Jan. 15, 2012

Lineup Card

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

Jan. 9-15, 2012

Former Indiana governor Joe Kernan will receive the 2012 Moose Krause Distinguished Service Award from the Notre Dame Monogram Club at its annual dinner on April 21 in the Joyce Center. Kernan was a two-time monogram winner in baseball for the Fighting Irish, graduating with degree in government in 1968.

Texas Tech had 18 baseball players earn academic honor roll status (at least 3.0 GPA) during the fall semester, including nine on Dean’s List (3.50-3.99 GPA). There were three with a perfect 4.0 GPA: redshirt junior infielder Scott LeJeune (Business Management), redshirt junior pitcher Rusty Shellhorn (History) and junior outfielder Brennan Moore (Business).

Bethune-Cookman will host its inaugural Fan Appreciation Day on Feb. 11 at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. A free kids clinic starts at 11 a.m., followed by an autograph session.

Former Mississippi State All-American hurler Paul Maholm will be the featured speaker at the school’s First Pitch/Meet the Team celebration on Feb. 11 on the MSU campus. The event begins at 5 p.m. with dinner in the Griffis Boardroom, followed by the program in the Palmeiro Center.

LSU will hold its First Pitch Banquet on Feb. 10 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. The event starts at 6 p.m. with a player autograph session and silent auction, followed by dinner and live auction beginning at 7 p.m.

Troy had an average GPA of 3.02 in the fall and 26 student-athletes finished the semester with at least a 3.0 GPA. Four Trojans recorded a perfect 4.0 GPA: junior catcher Brandon Brown, freshman infielder Peyton Fuller, sophomore outfielder Hayden Hillyer and sophomore infielder Tyler Vaughn.

Iowa will have hits third annual Baseball Steak Fry on Feb. 12 at the Bella Sala Event Center in Tiffin. The event begins at 4:30 p.m. with dinner, silent auctions and player photos and autographs. Team introduction and a live auction will happen at 6 p.m.

Oregon State will put season tickets on sale starting Jan. 17. The Beavers will have 23 home dates with non-conference foes including Oklahoma, Illinois and Connecticut. Pac-12 series feature Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Stanford and UCLA. Individual game tickets go on sale Jan. 30.

Austin Homan has been named Director of Operations at his alma mater, East Carolina. His administrative duties will include team travel, game day organization, summer and winter camps, special events coordination and community outreach. The four-year letterwinner batted .304 during his career with 13 doubles, 52 runs and 61 RBI. Homan was a two-time captain and the first two-time recipient of the honorary No. 23 jersey, which was the number worn by ECU head coach Keith LeClair. Homas has a bachelor’s degree in health fitness and is working on a master’s in recreation and parks administration.

The Wallach family will receive the Ray Boone Family Award on Jan. 14 at the Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation banquet in Los Angeles. The award is named after the first family to send three generations of players to the major leagues in Ray, son Bob, and grandsons Bret and Aaron. The Boones received the first award in 2005, followed by the Bavasi, Brett, Bell, Alou and Mota families. Former Cal State Fullerton All-American Tim Wallach has two sons (Matt and Brett) playing professional baseball and a third son, Chad, playing for the Titans.

Bobby Valentine, newly-named manager of the Boston Red Sox, will be the featured speaker at Virginia Tech’s fifth annual Baseball Night in Blacksburg on Feb. 3 from 6-9 p.m. in the West Side Stadium Club of Lane Stadium. Along with dinner, there will be silent and live auctions.

Bowling Green named junior infielder Matt Pitzulo and junior pitchers Cody Apthorpe and Nick Bruns as captains for the 2012 season. Pitzulo batted .290 a season ago with 25 RBI and 70 total bases. Apthorpe was the Friday starter in 2011, fanning 50 and holding opponents to a batting average of .286 in 16 appearances. Bruns was the Saturday starter a year ago and will transition into the closer role in 2012.

Former University of Michigan and Cincinnati Reds standout Barry Larkin was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Larkin played for the Wolverines from 1983-85. Georgia Tech head coach Danny Hall (left) was an assistant at Michigan during that time and offered the following quote: “I want to extend by sincere congratulations to Barry Larkin on his election into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. It is an honor that could not be awarded to a better individual. Barry embodies the true spirit of what it takes to succeed at the highest level, both on the field and off the field. I am both proud and honored to have coached him.”

The Arkansas-Pine Bluff baseball team posted a 3.27 GPA for the fall semester. There were 10 players on Chancellor’s or Dean’s list with 72% of the team maintaining a GPA of at least 3.0.

Pacific will hold its fifth annual Baseball Community Night on Feb. 2 at 5 p.m. at Stockton Golf & Country Club. Keynote speakers will be the San Francisco Giants broadcast team of Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper.

TCU will hold its ninth annual First Pitch Banquet on Feb. 3 at the Omni Hotel in downtown Fort Worth. A silent auction and reception start at 6:15 p.m. with dinner at 7 p.m. Featured guests include former Horned Frogs Jake Arrieta, Matt Carpenter, Andrew Cashner, Sam Demel and Chad Huffman.

Fresno State will broadcast 18 series on KYNO 940 AM with Paul Loeffler and Ray O’Canto. There will be 14 home series and road series at CSU Bakersfield, Hawaii, Nevada and New Mexico State.

Cal will hold its first-ever Fan Fest on Feb. 11 at 11 a.m. at Evans Diamond. Admission is free and includes an intra-squad scrimmage at 1 p.m.

College of Charleston has season tickets now on sale, which include home contests with South Carolina, Coastal Carolina, Connecticut and a full slate of Southern Conference series. Discounts are available for CofC faculty and staff.

ESPN college baseball analyst Kyle Peterson will serve as the special host for Virginia’s 10th annual Step Up to the Plate fundraiser on Jan. 20 at 6:30 p.m. at the John Paul Jones Arena. Peterson will participate in a round-table panel with former Cavaliers Ryan Zimmerman, Brandon Guyer, Michael Schwimer, Mike Ballard and Tyler Wilson.

Auburn has season tickets now on sale for its 34-game home slate. Single-game tickets will go on sale on Feb. 13. Pick Six Mini Packs are also available.

Texas A&M has season tickets on sale through the 12th Man Foundation for newly-renovated Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park.

(photo courtesy of Georgia Tech Media Relations Office)