FROM CBB NEWS SOURCES

Ga Southern 6 The Citadel 5

STATESBORO, Ga. - With the bases loaded and one out in the ninth Jeremiah Parker (Carrollton/Carrollton) hit a grounder down the third base line. Ty Wright (Montrose/West Laurens) slid and beat Matt Arnold’s throw home as Georgia Southern pulled out a 6-5 Southern Conference win over The Citadel. The Eagles (28-19 overall, 12-9 SoCon) took 2-of-3 from the Bulldogs over the weekend.

Wright was hit by a Matt Reifsnider (4-4) pitch to start the ninth. Phillip Porter (Marietta/Sprayberry) sacrificed Wright to second then Chris Shehan (Strasburg, PA/Lampeter-Strasburg) was intentionally walked. Matt Crim, the Friday night starter, walked Griffin Benedict (Dunwoody/St. Pius) to load the bases. Parker hit a soft grounder down the third base line. Wright broke for home and on the slide was called safe by home plate umpire Ed Haggray. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Atlantic 10, Big South, CAA, Creighton, Dayton, Georgia Southern, James Madison, Missouri Valley, Mountain West, Radford, Southern Conference, Southern Illinois, TCU, The Citadel, UMass, Utah

The North Dakota State Bison threw a seven inning no-hitter against Creighton on Wednesday but lost the game 2-0. NDSU starter Chris Berg started the game by walking four out of the first six hitters by walking in a run and hitting a batter to let the Blue Jays get a 2-0 lead. He would walk the first batter in the second inning before being replaced by Chris Paterson. The Bluejays would load the bases in the third inning but Paterson was able to get out of the jam. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Creighton, Independents, Missouri Valley, No-Hitter, North Dakota State

Eric Sorensen continues his season previews today for February 18th checking in on six conferences over the last two days. He checked in on the MEAC, MAC, Mountain West,  Missouri Valley, Ohio Valley, and the Northeast conferences. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Akron, Austin Peay, Bethune Cookman, Bradley, BYU, Central Connecticut, Central Michigan, Creighton, CSTV, Eastern Kentucky, Eastern Michigan, Jacksonville State, Kent State, MAC, MEAC, Miami (OH), Missouri Valley, Mountain West, New Mexico, Norfolk State, North Carolina A&T, Northeast Conference, Northern Illinois, Ohio Valley Conference, Quinnipiac, Samford, San Diego State, Southern Illinois, TCU, Tennessee Tech, Wagner, Wichita State

Rivals national baseball writer Kendall Rogers has put out his 2008 All-American Team which is led by Pedro Alvarez of Vanderbilt. Buster Posey of FSU is named to the first team catcher’s spot in only his second year behind the plate. Miami slugger Yonder Alonso beat out Justin Smoak for the first base position. Filling out the rest of the infield is 2B Blake Stouffer of Texas A&M, Ryan Flaherty and Pedro Alvarez of Vanderbilt. The outfield is Dominic de la Osa of Vanderbilt, Kyle Russell of Texas, and Tommy Baldridge of Coastal Carolina. Brett Wallace of Arizona State picks up the DH spot while Zach Putnam of Michigan is listed as the Utility player. The starting pitchers are Jacob Thompson of Virginia, Preston Guilmet of Arizona, Brian Matusz of San Diego and Lance Lynn of Ole Miss. The relief pitchers are led by switch-pitcher Pat Venditte of Creighton and Cole St. Clair of Rice. The full team with break downs on each player is available here.

Tags: 2008 Top Players, ACC, Arizona, Big 12, Big South, Big Ten, Coastal Carolina, Creighton, FSU, Miami (FL), Michigan, Missouri Valley, Ole Miss, Pac 10, SEC, Texas, University of San Diego, Vanderbilt, Virginia, West Coast Conference

CSTV Editor Doug Kroll checks in with his weekly article on the top college baseball players. The position in which he focuses on this week is the closer. He lists Cole St. Clair of Rice in the top spot. He has struggled throughout his career with the Owls as he tends to be injured every season. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: ACC, Arizona State, Atlantic Sun, Big 12, Big Ten, Big West, CAA, Conference USA, Creighton, George Mason, Georgia, Kansas State, Missouri Valley, NC State, Ohio State, Pac 10, Rice, SEC, Stetson, UNC, University of San Diego, West Coast Conference

The Washington State Cougars have released their 2008 schedule which is highlighted by 13 games against 2007 NCAA Tournament participants. They will open the season on February 22nd when the Creighton Blue Jays visit for a three game set. They will also host Kent State on March 7th-9th in a four game series and Arizona State on April 11th-13th. The full release is available here.

Tags: Creighton, Kent State, Washington State

Kendall Rogers of Rivals.com listed his top 10 Seniors on Monday. This list looks quite a bit like his recent article on returning draftees, but Kendall has some solid notes about each player.

Perhaps the most exciting thing to come out of the countdown is Kendall’s new abbreviation for “switch pitcher”: SWP. For those not in the know, that references Pat Venditte and the amazing nature of high level ambidexterity. My exuberance is not meant to be dismissive of Kendall’s ranking, it’s just that you take news when and where you can get it during the August slow season. Kendall does a great job of churning out news and interesting features and the Rivals CBB site is definitely a daily visit, much as the College Baseball Blog hopefully is for all of you.

You can read the countdown here: 10 through 6 and 5 through 1.

On to the countdown:

1. Blake Stouffer - Texas A&M - UT
2. Dominic De la Osa - Vanderbilt - RF
3. Cole St. Claire - Rice - LHP
4. Pat Venditte - Creighton - SWP
5. Joshua Fields - Georgia - RHP
6. Josh Satow - Arizona State - LHP
7. Phil Disher - South Carolina - C
8. Matt Hague - Oklahoma State - 3B
9. Mitch Harris - Navy - RHP
10. Zack Pitts - Louisville - RHP

 

Tags: Creighton, Louisville, Navy, Oklahoma State, Rice, SEC, South Carolina, Texas AM, Vanderbilt

Kendall Rogers, Rivals.com’s baseball guru, broke down his top 10 players to return to school despite being drafted.

1. Texas OF Kyle Russell

2. Texas A&M Utility Guy Blake Stouffer

3. Vanderbilt OF Dominic De la Osa

4. Rice Closer Cole St. Clair

5. Creighton switch-pitcher Pat Venditte

6. UGA Closer Josh Fields

7. ASU Starter Josh Satow

8. USC Catcher Phil Disher

9. OKState 3B Matt Hague

10. Auburn OF Mike Bianucci

This writer would probably have flipped a couple of these guys around. It’s hard to argue with Russell Stouffer and De la Osa; however, a healthy Cole St. Clair could be the difference between Rice swapping a C-USA ring for a College World Series ring.

And I’m happy to see Venditte return. I’ve not seen him pitch yet, but he’s the guy who will throw lefty to one batter and righty to the next.

Read Kendall’s breakdown here.

 

Tags: Auburn, Creighton, Oklahoma State, Rice, SEC, South Carolina, Texas, Texas AM, Vanderbilt

Arkansas 6 Creighton 0

Arkansas received a seven strong innings from Nick Schmidt who only allowed two hits and no runs as the Hogs survived an elimination game against Creighton with a 6-0 win. Brian Walker led the offense by going 4-4 while hitting two home runs, driving in two runs, and scoring four times. Arkansas advances to the Championship round against Oklahoma State.

Arkansas Recap
Creighton Recap

Oklahoma State 7 Arkansas 6

Oklahoma State clinched a spot in Super Regionals after defeating Arkansas 7-6. Oklahoma State survived a late rally but held on for the victory. The Cowboys were led by Tyler Mach and Corey Brown who each hit a homer and drove in three runs. Cowboys reliever Josh Fritsche got his second win of the year while Jordy Mercer got his third save of the season. Arkansas reliever Stephen Richards got the loss for the Razorbacks. They end the season with a 43-21 record while Oklahoma State will play the winner of the Louisville/Missouri elimination game on Monday in the Super Regionals next weekend.

OK State Recap
Arkansas Recap

Tags: Arkansas, Creighton, NCAA Tourney, Oklahoma State

Creighton 21 Albany 11

The Creighton Blue Jays picked up a 21-11 victory over the Albany Great Danes to keep their season alive. Creighton was led on offense by Steve Winkelman who went 3-4 with six RBI in the victory. Creighton will face the Oklahoma State/Arkansas in an elimination game on Sunday.

Creighton Recap
Albany Recap

Oklahoma State 14 Arkansas 3

The Arkansas Razorbacks played a sloppy game on Saturday evening and the Oklahoma State Cowboys took advantage of multiple errors in a 14-3 victory. Arkansas starter Jess Todd was ineffective as he let up five runs in over three innings of work. Tyler Mach hit a key grand slam in the fourth inning for the Cowboys to take control of the game. Arkansas will play Creighton in an elimination game while Oklahoma State will play the winner of Arkansas against Creighton later on Sunday.

OK State Recap
Arkansas Recap

Tags: Albany, Arkansas, Creighton, NCAA Tourney, Oklahoma State

Oklahoma State 6 Creighton 4

The Cowboys scored four runs in the first inning to grab an early lead and were able to hold onto a 6-4 victory over Creighton. Oklahoma State was led by Rebel Ridling who went 2-4 with 3 RBI in the win. Oklahoma State will take on Arkansas on Saturday while Creighton will take on Albany.

Oklahoma State Recap
Creighton Recap

Arkansas 9 Albany 0

The Arkansas Razorbacks continued their recent hot streak with a 9-0 victory in the NCAA Regional in Fayetteville. Duke Welker threw six shutout innings on the mound to keep the Great Danes offense silent. The Razorbacks will be back in action on Saturday against Oklahoma State while Albany will play Creighton.

Arkansas Recap
Albany Recap

Tags: Albany, Arkansas, Creighton, NCAA Tourney, Oklahoma State

The Arkansas Razorbacks were announced as the Regional host at Baum Stadium this weekend. They will be joined by the Creighton Blue Jays, Oklahoma State, and Albany Great Danes. All games will be broadcasted on CSTV.

Arkansas

The Razorbacks enter with an overall record of 41-19 after making the SEC Championship game over the weekend and losing to the Vanderbilt Commodores. They are led by a strong pitching staff of Jess Todd (9-2, 2.49 ERA, 124 K’s), Nick Schmidt (10-3, 2.85 ERA), and Duke Welker (6-5, 3.83 ERA). The offensive leader for the Razorbacks is Logan Forsythe who hit .352 for the season. Danny Hamblin leads the team with 22 homers on the year. They open the tournament with the Albany Great Danes at 7:30 pm.

Arkansas Tourney Notes

Creighton

The Blue Jays (44-14) enter as the champions of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament after knocking off Wichita State in 12 innings 10-9. Ben Mancuso leads the starters with an ERA of 2.28 and a record of 10-2 in twelve starts. Andy Masten is a finalist for Stopper of the Year with his 16 saves in 33 appearances. His ERA is 1.74 for the season. Darin Ruf leads the hitters with a .377 average. They will take on Oklahoma State at 3:30 pm on Friday to open up their run to Omaha for the CWS.

Creighton Tourney Notes

Oklahoma State

The Cowboys (38-19) are entering the NCAA Tournament on a six game losing streak after getting swept by Missouri in the final series of the year and going 0-3 in the Big 12 tournament.
They are led by a very shaky pitching staff which has a staff ERA of 4.09 but make up for it with a very good hitting team as opponents have an ERA of 7.52. The top starting pitcher for the Cowboys is Joe Kent who is 4-2 with a 3.33 ERA in ten starts. Justin Friend has seven saves on the season with an ERA of 2.54. They will open the tournament against Creighton at 3:30 pm on Friday.

Oklahoma State Tourney Notes

Albany

The Great Danes (29-27) enter the NCAA Tournament as the America East Champion after sweeping through the conference tournament. They are led by Steve Wyland who is hitting .379 for the season in 54 games. The Great Danes pitching staff is weak for a northern squad with John Naples leading the rotation with an 8-2 record and an ERA of 3.29. They will open the tournament at 7:30 against Arkansas.

Albany Tourney Notes

The CBB predicts Arkansas to win the regional but watch out for the Blue Jays to be the sleeper squad in the Regional. I would be shocked if Albany won a game before heading home.

Tags: Albany, Arkansas, Creighton, NCAA Tourney, Oklahoma State

The College Baseball Blog recently had a staff meeting and we spoke about ambidextrous pitchers about their abilities to compete at the highest level. I recently came across an article in the New York Times about the only one in collegiate baseball right now in Creighton’s Pat Venditte. The article can be read here.

Tags: Ambidextrous, Creighton

The Maryland Terps will open the season this weekend at the Winthrop Challenge. They will take on Winthrop on Friday, followed on Saturday by a game against Gardner-Webb, and on Sunday they will face off against the Creighton Blue Jays.

Maryland Game Notes
Winthrop Press Release
Creighton Game Notes
Gardner-Webb Game Notes

Tags: Creighton, Gardner-Webb, Maryland, Winthrop