July 11

Lineup Card

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

July 1-11, 2010

Former Major League All-Star Darin Erstad has returned to his alma mater, Nebraska, as an assistant coach. The three-time Gold Glove winners will be the hitting coach for the Huskers. Erstad was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1995 MLB draft and spent 14 seasons in the big leagues with the Los Angeles Angels (1996-06), Chicago White Sox (2007) and Houston Astros (2008-09). He helped the Angels win their first World Series title in 2002. Erstad was a first-team All-American and Golden Spikes Award finalist in 1995 for the Huskers, as well as the starting punter for Nebraska’s 1994 national championship football team.

Tulane assistant coach Jack Cressend will move to Houston as pitching coach. Associate head coach Chad Sutter will resume his role as pitching coach for the Green Wave and volunteer assistant Jake Gautreau will be promoted to hitting coach, according to Tulane head coach Rick Jones.

Long Beach State has added Jesse Zepeda to its coaching staff as hitting coach and recruiting coordinator. Zepeda spent the past seven seasons as an assistant at Cal Poly. He finished his collegiate career at Oklahoma, helping the Sooners reach the College World Series in 1995. Zepeda spent four seasons in the minor leagues in the Toronto Blue Jays and Detroit Tigers systems.

UNF head coach Smoke Laval named Tim Parenton and Judd Loveland as full-time assistants. Parenton spent the past three years at Jesuit High School in New Orleans after stints as an assistant at Old Dominion, Mississippi State and Florida. He was head coach at Samford from 1998-2004. Loveland was a graduate assistant with the Ospreys in 2006 and 2009 before becoming a volunteer assistant this past year. He will be recruiting coordinator as well as working with the catchers and outfielders.

Trip Couch will be the recruiting coordinator at Houston. He previously worked with the Cougars from 1995-2000. Couch spent one season at Texas before becoming a scout for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2002.

East Carolina hired Dan Roszel as pitching coach. He spent the past two seasons at the College of Charleston as pitching coach and recruiting coordinator. A 2000 graduate of UNF, Roszel also coached at FGCU, Gardner-Webb and Lake City Community College.

Junior first baseman Paul Hoilman of East Tennessee State won the inaugural College Home Run Derby Wednesday evening at Rosenblatt Stadium. He defeated Jordan Ribera of Fresno State and Matt Skole of Georgia Tech in the final round. The event will be broadcast on CBS on Sunday, July 11, at 1 p.m. EDT. click here for Omaha World-Herald story

South Carolina junior outfielder Whit Merrifield has agreed to a contract with the Kansas City Royals. He was a ninth-round selection in this year’s MLB draft. Merrifield batted .321 with 13 home runs and 42 RBI this past season. He had the game-winning RBI single in 11th inning of the Gamecocks’ 2-1 win over UCLA for their first national title.

Valparaiso head coach Tracy Woodson (right) has signed a four-year contract extension through the 2014 season. The Crusaders were 24-32 this past season, Woodson’s fourth campaign at Valpo, and were 9-10 in the Horizon League. Three of Woodson’s players have been taken in the MLB draft, including a pair in 2010.

Matt Kirby was promoted to assistant coach at Georgetown after being a volunteer assistant with the Hoyas this past season. He was pitching coach and recruiting coordinator for two years at Villanova. Kirby also coached at Brown, William and Mary and VMI. Kirby was a two-time captain at William and Mary and graduated in 2003.

Derrick Dunbar will return to his alma mater, Austin Peay, as an assistant coach. He was an assistant for the past two seasons at Memphis, working with the infielders and hitters. Dunbar also was responsible for the summer and winter camps, summer high school tournaments and fall instructional league. He also coached at Jackson State Community College, serving as the recruiting coordinator, hitting coach and infield coach for the Generals. Dunbar was a pitcher and first baseman for the Governors from 1999-2002.

Right-hander Raymond Copenhaver of The Citadel has signed a free agent contract with the Chicago White Sox. He has been assigned to the Great Falls Voyagers of the Pioneer League. Copenhaver was 3-1 with one save in 2010 with a 3.25 ERA. In 33 appearances, he fanned 28 in 36 innings. Copenhaver had 135 career appearances, the most of any pitcher in Southern Conference history.

UAB right-hander Ryan Woolley will participate in the California Collegiate League All-Star Game on July 14 at MLB’s Urban Youth Academy in Compton, Calif. A member of the San Luis Obispo Blues, Woolley is 2-0 with a 2.57 ERA in five starts. He has walked nine and fanned 40 in 28 innings. Opponents are hitting .229 against him.

Outfielder Drew Hillman of UC Irvine will also compete in the California Collegiate League All-Star Game. A member of the Academy Barons, Hillman is hitting .260 with five doubles, one homer, seven runs and eight RBI.

Peter O’Brien of Bethune-Cookman homered as the Red team defeated Blue 4-1 Tuesday in the Collegiate National Team trials at the National Training Center in Cary, N.C. Matt Barnes of Connecticut struck out eight in three innings to earn the win. Nick Martini of Kansas State and Jackie Bradley Jr. of South Carolina both had two hits.

John Peterson had been named an assistant coach at Eastern Kentucky. He was a volunteer assistant at Middle Tennessee the past three seasons under his father, MTSU head coach Steve Peterson. Peterson will work with catchers and hitters and assist with recruiting. He will also direct the EKU baseball camps. Peterson was a catcher for two years at Cleveland State Community College before playing two seasons at Memphis as a catcher and first baseman. He was a student coach at Memphis before working as an assistant at Jefferson State Community College.

UALR added former Pittsburgh assistant Brandon Rowan to its coaching staff and promoted Jeremy Haworth to a full-time assistant spot. Rowan spent two seasons as pitching coach with the Panthers. A 2004 graduate of Memphis, Rowan will be pitching coach and recruiting coordinator with the Trojans. Haworth was a student assistant coach the past two years at UALR. He will work with the hitters and team defense. Haworth was an All-American under Trojan head coach Scott Norwood at Ouachita Baptist.

Senior ULM pitchers Wil Browning and Drew Granier have been selected to All-Star teams in their respective summer leagues. Browning has five saves in 14 appearances for the Danville Dans in the Prospect League. He has fanned 18 in 18 innings with an ERA of 2.00. Granier is 3-0 with a 3.06 ERA with the Harrisonburg Turks in the Valley League. He has struck out 36 in 35.1 innings with opponents batting .220 against him.

Jordan Pries, a rising junior right-hander at Stanford, pitched a no-hitter on June 30 for Yarmouth-Dennis in the Cape Cod League. Pries (2-0) was perfect through six and finished with three walks and four strikeouts. Pries faced two over the minimum while using 107 pitches, 66 for strikes. He walked the first two batters of the seventh, but neither scored. After a perfect eighth, Pries allowed a leadoff walk in the ninth. He got a comeback double play and a flyout to secure the no-hitter.

Austin Peay pitchers Ricky Marshall and David Vicini have signed professional contracts. Marshall inked a free-agent deal with the Chicago White Sox and is expected to join the Bristol White Sox in the Appalachian League. Marshall was 11-9 in two seasons with the Governors. Vicini signed with the Windy City Thunderbolts of the independent Frontier League. He was 8-9 at APSU in 89 appearances over five seasons.

William and Mary head coach Frank Leoni was recently inducted into the Rhode Island Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Leoni was head coach at the University of Rhode Island for 13 years, compiling a record of 146-118-1 over his final five seasons. He led the Rams to a pair of Atlantic 10 regular-season titles. URI earned its first NCAA tournament berth in 2005 after winning the A-10 championship.

Former Nicholls State standout Bubba Bell will represent the Pawtucket Red Sox of the International League in the Triple-A All-Star Game. The outfielder is hitting .308 in 63 games with four homers and 31 RBI. Bell is in his sixth year in the Boston Red Sox organization after being taken in the 39th round of the 2005 draft.

Former Furman hurler Matt Klinker was named to the 2010 Southern League All-Star team. He posted a 5-4 record with a 1.75 ERA with the Carolina Mudcats prior to his promotion to Triple-A Louisville. The right-hander allowed 63 hits and 17 walks in 82.1 innings with 71 strikeouts. Klinker is in his fourth year in the Cincinnati Reds chain after being selected in the 15th round of the 2007 draft.

Former VCU pitcher Jerry Dipoto was named interim general manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Dipoto has worked with the Diamondbacks since 2006, having been the team’s vice president for player development over the past two seasons. He spent two years (2003-04) as a scout for Boston and was Colorado’s player personnel director in 2005. Dipoto pitched in the major leagues for eight seasons with the Indians, Mets and Rockies after hurling for the Rams from 1987-89.

Former Saint Mary’s standout Bryan Byrne was named to the Southern League All-Star Team. Byrne is batting .268 in 71 games with the Mobile BayBears with five homers and 34 RBI. He was taken by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 12th round of the 2005 draft.

Dallas Baptist has named Bob Keller pitching coach. He was pitching coach at Michigan the past six seasons. Keller had 16 hurlers earn All-Big Ten honors and 10 were selected in the MLB draft. Keller was also an assistant at Georgia State and Birmingham-Southern. He was a pitcher and outfielder at Biola, graduating in 1992.

Illinois pitcher Brian de la Torriente was named to the Prospect League All-Star Team. He is 2-2 with a 2.18 ERA in five starts for the Dupage Dragons. He has 26 strikeouts in 33 innings.

Former Buffalo infielder Brad Agustin has signed a contract with the Normal CornBelters of the independent Frontier League. He batted .343 this season with 17 doubles, eight homers, 39 RBI, 59 runs and 18 steals. Agustin owns the Bulls career records with 204 games, 793 at-bats, 241 hits and 168 runs.

Former Penn State hurler Nate Bump will represent the Lehigh Valley IronPigs of the International League in the Triple-A All-Star Game. Bump has seven wins and an ERA of 2.55 for the Philadelphia affiliate. He pitched for the Nittany Lions from 1995-98. Bump was a first-round pick of the Giants in 1998 after being taken by the Red Sox in the 23rd round the previous year.

(photos courtesy of ETSU and Valparaiso Media Relations Office)