Baylor Bears Unveil 2008 Schedule

Baylor baseball head coach Steve Smith announced the Bears' 2008 schedule Wednesday. The 55-game regular season slate includes 31 games at Baylor Ballpark, including the third-annual QTI Baylor Classic.

The Bears open the 2008 season with nine consecutive home games, starting with a three-game series Feb. 22-24 against Purdue. Baylor welcomes Illinois, Illinois-Chicago and Stephen F. Austin for the QTI Baylor Classic Feb. 29 through March 2.

2008 season tickets go on sale Dec. 1. For more ticket information, contact the Baylor Ticket Office at 254.710.1000 or 1.800.BAYLOR.U.

Baylor's 2008 schedule features 25 games (45.4 percent of schedule) against 10 opponents who participated in the 2007 NCAA Tournament, including nine games against 2007 Super Regional participants and a three-game series at 2007 College World Series participant Mississippi State (March 7-9). The Bears play 18 games against six opponents who finished the 2007 season ranked in the Baseball America Top 25.

From March 7 to March 23, Baylor plays 12 consecutive games against teams who participated in the 2007 NCAA Tournament. The Bears play 10 of 12 games against 2007 tournament teams from April 18 to May 4.

"This is a good schedule, both for the players and the fans," Smith said. "It gives the players a chance to be in a familiar environment in the season's first nine games and again to open Big 12 play. Plus, fans have plenty of opportunities at various points in the season to not only see us play but to see us play top-level competition."

Due to new NCAA legislation, no Division I program can start its season prior to Feb. 22. This means only three weekends of non-conference play before Big 12 Conference play begins the weekend of March 14; Baylor hosts Oklahoma State to start Big 12 play this season. The new legislation also means an increase in the number of midweek games.

"I'm very much in favor of the universal start date," Smith said. "I wish the end of the season had been pushed back some to compensate, but it is what it is. All teams must adjust to only three weeks prior to conference play, and all teams must play two midweek games on a regular basis, so there's no competitive advantage one way or the other. What the new format does allow is more opportunities for pitchers, and that is a definite plus."

Along with the traditional split-series in Big 12 play, Baylor also hosts Texas for a midweek non-conference tilt April 22. The Bears and the Longhorns meet May 2-4 in Big 12 action with the series opener at Baylor Ballpark and the series' final two games at Austin.

"We've wanted to play Texas in a midweek non-conference game for a while, and the new schedule format made this game even more practical," Smith said. "Obviously, this is a great opportunity for fans to see two of the conference's top programs in another game. More than that, though, it is an opportunity for both teams to play top competition in a midweek game. This helps our RPI, Texas' RPI and the conference's RPI."

Baylor's split-series against Texas A&M is April 18-20 with the series opener at College Station and the series' final two games at Baylor Ballpark. Other Big 12 schools visiting Waco this season are Oklahoma State (March 14-16), Kansas (April 4-6) and Nebraska (April 25-27). Baylor travels to Missouri (March 21-23), Oklahoma (March 28-30), Kansas State (April 11-13) and Texas Tech (May 16-18) this season in Big 12 play. The 2008 Big 12 Championship is May 21-25 at Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City.

Last season, Baylor's strength of schedule ranked 20th nationally; the Bears joined Texas (10th), Portland (15th), Texas A&M (17th) and Georgia (18th) as the only teams in the top 20 not from the state of California. Baylor's strength of schedule has ranked 20th or better nationally in each of the past seven seasons: 10th in 2006, seventh in 2005, 11th in 2004, fifth in 2003, seventh in 2002 and 10th in 2001.

Baylor returns 19 letterwinners, six position starters and eight pitchers from a 2007 squad that posted a 36-27 record and reached the NCAA Tournament for the ninth time in 10 years.

Baylor Press Release.

Baseball Schedule.

Illinois 2008 schedule released

The Fighting Illini have announced their 2008 schedule which is highlighted by trips to Texas Tech, Baylor, and University of Texas-Pan American. The team will take part in tournaments at Baylor and UTPA while playing a three game set against the Red Raiders of Texas Tech. The team will make their annual spring break trip to Florida from March 14th-21st where they will play six games against Northern schools. The Illini will play conference home series against Michigan, Penn State, Northwestern, and Purdue. They will head on the road to play Michigan State, Indiana, Minnesota, and Ohio State for conference series. The conference tournament will take place from May 21st-24th at the regular season champs field. The full schedule is available here.

Texas posts 5-3 win over Baylor in exhibition game

I went to the game at the Dell Diamond between the Longhorns and the Baylor Bears. Baylor will make some noise next year in the BIG 12 and the Regionals. Look for Baylor to be in that top 16 seed as the seeding are announced next year. I know it is early but, Baylor is that good. What does this say about Texas. ALOT. I wish it was Friday February 22nd right now. Both of these teams will only get better as the fall season progress.

Press Release from Texas;

-- The University of Texas baseball squad posted a 5-3 win over Baylor University in a fall exhibition Sunday at The Dell Diamond. Freshman Kevin Keyes and junior Jordan Danks hit home runs to lead the Longhorns to the victory in a pre-arranged 12-inning affair.

On the mound for Texas, junior Austin Wood, the Longhorns' starter, and freshman Cole Green each pitched two scoreless innings. Junior Kyle Walker and freshman Stayton Thomas pitched one shutout inning apiece. Walker picked up the win, giving up one hit and one walk while striking out one. Green earned the save, scattering three hits over two innings, while fanning two.

Baylor broke the scoring seal in the third inning. Paul Miles hit a leadoff single, advanced to second on a groundout by Ben Booker and scored on a single to rightfield by Raynor Campbell.

The Longhorns claimed the lead in the bottom half of the third. Freshman Tant Shepherd led off with an infield single and freshman Cameron Rupp grounded into a fielder's choice to take Shepherd's spot at first. In his first at-bat against collegiate pitching, Keyes deposited a home run over the fence in leftfield, staking UT to a 2-1 lead.

The Bears tied the game in the top of the sixth with a solo home run to right field by Aaron Miller, knotting the game at 2-2.

Texas reclaimed the advantage in the bottom of the seventh as Danks hit a moon shot over the fence in leftfield, giving UT a 3-2 advantage.

Texas tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the ninth. With one out, Danks was hit by a pitch and junior Preston Clark singled through the left side to put runners at the corners. Sophomore Russell Moldenhauer plated Danks with a sacrifice squeeze bunt and sophomore Brandon Belt hit a double off the wall in left centerfield, driving in Clark for the 5-2 advantage.

Baylor scored the games final run in the 10th inning as Miller hit an RBI double to drive in Landis Ware.

Travis Tucker, Michael Torres and Clark each had two hits for the Longhorns.

Beamer Weems and Shaver Hansen each logged three hits for Baylor and Booker and Miller chipped in with two apiece.

Texas returns to action at 3 p.m., CDT on Friday, October 26 against Texas State at The Dell Diamond.

www.texassports.com

Here is the link to the pictures that I took from the game.

Horns baseball slated to play two fall Exhibition games!!

University of Texas baseball head coach Augie Garrido announced the Longhorns will play two fall exhibition games in addition to their annual Fall World Series. The exhibition games and Fall World Series will be played at The Dell Diamond in Round Rock.

The Longhorns are slated to play Big 12 Conference foe Baylor on Sunday, Oct. 14 and Texas State on Sunday Oct. 21. Texas will play the annual best-of-three Orange-White Fall World Series from Oct. 31-Nov. 2.

All game times have yet to be determined.

Texas Sports Release

I will have a complete update of each games as they happen.

Baylor Bears start fall Practice!

The players are lacing up their cleats. The leather mitts are popping from blazing fastballs. The ping from the impact made on aluminum bats echoes across the street.

Fall baseball practice has arrived for Baylor, and although most of the team still hasn't had much of a break from the game since spring practice started late last January, the Bears are back on the diamond preparing to contend for their first College World Series appearance since 2005.

Baylor will return six starting position players and a deep pitching rotation for the 2008 season.

But head coach Steve Smith said the fall is an important time to evaluate the incoming freshman class as well as the progression of his returning players after summer leagues at various locations across the country.

"Obviously we have a lot of new guys," Smith said. "We get a chance to see them up close and personal, so there is a lot of evaluation going on. A lot of the teaching going on for the guys is much of a review since we have so many returning players."

Sports.Yahoo.com

BaylorBears

2007 Cape Cod League Award winners

The Cape Cod Baseball League has announced their award winners for the 2007 season which is listed below. We have attached links to the official CCBL press releases where possible.

Arnold Mycock Championship Trophy- Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox

Pat Sorenti Award MVP- Conor Gillaspie (Wichita State)

Thurman Munson Award Batting Champ- Conor Gillaspie (Wichita State)

BFC Whitehouse Award Outstanding Pitcher- Tom Milone (Southern Cal)

Russ Ford Award Relief Pitcher- Nick Cassavechia (Baylor)

Manny Robello Award 10th Player- Nate Freiman (Duke)

Daniel J.Silva Award Sportsmanship- Shea Robin (Vanderbilt)

Robert A McNeece Award Pro Prospect- Aaron Crow (Missouri)

Mike Curran Award Manager of the Year- Scott Pickler (Cypress Community College)

PA SportsTicker Playoff MVP- Trevor Holder (Georgia)

John Claffey New England Top Prospect Award- Bill Perry (Hartford)

Curley Clement Umpire Award- Tim Carey (CBUAO)

Commissioner’s Cup Team of the Year- Wareham

YD wins Cape Cod League Championship Again

The Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox repeated as Cape Cod League Champions in the 2007 season by knocking off the Falmouth Commodores 2-0 to take the Championship in only two games. Both teams received great pitching on Tuesday night as Yarmouth-Dennis starter Trevor Holder (UGA) gave up one hit and struck out ten batters as he picked up the MVP award for the Championship series. The winning run scored on a suicide squeeze by Nick Romero which brought home Buster Posey (FSU) with the first run of the game. The YD Red Sox would bring home another run on a passed ball to set up the final scoreline. Nick Cassavechia (Baylor) worked the ninth inning by working around a double and striking out two batters. CodBall has a recap available here and Right Field Fog also has one available here.

Thanks to Codball for providing the picture.

CCBL Series Preview: Chatham vs Yarmouth-Dennis

The Cape Cod Baseball League playoffs start on Friday when Chatham visits Yarmouth-Dennis in the Eastern Division playoff series.

The Chatham A's are led by Allan Dykstra (Wake Forest) who hit .308 this summer with five homers and 31 RBI in 40 games. Tom Milone (Southern Cal) leads the team with a 6-1 record on the mound with a 2.92 ERA. Milone is also tied with Terry Doyle of YD for the league lead in wins. Bryan Shaw (Long Beach State) has seven saves which leads the team.

The Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox enter the playoffs with the best regular season record after winning the 2006 title. They went 31-12-1 in 2007 and according to Perfect Game are one of the top Summer League teams in the nation. are led by one of the top prospects in the CCBL in Gordon Beckham (Georgia). He hit .284 on the year with nine homers and 35 RBI in 42 games. Jason Castro (Stanford) finished second in the league in hitting with a .341 average. Terry Doyle (Boston College) is tied for the league lead with six victories and a 2.35 ERA. Eddie Burns (Georgia Tech) has also had a strong summer with a 5-1 mark with a 2.86 ERA. Nick Cassavechia (Baylor) has 11 saves which is top in the league.

Friday: Chatham at Yarmouth Dennis at 3 pm
Saturday: Yarmouth-Dennis at Chatham at 7 pm
Sunday (if necessary): Chatham at Yarmouth-Dennis at 3 pm

The College Baseball Blog predicts that Yarmouth-Dennis wins the series in two games.

The entire playoffs will be webcasted for free through Leaguestream. The games can be accessed by clicking here.

Baseball America Predicts 2008 CWS Field

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...

The lucky 8:

Arizona State
Miami

Baylor

Michigan

Missouri

UCLA

Vanderbilt

Virginia

Full Article

Houston Regional!

TCU sends Baylor packing with a 10-5 win!

Austin Adams hit an RBI single, and Matt McGuirk added a grand slam as TCU rallied with seven runs in the ninth to defeat Baylor, 10-5, for the right to play Rice in the championship.

Ben Carruthers started the rally for TCU (48-13) with a single. Keith Conlon was hit by a pitch. After Clint Arnold's sacrifice bunt put runners on second and third, Steven Trout singled to right field to tie the game at 5-5. Adams singled in Conlon for the go-ahead run. McGuirk, who came into the game in the eighth, picked up his fifth homer of the season with the grand slam to right field.

TCU Recap

Baylor Recap

Rice advances at expense of Baylor, TCU

When you're young, you never forget the fun times.

Rice took another step toward returning to the College World Series on Sunday night by winning its own regional with a 3-1 victory over TCU at Reckling Park.

"Last year, we learned a valuable lesson – how sweet Omaha is," said Rice junior reliever Bobby Bramhall, who picked up his sixth save by pitching the eighth and ninth innings.

Rice (52-12) will face Texas A&M or Louisiana-Lafayette next weekend in a best-of-3 super regional at Rice for the right to advance to the College World Series.

"We're playing a regional final against the No. 2 seed [in the country] and push them to the edge," said TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle, whose team finished 48-14. "We set a school record for wins. This is a tough state to get your piece of the pie."

The Owls have won 33 of 35 since a 6-4 loss March 27 at Texas!

Houston Chronicle.com

Rice Owls Recap

TCU Recap

Houston Regional

Baylor Bears Eliminate Prairie View A&M 9-2!

An adventure was the last thing Baylor baseball coach Steve Smith wanted on Saturday at the Houston Regional.

Smith sent junior Tim Matthews to the mound for his second start of the season, and Matthews delivered the uneventful outing the Bears had hoped for against Prairie View A&M in an elimination game.

Baylor defeated the Panthers, 9-2, at Rice’s Reckling Park to extend its season by at least one more day.

Matthews, who won his only other start this season when he pitched five innings in a 13-4 win over Texas State on April 24, allowed six hits and one earned run in seven innings on Saturday.

“Tim’s seven were just what the doctor ordered,” Smith said. “We’ve kind of laid it out to our players what our plans will be. Obviously, those plans are only as good as the players who are out there.

“Tim did his job. He took the ball, went out there and threw strikes and stayed out of big innings.”

Baylor (35-27) advances to play TCU today at 2 p.m. The Horned Frogs lost to top-seeded Rice, 6-3, on Saturday night. The TCU-Baylor winner will meet Rice at 8 tonight.

Baylor still needs three wins, including two over the winner’s bracket champion, to reach the Super Regional round of the NCAA Tournament.

Baylor’s offense clicked early in the game against Prairie View A&M, helping the Bears keep to the plan of conserving their bullpen.

Baylor leadoff hitter Ben Booker walked in the bottom of the first inning and scored on a ground ball by Chase Gerdes to put the Bears ahead, 1-0.

After adding a run on two hits in the second, the Bears took command with three runs on four hits in the third. Second baseman Shaver Hansen, who went 4-for-4, got his second hit to cap the third-inning rally by driving in Dustin Dickerson.

Hansen then produced another key hit in the fifth, a two-run double to left that scored Beamer Weems and Dickerson to extend the lead to 7-1.

“I thought the key hit for us was Shaver’s two-out double,” Smith said. “That did effect pitching decisions after that and I think we got through this game pitching-wise as well as we could hope.”

Smith said he went with Matthews in part because of the junior’s experience. Matthews started 11 games in 2006, culminating with the regional championship game against Rice at Reckling Park. But he gave up five runs in three innings and lost that game against the Owls.

He’ll have a better memory of Rice’s park after Saturday.

“Being able to come out and get the start, I was very appreciative of it,” Matthews said. “I needed to go out there and have a good game to save the bullpen.”

The Baylor offense did a better job of getting to Prairie View A&M than it did earlier this season.

The Bears needed a two-run home run from Matt Sodolak to overtake the Panthers (34-25) for a 4-2 victory on April 25.

“We came out with a little more of a ‘Let’s go right now’ approach,” Baylor catcher Matt Czimskey said.

Czimskey upped Baylor’s lead to 8-2 with a solo home run in the eighth. He went 2-for-5 and drove in three runs in the game.

Smith said he doesn’t know how he’ll use his remaining starting pitchers today.

The Bears could play two games today if they continue to win. Baylor freshman starter Kendal Volz (6-2) is yet to pitch in the regional, as are Wade Mackey (4-3), Randall Linebaugh (3-5) and Willie Kempf (2-2).

Only using two pitchers could help Baylor make a run at winning the Houston Regional.

“I think it was big, but we’ll find out tomorrow,” Smith said. “It takes guys who don’t normally go seven innings, but they do it. It can be done.”

Rice Regional!

By the midpoint of the regular season, Rice sophomore righthander Matt Langwell had done little to distinguish himself from any of the Owls' low-profile pitchers.

Langwell had started and relieved, producing results that were neither exceptional nor egregious. He was middling personified until he began displaying a mastery of the strike zone, at which point Rice coach Wayne Graham granted him additional responsibility.

Friday, Langwell showed how he earned Graham's trust. With Prairie View A&M again aiming to play the role of postseason spoiler, Langwell worked seven shutout innings in a 5-0 victory at the Houston Regional at Reckling Park.

Rice Recap

Houston Chronicle.com



TCU 3 Baylor 2

TCU closer Sam Demel admitted he had little or nothing left.

The junior right-hander and the Horned Frogs were clinging to a one-run lead over Baylor in the opening game of the NCAA baseball regional at Rice's Reckling Park, with the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the ninth.

But Demel, pitching his third inning, struck out Baylor's Ben Booker on a 3-and-2 changeup to preserve a 3-2 victory and send the Bears into the losers bracket.

"Going into the at-bat I was pretty much of out of gas," said Demel, who had walked the previous batter on four pitches. "When I'm out of gas, my best pitch is the changeup. We went at him with all changeups."

TCU (47-12) will face Rice, the regional's No. 1 seed, at 6 p.m. today. Baylor (34-26) will play Prairie View A&M at 2 p.m..

TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle called on Demel (7-1) after starter Jake Arrieta, who pitched marvelously, walked Beamer Weems to open the seventh with TCU holding on to a 1-0 lead.

"We didn't want to have to use Sam so much," Schlossnagle said of Demel, who threw 54 pitches. "I fired my bullet early when we had the lead. Demel showed what kind of guts he's had all year."

Baylor tied the game in the seventh, when Weems scored on a groundout by Dustin Dickerson.

TCU, the No. 2 seed, grabbed the lead back when catcher Andrew Walker opened the bottom of the seventh with a homer off Baylor starter Jeff Mandel (7-8).

One out later Grapevine's Bryan Kervin homered to right to give TCU a 3-1 lead.

Weems led off the ninth inning with a homer to slice TCU's lead to one run. Czimskey walked and, after a fly out, pinch-hitter Matt Sodolak singled. Demel got Shaver Hansen to fly out, then walked Paul Miles to load the bases.

"I tried not to be nervous," Kervin said. "But it was pretty intense."

Baylor coach Steve Smith said Booker swung at ball four.

"That was a good at-bat," Smith said. Demel "was going to win or lose it with his best pitch."

TCU Recap

Baylor Recap

Houston Regional Preview

The Field

(1) Rice [#2] (49-12)

The Owls were the preseason #1, but didn't live up to those expectations early on. But Wayne Graham's club has won 30 of their last 32, including a recent 20-game win streak. They�ve hit their stride at just the right time, and that means trouble. Rice is known for their pitching, but the bats that have made headlines lately. The Owls scored 60 runs in winning the Conference USA tournament, including 36 in the last two games against Memphis and East Carolina.

(2) TCU (46-12)

The Horned Frogs swept both Mountain West titles for the second year in a row, going 20-3 in league play, then sweeping through the MWC tournament in Las Vegas. TCU is solid at the plate (.316), in their rotation (top three starters are 27-6), and in the bullpen (starter-turned-closer Sam Demel has 13 saves).

(3) Baylor (34-25)

The Bears made a late-season move to get into the regionals, sweeping their last conference series vs. Kansas State, then knocking off Oklahoma State, Missouri, and Oklahoma in the Big 12 tourney before falling to Texas A&M in the final. This is the second straight year Steve Smith�s team will be at Rice.

(4) Prairie View (34-23)

The Panthers, like Baylor, return to Rice for the second straight year. They won the SWAC West Division title, and swept through the SWAC tournament, defeating Southern 8-7 for the title. The 2004 season is no doubt still fresh in many minds, when Texas Southern upset defending champ Rice in their opening game. And last year, the Panthers held a 5-3 lead going into the 8th inning, but the Owls came back to win 6-5.

Southerncollegesports.com

Houston Regional full of familiar faces

Because there are fewer than six degrees of separation between Rice coach Wayne Graham and New York Yankees legend Yogi Berra, it isn't a wild assumption to believe Graham muttered, "It's like déjà vu all over again" upon first glance at the Houston Regional field.

The NCAA baseball selection committee on Monday announced the pairings for the 64-team NCAA Tournament, and the four-team Houston Regional features three returnees from 2006: Rice (49-12), Baylor (34-25) and Prairie View (34-23).

The newcomer is TCU (46-12), which Rice has played six times in the past three seasons, including a three-game set at Reckling Park in 2005.

"It's a solid regional," said Graham, whose Owls are the No. 2 national seed and will host the Houston Regional at Reckling. (Vanderbilt is the tourney's No. 1 seed.)

"We played them all. TCU has great talent, and Baylor is on the upswing after finishing second in the Big 12 tournament. Prairie View has everybody back. They present a problem. They seem to play extremely well against us."

Outside of the lack of creativity on the part of the committee, few could quarrel with the bracketing of the regional.

CHRONICLE: Complete story

Six Big 12 Schools Earn Places in the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship!

Texas (44-15) earns a top seed in the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship. Baylor, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M also hold spots in the 64-team bracket.

Big 12.com

Texas (44-15), which was selected to host an NCAA regional for the 23rd time, was named the No. 1 seed for the regional in Round Rock. The Longhorns will be joined by No. 2 seed UC Irvine (40-15-1), No. 3 seed Wake Forest (33-27) and No. 4 seed Brown (27-19).

TexasSports.com

The Texas A&M baseball team will host Louisiana-Lafayette, Ohio State, and Le Moyne in the NCAA College Station Regional this weekend the NCAA announced on Monday

Texas A&M

The University of Missouri has been chosen as one of 16 schools to play host to NCAA Baseball Regional action, as announced today by the NCAA. The 11th-ranked Tiger baseball team, which finished second in the Big 12 Conference this season and sports a 40-16 overall record, will play host to a four-team, double-elimination tournament June 1st-4th at Taylor Stadium, with the winner advancing to a Super Regional site to be determined.

The 64-team field was announced on Monday. Joining the Tigers in the Columbia Regional will be Miami, Louisville and Kent State. Mizzou is the No. 1 seed in the regional and will face Kent State at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Miami and Louisville will play at 1 p.m.
Missouri Tigers

Baylor's baseball team received its 14^th invitation to the NCAA Tournament, the Division I Tournament Selection Committee announced Monday morning. The Bears are the No. 3 seed at the Houston Regional, hosted by Rice University at Reckling Park. Baylor faces second-seeded and 16^th-ranked TCU in the first round Friday, June 1, at 2 p.m. CDT.

Baylor Bears

The Nebraska baseball team will make its eighth NCAA Regional appearance in the last nine years this week, as the Huskers will travel to Arizona for the NCAA Tempe Regional.

The Huskers (30-25), who finished fourth in the Big 12, will take on Big West Conference champion UC Riverside (37-19) in Friday’s first match-up at 4 p.m. (central) from Winkles Field-Packard Stadium at Brock Ballpark.

Arizona State (43-13) is the region’s top seed and the No. 5 National Seed in the NCAA Tournament. They will take on Northeast Conference champion Monmouth (36-22-1) at 9 p.m. (central).

Nebraska Cornhuskers

The Oklahoma State Cowboys were awarded a No. 3 seed in the 2007 NCAA Fayetteville Regional in Fayetteville, Ark., it was announced Monday.

OSU finished third in the Big 12 Conference regular-season standings and will bring a 38-19 overall record into the the tournament. Joining the Cowboys in Fayetteville are host and top-seeded Arkansas, who owns a 41-19 record and is also the No. 7 national seed, along with second-seeded Creighton (44-14) and fourth-seeded Albany (29-27).

Oklahoma State Cowboys

Conference USA recap for May 15

No. 2 RICE 13, BAYLOR 0
HOUSTON -- Having sewn up the top seed for the upcoming Conference USA tournament, Rice coach Wayne Graham has begun mapping out his postseason roster.

The task of shrinking the bench and bullpen would be more challenging if the Owls weren't tearing the cover off the ball, a trend that continued Tuesday at Reckling Park. No. 2 Rice blasted Baylor 13-0 to stretch its winning streak to 15 games.

Rice improved to 42-11 while Baylor fell to 28-24.

The Owls have just three more games to close out the regular season and all are at home starting Thursday through Saturday. Rice hosts Memphis in a three-game C-USA series at Reckling Park. Thursday's first pitch is slated for 7 pm. Baylor concludes its regular season schedule with a three-game Big 12 Conference series against Kansas State at Baylor Ballpark.

Houston Chronicle story
Baylor recap
Rice recap

SOUTHERN MISS 9, NEW ORLEANS 4
NEW ORLEANS - UNO's struggles continued Tuesday as Southern Mississippi capitalized on shaky pitching by the Privateers to win 9-4 at Maestri Field. With Tuesday night's win, the Golden Eagles have won seven in a row, nine of 10 and finished with double-figure hits in six of the last seven games.

Southern Miss (34-19) scored five runs in the fourth inning, including a leadoff home run by catcher Trey Cuevas, to go ahead 6-2. The Privateers (32-21) couldn't get it going offensively, stranding 10 batters.

Southern Miss wraps up its regular season schedule with a three-game C-USA series at Houston. The first game of the series, on Thursday, will be broadcast nationally on CSTV at 7 p.m. CDT. The Privateers will conclude their regular season schedule this weekend, when they host Louisiana in a three-game Sun Belt Conference series starting Thursday at 6:30 p.m. The Thursday contest will be televised by Cox Sports Television.

Times-Picayune story
Hattiesburg American story
Southern Miss recap
UNO recap

HOUSTON 6, SAM HOUSTON STATE 4
HUNTSVILLE, Texas - Senior first baseman Josh Stirneman went 2-for-5 with a double and solo home run to help lead the University of Houston baseball team to a 6-4 win over area-rival Sam Houston State on Tuesday at Don Sanders Stadium.

After falling behind 1-0 in the first inning, the Cougars scored six unanswered runs and appeared to have the game well in hand heading into the final frame. But the Bearkats pushed three runs across in the ninth inning and continued to threaten with the bases loaded, but reliever Aaron Brown hurled a strikeout to end the threat and the game.

With the win, the Cougars improved to 28-23 overall while Sam Houston State fell to 33-20. The Cougars swept the regular-season series against the Bearkats after taking a 16-9 win on Feb. 13 at Cougar Field. UH, which won its 11th straight game against the Bearkats, also evened the all-time series against SHSU at 71-71. The Cougars had not been even with the Bearkats in the all-time series since standing at 10-10 in 1956.

The Cougars wrap up their 2007 regular season later this week as they play host to Conference USA rival Southern Miss in a three-game series from the friendly confines of Cougar Field. That series begins with 7 p.m., games on both Thursday and Friday before wrapping up at 1 p.m., Saturday. The Thursday game will be televised nationally on CSTV. Sam Houston wraps up the regular season schedule with a Southland Conference series at Stephen F. Austin.

Houston recap
Sam Houston recap

MEMPHIS 5, TENNESSEE-MARTIN 3
UNION CITY, Tenn. - Senior Kyle Norrid went 3-for-4 four and drove in four runs to lead Memphis to a 5-3 win over UT-Martin Tuesday night at Elam Stadium. The win was the 33rd of the year for the Tigers--the most regular season wins for a Memphis team since 1994. The win also eclipses the Tigers 2006 win total.

After waiting through a two hour, 23-minute rain delay, Memphis (33-20) got off to a fast start with a pair of scores in the opening frame. Michael Murray extended his hit streak to 12 games with a single to centerfield and moved to third when Skyhawks leftfielder Kevin Holt was unable to handle a single by Adam Amar. Amar advanced to second. Norrid then lined the first pitch he saw up the middle for a 2-0 Memphis lead.

Memphis will now prepare for its final Conference USA regular season series. The Tigers will travel to Houston to take on the second-ranked Rice Owls on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. UT-Martin (19-33) completes the regular season with by hosting Samford in an OVC series. The teams will play a double-header on Friday and a single game on Saturday.

Memphis recap
UT-Martin recap

ELON 4, No. 29 EAST CAROLINA 2
GREENVILLE, N.C. - Kyle Roller's two home runs were not enough for No. 29 East Carolina as it fell to in-state foe Elon 4-2 Tuesday night at Clark-LeClair Stadium in the final regular season home game for the Pirates.

Jesse Lewter improved to 4-3 on the year after tossing his first career complete game with a career-high six strikeouts for Elon (28-24). On the night he allowed just six hits and walked one, making two pitching mistakes, both home runs to Roller.

The Pirates (35-18) will hit the road for the final three games of the regular season this weekend when they travel to UAB for a C-USA series. Junior T.J. Hose will take the mound for ECU on Thursday night with the first pitch scheduled for 8 p.m. (EDT). Elon returns to action on Wednesday, May 16 in a 7 p.m. game with High Point at Latham Park.

Elon recap
East Carolina recap

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 4/3

Tulane 16, LSU 9

All nine Green Wave hitters tallied at least two hits, including a 4-for-6 showing by sophomore right fielder Warren McFadden, as the Tulane University baseball team defeated arch-rival LSU, 16-9, Tuesday evening at Zephyr Field.

Tulane (23-8) jumped out to a 10-0 lead after three innings, and held a comfortable 13-3 advantage going into the top of the seventh. In that stanza, however, the Tigers (17-13-1) clawed their way back into the ballgame as left fielder Ryan Schimpf capped a six-run stanza with a three-run homer to right. Rookie right-hander Preston Claiborne came out of the pen to put the fire out and the Green Wave held on to complete the regular-season sweep of LSU for the third time since 2001.

Tulane Recap

Southern Miss 13, Nicholls State 5

Southern Miss' Trey Cuevas and Michael Ewing each finished with three hits and four RBIs to lead the Golden Eagles to a 13-5 victory over Nicholls State, tonight, at Pete Taylor Park/Hill Denson Field in front of 2,467 in attendance.

Cuevas finished with a single in the first inning, a grand slam in the second inning and a single in the fourth inning. Michael Ewing had a triple to center field in the second inning, a walk in the third inning, a sacrifice fly to center in the fourth inning, a three-run homer to right field in the sixth inning and a single through the right side in the seventh inning.

Jared Cavenaugh (2-0) earned his second win of the season, pitching six innings, giving up five runs, four earned, on six hits, walking two and striking out seven batters. JR Ballinger pitched two innings, giving up one hit and striking out one, and Ben Wade pitched the ninth inning and had a strikeout.

Southern Miss Recap

Baylor 12, Houston 6

Baylor scored nine runs over the final four innings on the way to a 12-6 win against the University of Houston baseball team Tuesday during a non-conference game at Baylor Ballpark.

The Bears took advantage of a hit and error to score two runs in the sixth inning and grab the lead for good and then broke the game open with four runs off three hits and another Cougar miscue one inning later to split the regular-season series against the Cougars. UH enjoyed a 4-2 win over the Bears on Feb. 9 during the first day of the Houston College Classic at Minute Maid Park.

Baylor added three more run in the eighth inning during its final at bat for the final margin of victory.

Houston Recap

Rice 5, Prairie View A&M 4

Junior left fielder Jordan Dodson delivered the game-winning hit with one out in the bottom of the ninth-inning to cap a late two-run rally and propel the eighth-ranked Rice baseball team to a 5-4 victory over upset-minded Prairie View Tuesday evening at Reckling Park in Houston.

Dodson's ninth inning game-winner was on the heals of an emotional boost in the top of the eighth inning when junior reliever Cole St.Clair made his long-awaited debut for the 2007 season. The left-hander fired a solid shutout inning that halted the first Prairie View rally after the Panthers cut the Rice lead to a single run, 3-2. St.Clair entered the game with one run already in, a man in scoring position and nobody out. The consensus preseason all-America selection got a fly out, which was enough to advance the runner to third, and he hit the next batter. With men on the corners, St.Clair quickly made up for the hit batsman by picking the runner off first base. He then batted down a line-shot back to the mound, which he managed to corral and flip to first to end the inning.

Rice Recap

Louisville 17, Marshall 1

The Marshall University baseball team suffered a 17-1 setback to Louisville at Jim Patterson Stadium on Tuesday on the strength of eight Cardinal home runs, three of which came in a 10-run third inning. The game was called in the top of the sixth inning due to thunderstorms.

Louisville fell behind 1-0 on a Brendan Murphy (Chattanooga, Tenn.) RBI groundout in the first inning that scored Thundering Herd leadoff man Mason Chapman (Barboursville, W.Va.). The Cardinals then wasted no time getting their offense going, hitting two home runs in the bottom of the first to take a 3-1 lead. Justin McClanahan hit a two-run shot off starter Ryan Kiel (Los Gatos, Calif.), then two batters later Chris Dominguez hit a solo homer.

Marshall Recap

Thanks to Raymond Reeves for forwarding me all this information. He is much help with Conference USA coverage.

Kyle Russell hits two homers as Texas completes sweep of Baylor, 8-3!

Kyle Russell had three RBIs on two home runs Sunday to help lead Texas to an 8-3 victory over Baylor.

Brad Suttle hit an RBI double and Russell followed with his first homer of the afternoon to give Texas (19-7, 3-0 Big 12) a 3-0 lead in the fourth. Texas added a run in the fifth on a triple by Chance Wheeless and another in the sixth on Russell's solo homer.

The game was the fourth this year in which Russell hit two home runs.

The Longhorns got their final three runs in the eighth. Suttle singled to score Wheeless and then scored on a throwing error. Russell scored on a single by Josh Prince.

Chase Gerdes homered for Baylor (12-10, 0-3) in the fifth. Seth Hammock hit an RBI single in the sixth and Tim Jackson scored on a throwing error for the other Bear runs.

Joseph Krebs (4-0) gave up one run on five hits an struck out two in five innings for Texas.

Randall Linebaugh (2-2) took the loss for Baylor, giving up five runs on six hits in seven innings.

Texas Recap
Box score
Baylors Recap

Texas pops Baylor with 11 runs in 2-inning stretch.

All Baylor needed was a strike. One pitch over the plate and the inning would have been over.

Texas still would have trailed 2-0. The Bears would have been coming to bat. But what appeared to be a strike was called a ball. Then there was a walk . . . and another walk . . . and a single.

Eight batters later, Texas led 7-2.

Game over.

Texas turned everything around in the third inning Saturday, flipping a rough start into an easy 14-2 victory by taking advantage of a small opportunity at Baylor Ballpark.

It all came with two outs.

"This tells you something about our team," said Bradley Suttle, whose 11-pitch at bat in the third inning keyed the rally. "We had a few good at-bats. Then we got a couple of hits. Our team can hit. Then we relaxed a little bit and let loose."

With two outs in the third, Chance Wheeless singled, Jordan Danks walked and so did Suttle, who fought off a bunch of pitches and escaped a couple of close calls that went Texas' way.

Then the rally began.

Kyle Russell worked the count to 3-2 before singling up the middle to tie the game at 2. Russell Moldenhauer doubled just inside the first-base line, scoring Suttle. Josh Prince followed with a two-run double. Preston Clark walked. Nick Peoples and Travis Tucker each followed with RBI singles.

"The at-bats right through there were spectacular," Texas coach Augie Garrido said. "The walks. Bradley turned his at-bat around. (Kyle) Russell working the count full and waiting for his pitch to hit. It was the best hitting."

The Horns (18-7, 2-0 Big 12) poured it on in the next inning, scoring four more runs as Suttle, who hit two right-handed home runs, and Kyle Russell hit back-to-back homers.

"I've been struggling right-handed," Suttle said. "I haven't been getting as many right-handed at-bats. But I worked on it a little extra today and earlier this week. I guess it paid off."

It was Russell's 11th home run of the season. Baylor (12-9, 0-2) has 10 home runs this year.

The 14 runs were the most Baylor had allowed at home since 1998 and the 12-run loss was the Bears' worst in the nine-year history of Baylor Ballpark.

The sizeable gap was made possible by Texas right-hander Adrian Alaniz, who fought off a shaky start that led to two first-inning runs and went seven strong innings to improve to 6-1.

Alaniz' calming down after the first inning, and Baylor starter Kendal Volz' losing control in the third was the difference.

"The difference in experience really showed," Baylor coach Steve Smith said. "We had a young pitcher on the mound, and he was able to get to two strikes a couple of times in the third inning, but then he made some mistakes. On the other hand, Alaniz struggled early but turned it around."

Texas Recap
Texas Box Score
Baylor Recap