August 22

Lineup Card

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

August 16-22, 2010

Chuck Ristano has been hired as the volunteer assistant at Notre Dame. He was pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at Temple this past season. Ristano was an assistant at Monmouth from 2006-09, helping the Hawks to a pair of conference titles and NCAA Tournament bids. Ristano was a two-time captain and four-time NEC All-Academic Team selection at Sacred Heart (2001-04). He earned a degree in sports management in 2004 and was pitching coach at his alma mater in 2005.

Jimmy Dykstra will join LSU for the upcoming season. The right-handed pitcher and outfielder played one season at Yavapai (Ariz.) Junior College before transferring to LSU. He will be a sophomore with three years of eligibility remaining. Dykstra was selected in the 40th round of the 2009 draft by Boston and was picked in the 50th round this year by Colorado.

South Carolina head coach Ray Tanner will be honored on Sept 1 prior to the 7 p.m. start of the Charleston Riverdogs-Greenville Drive game at Joe Riley Park in Charleston. He will be presented a key to the city by Charleston Mayor Joe Riley. Tanner will throw out the first first to former Gamecock and current Riverdog player DeAngelo Mack.

Rusty McNamara has been named assistant coach at Hawaii. He spent the past three seasons at UC Riverside, serving as hitting coach and first base coach and working with the outfielders. McNamara played at Riverside Community College before transferring to Oklahoma State. He was first team all-Big 8 and honorable mention in 1996. McNamara was first team all-Big 12 and third team All-America in 1997. He earned his degree from OSU in 1998. McNamara was drafted in the 21st round by Philadelphia and played in the Phillies and Braves organizations before playing professional baseball in Italy.

The new Coastal Carolina baseball/softball hitting and practice facility is on schedule to be completed for use this fall. The $1.2 million facility, located behind the centerfield wall at Watson Stadium, will have a full artificial turf practice infield with as many as 12 hitting cages.

Illinois has begun expansion of its clubhouse, which will double the size of the locker room. The renovation will cost $800,000, funded by a private gift, and is scheduled to be completed before the opening weekend of the 2011 season.

Former Austin Peay pitcher Matt Reynolds has been called up to the Major Leagues by the Colorado Rockies. A 2007 graduate, Reynolds was taken by the Rockies in the 20th round of the 2007 draft. He was 1-3 this season in Colorado Springs with seven saves and a 2.62 ERA in 50 appearances. Reynolds struck out 67 and walked 16 in 55 innings

The USA Baseball Women’s National Team won the bronze medal Sunday with a 15-5 win over host Venezuela in six innings in the 2010 International Baseball Federation Women’s World Cup in Maracay, Venezuela. Jenna Martson went 2 for 3 with two RBI for Team USA, led by head coach Don Freeman. The Americans lost 6-1 to Japan on Saturday in the semifinals. Fumi Kimura of UC Irvine served as press officer.

Memphis outfielder Drew Martinez will return for his junior season. He was drafted in the 23rd round by the New York Mets. Martinez was second team All-Conference USA in 2010, batting .377 with 62 runs, 41 RBI and 19 steals.

T.J. Bruce has been hired as an assistant coach at UCLA. A former player and assistant at Long Beach State, Bruce will be the infield coach, help with recruiting and assist with the hitters. He coached for five seasons at LBSU, as the 49ers earned a pair of NCAA Tournament bids. Bruce played for one season at Long Beach State in 2004 after two years at Cerritos College and one season at Texas Tech.

Taylor Black will return to Kentucky for his senior season. The shortstop was taken in the 28th round of the 2010 draft by the St. Louis Cardinals. Black started 55 games and batted .270 with 11 home runs, 37 RBI and 12 stolen bases.

Valparaiso has hired Adam Piotrowicz as an assistant coach and promoted Brian Schmack to associate head coach. Piotrowicz was hitting and catching coach at Heidelberg University for the past two years. He also handled recruiting and designed a strength and agility program. Heidelberg finished fourth at the 2010 Division III World Series and won the Ohio Athletic Conference regular season and conference tournament titles each of the past two years. Piotrowicz played at Manchester College from 2005-08. Schmack enters his fifth season with the Crusaders. He is pitching coach and recruiting coordinator.

Middle Tennessee will hold its annual Grand Slam Fish Fry fundraiser on Monday, Oct. 11, at 6 p.m. at the Tennessee Livestock Center on the MTSU campus. The event will feature fried catfish, Cajun gumbo and hot dogs. Contact the Middle Tennessee Ticket Office for ticket information.

Pete Milas has been promoted to full-time assistant coach at Ball State after serving as a volunteer assistant with the Cardinals this past season. A native of Muncie, Ind., Milas earned a bachelor’s degree in exercise science from Ball State in 2003. He has been head coach at Monroe Central High School in Parker City as well as an assistant coach at Wapahani and Wes-Del High School.

Pitchers Jesse Meaux and Kevin Gelinas will return to UC Santa Barbara after failing to sign professional contracts after both were drafted in the 44th round of this year’s draft. Gelinas was taken by the New York Mets and Meaux was picked by the Philadelphia Phillies. Gelinas fanned six in five innings in 2010, but only appeared in four games due to injury. Meaux was 8-3 this past season with a 4.41 ERA.

UCLA’s five incoming freshmen signed to National Letters of Intent who were selected in the 2010 MLB draft did not sign professional contracts and will play for the Bruins. The list includes outfielder Brenton Allen (Cerritos, Calif./Gahr/Philadelphia Phillies, ninth round), right-hander Adam Plutko (Glendora, Calif./Glendora/Houston Astros, sixth round), right-hander Nick Vander Tuig (Oakdale, Calif./Oakdale/Toronto Blue Jays, 39th round), right-hander Zach Weiss (Irvine, Calif./Northwood/Pittsburgh Pirates, 10th round) and infielder Kevin Williams (Van Nuys, Calif./Crespi/Los Angeles Dodgers, 41st round). UCLA has two drafted upperclassmen returning: senior outfielder Chris Giovinazzo and redshirt junior left-hander Mitchell Beacom.

Six Georgia Tech incoming freshmen who were drafted did not sign professional contracts: right-hander DeAndre Smelter (Macon, Ga./Tattnall Square Academy/Minnesota Twins, 14th round), shortstop Mott Hyde (Resaca, Ga./Calhoun/Toronto Blue Jays, 44th round), first baseman/outfielder/left-hander Daniel Palka (Lyman, S.C./Greer/Philadelphia Phillies, 19th round), infielder Chris Triplett (Fayetteville, Ga./Sandy Creek/Detroit Tigers, 47th round), right-hander Matthew Grimes (Hoschton, Ga./Mill Creek/Chicago White Sox, fourth round), and right-hander Dusty Isaacs (Lebanon, Ohio/Lebanon/Pittsburgh Pirates, 50th round). Pitcher Kevin Jacob will return for his senior season.

Andrew Toles (Tyrone, Ga./Sandy Creek), a fourth-round pick of the Florida Marlins, did not sign a professional contract and will attend Tennessee.

Texas will have three home fall exhibition games at Disch-Falk Field. The Longhorns will host Texas State on Sunday, Oct. 10, at 1 p.m. Texas will entertain Vanderbilt on Friday, Oct. 15, at 5 p.m. and on Sunday, Oct. 17, at 1 p.m.

Bradley LeCroy has been hired as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Clemson. He will be recruiting coordinator and work with the hitters and outfielders. LeCroy was an assistant the past three seasons at Tennessee. He was an assistant at Anderson College from 2001-02, a volunteer assistant at Clemson from 2003-05 and an assistant at Western Carolina from 2006-07. LeCroy played four seasons with the Tigers from 1997-00. He earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Clemson in 2001.

Former Panther pitcher Bobby Bennett has been named director of operations at Georgia State. He earned a degree in real estate in 2008. Bennett fanned 116 in 161.2 career innings at Georgia State. He has been commissioner of the Sunbelt Baseball League since graduation, handling the administrative, financial and recruiting needs for the 240 student-athletes and 25 coaches. Bennett was head coach at Heritage Christian Academy in Buford in 2009.

Pitching coach and recruiting coordinator Justin Blood has been promoted to associate head coach at Connecticut. Blood begins his sixth season with the Huskies. The 2010 UConn squad posted a school-record 48 wins and earned its first NCAA Tournament berth since 1994. The Huskie pitching staff had a team ERA of 3.19, 17th in the nation.

Oral Roberts had two signees taken by the Baltimore Orioles in the 2010 MLB draft, but both will play for the Golden Eagles. Freshman right-hander Alex Gonzalez (Boca Raton, Fla./Boca Raton) was picked in the 11th round and junior outfielder Brandon King (Hanford, Calif./Fresno City College) was taken in the 16th round.

Georgia pitcher Justin Grimm and signee Drew Cisco inked professional contracts on Monday. Grimm signed with the Texas Rangers and Cisco signed with the Cincinnati Reds.

Illinois State had three drafted freshmen turn down professional contracts to play for the Redbirds: catcher Mike Hollenbeck (Joliet, Ill./Joliet Township/Boston Red Sox, 14th round), pitcher Johnny Lieske (Machesney Park, Ill./Harlem/Texas Rangers, 35th round) and infielder Brock Stewart (Normal, Ill./Normal West/New York Mets, 40th round).

Texas A&M will hold walk-on tryouts during September. There will be a mandatory 6 p.m. meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 7, at Olsen Field. Tryouts begin on Sept. 20. Students need proof of a sports physical that has been completed in the past six months as well as results from a sickle cell blood test. Contact the Aggie baseball office for additional information.

Stanford will hold its annual alumni weekend on October 23 and 24. The Cardinal football team will face Washington State on Saturday for Homecoming. The alumni games will be held on Sunday, with the Old Timer’s Game at noon and the varsity against the alumni at 1:30 p.m. A barbeque will follow the second game.