Oct. 9, 2011

Lineup Card

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

Oct. 1-9, 2011

Houston will host Rice for a 14-inning fall scrimmage on Sunday, Oct. 9, at 1 p.m. at Cougar Field. The game is open to the public and free of charge.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi will hold its annual Blue/White Fall World Series this weekend at Chapman Field. The Islanders will go on Friday at 2:30 p.m., Saturday at 11 a.m. and Sunday at noon. The games are open to the public and there will be no admission charge.

Texas Tech baseball participated in the 2011 Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure on Oct. 1. Head coach Dan Spencer and his son, Wade, ran the 5K while players encouraged runners and helped navigate the course. There were more than 8,000 participants in the fundraiser, now in its 17th year.

Elvys Quezada has been named pitching coach at Manhattan. He will also serve as the Athletic Department’s Operations Manager. Quezada pitched at Seton Hall and helped the Pirates earn NCAA tourney berths in 2000 and 2001. He was drafted by the New York Mets in the 15th round in 2002 and by the New York Yankees in the 15th round in 2003. Quezada spent five years in the Yankees system before playing for two seasons in the Mets organization. He also pitched in independent league baseball.

Pitching coach Phil Cundari was promoted to associate head coach at Seton Hall. Cundari has worked with the Pirates for the past 11 years, helping Seton Hall win a pair of Big East championships. The Pirates won the 2011 Big East title and led the conference in ERA while placing second in strikeouts, opponent batting average, innings pitched and hits allowed. Cundari was an All-American pitcher for Seton Hall and was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in 1985.

Cal will begin its fall practice on Oct. 7. The Alumni Game will be held on Oct. 15 at 1 p.m. The Cal Baseball Foundation Golf Classic on Oct. 14 has been sold out.

Former LSU head coach Skip Bertman will be the keynote speaker at the Miami (Fla.) Baseball First Pitch Banquet on Feb. 10. Bertman was a catcher and outfielder for the Hurricanes from 1958-60 and was an assistant under Ron Fraser from 1975-83. Bertman won five national championships with the Tigers before retiring in 2001. He was a member of the inaugural class of the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006, as well as a member of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Arkansas has announced the dates and times of its best-of-seven 2011 Cardinal-White Series: Oct. 12 at noon, Oct. 16 at 1 p.m., Oct. 18 at 2:30 p.m., Oct. 19 at 2:30 p.m., Oct. 20 at 2:30 p.m., Oct. 22 at noon and Oct. 23 at 1 p.m. The final three games will be played if necessary. All games are open to the public and free.

North Carolina will start its Fall World Series on Oct. 10 at 2:15 p.m. The teams will play a pair of three-game series with an if-necessary game on Oct. 18 if the teams split the series.

Sophomore outfielder Andrew Toles has been dismissed from the Tennessee baseball team. He batted .270 this past season with 25 RBI and 21 steals. Toles started 50 games in centerfield and was a member of the 2010 SEC All-Freshman Team.

Former Kentucky infielder Chris Bisson had a three-run homer to help Canada defeat Greece 12-2 in the 39th IBAF World Cup on Tuesday. Canada remained undefeated and in first play in Pool A.

Tulane has begun its fall practice. The three-game Fall World Series will be held Nov. 4-6. The Green Wave will take off Wednesdays and Sundays, but practices and scrimmages on the other days will be open to the public.

South Carolina will hold three scrimmages this weekend: Friday at 3 p.m. with the Alumni Game following at 7 p.m., Saturday at 5 p.m. and Sunday at 1:30 p.m. All scrimmages at Carolina Stadium are free and open to the public.

South Alabama will hold three scrimmages this weekend at Stanky Field: Friday at 6:45 p.m., Saturday and Sunday at 10:30 a.m.

Jeff Mercer has been hired as the volunteer assistant coach at Western Kentucky. He will work with the pitchers and outfielders as well as assisting with camps. Mercer was a volunteer assistant this past season at Michigan, working with the catchers and outfielders. He was a graduate assistant at Ohio Northern during the 2010 season. Mercer played two seasons at Dayton before transferring to Wright State, where he was twice named First Team All-Horizon League at first base.

Over the past three weekends, the UCF baseball team has held youth clinics for local little leagues, including the Conway Little League on Sept. 17, Dr. Phillips Little League on Sept. 24 and the Oviedo Babe Ruth league on Oct. 1. The Knights went to Altamonte Springs on Sept. 24 to assist special needs children playing baseball in the Miracle League.

Missouri State posted a 10-3 exhibition victory over the Ontario Blue Jays on Tuesday afternoon at Hammons Field. Derek Mattea went 2 for 4 with a homer and four RBI, while Luke Voit added two hits and knocked in a pair for the Bears. Nick Petree allowed one hit and fanned four over the first two innings, while Grant Gordon struck out the side in the ninth. MSU starts its Fall World Series on Thursday at 3 p.m.

The Arizona Fall League begins play on Tuesday, Oct. 4, with all six teams in action: Mesa at Phoenix, Salt River at Peoria and Surprise at Scottsdale. Play will continue through Nov. 17.

Former Kentucky lefty Andrew Albers got the win for Canada against Puerto Rico in the 39th IBAF World Cup on Sunday in Panama City, Panama. A native of North Battleford, Saskatchewan, Albers allowed one hit in five scoreless innings with two walks and two strikeouts as Canada defeated Puerto Rico 9-1.

Northern Illinois will hold its best-of-five Red and Black Fall Baseball Series starting on Sunday, Oct. 9 with a doubleheader at 1 p.m. A second twin bill be on Sunday, Oct. 16 at 1 p.m. A fifth game, if necessary, will be on Oct. 23.

Auburn will partner with the Hudson Family Foundation for the Annual Celebrity Home Run Derby on Friday, Oct. 28, at 7 p.m. at Plainsman Park. Participants are expected to include alums Tim Hudson and David Ross of the Atlanta Braves, former major-leaguer Gabe Gross and recent Tiger Hunter Morris.

Texas Tech will hold its five-game Red & Black Series Oct. 23-28 at Dan Law Field. The opener will be on Sunday, Oct. 23, at 4 p.m., preceded by a tailgate for Diamond Club members. All games are open to the public at no charge.

Louisville will scrimmage on Thursday and Friday at 3 p.m. at Jim Patterson Stadium with both open to the public.