Dec. 19

Lineup Card

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

December 13-19, 2010

Illinois State head coach Mark Kingston will receive the college Coach of the Year award at the 2011 Pitch & Hit Club of Chicago awards evening. ISU junior second baseman Kevin Tokarski is the college Player of the Year and former Redbird pitcher Ryan Copeland is the Chicago area minor league Player of the Year. Kingston guided ISU to its first-ever share of the MVC regular-season title, its first tourney title since 1994 and first NCAA Tournament victory since 1976. Tokarski, an All-American, had 84 hits, including 25 doubles, in 2010 with 70 runs and 33 steals. After fanning 53 in 43 innings for ISU in the spring, Copeland was drafted in the 32nd round of the MLB draft by the St. Louis Cardinals and was named Appalachian League Pitcher of the Year. The trio will receive the honors at the Pitch & Hit Club’s 65th annual awards evening on Jan. 30 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Ill.

Eastern Michigan will hold its second annual First Pitch Dinner on Saturday, Jan. 29. Sports columnist Rob Parker will be the featured speaker. Proceeds will help EMU fund its spring trips.

Former Illinois State hurler Jeremy Accardo has singed a one-year deal with the Baltimore Orioles. He spent most of the past two seasons with the Las Vegas 51s, the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Accardo had 30 saves and a 2.14 ERA in 67 innings in 2007 for Toronto.

Winthrop announced that seniors Robert Lake (left) and Eddie Rohan and redshirt-junior Sean Sullivan were selected by their teammates as captains for the upcoming season. Lake was 6-5 with a 5.07 ERA with a pair of complete games in 2010. He was CBI Southeast Pitcher of the Week following his season-opening performance against George Mason. Rohan is 12 homers away from the school and Big South record for career dingers. A three-time All-Big South selection, Rohan batted .312 a season ago with 15 homers and 43 RBI. Sullivan hit .288 this past season with 13 doubles, six homers and 34 RBI.

North Carolina will hold its third annual First Pitch Dinner on Saturday, Feb. 5, at the Carolina Club. Scott Bankhead, a two-time All-American at UNC and 10-year Major League veteran, will be the featured speaker. The event will include a silent auction, autograph session, dinner and live auction.

Maryland will have Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda for its inaugural baseball leadoff banquet on Friday, Feb. 4, at the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center. Lasorda managed the Los Angeles Dodgers for 20 years with four NL pennants and two World Series titles. The event will include a reception, silent auction, dinner and live auction.

Houston has season tickets now on sale, including a Family Plan. There are discounts for faculty, staff, H-Association members and recent graduates.

Former Oregon State pitchers Joe Paterson and Daniel Turpen were taken in the MLB Rule 5 Draft. Both were drafted by the San Francisco Giants in 2007. Paterson was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Turpen, a member of the Boston Red Sox organization, was picked by the New York Yankees.

(photo courtesy of Winthrop Media Relations Office)