. Horwath also scored eight runs.

Playoffs in sight for UMass with sweep

The University of Massachusetts headed to Dayton Ohio this weekend to take on the Dayton Flyers in a key Atlantic 10 showdown. The Minutemen were able to get a key sweep to get them back into the hunt for a spot in the Atlantic 10 tournament. The CBB will be heading to the final game of the UMass-Richmond series this upcoming weekend and will have a full report.

Umass sweeps Dayton from Massachusetts Daily Collegian

Maxie to Southern Miss

Kyle Maxie, formerly of Florida State, is officially transferring to Southern Mississippi next season where he is expected to compete for the starting catcher's job with the Golden Eagles. The full story is available here.

College of Charleston completes sweep

The College of Charleston completed the sweep of cross-town rival The Citadel on Sunday by a 10-4 scoreline. The Cougars were led by Oliver Marmol, Ben Lasater, and Graham Maiden each homered and Michael Bunton pitched five strong innings while giving up four runs to head to 4-0 on the season. The Citadel starter Chris McGuiness gave up seven runs 4.1 innings to drop his record to 2-1 on the season.

College of Charleston Recap
The Citadel Recap

ACC Recap for April 29th

Miami 7 FSU 1

The Miami Hurricanes were able to salvage the final game of their series with Florida State by knocking them off 7-1. Eric Erickson pitched six strong innings while only giving up one run on six hits to up his record to 6-3. Florida State starter Danny Rosen took over the number 3 starter role this weekend and only provided four innings while allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits and four walks. Rosen's record drops to 1-1 on the season. Dennis Raben led the Hurricanes offense by going 3-3 with two RBI and a run scored. Blake Tekotte and Jemile Weeks also picked up two hits for the Canes. Tony Thomas Jr. led the Noles with two hits in his three at bats to continue his strong hitting. FSU returns to action May 4th when they play at Maryland while Miami heads out of conference when they host Wright State.

Miami Recap
FSU Recap

UNC 7 NC State 5

Reid Fronk hit two huge home runs in the game with a game typing homer in the seventh inning and a two run homer in the eighth which took the lead for the Tar Heels. He lead the Tar Heels to the 7-5 victory over intrastate rivals NC State in ACC action Sunday. UNC reliever Matt Danford pitched two innings of shutout baseball to pick up the win and go to 3-0 on the season. Andrew Carignan pitched a perfect 1.1 innings to get his tenth save on the season. NC State Andrew Taylor pitched 0.2 innings in relief while letting up one run to drop his record to 2-2. UNC will be off for finals and will be back in action on May 8th when they head to Elon. NC State will play Campbell for two games Friday and Saturday.

UNC Recap
NC State Recap

Virginia 4 Maryland 0

The Virginia Cavaliers shutout the Maryland Terrapins for the second time this weekend 4-0 behind a strong pitching performance from Sean Doolittle who pitched six shutout innings while only allowing four hits. Andrew Carraway pitched two perfect innings in relief with Casey Lambert pitching a one-hit ninth inning to close the game. Ryan Moorer of Maryland was equally impressive as he gave up two unearned runs in 6.1 innings on seven hits. Virginia will play host to VCU on May 1st while Maryland is hosting Towson the same day.

UVA Recap
Maryland Recap

Georgia Tech 6 Clemson 3

The Yellow Jackets got two hits from Wally Crancer including an RBI and Ryan Turner was able to pitch 5.2 innings while giving up two runs to salvage the final game of the series with Clemson by a score of 6-3. Turner's record is now 4-3 while Brad Rulon got the save which is his second of the season. Ryan Hinson picked up the loss by pitching 3.2 innings while giving up four runs (one earned) to put his record at 4-2. Doug Hogan went 3-3 in the loss with two walks. GT will be back on the field on Saturday when they head out of conference to visit South Florida while Clemson will be back in action also on Saturday when Boston College visits.

GT Recap
Clemson Recap
Anderson Independent Mail Game Recap
Anderson Independent Mail Article on Clemson's Season

Wake Forest 8 Duke 2

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons completed the sweep of the Duke Blue Devils 8-2. The win puts Wake Forest in a virtual tie with Boston College for the final spot in the ACC tournament and both schools are now one game behind Miami. Wake Forest received 6.1 innings of strong pitching from Ben Hunter who was an emergency starter due to elbow pain from normal weekend starter Charlie Mellies. The Wake offense was led by Willy Fox and Dustin Hood who each went 2-4. Duke starter Jonathan Anderson suffered the loss by giving up four runs in six innings to put his record at 3-3. Wake Forest will be back in action on Wednesday when they visit UNC-Greensboro while Duke will be off until May 9th when they also take on UNC-Greensboro.

Wake Forest Recap
Duke Recap

BC 3 Virginia Tech 2

The CBB visited this game and the full post is available here.

The CBB checks in on BC-VT

The College Baseball Blog after moving all day Saturday made a trip into Chestnut Hill to check out the rubber game of the Boston College and Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech scored in the first inning on a double steal with two outs to jump out to a 1-0 lead. Boston College responded right away by getting a bases scoring single from Tony Sanchez to tie the game at 1. Virginia Tech then responded with a solo home run in the third inning from Matt Hacker. Boston College got to Hokie starter Adam Redd for two runs in the fourth inning by getting back to back doubles by Johnny Ayers and Eric Campbell to start the inning. Sanchez then sacrificed Campbell to third and was driven in by Mike Augustine on a single up the middle. Both pitchers would settle down with Terry Doyle in command the rest of the game to finish with a complete game while only allowing two runs on eleven hits and eight strikeouts. Eric Campbell made two spectacular plays in the game. The first play occurred with two outs in the fifth inning and Sean O'Brien on second. Bryan Thomas hit a shot to third baseman Campbell who dove to his right to make the stop and made a fake throw to first base and O'Brien overran third base giving Campbell a chance to run over to the base and block O'Brien from getting back. The second play happened with two outs in the top of the ninth with the tying run in Luke Padgett on second base. Matt Foley (no relation) hit a shot to Campbell's left in which he dove and threw him out at first by a step.

The Boston College Athletic Department needs to get information out to the general community better because of the face that my staff was under the impression that the game was going to start at 1 pm but began at noon thus making us miss the first two innings. I also have read the recap and it states that Doyle pitched his second complete game in his last two outings which is not true since Doyle only pitched nine innings in an extra inning game.

BC Recap
Virginia Tech Recap