Feb. 7, 2010

Lineup Card

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

Feb. 1-7, 2010

South Carolina sophomore outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. will miss four to eight weeks with a broken right hand. A freshman All-American in 2009, Bradley batted .349 with 11 home runs and 46 RBI in 63 games with 61 starts. He hit .500 (9 for 18) in the Greenville Regional with two homers and eight runs.

Junior outfielder Austin Homan (right) will wear East Carolina’s honorary No. 23 jersey this season. The No. 23 jersey was the number worn by the late ECU head coach Keith LeClair. Homan, one of four captains, batted .354 in 2009 with 24 runs and 19 RBI in 43 games with 15 starts. The number is awarded annually to a player who best displays the hustle, determination and desire that made LeClair a great coach and player.

Old Dominion announced that seniors Jake McAloose, Cory Toth and John Malbon will be captains for the 2010 season. Third baseman McAloose batted .413 with six homers and 44 RBI a season ago. Lefty Toth made 13 appearances on the mound in 2009. First baseman Malbon had a game-winning two-run homer at VMI.

Junior Brent Tanner went 3 for 3 with a double, two runs and two RBI to lead South Alabama past its alumni Sunday at Stanky Field. Jake Overstreet went 3 for 4 with a double, two runs and two steals for the Jaguars.

Northern Colorado head coach Kevin Smallcomb was inducted into the Mendocino College Athletics Hall of Fame. He was the head coach of the Eagles for 10 years from 1992-2002. Smallcomb had an overall record of 250-147. He was conference Coach of the Year in 1996.

Steve “Ash” Aeschleman (left), who had volunteered as Bradley’s baseball PA announcer for two decades, passed away Sunday. Aeschleman, 56, worked at the Peoria Journal Star and also handled PA duties for Illinois Valley Central High School sporting events.

Seton Hall hired Marc Fink as volunteer assistant coach. Fink was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in 1994 and had a nine-year professional playing career. He coached for three years at his alma mater, Jackson Memorial High School, before joining the Pirates.

Baseball America put together college baseball’s Best of the Decade. click here for story

Eric Sorenson has done an amazing job with previews all 303 Division I teams. Visit collegebaseballtoday.com.

Auburn has named its four captains for the upcoming season: seniors Austin Hubbard and Ryan Jenkins, junior Kevin Patterson and sophomore Jon Luke Jacobs. Jenkins and Patterson were both captains a season ago.

The Big 12 will have four games televised on Fox College Sports. Times are Central.

Sunday, March 21 Nebraska at Texas 1 p.m.

Sunday, April 18 Texas at Texas A&M 1 p.m.

Sunday, April 25 Oklahoma at Texas A&M 1 p.m.

Sunday, May 2 Baylor at Texas 2:30 p.m.

Conference USA announced its preliminary television schedule:

CBS College Sports

Saturday, April 24 East Carolina at Rice 3 p.m. EDT/2 p.m. CDT

Friday, April 30 Southern Miss at Tulane 8 p.m. EDT/7 p.m. CDT

Friday, May 14 Southern Miss at Rice 8 p.m. EDT/7 p.m. CDT

Friday, May 21 Houston at East Carolina 8 p.m. EDT/7 p.m. CDT

Saturday, May 29 C-USA Championship Game 8 p.m. EDT/7 p.m. CDT

Comcast Sports Southeast (CSS)

Tuesday, March 16 Texas at Rice 7:30 p.m. EDT/6:30 p.m. CDT

Thursday, April 1 Houston at Rice 7:30 p.m. EDT/6:30 p.m. CDT

Friday, April 2 Houston at Rice 7:30 p.m. EDT/6:30 p.m. CDT

Tuesday, May 18 Rice at Houston 7:30 p.m. EDT/6:30 p.m. CDT

Bright House Network (Florida)

Tuesday, March 9 Miami (Fla.) at UCF 7 p.m. EDT/6 p.m. CDT

Tuesday, March 16 USF at UCF 7 p.m. EDT/6 p.m. CDT

Tuesday, March 9 Stetson at UCF 7 p.m. EDT/7 p.m. CDT

Cox Sports Television (Louisiana)

Tuesday, May 18 LSU at Tulane 7:30 p.m. EDT/6:30 p.m. CDT

FIU baseball and softball will hold their annual Diamond Dinner on Saturday, Feb. 13, at the Graham Center Ballroom on the Modesto Maidique campus. The event starts at 6 p.m. and will include cocktail reception, dinner and live and silent auctions. Former Major League manager and current ESPN analyst Buck Showalter will be the guest speaker.

Former South Carolina standout Justin Smoak (right) won the 2009 Richard W. “Dick” Case Award as USA Baseball’s Athlete of the Year. Smoak earned the award based on his performance on the 2009 USA Baseball World Cup team that won a gold medal at the IBAF World Cup in Europe in September. He smacked nine home runs and was named the event’s Most Valuable Player.

The Fresno State baseball and softball teams will have their annual “Meet the Teams” autograph session on Feb. 6 at the River Park Promenade. The softball team will sign autographs from 1-2:30 p.m., while the baseball squad will sign from 4:30-6 p.m.

Virginia will have 31 regular-season games broadcast on Newsradio 1070 WINA, as well as all ACC and NCAA tournament contests. Michael Bisceglia and Dave Koehn return for their second year as the play-by-play voices of the Cavaliers. Jay Jenkins will be back as color analyst. He has covered the team for seven years while writing for the Daily Progress.

New Mexico will have 26 of its games broadcast on 101.7 The TEAM (KQTM FM), beginning with its series at No. 1 Texas on Feb. 19-21. Scott Galetti will call the play-by-play action as he does for Lobo football and men’s basketball.

Former UC Riverside baseball player Rob Vernatchi, who has been an NFL official since 2004, will work his first Super Bowl on Sunday. Vernatchi was a first baseman for the Highlanders in 1979 and 1980. Vernatchi lives in Sacramento and is an investigator with the State of California, Department of Health Services.

Milwaukee has added a second home date at Miller Park. The Panthers game against Northern Illinois on May 12 will be played at Miller Park following the Brewers and Atlanta Braves game at 12:10 p.m. This date is in addition to the April 28 doubleheader against Northwestern at Miller Park.

Former Connecticut head coach Andy Blaylock is the 2011 recipient of the ABCA/Wilson Lefty Grove Award, the highest honor presented by the ABCA. Blaylock posted a record of 556-492-8 in 24 seasons as head with the Huskies after 15 years as an assistant in Storrs. He led UConn to a pair of Big East titles and three NCAA Tournament appearances.

The Auburn baseball team and the Diamond Dolls will hold their second annual Strike Out Cancer 5K on Saturday, Feb. 13. The proceeds will go to the East Alabama Medical Center in honor of Mary-Louise Pawlowski, daughter of head coach John Pawlowski. After the 5K, the coaching staff will hold an on-field youth clinic while the team will sign autographs.

The Big 12 will have six games telecast on FSN, including the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship. Times listed are Central.

Sunday, March 28: Texas at Texas Tech, 12 p.m.

Saturday, April 10: Missouri at Oklahoma, 2 p.m.

Saturday, April 17: Texas at Texas A&M, 5:30 p.m.

Saturday, April 24: Kansas State at Missouri, 2 p.m.

Saturday, May 1: Kansas at Oklahoma State, 2 p.m.

Sunday, May 30: Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship, 1 p.m.

Cal State Bakersfield will team up with Bakersfield’s Southwest Baseball Little League to hold a free skills clinic for all registered BSWB members on Saturday, Feb. 6. The clinic goes from 9 a.m. to noon at Aera Park.

(photos courtesy of USA Baseball, and Bradley and ECU Media Relation Offices)