March 13, 2011

Lineup Card

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

March 1-13, 2011

Portland will continue its series at Hawaii on Friday after being evacuated from its hotel Thursday night due to a tsunami warning following the earthquake in Japan. Some Pilots stayed at the house of pitcher J.R. Bunda in Wahiawa, while others stayed at a church hear Bunda’s house. The team returned to its hotel today after the cancellation of the tsunami warning. Portland won 5-1 against the Rainbows on Thursday.

Head coach Paul Mainieri and players Matty Ott and Austin Nola of LSU recently participated in the Real Men Read program with Baton Rouge elementary schools. Mainieri and Ott (pictured right) read to students at LaSalle Elementary, while Nola read at The Dunham School. The program brings men from the local community into the schools to encourage lifelong practices concerning the power and purpose of reading.

Johnathan Taylor, junior outfielder from Georgia, will move to the Shepherd Center in Atlanta this week to continue his rehabilitation after suffering a neck injury in Sunday’s game against Florida State. Taylor had surgery Monday to stabilize his spine. click here to send messages and read updates by the family

The cap worn by FIU’s Kyle Fitzpatrick during his no-hitter against Northeastern on Feb. 2 has been sent to the National College Baseball Hall of Fame in Lubbock, Texas. The Hall of Fame has collected items over the past four years. Artifacts will be displayed at the College Baseball Awards Show in July and eventually in the Hall when construction is complete.

Georgia is in a stretch in which it will play eight games in eight different stadiums. The Bulldogs played at home on Sunday against Florida State, play at Mercer on Tuesday, against Alabama at Coolray Field in Lawrenceville, Ga., on Wednesday, at UCLA on Friday, at USC on Saturday, against Saint Mary’s in Dodger Stadium on Sunday, at Kennesaw State on March 16 and at South Carolina on March 18.

The Southern Conference named Matt Leeds of College of Charleston its Player of the Month and Austin Pritcher of The Citadel its Pitcher of the Month for February. Leeds hit .417 with two homers and 16 RBI in seven wins for the Cougars. Pritcher went seven innings each in victories over Towson and Old Dominion. He posted a 1.29 ERA, allowed eight hits and fanned 15.

Randy LeBlanc, freshman pitcher at Tulane, suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament. He will need surgery and will miss the rest of the 2011 season. LeBlanc (0-0, 2.87) had made three starts, allowing 18 hits in 15.2 innings with five walks and 22 strikeouts.

Former Georgia Southern head coach Jack Stallings will be honored on Saturday during the Furman game. Admission will be one dollar in recognition of his retired No. 1 uniform. Stallings will throw out the first pitch as well. He compiled a record of 858-581-5 in 24 seasons with the Eagles, leading them to the College World Series in 1990.

James Madison sent a bat used opening weekend to the College Baseball Hall of Fame in Lubbock, Texas. The Dukes swept a four-game series from Bucknell, launching 23 homers and scoring 91 runs. The bat was signed by each of the 10 players who went deep.