Oct. 16, 2011

Lineup Card

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

Oct. 10-16, 2011

Wally Ritchie has been hired as pitching coach at BYU. He was 2-1 in 31.2 innings as a freshman for the Cougars in 1984 before transferring to Glendale Community College. Ritchie was a fourth-round pick of the Philadelphia Phillies in 1985 and pitched more than 175 innings in four Major League seasons. Since 2008, Ritchie was city manager for Santa Clara, Utah. He was a volunteer pitching coach at Snow Canyon High School for five years. He also taught private pitching lessons and worked at baseball camps.

Lou Palmisano has been named the volunteer assistant at Miami (Fla.). He was an assistant this past year at Broward College, working with the hitters and catchers. Palmisano played at Broward from 2001-03 and was drafted in the third round of the 2003 MLB Draft by the Milwaukee Brewers.

Former South Alabama standout David Freese was named MVP of the NL Championship Series in leading the St. Louis Cardinals to the World Series. Freese batted .545 with three homers, seven runs and nine RBI in the six-game series. Freese was an All-American and Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year in 2006.

Miami (Fla.) will begin fall practice on Oct. 16 at 1:30 p.m. at Alex Rodriguez Park. The Hurricanes will play Miami Dade College on Nov. 10 and the Canadian National Team on Nov. 12, with both starting at 6 p.m. Both games and all practices are free and open to the public.

High Point participated in the Homecoming Dance at Pennybyrn at Maryfield, a retirement living community in High Point. The event was featured on Fox 8 news. The team danced and socialized with the residents at the annual event. High Point also works with Big Brothers/Big Sisters. Last year, the team helped build a house for a local Army sergeant who was injured in Afghanistan through Homes for our Troops.

Tennessee topped Western Carolina 6-3 Friday at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. Zach Luther, Chris Pierce and Drew Steckenrider each had RBI singles for the Volunteers. Steckenrider was the starting pitcher, allowing one run on three hits with two strikeouts in two innings. He went 2 for 4 with a run and two RBI.

Arizona State head coach Tim Esmay was inducted into the Scottsdale Community College Hall of Fame this past weekend. Esmay played two seasons for the Artichokes before transferring to ASU. He hit .397 in two years at SCC, being named an All-American and helping the Artichokes reach the 1984 NJCAA World Series.

Texas Tech will change the official name of its baseball stadium to Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park. It was named Dan Law Field from 1988-2011 before a $5 million renovation project funded by private donors. An anonymous donor requested the field be named after Rip Griffin, a long-time supporter of Red Raider baseball and athletics. The construction should be completed by the end of January.

Pepperdine’s annual baseball fall fundraiser, the Patrick Rooney Memorial Golf Tournament, will be held on Nov. 7 at the Moorpark Country Club. Check-in starts at 8:30 a.m. with a shotgun start at 10 a.m. A buffet dinner follows at 4 p.m.

The Citadel has started its four-part Fall World Series. The series continues on Tuesday and Thursday, both at 3:30 p.m. at Riley Park.

Chris Hamblen and Kyle Markle won the 2011 Diamond Club/Alumni Home Run Derby Friday for Cincinnati at Marge Schott Stadium. Hamblen (1999-2002) won for the third time in the position-player’s division, while Markle (2002-2005) took the pitcher’s division.

There have been several changes in the Southeastern Louisiana coaching staff. Hitting coach Matt Riser will take over as recruiting coordinator. The fifth-year assistant will continue to work with the outfielders as well as the hitters. Daniel Latham has been added as pitching coach. The former Tulane hurler spent two seasons as a volunteer assistant at High Point before serving as pitching coach at VMI this past season. Kyle Maxie will be the volunteer assistant after coaching the past two years at Alabama Southern Community College.

Tennessee will host Western Carolina in a fall scrimmage on Friday, Oct. 14, at 5 p.m. at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. The game is open to the public and admission is free. Limited concessions will be available and season tickets will be on sale.

There are more than 50 former Cal State Fullerton Titans coaching at different levels of baseball, from high school to college to professional. click here for full list

Elon head coach Mike Kennedy will be among seven local celebrities participating in the Dancing with the Little Pink Stars on Saturday, Oct. 29, at 6:30 p.m. at The Diamond Rood in Gibsonville, N.C. The event will raise funds for Little Pink Houses of Hope. Kennedy will partner with Elon student Meagan Chieppor. Tickets may be purchased through www.littlepinkhousesofhope.org and donations may be made for individual teams, with every $10 counting as one vote.

Illinois State will begin its Fall World Series on Tuesday at Duffy Bass Field. The six-game series will continue this week and next and will conclude on Saturday, Oct. 22. The games are free and open to the public.

Georgia Southern will hold a Pro Day scrimmage on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. at J.I. Clements Stadium.

After being rained out of Sunday, Houston hosted Rice in a 14-inning scrimmage Tuesday evening at Cougar Field. Price Jacobs went 3 for 5 for the Cougars with a triple and a home run. Casey Grayson, Wes Theiss and Keegan Sanford each had two hits for Houston.

The eighth annual BYU baseball team run up Y Mountain was held on Tuesday afternoon. Zane Affleck led the way in 13:09, followed by Travis Stacey in 13:52. Head coach Vance Law said that seven players finished in less than 16 minutes, compared to three or four in past years.

Louisville will start its sixth annual Pizza Bowl on Thursday 3 p.m. at Jim Patterson Stadium. The series will continue on Saturday at 2 p.m. and conclude on Sunday at noon. The games are free and open to the public.

Ohio State will begin its best-of-five Scarlet & Gray World Series on Friday, Oct. 14, at 6 p.m. at Bill Davis Stadium The series continues on Saturday at 3 p.m., Wednesday at 6 p.m., Friday at 6 p.m. and concludes on Saturday, Oct. 22, at 3 p.m. Games are free and open to the public.