Lots Of Saturday Wins

I admit it wasn't against the highest caliber of competition, but the baseball programs of the Big Ten won far more than they lost Saturday.

Penn State 9 Central Connecticut State 0 (box)
DH Rob Yodice had two hits and three RBI. Three PSU hurlers combined on the shutout. Seth Whitehill, the Nittany Lions' starter, got the win.

Michigan State 6 Concordia 3 (box)
Spartans CF Dennis Jones had two hits, two runs, two RBI and four stolen bases. Peter Wolff's one inning of relief garnered him a victory. Mike Monterey notched save number two.

Minnesota 8 Hartford 2 (box)
Gophers 3B Nate Hanson was the hitting star with three hits, two runs and two RBI. Mike Mee also had a three hit game. Kyle Carr (3-0) earned the win pitching the last three frames.

Northwestern 10 Harvard 9 (Game 1 box)
3B Jake Owens went 4 for 4 with three RBI, a run scored and three stolen bases. Tommy Finn also went yard for NU. David Jensen won the game for the Wildcats.

Northwestern 12 Dartmouth 2 (Game 2 box)
Owens followed his four hit game with a three hit finale. He also had three RBI, two runs and a stolen base. (Methinks he will be on the All-Weekend Team.) Geoff Deitz had two hits, two runs and two RBI. Dan Schwartz earned the win.

Iowa 5 North Dakota State 3 (box)
Mike Jacobs got the win in relief. Mike Schurz picked up the save. Justin Toole had two hits and two RBI. Dusty Napoleon had a hit, run and RBI.

Michigan 4 Oakland 1 (Game 1 box)
Andrew Hess tosses a seven inning complete game. Hess allowed five hits and three walks. (I'll be providing some general observations on this doubleheader in a separate post.)

Michigan 4 Oakland 3 (Game 2 box)
Chris Fetter worked six innings and posted his first win of the year. He allowed all three OU runs and five hits, but walked no one. Ben Jenzen worked the seventh to earn his third save. Adam Abraham hit his first homer.

Western Illinois 5 Purdue 2 (Game 1 box)
Eric Osborn had both Boilermakers RBI. Josh Lindblom (2-2) gave up only four hits and struck out seven, but yielded four runs and took the loss.

Purdue 7 Western Illinois 0 (Game 2 box)
Ricky Heines (3-2) twirled a four hit, eight strikeout, complete game shutout. John Cummins had three hits and two RBI. Jordan Comadena scored three times.

Previews, Scores And A Bit Of Venting

I didn't make it out to the Oakland at Michigan game today. Oh, I got out of work a bit early with the intention to visit Ray Fisher Stadium, but let's just say things didn't progress as well as I would like. Most of the problems centered on the Michigan Department of Transportation's efforts to congest all traffic in metro Detroit. By the time I got from one side of town to the other and was still a good half an hour away from Ann Arbor, I wrote off the remainder of my plan.

I hope to make it out to The Fish tomorrow, but that's going to depend on the weather. Perhaps, a good night's sleep will renew my enthusiasm to fight traffic and orange barrels. Anybody seen my rain gear?

Now, I realize you care squat about my frustration with Detroit's ongoing road construction, but I had to vent. (Although, I clearly edited my thoughts.) I appreciate your patience with me, but I'll get on to what you presumably do care about -- Big Ten baseball.

Let's begin at The Exponent where Brian Petraits previews Purdue's weekend versus Western Illinois.

Paul Cordes of The Minnesota Daily looks at the Gophers three game set with Hartford.

Indiana Daily Student writer Lee Hurwitz discuss the Hoosiers meeting with IPFW.

Penn State opens its new ballpark this weekend and Chris Agostini of The Daily Collegian sets the scene.

College baseball's chief number cruncher, Boyd Nation, provides his current ISR numbers and his updated pseudo-RPI figures.

All of the Big Ten game scheduled for today are complete. I'll start with the one I didn't get to today.

Michigan 9 Oakland 3 (box)
Zach Putnam picked up win number three and drove in four runs. Jason Christian, Eric Rose and Doug Pickens each had three hits.

Ohio State 5 Harvard 3 (box)
Cory Luebke improved to 4-0. The OSU lefty came out of the bullpen to pitch six innings and fanned eight. Jacob Howell had three hits and three RBI for the Buckeyes who have won twelve straight.

Iowa 6 North Dakota State 5 (box)
SS Jason White stole home with two outs in the 11th inning to win the game. Iowa's LF Caleb Curry had two hits and three RBI. Mike Schurz pitched two innings and is now 3-0.

Iowa 8 North Dakota State 0 (box)
Steve Turnbull pitched a seven inning complete game shutout to help the Hawkeyes sweep the doubleheader. Iowa's starter allowed only two hits and struck out seven. Dusty Napoleon had three hits and five RBI. Travis Sweet had three hits and stole two bases.

Illinois 7 Dartmouth 4 (box)
Lars Davis goes 4 for 4 with two solo homers. Ryan Hastings had three hits and two RBI. Scott Shaw worked six innings gaining his second win of the season.

Minnesota 10 Hartford 0 (box)
Ethan Vogt twirled a complete game shutout. Super sophomore Matt Nohelty had three hits, scored twice, drove in a pair of runs and stole two bases. Kyle Baran and Dan Lyons each went yard.

Penn State 8 Central Connecticut State 1 (box)
PSU opened their new yard, Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, in grand fashion. Craig Clark worked eight innings to get a much overdue first win. C Rob Yodice had two hits, two runs and drove in two. Joe Blackburn also had a pair of hits and two RBI. Brian Ernst had a three hit game.

Two games were lost to the weather. Purdue at Western Illinois and IPFW at Indiana both got washed out. No other games involving Big Ten programs were on the docket.

I did get to watch two college games via television. I saw South Carolina demolish Mississippi State, 20-3. Yeah, it got ugly. The Bulldogs get two more shots at USC. I'm currently watching Arizona State beat up the "other" USC, 8-0 in the fourth inning. The Trojans have no answers for the Sun Devils at the moment. I'm a tad surprised that ASU is running and bunting with an eight run lead. Anyone think 'SC Head Coach Chad Krueter is happy?

It hasn't been the best of afternoons, but I'm thankful for what college baseball I do get to see. Here's hoping the rain holds off tomorrow.

Ohio State Dumps Northwestern

When is a Big Ten game not a Big Ten game? When Ohio State and Northwestern meet on spring break in Florida. The Buckeyes stayed red hot by thumping the Wildcats, 11-6. The win was the eleventh straight victory for Coach Bob Todd's side. OSU firstbaseman Justin Miller had three hits, including a pair of double, and three RBI. Catcher Eric Fryer also drove in three Buckeye runs. Josh Barrera improved to 2-0 going 5.1 innings and yielding seven hits, three walks and three earned runs.

Antonio Mule and Chad Noble each went yard off Buckeye pitching, but it wasn't enough as NU fell to 3-11. Ohio State is now 12-3. This is the only scheduled meeting between the two Big Ten programs this year.

The All-Weekend Team

I'm giving up some very valuable television viewing time (and possibly a quality nap) to live up to my promise. Here's the All-Weekend Team for last weekend. (When I can start giving you the the All-Weekend Team prior to the weekend in question, it's time to stop blogging and start playing the lottery.) Anyway, here are the Big Ten players who merited the oh-so-coveted title of BTH All-Weekend.

Catcher - Dusty Napoleon, Iowa (4 for 8, 1 run, 6 rbi)
Catcher - Jon Fixler, Indiana (5 for 14, 2 runs, 6 rbi)
Firstbase - Ryne White, Purdue (7 for 14, 2 hr, 3 runs, 6 rbi)
Secondbase - Kyle Reesing, Purdue (6 for 10, 2 hr, 4 runs, 6 rbi, 3 bb, 3 sb)
Shortstop - Shawn Roof, Illinois (4 for 9, 1 run, 4 rbi, 2 sb)
Thirdbase - Tony Kennedy, Ohio State (3 for 13, hr, 3 runs, 2 rbi)
Outfield- Andrew Means, Indiana (7 for 14, 6 runs, 4 rbi, 4 sb)
Outfield - Travis Sweet, Iowa (3 for 11, 4 runs, 4 rbi, 2 sb)
Outfield - Matt Angle, Ohio State (5 for 12, 5 runs, 2 rbi, 2 bb, 3 sb)
Outfield - Jordan Comadena, Purdue (7 for 12, hr, 5 runs, 2 rbi, 4 bb)
Designated Hitter - Antonio Mule, Northwestern (4 for 6, hr, 3 runs, 3 rbi, 3 bb)
Utility - J.B. Shuck, Ohio State (4 for 10, 1 run, 3 rbi, sb, 7.0 IP, 6 h, 3 r, 3 er, 2 bb, 7 k in W over Dartmouth)

Starter - Matt Bashore, Indiana (8.1 ip, 4 h, 3 r, 2 er, 2 bb, 9 k in W over FAMU)
Starter - Josh Lindblom, Purdue (8.0 ip, 4 h, 1 r, 1 er, 2 bb, 8 k in W over Samford)
Starter - Craig Brookes, Michigan State (6.0 ip, 5 h, 1 r, 0 er, 3 bb, 6 k in ND at Oklahoma -- MSU won game.)
Relief - Mike Schurz, Iowa (3.0 ip, 2 h, 0 r, 0 er, 1 bb, 5 k in W over Dallas Baptist)

I admit it's my usual uneven assortment of players and positions. You didn't expect that to change because it took me longer to post the team this week, did you? There are simply no rules on who makes it and who doesn't. It's completely arbitrary. What's the point in having my own blog if I can't act on a whim? (This type of technique keeps up and I'll land a mainstream press job yet.) However, as always, feel free to drop me a line or make a comment about how ridiculous, self serving and capricious the whole thing is. Or you can just tell me who I missed and, perhaps, I'll alter the squad.

Yes, it's beginning to look like the Purdue Invitational on offense each week. However, there's no denying that the Boiler bats have been, well, boiling. Comadena and OSU's Shuck are currently leading the BTH Player of the Year sweepstakes. Reesing had to have finished second in the Player of the Week voting to Means. Mule, Roof and Sweet each managed only two games played over the three days, yet I felt their efforts merited inclusion.

The pitching staff was tough this week. I wanted to add conference pitcher of the week, Matt Bischoff of Purdue, but his terrific start was not on the weekend and his relief performance was good, but not better than a couple of other I left off. Schurz not only got a W, but was about the only pitcher to not get hammered that game on either side.

As I've spent a while on this post, I probably won't get to post a weekend preview today. You are a fairly intelligent lot, so I'm guessing you know where to look to find out who is playing who this weekend. I'm tentatively planning a road trip out to Ann Arbor this weekend. However, the forecast is dicey at best. Rain is on the docket all three days. Saturday is my best chance at getting to The Fish, but if the weather looks good tomorrow afternoon and I can slide out of work ......

Enjoy the weekend and get out to your local college and support the baseball team.

Midweek Meanderings

Due to some unforeseen circumstances, Thoughts From The Weekend went on hiatus this week. As my early week ramblings have been set aside, I'll try and focus on volume this Wednesday night.

* The Big Ten named Indiana's Andrew Means and Purdue's Matt Bischoff as Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively.

* Iowa shortstop Jason White was tabbed as the Best Defensive Player of the Pepsi Johnny Quick Classic.

* AM 920 WMNI radio in Columbus has signed on to broadcast Ohio State baseball for the next two seasons.

* Justin Weyman, the voice of Penn State baseball, began hosting Coach Robbie Wine's weekly radio show Tuesday night.

* Wednesday scores:

Illinois 4 UMass 0 (box)
The Illini's Aaron Martin tosses eight innings of shutout baseball. Lars Davis goes 4 for 5, Ryan Hastings gets three hits in four at bats and Ryan Snowden drives in two.

Ohio State 16 Yale 10 (box)
The Buckeyes win streak runs to 10. All-Big Ten 2B Jason Zoeller goes yard and drives in four OSU runs. Fellow all-conference performer Matt Angle has three hits and steals two bases in this offense dominated affair. J.B. Shuck has a ten game hitting streak.

Penn State's opener in their new ballpark was postponed due to poor weather.

* The lone Tuesday contest:

Northwestern 4 UMass 2 (box)
Freshman Joe Muraski's first collegiate start was a complete game victory. The first year lefty allowed six hits and two walks in nine innings. CF Caleb Fields had three hits, scored twice and drove in a run. RF Max Mann had two hits and two RBI.

* For those interested in summer leagues, I have found this new website courtesy of a link provided by The Baseball Zealot.

* I'm still about a week away from looking at OPS numbers for 2007. However, Purdue's Jordan Comadena is probably the leader heading into the last weekend of non-conference action. The Boilermakers' outfielder has an OPS of 1.413. That's real good in any league.

* For those still waiting for the All-Weekend Team, I think you'll have to wait one more day. Yes, it will almost be the next weekend, but I do have to sleep in between work and other responsibilities. Unless, of course, you want to start subsidizing my lame blog, then I can type all day long.

* I mentioned that this is the last weekend of non-c0nference play. Amongst the weekend series, Michigan hosts Oakland University. Veteran readers (reader?) of BTH will know that OU was kind enough to accept my tuition several years ago, thus I root for the Golden Grizzlies. (Although, if you think about it, I paid them. Maybe they should be rooting for me?) Anyway, these match-ups with Big Ten baseball programs do pose a bit of a dilemma for me.

* For those unaware, OU head coach Dylan Putnam is the brother of Michigan sophomore sensation Zach Putnam. Dylan spent his college career pitching for Michigan State.

* Finally, a heartfelt farewell Todd Lamb, Assistant Athletics Communications Director for The Ohio State University. Todd, a friend of BTH, has landed a job with the Texas Rangers. In addition to being the baseball SID for the Buckeyes, Todd is a past president of the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. His support of college baseball, especially those programs in the north, will be missed. On a personal note, I'll miss his insights on the inner workings of college baseball. Thanks, Todd and good luck in The Show.

Yesterday And Today

Yes, I'm tardy with yesterday's results. However, I'm on top of today's results. I'll take a .500 average any day.

(Editor's note: My usual Thoughts From The Weekend feature may get pushed back to Tuesday, unless I'm up late tonight. I also hope to get the All-Weekend Team up within the next 48 hours, as well.)

SUNDAY
Minnesota 5 #8 Pepperdine 4 (box)

Ohio State 6 Dartmouth 3 (box)

Ohio State 8 Jacksonville State 3 (box)

Oklahoma 5 Michigan State 0 (box)

UMass 10 Northwestern 7 (box)

Purdue 7 Samford 6 (box)

Illinois 17 Yale 5 (box)

MONDAY
Jacksonville State 13 Northwestern 2 (box)

Ohio State 11 Yale 3 (box)

Illinois 20 Dartmouth 10 (box)

Friday And Saturday Scores

FRIDAY
#8 Pepperdine 8 Minnesota 1 (box)
RF Kyle Baran and CF Matt Nohelty had two hits a piece for the Gophers.

Iowa 17 Dallas Baptist 13 (box)
Johnny Bench Award nominee Dusty Napoleon had three hits and five RBI. CF Travis Sweet had three hits, four RBI, scored three times and stole a base. Mike Schurz pitched three scoreless innings, the only pitcher on either side that managed that feat, to earn the win.

Indiana 10 Florida A & M 2 (box)
2B David Trager went 5 for 5 tying a school record. RF Chris Hervey was 4 for 4. Tyler Tufts improved to 2-2 going eight innings and allowing six hits and a walk.

Iowa 10 Fresno State 8 (box)
In Game Two of their Johnny Quick Tournament split doubleheader, the Hawkeyes got an eight run second inning to lead them to victory. SS Jason White had three hits. Napoleon, Sweet and Ben Geelan each drove in two runs.

Michigan State 4 Oklahoma 3 (box)
2B Steve Gerstenberger had three hits and scored three times to lead MSU's offense. C Kyle Day, RF Eli Boike, 3B Justin Potes and 1B Evan Friedland each had two hits. SS Chris Roberts drove in the game winner. Mike Monterey won the game pitching three innings of two-hit, no run relief.

Oral Roberts 11 Penn State 8 (box)
PSU's Rob Yodice hit a pinch-hit grand slam and Cory Wine went yard, but ORU triumphed in 11 innings.

Purdue 8 Samford 1 (box)
Josh Lindblom pitched eight innings fanning eight. Lindblom (2-1) yielded only four hits, two walks and one earned run. 2B Kyle Reesing had two hits, scored twice and drove in three. DH Ryne White had two hits and two RBI.

SATURDAY
#8 Pepperdine 12 Minnesota 3 (box)
2B Derek McCallum went 3 for 4. Kyle Knudson drove in two Minnesota runs.

#27 East Carolina 2 Michigan 1 (box)
#27 East Carolina 3 Michigan 2 (box)
Catcher Chris Besert's two hits were the U of M highlight in Game One. Game Two went 12 innings, but ECU prevailed, again. Michigan OF Brad Roblin went 4 for 6 in Game Two. The losses dropped Michigan to 6-6, ECU improved to 15-6.

Army 10 Northwestern 3 (box)
RF Antonio Mule had three hits including a homerun. The All-Big Ten performer also drove in two Wildcats runs.

Dallas Baptist 18 Iowa 5 (box)
LF/2B Caleb Curry drove in a pair of runs and Dusty Napoleon continue his strong weekend getting a hit, run and RBI.

Jacksonville State 14 Illinois 2 (box)
Illini OF Ryan Snowden goes 3 for 4. SS Shawn Roof steals base #11.

Indiana 5 Florida A & M 3 (box)
Indiana 16 Florida A & M 10
In Game One, Matt Bashore (2-1) went 8.1 innings and struck out nine. Jon Fixler drove in all five IU runs.

Oklahoma 7 Michigan State 2 (box)
Kyle Day's two hits were the highlight for MSU.

Ohio State 9 Bucknell 5
OF Jacob Howell went 4 for 5, scored three runs and stole a base. CF Matt Angle had three hits, scored three and stole two bases. Johnny Bench Award nominee Eric Fryer had two hits and two RBI.

Oral Roberts 4 Penn State 2 (box)
OF's Brian Ernst and Rick Marlin each had three hits for the Nittany Lions.

Samford 11 Purdue 7 (box)
Kyle Reesing had two hits, including his second homer, and two RBI for Purdue. Eric Osborn had two RBI and Jordan Comadena had three hits.

Fryer And Napoleon On Bench Award List

Two Big Ten catchers are on the watchlist for the 2007 Johnny Bench Award. Ohio State's Eric Fryer and Iowa's Dusty Napoleon have both been selected amongst the twenty-seven finalists to be named the nation's top backstop.

Reviews & Previews

I've got a few recaps and a brief look at the weekend ahead. Let's start with a look at the games that have transpired to since last I typed.

Indiana beat North Florida, 10-9. The Go-Go Hoosiers finally arrive. IU scored ten runs and stole nine bases. The leading thieves were OF Andrew Means and 2B Evan Crawford who swiped three each. Means and Crawford both had two hits as did RF/1B Reid Briglia, SS Keith Haas and 3B Tyler Cox. Jason Ferrell (2-1) tossed the last two innings and picked up the win.

Iowa lost their meeting with Fresno State, 4-2. The Hawkeyes and Bulldogs squared off for the third day in a row, although this contest was officially part of the Pepsi Johnny Quick Classic. CF Travis Sweet had a hit, RBI and stole his fifth base of the year.

Minnesota continue their strong start by dropping UC Santa Barbara, 12-5. LF Mike Mee, who entered the game leading the conference in batting average, went 4 for 5. Mee also scored twice, had two RBI and stole a base. OF Sean Kommerstad had three hits and three RBI. Tyler Oaks improved to 3-1 with a win in relief. Kyle Carr came on to pitch the last 2.1 innings and got credit for his first save.

Purdue thumped Alabama-Birmingham, 14-4. Freshman pitcher Matt Bischoff made his first collegiate start a memorable one. The first year righthander fanned 11 Blazers in seven innings to post his first victory. Ryne White and Spencer Ingaldson each drove in three Boilermakers' runs. White also went yard for the first time this season.

Redemption Weekend
If this coming weekend were televised on ESPN, it would get a melodramatic title. Redemption Weekend seems most appropriate as the Big Ten has a chance to make-up for a less than stellar performance a week ago.

Minnesota can really start to raise some eyebrows this weekend when the Gophers take on #8 Pepperdine. The Gophers are off to their best start since 1998. A few wins vs. the Waves should merit some votes in the polls. Not to mention some RPI love.

Michigan also gets to take on a nationally ranked opponent this weekend. The Wolverines will visit #28 East Carolina for three starting tomorrow. ECU just swept -- repeat, swept -- Fullerton last weekend. A couple of wins vs. a very tough ECU club would help offset last weekend's losses.

Penn State's difficult non-conference slate continues with three games at Oral Roberts. ORU was given plenty of pre-season respect and are the favorites in the Mid-Con. While PSU has played tough, the wins have yet to come.

Michigan State travels to Norman to face Oklahoma. The Spartans have an opportunity to make a statement with some wins vs. OU. The Sooners are ranked as high as #21 in some polls.

Illinois is going on Spring Break in Bradenton, Florida. The Illini are looking to rebound for a 2-7 start.

Purdue will have a three game set with Samford beginning Friday. After getting swept last weekend, the Boilers will be plenty motivated this weekend.

Indiana will play Florida A & M. A week after getting swept by Florida State, IU should be hungry for some wins.

Iowa's participation in the Pepsi Johnny Quick continues this weekend.

Northwestern returns to action with a Florida trip. Amongst their opponents on Spring Break is Ohio State. The Buckeyes and Wildcats don't face each other in the regular season.

The Buckeyes will also be spending Spring Break in Bradenton. OSU is starting to gain some momentum and need to pile up wins.

After last weekend's disappointing results, there are plenty of chances for the Big Ten to redeem itself this weekend.

Tuesday Night Recaps

On Tuesday, North Florida beat Indiana in sixteen innings, 10-9. OF Andrew Means went 4 for 7 with two RBI, a run scored and a stolen base. DH Reid Brigilia and SS Keith Haas each had three hits in seven at bats. (You play 16, you get plenty of AB's.) North Florida improved to 9-11. IU fell to 4-8. The teams play again Wednesday night.

Fresno State (9-11) beat Iowa (3-3) for the second straight evening, 14-6. SS Jason White and CF Travis Sweet led off the game with back-to-back dingers for the Hawkeyes, but it wasn't enough. White finished with a three hit performance and drove in three Iowa tallies. OF Kyle Riffel also had a three hit game against the Bulldogs.

Minnesota (9-3) picked up a nice road win beating UC Santa Barbara (7-9) in ten innings, 6-5. Tom Buske pitched 5.1 innings of relief and got the win. Bill Johnson recorded his second save of the year. CF Matt Nohelty had three hits, two RBI and scored once to pace the Gophers' offense. SS Dan Lyons, OF Mike Mee, 3B Nate Hanson and 2B Derek McCallum each had two hits a piece.

Kansas gave Penn State a woodshed beating, 18-5. This is another game that's simply better to forget. Stuff happens. KU is 12-8, PSU is 2-9.

Alabama-Birmingham walked to a win over Purdue, 15-8. The Boilers issued ten walks. Ouch. OF Jordan Comadena had three hits, three RBI and hit his third homerun. Alas, Comadena broke the streak of 3's by scoring only two runs. 1B Ryne White also had three hits and two RBI. Purdue is now 4-6 having lost four straight. UAB's back to .500 at 8-8.

Fresno St. Topples Iowa

The Iowa Hawkeyes began their trip to California with a 12-10 defeat to Fresno State. A number of Hawkeye hitters posted crooked numbers. DH Brian Burmester had three hits and drove in a pair of Iowa runs. 1B Wes Freie homered, drove in two and scored twice. Freie, SS Jason White and CF Travis Sweet each had two hits, but it wasn't quite enough on a night not fit for pitchers. Iowa fell to 3-2 and Fresno State improved to 9-13.

All-Weekend Team

A day later than I would have preferred, but here is the All-Weekend Team. I'll be totally up front, this was a brutal week to pick weekend stars. Oh, there were some tremendous performances, but not too many posted great numbers over the three days. Basically, I had to review lots of boxscores and do far more math than I am capable of.

I'll start with the pitching staff, as they were an easier group to select.

Starter - Cory Luebke, Ohio State (9.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K's in complete game win)
Starter - Jon Kibler, Michigan State (7.0 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 9 K's in win)
Starter - Craig Brookes, Michigan State (6.2 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K's in win)
Starter - Scott Gaffney, Penn State (7.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, & K's in no decision vs. #23 Wichita St.)
Relief - Rory Meister, Ohio State (2 wins, 3.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K's)
Closer - Jake Hale, Ohio State (2 saves, 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K's)

Catcher - Kyle Day, Michigan State (4 for 9, 4 runs, 3 rbi, 1 sb)
Firstbase - Evan Friedland, Michigan State (5 for 13, 1 run, 4 rbi, 1 sb)
Secondbase - Steve Gerstenberger, Michigan State (9 for 14, 5 runs, 4 rbi, 2 sb)
Shortstop - Jason Christian, Michigan (5 for 12, 3 runs, 2 rbi, 1 sb; hit for cycle vs. Oklahoma)
Thirdbase - Brandon Wikoff, Illinois (4 for 12, 2 runs, 3 rbi)
Outfield - Justin Potes, Michigan State (6 for 13, 3 runs, 3 rbi, 2 sb)
Outfield - Ryan Snowden, Illinois (4 for 11, 5 runs, 3 sb)
Outfield - Kyle Hudson, Illinois (3 for 8, 1 run, 3 rbi, 2 bb, 3 sb)
Utility - J.B. Shuck, Ohio State (6 for 10, 3 runs, 2 RBI; 5.2 IP, 6 H, 1 R 1 ER, 4 BB, 6 K's)

Note a repeating theme here? Ohio State, Michigan State and Illinois are well represented. In large part, because they actually mustered some consistent offense. That led to victories, as well. Of course, not playing nationally ranked teams helped, too, but every team in the Big Ten must post wins regardless of who is on the schedule.

As I had to review and re-review (is that a word?) lots of boxscores, there is even greater potential than normal that I may have missed someone who is deserving. If you know of someone who merits inclusion, as always, drop me an email or post something in the comments section here.

Thoughts From The Weekend

This is going to be an abbreviated version of TFTW. You are going to have to wait for Tuesday, at the earliest, to gander at my All-Weekend Team. I just don't have it ready and while several selections were obvious, plenty of others were not. Big Ten bats, in particular, were dormant this past weekend. The other reason for a shortened version is that I'm stinking tired. Perhaps, the time change has done me in? You don't care, but these two items are conspiring against a full edition of TFTW. However, I'll plug away. (If I should happen to fall asleep, just leave me be.)

Crawling Before You Walk
Isn't it time that ESPN adds college baseball scores to its crawl? We are already sitting through NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, NASCAR, Men's hoops, Women's hoops (WNBA and NCAA), Arena Football, college football, tennis, golf (PGA, LPGA & Seniors), IRL, Champ Car and MLS results. Would adding college hardball finals really be that difficult?

College baseball has fewer participants than NCAA football or basketball, thus a review of nightly scores would go by rather quickly. College baseball season is also short -- February to June. It begins as college hoops season is winding down, so it could just fill in the space that the men's and women's basketball results normally occupy.

Providing season long college baseball scores would also seem like a logical extension of ESPN's College World Series coverage. In fact, I would think that the Worldwide Leaders In Sports Cross-Promotion would embrace the opportunity to saturate fans with college baseball product months in advance of their coverage. This additional promotion would come at a minimal cost, as well. (That should keep the bean counters happy.)

College baseball fans get the scores they are looking for. ESPN gets to promote the you-know-what out of their CWS broadcast for months at a relatively low cost and look like the sports leader they claim to be. It seems like a win-win to me. Anybody else with me on this?

Tournament Hosts
While watching the Big Ten basketball tournament, I was reminded of a conversation I was in during the conference's baseball version last May. It was suggested to me that the Big Ten move the conference baseball tournament to a neutral site. I countered that it would take away some of the perks of winning a conference championship. However, my point was countered with some pretty rational thought. (I hate when that happens.)

A neutral site would allow the schools, their fans and the media to know well in advance where the tournament was going to be held. This past season, we didn't know if everyone was heading to Ann Arbor or Evanston until the final weekend of the season. It's kind of hard to book hotels and make travel arrangements when you don't know where you are going.

Second, there are facilities issues. A number of Big Ten programs do not have the facilities necessary to host the Big Ten tournament effectively. Some lack lighting. Others don't have an appropriate pressbox. Some have concession issues. The Big Ten needs to treat its baseball tournament like it's important. Or, at very least, they need to pretend its important. Play the tourney in a stadium with all the appropriate amenities. Give all the parties involved a first-class experience both on and off the field.

As for what stadiums to use, pick any of the number of high quality minor league ballparks that dot the Big Ten landscape. Move the site from year-to-year or find a central location (Indianapolis was the one suggested to me) that is willing to accommodate the event and run with it.

As someone who debates attending the Big Ten baseball tournament and has to schedule time off from work to do so, these arguments for a neutral site make a whole bunch of sense to me. I'm sure the winners of the regular season conference championship might not concur, but if the premise is good enough for the basketball tournament, it should work for baseball as well.

Last Inning
* Scott Gaffney continues to impress on the mound. Having not started since Little League, Penn State's senior shortstop has been giving Robbie Wine quality starts in 2007.

* I wonder if Michigan would be in the Top 25 this week, if they had managed to hold on to ninth inning lead Friday night? A win over San Diego would have given the Wolverines two wins in three games out west. Perhaps, that might have been enough to sway a voter or two. Regardess, Michigan gets another shot at national credibility this coming weekend with three games at #23 East Carolina. (Of course, winning tournament games gains you more respect than anything else.)

* Has Ohio State's Jake Hale moved into the closer's role? The Buckeyes' number three starter has already picked up three saves in 2007.

* Gametracker continues to improve each season, but it can still be darn frustrating to follow. I love the running scores of other games.

* In addition to the Indiana at Florida State game Saturday, I saw part of Sunday's tilt between Florida and Texas A & M. Wow, did the Aggies look good. Of course, A & M is nearly as hot as the 'Noles are.

The Week Ahead

A somewhat surprising number of midweek games appear on the Big Ten schedule. Here's a look at what we have.

3/12
Iowa @ Fresno State

3/13
Purdue @ UAB
Iowa @ Fresno State
Minnesota @ UC Santa Barbara
Penn State @ Kansas
Indiana @ North Florida

3/14
Purdue @ UAB
Iowa vs. Fresno State
Minnesota @ UC Santa Barbara
Indiana @ North Florida

3/15
Penn State @ Oral Roberts

I should also direct those interested in learning more about the Fresno State program to this blog. It's always listed in my sidebar, but just in case you don't look for, I'll bring it to light now.

Sunday Finals

I did follow last night's Michigan at San Diego State affair via Gametracker. However, I have to admit that I bailed on the game in the eighth inning. The Wolverines were down 4-1 and that's how it finished. Faced with the potential of losing all three out west, Michigan (6-4) rebounded Sunday and beat Oklahoma, 8-5. SS Jason Christian hit for the cycle. Mike Wilson picked up the win. Wilson tossed 5.1 innings in relief of Chris Fetter. The loss dropped the Sooners to 13-5.

Ohio State improved to 6-3 with a 2-1 win over Connecticut. OF Michael Arp's two run double proved to be the winner. Rory Meister earned the win in relief of J.B. Shuck. Jake Hale posted his third save of the campaign. UConn is now 3-9.

#18 Auburn swept Purdue with a 12-6 win. The Boilers (4-5) didn't help themselves as they were charged with seven errors. OF Jordan Comadena continued his strong offensive showing with two more hits and two RBI. The Tigers record is now 17-2.

Penn State's Scott Gaffney's pitched another good game today, but #23 Wichita State prevailed, 2-1. The Nittany Lions (2-8) regular shortstop tossed 7.1 innings allowing four hits, three walks and only one run. The righthander also struck out seven WSU batters. However, the Shockers (13-4) plated a run in the ninth the capture the win.

Minnesota took the series with Missouri State by winning a 5-4 game today. Gophers DH Jeff DeSmidt went yard (2) and drove in two runs. Tyler Oaks got the win in relief of Dustin Braebender. Bill Johnson collected his first save. The Golden Gophers are 8-3 and Missouri State fell to 5-7.

#4 Florida State beat Indiana, 9-0, and swept the three game set. The 'Noles allowed only three Hoosier hits. Not much went right for IU (4-7) Sunday, so let's just tip our caps to red hot FSU (20-0) and move on.

Quinnipiac downed Michigan State, 12-9. An eight run eighth inning doomed the Spartans (5-6) today. 2B Steve Gerstenberger had three hits and three RBI. 1B Evan Friedland also drove in three and OF Dennis Jones had three hits. Quinnipiac is now 2-2.

Texas-Arlington put a hurt on Illinois, 12-5. Lars Davis had two RBI and Daniel Webb had two hits for the Illini.

It was a mixed bag for the conference Sunday. In general, I'd classify the weekend as a disappointment. Just not enough wins. Sure, it's nice to see Big Ten programs not get crushed on the road at the big time baseball powers. Perhaps, in light of the perception of the Big Ten and their recent lack of success, I should take heart in playing tougher against better competition. However, at some point, to really be making progress wins are necessary. There were too few W's for my taste over the last three days.

College Newspaper Links

I spent a fair amount of time last season providing links to college newspaper stories about Big Ten baseball. I haven't done that quite as much as last year, in large part because I haven't seen as many. However, with so many college basketball teams done for the year, I hope to see a rise in baseball coverage from here on out.

These are some of the stories I've found heading into the weekend series.

Jason Grodsky of the Daily Illini previews Illinois three game set with Texas-Arlington.

Indiana Daily Student writer Tim O'Brien looks at IU's eight game road trip.

The Golden Gophers series with Missouri State is the topic for Paul Cordes of the Minnesota Daily.

Scores And Semi-Live Saturday Blogging

Thanks to tip from Brian Foley of The College Baseball Blog, I found out tonight's Indiana at Florida State game was going to be on Fox College Sports Atlantic. Unfortunately, I didn't have a chance to plop myself in front of the television until the sixth inning. FSU was already up 4-0. It's now the eighth and the fourth ranked Seminoles are up 5-2 with a couple of runners on.

As I finish watching the end of the IU @ FSU game and prepare to surf the 'net for scores, I'll do so in something close to live blogging.

8:39pm IU skipper Tracy Smith is making a pitching change. FSU has loaded the bases.

8:40pm The Sun Sports broadcast team are complimenting Coach Smith and the IU squad. Tom Block and Barry Millgan have been very positive about this Hoosiers ballclub. Darn. FSU just hit a bases clearing double, it's Florida State, 8-2. Anyway, back to the announcers. They have been tossing plaudits towards the Bloomington Nine most of the evening. While they have given praise specifically to SS Keith Haas, SP Matt Bashore and the young quality arms Coach Smith has recruited, they have said on numerous occasions how IU has played the 'Noles as tough as anyone recently. It was nice to hear such positive commentary from guys who are pro-FSU.

8:49pm Still no outs for FSU. This might get ugly. Too bad. IU deserved better, but that what happens when you play high quality opposition.

8:50pm Checking the old inbox, I find OSU has won today. (IU is changing pitchers, again.) Nothing on the Buckeyes website about this yet, but Ohio State crushed Western Michigan, 10-1. LHP Cory Luebke had his second straight strong outing. Today, Luebke pitched a complete game three hitter. Luebke (2-0) walked three and struck out four. J.B. Shuck had three hits, two RBI and two runs scored.

8:56pm I click on the Penn State website to learn that #23 Wichita State shutout the Nittany Lions, 3-0. 2B Matt Cavagnaro extended his hit streak to twelve games. 3B Mike Deese had two hits to lead the PSU attack. Craig Clark struck out eight batters in seven innings of work.

9:00pm The Hoosiers down to their last three outs. FSU 8 IU 2.

9:02pm Illinois has dropped two straight to Texas-Arlington. Today, UTA beat the Illini, 13-6. Freshman Brandon Wikoff had two hits and two RBI for Illinois. UTA 1B David McLeod had three hits and four RBI. Dillon Gee pitched a complete game for UTA.

9:06pm #4 FSU wins, 8-2. 2B Evan Crawford had two more hits. Bashore pitched a pretty darn good game, too. Haas earned all the love from the Sun Sports TV guys, as well. IU could do some damage in the conference if their young arms find some consistency.

9:09pm Now, what am I going to watch?

9:10pm I check the Gophers site and see Missouri State creamed Minnesota, 12-0. Coach Anderson can't be happy, but sometimes you just get pasted and have to move on. I figure the less I say about this the better.

9:14pm Check NCAA-baseball.com. Their scoreboard indicates that #18 Auburn has beaten up Purdue, 11-0. That didn't turn out too well, either. That's two consecutive Big Ten programs getting hammered. Again, I'm not going to dwell on this one. I think the Boilermakers bats will re-emerge tomorrow.

9:20pm I flipped to the CCHA game. Michigan is beating Northern Michigan, 7-2. Looks like I'll be flipping stations some more.

9:21pm NCAA-baseball.com also gives me the Michigan State baseball score. The Spartans won, 7-5, over South Florida. MSU 2B Steve Gerstenberger went 4 for 5 with a homer and a double. Justin Potes had three hits and two RBI for MSU. Spartans starter Jon Kibler fanned nine in seven innings on the hill.

9:26pm Back to the CCHA hockey game for a second. The Northern Michigan coach was asked how to stop the Michigan offense, which was up 7-2. The coach's response? "End the game". Quality answer. Funny and honest to boot.

9:28pm It appears I have relayed all the Big Ten scores from today. Only one game remains, Michigan's encounter with San Diego State. There is going to be a Gametracker or live stats feed of some sort. Maybe, I'll follow that here plausibly live. (Hey, if it's good enough for NBC's Olympic coverage, I can use it at a paltry blog.) 10pm EST start for the Aztecs and Wolverines.

Not A Great Start

It's early yet, but this weekend has not started well for the teams of the Big Ten. Indiana is losing to #4 Florida State, 6-0, in the ninth. #23 Wichita State beat Penn State, 7-2. And to top off my brief recap, Michigan gave up three in the bottom of the ninth to fall to San Diego, 7-6. (Simply a painful loss.)

There's plenty of other action going on, so there is hope for a better night. Of course, there are two more days this weekend, as well. The Hoosiers, Nittany Lions and Wolverines will have the work cut out for them on Saturday and Sunday, too, but all three can play better.

Update:
Thank you, MSU. Michigan State stopped the bleeding and beat Quinnipiac, 8-5. Kyle Day connected on his first homer of the season and drove in three. Eli Boike had three hits and two RBI. Craig Brookes improved to 2-0. Brookes gave up two runs in 6.2 innings pitched. The Spartans' starter gave up seven hits, one walk and struck out six.

Update #2:
It takes eleven innings, but Ohio State drops North Florida, 3-2. Josh Berrera got a no decision, but twirled 8.1 innings allowing two runs. Rory Meister (1-1) picked up the win in relief and Jake Hale (2) came in to close out the 11th to notch the save. All-Big Ten CF Matt Angle went 5 for 6. J.B. Shuck and Eric Fryer each had three hits. Fryer drove in two runs including the game winner in the top of the 11th.

Minnesota beat Missouri State, 4-0. Dan Lyons and Mike Mee each had a pair of hits and a RBI. Ethan Vogt, Marcus McKenzie and Josh Oslin combined to toss the shutout. Together they allowed only five hits.

#18 Auburn nipped Purdue, 3-2. Alex Jaffee paced the Boilermakers offense with two hits and a RBI. Josh Lindblom went six striking out seven Tigers batters. He allowed eight hits and two earned runs, but no walks.

Illinois and Texas-Arlington are tied at seven in the bottom of the tenth inning.

The fourth ranked Seminoles kept their 6-0 advantage and beat the Hoosiers.

Overall, not what I was hoping for today. However, taking on three teams in the Top 25 on the road isn't the formula for success. The Big Ten held their own with the big boys last week, let's see if they can rebound Saturday.

Gophers Win, Spartans Lose On Wednesday

Minnesota beat St. Thomas, 9-2, yesterday. Matt Nohelty, Dan Lyons and Derek McCallum each had a two hits for the Gophers. Sophomore CF Nohelty also swiped a pair of bases. Starter Allen Bechstein lasted three innings -- not yielding a run or hit -- and picked up the win. The Golden Gophers improve to 6-2.

Unfortunately, Michigan State's (3-4) midweek performance came up a bit short. The Spartans lost to Stetson, 13-7. MSU freshman RF Eli Boike, who continues to emerge as one of the conference's top newcomers, had a 4 for 5 game. Boike also scored twice and drove in two more Spartan scores. 1B Evan Friedland had a three hit game.

The Spartans are currently trailing South Florida, 12-5. It's the seventh inning. I doubt I'll have a link to the game recap this evening, so look for it tomorrow. I can tell MSU fans that Justin Potes and Dennis Jones each have two RBI. E.J. Daws has three hits.

IU Wins, MSU Stumbles

Indiana shutout Butler, 6-0, today. IU's fabulous freshmen continue to lead the charge. C Josh Phegley pounded out three hits, all doubles. The first year Hoosiers' backstop also scored once and drove in a pair of tallies. 2B Evan Crawford collected two more hits and scored once.

Chris McCombs started for IU (4-4) and went six innings allowing seven hits. McCombs didn't yield a run or a walk and fanned five Bulldog batters. The junior righthander improved his record to 1-1.

In a game from yesterday, Michigan State fell to Central Florida, 7-5. The Spartans (3-3) offense was led by 3B Justin Potes and 2B Steve Gerstenberger who each had three hits. DH Sean Walker drove in two for MSU.

Central Florida's Carmine Giardina struck out ten Spartans in six innings and earned the win. For me, the most interesting stat line came from Golden Knights' CF Tyson Auer. Auer did not record a hit and had only one official at bat, but scored once, drove in one, walked four times and stole four bases.

Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Tyson Auer cf............  1  1  0  1   4  0  0  0   0

SB - T.Auer 4(10); K. Vazquez(1); Richardson(4).

Spartans Stop Pitt, 4-3

Michigan State rallied to upend Pittsburgh, 4-3 Monday. The Spartans plated three in the eighth and one in the ninth to claim victory. SS Brandon Doherty had a 5 for 5 day. Freshman LF Chris Roberts went 2 for 3. Mark Sorenson won in relief of Jon Kibler. Sorenson (1-1) pitched three hitless innings of relief. He allowed no runs, a walk and fanned four.

Thoughts From The Weekend

Yes, it's another thrilling edition of "Thoughts From The Weekend". In today's episode, I'll clean up some missing links from Sunday, look at some of the big wins since Friday and try to crank out another All-Weekend Team. Who knows what else I might type, so why not tag along?

Boxing Up Those Links
There were several boxscores that I never got around to providing links for Sunday night. While I suspect that if you were truly interested you would have obtained this information by now, it gives me something to fill space with.

There's Game One between Minnesota and Arkansas. The Hogs prevailed 5-1, not that we need to revisit that final. Of course, there's Game Two, as well. The Gophers emerged victorious, 10-5, in the finale of the Dairy Queen Classic. I do wonder if the doubleheader splits with Ole Miss and Arkansas will serve Minnesota better in the RPI and SOS categories? If The Citadel had been able the make the trip, the doubleheaders would never have happened. Perhaps, we will look back on this as a boost to the Gophers at-large tournament hopes. (Should they need an at-large berth.)

There's Purdue's 13-1 drubbing of Western Kentucky. The win gave the Boilers a weekend sweep. Purdue bats started out hot and stayed that way all weekend long.

Finally, in a game that I had no information about 48 hours ago, Michigan State pounded on St. Joseph's 22-1. Yep, that's a twenty-two. Needless to say, there were plenty of offensive stars to choose from. However, in the interest of keeping you informed, freshman RF Eli Boike paced the Spartans with four RBI. 1B Evan Friedland had three hits, three RBI and scored three times. Brandon Doherty and Steve Gerstenberger had three hits a piece, as well. Craig Brookes got the win going five innings allowing only two hits and a walk.

Beating The Big Boys
The Big Ten had a good showing this weekend. Big Ten programs downed Mississippi State (in Starkville), Troy, #15 Arkansas, #16 Mississippi, #3 North Carolina, Notre Dame and #22 Nebraska.

There will undoubtedly be naysayers. I can hear their excuses already. Iowa won a rain shortened affair both days. Minnesota played at home. Penn State should have been swept, but for a fluky ninth inning homer. Michigan altered its pitching rotation to beat Mississippi State. This is a down year for "fill in the school a Big Ten program beat this weekend here". Yada, yada, yada.

While Minnesota's doubleheader splits with #15 Arkansas and #16 Ole Miss and Michigan's Saturday sweep of Troy and Mississippi State were great for both schools and the conference's street cred (not to mention their RPI), both programs are considered powers, albeit Big Ten powers. What should raise an eyebrow south of the Mason-Dixon line is that neither Iowa or Penn State are considered among the Big Ten's baseball elite.

Yet, Iowa pummeled a Notre Dame program -- the only one in the snowbelt that has any credibility with the national media, then turned around and came back from trailing 8-0 to beat the 'Huskers, 12-8. Rain, schmain. The Hawkeyes beat up Irish and Cornhusker pitching. It might not happen again, but it did happen this weekend.

Meanwhile, Robbie Wine's young men gave highly ranked North Carolina (Baseball America has the 'Heels #1) all they could handle over three days. The Nittany Lions managed only one late inning triumph, but lost Sunday by only a run and handled themselves rather well in hostile territory. A Big Ten program goes on the road against a Top 5 nationally ranked program and you think "embarrassment". I think it's safe to say that PSU wasn't embarrassed.

Now, before you dismiss my clearly biased praise, take a look at one national media guy said about the Big Ten's weekend. CSTV's Eric Sorenson has some love for the entire conference in his Teams of the Week feature. Way to spread that love, E.

The All-Weekend Team
I could probably just name every Purdue batter to the All-Weekend Team and be safe. The Boilers beat the snot out of the ball this weekend. However, to keep things balanced and avoid charges of laziness or being a Purdue homer, I'll assemble a team with something in addition to Boilermakers. Oh, please remember the math here is mine. I was not a math major. For good reason. Anyway, here goes.

C - Lars Davis, Illinois (8 for 15, 2 3b, 5 runs, 5 rbi)
C - Spencer Ingaldson, Purdue (9 for 13, 3 2b, 8 runs, 2 rbi)
1B - Ryne White, Purdue (7 for 11, 3 bb, 6 runs, 5 rbi)
2B- Evan Crawford, Indiana (8 for 15, 4 runs, 3 rbi)
SS- Keith Haas, Indiana (5 for 13, HR, 3 runs, 6 rbi)
3B- Nate Recknagel, Michigan (6 for 14, 3 HR, 4 runs, 6 rbi)
OF - Kyle Hudson, Illinois (8 for 12, 4 runs, 5 rbi, 2 sb)
OF - Jordan Comadena, Purdue (9 for 15, 2 hr, 3 2b, 7 runs, 6 rbi, 2 sb)
OF - Travis Sweet, Iowa (6 for 8, 5 runs, 4 rbi, sb)
OF - Mike Mee, Minnesota (6 for 13, 3 2b, 3b, 3 runs, 2 rbi, 2 sb)
DH- Andy Preston, Purdue (7 for 12, 2 HR, 4 runs, 5 rbi)
SP - Cory Luebke, Ohio State (W, 7 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 11 K vs. Lehigh)
SP - Zach Putnam, Michigan (W, 7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K vs. Miss. State)
SP - Ricky Heines, Purdue (W, 6 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K vs. Western Ky.)
SP - Craig Clark, Penn State (ND, 8 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K vs. UNC)
SP - Josh Lindblom, Purdue (W, 7 IP, 9 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 7 K vs. Western Ky.)
RP - Drew O'Neil, Penn State (W, 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K vs. UNC)

Ok, I cheated a bit. I took two catchers this week. Oh, like you could have picked just one. I crammed in an extra outfielder, too. I just couldn't leave any of the four guys out. I also slid Michigan's Recknagel over to third. Hey, he did play there this weekend, it's just not his normal position. Alright, maybe I cheated quite a bit. It was exceptionally difficult to bypass anyone this week.

In spite of my various alterations, I more than likely missed someone. If I did, please email me.

I hope you enjoyed this edition of my weekend round-up. Hopefully, I can get next week's to you in more prompt fashion. Remember, March is here. College baseball will be back here soon.

Sunday Wrap

Illinois 11 Stephen F. Austin 6 (box)
SS Shawn Roof recorded a school record four stolen bases. Roof, Lars Davis and Brandon Wikoff all pounded out three hits. Kyle Hudson went 4 for 4 with 4 RBI. Billy Barrett got the win pitching two innings of relief. Brian Long earned the save.

Indiana 4 Northern Iowa 2 (box)
Matt Bashore posted his first victory. The freshman gave up five hits and two runs over 7.1 innings. Bashore fanned four and walked three. LF Kipp Schultz had three hits. 2B Evan Crawford had two more hits as did SS Keith Haas.

Iowa 12 #13 Nebraska 8 (box)
The Hawkeyes came back from an 8-0 deficit. CF Travis Sweet had three hits, three runs scored and four RBI. Iowa C Dusty Napoleon drove in three runs including the game winner. This game was called after eight innings so Iowa could return home. Nonetheless, a fabulous win for Jack Dahm's side.

#11 Arkansas 5 Minnesota 1 (Game 1)
Minnesota 10 #11 Arkansas 5 (Game 2)
The Gophers split their doubleheader with the Razorbacks to conclude the 2007 Dairy Queen Classic. The UMN site does not have data available yet, but I'll try to post some tonight. Minnesota had a strong showing this weekend in beating nationally ranked opposition.

New Mexico State 11 Northwestern 6 (box)
NU 1B Jake Goebbert had three hits, two RBI and a run scored in the loss. Fellow freshman, Chad Noble drove in two more Wildcat runs. NMSU CF Joseph Scapertotta had three hits (including a homer), three runs scored and two RBI.

Ohio State 7 Lehigh 2 (box)
As mentioned much earlier today, Cory Luebke whiffed eleven Lehigh batters en route to his first victory of 2007. (If I crank out an All-Weekend Team, I think it's safe to assume that Luebke makes it.) C Eric Fryer had three RBI, CF J.B. Shuck had two.

#3 North Carolina 5 Penn State 4 (box)
The Nittany Lions battled the highly ranked Tar Heels tough all weekend long, but walk away with a 1-2 record. RF Brian Ernst led the offensive charge today with two hits and three RBI. UNC 1B Dustin Ackley had three hits and three RBI. Tar Heels' All-America SS Josh Horton scored three times.

Purdue 13 Western Kentucky 1 (box)
The Boilermakers swept their series at WKU. I'm having some difficulty tracking down a boxscore, but I'll try to provide a link later. Safe to say that Purdue's offense was in high gear all weekend long.

Early Sunday Scoring

A number of Big Ten schools are in action early this Sunday. Ohio State has already defeated Lehigh, 7-2. LHP Cory Luebke struck out eleven batters in seven innings to post the win. The All-Big Ten hurler gave up only three hits, three walks and two earned runs. Rory Meister came in and got his second save. C Eric Fryer drove in three Buckeye runs. CF J.B. Shuck drove in two more. (OK, where's regular OSU CF Matt Angle?)

Illinois is beating Stephen F. Austin, 8-5 in the eighth inning. Illini CF Kyle Hudson is 4 for 4 with 4 RBI. 3B Brandon Wikoff is 3 for 6 with a RBI and SS Shawn Roof has a pair of hits and has driven in two scores. SFA does have two on and no one out in the bottom of the 8th. Stay tuned.

Iowa is hanging with Nebraska. The Cornhuskers lead it, 8-7 in the eighth. Iowa CF Travis Sweet has homered, driven in three, scored twice and stolen a base to lead the Hawkeyes attack. Iowa is coming to bat in the bottom of the 8th. Again, more to come.

Indiana and Northern Iowa are tied at 2-2. Hoosiers LF Kipp Schultz is 2 for 2 and driven in a run. It's ....... 3-2, Indiana. SS Keith Haas just singled to score 2B Evan Crawford to put IU up in the bottom of the fifth.

Update:
Lars Davis tripled in two more Illini runs and they are beating Stephen F. Austin, 10-6. Illinois continues to bat in the ninth.

Minnesota and Arkansas are underway with the Razorbacks holding an early 4-1 lead. SS Dan Lyons has left the yard for the Gophers.

Update # 2:
Iowa has beaten #13 Nebraska, 12-8. A great win for the Hawkeyes. More on this game later today or tonight.

Illinois prevailed over SFA, 11-6.

Indiana has tacked on a run and leads 4-2.

Northwestern and New Mexico State are tied at 4 in the fifth inning.

#3 UNC is beating Penn State, 5-1.

Arkansas continues to lead Minnesota, 4-1 in the sixth.

UTPA Tops Illinois, 5-3

In a late updated score from yesterday, Illinois fell to Texas-Pan American, 5-3. Freshman 3B Brandon Wikoff and CF Kyle Hudson each had a pair of hits in the loss. Both stole a base, as well. Mike Stankiewicz started and lasted six innings. He allowed six hits and fanned four.

Big Day For Big Ten

It wasn't a perfect twenty-four hours for the baseball programs in the Big Ten Conference, but they did post a number of quality wins.

Iowa beat Notre Dame, 8-1. The Hawkeyes were up seven on the Irish when rain forced the cancellation of the remainder of the game. Travis Sweet went 3 for 3, scored twice and stole a base to lead Iowa. SS Jason White homered and 3B Kevin Hoef drove in two. Steve Turnbull started for the Hawkeyes and went 5.1 innings to gain the win. Turnbull allowed only two hits and fanned six. Big win #1.

Michigan swept their doubleheader in Starkville, Mississippi. In the opener, Michigan beat Troy, 11-3. U of M 3B Adam Abraham went 3 for 6 and had two RBI. SS Jason Christian had two hits, two RBI and scored three times. Nate Recknagel hit his third homerun. RHP Andrew Hess picked up his first win of the year going 7.1 innings. (This was a pretty big win, too, but just continue to read.)

The nightcap saw the Wolverines prevail over host Mississippi State, 4-3. Michigan sophomore RHP Zach Putnam was the story here. Putnam pitched seven innings of three hit, one run baseball. Putnam also struck out six Bulldogs batters. Closer Ben Jenzen posted his second save of the year. 1B Nate Recknagel went yard again, his fourth of the season. C Doug Pickens also hit his second homerun of the season. Big win #2.

In the Dairy Queen Classic, Minnesota dropped #16 Mississippi, 3-2. A three run eighth inning erased a 2-0 Ole Miss lead and provided the Gophers with their fourth win of the year. Mike Mee drove in two of those eighth inning tallies, Jeff DeSmidt plated the winner. Josh Oslin picked up his third save of the season. Big win #3.

Ole Miss did rebound to capture the finale, 9-4. Gophers 1B Bryan Jost went 3 for 4 including his first homer and drove in two. The Rebels had a pair of players knock out three hits.

Penn State provided big win #4 by beating top ranked North Carolina, 3-2. PSU catcher Rob Yodice went yard to tie it in the ninth and the Nittany Lions manufactured the game winner in the tenth. Craig Clark pitched eight strong innings for PSU. Clark allowed four hits, three walks, two earned runs and struck out two, although he did not factor in the decision. The win went to Penn State reliever Drew O'Neil who pitched two scoreless innings. Big (stinking) win #4.

While not the highlight quality of the other victories today, Illinois blasted Sam Houston State, 14-5,. Illini C Lars Davis went 4 for 5, scored three times and had two RBI. 2B Ryan Hastings had two hits, two runs and two RBI. Scott Shaw claimed the win. He pitched five innings of four hit, two run baseball. (Editor's note: This game took place late Friday, not Saturday. The Saturday score appears in the next post.)

Ricky Heines improved to 2-0 in Purdue's 12-5 win over Western Kentucky. Heines struck out seven in six innings of work. The RHP also gave up six hits, two runs, one earned and walked two. From the offense, Boilermakers DH Andy Preston had three hits, including a homer (2), and three RBI. 1B Ryne White had three hits, three runs scored and two RBI. LF Jordan Comadena also had three hits.

As I said to start, it wasn't a perfect day for Big Ten baseball programs. Northwestern dropped both ends of its doubleheader. Texas-Arlington pounded on the Wildcats, 20-2. Jake Owens' three hits were probably the best thing about the first game for NU. In the second affair, Dallas Baptist beat Northwestern, 9-8. Chad Noble, Max Mann and Antonio Mule all had three hits. Mann and freshman 1B Jake Goebbert each hit their first homer.

Memphis also rained on the Big Ten parade today by beating Indiana, 5-3. IU freshmen Evan Crawford and C Josh Phegley each had two hits.

Actual rain stopped the Ohio State vs. Duquesne game. The contest will not be made up. In a late Friday result, OSU beat Georgetown, 7-5. Dan DeLucia improved to 2-0 behind an eight inning, six hit, four run, nine strikeout performance. Jake Hale earned the save. C Eric Fryer homered and drove in two. 3b Tony Kennedy also drove in a pair of Buckeye runs.

All in all, Saturday was a very good showing for Big Ten programs. Wins over Notre Dame, Mississippi, Mississippi State and North Carolina don't happen often, let alone all in one day. And, honestly, beating Troy probably should be on the list of big wins, as well. They are
often tournament bound, so that would make for five big wins today.

There is a long, long way to go, but hopefully the Big Ten earned a bit of respect today. If nothing else, let's hope they earned some RPI points.

(My apologies to those looking for more stats on the opposing schools. I usually give the opposition some cyber-ink, but I'm in a bit of a hurry this evening, so I just provided the Big Ten perspective. I'm not terribly enamored with my lack of balance, either, but I opted for speed over quality.)

Friday Scores

Indiana 16 Eastern Illinois 7 (box)
The Hoosiers began the AutoZone Classic in style by thumping EIU. IU freshman 2B Evan Crawford continues to lead the IU offense. Crawford went 4 for 6 with three runs scored and drove in three more. SS Keith Haas had four RBI and went yard for the first time in '07. Freshman Jason Ferrell won the game for IU in relief. IU is now 2-2 on the year, as is Eastern Illinois.

Troy 13 Michigan 6 (box)
Troy's seven run seventh inning gave them the victory over the Wolverines in the opener of the Cadence Bank Classic. Troy CF Ian Craze and LF Kevin Weidlich each went 4 for 5. Weidlich drove in three, Craze two. Ryan Ellison picked up the win in relief. Chris Fetter started and went five innings for Michigan. He fanned seven, but allowed four runs and eight hits. Michigan's offensive star was C/1B Nate Recknagel who collected three hits including his second homerun. Recknagel drove in three runs. Troy is 9-3, Michigan 3-2 heading into a re-match Saturday morning.

North Carolina 8 Penn State 4 (box)
The Tar Heels went yard four times to double up PSU. Nittany Lions 2B Matt Cavagnaro, DH Joe Blackburn and SS Scott Gaffney each had a pair of hits in the loss. UNC All-America SS Josh Horton went 4 for 4 with a homer. Heels' 1B Dustin Ackley also went deep and drove in three runs. PSU starter Seth Whitehill lasted five innings and took the loss. All-America P Robert Woodard went six innings for UNC. Woodard posted his third triumph against no losses. He struck out eight Nittany Lions batters, allowing eight hits, two runs, one earned and walking no one en route to lowering his ERA to 0.92. (Yeah, he's good.)

Purdue 10 Western Kentucky 6 (box)
The Boilermakers' Spencer Ingaldson tied a school record by going 5 for 5 in the win. Purdue's catcher also scored three times and drove in two. 1B Andy Preston had two hits and two RBI and LF Jordan Comadena had three hits and drove in two. RHP Josh Lindblom went seven innings yielding nine hits, three earned runs and fanning seven Hilltoppers. Andrew Groves faced two batters to earn the save. Purdue is now 2-2, WKU is 5-2.