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."