Poll Update, June 30, Part 2

Collegiate Baseball: 1. South Carolina. 21. Clemson. 27. Coastal Carolina.

CBB

Poll update, June 30

Baseball America 1. South Carolina. 21. Clemson.

BBA

News Digest, June 29, Part 2

Gold Gloves awarded
Pardon me if I've reported this earlier, but the American Baseball Coaches Association and Rawlings have named their Gold Glove teams.
Southern Wesleyan's Thomas Floyd was a first-team choice in NAIA.

NAIA

Todd Joyner of Florence-Darlington Tech was named first-team among Division I junior college teams.

JuCo

South Carolina's Michael Roth was first-team South Region and teammate Matt Price was second team.

Region

I have been unable to find the Atlantic or East Region team, which should include ACC players.

Poll
Perfect Game USA: 1. South Carolina. 20. Clemson.

PGUSA

Free Publicity!

There's a link to my blog in an Omaha World-Herald story about USC's Michael Roth. I feel like Navin R. Johnson (Steve Martin's character) in "The Jerk" when the new phone books arrived: Things are going to start happening to me now.

Omaha

News Digest, June 29

Wofford hires Burke
Wofford has announced the hiring of Jason Burke as pitching coach.

Burke

Miller represents Clemson at Omaha
Former Clemson player Seth Miller worked at the College World Series on the production team for ESPN.

Miller

Aldrich, Shaffer in home run derby
College of Charleston's Daniel Aldrich and Clemson's Richie Shaffer will compete in a home run derby at Omaha's TD Ameritrade Park Saturday. Among the other competitors is Georgia Southern's Victor Roache, the DI leader in home runs this season.

Aldrich

Clemson hasn't posted a release yet, but here's its e-mail announcing Shaffer's selection.

Clemson sophomore Richie Shaffer was one of eight players selected to participate in the 2011 TD Ameritrade College Home Run Derby in Omaha, NE, announced Wednesday. The event will take place on Saturday at 8:30 PM EDT and will air on CBS on Sunday at 2:00 PM. Shaffer will join Daniel Aldrich (College of Charleston), Joey DeMichele (Arizona State), Connor Harrell (Vanderbilt), Dylan Pratt (East Tennessee State), Andrew Rash (Virginia Tech), Victor Roache (Georgia Southern), and Doug Shribman (Bucknell) in the home run derby.

The Charlotte, NC native, who will be the first Tiger to participate in a college home run derby, hit a team-high 13 home runs for the Tigers in 2011. Shaffer also earned First-Team All-ACC honors at first base.

The home run derby will also feature three Major League Baseball legends, including Joe Carter and Baseball Hall of Fame member Paul Molitor, who will both serve as honorary hitting coaches for derby participants. In addition, All-Star player Frank Thomas will provide commentary for CBS during the competition.

Tickets for the 2011 TD Ameritrade College Home Run Derby, which will include the 27th-annual Omaha World-Herald fireworks display, are available and may be purchased in person from the Qwest Center Omaha arena box offices, by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000, or online at CollegeHomeRunDerby.com. A portion of the proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to TD Ameritrade’s three major charitable giving initiatives...Special Olympics, Habitat for Humanity, and United Way.

USC celebrations
Thousands of fans greeted the University of South Carolina baseball team in Colonial Life Arena Wednesday afternoon upon its return to Columbia after winning the program's second consecutive College World Series championship. There are reports a parade is planned for Friday.

Futures teams picked
Former USC standout James Darnell and ex-Charleston Southern star Tyler Thornburg have been named to the USA roster for the 2011 XM Futures All-Star Game July 10 in Phoenix. Also selected were Wil Myers, a USC signee who turned pro instead, and Bryce Harper, brother of USC pitcher Bryan Harper.

Futures

Ward honored
Limestone's Cameron Ward was named Valley League Central Division pitcher of the week for a recent 10-strikeout performance for New Market.

Ward

USA TODAY/ESPN Coaches Poll.

1. South Carolina. 16. Clemson.

USAT

Back-to-back champs

USC's Scott Wingo holds the most outstanding player trophy after leading the Gamecocks to their second consecutive College World Series title.

Just as it closed the Rosenblatt Stadium era of the College World Series with a national championship, the University of South Carolina began the TD Ameritrade Park era by repeating as champion, defeating Florida, 5-2, Tuesday night for a two-game sweep of the championship series.

As good a coaching job as USC's Ray Tanner did a season ago, he may have done an even better one in 2011.

He had to rebuild a starting rotation after losing Blake Cooper and Sam Dyson.

Former reliever Michael Roth, a surprise hero as a starter in the 2010 CWS, anchored the rotation from the beginning. After some tinkering, Colby Holmes and Forrest Koumas nailed down the second and third spots in the rotation.

Sidewinder John Taylor was brilliant as setup man and long-reliever, appearing in 50 games - one short of the NCAA record.

Matt Price had 20 saves - double his total from last season - and bounced back from a season-high 95 pitches in relief on Friday to close out both games of the championship series.

Newcomer Peter Mooney had some big shoes to fill at shortstop, replacing slick-fielding Bobby Haney. After some early struggles he fit right in with returnees Adrian Morales (third base), Scott Wingo (second base) and Christian Walker (first base).

Between the pitching staff and the infield, the Gamecocks escaped innumerable tight situations. The championship series first-game escape from a bases-loaded none-out situation was masterful, highlighted by two tremendous diving stops by Wingo, who then threw to home to get force outs.

Robert Beary proved to be an invaluable member of the squad, especially after outfielders Adam Matthews and Jackie Bradley Jr. went down with injuries and catcher Brady Thomas was slowed by a foot injury.

Wingo hit over .300 much of his junior season before fading down the stretch. He stayed above the .300 mark as a senior and played a key leadership role as one of the team captains.

His most outstanding player award could serve as a career reward for the former Mauldin High star, who improved his hitting to match his already outstanding defense.

Six teammates joined Wingo on the all-CWS team: Beary, Walker, Mooney, Thomas, Roth and Price. Interestingly, every member of the all-CWS team came from the three SEC East Division schools (Florida and Vanderbilt were the other two) which tied for the division's regular-season title with 22-8 records.

It marked the third straight CWS title for the SEC. LSU preceded USC in 2009.

all-CWS team

State Scoreboard, June 28

College World Series
TD Ameritrade Park, Omaha
South Carolina 5, Florida 2, USC wins national championship.

Gamecocks find a way to win

I don't know what ratings ESPN is getting for the College World Series, but the University of South Carolina is doing its best to provide exciting games.

Three of the Gamecocks' four victories have come in their final at-bat.

The Gamecocks entered Monday's CWS title series opener against Florida uncertain about the status of first baseman Christian Walker, who suffered an injury to the hamate bone in a hand. Not only did Walker get two hits, he scored the winning run on a steal and two Florida errors in the 11th inning.

Forrest Koumas gave a gutsy performance on the big stage, Tyler Webb had his best outing in weeks, John Taylor continued to be amazingly effective and Matt Price came back from a 95-pitch performance on two days rest to get the save.

Once again, though, it was the Gamecocks' defense which saved the day.

In a 1-1 tie, the Gators loaded the bases with none out, needing only to get a fly ball to the outfield or a grounder past a drawn-in infield to win the series opener.

Instead, Scott Wingo made a couple of spectacular stops of grounders, throwing home to get the potential winning run each time. On the second one, catcher Robert Beary was able to throw to Walker at first in time for an inning-ending double play.

In the Florida 10th Cody Dent tried to score from second on Mike Zunino's two-out single but was thrown out at home by left-fielder Jake Williams to end the inning.

This Gamecocks team may lose the next two games to Florida, but it has proven that it's not going to go easily.

State Scoreboard, June 27

College World Series
TD Ameritrade Park, Omaha
South Carolina 2, Florida 1, 11 innings

Roth's billboard appearance

Here's one of the many College World Series billboards in Omaha featuring USC pitcher Michael Roth.

Quite a game in Omaha

Above is a view of the final play of the Virginia-South Carolina game from our vantage point in Section 322 at TD Ameritrade Park.

Virginia's Cody Winiarski prepares to throw the ball to third base in an effort to get USC lead runner Adam Matthews. The throw was wild and went out of play, allowing Matthews to score the winning run in the 13th inning.

One wonders if the outcome would have been the same if Virginia starter Danny Hultzen hadn't left the game because of illness. He struck out eight batters in three innings and left with a 1-0 lead, which reliever Kyle Crockett promptly surrendered in his first inning.

As usual, Gamecocks starter Michael Roth gave another scrappy performance, holding Virginia to four hits and a run in seven innings.

A couple of rare defensive lapses by the Gamecocks helped Virginia tie the score in the eighth and force extra innings.

Relievers Braden Kline of Virginia and Matt Price of USC were brilliant. Kline threw 107 pitches over five shutout innings. Price threw 95 pitches over 5 2/3 innings.

It was apparent Price was tiring over the final three innings, but USC coach Ray Tanner stuck with him (Tyler Webb and Jose Mata did warm up a couple of times). USC's defense more than atoned for its earlier problems by turning three double plays in support of Price to keep Virginia off the scoreboard.

Former USC basketball coach Frank McGuire used to say "I'd rather be lucky that good."

This Gamecocks baseball team may be both.

The best-of-three championship series against Florida is set for Monday, Tuesday and, if necessary, Wednesday. The Southeastern Conference is assured of a third straight CWS title.

State Scoreboard, June 24

College World Series
TD Ameritrade Park, Omaha
South Carolina 3, Virginia 2, 13 innings

I own a piece of Rosenblatt Stadium/USC history

They had an auction at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha Thursday in preparation for demolishing the facility for expansion of Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo. We went by in time for about the last 30 or so items. Other than "Press Box" and "Press Only" signs, there was nothing left on the auction that interested me. Both quickly went above what I was willing to pay.

I learned later that home plate went for $1,700 and the American Flag (shown being taken down for the final time, below) went for $750. You'll have to strain to see the flag as I was sitting some distance away when the made the announcement and had to grab my camera quickly. Click on the picture and you can get a larger view.

The Zoo was selling sets of two seats on a non-auction basis, so I opted to go in that direction. Sometime in July, I'll be receiving a pair of blue seats similar to those shown above while South Carolina was warming up for one of its games during its run to the 2010 NCAA championship.

About the beach balls

The person who came up with the idea of bringing beach balls to the College World Series ought to be drawn and quartered, even if it's posthumously. Above is a picture of the balls knocked out of the bleachers into the open area behind the center field fence in front of the hitter's backdrop in about the first four innings of Thursday's Virginia-California game. Below is part of an apparently pre-planned mass deluge of the vermin between innings.

State players named all-region

Seven players with state connections have been named first-team all-region and four were named second-team by the American Baseball Coaches Association.

Named to the Atlantic Region's first team were Coastal Carolina second baseman Tommy LaStella, Clemson shortstop Brad Miller, College of Charleston outfielder Daniel Aldrich and Presbyterian designated hitter Brad Zebedis. Also named to the team was Virginia Tech's Andrew Rash, a Westside High graduate.

Named second-team all-Atlantic Region were Clemson's Richie Shaffer, College of Charleston's Matt Leeds and Coastal Carolna's Anthony Meo and Matt Rein.

Atlantic

Named to the South Region's first team were South Carolina pitchers Michael Roth and Matt Price.

South

Miller a first-team ABCA all-American

I missed this somehow during my preparations for Omaha, but the American Baseball Coaches Association named its all-American teams. Clemson shortstop Brad Miller was a first-team choice. Named to the second team were Michael Roth of USC and Tommy LaStella of Coastal Carolina. College of Charleston's Daniel Aldrich and Presbyterian's Brad Zebedis were third-team choices. No Matt Price.

ABCA

Some more on Roth's dad

The car dealership where Michael Roth's dad formerly worked has issued a statement about the situation.

Dealer

News Digest, Thursday, June 23

Wilhelm induction tickets available
Clemson reports tickets are available for the induction of former Tigers baseball coach Bill Wilhelm into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in July in Lubbock, Texas.

Wilhelm

USC players visit children's hospital
Gamecocksonline.com offers video and photo coveraage of the USC baseball team's visit to an Omaha area children's hospital.

USC

Bulldogs' Talley signs with Braves
The Citadel pitcher Matt Talley has signed a minor-league contract with the Atlanta Braves.

Talley

Limestone's Maloney signs, plays
Limestone catcher Joe Maloney has signed with the Texas Rangers and made his professional debut on Monday.

Maloney

Here's the celebration statue

Here's the iconic celebration statue that was moved from Rosenblatt Stadium to TD Ameritrade Park.

USC presence abundant

Here is USC's Jackie Bradley Jr. as part of a mural on the back of the center field hitter's backdrop at TD Ameritrade Park. There are also billboards all over town featuring Michael Roth. I'll try to post one of those, too.

Some quick hits on the Gamecocks

* USC allowed 14 first-inning runs - the majority unearned because of errors - over its first nine postseason games. On Tuesday night, it was Virginia which faltered, committing two first-inning miscues to lead to three unearned runs for USC.

* John Taylor continues to amaze out of the bullpen. He went a career-high 4 1/3 innings for the win Tuesday. His 47 appearances this season are 10 above the previous school record set by Michael Roth last season.

* As good as Taylor and Matt Price have been, USC coach Ray Tanner hasn't had much need to use Jose Mata out of the bullpen. I still think Mata will have a big moment in Omaha.

* Jackie Bradley Jr. continues to look more comfortable at the plate in his first action in almost two months. He did his job of "protecting" Christian Walker as USC's cleanup hitter Tuesday. Moving Brady Thomas down from cleanup seemed to remove the pressure on him to produce and Thomas delivered three hits.

* One wonders if the dropped popup in the fourth inning was attributable to a little rustiness from Bradley about taking charge, a little overagressiveness from shortstop Peter Mooney in chasing the pop, a stiff wind, or some combination of all of the above. It drove up Colby Holmes' pitch count and may have kept him from having a chance to pick up the victory.

* It amazes me that Holmes has allowed 13 of the 27 home runs the Gamecocks have surrendered this this season. Adam Westmoreland has allowed five more, meaning two pitchers have accounted for two-thirds of the homers off the Gamecocks this season.

* Mooney and second baseman Scott Wingo are showing that USC once again has one of the top defensive middle infield combinations in the country. Mooney struggled a little early, but he and Wingo have been spectacular in Omaha.

* I thought it was a wise move on a couple of fronts for Tanner to use Adam Matthews as a ninth-inning pinch-hitter It prevented Brady Thomas from having another chance to re-injure his foot during an at-bat. It also allowed Matthews a chance to face game pitching as he continues his slow comeback from hamstring problems.

* Jake Williams, the Riverside High product who transferred to USC from Wofford, tied the school single-season record for triples with No. 6 Tuesday night.

* I thought a couple of lineup positions would hurt USC offensively, but the Gamecocks are hitting .310 through two games of the College World series. The staff ERA after two games? 0.50.

* The last team to score seven runs against Virginia? Coastal Carolina in an 8-7 loss April 13! -- 39 games ago.

* USC's 13 hits against Virginia's pitching staff tied for second-most all season.

* Where's Marlin Perkins and Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom when you need them? We saw two grown rabbits under a downtown overpass while walking to the stadium and a baby rabbit and an adult rabbit near the fan fest area while leaving.

Maybe I was a little rough on the new park

A second trip to TD Ameritrade Park and the chance to sit in some better seats has tempered my first impressions.

The facility is more impressive sitting and looking out at the Omaha Skyline beyond the outfield fence. I guess it just needs time to develop character of its own.

One minor gripe: I've been unable to find any part of the scoreboard that denotes wild pitches/passed balls or assigns errors in cases where there may be confusion.

Henson to stay at North Greenville

Travis Henson has decided to remain at North Greenville as head baseball coach instead of taking the position at Byrnes High School as was announced last week.

NGU

State Scoreboard, June 21

College World Series
TD Ameritrade Park, Omaha
South Carolina 7, Virginia 1

The AP checks in on Roth's dad, Beary's dad

The Associated Press has weighed in with more details of Michael Roth's father quitting his job to make it to Omaha.

AP

There's no place like home ... There's no place like home

It was quite a Monday in Omaha.

On Monday afternoon we took a ride by Rosenblatt Stadium, which appeared mostly intact from the outside but surrounded by a fence to keep curious folks like me out. Zesto's was doing an OK business, but nothing like during the CWS days.

Then we went to the Riverfront Park area, where the Missouri River is flooding. The water is up over a portion of the bank, so the walking trail closest to the river was closed.

It makes the Reedy River flooding Cleveland Park in Greenville look like a leaky faucet by comparison.

While standing in line talking to an Omaha native prior to Sunday's USC-Texas A&M game, one of the locals told us the melting snow from Montana hasn't gotten here yet. I guess things could be worse.

For supper, we ate at Piccolo Pete's steakhouse. The meat was exquisite. I love Waffle House hash browns, but they don't come close to Piccolo Pete's.

Just as we were paying the bill, they announced that the tornado sirens were on and we could be led to shelter if we desired. We hung around a couple of TV's watching the weather updates for a half-hour or so until we felt it was safe to leave.

In talking to a local during that half-hour, he said the last big tornado to hit Omaha was in 1975.

That jogged my memory. I was covering the College World Series for The Greenville News that year and would sometimes ride from the media hotel downtown to Rosenblatt with one of the NCAA representatives.

We passed a service station - probably on 13th Street - and the guy pointed it out. He told us a tornado had hit the area a few weeks prior. He said some poor soul climbed on the service station's roof to see how close the twister was - and was carried away by the tornado. I don't know if it was true or something he made up to amaze us rube Southerners, But It worked.

Back to the present: We didn't see any funnel clouds and eventually got back to the hotel without incident.

I was keeping up with the Florida-Vanderbilt CWS game/delay on Twitter and Facebook. Brad Senkiw of The Anderson Independent-Mail had the best line I saw. To paraphrase, he wondered if the tornado carried him off to Oz, would it be like the movie or the TV show.

The next-best line came from USC pitcher Patrick Sullivan. He tweeted there were about 100 people crammed into a 25-foot "safe room" during the tornado threat and an older gentleman "ripped one."

Weather permitting, it's back to the ballpark on Tuesday.

More on Roth's dad, Beary's dad

Omaha.com confirms that Michael Roth's father did, indeed, quit his job to watch his son pitch at the College World Series.

Roth

And, here's the site's game story, which mentions Robert Beary getting a hit for his father, who is helping set up police departments in Afghanistan.

Beary

One more thing about TD Ameritrade Park

I forgot to mention they didn't turn on the PA speakers in the outfield until about the fifth inning. Up until then, virtually everything said was inaudible in the bleachers.

My first impressions of TD Ameritrade Park

I've read that TD Ameritrade Park cost $131 million. If that's accurate, $131 million doesn't get you as much as it used too.

The park's just very vanilla, very sterile. I suppose in time it will gain character.

It's nice but not eye-popping. The best thing is you can walk the entire concourse (except behind the center field hitter's backdrop) and see the field.

Some General Admission traditions have moved over from Rosenblatt - beach balls, the wave, obscene comments to/from the left & right field bleachers.

It kind of reminded me of the old Bill Cosby routine about Los Angeles sports fans - very few people in the general admission area seemed to be following the game. We were outside the stadium during the final three or four innings of the California-Virginia game and it seemed there were people leaving all the time.

Also, folks holding GA tickets start lining up a couple of hours before gametime in order to be assured of a seat. You can get into some nice conversations with people in line around you. Folks we've talked to are very friendly.

General admission is first come, first served, and they don't cut off GA ticket sales per session. They just tell you it's full and you have to wait until someone leaves.

Outside, there are the same vendor tents and activities for fans. Jack Morris, Jack Clark and (if I recall correctly) Robin Yount were signing autographs. Pete Rose is supposed to be around on Monday.

They moved the famed statue of the players celebrating a title from Rosenblatt Stadium, but it's kind of stuck between some bushes and steps leading up to the stadium. It's not nearly as prominent.

The stadium is close enough to downtown Omaha that you can park on streets (meters don't operate on weekends) and walk to the stadium. The area is very, very flat, so the walking is easy.

Maybe as a traditionalist I'm too tough to please, but my grade for the new CWS home after one visit: C+ or B-.

Big Ten commissioner wants special treatment

Read this Omaha.com story about Big Ten Conference Commissioner Jim Delaney crying about his perceived unlevel playing field in college baseball. I think I'd worry more about my conference's name accurately depicting how many schools are in the league. The guy's proposals are dumb, including reserving two CWS slots for northern schools only.

Laughable

Roth's dad quit his job?

USC's Michael Roth tweeted that his dad quit his job when he couldn't get the time off for the College World Series. Probably the best Father's Day gift for Roth's dad would be a W.

State Scoreboard, June 19

College World Series
South Carolina 5, Texas A&M 4

News Digest, June 17

11 Tigers honored
Eleven Clemson players and Anderson native Andrew Rash of Virginia Tech were named to the all-Atlantic Coast Conference academic team.

ACC

Roth honored
South Carolina's Michael Roth earned the Elite 88 Award for having the highest grade-point average among the College World Series participants.

Roth

Brase signs with White Sox
Charleston Southern's Stew Brase has signed with the Chicago White Sox.

Brase

Games on satellite radio
Here's the schedule/channel lineup for College World Series broadcasts on Sirius/XM radio.

XM

NGU hires Reynolds

North Greenville has promoted assistant Reggie Reynolds to head baseball coach. The move comes a day after Travis Henson left to become head coach at Byrnes High School.

Reynolds

Henson

Roth, Price honored

South Carolina's Michael Roth and Matt Price were named first-team all-Americans by PerfectGame.org. Coastal Carolina's Tommy LaStella and Clemson's Brad Miller were second-team choices.

PG

Dick Howser Trophy finalists set

UCLA's Trevor Bauer, Texas' Taylor Jungmann and Virginia's Danny Hultzen are the finalists for the Dick Howser Trophy, given to the player deemed the top player in college baseball. There were seven players from South Carolina schools on the 30-player semifinalist list. The award will be presented Tuesday.

Howser

News Digest, June 16

Bradley takes BP
David Cloninger of GamecockCentral.com reports on USC outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. and his prospects for being on the 27-man roster for the College World Series. I suspect it's a no-brainer. There were some pitchers on the 27-man regional roster who haven't seen action in a significant game in weeks. Bradley could easily take one of those spots.

Bradley

Black signs
University of Kentucky spokesman Brent Ingram tweets that Easley native and former Spartanburg Methodist player Taylor Black has signed with the Phillies and will be assigned to the NY-Penn League. Black, a two-year starter at SS for Wildcats, was a 16th-round draft pick.

USC photo gallery
Here's a photo gallery of the sendoff for USC in Columbia.

USC

Baseball America looks at the CWS
Baseball America offers a breakdown of the eight College World Series teams.

CWS

SC SportsTalk talks to Roth
SC SportsTalk has posted audio of an interview with USC pitcher Michael Roth, a former Riverside High star.

Roth

Aggies persevere
The Associated Press offers a story on Texas A&M.

Aggies

News Digest, June 15, Part 2

Tigers' Weismann signs, too
SCSportstalk has confirmed that Scott Weismann has joined fellow Clemson pitcher Will Lamb in signing a pro contract.

Weismann

Shouppe out at Florida State
CollegeBaseballDaily.com reports Jamey Shouppe is out as pitching coach at Florida State.

Shouppe

Another look at the CWS
CollegeBaseballInsider.com has posted its capsules of the eight CWS participants.

CWS

This wouldn't have happened at Rosenblatt ...
Omaha.com reports the flooding Missouri River is threatening to encroach upon Omaha's Eppley Airfield.

Airfield

Flooding is also impacting parking around TD Ameritrade Park.

Park

Officials are seeking volunteers to help fill sandbags to protect areas from floodwaters.

Sandbags

This wouldn't have happened at Rosenblatt Stadium, which was atop a hill. If Rosenblatt had ever been flooded, an ark would have been involved.

News Digest, June 15

Vols hire Serrano
Tennessee has hired Cal State Fullerton Dave Serrano as its new head coach. Earlier in the day, USC assistant coach Chad Holbrook has withdrawn his name for consideration for the position.

Vols

SportstalkSC has posted audio of an interview with Holbrook.

Holbrook

Always touch home plate when scoring the winning run
Kudos to an alert catcher at a Connecticut high school, who helped his team stave off elimination, then win a state title.

Whoops

Lamb signs
The Orange and White reports Clemson's Will Lamb has signed with the Texas Rangers.

Lamb

Assessing the series
Kendall Rogers of PerfectGameUSA offers his assessment of the teams at Omaha. The only comment I disagree with him on about USC is him saying the Gamecocks don't have a deep bullpen. Mata, Taylor and Price are outstanding. Webb is good as a situational lefty.

CWS

All-Americans, Part 2

Clemson's Brad Miller and USC's Michael Roth were named first-team all-Americans by Baseball America.

Coastal Carolina's Tommy La Stella was a second-team choice.

Named to the third team were USC's Christian Walker and Matt Price and College of Charleston's Matt Leeds and Daniel Aldrich.

BA

State well-represented on all-American team

There are two first-team choices and five second-team selections from South Carolina schools on the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association's all-American team.

Presbyterian's Brad Zebedis is the first-team DH and College of Charleston's Matt Leeds is the first-team third baseman.

Named to the second team were Coastal Carolina second baseman Tommy La Stella, Clemson shortstop Brad Miller, College of Charleston outfielder Daniel Aldrich, South Carolina starter Michael Roth and USC reliever Matt Price.

NCBWA

News Digest, June 14, Part 3

USC talks about Omaha
USC coach Ray Tanner and several players talk about the return to the College World Series.

USC

A "W" sighting
Former President George W. Bush will throw out the ceremonial first pitch before Game 1 of the College World Series on Saturday.

W

POLLS
Collegiate Baseball: 1. Florida. 4. South Carolina. 21. Clemson. 27. Coastal Carolina.

CBB

National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association: 1. Virginia. 4. South Carolina. 15. Clemson.

NCBWA

News Digest, June 14, Part 2

Bucs lose Assey to high school
Charleston Southern assistant coach Charles Assey has left the program to become head coach at Woodland High School.

Assey

Don't count Bradley out
Travis Haney of The Post and Courier reports injured USC outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. is scheduled to take batting practice this week. Final rosters for the College World Series are to be submitted by Thursday.
CWS schedule set
Game times and TV coverage for the College World Series have been announced.

CWS

News Digest, June 14

Happy Flag Day. Remember the millions who have defended it over the years.
- - -
Sorry I'm late on some of this stuff. I've been tilting at windmills over an injustice.

USC, Clemson ranked in top 10
South Carolina (7,431) ranked fourth and Clemson (4,393) ninth in average home attendance this season, based on figures provided by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.

NCBWA

Aldrich honored
College of Charleston outfielder Daniel Aldrich has been named the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association's freshman hitter of the year. Aldrich and Presbyterian's Brad Zebedis (DH) were named first-team freshman all-Americans while Clemson pitcher Kevin Pohle was a second-team choice.

Aldrich

Team

College World Series tickets
General admission ticket books (10 tickets) for the College World Series are on sale by phone by calling 402-341-1500 or 712-326-2295.

Zokan honored
College of Charleston's Jake Zokan has been named Southern Conference pitcher of the month for May.

SoCon

Want to own a piece of CWS history?
Items from Rosenblatt Stadium, home for the College World Series for 60 years, will be auctioned off beginning June 23.

Auction

USC to play Texas A&M

South Carolina will play Texas A&M at 7 p.m. Sunday in its first-round game of the College World Series in Omaha.

Holbrook to interview with Tennessee

USC assistant coach Chad Holbrook confirmed through school officials late Sunday night that he would meet with Tennessee officials this week over the vacant head coaching job there.

Odd facts known by few

The Atlanta Braves' win over Houston Sunday moved the Braves franchise over the .500 mark for the first time since 1923.

State Scoreboard, June 12

NCAA Super Regional
Columbia
South Carolina 8, Connecticut 2, USC advances to College World Series

Wingo profiled

John Whittle of TheBigSpur.com has a nice feature on USC second baseman Scott Wingo.

Wingo

State Schedule, June 11

NCAA Super Regional at Columbia
South Carolina 5, Connecticut 1, USC leads best-of-three series 1-0

News Digest, June 10

Chants stay busy
Several Coastal Carolina players are playing in summer leagues this season.

Coastal

Vols contact Gilmore
Coastal Carolina coach Gary Gilmore tells The Sun News in Myrtle Beach that he has been contacted by Tennessee about its head coaching vacancy.

Gilmore

USC, UConn discuss regional
The University of South Carolina has posted video and transcripts of press conferences involving South Carolina and Connecticut discussing the Super Regional.

Super

McGuire goes to Louisburg
Winthrop assistant Mike McGuire has accepted the head coaching position at Louisburg (Junior) College in North Carolina.

McGuire

News Digest, June 9

Lake signs with Mets
Winthrop pitcher Robert Lake has signed a free-agent contract with the New York Mets.

Mets

Spartans sign seven
USC Upstate has signed seven players for next season, including six from Florida.

Spartans

A couple of more draft notes

*USC Beaufort signee Deion Williams, a shortstop from Redan High School in Atlanta, was drafted in the 16th Round by the Washington Nationals.

*Three Coastal Carolina recruits were drafted on Wednesday's final day.

Tyler Poole, who has signed to play basketball and baseball at Coastal, was taken in the 38th round by the Boston Red Sox.

Javier Reynoso, a left-handed pitcher was picked in the 39th round by the Chicago White Sox.

Joe Perricone, a right-handed pitcher, was selected in the 40th round by the Tampa Bay Rays.

Draft recap, Day 3

Sorry. I didn't realize I hadn't posted Wednesday's draft results until I looked at the blog this morning.

31st round
Michael Roth, USC/Riverside High, Indians
Matt Leeds, College of Charleston, Rangers

34th round
Ali Willioams, Charleston Southern, Royals

36th round
Andrew Rash, Westside High/Virginia Tech, Padres

38th round
Casey Lucchese, College of Charleston Cubs
Daniel Bowman, Coastal Carolina, Reds

41st round
Steven Neff, USC, Giants

42nd round
Garrett Boulware, Hanna High/Clemson signee, Padres
Joey Pankake, Easley High/USC signee, Rangers

44th round
Shon Carson, Lake City High/USC football signee, Reds

45th round
Chris Epps, Clemson, Astros
Ahmad Christian, USC football signee, Brewers

46th round
Scott Weismann, Clemson, Cubs

48th round
Tyler Webb, USC, Reds
Carl Edwards, Mid-Carolina High, Rangers

49th round
Hunter Cole, Dorman High/Georgia signee, Nationals
Adrian Moralea, USC, Royals
David Peterson, College of Charleston, Astros

50th round
Eddie Rohan, Winthrop, Mets

Zebedis, Aldrich honored

Presbyterian's Brad Zebedis and College of Charleston were named to Collegiate Baseball's Louisville Slugger freshman all-American team.

Frosh

All-regional teams

Clemson

South Carolina

Draft recap, Day 2

Note: There may have been other state school recruits drafted. Clemson does not publicize its recruits when they sign. Rounds 31-50 are on Wednesday.

Second round
Brad Miller, Clemson, Mariners
Anthony Meo, Coastal Carolina, Diamondbacks
Daniel Norris, Clemson signee, Blue Jays
Will Lamb, Clemson, Rangers

Third round
Jordan Cote, Coastal Carolina signee, Yankees

Sixth round
Matt Price, USC. Diamondbacks
Joe Tuschak, Coastal Carolina signee, Mets

Seventh round
Scott Woodward, Coastal Carolina, Dodgers

Eighth round
Evan Beal, USC signee, Royals

10th round
Tommy La Stella, Coastal Carolina, Braves
Joe Maloney, Limestone, Rangers
Rob Kral, College of Charleston, Padres

11th round
Scott Wingo, South Carolina/Mauldin High, Dodgers

13th round
John Hinson, Clemson, Astros
David Palladino, USC Upstate recruit, Dodgers
Jackson Whitley, North Augusta/Clemson signee, Angels
Tanner English, St. James/USC signee, Rays

14th round
Andrew Faulkner, South Aiken/USC signee, Rangers

15th round
Will Dorton, Lugoff Elgin/College of Charleston signee, Reds
John Conely, Wofford, Braves

16th round
Jeff Schaus, Clemson, Dodgers
Daniel Gossett, Byrnes High/Clemson recruit, Red Sox
Taylor Black, Kentucky/Easley High, Phillies

17th round
Kevin Brady, Clemson, Indians
Taylor Motter, Coastal Carolina, Rays

20th round
Joel Seddon, USC signee, Blue Jays

21st round
Peter Mooney, USC, Blue Jays
Jarrett Miller, USC Greensboro/Easley, Braves

22nd round
John Taylor, USC, Mariners
T.J. Costen, USC signee, Rangers
Rhett Stafford, Marshall/Cheraw, Athletics

23rd round
Adam Matthews, USC, Orioles
Kyle Deese, Western Carolina/Chapman High, Cardinals

25th round
Travis Burnside, Laurens/SMC, Dodgers

26th round
Joseph Moorefield, Clemson/Byrnes High

28th round
Matt Talley, The Citadel, Athletics
Tyler Mizenko, Winthrop, Giants

29th round
Dexter Price, USC Beaufort,

30th round
Bryan Harper, USC, Nationals

Various school releases

Clemson

Coastal Carolina-Meo

Coastal Carolina

College of Charleston

South Carolina-Price

South Carolina-Wingo

South Carolina-Mooney, Taylor

South Carolina-Matthews

South Carolina-Harper

The Citadel

USC Upstate

Winthrop

Wofford

News Digest, June 7

USC Super Regional agenda set
Dates, times and TV coverage for the NCAA Super Regional in Columbia this weekend have been set. Game 1 between Connecticut and South Carolina is set for 6 p.m. Saturday and will be televised on ESPN2. Game 2 is planned for 7 p.m. Sunday with TV coverage by ESPNU. A third game, if necessary, would be at 1, 4 or 7 p.m. Monday and be televised on ESPN2.

USC

Polls Update
Collegiate Baseball Division I: 1. Florida. 4. South Carolina. 21. Clemson. 27. Coastal Carolina.

CBBDI

Lander's Tew signs pro deal
Lander's Darrin Tew has signed to play baseball in the Frontier League, an independent professional league.

Tew

Price among stopper finalists
USC pitcher Matt Price is among five finalists for stopper of the year, an award given by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association to the play named the top closer in college baseball.

Stopper

Spartans staying busy
Several USC Upstate players are playing in summer leagues. Here's an update.

Upstate

Bradley, 2 USC signees drafted

University of South Carolina center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. was drafted by the Red Sox in the compensation round of the MLB draft Monday night.

Spring Valley High pitcher Taylor Guerreri was a first-round pick of the Tampa Bay Rays and Miami Dade outfielder Brian Goodwin, like Guerreri a USC recruit for next season, was a compensation round pick of the Washington Nationals.

The draft continues Tuesday and Wednesday.

State Scoreboard, June 6

Clemson Regional
Connecticut 14, Clemson 1, UConn wins regional

Clemson regional info

Columbia Regional
South Carolina 8, Stetson 2, completion of suspended game, USC wins regional

Columbia regional info

State Scoreboard, June 5

Clemson Regional
Connecticut 12, Coastal Carolina 6, Coastal eliminated
Connecticut 7, Clemson 6

Clemson regional info

Columbia Regional
Stetson 5, N.C. State 3, N.C. State eliminated
South Carolina 4, Stetson 1, T5, suspended until 1 p.m. Monday, power failure

Columbia regional info

Some thoughts about Saturday's NCAA tournament games

The possibility of a Clemson-South Carolina Super Regional to determine one College World Series berth is looking pretty solid right now. If it happens, it's a shame one school won't get to go to Omaha.

USC's offense comes up big

South Carolina's offense has been spotty in recent weeks, but it showed plenty of signs of life in Saturday's 11-5 win over Stetson. The Gamecocks will need the hitting to continue if it and Clemson both reach the Super Regional.

There are still a couple of spots in the lineup where USC could use more production. If Adam Matthews can shake his injury-induced rustiness, it would be a plus.

Other than a propensity to allow home runs, Colby Holmes has been masterful much of the season. It's mind-boggling to realize he has given up 46.1 percent (12) of the 26 home runs the Gamecocks have allowed this season.

Proven weekend starter Forrest Koumas is available for Sunday night's potential regional clincher. The Gamecocks are in the catbird's seat right now.

Tigers are hotter than a June bride

There may not be a team in the country playing better than Clemson right now. The Tigers' tweaks to the pitching staff have been successful and the offense is simply red-hot.

There's not a hitter in Clemson's lineup that an opposing coach can look at and have reasonable confidence that the hitter won't hurt them.

Clemson has also tightened its defense from last season, and defense helps win baseball games.

Like USC, Clemson is poised to advance with a win on Sunday.

Chanticleers have yet to get over the hump

While Coastal Carolina has a couple of fine hitters in Tommy La Stella and Scott Woodward, it doesn't have the the top-to-bottom hitting prowess to get into a slugfest with Clemson. That they were able to drive Clemson starter Dominic Leone from the game so early was a small victory.

Coastal has been winning with pitching, and the pitching wasn't up to snuff Saturday at Clemson. The Chanticleers went through seven pitchers against Clemson and will burn some more arms up trying to beat UConn Sunday afternoon in an effort to get a rematch with Clemson.

The Chants needs something good to happen for them -- fast.

Elsewhere

* The ACC and SEC both went 6-1 on Saturday, improving each league to 11-3 so far in the NCAA. North Carolina, Virginia, Florida State and Clemson can earn trips to Super Regionals with a win Sunday. Ditto for the SEC's Florida, Vanderbilt, South Carolina and Mississippi State. Mississippi State (in Atlanta) is the only one doing so away from home.

* N.C. State's Cory Mazzoni likely improved his draft stock with a 12-strikeout effort against Georgia Southern.

* No. 1 regional seeds Cal State Fullerton, Rice, TCU and Texas all fell into category of needing three wins in two days to win their regionals. Texas is the No. 7 national seed and Rice the No. 8. The top six national seeds - three from the ACC, three from the SEC - are in the championship round of their regionals.

* Oklahoma became the first 2010 CWS participant to be eliminated, losing to state rival Oral Roberts. The Sooners were the only team to beat South Carolina in Omaha during its NCAA title run a season ago.

* Former Greer High star Daniel Palka doubled and homered for Georgia Tech in its elimination-game win over Southern Mississippi.

* It seems like Virginia and North Carolina got drastically easier regionals than the other six national seeds. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but ...

News Digest, June 5

SCBL opens season Monday
The Southern Collegiate Baseball League opens its 2011 schedule with four games on Monday.

SCBL

Here's a related release from the Carolina Chaos:

CENTRAL — The Carolina Chaos will open their ninth season in the Southern Collegiate Baseball League this summer and will once again call Dr. C. Keith Connor Field at Southern Wesleyan University home. The 42 game schedule will feature 21 home games and several promotional nights highlighted by Little League Night (June 13/June 22) and Chaos Autograph Night (June 29/ July 6/July 12). Additional promotional nights will be announced at a later date.
The SCBL was established in 1999 and features teams from South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee. NCAA and NAIA collegiate baseball players spend the summer playing in the wood bat league and gearing up for their final season of college play and possibly moving on to the next level of Major League and Independent League Baseball.
In 2006, renovations to Dr. C. Keith Connor Stadium made it possible for the Carolina Chaos to continue play in the Central area. The upgrade was a joint effort with the Town of Central, Central Area Business Council, City of Clemson, Clemson Area Sports Council, several local businesses, Carolina Chaos and Southern Wesleyan University.
This year’s roster of Carolina Chaos players will be made up of 30 collegiate players from all over the country including Texas, Illinois, Kentucky, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Missouri.
Over twenty former Chaos players have gone on to play professional baseball with several being drafted in the MLB Draft held annually in June.
This year’s home opener is set for Wednesday, June 8 as the Chaos host the Pineville Pioneers at 7:00pm. Join the community in supporting collegiate summer baseball and spend a night at the park.
To follow the Chaos all summer and to learn more about the team and history catch them online at www.carolinachaos.com

State Scoreboard, June 4

Clemson Regional
Connecticut 13, Sacred Heart 3, Sacred Heart eliminated
Clemson 12, Coastal Carolina 7

Clemson regional info

Columbia Regional
N.C. State 5, Georgia Southern 2, Georgia Southern eliminated
South Carolina 11, Stetson 5

Columbia regional info

Some thoughts about Friday's NCAA games

Gamecocks keep finding ways to win

In hindsight, USC coach Ray Tanner made the right call to go with ace Michael Roth in the Gamecocks' NCAA Regional opener against Georgia Southern Friday night. Roth was effectively wild through seven-plus innings, allowing two hits, two walks and an unearned run.

But USC's offense continues to struggle. A major part of the issue Friday was the performance of Georgia Southern's Andy Moye, who scattered four hits in pitching a complete game. You probably couldn't find anyone on the USC staff or roster convinced Georgia Southern should have been a four seed in a regional.

The Gamecocks can't count on shut-down pitching every time out, so they need to find a way to get their bats going. They welcomed Adam Matthews back into the lineup at DH, but he looked as rusty as you might expect from someone who had batted just once against live pitching since April 16. He was unable to catch up with Moye's fastball.

USC got through the first inning unscathed, something it couldn't do in its three Southeastern Conference Tournament games. Once again, though, an error contributed to an opponent's run. Twelve of the 27 runs USC has allowed over its past eight games are unearned.

Clemson takes care of business

Clemson did all its scoring in the first three innings in coasting past Sacred Heart, 11-1.

Unlike USC, Clemson's offense appears to be coming together at precisely the right time. The Tigers got 12 hits - even though all-American shortstop Brad Miller was held off the board.

John Hinson did exactly what a leadoff man is supposed to do: get on bases. Chris Epps continued his late-season surge.

Given the luxury of the big early lead, Tigers coach Jack Leggett was able to use Scott Firth for six innings, then use a couple of relievers to mop up. He still has David Haselden as an option a a starter should the need occur.

Coastal makes a statement

From reading some of the comments after Coastal Carolina's 13-1 rout of Connecticut on Friday, it sounded like the Chanticleers felt they were being overlooked.

Facing a team with two probable first-round draft picks (pitcher Matt Barnes, outfielder George Springer) on Monday, the Chanticleers dominated.

Anthony Meo had a solid 6 1/3 innings, Hayes Orton had five hits and Tommy La Stella had two home runs for Coastal.

Coastal played Clemson in the regular season, taking a 4-3 lead into the bottom of the ninth inning before losing in the 10th, 5-4. Saturday's game should be a dandy.

Other surprises:

* Georgia Tech could only put one run on the board in a loss to Austin Peay.

* There were some who scoffed that UCLA received a regional No. 1 seed, while others picked the Bruins to win the College World Series. They'll have to come out of the losers' bracket of their regional to do so after they were shut out by San Francisco, 3-0.

* By my count, higher-seeded teams lost 13 of Friday's 32 first-round games. Only two No. 1 seeds lost, but two or three others needed some late heroics to avoid upsets.

* The ACC went 5-2 in the first round, as did the SEC.

* The inclusion of Dallas Baptist and St. John's in the 64-team field over LSU, among others, was criticized by some on selection day. Both teams won their openers.

State Scoreboard, June 3

Clemson Regional
Coastal Carolina 13, Connecticut 1
Clemson 11, Sacred Heart 1

Clemson regional info

Columbia Regional
Stetson 8, N.C. State 7
South Carolina 2, Georgia Southern 1

Columbia regional info

NCAA video coverage growing

Based on the NCAA Website, it looks like there will at least be video streaming of USC's games in its regional. As of now, the Clemson regional is the only one with NO video streaming listed.

NCAA

Collegiate Baseball/Louisville Slugger name all-Americans

Clemson shortstop Brad Miller is the only player from a state school to earn first-team all-American honors on a team selected by Collegiate Baseball and Louisville Slugger.

Coastal Carolina second baseman Tommy La Stella, College of Charleston outfielder Daniel Aldrich and Presbyterian first baseman Brad Zebedis are second-team selections.

On the third team are USC pitcher Michael Roth, Coastal Carolina pitcher Matt Rein and College of Charleston third baseman Matt Leeds.

AllAmericans

Regional TV update

Appparently 11 of the 16 NCAA regionals will have some kind of TV coverage. Guess two of the five not included: Clemson and Columbia.

NCAATV

News Digest, June 1

SMC's Wallace adds duties
Spartanburg Methodist College baseball coach Tim Wallace has taken on the added responsibilities of athletic director for the school, GoUpstate.com reports.

Wallace

USC, Clemson top 9 in average attendance
South Carolina is ranked fourth and Clemson ninth in average attendance for NCAA Division I schools this season.

Attendance

Clemson, USC favored
CollegeBaseballLineup.com picks Clemson and South Carolina to win their respective regionals this weekend, setting up a super regional between the rivals next week.

CBL

Eric Sorenson of CollegeBaseballToday.com also picks Clemson and USC to win, but warns the Gamecocks have a tough regional.

CBT

State signees honored

University of South Carolina signees Joel Seddon and Jordan Montgomery have been named the Gatorade state players of the year for Michigan and South Carolina, respectively. Clemson recruit Daniel Norris won the award for Tennessee and Coastal Carolina recruit Jordan Cote won the award for New Hampshire.

Gatorade

Bulldogs sign seven more

The Citadel has announced the signing of seven more players for its incoming class, including four from South Carolina schools.

Bulldogs