Three Strikes
Quick impressions on the weekend in college baseball

by Will Kimmey
March 13, 2006

Strike One: Let's Go Mo (Valley)

It was a big weekend for the Missouri Valley Conference. It earned four bids (three at-large) in the men's basketball tournament, a happening that engendered plenty of coverage for the league.

While it's not likely to earn that many NCAA bids in baseball, the MVC boasts two clubs on double-digit winning streaks. Wichita State (17-2) has reeled off wins in its last 13 games and broke into the rankings at No. 23 this week. The Shockers boast the nation's most versatile middle infield, with second baseman Damon Sublett and shortstop Noah Krol batting .408-4-16 and .326-1-5 while combining to allow only one run in 15 innings of relief. Sublett has earned a win and three saves while recording 12 strikeouts, while Krol has notched 11 strikeouts and two saves.

Creighton started the season 0-3 but has run off 11 straight wins. Creighton won the MVC a year ago thanks to its pitching and defense. This year's club has out-slugged opponents thus far. The Bluejays have scored eight or more runs in eight of their 11 wins, with junior catcher Chris Gradoville (.448-8-26) and senior third baseman Zach Daeges (.360-5-14) leading the way. Gradoville hit six homers and drove in 18 runs last week in a five-game road trip through Tennessee.

Strike Two: Baby Bruins

Freshmen-heavy teams in the Top 25 earned the focus in Friday's weekend preview, but the impact of first-year players extends beyond the rankings. UCLA is 11-11, but has won six of its last eight games, including series wins at North Carolina State and against Mississippi to knock both teams out of the rankings. The Bruins already have played 11 games against ranked teams, going 6-5.

UCLA went 15-41 a year ago in coach John Savage's first year. He restocked the club with one of the nation's best recruiting classes, and rather than let the players learn through practice and watching from the bench, he's stuck tons of freshman in the everyday lineup. As many as six freshman have filled the batting order at times, and UCLA has started freshmen at all four infield positions and catcher on three occasions.

Shortstop Brandon Crawford (.337-2-10), third baseman Jermaine Curtis (.277-0-6) and catcher Ryan Babineau (.219-2-9) have started nearly every game, with second baseman Eddie Murray, first baseman Cody Decker and DH Blair Dunlap also seeing time. Yet another freshman, Tim Murphy, started six games in the outfield and was batting .300-1-4 when he broke his wrist in mid-February.

Junior starters Hector Ambriz, Dave Huff and Tyson Brummett have pitched well enough to keep the games close so the young hitters don't have the pressure of needing to score 10 runs per game.

Strike Three: Here Come The Hurricanes

It sure was weird to see Miami with a 6-6 record in mid-February. But it was--and is--a young Hurricanes team, and five of those defeats came against veteran clubs in Winthrop and Florida. Miami hasn't lost since, running its win streak to 10 games. And though its opponents during the stretch--Bethune-Cookman, Indiana, Michigan State and Virginia Tech--aren't likely to show up in a super-regional this year, Miami continues to mature and build confidence.

Catcher Eddy Rodriguez (batting a team-best .367 after a week of four multi-hit games) and center fielder Jon Jay (.319-3-16) are performing as expected in their junior seasons, while three freshmen have quickly become producers: first baseman Yonder Alonso leads the team with 31 RBIs to go with a .364 average, while left fielder Blake Tekotte (.346 with seven steals) and second baseman Jemile Weeks (.304, three steals) have proven solid table settlers. Meanwhile, sophomores Carlos Gutierrez and Manny Miguelez have combined to go 9-2, 2.05 in 88 innings.