Newcomer previews

Teams have started fall practices over the last few weeks. We have put together a list of schools that have previewed their incoming classes.

UCLA
Notre Dame
FSU
Southeast Missouri State

LSU Takes 2008 CB Recruiting Title

Coach Paul Mainieri and Recruiting Coordinator Terry Rooney took home the title of #1 Recruiting Class of 2008. The Collegiate Baseball title was unsurprising as Coach M (in his first year at Baton Rouge after a successful stint in South Bend) and Coach Rooney had assembled a massive class including 12 Freshman and 7 JuCos, including several All-Americans.

The future is certainly looking bright for LSU, which is seeking to restore its position as one of the top programs in the country.

This was the 25th ranking of recruiting classes by Collegiate Baseball. The full release can be found here.

The list of top classes goes as follows:

Rank Team Recruits

1. Louisiana St. 19

2. Florida St. 20

3. Oregon St. 16

4. Notre Dame 14

5. UCLA 11

6. Cal. St. Fullerton 16

7. North Carolina 12

8. Arizona St. 17

9. San Diego 18

10. Texas 17

11. Washington 16

12. Auburn 14

13. Virginia 16

14. Oklahoma St. 18

15. Vanderbilt 13

16. Georgia 14

17. Rice 12

18. South Carolina 13

19. Missouri 16

20. Miami, Fla. 8

21. Clemson 10

22. Stanford 13

23. Georgia Tech. 11

24. Arizona 9

25. Mississippi 17

2008 Schedule Issues

Doug Kroll of CSTV checks in with an article going over a few schedules for the 2008 season and how they dealt with the uniform start date. He looks at UCLA, NC State, Cal-State Fullerton, Auburn, and Florida. The article is available by clicking here.

UCLA loses two recruits

The UCLA Bruins lost two big time recruits for the 2008 season in Ryan Dent and Jason Heyward. Dent was the 62nd overall pick in the 2007 draft by the Boston Red Sox. Dent received a $571,000 deal with the team. Heyward was the 14th overall pick by the Atlanta Braves. He received a 1.7 million dollar deal with the team. The rest of the UCLA freshman class will be attending classes in Los Angeles this year. The full press release is available here.

Who's the fastest rising program?

Kendall Rogers of Rivals.com College Baseball has counted down his top 10 rising programs with a series of articles. Here's the list.

10. Memphis
9. Coastal Carolina
8. Michigan
7. UC Riverside
6. Texas A&M
5. Louisville
4. Missouri
3. San Diego
2. UC Irvine
1. UCLA

Kendall also answered some interesting questions in his latest Mailbag. Addressed were the draft decisions for a trio of Longhorns and Rick Porcello. Also discussed are the prospects for the NC State Wolfpack and Western Carolina's hiring of Bobby Moranda.

Best College Program?

I want to be a Sports Agent website checks in with an article about the most successful baseball programs based on MLB players drafted and making it to the Majors. Using their calculations, They have USC in the top spot with 275 players drafted and 94 players making it to the Majors. Texas holds down the second spot followed by Arizona State, Stanford, and UCLA to round out the Top 5. The full article is available here.

News and Notes from Around the Country

The Pacific University Tigers coaching staff will be making an appearance on the Discovery channel show Mythbusters which is set to air on Wednesday August 8th at 9:00 pm (PST). Tiger Head Coach Ed Sprague and Undergraduate assistant coach John Devaney were invited to be involved in the shooting at Klein Family Field. The full release is available here

The Miami (FL) Media Relations Department has released a feature on Kyle Bellamy who played this summer in the NYCBL with the Geneva Red Wings. He recorded 16 saves in 26 innings while recording a perfect ERA of 0.00. The full article is available here with updates on other Hurricanes players progress throughout the summer.

The Daily Utah Chronicle checks in with an article previewing the Utah Utes 2008 team. The article discusses some of the disappointments of the 2007 season and the future of the program. The full article is available here.

The UCLA Bruins have released their 2008 schedule which includes a game in Compton CA against USC. They also have a visits from the Oklahoma Sooners and UC-Riverside as the highlights of their OOC schedule. The full schedule is available here.

Stay tuned to The College Baseball Blog for the most up to date news from around the country. If anyone has any comments or ideas feel free to e-mail me 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

Fullerton heading to Omaha

The Cal-State Fullerton Titans knocked off UCLA 2-1 in a great pitchers duel to send the Titans to the CWS in Omaha. UCLA starting pitcher Gavin Brooks pitched a complete game and gave up both runs while scattering seven hits while striking out 12 batters but got the loss to end his freshman season with a 6-7 record. Fullerton starter Jeff Kaplan went 6.1 innings while giving up one unearned run on five hits. Bryan Harris got his third save by going the final 1.2 innings. Clark Hardman led the Titan offense by getting three hits in his four at-bats including a home run. UCLA ends the season with a 33-28 record while Fullerton will be in Omaha this weekend.

Fullerton Recap
UCLA Recap

Cal-State Fullerton Super Regional Game 2!!

2007 NCAA Super Regional

Cal State Fullerton (36-23) vs. UCLA (33-26)
At Goodwin Field, Fullerton, Calif. / June, 9-11, 2007

Cal State Fullerton is set to face UCLA in the 2007 NCAA Super Regionals this weekend at Goodwin Field. The Southern California best-of-three game series for a trip to Omaha, Nebraska.

Sunday, (CSF home team), 10:06 p.m. (GT, WEB, ESPN2)

CSF: Jeff Kaplan, RHP (11-3, 3.35 ERA)
UCLA: Gavin Brooks, LHP (6-6, 4.65 ERA)

Live Stats!

CS-Fullerton takes Game 1

The Cal-State Fullerton Titans jumped out to a 3-0 first inning lead then went on to cruise to a 12-2 victory over the UCLA Bruins to pick up a win in Game 1 of their Super Regional match-up. Wes Roemer (11-6) pitched a complete game giving up two runs on nine hits while striking out seven UCLA hitters. The Titans offense was led by Evan McArthur who went 3-3 with three runs scored and three driven in. UCLA starter Tyson Brummett was lit up for nine runs in 4.1 innings to drop his record to 10-6. Brendan Crawford led the Bruins by going 2-4 with 2 RBI while Alden Carrithers also picked up two hits in the losing effort.

The teams will be back in action at 10 pm EDT on Sunday.

Fullerton Recap
UCLA Recap

Super Regional Preview: UCLA at CS Fullerton

The UCLA Bruins head to Cal-State Fullerton for a spot in the College World Series. The Titans and Bruins will play on Saturday at 7 pm on ESPN, Sunday at 10 pm on ESPN 2, and Monday at 7 pm on ESPN 2 (if necessary).

UCLA (33-26)

The UCLA Bruins won the Regional Championship at Long Beach last weekend behind some strong Bruins pitching. UCLA opened up the tournament with a 7-3 victory over Pepperdine, 3-1 victory over UIC, and won the Regional Championship over Long Beach State 7-4. UCLA is led by John Savage who is in his 3rd year with the Bruins. He has an overall record of 81-92 at UCLA with a career record of 169-176-1 including his time with UC-Irvine. The Bruins have a solid pitching staff which is led by Tyson Brummett (10-5, 3.57 ERA) and Gavin Brooks (6-6, 4.65 ERA). Brant Rustich leads the team with six saves but has a hefty ERA of 6.67. The offensive leaders for UCLA are Alden Carrithers (.351 BA) and Gabe Cohen (.348 ERA, 10 HR). Cody Decker leads the Bruins with 14 homers on the season.

UCLA Series Notes
UCLA Season Stats
Orange County Register Article about the Bruins
The Daily Bruin

Cal-State Fullerton (36-23)

The Titans won the San Diego Regional by going 3-0 last weekend. Fullerton opened up with a 7-1 victory over Minnesota, then defeated Fresno State 6-4 in a winner's bracket game, then in the Regional final defeated the Bulldogs 13-2. The Titans are led by George Horton who is in his 11th season with the team. He has an overall record of 488-210-1 including a national championship in 2004. The Titans offense is led by Clark Hardman who is hitting .389 on the year. Wes Roemer is the ace of the pitching staff with a 10-6 record and an ERA of 3.33. He was the 50th overall selection by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the MLB draft that started on Thursday. Jeff Kaplan is the second starter on the staff with an 11-3 record. Adam Jorgenson leads the team with eight saves on the year with a 4.45 ERA.

Fullerton Series Notes
Fullerton Season Stats

Pitching Match-ups

Saturday: CSF Wes Roemer (10-6, 3.33 ERA) vs. UCLA Tyson Brummett (10-5, 3.57 ERA)
Sunday: CSF Jeff Kaplan (11-3, 3.35 ERA) vs. UCLA Gavin Brooks (6-6, 4.65 ERA)
Monday: TBA vs. TBA

The CBB predicts that UCLA wins the Super Regional in three tough games.

Other Previews
Rivals.com

Long Beach Regional Day 3 Recap

Long Beach State 4 Illinois-Chicago 3

The Long Beach Dirtbags picked up a 4-3 victory over Illinois-Chicago to advance to the championship round of the NCAA Regional. The Dirtbags got a solid start from Omar Arif who pitched six innings while allowing only three runs (one earned). Brandon Godfrey went 2-4 with a run scored and a run batted in. LBSU advances to face UCLA later on Sunday. UIC ends the season with a 35-21 record.

LBSU Recap
UIC Recap

UCLA 7 Long Beach State 4

The UCLA Bruins clinched a spot in the Super Regionals by knocking off Long Beach State 7-4.

UCLA Recap
LBSU Recap

Long Beach Regional Day 2 Recap

LBSU 6 Pepperdine 3

The Long Beach State got a complete game from starting pitcher Andrew Liebel as he scattered 11 hits and only gave up three runs as the Dirtbags picked up a 6-3 victory over Pepperdine. The offense was led by Robert Perry who went 2-4 with 2 runs scored. LBSU will play the loser of UIC/UCLA on Sunday.

LBSU Recap
Pepperdine Recap

UCLA 3 UIC 1

The UCLA Bruins advanced in the NCAA Regional to the Championship game by knocking off the UIC Flames 3-1. UCLA starter Gavin Brooks threw a two hitter while allowing only one run in the game. UIC starter Zach Peterson gave up 14 hits in nine innings but only allowed three runs. UCLA will play the winner of the UIC and LBSU elimination game in the nightcap Sunday.
UCLA Recap
UIC Recap

Long Beach State Regional Day 1 Recap

UCLA 7 Pepperdine 3

Tyson Brummett (UCLA) pitched 8.2 innings while giving up three runs as his Bruins picked up pa 7-3 victory over Pepperdine. The UCLA offense got to Peperdine ace Barry Enright for six run in 6.1 innings. UCLA will face surprise winner UIC while Pepperdine will face Long Beach State in an elimination game.

UCLA Recap
Pepperdine Recap

UIC 4 Long Beach State 1

The UIC Flames picked up an impressive 4-1 victory over Regional host Long Beach State on Friday evening. The Dirtbags were held to only one hit by UIC starter Ryan Zink who pitched eight strong innings. David Cales struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth to pick up the impressive victory for the Flames. UIC will play UCLA on Saturday in the winners bracket while LBSU will play Pepperdine.

UIC Recap
LBSU Recap

Long Beach Regional Preview

The Long Beach Dirtbags will be one of the 16 hosts for the NCAA Baseball Tournament that starts on Friday. They will host Pepperdine, UCLA, and Illinois-Chicago.

Long Beach State

The Dirtbags (37-18) are heading into the weekend after finishing up the regular season knocking off Cal-State Fullerton in two out of three games last weekend. LBSU is led by Omar Arif who is 5-5 with a 3.11 ERA. Bryan Shaw leads the team with 10 saves with a 2.53 ERA.

LBSU Tourney Notes

UCLA

The UCLA Bruins (30-26) finished in third place in the Pac 10 conference with a 14-10 mark. They are led by Gabe Cohen who is leading the team in hitting with a .357 average including ten homers. Tyson Brummett leads the starters with a 9-5 mark with an ERA of 3.69. He also has 103 strikeouts in 125 innings.

UCLA Tourney Notes

Pepperdine

The Pepperdine Waves (35-20) are led by one of the top pitchers in the country in Barry Enright who leads the team in wins with 12 and has an ERA of 1.73. Jason Dominguez leads the team with 12 saves in 28 appearances. The offense is led by Adrian Ortiz (.355 BA), Danny Worth (.346 BA), and Donald Brown (.342 BA).

Pepperdine Tourney Notes

UIC

The University of Illinois-Chicago heads out to Long Beach CA to take part in the regional that Long Beach State is hosting. UIC got into the NCAA Tournament after winning the Horizon League Tournament. UIC is led by Larry Gempe Jr. who is hitting .397 for the season. Steve Crnkovich who leads the starting pitchers in ERA at 2.27 and has only a 4-3 overall record. They have one of the best closers in the country with David Cales who has twelve saves on the season and an ERA of 0.84.

UIC Tourney Notes

The CBB predicts Pepperdine to shock everyone and win the regional behind Barry Enright's arm.

UCLA holds off UC-Riverside

The UCLA Bruins knocked off the UC Riverside Highlanders 3-2 in a highly competitive game at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The Bruins pitching held the Highlander offense in check until the top of the ninth inning when closer Brant Rustich entered the game with a three run lead. He proceeded to scare everyone in the ballpark by giving up two runs on a hit and two walks. Rustich also had problems in Coral Gables this weekend including blowing a save against the Hurricanes. Brandon Crawford went 3-4 on the night to lead the Bruins offense. Kyle Barratt and Ryan Goetz had the only two hits on the evening for Riverside. UCLA hosts East Carolina on Friday while Riverside hosts San Francisco.

UCLA Recap
UC Riverside Recap
Daily Bruin Article

Winthrop takes game 2

The Winthrop Eagles beat the UCLA Bruins tonight 6-4 to even up the series at one game a piece. Winthrop took advantage of a six run third inning where they were given five walks by Bruin pitchers Paul Schmidt and Kevin Brophy. They also sent twelve batters to the plate in that inning. Winthrop starter Ryan Schwartz was average tonight by going 6.2 innings and giving up four runs (2 earned). Jonathan Settle picked up the save by going the last 1.1 innings without surrendering a run. The teams will face off tomorrow back at Jackie Robinson Stadium at 1:00 pm local time.

UCLA Recap
Winthrop Recap

UCLA knocks off Winthrop

UCLA knocked off the Winthrop Eagles tonight by a score of 2-1. UCLA scored the second run of the game on an error in the bottom of the eighth inning to get to the deciding score. Tyson Brummett started for the Bruins and went a masterful eight innings while only giving up a run on six hits and six strikeouts. Brant Rustich pitched the ninth where he allowed the tying run to get to third base with 2 outs but finished off the game. Alex Wilson started for the Eagles and lasted 5.2 innings and only giving up one run which was unearned. Ryan Mullins pitched the rest of the game and ended up giving up the winning run on a dropped ball. There was not much hitting in the game for either team but UCLA was led by two hits by both Tim Stewart and Mickey Weissner. Phil Carey went 2-4 for the Eagles.

UCLA Recap
Winthrop Recap

Eagles and Bruins to battle

The Winthrop Eagles are making the trip across the country to visit the UCLA Bruins. This is an interesting match-up since Winthrop has an attitude that they will play anyone anywhere. They have scheduled Rice in 2008 and USC in 2009 already. The Eagles finished second in the Big South Conference in 2006 with a 46-18 record. They received an at-large berth to the Chapel Hill Regional where they were eliminated. Winthrop returns one of the top pitchers in the country in Alex Wilson who compiled a record of 13-3 with a 3.78 ERA.

UCLA is coming off an NCAA appearance in the Malibu Regional in which they ended their season. The Bruins returning pitching is suspect as they start Tyson Brummett on Friday who went 6-7 with a 4.52 ERA. They follow that up with Paul Schmidt who had no record but a 2.25 ERA and they start freshman Gavin Brooks on Sunday.

Rivals.com Preview
UCLA Game Notes
Winthrop Game Notes