Five Cavaliers Named to 2007 VaSID All-State Baseball Team

-courtesy of JMU-

HARRISONBURG, Va., May 30, 2007 – James Madison University junior outfielder Kellen Kulbacki (Palmyra, Pa./Hershey) was selected as a Louisville Slugger Second Team All-American as announced by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.

Kulbacki is just the second player in JMU history to earn All-America status twice, joining first baseman Eddie Kim, who was honored on Collegiate Baseball’s third team in 2002 and 2003. Kulbacki’s 2007 honor comes after earning first team honors from the organization in 2006 and being selected as its National Co-Player of the Year.

After a record-breaking sophomore season, Kulbacki was equally impressive in 2007, leading JMU (22-31 overall, 11-17 CAA) in nearly every offensive category while being named Colonial Athletic Association Co-Player of the Year. He joined Kim as the only players in CAA history to repeat as the conference’s top player.

Kulbacki led the CAA with a .538 on-base percentage, a .785 slugging percentage, and a JMU single-season record 56 walks. He was also third with a .398 batting average, second with 19 home runs, and third with 150 total bases.

Kulbacki is JMU’s career record holder in home runs (51), extra-base hits (105), and slugging percentage (.755). He has set or tied records for game home runs (3), season home runs (24), season extra-base hits (43), season RBIs (75), season total bases (183), game walks (5), season average (.464), season slugging (.943), and season on-base percentage (.568). He ranks second all-time in batting (.400), 10th in hits (238), 10th in doubles (50), 11th in RBIs (158), second in total bases (449), and fifth in hit by pitches (25).

The Louisville Slugger All-America teams are the first of at least six such honors to be handed out by various organizations following the season. Kulbacki is one of 16 semifinalists for the 2007 Dick Howser Trophy as the college baseball national player of the year. He was a semifinalist for the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award but did not make the list of five finalists. He was also among the list of 30 candidates for the Brooks Wallace Player of the Year Award but did not reach the list of 20 quarterfinalists.

Kulbacki is among several Dukes who could hear their name called during the 2007 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft to be held Thursday June 7 and Friday June 8. The draft will be televised for the first time in MLB history on Thursday afternoon from 2-6 p.m. on ESPN2. The entire first round will have picks revealed live on air. Live pick-by-pick coverage will be available for the entire draft at MLB.com on MLB Radio, whose hosts include JMU baseball alumnus Billy Sample.

Clemson 14 South Carolina 5

The Clemson Tigers bats came alive at Doug Kingsmore Stadium by grabbing 16 hits as the Tigers rolled to a 14-5 victory over South Carolina. Wilson Boyd led the Tigers with 4 RBI with Ben Paulsen and Taylor Harbin with three hits and three RBI. D. J. Mitchell picked up his second win of the season by pitching six solid innings while giving up only one run on four hits and three walks. His record goes to 2-0 on the season. South Carolina starter Blake Cooper went four innings while giving up 2 runs (one earned) but grabbed the loss to drop his record to 5-1. The Tigers did most of their damage against Alex Farutto who gave up four runs in 0.2 innings. Clemson will be back in action when they host Georgia Tech while South Carolina will head to Alabama.

Clemson Recap
South Carolina Recap

North Carolina 3 High Point 1

The North Carolina Tar Heels got 6.2 innings of shutout relief from Rob Wooten, Matt Danford, and Andrew Carignan combined which carried the Tar Heels to the 3-1 victory over High Point. North Carolina was led on offense by Josh Horton who hit a homer to drive in a run while Seth Williams and Tim Federowicz each had an RBI to account for all the Tar Heels run. North Carolina will be back in action this weekend when they head to NC State while High Point heads to Longwood on Thursday.

UNC Recap
High Point Recap

James Madison 7 Virginia 6 (14 innings)

The James Madison Dukes scored five runs in the top of the 14th inning but ended up giving up four runs in the bottom of the 14th to hold onto a 7-6 victory over Virginia on Wednesday. The Dukes were led by Mitchell Moses who went 3-6 with four RBI including two homers while lead-off hitter Davis Stoneburner went 4-7. Virginia was led by David Adams who went 3-6. James Madison will head to Georgia State in a conference match-up while Virginia hosts Maryland.

UVA Recap
JMU Recap

NC State 6 UNC-Wilmington 1

Caleb Mangum drove in four runs to lead the Wolfpack to the 6-1 victory over the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks in non-conference action on Wednesday. Clayton Shunick (4-2) got the win by going 2.2 innings while giving up only one hit. Andrew Morgan got the loss to drop to 0-1 on the season. NC State will host UNC for a weekend series while Wilmington heads to William & Mary.

NC State Recap
UNC-Wilmington Recap

Miami 7 Stetson 3

Dennis Raben led the Hurricanes to a 7-3 victory by going 2-3 with a homer and 2 RBI. Yonder Alonso also hit a homer with his only hit in the game. Manny Miguelez went seven strong innings while only giving up only three runs to send his record to 1-2 on the season. Corey Kluber got his first loss of the season by giving up five runs in five innings to drop his record to 8-1. Miami will host FSU for a weekend showdown while Stetson heads to UCF next Wednesday for another mid-week match-up.

Miami Recap
Stetson Recap

Virginia Tech 8 Radford 3

Rob Whitley pitched six shutout innings in his first start in over a month to lead the Hokies to a 8-3 victory over Radford. The win was Whitley’s first of his young career. He was led on offense by Jose Cueto who went 2-5 with an RBI. The Hokies will be back in action on Friday at Boston College. The CBB will be moving their offices on Saturday and MIGHT be at Sunday’s series finale. Radford will host Mars Hill for a weekend series.

VT Recap
Radford Recap

Wake Forest 13 Appalachian State 5

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons won their second straight game in as many days with a 13-5 victory over Appalachian State in Boone NC. The Demon Deacons used a 17 hit attack but the biggest news of the game was the return of Willy Fox who missed the last 15 games with a laceration to his leg from a botched robbery at his residence in which he was stabbed by the intruder. Wake Forest will be back in action on Friday when they host Duke while ASU will play host to UNC-Asheville.

Wake Forest Recap
Appalachian State Recap

Northeastern 2 Boston College 0

Click here for Full Recap

UNC 10 ECU 0

The North Carolina Tar Heels rolled over East Carolina 10-0 behind a strong pitching performance from Adam Warren who went seven shutout innings to up his record to 8-0. Tim Fedroff picked up four RBI to lead the UNC offense. UNC will be back in action on Wednesday when they host High Point before going to NC State for a key ACC showdown. East Carolina will be back in action this weekend when they host Southern Mississippi.

UNC Recap
East Carolina Recap

Elon 13 Clemson 12

The Phoenix were able to edge the Clemson Tigers 13-12 in a classic slugfest in Clemson SC. Pat Irvine went 2-2 with 3 RBI including a homer and teammate Mike Melillo picked up a homer to lead the Phoenix offense to the victory. Doug Hogan went 2-3 with 5 RBI including a homer to lead the Clemson offense in the loss. Elon will host UNC-Greensboro for a weekend series while Clemson plays South Carolina on Wednesday.

Elon Recap
Clemson Recap

Wake Forest 3 Charlotte 2 (11 innings)

Brett Linnenkohl hit a homer in the top of the 11th inning to give the Wake Forest Demon Deacons a 3-2 lead and Josh Ellis pitched a scoreless bottom of the 11th to break a three game losing streak for the Deacons. Aaron Bray led the 49ers with three hits while Evan Ocheltree went 2-4. Wake Forest will head to Appalchin State on Wednesday while Charlotte will head to George Washington for a conference series on Friday.

Wake Forest Recap
Charlotte Recap

Duke 12 Campbell 0

Nate Freiman hit two homers and Jimmy Gallagher went 5-6 only a triple shy of the cycle to lead the Blue Devils to the 12-0 victory over Campbell. Jonathan Anderson got the victory on the mound by pitching five scoreless innings. Duke will be off until Friday when they head to Wake Forest while Campbell hosts Gardner-Webb in a conference series.

Duke Recap
Campbell Recap
Duke Chronicle

Georgia 10 Georgia Tech 7

The Bulldogs picked up a 10-7 victory over Georgia Tech. The Bulldogs were led by Matt Olson who went 4-5 with six RBI. The Bulldogs jumped on GA Tech starter John Goodman who only lasted 1.1 innings while giving up four runs on two hits and three walks to drop his record to 1-2 on the season. Jason Leaver picked up the victory by pitching going his scheduled three innings while giving up three runs. His record goes to 1-1 on the season. Josh Fields who has struggled throughout the season pitched a scoreless ninth to get his fourth save of the season. Georgia Tech will host Clemson for a weekend series while Georgia plays at Western Carolina on Wednesday.

UGA Recap
GT Recap

West Virginia 13 Maryland 2

The West Virginia Mountaineers blew out the Maryland Terrapins 13-2 in a battle between the Big East and ACC. West Virginia used a 16 hit attack led by Tyler Kuhn who went 3-6 with four RBI in the win. Maryland starter Mike Sufczynski picked up the loss to drop his record to 0-2 while Josh Whitlock got the win by pitching eight innings while allowing only two runs to up his record to 6-3. West Virginia is back in action on Friday when they host St. John’s while Maryland will head to Virginia on Friday.

WVU Recap
Maryland Recap
The Diamondback Recap

James Madison 8 Virginia Tech 6

The James Madison Dukes scored four runs on wild pitches as they took a non-conference game from Virginia Tech on Tuesday. Matt Browning went 3-4 with two runs scored to lead the Dukes offense. The Hokie offense was led by Nate Parks who also went 3-4 with one run scored. The Hokies will be back in action on Wednesday when they host Radford while JMU visits UVA on Wednesday.

VA Tech Recap
VT Student Paper Recap

FROM NCBWA RELEASEDALLAS - The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA)­ released the Pro-Line Athletic National Player of the Week awards for the period ending April 17, today. James Madison senior outfielder Kellen Kulbacki was named National Hitter of the Week, while Monmouth junior right-handed pitcher Brad Brach was named National Co-Pitchers of the Week. The NCBWA Board reviews candidates from each Division I conferences each week and names winners each Tuesday throughout the season.

Kulbacki went 11-for-16 (.688) last week with five walks to reach base in 16 of 21 plate appearances (.762 on-base percentage).  He hit four home runs in four games, including his third multiple-home run game of the season, and added three doubles for 26 total bases and a 1.625 slugging percentage.  He also scored 10 runs, drove in 11, and stole a base.  Kulbacki's week included a span of six consecutive at bats with base hits and eight consecutive plate appearances reaching base.  He had multiple hits in each of the four games and nine total bases on Wednesday and Friday.

Brach hurled the NEC's first no-hitter in nearly three years on Friday in a 2-0 win over visiting Long Island.  The Freehold, N.J., native was perfect through eight and a third innings, allowed a walk with one out in the ninth on a 3-2 pitch for his only blemish.  Brach, who led the conference in ERA a year ago, struck out six and improved to 4-1 on the season with a 3.21 ERA following his second straight nine-inning, complete game effort.  It marked the first no-hitter in the NEC since Long Island's John Dooley and freshman Ryan Ekberg combined to no-hit Fairleigh Dickinson, 4-0, on April 29, 2004.  The last no-hitter by an NEC pitcher in a solo effort came on April 27, 2002 when Sacred Heart's Dan Scott stymied Long Island, 2-0.  The gem was also the first for a Monmouth pitcher since Glenn Spencer turned the trick against Mount St. Mary's in 1990.

With this week's honor, Brach automatically are named to the watch list for Roger Clemens Award, given to the national collegiate pitcher of the year, sponsored by the Greater Houston Baseball Organization.

The Northeastern Huskies used five homers to get a 9-3 victory over James Madison in Game 2 of the CAA conference showdown. Jeff Thomson picked up the victory for Northeastern by working 7.2 innings while giving up three runs to up his record to 3-2 on the season. James Madison starter Justin Wood only lasted 4.0 innings while giving up six runs on nine hits. Northeastern was led by Frank Pesanello went 3-4 with two runs and three RBIs which all came on his two homers. The teams will play the final game of their three game set at 1 pm Sunday where James Madison will try to salvage a game.

Northeastern Recap
James Madison Recap

The James Madison pitching staff combined on allowing seven hits in a 3-1 victory over Radford. Allie Swanson got the victory by working the first three innings while allowing only a run. His record now is 1-3 on the season and Josh Hammonds picked up the loss for Radford to drop his record to 0-1. Joe Lake led James Madison’s offense by going 2-4 with two runs scored.

JMU Recap
Radford Recap

The James Madison Dukes were able to salvage the final game of their three game set with the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks by a 3-2 score on Sunday. All-American candidate Kellen Kulbacki hit his 10th home run on the season which broke the school’s all-time record for homers in a career with 42. Justin Wood got the victory for the Dukes by pitching a strong 7.1 innings while giving up two runs (one earned) on nine hits to get his record up to 2-4 on the season. UNC-Wilmington starter Daniel Cropper drops to 3-3 after pitching 6.1 innings while giving up three runs. JMU will head to Radford on Wednesday while UNC-Wilmington will visit UNC-Chapel Hill on Tuesday. I have also linked to the recaps of Friday’s and Saturday’s game below.

JMU Sunday Recap
UNC-Wilmington Sunday Recap

Saturday’s JMU Recap
Saturday’s UNC-Wilmington Recap

Friday’s JMU Recap
Friday’s UNC-Wilmington Recap

Florida State 6 North Florida 0

Caleb Graham picked up his first victory of the season as he shutdown the North Florida offense for the first six innings.

FSU Recap
UNF Recap

UVA 17 George Mason 6

Brandon Guyer went 3-4 with four RBIs, four runs scored, and a grand slam to lead the Cavaliers to a 17-6 thumping of George Mason. David Adams and John Scaglione were the other Cavs with three hits on the day.

UVA Recap
George Mason Recap

Clemson 14 Gardner-Webb 2

The Clemson Tigers without head coach Jack Leggett pounded out 21 hits with twelve different players picking up at least one hit to pound Gardner-Webb 14-2. Ben Paulsen went 5-5 with a homer and six RBI to lead the Tiger offense.

Clemson Recap
Gardner-Webb Recap

Duke 11 Campbell 7

Kyle Kreick picked up three hits to lead the Blue Devils to a come from behind 11-7 victory over Campbell.

Duke Recap
Campbell Recap

Georgia Tech 10 Georgia Southern 2

Eddie Burns struck out ten batters over eight innings while only giving up one earned run to pick up his second consecutive victory. Danny Payne and Michael Fisher each picked up three hits to lead the offensive attack from the Jackets.

GT Recap
Georgia Southern Recap

James Madison 8 Virginia Tech 6

Joe Lake drove home Bryan Lescanec to break a 6-6 tie in the bottom of the eighth to lead JMU to the 8-6 victory over Virginia Tech.

JMU Recap
VT Recap

Maryland 15 William & Mary 3

The Terps scored nine runs in the fifth inning to coast to a 15-3 victory over William & Mary. Joe Palumbo set the stage in the lead-off role by going 4-5 with two runs scored and three RBIs in the win.

Maryland Recap
William & Mary Recap

Southern Miss 9 Louisiana-Monroe 5

The Eagles got their fourth straight victory with a 9-5 victory over Louisiana-Monroe on Tuesday evening. Michael Ewing got three hits to lead the offense while Todd McInnis got the victory by going 3.0 innings on a staff night.

Southern Miss Recap
Louisiana-Monroe Recap
Hattiesburg American Recap

New Orleans 14 Tulane 2

The Privateers used a thirteen hit attack to hammer the Tulane Green Wave 14-2 in non-conference action on Tuesday. T.J. Baxter went 3-4 with four runs scored and four driven to lead the offensive charge.

UNO Recap
Tulane Recap

Texas A&M 10 Rice 9 (11 innings)

The Aggies picked up a very tough 10-9 victory over the Rice Owls on Tuesday. The Owls will be back in action on Friday when they visit Southern Miss for a weekend series.

Rice Recap
Texas A&M Recap

Memphis 17 Middle Tennessee State 3

The Memphis Tigers blew out Middle Tennessee State 17-3 on Tuesday. Bill Moss went 3-3 with four RBI and three runs scored to lead the Tigers to the victory.

Memphis Recap
Middle Tennessee State Recap

James Madison 12 Marshall 4

Matt Townsend hit two homers and drove in five runs to lead the Dukes to the 12-4 victory. The teams will face off on Wednesday.

JMU Recap
Marshall Recap

UAB 7 Troy 6

The UAB Blazers used a great relief appearance from James Oliver who entered with the tying run on second and the winning run on first with one out in the eighth but was able to get out of the jam and pick up his first save of the season.

UAB Recap
Troy Recap

Davis Stoneburger hits two homers to lead the James Madison Dukes to a 13-6 victory over Maryland. Trevor Kaylid picked up the win for the Dukes while Nick Pearce got the loss for the Terps. Maryland is back in action on Wednesday when Coppin State visits and JMU will host Liberty also on Wednesday.

JMU Release
Maryland Release

Virginia Tech 4
Virginia Commonwealth 9

The VCU Rams got seven runs in the first two innings to cruise to a 9-4 victory over the Virginia Tech Hokies.

Virginia Tech Recap
VCU Recap

Temple 4
Duke 7

The Duke Blue Devils have continued their strong start to the season with a 7-4 victory over the Temple Owls. They used a squeeze play in the bottom of the sixth by Jonathan Foreman which got Alexander Hassan home to get the 5-4 lead and they tacked on two more runs in the seventh inning to get to the final score.

Duke Recap
Temple Recap

NC State 8
UNC-Greensboro 10

The UNC-Greensboro Spartans used a seven run fifth inning to cruise to a 10-8 victory over the NC State Wolfpack. Korey Judd picked up the win for the Spartans while Nate Karns picked up the loss.

NC State Recap
UNCG Recap

St. Bonaventure 5
Miami (FL) 2

Eddie Williams was able to scatter six hits and seven walks to only allow two runs in his 6.2 innings of work to pick up the huge victory for the Bonnies. It is only their second victory on the season. Miami was led on offense by Mark Sobolewski who went 4-4 in the losing effort.

Miami Recap
St. Bonaventure Recap

Virginia 6
James Madison 5

Brandon Marsh picked up his second straight game-winning RBI as he drove in Greg Miclat with the winning run in the ninth inning. Jake Rule picked up his first victory in a Cavs uniform while Casey Lambert picked up his third save of the young season. Allie Swanson picked up his third loss of the season for the Dukes. All-American Kellen Kulbacki went 1-4 in the losing effort for the Dukes.

UVA Recap
James Madison Recap

A very nice article came across my desk today on one of my favorite College Baseball players in Kellen Kulbacki who plays for James Madison University and played for Cotuit this summer. He led the nation in homeruns, slugging percentage, and OPS in 2006. He will try to stay at the top in the nation without the protection of his former teammates Nate Schill and Micheal Cowgill. The full article about the All-American is available here.

SEBaseball checks in with some previews which I have missed in the recent weeks. They posted a very nice previews which are linked below.
Houston
Louisiana Tech
James Madison
Louisville

I have been slacking off lately but with the recent holidays and great football games on TV (see Boise State vs Oklahoma), I have not had too much time to be blogging. You can expect me to be blogging more in the near future and especially with the season starting up at the end of the month.