Sept. 25, 2011

Lineup Card

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

Sept. 19-25, 2011

Rick Oliveri has been added to the staff at Monmouth. He will work with the hitters and catchers, oversee all aspects of the defense and assist with recruiting. Oliveri was an assistant the past two years at Radford. He was a three-year starter at the University of Buffalo before working as a graduate assistant at Lincoln Memorial University. Pitching coach Jimmy Belanger has added the role of recruiting coordinator.

Virginia’s exhibition game with the Ontario Blue Jays was rained out on Friday, Sept. 23. The game was moved to Sunday, Sept. 25, at 1 p.m. at Davenport Field. The game is free and open to the public.

LSU starts fall practice on Sunday, Sept. 25. All workouts, which will run through Nov. 4 in Alex Box Stadium, are open to the public.

UCF begins fall practice on Monday, Sept. 26. The Black & Gold World Series will be Oct. 26-28. Practice and scrimmages are open to the public.

Mike Mayne has been hired as pitching coach at CSU Bakersfield, while assistant coach Jody Robinson has been promoted to associate head coach. Mayne was pitching coach at Fresno State in 2008 when the Bulldogs won the national title. He coached at Orange Coast College for 15 years, posting a record of 400-188-6. Mayne was a four-year starter at UC Riverside from 1964-68 and lettered in football for two years. Robinson has been with the Roadrunners since the program’s start. Robinson registered 109 wins as head coach at Loyola Marymount from 1992-96.

Former All-American catcher Eric Munson has returned to USC as an undergraduate assistant coach as he works to complete his degree. Munson played for the Trojans from 1997-99, helping USC win its 12th national championship in 1998. He was a first round pick of the Detroit Tigers in 1999, the third overall selection. Munson played professionally until he retired in 2010.

Senior infielder Dave Solits and junior outfielder Kevin Brown have been named captains at Bryant. Soltis batted .348 in 2011 and was First Team All-NEC at shortstop. He led the Bulldogs with 33 RBI, 34 runs and 26 walks. Brown was NEC Rookie of the Year in 2010 and has been Second Team All-NEC for two years. He hit .294 this past season with 16 doubles, four triples and five home runs.

Tennessee will kick off fall practice on Thursday. Beginning next week, the Vols plan to scrimmage every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. UT will host Western Carolina in an exhibition game on Oct. 14 at 5 p.m. All practices and scrimmages are open to the public.

The Cincinnati baseball program has adopted 10-year-old cancer survivor Alex Massengill as an honorary teammate through The Friends of Jaclyn Foundation. Alex, a big baseball fan, was diagnosed with a medublastoma brain tumor in April 2010. He went through eight months of procedures and treatments at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and has been cancer-free since December. Alex met the team on Friday and received a tour of campus and Marge Schott Stadium.

Mississippi State will start fall practice on Friday with a 4 p.m. scrimmage at Dudy Noble Field. The Bulldogs will also scrimmage on Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. The scrimmages are open to the public.

South Carolina will have three open scrimmages this weekend: Friday at 4 p.m., Saturday at 12:30 p.m. and Sunday at 1:30 p.m.

Louisville will scrimmage on Friday at 3 p.m. and on Saturday at 11 a.m. Both are open to the public.

South Alabama will scrimmage on Friday at Stanky Field to start fall practice. The Jaguars plan to scrimmage every Tuesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday during the fall.

High Point will host the 2012 Big South Tournament at Williard Stadium from Tuesday, May 22, through Saturday, May 26. It will be the first time that High Point has hosted the Big South Baseball Championship. The event will be an eight-team double elimination format, with the championship game on May 26.

Roger Tomas has resigned as volunteer assistant at Miami (Fla.) to pursue other career opportunities. Tomas played for the Hurricanes from 2004-07 before spending two years in minor league baseball. He was the volunteer assistant for the past two seasons at Miami.

Missouri State will face the Ontario Blue Jays in an exhibition game on Oct. 4 at 3 p.m. at Hammons Field. The Bears will begin their fall world series on Oct. 6. All fall contests are free and open to the public.

Wright State baseball will hold a fundraising golf outing on Oct. 15 at the Country Club of the North. The event was just for baseball alumni in the past, but it now open to everyone.

Dusty Napoleon and Brian Miller have joined the Iowa coaching staff. Napoleon will be the undergraduate assistant and Miller will be director of baseball operations. Napoleon played for the Hawkeyes from 2006-07 before being picked by Oakland in the 19th round of the 2007 MLB Draft. He rose as high as Triple A in 2010. Miller was head coach at Mid-Prairie High School from 2000-10 and was pitching coach at Kirkwood Community College.

Former USC player and assistant coach Morgan Ensberg has been hired as an assistant coach at UC San Diego. Ensberg played eight years in the Major Leagues before returning to USC in 2010 to complete his degree in finance. He also was an assistant coach for the Trojans. Ensberg is also a college baseball analyst for ESPN.

Chuck Hazzard has returned to UNLV as director of operations. He was an assistant with the Rebels from 2003-05 as UNLV won a pair of Mountain West tourney titles. Hazzard was an assistant at Pepperdine before serving as an assistant at Coronado High School in Henderson, Nev., from 2008-11. Hazzard played at Florida from 1995-98 and was a First Team All-SEC performer.

New Mexico will host its Alumni weekend Sept. 22-24. A social will take place on Thursday, Sept. 22, where the 2011 Lobos will receive their rings for the Mountain West championship. A golf tournament will be held on Friday, Sept. 23. The alumni game will be held on Saturday, Sept. 24, prior to the football game against Sam Houston State.

Alabama starts fall practice on Thursday and will have a pair of open scrimmages on Thursday and Friday at 3 p.m. at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.