We’ve got a couple of interesting news items from last week to pass along. First off, Miami junior lefthander Eric Erickson had reconstructive elbow injury that will force him to miss all of 2009. Erickson, who went 10-4, 2.50 as a freshman and 9-1, 4.15 as a sophomore this spring while battling elbow soreness, ranked No. 84 on BA’s top 100 college prospects list for the upcoming draft. Losing him is a major blow to the Hurricanes, who appeared in our early 2009 College World Series prediction largely because of their one-two punch of lefthanders Chris Hernandez and Erickson, and because Joey Terdaslovich was expected to step into Yonder Alonso’s shoes as a power-hitting first baseman. Erickson is now out for the year, and Terdoslavich has transferred to Long Beach State.

In other news, the Texas Collegiate League announced it would expand to five teams in 2009. An expansion team will play in Victoria, Texas, in 2009. The franchise, which will be owned and operated by local businessman Tracy Young, will play in historic Riverside Stadium, which has housed Victoria’s minor league franchises in the past. The last minor league franchise to call the city home was the Victoria Rosebuds of the Lone Star League in 1977.

"We are so happy to welcome Victoria to the TCL," league president Uri Geva said in a statement. "This is a great market with a wonderful, historic facility, and with Tracy leading the charge, we’re sure that Victoria will be a strong franchise for years to come."

Oklahoma State lefthander Andrew Oliver has entered into a confidential settlement agreement with his former advisers, the Baratta brothers. Oliver had sued the Barattas and the NCAA after Oliver was suspended indefinitely just before the Stillwater Regional, after allegations had surfaced that the Barattas had represented Oliver as agents when he was in high school.

As for the case against the NCAA, per the Oklahoman: "The previous trial date of Dec. 8 has been replaced with a court-sanctioned mediation on that date in Ohio. If that mediation is unsuccessful, the trial is scheduled for Jan. 5, 2009. The case has been put under a gag order, and most of the evidence in the case has been sealed."

At last, it appears a resolution is close for Oliver, and for the Cowboys.

On the floor of the 2008 American Baseball Coaches Association convention in Philadelphia, several coaches bemoaned their lack of involvement in college baseball’s decision-making process and spoke emphatically about the need for a summit where every Division I coach could say his piece and hear others do the same.

That vision came to fruition this week in Indianapolis. ABCA executive director Dave Keilitz invited every Division I head coach to a two-day meeting in the NCAA’s home city, and the response was tremendous. Coaches from 164 schools and 29 of the 30 conferences attended the summit, which lasted from 8 a.m. to just after 5 p.m. on Monday and from 8 until 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday.

"The feedback we’ve gotten throughout the last two days was outstanding, so I feel it really went over well," Keilitz said. "I did not know what to expect–we’ve never done this before. My biggest fear was we’d throw ourselves a party and no one would show up." [...] Continue Reading »

A week after Pepperdine rallied from a five-run deficit to force an 8-8 tie with Long Beach State in a fall exhibition, the Waves cruised to a 14-3 win over the Dirtbags in Malibu on Sunday. Junior transfer Collin Rooney blasted a three-run homer in the eighth inning that broke open a four-run game, and the Waves tacked on five more runs over the final two innings of the predetermined 10-inning contest, with help from four Long Beach errors. The Dirtbags made six errors in the game.

Pepperdine’s pitching should be its strength in 2009, but its arms were far from overpowering Sunday, as seven Wave pitchers combined to issue 10 walks and allow eight hits. But Long Beach stranded 13 runners, while Pepperdine stranded just six. [...] Continue Reading »

The Central Illinois Collegiate League announced Monday that it will change its name to the Prospect League and will expand from five to 11 teams in 2009. The league will now stretch from Missouri to Pennsylvania.

The existing franchises (Danville, Dubois County, Dupage, Quincy and Springfield) will play in the West Division along with an expansion franchise based in Hannibal, Mo. The East Division will be composed of five expansion teams, based in Chillicothe, Ohio; Richmond, Ind.; Lorain, Ohio; Butler, Pa.; and Slippery Rock, Pa. [...] Continue Reading »