March 2 Baseball Notebook
March 2, 2009
Complete Release in PDF Format After winning four more games last week, Southern Miss has moved into the national rankings. The addition of the Golden Eagles gives C-USA three ranked teams. East Carolina and Rice are the other two ranked C-USA squads and both defeated nationally-ranked non-conference foes last week. Southern Miss will be tested this coming weekend as No. 7 Cal State Fullerton makes its first-ever visit to Hattiesburg to highlight the upcoming week's docket.
HITTER OF THE WEEK BO DAVIS, SOUTHERN MISS Senior, OF, Meredian, Miss. Davis paced the Golden Eagles in four victories last week, hitting safely in each game and finishing the week 8-for-16 (.500) at the plate. He homered in three of the games (twice to open the game), drove in six runs and scored eight times from his lead-off spot. Davis also walked three times, giving him a .579 on-base percentage and a 1.063 slugging percentage. He added a pair of stolen bases and had a sacrifice bunt.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK RYAN BERRY, RICE Junior, RHP, Humble, Texas Berry turned in one of the most outstanding performances of the young college baseball season, throwing a complete-game, shutout victory over No.1 Texas A&M on Saturday night. He allowed just two hits (one through the first eight innings), struck out 12 and did not walk a batter. Berry registered six three-up, three-down innings, never faced more than four batters in an inning and had three frames in which he threw single digit pitches. He threw 102 pitches on the night, 69 for strikes. Berry was named the Most Valuable Player of the Houston College Classic.
C-USA NOTEBOOK
EAST CAROLINA ECU posted a 1-1 record in the Sixth Annual Keith LeClair Classic, notching a win over St. John’s (9-7) and falling to No. 11 Oklahoma State (7-6). The Pirates have recorded a 14-4 overall record in the Classic since it started in 2004. East Carolina is off to its best start (5-1) under head coach Billy Godwin through the first six games of the season. Godwin notched his 120th win as the Pirates skipper and moved into a tie for sixth place on the school’s all-time wins list. The Pirates eight-run seventh inning against No. 11 Oklahoma State was the most runs in an inning for ECU since plating 10 against Elon on Mar. 18, 2008 in an 18-3 win. Five Pirates extended their hitting streaks on the week: Dustin Harrington (10), Brandon Henderson (10), Kyle Roller (10), Drew Schieber (9) and Stephen Batts (8). In six games, the Pirates have reached double-digits in hits, picking up a season-high 20 against No. 11 Oklahoma State in a 14-7 win. The Pirates have also reached the double-digit mark in runs twice scoring 13 in the season opener against Monmouth and 14 against the Cowboys. ECU is averaging 9.3 runs and 14.0 hits per contest and is batting .385 with nine home runs. The Pirate hurlers have allowed just 28 runs (4.7 per game) in six games and have fanned 51 batters, while walking just 17 (3-to-1 ratio). Senior OF Stephen Batts leads the team with a .536 average (15-for-28) a home run, seven RBI and 10 runs scored. His three-run homer against OSU capped off an eight-run seventh inning that lead to ECU’s 14-7 win.
HOUSTON Following a win at Stephen F. Austin on Feb. 24, the Cougars faced four consecutive top 10 opponents last week, dropping all four contests. After hitting just one home run in his first two seasons as a Cougar, junior C Chris Wallace went deep in back-to-back at-bats against UC-Irvine on Saturday. He earned a spot on the Houston College Classic All-Tournament team after going 3-for-7 with three RBI and three runs scored. However, Wallace left Sunday’s game against Texas A&M after being hit in the face with a pitch. He was taken to the hospital for stitches and an MRI. Junior OF Zak Presley had three hits in the tournament, including his first double and first home run of the season. Junior LHP Wes Musick bounced back from a tough opening day start to post a solid outing against No. 6 Baylor on Friday. He allowed three runs on eight hits over seven innings, striking out six and walking one. Sophomore OF Caleb Ramsey was 5-for-10 in the tournament with two runs scored, two RBI and two stolen bases. He hit safely in all five games last week
MARSHALL The Thundering Herd went 1-1 at The Citadel Tournament, including a 1-0 loss to Tennessee Tech, Marshall’s second one-run defeat this season. The final two games of the tournament were cancelled due to inclement weather. Junior LHP Ryan Kiel picked up his second straight victory, allowing one run on two hits over five innings against Radford on Friday afternoon. Kiel has a 1.80 ERA in his first two outings, with 11 K’s in 10 innings pitched. Freshman RHP Shane Farrell was the tough-luck loser against Tennessee Tech, allowing one run on five hits over six innings. He struck out six and did not walk a batter. Sophomore OF Ben Jurevicious is off to a strong start for the Herd, leading the team in batting at .350 (7-for-20). He has five RBI and is 3-for-3 in stolen base attempts. Senior SS Adam Yeager is batting .320 (8-for-25) with two doubles, a triple and three stolen bases.
MEMPHIS The Tigers finished last week with a 1-2 record, dropping a mid-week contests against Murray State and splitting two games at Troy before that series finale’ was snowed out. In Friday’s series opener at Troy, junior LHP Brennon Martin posted his second straight strong outing, not allowing an earned run over 8.2 innings to improve to 2-0. A Tiger error was the only thing to separate Martin from his first career complete game shutout. He also tied a career high with seven strikeouts in the contest to earn his first win of the year. Martin has not allowed an earned run in 14.2 innings pitched this season, striking out 12 and walking just one batter. Sophomore 1B Trey Wiedman hit .455 (5-for-11) to lead the Tigers offense last week. He collected multiple hits in two of the three games he played in, including going 3-for-5 with a double in a loss to Murray State on Tuesday. Wiedman slugged .545 and recorded a team-best six total bases.
RICE The Owls posted three consecutive victories over top 10 opponents at the Houston College Classic, knocking off No. 9 UCLA, No. 1 Texas A&M and No. 6 Baylor. Through seven games Rice is batting .291 as a team and averaging more than six runs per game. Two newcomers, true freshman Anthony Rendon and junior transfer Brock Holt, are leading the Owls on offense. Rendon is batting a team-best .462 with three doubles and two home runs for an .808 slugging percentage. Holt is hitting at a .344 clip with two doubles, two walks and two steals. Both share the team lead with seven runs scored and have been solid defensively in the field. Junior RHP Ryan Berry's 12 strikeout performance Saturday against Texas A&M set a new Houston College Classic single-game record, breaking the previous high of 11 set by Rice junior right-hander Mike Ojala set against nationally-ranked UCLA just 24 hours before. Ojala fanned 11 in 6.2 innings in Friday's extra-inning win over the Bruins. The Owl duo of Berry & Ojala combined for 23 Ks and just one walk in 15.2 innings of work. One of the most eye-opening pitching turnarounds this young season has come from Rice senior Jordan Rogers. Last year, Rogers made only four appearances all season, where he had an 8.44 ERA in just 5.1 tough innings. This year the right-hander has four appearances and has not allowed any runs in 8.1 innings. Rogers has surrendered only one hit and two walks while striking out 14 opposing hitters. Sophomore OF Chad Mozingo was named to the Houston College Classic All-Tournament team for the second year in a row. In two tournaments played at the Astros' home venue the last two years (six games total), Mozingo is batting .522 (12-of-23) with two home runs, a triple, double, five RBI, five runs scored, two sacrifice hits and a stolen base.
SOUTHERN MISS The Golden Eagles won their first four games last week to improve to 7-0 before dropping a 7-5 decision to Louisiana-Lafayette on Sunday to suffer their first defeat of 2009. In opening 7-0, Southern Miss reached double figure runs scored in each outing and scored a total of 91 runs. The 91 runs scored were the most ever by a Golden Eagle team after seven games, topping the 80 runs by the 1994 squad. The Golden Eagle bats have been red hot this season with 110 hits, including 31 for extra bases, and 96 runs. Southern Miss is hitting .370 as a team with a .482 on base percentage and a .556 slugging percentage. Southern Miss has recorded at least 10 hits in every game this season and double digit runs in seven of the team’s first eight games. The Golden Eagles are outscoring their opponents 56-4 in the first four innings this season and 96-22 overall. Senior SS Brian Dozier continues his torrid start at the plate, batting a team-high .529 (18-of-34). He has five doubles, one triple and 11 RBI. Junior transfer Kyle Lindsey threw a complete-game, four hitter with 10 strikeouts and one walk in his first Southern Miss start against South Alabama on February 26. He faced three batters over the minimum using 95 pitches while allowing only five base runners all game. Southern Miss is a perfect 17-for-17 in stolen base attempts on the season.
TULANE The Green Wave went 3-1 against Wright State over the weekend. After going hitless in the series opener, senior RF Scott Powell went 6-for-12 with a double, a home run and three RBI in the final three games against Wright State. Junior RHP Preston Claiborne earned the extra-inning victory in Tulane’s weekend series finale against Wright State, giving up no runs and just three hits in five scoreless innings. Claiborne issued just one walk and struck out a career-high eight batters in the longest outing of his collegiate career. The Wave swept a Saturday doubleheader thanks to some solid pitching. In game one, junior LHP Matt Petiton earned his first win of the year after throwing 6.2 innings and striking out four and only giving up two walks in his second outing of the season. Sophomore Nick Pepitone picked up his first save of the year, coming in and throwing 2.1 innings of relief and only giving up one run on no hits. In the nightcap, senior RHP Josh Zeid earned his second win of the year after throwing a complete game and only giving up four hits. Senior 1B Sam Honeck is off to a good start this season, batting .400 (10-for-25) with three doubles, a triple, a home run and 11 RBI.
UAB UAB had three games affected by weather last week. The Blazers’ Wednesday game at Alabama A&M was rained out, as was their Friday series opener against Presbyterian. After playing a doubleheader on Saturday, Sunday’s series finale with the Blue Hose was cancelled because of snow in Birmingham. UAB is continuing to cause problems for its opponents on the base paths this season. After stealing 74 bases in 94 attempts as a team last year, the Blazers are off to a fast start in 2009. UAB is 15-for-16 on steal attempts through six games. Senior OF Brint Hardy and junior SS Jonathan Merritt lead the Blazers with five steals each. Hardy owns 47 career steals to rank fifth all-time at UAB. He has stolen 65 total bases in his college career, counting his freshman season at Birmingham-Southern in 2006. In 2008, UAB set a school record with 289 walks as a team. The Blazers accomplished that feat in 60 games for an average of 4.82 walks per game. Through six games in 2009, the UAB is on virtually the same pace in terms of bases on balls. The Blazers have drawn 29 walks for an average of 4.83 per game. Senior OF Cody McMurry leads UAB individually with eight walks, while senior IF Luke Stewart is second with seven. Stewart walked 47 times last season, the fourth-highest single-season total in school history. Sophomore 2B Nick Crawford had a pair of multiple-hit games last week, including his second three-hit outing of the season.
UCF The Knights had a tough weekend at No. 1-ranked LSU, dropping all three contests to the Tigers as head coach Terry Rooney returned to the school where he served as an assistant for the past two years prior to taking over at UCF. Junior LF Chris Duffy had four hits in the series and extended his hitting streak to all seven games this season. He had three doubles last week and is batting a team-best .357 for the season. On Friday night, senior 1B Kiko Vazquez posted his second multiple home run game of the year, going deep twice against LSU. His four home runs are a league-high entering this week’s play. The two round-trippers on Friday gave him 20 career homers. He is now one shy of tying Eric Riggs and Gregg Pacitti for 10th on the school’s all-time list. Senior RHP Justin Weiss pitched two scoreless innings of relief on Sunday, striking out four, just one away from his career high. With the start Friday, senior RHP Kyle Sweat moved into sole possession of 10th in UCF history with 36 career starts.
THE POLLS
Baseball America (Mar. 2)
Collegiate Baseball (Mar. 2) Sports Weekly (Mar. 2)
NCBWA (Mar. 2)
LAST WEEK’S STARS Other than the players of the week, here’s a look at some of the top performances in Conference USA during the games of Feb. 23-Mar. 1:
HITTING ECU – TRENT WHITEHEAD – batted .533 (8-for-15) with four RBI and four runs scored in three games, posting at least two hits in each outing. Had a career-high four hits, along with three RBI in a win over No. 11 Oklahoma State. HOU – CHRIS WALLACE – was named to the Houston College Classic All-Tournament team. Had his first career multiple HR game against UC Irvine. Added a double, four walks and scored six runs on the week. MAR – BEN JUREVICIUS – posted three hits in the Herd’s two games at The Citadel tournament. Against Radford, he drove in a career-high four runs and scored twice. MEM – TREY WIEDMAN – had a pair of multiple-hit games and finished the week 5-for-11 (.455) with a double, two runs scored and a stolen base. RICE – ANTHONY RENDON – batted .467 (7-for-15) in four wins last week. Had two home runs and a double, while leading the team in RBI (8) and runs scored (4). In the field, he added 11 defensive assists and six put outs. UAB – NICK CRAWFORD – had a pair of multiple-hit games last week, including his second three-hit game this season. Added a pair of doubles, a stolen base, two RBI and one run scored. UCF – CHRIS DUFFY – hit safely in all four games, smacking three doubles. He also scored a run and drove in a run.
PITCHING ECU – KEVIN BRANDT – came out of the bullpen to defeat No. 11 Oklahoma State. In 6.1 innings pitched, he allowed no runs on three hits, while fanning seven and walking none for his first collegiate victory. MAR – RYAN KIEL – earned his second win of the year on Friday against Radford. He allowed just one run on two hits over five innings, striking out five. MEM – BRENNON MARTIN – did not allow an earned run over 8.2 innings at Troy on Friday night. He scattered seven hits and struck out seven batters, while walking just one. He faced just four batters over the minimum through 8.1 innings pitched. RICE – MIKE OJALA – set a Houston College Classic (that lasted 24 hours) with 11 strikeouts against No. 9 UCLA on Friday night. USM –KYLE LINDSEY – tossed a complete-game, four-hitter in his first USM start against South Alabama. He struck out 10 batters and walked just one. He faced just three batters over the minimum while using just 95 pitches. TLN – PRESTON CLAIBORNE – earned the win in the series finale against Wright State, giving up no runs and three hits in five scoreless innings out of the bullpen. He issued one walk and struck out a career-high eight batters in his longest career outing. UAB – MITCH KLOSKOWSKI – earned a win at Jacksonville State, allowing just one earned run on five hits over five innings pitched.
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