http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/ The Home For Baseball Insiders Mon, 25 Mar 2013 21:49:23 EST en-us http://www.baseballamerica.com/images/baonlinelogo4.gif http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/ 96 9 1 http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25/rankings/2013/2614899.html Content: Aaron Fitt: Hi everybody, greetings from snowy Bloomington, Indiana, where I'm still holding out hope the Hoosiers will host Louisville in a nice top-20 midweek showdown tomorrow. Let's chat. Jeff (D.C.): As if UNLV, FGCU and Central Arkansas weren't enough for 2012, this week you went all in and put the Fitt jinx on Gonzaga, GA Southern, Houston, Cal Poly AND South Alabama. I think I am on to your ranking strategy with numbers 20 through 25. If you rotate everyone with a winning record through those slots over the course of the season, you'll be able to claim whatever Cinderella gets hot in June (UConn in 2011, Stony Brook in 2012, etc.). Aaron Fitt: Now hold on, we ranked UConn No. 9 in the preseason in 2011! And I wrote a piece about how dangerous Stony Brook would be in 2012 during the summer of 2011 when I saw a bunch of their guys tear up the Cape League, then I said in my preseason chat that I wouldn't be surprised if that team won a regional! So feel free to take shots at us if you want, but you sure picked some poor examples to back up your . . . Mon, 25 Mar 2013 16:53:14 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25/rankings/2013/2614899.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25-tracker/2013/2614897.html Content: 1. NORTH CAROLINA Last Week: 3-0. Overall: 21-1, 7-1 in ACC. (1-0 vs. Top 25). Weekend Series: 5-0. Snow in Boston last week forced UNC's series at BC to be moved to Chapel Hill, where the Tar Heels swept a doubleheader Saturday before Sunday's game was rained out. Brian Holberton (3-for-5, 2 R, 3 RBI, HR), Chaz Frank and Landon Lassiter had three hits apiece as part of a 19-hit attack in the opener, and Kent Emanuel (8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K) was dominant. Skye Bolt had two hits in the opener and two more in Game Two, along with two RBIs, helping Benton Moss (7 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K) improve to 6-0. RESULTS March 19: Princeton: W 16-0 March 23-24: Boston College: W 11-0, W 5-2, CCD UPCOMING March 26: Virginia Commonwealth March 27: Winthrop March 30-April 1: Clemson 2. OREGON STATE Last Week: 2-1. Overall: 21-2, 5-1 in Pac-12 (5-1 vs. Top 25). Weekend Series: 5-0. In a series that featured standout pitching on both sides, the Beavers took two of three to improve to 5-1 this season against the two teams from Arizona. Matt Boyd . . . Mon, 25 Mar 2013 13:01:54 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25-tracker/2013/2614897.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25/rankings/2013/2614896.html Content: DURHAM, N.C.—North Carolina held onto No. 1 in the Baseball America College Top 25 rankings, but there was plenty of shuffling up and down the Top 25 after a wild weekend, as 10 ranked teams lost series. The movement started with a new team at No. 2 for the first time this season, as Oregon State's series win against then-No. 20 Arizona State earned the Beavers a move up from No. 3, displacing Vanderbilt, which won a home series but went 2-2 on the week. With Louisville and South Carolina each losing series at home, the latter getting swept by Arkansas, the door was open for more jockeying as Louisiana State and Cal State Fullerton joined the new-look top five. Arkansas was rewarded for its sweep of South Carolina with a six-spot move from No. 21 to No. 15, matching the biggest jump of the week with Florida State, which reached No. 6 for its series win against Georgia Tech. Other teams on the move included Oklahoma reaching No. 14 after a sweep of Texas Christian to open Big 12 Conference play, while Indiana moved up to No. 19 thanks to a sweep of Penn State. Five new teams joined . . . Mon, 25 Mar 2013 11:58:33 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25/rankings/2013/2614896.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/weekend-preview/2013/2614895.html Content: THIS WEEK: 1. Unlikely underdog: Florida State. 2. Unlikely underdog: North Carolina State. 3. Unlikely underdog: Arizona State. 4. Unlikely underdog: Arizona. 5. Unlikely underdog: Texas Christian. 6. Notes from around the nation. In five of this weekend's most compelling series, an unranked or lower-ranked team is an unlikely underdog, for one reason or another. The weekend's marquee series in the Atlantic Coast Conference pits No. 9 Georgia Tech against No. 12 Florida State. At 20-1, FSU might not seem like an "underdog," and the Seminoles are an ACC goliath every year, but we are dubbing the more talented Yellow Jackets the road favorites this weekend. The Yellow Jackets have the nation's most explosive offense—they averaged exactly 10.0 runs per game through the first five weeks of the season. "Every time I look up they're scoring double figures," Florida State coach Mike Martin said. "I can tell you now, if we've got to get nine to win the ballgame, it's going to be a challenge. It's going to be a challenge to get to nine, no question. And they're averaging 10." Sticking in the ACC, league coaches voted North Carolina State as the preseason favorite to win the conference title, . . . Thu, 21 Mar 2013 15:07:51 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/weekend-preview/2013/2614895.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/college/column/2013/2614891.html Content: Towson isn't a big-name baseball program. It plays in the Colonial Athletic Association, the fourth conference it has competed in since Mike Gottlieb became head coach in 1988. Gottlieb, a Towson alum, has led the team to 12 winning seasons, three conference championships and two NCAA regional appearances, the last in 1991. So when Towson baseball was listed as one of two sports (along with men's soccer) the school was looking to cut in the fall, hardly anyone in college baseball blinked. It's not like this was California, which rallied from nearly being cut in the fall of 2010 to a College World Series run in 2011 and ultimately saving the program. This was "just Towson." Just another statistic. The NCAA has 347 Division I institutions, and last year 297 teams played D-I baseball. Towson just was going to change that second number a bit. But to Gottlieb and his players, it's not about statistics. It's about the time they have put in, the work they have put in, to compete, win or lose. It's about Gottlieb, who says he has never received a paycheck in baseball anywhere else and who went straight from player to assistant coach to head . . . Thu, 21 Mar 2013 10:53:13 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/college/column/2013/2614891.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/college/on-campus/2013/2614887.html Content: LOS ANGELES—It's easy to see why Dillon Overton and Jonathan Gray are best friends. Both have easygoing, gregarious personalities. They like to laugh, and to make others laugh. "He's a different cat, that's exactly how I'd say it," Overton said of Gray. "He's one of my best friends, and he will be forever. He loves to dance. He'll come into a room, bust a dance move and then he'll walk away, like nothing happened. He's just a fun guy to be around." But on the mound, Oklahoma's co-aces and are very different. Overton is a skinny 6-foot-2, 160-pound lefthander with outstanding innate feel for his three-pitch mix, and a fastball comfort zone of 88-90. Gray is a prototypical power righthander, with a physical 6-foot-4, 239-pound build and a fastball that reaches triple digits. "What's funny is Dillon and Jon, they're total opposites," OU pitching coach Jack Giese said. "Because Dillon's got that super-fast arm, and Jon looks like he's playing catch with his grandfather out in the backyard." Yes—just playing catch at 94-98 mph, with minimal effort. Gray's bazooka arm has made him a prospect of interest since his freshman year at Eastern Oklahoma State JC, but as he has . . . Tue, 19 Mar 2013 15:04:24 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/college/on-campus/2013/2614887.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25/rankings/2013/2614885.html Content: College Top 25 Chat With Aaron Fitt Note: This page will refresh itself automatically every two minutes. Moderator: Aaron Fitt will answer your college baseball questions beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET. Aaron Fitt: Good afternoon, everybody. Hope you had a nice Week 5 — hard to believe we're already more than a third of the way through the season. Time flies when you're having fun, I guess. Let's chat. Jeff (Washington D.C.): Last week you said "No team ranked above them (LSU) has more than two losses, and they've all played stronger schedules." Today, I come with data. LSU is 3-1 in true road games against the RPI Top 20. The only other BA top 10 team to have played a top 20 team on the road is GA Tech (2 of 3 at VT). South Carolina did take 1 game at RPI #21 Clemson. In parenthesis is the highest RPI rank of a true road opponent for the remainder of the BA top 10: UNC (102), Vanderbilt (42), Oregon State (67), Louisville (200), Ole Miss (87), Fullerton (80), Kentucky (57). In addition to LSU's impressive road record against the top 20, LSU has 8 wins against the RPI top . . . Mon, 18 Mar 2013 17:21:34 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25/rankings/2013/2614885.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25-tracker/2013/2614882.html Content: 1. NORTH CAROLINA Last Week: 4-1. Overall: 18-1, 5-1 in ACC. (1-0 vs. Top 25). Weekend Series: 4-0. North Carolina, which had lost 10 of its previous 11 games against Miami, dropped Friday's opener before snapping a six-game losing streak against the Hurricanes on Saturday and winning the rubber game Sunday. Miami lefthander Chris Diaz (7 IP, 6 H, 1 ER) stifled the UNC offense Friday, and the Hurricanes broke a scoreless tie with three runs in the fifth against Kent Emanuel (6.1 IP, 8 H, 4 ER). The Tar Heels scored 11 runs in the third en route to a 14-2 thrashing of the Hurricanes on Saturday. Colin Moran (3-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2B), Brian Holberton (3-for-3, 3 R, 3 RBI, HR) and Michael Russell (3-for-4, R, 3 RBI, 2B) led UNC's 16-hit barrage behind Benton Moss (7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 9 K), who carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning. With the score tied 1-1 and a runner on second base in the eighth inning Sunday, Miami elected to intentionally walk the lefthanded-hitting Moran rather than pitch to him with lefty A.J. Salcines, and switch-hitting Skye Bolt made the 'Canes pay by launching . . . Mon, 18 Mar 2013 13:09:32 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25-tracker/2013/2614882.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25/rankings/2013/2614881.html Content: DURHAM, N.C.—Preseason No. 1 North Carolina continued its run atop the Baseball America College Top 25 rankings with an ACC series win against Miami. The top half of the rankings stood pat as the top 12 teams from last week all won their weekend series. Southeastern Conference play opened last week and was highlighted by a pair of series between ranked teams. No. 6 Mississippi went on the road and knocked off Arkansas, which fell from No. 15 to No. 21, while No. 7 Louisiana State won a series at Mississippi State, dropping the Bulldogs six spots to No. 19. Oregon leads the ranks of teams that moved up this week, as the Ducks climbed to No. 13 thanks to a 4-1 week that included a series win at Southern California to open Pacific-12 Conference play. Slotting in one spot behind the Ducks, Virginia has moved up the rankings quickly, reaching No. 14 this week after taking two of three at Clemson. The Cavaliers made the week's biggest jump, coming up from No. 22. Oklahoma also made a big move, jumping six spots to No. 17 after a dominant 5-0 week. Three teams joined the rankings this week, led by . . . Mon, 18 Mar 2013 12:09:49 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25/rankings/2013/2614881.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/weekend-preview/2013/2614851.html Content: THIS WEEK 1. SEC West focus: playing 20 questions with LSU, Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Arkansas. 2. Scouting Report: Texas Tech righthander Trey Masek, who carries a 0.00 ERA into Big 12 play against Texas. 3.New Mexico tries to fix pitching and defense heading into MWC opener against red-hot UNLV . 4. Notes from other big series around the nation. With seven teams ranked in the nation's top 15, the Southeastern Conference sure looks like college baseball's predominant league once again in 2013. Those seven teams have a composite record of 110-15 (.880) heading into the SEC's opening weekend. Four of those seven reside in the SEC's rugged Western Division, which is where the most compelling action will take place this weekend. West powers Louisiana State and Mississippi State will square off in Starkville, while fellow West heavyweights Mississippi and Arkansas will do battle in Fayetteville. All four of those teams are talented and deep, and all of them are capable of winning the SEC title and making deep Omaha runs. But there is no flawless team in college baseball, and each of these SEC West contenders needed to prove themselves in different areas. So let's look at some . . . Thu, 14 Mar 2013 16:05:45 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/weekend-preview/2013/2614851.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/college/on-campus/2013/2614843.html Content: HOUSTON—Andrew Knapp has waited patiently for his chance to follow in his father's footsteps and serve as California's everyday catcher. Mike Knapp was a standout catcher for Cal in the mid-1980s, and he went on to spend 11 seasons as a catcher in pro ball. His son Andrew ranked as a Top 200 prospect for the 2010 draft out of Granite Bay (Calif.) High, but he knew he was destined for Berkeley. His younger brother Aaron, an athletic outfielder, is a high school senior with a Cal commitment for next year. "There's a long tradition," Golden Bears coach David Esquer said. "When you know Cal and the alumni we have, they bleed blue and gold—they're all in. Those are the type of people we love having in our program." "I was going to go to Cal since the day I was born," said Andrew Knapp, now a junior. "I've always been a Cal Bear and I always will be." But he hasn't always been Cal's catcher during his collegiate career. Chadd Krist had a stranglehold on that job during Knapp's first two years in Berkeley, which were spent playing first base and the outfield. Knapp hit .212 and made just . . . Wed, 13 Mar 2013 14:55:10 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/college/on-campus/2013/2614843.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25/rankings/2013/2614839.html Content: John Manuel: Aaron is wrapping up a file, so I'm going to pinch-hit for him for a few minutes here to get the chat started. Bill (Atlanta, GA): Are you looking at Furman as a potentially ranked team? I wouldn't want to see them in an "Atlanta Regional". John Manuel: That's a great start to the year for Furman, with two nice series wins in SoCon play over Elon (on the road) and Appalachian State. Plus the road wins at Coastal and loss at South Carolina will be good for RPI purposes, if the Paladins can keep this up. I like how they nearly swept that series this weekend, rallying against App State's solid closer, Rob Marciello. According to the release I got, this is Furman's best start since 1926! So I'm not sure if they are printing regional tickets yet, but the SoCon looks very deep, and Furman's strong start is a reason why. The bullpen has been outstanding to this point, and that team has a lot of juniors & seniors. Harry (Pearl, MS): Mane Aaron, I can't belive MS Staate dropped that much. You have any ideas on what went wrong with Coach Cohens and the dawgs . . . Mon, 11 Mar 2013 17:19:33 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25/rankings/2013/2614839.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25-tracker/2013/2614837.html Content: 1. NORTH CAROLINA Last Week: 4-0. Overall: 14-0, 3-0 in ACC. (1-0 vs. Top 25). Weekend Series: 3-0. The Tar Heels cruised to a road sweep of Wake Forest in their ACC-opening series, keeping them among the nation's last four unbeaten teams (Florida State, Oregon State and 3-0 Dartmouth are the others). Kent Emanuel (9 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 7 K) threw his second complete-game shutout of the season Friday, and Skye Bolt hit his first career homer, helping UNC win despite mustering just four hits. The Tar Heels entered Saturday with just three home runs in 12 games, but they smacked eight long balls in Saturday's laugher, including six over the first two innings to jump out to an 11-0 lead in support of Benton Moss (6 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 7 K). Colin Moran and Brian Holberton had two homers apiece and combined to drive in 11 runs. Bolt also homered in that one, and he hit his third long ball in three days Sunday. Chris McCue (3.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R) earned the win with strong work in relief of Hobbs Johnson (4 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, . . . Mon, 11 Mar 2013 12:25:56 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25-tracker/2013/2614837.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25/rankings/2013/2614836.html Content: DURHAM, N.C—North Carolina stayed perfect with a dominating sweep of Wake Forest in its Atlantic Coast Conference series opener and remained No. 1 in the Baseball America College Top 25 rankings. The unbeaten Tar Heels outscored the host Demon Deacons 30-8 en route to the sweep, retaining the top spot for the fourth consecutive week. Vanderbilt remained No. 2 with a road series win at ranked Oregon, and most of the rest of the Top 10 moved up a spot. The biggest changes involved Mississippi State, which dropped 10 spots to No. 13 after losing a home series to unranked Central Arkansas, and Georgia Tech, which moved up five spots with a road series victory at then-No. 24 Virginia Tech. The rest of the rankings required plenty of shuffling. Arizona State moved up nine places to No. 14 with a sweep of Long Beach State in which the Sun Devils yielded just two runs. Stanford fell all the way out of the rankings with its second series loss on the young season, a home sweep at the hands of Nevada-Las Vegas. The Rebels, who haven't reached regionals since 2005, entered the rankings at No. 21. UNLV's last appearance in the . . . Mon, 11 Mar 2013 11:57:54 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25/rankings/2013/2614836.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/weekend-preview/2013/2614828.html Content: THIS WEEK 1. Two of the nation's most physical offenses square off in the most compelling series of the ACC's opening weekend. 2. Jacksonville's Chris Anderson takes on Central Florida's Ben Lively in a marquee mound showdown. 3. The ACC features another intriguing pitching matchup between Maryland lefthander Jimmy Reed and Virginia southpaw Brandon Waddell. 4. Other storylines from around the nation. Tech Boom Atlantic Coast Conference play begins this weekend, and the highlight of the schedule is a showdown between two of the nation's very best offensive teams—Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech. The change to BBCOR bats has caused many coaches to shift their recruiting styles, focusing on speedy athletes rather than power hitters. That's why the physicality in these two lineups stands out. It isn't easy to find players with the strength and hitting ability to smack home runs in this era, but both of these teams are loaded with legitimate power threats. "If you can see us walk in a park, we're physical," Virginia Tech coach Pete Hughes said. "It's work ethic and philosophy in the weight room that can dramatically change productivity, I believe. The bat's not even in my head; I know it's a hot-button . . . Thu, 07 Mar 2013 15:55:35 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/weekend-preview/2013/2614828.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/college/on-campus/2013/2614823.html Content: SAN DIEGO—On a Friday night in San Diego, Kent State junior righthander Tyler Skulina dominated a good Toreros lineup for eight innings, then handed off to the bullpen for the ninth, with the Golden Flashes leading 1-0. He spent the ninth glued to the dugout railing, hollering his support for his teammates louder than anyone else at USD's gleaming new Fowler Park. "After they tied the game up and he was no longer getting a decision, he was still the guy yelling," Kent State coach Scott Stricklin said afterward. "It tells you a lot about the kid; he's a great kid." Skulina's boisterousness in the dugout is an important manifestation of his progression into a confident, mature pitcher who truly leads his staff and has earned his status as the Mid-American Conference's top draft prospect. Skulina was a prominent prospect on the national scouting map as a junior at Ohio's Walsh Jesuit High, just 20 minutes or so from Kent State. He ranked as the nation's No. 82 high school prospect heading into his senior year, but a strain in his upper back and "a dead arm," as Stricklin put it, caused his stock to fall that spring. He fell . . . Tue, 05 Mar 2013 16:01:31 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/college/on-campus/2013/2614823.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/column/2013/2614814.html Content: What do you do when you stay home from work? If you're Scott Goode, you come up with a ranking system for international baseball. That's how the International Baseball Federation started ranking teams, and those rankings will be on display for the first time in a noticeable fashion during the World Baseball Classic. "It really was kind of fun to watch the qualifiers and see the rankings on the screen," Goode said. "It was the first time I'd seen it, but there it was on the TV." Goode just did what comes naturally to a baseball fan who also is also in the rankings business. He's the sports information director at Division II Harding (Ark.), which is also his alma mater. A West Memphis, Ark., native, Goode has been an international baseball fan since he was a teenager, when he would venture over to USA Stadium in Millington, Tenn., which at was USA Baseball's home field back in the day. Goode and his brother went in 1988 and '92 to see Olympic teams train, and he worked as a statistician for the '96 team. "I remember Matt LeCroy getting so sunburned after an off day at the lake that he . . . Tue, 05 Mar 2013 14:01:30 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/column/2013/2614814.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25/rankings/2013/2614806.html Content: Aaron Fitt: Hi everybody, might have to keep this tight because I'm headed over to Reckling Park for this afternoon's Rice-Cal game before I head back to California. Let's chat. Jeff (D.C.): To say Arkansas was fortunate to reach Omaha last year would be an understatement. They lost 5 SEC series and went 2 and out in Hoover. They came from behind late to win their regional opener 5-4 over SHSU then scored 1 run on 2 hits to beat Rice. SHSU upset Rice in the loser's bracket and Arkansas was off to the Super Regional where we all remember Baylor being an out or 2 away from Omaha before hitting 2 batters in game 2 to score the tying and winning runs. In game 3, Arkansas went scoreless through 9 before scratching 1 across in the 10th. As luck would have it, they drew mighty Kent State in the CWS opener. After that, it was back to their usual selves — good pitching, anemic offense. It looked like much of the same this weekend. Assuming luck is not on their side this year like it was in 2012, how far can this team really go? Aaron Fitt: That's a . . . Mon, 04 Mar 2013 17:06:35 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25/rankings/2013/2614806.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25-tracker/2013/2614804.html Content: 1. NORTH CAROLINA Last Week: 4-0. Overall: 10-0, 0-0 in ACC. (1-0 vs. Top 25). Weekend Series: 2-0. UNC swept through the Astros Foundation College Classic to start the season 10-0 for the third time since 2000. Chaz Frank doubled and scored the winning run on a wild pitch in the ninth Friday against Rice, and Kent Emanuel (7 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K) was solid in a no-decision. Landon Lassiter (4-for-6, 2 R, RBI, 3B) led UNC's 13-hit attack Saturday against Cal, helping Benton Moss (5.2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 9 K) improve to 3-0. The Tar Heels capitalized on 11 walks and two hit batsmen from Texas A&M pitching Sunday to run-rule the Aggies, and the UNC staff overcame 10 walks of its own by allowing just three hits. RESULTS Feb. 26: St. John's: W 18-5 March 1-3: @ Astros Foundation College Classic, Houston: (13) Rice: W 2-1 California: W 11-5 Texas A&M: W 14-2 UPCOMING March 6: Davidson March 8-10: @ Wake Forest 2. VANDERBILT Last Week: 5-0. Overall: 12-1, 0-0 in SEC. (0-0 vs. Top 25). Weekend Series: 3-0. The Commodores allowed just seven runs during a 5-0 week. . . . Mon, 04 Mar 2013 11:28:04 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25-tracker/2013/2614804.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25/rankings/2013/2614803.html Content: DURHAM, N.C—North Carolina stayed perfect by sweeping through the Astros Foundation College Classic in Houston and remained No. 1 in the Baseball America College Top 25 rankings. While the Tar Heels and Vanderbilt held serve at Nos. 1 and 2, this week saw the season's first movement in the top five. Previously third-ranked Arkansas took a hard fall following an 0-4 showing at the Coca-Cola Classic in Arizona, including a pair of losses to Arizona State, as the Razorbacks dropped all the way to No. 16. Mississippi State moved up to No. 3, followed by Oregon State and Louisville rounding out the new top five. Cal State Fullerton continued its rapid early-season ascent. The Titans, ranked No. 22 in the preseason, have earned their way to the No. 10 spot this week with a 10-1 start that includes two series wins against ranked foes, the latest being a series win against Oregon this past weekend. Two teams joined the rankings this week. Arizona State, usually a staple of the rankings, makes its first appearance of 2013 at No. 23 as a reward for its pair of wins against Arkansas. Virginia also joins for the first time this year at No. . . . Mon, 04 Mar 2013 11:25:31 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25/rankings/2013/2614803.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/weekend-preview/2013/2614787.html Content: THIS WEEK 1. Oregon visits Cal State Fullerton in a series loaded with intrigue. 2. The South Carolina-Clemson rivalry reboots with a host of new faces, but intensity is a constant. 3. Looking at other big storylines from around the nation. Another Clash Of The Titans And The Ex-Titan George Horton admits that he suffers from "CRS"—that's Can't Remember, well, you know. For years, Horton has scribbled down all manner of thoughts in a stenographic notebook that he refers to as his "Brain." When he was the coach at Cal State Fullerton, sometimes he would look back in his notebook later and forget why a certain notation was significant. So he would ask his assistant at the time, Rick Vanderhook, who always knew exactly why Horton wrote down any given item. Vanderhook just knew how Horton's mind worked—and how his Brain worked, too. Vanderhook played for Horton at Cerritos (Calif.) JC in the early 1980s, then worked with Horton as a fellow assistant under Augie Garrido in the '90s, and finally spent 11 years as Horton's assistant after Garrido left for Texas. Horton is now the head coach at Oregon and Vanderhook is the head coach at Cal State Fullerton, . . . Thu, 28 Feb 2013 13:30:56 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/weekend-preview/2013/2614787.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/college/on-campus/2013/2614785.html Content: LOS ANGELES—Growing up in Maple Grove, Minn., Tom Windle and his twin brother Sam were standouts on the hockey rink as well as the baseball diamond. Fraternal competition was a staple of life in the Windle household. "We had a lot of battles," Tom Windle recalls. "He was a righthanded pitcher and righthanded hockey player, so we were head-to-head in everything." While Sam wound up playing collegiate hockey at Bemidji State in Minnesota, Tom recognized that despite all the goals he scored as a forward in hockey, his future was brighter on the pitching mound, so he headed to Minnesota to play baseball. The 6-foot-4 lefthander has blossomed into a quality ace atop the Golden Gophers' rotation as a junior, and he ranks as the top prospect in the Big Ten Conference. Windle thrived in primarily a relief role as a freshman, going 6-2, 1.52 in 41 innings over 19 appearances. He moved into the No. 2 starter role to begin his sophomore year, but after four starts he was sidelined with shoulder tendinitis. He returned to full strength by the end of the season, but he was relegated to a bullpen role, and he threw just 41 innings on . . . Tue, 26 Feb 2013 17:08:14 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/college/on-campus/2013/2614785.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25/rankings/2013/2614783.html Content: Aaron Fitt: Hi everybody, interesting week in college baseball, in that 23 of the Top 25 teams had winning weekends, which is pretty unusual. Let's chat. Russell (Austin, TX): Hey Aaron, Texas had a pretty good weekend against the cornhuskers, what do they need to do to get ranked in baseball america? Explain? Aaron Fitt: It was a good weekend, and Texas has been right on the cusp of our rankings since the preseason, along with Miami and Arizona State. The thing is, other teams have had louder weekends on the road against better opponents, and we chose to reward those other teams, especially since the talent level at Notre Dame and FGCU is comparable to that of Texas and ASU, believe it or not. If Texas wins its series against Stanford this weekend, it will be ranked for sure—we'll find a way to get the Longhorns in next week if that happens. Bill (Atlanta, GA): Is RPI meaningful at all this time of the season? I think I know that it isn't, but want your thoughts. One RPI lists my Yellow Jackets at #200 despite a 6-1 record. Also, your thoughts on whether we might see a trend in . . . Mon, 25 Feb 2013 17:39:34 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25/rankings/2013/2614783.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25-tracker/2013/2614780.html Content: 1. NORTH CAROLINA Last Week: 4-0. Overall: 6-0, 0-0 in ACC. (0-0 vs. Top 25). Weekend Series: 2-0. After cruising to easy wins in the first two games of the series, the Tar Heels won a wild back-and-forth affair in the second game of Sunday's doubleheader to complete a sweep of Stony Brook and stay unbeaten. After rain pushed the series opener to Saturday, four Tar Heels recorded multiple hits as part of a balanced 12-hit attack in support of Kent Emanuel (7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K). Benton Moss (7.1 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K) was outstanding in the first game of Sunday's twin bill. In the finale, the Tar Heels erased a 2-0 deficit with six runs in the sixth, and Stony Brook answered with its own six-spot in the eighth, but the Tar Heels responded again, winning on Mike Zolk's walk-off RBI single in the ninth. Skye Bolt had two RBIs in the first game and three hits in the second game, including a one-out double to spark the ninth-inning rally. With Hobbs Johnson sidelined with a slight strain in his forearm, Chris Munnelly (4.2 . . . Mon, 25 Feb 2013 12:20:53 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25-tracker/2013/2614780.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25/rankings/2013/2614779.html Content: DURHAM, N.C—The status quo ruled the second week of college baseball season, starting with No. 1 North Carolina, which swept Stony Brook to extend its run atop the Baseball America College Top 25 rankings. The country's top teams all took care of business, meaning there was no room for movement through most of the rankings. Nine of the top 10 teams went undefeated on the week, and the rankings stayed unchanged through the top 16. The first team on the move is No. 17 Cal State Fullerton, which climbed three spots after an impressive road sweep of then-No. 22 Texas Christian, extending the Titans' perfect record to 8-0. Two teams entered the rankings this week: Notre Dame at No. 22 and Florida Gulf Coast at No. 23. The Fighting Irish have opened the season 5-1 and earned their ranking by sweeping Tulane on the road. It is Notre Dame's first appearance in the rankings since May of 2006. Meanwhile, FGCU went into Gainesville and swept then-No. 17 Florida, knocking the Gators out of the rankings in the process. It's a historic moment for the Eagles. Florida Gulf Coast, which began playing Division I baseball in 2008, is making its first . . . Mon, 25 Feb 2013 12:07:39 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25/rankings/2013/2614779.html