Preseason C-USA Baseball Notebook
Feb. 20, 2008
Due to the NCAA's common start date rule, the baseball season is getting underway a couple of weeks later this year, but opening day has nearly arrived. All nine C-USA baseball teams will be in action this Friday. Tulane will play its first games on campus since the 2006 NCAA Super Regional when it opens the brand-new Greer Field at Turchin Stadium against Illinois-Chicago. Two of C-USA's nationally-ranked teams open with three-game series' at ranked opponents, as No. 24 East Carolina visits No. 2 South Carolina and No. 3 Rice travels to No. 13 Long Beach State. Houston, Southern Miss, UAB and UCF each host weekend series'. EAST CAROLINA Junior 1B Stephen Batts will open the 2008 season on a 29-game hitting streak, the second-longest in school history and third-longest in Conference USA annals. Last season, he batted .323 with 15 doubles, six homers and a team-high 56 RBI (third in C-USA)....Senior OF Harrison Eldridge was a first team All-Conference USA selection and a member of the C-USA All-Tournament team. Eldridge hit .295 with a team-high 19 doubles (third in C-USA), six home runs and 28 RBI. He also led the team in stolen bases with 15, including a game-winning steal of home in extra innings against Southern Miss in the C-USA Tournament....Senior RHP T.J. Hose enters his third season as East Carolina's top starter and has compiled a 16-13 career record with a 4.10 ERA. A season ago, the right-hander picked up second-team All Conference USA honors after posting a 6-5 record with a 3.97 ERA. He was also a two-time C-USA Pitcher-of-the-Week selection....The Pirates stole 85-of-114 bases last year, which was the ninth-highest total in school history. ECU had six players with ten or more steals.
HOUSTON Junior IF Jimmy Cesario led the Cougars in 2007 with a .352 batting average and added a team-best 13 doubles, three home runs and 35 RBIs. He recorded a 20-game hitting streak midway through the season, becoming only the fifth player in school history to reach that milestone. Cesario was named to the All-Conference USA First Team and earned the league's first Newcomer of the Year Award....Righthander Wes Musick emerged as the Cougars top starter last season, earning Freshman All-America honors in addition to being named first team All-Conference USA. He finished 6-5 with a team-best 3.00 ERA, striking out 73, while walking 34....Junior 2B Ryan Lormand ranked third in the league in stolen bases with 23 and was only caught stealing twice. He was successful in his final 19 stolen base attempts last season. Lormand was one of only three Cougar players to start all 56 games, batting from the leadoff spot in those contests. He led all Cougars with 49 runs scored and 23 stolen bases....After redshirting last season due to a shoulder injury, redshirt junior Ricky Hargrove seeks to regain his 2006 form that saw him emerge as a solid starting pitcher for UH. Hargrove was second on the staff with eight wins and 82 strikeouts in 100.2 innings of work, trailing only National Player of the Year Brad Lincoln in those categories. MARSHALL The Thundering Herd acquired a pair of junior transfers from the University of Cincinnati, SS Adam Yeager and RHP Steve Blevins, and will look for them to make an immediate impact in 2008. Yeager started 109 of Cincinnati's 114 games over the last two seasons and led the team in walks (39) and stolen bases (24) in 2007. He was named the Northwoods Summer League's top offensive player at shortstop this past summer. Blevins, a Louisa, Ky., native, is a 6-foot-2 right-handed pitcher that garnered second team All-Big East and Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American laurels in 2006 after tying for the conference lead with nine wins. As a sophomore in 2007, Blevins started a team-high 14 games and was second in wins (5), ERA (4.81) and strikeouts (64)....Junior LHP Andrew Blain emerged as a solid force out of the Marshall bullpen in 2007, striking out 47 batters in 46.2 innings pitched. In 23 appearances, he posted a 4-3 record....Sophomore 2B Josh Valle led the Herd with a .331 batting average (tops among all C-USA freshmen) in his first season of collegiate baseball. He was even batter in league play, hitting .375 against C-USA opponents....Shortstop Brandon Casamassima enjoyed a productive freshman season in 2007, batting .289 with eight home runs, seven doubles and a team high 36 RBI. MEMPHIS Junior CF K.K. Chalmers led Conference USA in stolen bases for the second year with 33 in 2007. The only Tiger baseball player to ever steal 30 bags in consecutive seasons, Chalmers already holds the school's career record with 89. In addition to his speed on the base paths, the 5 foot-7 Chalmers showed power numbers at the plate, banging out 15 doubles and seven homers. He ranked third in the conference with 58 runs scored and also drove in 38....Junior RHP Matt Yokley set a new single-season school record for saves last season with nine, including seven in conference games....Junior RHP Will Hudgens, who started three games at quarterback for the Memphis football team this past fall, was 5-2 on the mound last season earning wins over Missouri, Clemson, Southern Miss, UCF and Rice. He made 17 appearances with four starts, striking out 33 batters in 47 innings with a 5.17 ERA....Junior RHP Scott McGregor should be the Tigers No. 1 pitcher this spring. He has made 29 starts in his first two years in a Tiger uniform, posting 12 victories. Last season, he was 5-4 with a 6.63 ERA in 14 starts, while adding a save in his lone relief appearance. RICE Rice became the seventh team in Conference USA history to win the regular season and tournament titles in the same year. The Owls finished with a 22-2 league record, winning 21-of-22 after the team dropped its C-USA opener on the road at Southern Miss on March 23. Rice won the conference by 7.5 games, the largest margin in league history. The Blue & Gray has won 12-consecutive conference championships in three different leagues dating back to 1996. After two years of C-USA membership, the Owls' all-time C-USA regular season record is 44-4...Righthander Ryan Berry was named Conference USA Freshman of the Year and earned National Freshman Pitcher of the Year honors from Collegiate Baseball. He posted an 11-3 record with a 3.01 ERA and 125 strikeouts with only 34 walks. Berry's 11 wins tied the Rice freshman record for victories, set by Matt Anderson in 1995....Junior LHP Cole St.Clair is now Rice's all-time leader in career saves and recorded nine saves in 16 appearances. St.Clair maintained a 1.91 ERA and struck out 26 batters in 28.0 innings of work. This season, St.Clair is scheduled to move into the Owls starting rotation....Third baseman Diego Seastrunk earned Freshman All-America honors last season and was named to C-USA's All-Freshman team. He made 50 starts and played in 66 games, posting a .307 batting average. Seastrunk had 11 doubles, two triples, a home run and 42 RBI. SOUTHERN MISS Senior 1B Trey Sutton earned NCBWA All- American honors as well as his third consecutive All-Conference USA Team selection in 2007. He led Southern Miss in hits (88), runs scored (a league-high 69) and batting average (.368), while adding 18 doubles (tied for fourth in the league), eight home runs and 38 RBI (both second on the team). In addition to his performance on the field Sutton was equally successful in the classroom last season, earning Academic All-American honors by ESPN the Magazine and CoSIDA....Senior righthanders Barry Bowden and David Clark combine with sophomore RHP Todd McInnis to give the Golden Eagles a solid starting rotation. Bowden tossed a team-high 98 innings last season, going 7-4 with a 3.11 ERA and 86 strikeouts. Clark posted an 8-5 mark with a 4.85 ERA and 73 K's. McInnis was off to a great start to his freshman season before an injury cut the year short after just five starts. He was 4-1 with a 2.12 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 29 innings pitched....Junior SS Brian Dozier placed second on the team in batting last season with a .339 average. He also smacked 17 doubles, along with four home runs and 28 RBI while starting all but one game. TULANE Junior RHP Shooter Hunt placed second in the league in strikeouts with 104 and was 6-6 with a team-leading 2.62 ERA and a .232 opponent batting average in 99.2 innings pitched. A first-team All-Conference USA honoree in 2007, Hunt finished third in C-USA in ERA, total strikeouts, strikeouts looking (35) and opponent batting average, and fourth in innings pitched. He also ranked 44th nationally in strikeouts, 57th in ERA and 58th in strikeouts per nine innings with a 9.39 clip. Hunt posted a 3.47 strikeout-to-walk ratio with just 30 bases on balls as a sophomore and tallied seven or more strikeouts eight times....Sophomore RHP Preston Claiborne made 28 appearances out of the bullpen last season, posting a 2.36 ERA in 45 innings pitched. He struck out 45 batters and walked just 13, collecting a pair saves and earning a spot on the C-USA All-Freshman team....Sophomore SS Josh Prince is expected to make an impact on Tulane's program right away. He comes to the Green Wave from the University of Texas where he hit .371 (33-for-89) with seven doubles and 16 RBI as a true freshman in 2007. Prince started 26 of the 35 games he played in for the Longhorns and fielded at a .963 clip with 30 putouts and 48 assists while committing just three errors. In Big 12 play, Price tallied a .340 batting average (17-for-50) with four doubles, seven RBI and six sacrifice bunts. UAB Junior LF Phil Bell batted .336 with eight doubles, three home runs and 37 RBI in 2007. He had a team-best 10 sacrifice hits and 17 stolen bases and also strung together a team-long 15-game hitting streak last season....Senior Ryan Keedy will start at first base in 2008 where he started 55 games last season. The southpaw hit .333 with four home runs and 33 RBI in 2007, while leading the team in walks (42) and on-base percentage (.457)....UAB returns two Conference USA All-Freshman Team selections from 2007 in shortstop Jonathan Merritt and left-handed pitcher Shay Crawford. Merritt led the Blazers with a .364 batting average in Conference USA games last season, while stealing a club-best nine bases. Crawford earned four victories on the mound, while giving up just 13 extra base hits....Of the Blazers 16 newcomers, eight are freshmen, one is a sophomore and seven are juniors. Among this group, four (RHP Beau Pender, 3B Luke Stewart, OF Austin Taylor, C Digger Towe) have been previously selected in the Major League Draft and two (Stewart - Georgia, RHP Benji Waite - Samford) already have Division I experience. UCF Junior 1B Kiko Vazquez was named first team All-Conference USA after leading the team in nearly every offensive category, including average (.364), doubles (17), home runs (9) and RBI (57). Vasquez had a career-best 16 game hitting streak from April 21- May 19....Senior OF Tyson Auer was named to the All-Conference USA second team last season after batting .356 with a team-high 46 runs scored, 83 hits and 27 stolen bases. He also added 12 doubles, two triples and 31 RBI. Auer posted two hitting streaks of at least 10 games, recorded at least one hit in 48 of 57 games played, and had 26 multi-hit outings....Third baseman Chris Duffy earned a spot on the C-USA All-Freshman team after rebounding from a slow start to hit .307 over the final 47 games and finish with a .283 average. He was second on the team with eight home runs, doubled nine times and drove in 34 runs....Junior RHP Justin Weiss posted the second-lowest ERA in UCF history last season, holding a 1.38 mark in 32.2 innings pitched. His nine saves were second on the school's single-season list, while his 25 appearances ranked eighth. Weiss posted a 4-1 record with 30 strikeouts and allowed only one run in his final 12 outings (15.2 innings). 2008 PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS Here's a look at the Conference USA players that have received preseason All-American recognition: BASEBALL AMERICA Second Team P Shooter Hunt, Tulane LOUISVILLE SLUGGER/ COLLEGIATE BASEBALL Second Team OF Aaron Luna, Rice P Ryan Berry, Rice RP Cole St.Clair, Rice NATIONAL COLLEGIATE BASEBALL WRITERS ASSOCIATION First Team OF Aaron Luna, Rice P Ryan Berry, Rice RP Cole St.Clair, Rice RIVALS.COM First Team RP Cole St.Clair, Rice Second Team OF Aaron Luna, Rice BROOKS WALLACE AWARD WATCH LIST First Team P Ryan Berry, Rice LHP Cole St.Clair, Rice OF Aaron Luna, Rice RHP Shooter Hunt, Tulane GOLDEN SPIKES AWARD WATCH LIST First Team IF Stephen Batts, East Carolina P T.J. Hose, East Carolina IF Jimmy Cesario, Houston P Wes Musick, Houston OF K.K. Chalmers, Memphis P Ryan Berry, Rice P Matt Langwell, Rice P Cole St.Clair, Rice OF Aaron Luna, Rice IF Trey Sutton, Southern Miss RHP Shooter Hunt, Tulane 1B Kiko Vazquez, UCF Coming off a second straight trip to the College World Series, Rice has been selected as the preseason favorite in the 2008 Conference USA baseball poll, chosen by the league's nine head coaches. Owls junior outfielder/designated hitter Aaron Luna, a preseason All-American, is the Preseason C-USA Player of the Year. Rice hurler Ryan Berry, a national Freshman of the Year selection by Collegiate Baseball last season, was named as the league's preseason Pitcher of the Year. After spending time ranked No.1 in each of the past two seasons, Rice is ranked among the nation's top 10 in the preseason again this year. The Owls return 18 lettermen, five position starters and six experienced pitchers from last year's 56-14 club and placed a league-high four members on the preseason All-Conference team. In addition to Luna (.315, 15 2B, 13 HR, 66 RBI) and Berry (11-3, 3.01 ERA, 125 K, 34 BB), catcher Adam Zornes (2 2B, 4 HR, 9 RBI in just 17 starts) and pitcher Cole St.Clair (1.91 ERA, 26 K, 8 BB and 9 saves in 16 appearances), a 2006 All-American, earned All-C-USA recognition. After placing second in the regular season and tournament last season with a 40-23 overall record, East Carolina was chosen to finish in second place again this spring. The Pirates return 15 lettermen, including eight starters, from last year's NCAA regional team and add 11 newcomers. Of the returning players, ECU brings back three players that earned preseason all-league honors. Senior starter T.J. Hose (6-5, 3.97 ERA, 70 K, 45 BB) is joined by a pair of first team All-C-USA performers in infielder Stephen Batts (.323, 15 2B, 4 3B, 6 HR, 56 RBI), who hit safely in the final 29 games last season, and outfielder Harrison Eldridge (.295, team-leading 19 2B, 6 HR, 28 RBI, team-best 15 SB) on the squad. Southern Miss, which is coming off a fifth consecutive NCAA appearance and welcomes back 20 letterwinners and seven starters, was picked to finish third according to the league's coaches. Two Golden Eagle infielders, senior first baseman Trey Sutton, who led the team in batting (.368), runs scored (69), doubles (18) and triples (3), while hitting eight homers and driving in 38 runs, is joined by junior shortstop Brian Dozier (.339, 57 runs scored, 17 2B, 4 HR, 28 RBI) in being listed on the preseason All-Conference team. Tulane, which opens a completely-renovated Turchin Stadium this season, was chosen fourth, just ahead of Houston. The Green Wave is represented on the preseason team by junior righthander Shooter Hunt, who was 6-6 with a 2.62 ERA and 104 strikeouts with just 30 walks in 15 starts last season. The Cougars are led by preseason all-league infielder Jimmy Cesario, a junior who earned the conference's inaugural Newcomer of the Year award last season after batting a team-high .352 with 35 runs scored, 13 doubles, three homers and 35 RBI. PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH Rank School (First Place Votes) Pts. 1. Rice (8) 80 2. East Carolina (1) 61 3. Southern Miss 57 4. Tulane 52 5. Houston 38 PLAYER OF THE YEAR Aaron Luna, Rice (Junior, Outfielder) PITCHER OF THE YEAR Ryan Berry, Rice (Junior, Righthander) ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM P Ryan Berry So. Rice P T.J. Hose Sr. East Carolina P Shooter Hunt Jr. Tulane RP Cole St.Clair Sr. Rice C Adam Zornes Sr. Rice IF Stephen Batts Jr. East Carolina IF Jimmy Cesario Jr. Houston IF Brian Dozier Jr. Southern Miss IF Trey Sutton Sr. Southern Miss IF Kiko Vasquez Jr. UCF OF Tyson Auer Sr. UCF OF K.K. Chalmers Sr. Memphis OF Harrison Eldridge Sr. East Carolina DH Aaron Luna Jr. Rice
2008 RETURNING STATISTICAL LEADERS Category Player, Team (2007 C-USA Rank) Batting...................... Trey Sutton, USM (2) .368 Slugging Pct.............. Kiko Vazquez, UCF (2) .587 On-Base Pct.............. Kiko Vazquez, UCF (1) .467 Runs Scored............. Trey Sutton, USM (1) 69 Hits.......................... Trey Sutton, USM (4) 88 RBI.......................... Aaron Luna, RICE (1) 66 Doubles.................... Harrison Eldridge, ECU (3) 19 Triples...................... Brint Hardy, UAB (1) 6 Home Runs............... Aaron Luna, RICE (3) 13 Total Bases............... Trey Sutton, USM (3) 136 Walks....................... Aaron Luna, RICE (1) 48 Hit by Pitch............... Trey Cuevas, USM (2) 16 Stolen Bases............. K.K. Chalmers, MEM (1) 33 ERA......................... Matt Langwell, RICE (1) 2.35 Innings Pitched.......... Ryan Berry, RICE (1) 122.2 Strikeouts.................. Ryan Berry, RICE (1) 125 Wins........................ Ryan Berry, RICE (4) 11 Saves...................... Matt Yokley, MEM (3) 9 ............................... Cole St.Clair, RICE (3) 9 ............................... Justin Weiss, UCF (3) 9 Appearances............. Tyler Conn, USM (3) 31 Starts....................... Ryan Berry, RICE (1) 20 C-USA HITTING STREAKS East Carolina junior IF Stephen Batts enters the 2008 season on a 29-game hitting streak, the third-longest in league history. Here's a look at the longest hitting streaks in C-USA history: 40 Brandon Caraway, HOU 1989-99 33 James Matan, CHA 1998 29 Stephen Batts, ECU 2007-current 29 Scott Peden, SLU 2005 2008 C-USA TOURNAMENT The 2008 Conference USA Baseball Tournament will be held May 21-25 in New Orleans, La. Tulane University will serve as the host institution for the event, which will be played at the brand-new Greer Field at Turchin Stadium on the Tulane campus. The winner of the double-elimination tournament receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.
WINNINGEST TEAMS OF THE 2000'S (Since the beginning of the 2000 season) Team Yrs. Won Lost Tied Pct. 1. Florida State 8 405 142 1 .740 2. Rice 8 404 129 0 .758 3. Texas 8 390 151 0 .721 4. South Carolina 8 388 155 0 .715 5. Wichita State 8 381 173 0 .688 6. Nebraska 8 362 154 0 .702 7. Clemson 8 361 167 0 .684 8. Oral Roberts 8 359 131 0 .733 9. Georgia Tech 8 358 153 0 .701 10. North Carolina 8 357 158 1 .693 11. Cal St. Fullerton 8 354 157 0 .693 12. Notre Dame 8 352 148 3 .703 13. Tulane 8 349 160 1 .685 14. Miami (Fla.) 8 343 157 3 .685 15. Arizona State 8 341 149 2 .695 16. Stanford 8 340 163 0 .676 17. Coastal Carolina 8 335 160 0 .667 17. LSU 8 335 174 3 .657 19. East Carolina 8 327 164 2 .665 20. Stetson 8 325 172 0 .654 21. Florida Atlantic 8 322 171 0 .653 22. Ohio State 8 313 172 1 .645 23. La.-Lafayette 8 312 180 0 .634 23. Mississippi 8 312 182 1 .631 25. Florida 8 310 193 2 .616 25. Baylor 8 310 198 0 .610 27. Mississippi State 8 308 179 2 .632 28. Southern Miss 8 306 182 0 .627 28. Alabama 8 306 182 0 .627 30. UCF 8 305 181 0 .628 WINNINGEST ACTIVE COACHES BY PERCENTAGE (Minimum five years as a Division I head coach; includes record at four-year colleges only.) Coach, Team Yrs. Won Lost Tied Pct. 1. Gene Stephenson, Wichita State 30 1,605 533 3 .750 2. Mike Fox, North Carolina 24 937 317 5 .746 3. Mike Martin, Florida State 28 1,484 506 4 .745 4. Wayne Graham, Rice 16 740 284 0 .723 5. Jim Morris, Miami (Fla.) 26 1,146 489 4 .700 6. Ray Tanner, South Carolina 20 895 393 3 .694 7. Rick Jones, Tulane 19 774 346 1 .691 8. Steve Owens, Le Moyne 16 502 228 1 .687 9. Augie Garrido, Texas 39 1,629 755 8 .683 10. Mike Anderson, Nebraska 5 214 100 0 .682 30. Jay Bergman, UCF 31 1,183 688 3 .632 37. Corky Palmer, Southern Miss 10 376 233 0 .617 In addition, UCF's Jay Bergman enters the 2008 season ranked seventh among all active coaches in total victories with 1,183.
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