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.

Gray Comes From Behind to Win and Force Game 5

FROM PRESS RELEASE
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Team Gray came from a run down in the bottom of the seventh inning to score two runs and win Game 4 of the Scarlet and Gray World Series, 5-4, Thursday at Bill Davis Stadium. The deciding Game 5 will be played at 3 p.m. Friday and admission is free.

It was a game that started off slow with a slight rain in the air and Gray pitcher Theron Minium in control. Behind an early three-run lead, Minium cruised through his six innings of work, allowing just four hits and one earned run with no walks and one strikeout.

He was replaced in the seventh by Rory Meister and Team Scarlet took advantage by scoring three runs off three hits and one error to take a 4-3 lead. All the scoring occurred with two outs and all of the runs were unearned. Tony Kennedy reached on an error and back-to-back walks loaded the bases. Cory Ruppert lined a single to score two runs and Ryan Dew followed with an RBI single to give the Scarlet its first lead of the game.

But back came the Gray, which was down two games to none at one point in the series but has fought back to force Game 5. The first three batters – Nathan Grove, Cory Kovanda and J.B. Shuck – all coaxed walks off Scarlet reliever Brad Hays. Brad Brookbank signaled to left scoring Grove but Kovanda was out at the plate on a fine throw by Michael Arp. Shuck alertly went to third on the throw home, and he scored the winning run when Zach Hurley hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield.

“The Gray did a nice job coming back to win this game,” coach Bob Todd said. “Theron Minium pitched a real nice game and they led the whole game. They showed some character coming back to win and force a Game 5 after losing that lead in the seventh inning.”

The Gray opened the scoring with two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Kovanda led off with a walk, advanced to second on a groundout and scored on a single to right by Zach Hurley. Gray coach Pete Jenkins then called for a hit-and-run and the execution was perfect as Tyler Engle drilled a double down the left field line and Hurley rounded the bases to score from first.

Team Gray increased the lead to 3-0 in the third with an unearned run. Brookbank reached on an error on the pitcher, moved to third on back-to-back walks and scored on a single to right by Brian DeLucia. Scarlet right fielder Ryan Dew threw out Hurley, who was trying to score on the play from second.

Meanwhile, Minium was easing his way through the first five innings with shutout baseball. He finally surrendered a run in the sixth to the Scarlet, allowing singles by Rupert and Dew with a run scoring on a double play ball, but that did little to dampen his effort on a moist and soggy day at Bill Davis Stadium.

Meister picked up the win while Hays took the loss. Offensively, Ruppert and Dew combined for four hits and three RBI to lead the Scarlet. Ben Toussant also had a pair of hits. No one on the Gray team had more than one hit, but the top four players in the order all scored runs. Hurley had two RBI.

Scarlet and Gray World Series Notes:

• Cory Kovanda is leading all hitters with a .583 average (7-12) and with five runs scored for the Gray.
• The Gray’s Zach Hurley has four RBI and is second to Kovanda with a .417 average (5-12)
• Gray pitchers have a 4.08 earned run average and have allowed 13 earned runs and 11 walks in 28.2 innings with 11 strikeouts.
• Matt Streng and Ryan Dew are leading the Scarlet offensively with .455 and .429 averages, respectively. Streng is 5-for-11 at the plate and Dew is 6-for-14.
• Dew, Cory Ruppert and Ben Toussant have three RBI apiece.
• The pitching staff has a 4.40 ERA with 23 walks and 18 strikeouts in 28.2 innings of work.
• Admission is free to Game 5 of the Scarlet and Gray World Series at 3 p.m. Friday at Bill Davis Stadium.

Fall Update for October 10th

Many different college baseball teams are in the midst of their fall ball schedule. We have provided links to each school's recap for games that took place on October 10th.

East Carolina

Devin Harris hit two homers and went 3-3 while pitcher Seth Maness pitched five shutout innings to lead the Purple team to an 8-0 victory in Game 1 of the Fall World Series.

North Carolina

Dustin Ackley drove in two runs and Garrett Davis pitched five innings while allowing only three hits as the Sox Slayers knocked off the Carolina Blue Sox to even the intrasquad scrimmage at a game a piece.

Michigan State

Kyle Hortt scored on a suicide squeeze bunt by Justin Potes to lead the White team to a 1-0 victory in Game 1 of the Fall World Series.

Ohio State Fall World Series Game 3 Recap

FROM PRESS RELEASE
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Redshirt freshman Dean Wolosiansky pitched six innings of scoreless ball to lead Team Gray to a series-extending 5-0 win over the Scarlet Wednesday at Bill Davis Stadium. Game 4 of the Scarlet and Gray World Series will take place Thursday starting at 3 p.m.

Wolosiansky, a right-hander from Uniontown, Ohio, scattered three hits and allowed one walk in picking up the victory for the Gray. Drew Malley relieved Wolosiansky in the seventh and pitched one scoreless inning.

The Gray was led offensively by sophomore Cory Kovanda, who had two base hits, scored a run and drove in another. Kovanda is batting .600 during this World Series. Red-shirt freshman Brad Brookbank also had two hits and scored a run. Zach Hurley and David Corna had runs batted in.

“It was good to see Dean go out and pitch six strong innings for us,” Bob Todd, Ohio State head coach, said. “That was coupled with some timely hitting by the Gray.”

Scarlet pitcher Andrew Armstrong, a true freshman, found himself in trouble in the top of the second, but he worked his way out of the jam. He walked two batters around a single to load the bases with no outs. But Armstrong induced a pop out from Dan Burkhart for the first out and then struck out both Corna and Nathan Grove to end the Gray threat.

Armstrong could not escape trouble in the top of the fourth, though, as Team Gray took a 2-0 lead. Armstrong gave up a single to Zach Hurley and then walked the next two batters to load the bases. He coaxed Burkhart to hit into a 6-4-3 double play and Hurley scored. Drew Rucinski then relieved Armstrong and gave up a two-out, RBI single to Corna for the second run. Armstrong allowed two runs on two hits and five walks while striking out four in 3 2/3 innings.

Team Gray added another run in the fifth. Kovanda smacked a single to left and advanced to third on a single by Brookbank. He then scored on a sacrifice fly by Hurley to make the score 3-0.

Gray extended the lead to 4-0 in the sixth as Kovanda stroked his sixth hit of the World Series to drive in Dan Burkhart, who had walked, moved to second on a ground out and advanced to third on a wild pitch. The Gray missed on an opportunity for more runs in the inning when Nathan Grove was picked off third base strayed away too far from third base after a pitch in the dirt.

The fifth and final run was scored in the seventh. Brookbank singled with one out and advanced to second on a wild pitch. After Tyler Engle was hit by a pitch, Brian DeLucia hit a grounder to short. Cory Rupert could not field the ball cleanly for an error, and Brookbank scored on the play.

Ohio State Fall World Series Game 2 Recap

FROM PRESS RELEASE
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Team Scarlet took a 2-0 lead in Ohio State baseball’s Scarlet and Gray World Series by winning Game 2, 9-5, Tuesday at Bill Davis Stadium. The best-of-five series continues at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. The Diamond Club, the baseball program’s booster organization, will hold a picnic prior to the game starting at 5 p.m. Admission to the park is free.

Freshman pitcher Alex Wimmers started for the Scarlet and picked up the win, allowing just one earned run over four innings. He retired eight batters in a row from the middle of the first to the top of the fourth inning.

“Wimmers pitched well,” Bob Todd, Ohio State coach, said. “I’m pleased with the way he played. He mixed his pitches, he threw strikes and he kept the batters off balance.”

Wimmers started slowly, giving up a leadoff double to Cory Kovanda in the first inning and walking the second batter he faced, J.B. Shuck. Kovanda would eventually score an unearned run, but Wimmers got through the inning by throwing a double play ball. He would then retire the next eight batters he faced and would finish his outing by allowing just three hits and one earned run. He struck out four and walked two.

A potent Scarlet offensive attack supported the freshman Wimmers with four players getting two hits apiece – Cory Ruppert, Ben Toussant, Ryan Dew and Matt Streng. Toussant, Dew and Justin Miller all had two RBI as well.

Trailing 1-0, Team Scarlet roared back in the top of the third, scoring five runs off three hits and three walks. The walks came consecutively to load the bases with one out. Ryan Meade hit a sac fly to score the first run and then Miller lined a two-out, two-run single to right that scored Ruppert and Tony Kennedy. Toussant followed with a two-run home run to left centerfield.

Ryan Dew led off the fourth inning with a solo home run to right center to make the score 6-1.

Team Gray chipped away at the lead with a run in the fourth and another in the fifth to close to within 6-3, but the Scarlet came back with two more in the sixth to take an 8-3 lead. Streng doubled down the leftfield line to open the inning, moved to third on a fielder’s choice and scored on Ruppert’s double to right center. Ruppert then scored on a single by Tony Kennedy.

The Scarlet made it 9-3 in the seventh as Toussant doubled to right center and scored on a single by Dew.

The Gray came right back their half of the seventh, loading the bases with nobody out. Zach Hurley drove one run home on a towering single to right centerfield. Only one run scored, though, as the runners could not advance further thinking the ball would be caught. A double play ball followed that scored one more run. Pitcher Brad Hays got the final out on ground out and the Scarlet is now one game away from the coveted fall intra-squad title and a fine meal of steak and ribs.

Josh Edgin started and took the loss for the Gray. He pitched 3.2 innings and gave up six runs, all of them earned, and six hits. J.B. Shuck and Zach Hurley had a pair of hits and Shuck and Cory Kovanda each scored a pair of runs to lead the Gray attack.

Ohio State Fall World Series Game 1 Recap

FROM PRESS RELEASE
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State Scarlet team defeated the Gray, 3-2, to claim Game 1 in the best-of-five Scarlet and Gray World Series Monday at Bill Davis Stadium. Game 2 is set for 3 p.m. Tuesday with Game 3 scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. start Wednesday under the lights.

Junior Ben Toussant, who started at second base for the Scarlet, lined a single to left centerfield to score freshman Ryan Meade from second base with the winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Scarlet the extra-innings win. Meade had singled with one out and moved to second on junior catcher Justin Miller’s two-out single.

Ohio State head coach Bob Todd, in his 21st season as coach, was pleased with the effort of the two teams.

“There were a lot of situations created out on the field today, defensively as well as offensively, and the players came through those situations with a lot of positives,” Todd said. “I am very pleased with how our players responded defensively. They made some good decisions.”

Some terrific defensive plays were turned in by:

• The Gray’s Brian DeLucia, at third, who dove to his right and snared a low liner by Dan Burkhart that would have gone for extra bases;
• Scarlet center fielder Ryan Dew, who made a long run and diving catch off a Brad Brookbank drive; and
• Right fielder Brookbank, who made a similar long run and diving catch to rob Ben Toussant of a hit.

Additionally, Scarlet pitcher Eric Best, a sophomore, caught Gray senior Cory Kovanda trying to steal and one inning later picked off Tyler Engle from first base. And in the seventh inning, Scarlet catcher Justin Miller started a 2-5-2-6-5 pickoff to get Brookbank, who was anticipating a squeeze bunt, out at third.

This game was not just about defense, though. The Gray team, coached by Buckeye assistant Peter Jenkins, scored in the top half of the third to take a 1-0 lead. Freshman first baseman David Corna singled to center and with one out stole second. Two batters later Kovanda stroked a single to center to score Corna. It was the first of three hits on the day for Kovanda, whose day included a triple, run scored and an RBI.

Coach Eric Parker’s Scarlet team scored twice in the fourth to take a 2-1 lead. Junior third-baseman Justin Miller walked and advanced to second on a single by sophomore center fielder Chris Griffin. Freshman Matt Streng doubled to left to score Miller with Griffin moving to third. Senior Tony Kennedy than hit a sac fly to right to score Griffin.

The Gray came back to tie the score in the top of the sixth. Kovanda led off with a triple to right center and then scored on J.B. Shuck’s single through the left side.

Each team used three pitchers. Best went 5.0 innings for the Scarlet and allowed one earned run off four hits with two strikeouts and a walk. Freshman RHP Tom Popadok pitched a clean 1.2 innings in relief to pick up the win.

Shuck started for the Gray and allowed two runs off six hits. Senior Rory Meister came on in the eighth inning and took the loss.

HTML Box Score

S&G World Series Game 1 Game Notes:

• Gray Starting pitcher J.B. Shuck also hit in the DH role and collected a pair of hits.
• Each of the top seven batters in the Gray’s lineup had at least one hit.
• Ryan Dew, Ryan Meade and Matt Streng each had two hits for the Scarlet.
• The game lasted 2:09 and approximately 200 fans were in attendance.

Field Set for 2008 Pepsi Johnny Quik Tournament

According to a press release from Fresno State, the field for the 2008 Pepsi Johnny Quik Tournament has been set. The Fresno State Bulldogs will act as host of the tournament with Utah, New Mexico State, Portland, Gonzaga, and Indiana all taking part in the week long tournament from March 10th-15th. The full press release from Fresno State is available here.

2008 Indiana Baseball Schedule Released

The Indiana Hoosiers have released their 2008 schedule which is highlighted with the opening series at LSU, taking part in the Austin Peay tournament, and heading to Fresno State over spring break to play six games. They will play a full Big Ten schedule this year missing out on a series with Ohio State which should bode well since Ohio State made the NCAA tournament in 2007. The full schedule is available here.

Iowa releases 2008 Schedule

The Iowa Baseball Program has released their 2008 baseball schedule. They will take part in two tournaments this year. The first tournament will be hosted by Notre Dame in Clearwater, Fla and the other tournament will be hosted by Vanderbilt. The teams in each tournament are unannounced. The top OOC game for the Hawkeyes will be when perennial power Nebraska visits them on April 8th. The full schedule is available here. Big Ten Hardball had this schedule posted a few weeks ago and I forgot to add the link.

Nashville Regional Preview

Vanderbilt will be hosting for the first time in their history. They will be joined by Michigan, Memphis, and Austin Peay.

Vanderbilt

The Vanderbilt Commodores (51-11) are the top seed in the entire of the country as they are led by David Price and Pedro Alvarez. Price is expected to be the top pick in the entire draft in a few weeks. Price has an outstanding 11-0 record with a solid ERA of 2.71. He will look to offensive standout Pedro Alvarez who leads the hitters with a .397 average including 17 homers. They open the tournament against Austin Peay on Friday at 7 pm CST.

Vandy Game Notes

Michigan

The Michigan Wolverines (39-16) enter the NCAA Tournament as an at-large team. They are led by Nate Recknagel who is hitting .360 on the season. He will look to starting pitcher Mike Wilson (7-0, 3.00 ERA) to hold the offenses down this weekend. Michigan opens the tournament up against Memphis at 2 pm CST on Friday.

Michigan Tourney Notes

Memphis

The Memphis Tigers (36-25) received an at-large berth out of Conference USA. Michael Murray is the top hitter for the Tigers with a batting average of .377. Bill Moss leads the team with 14 homers on the season. The pitching staff Ben Grisham who is only 4-3 with a 5.68 ERA. They open the tournament against Michigan at 2 pm CST on Friday.

Memphis Tourney Notes

Austin Peay

The Governors (39-20) enter the weekend with an automatic bid after winning the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. They are led by senior pitcher Shawn Kelley who is 11-3 with a 2.52 ERA including eight complete games on the season. The biggest offensive threat is Matt Smith who is hitting .320 on the year. They open the tournament against Vanderbilt at 7 pm CST.

Austin Peay Tourney Notes

The CBB predicts that Vanderbilt will win the Regional without losing a game.

San Diego Regional

The San Diego Toreros will host the NCAA Regional at their crosstown rival San Diego State's Tony Gwynn Stadium. They will be joined by Minnesota, Cal-State Fullerton, and Fresno State.

San Diego

The Toreros are led by All-American candidate Brian Matusz who leads the team with a 10-3 record and a 2.73 ERA. He has also struck out 156 batters in 115 innings this season. The offense is led by Shane Buschini who has a .356 average and 14 homers on the season. They will open up against Fresno State at 8pm PDT.

San Diego Tourney Notes

Cal-State Fullerton

The Titans enter the weekend with a 33-23 record. Wes Roemer came into the season as the expected ace of the pitching staff but has been up and down through the year. He has a 9-6 record with a 3.51 ERA. Clark Hardman is the leading hitter on the team with a .378 average. They open the tournament against Minnesota at 4 pm PDT.

Cal-State Fullerton Tourney Notes

Minnesota

The Gophers (40-16) received an at-large berth after advancing to the Big Ten Championship game but lost to Ohio State 4-2. They are led on offense by Mike Mee who is hitting .397. The top pitcher for Minnesota is Dustin Brabender who has a 5-1 record. They open against Fullerton at 4 pm PDT.

Minnesota Tourney Notes

Fresno State

The Bulldogs enter the weekend as the champions of the WAC after knocking off Nevada 17-4. They have five hitters who are batting over .304 on the season which is led by Erik Wetzel (.348 BA). The top pitcher for Fresno State is Justin Wilson who is 8-5 with a 3.19 ERA. They open the tournament at 8 pm PDT on Friday.

Fresno State Tourney Notes

The CBB predicts San Diego to come through the Regional with their strong pitchers but watch out for Fullerton to make a run with their strong coaching staff.

Big Ten Hardball Interview

Brian DeCaussin of Big Ten Hardball recently did an interview with The Baseball Zealots and discussed the Big Ten conference race among many other things. The full interview can be heard by clicking here. Brian has an excellent blog which can be read here and The Baseball Zealot does an excellent job of covering all baseball news across the country and you can read them by clicking here.

Baseball Zealot Chat

The Baseball Zealot has recently posted an interview with Illinois Head Coach Dan Hartleb. It gives you some insight into the baseball program they are building. The full article is available here.

SouthernCollegeSports.com Previews

SouthernCollegeSports.com has posted a series of previews on different conferences recently which are very knowledgeable for a quick synopsis of each conference. Each preview that has been released is listed below.

Southern Conference and Sun Belt
Conference USA and Big Ten
West Coast and Big West
Other Schools to Watch
Pac 10
ACC