Day Two of the WAC Tournament in Mesa, Ariz. saw one team eliminated (Hawai’i), one team run-ruled (Nevada) and one team give up a 10-run inning (New Mexico State). The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs bounced back from a crushing 4-3 walk-off loss at the hands of Nevada to eliminated Hawai’i 9-6 sending the 4-seeded Rainbow Warriors packing their bags for Honolulu. The second game of the day saw 2-seed Sacramento State crush 3-seed Nevada 15-5 after the Wolf Pack had jumped out on top 3-2. The third game of the day also saw the winning team post 15 runs as perennial tournament bully Fresno State overpowered New Mexico State behind the strength of a 10-run second inning en route to a 15-8 victory.
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Day one of the WAC tournament is in the books and day two has begun.
5-seed Fresno State continued their historically strong play in the tournament (23-3 since 2006) defeating 4-seed Hawai’i 8-2 behind a 6-run sixth inning. The Bulldogs will face top seed New Mexico State tonight at 7:00 p.m. (PDT).
3-seed Nevada won in dramatic walk-off fashion getting a home run from Carlos Escobar in the bottom of the ninth to stun 6-seed Louisiana Tech. The Ruston-based Bulldogs have been snakebitten all season losing several games either in the final inning or in walk-off fashion.
Nevada will take on 2-seed Sacramento State today at 3:00 p.m. (PDT) while Louisiana Tech is relegated to the losers bracket with 4-seed Hawai’i and the two will face each other today at 11:00 a.m. (PDT) in an elimination game.
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The 2012 Western Athletic Conference baseball tournament gets underway today at Hohokam Park in Mesa, Ariz. The regular season saw a three-way tie for first place between New Mexico State, Sacramento State and Nevada at 11-7. The Aggies earned the top seed due to the league’s tiebreaker rules (head-to-head record against the tied teams) while Sacramento State earned the number two seed by virtue of their head-to-head series victory over Nevada. This was important because the league awards first-round byes to the top two teams meaning Nevada, despite winning a share of the regular season title, was relegated to the three seed and must play on the tournament’s opening day.
The four seed went to Hawai’i who finished the regular season at 10-8. Preseason favorite Fresno State struggled out of the gate starting conference play at 2-7 but rallied in the second half of the conference schedule to finish 9-9 and in fifth place. Rounding out the tournament field is Louisiana Tech who also struggled out of the gate starting 1-8 in league play but like their Bulldog brethren from California, posted a strong second half and finished 7-11.
The four lower seeds will play today with 4-seed Hawai’i facing 5-seed Fresno State at 3:00 p.m. (PDT) while 3-seed Nevada takes on 6-seed Louisiana Tech at 7:00 p.m. (PDT).
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MESA, AZ – The Western Athletic Conference released its 2012 all-WAC baseball teams and postseason awards as selected by the league’s head coaches. Sacramento State junior second baseman Andrew Ayers was named the Player of the Year and Nevada sophomore Bradey Shipley earned Pitcher of the Year honors. The Freshman of the Year award went to Sacramento State outfielder Rhys Hoskins. Sacramento State’s Reggie Christiansen was named WAC Coach of the Year.
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Big Ten
Park Ridge, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference announced on Friday the sites for its 2013 and 2014 baseball tournaments. The 2013 Big Ten Baseball Tournament will be held at Target Field in Minneapolis, the home of Major League Baseball’s Minnesota Twins, marking the first time that the event will be held at a Major League Baseball facility. The 2014 tournament will be held at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Neb., the site of the NCAA Division I Men’s College World Series.
The Big Ten Baseball Tournament has been played as a neutral-site event in Columbus, Ohio, since 2009. The event was held at Huntington Park, the home of the Triple-A Columbus Clippers, in 2009 and 2011 and will be played at that ballpark May 23-26, 2012. The tournament was held at Ohio State’s Bill Davis Stadium in 2010. Prior to 2009, the Big Ten Baseball Tournament was played at the site of the regular-season champion or the champion from a pre-selected division, with the exception of 1993 and 1994, when it was held in Battle Creek, Mich.
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National Pitcher of the Year
LUBBOCK, Texas —The College Baseball Hall of Fame announced Friday the 25 pitchers on the newest edition of the Pitcher of the Year Award Watch List.
The winner of the Pitcher of the Year Award, sponsored by Diamond Sports, will be announced on June 30 in Lubbock, Texas, as part of the annual College Baseball Night of Champions. The event features the presentation of numerous awards and the induction ceremony for this year’s Hall of Fame class.
“The pitchers on this list continue to demonstrate excellence on the mound,” said award co-chair Landon Holly. “As we’ve progressed through the season, we’ve been able to narrow down the list, but we’ve also added some players who’ve excelled in the second half of the regular season.”
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The Big West Conference Board of Directors today announced the addition of San Diego State University as a member of the Conference effective July 1, 2013. San Diego State becomes the eleventh Conference member institution.
Long Beach State University President Dr. F. King Alexander, Chair of the Big West Board of Directors, made the announcement. “The Big West Conference’s success at attracting both Hawai‘i and now San Diego State is due to its strong stability especially during a very unstable period of national conference realignment. SDSU will bring to the Big West a very large market adding to the national standing of the conference. They are a very good university with a rich history and will fit in very well with the other 10 strong institutions.”
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HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky University announced today that it has accepted an invitation to join the Atlantic Sun Conference and will begin reclassification to NCAA Division I status in athletics during the 2012-13 academic year.
The Atlantic Sun’s Board of Presidents voted unanimously Tuesday to extend the invitation to NKU, pending its successful reclassification. The NKU Board of Regents voted unanimously this afternoon to accept the invitation from the Atlantic Sun and reclassify.
“This day has been a long time in the making,” said NKU President James Votruba. “Today we begin a new era not just for our athletics program, but for our institution and our region. Division I athletics will help position the university regionally and nationally in a way that otherwise would not be possible.
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SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Home series against Oklahoma State, Washington, San Diego State and UC Irvine highlight the 2012 Cal Poly baseball schedule announced by Mustang director of athletics Don Oberhelman and head coach Larry Lee.
Cal Poly will open the 2012 season by hosting Oklahoma State for a three-game set Feb. 17-19 and also will entertain Washington for three games March 9-11 and San Diego State, coached by Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn, for a quartet of games March 23-25.
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WEST POINT, N.Y. – Army baseball head coach Joe Sottolano released the Black Knights’ 2012 schedule this week. The rigorous slate features 19 home games at Doubleday Field, including three Patriot League series.
Army will open its season the third weekend of February (17-19) as the Black Knights travel to High Point, N.C., to face High Point in a three-game series. The team will then make the trek to Washington, D.C., for a three-game set versus George Washington the following weekend (Feb. 25-26).
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Hello Everyone,
On October 27, 2011, the University of Rhode Island baseball team lost a teammate and a brother, Joseph Paul Ciancola. I want to start by saying that, on behalf of the Rhody baseball team, our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Ciancola family.
Although under the most unfortunate of circumstances, I recently had the pleasure of meeting Joey’s family, and I now know where he got his smile, strength and love. Michele Ciancola, Joey’s mother, has been an incredible inspiration to all of us throughout this difficult time. Her strength is unmatched.
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LAS CRUCES, N.M. - After winning the 2011 NCAA batting title and winning 30-plus games for the third straight season, New Mexico State head baseball coach Rocky Ward has released the 2012 schedule, which features 31 home games and six teams that made it to the 2011 NCAA Tournament.
NM State produced a 34-24 record in 2011 while wining 26 of those games at home in Presley Askew Field. The Aggies face six teams that reached the NCAA Regionals in 2011 including Sacred Heart and Kent State at home. Head coach Rocky Ward expects his team to be competitive with every opponent in 2012.
2012 CBD All-American Teams Announced
Top 100 Countdown: 1. Mark Appel (Stanford)
Top 100 Countdown: 2. Mike Zunino (Florida)
Top 100 Countdown: 3. Deven Marrero (Arizona State)
Top 100 Countdown: 4. Michael Roth (South Carolina)
