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March 23 Baseball Notebook
March 24, 2009
Complete Release in PDF Format After the opening weekend of Conference USA play, East Carolina is the lone unbeaten team. The Pirates continued their offensive explosion in a three-game sweep of UCF. Houston, Marshall and Rice each won two-of-three during the opening weekend of league play. ECU is now ranked in three of the four major polls, coming in as high as No. 20, while Rice ris ranked as high as No. 4 this week.
HITTER OF THE WEEK KYLE ROLLER, EAST CAROLINA Junior, DH, Rockingham, N.C. Roller helped the Pirates to a perfect 5-0 week including a league-opening series sweep of UCF. He batted .591 (13-for-22) on the week with four home runs, 15 RBI, two walks, one strikeout and five HBPs. Roller hit three home runs in league play against the Knights, including two in the weekend opener on Friday night. The Rockingham, N.C., native scored 11 runs on the week and tied his career-high with four runs against UCF on Friday. Roller also recorded a career-high five hits (5-for-6) with two HRs and 5 RBI in that Friday contest. On the week, he posted four multi-hit and multi-RBI games, while hitting safely in all five outings. Roller helped ECU establish school and conference records for runs scored in consecutive games (52, with 26 each against Norfolk State and UCF) and ECU records for five-game scoring (90) and five-game hitting (98).
PITCHER OF THE WEEK DONNIE JOSEPH, HOUSTON Junior, LHP, Buda, Texas Joseph won his first two games this season on the mound for the Cougars after defeating No. 29 Lamar, 4-2, on Tuesday and appearing in relief to earn the win against UAB on Saturday. He pitched 9.1 combined innings, giving up just five hits and three runs while striking out 14 batters. Joseph's 6.1 innings pitched against Lamar is a career high, along with his seven strikeouts. The native of Buda, Texas pitched a shutout through five innings against Lamar, while holding the Cardinals to just two hits on the night. Joseph came on in relief against UAB in the second game of the series and pitched 3.0 innings, holding the Blazers to three hits with six strikeouts to earn the win and give Houston the series win.
C-USA NOTEBOOK
EAST CAROLINA The Pirates were 5-0 last week, scoring double-digit runs in all five outings. Included was back-to-back 26-run outings against Norfolk State and UCF. The 52 runs were the most in back-to-back games in East Carolina and C-USA history. ECU scored 90 runs on 98 hits (both five-game school records) with 14 home runs, 26 doubles and batted .450. The Pirates outscored their opponents 90-17 on the week and out hit them, 98-43. East Carolina reached double-digits in hits (10) for the 18th time this season and scored 10-or more runs for the ninth time when they plated 10 in the series finale with UCF. The Pirates have reached double-digits in hits in 18-of-20 games this season and are averaging 14.9 hits per game. Currently, all nine starters in the Pirates batting order are hitting .365 or better. Four are above .412 and six are above.390. Senior OF Stephen Batts is hitting at a .444 clip to lead the squad. Junior IF Ryan Wood batted .571 (12-for-21) on the week with three doubles, four RBI and scored a team-best 14 runs. Junior C Jared Avchen smacked his first two-HR game of his career against Norfolk State and had three game-winning RBIs as well on the week. Junior RHP Chris Heston improved to 3-0 on the season after allowing one run on seven hits in seven innings with five punch outs against UCF in a 26-1 win on the opening day of C-USA play. Sophomore RHP Seth Maness picked up his second win of the season on Saturday, going seven innings and allowing two runs on five hits with three strikeouts and two walks.
HOUSTON The Cougars posted their first series victory of the season, taking two-of-three from UAB in its C-USA-opening series. Houston defeated UAB 5-1 in its Conference USA opener on Friday night and followed that up with a 6-5 win on Saturday to take the series. With the 2-1 series win, UH has now won six of its last seven conference series openers and is 10-3 in league openers overall. In the opener, junior LHP Wes Musick set a career-high in strikeouts with 11 to earn his first win of the year . His previous best was 10 Ks against UCF on March 24, 2007. Junior RHP Frank Corolla, in relief, added five strikeouts. The 16 combined strikeouts were a season-high for the Cougars. Sophomore pitcher Donnie Joseph guided Houston to a 4-2 win over No. 29 Lamar last Tuesday night, pitching 6.1 innings and striking out eight batters for his first win of the season. Junior LHP William Kankel came on in relief and pitched 2.2 innings, striking out six batters. Through the first five innings, Joseph pitched a no-hitter and held the Cardinals to just two hits on the night. Joseph came back and earned a win in relief over UAB on Saturday, striking out six over three innings. With 14 punchouts in 9.1 innings pitched last week, Joseph has taken over the team lead in strikeouts with 32.
MARSHALL The Thundering Herd was 3-2 last week, which included a series victory at Memphis on the opening weekend of conference play. Junior RHP Austin Coan delivered three brilliant performances last week, picking up a win and a pair of saves in 4.2 innings of work. He did not allow a run or a hit in those three outings, striking out seven without walking a batter. Coan now has a 1.17 ERA overall with 17 strikeouts in 15.1 innings pitched to go along with a 2-1 record with three saves. Opponents are batting just .164 against him in nine appearances. Junior RHP Dan Straily improved to 2-0 by winning Marshall's conference opener on Friday night. He has a 1.88 ERA in four starts, with 21 strikeouts and 10 walks. Senior SS Adam Yeager set a program record for career stolen bases at Marshall with his 14th stolen bag of the season and 61st of his career on Sunday. Junior infielders Josh Valle and Brandon Casamassima are currently on five-game hitting streaks. The team's long for the season is 13 games (Yeager and and junior OF Ben Jurevicius). Jurevicius leads the club in batting average (.357) and hits (25).
MEMPHIS The Tigers went 1-2 against Marshall in their C-USA-opening series over the weekend, with the three games being decided by a total of four runs. Memphis won Saturday's game two, as sophomore IF Chad Zurcher hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning. The homer was Zurcher's first of the season and it snapped a six-game Tiger losing streak against Marshall. Despite exploding for seven runs in the third inning on Sunday (a season-high for an inning), the Tigers dropped the series finale, 8-7. Junior RHP Ryan Fraser had another strong outing in Saturday's win. He allowed just one earned run in five innings of work, but received a no-decision. Junior 1B Trey Wiedman continues to lead the team in hitting at .381 to go along with six doubles and 12 RBI. Memphis is 5-2 in games decided by one run this season.
RICE The Owls opened league play by winning two-of-three games at Southern Miss. In the 4-3 Conference USA regular-season opening win on Friday, Rice head coach Wayne Graham posted his 800th win at the helm of the Owls' program. In 17+ seasons at the University, Graham's Rice record now stands at 801-305 for a career win-percentage of .724. Junior RHP Ryan Berry won his fourth-straight game in as many starts on Saturday. He did not have a start like his previous three complete-game outings, but with the Owls leading 9-4 he left after 5.0 innings of work. True freshman Anthony Rendon is quickly making name for himself on offense and as a third baseman. The young star from nearby Lamar High School leads the team in batting average (.367), hits (29), RBI (28), home runs (7) and slugging percentage (.696). Second baseman and leadoff batter Brock Holt had a steady week at the plate. The junior transfer went 9-for-22 (.409) with a double, four walks for a .500 on-base percentage. He also stole a pair of bases. Sophomore 1B Jimmy Comerota blasted his first career home run on Saturday at Southern Miss. Last week the Owls drew single-game record attendance for its St. Patrick's Day home contest against Texas. A total of 6,193 fans packed Reckling Park to watch the Owls top the second-ranked Longhorns, 6-3.
SOUTHERN MISS The Golden Eagles were 2-3 last week, but both wins did come against ranked opponents, as Southern Miss knocked off No. 25 Mississippi State last Tuesday and took the final game of the weekend series against No. 7 Rice. Junior IF Joey Archer delivered the biggest hit of his Southern Miss career, a walk-off RBI single to propel the Golden Eagles to the 5-4 win over nationally-ranked Rice. He hit .471 (8-17) on the week with seven RBI and a run scored. He blasted two home runs and drew two walks in a week that included three multi hit games. Junior IF Taylor Walker has now hit safely in 18 straight games and he also has nine multi hit games this season. Senior OF Bo Davis made his return to the lineup on March 14 after undergoing minor knee surgery causing him to miss nearly two weeks and seven games. Since his return, he is hitting .440 (11-25) with 10 runs scored and nine RBI to go along with three home runs and eight walks. He has hit safely in 13 of the 14 games he has played in this season. Sophomore RHP Todd McInnis was the starting pitcher for both of Southern Miss' ranked wins last week. He received the win over No. 25 Mississippi State by working five innings, allowing four hits and one run while striking out three. Against No. 7 Rice, he worked five solid innings, allowing only four hits while striking out six, including five of the first nine hitters. He left the game with two runners on base which eventually scored to credit him with two runs in the game. He worked 10 total innings, allowing eight hits and three runs while striking out nine.
TULANE The Green Wave posted their first series sweep of the season this past weekend, taking three straight over Northern Colorado. Tulane opened the series with a 4-0 shutout on Friday night, as sophomore RHP Conrad Flynn threw a complete-game, striking out four without walking a batter. He allowed only three hits and registered seven, three-up, three-down innings. Sophomore DH Karl Mundt went 3-for-3 in his first career start, as the Green Wave took game two, 9-3. Sunday's series finale saw Tulane establish season-highs in runs and hits with 20 each. Josh Zeid improved to 4-0 on Sunday with five solid innings, allowing five hits and striking out four. Senior 1B Sam Honeck launched a pair of home runs in that game to give him seven on the season. He batted .556 for the week, which included a career-high five RBI showing on Sunday, bringing his season total to 35. Senior IF Josh Prince has enjoyed a great start to the season, batting .370 with four doubles and 13 RBI, while successfully stealing 18 bases in 20 attempts. Senior IF Seth Henry hit his sixth home run of the season on Saturday. He has driven in 23 runs in 23 games and is batting .310.
UAB UAB snapped a three-game losing streak Sunday by salvaging the final game of its series at Houston with a 10-2 victory. Junior C Digger Towe recorded a career-high four hits and also drove in three runs in the win. UAB scored nine of its 10 runs in the game with two outs, including four two-out runs during a decisive five-run fourth inning. Senior OF Brint Hardy added two more stolen bases last week, making him 17-for-19 on steal attempts this season and 77-for-86 in his college career, including his freshman season at Birmingham-Southern. He continues to rank fourth all-time at UAB with 59 stolen bases in his three seasons with the Blazers. Infielders Jonathan Merritt and Nick Crawford were each caught stealing over the weekend for the first time this season. UAB is now 44-for-48 on the base paths through 20 games. Senior OF Cody McMurry had a solid week at the plate, going 6-for-15 (.400) with a double, a home run and five RBI. Despite losing two of out three games to Houston, UAB out-hit the Cougars in each game of the series. The Blazers tallied nine hits in the first two contests and 12 in Sunday's game. UAB is averaging 11.1 hits per game this season with 222 hits in 20 games.
UCF The Knights had a tough opening series of league play, dropping all three games at No. 23 East Carolina. Senior C Brandon Romans has homered in three of his last four games to give him eight on the season. His previous career-high was two homers. Last Wednesday, he was named a candidate for the Johnny Bench Award, given to the nation's top collegiate catcher. Junior IF Shane Brown's hitting streak remained intact last week as he stretched it to a career-best 14 games. Senior IF Colin Arnold was the team's top hitter last week, going 7-for-19 (.368) with a double and two runs scored. The Knights have hit 26 home runs this year through 22 games. That is already more than the entire 2007 season when UCF hit 25 homers in 59 games. Romans leads the club with his eight round-trippers, while senior IF Kiko Vazquez has four.
THE POLLS
Baseball America (Mar. 23)
Collegiate Baseball (Mar. 23)
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. 16-22:
HITTING ECU - RYAN WOOD - batted .571 (12-for-21) on the week with three doubles, four RBI and scored a team-best 14 runs. HOU - CALEB RAMSEY - had three multiple-hit games and was 7-for-20 (.350) over five games with a pair of doubles. He a stole a base, scored two runs and tied for the team high in runs drive in with three. MAR - BRANDON CASAMASSIMA - batted .500 (6-for-12) with two doubles, a home run and five RBI. He drilled three hits in Sunday's series finale, including a pair of doubles, the last of which drove in the game-winning runs in the ninth inning. RICE - ANTHONY RENDON - went 8-for-20 (.400) with three home runs and 10 RBI. He had a team-best .800 slugging percentage and he also drew two walks with a sacrifice fly for a .435 on-base percentage. USM - JOEY ARCHER - had the game-winning, walk-off single against Rice on Sunday to cap off an 8-for-17 (.471) week at the plate. Had a double, a home run and seven RBI while slugging at a .706 clip. TLN - SAM HONECK - batted .556 (10-for-18) for the week in an effort that included a double, a triple, four home runs and nine RBI, including career-high five on Sunday. He slugged at 1.389, drew six bases on balls and scored eight runs. UAB - CODY McMURRY - batted .400 (6-for-15) last week with a .550 on-base percentage thanks to five walks. He added a double, a home run and drove in five runs, while scoring three times.
PITCHING ECU - KEVIN BRANDT - Brandt picked up his fourth win of the season against UCF in the series finale, working 5.1 IP fanning four with no walks ... Faced one batter over the minimum, allowing one hit. After hitting a batter in the fourth, retired the next 13 hitters. MAR - AUSTIN COAN - picked up a win and two saves in three appearances last week. Did not allow a run or a hit in 4.2 innings pitched, striking out seven without walking a batter. RICE - MIKE OJALA - pitched a total of 5.2 shutout innings in two appearances last week. He scattered four hits and did not allow any walks while striking out seven. Ojala had a no-decision against Southern Miss and earned his first career save against Texas. USM - TODD McINNIS - worked 10 total innings, allowing eight hits and three runs while striking out nine in wins over No. 25 Mississippi State and No. 7 Rice. Was credited with the victory over MSU, allowing one run on four hits over five innings. TLN - CONRAD FLYNN - threw a complete-game shutout against Northern Colorado on Friday night, striking out four without walking a batter. He allowed only three hits and registered seven, three-up, three-down innings. UAB - BLAKE HUDDLESTON - earned his first save Sunday against Houston after pitching the final 3.1 scoreless frames. He allowed just three hits to the Cougars in his second straight shutout appearance. Did not walk a single batter in 5.1 total innings of work last week.
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