Jan. 17, 2010

Lineup Card

Lineup Card is a feature highlighting notes from around college baseball.

Jan. 11-17, 2010

Texas will hold its annual Fan Appreciation Day and Alumni Game at Disch-Falk Field on Jan. 30. Gates will open at 9 a.m. Fans will be treated to a player autograph session and a photo opportunity with Bevo. Admission is free. Current major leaguers Huston Street, Drew Stubbs, Taylor Teagarden and Curtis Thigpen are expected to play for the alumni team.

Danny Hultzen has been invited to the 2010 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Trials in July. The team will travel to Tokyo, Japan, for the FISU championship. The sophomore pitcher/first baseman was 9-1 a season ago with a 2.17 ERA. He fanned 107 in 95 innings. Hultzen batted .327 with three homers and 37 RBI.

William & Mary will host its annual First Pitch Banquet on Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. at the Williamsburg Hospitality House. The banquet will follow the Tribe’s game against Maryland-Eastern Shore at Plumeri Park at 2 p.m. Former Major League pitcher Claude Osteen will be the guest speaker. Osteen recorded 196 victories in 18 seasons in the big leagues with the Reds, Senators, Dodgers, Astros, Cardinals and White Sox. His grandson, Derrick, is a Tribe infielder.

Former UCF standout Mike Maroth will be a non-roster invitee to spring training with the Minnesota Twins. The lefty has appeared in 147 games with the Tigers and 14 with the Cardinals. Maroth missed all of 2008 with a shoulder injury. Former Knight Justin Pope will join the Class A Staten Island Yankees as a coach. He pitched in the minor leagues for seven seasons. A season ago, Paul worked as a coach with Staten Island manager Josh Paul in the New York Yankees extended spring training.

Former Maryland-Eastern Shore standout Ira “Dude” Smith will be inducted into the MEAC Hall of Fame. A native of Chestertown, Md., Smith won consecutive Division I batting titles in 1989 (.488) and 1990 (.519). He became the first to win back-to-back batting crowns. Smith was drafted by the Dodgers in 1990 and played professionally until 2003. He is also a member of the UMES Hall of Fame and the Eastern Shore Baseball Hall of Fame.

Nebraska will participate in the Omaha Meet and Greet on Jan. 23, sponsored by the Husker Home Run Club. The event will be at the Embassy Suites in LaVista from 9-11 a.m. The gathering will feature juice, coffee and doughnuts, a chance to hear from members of the Husker coaching staff and meet several players.

Fresno State will have 42 games broadcast on KMJ. Paul Loeffler and Ray O’Canto will call 27 home games, 15 road contests and all postseason games.

Cal Poly second baseman Matt Jensen has been invited to the USA Baseball Team Trials for the second straight year. The sophomore suffered a fractured collarbone this past May and was unable to participate in the 2009 trials. The trials are from July 5-11 in Cary, N.C. Team USA will participate in the V FISU World University Championships in Japan. Jensen batted .375 a season ago with 15 doubles, nine homers and 53 RBI in 42 games. The Freshman All-American had a 23-game hitting streak, the third longest in Cal Poly Division I history.

LSU senior Blake Dean (right) was named the 2010 Collegiate Award winner by the Fort Walton Beach (Fla.) All Sports Association. He will be honored in absentia at the All Sports Association’s 41st Annual Awards Dinner on Feb. 19, the opening day of the 2010 season. click here for story from Northwest Florida Daily News

Senior right-hander Jay Brown and senior catcher Kyle Enders have been selected captains for South Carolina in voting by their teammates. Brown was 3-0 with a 3.35 ERA and 35 strikeouts in 48.2 innings this past year after missing the 2008 season. A three-time SEC Academic Honor Roll member, Brown has already earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and is pursuing a master’s in public administration. Enders hit .261 in 67 games a season ago. The accounting major is also a three-time SEC Academic Honor Roll member.

NC State will have its first doubleheader of the season on Feb. 13. The Wolfpack will have its alumni game at 1 p.m., followed by its annual First-Pitch Banquet at 7 p.m. The banquet will be held at the new Downtown Raleigh Marriott. Dan Plesac, Doug Strange and Steve Martin will make up the second class of the program’s Hall of Fame.

Former Major League pitcher and Washington native Darcy Fast will be the featured speaker at Portland’s 2010 Diamond Dinner on Feb. 6 at the Chiles Center. Fast pitched in eight games as a 21-year-old in 1968 for the Chicago Cubs. Due to a military commitment in 1969, he remained in college and pitched part-time for the Tacoma Cubs, helping them win the Pacific Coast League title. He was labeled “The Missing Cub” because he was not available to pitch for Chicago as it lost the division title to the Miracle Mets. A reception and silent auction starts at 5 p.m., with dinner at 6:30 p.m.

East Carolina will hold its 10th annual “Meet the Pirates” luncheon on Feb. 6 at 11 a.m. at the Murphy Center’s Harvey Banquet Hall. Fans will have a chance for autographs and photos of the 2010 Pirates and fifth-year head coach Billy Godwin. The team will hold an intra-squad scrimmage following lunch.

Former Major League pitcher Jim Morris will be the featured speaker at the eighth annual Arkansas State Baseball Grand Slam Banquet on Feb. 16 at the Convocation Center. Morris was the subject of Disney movie “The Rookie.” The banquet will also feature live and silent auctions as well as an autograph session with the 2010 Red Wolves. Head coach Tommy Raffo will address the crowd and preview the upcoming season.

TCU sophomore right-hander Kyle Winkler has received an early invitation to participate in the 2010 National Team Trials from July 5-11. Winkler was 7-1 with a 4.15 ERA as a freshman. He made 17 appearances with 14 starts. Winkler fanned 48 in 73.2 innings.

Arizona State has named Mike Benjamin as a volunteer assistant coach. He spent two seasons with the Sun Devils before playing professional baseball. He was an All-American shortstop in 1987, hitting .327 with 18 homers, 55 RBI and 30 steals. Benjamin was a third-round pick of the Giants in 1987. He played 13 seasons in the major leagues, with San Francisco, Philadelphia, Boston and Pittsburgh.

Seven players at UT Arlington are recipients of endowed scholarships for the 2009-10 academic year.

Shane Hopkins (Sr., Finance) – Cary Courtright Memorial Scholarship Endowment

Chad Comer (Jr., Interdisciplinary) – Clay Gould Endowed Scholarship

Jordan Vaughn (So., Management) – James V. Leggett Jr. Academic/Athletic Endowment Baseball Scholarship

Michael Choice (Jr., Interdisciplinary) – Steve Macko Memorial Endowment Fund

Jason Mitchell (Sr., Economics) – Marvin “Butch” McBroom Endowed Scholarship Fund

Steffan Guest (Sr., Management) – Wayne M. Wade Academic/Athletic Endowed Baseball Scholarship

Stephen Krolick (So., Mechanical Engineering) – Marvin and Shirley Applewhite Athletic Endowment

(photo by Jimmy Jones)