Thursday, 05/31/07

Oxford: Previewing the Oxford Regional

It's the regional of the closer here in Oxford, or at least that is what the two lowest seeds in the regional are hoping it becomes. While the field here in Oxford doesn't feature a single team ranked in the latest Baseball America poll, it does feature two of the best closers in the country. No. 3 seed Troy features senior right-hander (and first baseman) Josh Dew whose 96 strikeouts in 63.1 innings is the best strikeouts-per-nine-innings ratio in the nation.
Meanwhile No. 4 seed Sam Houston State's MVP is senior right-hander Luke Prihoda, who leads the nation with 17 saves and is second in America with a 1.21 ERA.
The interesting sidebar is Ole Miss sophomore right-handed closer Cody Satterwhite, who has already been selected to play for Team USA this summer. Satterwhite has great potential and looks dominant at times. He's also blown three saves over the last four weekends, including the seminfinals of last weekend's SEC Tournament against Vanderbilt.
Anyway, here is an extended look at all four teams.

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Thursday, 05/31/07

San Diego Preview: Toreros are BY FAR the best team

Five years ago, the big college baseball story in San Diego was that Tony Gwynn was taking over the head coaching duties at his alma-mater, San Diego State.

It didn't get as much attention, but that same year the University of San Diego advanced to its first NCAA Regional, and its coach, Rich Hill, was slowly building a formidable program.

Five years later, Gwynn has struggled at State (only one winning season), while Hill has built a squad that has a chance to not only make it to Omaha, but to leave the Cornhusker State with a national championship.

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Thursday, 05/31/07

Houston: Sitting down with the brain trust

The powers that be scrubbed the scheduled press conference this afternoon, so I got to sit down with all four coaches one by one and get their thoughts on the tournament selection committee and the exciting four-team field here in Houston. A few good 'ol Texas boys on hand for this one.

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Thursday, 05/31/07

Tempe: Previewing the Arizona State Regional

No. 1 Seed Arizona State (43-13)
Host Arizona State is a program rich in College World Series history and has a chance to add to its tradition this year armed with a Pac-10 title, 11 All-Pac-10 selections and a No. 5 seed. The five-time champions haven't won a title since 1981, but have the talent to make a run to Omaha.

It starts with a ridiculous offense that sports a .349 batting average. That's not their leading hitter's average -- that's what they hit as a team. It's good for third-best in the nation and produces 8.82 runs per game.

Brett Wallace leads the way with a .426 average that’s good for ninth-best in the nation. And he's not just a contact hitter; he also leads the team with 15 home runs and 73 RBI.

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Thursday, 05/31/07

College Station Regional Preview

Hello all. I'm Jack Molitor, a student at Texas A&M and I will be blogging for the College Station Regional. I'll be keeping you updated on the games for all four teams. To all Dolphin, Buckeye, Cajun, and Aggie fans out there, good luck.

The NCAA Tournament committee determined seedings and matchups Sunday night after the final games were completed. A&M, after defeating Baylor 14-6 in the Big 12 Tournament title game, was awarded a regional hosting and matched up with the Le Moyne Dolphins, with the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Louisiana-Lafayette Cajuns also placed in the College Station regional.

The Cajuns, who received the No. 2 seed for the College Station regional, finished the year with a record of 43-15 and were regular season champions of the Sun Belt Conference. The third seed Buckeyes earned an automatic bid after winning the Big 10 Tournament and had a record of 37-22. These two teams will play in the first game of the regional at 1 p.m. on Friday.

The Aggies first round opponent will be Le Moyne, who finished the season with a record of 33-17. The two teams play in game two on Friday at 7 p.m.

Le Moyne, a liberal arts college with about 2,300 undergraduates in Syracuse, New York, is making its fourth appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Dolphins head coach, Steve Owens, is in his eighth year at the helm. Owens has led the Dolphins to three of the four tournament appearances they have made.

It's been hot and humid down here in College Station and the action with these four excellent team promises to be equally feverish.

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Thursday, 05/31/07

Wichita: Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

Well the forecast shows the chance of showers, but we are all keeping our fingers crossed (and an umbrella close by) for this weekend's game. New Orleans, Arizona, Oral Roberts, and home team Wichita State get to duke it out for the tournament title June 1-4.

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Thursday, 05/31/07

Long Beach Regional: Preview

Blair Field - the home of Long Beach State's baseball program - has enjoyed the limelight as the host site of six MTV Rock & Jock softball games, four Area Code Game tournaments and been used as a filming location for over 200 films. Yet no matter how many times this field has been in the spotlight in the world of sports and entertainment, it is the field's time in the NCAA spotlight as one of 16 Regional Sites this weekend that seems to matter the most.

While three different Southern California teams and one Mid-Western team will descend on this field within 10 miles of the beach, only one team will survive and advance to a Super Regional site next weekend.

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Thursday, 05/31/07

Myrtle Beach: A Carolina Feel To Things

After the quick hour flight from New York to Myrtle Beach, and another couple of hours to sort out hotel issues, it's time to preview the Myrtle Beach Regional. Coastal Carolina is the No. 1 seed and the host, despite its campus being 15 miles away from Coastal Federal Field. The No. 2 seed is in-state rival Clemson, while the three seed is St. John's, with VCU rounding out the four. Here's a look at the four teams with names you should know, stats to be aware of, and all of that good stuff.

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Thursday, 05/31/07

Fayetteville: Previewing the Regional

Fayetteville, Arkansas might not seem like the center of the world, but come tomorrow, it'll be as close as it can get.

As the eyes of the business world focus in on Wal-Mart's stockholder meeting at Walton Arena, the eyes of the baseball world will shift half a mile over to Baum Stadium at George Cole Field, where four of the nation's premier college teams will do battle for a chance to move one step closer to a date at Rosenblatt Stadium and the College World Series.

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Thursday, 05/31/07

Round Rock: Preview

Poor UC Irvine. Some clueless administrator in the athletic department fired the first shot in the war with Texas. Check out the regional announcement that ran on the UCI webpage...

It's doubtful that you could come up with a term that's more degrading, insulting, and derogatory to Longhorn Nation than that.

So while 4-seed Brown and 3-seed Wake Forest will be joining the festivities at the Round Rock Regional, it's 2nd-seeded California Irvine that will draw the most attention.

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Thursday, 05/31/07

Tallahassee: Regional Preview

If Thursday's press conference was any indication, the Tallahassee Regional should be a fun and competitive weekend of baseball for a field featuring four dangerous ball clubs and an accomplished group of coaches. Three of the four head coaches have been with their respective schools for 28 years and can account for more than 1,000 wins apiece.

The tournament is headlined by top-seeded Florida State, but coaches made it clear that no one in this field should be taken lightly and each has enough postseason experience to know better. The Seminoles are joined by No. 2 seed Mississippi State, No. 3 seed Stetson and No. 4 seed Bethune-Cookman.

While coaches shared old stories and a few good laughs Thursday in Tallahassee, each of them beamed with confidence and left no doubt that they're all here to win. Here's a quick look at each team.

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Thursday, 05/31/07

Charlottesville Regional Preview

With the nation's eighth-ranked team, the Big East champions, the defending national champions and an up-and-coming Patriot League squad going at each other for a berth in the Super Regionals, it should be a compelling and entertaining weekend of baseball at the Charlottesville Regional. Check out the capsules below for a brief taste of what each team brings to the table.

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Thursday, 05/31/07

Columbia, Mo. Regional Preview

The Columbia, Mo. Regional should certainly be a competitive one as it features two 40-win squads in the University of Missouri and Louisville, a conference champion team in Kent State, and one of college baseball's traditional powerhouses, the University of Miami. There is no other sport that values stats more than baseball, and in this preview, that's what I will rely on to analyze each time. I'm looking forward to a great weekend of baseball off of I-70, and can't wait for the first pitch as the Canes take on the Cards on Friday at 1 p.m. CST.

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Wednesday, 05/30/07

Chapel Hill Regional Preview

Game 1: EAST CAROLINA PIRATES (39-21) versus WESTERN CAROLINA CATAMOUNTS (40-18)

This game will match relative upstart Western Carolina against frequent NCAA tournament participant East Carolina. The Catamounts from the western end of the state will use their hard-hitting offense against the more pitching-oriented guys from the eastern end of the state. The Catamounts have pounded out 81 home runs and have five players with 11 or more round-trippers. The pitching is less impressive, with a team ERA of 4.82 and 607 hits allowed in 515 innings. The Pirates have a more palatable team ERA of 3.83 but have only hit .286 compared to WCU's .322 team average. The Pirates won the only contest this year between the two, with a 3-2 victory back in March in the Keith LeClair Classic.

WESTERN CAROLINA CATAMOUNTS (Cullowhee, NC)
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 11
Last NCAA Tournament Appearance: 2003 Wilson, NC Regional (2-2)
At-large bid from Southern Conference; tied College of Charleston with best regular season conference record (20-7)
Results against Regional rivals: Lost 3-2 to East Carolina

Team Notes: The Catamounts beat such heavies as Georgia Tech, NC State, Clemson, and Ohio State during the 2007 season. They won 8 straight before losing their final 3 games, including both games in the Southern Conference Tournament (Citadel, Georgia Southern).
Last at-large bid was in 1994, when they were led by future East Carolina coach Keith LeClair in the Knoxville Regional. Current Coach Todd Raleigh was an assistant at both ECU and WCU under LeClair, who sadly passed away last July from ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease).
UNC fans likely won't extend the same love to WCU second baseman Kenny Smith that they did to the former Tar Heel and NBA star of the same name. This Kenny leads the boys from Cullowhee in batting average, home runs, RBI, and stolen bases. He is a transfer from UNC-Wilmington who competed with the Seahawks in last year's Chapel Hill Regional.
Pitcher Drew Saberhagen transferred to Western Carolina from the lovely shores of Malibu at Pepperdine, and is the son of former major league star Bret Saberhagen.

Team Stats/Leaders: BA .322, 81 HR, 67/93 SB ----- ERA 4.82, 515 IP, 607 H, 41 HR

2B Kenny Smith .396-18-79, 14 SB ------ Drew Saberhagen 8-1, 3.10
C Blake Murphy .377-15-63 ------------- Tyler Sexton 8-3, 4.34
OF Barrett Shaft .373-3-29 --------------- Greg Holland 4-3, 3.46, 10 saves, 31 appearances
3B Nick Liles .343-2-38;
1B John Ingram .330-11-61, 10 SB
OF Jonathan Greene .321-13-53
OF Steven Strausbaugh .285-12-52

EAST CAROLINA PIRATES (Greenville, NC)
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 22
Last NCAA Tournament Appearance: 2005 Tempe Regional (0-2)
At-large bid from Conference USA; runner up to Rice Owls in both regular season (14-9) and the tournament
Results against Regional rivals: Beat Western Carolina 3-2, lost to UNC 10-0 and 5-1

Team Notes: ECU is making its 8th NCAA tournament appearance in 9 years after missing last year. Although the Pirates had been hoping to host a regional themselves, their fans travel well and will bring a large and loud contingent to Chapel Hill- if they can find tickets. If not, they may be re-creating The Jungle along the outfield fence at Boshamer Stadium. UNC sold out the regional in one day, with Vanderbilt being the only other school to do so.

Team Stats/Leaders: BA .286, 64 HR, 83/109 SB ----- ERA 3.83, 534 IP, 522 H, 36 HR

SS Dale Mollenhauer .329-3-26, 9 SB ------------Josh Dowdy 5-1, 2.97
2B/SS Ryan Wood .317-5-23, 14 SB ------------ Dustin Sasser 5-4, 3.44
1B Stephen Batts .316-5-51, 12 SB -------------- T.J. Hose 6-5, 3.59
CF Harrison Eldridge .300-5-27, 14 SB ---------- Shane Matthews 4-3, 4.05, 13 saves, 37 app
RF Ryan Tousley .294-10-48, 10 SB ------------ Jason Neitz 4-2, 2.81, 33 appearances

GAME 2: JACKSONVILLE DOLPHINS (34-26) versus NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS (48-12)

The second game of this regional will pit host and #3 national seed North Carolina against Jacksonville from the Atlantic Sun Conference. The Tar Heels came within a whisker of winning the national title last season but shaky defensive play cost them the big prize to Oregon State. The Heels have had another stellar season despite subpar years from two of last year's biggest sluggers, Chad Flack and Benji Johnson. Flack is hitting .249-6-39 after huge freshman and sophomore seasons (.384-13-68 in 2006, .335-15-49 in 2005). Johnson is at .259-6-26 after banging 14 HR and driving home 44 runs in 2006. Freshman first baseman Dustin Ackley has led the way this year with a team-best .437 BA and 63 RBI. The top four starting pitchers have gone 32-7, and Robert Woodard became UNC's all-team leader in victories with a win against Georgia Tech.
The Dolphins finished fourth in the Atlantic Sun but managed to take the conference title to earn an automatic bid. They have been fiends on the basepaths, with 88 stolen bases to overcome a relatively modest .287 team BA and 35 home runs.

JACKSONVILLE DOLPHINS (Jacksonville, Fl)
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 12 (second in a row)
Last NCAA Tournament Appearance: 2006 Athens Regional (1-2)
Automatic bid after winning Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament; 4th place (15-12) in regular season
Results against Regional rivals: none

Team Notes: The Dolphins had wins over Florida State, Florida, and Stetson during the 2007 season. Pitcher Matt Dobbins went 12-0 in the regular season last year (12-2 overall), but has been hampered by back injuries this year and is now pitching out of the bullpen. Another pitching Matt (Davis) is starting after missing the first 23 games following elbow surgery. First baseman Ryan McArdle is a Florida State transfer.
This regional will mark a reunion of former North Carolina chess champions. Jacksonville 2B Logan James and UNC pitcher Robert Woodard won the state chess championship in middle school.

Team Stats/Leaders: BA .287, 35 HR, 88/112 SB ----- ERA 4.37, 529 IP, 596 H, 35 HR

LF Pete Clifford .359-14-59, 21 SB ------------ Justin Young 5-5, 3.33
DH Chuck Opachich .335-0-27, 16 SB -------- Matt Gardner 7-5, 3.82
1B Ryan McArdle .326-6-51 -------------------- Matt Davis 4-1, 3.12, 6 saves
RF Mike McCallister .293-5-46, 14 SB --------- Matt Dobbins 3-2, 3.68
CF Kevin Ferreira .278-0-19, 16 SB

NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS (Chapel Hill, NC)
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 22 (sixth straight)
Last NCAA Tournament Appearance: 2006 (CWS runner up, 3-0 Chapel Hill Regional, 2-0 Tuscaloosa Super Regional)
Automatic bid after winning ACC Tournament (first time since 1990); won Coastal Division and 2nd overall in ACC (21-9)
Results against Regional rivals: beat ECU 10-0, 5-1

Team Notes: This post-season will mark the end of the current version of Boshamer Stadium. As soon as the last game is played at Boshamer, the contractors will start renovating the stadium to greatly expand seating capacity and modernize the facility. Among the contributors to the project were Yankees' owner George Steinbrenner, who donated a cool million bucks (his daughter graduated from UNC). The new stadium won't be ready until at least May of 2008, so the Tar Heels will play the 2008 season in nearby Cary, NC at the new Team USA training facility.

Team Stats/Leaders: BA .320, 64 HR, 43/63 SB ----- ERA 3.17, 542 IP, 485 H, 32 HR

1B Dustin Ackley .437-7-63, 10 SB ----------- Adam Warren 10-0, 2.09
RF Tim Fedroff .359-4-33 ---------------------- Robert Woodard 9-2, 3.29
C Tim Federowicz .349-4-58 ---------------- Alex White 6-4, 3.35
SS Josh Horton .329-8-43 --------------------- Luke Putkonen 7-1, 4.23
LF Reid Fronk .322-11-50 --------------------- Andrew Carignan 1-1, 1.20, 13 saves

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Tuesday, 05/29/07

CSTV To Televise Fayetteville Regional

It's been announced that CSTV will be televising exclusively the NCAA Baseball Regional this coming weekend at the University of Arkansas from famed Charlie Baum Stadium in Fayetteville. The weekend features the University of Arkansas, Oklahoma State University, Creighton, and Albany (NY) and will kick off with a Friday doubleheader at 3:30 PM ET and 7:30 PM ET followed by the same doubleheader times on Saturday and Sunday, with Game 7, if necessary on Monday night at 8:30 PM ET.

This weekend will also feature the NCAA Division II Baseball Championship on Friday Night, and the NJCAA Junior College Baseball Championship on Monday. Starting on Tuesday June 5, CSTV will air the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship for five straight days, featuring 14 games.

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Monday, 05/28/07

One Guy's Reaction

Throughout the week, we'll have plenty of opinions from a variety of people about the NCAA Tournament, but for now, here's what I think about the snubs, the best draws, easiest paths, and all that good stuff. First, let me send my best to the Decatur Daily's Josh Cooper (who has done some stuff for us), who is the Alabama beat reporter and was really hoping to travel somewhere this weekend. Get the golf clubs out, and keep the Nick Saban Google alerts coming (Only about 90 days left?) Anyway, here we go.

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Monday, 05/28/07

Bracket Released

Brackets are out...Heare are the top eight seeds...

No. 1 Vanderbilt
No. 2 Rice
No. 3 North Carolina
No. 4 Texas
No. 5 Arizona State
No. 6 Florida State
No. 7 Arkansas
No. 8 San Diego

And for the Regionals...

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Sunday, 05/27/07

WCC: San Diego wins WCC

It's offical.

San Diego recovers from losing Game 1 of the series to Gonzaga, winning yesterday and then pounded the Bulldogs 13-1 today, to win the West Coast Conference championship.

The players are jumping on eachother in what might be the start of very memorable month for the Toreros.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

WCC: Is San Diego a national seed?

San Diego is up 13-1 in the ninth inning, so it's time to look ahead.

After watching Toreros these past two days, it's hard to imagine that there are eight better teams in the country.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

SEC: All Tourney Team

Team is obviously loaded with a bunch of Vandy and Arkansas players. So here it is:

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Sunday, 05/27/07

WCC: How lazy is the tournament selection committee?

With Gonzaga down 12-1 right now in the sixth inning, it doesn't look like the Zags are going to get the automatic bid handed to the West Coast Conference champion.

Which raises the question: Do they get an at-large bid?

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Sunday, 05/27/07

SEC: Vandy Crowned

Vanderbilt is your 2007 SEC Tournament champion after a 7-4 victory over Arkansas. For Vandy, it's their first conference tournament championship since 1980.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

SEC: Insurance Company

As Ole Miss found out yesterday the hard way, no lead is safe in college baseball. Vanderbilt just tacked on another run in the top of the ninth to extend its lead to 7-4. After recording the assist on the play at the plate only moments earlier to end the 8th, Vandy's Matt Meingasner hit a triple to the left centerfield gap with one out. Pinch hitter Ryan Davis then hit a SAC Fly to left to score him, and extend the lead. Last licks for Arkansas. Let's see if there's some more late inning magic left in the air here in Hoover.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

SEC: Nailed At Home

In the bottom of the 8th, Wayne Hrozek hit a basehit to left with pinch runner Matt Willard on second. Willard rounded third and was being waved home, but an absolute beauty of a throw from Vandy leftfielder Matt Meingasner gunned him down at the plate, with the perfect tag from Shea Robin to end the threat and the inning. Vandy still leads 6-4, heading to the 9th.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

WCC: Now it's getting ugly

San Diego scored five more times in the third and are now leading 9-1 through three innings.

Gonzaga's starter, Josh Monroe, had a short and disapointing day. He finished throwing 2 2/3 innings, giving up 10 hits and seven earned runs.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

SEC: Rhoden Done

Vandy starter Tyler Rhoden is out of the game after matching a career high 6.2 innings. Rhoden came into the game with only 14 innings this season, but he threw 120 pitches and really settled down after a rough first two innings. He finished giving up four runs (one came in in the 7th with a Casey Coon basehit), seven hits, six strikeouts and two walks. Vandy leads 6-4 in the seventh inning, trying to win their first SEC Tournament title since 1980, their only title. Arkansas has never won this tournament before.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

WCC: San Diego adds another

A Sean Nicol double, a Mike Metzger single and a Justin Snyder ground ball equaled another run for the Toreros. It's now 4-1 San Diego.

Gonzaga head coach Mark Machtolf has been reluctant to go to the bullpen in this series, but if Justin Monroe continues to struggle it's hard to imagine he will be in there much longer.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

WCC: San Diego can hit

The Toreros might be best known throughout the country because of their pitching, espcially Brain Matusz.

But it has been the San Diego hitting that has impressed this weekend. Yesterday, San Diego scored 13 runs on 21 hits and today they started right where they left off.

Gonzaga lead was short-lived as the Toreros scored three runs in the bottom of the first to take a 3-1 lead.

If Gonzaga wants to win this game, they will probably have score seven or eight runs.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

SEC: Vandy Looking To Explode

Chris Rhoads is out of the game here in the top of the seventh for Arkansas, after going five innings, giving up 1 run (so far), five hits, 1 walk, and striking out five while throwing 86 pitches. Runners are at the corners as Stephen Richards will enter the ball game for the Razorbacks to face the bottom third of the Vandy lineup. The 'Dores tacked on another run here earlier in the inning, making it 5-3, when Meingasner hit a chopper back to the mound and with a runner coming home, Rhoads threw wild to first, pulling Hamblin off the bag. Vandy looking for much more in the inning and ice this thing up.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

WCC: Gonzaga off to a fast start

Gonzaga got aff to a good start in a game they have to have.

Evan Wells led off the game with a single, then Torero starter Matt Coauch was calledfor a balk, which San Diego head coach Rich Hill argued to the umpire about (something Hill seems to do a lot ) and then Bryan Winston hit a single to put Gonzaga up 1-0.

Couch recovered, getting out of the inning with no further damage. No we'll see how Gonzaga's starter, Josh Monroe, does against the Toreros explosive offense.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

WCC: Already a good day for San Diego

For the first time in their history, San Diego will host an NCAA Regionals next weekend. The team was told in the locker rooms before the game, so they should be pretty fired up for the final game in this series.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

Big 12: Aggies dogpile

This pic says enough. A&M wins over Baylor 14-6. No drama. No intrigue. No fuss. No muss.

Here's the All-Tourney team:
C- Craig Stinson, Texas A&M
1B- Chance Wheeless, Texas
2B- Brock Bond, Missouri
SS- Beamer Weems, Baylor
3B- Aaron Reza, Oklahoma
OF- Joseph Hughes, Oklahoma
OF- Jordan Danks, Texas
OF- Ty Wright, Oklahoma State
DH- Matt Czimsky, Baylor
P- Kendal Volz, Oklahoma State
P- Brad Hutt, Kansas State

MVP- Craig Stinson, Texas A&M

Aggies prove there is no "I" in team with only one All-tournament selection. (Or maybe that means Stinson is the only one who thinks there is an "I" in team.)

More on all this Hullabaloo in Extra Innings later on tonight.

Cheers from OKC.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

SEC: Settled In

Much like yesterday's Ole Miss-Vandy second game of the day, this one has settled in nicely as we play in the bottom of the fourth. After seven combined runs through the first two, there's been nothing since. Vandy's Tyler Rhoden has looked good besides the two bombs he's given up. And Danny Hamblin seems to own him, after that long homerun, he just smashed a shot up the middle that nearly took his head off on an 0-2 pitch.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

C-USA Tournament: Final thoughts

Rice's 15 hits led the Owls to their fourth C-USA championship in 2 years( 2 regular season, 2 postseason). Top-seeded Rice beat second-seeded ECU 16-8.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

Big 12: Men on 1st and 3rd, RBI single, rinse, repeat

A&M has put a wedge between itself and the Bears, scoring four here in the 7th to make it 12-5.

Three straight batters went up to the plate with men on first and third and each time the Aggie batter hit a bleeder through the infield that scored a run and moved the other runner to 3rd.

Brandon Hicks, Blake Stouffer and Craig Stinson were the three that got the merry-go-round going with slap singles. After Stinson's hit, the Aggie crowd started chanting MVP, MVP, MVP!

Ironically, I have already voted the A&M catcher as my MVP for the week on my ballot.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

SEC: Hogs Climb Back

Arkansas answered Vandy's four run first with a leadoff first pitch homer from Jake Dugger, his seventh of the season to the opposite field (leftfield is the only place where homeruns want to go here this week except for Pedro Alvarez!). Then after an Arkansas pitching change in the top half of the second that saw righty Chris Rhoads come into the ball game, Jeff Nutt led off with a single, then Danny Hamblin hit an absolute moonshot to left that just stayed fair to cut the lead to 4-3. For Hamblin, that's homerun number 22 on the season, and No. 57 of his career, which sets the Arkansas school record. Lots of Hogs' records falling here in Hoover this week. Vandy gets the third out here in the inning, as we move to the third with the 'Dores holding a 4-3 lead. By the way, Arkansas won 2-of-3 from Vandy this season.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

C-USA Championship: Rice repeats

Top-seeded Rice just won its second consecutive C-USA Tournament champioinship with a 16-8 win over second-seeded host, ECU.

The tournament awards are being announced on the field, I'll have quotes, notes and a final thought from the C-USA Tournament after the postgame festivities.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

ACC: Final Wrapup

All-Tournament Team:

MVP -- Josh Horton, UNC
C -- Richard O'Brien, Miami
1B -- Dustin Ackley, UNC
2B -- Tony Thomas, Jr., FSU
3B -- Ramon Corona, NC State
SS -- Dustin Hood, Wake
OF -- Tim Fedroff, UNC
OF -- Marcus Jones, NC State
OF -- Reid Fronk, UNC
Utility -- Josh Horton, UNC
Pitcher -- David Copp, Clemson
Pitcher -- Alex White, UNC

Quotes after the jump...

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Sunday, 05/27/07

SEC: Batting Around

To say Vanderbilt has picked up right where they left off last night when they scored four runs in the bottom of the tenth without recording an out. After David Macias led off with a groundout, Alex Feinberg reached on an error, Dominic de la Osa doubled him in, Pedro Alvarez reached on an infield single, Ryan Flahrety had an RBI double, Matt Meingasner was hit by a pitch, Shea Robin hit a SAC Fly to rightfield, and Parker Hanks hit a single to drive in Ryan Flahrety. All nine Commodores came up, as finally Brad French grounded out to shortstop to end the inning. Four runs across on four hits with an error and a HBP. Ouch. Up come to the Razorbacks.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

C-USA Championship: Free tacos!

With ECU down 13-8 and runners on first and second in the 8th, Rice's ace Ryan Berry struck out three straight batters, ending the Pirate threat and inching the Owls closer to a C-USA Tournament championship repeat.

Rice's Jared Gayhart also hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the 8th, hitting the taco bell sign in rigth field that gives all 3,810 in attendance a free taco if they visit a local taco bell!

Rice 16, ECU 8 as we head to the ninth.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

Big 12; A&M adds two, BU adds three... plus random runner-up thoughts

A dropped pop fly by BU's Ben Booker and a Dane Carter RBI screamer to right field helped spark A&M to two more runs here in the 5th, making it 7-2.

But Baylor came back with a home run by Shaver Hansen here in the bottom half of the 5th, followed by an RBI single from Beamer Weems and an RBI double from Chase Gerdes. BU has now pulled to within 7-5 going into the 6th.

After seeing Minnesota get eliminated in the title round by Ohio State, it made me wonder about some runner-up teams' NCAA hopes.

- If things stayed as they are here, I still think Baylor is into the field of 64, no prob. They've played really well down the stretch.
- The Gophers dont' have the greatest RPI (No. 54 as of last week), but wins over Arkansas, Pepperdine, Ole Miss, show they're legit. The Big 10 anchor effect hurts.
- Wake Forest came up short in the ACC, but they're stock rose with a good week in J-Ville. They already had a good RPI anyway (No. 24)
- If Gonzaga should lose to San Diego today... wow! Whaddya' do about the Zags? I've seen them beat Oregon State and will have beaten Pepperdine (2-1) and San Diego (3-2 going into today) amongst others. The WCC is always underrated, but they got three in last year. So it could happen again.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

C-USA Championship: Rice builds cushion

Rice's 3 runs in the bottom of the seventh sort of took the wind out of ECU and this stadium's sails. Rice is now up 13-8 as we head to the 8th.

Aaron Luna, who will probably be named tournament MVP about an hour from now, and Joe Savery have continued to mount RBIs as only they can do. This Rice is team is very talented, and should make some noise in the NCAA Tournament, as it usually does. With Ryan Berry in the game and Cole St. Clair in the bullpen, a ECU comeback will be hard to come by.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

C-USA Championship: Attendance record

The 3,810 people in Clark-LeClair Stadium today set a new record for an on-campus C-USA tournament game. The crowd has been great and the game hasn't dissapointed either, Rice is winning 10-8 in the seventh inning.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

SEC: Welcome To Sunday

While the ACC just crowned UNC as champions, the SEC will crown either Arkansas or Vanderbilt champions of 2007 this afternoon. Each school just learned something that everyone knew, as they will both host Regionals next weekend, the first time Vandy has ever. Should be a good one this afternoon, here's the matchup:

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Sunday, 05/27/07

C-USA Championship: Things tightening up in Greenville

Things at the C-USA Championship have setted down after a slew of runs in the first couple of innings. It's Rice 10, ECU 8 after six innings.

Both teams have now brought in guys who have actually pitched a lot this season (hence why the runs have gone down). Neitz pitched well, stopped the bleeding for ECU, and Bailey Daniels is now in for the Pirates. C-USA Freshman-of-the-Year Ryan Berry pitching for Rice. Daniels has pitched in every game of the tournament for ECU, allowing no runs and Berry has a 10-2 record and 2.77 ERA.

Rice 10, ECU 8 as we head to the 7th.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

Big Ten - Ohio State: Big Ten Champions

Minnesota is down to its final three outs.

Vanderwege flies out. One out, two to go for the Golden Gophers. Baran singles to center, and the tying run is at the plate. It's McCallum, and he grounds to first, allowing Baran to get to second base.

Bryan Jost is up for Minnesota. Two outs. An 0-2 count. Man on second. He's the tying run ... and it's a ball. The Ohio State fans can barely believe it.

2-2 count.

Another ball. It's a full count. Hale is really dragging this out.

And Jost hits it to the shortstop. Baran runs for third and Jost is thrown out at first. Three outs for Minnesota, and Ohio State has just won the 2007 Big Ten tournament.

Hale gets the win with 1 and 1/3 innings of relief - a shame that Luebke couldn't get it, really, considering his outstanding performance until his last inning of work.

So the Buckeyes win out in this tournament, never falling into the loser's bracket. The team that barely made it in now has an automatic ticket to a regional. That's the beauty of tournaments.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

Big 12: Two good signs, BU may be coming alive and the sun has peeked through

A&M is still ahead, but their lead has been cut, it's now Aggies 5, Bears 2.

Baylor scored a pair of runs on a blistering triple to the wall by Paul Miles in the 2nd inning. Finally giving their fans something to cheer about.

Jake Weghorst has come on and done a decent job for Baylor so far, giving up just one hit in 1.1 innings.

The sun has broken through and lots of blue above, so it looks like we're out of the woods rain-wise.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

ACC: Heels take title

Hard to have a better tournament title game than this.

North Carolina got great pitching and an eighth-inning run to edge Wake Forest 3-2 for the ACC Tournament championship in Jacksonville.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

Big Ten - Ohio State on the verge

Bottom 8th - And just like that, it's again a two-run game.

Perlnar walks Eric Fryer, then leaves the game. Kyle Carr is now pitching for Minnesota. With two outs, Carr intentionally walks designated hitter Jason Zoeller. Michael Arp comes in to pinch-hit for right fielder Ryan Dew and ... doubles to left field, scoring both Fryer and Zoeller from second and first base, respectively. Ohio State has regained control of this game.

4-2, Ohio State. Three outs left for Minnesota.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

ACC: Bang! Heels lead!

North Carolina just struck quickly in the top of the 8th to retake the lead.

In the middle of the 8th, UNC leads Wake 3-2 in the ACC Tournament title game.

Dustin Ackley walked to lead off the inning, and after a strikeout, Josh Horton screamed a sinking liner to right. Evan Ocheltree tried to make a diving catch running to his left, but the ball bounced past him and rolled to the wall, and Horton coasted into third with an RBI triple.

Horton was cut down, however, when UNC put on the suicide squeeze and Chad Flack couldn't get his bat on the ball.

Andrew Carignan has taken the mound to start the bottom of the 8th.

THIS.

IS.

FUUUUUUUNNNNNNNN!

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Sunday, 05/27/07

ACC: High drama in J-Town

North Carolina pushed across a run in the top of the 7th to take a 2-1 lead over Wake Forest, but the Deacons answered with a run in the bottom of the inning.

After seven innings, we're tied 2-2 in the ACC Tournament title game.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

C-USA Championship: Regional sites announced

The 16 Regional sites have been announced for next weekend's NCAA Tournament.

Host teams are: Arizona State, Arkansas, Coastal Carolina, Florida State, Long Beach State, Missouri, North Carolina, Ole Miss, Rice, San Diego, South Carolina, Texas, Texas A & M, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Wichita State

As for the C-USA Championship, the game has settled down a little...Rice 9, ECU 8 in the 5th inning.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

Big Ten - Minnesota tries another late-inning rally.

Top 8th - After 7+ innings of silence, Minnesota has finally decided to get its bats going. Luebke has been almost perfect through the first seven innings, hitting one batter but only allowing four hits before this inning.

Jeremy Chlan, the hero in today's game against Penn State, singled to get on base with one out and scored from second on a double by Dan Lyons. 2-1, Ohio State. Minnesota hasn't been far behind Ohio State in the hits column, but it just hasn't been able to build off of each hit to score a run.

... And Minnesota has just scored again on a single from Mike Mee up the middle. Dan Lyons scored and it's now tied at 2. Two outs, man on first.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

Big 12: It's good to be an Aggie right now, up 5-0.

Texas A&M just scored three more runs in the top of the 3rd, got Baylor to already make a pitching change and then just had their Regional hosting assignment announced over the P.A. here, to the joy of the fans down the 1st base side.

Brian Ruggiano started things off with a double and came around to score on a double steal from third base. Brandon Hicks and Blake Stouffer hit an RBI double and an RBI triple respectively to account for two of the runs.

Baylor looks lethargic and - obviously - didn't get the start they were hoping for from Wade Mackey, who was pulled after 1.2 innings.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

C-USA Championship: How did the leadoff guy not get on?

Diego Seastrunk of Rice flew out to ECU centerfielder Harrison Eldrige to begin the bottom of the third, marking the first time all game that the leadoff batter of a half inning didn't get on base. C'mon Diego!

Rice went down in order, yes in order...I repeat in order in the bottom of the third. We have 15 runs, 15 hits and 5 errors after 3 innings.

Rice 9, ECU 6

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Sunday, 05/27/07

Big 12: A&M scores two, pitches five, hosts in the 1st round.

A&M is up 2-0 after one complete.

Ben Feltner and Blake Stouffer both walked in the first four batters and then came around to score. Craig Stinson and Luke Anders knocked them in with RBI singles.

Scott Migl threw five pitches in the first inning to get three outs. Pretty efficient, eh?

Brian Ruggiano just started the second inning with a double.

It was also just announced that Texas A&M will indeed host the post-season at their home stadium, Pat Olsen Field.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

Big Ten - Championship game cools down

Middle 6th - We've been scoreless since the bottom of the first. Perinar has settled down after his poor first inning, tallying five strikeouts and only walking the one batter in the first inning. Minnesota coach John Anderson obviously wanted to keep him in and settle him down, and it's worked. But will Minnesota be able to overcome that rough first inning, or is it going to be their downfall, like the first inning has often been in this weekend's tournament?

More than just bragging rights are on the line here - Ohio State will not make the tournament if they don't win today - with only a 15-15 record and a sixth-place finish in the Big Ten leading into this weekend, I can't see them even being considered for a bid. Minnesota is now a 40-game winner, and if it doesn't win, it still has a chance for an at-large bid - though if Ohio State wins and Minnesota gets an at-large bid, I see Michigan's at-large bid chances fading. The Wolverines won 39 this season and won the regular-season title but went two-and-out this weekend. If Minnesota wins and gets an at-large bid, the Wolverines will have a better shot for an at-large bid. And Penn State? Judging from their performance this weekend, they should have a better shot than Michigan at an at-large bid. But I think the Wolverines will definitely get a nod before the Nittany Lions.

So this game seems to have implications for teams beyond the Buckeyes and Golden Gophers - and Minnesota has just three more innings for an attempt at a comeback. Ohio State is in control, just like it has been for the entire weekend.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

ACC: Hail to the Chief

After four and a half innings, Wake and Carolina are tied 1-1 in the ACC Tournament title game.

Down 1-0, Carolina scored an unearned run in the 4th to tie. Wake SS Dustin Hood threw away a Garrett Gore leadoff grounder. An out later Tim Federowicz singled, and after another out, Chad Flack lined an RBI single to left.

Wake pitcher Charlie Mellies is letting Carolina put the ball in play -- no walks or strikeouts, but only four singles in five frames. Because he's coming off Tommy John surgery, he might not be in much longer, though.

Carolina starter Luke Putkonen has allowed only an infield single and a walk and has struck out three in four innings.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

Big 12: Nearing game-time.

It's Texas A&M vs. Baylor for the Big 12. Can't imagine too much other than hardware is on the line. Both teams should make the NCAA tournament. I suppose A&M might have an arguement to host regionals if they win this one. That's if they don't have an arguement already.

Pitching:
Texas A&M: Scott Migl (6-3, 3.61, .272 O.A.)
Baylor: Wade Mackey (4-2, 2.45, .278 O.A.)

It's completely overcast with an occasional dark patch of clouds overhead. The temp is right around 70 degrees. I'm wearing jeans today. Thank you Mother Nature.

Oh, and I got to park behind the stadium today on Flaming Lips Alley. Yes, the seminal alt-rock band from right here in Oklahoma City (http://www.flaminglips.com/main.php). I feel it's an honor to park on such a prestigious byway today.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

C-USA Championship: Anybody and everybody to the bullpen!

Rice and ECU are already both in the NCAA Tournament and seeds probably already determind, so neither team is willing to waste valuable pitchers today, as next weekend is more important for both teams.

Rice scored 8 runs in the bottom of the 2nd to take a 9-4 lead, yes 13 runs in only 2 innings and 9 in the second inning alone. This game will merely be a test of which depleted pitching staff can give up less runs. Rice has the upper hand, ECU had to use 3 pitchers in the first 2 innings.

I hope the game ends before tomorrow's selection show, so these teams will know where they will be playing next weekend!

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Sunday, 05/27/07

ACC: Wake Up

Wake Forest scored a run in the first without hitting the ball out of the infield.

At the end of two innings in Jacksonville, Wake leads North Carolina 1-0 in the ACC Tournament title game.

Two Wake players have already been hit by pitches, giving them 105 HBPs as a team. That's good for third in the nation behind San Jose State (112) and Creighton (106).

The wind is still blowing in today, but not quite so fiercely, and the ball is carrying pretty well. UNC's Josh Horton hit a ball to the warning track in the second that might have been caught by the second baseman earlier this week.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

C-USA Championship:Runs galore

We're off to a fast start here in Greenville, ECU scored three in the top of the first, and Rice reponsded by scoring one in the bottom half. This game is probably going to feature a lot of runs and a lot of different pitchers.

There's more fans here than I expected, possibly around 3400-3500, and they're loud! The atmospere is great, as ECU was pouring in runs off of Rice pitcher Bryan Price, who faced 9 batters in the top of the first, the stadium and the ECU dugout was rocking, byfar the loudest its been all tournament.

Rice has been in Omaha and is used to hostile enviroments, but the ECU fans and 3 runs in the top of the 1st has to put some type of pressure on the Owls.

ECU 3, Rice 1 after 1 inning.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

Big Ten - Ohio State capitalizes on pitching mistakes

Cory Luebke is pitching for Ohio State, while Gary Perinar is starting for Minnesota.

Bottom 1st - Ohio State wants it badly ... and shows it early. Perinar is not doing well at all in this start and not giving Minnesota a chance to win this - he hits the first batter he faces, Jacob Howell. Then, on two wild pitches during the same at-bat, Howell gets second and third base. So on an at-bat that didn't even count as an at-bat, Howell is now on third base with no outs. Tony Kennedy strikes out, but Howell is still on third with just one out. And ... Perinar has another wild pitch. Howell scores. What a giveaway run, and Ohio State is on the board early, 1-0. Perinar is visibly shaken. Three wild pitches, three bases.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

Big Ten - Championship game to start at 12:50

Originally supposed to start at 12:05, the game between Ohio State and Minnesota will now start at 12:50. Not too long for those teams to wait, considering Minnesota had to wait almost two and a half hours in the rain yesterday before the game was suspended and a half hour before the game even started. Updates to come.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

C-USA Championship: Setting the scene

The C-USA Championship game is about 30 minutes away from starting, and the game features the top two seeds, No. 1 Rice and No. 2 ECU.

Fans are starting to pour into the stadium, I expect around 3,000 here today. The top crowd in Clark-LeClair history is 5,523, which came earlier this season against hated rival N.C. State. I don't think today's attendance will come to close to that mark. It's hard for C-USA games to have 5,000 people for a game because the teams are so spread apart, and there are no natural rivalries (except for Rice/Houston).

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Sunday, 05/27/07

ACC: Championship day and post-season preview

North Carolina vs. Wake Forest for the ACC Tournament title at 1 pm on a beautiful, sunny day from Jacksonville!

UNC will start Luke Putkonen (7-1, 4.55 ERA in 59.1 innings) while Wake will give senior Charlie Mellies only his fourth start of 2007. Mellies has pitched only 11 innings all season and is 1-2 with a 7.36 ERA, but he's actually the leader of the Wake staff. His 2006 season was cut short by Tommy John surgery and he didn't make his debut this season until April 8th.

Wake has pulled off two stunners in a row, so don't bet against a third.

With regional host sites being announced this afternoon and regional bids going out tomorrow, let's recap where each ACC team currently stands with the selection committee. I've been telepathically channeling Larry Templeton, so this is the gospel...

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Sunday, 05/27/07

Big Ten - Minnesota Pulls Through

Bottom 11th - It's in extra innings, and neither team was able to break through in the 10th - Penn State had a double to start off the inning, looking like they were going to be able to continue their 10th-inning success, but left the runner stranded on second with three straight outs. Minnesota went 1-2-3. Star pitcher Drew O'Neil has been in since the ninth for the Nittany Lions, and he seems to be doing his job so far. Even on another rainy day, the tension here is palpable and it's obvious that whoever loses has just caught a bad break, not played bad baseball.

Minnesota is up with the middle of the order, and Tom Steidl hits to the left of the right fielder to make it to first and tally Minnesota's first hit of these extra innings. Kevin Carlson lays down a sac bunt, moving Steidl to second. One out. Man in scoring position with one out, and Penn State doesn't look flustered. But if you had Drew O'Neil on the mound, would you really be nervous right now? Anyway, Jeremy Chlan is up - he came into the game last inning, replacing second baseman Derek McCallum.

Chlan hits it ... almost in the same spot as Steidl's hit ... and it's a double, Steidl scores and Chlan reaches second. No matter - the Golden Gophers have won the game and earned a rematch with Ohio State. Penn State can't believe it. Drew O'Neil gets the loss, Penn State glumly lines up to shake hands and the Minnesota fans are going wild. It took awhile to get there, but the final of the Big Ten tournament is exactly the way it's always been - Ohio State vs. Minnesota, the two legendary baseball powerhouses in the conference.

That game is supposed to start soon, despite another wet day ... so more updates as they come.

Final score: Minnesota 4, Penn State 3, 11 innings.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

Big Ten - Minnesota's Last Shot

Bottom 9th - The second-ranked Golden Gophers have one chance left before they are out of the tournament, and the Nittany Lions are three outs away from playing Ohio State in the championship game after losing their first game and playing in the loser's bracket all weekend. Penn State has definitely fought hard these past few days, while Minnesota's only loss was against Ohio State, and either team that goes against Ohio State today deserves it ... but Penn State has put on more of a show.

And ... Kevin Carlson starts out the inning with a single and moves to second on a sac bunt. One out, man on second. He moves to third on a fielder's choice ... two outs, man on third. Minnesota's championship hopes all depend on Carlson and the next batter, Matt Nohelty. Nohelty is 2-for-4 today, not too bad for a man whose at-bat right now needs to be a hit.

Nohelty hits it and ... Carlson is running home, he makes it, Nohelty is safe on first and the Golden Gophers have just tied the game in the ninth inning, two outs. Wow.

And Dan Lyons hits it to the shortstop, who whips it to second. Nohelty is out, but no matter - the game is tied 3-3 and they're going into extra innings.

Penn State was in this position yesterday - Michigan tied with two outs in the ninth inning, but Penn State came back with a home run in the 10th to seal the game. It'll be interesting to see how they react in this extra-inning game.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

Big Ten - Penn State vs. Minnesota Resumed

Almost seventeen hours after yesterday's intended start time, we're again beginning play here at Fisher Stadium. The game was suspended in the middle of the seventh yesterday and pushed back to today at 10:00, which also effectively pushed back the championship game to 12:05 and 3:35 (if necessary) today.

Penn State is leading, 3-2, in the top of the eighth. In the first inning of play today, Minnesota couldn't do anything - they went 1-2-3 against new pitcher Matt Ogrodnik.

More updates soon.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

MVC: Final Thoughts From This Week...This Game

Somewhere in the distant heavens, where spirits leave the body to join their Creator, the heroes of baseball past met with the hearts and souls of those who know the beauty and drama of college sports, and watched over the skies of Springfield, as Creighton and Wichita State battled it out in a matchup for the ages. And when it was done, they rose to their feet with those who were sitting in the stands in appreciation, for what was seen tonight in Hammons Field was everything that is great and wonderful about college baseball.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

Big 12: What, you thought the Sooners would go quietly?

Baylor - 7 9 3
Oklahoma - 6 11 1

Another wicked comeback, this time falling a smidge short.

With every fan left in the stands pounding their feet and clapping their hands, the rain falling down in a steady sprinkle and the home plate ump Bob Homolka not making friends on either side, the Sooners load the bases in the 9th, push across two more runs, but then see Mike Gosse bouce into a fielder's choice to end the game, stranding three base-runners.

Not exactly Wichita State-Creighton intense, but for the second night in a row, OU supplies enough drama to turn a coach's hair gray.

Too bad OU won't be in the title game tomorrow, this team's got a helluva lot of moxie. They're a freakin' blast to watch. Will probably get an at-large bid to the NCAAs, and rightfully so.

Baylor will now face Texas A&M for the title tomorrow.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

MVC: All-Tournament Team Announced

Here's the following players that made this year's 2007 Missouri Valley All-Tournament Team, led of course by your 2007 Champion Creighton Bluejays...

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Sunday, 05/27/07

MVC: Jays Celebrate Game of The Year

Right now, I'm sitting back in the press box, and my knees are buckling. The adrenaline is just pouring still at the moment.

Before I can even go on, that was the greatest baseball game a fan could ever wish to see (unless they were a Shockers fan). That's the game of the year regardless of any sport.

Creighton, in a true test of fortitude, wins it 10-9 in 12 innings, and the jubilant Jays were more than happy to talk about this one.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

Big 12: Uh-oh, here comes OU again.

Just like last night, the Sooners, once left for dead ar making a late run. Their fans here also just cheered when the Wichita State loss in the MoValley final was announced.

Sooners have scored two more runs here in the 8th, an RBI single from Joseph Hughes, who later came around to score on a throwing error by Bears 3Bman Raynor Campbell. But Randall Linebaugh came in to get the final two outs and calm things down for BU.

So it's now Baylor 7-4 going into the 9th.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

MVC: SMALL WINS IT FOR CREIGHTON!!!

I. AM. SPENT.

In the most dramatic baseball game one will ever see in his life, Andrew Small wins it for Creighton with a double to left center that neither Tyler Hill nor Andy Dirks could snag. Brandon Knox comes home with the biggest run in CU history, and the Bluejays dogpile at home, celebrating their very first MVC Tournament title.

It's also the first year CU has won the MVC Baseball AND Basketball Tournaments.

But still, you HATE seeing WSU lose this one. This was the greatest game of the year in college baseball, bar none. I'd put it up for any baseball award you can THROW at it.

There will obviously be a lot more from Springfield, as we'll have post-game coverage, and hopefully some great interviews. Once again, in the most dramatic of fashions one could ever imagine, Creighton is the 2007 Missouri Valley Champion.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

MVC: 1-2-3 Inning, Creighton's Turn

Creighton's Casey Schmidt wastes very little time setting Wichita down in order, so Roemmich is batting now in the bottom of the 12th with this game still tied at 9-9.

Wichita has Jared Simon facing the Bluejay order...

UPDATE: Roemmich walks, Brandon Knox to PR for him at first. 0 outs, and Ogden is up.

Eric, FSN has this game tape delayed...it's in the 2nd on there right now, so if you hurry home, you'll see the rest.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

MVC: LEAPING CATCH AT THE WALL!!!

A blast to center field that would've won the game, and the tournament for Creighton was DENIED by Andy Dirks, who made a leaping catch while colliding into the wall in center field. Amazingly, he hangs on to it, and we head to the 12th tied at 9-9.

This one takes the cake. Words are useless to describe how awesome this game has been.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

MVC: WOW! Creighton Ties It Again!!!!

UN-FREAKIN-BELIEVABLE!

Creighton stages a dramatic two out rally in the bottom of the 11th, as a Ross Sinclair double down the left field line scored Chad Ogden, and Chris Gradoville followed with a double of his own to score Robbie Knight from third and Sinclair from second, tying the game at 9-9.

Now, Creighton's got the winning run in Gradoville at second, and Darin Ruf can win the game for the Bluejays.

I dare ANYONE to top this game this week...ANYONE. To say this game is incredible is an insult! Just...wow. I am in awe!

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Sunday, 05/27/07

Big 12: Wish I was at the MVC finals

I'm the only fool in this whole damn building that is visibly freaking out over that 11-inning 9-9 game between Creighton and Wichita State.

Where's the FREAKIN' video feed for that one! Craaaaaaap!

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Sunday, 05/27/07

MVC: Now Wichita's Three Outs Away

First, Creighton was three outs away from the tournament title, but Wichita scored the tying run to send it to extras. Now, the Shockers are three outs away from their 16th tournament crown. Matt Brown drove Andy Dirks home on a fielder's choice to short, so the lead for Wichita State is now 9-6 as we head to the bottom of the 11th.

This is gut-check time for both teams. Creighton's got to dig deep and find one more rally in them, while Wichita must find it in them to shut the door on this tournament, capping off a fantastic run through the loser's bracket.

Noah Krol bunted safely in the top of the 11th. He'll now face the bottom of the Creighton order in order to win the biggest game of his season.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

MVC: Shocks Grab First Lead of Game

The roars haven't been this loud for the entire tournament.

Wichita State, coming off an amazing comeback to tie it in the 9th, has just grabbed the lead. Tyler Weber led off with a single that just made it over the glove of Bluejays 2B Michael Lam. Cody Lassley replaced him at first as a pinch runner, and he'd advance to second on Noah Krol's bunt that was booted by Scott Reese, leaving both runners safe at first and second.

Andy Dirks then came up, and when WSU needed him the most, he's come through. Dirks hit a shot to the gap in right center for a stand-up double, scoring Lassley and Krol, and the Shocker fans are going insane over on the first base side. Creighton's players are in disbelief, as Wichita State now leads 8-6 with nobody out.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

MVC: Scoreboard Goes Blank, On to 11th

The media from the MVC locales are calling this the tourney that won't end.

Myself, I'm calling it the tourney finale of the year.

Creighton got the winning run as far as second base, but TJ Roemmich grounded to the second baseman, and we head to the 11th inning tied at 6-6.

Just for a quick recap...

Wichita State......0..0..0.....0..0..1.....0..4..1.....0
Creighton............0..0..2.....0..0..4.....0..0..0.....0

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Sunday, 05/27/07

Big 12: Casualty count- 2 OU coaches tossed.

Baylor - 7
OU - 1 (bottom 7)

Sooners break through for a run here in the 6th. But leave the bases juiced when Aljay Davis goes down looking. Earlier in the at-bat, Davis was called for a check swing strike that really wasn't. The OU 1st base coach came charging in toward homeplate ump Bob Homolka. Instantly, he was tossed out of the game.

Then OU head coach Sunny Galloway went nose-to-nose with Homolka and unsurprisingly was tossed as well. That got the ire of the entire Sooner Nation. Homolka was at fault here too 'coz he called the half-swing, nay, one-eighth swing a swinging strike without checking with the 1st base ump.

Not good umping... if that's a word.

Oh, and on top of all that, it's starting to rain here again, messing up my hair.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

MVC: Shockers Go In Order In 10th

Creighton might've felt down for losing a 6-1 lead, but that's changed to a feeling of determination, and you could see it in every move they made defensively.

Reese started the inning by walking Tyler Hill. Josh Workman struck out, and then Danny Jackson grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning, as fist pumps from every kid in a Creighton jersey could be seen.

Creighton sends up the 2-3-4 batters against WSU's RHP Jared Simon.

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Sunday, 05/27/07

MVC: Title Game Goes to Extra Innings

Creighton goes down in order in the bottom of the ninth, meaning that the 2007 Missouri Valley Tournament will be decided in extra innings.

WOW.

This game has had it all. Great pitching early, great hitting late, and a comeback for the ages. I don't care how exhausted you can get, or if you've never seen these two teams play...THIS is a game worth getting excited about.

Wichita sends the 5-6-7 hitters to face Reese. Every pitch and swing counts now....a conference tournament crown is at stake here in Springfield, and the crowd has never been noisier. I'm speechless...what a game!

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Sunday, 05/27/07

MVC: We're Tied in the Ninth!

The 90 minute rain delay was worth every minute....WHAT A GAME!

Andy Dirks led off the Wichita ninth with a shot to left center that a leaping Andrew Small couldn't snag, resulting in a double. He would advance to third on a grounder by Derek Schermerhorn, and would score on a deep fly to left field by Matt Brown.

We are KNOTTED UP at 6 as Creighton bats in the bottom of the ninth. Will we have extra innings. or will Creighton win it right here, right now?

Have I mentioned how much I am loving this game? This is college baseball at its best tonight!

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big 12: Baylor making this one ugly... coyote ugly.

Baylor - 7
Oklahoma - 0 (top 6th)

Matt Czinsky has belted another home run, this one a two-run jobbie in the 4th inning and BU starter Kendall Volz has a three-hitter going through 5.0 innings. And if I'm keeping my book correctly, he's also racked up nine strikeouts along the way.

There's still plenty of time and all, but Baylor has dominated things from the word go tonight. They look like the team that has been boiling hot the second half of the season.

And I know I've harped on it before, but Bricktown Ballpark LOVES AC/DC... and I'm not upset about this. Right now their blasting Shook Me All Night Long over the P.A. Little kids are dancing in revelry. Old ladies are singing along. And the gaggle of bikers down the right field line is slam dancing.

(halucinating here... we're on game No. 4, ya' know?)

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Saturday, 05/26/07

MVC: Reese Saves Jays, We Have a GAME.

Scott Reese did his job for Creighton, retiring all three batters he faced. However, Danny Jackson's fly out to the warning track in center brought home Tyler Hill, and we've got a 6-5 game after 7 1/2 innings.

Creighton needs insurance right now. Wichita's outs were all fly balls in the eighth, and they aren't missing many balls now. It'll be the 5-6-7 hitters for CU going up against Noah Booth, whose job it is to shut the Jays down to give his team a shot in the ninth.

So here we go...will CU get insurance? Will Wichita tie it up? With Creighton just three outs away from its first ever MVC Tournament title, it'll be one wild finish here in Springfield!!!

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Saturday, 05/26/07

MVC: Shockers Refusing to Fold

You would think, after losing the first game, coming back and fighting your way to today, winning a pitcher's duel in a dramatic ninth, and going through a grand total of 4 1/2 hours of rain delays this week would take a severe emotional toll on the Wichita State Shockers.

It hasn't. This is one gritty team that just doesn't give up easy.

The Shockers have found their bats in the top of the eighth. Derek Schermerhorn singled, and advanced to second on a single to left by Matt Brown. They would both score on a double by Conor Gillaspie that bounced off the wall in the left center power alley. Tyler Hill then singled to right to score Gillaspie, and Josh Workman just doubled off the left field wall, putting runners on second and third.

So how do you like this? Scott Reese comes into the game to pitch, as Andy Masten has been severely battered in this inning. Creighton started the inning up five, but Wichita has cut it to 6-4, and the tying run is on second with nobody out.

You just gotta love baseball in the Valley. Man, you gotta love this!

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Saturday, 05/26/07

ACC: Game four wrap

Tomorrow 1pm, North Carolina vs. Wake Forest for the ACC Tournament title

UNC will start Luke Putkonen (7-1, 4.55 ERA in 59.1 innings) while Wake will give Charlie Mellies only his fourth start. Mellies has pitched only 11 innings all season and is 1-2 with a 7.36 ERA.

Not exactly a marquee pitching matchup, but Wake has pulled off two stunners in a row, so why would you think they couldn't do it again?

Post-game quotes after the jump...

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Saturday, 05/26/07

MVC: Close Game Turns to Bluejay Bash

Creighton has found their bats in the bottom of the sixth, and this one has become ugly.

After Chad Gradoville popped out to right. Darin Ruf singled, and then scored on a double down the left field line by Steve Winkelmann, making it a 3-1 game. A wild pitch moved Winkelmann to third, and three more balls by WSU's Kyle Touchatt put Masten on first and sent Gene Stephenson out to hand him a free ticket to the showers. LHP Noah Booth came into the game, having a 6-1 record and 0.98 ERA.

He doesn't have that 0.98 ERA anymore.

Chad Ogden absolutely punished a fastball delivery, sending it WAY over the bullpen fence in left field, and the blue-clad fans behind the third base dugout broke into hysterics as the Bluejays leaped out of the dugout to mob him, as well as Winkelmann and Masten, at home plate. It's a 6-1 Creighton lead as we head to the seventh.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

ACC: Would you believe Wake?

Wake Forest stunned the ACC and saddened Clemson by beating Miami 7-3

The win punches Wake's ticket to the ACC championship game to face North Carolina in, oh... about 13 hours.

It also eliminated Clemson, which had beaten Florida State in the previous game.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big 12: Baylor increases lead. I channel Stacy Hamilton from Fast Times

Baylor now up 4-zip.

Tim Jackson hit a blooper down the left field line to put increase the Bears lead to 4-0 here in Oklahoma City, midway through the 3rd inning. Thanks to five OU walks issued, BU has already been through their lineup twice in three innings.

In reference to all the responses to the food at ballparks and in press boxes, it brings to mind what Stacy Hamilton said in Fast Times at Ridgemont High while trailing her finger through some marinara sauce, "I'm gonna get so fat working here."

I've been eating absolute crap for three days. I must say, I haven't eaten a whole hell of a lot, but what I have eaten is a collection of things that you don't want to know the Carbon 14 dating results to. And a good portion of beers too. Bad crutch.

When I get home, I'm going to run for hours. Or until I feel my own Carbon 14 dating measure begin to subside.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

MVC: Shocks Cut Lead in Half

For a second, I thought I seriously jinxed Creighton's Pat Venditte. However, a huge crisis ended with minor damage for the Bluejays, as Wichita State became the first team in 43.2 innings and 17 appearances to score a run on the switch pitcher.

There was some controversy though...

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Saturday, 05/26/07

MVC: Venditte In Total Control

He's making it look easy.

Pat Venditte strikes out Tyler Weber, moves his glove to another hand, and then strikes out Dusty Coleman. Wichita has gotten no further than second base, and we are halfway home in 1:02 with Creighton on top, 2-0.

Memo to College Baseball Fans Everywhere: If Venditte is pitching at a regional near you, get over there and watch this kid in action. You won't see anything like it, and it is a treat to watch this guy pitch (Well, a treat for everyone except the Shocker fans). He's 12 outs away from a tournament title, his first win as a starter, and my vote for tournament MVP (which he has if WSU doesn't come back).

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Saturday, 05/26/07

ACC: Canes not endearing themselves to Clemson fans

The Miami Hurricanes are cratering, and the Clemson Tigers are paying for it.

Wake scored two runs in the sixth without a hit and Miami responded in the bottom of the inning by loading the bases with none out and getting bupkis out of it.

After six innings, Wake leads Miami 7-2.

The Deacon lineup has only five hits, but has benefited from six walks.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

MVC: Creighton Bats Warm First

I'm getting a kick out of this game so far. The fans may be small in number, but they are doing some SERIOUS trash talking, and it's a riot to listen to from up here.

Creighton has become the team of singles, as base hits from Andrew Small and Robbie Knight put runners at the corners with one out. Ross Sinclair then laced a single to left to score Small and give the Jays the first run of the game. Gene Stephenson had a short leash on Hutson, and he pulled him in favor of RHP Kyle Touchatt. The switch didn't fare any better, as Darin Ruf hit a bouncing ball up the middle to score Knight, giving the Jays a two-run cushion for Pat Venditte to work with.

The trash talking continues, and it's great. The Shocker fans outnumber Creighton's by about 20-1, but the Bluejay boosters are holding their own in a verbal battle of wits in the stands.

2-0 Creighton as we head to the fourth.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

MWC: TCU Wins Title in Storybook Fashion

It could not have been scripted any better for the TCU Horned Frogs. In the most exciting finish in a week full of thrillers, TCU rallied for four runs with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to pull off a 9-8 win over BYU for the MWC Championship.

With one out and an 8-5 TCU deficit, Clint Arnold gutted out a double to get the Horned Frogs started. Steven Trout followed up with a walk for two on with one out. Corey Steglich struck out, setting the stage for cleanup hitter Austin Adams as the tying run.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big 12: Damn Baylor, can't you wait 'til we get into our seats?

Whoever shows up fashionably late like a Dodgers crowd here at Bricktown will have already missed a lot.

The first six batters for the Bears went:
- single
- walk
- sac bunt
- two-RBI single
- walk
- walk
(pitching change)

Tim Jackson and Shaver Hansen buy the beer after stopping the rally with a pair of outs.

Baylor up 2-0 with OU coming up to bat. Beamer Weems was the one who got the big two-run hit. OU starter Ryan Mottern got pulled after six batter and was replaced by Nich Conaway.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

MVC: Cold Night, Cold Bats

The rains earlier have definitely cooled things off by 10 degrees. Today's first game started with a temperature of 75, and it's 65 outside right now.

Wichita won the first game 2-1 this afternoon, and it looks like it might be another pitcher's duel tonight. After two innings, both teams only have one hit, and there really hasn't been a lot of good contact made tonight. Both teams are hitting a lot of slow grounders and shallow pop-ups.

Will the bats heat up? I hope they do for someone. We've got to crown a champion tonight, and a 0-0 game in extra innings can really be a frustrating game for all.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

ACC: Leggett is punching pillows

Well, I would be if I were him. Wake has taken a 5-2 lead after five innings.

If Wake holds on, they'll win the tie-breaker with Clemson and advance to tomorrow's title game with North Carolina.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

MVC: Historic First For Venditte

As the nation's only switch pitcher, Pat Venditte makes history with every first he does. Tonight, he's set the Shockers down in order in the first; a great start to his first career start.

Hutson, though, answered right back with a 1-2-3 inning for Wichita. Ross Sinclair hit a long fly that, if it had some wind aid, would've cleared the fence. Instead, Shocker LF Tyler Hill caught it at the warning track.

0-0 after a seven minute first inning.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

MVC: Finally, the Title Game!

After a 90 minute rain delay, we are set for baseball here in Springfield, as Gene Stephenson and his #1 Wichita State Shockers look to claim their 16th MVC Tournament title. Standing in their way are Ed Servais and his #2 Creighton Bluejays, winners of 24 of their last 27 games.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

SEC: What A Tenth, VANDY WINS

This was truly unreal. Unreal. Down 6-3, Dominic de la Osa led off the 10th with a solo homer to make it 6-4. Back-to-back singles by Pedro Alvarez and Ryan Flaherty put runners on 1st and 2nd. Matt Meingasner laid down a SAC bunt, but third baseman Cody Overbeck threw it away down the right field line to cut the lead to 6-5. Runners were now on 2nd and third for Shea Robin who lined a base hit into rightfield that scored both runners and Vandy won 7-6 without ever recording an out in the inning.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

MWC: TCU Mounts Furious Rally, Wins Title

TCU's Austin Adams just hit a 3-run home run and Matt Vern knocked in the game-winning RBI in a thrilling 9-8 victory over BYU in the bottom of the ninth to secure the MWC Championship. More to come...

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Saturday, 05/26/07

SEC: Thrown Away

Wow...Peyton Farr for Ole Miss was trying to squeeze with the bases loaded and one out, but missed the bunt. Shea Robin the catcher for Vandy had the runner caught between third and home but then threw the ball into leftfield, over Pedro Alvarez's head, leading to two runs coming around to score and Ole Miss retaking the lead, 5-3. Unreal. Those things usually don't happen to the best team in the country. Peyton Farr then hit a ball up the midle that was grabbed by shortstop Ryan Flaherty who came home with the drawn in infield and couldn't get the runner. 6-3 Ole Miss.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big 12: Good news, bad news

Missouri - 13 14 0
OklaState - 1 5 0

The Tigers completed the run-rule win in a big time manner. The last inning of the game was played in a steady rain.

The tarp is being pulled back off the field as we speak. It has been said that if rain puts a damper on things, they'll pick up the Baylor-Oklahoma game tomorrow morning. 11 o'clock is the cutoff time. If they can't get it started before then, it's on to tomorrow. Right now it looks like things will get kicked off on time. More soon.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

ACC: Really, Really, Really Big Fly

Up till now, teams have not allowed Wake Forest's mammoth first baseman Allan Dykstra to see anything worth hitting.

For the tournament, he was 0-for-4 with four walks and two HBP's.

He just showed why teams have pitched around him.

With a man on in the top of the third, Dykstra got a pitch to his liking and cranked it completely out of the stadium, easily clearing the outfield seats in right.

Wake and Miami are now tied 2-2.

Jack Leggett is punching pillows again.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

SEC: Ties It Up

David Macias' SAC fly with one out plated Shea Robin to tie the game at 3-3. Vandy had 1st and 3rd with nobody out, and could only get the one run to tie things up. To the 10th we go here in Hoover with Casey Weathers still on the mound for Vandy.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

MVC: 8:40 Start Time

That's the word from the grounds crew here at Hammons Field, confirmed by Erica Stelling, who is keeping us sane right now. I think we're all a little restless up here in the press box.

Erica said the tarp would be pulled at 7:45. It was pulled at 7:44. Not bad.

However, the delay has caused the press box to thin out. Even reporters from the Wichita Eagle have decided to head back home to Kansas. I guess Mother Nature really does hamper journalistic endeavours sometimes.

They're still trying to sweep the water away from the field here, but the teams have made it here to the game. They've been staying at the University Plaza Hotel, located just a block away from the stadium.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

MWC: Crunch Time for TCU

The Horned Frogs picked up another run in the seventh, but go into the ninth inning trailing 8-5. They'll need to get some quick outs and pick up some clutch hitting to avoid playing a double-header today.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

ACC: Sometimes spectacular effort goes unrewarded

It just did for Wake Forest left fielder Brett Linnenkohl.

With two out and a man on, Miami's Richard O'Brien crushed a ball to left. Linnenkohl took off after it at full speed, slowed a bit at the warning track, reached his glove up above the wall, and caught the ball.

Unfortunately for Linnenkohl, the play didn't end there.

He crashed into the wall a split second later and his glove, ball inside, fell off his hand and over the wall.

Two-run homer. 2-0 Miami at the end of two innings.

Jack Leggett is whooping joyously somewhere. Or maybe he's just smiling.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

MWC: There's No Crying in the Press Box

I've just seen one of the saddest displays I've ever witnessed in a press box. After a tough play at third base, TCU's Steven Trout couldn't make an out that the official scorer ruled a hit for BYU's Stephen Wells.

One of the women from the TCU radio broadcast stormed into the press box from her outside booth and proceeded to whine to the official scorer that it should have been an error. And this was after a similar display on Friday.

She acted like a five-year-old crying about being sent to timeout -- you know -- using a high-pitched ascending tone of voice and almost stomping her feet on the way out of the box. Just pathetic.

As for game action, BYU still has an 8-4 lead in the seventh inning.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

SEC: On To The Ninth

Ole Miss' Cody Satterwhite was brought in in the 8th, and after getting the first two outs, he then walked Pedro Alvarez on five pitches, gave up a single to Ryan Flaherty, before Matt Meingasner grounded out to end the inning, as the Ole Miss fans roared. Satterwhite left to cheers of "CODY! CODY! CODY!" Good scene her in Hoover. The Rebels are three outs away from returning to the championship game, leading 3-2 and looking for some insurance in the top of the ninth.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

ACC: Game four begins, game three quotes

Miami and Wake Forest are just starting the nightcap. Clemson's win eliminated Miami, but even though the Canes can't win the tournament title, they are likely still playing for a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Wake Forest now controls its own destiny -- win and they play Carolina tomorrow. A Miami win sends Clemson to the title game.

Miami will throw Enrique Garcia (7-3, 3.14 ERA in 80.1 innings) against Wake Forest's Ben Hunter. Hunter is 6-6 with a 4.55 ERA. He has allowed opposing hitters to bat .290 and has thrown 10 wild pitches and has hit 7 batters in 63.1 innings, so he doesn't always know where it's going when he lets go.

Actually, we're already through one inning. Wake went down quickly in the first, and Blake Tekotte led off the bottom of the inning with a triple into the right field corner. But Miami wasted the opportunity when Roger Tomas popped up, and Yonder Alonso and Dennis Raben struck out.

I wonder if Jack Leggett is sitting in his hotel room, watching the game on TV, wearing a Miami shirt, and pounding pillows over that start?

Probably not..

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big 12: Run rule! Run rule! Run rule!

After a three-spot here in the top of the 5th, Missouri now leads 12-1.

So if this holds up, we may just be blessed with a run-rule game. So it will only go seven innings, right? Beauty. I've become a Missouri fan in this game that doesn't mean anything since both teams are 0-2 in the tournament.

OSU coming to bat in the bottom of the 5th now.

Oap!... one pitch, one out. YES! It's going faster than expected.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

SEC: 99 Pitches

Scott Bittle of Ole Miss has come out of the game after seven real good innings of two run ball. After the two run first, Bittle shut down Vandy the rest of the way up until this point, walking none and giving up seven hits and striking out three. We head to the bottom of the 8th, Vandy coming up trailing 3-2.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

MWC: TCU Can't Catch a Break, Loses Best Player

TCU just can't get the stars to align today. The Horned Frogs picked up a pair of runs in the fifth, but Keith Conlon, the best player in Las Vegas this week, pulled up lame with a hamstring injury and is out of the game. Conlon is 8-for-12 with two home runs, six RBI and six runs scored in MWC Championship play.

Corey Steglich, a solid hitter in his own right with a .327 average takes his place in the lineup, but if this series goes to another game, missing Conlon could loom very large for the Horned Frogs.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big 12: Sorry I haven't updated in a while...

Okay, first off, this third game is currently an ugly one. Mizzou is up 9-1 after four complete innings in Bricktown. The big blow came from Jacob Priday's two-run bomb in the 4th. MU has also strung together a bunch of key hits to pick away at OSU, who is on its third pitcher of the night.

The reason I haven't blogged in a while is because I took one look at the moldy-looking pasta and waxy salad that they had laid out for the media to eat up here in the press box and said, "That does it... I'm going to finally try to eat SOMETHING good on this trip."

So I went to Coach's Restaurant that sits down the left field line and ordered the rack of ribs. Much to Mark Etheridge's delight, they're referred to as the "Bear Bryant Rack of Ribs." They were very, very peppery, maybe overly-so. But they weren't bad. I also had cole slaw (isn't it funny how cole slaw is either REALLY good or REALLY bad?) and baked beans.

Had to wash it down with a Red River Pale Ale. As usual, these micor-brew brews are too bitter. Poor after-taste. You know how those are. Went with a regular Miller Lite for round two.

Rumor in the press box is that there is a line of rain clouds about 30 minutes away from here to the West. So that means it's moving this way. Just what we needed.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

WCC: San Diego forces a third game

San Diego scored nine runs after the fifth inning as the Toreros beat Gonzaga 13-5 in Game 2 of the West Coast Conference championship series. There series is now tied 1-1, going into the third and desisve game tomorrow.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

MVC: Rain Delay Continues

It's still raining in Springfield, and we'll have a delayed start to the MVC Championship Game.

I just spoke with Erica Stelling, who told me that they were hoping to pull the tarp by 7:45. So far, according to the NOAA Weather Radar, Stelling might be right on target with the tarp pull.

We don't know the lineups just yet, but we do know the starters. Wichita is throwing LHP Max Hutson (1-2, 4.03), while Creighton counters with the nation's only switch pitcher, that is LHP/RHP Pat Venditte, who is 8-2 with a 1.87 ERA.

When the game starts, we will have you covered. For now, it's raining in Springfield.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

SEC: Walk On To The Rescue

Excellent story just took place here in Hoover, Vandy reliever Jason Cunningham who had all of 2.2 innings to his credit, and was a former team manager and was a walk-on this year, just came in and shut down Ole Miss the past three innings (will have his final line in a little bit). But talk about coming into a pressure packed situation. This from a kid that looked as if he could barely hit 80 on the gun.

Ole Miss still leads 3-2 in the top of the 7th, with no scoring since the top of the 2nd when I opened my loud mouth and said the run that scored will not be the game winner. I may have jinxed that, but I still doubt it. Vandy's phenom reliever Casey Weathers is now in the game to try and keep the Rebels off the scoreboard the rest of the way.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

MWC: BYU Punishing TCU Pitching

The Cougars finally put an end to TCU starter Chance Corgan's day, but reliever Donald Furrow couldn't stop the bleeding as BYU picked up two more runs in the top of the fifth. They've scored in four out of five innings and have now extended their lead to 8-2.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

A-Sun: Final Thoughts, All-Tournament Team

What an impressive tournament run by Jacksonville. After suffering an opening round loss to Belmont, the Dolphins survived three days in the loser's bracket winning four straight games, including back-to-back wins against the Bruins today.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

MWC: TCU Misses Another Opportunity

TCU keeps knocking, but can't quite break through as another double play put an end to a potentially big inning in the fourth. Keith Conlon, who continues his torrid pace through the MWC Championship, opened the bottom of the inning with a solo shot off of Blaine Howell. Conlon entered today's game hitting 7-of-9 with four RBI and five runs scored.

As the inning progressed Austin Adams and Matt Vern got on the corners with one out for TCU before Bryan Kervin took the batter's box. He battled through several pitches with Howell at a 2-2 count, but Howell once again got the batter to bite on the right pitch as Adams grounded into a double play to end the inning and another golden opportunity for a TCU rally.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

A-Sun: Here We Go...

Belmont is down to its last three outs, trailing 7-6 with the A-Sun Tournament title and an automatic NCAA Tournament berth on the line. Good news for the Bruins is the meat of their order will come to the plate.

Ben Petsch grounds out to shortstop.

Derek Wiley grounds out to shortstop.

Kane Simmons swings for strike three, but the catcher drops the ball. Simmons is thrown out at first. Jacksonville commences to dog piling on infield grass.

The Dolphins are your A-Sun Tournament Champs, and in all likelihood will play at a Tallahassee Regional hosted by No. 2 Florida State.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

WCC: Toreros blow it open

Looks like I'm going to have another night in San Diego.

The Toreros put up a six spot in the seventh, and are now leading 11-4.

Gonzaga starter Brandon Harmon got pulled after giving up two runs in the inning, and his replacement, Jeremey Stumetz, didn't do much better giving up another two.

Just by looking at the stat sheet, one of Gonzaga's weaknesses is the bullpen. For one, it's not even used very often, and only one pitcher has an ERA under four.

USD catcher Jordan Abruzzo is having a very nice game, going 3-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

A-Sun: That One Hurts

Belmont reliever Chris Manning, who took the mound in the previous inning, walked Jacksonville's Kevin Ferreira to lead off the top of the eighth. With two outs, Chuck Opachich laced a single into right to plate Ferreira and give the Dolphins a 7-6 lead.

That just secured Opachich a spot on my all-tournament team ballot.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

ACC: Copp locks up FSU and Miami

Clemson rode outstanding pitching from David Copp to a 5-1 upset over #1-seed Florida State in the third game of the day.

The loss is the first of the season for FSU's Bryan Henry, the ACC Pitcher of the Year. Henry is now 14-1.

Clemson's win eliminates both FSU and Miami.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

MWC: Frogs Get on Board, Still Trail by 3

Just when it looked like the TCU offense was ready to explode, a double play put an end to the Horned Frogs third inning with just one run. The first three TCU batter got on base as Ben Carruthers knocked in Bryan Kervin to bring up the top of the lineup with two on and no outs.

But leadoff hitter Clint Arnold flied out and Steven Trout couldn't get the ball past shortstop Dan Vargas, who started the double play to end the inning. After three, the Cougars hold a 4-1 lead.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

A-Sun: Back and Forth

No runs are going unanswered at Melching Field. Jacksonville responded to Belmont's game-tying sixth with a pair of two-out hits for a 6-5 lead in the seventh.

Ryan McArdle had a two-out double, and Brad Simmons singled to drive him in.

Belmont's Kane Simmons doubled to lead off the bottom of the inning, and Daniel Wagner plated him to tie the game at 6.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

MWC: Cougars Pad Early Lead

Chance Corgan is struggling at the mound and lucky to have just a 4-0 deficit with BYU knocking in another run in the top of the third inning. After giving up a double to Kent Walton when right fielder Austin Adams lost the ball in the sun, Corgan walked Steve Parker. A balk advanced the runners to second and third with no outs and it looked like the Cougars were about to make another big run.

But they just got one run on a sacrifice fly that scored Walton as a couple of nice defensive plays got the Horned Frogs out of the inning.

I'm waiting for an explosion from the TCU offense. Their batters have been the most consistent and disciplined of the tournament and I'd be shocked if they don't respond soon.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

WCC: Toreros regain lead

Gonzaga head coach Mark Machtolf doesn't like going to the bullpen but he might be forced to very soon.

San Diego scored a run in the top of the fifth to take a 5-4 lead.Torero lead off hitter Justin Snyder hit a single to left field to drive in Sean Nicol.

Gonzaga starter Brandon Harmon has now given up five earned runs on 11 hits, three walks and two strikeouts.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

ACC: Clemson gets some breathing room

Florida State's Bryan Henry came into the day with a 14-0 record in 16 starts. In ACC play, he was 9-0 in 10 starts.

The best he can hope for today, however, is a no-decision, and he's on the hook for a loss after being knocked out in the sixth.

At the stretch, Clemson leads FSU 4-0.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

C-USA Tournament: Rice-ECU championship set...finally!

Rice finally won this 3 hour and 10 minute slugfest 20-9, eliminating the fifth-seeded Memphis Tigers and claiming its spot in tomorrow's championsip game.

"Well they're young guys and if they get a good night's rest, everything should be alright," coach Graham said of the fact that his team played so much baseball today.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

MVC: It's Raining...Again

We're down to the championsihp game between Wichita State and Creighton, which is scheduled for 7:05 pm tonight. However, the tarp is on the field with the beginning of showers in the Springfield/Greene County area.

And apparently, it's just the beginning, as a line of thunderstorms from SW Missouri is making their way up here, meaning that the game is probably going to start at a later time.

We'll have it for you though, as coverage of the 2007 Missouri Valley Tournament Championship continues from Hammons Field. Stay tuned to Touching the Bases for the latest.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big 12: Texas holds on to beat Nebraska 5-4.

NU fought and scratched enough to make this a white-knuckler, but the Longhorns Randy Boone was able to make enough good pitches and get enough outs to pull out the one-run win. Austin Wood pitched 3.2 innings of 1-hit, zero-run ball to improve his record to 8-1. Boone's save was his 13th of the year.

A couple of interesting comments in the post-game.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

C-USA Tournament: ECU should be loving this

ECU Head Coach Billy Godwin joked after ECU won, saying that we would love to see Memphis and Rice wear eachother out today, and i'm sure he's pleased with the results.

Rice and Memphis continue to score runs and waste pitches here at Clark-LeClair Stadium, and the second-seeded Pirates have to be loving it. Rice brought in its closer Cole St. Clair in the seventh inning because Memphis was trying to make a game of things, and St. Clair has thrown a lot of pitches today. Rice is probably going to win this game, but Memphis is getting people on base and raising St. Clair's pitch count and lowering the numbers of rest hours Rice will have before tomorrow's championship game at 1 p.m. This has been a long day for Rice, which surely benefits ECU.

Rice has 13 runs and 14 hits, Memphis has 9 runs and 17, repeat 17 hits, as we head to the ninth.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

A-Sun: Briuns Tie It Up

Carlos Testa doubled to the warning track in right field with two outs in the bottom of the sixth. Packy Elkins then drove him in with a single to tie the score at 5.

Wilson Tucker doubled and Ben Petsch drew a walk to load the bases with two outs. But Derek Wiley ended the inning with a ground ball for a force out at third.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

WCC: Gonzaga ties it

Very similar to yesterday, Gonzaga has made a comeback against San Diego.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

MWC: BYU Jumps Out in Front Early

BYU came to play today. Looking to extend their season at least one more game, the Cougars opened up strong with a three-run first inning to take a 3-0 lead after sending the first three TCU batters back to the dugout.

Dan Vargas got the party started for BYU with a single from the two spot. A walk and three singles from Kent Walton, Steve Parker and Kasey Ko later, and the Cougars have a nice early cushion.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

ACC: Strange stuff

After five innings, Clemson leads Florida State 2-0.

Clemson #9 hitter JD Burgess had no doubles in 118 at-bats this season, but he has two doubles in two plate appearances today. His second double opened the bottom of the fifth. He advanced to third on a sac bunt. Then, on a 1-1 count, Clemson tried the suicide squeeze, but Wilson Boyd was only able to foul off Bryan Henry's neck-high fastball. He struck out on the next pitch, but Marquez Smith followed with an infield single on a 1-2 pitch to score the Tigers' second run of the game.

FSU has had a hit every inning, but that's all they've had. Three of the hits even led off innings, but David Copp was able to pitch through it every time.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

MWC: Flyover Kicks Off Championship Round

I'm impressed. The Mountain West arranged for a flyover as a plane soared over Earl E. Wilson Stadium at the end of the national anthem, a move usually saved for an event like the Rose Bowl...

Ok. Maybe it was a Southwest passenger jet landing at McCarran International Airport which is just down the street, but it was still pretty cool.

Anyhow, we get the championship round started today with TCU hoping to close out BYU in one game. If the Cougars want the title and the automatic bid to the NCAA postseason, they'll have to win two in a row. BYU starts Blaine Howell (2-2, 4.63 ERA) while the Horned Frogs bring Chance Corgan (7-1, 3.72 ERA) to the mound.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

SEC: Battle Royale

After Ole Miss nearly hit for the cycle as a team in the first (Zach Miller with his third homer, Justin Henry with a triple, and Cody Overbeck with a double), Vanderbilt came right back with two runs of their own in the bottom of the first on a Ryan Flaherty 2 run double. Now Ole Miss' Alex Kliman connected on his sixth double of the year in the top of the 2nd with nobody out. I have a funny feeling that the next run will not win this game.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big Ten - Rain Delay ... Again.

The seventh-inning stretch will be a little longer than originally planned - there's another rain delay. Penn State just beat the incoming rain by scoring two runs in its last time at bat, but Minnesota won't have a chance to answer until the rain rolls through. It's the second time this game that rain has stopped play, and it's taken almost three hours to play six and a half innings (counting both rain delays).

I'm not sure how long it will be, but it's looking like we're going to be sitting here for awhile.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

A-Sun: It's a Race for All-Tourney MVP

As I struggle to fill out my all-tournament team ballot, there's little question who will take MVP honors. It's really a two-man race between Belmont's Kane Simmons and Jacksonville's Pete Clifford, and it's going down to the wire.

Simmons gave Belmont a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the third with a two-out solo homer to right field. It was the 14th homer of the season and second of the tournament for Simmons, who came into the day batting .500 in the tournament with a tournament-best six RBI.

Clifford, the A-Sun Player of the Year, responded in the top of the fifth with a two-run shot to right, his second of the day, third of the tournament and league-best 15th of the season. He came into the day batting .385.

Jacksonville leads 5-4 going into the sixth.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big Ten - Penn State Trying to Beat the Rain

Top 7th - It looks like the umpires here at Fisher Stadium are thinking about postponing or calling the game because of rain that's quickly rolling in - but Penn State is trying to tie or take control of the game before the rain comes. Mike Deese singles, then moves to second with a Rick Marlin walk. Scott Kelley hits to move Deese to third.

0-2 count ... and Garrett Field hits a single to give Penn State a run - the score is now tied, 2-2, in the top of the 7th. The top of the order is up, bases are loaded, one out. There's a little bit of action in the Minnesota bullpen, but not much.

Penn State takes the lead - on a close throw to home that's called safe. Marlin scores. The Minnesota coach comes out to argue with the umpire, but to no avail. The Penn State contingent in the stands is going wild. There are now runners on second and third, two outs. 3-2, Penn State, with rain rolling in - they've come through when it counts.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

C-USA Tournament: Game continues, Memphis not quitting

Memphis scored 3 runs in the sixth and 1 in the seventh to eliminate the 10-run rule possibility and extend the day of baseball, much to the dismay of all the people in the press box that have been here since 8 a.m. this morning.

Memphis has had a stong offensive game with 7 runs and 13 hits, the problem is Rice has the same number of runs as Memphis hits.

Rice 13, Memphis 7 after seven innings, in a real "fast-paced, pitchers duel" here at Clark-LeClair Stadium.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

WCC: Toreros gain advantage

No thanks to the crowd (which is acting like they are watching a movie), the Toreros got a baseloaded double in the top of the third from Logan Gelbrich to take a 2-1 lead.

Josh Romanski tried to score from first on the play, but was thrown out at the plate. Although, USD head coach Rich Hill argued for about 10 minutes that Romanski should have scored becuase the catcher was blocking the plate (he had a good arguement), but the call was not overtunred.

It was three up and three down fro Gonzaga in the bottom of the third, so the Toreros will now bat in the fourth.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

ACC: Clemson early, Wake thrilled

After three innings in Jacksonville, Clemson leads Florida State and undefeated Bryan Henry 1-0.

A Clemson win would eliminate both FSU and Miami.

FSU has had a hit every inning, but Clemson starter David Kopp has kept them in check.

Tony Thomas, Jr. has an infield single and a steal. For the season, he has 106 hits, 32 doubles, 6 triples, 11 homers, and 30 steals. He has been an absolute terror this week. He's just one of those guys who is so good you can't take your eyes off of him.

Clemson scored their run in the second when Taylor Harbin singled, moved to second on a balk, and scored on Addison Johnson's single.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

C-USA Tournament: Just a matter of time

Aaron Luna just hit a grand slam in the 6th that was the longest home run all week. Luna's blast, which extended the Rice lead to 13-3, went well over the raised fence in straight away center at Clark-LeClair Stadium. Rice scored 6 runs in the 6th inning, and it looks like Rice will win this game, the question is now is whether it will last the full 9 innings, the 10-run rule could come into effect.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big 12: Longhorns escape bases-loaded jam, go to the 9th

Still Texas 5 - Nebraska 4 going into the 9th.

First NU scored a run on a single where UT right fielder Kyle Russell misplayed the ball, then dropped it trying to pick it up. That error allowed Andy Gerch to score all the way from 1st base on a routine single.

NU worked the baes loaded with two out and had Jeff Lanning at the dish. Unfortunately for him, he weakly chopped a ball off the plate and the catcher caught the bounce and touched home for the last out.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

A-Sun: Trading Runs

Daniel Wagner had a one-out single to right, and Carlos Testa plated him with another single to right. Testa went on to score on a throwing error to give Belmont a 3-1 lead.

Jacksonville responded in the top of the third, taking advantage of some Bruins miscues. Ryan McArdle reached on a throwing error by Belmont third baseman Matt Reynolds. Belmont pitcher Ben Meador then walked Brad Simmons, and Thomas LePage singled to plate both runners.

Heading into the bottom of the third, score's tied at 3.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

WCC: Gonzaga takes the lead

Which one of these teams are ranked fifth in the nation?

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Saturday, 05/26/07

C-USA Tournament: No runs for Rice in the fifth, still in control though

Rice had a scoreless inning for the first time all game in the fifth, but is still winning 8-3 in the sixth inning.

It's only a 5-run deficit for Memphis, but Rice is cleary in control. Memphis has simply run out of pitching. The pace of the game and the sun is lulling the hundreds in the stands and the dozens in the press box to sleep.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

SEC: Battle Of Relief

As one might imagine, experienced starters at this point in the tournament are tough to come by, so, we'll see a pair of relievers start this one for Ole Miss and Vanderbilt, with the winner moving on to tomorrow's championship game against Arkansas. Vandy will be the home team, while Ole Miss changes uniform tops to be the road team.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big Ten - Minnesota Takes Control

Bottom 4th - Thanks to an error and some solid hits, Minnesota is now holding a 2-1 lead over Penn State. After singles by Kyle Baran and Bryan Jost, an error by Penn State third baseman Mike Deese helped to put both runners in scoring position. A sac fly by Derek McCallum scored Baran and tied the game for the Golden Gophers - and Jost scored two batters later on an RBI single by Matt Nohelty.

It's still cloudy and drizzling, and it's looking like there might be at least one more rain delay if the weather gets worse. But for now, Minnesota is leading by one.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

WCC: Talk about a wide strike zone

San Diego got two singles and runners on first and third with two outs, but Gonzaga's Brandon Hanson got out of the top of the first striking out USD's starting pitcher Josh Romanski.

Romanski looked at three strikes which looked to be four or five inches off the plate. If he gets that same pitch against the Zags, the United States national team player should have a good day.

Romanski looked sharpe in the bottom of the first, sending the Zags down in order.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

SEC: Final Thoughts On Game Two

Simple as this: Vandy dominated in every aspect of this one. They led things 8-0 before Ole Miss could blink, as Brett Bukvich just didn't have it today. He gave up 8 runs on 8 hits in just 1.1 innings. Jesse simpson did a good job stopping the bleeding and not making Mike Bianco use his bullpen when it became a reality that they would be playing another game today. Simpson went 6.1 innings giving up 7 hits and five runs (4 earned) while striking out two.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

A-Sun: Bruins Strike First

Packy Elkins drew a one-out walk from Jacksonville starter Justin Young (5-5, 3.17 ERA). Wilson Tucker then plated Elkins with a double to give Belmont a 1-0 lead.

Belmont starter Ben Meador (5-4, 3.90) gave up a two-out walk to Jacksonville's Kevin Ferreira in the top of the second. Matt Lopez drove him in with a single.

The score is tied at 1 heading into the bottom of the second.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big 12: From the Jorts capital of the world, it's still UT 4-3.

We're going through a pitching change here in OKC as Nebraska has men at 1st and 2nd and two outs here in the bottom of the 7th. Austin Wood has been replaced by Randy Boone, who is warming up as I write this.

By the way I forgot to mention, Adrian Alaniz only lasted 3.0 innings before giving way to Wood. He gave up 4hits, 3runs and 1 walk. So it wasn't the AA I was hoping to see this weekend.

Two more quick observations...
1- AC/DC has to be the most played band in college baseball. I've heard Back in Black, Thunderstruck and, surprisingly, Girl's Got Rythym so far today. I'm not sure I've been to a stadium that didn't play the Australian band.

and 2- I've seen more jean shorts this weekend than ever before.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

ACC: Game three begins, game two quotes

Florida State and Clemson are about to start game 3 of the day. Each team needs a win and help in the nightcap 4 to reach tomorrow's final against North Carolina. A FSU win would eliminate Wake Forest; a Clemson win would eliminate Miami.

FSU starts ACC Pitcher of the Year Bryan Henry. He's 14-0 in 16 starts with a 2.50 ERA. In 104.1 innings, he has struck out 107 and allowed only 88 hits.

Clemson throws David Kopp. In 15 starts, he's 52 with a 3.86 ERA in 84 innings.

Hey, guess what? Tony Thomas, Jr. just hit the first pitch of the game for a single. Shocking, huh?

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big Ten - Penn State Scores First

Top 3rd - Garrett Field, who has been a big player in this weekend's Big Ten tournament, just doubled to left field to get on base and get the Nittany Lions' first hit of the game. The top of the order is up, and Matt Cavagnaro singles ... Field scores from second to give Penn State an early lead.

1-0, Penn State.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

SEC: Mercy Ruled

Vandy scored three in the top of the eighth to end things here, with your final score, 13-1 Vanderbilt. The Commodores ounded out 16 hits to just three for Ole Miss in a completely dominating performance. Vandy has really woken up since being shutout through most of the first game against Tennessee. After awaking in the late innings of that one, the bats haven't cooled off, as they have now scored 28 runs in the last two games. I'll have the final lines and the pitchers for today's final contest coming up in a bit, it'll get underway at 445 central time.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

C-USA Tournament: Rice scoring at will, or maybe at Neil

The top-seeded Owls' had their way with Memphis starter Neil Schenk. Rice scored 2 runs in the third to push its lead to 6-2.

Schenk lasted 2 2/3 in his first start of the season, allowing 6 runs and 6 hits in the hot sun against the No. 2 team in the nation.

We're only two and a half innings in, but Rice is certainly looking like the superior team after a very sluggish offensive performance this morning.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

WCC: San Deigo must win

San Diego will play its first elimination game of the year,when they go up against a confident Gonzaga team here at Cunningham Stadium on the USD campus.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big Ten - Back in Action

Bottom 2nd - The Penn State vs. Minnesota game started a little less than 30 minutes after its scheduled start - it's still raining a little, but not enough to postpone the game any longer. I'm guessing that this late start will also push back the championship game at 7:05, but if this game is short, everything else could still go as scheduled.

Everyone's still taking cover under the overhang at Fisher Stadium, leaving half of the stands wet and unoccupied. For the second straight day, both teams are playing in drizzling rain and a rather chilly breeze.

Minnesota's Mike Mee is the DH today due to injury, so the Golden Gophers have switched up their lineup a bit to accommodate the switch.

And a foul ball from Rick Marlin just flew into the seats - rather rare at Fisher Stadium, since there's protective netting surrounding the majority of the stands and most of the foul balls fly over the top of the old roof, sometimes hitting cars in the parking lot or falling into the construction site - but a fan caught it, holding it up Major League-style, and gets no applause.

More updates soon.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

SEC: No Mercy

Everyone was set for Vanderbilt to win this one 10-0 after seven due to the 10 run mercy rule, but Ole Miss had other plans. Logan Power just singled in a run to make it 10-1, and in turn, keep this one going as we will move to the eighth inning. The final game of the day looks like it will be played 45 minutes after the conclusion of this one. Got to admit that there was a little bit of a groan when that ball skipped past Pedro Alvarez at third base, but there's nothing wrong with some more baseball. Vandy is look to tack on some more and end this one an inning early as they have runners on the corners with nobody out. If they regain the 10 run lead here in the top half of the inning, the Rebels will still have a chance to cut the lead to under ten in the bottom half.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

C-USA Tournament: Memphis is here too

Memphis responded after Rice took an early lead. A RBI single by Kyle Norrid and a RBI double by Josh Irvin gave Memphis 2 runs in the bottom of the first.

Rice is up 3-2 after 1 inning, yes 5 runs in the 1st inning. I'm pretty excited about a lot of runs and a slow pace in the last game of the day...not really.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

ACC: Heels hang around for Sunday

Sign up North Carolina for Sunday. The Tar Heels' 5-0 win over Virginia puts them in tomorrow's ACC Tournament title game.

Alex White threw seven innings of two-hit ball, then Andrew Carignan closed down Virginia over the final two innings.

The Heels added insurance in the bottom of the eighth without hitting the ball out of the infield, as infield singles by Tim Fedroff, Reid Fronk, Garrett Gore, and Dustin Ackley produced three runs.

Yes, I'm serious, four infield singles in one inning.

Ackley and Fronk each had two of Carolina's eight hits. John Scaglione had two of the Cavs' four hits.

FSU-Clemson is up next.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big 12: Good game here, but I had one eye on that Big East title game

After Texas scores two in the top of the 3rd, Nebraska matches that in the bottom of the 3rd to keep this a one-run game. Going into the 4th, it's 4-3 Longhorns.

Adrian Alaniz hasn't been pinpoint sharpe, giving up two singles and a walk before Jake Opitz came on to bloop a "Texas Leaguer" into short center and bring home both Jeff Lanning and DJ Belafonte.

So this game remains close and should be a beauty. But I can't get over the unbelievable finish to the Big East Final between UConn and Rutgers. The TVs up here in the press box were showing it. What a comeback by Connecticut. Just came up a tad short. Todd Frazier is pretty freakin' impressive too.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

C-USA Tournament: Where'd everyone go? Rice is certainly here

As the Rice-Memphis elimination game starts, I've noticed that about two-thirds of the 3,164 people that watched the ECU-Tulane game are gone.

Rice scored 3 runs in the top of the first. Aaron Luna hit a 2-run triple and scored two pitches later on a wild pitch.

Memphis has had a good run in this tournament and a dramatic win earlier today, but it will have to score a lot of runs against a very good pitcher to win this one.

Rice 3, Memphis 0 after the top of the 1st.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

MVC: Shockers Win, We'll Play One More!

There will be an actual Missouri Valley Championship Game, as Wichita State has finally given Creighton its first loss of the tournament in a dramatic 2-1 win by inches.

Inches, you say?

Yes, and here's how the top of the ninth went down.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

A-Sun: Jax Forces One More

Jacksonville scored four more in the eighth, which was more than enough to outlast a Belmont two-run rally, and the Dolphins forced an A-Sun championship rematch with a 10-4 win against the Bruins. That game will begin at 4:32 p.m.

Lead-off man Chuck Opachich started the Dolphins eighth with a single. After a sac bunt and an intentional walk of Pete Clifford, Ryan McArdle plated Opachich with a single. Thomas LePage and Donnie Vickers then did the same, capping a string of three straight RBI singles for Jacksonville.

Belmont's Matt Reynolds singled to lead off the top of the ninth with an infield single. Wilson Tucker hit a one-out single, and Derek Wiley plated both runners with a two-out double, his second double of the game.

The loss was for the first for Belmont ace Charles Lee (6-1) in conference this season.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

SEC: Vandy Domination

We're up to 10-0 Vandy in the fifth, after plating two more in the inning. Ryan Flaherty set the single season Vandy record with a hit in his 28th straight game. Ole Miss just has just one hit of Cody Crowell, and that came here in the fifth. But after a botched force play at second by Alvarez, the Rebels have runners on first and second with only one out. Trying to stage that magical comeback.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big East Title Game: Awards and Sign-Off

As coach Fred Hill gave an interview after the victory, he was doused with the obligatory Gatorade bath, getting a rousing ovation from the Rutgers fans.

The Jack Kaiser Award, which goes to the tournament's most valuable player, was awarded to Todd Frazier who tied or set tournament records for doubles, runs scored, and hits.

With Rutgers taking pitchers behind the mound and the fans celebrating a Big East title, let me say that it's been a pleasure reporting to you from the Big East tournament at Keyspan Park in Brooklyn, New York. Have a great Memorial Day weekend and enjoy your summer.

Touching the Bases is around the country following all the action, but so long from Brooklyn.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

ACC: Into the pens

At the end of seven, North Carolina still leads Virginia, 2-0, but both teams have gone to their bullpens.

UVa pulled starter Casey Lambert after six -- he allowed 4 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk, and struck out three. I think the Cavs have found their third starter, but now they'll have to find a closer.

UNC's Alex White went 7 innings, allowed 2 hits and five walks and struck out four. He threw 116 pitches.

Tar Heel closer Andrew Carignan on to start the 8th, and I just saw 95 on the radar gun.

Wow, #9-hitter Tim Henry just greeted him with a 16-pitch at-bat that ended with a line drive single to center.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big Ten - Rain Delay

We've been in a rain delay for about ten minutes - the game has been pushed back to 4:00 p.m. after a constant rain that has left the stands damp and empty. Rain delays have been all too common at Fisher Stadium this season, and it seems only fitting that the Big Ten tournament is also affected.

It looks like the players and umpires are starting to prepare for the game, so it'll hopefully start in about ten more minutes.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big South Championship

Nick McCully throws so hard it's tough to believe more people don't hammer him for bus-ticket homers, but he gets the job done and surprise! Coastal wins the Big South. Been a fun week, folks, so I'm checking out, bound for South Carolina and an NCAA Regional next week.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big East Title Game: Too Little Too Late

The Huskies could not have asked for anything more. After Brannon singled and Larry Day hit a soft popout to short, senior captain Dennis Donovan stepped to the plate. But Donovan got under a 2-2 pitch, flying out to center field only one run shy of tying the ball game.

The Scarlet Knights exploded onto the field, mobbing one another just in front of second base on the infield grass in celebration while the dejected Huskies hung their heads in disappointment. But both teams walked off to rousing ovations from their fans.

Connecticut's only hope of making it to postseason play was winning today. They came in as the 8th seed, sneaking in to the tournament with a 9th-inning win over Notre Dame on the season's last weekend.

Rutgers, meanwhile, came in to the tournament as the co-regular season champions and likely would've gotten in to the tournament either way.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

MVC: Three Outs From Game Two

In a must-win game for Wichita State, the Shockers worked around a Michael Lam single to get out of the eighth, and they'll have a chance now to get some insurance before taking Creighton on in the ninth.

Should the Shockers hold on, we'll be back tonight for the MVC Championship Game. Should Creighton make a run and pull out a win, the Bluejays will be Missouri Valley Tournament Champs.

On a lighter note, they say Creighton pitcher Scott Reese is 6'6''. He looks a LOT taller in person. This guy towers over every one of his teammates...he looks like he's 6'8'', 6'9''..somewhere in the Randy Johnson range.

I pity any poor bird that tries to fly in this guy's zone.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

C-USA Tournament: Tought spot for a first start

As with the case in most late-round elimination games, Memphis is pitching a first-time starter against Rice in the day's final game.

Memphis is pitching left-hander Neil Schenk, who has a 5.25 ERA in 16 appearances this season, all of which came out of the bullpen.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big South Championship

After cutting the deficit to one, Liberty walks leadoff man Adam Vrable in the bottom of the eighth. David Sappelt successfully sacrifices Vrable to second and Dom Duggan fouls out to third. With two outs, Chris Raber doesn't run out a check-swing, where he probably would have reached, and is chewed by the first-base coach all the way back to the dugout.

Three outs to go for Coastal.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big 12: NU ties it up, Clark puts Texas back ahead.

Texas Catcher Preston Clark parked a shot into the left field bleachers at the top of the 2nd inning to put the Horns ahead of Nebraska by a 2-1 count.

DJ Belafonte scores Nebraska's first run to tie the game temporarily.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big 12: Alaniz's first pitch goes 93

Thankfully that "93" on the scoreboard behind UT's Adrian Alaniz isn't the temperature here.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big East Title Game: Not Over Yet

Lillis came on to get pinch-hitter Matt Karl to ground out to short, but a double, a single, and a balk drove in 2. Peter Fatse then unloaded on a pitch that landed in the bleachers in right field to cut the deficit to 7-6. UConn's team exploded off the bench and the fans came to their feet.

Now, the Huskies only trail by a run with 1 away and Dale Brannon and Larry Day due up. They'll face reliever Kevin Lillis, Chris' younger brother.

7-6 Rutgers, top of the 9th.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

MVC: Ruf Cuts Lead in Half

Let the dogfight begin here in Springfield.

Darin Ruf led off the top of the seventh inning with a blast to left. No doubt it had the distance, but the question was if it could stay fair. It did, by about a foot, and Creighton finally got on the scoreboard, now trailing Wichita 2-1 as we hit the seventh inning stretch.

LHP Noah Booth (6-1, 0.98 ERA) is warming up in the Shockers bullpen out in left field. Meanwhile, down in the bullpen just off of foul ground in right field, LHP Scott Reese (3-0, 4.36 ERA) is warming up for the Bluejays.

The chant of "Let's Go, Shockers!" is beginning to waft through the stands here at Hammons Field, as Wichita bats here in the last of the seventh, clinging to the slimmest of leads.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

ACC: Carolina breaks through

North Carolina finally broke the double shutout with a couple of runs in the bottom of the sixth.

We head to the seventh with North Carolina leading Virginia

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Saturday, 05/26/07

C-USA Tournament: ECU punches ticket

One of the teams in tomorow's championship game is decided, the East Carolina Pirates. ECU, the tournament's host team, beat Tulane 9-4 to eliminate the Green Wave and advance to the championship game.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big Ten - Penn State vs. Minnesota

The Penn State vs. Minnesota game is scheduled to start in ten minutes, despite a steady rain and thunderstorms earlier today. The weather hasn't been the greatest all weekend, though that's to be expected in Michigan, but hopefully, the rain will hold off and we'll get to see some baseball.

Both the Nittany Lions and the Golden Gophers are fresh off of marathon games yesterday, Penn State with its back-to-back nine-inning elimination games and Minnesota with the 11-inning game against Ohio State yesterday that lasted over four hours. (I believe that four hours, six minutes was the exact time announced yesterday night.)

The biggest factor today will be - which one of these teams are burned out? One will be eliminated, the other will go on to play Ohio State in the championship game tonight.

More updates soon.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big East Title Game: Healing Chased

Steve Healing has been brilliant so far today, but UConn's first two batters have singled and doubled to drive home a run, cutting the deficit to 7-2 and chasing Healing from the game in favor of Chris Lillis.

Healing turned in a phenomenal game, throwing 100 pitches - 63 for strikes - and allowing only 7 hits and the pair of runs thus far. He personally handed the ball to Lillis, was hugged by each of his teammates, and got a huge ovation from the Rutgers faithful.

Still nobody out though, and the Huskies still trail by 5.

7-2 Rutgers, top of the 9th.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big South Championship

Cody Brown leads off the Liberty eighth with a double and Coastal immediately goes to Pete Andrelczyk, who replaces Travis Risser. Risser threw three innings and that was his first hit. Andrelczyk doesn't last long and closer Nick McCully is called on to get the last four outs.

The Flames get a run across and it's 6-5 Coastal, Liberty stranding two more runners when Andrelczyk gives up a double and a four-pitch walk after getting the first two outs. Let's see if Liberty's bullpen can keep the Chanticleers off the scoreboard so they'll have a shot in the ninth.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

A-Sun: Looks Like It's Going to Be a Long Day

Jacksonville added three more runs in the bottom of the seventh and would force winner-take-all championship game if it holds onto this 6-2 lead. That game would start 30 minutes after the completion of this one.

That said, if there's an offense at this tournament that can make up for this, it's Belmont's.

Jacksonville's Pete Clifford drew a walk and Ryan McArdle singled to put runners on first and second with one out and chase Belmont starter Charles Lee out of the game.

Facing Bruins reliever Jimmy Stanley, Thomas LePage singled to load the bases with one out. Clifford then scored on a wild pitch, Ferreira drove in McArdle and Matt Lopez plated LePage with a single.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big East Title Game: Meade Makes it Harder

Rutgers' catcher Frank Meade unloaded on David Erickson's 1-2 pitch with a runner on 2nd and 2 down, driving it over the left centerfield wall and giving the Scarlet Knights a 6 run cushion heading to the 9th.

The Huskies now have an even bigger hole to climb out of, and will send their 5-7 hitters to the plate needing 6 to keep their tournament and postseason hopes alive.

7-1 Rutgers, end of 8.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

MVC: Weber Lights One Up

After a combined 13 straight batters retired by both pitchers here, Tyler Weber launched a Marc Lewis offering into the grassy knoll in left center field, electrifying the Shocker fans and getting the flags back out on the third base side. Gene Stephenson high fived, then pointed to Weber as he trotted home, making it 2-0 Wichita State.

Pitch Count has taken Aaron Shafer out of the game. No doubt Stephenson wants to use him some more today if Wichita can hold on, so the Shockers now have sent RHP Andy Womack (3-1, 2.29 ERA) to the mound. He'll face the top of the Creighton order in the sixth, as WSU tries to force a second game.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big East Title Game: Rutgers Gloves Doom Huskies

The Rutgers defense stymied the Huskies in the top of the 8th, and UConn is now 3 outs away from seeing its dream come to an end.

Dale Brannon hit a hot liner down the right field line that was snagged by Tom Edwards, and Larry Day had an infield hit taken away from him when Tim Querns fielded a slow roller on the run, spun, and fired in time to get the out. Dennis Donovan grounded out to Frazier on a routine play and the Huskies are in a lot of trouble now.

5-1 Rutgers, bottom of the 8th.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

SEC: Dropping Bombs

Dominic de la Osa just hit his 18th homer of the year in the second inning, a two run homer, to make it 8-0. Brett Bukvich's day is over. He went 1.1 IP giving up eight runs on eight hits, with three homeruns, didn't strike out a batter and didn't walk anybody. That's a tough day. Into the game for the Rebels is Jesse Simpson. You'd have to think that Bianco is going to ride Simpson as long as he can, since it looks like these two teams will be playing a half hour after the final out of this one.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

MVC: 1-2-3, 1-2-3

Halfway home in 59 minutes. This game is moving pretty fast!

Both pitchers are starting to get into a serious groove right now. Check out these stat lines...

CU - Mark Lewis - 4.0 IP, 2 hits, 1 run, 0 earned runs, 2 walks, 2 K's, 62 pitches
WSU - Aaron Shafer - 5.0 IP, 2 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk, 2 K's, 56 pitches (retired last 7 batters in a row).

We've got another great pitcher's duel here at Hammons Field.

1-0 Shockers as the bottom of the Wichita order faces Lewis.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

A-Sun: Ground Rule Double Saves Jax Lead

This doesn't seem very fair.

With two outs in the top of the sixth and Bradi Manifold on first, Matt Reynolds drilled a shot to the warning track in left field. With Manifold nearly at third, the ball got caught up in the tarp covering the outfield fence.

Reynolds was awarded second on a ground-rule double, and Manifold, who had crossed the plate for what would have been the game-tying run, had to return to third.

Packy Elkins then lined out to shortstop to end the inning. Jacksonville leads 3-2 going into the seventh.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big South Championship

Dom Duggan continues to play Monster Mash, hammering a 1-1 leadoff homer well over the wall in left for Coastal's first lead of the day. Give some props to Libery left fielder P.K. Keller, who made a leap for it although it was about three interstates and a dirt road away from the wall.

Tim John is out after a solid performance, throwing six innings and giving up seven hits and five runs (three earned). Dustin Umberger's in to try and control the damage ... the Flames are only down 6-4 and have two innings to play.

Tommy Baldridge just got another hit. He's 9-of-17 for the tournament.

Can we start calling him "Hacksaw" Dom Duggan?

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big East Title Game: Time Running Out

Stretch time here at Keyspan Park, and the Huskies are down to their final 6 outs and still trail Rutgers.

Rutgers' starter Steve Healing has been dominant in the last 5 innings. Since allowing a run in the second, Healing has allowed only 3 singles to the Huskies. He gave up a 1-out base hit to Josh Farkes, but got the next two hitters to pop out on in the infield.

5-1 Rutgers, mid 7.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

C-USA Tournament: Highest attendance

The announced attendance of 3,164 for the ECU-Tulane game is now the highest attended game of the tournament, the championship game tomorrow could very well break it though...especially if its ECU-Rice.

ECU 9, Tulane 4 as we go into the bottom of the ninth. Barring a lengthy comeback, the Pirates are first to punch their ticket to the C-USA championship game.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

ACC: See chameleon, lying there in the sun

Nothing going on in Jacksonville expect good pitching.

After four, North Carolina and Virginia are scoreless.

Both pitchers, Virginia's Casey Lambert and North Carolina's Alex White, have allowed only a single and a walk.

The only bad thing is that they've played Slade's "Run Runaway" during two consecutive changeovers, and now it's stuck in my head.

I like black and white!
Dreaming of black and white...
You like black and white!
Run run away!

Ick, now they're playing Twisted Sister, so maybe I shouldn't have complained...

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Saturday, 05/26/07

SEC: Vandy Dandy

Vanderbilt's Pedro Alvarez hit the first homerun to rightfield all week in the top of the first, a two run shot to give Vanderbilt the 2-0 lead. Sorry about the lateness of this, it's the Going yard guys' fault, but check out their stuff. I helped on the hunt for Vanderbilt's superfan, as did Josh Cooper, who has done some writing for us as well. So, it's a CSTV.com party here basically the last couple of days, and I can't forget about Chris Kieffer who has done TTB from Ole Miss all year, Mark Etheridge who has chimed in with his projections (another one will come as soon as the sites are announced tomorrow afternoon at 3:15 eastern), Chris Lee who has done some work with us from Vandy for TTB, and whoever else I'm leaving out. We're all finally putting names to the faces. Anyway, on to the game...

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Saturday, 05/26/07

MVC: Wichita Dodges Huge Threat

Remember how I said Wichita needed to get those timely hits to score runs?

Well, Creighton needs a dose of the same stuff.

Wichita P Aaron Shafer retired the first eight batters he faced, but with two outs in the top of the third, the Flying Hawaiian, aka Creighton 2B Michael Lam, hit a sharp ball down the third base line that Conor Gillaspie was lucky to get any part of his glove on. Robbie Knight then singled to right center, advancing Lam to third. Ross Sinclair walked on four straight pitches to load the bases, but Chris Gradoville hit a bouncer to Gillaspie, who stepped on third to snuff out the Bluejay threat.

I think a count will be needed today for runners left on base. So far, Creighton has left three, Wichita has left two.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big South Championship

Tim John has done a masterful job of getting out of the last two innings, solving Coastal on 15 combined throws. In the sixth, however, he gives up a leadoff single and eight-hole hitter Tyler Bortnick, for the second straight day, deposits the pill in the lights behind left field. Coastal hits into an inning-ending double play, but we're tied 4-4 after six.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big East Title Game: Belt on the Bases

The base paths looked like the Belt Parkway for a moment when two runners came home one after the other. Edwards doubled off the wall in deep center, but Bionde had to hold up off second. Williams, however, did not hold up, and found himself only a few feet behind Bionde. Gordon Stevens relayed the ball to Dennis Donovan, whose throw home was too late to get Bionde but on time to get Williams. Tarsi got out of the inning when the next hitter grounded out to Donovan.

5-1 Rutgers, top of the 6th.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

C-USA Tournament: Pirates inch closer to championship game

No. 3 ECU scored 3 runs in the top of the 8th to extend its lead to 8-4 over No. 7 Tulane.

The Pirates got RBI singles, one after another, to make a Green Wave comeback a much tougher feat. Tulane has two chances left, down 8-4.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

MVC: Creighton Avoids Danger

The Shockers are using a patient offensive attack right now, and it's getting runners on base. However, the timely hitting needed to score runs wasn't there in the bottom of the second. A Bret Bascue single and Josh Walkman walk had runners on first and second with just one out. However, Creighton's Marc Lewis struck out Tyler Weber, and Dusty Coleman grounded to short to end the inning.

Timely hitting means so much in games like this...Shocks gotta deliver, especially against a team like Creighton.

Bottom of the Creighton order facing Shafer in the top of the third. 1-0 WSU.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big South Championship

Tommy Baldridge gets a two-out double but Tim John gets out of the mess, still holding a 4-2 Liberty lead. Coastal coach Gary Gilmore was shaking his head after Dom Duggan popped out to third on a first pitch and Chris Raber went down swinging in maybe the worst at-bat of his career.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

A-Sun: It Always Comes Back to Hurt You

Belmont starter Charles Lee broke a cardinal rule of pitching in the fifth inning: You can't walk the lead-off batter. Lee gave a pass to Jacksonville's Pete Clifford to start the bottom of the fifth. Three batters later, he paid for it, as the Dolphins took a 3-2 lead.

Ryan McArdle doubled to put runners on second and third with no outs. With one out, Donnie Vickers then flew out to right to plate Clifford.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big East Title Game: Garry Gone

Garry only got one out, sandwiched between walks to Mike Bionde and Dave Williams. With Tom Edwards due up and only 1 away, the Huskies have turned to the pen again, this time bringing on Mike Tarsi - normally a starting pitcher - as the third hurler of the inning.

4-1 Rutgers, bottom 5.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

MVC: Winky Breaks A Window

Throughout this week in college baseball, I've read of broken bat tips, broken records, and as of this morning, broken win streaks courtesy of Memphis. Now, you can add a broken window to the list of things that shatter in the night.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big 12: One down. Three to go. A&M wins.

Texas A&M - 7 10 0
Kansas State - 2 8 1

State made things interesting at the end by loading the bases in the 9th, but could make it no more interesting than that.

Blake Stouffer had quite an odd day at the dish, going 0-for-2, but in each of those at-bats he knocked in a run. Then, he went walk, walk, walk in his last three at-bats. He also had a stolen base and scored twice. Good small-ball player there.

Kyle Colligan's second inning triple was a thing of beauty also. My overall impression of the Aggies is that they also run very, very well. Very aggressive. No. 2 hitter Ben Feltner had three stolen bases.

With the win, the Aggies are now 2-1 in this tournament. They'll advance to the championship game if Texas can beat Nebraska. (Sooooooo, lemme get this right. A&M has to cheer for Texas. Right.). Kansas State falls to 1-2 and awaits their NCAA tournament fate. Again, as mentioned before the game, Coach Brad Hill believed his Cats would need to win the Big 12 tournament to make the field of 64. So we'll see.

Nebraska and Texas face off at 2:05 local time.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big East Title Game: Boom Goes Frazier

Todd Frazier crushed the fourth pitch of the inning from Robert Van Woert over the Cyclone roller coaster imitation on top of the scoreboard in left center to put Rutgers back ahead by 3. The blast chased Van Woert from the game, and left-hander Ted Garry has come on to pitch.

4-1 Rutgers, bottom 5.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

MVC: Shox Beat The Tag

After Aaron Shafer got Creighton to go 1-2-3, the Shockers answered in the bottom half with a one-out double to left by Derek Schermerhorn. Matt Brown then hit a sizzling Sunday hop that bounced off of Creighton 2B Michael Lam and into right field. Brown made it to first, while Schermerhorn, never slowing down, rounded third and just beat the tag home, giving Wichita the early 1-0 lead after one inning of play.

More fans are filing in...looks like a walk-in crowd is helping this one out. Most are still decked in bright yellow, and we've even got a couple of big yellow WSU flags. Nice school spirit, especially for the MVC title day (we don't know if this is the title game yet.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big East Title Game: Querns Holds 'Em at Halfway

Rutgers third baseman Tim Querns turned a spectacular double play, bobbling the ball but still setting in motion the 5-4-3 inning ending double play to get the Scarlet Knights out of a 1st-and-2nd, 1-out jam. Credit Mike Bionde with a spectacular turn at second, standing in to make the throw despite Dale Brannon bearing down on him.

3-1 Rutgers, mid 5.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

C-USA Tournament: Energetic Dowdy first to congratulate

ECU's emotion-filled starting pitcher Josh Dowdy bolted out of the dugout to chest-bump reliever Bailey Daniels after he preserved Dowdy's and ECU's 5-4 lead.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

A-Sun: Bruins Tie It Up

Helping his case for tournament MVP, Kane Simmons put Belmont on the board in the top of the fourth with an RBI sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Brian Petsch from third. Derek Wiley, reached on a double, moved to third on the play and scored as No. 9 hitter Carlo Testa legged out a two-out infield single to shortstop.

The score is tied at 2 heading into the fifth.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big South Championship

Andy DeLaGarza's history after giving up an RBI double to Garrett "Curly Sue" Young, in favor of Travis Risser. DeLaGarza leaves with nine hits and four runs, a walk and zero Ks. The kid started the year 8-0 but had three no-decisions, two losses and a win down the stretch.

Liberty up 4-2 as we go to the bottom of five, Tim John getting out of the last inning with seven pitches. He's still up to 79, though, but there's nobody warming up.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big East Title Game: Good Glovin'

After the Huskies were set down in order in the top of the 4th, UConn's gloves went to work.

Tim Gossard grounded the ball to the third and Pat Mahoney fielded the ball on a short hop on the run and fired to first for the out. The second batter, Tim Querns, smacked a ball to center field but Gordon Stevens got a good jump and made a nice play. Then after issuing a 2-out walk to Frank Meade, Van Woert came off the mound to backhand a bunt by Donny Callahan and threw out Rutgers' 9th place hitter to retire the side.

3-1 Rutgers, end of 4.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

C-USA Tournament: Offense to the fans liking

ECU's Drew Schieber just hit a opposite field solo home run to start the seventh inning and give the Pirates a 4-3 lead. Corey Kemp followed with a looooong out that was caught by Tulane left fielder Anthony Scelfo at the wall. This ignited the ECU faithful, who started Purple and Gold chants that got pretty loud. The Pirate fans, and the Tulane fans that are here, are both making their presence felt despite the humid conditions.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big East Title Game: Settling Down

After a tumultuous first couple of innings that saw all sorts of strange events, the pitchers settled down.

Healing sent the Huskies down 1-2-3 in the top of the inning, and Van Woert allowed only a 2-out infield single to Rutgers.

3-1 Rutgers, end of 3.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big South Championship

Coastal adds one in the third and it's tied 2-2. DeLaGarza seems to have settled in, still getting hit but not giving up runs. Tim John is looking good but his pitch count is up to 72 and Liberty doesn't have many fresh arms.

Joe Marion is calling strikes with the maximum amount of flexing. If this keeps up, his shirt will rip from the constant strain and leave him looking like the Incredible Hulk (TV, not movie). This guy could stop a Sherman tank in its tracks just by scowling at it from 500 yards. He introduces himself in social situations by saying, "Joe Marion. Bow down or I will EAT YOUR FACE."

And ...

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Saturday, 05/26/07

ACC: Game two ready, game one quotes

North Carolina and Virginia are about to face off with the winner earning a spot in tomorrow's title game.

Both are sure #1-seed hosts. UNC is probably a lock for a national seed, and Virginia might be playing their way into one.

Virginia has been looking for a third starter all season, and today will give their closer Casey Lambert his second start of the season. He started Saturday against BC and threw four effective innings after picking up a save two days earlier. He has fanned 41 in only 28.2 innings, and opposing hitters a hitting a meager .194 against him.

UNC counters with freshman Alex White, who is 5-4 with a 3.66 ERA in 76.1 innings.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big South Championship

I've just been informed that Liberty's Garrett Young is being heavily scouted by the Braves. And why not? Former Brave Sid Bream came from Liberty and he's a legend.

Then I see Young remove his helmet. He looks like Screech, only blond. That has got to go before you hit the big time, son. Your hair reminds me of Ronald McDonald with bleach.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big East Title Game: Van Wonderful

Robert Van Woert settled down after a rocky first inning to set the Scarlet Knights down in order. Todd Frazier gave him a scare, driving a pitch 411 feet to straight away center field. Fortunately for Van Woert, the fence is 412 feet away.

3-1 Rutgers, end of 2.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

MVC: WSU - Creighton...The Beginning or The End?

We're about 10 minutes from the first pitch of a matchup between Gene Stephenson's #1 Wichita State Shockers and Ed Servais's #2 Creighton Bluejays. Creighton needs just one win to win their first ever Missouri Valley Tournament in baseball, while Wichita needs two wins tonight to claim their 16th tournament title.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

C-USA Tournament: Industrial use

The humidity is high here at Clark-LeClair Stadium, and just looking around the stadium, the fans have gotten clever. The thousands in attendance are using game programs, hats, parts of popcorn boxes and about anyting they can get their hands on to fan their faces, attempting to cool down as they watch a very good baseball game.

ECU 3, Tulane 3 at the end of six innings.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

A-Sun: Home Run Jax

Jacksonville jumped to a 2-0 lead off a two-run homer by A-Sun Player of the Year Pete Clifford. The line-drive shot, Clifford's conference-best 13th of the season, hugged the right field line, but was ruled fair, which drew conversation from Belmont coach Dale Jarvis.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

SEC: Arkansas Advances

Game one of the day went the way most media wanted it to (except for my South Carolina buddies), as the Razorbacks hang on to win 3-2. Travis Hill got the Gamecocks 1-2-3 in the ninth inning, getting Steven Reinhold on a groundout, striking out Reese Havens, and then got Travis Jones to groundout to third to end things. Arkansas advances to tomorrow's championship game, and waits to face the winner of Ole Miss/Vanderbilt who if Vandy wins, will play a second game afer this one. Back with final thoughts on this one after lunch. The 'Dores and Rebels comin' up next.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big South Championship

Big South Player of the Year David Sappelt shoots a flare into left and Tyler Bortnick scores, making Liberty's second error of the game hurt. 2-1 Liberty after two.

For the 10th time, the PA guy is congratulating Winthrop's softball team and Coastal Carolina's golf team for their postseason successes. We've already heard it. The softball team is done. Coastal's golf team doesn't play again for another week. GIVE IT A REST.

Perhaps I should ask Joe Marion to take care of this problem. He could pull the words out of the air, chew them and turn them into a Shakespearean soliloquy to the delight of the crowd.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big East Title Game: Not in the Neighborhood

With 0 out and Pat Mahoney on first, Brad Olt grounded to second for an easy double play. Bionde flipped the ball to Frazier, who came across second and didn't touch the base before throwing to first. Second base umpire Mike Shields correctly called Mahoney safe - opting against the old "neighborhood call" for the right call. Fred Hill came out to argue, but the call stood.

The Huskies took advantage of the good umpiring and Josh Farkes belted a run-scoring double to right to cut the deficit to 2. Gordon Stevens walked to put 2 on, but Healing recovered and set down the next 2 hitters.

3-1 Rutgers, mid 2.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

C-USA Tournament: Tie game, wierd slide

Tulane got a RBI single from Tim Guidry in the fifth to tie the ECU-Tulane game at 3. As Tulane's Grayden Granier slid into a home for the run, it looked like his leg didn't actually touch the plate and the ECU fans were yelling at the ECU players to appeal the play, but the home plate umpire confirmed his call by signaling safe and informing the ECU players and crowd that Granier did infact touch home plate. So now we have a tie game, 3-3, heading into the sixth.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big South Championship

David Giammaresi tees off on Andy DeLaGarza and rockets a 3-1 meatball into the magnolia tree behind right-center. Giammaresi must be confused ... he's only supposed to hit homers (three of his four on the season) against Winthrop's pitching.

2-0 Liberty, going to the bottom of the second.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big East Title Game: First Inning Jitters Favor Rutgers

Rutgers' starter Steve Healing (9-3, 3.67) missed the plate with his first five pitches and eventually found himself in a 2 on, 1 out situation facing the Huskies' 4 and 5 hitters, Dennis Donovan and Matt Untiet. But both men popped out to right field to end the threat.

Meanwhile, UConn starter Robert Van Woert (7-2, 3.76) walked Todd Frazier and Mike Bionde leading off the bottom of the 1st. He got the next two Scarlet Knights to fly out to left, but on a 3-1 pitch to Tom Edwards, the runners went in motion and Larry Day through to second to try to get Bionde. But the ball went into centerfield, scoring Frazier and giving Rutgers the first run of the ball game.

And the trouble didn't stop there. Van Woert would walk Gossard and then serve up a soft single to right to Gossard, scoring Bionde. Farkes misplayed the ball and Day could not handle the throw, allowing Edwards to score all the way from first.

3-0 Rutgers, end of 1.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

SEC: A Good One

The Gamecocks would like to mount their third comeback of the tournament, and they are closing in on Arkansas. It's 3-2 Razorbacks as the Hogs bat here in the 9th. South Carolina scratched across a run in the 8th, but they'll tell you that was their chance. They had the bases loaded and nobody out, and the only run scored on a fielder's choice on a DP opportunity that was an awfully close play at first that could have ended the inning. S.C. DH Drew Martin then struck out looking with runners on first and third.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big South Championship

Coastal goes quietly in the bottom of the first and still trails 1-0 to Liberty. The Chants have been behind every game in the tournament and have won every game in their tournament.

Plate umpire Joe Marion, no lie, could beat Chuck Amato as the biggest chest in America. He has no need for a chest protector under his shirt. There's also no arguments with this guy ... you'd throw it right down the pipe, he'd say "ball one," and you'd just say, "Thank you, sir," and move on.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

C-USA Tournament: Starting to warm up

It's getting hot here in eastern North Carolina. Weather.com says it's 84 degrees, but the humidity is high so it feels hotter. The press box is air conditioned well, but with the windows up you can feel the heat coming in, its got to be tough for the players out there.

Tulane's bats are starting to warm up as well, a solo home run in the third and another in the fourth have cut the deficit to 3-2 after four innings. This is a good game between two good programs, in a lively atmosphere both in the stands and on the field.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big East Title Game: Fans Behind Rutgers

The stands along the first-base line are mostly empty, save for a decent-sized group of UConn fans toward the last few rows who have taken shade. But along the third base line, the stands are filled with a large Scarlet-clad contingency who have been cheering for the Scarlet Knights since the introductions.

0-0, top of the 1st.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

A-Sun: Can Anbody Stop Belmont?

Jacksonville will try today in the A-Sun Tournament title game. Belmont's offensive seems unstoppable in the tournament with a team batting average of .355 and 34 runs scored. That's more than double Jacksonville's 15 runs scored.

Belmont already defeated Jacksonville 12-7 in the first round and would have to lose two to the Dolphins today in order not to win the A-Sun title.

Ace pitcher Charles Lee (8-1, 3.62 ERA) will pitch for Belmont, which was an interesting decision by Coach Dale Jarvis, considering he has two games to work with today.

Matt Gardner (6-5, 3.78 ERA) is on the mound for Jacksonville.

If the opening round match-up between these teams is any indication, this one could get crazy. Belmont led that game 4-2 before Jacksonville took the lead with a five-run eighth. The Bruins responded with an eight-run eighth for the win.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

ACC: Pack pulls it out

Caleb Mangum was completely tied up by the pitch and hit the ball only about 70 feet, but it was still the game-winning hit.

The ninth-inning bleeder gave NC State an 8-7 win over Georgia Tech in a meaningless but entertaining game to open the final day of round-robin play in the ACC tournament.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

MVC: No Chick-Fil-A Cows Here

Unlike the other tournaments down south, there is no Chick-Fil-A dancing cow here in Springfield. I hate that; as I do love me some Chick-Fil-A...best lemonade going, and add buffalo sauce to one of their sandwiches...that's good eats.

But then again, who could blame the cow for being afraid? The first drive-thru hamburger restaurant in the world was right here in Springfield, as Red's Giant Hamburgs (yes, Hamburgs) opened up on US Route 66 in 1947.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big South Championship

The announcer just reminded everybody that videotaping the Big South championship is prohibited. Who the hell would be sick enough to post a bootleg Liberty-Coastal Carolina video on Amazon, and who would be sicker enough to buy it?!?

Liberty takes a 1-0 lead when Andy DeLaGarza has some early wildness. He gives up three singles and a walk and isn't getting the corners called. He gets Phil John to pop up to center on a bases-loaded, full-count situation but the Flames draw first blood.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

C-USA Tournament: Mollenhauer tests his arm

ECU's injured shortstop Dale Mollenhauer has been warming up right fielder Ryan Tousley inbetween innings.

Mollenhauer leads the Pirates in batting average and started ECU's first 44 games at shorstop and batted second in the batting order prior to breaking a bone in his throwing wrist. Mollenhauer pinch-ran in ECU's last game, but hasn't played in the field or batted in about a month. Coach Godwin said earlier this week that Mollenhauer took ground balls in ECU's final practice leading up to the C-USA Tournament, but was only throwing at 40-50%.

After 2 innings, ECU is winning 3-0.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big 12: THAT'S what this game needs, a 6-pitch inning

K-State's Chase Bayuk just threw a six-pitch top of the 6th to help this game move along a bit. After a 60-pitch first inning and a half, this was needed.

We're in the bottom of the 6th now and it's A&M 5-1.

Craig Stinson continues his hot hitting, knocking in an RBI single in the 5th to bring the score to where we are now.

Texas A&M's David Newmann didn't have a picture-perfect outing as he was pulled after five innings and gave up five hits, five walks and hit a batter. Still, he gave up just a single run. Kyle Thebeau has replaced him on the mound and has now walked two of the first three batters he's face.

Pheeeeeeeeeeww! This is going to be a long day.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

MVC: Tourney Director Sets the Standard

A funny thing happened when I first arrived at Hammons Field on Wednesday. No one could find my credential anywhere. The parking lot attendants kept sending me in circles, and confusion reigned supreme.

Standing outside of the stadium, in the ticket line (where the last Cardinal employee sent me), I was being told that no one had any clue as to anything, when all of the sudden, I get a tap on the shoulder from a smiling lady dressed in Valley apparel.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

C-USA Tournament: Problems in the outfield

ECU scored 3 runs in the top of the first against Tulane, but only got 1 hit and the runs didn't come off a 3-run homer, how can that happen?

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big South Championship

There's maybe 50 people here ... and at least 42 of them are wearing Coastal's teal and black. The parents and sister of Coastal's Tommy Baldridge are over along the third-base line, greeting him with a loud war whoop whenever his name is called.

Liberty had Coastal swept in Conwa earlier this year but gave away the last two games. Let's see if the Flames can pull off the impossible today ... first pitch is about 10 minutes away with Tim John (who lost to Winthrop two days ago) on the mound.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

ACC: Deja vu

In the bottom of the sixth, NC State went through three pitchers and gave up the lead, and Georgia Tech returned the favor in the top of the sixth.

At the stretch, we're tied 7-7.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big East Title Game: Something's Gotta Give

It's the last day of the Big East baseball tournament and it's still absolutely gorgeous outside. In fact, it might be a little too gorgeous, with the sun bearing down on us here in the outdoor press box. I've had to move to the front row, away from the shade, for ESPNU's telecast of the game, so it's even warmer than I've been the last couple of days.

Regardless, what a baseball game we're going to have for you today. Rutgers hosts Connecticut, with the winner getting an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament and the Big East title.

UConn - the 8th seed - took 2 games from USF last night to get here, while Rutgers beat Louisville twice yesterday to advance.

These two teams are vastly different. UConn has scored 19 runs in the entire tournament, and hasn't scored more than 8. Meanwhile, Rutgers has put up 40 runs in the tournament and has reached double digits 3 times.

Something's gotta give.

Stick with Touching the Bases as we bring you all the action from the Big East title game.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

ACC: Pack pen can't protect

NC State starter Jimmy Gillheeney didn't pitch well, but he left with a lead after five.

That lead is gone now, as the Pack needed three relievers to get through the sixth inning.

After six, Georgia Tech leads 7-6.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big South Championship

Liberty has to win two today to win the Big South title and an automatic pass to the NCAA tournament. Not to say they're already done, but today is expected to complete what was already pre-ordained ... a coronation of Coastal Carolina as the best team in the conference.

Coastal would be in the tournament anyway with two losses, but I doubt they're going to just lay down. With Andy DeLaGarza set to pitch today, the Chanticleers can probably ice a host site for the NCAAs.

DeLaGarza is so good he only goes by three letters. When you hear "DLG" mentioned, you know there's fixin to be some bad stuff going down. Coastal's missing out on a marketing bonanza.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

C-USA Tournament: Offensive lineup

ECU coach Billy Godwin has shifted around his defensive alignment a little, hoping to create a little more offense. ECU has needed late game heroics to make up for its offensive struggles this week.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

SEC: Slide, Slide, Slide!

Kudos to Arkansas catcher Brian Walker for completely faking out South Carolina's Justin Smoak acting as if the ball wasn't coming home after a single by Andrew Crisp. But the ball was indeed coming home, and Smoak never slid, leaving Walker to catch the ball and promptly place a tag on the stunned Smoak.

Must be the smoke or something that got in Smoak's way. OK got the smoke joke out of the way for the day. Phil Disher did hit a SAC Fly to the endge of the wall in left (which he thought was gone off the bat) in the inning to cut th eArkansas lead to 3-1, despite the Gamecocks' six hits through the first three innings.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big 12: A&M draws purple blood, up 3-1

The Aggies have jumped out on K-State for three runs in the first two innings, answered by a solo home run from KSU's Rob Vaughn.

To start the second inning, Luke Anders was hit by the first Bayuk offering. Then, Kyle Colligan ripped a triple off the right field wall, scoring Anders and getting his parents all fired up in the stands. Fist-pumpin' papa was getting patted on the back by other A&M parents like he hit the thing himself.

Colligan came roaring in to score on a beautiful safety squeeze bunt by Parker Dalton, who out-ran the second baseman that was going to cover the bag on the throw from pitcher Chase Bayuk.

But I've gotta say, A&M's David Newmann has struggled so far. State just left the bases loaded here in the 2nd and have out-hit the Aggies 4-3.

Aggies up 3-1 as we go to the top of the 3rd. And man, am I ever hungry.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

C-USA Tournament: Unfamiliar territory, Memphis jubilation

Because of C-USA rules, ECU will be in the visitor's dugout of Clark-LeClair Stadium for the first time ever when it plays Tulane at 12:30 p.m. today.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

C-USA Tournament: Mr. clutch, Matt Yokley

Memphis closer Matt Yokley entered the game with the bases loaded, 1 out in the 8th, and Rice's 20-game winning streak in tact. 1 2/3 innings later, Yokley ended the Owls' C-USA record winning streak and extended Memphis's tournament life.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

SEC: Smoke Is In The Air

We're underway on day number four in Hoover, and the smoke from the wildfires is back, blanketing the area in a really awful smelling haze. Arkansas and South Carolina have started, and the math is pretty simple. If Arkansas beats the Gamecocks, and Ole Miss defeats Vandy later, then we only play two games. If either S.C. or Vandy wins, then we have extra baseball here today.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

C-USA Tournament: History is made

Memphis just beat No. 1 Rice 2-1, handing the Owls their first ever C-USA Tournament loss. Rice went 4-0 in last year's tournament en route to the title, and it looked like this year would be a repeat, but fifth-seeded Memphis had other plans.

Memphis got great pitching from starter Will Hudgens, setup man Dusty Davis and closer Matt Yokley. Hudgens got the win, Yokley got the save, and Rice's Chris Kelley suffered the loss despite a solid performance.

More to come about Yokley

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Saturday, 05/26/07

ACC: Bombs Away

The park isn't playing so huge any more.

Only two home runs were hit in the first eight games of the tournament, but we've already matched that total today.

The latest was a 2-run shot by GT's Jason Haniger, his first career dinger.

That shot tied it at 5-5, but NC State has retaken the lead in the top of the fifth.

Ryan Pond walked to lead off, moved to second on Mike Roskopf's single, and scored on Pat Ferguson's single to left to make it 6-5 State.

10 hits already for the Pack, and the Tech bullpen is active again.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big 12: It's too damn early for baseball

First game out of four is about to get underway here in OKC.

Texas A&M vs. Kansas State.

A&M (42-16):
Starting No. 2 pitcher David Newmann (9-1, 3.29) and is still possibly playing for a hosting slot in the NCAA Regionals.

K-State (34-23):
Starting No. 2 pitcher Chase Bayuk (5-5, 4.84) and, according to coach Brad Hill, probably still needs to win this tournament to get into the Big Dance.

My eyes are still bloodshot, I've got huge bags under my eyes and I've still got waffle face from my hotel pillow. But the first pitch has been thrown.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

C-USA Tournament: Drama in the 8th, Yokley saves the day

Rice had 3 hits, 1 run and was in danger of losing its first ever C-USA Tournament game as it headed into the bottom of the eighth, down 2-1 to No. 5 Memphis.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

ACC: Slugfest for a change

NC State and Georgia Tech have both been officially eliminated from ACC Tournament title contention.

Based on their RPI ratings, both are solidly locked into the NCAA Tournament as 2-seeds.

But even though this basically meaningless game is being played in front of an extremely sparse crowd, it's pretty entertaining so far.

After two and a half innings, NC State leads GT in a slugfest, 5-3.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

C-USA Tournament: Memphis goes to the pen

Memphis coach Daron Schoenrock must have sensed a Rice rally coming after the Owls put up a run in the fifth, he took out starting pitcher Will Hudgens prior to the sixth inning, in favor of setup man Dusty Davis. Hudgens alowed three hits and one run in five innings.

Davis has a 7-3 record and 4.29 ERA in 19 relief appearances this season. Davis retired the first three batters in the sixth, good decision.

Memphis 2, Rice 1 in the top of the 7th.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

C-USA Tournament: No. 1 Rice finally gets going, but still losing

After four innings of little offense by the Owls, the top seed finally came alive.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

ACC: First game of a looooooong day

10 a.m. Georgia Tech-NC State, in the only game that means nothing to the tournament title

Followed by UNC-Virginia...

Followed by Clemson-FSU...

Followed by Miami-Wake Forest

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Saturday, 05/26/07

C-USA Tournament: No more perfect game, no-hitter, shutout

Rice's Chris Kelley was dominating with 2 outs in the 4th when disaster struck. Kelley had a perfect game going, with 7 K's. Memphis's Bill Moss blasted a solo homer, tying him with teamate Joey Lieberman for the conference lead in home runs with 13. Senior Adam Amar then sent Kelley's first offering over the right field fence for back-to-back solo shots.

Rice is coming to bat in the 4th, down 2-0.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

C-USA Tournament: 2,2,2.

Rice pitcher Chris Kelley is dominating right now, as he struck out two batters in each of the first 3 innings (that's 6 total for the math majors out there). Memphis has yet to record a hit, and Rice only has one.

Still no score, we've played three complete.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

C-USA Tournament: Anybody else wanna play?

I guess all Rice needs is its pitcher, catcher and right fielder on defense.

Pitcher Chris Kelley has struck out 4 of the 6 batters he's faced after the first two innings, and the other two outs were flyouts to right fielder Jared Gayhart.

No score as Rice comes up to bat in the second.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

C-USA Tournament: Osborne firing up the troops

As "Bring 'em out" was played over the PA system right before first pitch between No. 1 Rice and No. 5 Memphis, the Memphis dugout ignited a little and Assistant Coach Allen Osborne high-fived all the the players lined up in the front of the away dugout with emotion. As I said yesterday, Memphis is not intimidated by Rice and has a lot of confidence going into this game. Joey Lieberman told me yesterday that he thinks they have enough confidence to beat Rice.

The Tigers went down in order in top of the 1st though, Rice is coming up to bat.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

C-USA Tournament: Savery playing first

Coach Graham has stuck to his word, Joe Savery is not pitching against Memphis...yet. Graham told me after Rice's first game that he would not pitch the C-USA Player-of-the-Year until a Rice elimination game. This sets things up perfectly for Rice if they beat Memphis at 9 a.m. today and are able to save Savery for tomorrow's championship game. No. 5 Memphis and No. 1 Rice will get started in about 30 minutes.

Rice is pitching junior Chris Kelley (3-2, 3.36 ERA). Memphis is throwing Will Hudgens (4-2, 5.59 ERA)

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Saturday, 05/26/07

MWC: Rebels Run Out of Gas, BYU Advances

The hometown Rebels came oh so close to pulling off the storybook ending on Friday, but BYU closer Brad Kidd was having none of it as he put a quick end to UNLV's ninth inning, outing all three batters he faced to secure a 10-9 victory.

Stephen Wells, Kasey Ko, Steve Parker and Wes Guenther all had outstanding days at the plate with at least three hits. Wells, Parker and Ko all logged two RBI each as well and it turned out they needed every last one.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

MWC: UNLV Picks Up One More

The Rebels tacked another run on in the eighth to cut the BYU lead to 10-9 thanks to another Xavier Scruggs RBI. Ryan Kowalski and Keith Smith picked up hits to lead off the inning and Scruggs hit a ground ball for a fielder's choice and RBI to knock Kowalski in.

With BYU at the plate, reliever Adam Moser is locked in and has pitched three innings of shutout ball. And the Rebels go into the ninth with another boost of energy as right fielder Calvin Beamon put an end to BYU's inning with a perfect strike to home plate to throw Wes Gunther out as he tried to score from second on a Stephen Wells single.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

MWC: Rebels Mounting Furious Comeback

You see. This is exactly why I didn't call the game for BYU when the Cougars had a 10-1 lead. Led by a grand slam from Xavier Scruggs, UNLV scored six runs in the seventh inning to turn a blowout into a two-run ball game.

The Rebels, backed by a small but rowdy hometown crowd, are attempting to become just the second six-seed ever in the MWC Championship to advance to the championship round.

The rally started when BYU manager Vance Law decided to send Jacob Perez to the mound to relieve Jordan Muir, who had runners on first and second with one out after pitching 6.1 innings. Muir was losing his stuff, but Perez provided a worst-case scenario for the Cougars. He walked Efren Navarro, Jr. to load the bases and then gave up the slam to Scruggs who hit the ball over the left-field wall. Perez gave up two more hits before leaving the game without getting an out. By the end of the inning, the Rebels had picked up two more runs and had all the momentum in their favor.

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big 12: Oh the HUMANITY!

Yep, Bedlam.

So get this... OU comes back from an 8-2 deficit with two seemingly harmless runs in the 8th inning and then five absolutely stunning runs in the 9th. And furthermore, the tying and winning runs both came - are you ready for this? - on wild pitches by OSU shortstop-turned-reliever Jordy Mercer. Yes, two straight wild pitches!

OSU -300 000 230- 8 15 0
OU - 010 100 025- 9 18 0

The 9th inning saw OU go like this:
Aaron Ivey - single.
Joe Dunigan - fielder's choice (outlegged the double-play attempt)
Cory Williamson - single
Jackson Williams - single
Aaron Reza - Strikeout
Aaron Baker - RBI single.
Joseph Hughes - 2 RBI single.
Mike Gosse - walk.

Then, with the bases loaded, pinch hitter Brendan Moss (a .217 hitter) gets to an 0-2 count. Everybody in the stadium is standing. Some are yelling. Most are frozen in anticipation. And I'm sitting here thinking, "This guy's a .217 hitter. Mercer's gonna make quick work of him."

That's when Jordy Mercer uncorks one wild pitch. The place goes nuts! Then, after everything calms down, he unleashes his second straight wild pitche. In-freakin-credible!

The OU bench explodes and a dogpile like a Super Regional ensues. After the celebration, OU lines up to shake hands, but the 'Pokes poke their lip out and just walk into the locker room. A short yelling match between a couple of Sooner and Cowboy players starts up. But stadium security and the coaching staffs separate things quickly.

Tell you what... I wanted to finally experience the Bedlam Rivalry in person. Well, that magic genie I made a wish with earlier today just delivered exactly what I wanted. To quote Chris Issak, Wicked Game!

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Saturday, 05/26/07

Big 12: Oh schist! I spoke too soon.

OU has now closed this to an 8-7 game here in the bottom of the 9th. Men are on 1st and 2nd with two outs. Drama! And dare I say... Bedlam!

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Saturday, 05/26/07

MWC: Gold Diggers and American Gladiators

Again... I'm not going to say that BYU is in complete control of this game. I'm not going to say that the sixth-seeded Rebels don't have a chance of coming back on a clearly superior team with 12 outs left. I've made that mistake before. I'm just going to present the facts. Here they are:

BYU scored five runs in the sixth inning courtesy of six hits. UNLV sent three pitchers to the mound before it could get the third out of the inning. The Cougars now have a 10-1 lead and 14 hits on the board... You be the judge.

In the meantime, I've been more than entertained by the mtn. television broadcasting crew of James Bates, Roger Bailey and former NFL Pro-Bowler and American Gladiator host Todd Christensen.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big 12: OklaState making this a woodshed job.

Three more runs (and another pitching change) here in the top of the 8th means that OSU is now up 8-2 with six outs remaining.

Ty Wright (who is hitting like a mad-man since the first two innings), Corey Brown and Tyler Mach slapped back-to-back RBI hits supplying the three runs and exacerbating the pitching change.

Nebraska SID Shamus McKnight just reminded me that OSU must be relishing this game, considering last year's 21-4 track meet that OU administered on them. Glenn Tanner had to sit through that one. I wish he was sitting through this one too 'coz this game has come to a painfully grinding halt.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MWC: So Much for That Run

UNLV cut into its deficit in the top of the fourth but gave the run right back in the bottom of the inning. Apana Nakayama grounded out to second base, but it was enough to score Austin Hall from third. The run increases BYU's lead to 5-1.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big 12: Oh God! The Long Game Monster just bit us in the arse!

Okie State now up 5-2.

The top of the 7th here in OKC saw the Cowpokes score two runs on three hits and two walks. OU also went through three freakin' pitching changes in that half-inning. Damn.

By the way, here's a shot of the crowd. Like I said, good attendance for tonight's Bedlam showdown. Great atmosphere.

Ty Wright got things cookin' with a one-out triple, showing mercurial speed along the way. Tyler Mach and Matt Mangini then hit back-to-back RBI singles to account for the two runs. OSU left the bases loaded.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MWC: Rebels Get on Board

After keeping the game reasonable by holding BYU to three runs in the third, the Rebels bounced back and scored a run in the fourth to cut their deficit to 4-1. Efren Navarro, Jr. led the inning off with a double and Chad Miller brought him home with a double of his own.

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Friday, 05/25/07

A-Sun: Bruins Reaction

Here are some comments from Belmont Coach Dave Jarvis after the Bruins defeated top-seeded Stetson 18-5 to advance to the A-Sun Tournament championship game:

ON WHERE THIS WIN RANKS IN THE COURSE OF THE SEASON:

"We haven't done this to a quality team such as Stetson. To be quite honest -- and I would call it perfect timing -- this is our best performance against a team of this caliber. It was our best performance, and it couldn't have come at a better time."

ON WHETHER BELMONT NEEDED TO WIN THE CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT IN ORDER TO GET AN NCAA TOURNAMENT BERTH:

"In my mind, no doubt. With our record and some of the midweek loses we've suffered this year, I felt like we had to win the [A-Sun] Tournament. I feel like Stetson deserves to get an at-large bid. A committee will decide that, but there's no reason why they shouldn't."

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Friday, 05/25/07

MWC: Learning from My Mistakes

Fresh off a hard-fought loss to TCU, BYU has gotten off to a big start with a 4-0 lead over UNLV through three innings in the evening elimination game. The Cougars picked up a run in the second and three more in an active third.

I'm not going to make the same mistakes I did earlier though. I'm not going to say the the second-seeded Cougars have seized control of this game. I'm not going to say the sixth-seeded Rebels are a long shot to come back and make this a ball game...

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Friday, 05/25/07

SEC: Flood Gates Are Open

Well someone had to deal with Vandy's blows and it was Jeff Lockwood. Coming into the top of the ninth, he had a 3.18 ERA this year in 22 appearances. He left with what I calculate 4.93. In one inning, Lockwood was rocked for seven runs on six hits, and he gave up a seventh in the inning before that in which he recorded an out. So not a good night for Lockwood and the Vols, as they go down to Vandy, 15-2.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big South Game 9 ... Winthrop vs. Liberty

A bad day all around for the Eagles ... 11-0 Liberty, final. Flames advance to meet Coastal for the title.

Eagles ... we'll see you next year.

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Friday, 05/25/07

ACC: Day three wrapup

First, here's the schedule for tomorrow:

10 a.m. Georgia Tech-NC State, in the only game that means nothing to the tournament title

Followed by UNC-Virginia...

Followed by Clemson-FSU...

Followed by Miami-Wake Forest

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Friday, 05/25/07

A-Sun: Well That Wasn't Very Competitive

After Stetson's tease of a fourth inning, Belmont continued to steamroll the Hatters, adding five runs in the final three innings to take an 18-5 win.

The Bruins (34-24) will now play Jacksonville at 1 p.m. Saturday for the A-Sun championship. Jacksonville (32-26), a team Belmont beat in the tournament's first round, would have to defeat Belmont in a second game scheduled for 4 p.m. in order to take the conference crown, and the automatic NCAA Tournament that comes with it.

As for Stetson (41-19), its one-time promising hopes to host an NCAA Regional are likely dashed. They should still get an at-large NCAA berth, considering its 40-win record, No. 30 RPI ranking and its out-of-conference wins against LSU, Notre Dame and Florida.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big East: Huskies Join Rutgers

The unlikeliest of unlikely teams, the 8th seed Connecticut Huskies, will play Rutgers tomorrow for the Big East title after beating USF 2-0.

The Huskies needed to beat USF twice today to advance to tomorrow's championship game, and they did just that, topping the Bulls 3-0 during the day and 2-0 during the night cap. It will be the Huskies' first appearance in the title game since 1994.

Brendan McGinn was stellar, shutting out the Bulls by going the distance, scattering 4 hits and walking 4 over 9 innings while striking out 7.

UConn got both of its runs in the 7th on back-to-back 2-out doubles by Matt Untiet and Pat Mahoney.

Tomorrow's title game is all set as the 2nd seeded Rutgers Scarlet Knights will take the Huskies. Rutgers is the home team, and UConn will be the visitors.

Touching the Bases will be here with all of the coverage from Keyspan Park tomorrow. The game starts at 1 pm.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big 12: Ty Wright only has 23 more games to go.

Oklahoma State's Ty Wright just singled here in the top of the 5th inning. That extends his hit streak to 33 games. Robin Ventura's venerable 58-game streak is still safe... for now.

Okie State is still leading 3-2 here after five full innings.

Also, Tristan, the Oklahoma State student sports writer (and part-time CSTV blogger) informed me that Corey Brown has walked 59 times this season. My gawd!

Good atmosphere tonight at Bricktown. The Bedlam boys have brought out a big crowd. I'll try to take a picture of it here soon.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big South Game 9 ... Winthrop vs. Liberty

Liberty adds two in the ninth, one on a monster home run by Patrick Gaillard, and takes an 11-0 lead. Winthrop has three outs to rally.

I'm not holding out much hope.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MWC: Shea West

Tom Glavine's not on the mound, but Earl E. Wilson Stadium does a pretty good Shea Stadium impression. McCarran International Airport is just down the road and low-flying plains have been casting shadows over the diamond all week.

They're starting to cross over with a little more regularity as the Memorial Day weekend visitors make their way into town to leave whatever it is they plan to leave in Las Vegas.

BYU, meanwhile, is back on the field hoping to avoid an early flight home (like that segue?... you know you do) in an elimination game with homestanding UNLV, which has played well over its no. 6-seed head. After one inning, both teams have logged a hit, but nobody's crossed home plate.

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Friday, 05/25/07

SEC: Shutout Over

Mike Minor finally got touched up. Julio Borbon doubled, and then J.P. Arencibia knocked in a run, followed by Yan Gomes doing the same, to make it 8-2 in the 8th. That will do it for Minor in this one, as Corbin will go to the 'pen. Minor leaves to a standing ovation from even the Tennessee fans (classy as they are). Ty Davis will come in to try and shut the door with runners on first and third and two outs.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big South Game 9 ... Winthrop vs. Liberty

We head to the ninth, Liberty up 9-0. Unless there's a monumental upset in the works, Coastal Carolina will play the Flames for the title at 1 p.m. tomorrow, needing two losses to be eliminated.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big East: Three Outs From a First

Brendan McGinn worked around a leadoff walk to send the Bulls down quietly in the top half of the 8th, and the Huskies did no damage despite a leadoff single by 8th place hitter Josh Farkes.

UConn is now only three outs away from becoming the lowest seed to reach the Big East title game in conference history.

2-0 UConn, end of 8.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MVC: Friday's Wrap-Up

We've finished up early tonight! (cheers from the media)

We know now it'll be Creighton and Wichita State tomorrow afternoon here in Springfield. The question now is if we'll play one game or two tomorrow at Hammons Field.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big South Game 9 ... Winthrop vs. Liberty

9-0 Liberty, going into teh bottom of the eighth. Winthrop has six more outs and the Flames have a night to figure out who the hell's going to pitch tomorrow.

An interesting note: Liberty traveled to Coastal Carolina about a month ago and took the first game. The Flames had the next two won but blew a 13-1 lead in the first and a ninth-inning, two-run lead in the second. Of course, then, they had their starting pitchers available.

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Friday, 05/25/07

SEC: Bad Taste

As we play in the top of the 8th, a hot shot off the bat of Dominic de la Osa ended up smacking Tennessee third baseman Cody brown in the throat area, which then left Brown in obvious pain on the ground. After being attended to, he walked off with some help and left the game. While sprawled out, the pressbox PA voice said,"Hit"...Which brought a little laughter to the box during a tense situation. Vandy tacked on two runs in the inning to now lead 8-0.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big Ten - 11th Inning

Both teams temporarily lost their bats in the tenth inning - three up, three down for both sides. It's the 11th inning, and Minnesota's up to bat. Minnesota left fielder Tijl Vanderwege is on second, advancing on a sacrifice bunt - and catcher Kevin Carlson walks. Runners on first and second, one out. ... But the next two batters can't do anything, striking out and hitting a grounder right to first. Nothing comes out of the top of the inning, and they're still tied at 9.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big East: Wildness Works in Huskies' Favor

USF and UConn waited until the top of the 8th for any runs to cross earlier today, but they're ahead of that pace.

After Larry Day singled with 1 out, he advanced to second on a wild pitch and went to third when Dennis Donovan flied out to deep center field. Then on a 1-2 offering to Matt Untiet, USF starter Yuri Higgins uncorked his second wild pitch of the inning and Day slid safely into home just before Higgins could apply the tag. Untiet then drove a 2-out double off the left field wall, and Pat Mahoney followed up with a wall-banging double of his own, driving in Untiet for the second run of the inning and chasing Higgins from the game.

Danny Otero - the Bulls' starter on Tuesday and likely starter should they advance to the title game tomorrow - came on in relief of Higgins and induced a comebacker to end the inning.

The Huskies - an unlikely partner for the Scarlet Knights tomorrow, as the number 8 seed in the tournament - find themselves now only 6 outs away the championship game.

2-0 UConn, end of 7.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MVC: Fear The Bird: Creighton Delivers Mercy Killing

We all knew Creighton was good, but no one expected a blowout like this one.

Creighton.....2..4..2....3..0..3....3....17..15..2
Bradley........1..0..1....0..0..0....0......2...5...3

Ben Mancuso didn't have to work too hard to get this win (10-2). Collin Brennan takes the loss (3-6).

Creighton (43-13) will take on Wichita State tomorrow to decide the MVC Champion. Wichita must beat the Jays twice to claim the title. Bradley's season ends at 32-21.

We'll have a final wrap-up from Springfield, as only two teams are left after tonight's action.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MVC: Creighton Making It Uglier

Jack Bauer must be in the Creighton dugout, because the Jays are putting Bradley through baseball's version of a torture chamber.

Chad Ogden sent a missile that sailed over Bank of America sign in deep left, scoring three more runs in the process, and it's now a 17-2 game at the stretch. Only three more outs for Bradley to go through, unless they score five in the bottom of the seventh.

I've pretty much run out of words to describe this one. Creighton has put on a baseball display that has even been endorsed by Fred McGriff (and Tom Emanski is not happy about it, either). There's some Wichita State fans that are praying that the Jays are using up all their offensive prowess tonight.

I would hate to be in the same regional with this Creighton team right now. This will be their 24th win in their last 26 games, a streak in which opposing starters are 0-23 with an ERA of over six runs.

Ouch.

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Friday, 05/25/07

ACC: Miami smacks FSU, muddles Bracket A

Miami used three multi-run innings and eight innings of great pitching from freshman ace Eric Erickson to knock off #1-seed Florida State in front of a Jacksonville ACC record crowd, 9-3.

The win completely muddles the tournament's Bracket A, as all four teams in the bracket are still alive, but all four need to win and get help tomorrow to advance to the title game.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big South Game 9 ... Winthrop vs. Liberty

The Flames have added three more runs when a potential groundout is just enough room for the runner to score ... made a definite proposition by the normally sure-handed Chris Carrara bobbling the ball and losing the groundout. When it rains, it pours, and Winthrop is about to go lose its second straight today and end the season 33-27. Another error and a two-run single have done the damage.

Methinks the NCAA selection committee won't be calling come Monday.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MVC: Have Mercy, Creighton

A miracle actually happened in the fifth, as Creighton was held scoreless. However, that trend ended in a hurry. Two singles by Steve Winklemann and Chad Ogden were followed by two straight walks to TJ Roemmich and Michael Lam. Winklemann scored on Lam's bases loaded walk, and with no outs and the bases loaded, Creighton's lead became 12-2 as we're in the top of the sixth.

Bradley replaced pitchers, bringing in Eitan Barbalat to stop the massive bleeding. At this point, one wonders if there is any blood left to bleed out of the Braves. This is just brutal baseball right now.

Turns out, there is more blood to go around. Robbie Knight singled to right to score Ogden and keep the bases loaded, making it a 13-2 game. Ross Sinclair grounded to second, but he beat the fielder's choice to first, and Roemmich scored, making it 14-2. Finally, the bleeding stopped on a double play grounder by Chris Gradoville.

Thank goodness for the 10-run rule. If this score holds, Bradley's suffering will last only 1 1/2 more innings.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big East: Press Box Controversy Sorted Out

With only one base runner since the third (it's now the 6th, and that base runner just reached at 9:46), we've had to keep ourselves busy here in the press box, and a routine grounder in the bottom of the 5th provided us with that chance.

With 1 out, Pat Mahoney grounded up the middle and second baseman Dexter Butler ranged to his right and made the play. Some, including myself, thought the ball hit the pitcher's glove, which would make it a play scored 1-4-3. However, no one was truly sure. After some thorough investigation and diligence by official scorer Mex Carey, it was determined that the batted ball did not hit the glove of USF pitcher Yuri Higgins, and that it should be scored only 4-3.

0-0, top of the 6th.

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Friday, 05/25/07

SEC: Vanderbilt Dominating

Minor has been terrific for Vandy, as the 'Dores lead things here 6-0 after six innings. After jumping out on top with a 2 spot in the first, they got three more in the second befor tacking on another run in the sixth.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MWC: High Drama as TCU Rallies Past Cougars

With 15 runs, 25 hits and six errors, Friday afternoon's marquee matchup between top-seed TCU and no. 2 seed BYU wasn't exactly what was expected; but what it lacked in clean play it made up for tenfold in drama. After surrendering an early 5-2 lead, TCU battled back and loaded the bases with no outs in the eighth inning. The Horned Frogs got two runs out of the inning for an 8-7 lead that proved to be the final score.

In that crucial eighth inning, BYU relief pitcher J.D.Stambaugh loaded the bases with the first three batters, prompting BYU to go deeper into the bullpen to Michael Ward. That would set up the most exciting at-bat of the week.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big South Game 9 ... Winthrop vs. Liberty

David Giammaresi parks a two-run shot over the wall and Liberty leads 6-0 through six. Stat of the day — Giammaresi has three homers this year, all against Winthrop.

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Friday, 05/25/07

ACC: Canes quieting big crowd

There's a huge crowd here tonight, officially 13,656 for the two-game session. That's the largest session attendance in the tournament's three years in Jacksonville.

Most of them are rooting for FSU, but Miami has tacked on four more runs in the bottom of the sixth and leads #1-seed FSU 9-3 at the stretch.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big 12: Damn Oklahoma U., can't you wait 'til we get into our seats?

Whoever shows up fashionably late like a Dodgers crowd here at Bricktown will have already missed a lot.

The first seven batters for the Sooners went:
- groundout to shortstop
- strikeout
- flyout to left.

(Okay, so I'm sorry to repeat my format here from the first innings of both games, OU didn't do anything to merit its own entry. I was just trying to be coy... and I'm not coy.)

OSU up 3-0 after one complete.

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Friday, 05/25/07

C-USA Tournament: Looking ahead...

Their are only four teams left, and tomorrow could be more interesting than the seeds indicate...

more >
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Friday, 05/25/07

Big Ten - Extra Innings

It's the bottom of the ninth, and it looks like we'll be going into extra innings. Both teams have continued their offensive surges, and the score is tied, 9-9. Minnesota scored three in the sixth to break the 5-5 tie and once in the seventh to make it a 9-5 game - but Ohio State tallied two runs in the seventh and two in the eighth for the present score. There have been almost no 1-2-3 innings here - in fact, I don't remember when the last one was - because both teams are feeding off of each other's mistakes and hitting the ball like mad. (I wonder what this game would be like if one of the teams were trying to hit off of Penn State's pitching staff. Actually, that'll happen tomorrow - so I guess we'll see then.)

And it's the end of nine, we're still tied at 9, and it's going to be at least one more inning.

There's no way that this could be called a boring game - the teams are just so evenly matched today that it's impossible to predict who's going to come through in extra innings.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big East: Four and Still No Score

While Rutgers waits to figure out who it will play tomorrow afternoon, USF and UConn are still deciding among themselves, and so far nobody has emerged with the score tied at zeroes.

After USF loaded the bases but couldn't score in the third, it went down 1-2-3 in the third. UConn's 9th place hitter Gordon Stevens singled with one out in the 3rd but he was picked off, and USF starter Yuri Higgins set down the Huskies in order. Higgins has struck out 4 of the last 7 Huskies he's faced.

0-0, end of 4.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big 12: Damn Oklahoma State, can't you wait 'til we get into our seats?

Whoever shows up fashionably late like a Dodgers crowd here at Bricktown will have already missed a lot.

The first seven batters for the Cowboys went:
- strikeout
- groundout to catcher
- walk
- RBI double
- walk
- infield single
- two-RBI double

Steve Ptak buys the beer after stopping the rally with a strikeout.

OSU up 3-0 with OU coming up to bat.

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Friday, 05/25/07

A-Sun: Bruins Adds Another, Hold Hats in 5th

After the rain delay, Belmont's Carlo Testa plated Daniel Wagner on an RBI single to give the Bruins a 13-5 lead. And after giving up a pair of two-out walks, Belmont reliever Josh Moffitt stuck out Brian Pruitt looking to end the Stetson fifth. I can't figure out if the Hatters want to make this a ball game or not.

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Friday, 05/25/07

C-USA Tournament: Tulane "upsets" Southern Miss

Tulane, the seven seed, eliminated No. 3 Southern Miss tonight, winning 6-2. Even though Tulane was the lower seed, the Green Wave looked like the better team and could make things interesting the rest of the way.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big South Game 9 ... Winthrop vs. Liberty

Patrick Gaillard singles into center to drive in another run and it's 4-0 Liberty in the sixth. Winthrop has gotten the leadoff man on three times and gotten nothing out of it, and the way Michael Solbach is throwing, the Eagles are almost out of chances.

Heckler alert — some jerk on the first-base stands is screaming Mike Honce's name over and over. Some rather large gentlemen ... I believe they play for the Carolina Speed arena football team ... are walking over.

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Friday, 05/25/07

WCC: Gonzaga wins

The Zags Calyton Mortensen threw 134 pitches in his complete game victory over USD, shutting out the Toreros in the final seven innings.

The 6-4 win puts Gonzaga one win away from a conference championship and an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.

Probably the difference in the game was the poor pitching by San Deigo's ace, Brian Matusz. Matusz pitched 4 1/3 innings, giving up seven hits, four walks and four earned runs.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MVC: The Runs Keep Coming

For a church school, Creighton loves to give their opponents hell.

Bradley still hasn't been able to throw a zero up on the Creighton side of the scoreboard, as the Jays added yet another run on a sac fly by Steve Winklemann that easily scored Chris Gradoville from third. Chad Ogden just singled for the Jays, loading up the bases with just one out in the top of the fourth.

Bradley's pen is obviously depleted after playing three full games, as there is no action in the left field pen despite this slaughter of a game.

Just as I finished typing that, TJ Roemmich doubled down the left field line (a popular choice of hit all week), scoring two more, and it's 11-2 Jays, still one out, and runners on second and third.

Memo to NCAA officials: Creighton is MUCH better than the RPI rating of 43 you've given them.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big East: Bad Execution Nearly Haunts Huskies

After USF's 9th place hitter led off the 3rd with a single, leadoff hitter Walter Diaz grounded the ball back to the pitcher for what looked like a double play ball. But Huskies SS Dennis Donovan bobbled the ball at second and both runners were safe. Then Ty Taborelli bunted back to the pitcher, and McGinn looked to third - except no one was covering. He then fired late to first to load the bases.

McGinn then recovered and pitched brilliantly, striking out Dexter Butler and getting clean-up hitter Addison Maruszak to ground into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play and keep the score tied at 0.

0-0, mid 3.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big East: Through Two, Nothing Ado

I am impressed with my rhyming skills.

More importantly, two innings in the books and the score is tied at 0-0.

USF has only two base runners, a single to lead off the game and a 2-out walk in that first frame. UConn's McGinn has struck out 3 Bulls so far.

The Huskies meanwhile were extremely close. After USF's Higgins set the first 5 batters down, Pat Mahoney tripled to center after Ty Taborelli dove but could not come up with the ball. Brad Olt, however, could not deliver, stranding the UConn third baseman at home.

The stands are still extremely empty, save for about 50 UConn fans spread throughout the 3rd base stands, 20 USF fans behind the first base dugout, and about 100-150 other fans. It's an absolutely perfect night for baseball though, with a cool temperature and a slight breeze blowing out toward left center.

0-0, end of 2.

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Friday, 05/25/07

C-USA Tournament: Last chance

Third-seeded Southern Miss is coming to bat, down 6-1 in the 9th. Tulane's Preston Claiborne is still pitching for Tulane after getting the Green Wave out of a jam in the 8th. Barring a comeback, the 3rd and 4th seeded teams will be suprisingly eliminated, but Tulane's No. 7 is decieving, Tulane is a good program and isn't playing like the seventh best team in this conference right now.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big South Game 9 ... Winthrop vs. Liberty

Liberty's still in top 3-0 as Michael Solbach is busting BBs past the Eagles' offnse. We're through four here in Rock Hill, and the home crowd isn't looking to happy.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MVC: All Creighton, All the Time

Creighton is simply owning Bradley right now after 2 1/2 innings of play.

Bradley's Collin Brennan got the first two batters in order, but then followed with consecutive walks to TJ Roemmich and Michael Lam. Robbie Knight then doubled right down the left field line, scoring both Roemmich and Lam, and it's 8-1 Jays.

With the 10-run rule in full effect, we might have another shortened game on hand here in Springfield. Creighton looks like world beaters at the moment, while nothing Bradley can do seems to stop the CU machine.

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Friday, 05/25/07

A-Sun: This is Belmont Baseball

Sometimes, I feel like Belmont does this on purpose. Just after Stetson rallied with a five-run fourth, the Bruins countered with two runs on three hits in the bottom of the inning. Right now, there's a rain delay with one out in the bottom of the fourth. Belmont leads 12-5. This one has the potential to make the Bruins score fest against Jacksonville look like, well, a baseball game. I mean, just check out this line.

Stetson 5 6 3
Belmont 12 9 0

Rain's letting up now. Play should resume here shortly.

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Friday, 05/25/07

WCC: USD's last chance

San Diego is coming up in the bottom of the ninth down two.

Where does this rank in upsets in conference tournaments this weekend? Bigger than Tennessee beating Vanderbilt?

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Friday, 05/25/07

ACC: Miami takes control

Miami added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a 5-2 lead and chase FSU starter Ryan Strauss.

And I ventured down in the stands for an inning and almost got hit TWICE by flying Chick Fil-A promotional products that seemed to come sailing out of nowhere.

This menace must be stopped.

Either that, or Chick Fil-A must cater the press lunch again tomorrow.

Their call...

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big South Game 9 ... Winthrop vs. Liberty

Liberty's making the pitching change hurt, rapping Mike Honce for a single and then P.K. Keller drilling a double to the right-field wall. Two runs score on the double but Keller comes around second too hard, gets hung up and tagged out.

Your standard 3-5-6-7 tag out.

3-0 Liberty, bottom of the third.

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Friday, 05/25/07

A-Sun: Did I Say Over?

Forget it. Stetson just cut its deficit in half with a five-run fourth. Belmont now leads 10-5.

Stetson's Justin Bass and Adam Tindle started with consecutive singles Jeremy Cruz then put the Hatters on the board with a double to deep center that plated Bass. Myron Carlton had a one-out single to load the bases, and pinch hitting for Kevin Johnson, Brian Pruitt drove in two more with double to the center field fence before going on to score himself.

The one could get crazier.

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Friday, 05/25/07

C-USA Tournament: Good outing by the senior

Preston Claiborne just came in for Tulane senior Brandon Gomes with runners on first and second and no outs in the eighth. Gomes pitched very well, allowing six hits in seven innings. The senior only made one mistake all night, which was on USM's solo home run.

Tulane is up 6-1 with the Golden Eagles scrapping to make things interesting here in the top of the 8th.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big East: Light Show and Baseball

The game just started and the view from the press box is pretty amazing. The lights are on here at Keyspan Park, including the neon light rings around the lights atop each pole. The Astroland pole is lit up, the Cyclone sign is lit up, as are the ferris wheel and practically every single amusement beyond the left field wall. The big tower beyond the stands down the right field line is blinking red lights as well. What a sight.

And they've rolled out dessert here in the press box - a tremendous array of cake-like cookies.

0-0, top of the 1st.

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Friday, 05/25/07

WCC: If Gonzaga wins, are they in?

When I wrote my not so good preview for this series yesterday, I wrote that the only way Gonzaga can get into the NCAA Tournamnet is if they win the WCC conference championship.

Well, "the experts" seem to disagree, with both CSTV and Rivals.com having the Zags in the tournament in their latest projections.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MVC: A Comedy of Errors

To beat a good team, you've got to keep the mistakes to a minimum, and Bradley has definitely NOT done that in the top of the second. After TJ Roemmich was walked, Bradley committed THREE STRAIGHT THROWING ERRORS, and against a team like Creighton, that will lead to severe damage.

The Jays scored their first two runs of the inning when Ross Sinclair's infield single to third was aided by a wild throw that went past first base. They scored two more on a fielder's choice grounder by Chris Gradoville and a deep fly to right by Darin Ruf, and before Bradley could breathe, Ben Mancuso trots out to the mound with a 6-1 lead under his belt.

Bradley's going to have to really work to get back in this one. No mercy from the Creighton side.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MWC: Insert Foot in Mouth

As soon as I declared TCU in control, BYU turned around and took command of this ball game with a five-run explosion in the sixth that claimed two Horned Frog pitchers. I should quit making declarations.

Things got started for BYU when Apana Nakayama reached on an error and Kent Walton walked. Jim Schlossnagle decided he'd seen enough and replaced pitcher Chris Johnson with Donald Furrow. That decision did not pay off. Furrow gave up three straight hits that scored Nakayama and Walton and promptly left the game with the bases loaded and no outs for Tyler Lockwood.

more >
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Friday, 05/25/07

WCC: Gonzaga adds another, upset brewing

For the second time in the three innings, a USD outfielder attempted to make a diving catch, but instead had the ball go by him, which allowed a run to score.

This time it was Logan Glebrich that tried to end the seventh inning with an amazing catch, but he missed the ball allowing Mike Terry to score from second.

Gonzaga is now up 6-4 through seven.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big South Game 9 ... Winthrop vs. Liberty

Winthrop's Brett Moore leaves after two innings, a 1-0 deficit and a leadoff walk and single in the third. Mike Honce is in, pitching and DHing, to try and hold Liberty to one run.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MVC: Bradley Answers, Cuts CU Lead

No shutout tonight for Creighton, as Bradley responded to Creighton's 2-spot. Dan Brewer led off with a single to left, and Brewer advanced to third on Rice's single to right. Ryan Curry grounded into a 6-4-3 double play, but it did score Brewer from first, and the Bluejay lead is now 2-1 after one full inning of play.

Although CU has the lead, I'll give Bradley the momentum right now. The Braves needed to score something in the first, and not let Mancuso get in an early groove. Creighton needs Mancuso to slam the door shut on Bradley, so as long as BU keeps scrapping for hits and runs, they're in this game.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big East: Getting Ready for Game 4

We're about 10 minutes away from USF and UConn part 2. After the Huskies beat the Bulls earlier, these two teams will square off once more, with the winner facing Rutgers in the title game tomorrow.

USF will throw Yuri Higgins out to the mound. He's 5-3 with a 4.93 ERA. He'll be facing Brendan McGinn, who is 7-1 with a 3.61 ERA.

UConn's lineup is exactly the same as it was earlier, but USF has made multiple changes. Nick Cardieri starts at DH instead of Charles Cleveland, Josh LeRoy replaces Mike Consolmagno in left, and Brad Karns replaces Braulio Pardo behind the plate. Only the 1, 3 and 4 hitters - Walter Diaz, Dexter Butler, and Addison Maruszak - stay the same for the Bulls.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big South Game 9 ... Winthrop vs. Liberty

Liberty breaks the scoreless streak with a run in the second, Cody Brown singling just past a diving Chris Carrara at second and then Patrick Gaillard getting beaned. Nate Thompson then continues Winthrop's woes with the third-base line, lashing a double into the corner to score a run.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big South Game 9 ... Winthrop vs. Liberty

Winthrop's out of the first after, you guessed it, a double play! From slugger Tommy Lentz, no less. That makes it six in one day for the vaunted Eagles' offense, which is picking the worst time of the year to have its quietest day.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MVC: Jays Waste No Time

A well-rested Creighton team is a dangerous one, and they've wasted no time jumping on Bradley starter Collin Brennan. Ross Sinclair singled up the middle to start the rally, and then, after a Darin Ruf walk, Andrew Small singled to right to score Sinclair. Steve Winklemann followed with a single to the exact same spot in right to score Ruf, and Creighton puts up a 2-spot in the top of the first.

Bradley's got "#1 PLAY HUNG" back out on the dirt in front of their dugout. It'll be interesting to see what happens in their half of the first. This is what the Braves wanted: a rematch with Creighton, and with the MVC Pitcher of the Year on the mound, it should be a terrific emotional battle.

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Friday, 05/25/07

WCC: Mortensen is cruising

It looked like it was going to be Gonzaga's Clayton Mortensen who going to get pulled early (not Brian Matsuz), but after giving up four runs in the first two innings, the WCC Pitcher of the Year has now settled down, pitching four scoreless innings.

Gonzaga head coach Mark Machtolf doesn't use his bullpen much, so Mortensen will probably go deep into this one.

Gonzaga is still up in the top of the seventh, 5-4.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big Ten - On the Offensive

It's been a wild past few innings here - now that the dust has cleared (literally), the score is 8-5, Minnesota. Some of the highlights include:

Top 4th - Third baseman Nate Hanson hits a 2-run home run, also scoring Mike Mee, to give Minnesota its first lead of the game. 2-1, Minnesota.

Bottom 4th - With two outs, Ohio State strings together a series of singles to score one run and tie the game, 2-2.

Top 5th - On a full count, Minnesota first baseman Bryan Jost homers, a solo leadoff shot, to again give Minnesota the lead. But that's not all - more singles score two more runs. Both teams are starting to hit like crazy - this is definitely a departure from the past few games, where scoring has been low and the hits weren't being strung together for runs. Minnesota's winning, 5-2.

Bottom 5th - A costly error by Minnesota shortstop Dan Lyons has given Ohio State two runs, one off of the error and one the next batter later. Three runs in all during the inning - again, capitalizing on the small hits - and the game is again tied, 5-5. This back-and-forth game is new for the tournament, where most of the games have either been lopsided victories or low-scoring games.

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Friday, 05/25/07

ACC: The dancing cows have made an appearance here, too

We've been dancing cow-free for seven games, but as soon as the song began to blare over the scoreboard speakers, most people in the press box groaned.

EAT! MORE! CHI! KEN!

Canyoudoit?Yesyoucan!

DON'T! EAT! BUR! GERS!

Cowswillbeyourbiggestfans!

The writer a couple of seats over from me started humming the song after it was over and I nearly backhanded him.

(KILL ME NOW.)

Still 3-2 Miami after three.

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Friday, 05/25/07

A-Sun: This One Might Be Over

In the first inning, Stetson gave Belmont four runs. In the second, the Bruins took five more from the Hatters. Belmont had three hits, including a three-run homer from Kane Simmons, to take a 9-0 lead in the second.

Carlo Testa drew a lead-off walk, Matt Reynolds singled and Wilson Tucker walked to load the bases with one out. Ben Petsch then hit a two-run single, and two batters later, Kane cleared the bases with a two-out shot just inside the right field foul pole.

Stetson's in trouble.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big 12: Bears declaw Tigers, 10-5

(Sorry for the stupid subject line. I still haven't gotten much sleep on this trip.)

Missouri - 200 200 100- 5 9 0
Baylor - 300 050 20X- 10 15 0

The Bears look like a team that is fighting for its at-large life here. And they looked good doing it too. Everything seemed to go their way from that 5th inning on, holding the MU bats in check and never giving them much hope for a comeback.

Matt Czinsky was the straw that stirred the drink, going 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and a two-run single. Beamer Weems also had a pair of doubles and a single along with two RBI.

The Tigers are now 0-2 and playing like a team that has an at-large bid locked up. The only thing is, do they still stay in the running for a Regional hosting slot. Hopefully the committee won't put a lot of stock in this post-season tournament here.

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Friday, 05/25/07

C-USA Tournament: Tulane has breathing room, No. 3 seed in trouble

After Tim Guidry scored on a SAC fly in the bottom of the 6th, Tulane's Jared Dyer hit a 2-run home run that landed right infont of the scoreboard in right-center, extending the Tulane lead to 5-1. The fact that Souther Miss only has four hits in six innings doesn't bode well for its chances of a comeback. The third-seeded Golden Eagles have three innings left.

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Friday, 05/25/07

SEC: 'Dores Jump

I gotta say, Vandy isn't the top team in the nation without reason. They just jumped all over Nick Herandez, who has given up just a hit and a walk, but finds himself trailing 2-0. The second run was thanks to an error by second baseman Tony Delmonico who booted a ball that would have ended the inning, instead it allowed a run to score on the play. So after a half inning, Vols trail by two. By the way, I love how Vandy heads out to the outfield after every inning (the bench players) and they jump around and do other interesting exercises. This differs from other teams who end up heading out to the outfield once, maybe twice during a game to stretch the legs. Maybe THAT'S the secret to being successful.

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Friday, 05/25/07

WCC: Gonzaga takes the lead

Right fielder Steve Buschini tried to make an amazing diving catch to save a run, but he missed it, which allowed Gonzaga's Mike Terry to score from second.

The Zags have now scored five unanswered runs, to take a 5-4 lead going into the bottom of the fifth.

Somewhat interestingly, the crown here is pretty even between USD and Gonzaga fans, with neither of them being very vocal.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MVC: Getting Set for Bradley-Creighton II

Last night, Zak Moore and the Creighton Bluejays shut down Bradley in a 2-0 pitcher's duel here at Hammons Field. This morning, Bradley came out, wanting desperately to get a rematch with Creighton, and they rolled to an easy 8-3 win over Missouri State. Now, we're just minutes away from the marquis rematch of the night: #3 Bradley and #2 Creighton.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MWC: TCU Breaking Bats, Scoring Runs

Now this is a first. I've never seen a college batter break a bat, but Austin Adams somehow managed to crack the cap off the top of his aluminum stick when he hit a dribbler that went foul down the first-base line.

He ended up getting a new bat and striking out, but that's about all that went wrong for TCU in the fifth inning as the Horned Frogs opened the flood gates to take a 5-2 lead over Jesse Craig and BYU. The inning was a disaster for the Cougars, who logged three errors and allowed three runs to a dominant team that's not likely to give up a three-run lead.

Keith Conlon came up big again, logging his second hit of the game with a leadoff single, and ended up scoring his second run courtesy of a double from catcher Andrew Walker. Conlon came into the game hitting .399. Something tells me he's over the .400 mark by now.

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Friday, 05/25/07

C-USA Tournament: You can do it all by yourself

USM finally got some offense going in the top of the sixth when Michael Ewing hit a monsterous solo homer to start the inning. USM's offense is starting to figure out Brandon Gomes, the Golden Eagles are making solid contact, even when they get out.

All 3 runs in this game have come on solo home runs, Tulane is winning 2-1 as it comes up to bat in the bottom of the 6th.

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Friday, 05/25/07

ACC: Hits are going over the wall, I'll have to check the rule book...

Seven completed games into the ACC Tournament and zero, zip, nada in the home run column.

In the first game today, Clemson's Andy D'Alessio hit a bomb that looked like it should have gone 500 feet, but the wind knocked it down and it bounced off the wall.

But the wind has died down quite a bit for game two tonight, and all of a sudden we have home run derby.

The first came from an unlikely source.

In the bottom of the second inning with two on, Miami catcher Richard O'Brien hit only his fourth homer of the season to give Miami a 3-1 lead over Florida State.

The second came from a likely suspect.

In the top of the third, Tony Thomas yanked a long homer down the line in left to make it 3-2.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big East: Louisville a Victim of Glove

With nobody out and a runner on 1st, Daniel Burton roped a liner that was ticketed to left field and would've brought Isaiah Howes to the plate as the go-ahead run. Instead, Tim Querns stuck out his glove to make a spectacular grab and doubled up Logan Johnson off first. Howes was hit by a pitch, but Jorge Castillo lined out to Todd Frazier, sending Louisville home and Rutgers to the Big East title game.

Sean Spicer was brilliant, going the distance for his 3rd win of the season. He scattered 5 hits over the 9 innings and allowed only 1 run, a home run by Howes.

The Rutgers faithful erupted after Querns' play, and the Scarlet Knights walked off the field to a rousing ovation.

Now, the waiting game begins for Louisville. The Cardinals have a strong case to make it to the tournament, having won 40 games for the first time in school history this year. But if USF or UConn were to beat Rutgers tomorrow, Louisville would be the 3rd team in line for at-large consideration.

The final score is 3-1 in favor of Rutgers.

Our next game will determine Rutgers' opponent, as the 8th seeded UConn Huskies play host to the 5th seeded USF Bulls.

Stay with Touching the Bases as our coverage rolls on here at Keyspan Park.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big 12: HERE'S those Chick-Fila dancing cows

I remember at last year's ACC tournament, the video board showed that damn Chick-Fila "Eat More Chicken" dance/jingle so much that it vexed the ears and eyes by the end of the week. Since Chick-Fila is a corporate sponsor of the Big 12 tournament, I kept waiting (re: cringing) for it to show its ugly face. And here before the 8th, there was the video.

Mizzou cut the Bears lead with a run in the top of the 7th, but the Bears plated two runs in the bottom of the inning to go up 10-5 now.

The Tigers are now batting in the top of the 8th. Nick Cassavechia has come on to pitch for the Bears.

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Friday, 05/25/07

A-Sun: Hatters Forget Thinking Caps

That was easily the ugliest inning of baseball yet at this season's A-Sun Tournament. Stetson committed three errors and Hatters starter Justin Dechert walked two of the first three batters and had two wild pitches, as Belmont took a 4-0 lead in the first inning.

Belmont's Matt Reynolds drew a lead-off walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Wilson Tucker then walked to put runners on first and second. Then in one of the odder plays of the tournament, Ben Petsch struck out put took off toward first base, which was occupied. Even though Petsch was out despite the dropped third strike, Stetson catcher Mark Rood threw down to first and the ball bounced off Petsch and into the infield, allowing Reynolds to score.

Tucker, Derek Wiley and Kane Simmons (RBI single) all scored in the inning.

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Friday, 05/25/07

WCC: Gonzaga has tied it and Matsuz is out

Gonzaga tied the game on a double steal, when USD's cather Jordan Abruzzo threw a wild throw to second which allowed Shawn Wayt to score from third and tie the game.

That was it for Matsuz, as reliever Anthony Slama (3.11 ERA) takes over.

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Friday, 05/25/07

ACC: Game two begins, game one quote

Great pitching matchup in the night cap -- FSU is throwing Ryan Strauss (9-2, 3.33 ERA in 75.2 innings against Miami's freshman phenom Eric Erickson. FSU coach Mike Martin is saving ace Bryan Henry for tomorrow to set him up to pitch the Saturday game in next week's regionals. Erickson is 9-3 with a 1.85 ERA in 77.2 innings and has limited opposing hitters to a .232 average.

FSU leads 1-0 after an inning and a half. Tony Thomas, Jr. led off the game with a blast high off the wall in left-center for a double, stole second, and scored on a ground out.

Biggest crowd of the week so far, as only the outfield bleachers have ample seating remaining. Rain might an issue, though.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MVC: 10-Runned: Shockers Win in 8

The wireless is finally back on after a long delay, so here's what's happened.

The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood warning for this area, but the real flooding just happened right here in Hammons Field by Wichita State. The Shockers unloaded in the eighth to take a 12-1 lead, which became a final after eight innings thanks in part to the 10-run rule in MVC play. It is the 1,600th career win for Shocker Coach Gene Stephenson.

Wichita State.....0..0..0..1..1..0..2..8.......12..11..2
Evansville.........,0..1..0..0..0..0..0..0.........1....4..2

What a bloodbath in that last inning. Here's how it all went down...

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Friday, 05/25/07

WCC: Matusz looks like he is done

Brian Matsuz hit the first batter of the fourth inning and walked the next. It will be interesting to see how long head coach Rich Hill will stick with his struggline star.

He already has action in the bullpen.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big Ten - Ohio State vs. Minnesota

In the nightcap of this three-game day, Ohio State is playing Minnesota in the winner's bracket. Ohio State has already defeated Penn State and Michigan, while Minnesota has won against Illinois. Whoever wins tonight's game will be in the championship game, and tonight's loser will play Penn State - the winner of that game will be the winner of this game's opponent tomorrow night for the Big Ten crown.

Bottom 3rd - It's been largely uneventful through three innings, and this is a huge departure from every other game this tournament, where the eventual winner has struck early in the game with a big inning (or multiple innings). It's been quite obvious this weekend that seeding and regular-season finishes don't matter, as Ohio State and Minnesota look dead-even in this game so far ... but were divided by a significant amount in the regular season standings.

But after two, consecutive Ohio State strikeouts, Jacob Howell doubles and is sent home on a single by Tony Kennedy. Ohio State 1, Minnesota 0. Kennedy steals second - and gets third on an error - but he can't get any farther before the third out.

OSU is now leading by 1.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big East: Someone's Going Home

We head to the 9th inning, and one team will be heading home after this inning, while the other will be headed to the Big East title game.

Louisville went 1-2-3 in the top half of the 8th, while Magnuson held down the fort in the bottom half, working around a leadoff single and a sacrifice bunt to strike out the final 2 batters of the inning.

But the Cardinals head to bat in the top of the 9th down 2 runs and down to their final 3 outs. They will send the 2-4 hitters to the plate, including Isaiah Howes, who has 3 homers today, including 1 in this game back in the 7th. Louisville will still face Sean Spicer, who thus far has given up 1 run on 4 hits over 99 pitches and 8 innings of work. This is only Spicer's 4th start of the year, and his longest outing.

3-1 Rutgers, end of 8.

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Friday, 05/25/07

C-USA Tournament: Scelfo in the second spot

Tulane's Anthony Scelfo hit ninth in the Tulane batting order in its 1st round loss to ECU.

Yesterday, Scelfo hit second in the order and had a career-high four hits in a 13-5 win over UAB. Scelfo is in the second spot again today and has been the MVP of the game with it about halfway over.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big South Game 9 ... Winthrop vs. Liberty

Brett Moore toes the rubber and burns a fastball past Kenneth Negron for strike one, and we're underway at The Winthrop Ballpark. Moore strikes out Negron, walks Phil John and then gets Garrett Young to hit into a double play.

I just peered down in the Winthrop dugout and saw a big "P" on the wall in athletic tape. I don't know what the hell that's all about.

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Friday, 05/25/07

WCC: Gonzaga gets close

Gonzaga's Darin Holcomb hits a double off the wall in left field and the Zags have cut what was a four-run deficit to just one, in two innings.

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Friday, 05/25/07

SEC: Another Rematch

No. 1 seed Vanderbilt looks to stay alive when they face off against No. 8 seed Tennessee, the team that put the Commodores in the loser's bracket on Wednesday with a 6-4 win. The pitching matchup clearly favors Vandy, but it favored them on Wednesday before James Adkins pitched one hit baseball thru eight innings.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big East: Two Innings Left

Rutgers went quietly, getting only a 2-out double from Todd Frazier, who exacted some measure of revenge for Wednesday's bases-loaded strikeout to end the game.

Six outs left for Louisville to get back in the ball game.

3-1 Rutgers, end of 7.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MWC: Offensive Baseball

In a bit of a surprise, there's been a lot of offense early on between BYU and TCU as the Cougars responded to TCU's two-run third with another run to tie the game at 2-2. That's not to knock either of these offenses, which are both potent, but good pitching always beats good hitting, right?

Through 3.5 innings, the Cougars and Horned Frogs have combined for 11 hits and four runs.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big East: Stretch Time, Scoring Time

Louisville seems to be playing with a sense of urgency as we've reached the 7th inning stretch at Keyspan Park.

Isaiah Howes lead off the top of the 7th with a long fly to left center that just kept carrying, and eventually landed on the other side of the wall, cutting the deficit to 3-1. It was Howes' 3rd home run of the day and his 4th of the tournament, making him the first player in Big East history to hit 4 jacks in a single tournament. Jorge Castillo then singled to right.

But Chris Dominguez flied out and Pete Rodriguez, on a hit and run, hit the ball directly to the second base bag, where Mike Bionde fielded the ball, stepped on second, and fired to first to complete the double play. If the runner hadn't been in motion, that ball was likely ticketed for center field and 2 on with 1 out. Instead, 6 and a half in the books.

3-1 Rutgers, mid 7.

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Friday, 05/25/07

C-USA Tournament: Tulane takes the lead

Anthony Scelfo hit a solo home run in the bottom of the first to give the Green Wave an early 1-0 lead. Brandon Gomes is pitching well for Tulane, he has only allowed 1 hit in three innings. It's clear that see that USM is missing its catalyst in Trey Sutton, but there's still a lot of baseball left to play.

After 3 innings, Tulane is up 1-0.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MWC: Horned Frogs Bats Take Lead

Jesse Craig won't record another shutout over TCU today. After threatening in the second, the Horned Frogs delivered in the third with the top of their order to take a 2-1 lead.

No. 3 hitter Keith Conlon really got things going with a deep shot over center fielder Stephen Wells' head for a triple that scored Bryan Kervin, who led the inning off with a single. Conlon wasn't on base long as Austin Adams followed up with single up the middle to send Conlon home.

It could have been worse for Craig, who got a nice play from second baseman Austin Hall with runners on first and third. Hall dug deep to chase down a Matt Vern Texas leaguer past second base and put an end to the inning.

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Friday, 05/25/07

SEC: Life Aint Fair

There's something that's just not right about the conference player of the year being left in the on deck circle as his team falls for the final time in his college career, 5-3 to South Carolina. But that's what jsut happened.

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Friday, 05/25/07

ACC: Wake does Miami a huge favor

Wake Forest pushed across a run in the bottom of the ninth to beat Clemson, 3-2.

The win keeps Miami's ACC Tournament championship hopes alive.

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Friday, 05/25/07

WCC: Nope, it's not over

Gonzaga's hitters are making national Player of the Year canidate Brian Matusz look very ordinary.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big 12: Don't you hate when you're posting an entry and the other team scores a couple of runs?

Baylor up 8-4 now.

While I was putting together my photo montage of Evan Frey's home run, Baylor has scratched together a handful of runs to go ahead here in the 5th.

Ben Booker and Chase Gerdes hit RBI singles, Gerdes shot was of the infield hit variety and gave Baylor the lead again at 5-4.

Then, Beamer Weems hit an RBI double, then Matt Czimsky added two more RBI to his day with a bloop single, giving him four ribbies now.

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Friday, 05/25/07

A-Sun: Dogs Gone

Gardner-Webb could do nothing right offensively. Trailing by three, the Bulldogs had a promising start in the bottom of the eighth, drawing a lead-off walk at the top of the batting order. A rally even seemed possible as Jay McConnell ripped what looked like a line drive to the gap in right-center. A stiff breeze seemed to catch the ball and guide it into the glove of charging right fielder Mike McCallister. No. 3 hitter Daniel Cooke then ripped a hit-and-run line drive at shortstop Matt Lopez, who flipped the ball to first base to double up the cheating base runner.

That was Gardner-Webb's day in a nutshell. Even when the Bulldogs tried to be aggressive, they failed. Jacksonville on the other hand added another run in the ninth to claim a 4-0 win against Gardner-Webb. With the loss, the Bulldogs were eliminated from the A-Sun Tournament.

Jacksonville's Carson Andrew went seven-plus innings for the win, combing with reliever Tim Brown for a three-hit shutout.

With the win, Jacksonville will face third-seeded Belmont at 1 p.m. Saturday, regardless of what happens in the Belmont-Stetson game tonight at 7. If Belmont wins tonight, however, the Jacksonville-Belmont game will for the A-Sun championship.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MWC: Cougars Take Early Lead

BYU's Jesse Craig got some support in the second inning as the Cougars struck first to take a 1-0 lead. Chris Johnson walked Kent Walton and Steve Parker made him pay with an RBI double that sent Walton home.

The Horned Frogs threatened in the bottom of the inning with two on and one out, but Craig took advantage of the bottom of the lineup by getting Corey Steglich and Ben Carruthers out. Against TCU, that’s an impressive feat as the Horned Frogs really don't have a weak point in the lineup. Steglich and Carruthers are.333 and .317 hitters respectively, a luxury that very few teams are afforded.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big 12: Which makes these Mizzou batgirls cheer...

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big 12: Mizzou's Evan Frey gets congrats for home run...

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big East: Day Turns to Night, 1 Turns to 3

The sun is setting here in Brooklyn and shadows are creeping on to the field here at Keyspan Park, as we're through 5 innings of play with Rutgers now ahead by 3.

Louisville threatened in the top of the 5th after Pete Rodriguez doubled with one out and advanced to third on a fly out to center. But Chris Cates popped out to shortstop to end the threat, much to the delight of the hundred or so Rutgers fans seated in the stands on the third base side.

The Scarlet Knights got a leadoff walk from Tom Edwards, but traded runners for an out when Jon Gossard grounded into a fielder's choice. It looked as though James Belanger and the Cardinals would escape the inning unscathed when Tim Querns grounded a double-play ball to Cates at short. But Cates bobbled the ball and no outs were recorded, and Frank Meade smacked a triple to left center, driving in 2. Belanger got another out before intentionally walking Frazier and hitting Bionde to load the bases for Ryan Hill. But the Rutgers left fielder popped out to third, ending the threat.

3-0 Rutgers, end of 5.

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Friday, 05/25/07

WCC: Is this game already over?

I might have to start talking about the food at Cunningham Stadium sooner than I planned.

Thanks to a couple of double's in the second inning, San Diego is up 4-0. In normal sitsuations, that deficit might not seem to devestating to the Zags, but when you factor in that they might be facing the best lefty in the nation, Gonzaga is in some trouble.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MVC: Wichita Pulling Away

This one is starting to fall out of Evansville's grip, as Conor Gillaspie blasted a shot that would've gone out the park had it been hit anywhere else but dead center. Instead, the ball, and Aces CF Jim Viscomi, hit the 400 mark and fell to the ground. By the time Viscomi had gotten on his feet, Matt Brown was rounding third and racing home. Brown beat the tag at the plate, and the Shockers now lead 5-1 on Gillaspie's double.

Evansville's put up a great fight, and you can't count them out completely just yet. It's just been Wichita's talent that has pulled them through, making clutch hits and spectacular catches all game long.

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Friday, 05/25/07

SEC: Uneasy Errors

Through eight, still 5-2 South Carolina. Jeff Jeffords took over for S.C. for the top of the 8th, and got through it despite walking two batters, before getting Austin Pride to fly out to rightfield.

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Friday, 05/25/07

C-USA Tournament: Megaphone guys don't take the day off

The Clark-LeClair "megaphone" crew that vacates in "The Jungle" behind the left field fence and regularly attends ECU games is at the Tulane-USM game. At the ECU games, they are usually drowned out because their is a lot of other noise in the Stadium, but today you can hear them loud and clear becaue of the lack of fans in the stadium. They are trying to get the Tulane players to comply with the 1 up, 1 down chant that the ECU players and fans usually do with the "megaphone crew."

As for the game, Southern Miss loaded the bases in the top of the 1st, but Tulane's Brandon Gomes struck out James Ewing with 2 outs, keeping the game at 0-0 as Tulane comes up to bat in the 1st.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big East: Rutgers Breaks the Ice

Both teams got through the first 3 innings scoreless and hitless, but that has changed.

The Cardinals did get their first hit of the ball game, a seeing-eye single to lead off the 4th by Logan Johnson. He advanced to third after a Daniel Burton sac bunt and a wild pitch, but he was stranded their.

The Scarlet Knights got their first hit too, an infield single by Todd Frazier leading off the inning. Mike Bionde bunted him to second, and he scored when Dave Williams roped a pitch to right center that dropped for a double. Williams was thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple, but the Scarlet Knights took the lead.

1-0 Rutgers, end 4.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MVC: Dirks Carrying Wichita

Andy Dirks has really stepped it up tonight for the Shockers.

In a critical situation, with runners on second and third and two outs, Dirks singled past the third baseman and into left field, bringing home two HUGE runs in Josh Workman and Bret Bascue, and extending Wichita State's lead over Evansville to 4-1.

Evansville's fans, to their credit, never stop cheering for their team. They are loud and boisterous, but that hit really deflated them, as they know their Aces have a lot of work cut out for them.

The Wichita State fans are singing away during the seventh inning stretch, sensing a championship series birth is ahead of them tomorrow afternoon. Anthony Capra heads back to the mound in the bottom of the seventh, hoping to keep his new three-run cushion in tact.

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Friday, 05/25/07

WCC: Must catch fly balls

In the first inning, Gonzaga had two hits and San Diego had none, but it was the Toreros that got on the scoreboard.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MWC: Heavyweight Battle Underway

By far the most anticipated matchup of the MWC Championship is underway with top-seeded TCU and No. 2 seed BYU taking the diamond. TCU brings Chris Johnson with his 3.80 ERA and 11-2 record to the mound while BYU counters with MWC Pitcher of the Year Jesse Craig, who owns a 2.80 ERA, 10-2 record and a regular season shutout of the powerful Horned Frogs.

Stephen Wells led off the top of the first with a single and the Cougars made good contact, but didn't get anything going as a big double play anchored by TCU third baseman Steven Trout helped put a quick finish to the inning.

Trout came back with a base hit off of Craig in the bottom of the inning, but like the Cougars, TCU couldn't get anything going and we're tied at 0-0 after one.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big South Game 9 ... Winthrop vs. Liberty

Winthrop and Liberty playing for the right to get hammered tomorrow. Looks like the Flames may go with Michael Solbach and the Eagles will go with Brett Moore.

Not many fans have shown up ... I'm thinking that little nine-run pounding Coastal put on Winthrop may have had something to do with it. Plus, Northwestern High School, (Go Trojans!) is graduating right across the street and it looks like the whole town is there. Now would be a good time for arch-rival Rock Hill High to go over and loot the gym.

How does one mix CD follow Michael Jackson's "Beat It" and Def Leppard's "Pour Some Sugar on Me" with Will Smith's "Summertime"? Surely, such a breach of good music will draw a stiff punishment.

First pitch looking like 8 p.m.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MVC: Great Catches...and Cup Holders

Wichita State robbed Evansville of a potentially big inning with an incredible diving catch by Bret Bascue in left field on a deep fly by Kasey Wahl. The Shocker outfield has been absolutely sensational today.

2-1 Shockers as they bat in the top of the seventh.

Meanwhile, I have to ask this. Hammons Field is an impressive facility, but they really went over the top with the press bathrooms, which feature actual cup holders in each stall. That's right, cup holders. Now, I enjoy a frosty cold beverage as much as the next person, but I'm not so sure if I'd take it to the bathroom with me. Obviously, there's quite a few people out there who disagree with me!

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Friday, 05/25/07

SEC: Down The Stretch

There was a rather good pace to this game until we made it to the bottom of the sixth, when Florida has made three pitching changes. South Carolina leads things 5-2 as we play in th ebottom of the 7th.

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Friday, 05/25/07

C-USA Tournament:Injured players not in lineup

Southern Miss's best player and team leader, Trey Sutton, is not in the starting lineup again tonight. A Southern Miss spokesman said that Sutton subluxed his kneecap, and playing status for the rest of the tournament is still uncertain. You have to feel so bad for this kid, he hit a home run in his first at-bat of the tournament and has a 21-game hitting streak, but it looks like he might not be able to extend his hitting streak until next season.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big Ten - Illinois Eliminated

Bottom 9th - Illinois went 1-2-3 last inning, and Penn State did the same in the top of the ninth. Minus the top of the eighth, this game really has been uneventful.

Looking around, there are some Michigan players in attendance. They're no longer in uniform, instead wearing Michigan Baseball t-shirts, but maybe they're just wondering how the team who just knocked them out will fare against the team that they could have played.

Anyway, Shawn Roof just grounded out. One out. And ... Ryan Hastings and Nick Stockwell just flew out to center, one after the other. Three outs, another 1-2-3 inning for Illinois. Story of this game, I guess.

Illinois is eliminated from the Big Ten tournament, and Penn State has now made it through three games in the loser's bracket after losing its first game. The Nittany Lions are fighting hard - and if they fight hard enough tomorrow morning, they'll have a shot at the championship.

Ohio State vs. Minnesota is at 7:05 tonight. This is a big day for baseball at Fisher Stadium, but it sure doesn't look like it - it's obvious that, now that the home team is gone, attendance will be a mere fraction of what it was earlier.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big East: Strange Brew

Whatever USF and UConn were drinking, they must've given some to the Scarlet Knights and the Cardinals. Two innings in the books here at Keyspan and both teams' potent bats have been quiet. That's right, we're still scoreless. It looks like these teams used up their day's allotment of runs in the first game.

0-0, end of 2.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MVC: Error Proves Costly

With Josh Workman on first, having been hit by a pitch, and just one out, Tyler Weber hit a routine grounder to shortstop that should've resulted in a double play to end the inning. However, Robbie Minor booted the ball, all runners were safe, and Andy Dirks made the Aces pay with a single to left field, scoring Workman.

The need to play error-free baseball in the postseason can't be emphasized enough, especially for a team like Evansville. While Wichita is a lock for the NCAA Tournament, the Aces likely need to win the whole thing to get to a NCAA Regional.

The bottom of the Evansville order is up in the bottom of the fifth, with Wichita now leading it 2-1.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big Ten - Penn State's Big Inning

Top 8th - Right after an Illinois pitching change, Illinois relief pitcher Jake Toohey walked Penn State second baseman Matt Cavagnaro to load the bases. The men on second and third were starting pitcher Scott Shaw's responsibility, and designated hitter Robert Yodice hit a hard double to score both - and then, on an error, reached third. All three Penn State runners scored, leaving Yodice on third. Penn State is again winning, 4-2.

And one batter later, catcher Joe Blackburn hit a single to score Yodice. Penn State now has a 5-2 lead.

Illinois has six outs left to score at least three runs - or else Penn State will have eliminated two teams today.

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Friday, 05/25/07

WCC: Oh how I love San Diego

I haven’t seen too much of the United States in my 23 years, but it's still hard to imagine too many places being better than San Diego.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big 12: Damn Baylor, can't you wait 'til we get into our seats?

Whoever shows up fashionably late like a Dodgers crowd here at Bricktown will have already missed a lot.

The first five batters for the Bears went:
- double
- RBI, sac fly to center
- groundout
- single
- 2-RBI home run

Dustin Dickerson buys the beer after ending the inning with a deep shot to center field.

It's 3-2 Baylor after one full inning

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big East: Keyspan Surprise

The first inning of Rutgers vs. Louisville produced 0 runs, despite the teams playing a 12-10 contest earlier. On Wednesday, the teams scored 1 run apiece in the first, while earlier today Rutgers scored 2 and Louisville scored 3 in the first.

0-0, end of 1.

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Friday, 05/25/07

ACC: Wake gets on the board, I get fed

Wake broke up the shutout in the bottom of the 7th, but Clemson still leads 2-1.

With one out in the 7th, Weldon Woodall singled, Austin Jones walked, and Ben Terry beat out a bunt to load the bases. That was it for Clemson starter Ryan Hinson, who gave way to reliever Matt Vaughn.

Vaughn got a short fly ball for the second out, but walked Allan Dykstra to force in a run. He held the lead, however, by getting Willy Fox looking on an 0-2 pitch to end the inning.

Hinson's final line: 6.1 innings, 4 hits, 1 earned run, 3 walks, 3 hit batters, and 1 K.

Wake starter Brad Kledzik is still on to start the 8th, but the Deac pen is active.

BBQ is now available in the press lounge, so I'm digging in now because 1) sportwriters eat like wild famished dogs and it will be gone before the game's over and 2) my laptop already has BBQ sauce on it from yesterday.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big 12: Damn Mizzou, can't you wait 'til we get into our seats?

Whoever shows up fashionably late like a Dodgers crowd here at Bricktown will have already missed a lot.

The first five batters for the Tigers went:
- infield single
- single
- sac bunt
- 2-RBI double
- walk

Aaron Senne buys the beer tonight as he came on and grounded into a double play to end the string of productive at-bats.

It's 2-0 Tigers with the Bears coming to bat.

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Friday, 05/25/07

ACC: The hits keep coming for Wake

Unfortunately for Wake Forest, they're HBPs, not base hits.

Ben Terry has been hit by two pitches today, giving him 21 on the season, and Allan Dykstra was plunked for the 20th time this year. The three HBPs give Wake 101 as a team, moving them to #4 in the nation; San Jose State leads with 105.

At the stretch, Clemson still leads 2-0.

Clemson’s Andy D'Alessio led off the sixth with an absolute moonshot to right that looked sure to be the first home run of the week. The perpetually strong wind, however, knocked it down and the ball bounced off the wall near the 375' mark. D'Alessio ended up on third with a triple but was stranded there, partially because that fake-to-third-throw-to-first pitcher's pickoff play that never works actually worked.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big South Game 8 ... Winthrop vs. Coastal Carolina

Trailing 13-4 and facing an elimination game right after this one, Winthrop comes into the ninth full of pep, gets a one-out single and hits into its FIFTH double play.

The Eagles now get an hour break while a fresh Liberty team pulls up to do battle. The winner gets to be served up to Coastal tomorrow, needing to win two to claim the title.

And the Chants will probably start Andy DeLaGarza, their No. 1 starter until a week ago.

Strong chance of a thorough embarassment.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MVC: Shocks Tie It Up

Wichita State had gone hitless for the first three innings, but the hits came through for them in the top of the fourth. Derek Schermerhorn got the first hit of the game for the Shocks when he delivered a one-out single to right field. He would steal second on a very close play, and score on a single by Conor Gillaspie that just made it over the glove of Evansville 2B Troy Krider.

Tuomi managed to hold the Shocks to just a run, but the fans along the first base side have gotten into this game, and that can't be good news for the Aces.

1-1 as Evansville bats in the bottom of the fourth. They'll send the 4-5-6 hitters to face Capra.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MWC: Sixth-Seed Rebels Advance Again

The Lobos threatened in the eighth with a couple of hits to lead off the inning that forced a UNLV pitching change, but it was to no avail as the Rebels advance past New Mexico with an 8-3 win.

Reliever Koji Pupo closed out the eighth with no damage and allowed a run in the ninth, but the Lobos needed a lot more firepower to advance. With the victory, senior pitcher Chris Saddoris likely ends his career on a high note, logging his first win of the season with 7.2 innings of 2-run ball.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big Ten - Illini Fight Back

Bottom 6th - Illinois has taken control of the game with two quick runs. Illinois powerhouse Lars Davis had his first hit of the game, a single, but advanced to second on an error by the Penn State first baseman. Brandon Wikoff, who was on first when Davis hit, made it to second on the single and scored on the error to tie the game. Two batters later, Dan Webb's single to center field scored Davis, making the game 2-1, Illinois.

Will Penn State be able to go eighteen straight innings and still come out with a win this afternoon? The game's still close, but the Nittany Lions don't have much time left.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big 12: Mizzou - Baylor coming up at The Bricktown joint

Game time is scheduled to be 4:35. Sprinkles and scattered showers are in the forecast for later on tonight. But with only two games to play today, hopefully it won't turn into one of those days I had at the ACC tournament last year where the last game ended at 2:15am. (Knock on wood).

starting pitchers:
Missouri: Aaron Crow (8-2, 2.62, .231 O.A.)
Baylor: Willie Kempf (2-2, 2.50, .235 O.A.)

After seeing them early in the season at the Astros College Classic, I look forward to seeing how the much-ballyhood Baylor Frosh class plays today here at the end of the season. Dustin Dickerson is starting at 1st and hitting .295 coming in, Raynor Campbell (.337) is hitting second and playing 3rd base. Another infielder, Shaver Hansen, will start at 2nd base (he's hitting in the 9-hole at .283).

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big East: Rutgers and Louisville Part Deux

The Scarlet Knights and Cardinals are about to get started for the second time today, with the winner of this game facing off against the winner of the next game tomorrow in the Big East title game.

Rutgers, the home team, will send Sean Spicer to the mound with his 2-1 record and 4.70 ERA, while the visitors send James Belanger - a local kid from North Babylon - to the mound with a 1-3 record and a 3.64 ERA.

Stay here as Touching the Bases covers all the action from Keyspan Park.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big South Game 8 ... Winthrop vs. Coastal Carolina

Winthrop has just grounded into its fourth double play of the afternoon and surprisingly, trails 12-4. Coastal gears up for yet another tournament championship and the Eagles will take on Liberty at 8 p.m.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MVC: Aces Jump Ahead

Evansville drew first blood in the bottom of the second, when Pat Tumilty scored from third on a bloop single to center field by Aces RF Jeff Zelenovich, bringing the UE fans to their feet as they did a musical chairs dance around the first two rows of Section L at Hammons Field.

Wichita is having trouble against Tuomi so far. Unlike the first game against Bradley, Tuomi has spotted his pitches nicely, and the Shocks are in need of a big play to rally the troops, in the dugout and in the stands.

So far, though, Kai Tuomi is having his way. He sets WSU down in order in the top of the third, and the Aces head to their half of the inning, up 1-0.

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Friday, 05/25/07

C-USA Tournament: Memphis moves on

Memphis eliminated UCF with a 12-6 win today.

I talked with the conference's premiere home run hitter, Memphis's Joey Lieberman after the game. Lieberman hit a shot in the first inning that exited the entire facility here at Clark-LeClair Stadium...

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Friday, 05/25/07

A-Sun: The Bulldogs Are Not Clutch

Here's a stat that certain to make any Gardner-Webb fan puke. After stranding runners on second and third in the bottom of the fourth, the Bulldogs are now batting .172 with runners in scoring position during the A-Sun tournament. Jacksonville still leads 3-0.

Gardner-Webb's Jeremiah Lokken drew a one-out walk in the fourth and stole second base. Matt Rizzuto then walked, and Justin Loyd reached on a fielder's choice that put Rizzuto out at second. Loyd stole second to put runners at second and third with two outs, But Job Ahearn grounded out to third to end the inning.

Right now, the Bulldogs offense is the definition of futility.

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Friday, 05/25/07

ACC: History Lesson

Game one of the day is a quick pitchers' duel so far. After four and a half innings, Clemson leads Wake Forest 2-0.

Clemson scored the game's first run in the top of the fourth. Andy D'Alessio led off with a walk, advanced to second on a sac bunt, and scored on Doug Hogan's double to left, the Tigers' fourth hit of the day.

In the fifth, Clemson added another when JD Burgess walked, moved to second on a grounder, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and scored on Wilson Boyd's sac fly.

Clemson starter Ryan Hinson has allowed only three base-runners -- a single by Dustin Hood, a walk, and Ben Terry's 20th HBP of the season. I'm guessing Terry has a few bruises.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MVC: Pitcher's Duel Early

Sorry for the delay here, but I just concluded an interview with the tournament director for a story that will be appearing later on tonight.

We're scoreless...and hitless, after 1 1/2 innings of play though between the Shockers and Purple Aces. Evansville is going with LHP Kai Tuomi (10-3, 2.85 ERA), who's shown to be pretty fresh in his second tournament start. After all, he wasn't around long for the Bradley game on Wednesday. Wichita is also going with a southpaw, as they've sent Anthony Kapra (6-0, 1.61 ERA) to the mound to shut down the Aces.

The Evansville fans are on the third base side (they're the home team this game), and they are as loud and boisterous as ever. In fact, their energy has stirred some spirit from the Wichita side, who doesn't like being drowned out by a smaller contingent.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big South Game 8 ... Winthrop vs. Coastal Carolina

The Eagles notch a run in the sixth but go quietly in the seventh, leaving it 10-4 Coastal. Liberty has just pulled in the parking lot and looks ready for its elimination game tonight, which could wind up being the perfect revenge situation against Winthrop.

The Eagles are sticking with Owen Reid on the hill, and he's looked decent except for the three-run bomb that Tyler Bortnick dropped. I'm guessing Winthrop would start Brett Moore against the Flames tonight, assuming Coastal doesn't choke, because Moore threw six perfect innings against Liberty two weeks ago ... and then the bullpen blew it.

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Friday, 05/25/07

SEC: Game On

The Gamecocks ahve come storming back with a three spot in the bottom of the second. The big blow came from Travis Jones who knocked a single into leftfield with the bases loaded that plated two runners. Harley Lail drove in the other run with a single in the inning. So, 3-2 S.C. is on top as we play in the third inning.

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Friday, 05/25/07

C-USA Tournament: Attendance and excitement down

Only hundreds of fans are on hand for the Memphis-UCF game here at Greenville, NC's Clark-LeClair Stadium. I guess it's hard to keep attendance up with the host team and the No. 1 seed not playing. C-USA teams are also spread out halfway across the country and the visiting teams haven't brought too many fans with them. Tulane has had one of the stongest followings of the visiting teams, so we'll see if attendance picks up for what should be a good game in third-seeded Southern Miss and No. 7 Tulane.

As for the opening game, I have to admit, it's not the most entertaining game. Memphis is in complete control, up 11-5 in the 7th.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big East: Huskies Live Another Game

The Connecticut Huskies' improbable run through the Big East tournament will continue at least for one more game after UConn defeated USF 3-0 at Keyspan park.

UConn rallied behind starter Greg Nappo who was brilliant, scattering 3 hits over 9 innings and shutting out the Bulls to force a second game between the two teams later in the evening.

All of UConn's runs came in an 8th inning explosion with 2 outs. USF starter Matt Quevedo and reliever Shawn Sanford allowed only 7 hits during the game, but for the Huskies it was just enough. The two teams will play this evening, likely sometime around 10 pm, with the winner getting a berth in the title game.

Meanwhile, our next game is a rematch of Rutgers and Louisville. The Cardinals took the first matchup 8-1 on Wednesday, while the Scarlet Knights stayed alive with a 12-10 victory earlier today.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MWC: Lobos Find Life, Alday Goes Down Swinging

The Lobos finally got on the board and picked up a couple of runs in the seventh, but still has a long way to go with an 8-2 deficit.

They'll have to go on without coach Rich Halday, whose career may have just come to an end two innings premature. The 18-year veteran announced he was retiring after the season and just got the boot arguing an out call at first base. This should give the Lobos a little extra motivation.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big East: 3 Outs Away

UConn strands a runner on 3rd, but Greg Nappo comes out for the 9th, facing USF's 1-3 hitters with a chance to nail down the win and force a game later today.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MWC: Playoff Pressure

The postseason can do strange things. New Mexico's Jordan Pacheco, the MWC player of the year and one of the best in the country, has had a terrible three days. With one hit, his average dropped from .421 to .402 in the first two days and so far is 0-for-3 today.

UNLV pitcher Chris Saddoris, meanwhile, had a miserable regular season with an 0-5 record and 6.90 ERA. All he's done so far today is pitch six innings of shutout ball and looks well on his way to picking up his first win of the year.

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Friday, 05/25/07

A-Sun: Jax Cruising

Fire up the bus, boys. It's only the bottom of the fourth inning, but this Gardner-Webb team looks like it's ready to go home. Jacksonville scored two in the third and another in the fourth to take a 3-0 lead. The Bulldogs, meanwhile, look disinterested.

Kevin Ferreira started things for the Dolphins, singling off Bulldogs starter Josh Drewery in the third. Logan James then singled to right-center, and Chuck Opachich drove in Ferreira with a single to shallow right. Pete Clifford drew a one-out walk to load the bases, and James then scored on a wild pitch.

In the fourth, Ferreira singled up the middle with two outs and advanced to third after a walk and an Opachich single loaded the bases. Then, with two strikes on Mike McCallister, Ferreira scored on a wild pitch. McCallister struck out on the next pitch.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big South Game 8 ... Winthrop vs. Coastal Carolina

Coastal's Tyler Bortnick blasts a three-run tonk to extreme left and the Chanticleers lead 10-3 after five innings. Looks like Winthrop is preparing for another game tonight and the Chants will get some rest.

A good chance the streak will continue ... the host team hasn't won the Big South tournament since 1992.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MWC: It's Sooooo Hot Outside

I left the confines of the air-conditioned press box to catch some fresh Las Vegas air. I didn't last long. It's approaching the upper 90s outside and this spoiled San Diegan is glad to have a job in the press box. The cameramen sitting out in the sun are earning their paychecks this week.

I'm used to seeing umbrellas for rain -- well, not in San Diego -- but the locals are prepared as the stands are littered with umbrellas with fans protecting themselves from the desert sun.

The heat's clearly not bothering the home team , though, as UNLV tacked on another run for an 8-0 lead in the seventh inning.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big East: Huskies Strike First

It's no longer scoreless in Brooklyn.

Huskies' second baseman Dale Brannon doubled to lead off the 8th, and advanced to third on a ground out to first. If not for a diving stop by Daniel Brandin, Brannon might have scored. That chased USF starter Matt Quevedo, who turned in 6 brilliant innings. He was relieved by right-hander Shawn Sanford. His first task was senior captain Dennis Donovan, who popped out to second for out number 2. Matt Untiet then walked on a 3-2 pitch that was awfully close, but ruled a ball. Pat Mahoney then unloaded on a pitch, doubling down the left field line to drive in 2. Brad Olt then joined the party, singling to right to drive in Mahoney from 2nd and make it 3-0.

USF then went down in order, meaning the Huskies - the 8th seeded UConn Huskies - are now only 3 outs away from forcing one more game.

3-0 UConn, end 8.

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Friday, 05/25/07

SEC: LaPorta's Liftoff

There's finally a Matt LaPorta sighting here in Hoover. Florida's best player has been nearly invisible since arriving, but just launched his 20th homer of the season, a two-run shot, deep into the leftfield parking lot, if it landed yet! Florida leads things 2-0, and Cisco is getting hit pretty hard. Avery Barnes just lined a double into the left centerfield gap. LaPorta wants his collegiate career to continue, that's for sure.

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Friday, 05/25/07

C-USA Tournament: UCF doesn't quit

UCF, the last seed in the C-USA Tournament, has not given up after going down 9-0 in the first two innings to No. 5 Memphis. The Golden Knights scored three runs in the fourth to cut the deficit to 9-3 as we head into the bottom half.

The winner of this game will meet top-seeded Rice tomorrow at 9 a.m.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big South Game 8 ... Winthrop vs. Coastal Carolina

We're through four with Coastal still holding a 7-3 lead. Owen Reid has done well after his initial inning, although it may be a case of the Chanticleers knowing they can score any time they want, so why try?

Coastal's John Mariotti was warned by umpire Ritchie Tallent for arguing balls and strikes and coach Gary Gilmore came out for a few choice words. Mariotti was calmed down by first baseman Chris Raber, who talked him down while standing behind him.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big Ten - Penn State vs. Illinois

Right after Penn State defeated Michigan, it had to turn around and play another nine innings in another must-win game. This time, it's against Illinois - who defeated Iowa but lost to Minnesota to fall into the loser's bracket.

Penn State didn't use much pitching last game, with only a starter and a closer, so it should be able to use some more of its dominance on the mound against the Illini.

Bottom 5th - And overall, it's been a pretty boring game. Penn State again struck early, this time in the second, on Mike Deese's RBI single. It's been mostly 1-2-3 innings since then - but we'll see what happens.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big South Game 8 ... Winthrop vs. Coastal Carolina

Needing to score some runs and get some momentum after giving up seven runs, Winthrop is out of the next frame on six (six!) pitches. Considering leadoff man Billy Froehlich had no chance of hitting a grand slam, you'd think he could anchor the bat on his shoulder instead of swinging at the first pitch.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MWC: Lobo Mistakes Adding Up

The mistakes continue to compound for New Mexico as an error-filled sixth inning led to four more UNLV runs and a 7-0 Rebel lead. Lobos coach Rich Alday tried to stop the bleeding by pulling struggling starter Shane Dyer, but the flood gates opened when Adam Skelton took the mound.

Not to put it all on Skelton, as two fielding errors kept the inning going far longer than it should have. The big play came when Jordan Pacheco threw a double-play ball over the first baseman's head and two runs scored instead of the inning coming to an end.

Skelton didn't help his own cause, though, when he hit the next batter and gave up a two-out double to Ryan Kowalski to tack on two more Rebel runs.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MVC: And It's Raining Again

The rain is coming down in sheets right now, and I'm just glad I made it back from Walgreen's in time! With aspirin now in the system, I hope I'll be feeling a little bit better.

As for Bradley's post-game, I asked the players what "#1 PLAY HUNG" meant.

"It means to play loose," said Paul Rice, who had two homers today. "We have two sayings that we like to use. One is 'Be Awesome', and the other is 'Play Hung'."

"It gives us motivation," said pitcher Brad Altback.

I guess it did, because Bradley dominated the Missouri State Bears, and a rematch with Creighton will be the nightcap.

Expect a slight delay in the WSU-Evansville game, which is scheduled next at 3:30 CDT. Credit goes to both teams for helping put the tarp on the infield as the rains came pouring down.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big East: Chances Squandered

There is still no score at Keyspan Park.

The Huskies threatened - any base runner is a threat at this point - with a 2-out single by 9th place hitter Gordon Stevens, but nothing came of it as Peter Fatse grounded out to end the top half of the 7th.

After the stretch, it looked as though USF would go quietly when the first two batters were retired. But Addison Maruszak roped a 2-out double to left centerfield, the first runner in scoring position for the Bulls all day long. DH Charles Cleveland then walked, but Ty Taborelli flied out to Fatse in left, who sno-coned the ball for the out.

0-0, end of 7.

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Friday, 05/25/07

ACC: Rested and Ready for Day Three

I'm back and well-rested for day three of the ACC Tournament at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville. Today's games feature Clemson and Wake Forest at 4:00, followed by Miami and Florida State.

Clemson hands Ryan Hinson the ball in the opener. Hinson is 5-2 with a 2.78 ERA in 71.1 innings. He'll be opposed by Wake's Brad Kledzik, who's 4-4 with a 5.04 ERA. Opposing hitters are batting a healthy .313 against Kledzik.

A Clemson win would not only set up a showdown with Florida State tomorrow, but also officially eliminate Miami.

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Friday, 05/25/07

SEC: Ready To Go

We're set for baseball here in Hoover on Day Three. Only two games today, as Florida meets South Carolina in game one, while Tennessee meets Vanderbilt in game two. Each is a rematch from day one.

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Friday, 05/25/07

C-USA Tournament: Costly errors, Tigers capitalize

UCF has 4 errors after 2 innings. Memphis has scored 9 runs off seven hits and 4 errors, and has a 9-0 lead. Not a good scoreboard for UCF:

UCF 0 1 4
Memphis 9 7 0

Memphis now has scored 26 runs in 20 innings at the C-USA Tournament, including 5 in 2/3 innings off the C-USA Pitcher-of-the-Year Ryne Tacker yesterday.

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Friday, 05/25/07

A-Sun: Stetson Reaction

Here are some quotes from Stetson coach Pete Dunn after his team's 2-1, 11-inning win against Mercer. The top-seeded Hatters will try to remain alive in the A-Sun tournament when they face third-seeded Belmont at 7 p.m.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MWC: Dyer's Done

After walking Xavier Scruggs to lead off the sixth inning, New Mexico's Shane Dyer is done for the day. He had control issues throughout the day and leaves the game with a 3-0 deficit. Adam Skelton takes the mound sporting a 5.60 ERA and 2-2 record in 19 appearances this season.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big East: Still Nothing, but an Interesting Louisville Story

Matt Quevedo and Greg Nappo seem to have settled in (although they never really seemed unsettled), as Quevedo worked around his second 2-out walk of the game to set the Huskies down and Nappo struck out 2 in setting the Bulls down 1-2-3.

Meanwhile, in speaking to Louisville SID Sean Moth, I learned that Louisville reliever Trystan Magnuson, who struck out Todd Frazier with the bases loaded on Wednesday, has been in contact with Red Sox GM Theo Epstein and Orioles' pitching coach Leo Mazzone. Not bad for a 5th year walk-on senior with an 0.98 ERA, who was cut from his high school baseball team and received only one scholarship offer - which was to play violin at the University of Kentucky. Magnuson was clocked at 96 in that sequence against Frazier.

0-0, top of the 6th.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big South Game 8 ... Winthrop vs. Coastal Carolina

Yeah ... strike that whole "Josh McDonald is ready to pitch" line from the last post.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MWC: It's Keith Smith's World

UNLV second baseman Keith Smith is making a strong early case for player of the game honors. He made an outstanding play to end the fourth inning when what looked like a routine ground ball took a wild hop about two feet over his head right in front of him. He jumped up, snagged the ball and threw over to first to get the third out.

He turned around and added another run to the board for the Rebels when he crushed a ball over the left field wall for a solo shot and 3-0 UNLV lead in the fifth.

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Friday, 05/25/07

C-USA Tournament: Look both ways before crossing the street

Joey Lieberman of Memphis capped a 5-run Tiger 1st with a 2-run homer that went over the left field fence, over the second fence and bounced across Charles Blvd. and into the woods well behind Clark-LeClair Stadium...

Memphis 5, UCF 0 after 1 inning.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big South Game 8 ... Winthrop vs. Coastal Carolina

This time, it's Coastal third baseman Derek Martin who screws up, pulling a Bill Buckner on a ground ball to third. The Eagles add another run on the boot before Mike Honce gets caught stealing, called out because batter John Murrian interfered with the throw.

Then Coastal shorstop Tyler Bortnick throws too low to first trying to nail Murrian (that's three errors in two innings for the Chants), Chris Carrara singles and Phil Carey lifts an RBI single into left. Eagles are up 3-0 and none of the runs are earned.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MWC: Pressure Getting to Freshman Pitcher

The pressure of a win or go home situation seems to be getting to New Mexico freshman Shane Dyer, who continues to have control issues at the mound. He gave up another run in the third and is lucky his Lobos are down just 2-0.

After throwing two wild pitches and hitting a batter in the third, he threw another wild pitch, had a passed ball and walked two batters in the fourth. He started out the inning with runners on second and third and no outs. Give him credit for not completely melting as he forced a couple of fly outs to get out of the inning.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big East: Quevedo Quells Rally, Bulls Run Out

UConn senior captain and clean-up hitter Dennis Donovan lead off with a walk, stole second, and advanced to third after the throw ricocheted off the shortstop's glove and into right field. Matt Untiet struck out on the pitch for the first out, and with the lead run 90 feet away, Matt Quevedo dug deep and induced Pat Mahoney to pop out to second and Brad Olt to look at strike 3 for the final out.

In the bottom half of the 4th, right fielder Josh Farkes played Mike Consolmagno into a terrible mistake. Farkes faked like he caught the ball - even though it had landed for a single - making Consolmagno scamper back to first. But the Huskies recorded the 9-4-6 put-out for the first out of the inning, drawing the ire of coach Martinez at first. The Huskies then turned a 6-4-3 double play to retire the side.

0-0, end of 4.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MVC: Braves Advance, Host MSU Is Out

The outcome was never in doubt...

MO State.....0..0..0..0..0..0..0..2..1........3..8..2
Bradley.......2..1..2..2..0..0..1..0..X........8..8..0

WP - Brad Altbach (7-2)
LP - Pat Doyle (1-4)

Bradley improves to 32-20 and gets a rematch tonight with Creighton, while Missouri State ends their season at 23-34.

More to come from Springfield, as Missouri State becomes the second team to be eliminated from the MVC Tournament.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big South Game 8 ... Winthrop vs. Coastal Carolina

Winthrop's Josh McDonald looks up to the challenge in his first inning, retiring the Chanticleers 1-2-3 with two strikeouts and a pop to left. He's hitting the corners really well, his four-seamer diving into lefty batters' knees. 1-0 Throp after one.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big South Game 8 ... Winthrop vs. Coastal Carolina

Tommy Lentz dribbles one in front of the plate with Chris Carrara on second and Coastal pitcher John Mariotti picks it up. He throws too low to first, giving Carrara a free pass home and Lentz second base. The Eagles are out after that with a 1-0 lead, going to the bottom of the first, but this is classic Chanticleers baseball ... around the fourth inning or so, they discover, "OH ... we're playing today."

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Friday, 05/25/07

MVC: Bears go back-to-back

As a breeze has finally drifted into the stadium (YES!), the Bears of Missouri State have finally done something positive in the top of the eighth, as Tanner Mattson launched a solo shot into the left field bullpen (obviously THE place to hit it today), and Nolan Keane followed with a shot over the Steak N Shake sign in right center, cutting the Bradley lead to 8-2.

BU is relaxed now, as they know that, unless a severe catastrophe goes down in the ninth, they'll get their rematch with Creighton. Meanwhile, I'm still amazed that Bradley has yet to hit a single today. How many times have you heard of a team getting eight hits, four of them homers, and not one of them being a single?

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big Ten - Crunch Time for Michigan

Bottom 10th - In the most exciting game of this Big Ten tournament to date, Penn State is leading Michigan in the tenth inning, 6-5. Michigan right fielder Doug PIckens is at the plate, full count.

And he strikes out looking on a pitch that seems to be borderline outside, though it could go either way. The crowd boos. Pickens walks back to the dugout, but not before yelling at the umpire in disgust. One out. Derek VanBuskirk is up, the athlete whose big hits this game has already helped to bring Michigan to this point. VanBuskirk hits to the second baseman, a hit that automatically makes everyone gasp because it looks like a routine grounder - but the Penn State second baseman bobbles it, sending VanBuskirk to first.

Cislo hits a bouncer to the pitcher, who sends it to first base. VanBuskirk to second, two outs.

And Roblin grounds out. Three outs, and the Wolverines are two-and-out in this Big Ten tournament.

The first seed is the second team out of the tournament.

Final score: 6-5, Penn State, 10 innings.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MWC: Wild Inning Allows Rebels to Strike First

Things got a little wild for New Mexico pitcher Shane Dyer in the third. He only gave up one hit, but allowed three base runners as UNLV picked up an unorthodox run for a 1-0 lead.

Rebel shortstop Braden Walker reached first with one out when Dyer hit him with a pitch. After Michael Brenly singled to advance Walker to third, a wild pitch from Dyer allowed Walker to score. Another wild pitch allowed Brenly to advance to third, but Dyer got out of the inning without additional damage.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big East: More Nothing

UConn's 1-3 hitters went down 1-2-3 in the top half of the 3rd, and USF went quietly as well, save for 8th place hitter Brandin Daniel being hit on the arm by a pitch.

There's probably more excitement on the beach right now, which is absolutely jam-packed on this gorgeous day. I don't want to say that the crowd isn't interested in the game, but I've heard almost nothing out of them since the opening introductions. Even the base coaches seem uninterested, although I'm sure USF first base coach Tino Martinez has been in enough big games to make a Big East tournament semifinal seem unimportant.

0-0, end of 3.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big Ten - Penn State Ahead Again

Top 10th - And just like that, the Nittany Lions are back in the lead. A solo shot by Cory Wine in the 10th has made it 6-5, Penn State. The Wolverines will need to make up another run, and they're working from behind again, just like in all but two innings of this tournament.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big Ten - Michigan Rallies Back

Two outs in the ninth, and the Wolverines are trying to continue their crazy rally.

Nate Recknagel's at the plate, Michigan's power hitter. he hits a ball into the outfield - between left and center field. Rose sprints to third, Recknagel reaches first. Two outs. Runners on first and third. 5-4. Michigan's tournament hopes and, possibly, NCAA hopes are on the line. Putnam, their cleanup hitter, is up. This couldn't be written any better.

And Putnam sends a long ball to right center! Rose flies home. The score is tied 5-5, two outs in the ninth inning. Michigan has scored three runs in this inning and still has a man on first and second. Adam Abraham, who homered in yesterday's loss, is now at bat.

The crowd is still clapping, the Michigan players mobbing Rose like they just won the championship. Abraham flies out to center field, one batter too late for Penn State.

It's now tied, 5-5, and we're going into extra innings. Michigan's temporarily lengthened its tournament run with a 2-out, ninth-inning rally.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big Ten - Michigan's Last Stand?

9th - It's the bottom of the ninth and Michigan is just three outs away from being the second team out of the Big Ten Tournament. The Nittany Lions are still winning, 5-2. Left fielder Derek VanBuskirk, second baseman Kevin Cislo and right fielder Brad Roblin are up this inning - then it's back to the top of the order.

Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer" is blaring through the sound system, and it's true - the Wolverines better pray for some big hits this inning if they plan to be around for the 3:35 game.

VanBuskirk hits a ground ball to center, reaching first base. Cislo is up - and he hits a grounder that the Penn State shortstop should have caught, but it went through his legs and ... VanBuskirk is now on second, Cislo is on first. No outs. Roblin is up, and the crowd is getting back into it, clapping in steady rhythm, waiting for this senior playing in what might be his last game at home to do something special.

And it's a wild pitch - both runners advance a base. Roblin hits it to first - he's out - but VanBuskirk scores. One out, and it's 5-3 Penn State. The tying run is now at the plate - leadoff hitter Jason Christian. Christian hits it to second, allowing Cislo to score. Two outs. 5-4, Penn State.

Senior Eric Rose is at the plate. He's a senior, co-captain, and he and Michigan coach Rich Maloney are having a chat before he goes to the batter's box. The count is 2-2. He hits a ball to the shortstop that takes a bad hop, bouncing over the shortshop's head to the wild cheers of the crowd. This is ridiculous - Rose reaches first. Two outs, runner on first, the winning run at the plate.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big South Game 8 ... Winthrop vs. Coastal Carolina

John Mariotti is toeing the rubber and preparing to fire his first pitch to Winthrop's Chris "Goose" Carrara, the school's all-time hit leader. Here's the pitch ... Carrara takes a low fastball for strike one.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MVC: End Can't Come Soon Enough

The press box is quiet, sleepy, and anxious for this one to end.

Missouri State's Jake Shafer has pitched well, holding Bradley scoreless in the last two innings. However, the Bears have done absolutely nothing on offense, and the Braves are still up a touchdown as we hit the stretch.

The MSU fans are leaving, making this stadium very very empty. So empty, in fact, that no one was singing during the 7th inning stretch. Something's wrong with that!

Yours truly has a massive headache right now (I feel a cold coming on)...so after BU finishes this one off, I'm taking a stroll down to Walgreen's to get some relief.

7-0 Braves, and it could be more, as Ryan Curry just doubled down the left field line. Eight hits for the Braves, and still all of them have been for extra bases today.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big East: Threat Averted

UConn put runners on 2nd and 3rd with 1 away, but Quevedo prevented any runs from scoring thanks to some nifty defensive work. Third baseman Addison Maruszak cleanly fielded a hard grounder to third and fired to first for out number 2. Then 9th place hitter Gordon Stevens swung and missed for strike 3, but the pitch got away from catcher Braulio Pardo. But Pardo got out of his squat quickly, and tossed home to the covering Quevedo, who applied the tag in time to get the out and save the run.

USF went quietly, going down 1-2-3 in its half of the inning.

0-0, end of 2.

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Friday, 05/25/07

C-USA Tournament: Flying first class

Conference USA and ECU, similar to Fergie and Ludacris, have done everything first-class all week. All of the SID's have been very helpful, especially Malcolm Gray and his ECU Media Relations staff. The ECU Media Relations staff are the first ones to arrive every day, and the last ones to leave. They have had stats, quotes, and any information readily available at all times for all media. The food has also been great, and every aspect of the stadium has been run the right way.

So here's to 3 more days of great baseball, hospitality, and to C-USA and ECU for putting on such a "glamorous," first-class event!

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Friday, 05/25/07

A-Sun: Stetson Claims Emotional Win

That play at the plate must have made Stetson hopping, seething, Naomi-Campbell-with-a-cell-phone mad.

After throwing out Mercer's potential go-ahead run at the plate in the top of the inning, Shane Jordan led off the bottom of the 11th with a double to the right field fence. A sac bunt and two intentional walks later, Jordan scored on an Adam Tindle sacrifice fly to foul territory in shallow right field, narrowly beating the throw with a headfirst slide.

With that, top-seeded Stetson took a 2-1 win against second-seeded Mercer, which was eliminated from the A-Sun Tournament with the loss.

It was a questionable decision by Mercer right-handed right fielder John Dortch to catch the foul pop fly to say the least. It would have taken a perfect throw across his body, while running into the fence, to catch Jordan, Stetson's fastest base runner.

Up next, fourth-seeded Jacksonville will face fifth-seeded Gardner-Webb in an elimination game. First pitch is set for 3:10 p.m.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MWC: Lobos, Rebels Look to Keep Up Pitching Pace

We're back live in Las Vegas as No. 6 seed UNLV and No. 5 seed New Mexico take the diamond on day three of the Mountain West Conference Championship. The bottom two seeds have survived the first two days of the double-elimination tournament, but one won't last beyond this morning's matchup.

UNLV's going to need a big game from Chris Saddoris, who has struggled to an 0-5 record with a 6.90 ERA. His counterpart for New Mexico is Shane Dyer, who sports a 2-1 record with a 4.03 ERA.

So far, both pitchers look solid as we've gone through two innings with just one New Mexico hit as the two teams are knotted up at 0-0. And even though a pitcher like Saddoris doesn't bring in a stellar resume, the solid early pitching isn't a surprise at this point of the tournament.

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Friday, 05/25/07

C-USA Tournament: Elimination Day

Their will be four teams with 1 loss playing for their tournament lives today at the C-USA Tournament. No. 8 UCF and No. 5 Memphis will start things off at 3 p.m. No. 7 Tulane and No. 3 Southern Miss will follow.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big East: Uneventful First

Quevedo worked around a 2-out walk to set down UConn, and Nappo faced only 3 hitters - he gave up a leadoff single to Walter Diaz, but he was caught stealing and the next two hitters went quietly.

0-0, end of 1.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big East: Game 2 Getting Set

UConn and USF are only a few minutes away from the first pitch here at Keyspan Park, and the stands are basically empty. UConn has a group of fans who are in the last few rows on the first base side, taking shade underneath the yellow and blue overhang. USF has a small smattering of fans behind the third base dugout, less than there were two nights ago - which was a much colder and later game.

Greg Nappo starts for UConn with a 3-3 record and a 4.03 ERA, while USF counters with Matt Quevedo, who is 4-2 with a 4.38 ERA. If USF wins, they will go to the Big East title game, but if UConn wins, these two teams will face off once more about an hour after Rutgers and Louisville finish their game.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MVC: Welcome to the BU Home Run Derby

With Bradley scoring four of their five runs courtesy of the long ball, Dan Brewer decided to join the Bradley Long Ball Club. Brewer sent a Tim Clubb fastball directly into the bullpen in left for a two-run shot, and the Braves have upped their lead to 7-0 in the bottom of the fourth.

Missouri State has sent Clubb to the showers, and now RHP Jake Shafer (1-5, 6.91 ERA) is the new pitcher.

There are still no outs in the inning, and how about this for a stat? Bradley has seven hits in the game so far...and ALL of them have gone for extra bases. Four homers, two doubles and a triple for the Braves right now.

This leads to two questions for this game: Can Bradley get a single? And can Missouri State hold the Braves scoreless for an inning?

We'll find out as we continue here from Hammons Field.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MVC: Missouri State Misery

How bad is it for Missouri State right now?

With one out in the top of he fourth, Nolan Keane singled to left for the second hit of the day for MSU. Bradley pitcher Brad Altbach then walked Ben Carlson and hit Josh Mazzola, loading the bases with just one out, and giving the Bears a chance to get into this game.

However, MSU failed to capitilize. Chris Taylor struck out swinging, and Brayden Drake fouled out to the catcher on the very first pitch.

Everything is going Bradley's way...Creighton better hope this isn't an all-day sort of streak.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big South Game 8 ... Winthrop vs. Coastal Carolina

Coastal makes the change, switching John Mariotti in to pitch and leaving lefty Andy DeLaGarza for later. Winthrop is going to counter with righty Josh McDonald, who transferred in from South Carolina two years ago but fractured the tip of his elbow last season and missed the stretch run.

Winthrop really needs to win this game, considering its starting pitching is down to its bottom three guys. Win today, and the Eagles relax and can come back with No. 1 gun Alex Wilson for the title on Saturday. Lose, and they've got to go to the bullpen for three straight wins, not to mention playing a doubleheader today.

We're about 40 minutes from game time ... time for some Bojangle's!

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big Ten - Penn State Won't Stay Down

Top 6th - This might be a little premature, but it looks like Michigan has finally collapsed.

The score was 4-2, Penn State. Rick Marlin singled to left field, then reached second on a sacrifice bunt.

Here comes the Michigan-collapses part.

Garret Field hit a long ball out to right, and while Michigan right fielder Doug Pickens ran for the ball, Field slipped on the dirt halfway between first and second. He fell on the ground, his helmet flying to the ground, and rolled twice. If Pickens could have thrown it, Field would have been out at second - but Pickens was still fumbling for the ball out in right field. Field got up and kept running, rounding second and beating PIckens's late throw to third. A triple? After tripping and falling on the ground?

Penn State scored on the play to make it 5-2. And the media, sitting up here on the top row of the stadium, just looked at each other in disbelief.

It's still pretty early, but that might have just sealed the game.

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Friday, 05/25/07

A-Sun: Fireworks in the 11th

If anything is going to wake up Stetson and the Hatters home crowd, it has to be the play at the plate that ended the top of the 11th.

With bases loaded and one out, Mercer's Mike Armstrong flied out to shallow center field, and pinch runner Richard Bentley tagged and tried to score from third. A strike from Stetson center fielder Shane Jordan to catcher Mark Rood had Bentley pegged just in front of the plate. So Bentley dropped his shoulder and barreled through Rood, who hit the dirt but held onto the ball to complete the inning-ending double play.

Rood jumped to his feet and spiked the ball into the clay while screaming toward the Mercer dugout. Both benches cleared, but players were corralled by coaches and ushered back to their dugouts. Bentley was ejected from the game for delivering the blow.

Still tied at 1 going into the bottom of the 11th. Let's see if this lights a fire under Stetson.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MVC: Twice as Nice for Bradley's Rice

And there's your rhyme for the day.

Paul Rice led off the bottom of the third with his second home run of the day. This time, the ball was sent deep into left center and over the Bud Light sign, where one lucky cameraman has a souvenir. With the Bradley lead at 4-0, MSU Coach Keith Guttin decided enough was enough for Doyle, and RHP Tim Clubb came into the game to replace the battered Doyle.

However, Bradley's offensive barrage continued. Ryan Curry doubled down the left field line, advanced to third on a fielder's choice, and scored on a double by Pete Malinowski that bounced off the left field wall. The Braves now lead 5-0 after three innings, and I have a feeling that it could get even uglier. It was clear from the first pitch that Bradley came in fired up and MSU came in with a feeling like they want the season to end.

Maybe the Bears will prove me wrong. So far though, it's all BU.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big South Game 7 ... UNC Asheville vs. Liberty

UNCA notches two in the top of the ninth ... while the Goodyear blimp circles overhead, apparently in town for the Coca-Cola 600. That's all the Bulldogs can get and Liberty advances to tonight's game with a 12-8 victory.

A special thank-you to Jim Bob, who inspired countless posts and wisecracks. What a guy.

We sit and wait for Coastal and Winthrop in the winners' bracket while "Beat It" plays on the PA. Yeah, I know Michael Jackson's a demented freak, but "Thriller" was one hell of an album.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big Ten - Fisher Stadium Gets Gloomier

The Wolverines are at bat, and they're again facing a situation that they rarely experienced in the regular season - losing. This team is used to fighting from the start and building on a comfortable lead, not giving up runs at the start and recovering from a deficit.

With two outs in the bottom of the fifth, Michigan center fielder Eric Rose singled to left center and stole second base, adding to his Michigan school record stolen base total. He broke the career record earlier this season at home, and his stolen bases come in handy when he gets in scoring position with two outs. But not this time - Michigan first baseman Nate Recknagel, one of the team's usual power hitters, hits a weak single to first that is the third out. End of the fifth, Penn State is still winning, 4-2.

The fans are already starting to leave - people in blue-and-yellow jackets are exiting the stadium, purses and bags in hand. The small crowd is now even smaller, though the rain has finally stopped and some people are venturing down into the lower, uncovered stands. Yesterday, there was definite fan tension and it was obvious that everyone was waiting for the big hit, the big victory. Today, it's uncharacteristically quiet. It seems like even the fans are starting to give up on their No. 1 seed.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big South Game 7 ... UNC Asheville vs. Liberty

Liberty notches two more in the seventh, one in the eighth, and takes a 12-6 lead ... UNCA fan Jim Bob has shut up because a devastatingly beautiful girl is braiding the mullet.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big Ten - Penn State Ahead Again

Top 5th - Ten minutes after the Wolverines tied the game, the Nittany Lions struck again. Penn State's Matt Cavagnaro singled to start the inning and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Michigan starting pitcher Mike Wilson intentionally walked Joe Blackburn, a play that, with two outs, seemed questionable at the time - they didn't need a double play to get out of the inning, which might have seemed like a good excuse had there been runners on first and second with just one out - but, with runners on first and second, Cory Wine hit a long ball to right field that bounced off the wall, and as Michigan right fielder Doug Pickens scrambled after the ball, both Cavagnaro and Blackburn scored to make it 4-2, Penn State.

The intentional walk might have effectively sealed the Wolverines' fate in this tournament, but it's still too soon to tell. Michigan still has four innings to make up for two runs, but they've been playing from behind all tournament and, last game, managed too little too late.

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Friday, 05/25/07

A-Sun: Extra Innings To Come

Stetson went down in order in the bottom of the ninth, so we're heading into the 10th with the score tied at 1. Stetson starter Jake Hitchcock is coming out to the mound to start the inning with a pitch count just under 100. Let's see how long he lasts.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MVC: Power Burst from Bradley

In a tournament that hasn't seen many home runs (except for MSU hitting three in the ninth inning last night), Bradley is taking out their offensive frustrations here early on. Ryan Eigsti hit a bullet train shot that left the yard in about two seconds, and like Rice's homer in the first, it landed somewhere over the left field bullpen.

Bradley is feeling it today. They are excited to be playing, and they refuse to go down quietly tonight. Something tells me they REALLY want another crack at Creighton tonight. MSU still is showing NO emotion.

3-0 Bradley as we head to the third.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big East: Rutgers Forces One More Game

Rutgers withstood three Louisville rallies to win 12-10 and force another game between the two teams later today at 5 pm.

There certainly wasn't a shortage of offense. After Rutgers took a 2-0 lead in the first, Louisville fought back with 3 runs of its own to grab the lead. Rutgers put up 3 more in the 5th before falling behind 6-5 when Louisville scored 1 in the 3rd and 2 in the 5th. After Rutgers put up 6 in the 7th and 1 in the 8th, Louisville answered back with 3 in the bottom half of the 8th. But they could not muster anything more, and Rutgers held on.

The Scarlet Knights managed to score 12 runs only 10 hits and committed an error, while the Cardinals scored 10 runs on 10 hits and committed 2 errors.

Our next game features UConn and USF, with the Huskies needing a win to stay alive. A victory for the Bulls would advance them to the championship game.

Stay with Touching the Bases for more Big East action.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big East: Heading to the Bottom of the 9th

Gavin Logsdon retired the Scarlet Knights in order, so we go to the bottom of the 9th with the score still 12-10 in favor of Rutgers, and the 5, 6 and 7 hitters due up for Louisville.

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Friday, 05/25/07

A-Sun: Now That's A Double Play

Mercer got something going in the top of the seventh. Billy Shaughnessy was hit by a pitch and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Shaughnessy tried to steal third, as the following batter, Steven Karwatt faced a 2-2 count. But Stetson starter Jake Hitchcock struck out Karwatt with a fast ball, and Hatters catcher Josh Clendenin fired a strike to third get Shaughnessy and complete the inning-ending double play.

Still tied at 1 heading into the top of the eighth.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MVC: #1 PLAY HUNG

That's what written in big letters on the dirt in front of the BU dugout.

I don't know what that means, and believe me, I will be asking at the post-game presser (if we have one), but BU started off red hot. Dan Brewer opened the bottom half of the first with a triple down the right field line, and Paul Rice followed with a tape measure shot over the bullpen in left.

The BU dugout is vocal; they are fired up big time. MSU lacks that intensity right now, so this could get ugly.

2-0 Braves after one.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big Ten - Wolverines Bite Back

Bottom 4th - It's been a quiet past three innings here in Ann Arbor, but it's starting to get interesting here in the fourth. First baseman Nate Recknagel and designated hitter Zach Putnam both had hits over the head of the second baseman, and third baseman Adam Abraham's fielder's choice moved the runners to second and third. One out.

Catcher Doug Pickens hit to the second baseman and was out at first, but not before Recknagel scored to give Michigan its first run of the game. 2-1, Penn State, with two outs.

And left fielder Derek VanBuskirk hit a screamer to left center field, easily scoring Putnam. The small Michigan crowd is standing and clapping to the fight song - and Michigan is not losing for the first time in this tournament. The score is tied, 2-2.

The Wolverines have tied it up after allowing themselves to get into a hole during both games. The top of the first has proved to be the most problematic inning for Michigan as it allowed three runs last game and two this game, but with these two runs, the two teams are even with four innings to go.

Each team has just twelve more outs before one is kicked out of the tournament. More updates soon.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big East: Closing the Gap

Louisville isn't going down without a fight.

Successive 2-out doubles by Chris Cates and Boomer Whiting cut the deficit from 5 runs to 3, chasing reliever Jason Downey from the game in favor of lefty Matt Patterson. He hit Logan Johnson and walked Daniel Burton to load the bases for Isaiah Howes before being relieved by Kevin Lillis.

Before Lillis could even throw a pitch to Howes, who came into the at-bat 2-3 with 2 home runs and 3 RBI, the reliever balked in a run, cutting the deficit to 2 and putting the tying runs in scoring position. Rutgers head coach Fred Hill was immediately out of the dugout to argue the call, but to no avail. Lillis ran the count full before getting Howes to look at a called strike to end the inning.

One inning left to play, and Rutgers still leads.

12-10 Scarlet Knights, end of 8.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big South Game 7 ... Liberty vs. UNC Asheville

Liberty notches another run in the bottom of the sixth and leads 9-6 with three innings to go. The Flames' pitching seems to be holding up, but they'll have to go to another starter tonight should this continue. Plus, they'll be playing either Winthrop or Coastal Carolina, who will no doubt be P.O.'ed that they just lost a game that could have put them in the championship.

Jim Bob is still hollering but a couple of campus policemen have stationed themselves a few rows away. Jim Bob, great American that he is, is paying no attention to them.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big East: Now I've Seen it All

Todd Frazier just scored from second on a sacrifice fly to fairly deep center field. There weren't any errors or drops on the play, Frazier just kept running as soon as the ball was caught. Chris Cates was off balance as he made the relay throw from shallow center. Just another top-caliber play from one of the nation's best players.

12-7 Rutgers, mid 8.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MVC: Getting Ready for MSU-Bradley

The teams are starting to file back into their dugouts, and we're about 10 minutes from the first pitch between the Bradley Braves and the Missouri State Bears, as one team will call it a season at the end of this game.

Here's a quick look at today's starters...

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Friday, 05/25/07

A-Sun: Josh Thompson Hates DeLand

At least I would if I were him. With one out and the score tied at 1 in the top of the sixth, Thompson, Mercer's No. 3 batter, hammered what surely looked like a home run to left field. But with the flags in left pointing straight in, the ball died at the warning track and Stetson left fielder Justin Bass made a leaping grab to rob Thompson of at least a double.

What's worse for the Bears is Stetson starter Jake Hitchcock got clean-up hitter Mike Armstrong to ground out on the next pitch, capping a three-pitch inning against Mercer's Nos. 2, 3 and 4 batters.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big East: Air Show on the Beach

With the beach packed and the fans enjoying the offensive outburst by Rutgers, about 6 military helicopters flew over the water beyond the right field fence, giving the fans here in the park a little bit more excitement. Not that they needed it.

Louisville went quietly in the bottom of the 7th, drawing only a 2-out walk.

11-7 Rutgers, end of 7.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big South Game 7 ... Liberty vs. UNC Asheville

Liberty erases that solo homer from the top of the fifth by equaling it in the bottom. The Flames' Garrett Young reaches on an error and P.K. Keller, continuing a big day, drives him in with a shot up the middle.

8-6 Flames through five.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big Ten - Penn State Scores Early

Top 1st - Barely twenty minutes into the game, Penn State has already tallied two runs. Michigan catcher Doug Pickens dropped a third strike and first baseman Nate Recknagel dropped the throw to first, allowing a strikeout to become a man on first. A 2-RBI single quickly made it 2-0, Penn State.

Top 2nd - The Wolverines couldn't do anything with their first at-bat, but quickly shut down the Nittany Lions in the top of the 2nd with two excellent defensive plays - almost identical running grabs and mid-air throws to end the top of the second.

The Wolverines are at the plate in the bottom of the second, again attempting to recover from a two-run deficit.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MVC: Judgment Day Here in Springfield

Five teams enter today's action, but at least two will leave today, and if Creighton has anything to say about it, three will go by night's end, as it is judgment day here in Springfield. It's win-or-go home for everyone here today except the Bluejays, so expect some tight games here at Hammons Field.

Our first showdown is between the #3 Bradley Braves and the #6 Missouri State Bears. Right now, the teams are warming up, but with the early start, the crowd today should be much smaller for the Bears.

It won't be over for the winner either, as they'll have to return back to the stadium for the nightcap against Creighton, with Wichita State and Evansville facing off in between games.

The teams are warming up on the field right now, and we don't even know who'll be starting today, so we'll get back to you with that information, as well as game updates, as CSTV.com's coverage of the 2007 Missouri Valley Tournament continues.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big East: Scarlet Knights Won't Go Away

There doesn't seem to be any quit in Rutgers, as the Scarlet Knights have taken the lead back from the Cardinals.

Rutgers' first two hitters, Frazier and Bionde, reached base via a walk and a single. Third place hitter Ryan Hill then bunted back to the pitcher Meade, who had Frazier at third. But his throw went awry, scoring Frazier and advancing Bionde and Hill to 3rd and 2nd, respectively. Meade was lifted for Kyle Hollander, with Louisville clinging to a 1-run lead and 2 runners in scoring position and clean-up hitter Dave Williams at the plate.

But Hollander, who struck out 4 Rutgers hitters in 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief on Wednesday, could not stop the bleeding. Williams singled to right, scoring Bionde, and Tom Edwards grounded out slowly to second, scoring Hill to give Rutgers the lead. Hollander then hit Jon Gossard, before he was lifted for lefty Gavin Logsdon.

Logsdon got Tim Querns to ground into a fielder's choice, but Frank Meade Absolutely crushed a pitch over the double wall just left of center for a 3-run blast, and that home run must've traveled more than 400 feet. Donny Callahan - the 9th hitter of the inning for Rutgers - flied out to right, but the damage was done.

11-7 Rutgers, middle of the 7th.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big Ten - Michigan vs. Penn State

Only the most loyal of fans are here today - it's cold, rainy and early on a Friday afternoon. The stands are maybe one-fourth full, and the home fan section has significantly fewer people than it did just fourteen hours ago. Michigan and Penn State are playing in the loser's bracket, with the loser of today's game going home. With the No. 1 and No. 3 seed playing each other, this means that a high seed will be going home early.

More updates as the game begins.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big South Game 7 ... Liberty vs. UNC Asheville

Justin Schumer parks a solo homer over the Big South champion signs on Winthrop's right-field wall and it's 7-6 Liberty in the top of the fifth. The Bulldogs aren't going away but their pitching has got to be gassed, considering it's their fourth game of the tournament.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big East: Louisville Tacks on a Run

Louisville reliever Skylar Meade set down Rutgers in order to start the 6th, and then the Cardinals' bats went to work.

Chris Dominguez led off the bottom of the 6th with a single, then stole second uncontested. Pete Rodriguez bunted him to third, and Derrick Alfonso drove him home on a suicide squeeze. Pitcher Jon McCue air-mailed the throw to first, sending Alfonso to the second and chasing McCue from the game for reliever Jason Downey. Shortstop Chris Cates, the smallest player on the field at 5-3, bunted Alfonso to third, but he was stranded there.

7-5 Louisville, end of 6.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big South Game 7 ... Liberty vs. UNC Asheville

Let's play Hit Parade in Rock Hill ... as soon as UNCA takes a 5-4 lead, Liberty scores three in the bottom of the third and goes up 7-5.

Garrett Young singles and gets to second on a wild pitch (each catcher is getting a full workout today) before Tim Nanry Ks and Chris Brown does the same. Patrick Gaillard, a native of Taylors, S.C., near Greenville, singles to left to drive in Young and then P.K. Keller mashes one almost off the scoreboard in left-center. It was close to hitting the board but fell in the gap between the fence and the mesh screen over the lights.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big East: Runs, Counter-Runs

Rutgers put a 3-spot on Louisville in the top half of the 5th and took the lead, but Louisville answered right back.

Big East Player of the Year Todd Frazier led off the 5th with a booming shot to left that cut the deficit in half. Colby Wark then set down the next two hitters before allowing back-to-back singles, with the runners advancing to 2nd and 3rd after Boomer Whiting was slow getting the ball in. Wark then uncorked a wild pitch to score one run, and catcher Derrick Alfonso's passed ball scored the other, giving Rutgers its 3rd run of the inning.

But the Cardinals would not go quietly. McCue then issued a 1-out walk to Logan Johnson. He fought back to strike out Daniel Burton, but Louisville left fielder Isaiah Howes would not let him get off easy. Howes absolutely crushed a pitch over the Cyclone roller coaster imitation on top of the scoreboard in left centerfield for a 2-run jack and his second homer of the game, which gave his team the lead back.

6-5 Louisville, top of the 6th.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big South Game 7 ... Liberty vs. UNC Asheville

Whatever Jim Bob said to UNCA has worked ... the Bulldogs explode for five runs and lead 5-4 after two and a half.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big South Game 7 ... Liberty vs. UNC Asheville

Liberty makes it 4-0 in the bottom of the second after Chris Brown leads off with a single and Patrick Gaillard bunts him to second. P.K. Keller singles and David Giammaresi reaches on catcher's interference on a full count (the third time of the tournament John Whited has been flagged for CI). Nate Thompson then smoked a bases-clearing double for three runs and got to third on an error, but the Flames followed with two straight outs.

More importantly, this development hasn't shut up Jim Bob in the least. He's out there shouting through a rolled-up program, relying on "WHOOOOOOO!" on every at-bat.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big South Game 7 ... Liberty vs. UNC Asheville

Liberty takes a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first after leadoff man Kenneth Negron walks, gets to second on a wild pitch, gets to third on a wild pitch and scores after catcher John Whited tries to catch him napping at third base and rifles the throw into left field.

I haven't seen a succession of plays that bad since Little League.

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Friday, 05/25/07

A-Sun: Top Seeded Teams Play For Tourney Life

Under overcast skies in DeLand, Fla., Stetson and Mercer are tied at 0 in the bottom of the second. But by mid-afternoon -- weather permitting -- one of the top two seeds will be finished in the A-Sun Tournament.

Second-seeded Mercer (34-25) likely needs this game more than top-seeded Stetson (41-19), as the Hatters are virtually a lock for an NCAA Tournament bid, while the Bears would likely need to win the conference tournament in order to secure a guaranteed berth.

No. 3 pitcher Jake Hitchcock (5-1, 3.90 ERA) got the start for Stetson, and Boone Webster (7-5, 4.30 ERA) took the mound for Mercer.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big East: Good Hydrations- and Good Metal

It was only a matter of time before The Beach Boys made an appearance in the blog. It continues to get warmer here at Keyspan Park, and of course, the key is to stay hydrated. The press box is stocked with water, an array of fruit juices and sodas, and of course, coffee, making staying hydrated easy.

And as I type that out and think to myself how the pitchers are settling into a groove, Louisville's Isaiah Howes crushed a 2-out pitch from Jon McCue over the left centerfield wall, just missing the scoreboard. The Cardinals' fans are definitely getting louder although they haven't really increased in number, and they're proving to be a worthy opponent of the screaming pro-Rutgers school kids.

4-2 Louisville, top of the 4th.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big East: Perhaps I Wrote Too Soon

It's almost as if I've seen two different games already. After a dismal first inning for both pitchers, Wark retired the side in order for the Cardinals, while McCue needed only 14 pitches to work around a 2-out walk and retire the side.

Meanwhile, the stands are still mostly empty, but the crowd is filling in nicely on this beautiful day. There is a large group of schoolchildren sitting between home plate and third base, with a clear pro-Rutgers bias. Their "Lets go Rutgers" chants have been a staple of the last inning and a half of play.

3-2 Louisville, top of the 3rd.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big South Game 7 ... Liberty vs. UNC Asheville

And we're underway as UNCA goes down 1-2-3 in the first, but more importantly, JIM BOB IS BACK. Let's see if he actually put on some pants today to cheer for his beloved Bulldogs.

That mullet could inspire a song, it's so prominent. Seriously. It'd be a chart-topper within five minutes of inking in the last quarter-note.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big South Game 7 ... Liberty vs. UNC Asheville

We're just about ready to go here back in Rock Hill, S.C., with Game 7 about to begin at 11 a.m. I'm still impressed with how Winthrop's Jonathan Settle, who lost the closer's role earlier in the season because of inconsistency, threw four innings and gave up one measly hit against the Flames last night. Liberty seems still shell-shocked, but they've got the chance to erase it today.

The winner today plays again at 8 p.m., meaning the loser of the Winthrop-Coastal Carolina game later today will be making Ernie Banks proud and playing two.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big East: Pitching Nowhere to be Found

The name of the game for today's Rutgers/Louisville contest will not be pitching after a 35-minute, 64-pitch first inning.

It was a rough start to the game for Louisville. Starter Colby Wark could not find the strike zone - he only gave up 1 hit, but he walked 4 batters and threw a ball away on a pickoff attempt to first, and allowed 2 runs. It could've been worse for the Cardinals, but Wark was able to get 8th place hitter Frank Meade to look at strike 3 with the bases loaded. It was a 39-pitch inning for the Louisville starter.

Meanwhile, Rutgers' starter Jon McCue - 7-0 with a 1.70 ERA - did not fair any better. Three pitches into the game, the score was 2-1, as the first two Louisville hitters, Boomer Whiting and Logan Johnson, hit back-to-back doubles to cut the deficit in half. Then after McCue retired Louisville's 3 and 4 hitters, DH Jorge Castillo unloaded on a pitch and drove it over the left field wall to give his team the lead.

3-2 Louisville, end of 1.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big East: Day 4 Getting Set

Touching the Bases is back at Keyspan Park in Brooklyn, New York, on this absolutely gorgeous Friday morning. The sun is shining, it's about 70 degrees, and the wind is blowing out to left as we get set for two, three or four games on Day 4.

It could be anywhere from 2 to 4 games because this is a double elimination tournament. The first game is Rutgers and Louisville, scheduled for a 10 am first pitch. The Cardinals are undefeated and need only one win to reach the championship game. The Scarlet Knights, however, already have lost - an 8-1 thrashing by the Cardinals on Wednesday - and must win to force a second game later today.

Our second game is scheduled to start at about 1 pm, and will feature the 8th-seeded Connecticut Huskies, fresh off a walkoff win over No. 1 seed St. John's last night, against the USF Bulls. If UConn is to continue its run here at the Big East tournament, it will need to win twice today, while USF needs only to win the 1 pm contest to get to the title game.

The only meeting between Rutgers and Louisville this year was Wednesday's game, while USF took 2 of 3 from Connecticut in Storrs March 30-April 1.

Stay here as Touching the Bases brings you all the action from Brooklyn.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MVC: Day Two Wrap-Up

We're done with two days of exciting action here in Springfield, and with five teams left, tomorrow is definitely Judgment Day. We'll be down to two, or three teams left, as it'll be a test of wills in every game.

Quite a lot happened today at Hammons Field, so let's give a quick recap...

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Friday, 05/25/07

ACC: Good morning and good night

Yesterday's ACC tournament action in Jacksonville wrapped up at 12:50 a.m.

We just finished today at 1:15 a.m.

I'm bringing my sleeping bag to the park tomorrow... er, I mean later today.

North Carolina embarrassed archrival NC State 14-5 to set up a Bracket B winner-take-all showdown Saturday with Virginia.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MWC: Lobo Pitching Befuddles Aztecs... Again

Once again, New Mexico had San Diego State's number and once again pitching was the story as the Lobos live to see another day and send the Aztecs packing with a 4-1 victory behind a complete game from Jacob Norton.

This win comes on the heels of Bobby Lofromboise's gutsy complete-game shutout in a 1-0 win over the Aztecs on Wednesday. And as impressive as Lofromboise's victory was, this one might be even more so when you consider that Norton came into the game with a 6.37 ERA and 4-7 record. Norton finished the game with 127 pitches, six strikeouts, one earned run and just five hits allowed.

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Friday, 05/25/07

ACC: Pack kindly asks you to turn off your TV

NC State had better hope that the selection committee members turned off their TVs and went to bed early, because they're not impressing anyone who's watching this one.

Very few are watching in the stadium. When the session attendance was announced at "sixty one thirty two," someone in the press conference cracked, "That means 61 Carolina fans and 32 NC State fans."

After seven innings, North Carolina leads 9-3.

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Friday, 05/25/07

C-USA Tournament: This, that and a Recap

What a day! All 4 games offered its own uniqueness to a wonderful day of baseball here at Clark-LeClair Stadium...

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Friday, 05/25/07

MVC: Tomorrow's Schedule

Here's the schedule of tomorrow's games.

Game 1: Missouri State (1-1) vs. Bradley (1-1) - Noon
Game 2: Wichita State (1-1) vs. Evansville (1-1) - 3:30 pm
Game 3: Creighton (2-0) vs. Game 1 Winner - 7:00

Should the Game 1 Winner beat Creighton, Saturday looks like this...

Game 1: Creighton vs. Wichita State/Evansville Winner - 1:05 pm
Game 2: MVC Title Game: Friday's Game 3 Winner vs. Saturday's Game 1 Winner - 7:05 pm

Should Creighton win tomorrow night, they'll be in the MVC Title Game, and Saturday will look like this...

Game 1: Creighton vs. Wichita State/Evansville Winner - 1:05 pm
Game 2 (if necessary): Creighton vs. Wichita State/Evansville Winner - 7:05 pm

I'll be back with a final wrap-up, as soon as I can get back to my hotel room!

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Friday, 05/25/07

SEC: Ole Miss Undefeated

Ole Miss and Arkansas are your two undefeated teams after two days at the SEC Tournament. The Rebels down the Vols, 6-3, as Lance Lynn picks up the win, while Craig Cobb is handed the loss, his 6th of the year. And it's the 7th win for Lynn.

The turning point of this one was in the first, when an error led to the flood gates opening on Craig Cobb and Tennessee could never recover despite a Tony Delmonico three-run homer.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MWC: Marshall Faulk Sighting?

For an elimination game, there's not a whole lot of energy in the stands or on the field tonight... with one exception. There's a highly vocal and likely highly intoxicated guy wearing a Marshall Faulk jersey that's been cheering on the Aztecs with great vigor for all of their games so far. He's white, chubby and has a big mop of curly hair, so I'm pretty sure he's not actually Marshall Faulk.

Unfortunately for the rest of the Aztec faithful, he doesn't seem to be very effective tonight as the Aztecs continue to trail 4-1 in the seventh inning.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MVC: Creighton Shuts Out Braves in 1:56

Now that was efficient baseball!

Creighton wasted little time on the mound, completely shutting Bradley down in every offensive aspect known to man, and although Bradley's Chris Wright pitched a heck of a game, it wasn't good enough to beat Zak Moore tonight. The Bluejays win the game 2-0, and they do it in one hour and 56 minutes.

Moore throws 8 innings, walks one, strikes out eight and gives up only two hits tonight. Andy Masten set the Braves down in order, and Creighton will have an easy route to the title game.

WP - Zak Moore (5-1)
LP - Chris Wright (4-2)

More to come from Springfield, as we'll wrap this game, as well as day two's action.

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Friday, 05/25/07

SEC: Lynn Done

That'll be it for Lance Lynn. He goes seven innings giving up six hits and three runs (all earned), with the only blemish being the three run homer to Delmonico. Cody Satterwhite is in for Ole Miss to try and close the deal here in the last two innings, still 6-3 Ole Miss.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MWC: Winning Ugly

Well, the Lobos aren't playing pretty baseball, but they're playing winning baseball as they picked up another run in the sixth to extend their lead to 4-1 over San Diego State. It just happens that Tony Gwynn's Aztecs are playing a slightly uglier brand of baseball with a scoreboard line that reads:
1 4 3.
It's never good sign to have more errors than runs.

At least New Mexico's latest run was earned. Scott Gracey hit a high hopper up the middle that scored Jay Russell from second base. Of course Russell likely wouldn't have reached second base if pitcher Shane Kaufman hadn't plunked him with a pitch.

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Friday, 05/25/07

Big 12: Cats win 5-1

Huskers threatened with bases-loaded in the 9th with two out, but couldn't push anything across as KSU pitcher Daniel Edwards got Jake Mort to fly out to left. Not that deep either.

No punches thrown in the handshake line... actually, other than the coaches, there was no handshake line.

Going downstairs to hear the fireworks at the press conference. Can't wait to hear Mike Anderson's musings.

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Friday, 05/25/07

MVC: Great News For Bradley

Creighton's up 2-0 as we head to the ninth, and Bradley is three outs away from having to bounce back for a noon showdown with Missouri State, but the best news of the night for the Braves was just announced.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

SEC: Get 'Er Done

Lynn loaded them up, but Ole Miss kept him in there to get out of it. And got Yan Gomes to fly out deep to centerfield to end the threat and preserve the 6-3 Rebels lead in the 7th.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big 12: Karma? Good over Evil?... don't believe it.

If there were such a thing as karma or Good triumphing over evil, K-State would be losing this game by two or three touchdowns now. (Although Nebraska pitcher Aaron Jarosh just plunked Eli Rumler a few batters ago, causing a couple more ejections, so maybe it should be just NU by a single touchdown).

But instead, the Wildcats have increased their lead to four runs at the end of eight full innings and have just three outs left to put NU away.

An RBI single by Eddie Vasquez scored the much-hated Jordan Cruz from 2nd to put KSU up by three. Then, an infield single by Adam Muenster plated anotehr run to leave us where we are now; Cats 5, Huskers 1, entering the 9th.

If things stay like this, all four teams in Pool 1 will have a 1-1 record entering Saturday's games.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

MWC: Hot Hot Corner

The hot corner has had a little extra heat tonight for San Diego State third baseman Nick Romero. New Mexico picked up its third unearned run in the fifth inning to extend its lead to 3-1 and all three runs have come on Romero errors. Romero's first error in the second inning led to two scores for New Mexico State.

In the fifth inning, Romero commited two errors on the same play that led to the third run scored by the Lobos. This time, Romero misplayed a groundball that allowed Ian Hollick to reach first. To compound matters, he committed a throwing error to first that allowed Hollick to advance to second and Matt Hibbitts to score from third.

If it's any solace, Romero did score the Aztecs' only run and made a run-saving play with a strong throw to home in the fourth inning. That probably won't help him sleep tonight if the Aztecs go on to lose this game by a small margin.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

MVC: Creighton Extends Lead

Just like the fifth, CU started with a Steve Winklemann walk. And, just like the fifth, it was Michael Lam's at-bat that led to a Creighton run.

This time, Winklemann advanced to second on a sac bunt by Chad Ogden, and then advanced to third when Wright's pickoff attempt found its way into center field. Lam singled right up the gut to center, and Winklemann brought the tiny Bluejay crowd to its feet, as Creighton now holds a 2-0 lead as we head to the eighth.

Most of the time in college baseball, a two-run lead is never safe. However, the way this game has gone, two runs is a blowout of a lead.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

SEC: First Ejection

And the first ejection of the 2007 SEC Tournament belongs to....Drumroll please....

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Thursday, 05/24/07

ACC: Pack pulls a bad trifecta

Through four innings, it was 3-2 UNC and neither team had scored more than one run in an inning.

But North Carolina figured out the secret to the big inning -- get your opponent to commit three consecutive errors in the inning. The Tar Heels put four runs on the board in the top of the fifth and lead NC State 7-2 after five and a half innings.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

MVC: Stretching in Springfield

Zak Moore has completely handcuffed Bradley so far tonight. In what has been the best pitching performance of the entire tournament, Moore has walked one, struck out seven, and has held the Braves hitless for the last three innings, and we go to the stretch with Creighton on top, 1-0.

I knew that Creighton had good pitching, but this has been impressive. Venditte was fantastic in the first game, and now Moore is one-upping the Braves tonight.

Even though he stands to be the losing pitcher, you have to give a hand to Bradley's Chris Wright as well. He's only allowed one run on four hits, and that run was unearned. Most nights, he'd be in a winning position. Tonight though, his teammates have run into a Bluejay buzzsaw.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

MWC: Aztec Bats Wake Up

San Diego State finally started to figure out Lobos pitcher Jacob Norton and were rewarded with a run in the fourth inning to cut the New Mexico lead to 2-1. The Aztecs picked up two hits and two walks in the inning and scored when Brian Lucas knocked Nick Romero in from third base.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

C-USA Tournament: Eldridge comments on the play

After the ECU players took a victory lap around the stadium, high-fiving the thousands of fans along the outfield fence, Harrison Eldridge talked with the media, out of breath, with a smile on his face.

"Coach Godwin came up to me at third base and 'said second pitch squeeze, no sign'...He just threw the ball and I took off," said Eldridge.

I'm going to take a breath, then write a Day 1 recap...what a game!

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Thursday, 05/24/07

SEC: Coach's Son Comes Thru

Tony Delmonico just launched a three run homer in the top of the sixth that woke up everybody from a deep slumber, to cut the lead in half and make it 6-3. It went high into the night in deep left (the only spot balls have gone out the last two nights).

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Thursday, 05/24/07

C-USA Tournament: What a game!

Harrison Eldridge did it again, stealing home with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th to give ECU its second emotional win in as many nights, beating Southern Miss 2-1. This was a joy to watch, the stadium was full of emotion and it was such a great atmosphere for college baseball, it's a shame one team has to lose this one...

"For anybody that was here, what a great college baseball game," said ECU Head Coach Billy Godwin. "That's what college baseball is all about, win or lose."

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Thursday, 05/24/07

MVC: Creighton Draws First Blood

Well, it only took five innings, but we have something other than a zero in the run column.

Creighton's TJ Roemmich singled to put Chad Ogden in scoring position, and when Michael Lam grounded to third, Bradley's Paul Rice threw wild to first base, and Ogden scored, giving Creighton the 1-0 lead that it carries to the sixth.

The crowd is small for tonight's late night game, and neither the Bluejay or Brave fans have matched the intensity that Evansville's fans brought tonight. Then again, there hasn't been much to cheer about so far in the game.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big 12: Punk play... and I don't mean that cool music genre

Well things have exploded here in the bottom of the 6th. With the bases loaded and no outs, NU got a ground out and a throw to home. But K-State's Jordan Cruz needlessly slid into the foot of NU catcher Mitch Abieta, taking him out on the play as he was trying to throw to 1st base.

Cruz calmly walked to the Wildcat dugout, looking cheaper than A-Rod wearing Chanel No. 5.

A large throng from each team spilled onto the field, some NU assistants had to be restrained and NU head coach Mike Anderson was reading the Riot Acto to home plate ump Tom Svehla.

Well, while Abieta was still writhing in pain on the plate, Anderson got the boot from Svehla. The umpires all congregated, but nothing came from it as Cruz stayed in the game Anderson stayed up the ramp toward the locker room.

Things eventually calmed down amidst numerous warnings from the umpiring crew over retaliation. Ironically, the very next play was a re-play force at home, but KSU's Eli Rumler avoided contact with new catcher Jeff Lanning.

It's still K-State 3-1 as the 7th inning stench is now playing among the continued howls of the Husker fans.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

ACC: Bathroom Surprise

After three and a half innings, UNC leads NC State 3-2.

UNC broke the 1-1 tie in the top of the second. Tim Fedroff singled and moved to second on a HBP. With two out, Reid Fronk ripped his second hit of the game to right, this one an RBI single.

NC State tied it in the third. The first two hitters of the innings singled, and two outs later, Ramon Corona singled to tie it.

But in the top of the fourth, UNC again got to lefty Eric Surkamp. With one out, Fedroff was hit by a pitch and moved to third when Kyle Seager ripped a double into the right field corner. After a HBP, Reid Fronk made it 3-2 on a fielder's choice.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

MWC: Gwynn Gives Sewell Early Hook

New Mexico did enough to get Aztec starter Lance Sewell out of the game, but couldn't get any more runs on the board as the Lobos maintain a 2-0 lead through the top of the fourth.

Sewell never could get into a rhythm and after allowing the first two batters on base in the third, manager Tony Gwynn gave him the hook. Shane Kaufman took over with two on and no outs. He walked another base runner but got a heads-up play from third baseman Nick Romero who threw Ian Hollick out at home and got out of the inning with no more damage.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

MVC: Halfway Home in 55 Minutes

Somewhere in Jacksonville, Glenn Tanner is hating me right now. But hey, we did have a three hour rain delay in the first game!

Bradley......0 0 0 0 0
Creighton...0 0 0 0

The above pretty much tells you what's happened in the first 4 1/2 innings. This has been the pitcher's duel that we've all been waiting for here in Springfield, and it's definitely a 180 from the 10-run ninth we had in the second game!

Both teams have two hits in the game, and Creighton has one error, as a single by Paul Rice bounced out and over the glove of Creighton CF Robbie Knight.

I'm in full agreement with Eric Sorenson...it's terrific weather right now. We have all the windows open in the press box, and a cool breeze is blowing in. We're not cold by any means, but it's just right inside the press box here at Hammons Field.

Steve Winklemann just walked to start the bottom half of the fifth for Creighton. Will the first run of the game happen this inning?

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Thursday, 05/24/07

A-Sun: Belmont Wins

The Bruins are a bear of a team. OK, I'm sorry. But really, they are resilient. Just as they did in the seventh, the third-seeded Bruins responded to Mercer's ninth-inning rally with a run in the 10th to claim a 4-3 win against the second-seeded Bears.

Ben Petsch started things with a one-out walk and stole second to move into scoring position. Derek Wiley then plated Petsch with a double for what would be the game-winning run.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

MVC: Full of Goose Eggs

We've completed three innings in just 38 minutes here. How? Well, the scoreboard reads the following..

Bradley........0 0 0
Creighton.....0 0 0

Both teams have just one hit.

Creighton had runners on first and second with two outs, but a fantastic stop on a hot grounder by Ross Sinclair was made by Bradley 3B Paul Rice, who then dove to the base to beat a flying Michael Lam.

It's been the model of efficiency so far here in the nightcap.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big 12: Damn... I love cool weather!

KSU's lead has been cut to 3-1 after pulling a "Nebraska" and allowing a run thanks to a defensive error in the top of the 6th inning. (as I write this NU just committed another error and K-State has men on 1st and 2nd with no outs)

I only brought one long sleeve shirt with me on this trip, thinking it would be Satan setting the thermostat here in Oklahoma City. But to my shock, and pleasant surprise, I'm actually cold here tonight. I'm sitting in the luxury suite next to the press box with a bunch of other overflow media. So I'm outside. And my Scandanavian blood couldn't be happier.

We'll see if this cool front sticks around. As long as the rain doesn't stay with it, that is. It rained like a mother on my drive up from Dallas this morning.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

C-USA Tournament: electrifying scene, tough decision

Going back to the bottom of the 9th....

As ECU was in the process of tying the game in the bottom of the ninth, Clark-LeClair Stadium was going crazy, the players on the basepaths were waving their arms and players in the home dugout waving towels in the air, attempting to heighten the ruckus.

Southern Miss's Barry Bowden pitched a great game, its a shame that he couldn't get credit for the win. Bowden was on 17-inning scoreless streak (he recorded a a complete game shutout in his final regular season start), but was taken out before the ninth, in favor or USM's closer Patrick Ezell. Bowden had thrown 117 pitches in 8 innings....very tough decision to make.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big East: Huskies Walk Off

The third home run of the season for Matt Untiet was by far his best - and most important - as the Huskies won their back and forth affair against St. John's in the bottom of the ninth, beating the Red Storm's Colin Lynch in the process.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

C-USA Tournament: Drama, extra innings for ECU-USM

WOW! ECU just got 1 run in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game and send it to extra innings...

Jamie Ray drove in Broc Sutton for the tying run, and ECU had the bases loaded, two outs, full count, tie game and Drew Schieber took a pitch at the knees that was called stike 3 and set the ECU fans and ECU Head Coach Billy Godwin off. Godwin argued for a minute but returned to the dugout as he knows it is too costly to get thrown out with the game headed to extras....

This 9th inning scene was the most emotional inning of the tournament so far! Both closers are in the game as we go to the 10th.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

SEC: Cruise Control

After a wild bottom of the first in which Ole Miss piled on five runs, there is nothing happening otherwise. We are in the bottom of the fourth, still 5-0. Tennessee has managed only two hits against Lance Lynn. So I guess he's the guy in this one that will go 8 or 9 shutout innings!

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Thursday, 05/24/07

MWC: Lobos Strike With Two Runs

The New Mexico bats have got Lance Sewell's number and the Aztecs didn't have the advantage of an unusual double play to bail them out in the second inning. The Lobos capitalized on a leadoff single from Ian Hollick, a walk and a solid sacrifice and took advantage of a throwing error to take a 2-0 lead.

Both runs scored when Scott Gracey hit a ground ball to third base. Nick Romero’s errant throw got past first baseman Joe Spiers allowing Hollick and Adam Courcha, who reached on a walk, to score unearned runs.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

A-Sun: This Game Has Everything

A rain delay, a blackout, a home run and now extra innings. Down to its final out, Mercer strung together three hits to tie the score at 3.

Pinch hitter Andrew Einert came to the plate for Steven Karwatt and started the rally with a two-strike double. John Dortch kept it going with a single to put runners on first and third, and pinch hitting for Michael Langley, John Daugherty singled in the game-tying run.

What's next? A snow storm? Alien attack? Stay tuned...

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big 12: NU 1983 football- Scoring Explosion. NU 2007 Baseball- Infield Implosioin.

It's now 3-0 K-State here at Bricktown.

The Huskers defense has as many errors as this game has gone in innings. Four. In the 4th inning, after NU switched pitchers and brought in Aaron Jarosh, KSU went:
Strikeout.
Walk.
Walk.
E5 (on what would've been another sure double-play to escape the inning)
E6 (ditto... but this time no run scored)
Bases-loaded line-out/doubled up off 1st.

So NU was able to escape some damage with the fortuitous sharp liner. But other than that play, they're making some bone-head plays on what would be routine outs and even routine double-plays, leading to Wildcat runs.

Huskers are still in this game, but just like that '83 football team against Miami, they look like they took bribes to lose.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big South Game 6 ... Winthrop vs. Liberty

Jonathan Settle shuts them down and Winthrop wins, 4-1. The Eagles advance to play Coastal Carolina at 3 p.m. tomorrow.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

MWC: Drama In Vegas

There was high drama just half an inning into the SDSU-New Mexico game. Lobos leadoff hitter Matt Foote has been thrown out of the game by home plate umpire Jason Rogers. Foote led off with a double and ran on a Jordan Pacheco fly ball to deep center. When Brandon Glover caught the ball for the out, Foote went back to second base.

Third baseman Ian Nick Romero appealed to third base umpire Ray Leible and tagged the base, where Leible ruled that Foote had rounded third and didn't touch it on the way back before heading to second. By rule, that is an out.

Foote clearly did not agree with the decision and as he walked back to the dugout got a quick thumb from Rogers. It ended up being a double-whammy as Daniel Stovall crushed a laser to left field for a double that would have certainly scored Foote from second. So the Lobos lost out on at least one run and lose their leadoff hitter and center fielder.

Foote's a senior, so if the Lobos lose tonight, his college career is over.

Neither team has scored as we finish the first inning 0-0.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

MVC: Creighton v. Bradley Underway

Man, when the MVC wants to move fast, they move FAST!

By the time the post-game press conference was done, the lineups were being announced, the national anthem was being played, and we were set for baseball here in Springfield.

So far, it's been 1 1/2 innings of perfect baseball, as neither team has mustered a hit, and we're knotted at 0-0.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big East: We're Tied

It's become a back and forth affair lately at Keyspan and St. John's played along after losing the lead in the bottom of the seventh. The Red Storm promplty squared things up after Brian Kemp got on base, stole second and came around on a Deluca single to center in the top of the eighth. 7 14 0 St. John's, 7 11 1 UConn as we enter the bottom of the eighth.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

MVC: Key To UE Win: Ejection

Sometimes in basketball, it takes a technical foul to fire up a team. Today, it was baseball, but when MSU's Nolan Keane collided head first into Evansville's Kirk Bacsu, it not only cost Keane any chance to play the rest of the game, it cost Missouri State THE game.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

ACC: We're playing, and we have scoring to prove it

The first pitch of the UNC-NC State game came at 10:10.

The first run came at 10:12.

Both teams are swinging the bat, and both teams have put a run on the board after one inning.

Reid Fronk smacked the first pitch of the game into the right field corner for a double, a quick out later, soon-to-be National Freshman of the Year Dustin Ackley drove a pitch up the middle to give UNC a 1-0 lead. Pack pitcher Eric Surkamp allowed another hit, but got a 6-4-3 DP to get out of the inning.

In the bottom of the inning, UNC ace Robert Woodard walked leadoff hitter Dallas Poulk, then Pat Ferguson blasted a double to wall in left-center to make it 1-1. Woodard regrouped and retired the next three hitters, two on strikeouts.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

A-Sun: Belmont Three Outs Away

Sophomore Chris Manning has relieved starter Carlo Testa for Belmont to start the bottom of the ninth. Manning (2-0) has 11 saves and a 2.70 ERA. Belmont leads 3-2.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big East: Whole New Ball Game

A suicide squeeze later and trouble finding the strike zone means the Huskies have battled back to tie the score at 6 in the bottom of the seventh. And then there was only one out as Lynch couldn't find the plate as the bases quickly became loaded. The Huskies plated one on a groundout to third to take the lead for the first time this evening. It's afive run inning for UConn and the first blown save of the season for Lynch. St. John's bullpen is letting them down. At the end of seven it's 6 13 0 St. John's, 7 11 1 UConn and if you're looking for a St. John's comeback, don't count on it - the Red Storm are just 2-15 when trailing after the seventh inning.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

MVC: Aces Trump Bears in Wild Ninth

I ventured down to check out the loudest fans of the tournament in the bottom of the ninth. As I approached the first base line, Troy Krider had just singled to left, scoring Andy Pascoe and making it an 11-3 ballgame. The Aces fans were doing a Chinese fire drill around the seats, and t looked to be a quick ninth for the Aces.

Boy, I was wrong.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big South Game 6 ... Winthrop vs. Liberty

In the bottom of the seventh, Bryn Henderson reaches on a leadoff error. Eddie Tisdale tries to bunt but pops up. Liberty's Kenneth Negron is playing for the hit-and-run and runs toward second on the pitch, Winthrop's Kevin Nolan drives it right where Negron was standing and Henderson gets to third.

Mike Honce bunts in front of plate and Tim John (Phil's twin) charges. Henderson bluffs but stays on third, so John turns to first, except no one's covering and Honce reaches.

With the bases loaded and the score still 1-1, freshman John Murrian holds off on a full-count ball four, scoring one run. Chris Carrara walks on four straight pitches and Phil Carey bloops an RBI single. Two straight outs follow and Winthrop leads 4-1, six outs away from a win.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

C-USA Tournament: Rundown drill

With runners on the corners and 1 out, Harrison Eldridge hit a chopper to 1st base and ECU's Drew Schieber got caught in a rundown between 3rd and home, USM tagged him out as ECU's Dale Mollenhauer was running to third, so the Golden Eagles' then got Mollenhuer out in a rundown, getting both runners out and ending the Pirate rally.

One thing I learned playing baseball growing up: always, always force the runner back to his original base. The Southern Miss players must have payed attention in little league, because they executed to perfection...Golden Eagles up 1-0 as we head into the 9th inning.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

MWC: Aztecs, Lobos Square off in Thursday Finale

Thursday's nightcap brings a rematch of the best game of the MWC Championship thus far as New Mexico and San Diego State battle to stave off elimination after the Lobos pulled off a 1-0 thriller over the Aztecs on Wednesday. Tonight's winner advances to face UNLV in tomorrow's morning game. The loser goes home.

The Aztecs appear to have the pitching edge with Lance Sewell sporting a 3.28 ERA and 5-5 record while New Mexico's Jacob Norton has struggled to a 6.37 ERA and 4-7 record this season.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big East: UConn Not Going Away

Gordon Stevens just drove one to deep center for a two run triple that has brought the Huskies to within two runs again. It's 6-4 St. John's. That's going to bring on the Red Storm closer, Colin Lynch, in the pitching change as Gutsie exits and in comes with no outs and runners and first and third in the bottom of the seventh.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

A-Sun: Bruins Hit Lights Out

Literally. Belmont took a 3-2 lead off a towering three-run shot by Wilson Tucker in the top of the seventh. Two outs later, the lights flickered at Melching Field and half never came back on. The game was delayed as the lights were recycled.

Brandon McCall drew a walk to lead off the seventh. Matt Reynolds then reached on a fielder's choice that put McCall out at second, and Packy Elkins singled before Wilson's ninth homer of the season. Now, that's the Bruins offense we all know.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big South Game 6 ... Winthrop vs. Liberty

Jonathan Settle is just what Winthrop always thought he could be through two innings of relief. Dogged by inconsistency all year but holding on to a devilishly nasty slider, Settle has punched out three Flames batters and we're in the bottom of the seventh, tied at 1.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

C-USA Tournament: Forget something?

Bailey Daniels relieved ECU's Dustin Sasser with runners on 1st and 2nd and 1 out in the 7th inning. Daniels got out of the jam unscathed, and then bolted to the bullpen instead of the dugout? He had to go get his coat from the bullpen and then ran back down to the dugout to stay warm inbetween innings.

The ECU batters might have forget something also...their bats! ECU only has three hits after 7 innings. Barry Bowden's changeup is keeping the Pirates off balance. Bowden has great command of his pitches, and that changeup is nasty!

It's still Southern Miss 1, ECU 0 as we head into the eighth.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

SEC: One Third

The good pitching had to run out some time, right? Craig Cobb didn't live up to James Adkins' performance from last night for the Vols. Not even close.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big 12: Get your glove down... get your glove down!

You've seen it a million times. A play so easy, even Gilligan could make it without foiling another rescue attempt.

A routine double-play grounder to Nebraska second baseman Jake Opitz that would've ended the inning goes right between the wickets and allows a run to score and everyone to be safe.

Next batter, Eddie Vasquez, lays down a great sac bunt that scores a second run for the Wildcats.

So after two full here, K-State has gotten the drop with a 2-zip lead on Nebraska. Ouch.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big East: Mahoney Money

Two run double by Ryan Mahoney has just give the Red Storm a nice four run cushion. The left handed hitting DH sliced one down into the left field corner - a big two out hit for St. John's - Gutsie a little more margin for error as the game gets later and later. In the middle of the seventh, it's 6 13 0 St. John's and 2 9 1 UConn.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big South Game 6 ... Winthrop vs. Liberty

Cody Brown gets a successful sacrifice down and Winthrop elects to intentionally walk Patrick Gaillard, loading the bases with one out. Jonathan Settle whiffs Errol Hollinger on three pitches, although the second one was hammered just foul down the third-base line.

Then David Giammaresi bounces one in front of Settle, who flips to John Murrian for the force at home. Liberty scores one but wastes a beautiful opportunity as we go to the bottom of the sixth tied at 1.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big Ten - Michigan's Last Chance

In the leadoff spot, Christian just hit into a fielder's choice. Roblin is out at second, but Christian is at first and Cislo is at third - the cursed position for the Wolverines, it seems, in today's game. One out, Rose at bat. He's swinging hard at the ball, and if he makes contact, it looks like it could be a power hit.

And Rose hits a grounder to short that looks like it could be a double play for a quick second - Christian is out at second - but Rose beats the throw to first by a significant amount and CIslo scores. 4-2, Ohio State. Two outs.

Recknagel at bat. A short fly ball that's caught by the third baseman. The Wolverines are down and out.

Final score: 4-2, Ohio State.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big Ten - Two On for Michigan

The crowd behind the home dugout is getting louder and more desperate, clapping in a steady rhythm during every at-bat and loudly booing called strikes. Cislo is first up, and he singles to right center. And ... Roblin hits a lofting ball, almost to the same spot, that the Buckeyes again can't get. The crowd is on its feet, clapping and cheering, and there are now Wolverine runners on first and second with no outs - and the top of the order is up. Christian is at bat.

1 run, 11 hits, two men on base, no outs. They've already missed many chances to score. Will they take advantage of this?

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big East: Huskies Creep Closer

Donovan just launched a solo moon-shot over the leftfield scoreboard - similar to what Todd Frazier did in Rutgers win over Villanova earlier this afternoon - and all of the sudden the Huskies are right back in this game, trailing 4-2 as St. John's makes a pitching change. Justin Gutsie takes the mound for St. John's.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big Ten - Ninth Inning

It's the ninth inning here at Fisher Stadium. The lights are on, the home fans are still here (despite trailing by three runs) and ... Ohio State just got its third out to end the top of the ninth. The Buckeyes went 1-2-3 and Jenzen effectively pitched 1 and 1/3 innings to end the Buckeye scoring threat. Now, the question is - can Michigan do something with its last chance?

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big South Game 6 ... Winthrop vs. Liberty

Phil John, the second cousin of Tommy John, leads off the Liberty sixth with a triple and scores on Garrett Young's single up the box to tie it 1-1. Jason Franzblau is over 100 pitches now, which has got the Winthrop bullpen up and throwing. I don't know how much that will help, but at least it's better than the last time Franzblau faced Liberty.

He got lit in the eighth and coach Joe Hudak left him in with nobody warming up and Winthrop lost a game it couldn't afford to lose rather quickly.

Hudak's made the call and Jonathan Settle will try to work out of a two-on, no-out situation with one run already in.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

C-USA Tournament: First pitch, first batter, first run

USM's Jody Blount took the first pitch of the sixth inning over the right-center fence for a monsterous solo home run. The Golden Eagles now have a 1-0 lead and Bowden pitching very well, but as we learned last night, ECU has the potential for a late comeback after struggling offensively for most of the game.

Southern Miss 1, ECU 0 in bottom of 6th.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big East: UConn On The Board

The Huskies took a bite out of St. John's lead, plating one run one a 6-6-3 double play in the bottom of the fifth. The Huskies have actually been hitting St. John's George Brown fairly well, but just haven't been able to capitalize on the opportunties they've had. 4 9 0 St. John's, 1 8 1 UConn after five.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

ACC: Gonna be another late night

It's 9:18 in Jacksonville, and the tarp is still on the field and rain is coming down. Supposedly this cell is just about through here, but they'll have to remove the tarp, and the teams will have to warm up, so I'm not a bit optimistic about having a first pitch before 10:00. We did just have a group of kids (NC State coaches' kids?) re-enact the tarp scene from Bull Durham, though. A member of the grounds crew just chased them off, which drew boos from the few people that are in the stands.

A minute ago, there was a lot of whooping and hollering and both teams came out of the dugout to look into the stands. Supposedly, a girl in one of the luxury boxes decided to make her own entertainment by flashing the teams. I may have to do some investigative reporting to kill the time.

The second game is a hatefest, though -- NC State and Carolina.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

MWC: TCU Simply the Best

One thing is absolutely clear from the afternoon matchup between TCU and UNLV. It was no accident that the Horned Frogs finished 20-3 in conference play. They are head and shoulders above the rest of the competition in Las Vegas and looked almost flawless against an outmatched Rebels squad.

They made a couple of base-running errors that cost them some runs in the first inning and didn't take advantage of a bases-loaded situation in the seventh but still came up with 13 hits in an 8-1 win. They got strong play from every aspect of the game.

They hit well. All but one starter got a hit in three of them hit home runs.

They defend well. Austin Adams made a major-league type throw to home plate to help starting pitcher Jake Arrieta out of a bases-loaded jam. Any ball hit in the infield was gobbled up with apparent ease to make tough plays look routine.

They pitch well. Arrieta cruised for five innings then proved he can pitch a gutsy game in getting out of the bases-loaded jam unscathed.

BYU looked good in the early game, but didn't show the completeness that TCU displayed today. But with MWC pitcher of the year Jesse Craig taking the mound for the Cougars tomorrow, BYU may have the one weapon that can baffle the TCU machine. He's done it before, pitching a shutout of the Horned Frogs in the regular season and helps make for a very intriguing 1-2 seed matchup on Friday.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big Ten - Michigan Pitching Change

Top 8th - With two outs and a runner on first, Putnam gave up a single to Howell that put runners on first and second. The hit finally caused Maloney to replace Putnam after four runs and ten hits allowed. Ben Jenzen, sporting a newly shaved head, is now pitching for the Wolverines. He's been very unpredictable this season and is either very outstanding or not good - not usually in the middle. He can get the Wolverines out of a jam, like he just did to get the third out here in the eighth (on a long fly to left field) or he can cause it - like in his last outing, against Iowa in last Saturday's second game, where he gave up four runs in an inning where he hit the batter (twice) with the bases loaded. We'll see which night it will be for him tonight - but it might be too late for him to save the game.

The score is still Ohio State 4, Michigan 1. Michigan is in the bottom of the eighth, one out, with five outs left to score at least three runs. The hitting is almost equal - 10-9, Ohio State - but Michigan's lopsided 9-1 hits-to-runs ratio and its inability to capitalize when runners are in scoring position has been the difference in tonight's game.

Scratch that - Michigan now has only one more inning to make a game out of this. The Wolverines just went 1-2-3 to make it the top of the ninth.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

A-Sun: Mercer Plates Two

Nobody really expected this kind of game, considering the offensive outburst Belmont had yesterday. The Bears and Bruins had combined for four hits in a scoreless game heading into the sixth. That changed, as Mercer scored two runs on three hits in the inning.

Lead-off man Matt Crawford hit a one out-double to deep center and Eric Renfroe followed with a single, putting runners on first and third with one out. Josh Thompson then drove in Crawford with a sacrifice fly to deep center, and clean-up batter Mike Armstrong nailed a double off the left field fence to plate Renfroe for a 3-0 Mercer lead.

The Belmont bats also showed signs of life in the sixth. The Bruins used a walk and consecutive singles from Kane Simmons and Daniel Wagner to load the bases with two outs. But Mercer starter Blake Quarles struck out Brady Manifold to end the threat.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

MVC: Evansville Nailing the Coffin

No upset here tonight for Missouri State.

Evansville has blown this game WIDE open. With one out, Jim Viscomi walked, and advanced to third on a single to right by Robbie Minor. Kasey Wahl walked to load the bases, and Pat Tumilty doubled down the left field line, scoring Viscomi and Minor. Kirk Bacsu singled to center to score Wahl and Tumilty, and the Aces have chased Scott Carroll out of the game.

Missouri State sent LHP Chris Mackey to the mound to try and prevent further damage, but it didn't work. Pinch hitter Andy Pascoe just tripled down the right field line, over RF Shane Elenz's head, and it's now 10-3 Aces.

It'll take a sheer miracle to comeback from this one, and I'm going to go visit with the UE fans for the last three outs. More to come from Springfield, but this game is coming up all Aces.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big 12: Speaking of Joe Perry and the C-USA ground crew...

Joe Perry is a brilliant guitarist for Aerosmith. Easily worthy of Rock-N-Roll Hall of Fame placement. Well... not that the Hall of Fame should ever be the be-all and end-all of respectability. Hell no.

Joe's best work was probably early on in the career of the Boston band. I'd venture to say songs like "Train Kept A Rollin'" and "Back in the Saddle Again" were the type of guitar blitzkrieg that has inspired generations of axe-grinders. His later work can't be taken for granted either.

But his biggest mistake was that damn collaboration with Run DMC. I mean, that spawed that whole horrible rock-rap genre and further exaserbated the over-use and total reliance of some "artists" to go over-the-top with the sampling thing. (Are you listening Tone Loc?... hell, EVERY rapper for that matter)

Good work Joe Perry.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

C-USA Tournament: Ray sparks Pirates, crowd...but Bowden quiets

Jamie Ray doubled with 1 out in the fifth, sparking the ECU offense and the its fans as a purple and gold chant erupted from the Jungle to the grandstands.

USM's Barry Bowden fanned the flames quickly though, getting Jake Dean to groundout and striking out Drew Schieber, ending the Pirate surge.

Bowden has pitched awesome, allowing 2 hits in five innings. Sasser has also been great, allowing 4 hits in five innings.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

SEC: Vols And Rebs

Everyone wants to keep talking about how Tennessee probably punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament last night with the win against top seed Vanderbilt, but why not keep winning and stay in the winner's bracket to make sure? That has to be what Rod Delmonico is telling his guys as they head out to short leftfield for a pregame speech.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big 12: Just to show you how worthless post-game interviews are sometimes

Concerning Craig Stinson's game-swinging home run that put Texas A&M up for good.

Here's what Texas pitcher James Russell said about the pitch:
"It was a change up. I just left it up in the zone a little and you can't do that against a good hitter. He'll make you pay."

Here's what A&M's Stinson said about the grand slam pitch:
"Um, it was a change up that was low in the zone. And I was lucky enough to go down and get a hold of it."

Today's second game between Nebraska and Kansas State is about to start now.

On the mound:
NU: Charlie Shirek (2-6, 6.80, .321 opponents average)
KSU: Brad Hutt (8-4, 3.34, .267 opponents average)

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big East: Not UConn's Night

Another call just went against UConn and it cost them a run again. Parkes came up firing from right field on a single by St. John's Anthony Smith to home plate. Larry Day, UConn's catcher, on a bang-bang play, hung on to the ball as the Red Storm runner barreled into him in a violent collision. But the home plate umpire, Scott Inman, called interference on the Huskies saying Day was too far into the basepath, not allowing access to home plate. Day was a few feet up the line, roughly around the edge of the right hand hitter's batter's box, but it wasn't a blatant blocking of the basepath, and he made a terrific play to hang onto the ball.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

MVC: Bears Waste Golden Chance

MSU had a chance, as singles by Shane Elenz (who came in after Nolan Keane's ejection) and Josh Mazzola put the go-ahead run at the plate with just one out. However, the Bears could do nothing with it. Matt Lawson flied out to shallow right field, and Brayden Drake grounded out to shortstop, ending the Bears' chances of making this a very tight game.

Evansville is three outs away from staving off elimination. We head to the ninth, Aces up 5-3.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big South Game 6 ... Winthrop vs. Liberty

The Eagles get a fantastic defensive play when Billy Froehlich hauls in a line drive in deep left, hits the wall, then spins and doubles off Garrett Young at second. But they can't make it count in the bottom of the fourth, recording two straight outs and then Eddie Tisdale wasting his single by getting thrown out stealing second.

Tisdale redeems himself in the top of the fifth when Errol Hollinger hits one right on the third-base line. Bryn Henderson stabs and throws across his body and Tisdale hangs on to the ball although Hollinger smashes into him. Jason Franzblau gets out of the frame without further damage to the 1-0 Winthrop lead, but he's up to 94 pitches. He can go more, but if Winthrop expects to have him pitch again this week, he better sit down soon.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

C-USA Tournament: Much needed salute to the grounds crew

The grounds crew here at Clark-LeClair Stadium, headed by Joey Perry, has done a great job with the playing surface. 8 games in two days is tough, and the crew has done a tremendous job. They even got some love in the top of the 5th, gaining some cheers from the crowd and recognition from the PA announcer while raking the infield and changing the bases. Good job guys!

As for the game, no score between ECU and Southern Miss, with ECU coming to bat in the bottom of the fifth.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

MVC: Getting More Sleep

It's approaching 8:00 pm here in Springfield, meaning that the nightcap between Bradley and Creighton won't start until after 9:00 here tonight. With the end of that game likely to go past midnight, the Missouri Valley Conference has announced that game times tomorrow have changed to the following...

Game 1 - Noon
Game 2 - 3:30 pm
Game 3 - 7:00 pm

HUGE props to the MVC, who has made players (and media) their top priority.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big 12: Just a few quotes... read 'em if you want

First, Augie-isms---
Part of his opening statement:
"The difference in today's game was that we both got a man to 3rd base early in the game. We committed an error and they scored. We didn't get our guy to score from 3rd. Then, a little later on we both got the bases loaded in the middle innings. They got a grand slam. We couldn't get a run across. Those were the plays that accounted for the levels of separation that made a difference in the game."

On A&M using Friday ace Kyle Nicholson in relief tonight:
"I thought it was a brilliant decision to use their best pitcher to shut us down. It was a great move to get them a win tonight."

When asked what this loss means:
"First off, you can't afford to lose. Not at Texas. Any loss goes down hard here at Texas."

.
Texas A&M Coach Rob Childress---
On playing the first game today:
"I like playing early. I do. Because unless there is rain or something, you KNOW when you're going to play. It's not like sitting around all day and playing a 10:45pm game like they did last night. I like playing early anyway. In fact, I think we're going to get up early tomorrow and practice."

On the effect of this game and last week's sweep to Texas on the post-season:
"Well I hope that one weekend doesn't decide your season either way. We've played well all season and played a tough schedule too. We just hope the committee looks at that and we're able to play at home, because that's how you get to Omaha."

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big East: Calls Don't Go UConn's Way

The umpires killed a potential UConn rally, making two calls that are still baffling those assembled in the press box.
Basically, the Huskies had runners on first and second and UConn coach Jim Penders called a double steal. Catcher Brad Olt was up and protected his teammates, swinging and missing. St. John's catcher Brendan Monaghan threw to second late and the Huskies seemed to have runners on second and third with one out. But the umpire called interference and sent both Olt and Untiet - who was on first - into the dugout after a lengthy discussion around the mound. With two outs, Josh Parkes bounced out to the shortstop and the Huskies were left empty handed at the end of the inning. 3 7 0 St. John's, 0 6 1 UConn after four full.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

MVC: Bears Running Out of Time

Missouri State had a field day on Evansville pitcher Ben Norton in the first two innings, as they scored three runs on six hits against him. Since then, the Bears have mustered just three hits, and haven't come close to scoring, as Evansville holds a 5-3 lead through 7 1/2 innings of play.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

WCC Preview

Unlike many of the conferences, which include more teams than it excludes in its conference tournaments, there will be only two teams that will compete for West Coast Conference championship this weekend. Regular-season champion San Diego (ranked No. 9 in the latest USA Today/ESPN Top 25) will try to lock up a top-seed for next week's NCAA Tournament, when it meets second-place Gonzaga at Cunningham Stadium in San Diego.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big Ten - Buckeyes Strike Again

Top 7th - And the Buckeye fight song is playing through Fisher Stadium's loudspeaker again after centerfielder Matt Angle scored for Ohio State to regain its three-run lead. After Angle's single to left, he reached second before Fryer's screaming drive to Christian proved to be too much. Angle took third and easily ran home on the play, giving the Buckeyes a run with only one out. Runners are now on first and second.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big East: Big DP

A big 4-6-3 double play kept St. John's off the board in the top of the fourth. It looked like St. John's was on the verge of blowing this one open, but Odenbach enduced the chopper up the middle that was handled by Brannon, who shoveled it off to Donovan and slinged it over to Untiet to get the Huskies out of the frame unscathed. 3 7 0 St. John's, 0 4 1 UConn at the end of three and a half.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big South Game 6 ... Winthrop vs. Liberty

Winthrop on top 1-0 through three, but starter Jason Franzblau's already got 59 pitches. I think he may be having a little trouble with plate umpire Randy Hoback, who's calling a tight zone. We'll see if Liberty can take advantage of it and work over Franzblau — the Flames know more than anybody how weak the Eagles' bullpen is.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

SEC: Record Setting Night

It's mercifully over here in Hoover, as Arkansas remains undefeated here and will get the Friday bye and will not play again until Saturday. South Carolina plays Florida tomorrow in the first game of the day, which is a rematch of the 4-3 12 inning affair from yesterday. But this time the loser goes home.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

C-USA Tournament: I got it, no you got it...

With 2 outs in the top of the 3rd, Southern Miss batter Jody Blount hit a towering flyball in the infield and ECU pitcher Dustin Sasser halfway started to walk off the mound thinking someone would catch it and the inning would be over.

But first baseman Stephen Batts had his arms in the air and couldn't find the ball, and the second baseman was scattering near first to get the ball as it continued to soared. Sasser noticed, took charge and ran down the line to snag the ball with his glove. Pretty funny to watch, anyway no score between Southern Miss and ECU after three innings, both pitchers are performing very well. Golden Eagle pitcher Barry Bowden has yet to surrender a hit.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

MWC: Hutchison Impressive in Likely UNLV Loss

Trailing 6-0 in the seventh to a vastly superior team, UNLV isn't likely to pull off the upset over TCU today. But lost in the shuffle of the dominant TCU showing is a solid pitching performance from freshman reliever Matt Hutchison. He came into the game facing a 5-0 deficit after TCU hit consecutive home runs and managed the game well. He went on to pitch 4.2 innings of one-run baseball with seven strikouts against a pretty potent TCU lineup before Michael Goodman took his place in the sixth.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big East: One More For The Johnnies

Another single up the middle has plated another Johnnie as UConn's Odenbach has been getting hit in three short innings for the Huskies. St. John's leads 3-0 and Odenbach may not be in the game a whole lot longer - his pitch count is rapidly rising. 3 6 0 St. John's, 0 4 0 UConn at the end of two and a half.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big South Game 6 ... Winthrop vs. Liberty

Jason Franzblau rebounds with a 1-2-3, two-strikeout, 13-pitch inning, and the Eagles strand a runner on second.
1-0 Winthrop, going to the third.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

A-Sun: Play Ball!

The rain has ceased, tarps are up, Belmont has retaken the field and fans are beginning to venture back into the stands. And here comes the first pitch from Bruins pitcher Carlo Testa to the Bears' Mike Armstrong. Strike one...

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big Ten - Michigan's Back In It

Bottom 5th - Cislo hit a single to right center to start the inning for the Wolverines, then on the fourth ball of shortstop Jason Christian's at-bat, the ball hit Ohio State catcher Eric Fryer and careened into the Michigan dugout. Cislo took third. Center fielder Eric Rose flew out to third, making it impossible for Cislo to tag up and score. And the inning is done, finished by first baseman Nate Recknagel's grounder to short that easily ended the inning.

It's now the sixth inning, and the score is still 3-1. The fans are getting restless, cheering at everything they can but not having much to celebrate. The sun is starting to set here - it won't be fully dark until about 9:30 - and the lights are starting to come on. Fans are lining the wall along the first and third base lines, waiting for foul balls and a good play by the home team.

Rose just made a running catch at the warning track, almost 400 feet from home plate, to prevent a Jason Zoeller hit from making an impact for the Buckeyes. Sixth inning, one out, a man on first.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

MVC: Ace Baserunning

You've got to give credit to the outstanding baserunning by Evansville tonight. With Jeff Zelenovich on third with one out, Andy Smith hit a grounder to third, but Zelenovich beat the throw home, sending another huge groan from the MSU fans, while the small contingent of purple and orange are going crazy. Seriously, great spirit tonight from the Evansville faithful.

MSU looks helpless; despite the fact they're only down two. The Bears have eight hits for the night, but only two of those (both singles) have come in the last three innings. Norton has settled down and found a groove, and the hometown fans are sensing trouble in the air for Missouri State.

Maybe the Bears can muster a rally in the sixth. They'll have the 5-6-7 batters facing Norton, down 5-3.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big South Game 6 ... Winthrop vs. Liberty

Billy Froehlich lashes a two-out double past left fielder P.K. Keller and Tommy Lentz scores all the way from first. Eagles take a quick 1-0 lead but Jason Franzblau needs to buckle down with a 10-pitch inning to make the Winthrop fans feel really comfortable.

Man, that ice cream cookie was good ... I might have to go get another one.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big 12: Aggies make quick work of Horns.

Kyle Nicholson gets Kyle Russell to strike out looking... making Russell bark at home plate ump Jeff Heinrichs for a number of paces. But that also ends today's first game.

Texas A&M wins 7-3, making both teams 1-1 in this tournament so far. This also means Nebraska is in pretty good shape to make it to the title game on Sunday, if they dispose of K-State tonight.

Texas - 3 7 1
TxA&M- 7 8 0

Now down to the interview room to see if I get as lucky as Jean Neuberger with a coach freakin' out on his players or on the media or an innocent table or chair. Channeling Bobby Knight please.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big East: Keyspan A Sight

If you've never been to Keyspan Park to see a baseball game, you're missing out - big time.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

SEC: Hogs Equal Snoozer

I don't want to come across the wrong way, as obviously a 17 strikeout performance is in no way shape or form a boring evening, but when the Hogs are at bat, it's certainly tough to stay in this one. That's the second straight day Arkansas has played in a snoozer, so to speak. Yesterday's game against Alabama was never in doubt, and either has this one.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

C-USA Tournament: Standing "O" for the little leadoff man

When ECU's Harrison Eldridge walked up to the plate to lead off the ECU 1st inning, the fans at Clark-LeClair Stadium gave Eldridge a louder ovation than usual. I have a feeling the gesture had something to do with the scrappy centerfielder's late-game heroics last night. I still can't get over the emotion that this stadium and Eldridge showed trotting around the bases last night, knowing he gave his team such a much-needed lift.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

MWC: Arrieta Survives Pressure, Maintains Shutout

For the first five innings, Jake Arrieta cruised past the UNLV lineup without a hint of pressure. The sixth inning was an entirely different story as the TCU pitcher showed true grit and mettle in getting out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam with the heart of the UNLV lineup at the plate. The end result is the Frogs maintain their 5-0 lead and the Rebels take an absolutely demoralizing hit, blowing a golden opportunity to make this a competitive ballgame.

In what is assuredly the most impressive feat of his six innings of 3-hit shutout pitching, Arrietta faced No. 2 hitter Ryan Kowalski after hitting Calvin Beamon to load the bases. Kowalski lasted just two pitches, as he bit on an Arrieta offering that ended up being a pop fly to short right field.

Next up, Keith Smith, a .349 hitter who leads the Rebels with eight home runs and 47 RBI, took the plate. He bit early in the pitch count as well and hit a line drive to right field that looked like it would score Braden Walker from third. But Arrietta got a little help from a friend as right fielder Austin Adams gunned a perfect strike down the first-base line to home plate that Walker didn’t even consider challenging.

Cleanup hitter Blake Gailen approached the plate with the last chance to take advantage of the bases-loaded situation, but Arrieta forced a groundout to the shortstop that ended a potentially dicey situation for the TCU pitcher.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big South Game 6 ... Winthrop vs. Liberty

Winthrop's Jason Franzblau walks the leadoff man but picks him off two pitches later. I'd have to check, but the Eagles have got to be among the national leaders in pickoffs. Every one of their hurlers can do it well, especially lefty reliever Ryan Mullins.

Franzblau's through the first inning with no major damage, the only hit a dinker that dribbled off his leg and ricocheted just far enough to let Garrett Young get to first. Signs of trouble, though ... he was behind every batter; his control was spotty, making catcher John Murrian look like a jack-in-the-box; and he threw 28 pitches. Not good for a team hoping to stay out of the same bullpen that gave up four runs in the ninth last night.

Scoreless in the first, Eagles coming to bat.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

A-Sun: Tut-Tut

As is the natural progression of things, rainbows have given away to rain here at Melching Field. Tarps are on the field and Belmont and Mercer are huddled in their respective dugouts with the score tied at 0, one out into the bottom of the fourth.

The good news is that the rain's pretty light, the sky looks to be clearing and the local radar shows that just the northern tip of the storm is brushing DeLand. My guess is that we'll be playing within the half hour.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

SEC: Records Fall

Todd now holds the SEC Tournament record with 16 strikeouts in a game. And he accomplished that through 6 1-3 innings. This is very rare stuff. He now has 17 strikeouts, which breaks an ARKANSAS single game record that was held by two guys at 16. Wow. Wow. And the thing is, he can still get up to 24. Let me start poking around the NCAA record books...

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big East: Anybody Around

It's another sparse crowd for Game 2 of the Big East Tournament. They didn't give an attedance figure for the first game, but it couldn't have been more than 250. The contest between Rutgers and Villanova was so slow, deliberate and uneventful that you could hear the waves crashing on the beach a few hundred yards over right and center field.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

C-USA Tournament: Rice sets record, ECU-USM underway

With the 7-5 victory over Memphis, Rice has set a new C-USA record for consecutive victories with 20. ECU held the record with 19 victories in 2004. Rice will have the day off tomorrow, and try to extend its winning streak to 21 Saturday at 9 a.m.

No. 2 ECU and No. 3 Southern Miss has just started. ECU is pitching lefty Dustin Sasser (5-4, 3.59 ERA) and USM is throwing Barry Bowden (7-3, 3.42 ERA)

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Thursday, 05/24/07

MVC: Here Come The Aces

Think Nolan Keane colliding into the umpire got Evansville fired up?

Kirk Bacsu, who Keane ran into at home plate, started with an infield single, and he advanced to second on a throwing error by 3B Brayden Drake. Kern Watts followed with a single to score Bacsu, and advanced to second on a sac bunt by Jeff Zelenovich. Troy Krider was hit by a pitch, and Andy Smith advanced both runners into scoring position with a grounder to second. Then came Aces star Jim Viscomi, who doubled down the left field line, scoring Watts and Krider, and changing the momentum of the game completely around.

The Missouri State fans are a little stunned, as Evansville's fans are making a LOT of noise right now. They may be small, but they're as loud a group as we've heard all tournament, and they have something to shout about, with their Aces now leading 4-3 in the bottom of the fourth.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

C-USA Tournament: Welcome back, Matt

The last time Rice's Matt Langwell pitched in ECU's Clark-LeClair Stadium, he surrendered 4 runs in 1 1/3 innings, in his worst outing of the year. The outing came in a regular season appearance against ECU earlier this year. Langwell returned to the stadium, and fared much better....

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Thursday, 05/24/07

SEC: Another Record

Another Arkansas pitcher is in the record books. After a historic 2-hitter by Nick Schmidt yesterday, Jess Todd has tied the SEC Tournament record with 15 strikeouts through six innings of play. Ridiculous.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big East: St. John's Strikes First

Afternoon has turned into evening here at Keyspan Park, with the lights just starting to really take effect and St. John's had something brewing in the top of the first, putting two on with one out. They would capitalize. Sam Deluca singled up the middle to plate Brian Kemp who led off the game with a double, 1-0 St. John's.

Thanks to the stab by 1B Mat Untiet, UConn nearly pulled off a 3-6-1 double play that would have ended the inning. But Odenbach couldn't get there in time to cover and the next batter, Chris Anninos, got an infield hit up the middle to give the Red Storm their second run of the inning. UConn SS Dennis Donovan couln't shovel the grounder to 2B Dale Brannon in time. 2 3 0 St. John's, UConn coming to bat.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big Ten - Michigan Home Run

Bottom 4th - Michigan is on the board for the first time this game. Third baseman Adam Abraham homered to left field, sending it far over the 330-foot sign and raising the Fisher Stadium crowd to its feet. Michigan is now outhitting Ohio State, 6-5, but the score is still Ohio State 3, Michigan 1 with one out. Pickens the next hitter, singled to left center. The crowd is definitely awake now - though they can't clap to the Michigan fight song together or in time, a chant of "Let's Go Blue" is prevailing throughout the inning.

VanBuskirk hit into a double play, ending the inning. Michigan now trails by two runs heading into the top of the fifth.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

C-USA Tournament: Rice wins

Rice won a hard fought game with fifth-seeded Memphis, 7-5.

Joe Savery and Brian Friday each recorded 2 RBIs, and Matt Langwell pitched great in a relief of a short start by Ryne Tacker.

More to come about Langwell.

ECU and Southern Miss will start around 8:05.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big 12: Aggies blast another one, have a coach kicked out

Blake Stouffer parked a solo shot in the bottom of the 5th to increase the Aggie lead to 7-2.

But in the bottom of the 6th, Aggie assistant coach Jeremy Talbot was barking not-for-elementary-school-kids words at umpire Jeff Heinrichs and his mobile strike zone. Heinrichs removed his masked, leaned his ear toward the A&M dugout. Apparently Talbot said the expletive a second time, so Heinrichs gave him the heave-ho.

That, of course, got the ire of Rob Childress, who gave Heinrichs a good lashing as well. But he didn't get run.

Oap! As I wrote this, the Horns just plated a run to pull within 7-3. And get this, the subsequent A&M pitching change has staff ace and National Player of the Year candidate Kyle Nicholson now entering the game. Go figure.

His first four pitches hit 87mph.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

ACC: Cavs in driver's seat, two eliminated

Virginia's pitching dominated for the second day in a row, this time in a 4-1 win over Georgia Tech.

The Cavs move to 2-0 in the ACC Tournament.

Virginia's win actually eliminates both Georgia Tech and NC State, so they'll be playing out the string to impress the selection committee.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

MVC: Collison Almost Causes Brawl

With two outs and Nolan Keane on second for Missouri State, Matt Lawson singled to right field. Keane raced home, but the relay throw from Aces RF Jeff Zelenovich was on the money, and with Kirk Bascu holding the ball, Keane ran head on into him. Bascu held out, ending the inning, but a MVC rule states that a runner isn't allowed to collide with the catcher, so players from the Aces side, as well as Bascu, jumped up in protest.

Players from both sides came to support their fellow player, and the umpires had to huddle for a few minutes before making a decision: Keane has been ejected from the game for colliding with Bascu.

This might be the spark Evansville needs, as they trail Missouri State 3-1 as we head to the fourth.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big South Game 6 ... Winthrop vs. Liberty

The sun delay put us behind eight minutes but the Eagles are finally on the field in their home garnets. Liberty's sporting the gray and red visitors' unis, no blue in the uniform at all. Jason Franzblau wheels and deals, fires high for Ball 1 and we're underway.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

A-Sun: Ursine Showdown

Here's your vocab lesson of the day, per Merriam-Webster:

ursine
Main Entry: ur-sine
Pronunciation: '&r-"sIn
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin ursinus, from ursus bear -- more at ARCTIC
1 : of or relating to a bear or the bear family (Ursidae)
2 : suggesting or characteristic of a bear

Of course the word can be applied to tonight's game between the Mercer Bears and Belmont Bruins. The score is still tied at 0 in the bottom of the third.

Belmont had a scoring opportunity in the top of the second but stranded runners at first and second. Kane Simmons was hit by a pitch with one out. Daniel Wagner then reached on a fielder's choice that put Simmons out at second. He advanced to third as Brady Manifold singled to left, but a Brandon McCall fly out to rightfield ended the inning.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

SEC: Fantastic

South Carolina has recorded 15 outs in this game, and they have struck out 14 times in the process. Arkansas pitcher Jess Todd has given up only one hit, walked one, and got a measly groundball. So He's faced 17 batters and struck out 14 of them. Absolutely filthy. The SEC Tournament record is 15 in a game by Florida's Rob Bonanno against Georiga in the 1994 Tournament. It's the most since 2005 when Todd Doolittle of Mississippi State struck out 13 against South Carolina.

Just to throw out some names here of who else has recorded 14 before at this Tournament: Jeff Calhoun of Ole Miss against Florida in 1980, Eric DuBose of Mississippi State against Auburn in 1995, Derek Lilliquist of Georgia against Mississippi State in 1987, and Matt Treehouse of South Carolina against Vandy in 1992.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

MVC: Sound the Sirens

For every home run hit here at Hammons Field, a siren goes off to celebrate the occasion. It hasn't gone off too much here over the last two days, but Missouri State's Brayden Drake launched a rocket to the power alley in right center that bounced off of the huge Hiland Dairy sign above the fence. The MSU fans are rocking again, as it appears that baseball's version of Cinderella is wearing a bear suit this week.

Evansville has time to come back, but Norton has got to settle down and work the corners. He's throwing way too many pitches right down the center of the plate, and Missouri State is feasting off of it at the moment.

3-1 Missouri State after two innings.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big East: Pressure On Johnnies?

As St. John's gets ready for it's Big East Tournament matchup with UConn in Game 2 of the day's twinbill at Keyspan Park, the Red Storm know this game is a must win. They know there's a lot at stake in this one.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big Ten - Buckeyes have the momentum

Top 3rd - The fans here in Ann Arbor are ready to go wild - but they haven't yet had their chance. In the second inning, with two outs, left fielder Derek VanBuskirk and catcher Doug Pickens were on first and second when second baseman Kevin Cislo hit a long ball to left field. The crowd cheered in anticipation of Michigan's first run - but Ohio State left fielder Jacob Howell made a running catch, silencing the crowd and ending the inning. Putnam has allowed five hits in just two innings, rare for him, but it seems like he might be settling down going into the third inning.

The score is still Ohio State 3, Michigan 0.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big South Game 6 ... Winthrop vs. Liberty

Winthrop's Jason Franzblau (The Sideburned One) has gotten the call and is warming up before the first. The sun is just about to drop behind the trees way behind center so the batter will be able to see, and we're just about ready to start.

They sell giant ice-cream cookies here that are excellent. Unfortunately, the first bite will leave your teeth embedded in the cookie and the last few will be on your shirt, if you don't know what you're doing.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big Ten: Ohio State Scores

Top 1st - Ohio State just scored on a Justin Miller single that went through the outfield. Michigan shortstop Jason Christian bobbled it as it went up the middle, allowing a runner to score. 1-0. Zoeller's fly ball to the right of right fielder Brad Roblin allowed another run to score, and Tony Kennedy's line drive to right center just scored another run. Two outs in the first inning, and Ohio State is on the board, 3-0. Putnam and Michigan coach Rich Maloney are having a chat - we'll see if they can get out of this.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

MVC: Bears Surge to Early Lead

The top of the first brought groans from the maroon-clad MSU fans, and mumbles of "The Bears are back to normal." were being muttered in the press box. Evansville's Jim Viscomi singled, advanced to third on an error by MSU shortstop Tanner Mattson, and scored on a great baserunning play, as Kasey Wahl ran a third of the way towards second, as he noticed that MSU 1B Josh Mazzola had run towards home, ready for a relay throw. The move distracted RF Nolan Keane, who had just caught a shallow fly ball, and as he scrambled to deal with Wahl, Viscomi tagged safely from third to make it 1-0 Aces.

However, Missouri State answered back in the bottom half. After Mattson took a pitch to the head, the Bears got singles from Keane and Chris Taylor (who hit his off the first base bag), scoring Mattson. Keane would score on a sac fly to deep right center from Mazzola, and just like that, Missouri State grabbed a 2-1 lead; a lead that Evansville will try to come back from as we start the second.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

MWC: Frogs Get Scare, Recover Nicely

TCU pitcher Jake Arietta collapsed and turned his ankle when his toe caught the grass as he tried to field a ground ball past the pitchers mound in the third inning. He hobbled around for a bit and took a few warmup pitches before striking out the final two UNLV batters of the inning, easing the minds of the TCU faithful. The strikeout was his fifth in just three innings of work.

And just in case he needs it, Arietta got plenty more help in the bottom of the inning when Keith Conlon and Austin Adams hit back-to-back home runs off of Kevin Skogely to extend the TCU lead to 5-0. That was the end of the day for Skogely as freshman Matt Hutchison stopped the bleeding with three straight outs, including two strikeouts to end the inning.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big South Game 6 ... Winthrop vs. Liberty

Liberty swept Winthrop two weeks ago in a three-game set, effectively ending the Eagles' at-large NCAA hopes and kick-starting a 1-5 conference finish after a 14-1 start. Let's see if the Eagles are good and ticked off about it.

The Flames, meanwhile, looked good yesterday, rallying from a 2-1 deficit in the ninth to win 3-2 over rival VMI. Should be interesting to see if Winthrop coach Joe Hudak will go with Brett Moore, who threw six perfect innings against Liberty but still lost against Liberty, or Jason Franzblau (team wins leader) will get the call on the mound.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

ACC: Reading the Little League rulebook pays off

In the middle of the 8th, Virginia now leads Georgia Tech 2-1, and this time they worked Small Ball to perfection.

Brandon Marsh led off with a single, stole second, and moved to third on a grounder to the right side. With the GT infield playing in, Brandon Guyer hit a grounder past third for the tie-breaker. Guyer stole second for Virginia's 125th steal of the season, a school record. GT's Chris House ran down a blast into the left-field corner for the final out of the inning.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big Ten: Michigan vs. Ohio State

We're at Fisher Stadium for the Michigan - Ohio State game. Again, it's muggy and 90 degrees - the scoreboard says 95, but like the rest of this stadium, it probably needs repair - and the crowd is mostly parents with their little kids. The stands are only about half full, maybe only 600 or 700 people, but there's still five minutes until the opening pitch. But the media presence here today is huge, and the white media tent behind the stadium has great food - fruit, salad, tortellini, cheese-filled breadsticks.

Michigan just received its regular season Big Ten championship trophy to loud cheers from the home crowd.

Zach Putnam is Michigan's starting pitcher.

We're about to start - more updates soon.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

C-USA Tournament: Rice takes late lead, St. Clair getting ready

Danny Lehmann singled home Tyler Henley giving Rice a 6-5 lead, and Rice added another insurance run in the 8th, so the Owls now lead 7-5. Rice's stud closer Cole St. Clair just started warming up in the bullpen so it doesn't look good for Memphis, but the Tigers have battled all game long so we'll see what happens...

Memphis is coming up to bat, down 7-5 in the bottom of the 8th.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

MWC: Rebels Avoid Disaster, Dig 2-0 Hole

Thanks to some poor base-running by TCU, what looked like disaster for UNLV turned into a reasonable 2-0 deficit after the first inning. The game got off to an ominous start for the Rebels when TCU leadoff hitter Clint Arnold crushed a ball over the left-field wall for a 1-0 lead.

Rebel pitcher Kevin Skogley then walked Steven Trout and Keith Conlon followed up with an infield hit. It was looking really bad for UNLV. It managed to get worse though, when Austin Adams hit a double-play ball that shortstop Braden Walker bobbled, allowing Trout to score, leaving runners on first and third with no outs. But when it looked like the floodgates were ready to burst, TCU killed its own momentum.

Andrew Walker hit a sharp groundball to third base that looked like an out at first. But Conlon decided to make a run from third and third-baseman Xavier Scruggs made the heads-up decision to throw Conlon out at home. To make matters worse, Walker decided to make a run for second during the commotion at home, and catcher Michael Brenly threw him out for the double play. So instead of having two base-runners and one out, TCU was left with two outs and a runner on third.

Skogley didn't give TCU any more chances as he struck out Matt Vern to end the inning.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

MVC: Aces vs. Bears - The Battle Begins

A huge round of applause from the Missouri State fans as the Bears have taken the field, ready to make Evansville the next upset victim of their surprising run. For Evansville, it's do-or-die, as they need this win, but for the Bears, a win sets them up for an excellent chance to get to the MVC Tournament Championship.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

SEC: K's The Lineup

Jess Todd has struck out the side...Three times in a row to start off the game. Nine K's in 3 innings, as good as you can get. He's got some filthy stuff early on. Looks like a nasty change, an exploding fastball, and a real nice hook to his breaking ball.

By the way, speaking of the other strikeout king, David Price, scouts had him at 97MPH, and even 95MPH during the ninth inning. Ridiculous. He threw two pitches all day, his slider in the mid-80's and that explosive fastball. About 14 radar guns were in attendance, including the Diamondbacks assistant GM. The D-Backs have the ninth pick, and even he had to admit,"this kid won't be there by then."

Ya think??

Logan Forsythe just launched a homer of the leftfield fence, and it's now 5-0 Arkansas.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big 12: Stinson Grand Slam Blast

Texas A&M just went ahead of Texas 6-2 after three full innings here in OKC.

Aggie catcher Craig Stinson just sent a shot to the top row of the left field bleachers with three ducks on the pond. Monster shot, man. It's another example of how the Aggies big bats have come around too. In their first 22 games of the season, A&M hit just 11 dingers. In the last 34 games since, they've had 45. None as jaw-dropping as that one, I'm sure.

This was Stinson's 11th yard call of the year.

By the way people, if you wanna read something really, really entertaining, check out yesterday's Missouri Valley Conference post-game presser featuring Wichita State's Gene Stephenson that was written by Jean Neuberger. It's a freakin' riot... unless you're a Shocker fan of course. Nice work Jean.

See? THAT'S why these live blogs work so damn well. You don't get that detailed of a recount of an incident like that anywhere else.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

ACC: We're playing again

...after a 39 minute rain delay. Virginia and Georgia Tech are still tied 1-1 at the stretch.

Both starters are now out. Sean Doolittle tried to resume after the delay, but walked the batter who was the plate when play was stopped, loading the bases. Jake Rule (5-4, 2.60 in 34.2 innings, .281 BAA) came on and induced an inning-ending DP.

Jared Hyatt (8-0, 3.17 ERA in 48.1 innings, .249 BAA) started the top of the seventh for Georgia Tech.

Final lines for the starters...
Eddie Burns: 6 innings, 5 hits, 1 earned run, 1 walk, 5 Ks
Doolittle: 5.1 innings, 4 hits, 1 earned run, 3 walks, 8 Ks

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Thursday, 05/24/07

SEC: Todd Spot On

Arkansas' Todd has blown through the first two innings, triking out the first six batters. That's really impressive. Can't say I've seen that in quite a long time. It's the first time this season the Razorbacks have struck out six in a row, let alone to start the game. Let's see if he can keep it up here in the third, as the Razorbacks got him two runs in the first to get him a lead. Forsythe and Habmlin each with RBI's.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

A-Sun: Down Goes Stetson

How appropriate is it that a rainbow began to form just behind the Jacksonville dugout just as the Dolphins wrapped up a 4-1 win against top-seeded Stetson? By the time the teams finished congratulating each other, the end of the rainbow appeared just beyond the Hatters' dugout. Stetson's pot of gold: it could have to win double headers Friday and Saturday in order to win the A-Sun tournament.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big 12: Shoot! I missed a few half-innings

Texas is now up 2-1 as we go to the bottom of the 3rd inning.

I was talking on an Omaha radio show for the past 15 minutes or so. Sorry, gotta give my hometown the love people. Me and the talk-show host, Matt Perrault, were going back-and-forth about the need for a new baseball stadium to replace Rosenblatt. YOU got an opinion on it? Drop a line here.

It's still dark and overcast here in OKC. I took off my boxing gloves and am back to watching the game now.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

C-USA Tournament: 5-4-3

Rice loaded the bases in the top of the 6th and coach Graham pinch-hit Chad Lembeck for Jared Gayhart with 1 out, but things didn't quite work out the way he had planned...

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Thursday, 05/24/07

Big East: Cats Go Quietly

Rutgers wrapped up an 11-0 win over Villanova, dispatching the Wildcats from the Big East Tournament behind Todd Frazier, who tortured Nova's pitchers to the tune of three doubles and a home run. The only blemish for Frazier, who clearly showed he was the best player on the field, came on the WIldcats ninth hit of the game that he may have had a chance to make a play on, but a hard hit grounder in the hole glanced off his glove and into left field. It certainly didn't take away from what he did at the plate where he absolutely just punished Nova's pitchers.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

MVC: A Kinder, Gentler Gene

For the first time all week, Gene Stephenson had a smile on his face. What's even more amazing is that even he couldn't believe he was smiling, despite Wichita State's 4-2 victory against Southern Illinois today.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

MWC: No Dogs Today

The lunch options at Earl E. Wilson stadium consist of hot dogs, jumbo hot dogs and polish dogs. I went high class and got a polish dog yestersday, but with the quick run through the morning game today, we had enough time for a real lunch break so I could expand my diet beyond the dog variety. My body thanks BYU and New Mexico for their efficient play this morning.

The afternoon game just got underway and we get our first look at the conference favorite TCU Horned Frogs who have the tools to roll through the hometown UNLV Rebels. TCU brings Jake Arrieta with his 3.36 ERA and 8-3 record along with a lineup full of .300-plus hitters to the table today. It will be a tough test for the home team.

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Thursday, 05/24/07

ACC: Short Rain Delay

We had a small cell blow through the area, umpires halted the game, and the tarp when on the field.

They're getting the tarp off now, and the game is scheduled to resume at 6:25.

Georgia Tech has runners on 1st and 2nd with one out in the bottom of the sixth.

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Thursday, 05/24/07