Sept. 12

Lineup Card

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

September 6-12, 2010

Cal State Fullerton announced staff changes. Assistant coach Greg Bergeron will take over as recruiting coordinator. Volunteer assistant Gregg Wallis was promoted to a full-time assistant. Kirk Saarloos will be an undergraduate assistant, while P.J. Pilittere will be the volunteer assistant. Saarloos pitched in the major leagues for seven seasons with Houston, Oakland and Cincinnati. He was an All-American for the Titans in 2001, going 15-2 with four saves. Pilittere has spent seven minor-league seasons as a catcher, including this season with the Triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees. He was a four-year letterman at Fullerton from 2001-04.

Auburn head coach John Pawlowski (left) received a two-year contract extension through 2015. The Tigers earned their first SEC Western Division title in 15 years this past season, posting a 43-21 overall mark and a 20-10 conference record. Auburn earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament and played host to a regional. Pawlowski has a 74-46 record in two seasons at Auburn.

Former major league pitcher Tim Leary has been hired as an assistant coach at Cal State Northridge. He will work with the pitchers and assist with recruiting and fund-raising. Leary worked at Loyola Marymount in 2006 and assisted at his alma mater, UCLA, from 1997-2000 and again in 2004. Leary was a first-round pick of the New York Mets in 1979 and pitched professionally for 15 years with the Mets, Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers. Leary earned a degree in Economics from UCLA and pitched three seasons for the Bruins. Leary was inducted into the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame in 1991.

LSU recently hosted a contracting ceremony for the LSU Army ROTC Fall 2010 Scholarship Winners at Alex Box Stadium. Head coach Paul Mainieri and the Tigers watched as 11 cadets took the Oath of Obligation to the United States, the President and the Army.

Former Trojan All-American infielder Gabe Alvarez has been named an assistant coach at USC. He will work with the infielders and hitters. Alvarez was a Trojan from 1993-95, posting a career batting average .338 with 28 homers and 163 RBI. He was a second-round pick of the San Diego Padres in 1995 and played in the major leagues with the Padres and the Detroit Tigers.

Jeremy Plexico (left) has been named pitching coach at Ball State. A native of Chapin, S.C., Plexico was an All-American left-hander at Winthrop. He spent five years in the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals organization. This past season, Plexico was the pitching coach at Young Harris College in Georgia. The Mountain Lions were 39-17 in 2010. Plexico earned a bachelor’s degree in history in 2002 and a master’s degree in teaching (social studies) in 2008, both from Winthrop.

Chuck Hernandez has been hired as pitching coach at USF. Hernandez has 31 years of professional experience as a player and coach. He has been pitching coach for the California Angels (1992-96), Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2004-05) and Detroit Tigers (2006-08). Hernandez was minor-league pitching coordinator for the Rays from 1997-2003. This past season, Hernandez was pitching coach for the Gulf Coast League Phillies.

Jesse Lancaster has been hired as volunteer assistant at East Carolina. He will work with the outfielders and coach first base. Lancaster was a four-year letter-winner at Mount Olive College, helping the Trojans win the 2008 NCAA Division II National Championship. He batted .358 this past season as a senior with five homers, 46 RBI and 64 runs as Mount Olive posted a 41-11 record and its fourth Conference Carolina title in the past five years. Lancaster was the league’s Most Valuable Player and an all-region selection. Lancaster was a dual major at Mount Olive in recreation/leisure studies and physical education/sport management.

Former Billiken Scott Turmail has been named volunteer assistant at Saint Louis. Turmail pitched at Long Beach State and Forest Park CC before joining Saint Louis. In 2008, he was 7-6 with a 3.12 ERA for the Billikens. He led the Atlantic 10 in innings and complete games. Turmail was 5-4 with a 4.32 ERA as a senior. Following graduation, Turmail pitched for the River City Rascals before coaching this past season at Forest Park CC.

Former Long Beach State pitcher Bob Cramer capped a nine-year journey through professional baseball with a promotion to the Oakland Athletics. He is the 16th former Dirtbag to reach the big leagues in 2010. Cramer was 13-3 with a 2.95 ERA for Los Tigres in the Mexican League before posting a 1.97 ERA for Triple A Sacramento this season.

Bobby Cox, retiring manager of the Atlanta Braves, will be the featured speaker at the seventh annual Hot Stove Banquet & Silent Auction on Jan. 28 at the Holliday Alumni Center on The Citadel campus. The event is collaboration between The Citadel and the Charleston RiverDogs.

Craig Moore (left) has been hired as an assistant coach at Creighton. A native of Fremont, Neb., Moore will work with the outfielders and hitters. He spent the past four years as head coach at Western Texas College. Moore was also recruiting coordinator and top assistant at Tennessee Tech for three seasons. A four-year starter at Nebraska, Moore earned a bachelor’s degree in finance. He earned a master’s degree from Lake Erie College in business administration.

Edwin Thompson has joined the staff at Duke. The former head coach of Bates College will be an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. Thompson spent two years at Bates and previously was associate head coach and recruiting coordinator at Maine-Farmington. Thompson is a 2003 graduate of Webber with a degree in business. He played one year at Howard and one year at Maryland before spending two seasons at Webber.

Dayton baseball helped with the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon for the 11th consecutive year. They answered the phones at the Nutter Center. The team collected money at selected home games and head coach Tony Vittorio presented a check for $500. The telethon raised more than $58 million nationally.

Members of the LSU baseball team recently visited with seven-year-old Michael Smith at Our Lady of the Lake Hospital. Smith was born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, in which the left side of the heart is severely underdeveloped. He was also diagnosed with Chiari malformation, a defect in the cerebellum of the brain. Other community service projects this fall for the Tigers include the ALS Walk to promote awareness for Lou Gehrig’s Disease, the Buddy Walk to support those with Down Syndrome, and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Walk.

The 2010 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship has been nominated for a 2010 SportsTravel Award by SportsTravel magazine. Criteria include superior organization and attendance at the event, superior experience for competitors and spectators, and how the site served to enhance the event. The championship was hosted by the Oklahoma City All Sports Association at AT&T Bricktown Ballpark.

Valparaiso will hold its annual Parents/Alumni Weekend for baseball on Oct. 2-3. There will be a golf outing and evening social on Saturday, Oct. 2. The annual alumni game will be on Sunday at 10 a.m. at Emory G. Bauer Field.

Former Middle Tennessee All-American Michael McKenry was promoted to the big leagues by the Colorado Rockies. McKenry batted .265 with 10 home runs and 49 RBI with the Triple A Colorado Springs Sky Sox.

Former Alabama standout Matt Downs was called up by the Houston Astros. He was claimed off waivers from the San Francisco Giants on Aug. 25. Downs batted .244 with one homer and seven RBI with the Giants. He pitched and played the infield during his three seasons with the Crimson Tide.

(photos courtesy of Auburn, LSU, Ball State, Creighton Media Relations Offices)