Three College World Series start this weekend, beginning Friday at 11 a.m. in Appleton, Wis., where the Division III World Series is being held. The NAIA World Series will begin later in the day in Lewiston, Idaho, and Division II starts Saturday at 1 p.m. in Cary, N.C.

The Division II Series headliner is Mount Olive (N.C.) righthander Carter Capps, the top small college prospect in this year’s draft. Capps was picked as preseason Pitcher of the Year and followed that up by remaining undefeated in his career with a 14-0, 1.37 mark. He has struck out 124 batters in 111 innings. Capps broke the Division II record for consecutive victories, extending his career winning streak to 24 games. Mount Olive is chasing its second national championship in four years and will likely be the fan favorite in Cary. Mount Olive, the official host school, is located about an hour and a half from Cary.

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BA intern Kyle Dugan updates the national junior-college postseason picture:

San Joaquin Delta Wins COA Title

In a state title series matching the top two seeds from Northern California, San Joaquin Delta, based in Stockton, defeated defending state champion Ohlone twice to win its first state juco championship since 1959.

In the clincher at Bakersfield JC, lefthander Jeff McKenzie earned his first victory since his American Legion days in 2009. McKenzie was a .237 hitter as the Mustangs’ regular center fielder and had pitched five innings in four games over the last two seasons prior to the state championship game. Named the tournament MVP, McKenzie went the distance, striking out seven. While he allowed an unearned run and seven hits while walking three, he picked four runners off at first base. [...] Continue Reading »

Ed Cheff, who led Lewis-Clark (Idaho) State to 16 national championships at the NAIA level in 34 seasons, announced his retirement Wednesday as head baseball coach. He'll be replaced by Gary Picone, currently LCSC's assistant athletic director, while Gus Knickrehm will remain as the associate head coach.

Cheff posted a 1,705-430-2 record with the Warriors, a .799 winning percentage. His win total ranks second only to Wichita State’s Gene Stephenson’s 1,724 wins with the same program. His win total also is fourth all-time among all college baseball coaches. [...] Continue Reading »

By Bubba Brown

Division II

The Division II World Series bracket is set and the double-elimination tournament is ready to kick off Saturday at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C. Here’s a look at the eight teams that will be competing for the title.

Atlantic Region Champion—Kutztown (Pa.): After losing the first game of the regional, the Golden Bears won four straight, including head coach Chris Blum’s 300th career win, to return to the D-II World Series for the first time since 2007. [...] Continue Reading »

Gary Carter is leaving the Atlantic League for Division II baseball.

Carter, the Hall of Fame catcher best known as a player for the Expos and Mets, will become head coach at Division II Palm Beach Atlantic, near his Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., home. Carter managed the Long Island Ducks in 2009 and in the independent Golden League in 2008, after managing for two seasons in the Mets farm system.

Carter, 55, has lived in the area since 1982—the Expos used to have their spring training home in West Palm Beach—and his daughter is a softball coach at the school. He will work with present Sailfish head coach Rob Avila this coming season and will take over the program on his own on June 1, 2010.

He’s the second Hall of Famer coaching in college, joining San Diego State’s Tony Gwynn.

Centenary announced Tuesday that it was dropping from Division I to Division III in all sports. According to the press release the Louisiana college released, the school will compete in the Summit League for two more years, and will honor the scholarships of current players.

“This is one part of an overall wide-ranging plan which will be implemented by incoming President Dr. David Rowe,” Ed Crawford, the acting chairman of the school’s Board of Trustees, said in a press release. “Centenary must and will restructure its overall strategy to achieve financial and academic stability. We on the Board look forward to working with President Rowe as he helps rebuild an even more firmly established Centenary College as a leading institution of higher education in the South and in the nation.” [...] Continue Reading »

Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) doesn’t just dominate NAIA; besides winning 16 championships over the last 30 or so years, LCSC also has become the host site of the NAIA World Series, and gets a bid to the tournament as host.

But LCSC won’t win it all this year. The Warriors were ousted Monday by Southern Poly (Ga.), losing 9-6 to go 0-2 in the event. The Warriors had won three straight titles, but injuries and suspensions had diminished this year’s team, which finished just 40-15 after losses to Southern Poly and Oklahoma City in the World Series.

Southern Poly got a 5-for-5 day from Jono Waugh and the 11th win of the season from junior righty David Harden, a Mercer transfer.

HOUSTON–Gerrit Cole generated most of the buzz at Minute Maid Park by lighting up the radar guns, but Kendal Volz got the all-important "W". The Baylor junior righthander turned in seven masterful innings, allowing no runs, four hits and three walks while striking out six in a 5-1 victory against UCLA. Bruins ace Gerrit Cole was nearly as good, allowing just one unearned run on two hits and five walks over six innings, striking out eight.

"Kendal, I thought, was just really, really efficient," Baylor coach Steve Smith said. "He just pitched. He looked like a pretty polished guy–he had three pitches going and just really made big pitches several different times in the game. Gerrit, obviously, just has a really special arm . . . It was pretty clear early on we were going to have to be very disciplined, take some pitches, try to get him out of the game, because he’s just got a big, big arm."

Cole touched 99 mph in the first inning on the first pitch to No. 2 hitter Joey Hainsfurther (a swinging strike). He sat 94-98 for the entire inning and struck out the side (on a pair of 97 mph heaters and another at 94), but Baylor got an unearned run in between. [...] Continue Reading »

NAIA powerhouse Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) won its third straight title and seventh in the last 10 years by twice defeating top-seeded Lee (Tenn.) in the championship round of the 2008 Avista NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho. The title is the Warriors’ 16th national championship in school history–the most among all NAIA members–and reaffirms LCSC as the premier dynasty in college baseball.

The top of LCSC’s order fueled an 8-3 victory over the Flames in the second game of the championship round. Brent Wyatt, Josh Ashenbrenner, Kyle Greene and Brian Ward combined to hit 9-for-19 in the contest, driving in four runs. The Warriors also used a trio of pitchers to stifle the Flames, allowing seven hits and just two earned runs. [...] Continue Reading »

Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) needed all nine innings on Thursday to keep its drive for a three-peat alive, scoring three runs in the final frame to defeat Lee (Tenn.) and force a deciding championship game in the Avista NAIA World Series. The schools will take Harris Field for the final time tonight to play the rematch, which is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. (PST). Down by two runs heading into the top of the ninth, Chris Valencia and Bernard Pena led off the inning with two base knocks for LCSC before Kyle Greene hit a two-run single to shallow left-center. The tie was broken when Brian Ward found a gap in the outfield to double home Greene, making the score 7-6 in favor of the Warriors. [...] Continue Reading »

Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) College’s quest for a third consecutive NAIA national title and seventh in the last 10 years will not come without a hitch. The great college baseball dynasty got a scare on Monday evening when the Warriors needed extra innings to defeat Oklahoma City 9-5 at the Avista NAIA World Series in their hometown of Lewiston, Idaho.

Senior outfielder Mike Rivera proved the hero for LCSC when he belted a solo home run to right field off Oklahoma City righthander Garrett Parker in the 12th inning, catapulting the Warriors to a victory over the No. 2 overall seed in the tournament. The win was their 55th of the season and means the team cannot finish lower than third place. [...] Continue Reading »

For the first time since 1988, a Florida team has won the NJCAA Division I World Series. Chipola College defeated top-ranked New Mexico Junior College 7-3 in front of 9,593 at Suplizio Field in the national championship in Grand Junction, Colo. The win gives the school its first baseball championship.

Chipola’s Ryan Chaffee pitched a complete game five-hitter while striking out eight against a New Mexico team that was averaging nearly 10 runs a game in tournament play. Chipola’s Logan Pierce, Paul Gatchel and Tom Hatcher led the Indians’ offensive attack as they each collected three hits in the championship game. Trey Manz added a home run in the fourth. [...] Continue Reading »

BA intern Ben Badler wraps up the JC action outside of Grand Junction, Colo., as California and the Pacific Northwest–which do NOT send their teams to the NJCAA event in Colorado–settled their championships.

In the Golden State, freshman Bryant Hollingsworth allowed one run in a complete-game victory for Riverside Community College, which defeated Cypress 6-1 to win the California Community Colleges championship on May 28.

Hollingsworth (7-1) did not allow a run until the ninth inning, recording six strikeouts, one walk and allowing six hits in the process. The complete game was the fifth of Hollingsworth’s 14 starts this season. [...] Continue Reading »

The Tampa Spartans have done it again. The top-ranked Spartans (53-10) defeated Columbus State (Ga.) 7-2 Friday to win their school’s fifth Division II national championship. Tampa also became the first school to win back-to-back titles since it accomplished the same feat in 1992-93, led by current head coach Joe Urso at second base.

All-American closer Jonathan Holt (4-2), made the surprise start and threw a complete game six-hitter, giving up only one earned run and striking out eight without yielding a walk. Holt, ranked as the 148th draft prospect in our 2007 draft preview, had thrown 57 innings in 30 games this season and picked up his second win of Tampa’s four victories in the World Series. [...] Continue Reading »

Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) third baseman Beau Mills ended his Warriors career Thursday night with a bang–or three.

Mills slugged three home runs and drove in eight to lead Lewis-Clark State to a 9-2 victory against Spring Arbor (Mich.) in Lewiston, Idaho, giving the Warriors their 15th Avista-NAIA World Series championship. [...] Continue Reading »

Only four teams remain at the 50th Annual NJCAA Division I World Series in Grand Junction, Colo.

Chipola (Fla.) (39-17) advanced to the championship game after holding off a late rally by San Jacinto (Texas) (46-15) to win 7-6. The Indians are the only team in the world series field that is undefeated at 3-0.

The other three teams joining the Indians in the field of four are Spartanburg Methodist (S.C.), New Mexico and San Jacinto (Texas). [...] Continue Reading »

Tonight at 7 p.m., two teams will battle for the 2007 Avista-NAIA World Series championship. And it just wouldn’t feel natural if one of the teams wasn’t Lewis-Clark (Idaho) State.

The Warriors (57-5) toppled Houston Baptist 8-7 on Wednesday off an eighth inning solo home run by Ikaika Lester that broke a 7-7 tie, and will play Spring Arbor (Mich.) for the title. [...] Continue Reading »

There was no magical run left in the Emory (Ga.) Eagles’ arms or bats. Faced with the formidable task of winning back-to-back games Tuesday afternoon in Grand Chute, Wis., Kean (N.J.) beat Emory 5-4 in 10 innings, to claim its first Division III national championship. [...] Continue Reading »

In Division I, teams want to get to Omaha, synonymous with the College World Series. In Division II, Omaha is coming to the College World Series.

The University of Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks are headed to Montgomery. The Mavericks capped off an unprecedented run by going 4-0 in the Central Regional this past weekend, which included the sweep of the three highest-seeded teams in the region. Nebraska-Omaha (36-22) advanced to the Division II World Series for the first time in school history Sunday by defeating tournament veteran Central Missouri 9-4 in Warrensburg, Mo. UNO’s Evan Porter claimed Central Regional Tournament MVP honors after batting .471 (8-for-17) to go along with his two homers and seven RBIs. Six Mavericks were named to the all-regional team.

The rest of the D-II field includes Kutztown (Pa.), Cal State-Los Angeles, Angelo State (Texas), Franklin Pierce (N.H.), Columbus State (Ga.), Southern Indiana and defending national champion Tampa. [...] Continue Reading »

The final two spots in the NCAA Division III baseball finals were claimed Sunday by Emory (Ga.) and Eastern Connecticut State. They will join Carthage (Wis.), Chapman (Calif.), Kean (N.J.), Marietta (Ohio), SUNY-Cortland and Wisconsin-Stevens Point in the eight-team D-III World Series that begins with four games Friday.

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