http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/ The Home For Baseball Insiders Fri, 25 May 2012 18:10:23 EST en-us http://www.baseballamerica.com/images/baonlinelogo4.gif http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/ 96 9 1 http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/college/on-campus/2012/2613455.html Content: When the University of California announced it was cutting its baseball program in the fall of 2010, then-sophomore second baseman Tony Renda had plenty of options. The NCAA granted all the players a waiver to transfer without having to sit out a year, and coming off a freshman campaign in which he played all 54 games—leading the team in batting average, hits, runs, and doubles—Renda had plenty of suitors for his services. Renda said opposing coaches started calling him almost immediately after the NCAA made that announcement, and considering the Bay Area native had just seen his program swept out from under him, no one could have faulted Renda if he chose to transfer. Which is why what he told Cal coach Dave Esquer in the immediate aftermath of the decision all the more surprising. "He came in and said to me, until someone takes this program away from me, I am going to be here," Esquer said. "When your best player shows that kind of commitment, that meant everything to us. He could have gone anywhere he wanted to, but he was saying he wasn't just going to turn his back and take the next best opportunity." It's that . . . Fri, 25 May 2012 11:39:07 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/college/on-campus/2012/2613455.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25/rankings/2012/2613433.html Content: Aaron Fitt: Hi everybody. Welcome to the final Top 25 chat of the regular season. Hope you enjoyed a compelling final weekend of the regular season for most leagues. Now things are really getting interesting... let's chat. D.J. (Winona, MS): Last year, the committee left LSU out of the tournament because it 1) did not make its conference tournament and 2) played a weak non-conference schedule. Now that the SEC is letting 10 teams into its tournament, will the committee look more favorably on #9 and #10; or will the committee automatically reject anyone seeded below #8 just to prove their terrible logic can't be manipulated? I ask because Ole Miss has a worse resume this year than LSU did last year. Both finished 9th in the SEC and have RPIs of 23. LSU was 36-20 overall including an OOC sweep of Cal State Fullerton. Ole Miss is 34-22 overall with no top 30 OOC games played. Aaron Fitt: You make some pretty good points there, D.J. The Rebels are one game better in the SEC (14-16 vs. 13-17), and generally 14-16 teams in the SEC get in�but should a one-game difference in the standings make that big of a . . . Mon, 21 May 2012 17:32:06 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25/rankings/2012/2613433.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25-tracker/2012/2613431.html Content: 1. FLORIDA STATE Last Week: 3-2. Overall: 43-12, 24-6 in ACC (7-4 vs. Top 25). Weekend Series: 13-1. The Seminoles sustained their first series loss of the year by splitting Monday's doubleheader at Clemson but rebounded to take two of three against N.C. State. FSU won the ACC's Atlantic Division by five games and heads to the conference tournament as the top seed. The FSU bullpen failed to hold an early 4-1 lead Friday, as the 'Noles took their fifth loss in their last seven games. James Ramsey's seventh-inning sacrifice fly broke a 2-2 tie Friday; Brandon Liebrandt (5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K) was strong in a no-decision, and Robert Benincasa (1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R) picked up his 13th save. Josh Delph (2-for-4, 3 RBI) led the offense Saturday in support of Mike Compton (6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K), who improved to 10-1. RESULTS May 14: @ Clemson: L 9-7, W 9-5 May 17-19: (13) North Carolina State: L 10-5, W 3-2, W 6-2 UPCOMING May 23-27: @ ACC tournament, Greensboro, N.C. 2. LOUISIANA STATE Last Week: 3-1. Overall: 42-14, 19-11 in SEC. (12-6 vs. Top 25). Weekend . . . Mon, 21 May 2012 11:35:29 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25-tracker/2012/2613431.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25/rankings/2012/2613430.html Content: DURHAM, N.C—Florida State bounced back from a series loss at Clemson to take two of three against ranked North Carolina State, keeping the Seminoles atop the Baseball America Top 25 for the seventh straight week. Florida State won the Atlantic Coast Conference's regular-season title with a 24-6 mark, and they're followed by new No. 2 Louisiana State, the Southeastern Conference's regular-season champion. The Tigers jumped seven spots after winning their series on the road at then-No. 2 South Carolina to finish the season with a 19-11 SEC record. Florida stayed put at No. 3 in the rankings, followed by Rice and Oregon, each achieving its highest ranking of the season, rounding out the top five. There was plenty of shuffling throughout the rankings. Texas A&M, UCLA and North Carolina each slid up two spots to Nos. 8-10, while Kentucky dropped all the way from No. 4 to No. 11. The Wildcats were swept at Mississippi State to fall to the No. 4 seed in the SEC tournament. Cal State Fullerton also fell out of the top 10 after a series loss to UC Riverside, dropping to No. 12. A pair of SEC teams returned to rankings in Mississippi State and . . . Mon, 21 May 2012 11:31:55 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25/rankings/2012/2613430.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/weekend-preview/2012/2613422.html Content: THIS WEEK: 1. Rice visits Central Florida in a battle for the C-USA crown. 2. Indiana State sits on the brink of a rare MVC title heading into showdown with Missouri State. 3. Four more teams will punch their tickets in conference tournaments this weekend. 4. Quick takes on the weekend's other big storylines. Four conference tournament champions will be crowned this weekend, clinching trips to regionals (more on those later). For most of the other conferences, tournies begin in the middle of next week, so series in most leagues will be played from Thursday through Saturday this week. There is plenty on the line across the country in the regular-season finale for most teams, but let's focus on the clash between the two teams tied atop the standings in Conference USA. Conference USA Powers Collide In Orlando Rice is the perennial powerhouse, looking to extend its streak of 16 consecutive seasons with either a regular-season or tournament title, dating back to its Southwest Conference tournament title in 1996 (and including its dominating run in the Western Athletic Conference). The Owls have won at least a share of the regular-season title in five of their first six seasons in C-USA. . . . Thu, 17 May 2012 16:01:30 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/weekend-preview/2012/2613422.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/college/on-campus/2012/2613414.html Content: STARKVILLE, Miss.—Chris Stratton's transformation from a talented enigma into one of college baseball's most dominant pitchers reached a crescendo last summer in the Cape Cod League. Stratton, a 6-foot-3, 198-pound righthander, had flashed overpowering stuff in his first two seasons at Mississippi State, but he posted ERAs of 5.29 and 5.21 as a freshman and sophomore. After his 2011 sophomore campaign ended in super regionals, he headed off to join the Harwich Mariners, where he began working with a pitching coach he knows only as "Big Sexy." (His actual name is Jason Blanton, but Stratton couldn't tell you that). "I got there the first day," Stratton recalled, "and the pitching coach was like, 'Two-seam inside.' I said, 'Coach, I don't throw a two-seam.' "He was like, 'I said, two-seam inside.' So I just tried to fill one out, and it ended up working for me. The slider, he kind of taught me—just throw it off your ear. Just little things that helped me." By the time Mississippi State coach John Cohen saw Stratton later that summer on a trip to the Cape, it had become "a powerful pitch" and "a difference maker." His two-seamer and changeup were also making strides, . . . Thu, 17 May 2012 13:00:02 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/college/on-campus/2012/2613414.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/college/on-campus/2012/2613415.html Content: BATON ROUGE, La.—Most of Alex Wood's outings for Georgia this spring have been like his start in Week 12 against Auburn, when he struck out 10 over eight strong innings, allowing just two runs. Wood's consistency—he is 6-2, 2.68 with 87 strikeouts and 19 walks in 91 innings—is an illustration of how far he's come in a year. But the way the redshirt sophomore lefthander persevered when he had his worst command a week earlier against LSU reveals just as much about his maturation. On a night when his changeup lacked its usual disappearing life and his fastball location was off, Wood still gutted his way through seven innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on eight hits and getting the Tigers to strand the bases loaded in his final frame. "That's the worst he's thrown the ball in a year and a half. He was just too jacked, too pumped," Georgia coach David Perno said of the start in Baton Rouge. "Wood wouldn't have been able to survive throwing the ball like that last year. He would have been in there for four and a third or five innings maybe. When you're bad or unlucky and you still give your . . . Thu, 17 May 2012 10:09:20 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/college/on-campus/2012/2613415.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/college/column/2012/2613374.html Content: When he was still the head coach at Arkansas, Norm DeBriyn remembers talking to Larry Chase before a game. A Mets scout at the time, Chase related a story about one of his lengthy drives on the highways of the Midwest to go see a draft prospect when he saw a car on the side of the road. "He said he'd seen a woman pulled off the road and he helped get her going again," DeBriyn remembered with a laugh. "I asked how he helped her, and he just said he took a look at the engine and realized she needed a new fan belt, and he just happened to have one in the car. "How lucky was she? How many people just happen to have a fan belt? But Larry loved cars. As long as I knew him, he loved working on them, not so much restoring them as just fixing them." Chase probably had more than one instance when he was a Good Samaritan on the highways, considering how much he drove. If you worked in baseball in Arkansas in the last 30 years, chances are you met Chase, and chances are you remembered the conversation. According to . . . Thu, 17 May 2012 09:27:15 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/college/column/2012/2613374.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/college/on-campus/2012/2613412.html Content: BATON ROUGE, La.—Even though Kevin Gausman was a veteran of the high-profile showcase circuit, his emergence as a true blue-chip pitching prospect in high school snuck up on him a bit, the way he tells it. "I kind of thought I just threw hard and I didn't really have any other pitches all through high school," the lanky righthander said. "My senior year people were saying I could be a late first-round guy, and I was sitting there like, 'Wow, I have no other pitch.' I threw a fastball and a crappy slider, and I didn't even have a changeup." Sure, Gausman entertained the notion of heading straight from high school in Colorado to pro ball in 2010, but for a variety of reasons it became clear to him that he should attend Louisiana State and take his chances with the draft as an eligible sophomore in two years. It was the right decision. As a sophomore this spring, Gausman has blossomed into one of the nation's premier Friday starters, going 8-1, 2.95 with 112 strikeouts and 21 walks in 92 innings through 13 starts. And he is one of the leading contenders to be drafted No. 1 overall next . . . Wed, 16 May 2012 14:17:46 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/college/on-campus/2012/2613412.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25/rankings/2012/2613404.html Content: Aaron Fitt: Hi everybody. Only one more Monday chat left this season after today — time does fly. Hope everybody had a good week 13 and a happy Mother's Day. Let's chat! Terry (Houston): Would taking 2 out of 3 from Central Florida and winning the CUSA tournament guarantee a National seed for Rice? Aaron Fitt: I wouldn't say "guarantee," no, but I think the Owls stand a pretty good chance to snag a national seed under that scenario. Lose this weekend and I think their national seed hopes are dashed. Joel (Baltimore, MD): As a Beaver it's hard to take, but the Ducks are cruising. Do they, though, have the arms to get them to Omaha? Is the depth in the pitching staff sufficient? Aaron Fitt: Well, I have questioned Oregon's pitching depth all season, but the Ducks have actually handled themselves quite well every time they've had to deal with a five-game week (like two weeks ago, when they went 4-1 on the road against Gonzaga and Arizona). Also, they're likely to be home in regionals and supers, and if they can stay in the winner's bracket in regionals, they could get to Omaha without having to use . . . Mon, 14 May 2012 16:54:47 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25/rankings/2012/2613404.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25-tracker/2012/2613402.html Content: 1. FLORIDA STATE Last Week: 1-3. Overall: 40-10, 21-3 in ACC (5-3 vs. Top 25). Weekend Series: 12-0 (one series pending). Florida State posted its first losing week of the season, though it can still salvage its weekend series at Clemson by sweeping a doubleheader Monday. Brandon Liebrandt (5.2 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 6 K) fell to 6-2 in Saturday's loss, as Clemson erased a 2-1 deficit with four runs in the sixth. Sunday's game was rained out and will be made up Monday at 1 p.m. ET. RESULTS May 7: Maryland: L 8-5 May 8-9: @ Stetson: W 9-1, L 6-5 May 12-13: @ Clemson: L 7-2, PPD UPCOMING May 14: @ Clemson (DH) May 17-19: (13) North Carolina State 2. SOUTH CAROLINA Last Week: 2-1. Overall: 38-13, 17-9 in SEC. (5-4 vs. Top 25). Weekend Series: 10-2-1. The Gamecocks split a pair of games at Georgia, but Sunday's game was rained out. South Carolina fell a half-game behind Kentucky in the SEC, as the Wildcats swept Alabama. Michael Roth (7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 5 BB, 6 K) improved to 5-0, 2.60 on Friday, as L.B. Dantzler's solo homer broke a scoreless tie in . . . Mon, 14 May 2012 11:47:56 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25-tracker/2012/2613402.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25/rankings/2012/2613401.html Content: DURHAM, N.C—Florida State maintained the No. 1 spot in the Baseball America College Top 25 amid a chaotic week for the teams at the top of the rankings. The Seminoles stayed atop the rankings despite a 1-3 week, though they haven't had a chance to complete their series at Clemson due to a rainout Sunday. Clemson won the series opener on Saturday, with a doubleheader scheduled for Monday. The upheaval began at No. 2. Last week's Nos. 2 and 3 teams, Baylor and Louisiana State, both lost their series, clearing the way for South Carolina and Florida to move up to those spots. Kentucky also got back into the top five at No. 4. Baylor, which entered the weekend undefeated in Big 12 conference play, dropped to No. 7 after getting swept by Oklahoma. LSU fell to No. 9 after a home series loss to Vanderbilt, becoming the only team in the top 10 with four series losses. Starting with No. 10 Texas A&M, the middle portion of the rankings were more stable, as the teams ranked 10 through 17 all won their series and saw their rankings remain unchanged. Appalachian State and Mississippi joined the rankings this week. The . . . Mon, 14 May 2012 11:42:37 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25/rankings/2012/2613401.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/weekend-preview/2012/2613378.html Content: THIS WEEK: 1. Louisville hosts St. John's in critical Big East showdown 2. Streakin' Travis Parker and A-10 leader Saint Louis head to Charlotte 3. Quick takes on other big series around college baseball Big Weekend In The Big East Since Louisville's 2007 trip to Omaha in Dan McDonnell's first season as head coach, the Cardinals and St. John's have been fixtures in the top third of the Big East standings. The two teams have played plenty of important series over the last five years, but none bigger than this weekend's set in Louisville—the marquee weekend on the Big East calendar this season. Saturday's game starts at 11:30 a.m. ET in order to accommodate ESPNU, and the television factor adds a little extra excitement to a series that features the top two teams in the Big East standings. St. John's (16-5) has a two-game lead over Louisville (14-7) and Connecticut. "I'm assuming that's why ESPN picked this game—you've got No. 1 and 2 going at it on the second-to- last weekend of the year," McDonnell said. "Kyle Peterson's in town—this is a big game, now! He doesn't do just any game. This is big." Louisville and St. John's entered the . . . Thu, 10 May 2012 17:01:55 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/weekend-preview/2012/2613378.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/college/on-campus/2012/2613360.html Content: FULLERTON, CALIF.—Mitch Haniger has more home runs than the top two teams in the Big West standings combined. Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State have hit five homers apiece, while Haniger has hit 11 for Cal Poly. So it's fair to say his power stands out in Southern California. "Out here in the West, it's tough to put up really solid power numbers," Poly coach Larry Lee said. "You look at his power numbers compared to anybody in our conference, there's a difference, especially this year." In an April 21 win at Big West power Cal State Fullerton, Haniger put his pop on display, hitting a missile over the left-center-field fence for a three-run homer that put the Mustangs ahead in the fifth inning. The junior center fielder jumped on a 2-0 fastball from Kenny Mathews and hit a low line drive that left the park in a hurry. He also ripped two other hard singles to left field in the game. Haniger has serious bat speed and plus righthanded power potential in his 6-foot-2, 215-pound frame, but he doesn't punish only fastballs. Over the course of his career, he has learned to be more selective at the plate; . . . Wed, 09 May 2012 15:54:49 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/college/on-campus/2012/2613360.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25/rankings/2012/2613354.html Content: Aaron Fitt: Good afternoon, folks. Busy week at BA — we send our first Draft Preview issue to press this week, so I think we're all running on adrenaline. But I'll chat as long as I can today — let's get to it. Arkham (Danville, PA): Despite his recent struggles, nothing beats the eye-test: Do you think Plutko is destined to flash Bauer dominanace or Cole inconsistency? Thanks, Aaron Aaron Fitt: He's really a completely different guy than both of them. Those guys were both premium prospects with plus (or plus-plus) fastball velocity. Plutko is more an 86-89 guy who relies on fastball command and solid secondary stuff — but not wipeout stuff like Bauer and Cole had. I think Plutko pretty much is what he is: a very nice college Friday guy, steady and consistent, capable of dominating at times like he did Saturday even though he's not a blue-chip prospect the way Bauer and Cole were. Jeff (My Basement in DC): Aaron- Let this be the be all, end all of NO RESPECT! questions. Since the Super Regional format was implemented, LSU has finished the regular season in the top 8 of the RPI a total of 9 . . . Mon, 07 May 2012 17:37:51 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25/rankings/2012/2613354.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25-tracker/2012/2613353.html Content: 1. FLORIDA STATE Last Week: 3-0. Overall: 39-7, 21-2 in ACC (5-3 vs. Top 25). Weekend Series: 12-0. The Seminoles cruised to routs of Maryland in the first two games of the series, with the series finale scheduled for Monday. FSU ran its winning streak to 10, and extended its home winning streak over Maryland to 22. Florida State's magic number to clinch the ACC's regular-season title is two. The Seminoles hit four homers Saturday in support of Brandon Liebrandt (6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K), who improved to 10-3. Justin Gonzalez had a two-run homer in that one, then smacked a grand slam Sunday behind Mike Compton (5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K). Jayce Boyd went 4-for-5 Sunday to raise his average to an ACC-best .405. RESULTS May 2: @ Jacksonville: W 3-0 Mary 5-6: Maryland: W 10-3, W 9-2 UPCOMING May 7: Maryland May 8-9: @ Stetson May 12-13: @ Clemson 2. BAYLOR Last Week: 0-0. Overall: 38-8, 18-0 in Big 12 (7-2 vs. Top 25). Weekend Series: 9-1. The Bears were off for exams. RESULTS No games. UPCOMING May 9: @ Texas State May 11-13: @ Oklahoma . . . Mon, 07 May 2012 11:50:24 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25-tracker/2012/2613353.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25/rankings/2012/2613352.html Content: DURHAM, N.C—Florida State extended its winning streak to 10 by winning the first two games of its series against Maryland and remained No. 1 in the Baseball America College Top 25 rankings for the fifth consecutive week. The weekend featured three series between ranked opponents in the Southeastern Conference, highlighted by Florida taking two of three at Kentucky in a showdown of top-10 teams. The Gators leapfrogged the Wildcats in this week's rankings, moving up to No. 6 while Kentucky dropped to No. 7. Meanwhile, Louisiana State and South Carolina won road series against Mississippi and Arkansas, respectively, to move up to Nos. 3 and 4 in the rankings. Oregon made a statement in the crowded race for the Pacific-12 Conference title by winning two of three on the road at second-place Arizona. The Ducks earned the No. 9 ranking this week. Fellow Pac-12 squad UCLA also made a move, jumping up three spots to No. 11 after taking a marquee nonconference series against Purdue, which fell two spots to No. 15. Three teams joined the rankings this week, led by Oregon State at No. 23 thanks to a series win against Stanford, which fell five spots to No. 17. . . . Mon, 07 May 2012 11:37:32 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25/rankings/2012/2613352.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/weekend-preview/2012/2613344.html Content: THIS WEEK: 1. Resilient Ole Miss hopes to bolster its hosting case against LSU. 2. Injuries continue to dog Florida, but Gators keep an even keel with Kentucky on deck. 3. Quick Takes on the weekend's other big series plus a look at four series that are important for NCAA bubble teams Despite Tumble, Ole Miss Remains In High Spirits PEARL, Miss.—Two days after a frustrating loss at Mississippi State, Matt Snyder and Bobby Wahl were in high spirits and relaxed, cracking jokes on the field at Trustmark Park, where Mississippi had just shut out Southern Mississippi 3-0. Ole Miss isn't the type of team that is going to pout and fall into a prolonged funk after a dispiriting loss such as Sunday's in Starkville, when the Rebels out-hit the Bulldogs 8-2 but found a way to lose 4-2, dropping their third series in the last four weeks. "I don't like to count them like that. I like to say, the second half (of the season) we're one out of two and we're 1-0 at home," Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco joked of his team's recent series performances. "There's nine games left . . . You can't look at the . . . Thu, 03 May 2012 15:52:47 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/weekend-preview/2012/2613344.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/column/2012/2613342.html Content: For many, the knuckleball is a novelty pitch. Baseball fans can tick off the names of most every knuckleball pitcher of the last 40 years, from the Niekro brothers to Tom Candiotti and Tim Wakefield. With Wakefield retired, R.A. Dickey carries the knuckleballers' banner, and the former Tennessee ace is the subject of the documentary, "Knuckleball!", which premiered at New York's Tribeca Film Festival in late April. Dickey, like virtually every big league knuckleballer, turned to the pitch as a last resort, only after all other options for being a viable big leaguer failed. Jackson State righthander Quintavious Drains throws the knuckleball for a different reason, though. The senior hopes the knuckleball eventually can be a consistent part of his repertoire as a change-of-pace pitch, to help him honor the memory of Darrin Brooks, his friend who introduced him to the pitch. "I throw a fastball and curveball, with my changeup probably my favorite pitch," Drains said. "I've started working in a slider and split-finger, and every once in a while, when I'm feeling good, I throw in a knuckleball. "I picked it up when I was 12 from my best friend, and then he died in a car accident. . . . Wed, 02 May 2012 16:11:21 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/column/2012/2613342.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25/rankings/2012/2613336.html Content: Moderator: Aaron Fitt will answer your college and Top 25 questions beginning at 2 p.m. ET. Aaron Fitt: Greetings from Mississippi! Since I'm on the road, I'll probably have to keep this to about an hour. Let's get to it! Joel (KCK): Out of the top draft eligible college pitchers (Gausman, Stroman, Appel, Zimmer and Wacha,) how many project to be true #1's in the show, or do they all project better as #2's? Thanks! Aaron Fitt: I've spoken with a couple of crosscheckers who think all those guys would have fit more in the 8-15 range in last year's draft, suggesting they all profile better as No. 2s (and any club who drafts one of those guys would be very happy if they become legit No. 2 starters in the big leagues). But they all have high ceilings; it's just a matter of reaching their potential. After seeing Gausman this weekend, I must say I was very impressed with how polished he has become. He's not a finished product, of course, but he really does have feel for five different offerings (he throws a sinker in addition to that explosive four-seamer, has a plus changeup, an improving slider and . . . Mon, 30 Apr 2012 14:53:42 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25/rankings/2012/2613336.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25-tracker/2012/2613335.html Content: 1. FLORIDA STATE Last Week: 3-0. Overall: 36-7, 19-2 in ACC (5-3 vs. Top 25). Weekend Series: 11-0. The Seminoles stepped out of conference play and swept Rhode Island to remain unbeaten in weekend series (Purdue is the only other team in the nation that has not had a losing weekend). Jayce Boyd (5-for-6, 2 R, 4 RBI, 2B, HR) went bonkers Friday, as each team pounded out 14 hits, but the Seminoles staked Brandon Liebrandt (5 IP, 10 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 8 K) to an 11-2 lead through three innings and cruised to the win. Mike Compton (6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 2 K) improved to 8-0 in Saturday's win, and three relievers joined him in a two-hit combined shutout. Boyd came up big again Sunday, delivering a walk-off two-run double to cap a three-run ninth in FSU's come-from-behind win. RESULTS April 27-29: Rhode Island: W 17-6, W 2-0, W 6-5 UPCOMING May 2: @ Jacksonville Mary 5-7: Maryland 2. BAYLOR Last Week: 3-1. Overall: 38-8, 18-0 in Big 12 (7-2 vs. Top 25). Weekend Series: 9-1. Baylor saw its 24-game winning streak snapped Tuesday, then bounced back to win three straight, . . . Mon, 30 Apr 2012 11:39:09 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25-tracker/2012/2613335.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25/rankings/2012/2613334.html Content: DURHAM, N.C—Florida State extended its run at No. 1 in the Baseball America College Top 25 to four straight weeks thanks to a weekend series sweep of Rhode Island, but the rankings do have a new No. 2. Baylor saw its 24-game winning streak end with a midweek loss to Texas-San Antonio, but the Bears recovered to sweep a two-game series from then-No. 25 New Mexico State. Baylor's wins, coupled with Kentucky's first series loss of the season on the road at Vanderbilt, allowed the Bears to leapfrog the Wildcats into the No. 2 spot this week. Further down in the rankings, Arkansas won a big road series against then-No. 5 Florida to earn a three-place jump to No. 18. The Gators, who spent the first eight weeks of the season ranked No. 1, lost a series for the third time in five weekends and fell to No. 7. Two teams entered the rankings: Louisville and Virginia. The Cardinals returned to the Top 25 for the first time since March 5 after winning a midweek game against Kentucky and weekend series against Connecticut, earning a No. 22 ranking. Virginia made its first appearance in the rankings this season, checking in . . . Mon, 30 Apr 2012 11:24:31 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25/rankings/2012/2613334.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/weekend-preview/2012/2613308.html Content: THIS WEEK: 1. Improved pitching helps New Mexico State break through into bona fide at-large territory. 2. After clinching Patriot League regular-season title, Army sets its sights on 40 wins. 3. Heading into big series at UCLA, new weapons have emerged to help Stanford snap out of its offensive funk. 4. Quick takes on some of the weekend's other top storylines. As we look ahead to Week 11, let's focus on a pair of mid-major upstarts—New Mexico State and Army—before we get to the week's premier showdown between Pac-12 powers UCLA and Stanford. We'll focus on the Cardinal, which has emerged from a midseason lull after being forced to do some lineup tinkering recently. Rocky Road There isn't a college coach in America who loves talking baseball more than New Mexico State's Rocky Ward. A conversation with Ward can go in any number of directions. He is a staunch believer that college baseball is being played in the wrong season, and he'll gladly tell you how much the game would prosper by a switch to an April through August calendar. He argues compellingly that the Ratings Percentage Index is inherently, seriously flawed and should not be such a heavily valued . . . Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:42:42 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/weekend-preview/2012/2613308.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/college/on-campus/2012/2613304.html Content: DURHAM, N.C. You probably don't remember Steven Kesses. He was the Mets' first-round draft pick in 1976. Kesses never came close to making the majors. But Kesses is the answer to another trivia question. He is the only former Duke player to be selected in the first round of the baseball draft. That shouldn't be a big surprise. Duke hasn't made the NCAA tournament since 1961, when it advanced to Omaha. You don't have half-century droughts with first-round talent. What's more surprising is how a premium talent like Marcus Stroman ended up at Duke. The hard-throwing junior righthander is having a banner season, one that almost certainly will result in first-round status this June. Through 10 starts, Stroman is 4-3, 2.22 and leads the nation with 102 strikeouts against just 21 walks in 73 innings. Stroman grew up in Medford, N.Y., in Suffolk County. His parents split up when he was in elementary school but still have a good relationship, living barely a mile apart and working together to raise Marcus and his two siblings. Earl Stroman is a police detective. He coached his son's football, basketball and baseball teams when Marcus was young, before passing him along to more . . . Wed, 25 Apr 2012 15:57:22 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/college/on-campus/2012/2613304.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25/rankings/2012/2613294.html Content: Aaron Fitt: Hi everybody. Exciting morning out here in SoCal — experienced my first earthquake, though it was just a little one. But that's not gonna break my stride — let's chat! joey (oxford): Do you see Ole Miss hosting a regional? We only have 1 series against a top 25 team left and we have them (LSU) at home. Aaron Fitt: Yes, I believe I do, but I'll dig deeper into that question in tomorrow's Stock Report. Right now you have to move Ole Miss ahead of Arkansas in the pecking order, for sure. And the remaining schedule is manageable. Matt (Phoenix, AZ): If Oklahoma State keeps winning, do they have a shot at getting into the tournament? Aaron Fitt: I really don't see an at-large bid coming. They're No. 123 in the RPI, and the resume really lacks any quality wins (the Cowboys are just 3-9 against the top 50). Russell (Austin, TX): How do you think the Longhorns are playing right now? I mean one week they do good, the next week they do mediocre, I just don't know what to make of them this year. Can you give me your expertise on the job they are . . . Mon, 23 Apr 2012 16:58:47 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/top-25/rankings/2012/2613294.html