Feb. 26, 2010

Lineup Card

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

Feb. 22-28, 2010

Florida and Florida State were both postponed on Friday due to snow. The Gators were scheduled to host La Salle, but the Explorers were not able to get out of Philadelphia on Thursday. The same fate met Hofstra, which was slated to play in Tallahassee against the Seminoles. Both series are expected to play doubleheaders on Saturday and single games on Sunday.

LSU junior right-hander Anthony Ranaudo will miss Friday’s start against William & Mary due to discomfort in his throwing elbow. LSU head coach Paul Mainieri said it is classified as a stress reaction that does not involve ligament damage, and does not appear to be a long-term condition.

Thursday’s UC Irvine-Coastal Carolina contest in Baseball at the Beach has been postponed. The Anteaters and Chanticleers will play a doubleheader on Saturday at noon. The James Madison-NC State matchup for Saturday will be moved to Watson Stadium/Vrooman Field on Coastal Carolina’s campus at 1 p.m.

Former Long Island player Frank DiMasi signed a contract to play professional baseball in Italy for Piacenza Baseball, one of the top teams in the Italian Division 2 and has played in three championship games over the past 10 years. The regular season consists of 36 games, two per week. DiMasi batted .345 a season ago for the Blackbirds with 10 doubles, three home runs and 37 RBI.

Thursday games to watch: No. 5 UC Irvine vs. No. 17 Coastal Carolina, Siena at No. 7 Florida, Bethune-Cookman at Texas Tech, Oregon at Hawaii, San Diego at San Diego State.

Kyle Roller became the first East Carolina player to join a unique 40-40 club – home runs and hit by pitches. On Tuesday against Old Dominion, Roller was plunked twice to extend his school record to 40. He smacked a three-run homer in the sixth to give him 40.

Army’s three-game series this weekend at UMBC was cancelled, as was Monmouth’s three-game set at George Mason. Army will now meet George Mason in a three-game series at Durham Athletic Park in Durham, N.C. The teams will play a noon doubleheader on Saturday and a single game on Sunday at 11 a.m.

The series between Georgetown and NYIT has been moved from Washington, D.C., to Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Va. The teams will play a Saturday doubleheader at 11 a.m. and a single game on Sunday at noon.

San Francisco has moved its weekend series with Cal Poly to San Luis Obispo due to inclement weather in the forecast and wet field conditions. The Dons have also added a game with UTSA on Saturday, March 6, now a doubleheader at 11 a.m.

Matt Gaudet of LSU and Wil Browning of ULM were named Louisiana Sportswriters Association Baseball Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively. Gaudet batted .600 (6 for 10) with two homers and six RBI in LSU’s three-game sweep of Centenary. Browning retired the final eight batters to earn a save Friday at No. 20 Ole Miss. He fanned the first three he faced, including two in the seventh with the tying run on second.

Congratulations to Stetson head coach Pete Dunn, who reached 1,100 career victories in a doubleheader sweep of Siena on Tuesday.

Wednesday games to watch: McNeese State at No. 1 LSU, No. 4 Georgia Tech at Georgia Southern, UCF at No. 7 Florida, FGCU at No. 13 Miami (Fla.), Lamar at No. 15 Rice.

Virginia is No. 1 in polls by Baseball America and Rivals.com. It is the first No. 1 ranking in school history for the Cavalier baseball program.

Tuesday games to watch: No. 4 Georgia Tech at Georgia Southern, Dallas Baptist at No. 5 Texas, Texas State at No. 15 Rice, Cal Poly at Pepperdine, Western Carolina at Charlotte, UCLA at Long Beach State.

Auburn outfielder Justin Fradejas injured his left hand swinging a bat this past Friday and will be limited to pinch-running for the next several weeks.

Jon Gyles of La Salle and Brian Streilein of Villanova were named Philadelphia Big 5 player and pitcher of the week, respectively, in voting by the city’s head coaches and sports information directors. Gyles hit .636 (7 for 11) with two doubles and five RBI in three games at NC State. Streilein fanned 12 in 6.2 scoreless innings in a 13-2 win at Norfolk State. He allowed three hits and walked three.

Georgia fans will be able to contribute to the Prayers for Chance fund this season at Foley Field. A goal of at least $100,000 has been set for Chance Veazey, the freshman who was paralyzed from the waist down in a scooter accident this past fall. The Bulldogs are wearing a special “CV” logo on their uniforms and helmets in honor of Veazey.

Furman will host Western Illinois for three games this weekend, a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday and a 1 p.m. contest on Sunday.

Pitching coach Troy Buckley has been named Associate Head Coach at Long Beach State. He returned to the program after two seasons as Coordinator of Minor League Pitching with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Buckley had been pitching coach with the Dirtbags from 2002-07.

Thanks to Tami Cutler in the Wichita State Athletic Media Relations Office, we have attendance figures for Division I for the first weekend of the 2010 season. LSU had the three top crowds, averaging nearly 11,000 per game. Arkansas, Ole Miss and South Carolina each averaged more than 7,000 per game. Tami will release the attendance figures each week. click here for attendance figures

Congratulations to three head coaches who reached milestones over the weekend. LSU head coach Paul Mainieri (right) earned his 1,000th career win on Saturday and Ohio State head coach Bob Todd reached 1,000 on Sunday. Georgia Tech skipper Danny Hall got his 900th career victory on Saturday.

Lamar swept a doubleheader on Saturday against Maine, with the nightcap going 17 innings. It was the longest game in Cardinal history.

California swept a three-game series from Southern Utah and did not allow a run. The Golden Bears won 14-0 on Friday, then posted victories of 22-0 and 10-0 in a doubleheader on Saturday.

Zach Cone hit for the cycle in Georgia 9-5 loss to Duke on Saturday. Cone had a home run in the second, a triple in the third, a single in the fifth and a double in the ninth.

(photo by Jimmy Jones)