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OWH: Placzek leads assault from plate as Huskers roll Jays
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OWH: Placzek leads assault from plate
LJS: King shuts down Creighton in Husker win
Garett King may not look imposing at 6-foot-3 and 168 pounds, but he carried a ton of weight on the mound Tuesday night for Nebraska in a 5-1 victory over Creighton before a crowd of 7,319 fans at Haymarket Park.
"If he ever gets strong and gets velocity, look out," Nebraska coach Darin Erstad said. "He's a strike thrower. He really worked the plate. He worked inside, especially on the lefties and got ahead in the count.
"Just another nice outing by the kid."
King, a freshman from Anaheim Hills, California, said he didn't know much about the fierce NU-CU rivalry, but he never gave Creighton a chance. He struck out five, walked none and allowed just two hits to help Nebraska (22-7) finish off a 16-game homestand with a 15-1 record.
"Being a Southern California guy, it maybe wasn't as big as last week for me (when he beat Cal State Fullerton)," King said. "But you've got 7,300 fans here and it's an atmosphere and I wanted to rise to the occasion. And I know it's a rivalry that's pretty important around here."
Creighton (15-8) saw its seven-game winning streak snapped. King (3-0) gave up a triple, almost snagged by Husker right fielder Austin Darby, in the fifth, and a single in the seventh.
Papillion-La Vista grad Jake Placzek also rose to the occasion.
The second baseman provided the power as he seemed to dent the wall twice, once on a double in the second inning and added a triple to left in the fourth, driving in two runs. He is hitting .500 with two doubles, a triple and six RBIs in four games against Creighton.
He flew out in the the first inning and added an infield single in the eighth.
"Coaches tell me good things happen when I swing the bat," said Placzek, who missed much of the early season with finger injuries. "I got more aggressive and didn't try to work the count. I just happens I got some hits. I think playing Creighton is just as big as playing Texas." Placzek was 4-for-9 in NU's three-game weekend sweep of Texas.
Freshman Scott Schreiber singled in the second inning. He stole second and scored on an error. Ryan Boldt then singled in Elijah Dilday and Placzek doubled to give the Huskers a 3-0 lead. Placzek then tripled in Boldt in the fourth and scored on a single byh Blake Headley.
King cruised through the first four innings in order, gave up the triple, then sent down the next seven batters in order. He finally gave way to Jeff Chesnut, who was perfect in the ninth.
The Huskers travel to Werner Park in Papillion for a Wednesday 6:35 p.m. game against Nebraska-Omaha.
"I don't think about the wins and losses but how we approach the game and except for the one afternoon with Florida Gulf Coast, which we ended up winning, I couldn't be more proud of these guys," Erstad said. "We're going out there and pitching to contact and trying to allow no more than three passes per game. We're rewriting that lately." NU allowed two walks in a 3-1 win over Texas Friday, three in a 15-inning game Saturday and no walks Sunday and Tuesday.
The Huskers have also turned in dynamic fielding, with one error in the last 48 2/3 innings.
"When you do that," Erstad said, "it's going to work."
LJS: King shuts down Creighton in Husker win
Garett King may not look imposing at 6-foot-3 and 168 pounds, but he carried a ton of weight on the mound Tuesday night for Nebraska in a 5-1 victory over Creighton before a crowd of 7,319 fans at Haymarket Park.
"If he ever gets strong and gets velocity, look out," Nebraska coach Darin Erstad said. "He's a strike thrower. He really worked the plate. He worked inside, especially on the lefties and got ahead in the count.
"Just another nice outing by the kid."
King, a freshman from Anaheim Hills, California, said he didn't know much about the fierce NU-CU rivalry, but he never gave Creighton a chance. He struck out five, walked none and allowed just two hits to help Nebraska (22-7) finish off a 16-game homestand with a 15-1 record.
"Being a Southern California guy, it maybe wasn't as big as last week for me (when he beat Cal State Fullerton)," King said. "But you've got 7,300 fans here and it's an atmosphere and I wanted to rise to the occasion. And I know it's a rivalry that's pretty important around here."
Creighton (15-8) saw its seven-game winning streak snapped. King (3-0) gave up a triple, almost snagged by Husker right fielder Austin Darby, in the fifth, and a single in the seventh.
Papillion-La Vista grad Jake Placzek also rose to the occasion.
The second baseman provided the power as he seemed to dent the wall twice, once on a double in the second inning and added a triple to left in the fourth, driving in two runs. He is hitting .500 with two doubles, a triple and six RBIs in four games against Creighton.
He flew out in the the first inning and added an infield single in the eighth.
"Coaches tell me good things happen when I swing the bat," said Placzek, who missed much of the early season with finger injuries. "I got more aggressive and didn't try to work the count. I just happens I got some hits. I think playing Creighton is just as big as playing Texas." Placzek was 4-for-9 in NU's three-game weekend sweep of Texas.
Freshman Scott Schreiber singled in the second inning. He stole second and scored on an error. Ryan Boldt then singled in Elijah Dilday and Placzek doubled to give the Huskers a 3-0 lead. Placzek then tripled in Boldt in the fourth and scored on a single byh Blake Headley.
King cruised through the first four innings in order, gave up the triple, then sent down the next seven batters in order. He finally gave way to Jeff Chesnut, who was perfect in the ninth.
The Huskers travel to Werner Park in Papillion for a Wednesday 6:35 p.m. game against Nebraska-Omaha.
"I don't think about the wins and losses but how we approach the game and except for the one afternoon with Florida Gulf Coast, which we ended up winning, I couldn't be more proud of these guys," Erstad said. "We're going out there and pitching to contact and trying to allow no more than three passes per game. We're rewriting that lately." NU allowed two walks in a 3-1 win over Texas Friday, three in a 15-inning game Saturday and no walks Sunday and Tuesday.
The Huskers have also turned in dynamic fielding, with one error in the last 48 2/3 innings.
"When you do that," Erstad said, "it's going to work."
LJS: King shuts down Creighton in Husker win
NU: King Stifles Jays In Front of Record Crowd
Lincoln - In front of 7,319 fans, the largest crowd ever for a regular-season game between Nebraska and Creighton in Lincoln, the No. 18 Nebraska baseball team concluded its 16-game homestand on Tuesday night with a 5-1 win over the Creighton Bluejays, who entered the game on a seven-game winnings streak. The Huskers are now 22-7 on the year and finished the homestand with a 15-1 record. The last time the Huskers notched 22 wins before the month of April was 2005, when NU entered April with a 22-3 record.
The crowd of 7,319 was the 24th largest crowd in Hawks Field history and the largest crowd for Nebraska-Creighton game in Lincoln since 2005, when 8,304 fans watched the two teams play in the NCAA Lincoln Regional Final. It was also the largest crowd for a game at Hawks Field since 2008, when 8,648 fans watched the Huskers play the UC Irvine Anteaters in the NCAA Lincoln Regional.
Freshman Garett King continued Nebraska's dominance on the mound, as he went a career-high 8.0 innings and issued only two hits to improve to 3-0 on the year. The 6-3 right hander struck out five and didn't issue a walk for the second straight start. King was perfect through the first four innings, before Harrison Crawford led off the fifth with a triple down the right-field line that just escaped the out-stretched glove of Austin Darby. Crawford scored CU's lone run of the game when Brett Murray lifted a sacrifice fly into center field.
Following the triple, King went on to retire 12 of the final 13 Jays he faced, before junior Jeff Chesnut took the mound in the ninth and retired the Jays in order to finish the win.
The Huskers now has a 2.32 ERA on the year, and a blistering 1.98 ERA in games at Hawks Field. In 16 games at home, the Husker arms piled up 122 strikeouts to 34 walks.
La Vista, Neb., native Jake Placzek led the NU offensive attack with another great game against the Jays, going 3-for-5, including a double and his first career triple. In four career games against Creighton, Placzek is hitting .500 (7-for-14) with two doubles, one triple and six RBIs. Last season, Placzek delivered a walk-off single in a 5-4 extra-innings win in Lincoln and later in the year came through with a two-RBI single in the eighth inning that drove in the eventual game-winning runs in a 4-2 win at TD Ameritrade Park.
Placzek extended NU's lead to 3-0 in the top of the second with a two-out double and then pushed the lead to 4-0 in the fourth with a triple. The junior then scored on a RBI single by Blake Headley that put the Huskers ahead 5-0.
NU's first three batters in its lineup, Ryan Boldt-Placzek-Headley, finished the game a combined 8-for-14 with three runs scored and four RBIs.
After playing their last 16 games at home, the Huskers now head east down I-80 tomorrow for a meeting with the Omaha Mavericks at Werner Park. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
NU: King Stifles Jays In Front of Record Crowd
Lincoln - In front of 7,319 fans, the largest crowd ever for a regular-season game between Nebraska and Creighton in Lincoln, the No. 18 Nebraska baseball team concluded its 16-game homestand on Tuesday night with a 5-1 win over the Creighton Bluejays, who entered the game on a seven-game winnings streak. The Huskers are now 22-7 on the year and finished the homestand with a 15-1 record. The last time the Huskers notched 22 wins before the month of April was 2005, when NU entered April with a 22-3 record.
The crowd of 7,319 was the 24th largest crowd in Hawks Field history and the largest crowd for Nebraska-Creighton game in Lincoln since 2005, when 8,304 fans watched the two teams play in the NCAA Lincoln Regional Final. It was also the largest crowd for a game at Hawks Field since 2008, when 8,648 fans watched the Huskers play the UC Irvine Anteaters in the NCAA Lincoln Regional.
Freshman Garett King continued Nebraska's dominance on the mound, as he went a career-high 8.0 innings and issued only two hits to improve to 3-0 on the year. The 6-3 right hander struck out five and didn't issue a walk for the second straight start. King was perfect through the first four innings, before Harrison Crawford led off the fifth with a triple down the right-field line that just escaped the out-stretched glove of Austin Darby. Crawford scored CU's lone run of the game when Brett Murray lifted a sacrifice fly into center field.
Following the triple, King went on to retire 12 of the final 13 Jays he faced, before junior Jeff Chesnut took the mound in the ninth and retired the Jays in order to finish the win.
The Huskers now has a 2.32 ERA on the year, and a blistering 1.98 ERA in games at Hawks Field. In 16 games at home, the Husker arms piled up 122 strikeouts to 34 walks.
La Vista, Neb., native Jake Placzek led the NU offensive attack with another great game against the Jays, going 3-for-5, including a double and his first career triple. In four career games against Creighton, Placzek is hitting .500 (7-for-14) with two doubles, one triple and six RBIs. Last season, Placzek delivered a walk-off single in a 5-4 extra-innings win in Lincoln and later in the year came through with a two-RBI single in the eighth inning that drove in the eventual game-winning runs in a 4-2 win at TD Ameritrade Park.
Placzek extended NU's lead to 3-0 in the top of the second with a two-out double and then pushed the lead to 4-0 in the fourth with a triple. The junior then scored on a RBI single by Blake Headley that put the Huskers ahead 5-0.
NU's first three batters in its lineup, Ryan Boldt-Placzek-Headley, finished the game a combined 8-for-14 with three runs scored and four RBIs.
After playing their last 16 games at home, the Huskers now head east down I-80 tomorrow for a meeting with the Omaha Mavericks at Werner Park. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
NU: King Stifles Jays In Front of Record Crowd
CU: #18 Nebraska Downs Creighton Baseball, 5-1
LINCOLN, Neb. - In front of a packed house of 7,319 fans at Hawks Field, the Creighton Baseball team fell to #18 Nebraska, 5-1, on Tuesday, March 31.
Nebraska moved to 22-7 with the win, while the Bluejays fell to 15-8 overall.
The Huskers jumped out to an early lead with three runs in the second inning, then added two more in the fourth.
That was more run support than Nebraska's Garett King needed as he limited Creighton to one run on two hits in eight innings to pick up the win (3-0). Creighton's Jeff Albrecht suffered the loss (1-2), allowing three runs on three hits and two walks in 1.2 innings.
The Bluejays got their run in the fifth as junior Harrison Crawford led off the frame with a triple into right and junior Brett Murray followed with a sacrifice fly. Junior Reagan Fowler also collected a single in the seventh.
Creighton returns to action on Thursday as the Bluejays begin BIG EAST play at Georgetown. The Hoyas and Bluejays begin a three-game set at 2 pm.
CU: #18 Nebraska Downs Creighton Baseball, 5-1
LINCOLN, Neb. - In front of a packed house of 7,319 fans at Hawks Field, the Creighton Baseball team fell to #18 Nebraska, 5-1, on Tuesday, March 31.
Nebraska moved to 22-7 with the win, while the Bluejays fell to 15-8 overall.
The Huskers jumped out to an early lead with three runs in the second inning, then added two more in the fourth.
That was more run support than Nebraska's Garett King needed as he limited Creighton to one run on two hits in eight innings to pick up the win (3-0). Creighton's Jeff Albrecht suffered the loss (1-2), allowing three runs on three hits and two walks in 1.2 innings.
The Bluejays got their run in the fifth as junior Harrison Crawford led off the frame with a triple into right and junior Brett Murray followed with a sacrifice fly. Junior Reagan Fowler also collected a single in the seventh.
Creighton returns to action on Thursday as the Bluejays begin BIG EAST play at Georgetown. The Hoyas and Bluejays begin a three-game set at 2 pm.
CU: #18 Nebraska Downs Creighton Baseball, 5-1
BA - Tuesday Roundup: Seminoles Take Sunshine Showdown
In front of a packed house of 8,306 at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville, No. 10 Florida State snapped a five-game losing streak to the Gators with an 8-3 win in what's known as the Share A Little Sunshine Showdown.
Senior lefthander Bryant Holtmann (5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 K) improved to 4-1.
"Bryant Holtmann was outstanding," Florida State head coach Mike Martin told seminoles.com. "He really gave us what we needed. We were fortunate early; we got some key hits, balls that were just out of the reach (of the Gator defenders) but I am just very proud of this club for getting it done.
"This is a great venue, a great crowd; it's good for college baseball in our great state."
Junior John Sansone had four hits and walked with the bases loaded in the seventh.
"John is slowing everything down; the game is not coming at him so fast, he's seeing the ball longer," Martin said. "He's having the game come to him instead of doing too much."
Senior Danny De La Calle hit his fifth homer and junior lefthander Dylan Silva worked the final four innings to earn his first save of the year. Gators freshman righthander Alex Faedo (4 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 5 K) took the loss.
Top 25 Upsets
(5) Texas Christian at Texas-Arlington: Texas-Arlington busted open a 1-1 tie with seven runs with two outs in the seventh inning to end TCU's four-game win streak. Tyler Alexander (1-2) was cruising through six before hitting a wall in the seventh. The Mavericks got offense from Levi Scott, who homered in the first and had a two-run double in the pivotal seventh. Daniel James (3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K) was the fourth UTA pitcher and got the win.
Florida Atlantic at (6) Central Florida
Sophomore lefthander Sean Labsan struck out 10 in six solid innings as FAU built a 10-1 lead and held on despite three UCF homers for an 11-5 win. Junior Brendon Sanger and senior Ricky Santiago each had three hits for Florida Atlantic. Senior Dylan Moore hit his ninth homer, freshman Kyle Marsh hit his fifth and senior Jordan Savinon hit his second for UCF.
(17) Oklahoma State at Oral Roberts: Senior Anthony Sequeira broke a 2-2 tie with an eighth-inning double as Oral Roberts won its eighth in a row and improved to 3-1 against the Big 12 with a 4-2 win. Rolando Martinez was 3-for-4 for ORU, while Matt Brandy homered. Tim Arakawa had three hits for Oklahoma State. Hayden Holley got one out and received credit for the win, while Trey Cobb (2.2 IP, 3 H 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K) took the loss in relief of Conor Costello.
(25) San Diego at UC Irvine: Sophomore Adam Alcantara and redshirt sophomore Evan Cassolato each had three hits as the Anteaters jumped on the newly minted Top 25 Toreros in a 13-4 win. Colton Waltner homered for USD in the third to tie the game 1-1, but the Irvine piled it on from there, scoring four times in the bottom of the inning and twice more in the fifth and seventh.
Other Top 25 Results
Wofford at (1) Vanderbilt
Freshman Kyle Wright worked five scoreless innings and got super relief from Philip Pfeifer and Tyler Ferguson in a 6-0 win. Sophomore catcher Jason Delay homered and Dansby Swanson had three hits, including a triple for the winners. Swanson has six hits in his past three games.
Sam Houston State at (2) Texas A&M:
The Aggies scored 13 times in the second inning-tying a Division I record with 11 straight hits-and Ronnie Gideon became the first Texas A&M player to hit two homers in an inning in a 19-4 rout of Sam Houston State. The third inning rally started with a solo home run by Blake Allemand. Ryne Birk followed with a triple. Mitchell Nau, Nick Banks and Logan Taylor singled and Gideon homered. Singles by J.B. Moss and Hunter Melton put runners on the corners, setting up a three-run home run by Logan Nottebrok, making the score 11-2. Allemand singled to left and Birk doubled. Two outs later, Gideon blasted another homer. The 13 hits in the inning set an NCAA Division I record, which had been held by Nevada-Las Vegas, Clemson and LIU. Turner Larkins (4 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 K) was the beneficiary of the offensive explosion.
(3) Louisiana State vs. Louisiana-Lafayette: Alex Bregman doubled, tripled and homered and Chris Chinea and Kade Scivicque also homered as LSU topped Louisiana-Lafayette 8-6 in the Wally Pontiff Jr. Classic at Zephyr Field. Sophomore Russell Reynolds (4.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 3 K) got the win in relief of an ineffective Kyle Bouman. Connor Toups (1-2) allowed three runs on four hits in an inning of work.
Miami (Ohio) at (7) Louisville: Sophomore Corey Ray and freshman Brendan McKay homered and the Cardinals scored their most runs in a year in a 16-5 win Tuesday. Louisville has won 11 of 12, bolstered by McKay's first college homer. Senior Mike White was 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs as the Cardinals had seven doubles to back sophomore lefthander Drew Harrington (3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K), who was perfect in relief of Anthony Kidston (4 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 2 K). Catch all the highlights here.
New Mexico State at (11) Arizona State: Colby Woodmansee homered in the first and Trever Allen hit a three-run shot in the sixth to back junior David Graybill (3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K) who won in his first career start.
Abilene Christian at (13) Dallas Baptist
The Patriots won their 15th straight at home-the longest current home win streak-as Tagg Duce and David Martinelli homered in a 12-1 win over Abilene Christian that was called after seven because of the 10-run rule. Gavin Fritz (5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 3 K) worked out of a jam in the first to post a solid outing.
(14) Rice at Lamar: Rice grabbed a 3-0 lead early but had to hold on in the ninth for a 4-3 win over Lamar. The Owls led 4-2 in the ninth, but Lamar got a leadoff walk by Kyle Markum, who scored on a double by Kevin Santana to make it 4-3. Owls freshman Josh Pettitte-the son of Yankees star Andy-got a strikeout for the first out and then Matt Ditman relieved Pettitte and struck out a batter for the second out. C.J. Moore got an infield hit to put runners on the corners, but Ditman got Stijn van der Meer to ground out to end it for his fifth save.
(16) Virginia at Virginia Commonwealth: Freshman Derek Casey delivered seven solid innings and freshman Adam Haseley continued his hot run as the Cavs won their fifth in a row, 5-3.
"The story of the game was Derek Casey," Virginia head coach Brian O'Connor told virginiasports.com. "Coming back to your hometown (nearby Mechanicsville) in front of a great crowd like this, that's a lot of pressure. He really responded and pitched seven great innings while showing a lot of poise. This was a big grow-up day for him. It was great to see and you can see why he was so highly thought of coming out of high school."
Casey allowed only four hits and two walks while striking out four and Josh Sborz got his eighth save by recording the final four outs. Haseley was 3-for-5 and is now 13-for-23 in the five-game road swing.
(18) South Carolina at The Citadel: Three Gamecocks pitchers combined for a two-hitter and Elliot Caldwell went 2-for-4 with a triple and a RBI single in a 2-0 win. Freshman righthander Tyler Haswell gave up just one hit over four innings and senior Cody Mincey got the win with four dominant innings (1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K).
(20) Houston at Baylor: Senior David Longville (5 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K) was the recipient of an 11-run, 11-hit attack by the Cougars in a shutout of Baylor. Houston scored four times in the fifth and six times in the seventh and were led on offense by junior Justin Montemayor, who went 2-for-5 with two doubles and three RBIs, while freshman Connor Wong had three hits.
Creighton at (22) Nebraska: In front of 7,319-the largest crowd ever for a regular season game between Nebraska and Creighton in Lincoln-the Huskers got eight terrific innings from freshman righthander Garett King (8 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 K) in a 5-1 win. King didn't walk a batter for the second straight start to improve to 3-0. Nebraska's Jake Placzek was 3-for-5, including a double and his first career triple.
(23) Coastal Carolina at Wake Forest: Coastal Carolina rallied from a 4-1 deficit by scoring the next nine runs in a 10-4 win and moved to 5-0 against the ACC this season. Michael Paez was 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored but also made a key defensive play to get a runner at the plate in the sixth to keep the game tied 4-4. Casey Schroeder hit a three-run home run for Coastal, while Nate Mondou homered for Wake.
(24) Illinois at Missouri
Senior David Kerian's two-run homer in the sixth put the Illini ahead for good in a 4-3 win. Starter Rob McDonnell (5.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 6 K) got the win and Tyler Jay struck out all four batters he faced on 21 pitches for his seventh save.
"It was a very well-played game on both sides," head coach Dan Hartleb told fightingillini.com. "You had two very good teams competing in a great college baseball game. After going down by a run, we answered right away with David's big home run. We got a very solid start out of Rob and then our bullpen got key outs in matchup situations before Tyler did an outstanding job with four strikeouts."
Other Notable Games
Indiana at Kentucky
The Hoosiers rallied from a 7-5 deficit with six runs in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings to beat Kentucky 11-7 and end a three-game losing streak. Senior catcher Brad Hartong and freshman outfielder Logan Sowers hit two-run homers and Casey Rodrigue and Sowers each had three hits as Indiana, which fell out of the Top 25 this week, pounded out 16 hits. Kentucky had 15 hits, with three each from Ka'ai Tom and Thomas Bernal.
Georgia Tech at Georgia: Junior Matt Gonzalez was 3-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs as Georgia Tech beat rival Georgia 13-6. Thomas Smith also homered for the Yellow Jackets.
North Carolina State vs. Charlotte: In front of 8,147 at BB&T Ballpark in Charlotte, home of the Triple-A Charlotte Knights, the Wolfpack won their seventh in a row as the one-year-old park played as small as it did in its inaugural season. Andrew Knizer and Joe Dunand homered and N.C. State rapped out 15 hits to beat the 49ers 10-6. Charlotte high school products Logan Ratledge and Jake Fincher had big days in their homecoming as Ratledge went 2-for-3 while Fincher was 3-for-5. Tommy DeJuneas, who attended Providence High in Charlotte, got the final six outs for his third save, backing up Ryan Williamson (5.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 8 K). The Knights and their opponents averaged 2.65 homers per game last season at BB&T Ballpark.
Campbell at Duke
Campbell overcame a 5-0 deficit, capitalizing on eight Duke walks to beat the Blue Devils 9-6. The Camels scored four times in the seventh, with Anthony Lopez's two-run single the big hit.
"We gave them a lot of free offense," head coach Chris Pollard told goduke.com. "I thought they put on a really good clinic with their two-strike approach. They had a number of two-strike hits, which wound up being a big difference. We jumped out early, but you're not going to put a four or five-spot on a team that's won 100 ballgames over the past two years and have them just go away. They just kept chipping back in there."
Duke freshman Peter Zyla continued his hot hitting, clearing the bases with a triple in the second to give the Blue Devils a 5-0 lead.
North Carolina at Elon: Freshman Hunter Williams continued to impress and Joe Dudek homered as UNC beat Elon 10-5. The 6-foot-3 Williams delivered his second straight quality start, allowing just two runs on two hits with three walks and five strikeouts. The Heels jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first and did not look back.
Central Arkansas at Oklahoma
Redshirt junior lefthander Adam Choplick struck out 10 in six shutout innings and juniors Kolbey Carpenter and Chris Shaw homered as Oklahoma blanked Central Arkansas 7-0. Carpenter also tripled and drove in three runs.
Virginia Military Institute at Virginia Tech: Pinch hitter Phil Sciretta broke a 5-5 tie in the eighth with an RBI single as the Hokies knocked off VMI 6-5. Jordan Tarsovich tied the game for VMI at 5-5 in the seventh with a two-run homer. Redshirt sophomore lefthander Kit Scheetz (6 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 3 K) was solid in the start for Virginia Tech, but did not figure in the decision.
Cal Poly at Pepperdine
Junior Chris Fornaci homered in the bottom of the 10th as Pepperdine-trailing most of the game-rallied to beat Cal Poly 9-8. The Waves fought back from a 6-0 deficit as Brad Anderson also homered.
Old Dominion at Liberty
Becker Sankey and Ashton Perritt each had three-run homers and Alex Close had three hits as Liberty knocked off Old Dominion 9-7. The senior Sankey's homer was his team-best eighth of the season while the senior Perritt hit his third.
BA - Tuesday Roundup: Seminoles Take Showdown
In front of a packed house of 8,306 at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville, No. 10 Florida State snapped a five-game losing streak to the Gators with an 8-3 win in what's known as the Share A Little Sunshine Showdown.
Senior lefthander Bryant Holtmann (5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 K) improved to 4-1.
"Bryant Holtmann was outstanding," Florida State head coach Mike Martin told seminoles.com. "He really gave us what we needed. We were fortunate early; we got some key hits, balls that were just out of the reach (of the Gator defenders) but I am just very proud of this club for getting it done.
"This is a great venue, a great crowd; it's good for college baseball in our great state."
Junior John Sansone had four hits and walked with the bases loaded in the seventh.
"John is slowing everything down; the game is not coming at him so fast, he's seeing the ball longer," Martin said. "He's having the game come to him instead of doing too much."
Senior Danny De La Calle hit his fifth homer and junior lefthander Dylan Silva worked the final four innings to earn his first save of the year. Gators freshman righthander Alex Faedo (4 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 5 K) took the loss.
Top 25 Upsets
(5) Texas Christian at Texas-Arlington: Texas-Arlington busted open a 1-1 tie with seven runs with two outs in the seventh inning to end TCU's four-game win streak. Tyler Alexander (1-2) was cruising through six before hitting a wall in the seventh. The Mavericks got offense from Levi Scott, who homered in the first and had a two-run double in the pivotal seventh. Daniel James (3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K) was the fourth UTA pitcher and got the win.
Florida Atlantic at (6) Central Florida
Sophomore lefthander Sean Labsan struck out 10 in six solid innings as FAU built a 10-1 lead and held on despite three UCF homers for an 11-5 win. Junior Brendon Sanger and senior Ricky Santiago each had three hits for Florida Atlantic. Senior Dylan Moore hit his ninth homer, freshman Kyle Marsh hit his fifth and senior Jordan Savinon hit his second for UCF.
(17) Oklahoma State at Oral Roberts: Senior Anthony Sequeira broke a 2-2 tie with an eighth-inning double as Oral Roberts won its eighth in a row and improved to 3-1 against the Big 12 with a 4-2 win. Rolando Martinez was 3-for-4 for ORU, while Matt Brandy homered. Tim Arakawa had three hits for Oklahoma State. Hayden Holley got one out and received credit for the win, while Trey Cobb (2.2 IP, 3 H 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K) took the loss in relief of Conor Costello.
(25) San Diego at UC Irvine: Sophomore Adam Alcantara and redshirt sophomore Evan Cassolato each had three hits as the Anteaters jumped on the newly minted Top 25 Toreros in a 13-4 win. Colton Waltner homered for USD in the third to tie the game 1-1, but the Irvine piled it on from there, scoring four times in the bottom of the inning and twice more in the fifth and seventh.
Other Top 25 Results
Wofford at (1) Vanderbilt
Freshman Kyle Wright worked five scoreless innings and got super relief from Philip Pfeifer and Tyler Ferguson in a 6-0 win. Sophomore catcher Jason Delay homered and Dansby Swanson had three hits, including a triple for the winners. Swanson has six hits in his past three games.
Sam Houston State at (2) Texas A&M:
The Aggies scored 13 times in the second inning-tying a Division I record with 11 straight hits-and Ronnie Gideon became the first Texas A&M player to hit two homers in an inning in a 19-4 rout of Sam Houston State. The third inning rally started with a solo home run by Blake Allemand. Ryne Birk followed with a triple. Mitchell Nau, Nick Banks and Logan Taylor singled and Gideon homered. Singles by J.B. Moss and Hunter Melton put runners on the corners, setting up a three-run home run by Logan Nottebrok, making the score 11-2. Allemand singled to left and Birk doubled. Two outs later, Gideon blasted another homer. The 13 hits in the inning set an NCAA Division I record, which had been held by Nevada-Las Vegas, Clemson and LIU. Turner Larkins (4 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 K) was the beneficiary of the offensive explosion.
(3) Louisiana State vs. Louisiana-Lafayette: Alex Bregman doubled, tripled and homered and Chris Chinea and Kade Scivicque also homered as LSU topped Louisiana-Lafayette 8-6 in the Wally Pontiff Jr. Classic at Zephyr Field. Sophomore Russell Reynolds (4.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 3 K) got the win in relief of an ineffective Kyle Bouman. Connor Toups (1-2) allowed three runs on four hits in an inning of work.
Miami (Ohio) at (7) Louisville: Sophomore Corey Ray and freshman Brendan McKay homered and the Cardinals scored their most runs in a year in a 16-5 win Tuesday. Louisville has won 11 of 12, bolstered by McKay's first college homer. Senior Mike White was 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs as the Cardinals had seven doubles to back sophomore lefthander Drew Harrington (3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K), who was perfect in relief of Anthony Kidston (4 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 2 K). Catch all the highlights here.
New Mexico State at (11) Arizona State: Colby Woodmansee homered in the first and Trever Allen hit a three-run shot in the sixth to back junior David Graybill (3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K) who won in his first career start.
Abilene Christian at (13) Dallas Baptist
The Patriots won their 15th straight at home-the longest current home win streak-as Tagg Duce and David Martinelli homered in a 12-1 win over Abilene Christian that was called after seven because of the 10-run rule. Gavin Fritz (5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 3 K) worked out of a jam in the first to post a solid outing.
(14) Rice at Lamar: Rice grabbed a 3-0 lead early but had to hold on in the ninth for a 4-3 win over Lamar. The Owls led 4-2 in the ninth, but Lamar got a leadoff walk by Kyle Markum, who scored on a double by Kevin Santana to make it 4-3. Owls freshman Josh Pettitte-the son of Yankees star Andy-got a strikeout for the first out and then Matt Ditman relieved Pettitte and struck out a batter for the second out. C.J. Moore got an infield hit to put runners on the corners, but Ditman got Stijn van der Meer to ground out to end it for his fifth save.
(16) Virginia at Virginia Commonwealth: Freshman Derek Casey delivered seven solid innings and freshman Adam Haseley continued his hot run as the Cavs won their fifth in a row, 5-3.
"The story of the game was Derek Casey," Virginia head coach Brian O'Connor told virginiasports.com. "Coming back to your hometown (nearby Mechanicsville) in front of a great crowd like this, that's a lot of pressure. He really responded and pitched seven great innings while showing a lot of poise. This was a big grow-up day for him. It was great to see and you can see why he was so highly thought of coming out of high school."
Casey allowed only four hits and two walks while striking out four and Josh Sborz got his eighth save by recording the final four outs. Haseley was 3-for-5 and is now 13-for-23 in the five-game road swing.
(18) South Carolina at The Citadel: Three Gamecocks pitchers combined for a two-hitter and Elliot Caldwell went 2-for-4 with a triple and a RBI single in a 2-0 win. Freshman righthander Tyler Haswell gave up just one hit over four innings and senior Cody Mincey got the win with four dominant innings (1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K).
(20) Houston at Baylor: Senior David Longville (5 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K) was the recipient of an 11-run, 11-hit attack by the Cougars in a shutout of Baylor. Houston scored four times in the fifth and six times in the seventh and were led on offense by junior Justin Montemayor, who went 2-for-5 with two doubles and three RBIs, while freshman Connor Wong had three hits.
Creighton at (22) Nebraska: In front of 7,319-the largest crowd ever for a regular season game between Nebraska and Creighton in Lincoln-the Huskers got eight terrific innings from freshman righthander Garett King (8 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 K) in a 5-1 win. King didn't walk a batter for the second straight start to improve to 3-0. Nebraska's Jake Placzek was 3-for-5, including a double and his first career triple.
(23) Coastal Carolina at Wake Forest: Coastal Carolina rallied from a 4-1 deficit by scoring the next nine runs in a 10-4 win and moved to 5-0 against the ACC this season. Michael Paez was 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored but also made a key defensive play to get a runner at the plate in the sixth to keep the game tied 4-4. Casey Schroeder hit a three-run home run for Coastal, while Nate Mondou homered for Wake.
(24) Illinois at Missouri
Senior David Kerian's two-run homer in the sixth put the Illini ahead for good in a 4-3 win. Starter Rob McDonnell (5.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 6 K) got the win and Tyler Jay struck out all four batters he faced on 21 pitches for his seventh save.
"It was a very well-played game on both sides," head coach Dan Hartleb told fightingillini.com. "You had two very good teams competing in a great college baseball game. After going down by a run, we answered right away with David's big home run. We got a very solid start out of Rob and then our bullpen got key outs in matchup situations before Tyler did an outstanding job with four strikeouts."
Other Notable Games
Indiana at Kentucky
The Hoosiers rallied from a 7-5 deficit with six runs in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings to beat Kentucky 11-7 and end a three-game losing streak. Senior catcher Brad Hartong and freshman outfielder Logan Sowers hit two-run homers and Casey Rodrigue and Sowers each had three hits as Indiana, which fell out of the Top 25 this week, pounded out 16 hits. Kentucky had 15 hits, with three each from Ka'ai Tom and Thomas Bernal.
Georgia Tech at Georgia: Junior Matt Gonzalez was 3-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs as Georgia Tech beat rival Georgia 13-6. Thomas Smith also homered for the Yellow Jackets.
North Carolina State vs. Charlotte: In front of 8,147 at BB&T Ballpark in Charlotte, home of the Triple-A Charlotte Knights, the Wolfpack won their seventh in a row as the one-year-old park played as small as it did in its inaugural season. Andrew Knizer and Joe Dunand homered and N.C. State rapped out 15 hits to beat the 49ers 10-6. Charlotte high school products Logan Ratledge and Jake Fincher had big days in their homecoming as Ratledge went 2-for-3 while Fincher was 3-for-5. Tommy DeJuneas, who attended Providence High in Charlotte, got the final six outs for his third save, backing up Ryan Williamson (5.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 8 K). The Knights and their opponents averaged 2.65 homers per game last season at BB&T Ballpark.
Campbell at Duke
Campbell overcame a 5-0 deficit, capitalizing on eight Duke walks to beat the Blue Devils 9-6. The Camels scored four times in the seventh, with Anthony Lopez's two-run single the big hit.
"We gave them a lot of free offense," head coach Chris Pollard told goduke.com. "I thought they put on a really good clinic with their two-strike approach. They had a number of two-strike hits, which wound up being a big difference. We jumped out early, but you're not going to put a four or five-spot on a team that's won 100 ballgames over the past two years and have them just go away. They just kept chipping back in there."
Duke freshman Peter Zyla continued his hot hitting, clearing the bases with a triple in the second to give the Blue Devils a 5-0 lead.
North Carolina at Elon: Freshman Hunter Williams continued to impress and Joe Dudek homered as UNC beat Elon 10-5. The 6-foot-3 Williams delivered his second straight quality start, allowing just two runs on two hits with three walks and five strikeouts. The Heels jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first and did not look back.
Central Arkansas at Oklahoma
Redshirt junior lefthander Adam Choplick struck out 10 in six shutout innings and juniors Kolbey Carpenter and Chris Shaw homered as Oklahoma blanked Central Arkansas 7-0. Carpenter also tripled and drove in three runs.
Virginia Military Institute at Virginia Tech: Pinch hitter Phil Sciretta broke a 5-5 tie in the eighth with an RBI single as the Hokies knocked off VMI 6-5. Jordan Tarsovich tied the game for VMI at 5-5 in the seventh with a two-run homer. Redshirt sophomore lefthander Kit Scheetz (6 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 3 K) was solid in the start for Virginia Tech, but did not figure in the decision.
Cal Poly at Pepperdine
Junior Chris Fornaci homered in the bottom of the 10th as Pepperdine-trailing most of the game-rallied to beat Cal Poly 9-8. The Waves fought back from a 6-0 deficit as Brad Anderson also homered.
Old Dominion at Liberty
Becker Sankey and Ashton Perritt each had three-run homers and Alex Close had three hits as Liberty knocked off Old Dominion 9-7. The senior Sankey's homer was his team-best eighth of the season while the senior Perritt hit his third.
BA - Tuesday Roundup: Seminoles Take Showdown
BA - Three Strikes: Week 7
Strike One: Canes' Collins Catching On
CHAPEL HILL, N.C.-There were two outs in the top of the 11th inning Saturday, score tied 3-3, and Miami had its cleanup hitter at the plate, a man who hit 11 home runs a year ago, who has arguably the most power on the team, if not the ACC.
Yet, with a 2-0 count, Zack Collins asked his head coach if he should take a strike.
"I went, 'Absolutely not,'" Jim Morris said. "'Absolutely not. Get your hacks in.'"
The lefthanded hitter rewarded Morris' faith, slamming the 2-0 pitch like a pinball-off of the light pole in right field. The home run proved to be the game-winning, series-clinching blow Miami needed in its 4-3 win against North Carolina at Boshamer Stadium.
It was also just what Collins needed-for his psyche.
Only his third homer of the year, Collins' offensive numbers have dipped following a .298/.427/.556 season in 2014 that earned him Baseball America's Freshman of the Year award. The sophomore catcher is batting .247/.426/.423 with 16 RBIs in 97 at-bats this year. His average ranks last on the Hurricanes, among those who qualify.
"(The home run) felt really good, obviously," Collins said after the Miami win. "I've been struggling lately, and it was a good to pick my team up and get that."
Added Morris, succinctly: "He's due."
Collins has been taking his walks, drawing a team-leading 27 bases on balls, but he said he didn't think opposing pitchers are pitching around him. It is clear, however, that pitchers are attacking Collins differently than they did a season ago.
One area scout with a National League organization said Collins has struggled with secondary pitches this year, saying "the book might be out on him" in terms of how to pitch him.
"I think, for me, everything in baseball now is, 'What's happening now?'-fast feedback, fast observation, and the bottom line is people are pitching him different, and that's a process," said another scout, with an American League club. "You talk to big league hitters, and every day people are making adjustments to how they're going to pitch him and how they're going to get him out, and they have to counter back with an adjustment, and I think he's in the process of his adjustment.
"It's a lot deeper than just saying he has a sophomore slump."
The scout said he's seen Collins try to adjust his approach during batting practice, working on hitting the ball to the opposite field, among other tweaks. He said he still thinks there's strength in Collins' swing; it's just a matter of him settling in.
Mechanically, Collins cocks his hands outward very late in his load, just before swinging. It's almost Gary Sheffield-like, minus the exaggerated bat waggle. But neither scout thought that hand motion inhibited Collins from catching up to fastballs at the plate. They said Collins can catch up to most college heaters.
"You turn on the TV on a daily basis and put four games on a big screen, and you're going to see three-, four-, five- and six-hole hitters that do a lot of funky different things, and the key is being on time with it," the AL scout said.
"For me, right now, it's not an issue, but I also don't have to put my name on him right now. I believe in the fact that he has enough feel for his swing that he can make an adjustment and be on time for the fastball."
If there's solace to be had for Collins, it's that he got off to a similarly slow start last season, starting his collegiate career with an 0-for-17 stretch before heating up.
"I think it happens to every player, and it's happening to me right now," Collins said. "Everybody goes through it. It just is what it is."
Defensively, there were doubts about Collins' receiving skills coming out of high school, and this season he's split time at the position with senior Garrett Kennedy, and acting as DH in other games.
But Collins has shown improvement behind the plate in his limited action there this year, and he could certainly be a commodity at the position as a lefthanded power hitter.
"We're a long way away, but I can tell from seeing him early he's receiving a lot better than he did when he was in high school," said one scout. "He looks like he has improved his flexibility, he has shown a better feel for what he's trying to do behind the plate, in regards to receiving, blocking, throwing. I think he's matured as a catcher."
Now, the test will be to see if Collins can make the appropriate adjustments at the plate. His 11th-inning, game-winning homer on Saturday could be the start.
"He's got a lot of confidence," Morris said. "I think he's fine. He's hit some balls hard, and he's walked probably more than anybody in the country, or one of the top guys.
"I have a lot of confidence the guy could hit, or he wouldn't be hitting fourth."
- Michael Lananna
Michael Freeman (Photo by Bill Mitchell)
Michael Freeman (Photo by Bill Mitchell)
Strike Two: Sunday Funday For Cowboys' Freeman
Oklahoma State brought back all three of its weekend starters from last year's super regional team, a big reason the Cowboys ranked in the preseason top 10. None of them was named Michael Freeman.
The senior lefthander threw all of 14 innings for last year's Cowboys and made only one start. That start was in the Big 12 tournament championship game against Texas Christian-a big moment, yes, but it was also a situation where the Cowboys were playing their sixth game in five days, so there weren't exactly a lot of options. Yet in the space of one offseason, Freeman has gone from being essentially an option of last resort to being the Cowboys' most consistent starter. He earned the Sunday starter's role in the preseason, and all he's done since is go 5-0, 1.32 in seven starts while piling up a 43-7 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
"He's become a high level strikethrower," OSU head coach Josh Holliday said, "but he's also in a very good place mentally. He's confident in his routine. He's a story of what a fifth-year senior who sticks with it can grow into."
Freeman played in high school with one of OSU pitching coach Rob Walton's sons, Donnie-now a Cowboys infielder-before starting his college career at Eastern Oklahoma State JC. The elder Walton used that connection to bring Freeman to Stillwater before last season, but it would take another year to start reaping the benefits. Freeman posted a 6.28 ERA in his limited action last season, walking nine in those 14 innings.
When Freeman came back in the fall, Walton lowered his arm slot to be more low three-quarters. The result was that Freeman began repeating his delivery and staying online to home plate more consistently. Freeman stands 6-foot-8, so he's still able to throw downhill despite the lower slot, and he's been able to get better side-to-side movement on his slider and sinking action on his fastball. He only throws 86-89 mph most of the time, and although he can reach back for a little more on occasion, he knows that movement and location are his cornerstones.
The effects of Walton's tweaks started showing in the Cowboys' January and February intersquad games, when Freeman would beguile OSU's deep group of hitters.
"We had some guys take some swings on him that were really bad swings because the ball had such late life," Holliday said. "(You) could tell by the way the hitters were reacting that they didn't have much of a shot, and our catchers were struggling to catch it because the ball had such late, downward action."
Freeman's first real masterpiece came March 1 against Western Illinois, when he threw eight scoreless innings and retired 23 straight hitters at one point. He hasn't slowed down since the competition has ratcheted up, either. He starred in a nationally televised game against TCU on March 22, beating the Horned Frogs in Fort Worth with his first career complete game during which he struck out nine and allowed just two runs on six hits. For an encore, he threw a two-hitter against Kansas State this past Sunday.
"We knew that he creates a lot of awkward ground balls because people don't know how to hit his sinker," Holliday said, "so we get all kinds of squibbers and chops, and it's been that way all year. The last couple weeks, he just been even more in command of his own rhythm and his spots. He's just a confident pitcher."
Moving forward, the Cowboys could consider moving Freeman up in the rotation. His performance would certainly warrant it. But there's something comforting about having a guy you know you can trust taking the ball on Sundays.
"He's in a great spot right now," Holliday said. "You could slide him up to Saturday if you've got a week where his rest wasn't compromised. That's a thought. But at the same time, I think when you wake up on a Sunday morning, you're either trying to sweep, trying to not get swept or trying to win a series. All three of those positions require somebody to go out there and stabilize the game, and Mike's really done that."
- Jim Shonerd
Strike Three: Bethune-Cookman Builds Toward Postseason
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.-The fans down the third-base line, sitting just to the left of the Bethune-Cookman dugout, were loud, merciless and persistent.
"Hey 12! Hey 12!" they shouted at Savannah State righthander Austin Robinson. "Go back to softball!" Or, as he went to delivery, "Twelve! You're terrible, 12!"
That's a small sample, and truth be told, Robinson was not pouring in 90-mph heat against Bethune-Cookman's lineup Saturday on a sun-splashed day at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. Despite the constant heckling, Robinson competed, but he was no match for the Wildcats, who pounded him for nine hits and eight runs in 4 1/3 innings of an eventual 9-2 victory.
Bethune-Cookman went on to sweep the series and improved to 10-21 overall but 9-3 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The Wildcats are in their usual role as MEAC favorite, having won the league 14 times since 1999 under coaches Mervyl Melendez (now at Alabama State) and Jason Beverlin, who is in his fourth season. He's won the league tournament two of his three previous seasons, including in 2014.
Coach Beverlin has scheduled the Wildcats aggressively, with plenty of midweek games against the likes of Central Florida, Florida International, Miami and others, plus a weekend set in April at Louisville. The game against Robinson and Savannah State illustrated why. If the Wildcats want to win the MEAC tournament and compete in a regional-and as pitching coach Jason Bell admitted, "We know what kind of conference we're in, and we know our season basically comes down to the tournament"-they will have to hit pitchers who throw harder and more effectively than what they often see in a MEAC weekend series.
"We just beat FIU in midweek," Bell said, "and when the game was on the line late, they brought in (freshman) Garrett Cave, who's got a real big arm. He came in throwing 94-95, and he was in to get a strikeout. But our catcher (Clay Middleton), a redshirt sophomore who's been through our program and knows the approach we want him to have, was able to execute and not get overwhelmed."
Middleton made enough contact to lift a game-winning sacrifice fly for a 3-2 victory. It was a confidence-builder for a team that won the MEAC last year but lost several key pieces, such as 11-game winner Montana Durapau and hitters such as Eric Sams and Eros Modena.
Junior outfielder Nathan Bond (.305/.397/.364), a transfer from Daytona State JC, has emerged as the team's most consistent hitter along with redshirt senior outfielder Jordan Robinson (.294/.319/.431, team-best 19 RBIs).
The Wildcats rely heavily, Bell said, on redshirt senior righty Keith Zuniga, who shackled Savannah State on this Saturday for six scoreless innings. Zuniga, a transfer from Pima (Ariz.) CC in Tucson, works off his upper-80s sinker and solid slider from a lower arm slot to induce plenty of ground balls, and his durability is an asset. The MEAC schedule includes many Saturday doubleheaders, and Zuniga usually starts the scheduled seven-inning game, looking to give the Wildcats a complete game. He's thrown two so far and was removed after six Saturday with a nine-run lead.
"He's the guy that, if we get into a regional and we're a No. 4 seed, he's the guy we'd like to throw against the No. 1 seed," Bell said.
Infield defense will be key behind Zuniga, and the Wildcats have a young infield. Freshman Brandon Wilkes has seen time at second and third base, with redshirt freshman Demetrius Sims at shortstop when healthy. At 6-foot-2, 170 pounds, Sims has a pro body and flashed shortstop range and arm strength Saturday while adding two hits and is batting .278/.363/.356 overall. Bell said he's likely the team's top pro prospect, especially if added repetitions help the Michigan prep product become more consistent on routine plays defensively. He's made 12 errors in 26 games.
A nagging left hamstring injury shelved Sims for the second game of Saturday's doubleheader, with 5-foot-8 spark plug Jameel Edney, the team's top hitter at .322/.400/.475, getting a start at short in the finale. Edney has 14 RBIs, second on the team, in just 59 at-bats and figures to get more time either there or at second (where sophomore Brandon Amendolare and Wilkes have seen time).
"The way we schedule is a big part of what we sell kids in recruiting," Bell said. "We tell kids they will get exposure against big time programs, and we try to put ourselves in position to prepare ourselves for a regional. If we put ourselves in position to be in a regional, those are the types of teams you're going to have to face."
The overall record may not show it, but the Wildcats are making progress toward their goal. As they know all too well, their season will come down to one week, May 14-17 in the MEAC tournament in Salisbury, Md. All their work now is geared to winning that weekend-and continuing the program's regional tradition.
BA - Three Strikes: Week 7
Strike One: Canes' Collins Catching On
CHAPEL HILL, N.C.-There were two outs in the top of the 11th inning Saturday, score tied 3-3, and Miami had its cleanup hitter at the plate, a man who hit 11 home runs a year ago, who has arguably the most power on the team, if not the ACC.
Yet, with a 2-0 count, Zack Collins asked his head coach if he should take a strike.
"I went, 'Absolutely not,'" Jim Morris said. "'Absolutely not. Get your hacks in.'"
The lefthanded hitter rewarded Morris' faith, slamming the 2-0 pitch like a pinball-off of the light pole in right field. The home run proved to be the game-winning, series-clinching blow Miami needed in its 4-3 win against North Carolina at Boshamer Stadium.
It was also just what Collins needed-for his psyche.
Only his third homer of the year, Collins' offensive numbers have dipped following a .298/.427/.556 season in 2014 that earned him Baseball America's Freshman of the Year award. The sophomore catcher is batting .247/.426/.423 with 16 RBIs in 97 at-bats this year. His average ranks last on the Hurricanes, among those who qualify.
"(The home run) felt really good, obviously," Collins said after the Miami win. "I've been struggling lately, and it was a good to pick my team up and get that."
Added Morris, succinctly: "He's due."
Collins has been taking his walks, drawing a team-leading 27 bases on balls, but he said he didn't think opposing pitchers are pitching around him. It is clear, however, that pitchers are attacking Collins differently than they did a season ago.
One area scout with a National League organization said Collins has struggled with secondary pitches this year, saying "the book might be out on him" in terms of how to pitch him.
"I think, for me, everything in baseball now is, 'What's happening now?'-fast feedback, fast observation, and the bottom line is people are pitching him different, and that's a process," said another scout, with an American League club. "You talk to big league hitters, and every day people are making adjustments to how they're going to pitch him and how they're going to get him out, and they have to counter back with an adjustment, and I think he's in the process of his adjustment.
"It's a lot deeper than just saying he has a sophomore slump."
The scout said he's seen Collins try to adjust his approach during batting practice, working on hitting the ball to the opposite field, among other tweaks. He said he still thinks there's strength in Collins' swing; it's just a matter of him settling in.
Mechanically, Collins cocks his hands outward very late in his load, just before swinging. It's almost Gary Sheffield-like, minus the exaggerated bat waggle. But neither scout thought that hand motion inhibited Collins from catching up to fastballs at the plate. They said Collins can catch up to most college heaters.
"You turn on the TV on a daily basis and put four games on a big screen, and you're going to see three-, four-, five- and six-hole hitters that do a lot of funky different things, and the key is being on time with it," the AL scout said.
"For me, right now, it's not an issue, but I also don't have to put my name on him right now. I believe in the fact that he has enough feel for his swing that he can make an adjustment and be on time for the fastball."
If there's solace to be had for Collins, it's that he got off to a similarly slow start last season, starting his collegiate career with an 0-for-17 stretch before heating up.
"I think it happens to every player, and it's happening to me right now," Collins said. "Everybody goes through it. It just is what it is."
Defensively, there were doubts about Collins' receiving skills coming out of high school, and this season he's split time at the position with senior Garrett Kennedy, and acting as DH in other games.
But Collins has shown improvement behind the plate in his limited action there this year, and he could certainly be a commodity at the position as a lefthanded power hitter.
"We're a long way away, but I can tell from seeing him early he's receiving a lot better than he did when he was in high school," said one scout. "He looks like he has improved his flexibility, he has shown a better feel for what he's trying to do behind the plate, in regards to receiving, blocking, throwing. I think he's matured as a catcher."
Now, the test will be to see if Collins can make the appropriate adjustments at the plate. His 11th-inning, game-winning homer on Saturday could be the start.
"He's got a lot of confidence," Morris said. "I think he's fine. He's hit some balls hard, and he's walked probably more than anybody in the country, or one of the top guys.
"I have a lot of confidence the guy could hit, or he wouldn't be hitting fourth."
- Michael Lananna
Michael Freeman (Photo by Bill Mitchell)
Michael Freeman (Photo by Bill Mitchell)
Strike Two: Sunday Funday For Cowboys' Freeman
Oklahoma State brought back all three of its weekend starters from last year's super regional team, a big reason the Cowboys ranked in the preseason top 10. None of them was named Michael Freeman.
The senior lefthander threw all of 14 innings for last year's Cowboys and made only one start. That start was in the Big 12 tournament championship game against Texas Christian-a big moment, yes, but it was also a situation where the Cowboys were playing their sixth game in five days, so there weren't exactly a lot of options. Yet in the space of one offseason, Freeman has gone from being essentially an option of last resort to being the Cowboys' most consistent starter. He earned the Sunday starter's role in the preseason, and all he's done since is go 5-0, 1.32 in seven starts while piling up a 43-7 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
"He's become a high level strikethrower," OSU head coach Josh Holliday said, "but he's also in a very good place mentally. He's confident in his routine. He's a story of what a fifth-year senior who sticks with it can grow into."
Freeman played in high school with one of OSU pitching coach Rob Walton's sons, Donnie-now a Cowboys infielder-before starting his college career at Eastern Oklahoma State JC. The elder Walton used that connection to bring Freeman to Stillwater before last season, but it would take another year to start reaping the benefits. Freeman posted a 6.28 ERA in his limited action last season, walking nine in those 14 innings.
When Freeman came back in the fall, Walton lowered his arm slot to be more low three-quarters. The result was that Freeman began repeating his delivery and staying online to home plate more consistently. Freeman stands 6-foot-8, so he's still able to throw downhill despite the lower slot, and he's been able to get better side-to-side movement on his slider and sinking action on his fastball. He only throws 86-89 mph most of the time, and although he can reach back for a little more on occasion, he knows that movement and location are his cornerstones.
The effects of Walton's tweaks started showing in the Cowboys' January and February intersquad games, when Freeman would beguile OSU's deep group of hitters.
"We had some guys take some swings on him that were really bad swings because the ball had such late life," Holliday said. "(You) could tell by the way the hitters were reacting that they didn't have much of a shot, and our catchers were struggling to catch it because the ball had such late, downward action."
Freeman's first real masterpiece came March 1 against Western Illinois, when he threw eight scoreless innings and retired 23 straight hitters at one point. He hasn't slowed down since the competition has ratcheted up, either. He starred in a nationally televised game against TCU on March 22, beating the Horned Frogs in Fort Worth with his first career complete game during which he struck out nine and allowed just two runs on six hits. For an encore, he threw a two-hitter against Kansas State this past Sunday.
"We knew that he creates a lot of awkward ground balls because people don't know how to hit his sinker," Holliday said, "so we get all kinds of squibbers and chops, and it's been that way all year. The last couple weeks, he just been even more in command of his own rhythm and his spots. He's just a confident pitcher."
Moving forward, the Cowboys could consider moving Freeman up in the rotation. His performance would certainly warrant it. But there's something comforting about having a guy you know you can trust taking the ball on Sundays.
"He's in a great spot right now," Holliday said. "You could slide him up to Saturday if you've got a week where his rest wasn't compromised. That's a thought. But at the same time, I think when you wake up on a Sunday morning, you're either trying to sweep, trying to not get swept or trying to win a series. All three of those positions require somebody to go out there and stabilize the game, and Mike's really done that."
- Jim Shonerd
Strike Three: Bethune-Cookman Builds Toward Postseason
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.-The fans down the third-base line, sitting just to the left of the Bethune-Cookman dugout, were loud, merciless and persistent.
"Hey 12! Hey 12!" they shouted at Savannah State righthander Austin Robinson. "Go back to softball!" Or, as he went to delivery, "Twelve! You're terrible, 12!"
That's a small sample, and truth be told, Robinson was not pouring in 90-mph heat against Bethune-Cookman's lineup Saturday on a sun-splashed day at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. Despite the constant heckling, Robinson competed, but he was no match for the Wildcats, who pounded him for nine hits and eight runs in 4 1/3 innings of an eventual 9-2 victory.
Bethune-Cookman went on to sweep the series and improved to 10-21 overall but 9-3 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The Wildcats are in their usual role as MEAC favorite, having won the league 14 times since 1999 under coaches Mervyl Melendez (now at Alabama State) and Jason Beverlin, who is in his fourth season. He's won the league tournament two of his three previous seasons, including in 2014.
Coach Beverlin has scheduled the Wildcats aggressively, with plenty of midweek games against the likes of Central Florida, Florida International, Miami and others, plus a weekend set in April at Louisville. The game against Robinson and Savannah State illustrated why. If the Wildcats want to win the MEAC tournament and compete in a regional-and as pitching coach Jason Bell admitted, "We know what kind of conference we're in, and we know our season basically comes down to the tournament"-they will have to hit pitchers who throw harder and more effectively than what they often see in a MEAC weekend series.
"We just beat FIU in midweek," Bell said, "and when the game was on the line late, they brought in (freshman) Garrett Cave, who's got a real big arm. He came in throwing 94-95, and he was in to get a strikeout. But our catcher (Clay Middleton), a redshirt sophomore who's been through our program and knows the approach we want him to have, was able to execute and not get overwhelmed."
Middleton made enough contact to lift a game-winning sacrifice fly for a 3-2 victory. It was a confidence-builder for a team that won the MEAC last year but lost several key pieces, such as 11-game winner Montana Durapau and hitters such as Eric Sams and Eros Modena.
Junior outfielder Nathan Bond (.305/.397/.364), a transfer from Daytona State JC, has emerged as the team's most consistent hitter along with redshirt senior outfielder Jordan Robinson (.294/.319/.431, team-best 19 RBIs).
The Wildcats rely heavily, Bell said, on redshirt senior righty Keith Zuniga, who shackled Savannah State on this Saturday for six scoreless innings. Zuniga, a transfer from Pima (Ariz.) CC in Tucson, works off his upper-80s sinker and solid slider from a lower arm slot to induce plenty of ground balls, and his durability is an asset. The MEAC schedule includes many Saturday doubleheaders, and Zuniga usually starts the scheduled seven-inning game, looking to give the Wildcats a complete game. He's thrown two so far and was removed after six Saturday with a nine-run lead.
"He's the guy that, if we get into a regional and we're a No. 4 seed, he's the guy we'd like to throw against the No. 1 seed," Bell said.
Infield defense will be key behind Zuniga, and the Wildcats have a young infield. Freshman Brandon Wilkes has seen time at second and third base, with redshirt freshman Demetrius Sims at shortstop when healthy. At 6-foot-2, 170 pounds, Sims has a pro body and flashed shortstop range and arm strength Saturday while adding two hits and is batting .278/.363/.356 overall. Bell said he's likely the team's top pro prospect, especially if added repetitions help the Michigan prep product become more consistent on routine plays defensively. He's made 12 errors in 26 games.
A nagging left hamstring injury shelved Sims for the second game of Saturday's doubleheader, with 5-foot-8 spark plug Jameel Edney, the team's top hitter at .322/.400/.475, getting a start at short in the finale. Edney has 14 RBIs, second on the team, in just 59 at-bats and figures to get more time either there or at second (where sophomore Brandon Amendolare and Wilkes have seen time).
"The way we schedule is a big part of what we sell kids in recruiting," Bell said. "We tell kids they will get exposure against big time programs, and we try to put ourselves in position to prepare ourselves for a regional. If we put ourselves in position to be in a regional, those are the types of teams you're going to have to face."
The overall record may not show it, but the Wildcats are making progress toward their goal. As they know all too well, their season will come down to one week, May 14-17 in the MEAC tournament in Salisbury, Md. All their work now is geared to winning that weekend-and continuing the program's regional tradition.
BA - Three Strikes: Week 7
PG: Midseason college awards
Although we're less than a month in to conference play, with seven weeks behind us and seven more ahead of us, this week marks the halfway point to the 2015 college baseball season. As a result we're going to hand out some midseason hardware. While most of Perfect Game's focus is usually on prospects relative to their professional upside, the decisions for the players (and coach) selected for this exercise were based mostly on their performance.
Midseason Player of the Year:
Will Craig, Wake Forest
Last year Perfect Game's midseason and overall 2014 Player of the Year was Kentucky's A.J. Reed, a two-way talent who made a huge impact both on the mound and at the plate for the Wildcats while putting up near ridiculous numbers in both roles. That season led to Reed being selected in the second round of last year's draft by the Astros.
Wake Forest sophomore Will Craig has another year before he has to worry about the draft, but he's wasting no time posting similar gaudy numbers for the Demon Deacons, helping to propel a high-powered offense and his team overall to a 19-12 overall record.
It's at the plate where Craig's presence has most been felt, as he is among the national leaders in nearly every significant run producing category. Through Sunday his triple slash line was .425/.507/.814 with 12 doubles, a triple and 10 home runs. He has scored 35 runs and has driven in 45, and has also managed the strike zone effectively by walking 20 times as compared to only 13 srikeouts in 30 games played.
Will Craig (Photo: Brian Westerholt / Four Seam Images)
Although his productivity wasn't nearly as impactful as a freshman, he did hit .280-8-36 as a full-time regular, but clearly Craig was on a mission heading into this season to prove what he was fully capable of.
"Last year as a freshman I got caught up with trying to do too much," Craig said in a recent phone interview with Perfect Game. "I tried to simplify everything, relax, not do too much and just hit what they give me."
That may sound like a cliché response to try and explain the dramatic turnaround from one season to the next, but it's a team-wide approach that has allowed several of their everyday players to enjoy success this season.
Fellow sophomore Nate Mondou is also posting big numbers (.357-5-38), as is freshman Stuart Fairchild (.365-4-23) for a team that has a cumulative .310 batting average with 33 home runs.
And while Craig hasn't been quite as dominant on the mound this season, he is coming off of his best pitching appearance of the year in which he worked six innings, scattering four hits and a walk while striking out five in a 7-3 win over Clemson on Saturday. That win followed up a masterful performance by Wake Forest senior and staff ace Matt Pirro, who out-dueled Clemson's ace, Matthew Crownover, to move to 6-1 on the year.
"That first time against Miami wasn't too hot, I didn't do too well," Craig said of his effectiveness on the mound this season. "I kind of changed my approach to the mound early in the game, and I believe my performance on Saturday solidifies a spot in the starting three."
In that game against Miami, his only other start of the year, Craig lasted only 2 1/3 innings in a 12-7 loss. He did however do his part at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a home run, a pair of runs and two RBI. He now has made eight total pitching appearances, with a 1-2 record and a 5.71 ERA in 17 1/3 innings of work.
"It's pretty rough," Craig said of the physical burdens being a two-way performer. "It's hard, but I really enjoy it and I think doing both helps me mentally, at the plate and on the mound. I know what hitters don't want to hit in certain situations and I know what pitchers don't want to throw in certain situations. Physically it can wear on me a little bit, but anything I can do (to help this team win). It's worth it."
Wake Forest got off to a good start as ACC play began in early March, taking two of the three games in their series against Virginia Tech. They ended up losing their next two series against the Nos. 8 and 10 Seminoles and Hurricanes respectively, although they did salvage a game in each of those two ACC series.
Bouncing back to take two of three from Clemson this past season was a step in the right direction for a young team with bigger things in mind moving forward.
"It was a huge series win for us," Craig said. "We wanted to get the sweep on Sunday, but that happens, it's baseball, things change everyday. Getting the win on Friday and Saturday is good for our confidence especially going into this week. On Tuesday we play Coastal Carolina and then this weekend (we play) a hot Boston College team that is coming off a sweep of Duke. Leading up to the Louisville series in the next few weeks, and Pittsburgh too, it's going to be a good battle."
With Wake Forest's strong start this could be the year they return to the potseason, something they haven't accomplished since 2007.
"Our goal is to host a Regional for the first time since the early 2000's (2002)," Craig continued. "Make that Regional and compete for a chance in Omaha. Next year for sure, we're a really young team, so even if we don't win the ACC Tournament (we hope) to compete as an at-large bid. I believe we can do it this year as well as next year."
Luke Gillingham (Photo: Phil Hoffmann)
Midseason Pitcher of the Year:
Luke Gillingham, Navy
He may not have a household name, pitch for a high profile school or even possess premium stuff, but Luke Gillingham does have one thing this season: results.
There may a lot more pitchers across the country that can boast a better win-loss record than Gillingham's 4-1 mark over seven starts to open the season, but that record doesn't speak to his sheer dominance. In 50 2/3 innings he has allowed only 23 base hits and nine walks. That's a WHIP of 0.63, meaning he roughly has allowed only one baserunner every other inning, for half of a season. And that's largely because he's striking everyone out, with 78 punchouts on the year - which leads the nation - while limiting opposing batters' to a .132 average.
Gillingham opened the season with a 16 strikeout performance in seven strong shutout, one-hit innings over North Carolina A&T. He followed that up with a near identical performance, once again allowing only one hit over seven frames while striking out 14. However, he didn't factor into the decision in that game as Maryland Eastern Shore rallied late to secure the 3-0 shutout.
His second no decision came in another Navy loss, this time falling 2-1 to Air Force. Once again Gillingham did his part, striking out 12 in eight innings, allowing just one run on six base hits and one walk. His only loss of the season came at the hands of Princeton, in which Gillingham looked uncharacteristically human by allowing four runs (three earned) on seven base hits, and yet he still struck out six batters in the hard luck, one run (4-3) loss.
Gillingham, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound junior lefthander from Coronado, Calif., was solid in his first two years with the Midshipsmen, going 6-9 with a combined 3.28 ERA with very similar numbers in both his freshman and sophomore seasons. He typically sits in the mid-80s, peaking higher, and excels at commanding the strike zone while changing speeds. This year Navy is 20-9 overall and 4-0 after the first week Patriot League action.
K.J. Harrison (Photo: Oregon State)
Midseason Freshman of the Year:
K.J. Harrison, Oregon State; Alex Lange, LSU
This was a fun category to research given the number of talented freshmen making an immediate impact on college baseball this season. However, both K.J. Harrison and Alex Lange stood out, not only for their statistical performances but for the impact they have made for their respective clubs.
Oregon State entered the season knowing they would have to turn to quite a few young players if they had any hopes of returning to Omaha as they did last year, much less the postseason. Michael Conforto, their leading hitter, was a first round draft pick, and fellow hard-hitting outfielder Dylan Davis was selected in the third round, leaving the Beavers with two huge holes to fill.
Harrison, a talented recruit from Kailua, Hawaii that was rated as Perfect Game's 85th prospect in the high school class of 2014, has seamlessly filled one of those holes, and possibly part of the second. He leads the team in almost every single notable offensive category, with a .389/.481/.722 slash line, 19 extra-base hits - which includes seven home runs - to go along with 25 runs scored and 32 driven in. Nationally among freshmen he's first in home runs and RBI, second in OPS (1.078) and third in batting average. Most importantly, Oregon State is 21-7 and currently ranked 14th in the nation with a big matchup against UCLA, in Los Angeles, coming up this weekend.
If Harrison effectively filled the shoes of Conforto one could argue that Lange did so for another first round pick, Aaron Nola. Before you laugh at that statement simply look at the numbers: 5-0 in seven starts, 1.20 ERA, 45 innings pitched, 30 hits allowed and a 58-to-15 strikeout-to-walk ratio. His stuff backs up his results, with a low-90s fastball that peaks in the mid-90s to go along with a sharp breaking ball and polished changeup. His strikeouts are the most for any freshman in the nation, while his wins are tied for second (with LSU teammate Jake Godfrey) and his ERA third.
Lange was also a well known player coming out of high school, ranked 134th in the class of 2014, and he along with Godfrey give the No. 2 Tigers a pair of weekend arms to back veteran Friday ace Jared Poche.
(Photo: Texas A&M)
Midseason Coach of the Year:
Rob Childress, Texas A&M
Although Texas A&M did not finish the 2014 season in Perfect Game's final ranking of the top 25 teams, the strides they had made last year, and the years prior to that, were obvious enough for the Aggies to garner a preseason rank of 24. Of course, all they have done is move up since then, and currently are PG's No. 5 ranked club.
Rob Childress, who is in his 10th season at the helm of Texas A&M's baseball team, has his club off to a terrific start. They currently stand 27-2 with a 7-2 record in the SEC, and after taking a quick look at their roster, stats and overall standings, one would have hard time finding a weakness on Childress' 2015 ballclub.
Keep in mind this is a club that went 36-26 a year ago, with a 14-16 mark in conference play. They made a quick exit in the SEC tournament, losing their first and only game to Arkansas, but did fare better in postseason play, going 3-2 with wins over ranked in-state opponents Rice and Texas at the Houston Regional, although they did not advance.
Childress' club started this year 24-0, and didn't lose their first game of the year until they dropped the second game of a doubleheader in their SEC opening series against Alabama. And they're doing so without the help of two of their bigger arms, lefthanders A.J. Minter and Tyler Stubblefield. Minter was removed early in his start on March 6 against Nebraska at the Houston College Classic and subsequently had Tommy John surgery, while Stubblefield suffered a torn ACL just before the 2015 season started.
In their place Grayson Long, Matt Kent and freshman Turner Larkins have all moved up a spot in the rotation. And even when opposing teams get to the A&M bullpen you can almost forget about a late comeback, as three relievers that have over 10 innings of work this year have yet to be scored upon. Overall, only two members on the pitching staff have an ERA above 3.00.
The offense has been just as dominant, led by PG All-American outfielder Nick Banks. They're hitting .316/.414/.460 as a team with 26 home run and 22 stolen bases, giving the offense a nice blend of power and speed. Six players with regular playing time are hitting .320 or better.
The biggest challenge for Coach Childress and his team moving forward will be to see how they fare on the road, as only four of their contests so far this year have been played away from home. They'll get a taste for that this weekend in Lexington against Kentucky, and also have a big series against Louisiana State in Baton Rouge, La., April 23-25 circled on the calendar.
Preston Morrison (Photo: Texas Christian)
Midseason Team of the Year:
Texas Christian
The Midseason Team of the Year is an easy selection, as look no further than Perfect Game's current No. 1 college baseball team, Texas Christian. That isn't to say that the Horned Frogs simply win by default, as their pitching staff, which is well chronicled among the weekly notes here at PG, is arguably the most dominant in all of college baseball.
While all three weekend starters were considered for the midseason All-American squad listed below, senior Preston Morrison got the nod for his 6-0 record. Lock-down Sunday lefty Alex Young has been just as effective with a 5-1 record and a 0.98 ERA, while Friday starter Mitchell Traver is a perfect 4-0 with a 1.13 ERA.
Combined the trio is 15-1 with a 1.34 ERA, as TCU can essentially throw an ace at anyone any day of the week when you also factor in their mid-week starter, sophomore lefthander Tyler Alexander.
Brian Howard can also start in a pinch, but otherwise serves as the team's long man out of the bullpen. Trey Teakell and Ryan Burnett give the Frogs a righty-lefty 1-2 punch leading up to fireballing closer Riley Ferrell.
The offense isn't nearly as dynamic, but they're doing their part to win games for the 21-5 Horned Frogs. Every game someone new seems to step up as the offensive hero. Freshman catcher Evan Skoug leads the team in home runs (3) and RBI (21) while senior center fielder Cody Jones leads in average (.379), runs (27), hits (36) and total bases (52). Right fielder Nolan Brown leads the club in stolen bases (10), and the team collectively has only committed 19 errors in 25 games, good for a .981 fielding percentage.
The pitching alone will allow this club to compete deep into the season, and gives them an excellent chance to make a repeat trip to Omaha where few teams could comes close to matching their talents on the mound.
Midseason College Baseball All-American Team:
Pos. Player School AVG. OBP SLG R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB
C Taylor Ward Fresno State .359 .485 .680 22 37 11 2 6 25 4
1B Will Craig Wake Forest .425 .507 .814 35 48 12 1 10 45 1
2B Ryan Howell Nevada .400 .485 .790 27 42 10 2 9 40 1
3B David Thompson Miami .357 .449 .688 23 40 9 2 8 39 1
SS Dylan Moore UCF .352 .424 .639 34 43 5 3 8 35 7
OF Harrison Bader Florida .367 .491 .733 25 33 7 1 8 33 4
OF Ian Happ Cincinnati .407 .518 .733 18 35 7 0 7 20 5
OF Luke Lowery East Carolina .390 .505 .732 22 32 4 0 8 27 5
DH K.J. Harrison Oregon State .389 .481 .722 25 42 9 3 7 32 0
UT Brendan McKay Louisville .293 .432 .333 14 22 3 0 0 10 2
Pos. Player School ERA W-L CG SV IP H SO BB
SP Luke Gillingham Navy 1.24 4-1 2 0 50.2 23 78 9
SP Preston Morrison Texas Christian 1.79 6-0 1 0 45.1 32 39 8
SP Taylor Clarke College of Charleston 1.94 5-1 1 0 46.1 33 65 8
SP Nathan Kirby Virginia 1.01 4-1 0 0 44.2 34 62 21
SP Alex Lange Louisiana State 1.20 5-0 0 0 45 30 58 15
RP Tyler Jay Illinois 0.98 4-1 0 6 27.2 14 29 3
RP Ryan Burr Arizona State 0.46 4-0 0 10 19.2 14 38 9
UT Brendan McKay Louisville 1.36 4-0 0 4 33 14 49 11
Statistics through Sunday, March 29, 2015
PG: Midseason college awards
Although we're less than a month in to conference play, with seven weeks behind us and seven more ahead of us, this week marks the halfway point to the 2015 college baseball season. As a result we're going to hand out some midseason hardware. While most of Perfect Game's focus is usually on prospects relative to their professional upside, the decisions for the players (and coach) selected for this exercise were based mostly on their performance.
Midseason Player of the Year:
Will Craig, Wake Forest
Last year Perfect Game's midseason and overall 2014 Player of the Year was Kentucky's A.J. Reed, a two-way talent who made a huge impact both on the mound and at the plate for the Wildcats while putting up near ridiculous numbers in both roles. That season led to Reed being selected in the second round of last year's draft by the Astros.
Wake Forest sophomore Will Craig has another year before he has to worry about the draft, but he's wasting no time posting similar gaudy numbers for the Demon Deacons, helping to propel a high-powered offense and his team overall to a 19-12 overall record.
It's at the plate where Craig's presence has most been felt, as he is among the national leaders in nearly every significant run producing category. Through Sunday his triple slash line was .425/.507/.814 with 12 doubles, a triple and 10 home runs. He has scored 35 runs and has driven in 45, and has also managed the strike zone effectively by walking 20 times as compared to only 13 srikeouts in 30 games played.
Will Craig (Photo: Brian Westerholt / Four Seam Images)
Although his productivity wasn't nearly as impactful as a freshman, he did hit .280-8-36 as a full-time regular, but clearly Craig was on a mission heading into this season to prove what he was fully capable of.
"Last year as a freshman I got caught up with trying to do too much," Craig said in a recent phone interview with Perfect Game. "I tried to simplify everything, relax, not do too much and just hit what they give me."
That may sound like a cliché response to try and explain the dramatic turnaround from one season to the next, but it's a team-wide approach that has allowed several of their everyday players to enjoy success this season.
Fellow sophomore Nate Mondou is also posting big numbers (.357-5-38), as is freshman Stuart Fairchild (.365-4-23) for a team that has a cumulative .310 batting average with 33 home runs.
And while Craig hasn't been quite as dominant on the mound this season, he is coming off of his best pitching appearance of the year in which he worked six innings, scattering four hits and a walk while striking out five in a 7-3 win over Clemson on Saturday. That win followed up a masterful performance by Wake Forest senior and staff ace Matt Pirro, who out-dueled Clemson's ace, Matthew Crownover, to move to 6-1 on the year.
"That first time against Miami wasn't too hot, I didn't do too well," Craig said of his effectiveness on the mound this season. "I kind of changed my approach to the mound early in the game, and I believe my performance on Saturday solidifies a spot in the starting three."
In that game against Miami, his only other start of the year, Craig lasted only 2 1/3 innings in a 12-7 loss. He did however do his part at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a home run, a pair of runs and two RBI. He now has made eight total pitching appearances, with a 1-2 record and a 5.71 ERA in 17 1/3 innings of work.
"It's pretty rough," Craig said of the physical burdens being a two-way performer. "It's hard, but I really enjoy it and I think doing both helps me mentally, at the plate and on the mound. I know what hitters don't want to hit in certain situations and I know what pitchers don't want to throw in certain situations. Physically it can wear on me a little bit, but anything I can do (to help this team win). It's worth it."
Wake Forest got off to a good start as ACC play began in early March, taking two of the three games in their series against Virginia Tech. They ended up losing their next two series against the Nos. 8 and 10 Seminoles and Hurricanes respectively, although they did salvage a game in each of those two ACC series.
Bouncing back to take two of three from Clemson this past season was a step in the right direction for a young team with bigger things in mind moving forward.
"It was a huge series win for us," Craig said. "We wanted to get the sweep on Sunday, but that happens, it's baseball, things change everyday. Getting the win on Friday and Saturday is good for our confidence especially going into this week. On Tuesday we play Coastal Carolina and then this weekend (we play) a hot Boston College team that is coming off a sweep of Duke. Leading up to the Louisville series in the next few weeks, and Pittsburgh too, it's going to be a good battle."
With Wake Forest's strong start this could be the year they return to the potseason, something they haven't accomplished since 2007.
"Our goal is to host a Regional for the first time since the early 2000's (2002)," Craig continued. "Make that Regional and compete for a chance in Omaha. Next year for sure, we're a really young team, so even if we don't win the ACC Tournament (we hope) to compete as an at-large bid. I believe we can do it this year as well as next year."
Luke Gillingham (Photo: Phil Hoffmann)
Midseason Pitcher of the Year:
Luke Gillingham, Navy
He may not have a household name, pitch for a high profile school or even possess premium stuff, but Luke Gillingham does have one thing this season: results.
There may a lot more pitchers across the country that can boast a better win-loss record than Gillingham's 4-1 mark over seven starts to open the season, but that record doesn't speak to his sheer dominance. In 50 2/3 innings he has allowed only 23 base hits and nine walks. That's a WHIP of 0.63, meaning he roughly has allowed only one baserunner every other inning, for half of a season. And that's largely because he's striking everyone out, with 78 punchouts on the year - which leads the nation - while limiting opposing batters' to a .132 average.
Gillingham opened the season with a 16 strikeout performance in seven strong shutout, one-hit innings over North Carolina A&T. He followed that up with a near identical performance, once again allowing only one hit over seven frames while striking out 14. However, he didn't factor into the decision in that game as Maryland Eastern Shore rallied late to secure the 3-0 shutout.
His second no decision came in another Navy loss, this time falling 2-1 to Air Force. Once again Gillingham did his part, striking out 12 in eight innings, allowing just one run on six base hits and one walk. His only loss of the season came at the hands of Princeton, in which Gillingham looked uncharacteristically human by allowing four runs (three earned) on seven base hits, and yet he still struck out six batters in the hard luck, one run (4-3) loss.
Gillingham, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound junior lefthander from Coronado, Calif., was solid in his first two years with the Midshipsmen, going 6-9 with a combined 3.28 ERA with very similar numbers in both his freshman and sophomore seasons. He typically sits in the mid-80s, peaking higher, and excels at commanding the strike zone while changing speeds. This year Navy is 20-9 overall and 4-0 after the first week Patriot League action.
K.J. Harrison (Photo: Oregon State)
Midseason Freshman of the Year:
K.J. Harrison, Oregon State; Alex Lange, LSU
This was a fun category to research given the number of talented freshmen making an immediate impact on college baseball this season. However, both K.J. Harrison and Alex Lange stood out, not only for their statistical performances but for the impact they have made for their respective clubs.
Oregon State entered the season knowing they would have to turn to quite a few young players if they had any hopes of returning to Omaha as they did last year, much less the postseason. Michael Conforto, their leading hitter, was a first round draft pick, and fellow hard-hitting outfielder Dylan Davis was selected in the third round, leaving the Beavers with two huge holes to fill.
Harrison, a talented recruit from Kailua, Hawaii that was rated as Perfect Game's 85th prospect in the high school class of 2014, has seamlessly filled one of those holes, and possibly part of the second. He leads the team in almost every single notable offensive category, with a .389/.481/.722 slash line, 19 extra-base hits - which includes seven home runs - to go along with 25 runs scored and 32 driven in. Nationally among freshmen he's first in home runs and RBI, second in OPS (1.078) and third in batting average. Most importantly, Oregon State is 21-7 and currently ranked 14th in the nation with a big matchup against UCLA, in Los Angeles, coming up this weekend.
If Harrison effectively filled the shoes of Conforto one could argue that Lange did so for another first round pick, Aaron Nola. Before you laugh at that statement simply look at the numbers: 5-0 in seven starts, 1.20 ERA, 45 innings pitched, 30 hits allowed and a 58-to-15 strikeout-to-walk ratio. His stuff backs up his results, with a low-90s fastball that peaks in the mid-90s to go along with a sharp breaking ball and polished changeup. His strikeouts are the most for any freshman in the nation, while his wins are tied for second (with LSU teammate Jake Godfrey) and his ERA third.
Lange was also a well known player coming out of high school, ranked 134th in the class of 2014, and he along with Godfrey give the No. 2 Tigers a pair of weekend arms to back veteran Friday ace Jared Poche.
(Photo: Texas A&M)
Midseason Coach of the Year:
Rob Childress, Texas A&M
Although Texas A&M did not finish the 2014 season in Perfect Game's final ranking of the top 25 teams, the strides they had made last year, and the years prior to that, were obvious enough for the Aggies to garner a preseason rank of 24. Of course, all they have done is move up since then, and currently are PG's No. 5 ranked club.
Rob Childress, who is in his 10th season at the helm of Texas A&M's baseball team, has his club off to a terrific start. They currently stand 27-2 with a 7-2 record in the SEC, and after taking a quick look at their roster, stats and overall standings, one would have hard time finding a weakness on Childress' 2015 ballclub.
Keep in mind this is a club that went 36-26 a year ago, with a 14-16 mark in conference play. They made a quick exit in the SEC tournament, losing their first and only game to Arkansas, but did fare better in postseason play, going 3-2 with wins over ranked in-state opponents Rice and Texas at the Houston Regional, although they did not advance.
Childress' club started this year 24-0, and didn't lose their first game of the year until they dropped the second game of a doubleheader in their SEC opening series against Alabama. And they're doing so without the help of two of their bigger arms, lefthanders A.J. Minter and Tyler Stubblefield. Minter was removed early in his start on March 6 against Nebraska at the Houston College Classic and subsequently had Tommy John surgery, while Stubblefield suffered a torn ACL just before the 2015 season started.
In their place Grayson Long, Matt Kent and freshman Turner Larkins have all moved up a spot in the rotation. And even when opposing teams get to the A&M bullpen you can almost forget about a late comeback, as three relievers that have over 10 innings of work this year have yet to be scored upon. Overall, only two members on the pitching staff have an ERA above 3.00.
The offense has been just as dominant, led by PG All-American outfielder Nick Banks. They're hitting .316/.414/.460 as a team with 26 home run and 22 stolen bases, giving the offense a nice blend of power and speed. Six players with regular playing time are hitting .320 or better.
The biggest challenge for Coach Childress and his team moving forward will be to see how they fare on the road, as only four of their contests so far this year have been played away from home. They'll get a taste for that this weekend in Lexington against Kentucky, and also have a big series against Louisiana State in Baton Rouge, La., April 23-25 circled on the calendar.
Preston Morrison (Photo: Texas Christian)
Midseason Team of the Year:
Texas Christian
The Midseason Team of the Year is an easy selection, as look no further than Perfect Game's current No. 1 college baseball team, Texas Christian. That isn't to say that the Horned Frogs simply win by default, as their pitching staff, which is well chronicled among the weekly notes here at PG, is arguably the most dominant in all of college baseball.
While all three weekend starters were considered for the midseason All-American squad listed below, senior Preston Morrison got the nod for his 6-0 record. Lock-down Sunday lefty Alex Young has been just as effective with a 5-1 record and a 0.98 ERA, while Friday starter Mitchell Traver is a perfect 4-0 with a 1.13 ERA.
Combined the trio is 15-1 with a 1.34 ERA, as TCU can essentially throw an ace at anyone any day of the week when you also factor in their mid-week starter, sophomore lefthander Tyler Alexander.
Brian Howard can also start in a pinch, but otherwise serves as the team's long man out of the bullpen. Trey Teakell and Ryan Burnett give the Frogs a righty-lefty 1-2 punch leading up to fireballing closer Riley Ferrell.
The offense isn't nearly as dynamic, but they're doing their part to win games for the 21-5 Horned Frogs. Every game someone new seems to step up as the offensive hero. Freshman catcher Evan Skoug leads the team in home runs (3) and RBI (21) while senior center fielder Cody Jones leads in average (.379), runs (27), hits (36) and total bases (52). Right fielder Nolan Brown leads the club in stolen bases (10), and the team collectively has only committed 19 errors in 25 games, good for a .981 fielding percentage.
The pitching alone will allow this club to compete deep into the season, and gives them an excellent chance to make a repeat trip to Omaha where few teams could comes close to matching their talents on the mound.
Midseason College Baseball All-American Team:
Pos. Player School AVG. OBP SLG R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB
C Taylor Ward Fresno State .359 .485 .680 22 37 11 2 6 25 4
1B Will Craig Wake Forest .425 .507 .814 35 48 12 1 10 45 1
2B Ryan Howell Nevada .400 .485 .790 27 42 10 2 9 40 1
3B David Thompson Miami .357 .449 .688 23 40 9 2 8 39 1
SS Dylan Moore UCF .352 .424 .639 34 43 5 3 8 35 7
OF Harrison Bader Florida .367 .491 .733 25 33 7 1 8 33 4
OF Ian Happ Cincinnati .407 .518 .733 18 35 7 0 7 20 5
OF Luke Lowery East Carolina .390 .505 .732 22 32 4 0 8 27 5
DH K.J. Harrison Oregon State .389 .481 .722 25 42 9 3 7 32 0
UT Brendan McKay Louisville .293 .432 .333 14 22 3 0 0 10 2
Pos. Player School ERA W-L CG SV IP H SO BB
SP Luke Gillingham Navy 1.24 4-1 2 0 50.2 23 78 9
SP Preston Morrison Texas Christian 1.79 6-0 1 0 45.1 32 39 8
SP Taylor Clarke College of Charleston 1.94 5-1 1 0 46.1 33 65 8
SP Nathan Kirby Virginia 1.01 4-1 0 0 44.2 34 62 21
SP Alex Lange Louisiana State 1.20 5-0 0 0 45 30 58 15
RP Tyler Jay Illinois 0.98 4-1 0 6 27.2 14 29 3
RP Ryan Burr Arizona State 0.46 4-0 0 10 19.2 14 38 9
UT Brendan McKay Louisville 1.36 4-0 0 4 33 14 49 11
Statistics through Sunday, March 29, 2015
PG: Midseason college awards
CBI: Around the Bases (3/31)
Sansone leads Florida State past Florida
Texas A&M thumps SHSU, Vandy blanks Wofford, UT Arlington tops TCU
No. 8 Florida State 8, No. 5 Florida 3
In Jacksonville, Fla., John Sansone went 4 for 4 with a double, two runs and one RBI as Florida State downed Florida. The Seminoles (23-7) scored in five of the first seven innings, including three in the seventh. Danny De La Calle (2 for 5, 2 R, 2 RBI) homered for FSU. Bryant Holtmann (4-1, 5 IP, 5 H, R, 3 K) earned the victory, while Dylan Silva (4 IP, H, 2 R, BB, 5 K) picked up his first save. Josh Tobias went deep for the Gators (23-7).
No. 1 Texas A&M 19, Sam Houston State 4
In College Station, Texas, Ronnie Gideon homered twice, scored three and drove in four as Texas A&M thumped Sam Houston State. The Aggies (28-2) used a 13-run third to take control. Blake Allemand (3 for 5, 3 R, 2 RBI) and Ryne Birk (3 for 6, 3 R, 2 RBI) both homered, while Birk was a single away from the cycle. Spence Rahm went 2 for 3 with a double, two runs and one RBI for the Bearkats (14-17).
No. 2 Vanderbilt 6, Wofford 0
In Nashville, Tenn., Kyle Wright tossed five scoreless innings with five strikeouts as Vanderbilt blanked Wofford. Wright (3-0) allowed five hits and three walks. Philip Pfeifer (H, 5 K) and Tyler Ferguson (H, BB, 4 K) both worked two scoreless innings for the Commodores (23-6). Jason Delay went 2 for 3 with a homer and two RBI for Vandy. Conor Clancey had three hits for the Terriers (23-8).
UT Arlington 8, No. 3 TCU 1
In Arlington, Texas, Brady Cox and Levi Scott had two-run doubles in a seven-run seventh as UT Arlington topped TCU. Scott (2 for 4, 2 R, 3 RBI) also homered in the first for the Mavericks (13-14). Daniel James (2-1, 3 IP, 2 H, K) recorded the victory. Derek Odell had three hits for the Horned Frogs (21-5).
No. 4 LSU 8, UL Lafayette 6
In Metairie, La., Alex Bregman went 3 for 3 with a homer and four RBI as LSU edged UL Lafayette in the Wally Pontiff Jr. Classic. Bregman was a single short of the cycle. Kade Scivicque (2 for 4, 3 RBI) and Chris Chinea also went deep for the Tigers (24-5). Nick Thurman and Brian Mills both had two hits, one run and one RBI for the Ragin' Cajuns (15-11).
No. 7 Louisville 16, Miami (Ohio) 5
In Louisville, Ky., Corey Ray and Brendan McKay both homered as Louisville took care of Miami (Ohio). The Cardinals (22-7) led 7-3 before scoring nine in the seventh. Ray went 3 for 5 with three runs and four RBI. He was a single away from the cycle. McKay was 3 for 4 with a double, three runs and three RBI. Drew Harrington (3-1, 3 H, 7 K) earned the win in relief. Gary Russo went 2 for 4 with a double, two runs and two RBI for the RedHawks (4-20).
No. 9 Arizona State 7, New Mexico State 3
In Phoenix, Ariz., Trever Allen had a three-run homer in a four-run sixth as Arizona State defeated New Mexico State. Colby Woodmansee (2 for 5, 2 RBI) also went deep for the Sun Devils (19-7). Ryan Hingst (2-1. 2.1 IP, H, 5 K) earned the win in relief. Lucas Martinez went 2 for 4 with one run and one RBI for the Aggies (4-21-1).
Florida Atlantic 11, No. 10 UCF 5
In Orlando, Fla., Brendon Sanger went 3 for 4 with two runs as Florida Atlantic won at UCF. FAU scored multiple runs in three of the first four innings, including four in the first and four in the fourth. CJ Chatham had a three-run triple in the fourth for the Owls (23-6). Sean Labsan (2-0, 6 IP, 4 H, R, 3 BB, 10 K) earned the victory. Kyle Marsh homered and knocked in a pair for the Knights (22-8).
CBI: Around the Bases (3/31)
Sansone leads Florida State past Florida
Texas A&M thumps SHSU, Vandy blanks Wofford, UT Arlington tops TCU
No. 8 Florida State 8, No. 5 Florida 3
In Jacksonville, Fla., John Sansone went 4 for 4 with a double, two runs and one RBI as Florida State downed Florida. The Seminoles (23-7) scored in five of the first seven innings, including three in the seventh. Danny De La Calle (2 for 5, 2 R, 2 RBI) homered for FSU. Bryant Holtmann (4-1, 5 IP, 5 H, R, 3 K) earned the victory, while Dylan Silva (4 IP, H, 2 R, BB, 5 K) picked up his first save. Josh Tobias went deep for the Gators (23-7).
No. 1 Texas A&M 19, Sam Houston State 4
In College Station, Texas, Ronnie Gideon homered twice, scored three and drove in four as Texas A&M thumped Sam Houston State. The Aggies (28-2) used a 13-run third to take control. Blake Allemand (3 for 5, 3 R, 2 RBI) and Ryne Birk (3 for 6, 3 R, 2 RBI) both homered, while Birk was a single away from the cycle. Spence Rahm went 2 for 3 with a double, two runs and one RBI for the Bearkats (14-17).
No. 2 Vanderbilt 6, Wofford 0
In Nashville, Tenn., Kyle Wright tossed five scoreless innings with five strikeouts as Vanderbilt blanked Wofford. Wright (3-0) allowed five hits and three walks. Philip Pfeifer (H, 5 K) and Tyler Ferguson (H, BB, 4 K) both worked two scoreless innings for the Commodores (23-6). Jason Delay went 2 for 3 with a homer and two RBI for Vandy. Conor Clancey had three hits for the Terriers (23-8).
UT Arlington 8, No. 3 TCU 1
In Arlington, Texas, Brady Cox and Levi Scott had two-run doubles in a seven-run seventh as UT Arlington topped TCU. Scott (2 for 4, 2 R, 3 RBI) also homered in the first for the Mavericks (13-14). Daniel James (2-1, 3 IP, 2 H, K) recorded the victory. Derek Odell had three hits for the Horned Frogs (21-5).
No. 4 LSU 8, UL Lafayette 6
In Metairie, La., Alex Bregman went 3 for 3 with a homer and four RBI as LSU edged UL Lafayette in the Wally Pontiff Jr. Classic. Bregman was a single short of the cycle. Kade Scivicque (2 for 4, 3 RBI) and Chris Chinea also went deep for the Tigers (24-5). Nick Thurman and Brian Mills both had two hits, one run and one RBI for the Ragin' Cajuns (15-11).
No. 7 Louisville 16, Miami (Ohio) 5
In Louisville, Ky., Corey Ray and Brendan McKay both homered as Louisville took care of Miami (Ohio). The Cardinals (22-7) led 7-3 before scoring nine in the seventh. Ray went 3 for 5 with three runs and four RBI. He was a single away from the cycle. McKay was 3 for 4 with a double, three runs and three RBI. Drew Harrington (3-1, 3 H, 7 K) earned the win in relief. Gary Russo went 2 for 4 with a double, two runs and two RBI for the RedHawks (4-20).
No. 9 Arizona State 7, New Mexico State 3
In Phoenix, Ariz., Trever Allen had a three-run homer in a four-run sixth as Arizona State defeated New Mexico State. Colby Woodmansee (2 for 5, 2 RBI) also went deep for the Sun Devils (19-7). Ryan Hingst (2-1. 2.1 IP, H, 5 K) earned the win in relief. Lucas Martinez went 2 for 4 with one run and one RBI for the Aggies (4-21-1).
Florida Atlantic 11, No. 10 UCF 5
In Orlando, Fla., Brendon Sanger went 3 for 4 with two runs as Florida Atlantic won at UCF. FAU scored multiple runs in three of the first four innings, including four in the first and four in the fourth. CJ Chatham had a three-run triple in the fourth for the Owls (23-6). Sean Labsan (2-0, 6 IP, 4 H, R, 3 BB, 10 K) earned the victory. Kyle Marsh homered and knocked in a pair for the Knights (22-8).
CBI: Around the Bases (3/31)
D1 - Midweek Madness: Tuesday, March 31
The Big Winner: Florida State
The Seminoles dropped the first meeting of the season against rival Florida, 14-8, a couple of weeks ago. But they returned the favor against UF Tuesday night with an 8-3 triumph, outhitting the Gators 13-6 and getting a good start from Bryant Holtmann.
Mike Martin and Florida State got a big win over rival Florida. (Florida State)
Mike Martin and Florida State got a big win over rival Florida. (Florida State)
Holtmann struck out three, didn't walk anyone and allowed a run on five hits in five innings. Meanwhile, the offense did plenty to provide the FSU pitching staff with cushion, especially putting up a two-spot in the fifth inning to extend its lead to 5-1. Though a few players, such as outfielder Josh Delph, who had two hits in the contest, led the way at the late, the most impactful performance came from veteran second baseman John Sansone. Sansone went a perfect 4-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and an RBI.
"Bryant Holtmann was outstanding," Florida State head coach Mike Martin said. "He really gave us what we needed. We were fortunate early; we got some key hits, balls that were just out of the reach (of the Gator defenders) but I am just very proud of this club for getting it done."
The Seminoles are in very good shape moving forward. They improved their overall record to 23-7, and now have a whopping 13 wins vs. RPI Top 50 teams. FSU, which has back-to-back road series coming up against NC State and Notre Dame, will play Florida one last time in the regular season in a mid-April bout in Tallahassee.
One last note on the Seminoles-Gators contest: A very impressive crowd of 8,306 went through the turnstiles at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.
More big winners:
Florida Atlantic Owls logoFlorida Atlantic: The Owls dropped out of the rankings a couple of weeks ago, but are getting back into form, cruising past UCF 11-5 on the road Tuesday night. FAU sophomore lefthander Sean Labsan was spotted a four-run lead in the first inning, but still put together a quality start, striking out 10, walking just three and allowing a run in six innings. But at the end of the night, the offense was the story, banging out 15 hits against UCF pitching with stud outfielder Brendon Sanger leading the way with three hits, and shortstop CJ Chatham knocking in three runs On a negative note, for UCF at least, starting pitcher Trent Thompson was lifted in the first inning after allowing four runs (three earned) in just 0.1 innings Lastly, FAU's RPI was seven entering the day, so this game obviously will provide a boost to the resume.
Illinois Fighting Illini logoIllinois: The Fighting Illini have been consistently solid throughout the spring, and gave the Big Ten yet another quality win, beating rival and SEC opponent Missouri 4-3. Illinois starting pitcher Rob McDonnell allowed three runs in 5.2 innings, but relievers Nick Blackburn and Tyler Jay rose to the occasion. Blackburn tossed 1.1 shutout innings, and Jay, of course, was dominant, striking out four in 1.1 perfect innings to close things out. Illinois was led at the plate by first baseman David Kerian, who hit his seventh home run of the season Illinois, which entered the day with an RPI of 24, gave itself a nice road resume boost.
Coastal Carolina Chanticleers logoCoastal Carolina: Remember last week when we said ACC and SEC teams alike should be scared to see the Chanticleers in midweek action? Well, add Wake Forest as the latest victim, as CCU captured a 10-4 triumph to improve to 21-7 overall. Coastal's Tyler Chadwick had two hits and an RBI, while catcher Casey Schroeder hit a home run and finished the night with three RBIs. In not-so-shocking news, CCU shortstop Michael Paez had yet another good night at the plate, going 2-for-4 with an RBI. CCU is now 6-0 against the ACC and SEC.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets logoGeorgia Tech: Yellow Jackets outfielder Matt Gonzalez went 3-for-4 with a home run, stolen base, two runs scored and four RBIs in a 13-6 road win over rival Georgia. Ryan Peurifoy and Arden Pabst each had two hits and two RBIs, while Tanner Shelton an Joe Wiseman provided stability out of the pen, each throwing two shutout frames after starting pitcher Devin Stanton was lifted after allowing five runs in the first inning.
UC Irvine logoUC Irvine: Is it just me or are the Anteaters under the direction of head coach Mike Gillespie like clockwork? It just seems no matter the season, the 'Eaters just turn it on for good at some point. That time might just be now, as UCI won its ninth-straight contest in a 13-4 win over sizzling hot San Diego. Irvine talented freshman outfielder Keston Hiura had two hits and two RBIs, while first baseman Michael Holland had two hits and two RBIs, and of course, Evan Cassolato and Adam Alcantara had big nights with three hits each, Alcantara also knocking in five runs.
Upset of the day: Texas-Arlington over TCU
TCU's Tyler Alexander had a tough start against gritty UT-Arlington. (TCU)
TCU's Tyler Alexander had a tough start against gritty UT-Arlington. (TCU)
The Mavericks had lost five-straight contests entering Tuesday's bout against No. 4 TCU, but as has been the case so much this spring, they were very scrappy and that paid dividends against the Frogs in an 8-1 triumph. UTA touched up TCU lefthander Tyler Alexander for five runs on six hits in 6.2 innings, while four pitchers combined to allow just one run despite giving up 10 hits to the Frogs.
UTA first baseman Levi Scott had a big night at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a home run, two runs scored and three RBIs, while leadoff hitter Matt McLean went 2-for-5 with an RBI. Meanwhile, UTA reliever Daniel James led the charge on the mound, finishing the contest with three shutout frames to close out the Frogs.
More upsets:
• Oral Roberts logoOral Roberts starting pitcher Bryce Howe struck out three and allowed just two runs on two hits in five innings to lead the Eagles to a 4-2 win over red-hot Oklahoma State. Meanwhile, outfielder Rolando Martinez led ORU with three hits, while OSU two-way player Conor Costello started on the mound and allowed two runs on four hits in 5.1 innings.
• Texas Corpus Christi logoTexas A&M-Corpus Christi carried a 3-0 lead over No. 24 Texas into the seventh inning, before the 'Horns scored two in the seventh and another in the ninth to send the game to extra-innings. The Islanders, though, scored three runs in the top of the 10th to take home a surprising 6-4 triumph. Islanders outfielder Jordan Lee hit a home run in the game, while third baseman Cody Clarke went 2-for-5 with a pair of RBIs.
• Portland logoIf Oregon didn't know it had hit rock bottom, it does now. The Ducks' struggles continued Tuesday night in a surprising and disappointing 6-4 home loss to Portland, a team that improved to 6-24 overall with the victory. UO starting pitcher Trent Paddon allowed there runs on six hits in four innings, while the offense was unable to get much going against the UP bullpen duo of Jake Hawken (2 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 0 ER) and Carl Snaring (2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER). Oregon steps out of conference this weekend for a home set with Michigan State, while a date with rival Oregon State (at home) and Southern California (on the road) are on the docket after that.
More national goodness
• Louisiana Tech designated hitter Brent Diaz had a massive performance in a 17-12 road win over Grambling. Diaz went 3-for-3 with a triple, home run and seven RBIs
• Texas AM logoNo. 2 Texas A&M just continues to have a ridiculously good season, and the Maroon and White tied an NCAA record Tuesday night with 11 straight hits in a 13-run third inning of a 19-4 win over Sam Houston State. A&M third baseman Ronnie Gideon had a big day at the plate with two homers and four RBIs, while one and two-hole hitters Blake Allemand and Ryne Birk combined for six hits (two homers) and four RBIs in the winning cause. A&M is now 28-2 overall.
• Vanderbilt University logoTop-ranked Vanderbilt got some stellar pitching Tuesday night in a 6-0 home win over Wofford. But the biggest story of the night were the final two innings, where righthander Tyler Ferguson experienced some success. The power-armed righthander who has struggle this season struck out four and allowed just one hit in two innings. The 'Dores are in even better shape if Ferguson can establish some positive consistency moving forward.
• Houston Cougars logoHouston hit the road and captured a dominant 11-0 win over Baylor, but not all the news on the night was positive. UH starting pitcher David Longville had thrown five shutout innings, but was lifted from the game in the sixth inning because of an injury. More will be available about Longville, but the Cougars simply can't afford to lose him in addition to already not having righthander Jake Lemoine and lefthander Bubba Maxwell (for the season).
• Arkansas Razorbacks logoArkansas hasn't been able to establish good consistency this spring, and its situation got more complicated Tuesday with a 2-0 home loss to Missouri State to drop to .500 overall. Arkansas was unable to figure out MSU starting pitcher Andy Cheray, who allowed just four hits in 5.1 innings, while the bullpen did a terrific job as well. Arkansas gets zero breathing room with a series on the road against Auburn this weekend.
• Illinois State University logoHow about this? Illinois State versatile infielder Paul DeJong is a well-documented talent, but how about the night he put together in an 18-14 road win over Eastern Illinois? DeJong went 4-for-5 with three homers and six RBIs, while by the way, EIU is now 0-21 on the season.
• Oklahoma logoOne of the big keys for Oklahoma is having someone like imposing lefthander Adam Choplick log a lot of innings and produce at a consistent level. Choplick has struggled at times this season, but was stellar in a 7-0 home win over Central Arkansas. He struck out 10, walked two and allowed just three hits in six shutout innings.
More sights
D1 - Midweek Madness: Tuesday, March 31
The Big Winner: Florida State
The Seminoles dropped the first meeting of the season against rival Florida, 14-8, a couple of weeks ago. But they returned the favor against UF Tuesday night with an 8-3 triumph, outhitting the Gators 13-6 and getting a good start from Bryant Holtmann.
Mike Martin and Florida State got a big win over rival Florida. (Florida State)
Mike Martin and Florida State got a big win over rival Florida. (Florida State)
Holtmann struck out three, didn't walk anyone and allowed a run on five hits in five innings. Meanwhile, the offense did plenty to provide the FSU pitching staff with cushion, especially putting up a two-spot in the fifth inning to extend its lead to 5-1. Though a few players, such as outfielder Josh Delph, who had two hits in the contest, led the way at the late, the most impactful performance came from veteran second baseman John Sansone. Sansone went a perfect 4-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and an RBI.
"Bryant Holtmann was outstanding," Florida State head coach Mike Martin said. "He really gave us what we needed. We were fortunate early; we got some key hits, balls that were just out of the reach (of the Gator defenders) but I am just very proud of this club for getting it done."
The Seminoles are in very good shape moving forward. They improved their overall record to 23-7, and now have a whopping 13 wins vs. RPI Top 50 teams. FSU, which has back-to-back road series coming up against NC State and Notre Dame, will play Florida one last time in the regular season in a mid-April bout in Tallahassee.
One last note on the Seminoles-Gators contest: A very impressive crowd of 8,306 went through the turnstiles at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.
More big winners:
Florida Atlantic Owls logoFlorida Atlantic: The Owls dropped out of the rankings a couple of weeks ago, but are getting back into form, cruising past UCF 11-5 on the road Tuesday night. FAU sophomore lefthander Sean Labsan was spotted a four-run lead in the first inning, but still put together a quality start, striking out 10, walking just three and allowing a run in six innings. But at the end of the night, the offense was the story, banging out 15 hits against UCF pitching with stud outfielder Brendon Sanger leading the way with three hits, and shortstop CJ Chatham knocking in three runs On a negative note, for UCF at least, starting pitcher Trent Thompson was lifted in the first inning after allowing four runs (three earned) in just 0.1 innings Lastly, FAU's RPI was seven entering the day, so this game obviously will provide a boost to the resume.
Illinois Fighting Illini logoIllinois: The Fighting Illini have been consistently solid throughout the spring, and gave the Big Ten yet another quality win, beating rival and SEC opponent Missouri 4-3. Illinois starting pitcher Rob McDonnell allowed three runs in 5.2 innings, but relievers Nick Blackburn and Tyler Jay rose to the occasion. Blackburn tossed 1.1 shutout innings, and Jay, of course, was dominant, striking out four in 1.1 perfect innings to close things out. Illinois was led at the plate by first baseman David Kerian, who hit his seventh home run of the season Illinois, which entered the day with an RPI of 24, gave itself a nice road resume boost.
Coastal Carolina Chanticleers logoCoastal Carolina: Remember last week when we said ACC and SEC teams alike should be scared to see the Chanticleers in midweek action? Well, add Wake Forest as the latest victim, as CCU captured a 10-4 triumph to improve to 21-7 overall. Coastal's Tyler Chadwick had two hits and an RBI, while catcher Casey Schroeder hit a home run and finished the night with three RBIs. In not-so-shocking news, CCU shortstop Michael Paez had yet another good night at the plate, going 2-for-4 with an RBI. CCU is now 6-0 against the ACC and SEC.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets logoGeorgia Tech: Yellow Jackets outfielder Matt Gonzalez went 3-for-4 with a home run, stolen base, two runs scored and four RBIs in a 13-6 road win over rival Georgia. Ryan Peurifoy and Arden Pabst each had two hits and two RBIs, while Tanner Shelton an Joe Wiseman provided stability out of the pen, each throwing two shutout frames after starting pitcher Devin Stanton was lifted after allowing five runs in the first inning.
UC Irvine logoUC Irvine: Is it just me or are the Anteaters under the direction of head coach Mike Gillespie like clockwork? It just seems no matter the season, the 'Eaters just turn it on for good at some point. That time might just be now, as UCI won its ninth-straight contest in a 13-4 win over sizzling hot San Diego. Irvine talented freshman outfielder Keston Hiura had two hits and two RBIs, while first baseman Michael Holland had two hits and two RBIs, and of course, Evan Cassolato and Adam Alcantara had big nights with three hits each, Alcantara also knocking in five runs.
Upset of the day: Texas-Arlington over TCU
TCU's Tyler Alexander had a tough start against gritty UT-Arlington. (TCU)
TCU's Tyler Alexander had a tough start against gritty UT-Arlington. (TCU)
The Mavericks had lost five-straight contests entering Tuesday's bout against No. 4 TCU, but as has been the case so much this spring, they were very scrappy and that paid dividends against the Frogs in an 8-1 triumph. UTA touched up TCU lefthander Tyler Alexander for five runs on six hits in 6.2 innings, while four pitchers combined to allow just one run despite giving up 10 hits to the Frogs.
UTA first baseman Levi Scott had a big night at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a home run, two runs scored and three RBIs, while leadoff hitter Matt McLean went 2-for-5 with an RBI. Meanwhile, UTA reliever Daniel James led the charge on the mound, finishing the contest with three shutout frames to close out the Frogs.
More upsets:
• Oral Roberts logoOral Roberts starting pitcher Bryce Howe struck out three and allowed just two runs on two hits in five innings to lead the Eagles to a 4-2 win over red-hot Oklahoma State. Meanwhile, outfielder Rolando Martinez led ORU with three hits, while OSU two-way player Conor Costello started on the mound and allowed two runs on four hits in 5.1 innings.
• Texas Corpus Christi logoTexas A&M-Corpus Christi carried a 3-0 lead over No. 24 Texas into the seventh inning, before the 'Horns scored two in the seventh and another in the ninth to send the game to extra-innings. The Islanders, though, scored three runs in the top of the 10th to take home a surprising 6-4 triumph. Islanders outfielder Jordan Lee hit a home run in the game, while third baseman Cody Clarke went 2-for-5 with a pair of RBIs.
• Portland logoIf Oregon didn't know it had hit rock bottom, it does now. The Ducks' struggles continued Tuesday night in a surprising and disappointing 6-4 home loss to Portland, a team that improved to 6-24 overall with the victory. UO starting pitcher Trent Paddon allowed there runs on six hits in four innings, while the offense was unable to get much going against the UP bullpen duo of Jake Hawken (2 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 0 ER) and Carl Snaring (2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER). Oregon steps out of conference this weekend for a home set with Michigan State, while a date with rival Oregon State (at home) and Southern California (on the road) are on the docket after that.
More national goodness
• Louisiana Tech designated hitter Brent Diaz had a massive performance in a 17-12 road win over Grambling. Diaz went 3-for-3 with a triple, home run and seven RBIs
• Texas AM logoNo. 2 Texas A&M just continues to have a ridiculously good season, and the Maroon and White tied an NCAA record Tuesday night with 11 straight hits in a 13-run third inning of a 19-4 win over Sam Houston State. A&M third baseman Ronnie Gideon had a big day at the plate with two homers and four RBIs, while one and two-hole hitters Blake Allemand and Ryne Birk combined for six hits (two homers) and four RBIs in the winning cause. A&M is now 28-2 overall.
• Vanderbilt University logoTop-ranked Vanderbilt got some stellar pitching Tuesday night in a 6-0 home win over Wofford. But the biggest story of the night were the final two innings, where righthander Tyler Ferguson experienced some success. The power-armed righthander who has struggle this season struck out four and allowed just one hit in two innings. The 'Dores are in even better shape if Ferguson can establish some positive consistency moving forward.
• Houston Cougars logoHouston hit the road and captured a dominant 11-0 win over Baylor, but not all the news on the night was positive. UH starting pitcher David Longville had thrown five shutout innings, but was lifted from the game in the sixth inning because of an injury. More will be available about Longville, but the Cougars simply can't afford to lose him in addition to already not having righthander Jake Lemoine and lefthander Bubba Maxwell (for the season).
• Arkansas Razorbacks logoArkansas hasn't been able to establish good consistency this spring, and its situation got more complicated Tuesday with a 2-0 home loss to Missouri State to drop to .500 overall. Arkansas was unable to figure out MSU starting pitcher Andy Cheray, who allowed just four hits in 5.1 innings, while the bullpen did a terrific job as well. Arkansas gets zero breathing room with a series on the road against Auburn this weekend.
• Illinois State University logoHow about this? Illinois State versatile infielder Paul DeJong is a well-documented talent, but how about the night he put together in an 18-14 road win over Eastern Illinois? DeJong went 4-for-5 with three homers and six RBIs, while by the way, EIU is now 0-21 on the season.
• Oklahoma logoOne of the big keys for Oklahoma is having someone like imposing lefthander Adam Choplick log a lot of innings and produce at a consistent level. Choplick has struggled at times this season, but was stellar in a 7-0 home win over Central Arkansas. He struck out 10, walked two and allowed just three hits in six shutout innings.
More sights
D1 - Midweek Madness: Tuesday, March 31
Re: D1 - Stat Roundup: March 31
It's sure nice to be ranked again so there's a writeup by at least one national outlet on just about every game.
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It's sure nice to be ranked again so there's a writeup by at least one national outlet on just about every game.
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