Kentrail Davis
Rosters Set For Baseball Orange & White Series
Tennessee head baseball coach Todd Raleigh announced the rosters Thursday for the second annual Orange & White World Series, a seven-game fall intrasquad series set to begin Friday at Robert M. Lindsey Field at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. Friday’s game begins at 6 p.m.
The White team, managed by assistant coach Bradley LeCroy and volunteer assistant coach Nate Headley, will send sophomore left-hander Bryan Morgado to the mound Friday. Morgado’s 4.59 ERA from a season ago is the best of any returning starter, and his five wins last year are tied for the most among returners. In 80 1/3 innings as a freshman, the Miami, Fla., native recorded 104 strikeouts while limiting opposing batters to a .239 average.
Junior left-hander Nick Hernandez gets the start for assistant coach Fred Corral’s Orange Team Friday. Hernandez is coming off a season during which he started 13 games and compiled a 5.16 ERA along with 42 strikeouts in 66 1/3 innings.
Offensively, the White Teams is led by senior infielder Cody Brown. The Knoxville, Tenn., native started all 55 games in which he played last year as the team’s co-captain. Brown set career-highs in batting average (.295), runs (45), hits (61), doubles (11), home runs (9), RBI (40), slugging (.488) and on-base percentage (.392). FULL STORY
OU Baseball Practice Facility Update
The new practice facility for the OU baseball program at L. Dale Mitchell Park continues to take shape as the roof was completely installed last week. The rest of the building that will serve as the Sooners’ hitting facility is expected to be completely enclosed in the next week.
Click the links above to see the latest progress of the facility from Oct. 1, 2008, as well as previous galleries to view the progression of the project.
The steel frame of the new indoor hitting facility was raised on Saturday, Sept. 15 next to the practice infield.
On Sept. 5, the base of the indoor hitting facility was established and 8,000 square feet of bermuda grass was installed and laser-graded last week for the practice infield, wihch is adjacent to the Sooners’ bullpen. FULL STORY
Annual Scout Day Event to be Held on Saturday at Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth
One of the highlights of the fall baseball season comes around again this Saturday when the Villanova baseball team hosts its annual Scout Day event at the Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth. The Wildcats invite all professional scouts and any alumni in the area to join the team for the morning’s workout and intra-squad game.
Villanova’s annual Scout Day event allows pro scouts to formulate a plan for the spring season with regards to following potential Major League draft prospects on the team. The Wildcats have had at least one player chosen in the MLB First-Year Player Draft each year since the arrival of eighth-year head coach Joe Godri in 2002.
The Wildcats have qualified for the postseason BIG EAST Tournament in each of the last two years and last season knocked off top-seeded and nationally-ranked St. John’s, 12-0, in the tournament’s opening game. Villanova also defeated Seton Hall in last year’s championship on the way to reaching the semifinals. FULL STORY
Miami Opens Red and White Series Friday
The Miami baseball team will hold its annual Red and White series starting this weekend at McKie Field at Hayden Park.
The RedHawks will be split into two teams the “Red” and the “White”. The two teams will play five games over the course of the next two weekends. The series begins this Friday at 3:15 p.m.
The “Red” team will be coached by Jeremy Ison, who will be entering his fourth-season as a RedHawk assistant coach. Ison played collegiately for the RedHawks and then, after five seasons at various pro levels, he returned to Oxford to coach. He played in 241 games for Miami and hit 28 home runs while batting .318. FULL STORY
Blazers Excited To Open Fall Practice Friday
Four months removed from the end of its 2008 season, the UAB baseball team looks toward the 2009 campaign with the start of fall practice Friday at Young Memorial Field.
The Blazers will practice as a team six days a week for the next six weeks during their fall practice period.
“We are excited to begin fall practice each year, and this year is no exception,” UAB head coach Brian Shoop said. “It is a chance to be together every day as well as an opportunity to teach and drill and improve without focusing on game outcomes. As coaches, we love the fall and see it as a critical time in our program.”
For Shoop, who enters his third season with the Blazers, this team is the most experienced he has had since coming to UAB. The Blazers welcome back 26 players from their 2008 team, including 10 seniors. FULL STORY
Auburn Baseball Announces Dates For Upcoming Fall Events
The Auburn baseball team will take part in a handful of events over the final weeks of its fall practice schedule, beginning with the annual Home Run Derby on Friday, Oct. 10, and concluding with the Fall World Series from Friday, Oct. 24-Sunday, Oct. 26.
Auburn’s annual Home Run Derby to benefit the Boys and Girls Club of Lee County will take place at 6pm the night before the football team’s game against Arkansas and will be followed by a Blue/Orange Scrimmage. The event has become a staple of fall workouts for the baseball team and this year the celebrity guests will include former Auburn baseball players Tug Hulett, Lavelle Speigner, Todd Faulkner and Colter Bean. Todd Jones, the recently-retired closer of the Detroit Tigers and a Marietta, Ga., native, is also tentatively scheduled to appear.
On Saturday, Oct. 18, at 10am the team will host the Alumni Game as part of the Auburn Baseball Lettermen and Associates Club fall activities. The weekend will kickoff on Friday at 10:30am at the Auburn University Club at Yarborough Farms with the annual golf tournament followed by the dinner honoring the 1976 and 1994 College World Series Teams at 6pm. Following Saturday’s Alumni Game, the current baseball team will play a scrimmage at approximately 2pm. FULL STORY
UNO Baseball Begins Fall Practice
The University of New Orleans baseball team is kicking off fall baseball practice on Thursday.
The Privateers are coming off back-to-back NCAA Regional appearances for the first time since 1988-89. This season, fifth-year head coach Tom Walter welcomes 17 newcomers and will look to replace six position starters and its entire weekend rotation from the ’08 squad that went 43-21 and was an at-large selection for the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional.
However, while the Privateers do have some new faces, they are not short on talent.
“Bruce Peddie simply did an awesome job with this recruiting class,” said Walter, who was listed among the nation’s rising head coaches according to Rivals.com recently. “It is by far the most talented class we have had from top to bottom. We will have a lot of new guys, but a number of them will be able to step in and help us immediately.” FULL STORY
