Dec. 31, 2013

Lineup Card

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

December 16-31, 2013

Head coaches Pete Dunn of Stetson, Jack Leggett of Clemson and Paul Mainieri of LSU will be inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Hall of Fame on Friday, Jan. 3 at the annual convention in Dallas. Dunn has posted 1,228 victories with the Hatters, eighth among active Division I coaches. He has taken Stetson to 16 NCAA tournaments, captured eight league titles and has been named conference coach of the year six times. Leggett has 1,264 career wins in 34 seasons as a head coach, 11th all-time among Division I coaches and fifth among active coaches. He has led Clemson to 887 victories over the past 20 years with 19 NCAA tourney trips and six College World Series appearances. Mainieri has a career record of 1,179-625-7 in 31 seasons. He and his father, Demie, will be the only father-son combination in the ABCA Hall of Fame. There are only four other active Division I coaches in the ABCA Hall of Fame: John Anderson of Minnesota, Mike Gillespie of UC Irvine, Mark Marquess of Stanford and Mike Martin of Florida State.

UALR recently made upgrades to Gary Hogan Field. New mounds were built on the field and in the bullpens, new workout equipment was placed in the indoor hitting facility and new slats were installed in the outfield fence. The Trojans have played at Gary Hogan Field, formerly known as Curran Conway Field, since 1978.

Former Hawk infielder David Valesente has been added to the staff at Saint Joseph’s. Valesente batted .323 over his four-year career with the Hawks, sitting fifth in program history with 216 career hits. He graduated in 2010 and played professionally over the past four years.

Seniors Corey Furman and Justin Meier will serve as captains for Bucknell this season. Furman is an outfielder and was First Team All-Patriot League as a designated hitter this past season. He batted .291 with 15 multi-hit games. Meier is a catcher and accounting major. He was named to the Academic All-Patriot League Team in 2013 and is a three-time member of the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll.

Senior catcher Jake Wise, junior pitcher Jalen Beeks and sophomore outfielder Tyler Spoon have been named captains for Arkansas. Wise has played in 138 games with 112 starts during his three-year career with a fielding percentage of .996. Beeks appeared in a team-high 29 games this past season, all in relief. He was 6-2 with two saves and a 2.20 ERA. Spoon hit .288 in 2013 with four homers and a team-high 49 RBI. He was named a Freshman All-American.

Former Major League All-Star and current MLB Network analyst Mitch Williams is scheduled to serve as the keynote speaker at Penn State’s First Pitch Banquet on Feb. 1 at the Penn Stater. The Nittany Lions will host a kids’ clinic from 10 a.m. to noon followed by practice from noon to 2 p.m. A reception starts at 5:30 p.m. with dinner at 6 p.m. Williams pitched for six big league teams from 1986-97.

Mississippi State will hold its annual First Pitch/Fan Day celebration on Feb. 1. Lunch will begin at 11:30 a.m. with an autograph session The First Pitch program will follow at 12:45 p.m., with an intrasquad scrimmage at 2:15 p.m.

Major League pitcher Jeremy Guthrie will be the keynote speaker at the First Pitch Dinner/Auction on Jan. 18 at his alma mater, BYU. Guthrie has pitched for six years with Cleveland, Baltimore, Colorado and Kansas City. He was 15-12 with the Royals this past season in 22 starts.

Houston will host its annual Fan Appreciation Day and Alumni Game on Feb. 1 at 1 p.m. at Cougar Field. All fans will receive free admission. Registration will begin at 10 a.m. with batting practice at 10:30 a.m.

Oakland will hold its ninth annual First Pitch Banquet on Feb. 1 at the Royal Park Hotel from 6-9 p.m. Dennis Mannion, former president of the Los Angeles Dodgers (2007-11), will serve as the keynote speaker. Mannion is the current president and CEO of the Detroit Pistons.

Former Duke standout and Oakland A’s first baseman Nate Freiman will headline Duke’s second annual First Pitch Banquet. Freiman played for the Blue Devils from 2006-09 and was the only First Team Academic All-American in program history.

St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny will be the guest speaker at Missouri State’s sixth annual First Pitch Night on Feb. 8. The event will be held at the Bill Rowe Training Facility at Hammons Field at 5 p.m., with a portion of the proceeds going to the Wounded Warrior Project.

Former Major League pitcher and current broadcaster Jim Kaat will serve as the keynote speaker at FIU’s Diamond Dinner on Feb. 8 in the Graham Center Ballroom. Kaat played for five teams over his 25-year career. He now works for the MLB Network.

William and Mary will hold its annual First Pitch Banquet on Feb. 1 at Brinkley Commons in Miller Hall at the Mason School of Business.

Ryan Kellogg of Arizona State was voted the Canadian Baseball Network Player of the Year, topping the All-Canadian college team. Click here to see full team