Alabama announces 2008 schedule!

The University of Alabama announced its 2008 baseball schedule today, which features 33 games in the state of Alabama and 20 games against teams that played in the 2007 NCAA Regionals, Super Regionals and College World Series.

The recent changes to the college baseball schedules have forced teams to play more games in a shorter period of time, creating five-game weeks for most teams throughout the country. Alabama is no different and the complexity of the schedule will have the Tide playing 26 road games this season, the most under head coach Jim Wells and the most by UA since playing 26 road games during the 1994 season.

“It was a very challenging schedule to put together due to the change in the format of the season,” Alabama head coach Jim Wells said. “First of all, we play in the toughest league in the country, then on top of that to have to play two midweek games makes it even more difficult.

“The NCAA’s uniform start date for all teams is Feb. 22, so we lost two weekends of baseball that we used to have,” Wells added. “I think we have a good schedule and we are playing some really good teams. We are on the road quite a bit this year, but most of the road games are in the state of Alabama against some really good in-state teams. We are excited to be going to Florence, Birmingham, Montgomery, Mobile and Jacksonville to showcase the Crimson Tide baseball program. I think that is a good thing.”

The Crimson Tide will play 30 home games this season, including 15 non-conference games and 15 SEC games.

The non-conference home schedule includes series with Cal Poly (Feb. 22-24), Youngstown State (March 7-9) and New Orleans (March 18-19). The Crimson Tide will also play single games against Troy (March 5), Samford (March 12), Jacksonville State (March 25), UAB (April 1), Mississippi Valley State (April 8), SE Louisiana (April 9) and Lipscomb (April 22).

Alabama’s 2008 SEC home schedule features defending SEC Champion Vanderbilt (March 21-23), Ole Miss (March 28-30), Mississippi State (April 18-20), Auburn (April 25-27) and Florida (May 9-11).

Press Release

Schedule

Vanderbilt Fall Series Recap

The Vanderbilt Commodores finished up the Black and Gold Scrimmage over the weekend with the Gold team winning Game 1 by a score of 7-4. The Gold team was led by All-American Pedro Alvarez who went 2-4 including a homer with 2 RBI. Nick Christiani started the game for the Gold team going five strong innings while only allowing two hits to get the victory. Brett Jacobsen started for the Black squad and lasted five innings while giving up three runs on six hits. The leading hitter for the Black team was Parker Hanks who went 2-4. Game 2 was won by the Black team 7-4. The team was led by a very strong pitching performance from Mike Minor who pitched five no-hit innings while allowing only one walk to dominate the Gold lineup. Parker Hanks led the Black team again with three hits and three RBI in five at-bats. Dominic de la Osa led the Gold team in a losing effort by going 2-3. The final and deciding game on Sunday was won by the Gold team 6-2. The team was led on offense by Gabe Ortiz who went 2-4 with 3 RBI. We have linked to interviews and recaps from each day of the Fall Series below.

Game 1: Recap
Game 1" Box Score
Game 1: Photo Gallery
Game 1: Interview with Nick Christiani

Game 2: Recap
Game 2: Box Score
Game 2: Interview with Tim Corbin

Game 3: Recap
Game 3: Box Score
Game 3: Interview with Tim Corbin
Game 3: Interview with De la Osa

Ole Miss Fall Checkup

Kendall Rogers of Rivals.com checks in on Mike Bianco's Rebel workouts in the Fall. The article (found here) includes Bianco's reaction to Ole Miss' historical bad luck in the Super Regionals and the joys of added depth.

After a Supers exit to Arizona State last year, this member of the College Baseball Blog sees redemption for the Rebs (no, the South isn't rising again) as the SEC team to beat. Lance Lynn and Cody Satterwhite will be the closest thing to this year's version of the David Price - Casey Weathers combo that Vanderbilt wore to a #1 ranking. Add in solid pitching and positional depth, and the Rebs are well positions to be the #1 seed in the SEC West when the conference descends on Hoover.

Tennessee Announces 2008 Baseball Schedule

Tennessee head baseball coach Todd Raleigh released the team’s 2008 schedule. In addition to the traditional gauntlet of Southeastern Conference opponents, the Volunteers also will square off against four non-conference teams who advanced to NCAA Regional play last season.

Of the 56 scheduled regular-season games, 16 will be against 2007 NCAA Tournament teams. A total of 13 teams on UT’s 2008 schedule turned in a top-64 finish in the NCAA Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) last year.

“This is a good schedule with some really strong opponents, though it’s still not what I’d ultimately like for it to be,” Raleigh said. “We’ve given up some home games this year for the sake of securing multiple home dates with those opponents in the future. When our stadium renovations are complete, I’d like to play close to 40 home games while increasing our strength of schedule across the board.

“Most of this year’s schedule was set before our staff arrived, so our hands were tied in many instances for this first year. With that said, it will still be a challenging season. We’re working extremely hard this fall to prepare.”

Friday, Feb. 22—the new NCAA-mandated uniform start date that will create a true national “Opening Day” for college baseball —will provide Big Orange fans with their first glimpse of the Vols, as UT begins a three-game homestand against Morehead State at Robert M. Lindsay Field at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. It is the first of 33 regular-season home games.

The Vols’ pre-conference schedule is highlighted by a return trip to Houston for the Minute Maid College Classic. Tennessee is slated to face Big 12 Conference stalwarts Texas, Texas Tech and Oklahoma at the event, which takes place at Minute Maid Park, home stadium of the Houston Astros. The Vols also took part in the 2005 Minute Maid College Classic, posting a 1-2 record.

Due to the NCAA’s new start date, there are only three weekends of play before UT enters the conference portion of its schedule. Tennessee’s home SEC series feature matchups against LSU (March 14-16), Florida (April 4-6), Alabama (April 11-13), Vanderbilt (May 2-4) and Kentucky (May 9-11).

The Vols will venture out on the road to battle conference foes Georgia (March 21-23), Auburn (March 28-30), Arkansas (April 18-20) and Mississippi State (April 25-27) before closing out the regular season at South Carolina (May 15-17).

Ole Miss is the only team UT will not face during the 30-game regular-season SEC schedule.

Tennessee has home-and-home series set with ETSU, Furman and Middle Tennessee, non-return road games at Lipscomb, and Tennessee Tech and exclusive home dates with Morehead State, James Madison, Eastern Michigan, Presbyterian College, USC Upstate, Charlotte, Appalachian State, Western Carolina and Belmont.

The Vols’ longest homestand is a nine-game stretch from March 5-16. Tennessee will play four straight road games on five different occasions. And six weeks of the 12-week regular-season schedule will feature multiple midweek games.

The 2008 SEC Tournament is set for May 21-25 at Regions Park in Hoover, Ala. NCAA Regional play takes place May 30-June 2, with NCAA Super Regionals slated for June 6-9. The NCAA College World Series runs June 14-25 at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb.

Fox Sports Net South/SEC-TV has announced that it will televise two Tennessee home games. The Vols’ April 5 contest against Florida and May 3 game against Vanderbilt both will be televised regionally on Fox Sports Net South.

SportSouth also will televise a number of UT home games, which will be announced at a later date.

Tennessee Press Release

Commodores open with Beavers, ASU in 2008

NASHVILLE, Tenn. --Vanderbilt opens the 2008 baseball season against two-time defending champion Oregon State as head coach Tim Corbin released the schedule today. The Commodores will take on four teams that played in the College World Series a year ago and 11 teams that made it into the NCAA tournament.

"I think this is a challenging schedule right off the bat with two teams that made it to Omaha last season including the national champion, " said Corbin. "The SEC schedule is always tough and we have several midweek games against teams that made it to the NCAA tournament as well. We have an experienced team returning and look forward to the challenge."

The season opener against the Beavers will be played on Feb. 22 at Arizona State's tournament in Tempe, Ariz. VU will also take on 2007 CWS participant Arizona State (Feb. 23) and Miami of Ohio (Feb. 24) in the tourney. Vanderbilt starts a 15-game homestand against Evansville on Feb. 27 at 4 p.m. VU hosts Kansas, Iowa and Xavier in the Music City Classic Feb. 29-March 2. The Commodores will play a four-game series with Illinois-Chicago starting on Thursday, March 6 and ending on March 9. The Flames won the Horizon League last spring and participated in the NCAA tournament.

VU hosts another NCAA tourney team in Western Carolina (March 11-12) before opening Southeastern Conference play against South Carolina (March 14-16) at Hawkins Field. Louisville, a team that advanced to its first ever College World Series last June, comes to Nashville for a single game on March 18. Vanderbilt will close out the homestand against Lipscomb on March 19.

VU will make five SEC road trips in 2008, starting with Alabama on March 21-23. The Commodores will then return home for midweek games against Belmont (March 25) and Middle Tennessee (March 26), before hosting Arkansas (March 28-30). Saturday's game against the Razorbacks will be televised on Fox Sports Net at 3 p.m. CT.

Eleven road games are on the docket in April starting with a contest at Middle Tennessee (April 2). Vanderbilt will then take the first of back-to-back trips to Mississippi against Ole Miss (April 4-6). The Commodores will host Western Kentucky (April 8) and Austin Peay (April 9) in midweek action before traveling to Starkville, Miss., to take on 2007 CWS participant Mississippi State (April 11-13). Two road contests against Lipscomb (April 15) and Western Kentucky (April 16) precede a three-game series against Auburn (April 18-20) at Hawkins Field. The Commodores close out April with games at Austin Peay (April 22) and Belmont (April 23), and at home against Kentucky (April 25-27).

VU will open May with a three-game set at rival Tennessee (May 2-4), with the Saturday game set for television on Fox Sports Net. The Commodores will then take on Memphis at Pringles Park in Jackson, Tenn., on May 6. The Tigers were one of two area teams to play at the NCAA Nashville Regional along with Austin Peay last June. Tennessee Tech (May 7) and a series against Georgia (May 9-11) closes out the regular season home campaign. Vanderbilt will take on Florida (May 15-17) in Gainesville in a Thursday-Friday-Saturday series as eligible teams will have an extra day to prepare for the Southeastern Conference tournament (May 21-25) in Birmingham, Ala.

NCAA Regionals (May 30-June 2) and Super Regionals (June 6-9) will be played at school host sites, while the College World Series (June 14-25) is set for Omaha, Neb.

The full Commodores schedule is available here.

Mississippi State releases 2008 schedule

STARKVILLE, Miss. - Twenty-two games against 2007 NCAA Tournament participants and a 31-game slate of contests at Dudy Noble Field highlight Mississippi State University’s 56-game baseball schedule for 2008.

Mississippi State opens its 118th season of baseball and veteran skipper Ron Polk’s 29th coaching campaign with the Bulldogs Feb. 22-24 in Jacksonville, Fla., with a three-game road series against first-time foe North Florida.

State ushers in its 31-game 2008 home schedule February 26 against UAB, the first game of a season-longest 14-game homestand for the Diamond Dogs. During that stretch State hosts another first-time foe, Air Force, in a three-game series and meets Big 12 Conference power Baylor in the three-game Cadence Bank Challenge. MSU wraps up the early-season run of home games and launches SEC competition Mar. 14-16 with a three-game series against instate league rival Ole Miss.

Baylor is the first of eight teams on MSU’s 2008 schedule that advanced to the 2007 NCAA Tournament. Austin Peay State University, Memphis and Southern Miss along with SEC foes Arkansas, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt and South Carolina also reached the 64-team field of the NCAA Tournament last season. Three of those opponents (Arkansas, Ole Miss and South Carolina) advanced to NCAA Super Regional competition.

Other opponents scheduled to visit Dudy Noble Field in the coming season are Arkansas-Little Rock, Memphis and South Alabama along with SEC rivals Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee and Vanderbilt. The MSU-Georgia baseball series March 28-30 anchors MSU’s annual spring homecoming celebration, Super Bulldog Weekend.

The Bulldogs are scheduled to make one appearance in 2008 at Trustmark Park in Pearl, Miss., taking on Ole Miss Apr. 15 in the second annual Governor’s Cup game.

Two Mississippi State baseball games have been selected for live broadcast by the SEC’s Regional Sports Network (RSN) as part of the SEC game of the week television series shown on FOX Sports Net South. MSU’s May 10 game at LSU and a regular season-ending May 17 home matchup with Arkansas are part of the league’s eight-game TV package.

MSU returns 20 letter-winners and 14 players who drew starts on the 2007 State team that finished with a 38-22 record and advanced to the NCAA College World Series in Omaha, Neb.

2008 MSU schedule

Ole Miss Fall Preview

The Ole Miss baseball program is starting up fall practice on Friday. The Daily Mississippian writer Chase Parham checks in on the team and provides some insight into the program's plans for the upcoming season. The full article is available here. The Ole Miss athletic department has also put out a release about the upcoming Fall practices which is available here.

What's In Store for 2008

Kendall Rogers of Rivals.com has been busy churning out quality content. Some of his latests items include:

- A rundown of the issues for SEC teams in 2008

- The same rundown for Big 12 squads

- A pre-Fall listing of the top 25 teams heading into the next season (not really a top 25, but rather a 25 teams to watch, listed in alphabetical order).

In his latest Mailbag, Kendall also discusses Irvine, Wake Forest, Oregon and Oregon State, and the differences between Fresno State and San Diego.

Trouble brewing in Gainesville?

It is in the media. New scholarship and roster-size limits will likely lead to some uncomfortable situations this fall, particularly with respect to the new transfer restrictions. That said, new Florida coach Kevin O'Sullivan seems to be spitting mad about a one-sided article in the Gainesville Sun that paints him in less than positive light.

The article involves allegations regarding a meeting with a local high school coach, who's son is on the Gators squad. The high school coach alleges that O'Sullivan took away the scholarship of his son, Bo Smith, at the 11th hour before classes and that O'Sullivan has only a passing familiarity with his own roster.

The Florida Athletics department hit back this morning, citing massive inaccuracies in the article and defending Coach O'Sullivan. The real story is likely somewhere in the middle, as always, but look for roster issues to come up at numerous schools this fall, particularly those with large recruiting classes and with new coaches. One thing is for certain, though: this was not how O'Sullivan wanted to start out with the local media.

Read the Gainesville Sun article here.

Read the UF Press Release response here.

Florida releases 2008 Schedule

New Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan and The University of Florida athletic department has released the 2008 baseball schedule on Wednesday. The Gators will open the season on February 22nd when they take on Siena for a three game set. The Gators will make the trip down to the University of Miami the next weekend before coming back home to take on defending Ivy League Champs Brown. The Gators will play Florida State three times this season with a game in each teams respective ballpark and a neutral site game in Jacksonville. In addition to the strong OOC schedule, Florida will play a full 30 games in the SEC which is highlighted by a visit from SEC power Vanderbilt to end the season. The full schedule is available here.

Georgia picks up early verbal

Boston.com is reporting that Blaine O'Brien of Scituate MA has verbally committed to playing for the Georgia Bulldogs during the 2008-2009 school year. O'Brien is a 6'7 185 pound right hander who also drew interest from Florida and Vanderbilt before settling on the Bulldogs. The full article is available here.

Auburn welcomes incoming class!

Thursday was a banner day for the Auburn baseball team as the Tigers welcomed 13 freshmen and a transfer to the squad for the 2008 season. The freshman class includes three players that were drafted in this past summer's Major League Baseball Draft while 23rd-round pick junior Mike Bianucci also chose to return to The Plains for the upcoming season.

PGcrosschecker.com had this to say about Auburn's recruiting class. "Big, Deep and Talented (Brian Fletcher, Wes Gilmer, Hunter Morris, Kevin Patterson). If these hitters show up for class at Auburn, the Tigers might have the best offensive team in college baseball in a couple of years. They all hit and can hit right now without needing much projection. Morris and Patterson are left-handed hitters with middle-of-the-order potential; it's a scary thought where they might be in three years with metal bats."

Press Release from Auburn

Officially Corbin set to stay at Vanderbilt

Tim Corbin has officially announced that he will stay at Vanderbilt after overtures from the University of Oregon according to the press release from the official Vanderbilt athletic site. The full press release is available here.

LSU breaks ground on new baseball stadium

The LSU baseball program moved one step closer Monday toward entering a new era as ground was officially broken at the construction site of the New Alex Box Stadium.

The new stadium will be located at the corner of Nicholson Drive and Gourrier Lane -- about 200 yards south of the current site of Alex Box Stadium -- and will seat 8,700 fans. The stadium is expected to be completed by the fall of 2008, and LSU is scheduled to play its first game in the new facility in February 2009.

LSU officials were joined at Monday’s groundbreaking by representatives of the stadium architects and contractor. The stadium was designed through a combined effort of Grace & Hebert Architects of Baton Rouge and DLR Group of Omaha, Neb. The contractor for the project is Buquet & LeBlanc of Baton Rouge.

“The construction of a new stadium demonstrates LSU’s commitment to our mission of returning the baseball program to a position of prominence,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “This facility will be one of the finest in the country, and it will enhance our players’ ability to compete at the highest level. I also believe our fans will be thrilled with the amenities the new stadium will offer.”

Complete story

Moreland signs with Rangers

Mitch Moreland of Mississippi State has decided to sign with the Texas Rangers according to a report in The Clarion-Ledger. Moreland hit .343 with 10 homers and 62 RBI for the Bulldogs in 2007. The full article is available by clicking here.

Perfect Game Ratings on Vandy 08 Recruits

We have recently compiled a list of rankings from Perfect Game on Vanderbilt's 2008-2009 Verbal commitments. A 10 rating means that the player will be a very high draft pick and Top D-1 in the nation prospect. A 9 rating means Top 10 round pick and a Top D-1 prospect.

OF Matt Marquis: 10
LHP Grayson Garvin: 10
RHP Will Clinard: 10
RHP Sonny Gray: 10
LHP Corey Williams: 9.5
LHP Ryan Westmoreland: 9
RHP Navery Moore: Did not attend showcases due to Tommy John surgery.

If the Vanderbilt coaching staff can get some of these players into college in the fall of 2008 they will continue to be at the top of the SEC conference for years to come.

Thanks to NYDore of VandySports for compiling this information on the Vanderbilt recruits.

Jim Wells out at Alabama

Jim Wells has announced his retirement as the head coach of Alabama. He was at the school for 13 seasons and accumulated a 553-272 record. This announcement means that at least three SEC programs will have new head coaches next season. A full national search for a successor will begin immediately.

Alabama Release
SEBaseball Article
AP Article

Vols name Todd Raleigh new coach

According to multiple reports around the Internet including the Knoxville News, the University of Tennessee will name Todd Raleigh their next head coach. Raleigh is the current head coach of Western Carolina where he took the team to the NCAA Tournament on two separate occasions including the 2007 season. He compiled a record of 257-209 in eight seasons with the Catamounts.

Also, Tony Delmonico has decided to transfer to Florida State next season. This was expected as Delmonico's father Rod was an assistant under Mark Martin Sr. before heading to Tennessee.

Knoxville News
Western Carolina Release
Tennessee Release

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.

Oxford Regional Preview

The Oxford Regional will be held at the University of Mississippi's Swayze Field, It is the fourth straight year Ole Miss has hosted an NCAA Regional. The field includes the host Rebels, out of the Southeastern Conference; the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, out of Conference USA; the Troy Trojans, out of the Sun Belt Conference; and the Sam Houston State Bearkats, out of the Southland Conference.

OLE MISS
No. 1 seed Ole Miss enters the 2007 NCAA Tournament after advancing to the semifinals of the Southeastern Conference Tournament, losing two games to Vanderbilt. The Rebels
finished third in the SEC Western Division during the regular season, finishing behind Arkansas and Mississippi State.

The Rebels are hitting .304 with 98 doubles, 17 triples and 48 home runs. The pitching staff has a 3.51 ERA in 543 innings pitched with 522 strikeouts, 216 walks and opponents are hitting .237 against them.

Ole Miss is led by All-SEC pitchers Will Kline and Lance Lynn, two of the best in conference as well as in the nation. Kline is 6-2 with a 3.68 ERA and 123 strikeouts in 110 innings pitched, while Lynn is 7-4 with a 2.77 ERA and 130 strikeouts in 107.1 innings pitched.

The Rebels are led offensively by junior infielder Justin Henry, who is hitting .378 with 14 doubles, eight triples, 21 stolen bases and 35 RBIs. Redshirt freshman infielder Zach Miller is hitting .370 with seven doubles, two triples, three home runs and 26 RBIs. Freshman outfielder Jordan Henry is hitting .365. with four doubles, two triples, one home run, 12 stolen bases and 14 RBIs. Redshirt freshman Cody Overbeck hit 15 doubles, a team-leading 13 home runs and 52 RBIs.

SOUTHERN MISS
No. 2 seed Southern Miss enters the tournament after defeating UAB, 9-5, in the first round of the Conference USA Tournament, before dropping a 2-1 game in 10 innings to East Carolina and then a 6-2 loss to Tulane to end its tournament run. The Golden Eagles finished 14-10 in Conference USA, won 10-straight to end the regular season and has won 11-of-13, 13-of-15 and 21 of their last 30 games.

Junior first baseman Trey Sutton leads the Golden Eagles, hitting .368 with 18 doubles, three triples, eight home runs, 35 walks, 35 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. He hurt his left knee against UAB in the first game of the tournament and is doubtful for the NCAA Tournament. Sophomore shortstop Brian Dozier is hitting .335 with 14 doubles, three home runs, 19 walks and 25 RBIs. Senior outfielder Jody Blount is hitting .326 with eight doubles, two triples, six home runs, 26 walks and 33 RBIs. Redshirt junior designated hitter Trey Cuevas leads the team in home runs with 10, and sophomore outfielder Michael Ewing leads the team in walks (42) and RBIs (46).

Senior right-hander Ryan Belanger has a 7-4 record with a 2.63 ERA in 99.1 innings pitched. He has struck out 82, walked 18 and opponents are hitting .232 against him. Junior right-hander Barry Bowden is 7-3 with a 3.12 ERA in 92.1 innings pitched. He has struck out 83, walked 26 and opponents are hitting .242 against him. Junior David Clark is 8-5 with a 4.69 ERA in 88.1 innings pitched. He has struck out 69, walked 33 and opponents are hitting .239 against him.

TROY
No. 3 seed Troy enters the NCAA Tournament after posting a 1-2 record in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. The Trojans defeated Louisiana-Monroe, 7-0, in game one, before dropping two straight to Louisiana-Lafayette, 9-7, and South Alabama, 4-1. Troy has won five of its last 10 games, seven of 15 and 11 of its last 20 games. The Trojans posted a 16-14 record in Sun Belt Conference games and finished in a tie for second place with Middle Tennessee State and New Orleans.

Sophomore infielder Trevor Trye is hitting .381 with six doubles, four home runs, 17 walks and 22 RBIs to lead the Trojans. Senior outfielder Kevin Weidlich is hitting .362 with 13 doubles, 11 home runs, 19 walks and 55 RBIs. Senior infielder Clint Robinson is hitting .359 with 18 doubles, 17 home runs, 30 walks and 69 RBIs. Senior infielder Edgar Ramirez is hitting .338 with 16 doubles, 11 home runs and 44 RBIs.

Senior right-hander Clegg Snipes is 6-5 with a 5.18 ERA in 97.1 innings pitched, striking out 84, walking 22 and opponents are hitting .277 against him. Senior left-hander Joe Hallahan is 5-6 with a 5.66 ERA in 89.0 innings pitched, striking out 60, walking 25 and opponents are hitting .297 against him. Senior relief pitcher Josh Dew is 7-2 with a 2.56 ERA in 63.1 innings, striking out 96, walking 25 and opponents are hitting .214 against him.

SAM HOUSTON STATE
No. 4 seed Sam Houston State won the Southland Conference Tournament last weekend and have won four in a row, five of six and 11 of 14 games. The Bearkats registered an 18-12 mark in the Southland Conference, finishing in third place in the west division.

Junior outfielder Keith Stein leads the team with a .386 batting average, with six doubles, four triples and 36 RBIs. Junior outfielder Bobby Verbick is hitting .373 with a team-leading 22 doubles, five triples, 13 home runs and 75 RBIs. Senior infielder Karl Krailo is hitting .357 with 15 doubles, one triple, five home runs and 46 RBIs.

Sophomore right-hander Jacob Howard has posted an 11-5 record this season in 105 innings pitched. He has struck out 74 batters, walked 28 and opponents are hitting .279 against him. Senior left-hander Jesse Marshall is 8-3 with a 3.58 ERA in 98 innings pitched. He has struck out 51, walked 34 and opponents are hitting .273 against him.

Oxford Regional capsules

Watch/Listen to Oxford Regional games