June 28, 2010

College World Series Results and Recaps

College World Series Capsules

Savage Named CBI Coach of the Year

RICHMOND, Va., – After guiding his team to the third College World Series in school history and its first appearance in the championship series, UCLA skipper John Savage has been named national Coach of the Year by CollegeBaseballInsider.com.

Savage was selected from a group of five finalists, which included Jim Schlossnagle of TCU, John Pawlowski of Auburn, Tim Esmay of Arizona State and Ray Tanner of South Carolina

UCLA finished 27-29 a year ago and currently stand 24 wins better at 51-15 and two wins from its first national title in college baseball. Savage guided the Bruins to a second-place finish in what turned out to be a standout year in the Pac-10 in which eight teams made the NCAA Tournament. UCLA was ranked in the Top 25 in only one preseason poll (Baseball America, 23) but got off to a fast start by winning its first 22 games. The Bruins have closed by going 21-5, including coming back after a loss to beat Cal State Fullerton in the Super Regionals and picking up their first three wins in College World Series history.

“This is always a difficult decision, and this year was no exception,” said Phil Stanton, co-founder of CollegeBaseballInsider.com. “UCLA has showed signs of breaking through the past few years but did it in a way that not many expected. John Savage has led the Bruins to the brink of a national title one year removed from a losing season. We congratulate Coach Savage and his tremendous staff for a fantastic season.”

Schlossnagle brought the Horned Frogs to Omaha for the first time in program history. TCU won its Regional before going to Austin to take two of three from second-seeded Texas in the Super Regionals. The Frogs posted three wins in their first College World Series appearance. TCU won both the Mountain West regular season and tournament titles for the fourth time in the past five seasons. The Frogs finished with a record of 54-14, setting a school record for wins in a season.

Pawlowski guided the Tigers to a Regional berth for the first time since 2005. Auburn hosted a Regional for the fourth time and the first since 2003. The Tigers posted a record of 43-21 and captured the SEC West for the first time since 1995. Auburn led the nation with 131 home runs, 2.05 homers per game and a slugging percentage of .591. The Tigers had never led in any team category prior to 2010.

In his first year as interim head coach, Esmay led the Sun Devils to the No. 1 overall national seed in the NCAA Tournament. ASU won its Regional and Super Regional before falling at the College World Series. The Sun Devils went 52-10 and won the Pac-10 title with a 20-7 conference mark. ASU was an amazing 36-3 at home. The 2010 Pac-10 Coach of the Year, Esmay had ‘interim’ removed from his title in early June.

Tanner has guided the Gamecocks to another 50-win season and to a berth in the CWS Championship Series. South Carolina won its Regional and the Myrtle Beach Super Regional to reach Omaha. The Gamecocks lost their first CWS game, but won four straight to reach the title series. South Carolina has been to 11 straight NCAA tournaments and has averaged 47 victories over that stretch.

CollegeBaseballInsider.com has covered Division I college baseball on a national level since 2002. Past CollegeBaseballInsider.com coaches of the year include Brian O’Connor of Virginia in 2009, Paul Mainieri of LSU and Mark Marquess of Stanford in 2008, Tim Corbin of Vanderbilt and Rob Childress of Texas A&M in 2007, John Cohen of Kentucky in 2006, Pat Casey of Oregon State in 2005, David Perno of Georgia in 2004 and Elliott Avent of North Carolina State in 2003.