March 10 Baseball Notebook
March 10, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format The majority of this week's games in Conference USA are scheduled for the friendly confines of C-USA parks. League teams are 46-16 at home this season. The marquee mid-week matchup is No. 10 Texas at No. 13 Rice on Tuesday. East Carolina will look to increase its seven-game winning streak when it opens a four-game homestand against Virginia Commonwealth on Tuesday. At 11-1, UCF has matched its best 12 game start and will look for win No. 12 against Pittsburgh on Tuesday.
HITTER OF THE WEEK RYAN WOOD, EAST CAROLINA Junior, SS, Woodbridge, Va. Wood led the Pirates offense during a 5-0 week, scoring 10 runs and hitting .476 (10-for-21) with two doubles, one home run and four RBI, while also walking four times for a team-best .577 on-base percentage. He collected two hits in four of the Pirates five games and extended his current hitting streak to 10 games. At Old Dominion on Tuesday, Wood was 3-for-6 and scored the winning run in the bottom of the tenth in the Pirates 20-13 victory. At the Keith LeClair Classic over the weekend, he batted .500 (5-for-10) with seven runs scored, collected two doubles, swiped four bases and recorded 10 total bases, all of which led the tournament. PITCHER OF THE WEEK SHOOTER HUNT, TULANE Junior, RHP, Wyckoff, N.J. Hunt struck out a season-high 11 batters and allowed just one single in 7.0 innings to lead the Green Wave to a 2-0 victory over the UC Irvine on March 10. He carried a no-hitter going into the sixth inning before allowing a two-out single to left. Hunt posted at least one strikeout in each inning, including two-K stanzas in the third, fifth, sixth and seventh innings. Of the nine non-strikeout outs recorded during his time on the mound, six were of the ground ball variety and only one reached the outfield. Hunt allowed just six base-runners during his time on the mound - three via walk, one on an error, one on a hit-by-pitch and a hit - and just two Anteater runners got as far as second base. C-USA NOTEBOOK
EAST CAROLINA The Pirates increased their winning streak to seven games by winning the Keith LeClair Classic over the weekend. For the third time in the Keith LeClair Classic's short history the Pirates went undefeated in tournament play, picking up wins against Pittsburgh, Michigan and Georgia Southern. ECU led the classic in batting (.340) with a tournament best 32 hits, six doubles, 25 runs and 10 stolen bases. On the mound, the Pirates posted a 3.67 earned run average and allowed a tournament low 13 runs. Junior 1B Brandon Henderson continued his hot hitting by going 7-for-17 (.412) on the week. He belted two home runs, drove in seven, scored seven times and laced three doubles while slugging .941. Against Pitt in the first game of the LeClair Classic, Henderson was 4-for-5 with four RBI and was a triple away from hitting for the cycle. Junior RHP Justin Bristow posted his second win of the season against Georgia Southern, working seven innings, allowing two runs on four hits and establishing a new career-high with seven strike outs. Seth Maness picked up another win to improve to 2-0 after beating Pitt, 10-5. The freshman right-hander fanned a career-best 10 batters, the most by a single pitcher since Ricky Brooks struck out 14 against Memphis on April 24, 2005. His 22 strikeouts on the season lead the team and he has issued five walks, lowest by any of the starters. HOUSTON Houston won four of five last week to improve to 8-5 on the season. The Cardiac Coogs rallied from six-run deficits in each of their first two games of the week against Louisiana and Sacred Heart. UH trailed 14-8 after six-and-a-half innings against Louisiana before rallying for a 14-8 win and trailed 6-0 after half an inning against Sacred Heart before taking a 9-8 victory. Junior RHP Wes Musick earned his third straight win by allowing one run on five hits over eight innings with a season-high six K's vs UC Santa Barbara. In 21.2 innings pitched this season, he has a 1.25 ERA and 18 strikeouts with four walks. Senior OF Jake Stewart continued his torrid start to the 2008 season, finishing the week with a .714 slugging percentage, five hits, a home run and four RBI. He has hit safely in 11-of-12 games and has now scored at least one run in each of the last 11 games. Senior IF Bryan Pounds has a 13-game hitting streak going, dating back to last season. Freshman LHP Ty Stuckey earned his first collegiate win during the Cougars' 4-2 win over UC Santa Barbara on Sunday. He allowed only one earned run off three hits with four strikeouts in 5.1 innings of work. Freshman RHP Chase Dempsay has emerged as the top choice at closer for the moment. He pitched three innings this week, striking out two, giving up no runs and earning two saves. Sophomore C Austin Goolsby made his first career start in the outfield against UC Santa Barbara on March 9. Goolsby had previously started 15 career games behind the dish. He is hitting .357 (10-for-28) on the season with five doubles and seven RBI. MARSHALL The Thundering Herd were only able to play one game this past week as inclement weather forced the cancellation of its entire series against Marist over the weekend. Junior CF Nate Lape has hit safely in his last seven games and continues to lead the conference with a .483 batting average (14-for-29) for the season. With three doubles and three home runs, he also paces the circuit in slugging percentage (.897). Junior RF Kurt Lipton had a pair of hits against George Mason on Feb. 29 and then tallied his first home run of the season (and as a member of the Herd) in a 9-7 loss to Western Carolina on March 2. Junior RHP Steve Blevins threw seven shutout innings against George Mason, allowing just three hits and walking two. He also struck out six to earn his first win of the season. Marshall has seven players with at least one home run on the season and have out-homered its opponents, 11-9 on the year. The Herd has 29 extra-base hits in the first eight games. MEMPHIS The Tigers closed out last week with a come-from-behind win at SEC foe Georgia to snap a four-game losing streak. It was the first road win for Memphis over an SEC opponent since opening the 2006 season with a 2-0 shutout at Alabama. Freshman 2B Adam McClain and JUCO transfer 3B Brett Bowen capped a two-out, four-run eighth inning with the game-tying and game-winning RBI to push Memphis to the 7-6 come-from-behind win. Bowen had three hits and two runs drive in on the day as he raised his batting average to .346. Closer Matt Yokley, who had worked out of a bases loaded one out jam in the eighth, then retired the side in order for the win. He sat down four on strikes and allowed just three hits in three innings of relief action. Yokley has a win and two saves in four appearances this season, boasting a 1.50 ERA with 10 strikeouts and two walks in 6.0 innings pitched. Junior RHP Scott McGregor has not issued a walk in 19.1 innings pitched this season. He has struck out 17 batters over that span. RICE Over the weekend the Blue & Gray went 2-1 in its own home tournament. Both of the teams the Owls beat over the weekend (Western Carolina and Creighton) won their respective conference tournaments a year ago and advanced to NCAA Regionals. Creighton may have the ambidextrous pitcher, Pat Venditte, but Rice junior hitter/pitcher Jared Gayhart displayed some nice versatility of his own against the Bluejays by inducing an inning-ending double play as a pitcher in the top of the eighth inning, then knocking an RBI double to give Rice the lead in the bottom of the eighth, then striking out the side as the pitcher in the top of the ninth to earn his second win of the season. Offensively, he finished the day with a pair of hits and three RBI. Sophomore 3B Diego Seastrunk has hit safely in 14 straight games, dating back to the 2007 College World Series. Not only is Seastrunk working a streak, he has seven multi-hit games this season with a high of three hits in a game twice. Junior OF Aaron Luna batted .471 (8-of-17) last week with a pair of doubles, five RBI, five walks and two steals in five games. Luna's on-base percentage last week was a steady .625. Junior 2B Jess Buenger returned to the lineup after being sidelined for two weeks. In 10 trips to the plate last week, Buenger collected a pair of hits and walked four times for a .600 on-base percentage. He was also error-free in 11 chances in the field and turned or started two of the Owls' six double plays. In his first start of 2008, senior Derek Myers slugged his first career home run to lead off the bottom of the first inning against Western Carolina. Myers then doubled-in the game-winning run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning against the Catamounts. SOUTHERN MISS The Golden Eagles dropped four games last week, all against nationally-ranked opponents, losing at then-No. 2 Mississippi on March 5 and dropping three straight at No. 26 Cal State Fullerton. That marked first time since the 2000 season (at Louisiana-Lafayette) that USM has been swept in a three-game non-conference series. The Southern Miss bats awoke from their early-season slumber, producing 37 hits in the four games, but the Eagles could only muster 15 runs, including one run in the series opener at Fullerton and three runs in the next game. As a team, USM is batting just .247 on the season. Senior C Keith Winstead tops the team with a .353 average, which includes seven doubles (second in Conference USA). Senior OF Drew Carson is second at .324 and five of his 11 hits (two doubles, three home runs) have been extra-base hits. TULANE The Green Wave posted a 2-3 record last week, losing in the bottom-of-the-ninth inning to cross-town rival New Orleans and dropping two vs. No. 13 UC Irvine. Tulane's bats were quiet, batting .212 in the five games with just eight extra-base hits. Junior RHP Shooter Hunt struck out a season-best 11, walked three and allowed just one single in 7.0 shutout innings in Friday's win vs. UCI. So far this season, Hunt has a 0.95 ERA and a .100 opponent batting average while striking out 27 and walking eight in 19.0 innings of work. Since joining the Green Wave prior to the 2007, Hunt is a combined 8-6 with a sparkling 2.35 ERA and a .214 opponent batting average. Tulane's pitching staff has a league-low 2.97 ERA and has struck out 96 and walked just 52 in 118 innings of work. The Wave bullpen has combined for three wins, two saves, a 2.64 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 44.1 IP. Sophomore RHP Taylor Rogers has a 0.00 ERA in two appearances, junior RHP Mason Griffin has a win, two saves and a 1.04 ERA in six outings, and true freshman RHP Nick Pepitone leads the pen with seven appearances, 14.0 innings pitched and eight strikeouts. Fielding a team featuring 15 newcomers (three D-I transfers, five Junior College graduates and seven true freshmen), Tulane has been challenged with a combined 11 games against seven teams that advanced to the NCAA postseason last year over the first three weekends of the season. Despite the lack of experience, the Green Wave came out of the tough stretch 8-5, including a 6-5 record against last season's regional opponents. UAB The Blazers opened a season-long six-game road trip last week, dropping a mid-week game at Jacksonville State before taking two-of-three at Hawaii-Hilo. Both of UAB's losses were by one run and on walk-off hits. Senior 1B Ryan Keedy hit .500 (8-for-16) with three RBI and three runs scored last week. He recorded four multiple-hit games to move his season total to 10. Keedy had a .526 on-base percentage and a .688 slugging percentage in the team's four games. In addition, he had one sacrifice fly and one stolen base. For the year, Keedy is batting an impressive .460 with 14 RBI and four doubles. At Jacksonville State, senior OF Phil Bell was just a double away from becoming the third player in school history to hit for the cycle. Bell is batting .327 with four doubles, to homers and 12 RBI in 13 games. Sophomore 3B Luke Stewart is second on the team with a .343 average and has a .529 on-base percentage thanks to a league-leading 14 walks. Freshman RHP Blake Huddleston picked up his first career win in Saturday's second game as he allowed just one run on six hits with three strikeouts and no walks in a five-inning outing. UCF The Knights swept a three-game series from Monmouth over the weekend to improve to 11-1 on the season. The 11-1 record matches the best start in school history and ties for the fifth-best start (with one loss) in C-USA annals. Sunday's 5-4 series-ending win came in 16 innings, which ties for the fourth-longest game (by innings) in C-USA history. Sophomore Shane Brown, who set a UCF record with 19 putouts at first base in the game, used the 16th inning to extend his hitting streak to 14 games, leading off the deciding frame with a double to right. He would later be sacrificed to third by pinch-hitter Stephen Branca, setting up Erik Kallstrom's game-winning single. Senior CF Tyson Auer was 5-for-11 (.455) in the Monmouth series, including his 11th career triple, which moved him into 10th place on the school's all-time list. Sophomore LHP Mitch Houck struck out nine without walking a batter in six innings against Jacksonville on March 4. The Knights pitching staff has struck out 132 batters with 45 walks over the first 112 innings of the season. UCF has notched double-digit hits in 10 of 12 games in 2008 and is batting .336 as a team, tops in Conference USA. THE POLLS Baseball America (Mar. 10) Collegiate Baseball (Mar. 10) NCBWA (Mar. 10) TWO TEAMS RANKED THIS WEEK Conference USA has two teams ranked in this week's polls, as Rice and UCF represent the league in this week's listings. Rice has been ranked all season and is currently ranked as high as No. 13 (NCBWA). UCF, which is enjoying an 11-1 start, has oved up to No. 20 in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Top 30 Poll East Carolina, Southern Miss and Tulane have also been ranked this season, meaning five of C-USA's nine teams have already broke into the national polls. 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 Mar. 3-9: HITTING ECU - BRANDON HENDERSON - extended going 7-for-17 (.412) on the week. He belted two home runs, drove in seven, scored seven times and laced three doubles while slugging .941. HOU - BRYAN POUNDS - extended his hitting streak to 13 games in hitting .375 (6-for-16) last week. He walked four times, had a pair of doubles and one home run, scored in every game (six total) and had three multiple-RBI games (seven total). RICE - JARED GAYHEART - hit safely in all five games last week, batting .455 (10-for-22) with a home run, a triple and two doubles for a .773 slugging percentage. He drew three walks, scored six runs and had nine RBI. UAB - RYAN KEEDY - batted .500 (8-for-16) in four road games last week with multiple hits in each outing. Doubled in three of the four games, had two walks, three RBI and three runs scored. UCF - SHANE BROWN - was 8-for-19 (.421) in five games last week, extending his hitting streak to 14 games. He homered twice, had a pair of doubles, drove in seven runs and scored three times, while drawing five walks. PITCHING ECU - BRAD MINCEY - saw action in three games out of the bullpen, posting a 0.91 ERA in 9.1 innings. He allowed four hits and one rtun with seven strieouyts and one walk. Earned a win at Virginia Commonwealth. HOU - WES MUSICK - beat UC Santa Barbara for his third straight win. Threw eight innings, allowing one run on five hits in a 4-1 win. He struck out a season-high six and walked one. Tossed seven shutout innings before allowing an eighth inning home run. RICE - JARED GAYHEART - made two relief appearances last week, earning the win over Creighton. Struck out four batters in 2.2 innings of work. UAB - BLAKE HUDDLESTON - picked up his first career win in Saturday's second game as he allowed just one run on six hits with three strikeouts and no walks in a five-inning outing. UCF - JUSTIN WEISS - made three appearances last week, not allowing a run in six innings. He struck out four and scatterred four hits. Earned a save over Jacksonville on March 4 and threw a career-high 4.0 innings vs. Monmouth on March 9. GREAT START At 11-1, UCF is off to one of the best starts in Conference USA history. Here's a look at the top five: Best C-USA Starts (With one loss) 14-1 Tulane 2005 13-1 UAB 2003 13-1 East Carolina 2002 12-1 Cincinnati 2000 11-1 UCF 2008 11-1 Southern Miss 2004 11-1 Charlotte 2000
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