Oregon Summer League Report
Oregon baseball players are finishing up summer ball as the final week of regular season is in swing for some teams, while playoffs have already started in other leagues.
Duck third baseman John Adamson, known for his walk-off, game-winning RBI-single in Oregon’s, 3-2, 10-inning victory over Oregon State at PGE Park on March 28, pulled off a similar feat in his first playoff series for the Yorkton Cardinals yesterday.
Yorkton (Western Major Baseball League), played its first playoff game on Friday, falling, 6-5, to the Central Division’s top team, Swift Current (27-13). But in Sunday’s rematch, Adamson produced what proved to be the game-winning RBI with a two-out, bases-loaded single in the top of the 10th during a 3-2 victory in Game 2. Adamson is batting .198 for Yorkton. The Cardinals finished the regular season third in the East Division standings with a 20-20 record. FULL STORY
’08-09 Rewind: Ohio State Baseball
What a wonderfully odd year the 2009 campaign was for the Ohio State baseball team. This pleasantly surprising, hard-hitting team that was a couple arms thin on the mound managed to win the Big Ten Conference championship and qualify for the NCAA tournament after opening the season picked as no better than a third-place team in the Big Ten Conference by any of the baseball publications.
About four hours after Ohio State completed a three-game sweep over Iowa in its final Big Ten series of the year to improve to 18-6 in the Big Ten, Penn State came-from-behind to defeat league-leading Minnesota and drop its record to 17-6 – UM lost a game with Indiana due to inclement weather – and deny the Golden Gophers the title. FULL STORY
Josh Hopper Joins UAB Baseball Coaching Staff
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — UAB head baseball coach Brian Shoop has announced the addition of Josh Hopper to the Blazers’ coaching staff. Hopper comes to UAB as an assistant coach after spending the previous five seasons as an assistant at Berry College in northwest Georgia.
This past season, Hopper helped Berry to the program’s first NAIA World Series appearance and a ranking of No. 4 in the final NAIA Baseball Coaches Poll. The Vikings finished the year 46-16, and Hopper’s pitching staff ranked in the top 25 nationally in ERA (4.22) and opponent batting average (.263).
“Josh has a great command of pitching mechanics and a toughness and energy that will be contagious as he leads our pitching staff,” Shoop said. “We truly believe he is one of the bright young stars in our profession, and he will be a great fit at UAB. We as coaches, along with our players, are blessed to have Josh Hopper leading our pitching staff.” FULL STORY
UCLA Ballplayers Thrive in Summer Leagues
LOS ANGELES – Rising juniors Brett Krill and Rob Rasmussen have headlined a group of UCLA ballplayers excelling in summer baseball leagues. Rising senior Jordan Haver, rising sophomore Mitchell Beacom, redshirt freshmen Chase Brewer and Matt Mosher and incoming freshman Cody Keefer have also had strong summers.
Krill leads the Wisconsin Woodchucks (Northwoods League) with a .311 batting average, having collected three home runs, 11 doubles, 18 RBI and 18 runs in 30 games. The resident of Laguna Niguel, Calif., is playing his second season in the Northwoods League.
Rasmussen has gone 3-0 with a 1.91 ERA in 28.1 innings for the Orleans Firebirds (Cape Cod League). He served as the starting pitcher for the East Division in the Cape Cod League All-Star Game at Fenway Park on July 23. Playing his second season for Orleans, Rasmussen has compiled 37 strikeouts and nine walks, limiting the opposition to a .184 batting average in five starts. FULL STORY
Chris Pfatenhauer Joins Nevada Baseball Staff
Reno, Nev. – University of Nevada head baseball coach Gary Powers has hired Chris Pfatenhauer as the new assistant baseball coach for the Wolf Pack. Pfatenhauer’s duties will include coaching third base for the Pack, working with the infielders, assisting with hitting and instruction on base running.
“I am very excited to be a part of the athletic department here at the University of Nevada,” said Pfatenhauer. “Joining the Wolf Pack baseball family that Coach Powers has built is an amazing opportunity for me and my family. I would like to thank Director of Athletics Cary Groth and coach Gary Powers for this wonderful opportunity.”
Pfatenhauer comes to Nevada after spending the last two years at Chico State (Calif.) where he worked with the Wildcat hitters, infielders and taught base running. In addition he was the recruiting coordinator and assisted in all aspects of the baseball program. During his tenure the team posted a 77-38 record and were ranked as high as second nationally. Defensively the ‘Cats finished in the top 15 both years and the 2009 club ranked first in 15 offensive categories. Each of the last two seasons a Wildcat infielder was named to the National Rawlings Gold Glove team. FULL STORY
