1. Virginia. 3. Coastal Carolina. 13. South Carolina. 20. Clemson. 30. The Citadel.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Poll update, May 31, Part 2
National Collegiate Baseball Writers
1. Virginia. 3. Coastal Carolina. 13. South Carolina. 20. Clemson. 30. The Citadel.
NCBWA
1. Virginia. 3. Coastal Carolina. 13. South Carolina. 20. Clemson. 30. The Citadel.
NCAA bracket
Here's a link to the NCAA bracket. I tried to use the PDF file so it would be easy to print out, but keep getting an error message.NCAA
NCAA field announced
Coastal Carolina gets the No. 4 national seed and plays in a home regional with College of Charleston, N.C. State and Stony Brook. The Chanticleers open with Stony Brook
South Carolina, which likely played its way out of a national seed with its 0-2 SEC Tournament effort, plays in a home regional with Virginia Tech, The Citadel and Bucknell. USC opens with Bucknell.
Clemson gives the state five teams. The Tigers play in a region at Auburn with Jacksonville State and Southern Mississippi. Clemson opens with Southern Mississippi.
The Southern Conference -- deservedly in my opinion -- gets three bids, with Elon going to the Georgia Tech regional.
North Carolina receives a bid to a regional at Norman, Okla., despite not qualifying for the ACC Tournament.
There are eight teams apiece from the ACC, Pac-10 and SEC.
South Carolina, which likely played its way out of a national seed with its 0-2 SEC Tournament effort, plays in a home regional with Virginia Tech, The Citadel and Bucknell. USC opens with Bucknell.
Clemson gives the state five teams. The Tigers play in a region at Auburn with Jacksonville State and Southern Mississippi. Clemson opens with Southern Mississippi.
The Southern Conference -- deservedly in my opinion -- gets three bids, with Elon going to the Georgia Tech regional.
North Carolina receives a bid to a regional at Norman, Okla., despite not qualifying for the ACC Tournament.
There are eight teams apiece from the ACC, Pac-10 and SEC.
A look back at the tournaments
I can testify that developing a cold while out of town is no fun. I didn't feel like providing much in the way of commentary for several days. While waiting for the tournament selection show, here are some thoughts about the various tournaments.
Atlantic Coast Conference
I'm not a fan of the round-robin pool play, and this year's events only served to reinforce my opinion.
After losing its first two games, Clemson had no chance to reach the championship game, but still had to play a third time. I know about the pride factor and all that, but why should a team face the prospect of going 0-3 - which No. 1 Texas did in the Big 12 Tournament.
I suspect Clemson is safely in the NCAA Tournament field, but what about if the Tigers were on the bubble and went 0-3? Not good.
Also, Florida State entered the championship game not having played since about 3 p.m. Friday. N.C. State started a game Friday night, then wound up playing the equivalent of two full games on Saturday, the last one ending less than 12 hours before the start of Sunday's title game.
Weather events aside, N.C. State still would have been at a disadvantage rest-wise. A team shouldn't have an extra day's rest over another entering a title game.
Big South
I'm not a big fan of the single-elimination play-in games the league used to get from eight teams to six. It can be argued that such a setup provides more of a premium on/reward for finishing higher in the standings.
I don't like the fact a team may have to use its best starter just to get into the main draw, where all the other teams are more rested and have all their pitching options.
Southeastern Conference
Having sat through three games under the pitch clock, (20 seconds to deliver a pitch with no one on base, 1:48 between innings), I wouldn't mind seeing it being adopted nationwide for the regular season. To me, the biggest difference was the shorter time between innings. I'd love to know how the SEC convinced the TV networks to cut down on the break. That's where the time was saved.
I didn't like the league cutting the Saturday games to seven innings because weather delayed the start, but I can understand it.
The two teams in the finals, LSU and Alabama, didn't qualify for the tournament until the next-to-last day of the regular-season.
Southern Conference
The SEC makes a couple of swaps between brackets for the third round to avoid having rematches so early in the tournament. I wonder if the SoCon might look at doing the same. Samford and Elon were matched Wednesday and Friday, as were College of Charleston and Appalachian State.
Atlantic Coast Conference
I'm not a fan of the round-robin pool play, and this year's events only served to reinforce my opinion.
After losing its first two games, Clemson had no chance to reach the championship game, but still had to play a third time. I know about the pride factor and all that, but why should a team face the prospect of going 0-3 - which No. 1 Texas did in the Big 12 Tournament.
I suspect Clemson is safely in the NCAA Tournament field, but what about if the Tigers were on the bubble and went 0-3? Not good.
Also, Florida State entered the championship game not having played since about 3 p.m. Friday. N.C. State started a game Friday night, then wound up playing the equivalent of two full games on Saturday, the last one ending less than 12 hours before the start of Sunday's title game.
Weather events aside, N.C. State still would have been at a disadvantage rest-wise. A team shouldn't have an extra day's rest over another entering a title game.
Big South
I'm not a big fan of the single-elimination play-in games the league used to get from eight teams to six. It can be argued that such a setup provides more of a premium on/reward for finishing higher in the standings.
I don't like the fact a team may have to use its best starter just to get into the main draw, where all the other teams are more rested and have all their pitching options.
Southeastern Conference
Having sat through three games under the pitch clock, (20 seconds to deliver a pitch with no one on base, 1:48 between innings), I wouldn't mind seeing it being adopted nationwide for the regular season. To me, the biggest difference was the shorter time between innings. I'd love to know how the SEC convinced the TV networks to cut down on the break. That's where the time was saved.
I didn't like the league cutting the Saturday games to seven innings because weather delayed the start, but I can understand it.
The two teams in the finals, LSU and Alabama, didn't qualify for the tournament until the next-to-last day of the regular-season.
Southern Conference
The SEC makes a couple of swaps between brackets for the third round to avoid having rematches so early in the tournament. I wonder if the SoCon might look at doing the same. Samford and Elon were matched Wednesday and Friday, as were College of Charleston and Appalachian State.
All-Tournament Teams
SoCon All-Tournament Team
SP Asher Wojciechowski, The Citadel
SP Jimmy Reyes, Elon
RP Brandon Johnson, Western Carolina
C Ollie Goulder, Western Carolina
1B Justin Mackert, The Citadel
2B Wes Hobson, Appalachian State
SS Jamie Holler, College of Charleston
3B Hector Crespo, Appalachian State
OF Chris Alessandria, Appalachian State
OF William Ladd, The Citadel
OF Matt Johns, Western Carolina
DH Brad Felder, The Citadel
Tournament Most Outstanding Player, Walt Nadzak Award: Justin Mackert, The Citadel
ACC All-Tournament Team
C: Steve Domecus, Virginia Tech
1B: Harold Riggins NC State - MVP
2B: Dallas Poulk, NC State
3B: Harold Martinez, Miami
SS: Stephen Cardullo, Florida State
OF: Kyle Wilson, NC State
OF: Tyler Holt, Florida State
OF: Austin Wates, Virginia Tech
UTL/DH: Michael Broad, Miami
P: Justin Wright, Virginia Tech
P: Jake Buchanan, NC State
SEC All-Tournament Team
P Ben Alsup, LSU
P Jimmy Nelson, Alabama
DH Aaron Westlake, Vanderbilt
1B Blake Dean, LSU
SS Austin Nola, LSU
C Brock Bennett, Alabama
2B Tyler Hanover, LSU
3B Jake Smith, Alabama
OF Matt den Dekker, Florida
OF Mikie Mahtook, LSU
Most Valuable Player
Austin Nola, LSU
SP Asher Wojciechowski, The Citadel
SP Jimmy Reyes, Elon
RP Brandon Johnson, Western Carolina
C Ollie Goulder, Western Carolina
1B Justin Mackert, The Citadel
2B Wes Hobson, Appalachian State
SS Jamie Holler, College of Charleston
3B Hector Crespo, Appalachian State
OF Chris Alessandria, Appalachian State
OF William Ladd, The Citadel
OF Matt Johns, Western Carolina
DH Brad Felder, The Citadel
Tournament Most Outstanding Player, Walt Nadzak Award: Justin Mackert, The Citadel
ACC All-Tournament Team
C: Steve Domecus, Virginia Tech
1B: Harold Riggins NC State - MVP
2B: Dallas Poulk, NC State
3B: Harold Martinez, Miami
SS: Stephen Cardullo, Florida State
OF: Kyle Wilson, NC State
OF: Tyler Holt, Florida State
OF: Austin Wates, Virginia Tech
UTL/DH: Michael Broad, Miami
P: Justin Wright, Virginia Tech
P: Jake Buchanan, NC State
SEC All-Tournament Team
P Ben Alsup, LSU
P Jimmy Nelson, Alabama
DH Aaron Westlake, Vanderbilt
1B Blake Dean, LSU
SS Austin Nola, LSU
C Brock Bennett, Alabama
2B Tyler Hanover, LSU
3B Jake Smith, Alabama
OF Matt den Dekker, Florida
OF Mikie Mahtook, LSU
Most Valuable Player
Austin Nola, LSU
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Coastal Carolina, USC to host regionals
As expected. Coastal Carolina and South Carolina were among the 16 teams selected to host NCAA Regionals. The complete field, as well as the super regional hosts, will be announced at 12:30 p.m. Monday on ESPN.Regionals
Big South Conference All-Tournament Team
OF: Daniel Bowman, Coastal Carolina (MVP)
OF: Chance Gilmore, Coastal Carolina
OF: Kenneth Negron, Liberty
INF: Tommy La Stella, Coastal Carolina
INF: Tyler Bream, Liberty
INF: Mike Mercurio, High Point
INF: Chas Crane, Winthrop
C: Eddie Rohan, Winthrop
DH: Pablo Rosario, High Point
UTL: Rich Witten, Coastal Carolina
P: Anthony Meo, Coastal Carolina
P: Steven Evans, Liberty
OF: Chance Gilmore, Coastal Carolina
OF: Kenneth Negron, Liberty
INF: Tommy La Stella, Coastal Carolina
INF: Tyler Bream, Liberty
INF: Mike Mercurio, High Point
INF: Chas Crane, Winthrop
C: Eddie Rohan, Winthrop
DH: Pablo Rosario, High Point
UTL: Rich Witten, Coastal Carolina
P: Anthony Meo, Coastal Carolina
P: Steven Evans, Liberty
Scoreboard, May 30
ACC Tournament
NewBridge Bank Park, Greensboro, N.C.
TV: SportSouth; Satellite radio: XM-190; Sirius-215
Florida State 8, N.C. State 3, FSU wins tournament
Southeastern Conference Tournament
Regions Park, Hoover, Ala.
TV: ESPN2; Satellite radio: XM-199; Sirius-214
LSU 4, Alabama 3, 11 innings, LSU wins tournament
Southern Conference Tournament
Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park, Charleston
The Citadel 10, Western Carolina 3, The Citadel wins tournament
NewBridge Bank Park, Greensboro, N.C.
TV: SportSouth; Satellite radio: XM-190; Sirius-215
Florida State 8, N.C. State 3, FSU wins tournament
Southeastern Conference Tournament
Regions Park, Hoover, Ala.
TV: ESPN2; Satellite radio: XM-199; Sirius-214
LSU 4, Alabama 3, 11 innings, LSU wins tournament
Southern Conference Tournament
Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park, Charleston
The Citadel 10, Western Carolina 3, The Citadel wins tournament
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Scoreboard, May 29
ACC Tournament
NewBridge Bank Park, Greensboro, N.C.
TV: FSCR; Satellite radio: XM-190; Sirius-215;
Georgia Tech 17, N.C. State 5, completion of suspended game, 7 innings, run rule
Virginia 12, Miami 7
Clemson 9, Georgia Tech 3
N.C. State 10, Virginia Tech 9, 10 innings
Big South Conference Tournament
The Winthrop Ballpark, Rock Hill
Liberty 9, High Point 5
Coastal Carolina 8, Liberty 2, Coastal wins tournament
Southeastern Conference Tournament
Regions Park, Hoover, Ala.
Satellite radio: XM-199; Sirius-214
LSU 8, Mississippi 0
Alabama 5, Florida 2
Southern Conference Tournament
Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park, Charleston
Appalachian State 3, Western Carolina 2
The Citadel 6, Elon 5
Western Carolina 7, Appalachian State 6
NewBridge Bank Park, Greensboro, N.C.
TV: FSCR; Satellite radio: XM-190; Sirius-215;
Georgia Tech 17, N.C. State 5, completion of suspended game, 7 innings, run rule
Virginia 12, Miami 7
Clemson 9, Georgia Tech 3
N.C. State 10, Virginia Tech 9, 10 innings
Big South Conference Tournament
The Winthrop Ballpark, Rock Hill
Liberty 9, High Point 5
Coastal Carolina 8, Liberty 2, Coastal wins tournament
Southeastern Conference Tournament
Regions Park, Hoover, Ala.
Satellite radio: XM-199; Sirius-214
LSU 8, Mississippi 0
Alabama 5, Florida 2
Southern Conference Tournament
Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park, Charleston
Appalachian State 3, Western Carolina 2
The Citadel 6, Elon 5
Western Carolina 7, Appalachian State 6
It's break time
Pardon the lack of timely updates during the past few days. I'm concentrating on some other things for a little while, but I do have some thoughts on the tournaments that I'll share next week.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Scoreboard, May 28
ACC Tournament
NewBridge Bank Park, Greensboro, N.C.
TV: FSCR; Satellite radio: XM-190; Sirius-215
Florida State 12, Boston College 2, 7 innings, run rule
Virginia Tech 9, Clemson 8
Georgia Tech 2, N.C. State 0, B1, suspended until 10 a.m. Saturday, rain
Big South Conference Tournament
The Winthrop Ballpark, Rock Hill
Liberty 9, Winthrop 7, Winthrop eliminated
Coastal Carolina 15, High Point 9
Liberty vs. High Point, ppd. until 11 a.m. Saturday
Southeastern Conference Tournament
Regions Park, Hoover, Ala.
TV: SS; Satellite radio: XM-199; Sirius-214
Mississippi 10, Auburn 7, 10 innings, Auburn eliminated
Florida 5, Vanderbilt 2
Southern Conference Tournament
Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park, Charleston
Appalachian State 10, College of Charleston 6, CofC eliminated
Elon 7, Samford 4
NewBridge Bank Park, Greensboro, N.C.
TV: FSCR; Satellite radio: XM-190; Sirius-215
Florida State 12, Boston College 2, 7 innings, run rule
Virginia Tech 9, Clemson 8
Georgia Tech 2, N.C. State 0, B1, suspended until 10 a.m. Saturday, rain
Big South Conference Tournament
The Winthrop Ballpark, Rock Hill
Liberty 9, Winthrop 7, Winthrop eliminated
Coastal Carolina 15, High Point 9
Liberty vs. High Point, ppd. until 11 a.m. Saturday
Southeastern Conference Tournament
Regions Park, Hoover, Ala.
TV: SS; Satellite radio: XM-199; Sirius-214
Mississippi 10, Auburn 7, 10 innings, Auburn eliminated
Florida 5, Vanderbilt 2
Southern Conference Tournament
Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park, Charleston
Appalachian State 10, College of Charleston 6, CofC eliminated
Elon 7, Samford 4
Thursday, May 27, 2010
All-Big South Conference
Coach of the year: Gary Gilmore, Coastal Carolina
Pitcher of the year: Anthony Meo, Coastal Carolina
Scholar-Athlete of the year: Austin Fleet, Coastal Carolina
First team: Anthony Meo, Coastal Carolina; Cody Wheeler, Coastal Carolina; Matt Rein, Coastal Carolina; Jose Iglesias, Coastal Carolina; Tommy La Stella, Coastal Carolina; Scott Woodward, Coastal Carolina; Taylor Motter, Coastal Carolina; Rico Noel, Coastal Carolina.
Second team: Tyler Thornburg, Charleston Southern; Nick Chinners, Charleston Southern; Ryan Connolly, Coastal Carolina; Matteo D'Angelo, Winthrop; Eddie Rohan, Winthrop.
All-Academic team: Charlie McCready, Charleston Southern; Austin Fleet, Coastal Carolina; Nate Horton, Presbyterian; Matt Thielepape, Winthrop.Big South
Pitcher of the year: Anthony Meo, Coastal Carolina
Scholar-Athlete of the year: Austin Fleet, Coastal Carolina
First team: Anthony Meo, Coastal Carolina; Cody Wheeler, Coastal Carolina; Matt Rein, Coastal Carolina; Jose Iglesias, Coastal Carolina; Tommy La Stella, Coastal Carolina; Scott Woodward, Coastal Carolina; Taylor Motter, Coastal Carolina; Rico Noel, Coastal Carolina.
Second team: Tyler Thornburg, Charleston Southern; Nick Chinners, Charleston Southern; Ryan Connolly, Coastal Carolina; Matteo D'Angelo, Winthrop; Eddie Rohan, Winthrop.
All-Academic team: Charlie McCready, Charleston Southern; Austin Fleet, Coastal Carolina; Nate Horton, Presbyterian; Matt Thielepape, Winthrop.
Scoreboard, May 27
Thursday
ACC Tournament
NewBridge Bank Park, Greensboro, N.C.
TV: FSCR. Satellite radio: XM-199, Sirius-215
Clemson does not play
Boston College 12, Miami 10, 12 innings
Florida State 11, Virginia 4
Virginia 6, Georgia Tech 2
Big South Conference Tournament
The Winthrop Ballpark, Rock Hill
Winthrop 11, VMI 6, VMI eliminated
Coastal Carolina 11, Radford 9
High Point 2, Liberty 1
Southeastern Conference Tournament
Regions Park, Hoover, Ala.
TV: CSS; Satellite radio: XM-190; Sirius-214
Auburn 3, South Carolina 1, USC eliminated
Florida 5, Arkansas 4, Arkansas eliminated
Alabama 6, Mississippi 3
LSU 7, Vanderbilt 5
Southern Conference Tournament
Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park, Charleston
Appalachian State 6, Georgia Southern 2, GSU eliminated
Samford 13, Furman 10, Furman eliminated
The Citadel 6, Elon 3, 10 innings
Western Carolina 7, College of Charleston 6, 12 innings
ACC Tournament
NewBridge Bank Park, Greensboro, N.C.
TV: FSCR. Satellite radio: XM-199, Sirius-215
Clemson does not play
Boston College 12, Miami 10, 12 innings
Florida State 11, Virginia 4
Virginia 6, Georgia Tech 2
Big South Conference Tournament
The Winthrop Ballpark, Rock Hill
Winthrop 11, VMI 6, VMI eliminated
Coastal Carolina 11, Radford 9
High Point 2, Liberty 1
Southeastern Conference Tournament
Regions Park, Hoover, Ala.
TV: CSS; Satellite radio: XM-190; Sirius-214
Auburn 3, South Carolina 1, USC eliminated
Florida 5, Arkansas 4, Arkansas eliminated
Alabama 6, Mississippi 3
LSU 7, Vanderbilt 5
Southern Conference Tournament
Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park, Charleston
Appalachian State 6, Georgia Southern 2, GSU eliminated
Samford 13, Furman 10, Furman eliminated
The Citadel 6, Elon 3, 10 innings
Western Carolina 7, College of Charleston 6, 12 innings
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Honors, May 26
National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association
Pitcher of the week: Andrew Foushee, Presbyterian.Foushee
Pitcher of the week: Andrew Foushee, Presbyterian.
News Digest, May 26
Rawlings/ABCA NCAA DII All-American Team
Player of the year: Bryan Fogle, Erskine
Position player of the year, Bryan Fogle, Erskine
First team: Bryan Fogle, Erskine; Atlee Pearson, Erskine
Second team: Chas Anthony, Erskine
Third team: William Buzhardt, Erskine; Barrett Kleinknecht, Francis Marion.
ABCA
Here's the release on Fogle being named player of the year.
Fogle
All-SEC Team
First team: Blake Cooper, South Carolina
Second team: Jackie Bradley Jr., South Carolina; Matt Price, South Carolina
All-freshman team: Evan Marzilli, South Carolina; Matt Price, South Carolina; Christian Walker, South Carolina
All-defensive team: Jackie Bradley Jr., South Carolina; Scott Wingo, South Carolina
SEC
Player of the year: Bryan Fogle, Erskine
Position player of the year, Bryan Fogle, Erskine
First team: Bryan Fogle, Erskine; Atlee Pearson, Erskine
Second team: Chas Anthony, Erskine
Third team: William Buzhardt, Erskine; Barrett Kleinknecht, Francis Marion.
Here's the release on Fogle being named player of the year.
All-SEC Team
First team: Blake Cooper, South Carolina
Second team: Jackie Bradley Jr., South Carolina; Matt Price, South Carolina
All-freshman team: Evan Marzilli, South Carolina; Matt Price, South Carolina; Christian Walker, South Carolina
All-defensive team: Jackie Bradley Jr., South Carolina; Scott Wingo, South Carolina
Scoreboard, May 26
ACC Tournament
NewBridge Bank Park, Greensboro, N.C.
TV: FSCR; Satellite: XM-190; Sirius-215
Virginia 6, Boston College 4
Miami 9, Florida State 3
N.C. State 13, Clemson 8
Big South Conference Tournament
The Winthrop Ballpark, Rock Hill
Coastal Carolina 11, VMI 2
Liberty 7, Winthrop 2
High Point 10, Radford 8
Southeastern Conference Tournament
Regions Park, Hoover, Ala.
Satellite radio: XM-199; Sirius-214
Alabama 7, Auburn 1
Mississippi 3, South Carolina 0
LSU 10, Florida 6
Vanderbilt 2, Arkansas 0
Southern Conference Tournament
Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park, Charleston
College of Charleston 11, Appalachian State 10, 11 innings
Western Carolina 11, Georgia Southern 4
The Citadel 9, Furman 5
Elon 1, Samford 0
NewBridge Bank Park, Greensboro, N.C.
TV: FSCR; Satellite: XM-190; Sirius-215
Virginia 6, Boston College 4
Miami 9, Florida State 3
N.C. State 13, Clemson 8
Big South Conference Tournament
The Winthrop Ballpark, Rock Hill
Coastal Carolina 11, VMI 2
Liberty 7, Winthrop 2
High Point 10, Radford 8
Southeastern Conference Tournament
Regions Park, Hoover, Ala.
Satellite radio: XM-199; Sirius-214
Alabama 7, Auburn 1
Mississippi 3, South Carolina 0
LSU 10, Florida 6
Vanderbilt 2, Arkansas 0
Southern Conference Tournament
Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park, Charleston
College of Charleston 11, Appalachian State 10, 11 innings
Western Carolina 11, Georgia Southern 4
The Citadel 9, Furman 5
Elon 1, Samford 0
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
SCBL sets opening day
The Southern Collegiate Baseball League, an eight-team wooden bat summer league, has set its opening day schedules for June 1-2. Included in the league are teams in Clemson/Central, Fort Mill and Spartanburg.
Openers
League Web site
News Digest, May 25, Part 2
SEC honors Roth
University of South Carolina pitcher Michael Roth has been named to the Southeastern Conference's Community Service Team, which recognizes one player from each school who is involved in community service efforts.
Roth
All-Atlantic Sun Conference
Second team: Matt Branham, P, USC Upstate
All-freshman team: Brody Greer, IF, USC Upstate.
ASun
Media All-SoCon team
Player of the Year – Matt Leeds, College of Charleston
Pitcher of the Year – Asher Wojciechowski, The Citadel
Freshman of the Year – Will Muzika,Furman
Coach of the Year – Fred Jordan, The Citadel
First team: SP: Asher Wojciechowski, The Citadel; C: Rob Kral, College of Charleston; 3B: Matt Leeds, College of Charleston; OF: Cole Rakar, College of Charleston; OF: Jose Rodriguez, College of Charleston; DH: Mac Doyle, Wofford
Second Team: SP: Kevin Decker, College of Charleston; 1B: Greg Blake, College of Charleston; 2B: Bryan Altman, The Citadel; 3B: Kyle Behrendt, Wofford.
SoCon
ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America
University Division, first team: Austin Fleet, Coastal Carolina
College Division, second team, Alex Lee, Francis Marion.
Academic
University of South Carolina pitcher Michael Roth has been named to the Southeastern Conference's Community Service Team, which recognizes one player from each school who is involved in community service efforts.
All-Atlantic Sun Conference
Second team: Matt Branham, P, USC Upstate
All-freshman team: Brody Greer, IF, USC Upstate.
Media All-SoCon team
Player of the Year – Matt Leeds, College of Charleston
Pitcher of the Year – Asher Wojciechowski, The Citadel
Freshman of the Year – Will Muzika,Furman
Coach of the Year – Fred Jordan, The Citadel
First team: SP: Asher Wojciechowski, The Citadel; C: Rob Kral, College of Charleston; 3B: Matt Leeds, College of Charleston; OF: Cole Rakar, College of Charleston; OF: Jose Rodriguez, College of Charleston; DH: Mac Doyle, Wofford
Second Team: SP: Kevin Decker, College of Charleston; 1B: Greg Blake, College of Charleston; 2B: Bryan Altman, The Citadel; 3B: Kyle Behrendt, Wofford.
ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America
University Division, first team: Austin Fleet, Coastal Carolina
College Division, second team, Alex Lee, Francis Marion.
News Digest, May 25
Coastal, USC pegged as national seeds
Jeremy Mills of ESPN has made a blog post suggesting that Coastal Carolina could be the No. 5 national seed and South Carolina No. 8. He pegs The Citadel to go to Conway, Clemson to go to Columbia and College of Charleston to go to Atlanta.
ESPN
Belcher gets Wednesday start for USC
Sophomore left-hander Nolan Belcher, a weekend starter most of last season who has struggled with control problems and been used sporadically this season, is coach Ray Tanner's choice to start the Gamecocks' SEC Tournament opener against Mississippi Wednesday. A poster on the TheBigSpur.com has posted the 27-player travel roster for the Gamecocks. Seldom-used catcher Richard Royal is the biggest surprise. Pitchers Colby Holmes -- a midweek starter six times -- and Jimmy Revan are the biggest omissions.
USCroster
Live, via satellite
It looks like games from the ACC, Big East, Big 12 and SEC tournaments will be broadcast on XM satellite radio. I don't know about Sirius.
XM
Jeremy Mills of ESPN has made a blog post suggesting that Coastal Carolina could be the No. 5 national seed and South Carolina No. 8. He pegs The Citadel to go to Conway, Clemson to go to Columbia and College of Charleston to go to Atlanta.
Belcher gets Wednesday start for USC
Sophomore left-hander Nolan Belcher, a weekend starter most of last season who has struggled with control problems and been used sporadically this season, is coach Ray Tanner's choice to start the Gamecocks' SEC Tournament opener against Mississippi Wednesday. A poster on the TheBigSpur.com has posted the 27-player travel roster for the Gamecocks. Seldom-used catcher Richard Royal is the biggest surprise. Pitchers Colby Holmes -- a midweek starter six times -- and Jimmy Revan are the biggest omissions.
Live, via satellite
It looks like games from the ACC, Big East, Big 12 and SEC tournaments will be broadcast on XM satellite radio. I don't know about Sirius.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Another poll update
National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association
1. Texas. 5. Coastal Carolina. 10. South Carolina. 17. Clemson. 29. College of Charleston.
NCBWA
1. Texas. 5. Coastal Carolina. 10. South Carolina. 17. Clemson. 29. College of Charleston.
More honors, May 24
Atlantic Coast Conference
Player of the week: Wilson Boyd, Clemson.ACC
Atlantic Sun Conference
Pitcher of the week: Matt Branham, USC Upstate.A-Sun
Coaches All-Southern Conference Team
Player of the year: Matt Leeds, College of Charleston
Pitcher of the year: Asher Wojciechowski, The Citadel
Freshman of the year: Will Muzika, Furman
Coach of the year: Fred Jordan, The Citadel
First team: Wojciechowski; Leeds; Mac Doyle, Wofford; Cole Rekar, College of Charleston; Jose Rodriguez, College of Charleston.
Second team: Kevin Decker, College of Charleston; Rob Kral, College of Charleston; Greg Blake, College of Charlston; Bryan Altman, The Citadel; Kyle Behrendt, Wofford; Nick Orvin, The Citadel.
All-Freshman team: Muzika; Christian Powell, College of Charleston; Michael Clevinger, The Citadel.SoCon
Player of the week: Wilson Boyd, Clemson.
Atlantic Sun Conference
Pitcher of the week: Matt Branham, USC Upstate.
Coaches All-Southern Conference Team
Player of the year: Matt Leeds, College of Charleston
Pitcher of the year: Asher Wojciechowski, The Citadel
Freshman of the year: Will Muzika, Furman
Coach of the year: Fred Jordan, The Citadel
First team: Wojciechowski; Leeds; Mac Doyle, Wofford; Cole Rekar, College of Charleston; Jose Rodriguez, College of Charleston.
Second team: Kevin Decker, College of Charleston; Rob Kral, College of Charleston; Greg Blake, College of Charlston; Bryan Altman, The Citadel; Kyle Behrendt, Wofford; Nick Orvin, The Citadel.
All-Freshman team: Muzika; Christian Powell, College of Charleston; Michael Clevinger, The Citadel.
Newberry hires Triplett
Newberry College on Monday introduced former Clemson player Russell Triplett as its new head coach.
Triplett, who went to Brookland-Cayce High School, most recently was an assistant at USC Upstate. After a brief minor league playing career, he also served as a volunteer assistant at Clemson for one season.Triplett
Triplett, who went to Brookland-Cayce High School, most recently was an assistant at USC Upstate. After a brief minor league playing career, he also served as a volunteer assistant at Clemson for one season.
Winners and Losers, May 24
WINNERS
Clemson -- The Tigers needed a sweep of Florida State to win the Atlantic Division title, and they did exactly that, perhaps erasing some of the frustrations endured in mid-season slump.
Coastal Carolina -- Granted the Chanticleers lost a second conference game to a rainout, but they finished 25-0 in the ones they got to play.
College of Charleston -- They missed out on a share of the SoCon title, but the Cougars got a boost to their at-large prospects with a road win over Coastal Carolina.
Furman -- The Paladins looked certain to miss the Southern Conference Tournament a couple of weeks ago, but they regrouped to earn the No. 8 seed.
North Greenville -- The Crusaders won five games, several in exciting fashion in the late innings, to win the National Christian College Athletic Association World Series. Coach Travis Henson is hoping to use the success as a springboard to bigger things, such as the NCAA Division II playoffs.
Presbyterian -- The Blue Hose wrapped up the season with a pair of wins over VMI and slipped out of last place in the Big South Conference.
The Citadel -- The Bulldogs swept what had been a hot Georgia Southern team to wrap up the Southern Conference championship.
Winthrop -- Winning two of three against second-place Liberty could give the Eagles a confidence boost for the Big South Conference Tournament.
LOSERS
South Carolina -- Winning the SEC regular season title might have been the last piece the Gamecocks needed to wrap up a national seed. After losing out to Florida, the Gamecocks might need to avoid a two-and-out in the SEC Tournament to still have a chance.
Wofford -- The Terriers saw their SoCon Tournament chances wiped out on the final day of the season.
Clemson -- The Tigers needed a sweep of Florida State to win the Atlantic Division title, and they did exactly that, perhaps erasing some of the frustrations endured in mid-season slump.
Coastal Carolina -- Granted the Chanticleers lost a second conference game to a rainout, but they finished 25-0 in the ones they got to play.
College of Charleston -- They missed out on a share of the SoCon title, but the Cougars got a boost to their at-large prospects with a road win over Coastal Carolina.
Furman -- The Paladins looked certain to miss the Southern Conference Tournament a couple of weeks ago, but they regrouped to earn the No. 8 seed.
North Greenville -- The Crusaders won five games, several in exciting fashion in the late innings, to win the National Christian College Athletic Association World Series. Coach Travis Henson is hoping to use the success as a springboard to bigger things, such as the NCAA Division II playoffs.
Presbyterian -- The Blue Hose wrapped up the season with a pair of wins over VMI and slipped out of last place in the Big South Conference.
The Citadel -- The Bulldogs swept what had been a hot Georgia Southern team to wrap up the Southern Conference championship.
Winthrop -- Winning two of three against second-place Liberty could give the Eagles a confidence boost for the Big South Conference Tournament.
LOSERS
South Carolina -- Winning the SEC regular season title might have been the last piece the Gamecocks needed to wrap up a national seed. After losing out to Florida, the Gamecocks might need to avoid a two-and-out in the SEC Tournament to still have a chance.
Wofford -- The Terriers saw their SoCon Tournament chances wiped out on the final day of the season.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
ACC pairings set
The ACC has announced the schedule and game times for its tournament beginning Wednesday in Greensboro, N.C.
Clemson will play N.C. State at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Virginia Tech at 4 p.m. Friday and Georgia Tech at 4 p.m. Saturday in pool play. The Tigers have Thursday off. The pool winner advances to the championship game at 1 p.m. Sunday.ACC
Clemson will play N.C. State at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Virginia Tech at 4 p.m. Friday and Georgia Tech at 4 p.m. Saturday in pool play. The Tigers have Thursday off. The pool winner advances to the championship game at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Tournament brackets set ... well, some of them
The SEC, Southern Conference and Big South have released brackets for their conference tournaments next week. The ACC, which uses round-robin pool play instead of a double-elimination format like the others, plans to announce its schedule on Sunday.
We do know that Clemson, N.C. State, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech are in one pool, while Virginia, Miami, Florida State and Boston College are in the other. All games are scheduled for TV, apparently Fox Sports Carolinas for every game except the final, which will be on SportSouth.
South Carolina opens SEC Tournament play against Mississippi in the second game of the Wednesday morning session at Regions Park in Hoover, Ala. All games leading up to the final will air on either SportSouth or CSS, with the championship set for ESPN2. All games are to be streamed on ESPN3 (formerly ESPN360). All games will air on satellite radio on XM Channel 199 or Sirius Channel 214. If you're considering XM, I recommend it highly.
SEC
College of Charleston plays Appalachian State at 9 a.m. Wednesday and The Citadel meets Furman at 5 p.m. Wednesday in the Southern Conference Tournament at Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park in Greenville. Live audio and video of all games is scheduled to be available at SoConsports.com.
SoCon
Winthrop and Gardner-Webb, the host team and the next closest, meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday in one of two loser-go-home play-in games for the main bracket in the Big South Conference Tournament at the Winthrop Ballpark in Rock Hill. Coastal Carolina's first game is in the double-elimination portion of the event at 11 a.m. Wednesday against Tuesday's lower-seeded winner. Video of all games is scheduled to be streamed through BigSouthSports.com.
BigSouth
We do know that Clemson, N.C. State, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech are in one pool, while Virginia, Miami, Florida State and Boston College are in the other. All games are scheduled for TV, apparently Fox Sports Carolinas for every game except the final, which will be on SportSouth.
South Carolina opens SEC Tournament play against Mississippi in the second game of the Wednesday morning session at Regions Park in Hoover, Ala. All games leading up to the final will air on either SportSouth or CSS, with the championship set for ESPN2. All games are to be streamed on ESPN3 (formerly ESPN360). All games will air on satellite radio on XM Channel 199 or Sirius Channel 214. If you're considering XM, I recommend it highly.
College of Charleston plays Appalachian State at 9 a.m. Wednesday and The Citadel meets Furman at 5 p.m. Wednesday in the Southern Conference Tournament at Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park in Greenville. Live audio and video of all games is scheduled to be available at SoConsports.com.
Winthrop and Gardner-Webb, the host team and the next closest, meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday in one of two loser-go-home play-in games for the main bracket in the Big South Conference Tournament at the Winthrop Ballpark in Rock Hill. Coastal Carolina's first game is in the double-elimination portion of the event at 11 a.m. Wednesday against Tuesday's lower-seeded winner. Video of all games is scheduled to be streamed through BigSouthSports.com.
Some thoughts about Saturday's games
... Clemson's odds of winning the ACC Atlantic Division title looked long after the Tigers dropped two of three at Wake Forest a week ago to fall three games behind Florida State with three games to play. They needed to sweep the Seminoles to move into a tie for first and get the title by the head-to-head tiebreaker. Clemson did just that, rallying for three runs in the eighth to win the opener, then jumping on FSU early in each of the next two games to win with relative ease. A good showing as the No. 2 seed in the ACC Tournament at Greensboro beginning Wednesday might get the Tigers back in the mix to host a regional.
... Even more amazing was Furman's charge to get the final slot in the Southern Conference Tournament. When the Paladins won the first two games with (eventual conference runner-up College of Charleston), they looked ready to climb in the league standings. Instead, they lost their next 10 SoCon games and fell four games behind eighth-place Wofford with six games to play. A sweep of Wofford head-to-head pulled Furman within one game, meaning the Paladins could qualify for the tournament by doing one game better that the Terriers over the final weekend of the season. On Saturday, Furman wrapped up a sweep of UNC Greensboro while Wofford was being swept in a doubleheader by Appalachian State to lose the series 0-3, giving the Paladins eighth place by a two-game margin.
... The Citadel made sure it didn't have to share the SoCon regular-season title with College of Charleston, beating third-place Georgia Southern twice to win the title outright.
...The dramatic rally in the sixth and seventh inning in the 10-inning victory over Bluefield for the NCCAA World Series championship likely kept a long Saturday for North Greenville from being even longer. The Crusaders had already defeated Southeastern earlier in the day, so they would have faced a third straight game with little break had they not defeated Bluefield. Crusaders coach Travis Henson said the team likely would have headed back to Tigerville from the Cincinnati area Saturday night even if they had played that additional game. What was a late, albeit happy, bus trip back to Tigerville could have been even later.
... Coastal Carolina got rained out of its season finale at Radford, meaning it completed the Big South schedule unbeaten (25-0). The Chanticleers became the second team to finish the conference schedule unbeaten. Coastal went 15-0 in 1988.
... South Carolina gained a small measure of consolation with its 11-6 win over Florida in the season finale, but the Gamecocks had some anxious moments after going up 8-0. The Gators scored six runs in the seventh and had the tying run on base before USC escaped. The Gamecocks added three insurance runs later against a Florida team that rested several of its starters after clinching the SEC title with Friday's victory.
... Even more amazing was Furman's charge to get the final slot in the Southern Conference Tournament. When the Paladins won the first two games with (eventual conference runner-up College of Charleston), they looked ready to climb in the league standings. Instead, they lost their next 10 SoCon games and fell four games behind eighth-place Wofford with six games to play. A sweep of Wofford head-to-head pulled Furman within one game, meaning the Paladins could qualify for the tournament by doing one game better that the Terriers over the final weekend of the season. On Saturday, Furman wrapped up a sweep of UNC Greensboro while Wofford was being swept in a doubleheader by Appalachian State to lose the series 0-3, giving the Paladins eighth place by a two-game margin.
... The Citadel made sure it didn't have to share the SoCon regular-season title with College of Charleston, beating third-place Georgia Southern twice to win the title outright.
...The dramatic rally in the sixth and seventh inning in the 10-inning victory over Bluefield for the NCCAA World Series championship likely kept a long Saturday for North Greenville from being even longer. The Crusaders had already defeated Southeastern earlier in the day, so they would have faced a third straight game with little break had they not defeated Bluefield. Crusaders coach Travis Henson said the team likely would have headed back to Tigerville from the Cincinnati area Saturday night even if they had played that additional game. What was a late, albeit happy, bus trip back to Tigerville could have been even later.
... Coastal Carolina got rained out of its season finale at Radford, meaning it completed the Big South schedule unbeaten (25-0). The Chanticleers became the second team to finish the conference schedule unbeaten. Coastal went 15-0 in 1988.
... South Carolina gained a small measure of consolation with its 11-6 win over Florida in the season finale, but the Gamecocks had some anxious moments after going up 8-0. The Gators scored six runs in the seventh and had the tying run on base before USC escaped. The Gamecocks added three insurance runs later against a Florida team that rested several of its starters after clinching the SEC title with Friday's victory.
Crusaders bring home a title
North Greenville took a pair of wins in dramatic fashion Saturday to win the National Christian College Athletic Association World Series in Mason, Ohio.
Coach Travis Henson's Crusaders (46-14) got four consecutive two-out singles in the bottom of the seventh inning to beat Southeastern 3-2. Tournament MVP Adam Taylor provided the winning hit.
That sent North Greenville into a game with defending champion Bluefield, which needed to beat the Crusaders twice to repeat as champion. Bluefield took leads of 3-1 and 5-1, but North Greenville scored two runs in the sixth and two in the seventh to force extra innings.
Each team scored a run in the eighth, but North Greenville pushed across a run in the 10th and Brian Giles retired the side to wrap up the title with a 7-6 victory.
Taylor and Giles were joined on the all-tournament team by teammates Derek Fulmer and Drew Provence. Henson was named NCCAA coach of the year.
Coach Travis Henson's Crusaders (46-14) got four consecutive two-out singles in the bottom of the seventh inning to beat Southeastern 3-2. Tournament MVP Adam Taylor provided the winning hit.
That sent North Greenville into a game with defending champion Bluefield, which needed to beat the Crusaders twice to repeat as champion. Bluefield took leads of 3-1 and 5-1, but North Greenville scored two runs in the sixth and two in the seventh to force extra innings.
Each team scored a run in the eighth, but North Greenville pushed across a run in the 10th and Brian Giles retired the side to wrap up the title with a 7-6 victory.
Taylor and Giles were joined on the all-tournament team by teammates Derek Fulmer and Drew Provence. Henson was named NCCAA coach of the year.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Crusaders win NCCAA title
North Greenville came from behind twice and beat Bluefield College, 7-6 in nine inings, to win the National Christian College Athletic Association World Series Saturday in Mason, Ohio.
More details early Sunday morning when I get home from work.
More details early Sunday morning when I get home from work.
Some thoughts about Friday's games
... The hot stove will be a little warmer for Presbyterian this winter after its sweep at VMI on Friday to end the season. The Blue Hose scored 10 runs in the eighth and coasted to a 23-7 win in the opener. Then, Andrew Foushee struck out 10 while pitching a four-hit shutout in the nightcap, a 6-0 victory. It was PC's first shutout of the season and allowed the Blue Hose to finish with 15 wins this season, a school record on the NCAA Division I level. VMI (32-20) had been nurturing NCAA playoff hopes until it lost 12 of its final 15 conference games.
... North Greenville's 4-2 victory over Bluefield on Friday moved the Crusaders within one day of a national championship, but it could be a very long day for coach Travis Henson's squad. Rain washed out the Crusaders' scheduled Friday night game with Southeastern at the National Christian College Athletic Association World Series in Mason, Ohio. That game has been rescheduled for 12:30 p.m. today. Bluefield and Olivet Nazarene also remain alive in the tournament, but North Greenville is the only one of the four without a loss in the double-elimination event. Bluefield and Olivet Nazarene will play at 10 a.m. today, with the winner advancing to another game at approximately 4 p.m. North Greenville will play in that 4 p.m. game, win or lose, under the tournament setup. If the Crusaders win at 12:30, the title can be theirs with another win at 4. If they win at 12:30 and lose at 4, they would play the Bluefield-Olivet Nazarene winner again afterward for the title. If the Crusaders lose at 12:30, they'll play at 4 and Southeastern will advance to a 7 p.m. game against the winner of the 4 p.m. game. So, the Crusaders could face a tripleheader today. This may be one case where playing seven-inning games in the tournament instead of nine-inning games is a good thing, stamina-wise.
...For all the difficulty Clemson had after a 17-2 start, the Tigers can cap the regular season with an ACC Atlantic division title with a victory against Florida State today. They jumped on the Seminoles early Friday night to win for a second straight game in the series.
... Florida spoiled South Carolina's celebration plans, beating the Gamecocks for a second straight night to win the SEC East Division and overall titles and accompanying top seed for the conference tournament. Friday's score was 5-2. As in Thursday's 3-2 loss, the Gamecocks were unable to convert on opportunities they had, something that bothered them on occasion earlier in the season. Some misplays in the field -- pitcher Sam Dyson throwing late to second base after fielding a bunt and Whit Merrifield not reading a carom off the wall properly in right field, then committing a throwing error at third base -- didn't help. But, both games were close and well-played overall, befitting a series to determine a conference champion. When I was covering the Class AA Greenville Braves for the Greenville Piedmont years ago, G-Braves manager Jim Beauchamp would sum up such games by saying "Sometimes, you've got to tip your cap to the other team." The Gators should get such a nod this weekend.
... Suddenly, Furman is looking in good shape to make the Southern Conference Tournament. Daniel Stallsmith's solid pitching, Will Miller's five hits and Brian Harrison's fifth home run in six days added up to an 11-6 win over UNC Greensboro, the Paladins' fifth straight in league play. Stallsmith allowed two hits over the first eight innings and took an 11-2 lead into the bottom of the ninth, when he allowed three home runs. Then, Wofford was unable to protect a 5-0 lead after six innings and a 6-5 edge after eight, losing to Appalachian State, 7-6. Furman, which has won its last five conference games, can punch its ticket to Charleston with a win over UNCG today or one loss by Wofford in its doubleheader with Appalachian State. That's pretty stout for a team that entered last weekend on a 10-game conference losing streak.
... Coastal Carolina appeared in danger of its first Big South Conference loss, trailing Radford 6-5 entering the ninth inning of the road game. But Scott Woodward hit a leadoff home run to tie the game and the Chanticleers tacked on two more runs for an 8-6 win, improving to 25-0 in league play.
... There's a celebration waiting to happen at The Citadel. The Bulldogs had a 7-2 lead in the bottom of the eighth inning at Georgia Southern Friday night when the game was suspended because of rain. If the Bulldogs can get five more outs before the Eagles score five runs, The Citadel wins the SoCon regular-season title and top seed for the conference tournament in Charleston.
... Charleston Southern's meager chances for making the Big South Conference Tournament ended with Friday's 10-8 loss to High Point in 13 innings. The Buccaneers were unable to protect a 7-2 lead after eight innings. Brantley Meier did become the Buccaneers' single-season hit leader with 82 when he went 2-for-5 on Friday.
... Winthrop got a nice win over Big South runner-up Liberty, scoring nine runs in the sixth inning en route to an 11-2 victory. Another win today could let the Eagles slip past VMI into fifth place in the standings, as they beat the Keydets two out of three head-to-head.
And, outside the state...
... Merchants in the Hoover, Ala., are breathing a sigh of relief. Alabama and LSU entered the weekend in danger of not making the SEC Tournament, but both wrapped up berths with victories Friday night, denying bids by Kentucky and Tennessee to qualify. No other schools come close to having the drawing power of Alabama and LSU at Hoover, although Auburn fans likely will turn out in good numbers for its first tournament appearance in several years.
... Greensboro merchants are hoping for similar good fortune. A North Carolina win over Virginia Tech and a Boston College loss to Georgia Tech today earns an ACC Tournament berth for the Tar Heels.
... East Carolina, which won two of three against South Carolina earlier this season, could miss the Conference USA Tournament with a third straight loss to Houston on Saturday.
... Are you, too, shocked that Kentucky has dropped the first two games to Georgia -- including 20-0 Friday night -- after going 5-1 in its previous six SEC games against South Carolina and LSU?
News Digest, May 22
Newberry to introduce new coach Monday
Newberry College will announce the replacement for Bob Rikeman as head coach at 11 a.m. Monday on campus.Newberry
State players academic All-District
Six players from state schools earned first-team berths on the Academic All-District 3 team selected for ESPN The Magazine and the College Sports Information Directors Association. Austin Fleet of Coastal Carolina, Matt Leeds of College of Charleston and Tyler Cook were selected in the University division, with USC Aiken's Gary Asbill, Anderson's Derek Hipp and Francis Marion's Alex Lee selected in the college division. Chance Gilmore of Coastal and Preston Shuey of Francis Marion were second-team choices in their respective divisions.Academic
Two national seeds from state?
Prior to Friday's results, Kendall Rogers of Rivals.com posited than South Carolina could be the No. 5 national seed and Coastal Carolina No. 7.Rivals
Newberry College will announce the replacement for Bob Rikeman as head coach at 11 a.m. Monday on campus.
State players academic All-District
Six players from state schools earned first-team berths on the Academic All-District 3 team selected for ESPN The Magazine and the College Sports Information Directors Association. Austin Fleet of Coastal Carolina, Matt Leeds of College of Charleston and Tyler Cook were selected in the University division, with USC Aiken's Gary Asbill, Anderson's Derek Hipp and Francis Marion's Alex Lee selected in the college division. Chance Gilmore of Coastal and Preston Shuey of Francis Marion were second-team choices in their respective divisions.
Two national seeds from state?
Prior to Friday's results, Kendall Rogers of Rivals.com posited than South Carolina could be the No. 5 national seed and Coastal Carolina No. 7.
Scoreboard, May 22
Appalachian State 13-10, Wofford 4-3
Game Two Box
Clemson 8, Florida State 3, Clemson wins ACC Atlantic Division title
Coastal Carolina at Radford, ccd.
College of Charleston 10, UNC Wilmington 8
Furman 11, UNC Greenboro 6, 8 innings, rain, Furman clinches spot in SoCon Tournament
High Point 16, Charleston Southern 11
South Carolina 11, Florida 6
The Citadel 7, Georgia Southern 2, completion of suspended game, The Citadel wins outright SoCon title
The Citadel 5, Georgia Southern 2, scheduled game
Winthrop 8, Liberty 5
NCCAA Tournament
Mason, Ohio
Bluefield 2, Olivet Nazarene 1, Olivet eliminated
North Greenville 3, Southeastern 2, Southeastern eliminated
North Greenville 7, Bluefield 6, 10 innings, North Greenville wins World Series.
Game Two Box
Clemson 8, Florida State 3, Clemson wins ACC Atlantic Division title
Coastal Carolina at Radford, ccd.
College of Charleston 10, UNC Wilmington 8
Furman 11, UNC Greenboro 6, 8 innings, rain, Furman clinches spot in SoCon Tournament
High Point 16, Charleston Southern 11
South Carolina 11, Florida 6
The Citadel 7, Georgia Southern 2, completion of suspended game, The Citadel wins outright SoCon title
The Citadel 5, Georgia Southern 2, scheduled game
Winthrop 8, Liberty 5
NCCAA Tournament
Mason, Ohio
Bluefield 2, Olivet Nazarene 1, Olivet eliminated
North Greenville 3, Southeastern 2, Southeastern eliminated
North Greenville 7, Bluefield 6, 10 innings, North Greenville wins World Series.
Friday, May 21, 2010
NCCAA schedule changed
Rain apparently has washed out today's last two games of the NCCAA Tournament. This is on the tournament Website:
- Game 16, Bluefield vs. Olivet Nazarene, has been cancelled due to rain
- Game 16 will begin at 10:00am, Saturday, May 22, at Legacy Field (live scoring)
- Game 17, Southeastern vs. North Greenville, will follow Game 16, on May 22
The original game bracket says a maximum of two games will be played on Saturday, so I don't know how they're going to determine a champion with four teams left. I'm sure no Sunday games will be played.
- Game 16, Bluefield vs. Olivet Nazarene, has been cancelled due to rain
- Game 16 will begin at 10:00am, Saturday, May 22, at Legacy Field (live scoring)
- Game 17, Southeastern vs. North Greenville, will follow Game 16, on May 22
The original game bracket says a maximum of two games will be played on Saturday, so I don't know how they're going to determine a champion with four teams left. I'm sure no Sunday games will be played.
Quick hits
Presbyterian and VMI have moved their scheduled Saturday game to today as part of a doubleheader. The first game began at 3:45 p.m.
North Greenville's 4-2 win over Bluefield sends the Crusaders into a game tonight against Southeastern. The starting time is listed as 7:30, but it likely will be later than that.
Furman moved into a virtual tie with Wofford for eighth in the SoCon, depending on the outcome of the Terriers' game with Appalachian State tonight.
North Greenville's 4-2 win over Bluefield sends the Crusaders into a game tonight against Southeastern. The starting time is listed as 7:30, but it likely will be later than that.
Furman moved into a virtual tie with Wofford for eighth in the SoCon, depending on the outcome of the Terriers' game with Appalachian State tonight.
Some thoughts on Thursday's games
Between being called back off my weekend a day early at work and the Thursday start to weekend series this week, I'm having trouble remembering which day it is. Nevertheless, let's take a look at a Thursday that included several dandy games.
North Greenville's Derek Fulmer prepares to connect for a three-run double against Southern Wesleyan earlier this season. He went 4-for-4 and hit a seventh-inning home run as the Crusaders beat Olivet Nazarene, 7-5, Thursday in the NCCAA World Series.
... What more can be said about North Greenville? Down to their final out in Thursday's game at the National Christian College World Series, the Crusaders scored three runs to beat Olivet Nazarene, 7-5, and advance to a game today against defending national champion Bluefield (40-14). Crusaders coach Travis Henson noted the irony that catcher Anthony Foulk, a Chicago area native, started the winning rally with a hit against Olivet Nazarene, a Chicago area school. Laurens native Adam Taylor followed with a first-pitch home run to give NGU the lead and Derek Fulmer capped a 4-for-4 day with a solo home run for some insurance. Henson said he didn't detect any despair among the Crusaders prior to the rally. "That was our 43rd win of the season, and you don't win 43 games without believing in yourselves until the very end,'' Henson said.
... Clemson's baseball players showed they're not disheartened by a season that hit a severe speed bump near its midpoint, rallying several times in a 9-8 victory over Florida State. The win, capped by a three-run rally in the bottom of the eighth, pulled the Tigers within two games of the first-place Seminoles in the ACC Atlantic Division. Two more wins and Clemson gets the division title.
... I was a little surprised, though, by the number of empty seats there appeared to be at Doug Kingsmore Stadium, based on TV cameras. I understand Clemson students are out of school and it was on a work/school night for most folks, but that usually doesn't stop Tigers fans from turning out.
... Congratulations to Coastal Carolina coach Gary Gilmore for getting his 600th career victory in a 7-2 win over Radford. It also kept the Chanticleers unbeaten in Big South play.
... Ian Parry has been Furman's most dependable starting pitcher all season, and he gave another indication why Thursday, pitching a complete game as the Paladins won a crucial game at UNC Greensboro, 4-3. The senior right-hander scattered eight hits, walked none and allowed three runs -- two earned. He also struck out six, including all three outs in the ninth after the Paladins had taken the lead in the top of the inning. Furman pulled within a half game of Wofford for the final spot in the Southern Conference Tournament.
... While the bulk of Furman's problems during a 17-35 season have been pitching-related (i.e., a 7.28 staff earned-run average and an injury to closer Nick Karow), the lengthy absence of infielder Brian Harrison because of injury hasn't help. (He hit .303 and led the team with 12 homers and 43 RBIs in 2009.) The junior from Hilton Head had three hits -- including his fourth home run over the past four games -- Thursday. He's played in just 32 of Furman's 52 games, starting 25, and has a .333 batting average. Oddly, he has just 17 RBIs even though he's hit nine home runs.
... The opener to the Florida-South Carolina series lived up to its billing, with the Gators escaping with a 3-2 victory. If the Gamecocks fall a game short of the SEC title, they may look back ruefully on two situations where they left the bases loaded. Both bullpens looked impressive.
... The Citadel clinched at least a share of the SoCon title with its 9-4 winning at Georgia Southern, getting Asher Wojciechowski's second consecutive complete game. The Bulldogs still need another win -- or at least one rainout -- to edge College of Charleston for the SoCon regular-season title.
... What more can be said about North Greenville? Down to their final out in Thursday's game at the National Christian College World Series, the Crusaders scored three runs to beat Olivet Nazarene, 7-5, and advance to a game today against defending national champion Bluefield (40-14). Crusaders coach Travis Henson noted the irony that catcher Anthony Foulk, a Chicago area native, started the winning rally with a hit against Olivet Nazarene, a Chicago area school. Laurens native Adam Taylor followed with a first-pitch home run to give NGU the lead and Derek Fulmer capped a 4-for-4 day with a solo home run for some insurance. Henson said he didn't detect any despair among the Crusaders prior to the rally. "That was our 43rd win of the season, and you don't win 43 games without believing in yourselves until the very end,'' Henson said.
... Clemson's baseball players showed they're not disheartened by a season that hit a severe speed bump near its midpoint, rallying several times in a 9-8 victory over Florida State. The win, capped by a three-run rally in the bottom of the eighth, pulled the Tigers within two games of the first-place Seminoles in the ACC Atlantic Division. Two more wins and Clemson gets the division title.
... I was a little surprised, though, by the number of empty seats there appeared to be at Doug Kingsmore Stadium, based on TV cameras. I understand Clemson students are out of school and it was on a work/school night for most folks, but that usually doesn't stop Tigers fans from turning out.
... Congratulations to Coastal Carolina coach Gary Gilmore for getting his 600th career victory in a 7-2 win over Radford. It also kept the Chanticleers unbeaten in Big South play.
... Ian Parry has been Furman's most dependable starting pitcher all season, and he gave another indication why Thursday, pitching a complete game as the Paladins won a crucial game at UNC Greensboro, 4-3. The senior right-hander scattered eight hits, walked none and allowed three runs -- two earned. He also struck out six, including all three outs in the ninth after the Paladins had taken the lead in the top of the inning. Furman pulled within a half game of Wofford for the final spot in the Southern Conference Tournament.
... While the bulk of Furman's problems during a 17-35 season have been pitching-related (i.e., a 7.28 staff earned-run average and an injury to closer Nick Karow), the lengthy absence of infielder Brian Harrison because of injury hasn't help. (He hit .303 and led the team with 12 homers and 43 RBIs in 2009.) The junior from Hilton Head had three hits -- including his fourth home run over the past four games -- Thursday. He's played in just 32 of Furman's 52 games, starting 25, and has a .333 batting average. Oddly, he has just 17 RBIs even though he's hit nine home runs.
... The opener to the Florida-South Carolina series lived up to its billing, with the Gators escaping with a 3-2 victory. If the Gamecocks fall a game short of the SEC title, they may look back ruefully on two situations where they left the bases loaded. Both bullpens looked impressive.
... The Citadel clinched at least a share of the SoCon title with its 9-4 winning at Georgia Southern, getting Asher Wojciechowski's second consecutive complete game. The Bulldogs still need another win -- or at least one rainout -- to edge College of Charleston for the SoCon regular-season title.
News Digest, May 21
Patriots honored
Josh Biggers, Alex Lee and Preston Shuey of Francis Marion were first-team selections to the All-Peach Belt Conference Academic team.
PBC
Fogle gets more honors
Erskine's Bryan Fogle was named player of the year as part of the Rawlings/American Baseball Coaches Association's all-Southeast Region team. Fogle, teammates Chas Anthony, William Buzhardt and Atlee Pearson were first-team selections, as was Barrett Kleinknecht of Francis Marion.
ABCA
Fogle also was named player of the year as part of the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association's Division II all-Southeast Region team. Also named to the first team were teammates Anthony, Buzhardt and Pearson, as well as FMU's Kleinknecht.
NCBWA
Josh Biggers, Alex Lee and Preston Shuey of Francis Marion were first-team selections to the All-Peach Belt Conference Academic team.
Fogle gets more honors
Erskine's Bryan Fogle was named player of the year as part of the Rawlings/American Baseball Coaches Association's all-Southeast Region team. Fogle, teammates Chas Anthony, William Buzhardt and Atlee Pearson were first-team selections, as was Barrett Kleinknecht of Francis Marion.
Fogle also was named player of the year as part of the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association's Division II all-Southeast Region team. Also named to the first team were teammates Anthony, Buzhardt and Pearson, as well as FMU's Kleinknecht.
Doyle, Meo semifinalists
Wofford's Mac Doyle and Coastal Carolina's Anthony Meo are on the list of semifinalists for the Dick Howser Award, presented to the player deemed to be the best in college baseball.
Howser
Furman game time moved to 2 p.m.
The second game of Furman's Southern Conference series at UNC Greensboro today has been moved up from 6 p.m. to 2 p.m. because of weather concerns.
Scoreboard, May 21
Regular Season
Appalachian State 7, Wofford 6
Clemson 8, Florida State 4
Coastal Carolina 8, Radford 6
Florida 5, South Carolina 2
Furman 11, UNC Greensboro 6
High Point 10, Charleston Southern 8, 13 innings
Presbyterian 23-6, VMI 7-0
Game Two Box
Winthrop 11, Liberty 2
The Citadel 7, Georgia Southern 2, B8, rain, suspended until 1 p.m. Saturday.
NCCAA Tournament
Mason, Ohio
Olivet Nazarene 4, Colorado Christian 0
Southeastern 6, Spring Arbor 5
North Greenville 4, Bluefield 2
Olivet Nazarene vs. Bluefield, ppd. to Saturday
North Greenville vs. Southeastern, ppd. to Saturday
Appalachian State 7, Wofford 6
Clemson 8, Florida State 4
Coastal Carolina 8, Radford 6
Florida 5, South Carolina 2
Furman 11, UNC Greensboro 6
High Point 10, Charleston Southern 8, 13 innings
Presbyterian 23-6, VMI 7-0
Game Two Box
Winthrop 11, Liberty 2
The Citadel 7, Georgia Southern 2, B8, rain, suspended until 1 p.m. Saturday.
NCCAA Tournament
Mason, Ohio
Olivet Nazarene 4, Colorado Christian 0
Southeastern 6, Spring Arbor 5
North Greenville 4, Bluefield 2
Olivet Nazarene vs. Bluefield, ppd. to Saturday
North Greenville vs. Southeastern, ppd. to Saturday
Thursday, May 20, 2010
News Digest, May 20
Coastal, USC pegged as national seeds
The College Baseball Blog offers its weekly projection of the NCAA Tournament field, with Coastal Carolina picked as the No. 5 national seed and South Carolina as No. 6. The Citadel is projected for the Columbia regional, while Clemson is pegged for Auburn and College of Charleston for Georgia Tech.Projection
A series to watch
Not surprisingly, The College Baseball Blog picks the Florida-USC series as one of 10 to watch this weekend.Series
More SEC talk
Mark Etheridge of SEBaseball.com offers a look at the weekend in the SEC and discusses the possibility of 10 SEC teams getting bids to the NCAA Tournament.SEBB
The College Baseball Blog offers its weekly projection of the NCAA Tournament field, with Coastal Carolina picked as the No. 5 national seed and South Carolina as No. 6. The Citadel is projected for the Columbia regional, while Clemson is pegged for Auburn and College of Charleston for Georgia Tech.
A series to watch
Not surprisingly, The College Baseball Blog picks the Florida-USC series as one of 10 to watch this weekend.
More SEC talk
Mark Etheridge of SEBaseball.com offers a look at the weekend in the SEC and discusses the possibility of 10 SEC teams getting bids to the NCAA Tournament.
Crusaders take them one game at a time
North Greenville scored four runs over its final two at-bats Wednesday to win its first game in the National Christian College Athletic Association World Series in Mason, Ohio, 4-1, over Colorado Christian.
Drew Provence (12-1), the son of former University of South Carolina football great Andrew Provence, pitched a complete game and struck out six in the seven-inning contest. He shut Colorado Christian out after allowing a first-inning home run to Doug Pavlich, like Provence named a first-team NCCAA All-American earlier in the week.
Crusaders coach Travis Henson said he wasn't worried his team would have the "deer-in-the-headlights" look at the national event because all season it has approached the next game as the most important one of the season.
North Greenville (42-14) meets Olivet Nazarene (33-19-1) at 7:30 p.m. today.
A big weekend
The regular season wraps up for state NCAA Division I teams this weekend, and most of the squads have something tangible to play for:
Charleston Southern -- The Buccaneers, at home against High Point, must fare two games better than UNC Asheville -- or three better than Gardner-Webb -- to grab a spot in the Big South Conference Tournament. UNCA and GW play each other in Asheville, so CSU's odds aren't good.
Clemson -- They can still win the ACC Atlantic Division if they sweep a home series against Florida State. I'm not sure how the Tigers -- or their fans -- would react if the Seminoles end the suspense with a victory in Game One Thursday night.
Coastal Carolina -- There's no suspense in the Big South regular-season race, other than the Chanticleers' bid for a perfect season in league play. Losing a game or two at Radford on the Heels of a Tuesday loss to College of Charleston might loosen Coastal's grip on a national seed.
College of Charleston -- The Cougars can't do anything about their SoCon title hopes other than root for Georgia Southern to win two games against The Citadel. But winning two against non-conference foe UNC Wilmington could help CofC's at-large possibilities for the NCAA Tournament.
Furman -- The Paladins head to UNC Greensboro needing to win one more game against the Spartans than Wofford does at home against Appalachian State to make the SoCon Tournament.
Presbyterian -- They're ineligible for the Big South Tournament, but the Blue Hose could slip out of last place in the standings with a good series at VMI -- no easy task -- and a bad series by Charleston Southern.
South Carolina -- Before the season it looked like the Gamecocks' season-ending home series with Florida would decide the SEC East title. That's exactly how things have shaken out, with the overall SEC title an added incentive. Whoever wins two of three takes the prize.
The Citadel -- The Bulldogs head to Georgia Southern needing two wins to win the SoCon regular season title. But the Eagles are red-hot, having won their last 12 to resuscitate their postseason hopes.
USC Upstate -- The Spartans wrapped up their season Wednesday with a nice win over William & Mary.
Winthrop - The Eagles could finish from fourth to sixth in the Big South. Since Liberty is the foe, sixth seems more likely than fourth.
Wofford -- The Terriers can clinch the No. 8 berth in the SoCon Tournament by at least matching Furman's record this weekend.
Charleston Southern -- The Buccaneers, at home against High Point, must fare two games better than UNC Asheville -- or three better than Gardner-Webb -- to grab a spot in the Big South Conference Tournament. UNCA and GW play each other in Asheville, so CSU's odds aren't good.
Clemson -- They can still win the ACC Atlantic Division if they sweep a home series against Florida State. I'm not sure how the Tigers -- or their fans -- would react if the Seminoles end the suspense with a victory in Game One Thursday night.
Coastal Carolina -- There's no suspense in the Big South regular-season race, other than the Chanticleers' bid for a perfect season in league play. Losing a game or two at Radford on the Heels of a Tuesday loss to College of Charleston might loosen Coastal's grip on a national seed.
College of Charleston -- The Cougars can't do anything about their SoCon title hopes other than root for Georgia Southern to win two games against The Citadel. But winning two against non-conference foe UNC Wilmington could help CofC's at-large possibilities for the NCAA Tournament.
Furman -- The Paladins head to UNC Greensboro needing to win one more game against the Spartans than Wofford does at home against Appalachian State to make the SoCon Tournament.
Presbyterian -- They're ineligible for the Big South Tournament, but the Blue Hose could slip out of last place in the standings with a good series at VMI -- no easy task -- and a bad series by Charleston Southern.
South Carolina -- Before the season it looked like the Gamecocks' season-ending home series with Florida would decide the SEC East title. That's exactly how things have shaken out, with the overall SEC title an added incentive. Whoever wins two of three takes the prize.
The Citadel -- The Bulldogs head to Georgia Southern needing two wins to win the SoCon regular season title. But the Eagles are red-hot, having won their last 12 to resuscitate their postseason hopes.
USC Upstate -- The Spartans wrapped up their season Wednesday with a nice win over William & Mary.
Winthrop - The Eagles could finish from fourth to sixth in the Big South. Since Liberty is the foe, sixth seems more likely than fourth.
Wofford -- The Terriers can clinch the No. 8 berth in the SoCon Tournament by at least matching Furman's record this weekend.
Scoreboard, May 20
Clemson 9, Florida State 8
Coastal Carolina 7, Radford 2 -- Coastal coach Gary Gilmore's 600th career victory
Florida 3, South Carolina 2
Furman 4, UNC Greensboro 3
High Point 15, Charleston Southern 7
Liberty 8, Winthrop 2
The Citadel 9, Georgia Southern 4--Bulldogs clinch share of SoCon title
UNC Wilmington 3, College of Charleston 2
VMI 10, Presbyterian 7
NCCAA World Series
Mason, Ohio
Prasco Park
Southeastern 4, Malone 1
Colorado Christian 9, King 2
Bluefield 2, Spring Arbor 1
North Greenville 7, Olivet Nazarene 5
Legacy Field
King 11, Judson 1
Southeastern 6, Indiana Wesleyan 2
NAIA Group Tournament
Cleveland, Tenn.
William Jewell 8, USC Beaufort 4, USCB eliminated
Lee 9, William Jewell 6, Lee wins tournament
Coastal Carolina 7, Radford 2 -- Coastal coach Gary Gilmore's 600th career victory
Florida 3, South Carolina 2
Furman 4, UNC Greensboro 3
High Point 15, Charleston Southern 7
Liberty 8, Winthrop 2
The Citadel 9, Georgia Southern 4--Bulldogs clinch share of SoCon title
UNC Wilmington 3, College of Charleston 2
VMI 10, Presbyterian 7
NCCAA World Series
Mason, Ohio
Prasco Park
Southeastern 4, Malone 1
Colorado Christian 9, King 2
Bluefield 2, Spring Arbor 1
North Greenville 7, Olivet Nazarene 5
Legacy Field
King 11, Judson 1
Southeastern 6, Indiana Wesleyan 2
NAIA Group Tournament
Cleveland, Tenn.
William Jewell 8, USC Beaufort 4, USCB eliminated
Lee 9, William Jewell 6, Lee wins tournament
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Erskine's Fogle is region player of the year
Bryan Fogle of Erskine is the player of the year and leads the 2010 Daktronics all-Southeast Region team for Division II schools.
Also on the first team are the Flying Fleet's Chas Anthony, William Buzhardt and Atlee Pearson, Francis Marion's Barrett Kleinknecht and USC Aiken's Nick Aranas.
Second-team choices include Don Sandifer and Brandon Forshee of Francis Marion, JJ Loker of USC Aiken and Mills Rogers, a Simpsonville resident, of Carson-Newman.Daktronics
Also on the first team are the Flying Fleet's Chas Anthony, William Buzhardt and Atlee Pearson, Francis Marion's Barrett Kleinknecht and USC Aiken's Nick Aranas.
Second-team choices include Don Sandifer and Brandon Forshee of Francis Marion, JJ Loker of USC Aiken and Mills Rogers, a Simpsonville resident, of Carson-Newman.
News Digest, May 19, Part 2
Baseball America projects tournament teams
Baseball America's stock report lists Clemson, Coastal Carolina, College of Charleston and South Carolina as "safely in" the NCAA Tournament field. It lists The Citadel as "bubble in."BBA
Power rankings
Rivals.com has posted its weekly power rankings, and several state players, as well as Coastal Carolina coach Gary Gilmore and USC coach Ray Tanner, are included.Power
Sanders rolls along
Woodruff native and former North Greenville coach Beauford Sanders has his Campbellsville University (Ky.) Tigers in the NAIA playoffs again. The Tigers beat host University of St. Francis, 3-0, in first-round play of a group tournament in Joliet, Ill., on Tuesday. Campbellsville has won seven of the last 11 Mid-South Conference tournament championships.
Baseball America's stock report lists Clemson, Coastal Carolina, College of Charleston and South Carolina as "safely in" the NCAA Tournament field. It lists The Citadel as "bubble in."
Power rankings
Rivals.com has posted its weekly power rankings, and several state players, as well as Coastal Carolina coach Gary Gilmore and USC coach Ray Tanner, are included.
Sanders rolls along
Woodruff native and former North Greenville coach Beauford Sanders has his Campbellsville University (Ky.) Tigers in the NAIA playoffs again. The Tigers beat host University of St. Francis, 3-0, in first-round play of a group tournament in Joliet, Ill., on Tuesday. Campbellsville has won seven of the last 11 Mid-South Conference tournament championships.
News Digest, May 19
Provence national pitcher of year
North Greenville's Drew Provence was named national pitcher of the year by the National Christian College Athletic Association. He and teammate Markus Duckworth also were named to the NCAA All-American team.
NCCAA
Rikeman out at Newberry
Newberry College has announced it is not renewing the contract of head coach Bob Rikeman after an 18-30 record in 2010. This is the change I mentioned last week that I had seen rumors about.
Rikeman
Coastal featured on Rivals.com
Kendall Rogers of Rivals.com has written a column about Coastal Carolina and coach Gary Gilmore.
Coastal
Benedict finishes fifth
Benedict finished fifth in the final BlackCollegeBaseball.com poll of the season for NCAA Division II and NAIA teams. West Virginia State finished at No. 1.
BCB
Another tournament projection
Jeremy Mills of ESPN.com suggests South Carolina will get the No. 8 national seed and host a regional including The Citadel. He pegs Coastal Carolina for the fifth seed, with Clemson going there. College of Charleston is slotted for a regional at Georgia Tech.
ESPN
North Greenville's Drew Provence was named national pitcher of the year by the National Christian College Athletic Association. He and teammate Markus Duckworth also were named to the NCAA All-American team.
Rikeman out at Newberry
Newberry College has announced it is not renewing the contract of head coach Bob Rikeman after an 18-30 record in 2010. This is the change I mentioned last week that I had seen rumors about.
Coastal featured on Rivals.com
Kendall Rogers of Rivals.com has written a column about Coastal Carolina and coach Gary Gilmore.
Benedict finishes fifth
Benedict finished fifth in the final BlackCollegeBaseball.com poll of the season for NCAA Division II and NAIA teams. West Virginia State finished at No. 1.
Another tournament projection
Jeremy Mills of ESPN.com suggests South Carolina will get the No. 8 national seed and host a regional including The Citadel. He pegs Coastal Carolina for the fifth seed, with Clemson going there. College of Charleston is slotted for a regional at Georgia Tech.
Scoreboard, May 19
Gardner-Webb 15, Furman 4
USC Upstate 8, William & Mary 6
NAIA group tournament
Lee College, Cleveland, Tenn.
Mount Vernon Nazarene 21, Taylor 9
Lee 3, USC Beaufort 2, 10 innings
William Jewell 9, Mount Vernon Nazarene 3
NCCAA World Series
Mason, Ohio
Colorado Christian 5, Southeastern 4
Indiana Wesleyan 9, King 7, 12 innings
Spring Arbor 5, Judson 2
Olivet Nazarene 6, Malone 5
North Greenville 4, Colorado Christian 1
Bluefield 8, Indiana Wesleyan 2
USC Upstate 8, William & Mary 6
NAIA group tournament
Lee College, Cleveland, Tenn.
Mount Vernon Nazarene 21, Taylor 9
Lee 3, USC Beaufort 2, 10 innings
William Jewell 9, Mount Vernon Nazarene 3
NCCAA World Series
Mason, Ohio
Colorado Christian 5, Southeastern 4
Indiana Wesleyan 9, King 7, 12 innings
Spring Arbor 5, Judson 2
Olivet Nazarene 6, Malone 5
North Greenville 4, Colorado Christian 1
Bluefield 8, Indiana Wesleyan 2
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
SEBaseball.com offers projection
Coastal Carolina is the No. 5 national seed and South Carolina No. 6 in SEBaseball.com's projection of the NCAA tournament field. Clemson and The Citadel are assigned to Coastal's regional and College of Charleston is assigned to USC's.SEBB
Crusaders No. 2 seed
North Greenville is the No. 2 seed, behind Bluefield, for the National Christian College Athletic Association College World Series beginning Wednesday near Cincinnati. The Crusaders' first game is at 4:15 p.m.
Here's a link to a bracket.Bracket
And here's a link to the tournament site, which indicates live stats will be available for games at Prasco Park.Tournament
Here's a link to a bracket.
And here's a link to the tournament site, which indicates live stats will be available for games at Prasco Park.
Scoreboard, May 18
Clemson 8, Presbyterian 2
College of Charleston 10, Coastal Carolina 4
South Carolina 11, Furman 6
The Citadel 10, Winthrop 4
UNC Wilmington 6, Charleston Southern 5
William & Mary 11, USC Upstate 9
NAIA Playoffs
Cleveland, Tenn.
William Jewell 10, Mount Vernon Nazarene 9
USC Beaufort 8, Taylor (Ind.) 7, 10 innings
Lee 12, William Jewell 1
College of Charleston 10, Coastal Carolina 4
South Carolina 11, Furman 6
The Citadel 10, Winthrop 4
UNC Wilmington 6, Charleston Southern 5
William & Mary 11, USC Upstate 9
NAIA Playoffs
Cleveland, Tenn.
William Jewell 10, Mount Vernon Nazarene 9
USC Beaufort 8, Taylor (Ind.) 7, 10 innings
Lee 12, William Jewell 1
Monday, May 17, 2010
Erskine's Fogle a finalist
Bryan Fogle of Erskine is one of five finalists for the Tino Martinez Division II player of the year award. The award will be presented next week during the Division II championship.
Honors/Poll Updates, May 17
SEC pitcher of the week
Sam Dyson, USCDyson
SoCon pitcher of the week
Matt Talley, The CitadelTalley
Big South pitcher of the week
Anthony Meo, Coastal Carolina
Big South player of the week
Rico Noel, Coastal CarolinaBigSouth
Collegiate Baseball DI poll
1. Texas. 4. Coastal Carolina. 6. South CarolinaCBBI
Baseball America rankings
1. Virginia. 5. Coastal Carolina. 6. South CarolinaBBA
USA Today/ESPN coaches poll
1. Texas. 4. Coastal Carolina. 7. South Carolina. 22. ClemsonUSAT
Rivals.com rankings
1. Texas. 6. South Carolina. 8. Coastal CarolinaRivals
Sam Dyson, USC
SoCon pitcher of the week
Matt Talley, The Citadel
Big South pitcher of the week
Anthony Meo, Coastal Carolina
Big South player of the week
Rico Noel, Coastal Carolina
Collegiate Baseball DI poll
1. Texas. 4. Coastal Carolina. 6. South Carolina
Baseball America rankings
1. Virginia. 5. Coastal Carolina. 6. South Carolina
USA Today/ESPN coaches poll
1. Texas. 4. Coastal Carolina. 7. South Carolina. 22. Clemson
Rivals.com rankings
1. Texas. 6. South Carolina. 8. Coastal Carolina
Winners and Losers, May 17
The college baseball world didn't revolve around the performances of South Carolina teams this weekend. It only seems that way because the national message boards are chock full of discussions about the weekends Clemson, Coastal Carolina and South Carolina had.
If someone had told you before the weekend that in the series involving Clemson and USC that one team would get a sweep and the other would lose two of three, would you honestly have thought that it would be USC with the sweep and Clemson with the two losses?
We get Monday off for a little R&R before the schedule picks up again on Tuesday.
WINNERS
Coastal Carolina -- The Chanticleers were never seriously challenged as they wrapped up the Big South regular-season title, stayed unbeaten in league play and showed there's a sizable gap between themselves and the current No. 2 program in the conference, Liberty. With a school-Division I-record 45 wins, the Chanticleers seem to be in excellent shape for -- and deserving of -- one of the eight national seeds.
College of Charleston -- Because only 11 Southern Conference teams play baseball, the Cougars (22-8 SoCon) get to be scoreboard-watchers the final week of league play. They'll be huge Georgia Southern fans -- the Eagles play host to first-place The Citadel (21-6), which leads CofC by a half-game. Assuming all three games get played, the Bulldogs must win at least two to take the regular-season title. The Cougars have the edge in a tiebreaker by virtue of winning two of three league games head-to-head. Georgia Southern could match the Cougars' 22-8 record by sweeping the Bulldogs, but CofC has the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Daniel Stallsmith -- The sophomore left-hander is setting himself up to be Furman's No. 1 starter next season with a strong finish this season. He moved into the weekend rotation the fourth week of conference play and has given coach Ron Smith no reason to move him out. He picked up two wins in this weekend's sweep of Wofford -- as the starter on Friday and as a reliever on Sunday.
Furman -- Anything less than a sweep of Wofford over the weekend and the Paladins' SoCon Tournament chances would essentially have been kaput. All the Paladins did was rout the Terriers twice and get a dramatic three-run homer from Brian Harrison in the eighth inning Sunday to complete the sweep. They're not out of the woods yet, but one game out of the final tournament spot with three games to go is about as good as the Paladins could ask for after their struggles down the stretch in conference play.
Mark Calvi -- There's been a segment of USC fans who have held Calvi, the pitching coach, responsible whenever the Gamecocks didn't meet fan expectations. They'd gripe about misuing pitchers, abusing pitchers and other failures at the drop of a hat. But make no mistake about it: Pitching is responsible for USC being two wins away from winning the SEC regular-season title. The Gamecocks have eight shutouts among their 41 wins. Blake Cooper has been phenomenal as the Friday starter. The bullpen is deep and reliable. In the sweep of Arkansas, USC held Arkansas to .170 hitting and the bullpen combined to go eight innings without allowing a run. Give Calvi some props.
North Greenville -- The Crusaders had hoped to ride a couple of wins over NCAA Division II powers into an at-large bid to the DII playoffs, but fell short. With the National Christian College Athletic Association playoffs as a fallback option, coach Travis Henson's team made the most of the situation. NGU won all three games in the regional tournament at Chowan last week to earn a spot in the NCCAA World Series near Cincinnati later this month.
South Carolina -- A weak non-conference schedule overall kept the Gamecocks from being in the national seed discussion for much of the season. The three-game weekend sweep of Arkansas has USC solidly in the mix. USC was 4-15 at Fayetteville before the weekend. If the Gamecocks can get their No. 3 starter situation resolved, they'll be dangerous.
The Citadel -- Sweeping UNC Greensboro wasn't a surprise, but with Charleston being red-hot, the Bulldogs couldn't afford to stumble and hold on to first place in the SoCon. They didn't stumble.
USC Beaufort -- The Sand Sharks had a disappointing two-and-out in The Sun Conference Tournament after finishing second in the regular. They got a chance for redemption earning an at-large bid to the NAIA playoffs.
USC Upstate -- The Spartans picked up a nice Atlantic Sun Conference series win over Kennesaw State, a program that has had several players selected in the MLB draft in recent years.
LOSERS
Charleston Southern -- The Buccaneers went into the weekend with a 1 1/2-game edge over UNC Asheville for the final spot in the Big South Conference Tournament -- and promptly got swept by the Bulldogs to fall 1 1/2 games back with one weekend remaining.
Clemson -- The Tigers' problems of a few weeks back returned as they lost two of three to last-place Wake Forest -- or maybe Maryland was just so bad that the problems never went away and we didn't realize it. Regardless, scoring 17 runs in the middle game doesn't make up for the bookend stinko performances wrapped around it. Clemson still can win the ACC Atlantic Division, but has no margin for error. Anything less than a sweep of Florida State this weekend and the Seminoles take the division.
Jack Leggett -- It's mind-numbing to read all the criticism of Clemson's veteran coach on message boards, Facebook and similar venues, and being routed twice by Wake Forest will only add fuel to the fire. I don't know whether the discontent has been there all along, or whether it's a new manifestation brought about by series losses to Duke, North Carolina and Wake. Duke and Wake can't qualify for the ACC tournament and UNC will need some help to do so. Would a sweep of Florida State to win the ACC Atlantic Division title quiet the critics?
Wofford -- Winning once against Furman would have clinched no worse than a tie for eighth place and the final slot in the league tournament. The Terriers couldn't do it, missing their best chance on Sunday when Furman's Brian Harrison hit a two-out three-run homer in the eighth to erase a 10-8 Wofford lead built by a three-run Terriers eighth. Now, there will be some anxious moments for the Terriers as they play host to Appalachian State and Furman visits struggling UNC Greensboro.
If someone had told you before the weekend that in the series involving Clemson and USC that one team would get a sweep and the other would lose two of three, would you honestly have thought that it would be USC with the sweep and Clemson with the two losses?
We get Monday off for a little R&R before the schedule picks up again on Tuesday.
WINNERS
Coastal Carolina -- The Chanticleers were never seriously challenged as they wrapped up the Big South regular-season title, stayed unbeaten in league play and showed there's a sizable gap between themselves and the current No. 2 program in the conference, Liberty. With a school-Division I-record 45 wins, the Chanticleers seem to be in excellent shape for -- and deserving of -- one of the eight national seeds.
College of Charleston -- Because only 11 Southern Conference teams play baseball, the Cougars (22-8 SoCon) get to be scoreboard-watchers the final week of league play. They'll be huge Georgia Southern fans -- the Eagles play host to first-place The Citadel (21-6), which leads CofC by a half-game. Assuming all three games get played, the Bulldogs must win at least two to take the regular-season title. The Cougars have the edge in a tiebreaker by virtue of winning two of three league games head-to-head. Georgia Southern could match the Cougars' 22-8 record by sweeping the Bulldogs, but CofC has the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Daniel Stallsmith -- The sophomore left-hander is setting himself up to be Furman's No. 1 starter next season with a strong finish this season. He moved into the weekend rotation the fourth week of conference play and has given coach Ron Smith no reason to move him out. He picked up two wins in this weekend's sweep of Wofford -- as the starter on Friday and as a reliever on Sunday.
Furman -- Anything less than a sweep of Wofford over the weekend and the Paladins' SoCon Tournament chances would essentially have been kaput. All the Paladins did was rout the Terriers twice and get a dramatic three-run homer from Brian Harrison in the eighth inning Sunday to complete the sweep. They're not out of the woods yet, but one game out of the final tournament spot with three games to go is about as good as the Paladins could ask for after their struggles down the stretch in conference play.
Mark Calvi -- There's been a segment of USC fans who have held Calvi, the pitching coach, responsible whenever the Gamecocks didn't meet fan expectations. They'd gripe about misuing pitchers, abusing pitchers and other failures at the drop of a hat. But make no mistake about it: Pitching is responsible for USC being two wins away from winning the SEC regular-season title. The Gamecocks have eight shutouts among their 41 wins. Blake Cooper has been phenomenal as the Friday starter. The bullpen is deep and reliable. In the sweep of Arkansas, USC held Arkansas to .170 hitting and the bullpen combined to go eight innings without allowing a run. Give Calvi some props.
North Greenville -- The Crusaders had hoped to ride a couple of wins over NCAA Division II powers into an at-large bid to the DII playoffs, but fell short. With the National Christian College Athletic Association playoffs as a fallback option, coach Travis Henson's team made the most of the situation. NGU won all three games in the regional tournament at Chowan last week to earn a spot in the NCCAA World Series near Cincinnati later this month.
South Carolina -- A weak non-conference schedule overall kept the Gamecocks from being in the national seed discussion for much of the season. The three-game weekend sweep of Arkansas has USC solidly in the mix. USC was 4-15 at Fayetteville before the weekend. If the Gamecocks can get their No. 3 starter situation resolved, they'll be dangerous.
The Citadel -- Sweeping UNC Greensboro wasn't a surprise, but with Charleston being red-hot, the Bulldogs couldn't afford to stumble and hold on to first place in the SoCon. They didn't stumble.
USC Beaufort -- The Sand Sharks had a disappointing two-and-out in The Sun Conference Tournament after finishing second in the regular. They got a chance for redemption earning an at-large bid to the NAIA playoffs.
USC Upstate -- The Spartans picked up a nice Atlantic Sun Conference series win over Kennesaw State, a program that has had several players selected in the MLB draft in recent years.
LOSERS
Charleston Southern -- The Buccaneers went into the weekend with a 1 1/2-game edge over UNC Asheville for the final spot in the Big South Conference Tournament -- and promptly got swept by the Bulldogs to fall 1 1/2 games back with one weekend remaining.
Clemson -- The Tigers' problems of a few weeks back returned as they lost two of three to last-place Wake Forest -- or maybe Maryland was just so bad that the problems never went away and we didn't realize it. Regardless, scoring 17 runs in the middle game doesn't make up for the bookend stinko performances wrapped around it. Clemson still can win the ACC Atlantic Division, but has no margin for error. Anything less than a sweep of Florida State this weekend and the Seminoles take the division.
Jack Leggett -- It's mind-numbing to read all the criticism of Clemson's veteran coach on message boards, Facebook and similar venues, and being routed twice by Wake Forest will only add fuel to the fire. I don't know whether the discontent has been there all along, or whether it's a new manifestation brought about by series losses to Duke, North Carolina and Wake. Duke and Wake can't qualify for the ACC tournament and UNC will need some help to do so. Would a sweep of Florida State to win the ACC Atlantic Division title quiet the critics?
Wofford -- Winning once against Furman would have clinched no worse than a tie for eighth place and the final slot in the league tournament. The Terriers couldn't do it, missing their best chance on Sunday when Furman's Brian Harrison hit a two-out three-run homer in the eighth to erase a 10-8 Wofford lead built by a three-run Terriers eighth. Now, there will be some anxious moments for the Terriers as they play host to Appalachian State and Furman visits struggling UNC Greensboro.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
A few thoughts about Saturday
... Coastal Carolina wrapped up its fourth consecutive Big South Conference regular season title by beating second-place Liberty for the second straight day. The Chanticleers, who tied the school record for DI victories (44) are doing all they can to make their case for being a national seed.
... Clemson's Kyle Parker hit his 18th home run of the season as the Tigers righted the ship by beating Wake Forest, 17-5, on Saturday. Will Parker be drafted high enough to make him consider passing on his football career?
... Go figure. Clemson gets 14 hits and 17 runs and Mike Freeman goes 0-for-6, ending his 18-game hitting streak.
... The Tigers enter today's series finale two games behind Atlantic Division leader Florida State in the ACC. A division title is still within reach, as the Seminoles visit Doug Kingsmore Stadium next week.
... South Carolina coach Ray Tanner has to be elated over the way Sam Dyson has pitched the last couple of weeks, including Saturday's six-hit shutout of Arkansas. The Gamecocks, obviously, had no lingering aftereffects of last week's series loss at Kentucky.
... Do you think Tanner would have called for the men with the white coats if someone had told him the Gamecocks would lose two of three at Kentucky and win the first two at Arkansas? It's just more evidence why baseball is the greatest.
... Former Hanna High star Brady Thomas had an insignificant role for USC in 2009, batting .174 and getting just 23 at-bats. He has come up huge this season, serving as an able compliment to Kyle Enders at catcher and, occasionally being the designated hitter. He's batting .316 and leads the Gamecocks in slugging percentage. His two-run homer at Arkansas Saturday gave Dyson a 3-0 lead and a wider working margin en route to his shutout.
... Furman's players have shown they're not ready to pack up the bats yet, pulling within two games of eighth-place Wofford with four games left in conference play by beating the Terriers Saturday, 12-1. With no senior position players, coach Ron Smith has a good foundation for next season -- if he can get more effective pitching. The emergence of sophomore Daniel Stallsmith over the final half of the conference schedule gives him a head start on becoming the No. 1 pitcher in 2011.
... The Citadel beat UNC Greensboro for the second straight day. If the Bulldogs are hearing footsteps from a red-hot Charleston team just behind them in the Southern Conference title race, they aren't showing it.
... College of Charleston's Cole Rekar hit for the cycle in the Cougars' 15-5 win at Appalachian State.
... Winthrop's second straight win over VMI pulled the Eagles into a tie with the Keydets for fifth place in the Big South and kept them within striking distance of High Point for fourth.
... Francis Marion is still two wins away from winning the NCAA Division II South Regional, but the Patriots have bounced back well from their opening-game loss.
One interesting stat from outside the state
... Based on my research, Appalachian State is one of just two teams in the country with only one loss in non-conference play this season. The Moutaineers' lone setback outside the Southern Conference was to Gardner-Webb. Yet, the Mountaineers are seventh in the conference standings, as 12 of their 13 losses have been to league teams. The other team with one loss in non-conference play? Arizona State, which is ranked as high as No. 2 nationally. The Sun Devils have five losses, four in Pac-10 Conference play. The only non-conference loss? To state and conference rival Arizona in a game that didn't count in the conference standings.
... Clemson's Kyle Parker hit his 18th home run of the season as the Tigers righted the ship by beating Wake Forest, 17-5, on Saturday. Will Parker be drafted high enough to make him consider passing on his football career?
... Go figure. Clemson gets 14 hits and 17 runs and Mike Freeman goes 0-for-6, ending his 18-game hitting streak.
... The Tigers enter today's series finale two games behind Atlantic Division leader Florida State in the ACC. A division title is still within reach, as the Seminoles visit Doug Kingsmore Stadium next week.
... South Carolina coach Ray Tanner has to be elated over the way Sam Dyson has pitched the last couple of weeks, including Saturday's six-hit shutout of Arkansas. The Gamecocks, obviously, had no lingering aftereffects of last week's series loss at Kentucky.
... Do you think Tanner would have called for the men with the white coats if someone had told him the Gamecocks would lose two of three at Kentucky and win the first two at Arkansas? It's just more evidence why baseball is the greatest.
... Former Hanna High star Brady Thomas had an insignificant role for USC in 2009, batting .174 and getting just 23 at-bats. He has come up huge this season, serving as an able compliment to Kyle Enders at catcher and, occasionally being the designated hitter. He's batting .316 and leads the Gamecocks in slugging percentage. His two-run homer at Arkansas Saturday gave Dyson a 3-0 lead and a wider working margin en route to his shutout.
... Furman's players have shown they're not ready to pack up the bats yet, pulling within two games of eighth-place Wofford with four games left in conference play by beating the Terriers Saturday, 12-1. With no senior position players, coach Ron Smith has a good foundation for next season -- if he can get more effective pitching. The emergence of sophomore Daniel Stallsmith over the final half of the conference schedule gives him a head start on becoming the No. 1 pitcher in 2011.
... The Citadel beat UNC Greensboro for the second straight day. If the Bulldogs are hearing footsteps from a red-hot Charleston team just behind them in the Southern Conference title race, they aren't showing it.
... College of Charleston's Cole Rekar hit for the cycle in the Cougars' 15-5 win at Appalachian State.
... Winthrop's second straight win over VMI pulled the Eagles into a tie with the Keydets for fifth place in the Big South and kept them within striking distance of High Point for fourth.
... Francis Marion is still two wins away from winning the NCAA Division II South Regional, but the Patriots have bounced back well from their opening-game loss.
One interesting stat from outside the state
... Based on my research, Appalachian State is one of just two teams in the country with only one loss in non-conference play this season. The Moutaineers' lone setback outside the Southern Conference was to Gardner-Webb. Yet, the Mountaineers are seventh in the conference standings, as 12 of their 13 losses have been to league teams. The other team with one loss in non-conference play? Arizona State, which is ranked as high as No. 2 nationally. The Sun Devils have five losses, four in Pac-10 Conference play. The only non-conference loss? To state and conference rival Arizona in a game that didn't count in the conference standings.
Scoreboard, May 16
Regular season
Coastal Carolina 5, Liberty 0
College of Charleston 13-9, Appalachian State 1-1
Game Two Box
Furman 11, Wofford 10
Presbyterian 10, High Point 9
South Carolina 5, Arkansas 3
The Citadel 3, UNC Greensboro 1
UNC Asheville 5, Charleston Southern 4
VMI 7, Winthrop 5
Wake Forest 11, Clemson 2
NCAA DII Southeast Regional
at Florence
Georgia College/State 9, Francis Marion 0, Georgia College/State wins regional
Coastal Carolina 5, Liberty 0
College of Charleston 13-9, Appalachian State 1-1
Game Two Box
Furman 11, Wofford 10
Presbyterian 10, High Point 9
South Carolina 5, Arkansas 3
The Citadel 3, UNC Greensboro 1
UNC Asheville 5, Charleston Southern 4
VMI 7, Winthrop 5
Wake Forest 11, Clemson 2
NCAA DII Southeast Regional
at Florence
Georgia College/State 9, Francis Marion 0, Georgia College/State wins regional
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Saturday's Clemson game time moved to 3 p.m.
Because of the weather forecast, the starting time for Saturday's Clemson at Wake Forest game has been moved up from 6 p.m. to 3 p.m.
A few thoughts about Friday
... USC's Blake Cooper continues to have an amazing senior season. He held Arkansas to three hits and two runs over seven innings in the Gamecocks' 3-2 victory, outdueling the Razorbacks' Drew Smyly in a battle of unbeatens. It improved Cooper's record to 10-0 and proved again that two good pitching performances can be just as exciting as a slugfest. A few weeks back, Cooper won a similar dandy pitching duel with Mississippi's Drew Pomeranz. Cooper is making a strong case for all-SEC honors, if not more.
... While Clemson missed a chance to gain ground on ACC Atlantic leader Florida State because of the 9-5 loss to Wake Forest, the Tigers can be thankful they didn't lose ground. The Seminoles lost to N.C. State and remained two games ahead. If the Tigers can right themselves for the final two games this weekend, they'll still be in fine shape for the season-ending home series against FSU next weekend.
... Say what you will about the caliber of the Big South Conference versus some other leagues, Coastal Carolina's perfect record so far in league play is an amazing feat. By my calculations, the Chanticleers can clinch the regular-season title by winning Saturday's game.
... North Greenville didn't panic when it surrendered a 5-0 lead over the final two innings of its NCCAA regional final against Southeastern. Instead, coach Travis Henson's bounced back with a run in the bottom of the seventh to take the title and advance to the National Christian College Athletic Association World Series later this month. That being said, I wish the NCCAA let its teams play nine innings instead of seven in regional play. These guys are grownups. Play a full game.
... Furman snapped its eight-game losing streak -- and 10-game slide in Southern Conference play -- just in time to keep its tournament hopes on life support. The Paladins moved within three games of the Terriers for the final berth in the league tournament with five games remaining, but there's still a lot of wood to chop.
... The series-opening win over Kennesaw State gives USC Upstate six wins in its last 10 A-Sun Conference games. That's noteworthy after a 1-14 start to league play.
And, outside the state ...
... Georgia will likely want to burn all evidence of this season. The Bulldogs took a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the ninth against Florida Friday night, then committed an error and botched consecutive bunts to allow the Gators to tie the score. Florida added another run later in the inning to win the game and stay tied for first place in the SEC East (and overall) with USC.
... LSU continued its amazing slide down the SEC standings when Lance Ray's second three-run home run of the game -- this one in the ninth inning -- gave Kentucky an 11-9 victory. The Tigers have lost 10 of their last 11 in league play, and could conceivably be bumped out of an SEC tournament spot by either Alabama or Kentucky, both of whom are two games behind with five league games remaining. If LSU and Alabama should be the two teams squeezed out, attendance for the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala., will take a major hit.
Stepping away from the college game to the majors for a minute ...
While most of the major league announcers likely are rooting for the team they're broadcasting for, odds are a lot of them just see it as a job. Listen to Cubs announcer Ron Santo for a few innings and it's obvious he agonizes over every little thing that goes wrong for the Cubs. He's really a fan.
... While Clemson missed a chance to gain ground on ACC Atlantic leader Florida State because of the 9-5 loss to Wake Forest, the Tigers can be thankful they didn't lose ground. The Seminoles lost to N.C. State and remained two games ahead. If the Tigers can right themselves for the final two games this weekend, they'll still be in fine shape for the season-ending home series against FSU next weekend.
... Say what you will about the caliber of the Big South Conference versus some other leagues, Coastal Carolina's perfect record so far in league play is an amazing feat. By my calculations, the Chanticleers can clinch the regular-season title by winning Saturday's game.
... North Greenville didn't panic when it surrendered a 5-0 lead over the final two innings of its NCCAA regional final against Southeastern. Instead, coach Travis Henson's bounced back with a run in the bottom of the seventh to take the title and advance to the National Christian College Athletic Association World Series later this month. That being said, I wish the NCCAA let its teams play nine innings instead of seven in regional play. These guys are grownups. Play a full game.
... Furman snapped its eight-game losing streak -- and 10-game slide in Southern Conference play -- just in time to keep its tournament hopes on life support. The Paladins moved within three games of the Terriers for the final berth in the league tournament with five games remaining, but there's still a lot of wood to chop.
... The series-opening win over Kennesaw State gives USC Upstate six wins in its last 10 A-Sun Conference games. That's noteworthy after a 1-14 start to league play.
And, outside the state ...
... Georgia will likely want to burn all evidence of this season. The Bulldogs took a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the ninth against Florida Friday night, then committed an error and botched consecutive bunts to allow the Gators to tie the score. Florida added another run later in the inning to win the game and stay tied for first place in the SEC East (and overall) with USC.
... LSU continued its amazing slide down the SEC standings when Lance Ray's second three-run home run of the game -- this one in the ninth inning -- gave Kentucky an 11-9 victory. The Tigers have lost 10 of their last 11 in league play, and could conceivably be bumped out of an SEC tournament spot by either Alabama or Kentucky, both of whom are two games behind with five league games remaining. If LSU and Alabama should be the two teams squeezed out, attendance for the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala., will take a major hit.
Stepping away from the college game to the majors for a minute ...
While most of the major league announcers likely are rooting for the team they're broadcasting for, odds are a lot of them just see it as a job. Listen to Cubs announcer Ron Santo for a few innings and it's obvious he agonizes over every little thing that goes wrong for the Cubs. He's really a fan.
Scoreboard, May 15
Regular season
Clemson 17, Wake Forest 5
Coastal Carolina 7, Liberty 1 Coastal wins Big South title
College of Charleston 15, Appalachian State 5, G1
College of Charleston at Appalachian State, G2 ppd. until Sunday
Furman 12, Wofford 1
High Point 17, Presbyterian 3
Kennesaw State 10-2, USC Upstate 6-12
Game Two Box
South Carolina 5, Arkansas 0
The Citadel 5, UNC Greensboro 0
UNC Asheville 4, Charleston Southern 3
Winthrop 8, VMI 2
NCAA DII Southeast Regional
At Florence
Columbus State 8, Erskine 7, Erskine eliminated
Francis Marion 2, Mount Olive 0, Mount Olive eliminated
Georgia College/State 5, Columbus State 3, Columbus State eliminated
Clemson 17, Wake Forest 5
Coastal Carolina 7, Liberty 1 Coastal wins Big South title
College of Charleston 15, Appalachian State 5, G1
College of Charleston at Appalachian State, G2 ppd. until Sunday
Furman 12, Wofford 1
High Point 17, Presbyterian 3
Kennesaw State 10-2, USC Upstate 6-12
Game Two Box
South Carolina 5, Arkansas 0
The Citadel 5, UNC Greensboro 0
UNC Asheville 4, Charleston Southern 3
Winthrop 8, VMI 2
NCAA DII Southeast Regional
At Florence
Columbus State 8, Erskine 7, Erskine eliminated
Francis Marion 2, Mount Olive 0, Mount Olive eliminated
Georgia College/State 5, Columbus State 3, Columbus State eliminated
Friday, May 14, 2010
News Digest, May 14
USC projected as 7th seed
Rivals.com's Kendall Rogers projects South Carolina as the No. 7 national seed in this week's projection of the NCAA Tournament Field. College of Charleston is pegged as one of the other teams in the Columbia Regional. Clemson is assigned to a regional hosted by Coastal Carolina and The Citadel is sent to a regional at Georgia Tech.
Rivals
Series to watch
Rogers also listed the Coastal Carolina-Liberty and USC-Arkansas series among his 10 to watch this weekend. He forecasts Coastal winning two of three and USC losing two or three.
Ten
Another view
Mark Etheridge of SEBaseball.com also writes about the USC-Arkansas series as part of a weekend overview.
SEBaseball
Rivals.com's Kendall Rogers projects South Carolina as the No. 7 national seed in this week's projection of the NCAA Tournament Field. College of Charleston is pegged as one of the other teams in the Columbia Regional. Clemson is assigned to a regional hosted by Coastal Carolina and The Citadel is sent to a regional at Georgia Tech.
Series to watch
Rogers also listed the Coastal Carolina-Liberty and USC-Arkansas series among his 10 to watch this weekend. He forecasts Coastal winning two of three and USC losing two or three.
Another view
Mark Etheridge of SEBaseball.com also writes about the USC-Arkansas series as part of a weekend overview.
Scoreboard, May 14
Regular season
Coastal Carolina 5, Liberty 2
College of Charleston at Appalachian State, ppd. until 1 p.m. Saturday
Furman 14, Wofford 6
High Point 7, Presbyterian 4
South Carolina 3, Arkansas 2
The Citadel 8, UNC Greensboro 2
UNC Asheville 13, Charleston Southern 9
USC Upstate 6, Kennesaw State 5
Wake Forest 9, Clemson 5
Winthrop 6, VMI 5
NCAA DII Southeast Regional
Francis Marion University, Florence
Francis Marion 3, Catawba 2, Catawba eliminated
Mount Olive 2, Erskine 1
Georgia College/State 5, Columbus State 0
NCCAA South Regional
Chowan University, Murfreesboro, N.C.
Southeastern d. Emmanuel, Emmanuel eliminated
North Greenville 6, Southeastern 5, NGU wins regional
Coastal Carolina 5, Liberty 2
College of Charleston at Appalachian State, ppd. until 1 p.m. Saturday
Furman 14, Wofford 6
High Point 7, Presbyterian 4
South Carolina 3, Arkansas 2
The Citadel 8, UNC Greensboro 2
UNC Asheville 13, Charleston Southern 9
USC Upstate 6, Kennesaw State 5
Wake Forest 9, Clemson 5
Winthrop 6, VMI 5
NCAA DII Southeast Regional
Francis Marion University, Florence
Francis Marion 3, Catawba 2, Catawba eliminated
Mount Olive 2, Erskine 1
Georgia College/State 5, Columbus State 0
NCCAA South Regional
Chowan University, Murfreesboro, N.C.
Southeastern d. Emmanuel, Emmanuel eliminated
North Greenville 6, Southeastern 5, NGU wins regional
Thursday, May 13, 2010
News Digest, May 13
Rivals.com power rankings
Rivals.com has posted this week's position-by-position power ratings, with several state players and coaches in the lists.Power
Chants move game to the beach
Coastal Carolina has switched its May 18 game with College of Charleston from Conway to BB&T Coastal Field at Myrtle Beach.Beach
Regional projections
The College Baseball Blog has taken its latest stab at projecting the NCAA Tournament field. It projects Coastal Carolina as the No. 6 national seed. It has Clemson hosting a region with The Citadel as one of the teams, it has South Carolina going to Florida State and College of Charleston going to Virginia.Blog
Rivals.com has posted this week's position-by-position power ratings, with several state players and coaches in the lists.
Chants move game to the beach
Coastal Carolina has switched its May 18 game with College of Charleston from Conway to BB&T Coastal Field at Myrtle Beach.
Regional projections
The College Baseball Blog has taken its latest stab at projecting the NCAA Tournament field. It projects Coastal Carolina as the No. 6 national seed. It has Clemson hosting a region with The Citadel as one of the teams, it has South Carolina going to Florida State and College of Charleston going to Virginia.
Scoreboard, May 13
NCAAA South Regional
Chowan University, Murfreesboro, N.C.
Chowan 5, Truett-McConnell 3, TMC eliminated
North Greenville 11, Southeastern 2
Emmanuel 9, Chowan 8, Chowan eliminated
NCAA Division II Southeast Regional
Francis Marion University, Florence
Georgia College/State 4, Mount Olive 3
Columbus State 5, Catawba 0
Erskine 4, Francis Marion 3
Chowan University, Murfreesboro, N.C.
Chowan 5, Truett-McConnell 3, TMC eliminated
North Greenville 11, Southeastern 2
Emmanuel 9, Chowan 8, Chowan eliminated
NCAA Division II Southeast Regional
Francis Marion University, Florence
Georgia College/State 4, Mount Olive 3
Columbus State 5, Catawba 0
Erskine 4, Francis Marion 3
Upon further review
I mentioned earlier this week that University of South Carolina pitcher Parker Bangs is a grandson of former major leaguer Jack Aker. I reported it because that's what USC's announcers said on a broadcast over the weekend.
In chatting with Bangs' dad during Wednesday's game with Charleston Southern, he said the report was inaccurate. Aker is the stepfather of Bangs' mother, not Bangs' grandfather.
I apologize for passing along misinformation.
In chatting with Bangs' dad during Wednesday's game with Charleston Southern, he said the report was inaccurate. Aker is the stepfather of Bangs' mother, not Bangs' grandfather.
I apologize for passing along misinformation.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Scoreboard, May 12
North Carolina 10, College of Charleston 0
South Carolina 10, Charleston Southern 2
The Citadel 10, USC Upstate 3
Wofford 6, Duke 4
NCCAA South Regional
North Greenville 6, Chowan 5
Emmanuel 11, Truett-McConnell 8
Southeastern 14, Emmanuel 4
South Carolina 10, Charleston Southern 2
The Citadel 10, USC Upstate 3
Wofford 6, Duke 4
NCCAA South Regional
North Greenville 6, Chowan 5
Emmanuel 11, Truett-McConnell 8
Southeastern 14, Emmanuel 4
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
News Digest, May 11
Conway on watch list
Coastal Carolina's Josh Conway is on the 25-player watch list for the John Olerud Award, given by the College Baseball Foundation to the best two-way college player.
Olerud
Florence regional times set
Times have been announced for games in the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional beginning Thursday in Florence. Erskine and host Francis Marion meet in the third game of the day at 7 p.m.
Southeast
Regional projections
SEBaseball.com's weekly projection of the NCAA Tournament field if it were selected today includes South Carolina being the No. 6 national seed and the College of Charleston as one of the teams assigned there. It also has Coastal Carolina as the No. 8 seed, with Clemson and The Citadel assigned there.
SEBaseball
Chants No. 1
SEBaseball.com ranks Coastal Carolina No. 1 in the Southeast among teams not from the ACC, SEC or CUSA. College of Charleston is fourth and The Citadel seventh.
Rankings
Family ties
I learned over the weekend that North Carolina catcher Jacob Stallings is a son of Vanderbilt basketball coach Kevin Stallings.
Bear with me
Forgive me if my updates are slow the next couple of days. I'm dealing with circumstances beyond my control.
Coastal Carolina's Josh Conway is on the 25-player watch list for the John Olerud Award, given by the College Baseball Foundation to the best two-way college player.
Florence regional times set
Times have been announced for games in the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional beginning Thursday in Florence. Erskine and host Francis Marion meet in the third game of the day at 7 p.m.
Regional projections
SEBaseball.com's weekly projection of the NCAA Tournament field if it were selected today includes South Carolina being the No. 6 national seed and the College of Charleston as one of the teams assigned there. It also has Coastal Carolina as the No. 8 seed, with Clemson and The Citadel assigned there.
Chants No. 1
SEBaseball.com ranks Coastal Carolina No. 1 in the Southeast among teams not from the ACC, SEC or CUSA. College of Charleston is fourth and The Citadel seventh.
Family ties
I learned over the weekend that North Carolina catcher Jacob Stallings is a son of Vanderbilt basketball coach Kevin Stallings.
Bear with me
Forgive me if my updates are slow the next couple of days. I'm dealing with circumstances beyond my control.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Poll Updates/Honors May 10
Collegiate Baseball DI
1. Texas. 4. Coastal Carolina. 7. South Carolina. 26. Clemson.CBB
Baseball America
1. Virginia. 6. Coastal Carolina. 8. South Carolina.BBA
USA Today/ESPN Coaches
1. Texas. 4. Coastal Carolina. 12. (tie) South Carolina. 22. Clemson.USAT
Rivals.com
1. Texas. 9. South Carolina. 11. Coastal Carolina.Rivals
SoCon
Player of the Week: Mac Doyle, Wofford.SoCon
1. Texas. 4. Coastal Carolina. 7. South Carolina. 26. Clemson.
Baseball America
1. Virginia. 6. Coastal Carolina. 8. South Carolina.
USA Today/ESPN Coaches
1. Texas. 4. Coastal Carolina. 12. (tie) South Carolina. 22. Clemson.
Rivals.com
1. Texas. 9. South Carolina. 11. Coastal Carolina.
SoCon
Player of the Week: Mac Doyle, Wofford.
Winners and losers, May 10
WINNERS
Clemson -- The Tigers got three confidence-building victories over Maryland and were able to close ground on ACC Atlantic leader Florida State and put more distance between themselves and third-place Boston College. A comparable outing at Wake Forest next weekend could set Clemson up perfectly for its final conference series in two weeks -- at home against FSU, with the division title up for grabs.
Coastal Carolina -- The Chanticleers continue to do all they can to make their case for a national seed. There's still one game left in the Winthrop series on Monday, but so far, so good.
College of Charleston -- Granted, it was only a net gain of one game in the standings, but the 2-1 series win over The Citadel has the Cougars well within reach of the Southern Conference lead.
Erskine, Francis Marion -- For both teams, the body of work was enough to merit bid to the NCAA Division II playoffs despite disappointing results during conference tournaments.
Kevin Melillo, Landon Powell -- Sunday was a good day for the former Gamecocks. Melillo was promoted from AA to AAA in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization and Powell caught Dallas Braden's perfect game for Oakland. Powell also drove in a run.
North Greenville -- The Crusaders didn't have the resume to merit an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II playoffs as they had hoped, but they get to continue their season in the National Christian College Athletic Association playoffs at Chowan this week.
USC Upstate -- For the second time in the past three weekends, the Spartans won a league series. They're still in last place in the Atlantic Sun, but they're showing that the can be competitive against league rivals
Wofford -- Going 2-1 against Samford allowed the Terriers to create a slight buffer (2 games) between eighth and ninth palce in the SoCon standings. Only the top eight teams qualify for the tournament.
LOSERS
Furman -- Mathematically, there's still time to turn things around and climb back into the SoCon Tournament picture, but the Paladins have shown little indication that there's a chance of that happening. A loss in the series finale at Western Carolina today would drop the Paladins into a last-place tie with Davidson.
South Carolina -- USC hasn't been on this side of the ledger after a weekend series in quite a while. Losing an SEC series -- particularly on the road -- is certainly no disgrace, and the law of averages was likely due to catch up with the Gamecocks. The discouraging aspect for USC boosters could be that Kentucky showed over the final two games that there is a way to rein in what had been a red-hot Gamecocks offense.
Clemson -- The Tigers got three confidence-building victories over Maryland and were able to close ground on ACC Atlantic leader Florida State and put more distance between themselves and third-place Boston College. A comparable outing at Wake Forest next weekend could set Clemson up perfectly for its final conference series in two weeks -- at home against FSU, with the division title up for grabs.
Coastal Carolina -- The Chanticleers continue to do all they can to make their case for a national seed. There's still one game left in the Winthrop series on Monday, but so far, so good.
College of Charleston -- Granted, it was only a net gain of one game in the standings, but the 2-1 series win over The Citadel has the Cougars well within reach of the Southern Conference lead.
Erskine, Francis Marion -- For both teams, the body of work was enough to merit bid to the NCAA Division II playoffs despite disappointing results during conference tournaments.
Kevin Melillo, Landon Powell -- Sunday was a good day for the former Gamecocks. Melillo was promoted from AA to AAA in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization and Powell caught Dallas Braden's perfect game for Oakland. Powell also drove in a run.
North Greenville -- The Crusaders didn't have the resume to merit an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II playoffs as they had hoped, but they get to continue their season in the National Christian College Athletic Association playoffs at Chowan this week.
USC Upstate -- For the second time in the past three weekends, the Spartans won a league series. They're still in last place in the Atlantic Sun, but they're showing that the can be competitive against league rivals
Wofford -- Going 2-1 against Samford allowed the Terriers to create a slight buffer (2 games) between eighth and ninth palce in the SoCon standings. Only the top eight teams qualify for the tournament.
LOSERS
Furman -- Mathematically, there's still time to turn things around and climb back into the SoCon Tournament picture, but the Paladins have shown little indication that there's a chance of that happening. A loss in the series finale at Western Carolina today would drop the Paladins into a last-place tie with Davidson.
South Carolina -- USC hasn't been on this side of the ledger after a weekend series in quite a while. Losing an SEC series -- particularly on the road -- is certainly no disgrace, and the law of averages was likely due to catch up with the Gamecocks. The discouraging aspect for USC boosters could be that Kentucky showed over the final two games that there is a way to rein in what had been a red-hot Gamecocks offense.
Scoreboard, May 10
Coastal Carolina 10, Winthrop 4
Western Carolina 18, Furman 4
The Sun Conference Tournament
Fort Myers, Fla.
Florida Memorial 6, USC Beaufort 5, USCB eliminated
Embry-Riddle 10, Warner 0, Warner eliminated
St. Thomas 4, Savannah College Art/Design 3
Western Carolina 18, Furman 4
The Sun Conference Tournament
Fort Myers, Fla.
Florida Memorial 6, USC Beaufort 5, USCB eliminated
Embry-Riddle 10, Warner 0, Warner eliminated
St. Thomas 4, Savannah College Art/Design 3
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Francis Marion hosts regional, plays Erskine in first round
Courtesy of the Francis Marion Sports Information Department
Francis Marion University has been tabbed as the top seed and host for this week’s NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Baseball Tournament. The six-team, double-elimination tournament will played Thursday through Sunday (May 13-16) on FMU’s Clifford S. Cormell Field.
The Patriots, who are ranked fifth in the latest Collegiate Baseball Newspaper NCAA Division II Top 30 poll, own a 38-12 record and will face sixth-seeded and 20th-ranked Erskine College (40-15) in Thursday’s final contest (time to be determined).
Thursday’s two other opening-round games will have third-seeded and eighth-ranked Georgia College & State University (35-15) playing fourth-seeded and sixth-ranked Mount Olive College (40-9) and second-seeded and 10th-ranked Columbus State University (42-10) meeting fifth-seeded and 23rd-ranked Catawba College (40-11).
The regional winner advances to the Division II World Series, May 22-29, at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C. Lynn University is the defending national champion, while Mount Olive won the 2008 title.
The Southeast Regional could arguably be the toughest regional in the nation as it is the lone one to boast four teams ranked in the Top 10.
If FMU wins its opening game, the Patriots will play the GCSU/Mount Olive loser on Friday evening. A Patriot loss to Erskine would place FMU in the losers’ bracket against the CSU/Catawba loser on Friday.
This will be Francis Marion’s sixth trip to the NCAA Tournament, and fifth in the past eight seasons. Head coach Art Inabinet guided the 2006 Patriot squad to a 41-18 mark, the regional championship, and the school’s only appearance in the World Series. Last year, FMU was 2-2 in the Southeast Regional.
The 48-team NCAA Division II National Tournament field was released late Sunday (May 9) night. The tournament consists of eight regionals. Nineteen teams, including CSU (Peach Belt Conference), Mount Olive (Conference Carolinas), and Catawba College (South Atlantic Conference), earned automatic berths by winning their conference titles. Francis Marion received one of the 29 at-large invitations.
The Patriots were 4-4 during the regular season against teams in the regional tournament, including a split of two games against Erskine to open the 2010 season.
Francis Marion University has been tabbed as the top seed and host for this week’s NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Baseball Tournament. The six-team, double-elimination tournament will played Thursday through Sunday (May 13-16) on FMU’s Clifford S. Cormell Field.
The Patriots, who are ranked fifth in the latest Collegiate Baseball Newspaper NCAA Division II Top 30 poll, own a 38-12 record and will face sixth-seeded and 20th-ranked Erskine College (40-15) in Thursday’s final contest (time to be determined).
Thursday’s two other opening-round games will have third-seeded and eighth-ranked Georgia College & State University (35-15) playing fourth-seeded and sixth-ranked Mount Olive College (40-9) and second-seeded and 10th-ranked Columbus State University (42-10) meeting fifth-seeded and 23rd-ranked Catawba College (40-11).
The regional winner advances to the Division II World Series, May 22-29, at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C. Lynn University is the defending national champion, while Mount Olive won the 2008 title.
The Southeast Regional could arguably be the toughest regional in the nation as it is the lone one to boast four teams ranked in the Top 10.
If FMU wins its opening game, the Patriots will play the GCSU/Mount Olive loser on Friday evening. A Patriot loss to Erskine would place FMU in the losers’ bracket against the CSU/Catawba loser on Friday.
This will be Francis Marion’s sixth trip to the NCAA Tournament, and fifth in the past eight seasons. Head coach Art Inabinet guided the 2006 Patriot squad to a 41-18 mark, the regional championship, and the school’s only appearance in the World Series. Last year, FMU was 2-2 in the Southeast Regional.
The 48-team NCAA Division II National Tournament field was released late Sunday (May 9) night. The tournament consists of eight regionals. Nineteen teams, including CSU (Peach Belt Conference), Mount Olive (Conference Carolinas), and Catawba College (South Atlantic Conference), earned automatic berths by winning their conference titles. Francis Marion received one of the 29 at-large invitations.
The Patriots were 4-4 during the regular season against teams in the regional tournament, including a split of two games against Erskine to open the 2010 season.
News Digest, May 9
Four Sand Sharks all-conference
USC Beaufort's Brandon Collins, R.J. Neal, Spencer Jackson and Adam Miller were first-team selections for the All-Sun Conference team. Teammates David O'Neil, Larry Perry and Kyle McCullough were second-team choices.
Sun
Streaming video set
The Sun Conference reports all tournament games will be available on the Internet via streaming video.
Video
Seven state players up for DII national award
Seven players from state NCAA Division II schools are candidates for the first Tino Martinez Award, to be presented to the player deemed the best in Division II baseball.
State players are Corey Bryant of Benedict, William Buzhardt and Bryan Fogle of Erskine, Barrett Kleinknecht of Francis Marion, Drew Provence of North Greenville and Nick Aranas and Bill Rice of USC Aiken. Martinez was a standout at DII University of Tampa before be became a major leaguer.
DII
Motter a quarterfinalist
Coastal Carolina's Taylor Motter is one of 25 quarterfinalists for the Brooks Wallace Awards, presented to the player deemed the best college shortstop in the country.
Wallace
4 state pitchers quarterfinalists
Asher Wojciechowski of The Citadel, Anthony Meo and Cody Wheeler of Coastal Carolina and Blake Cooper of South Carolina are among 25 quarterfinalists for the pitcher of the year award presented by the College Baseball Foundation.
Pitcher
Wittels ties Adkins
Garrett Wittels of Florida International hit safely in his 41st straight game on Saturday, tieing former Clemson star Rusty Adkins, among others for the fifth-longest streak in NCAA Division I history. I can remember reading of Adkins' exploits when I was a teenager in the mid-1960s. The DI record if 58 games by Robin Ventura of Oklahoma State.
Coaching change rumored
I've seen chatter on a couple of message boards that a head coaching change could be announced for one school in state as soon as this week. The school referenced has no mention of a vacancy on its site.
Thanks to Region X officials
I wanted to express my appreciation to officials of NJCAA Region X for keeping me up to date with tournament scores, thus allowing me to keep you up to date, too. I hope it was useful for you.
USC Beaufort's Brandon Collins, R.J. Neal, Spencer Jackson and Adam Miller were first-team selections for the All-Sun Conference team. Teammates David O'Neil, Larry Perry and Kyle McCullough were second-team choices.
Streaming video set
The Sun Conference reports all tournament games will be available on the Internet via streaming video.
Seven state players up for DII national award
Seven players from state NCAA Division II schools are candidates for the first Tino Martinez Award, to be presented to the player deemed the best in Division II baseball.
State players are Corey Bryant of Benedict, William Buzhardt and Bryan Fogle of Erskine, Barrett Kleinknecht of Francis Marion, Drew Provence of North Greenville and Nick Aranas and Bill Rice of USC Aiken. Martinez was a standout at DII University of Tampa before be became a major leaguer.
Motter a quarterfinalist
Coastal Carolina's Taylor Motter is one of 25 quarterfinalists for the Brooks Wallace Awards, presented to the player deemed the best college shortstop in the country.
4 state pitchers quarterfinalists
Asher Wojciechowski of The Citadel, Anthony Meo and Cody Wheeler of Coastal Carolina and Blake Cooper of South Carolina are among 25 quarterfinalists for the pitcher of the year award presented by the College Baseball Foundation.
Wittels ties Adkins
Garrett Wittels of Florida International hit safely in his 41st straight game on Saturday, tieing former Clemson star Rusty Adkins, among others for the fifth-longest streak in NCAA Division I history. I can remember reading of Adkins' exploits when I was a teenager in the mid-1960s. The DI record if 58 games by Robin Ventura of Oklahoma State.
Coaching change rumored
I've seen chatter on a couple of message boards that a head coaching change could be announced for one school in state as soon as this week. The school referenced has no mention of a vacancy on its site.
Thanks to Region X officials
I wanted to express my appreciation to officials of NJCAA Region X for keeping me up to date with tournament scores, thus allowing me to keep you up to date, too. I hope it was useful for you.
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