North Carolina ace Alex White has had a very good season, the kind befitting of a projected top-10 pick like him.
But in a year where the pitching story-lines have been dominated by the dominating performances of guys like Stephen Strasburg and Ryan Berry, White hasn't made the huge headlines. He's plugged away with solid starts. Heading into Friday's game against No. 7 Miami, White had a 3.53 ERA. Pretty good.
Tonight, pretty good turned into great.
White struck out 10, walked one and faced just one batter over the minimum in a complete-game, one-hit shutout of the Hurricanes. That's his best start of the year and the first one-hitter by a North Carolina pitcher since 1994.
White went 8.2 innings last Friday against Florida State, but was a hard-luck loser.
He did not mess around this time.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Down in Tiger Town
LSU, ranked No. 1 in three polls, became the latest No. 1 to hit a mid-week pothole as Nicholls State handed the Tigers a 3-1 loss tonight at Alex Box Stadium.
It seems like this happens every week. It doesn't, of course, but I was curious enough to check into it. Of the nine weeks played so far, No. 1 teams have lost mid-week games in four of those weeks. That seems like kind of a lot.
In this case, the Tigers had to deal with eight different Nicholls pitchers, and got very little off any of them. The Tigers finished with just four hits. On the other side, LSU starter Chris Matulis was solid, but the three runs he gave up proved to be too many.
Nicholls State, who improved to 17-18 with the win, hadn't beaten LSU since 1994, a stretch that included 17 LSU victories.
Elsewhere
It seems like this happens every week. It doesn't, of course, but I was curious enough to check into it. Of the nine weeks played so far, No. 1 teams have lost mid-week games in four of those weeks. That seems like kind of a lot.
In this case, the Tigers had to deal with eight different Nicholls pitchers, and got very little off any of them. The Tigers finished with just four hits. On the other side, LSU starter Chris Matulis was solid, but the three runs he gave up proved to be too many.
Nicholls State, who improved to 17-18 with the win, hadn't beaten LSU since 1994, a stretch that included 17 LSU victories.
Elsewhere
- North Carolina may be one of the best teams in the country, but the Tar Heels also seem to be one of the most up-and-down teams in the country. A day after losing to High Point -- their third loss in four games -- the Heels beat up on a good Winthrop team today, winning 20-4. Ben Bunting had three hits and three RBI from the leadoff spot, and the Heels had 11 players drive in runs. Nate Striz relieved starter Bryant Gaines in the second inning and worked four scoreless frames to pick up the win.
- With struggles in his last few starts, Texas righty Brandon Workman got a little mid-week work today and turned in a solid showing as the Longhorns beat Texas A&M Corpus Christi 8-1. Workman struck out three and didn't walk anybody in three innings of work. The bigger story for the Longhorns might be the continued emergence of the offense. The Longhorns still aren't going to blow people out of the water, but they've won 10 of their last 11 games while averaging more than seven runs per game. Alan Trubow of the Austin American-Statesman posted some good notes yesterday on that and more.
- It took some extra work, but Arkansas is back on the winning track. The Hogs snapped a three-game losing streak today with a 10-9, 10-inning victory over Louisiana-Monroe. Scott Lyons hit a walk-off two-run homer to give Arkansas the victory.
- Kent State, everybody's favorite mid-major in the preseason, scored perhaps its best win of the season with an 8-7 triumph over Ohio State. Fresh off a series win over Toledo that included Brad Stillings' no-hitter, the Flashes stayed hot thanks to a big offensive day and some solid bullpen work. Anthony Gallas and Cory Hindel each delivered three RBI to pace the offense, with Hindel's seventh-inning RBI single proving to be the game-winner. Justin Gill, Jon Pokorny and Andrew Chafin combined for 3.2 innings of scoreless relief.
Jackets Over Bulldogs
They were scheduled to meet when they were both in the top five.
Instead, their first meeting came last night, with Georgia Tech ranked 11th and Georgia ranked second.
Tech still ended up on top.
The Jackets opened up an early lead and never looked back en route to an 11-6 victory.
Eight pitchers toed the rubber for the Bulldogs, but Tech kept hitting regardless of who was in there. Matt Skole, Jason Haniger and Cole Leonida each had home runs, with Leonida delivering a three-run blast. Jed Bradley got the ball for Tech and allowed five runs in six innings but never surrendered the lead.
This is obviously a good win for the Yellow Jackets, who had been having some ups and downs lately. They had lost five out of their last nine games. Still, Boyd Nation's Psuedo RPI had them rated third, and this win should only propel them higher.
Another in-state match-up awaits tonight, when Tech visits Georgia State. The first time the teams met, Georgia State posted a surprising 10-1 victory.
Elsewhere
Instead, their first meeting came last night, with Georgia Tech ranked 11th and Georgia ranked second.
Tech still ended up on top.
The Jackets opened up an early lead and never looked back en route to an 11-6 victory.
Eight pitchers toed the rubber for the Bulldogs, but Tech kept hitting regardless of who was in there. Matt Skole, Jason Haniger and Cole Leonida each had home runs, with Leonida delivering a three-run blast. Jed Bradley got the ball for Tech and allowed five runs in six innings but never surrendered the lead.
This is obviously a good win for the Yellow Jackets, who had been having some ups and downs lately. They had lost five out of their last nine games. Still, Boyd Nation's Psuedo RPI had them rated third, and this win should only propel them higher.
Another in-state match-up awaits tonight, when Tech visits Georgia State. The first time the teams met, Georgia State posted a surprising 10-1 victory.
Elsewhere
- Georgia wasn't the only top-five team losing a Tuesday game. No. 3 Rice and No. 4 North Carolina also took losses. Texas A&M, losers of four out of six, came into Houston and rode five strong innings by Barrett Loux to a 7-3 win. North Carolina's loss hurts a little more. High Point, a team with a 14-17 record, scored six runs in the final three innings on their way to an 11-9 victory.
- Louisiana-Monroe got a complete game from Keith Christensen and upset Arkansas 3-2. Boomer Blanchard (fantastic name) hit a solo home run in the eighth that proved to be the game-winner. After their mid-week sweep of Arizona State, Arkansas has now lost three in a row.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Checking in on the ACC
Because I have a lot of catching up to do . . .
So there's a bit of parity in the college baseball world, particularly in conference play. The ACC might not be the capital -- the Big 12 probably takes the cake -- but it's close. When your flagship team has been ranked No. 1 in the country for several weeks but sits in a tie for third in its division, you've got some craziness.
Of course, that team -- North Carolina -- isn't exactly in a distant third. The Heels are one of five teams with seven conference losses. Georgia Tech has the fewest losses with five, but the Yellow Jackets have also played three fewer games.
It'll be pretty interesting to see how it all shakes out. I had a passing thought that if these good teams keep beating up on each other, they'll hurt themselves come seeding time, but if you check out Boyd Nation's RPI right now, Georgia Tech and North Carolina sit at two and three, with Miami, Virginia and Clemson also in the top 15.
So at least for now, they look just fine.
Clemson had itself a nice little weekend, taking two of three from Miami to vault into first place in the ACC's Atlantic Division.
One of the best performers of the weekend was also the busiest.
Kyle Parker started his Saturday by out-shining the rest of the quarterback competition in Clemson's spring football game. He completed 13 of 21 passes for 171 yards and a touchdown.
Soon after, he was changing into a different uniform and torching Miami on the baseball field. A sophomore outfielder, Parker missed the first few innings of a Saturday doubleheader, but checked in and promptly went 3-for-7 with two home runs. He finished the week 8-for-18 with 11 RBI. When you factor in the football exploits, you've got one hell of a weekend. Parker was named ACC Player of the Week, and deservedly so.
You can read about the whole thing here.
Parker wasn't the only Tiger picking up an ACC honor. Freshman left-hander Chris Dwyer tossed a complete game two-hitter in the second game of that Saturday doubleheader. Dwyer had a career-high 10 strikeouts.
While fellow freshman pitcher Danny Hultzen of Virginia might get more ink in the ACC and around the country, Dwyer is putting together a very solid freshman campaign. Though his ERA is a little high at 4.40, he has 46 strikeouts in 47 innings. He also has a WHIP of 1.13.
The kid's good.
Without looking first, I would have pegged Hultzen as the likely choice for ACC Pitcher of the Year. He's got 63 strikeouts and a 2.39 ERA.
But Duke's Andrew Wolcott could certainly make a case. The 6'6 senior righty leads all ACC starters with a 2.18 ERA. He has 42 strikeouts against 10 walks in 53.2 innings.
Scanning the offensive leaderboard, it's Virginia's Jarrett Parker who really jumps out. He's in the top three in the league in every offensive category, from average to on-base percentage to triples and home runs. All in all, he's hitting .409 with 11 home runs and 43 RBI.
Those are pretty amazing numbers, considering what Parker did last year as a freshman. He hit .264 without a home run.
The big series this weekend pits Miami against North Carolina. Both have been consensus top-10 teams all season.
So there's a bit of parity in the college baseball world, particularly in conference play. The ACC might not be the capital -- the Big 12 probably takes the cake -- but it's close. When your flagship team has been ranked No. 1 in the country for several weeks but sits in a tie for third in its division, you've got some craziness.
Of course, that team -- North Carolina -- isn't exactly in a distant third. The Heels are one of five teams with seven conference losses. Georgia Tech has the fewest losses with five, but the Yellow Jackets have also played three fewer games.
It'll be pretty interesting to see how it all shakes out. I had a passing thought that if these good teams keep beating up on each other, they'll hurt themselves come seeding time, but if you check out Boyd Nation's RPI right now, Georgia Tech and North Carolina sit at two and three, with Miami, Virginia and Clemson also in the top 15.
So at least for now, they look just fine.
Clemson had itself a nice little weekend, taking two of three from Miami to vault into first place in the ACC's Atlantic Division.
One of the best performers of the weekend was also the busiest.
Kyle Parker started his Saturday by out-shining the rest of the quarterback competition in Clemson's spring football game. He completed 13 of 21 passes for 171 yards and a touchdown.
Soon after, he was changing into a different uniform and torching Miami on the baseball field. A sophomore outfielder, Parker missed the first few innings of a Saturday doubleheader, but checked in and promptly went 3-for-7 with two home runs. He finished the week 8-for-18 with 11 RBI. When you factor in the football exploits, you've got one hell of a weekend. Parker was named ACC Player of the Week, and deservedly so.
You can read about the whole thing here.
Parker wasn't the only Tiger picking up an ACC honor. Freshman left-hander Chris Dwyer tossed a complete game two-hitter in the second game of that Saturday doubleheader. Dwyer had a career-high 10 strikeouts.
While fellow freshman pitcher Danny Hultzen of Virginia might get more ink in the ACC and around the country, Dwyer is putting together a very solid freshman campaign. Though his ERA is a little high at 4.40, he has 46 strikeouts in 47 innings. He also has a WHIP of 1.13.
The kid's good.
Without looking first, I would have pegged Hultzen as the likely choice for ACC Pitcher of the Year. He's got 63 strikeouts and a 2.39 ERA.
But Duke's Andrew Wolcott could certainly make a case. The 6'6 senior righty leads all ACC starters with a 2.18 ERA. He has 42 strikeouts against 10 walks in 53.2 innings.
Scanning the offensive leaderboard, it's Virginia's Jarrett Parker who really jumps out. He's in the top three in the league in every offensive category, from average to on-base percentage to triples and home runs. All in all, he's hitting .409 with 11 home runs and 43 RBI.
Those are pretty amazing numbers, considering what Parker did last year as a freshman. He hit .264 without a home run.
The big series this weekend pits Miami against North Carolina. Both have been consensus top-10 teams all season.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
The (Mid) Week Ahead
Some nice little match-ups on tap this week, with Arizona State-Arkansas looking real good. The highlights:
Tuesday
Georgia Southern at Georgia Tech
Florida Atlantic at Miami
UNC Wilmington at NC State
TCU at Texas
Loyola Marymount at Cal State Fullerton
Pepperdine at UC Santa Barbara
Arizona State at Arkansas
Wednesday
South Carolina at Clemson
Oklahoma at Wichita State
Winthrop at Georgia
Arizona State at Arkansas
Mississippi State vs Southern Mississippi
I won't do Thursday, because it looks like Easter is making Thursday the first day of the weekend for most conferences.
Tuesday
Georgia Southern at Georgia Tech
Florida Atlantic at Miami
UNC Wilmington at NC State
TCU at Texas
Loyola Marymount at Cal State Fullerton
Pepperdine at UC Santa Barbara
Arizona State at Arkansas
Wednesday
South Carolina at Clemson
Oklahoma at Wichita State
Winthrop at Georgia
Arizona State at Arkansas
Mississippi State vs Southern Mississippi
I won't do Thursday, because it looks like Easter is making Thursday the first day of the weekend for most conferences.
Rebel Yell
Ole Miss stretched its win streak to six today when it completed a sweep over Kentucky today with an 8-0 win.
I think you could call it the most impressive of the six victories.
Senior righty Scott Bittle -- one of the best relievers in the country before he moved to the rotation last weekend -- tossed a complete-game, three-hit shutout with 13 strikeouts and no walks. Statistically, that's the best performance of Bittle's season and, probably, of his career. It was the first complete game shutout of his career, and the 13 strikeouts are a new career-high.
"He was really terrific today," Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco told OleMissSports.com.
Bittle, a second-round pick last year, has been terrific all season, but before last weekend's start against LSU, he had worked exclusively out of the bullpen. On his way to becoming one of the nation's best closers, Bittle hadn't made a start since 2007. When he got the start last Friday against LSU, he tossed seven innings of one-hit, shutout ball, striking out 10 and walking just two.
With this performance added in, Bittle has gone 16 innings in two starts. He has allowed four hits, struck out 23 and walked two. Pretty amazing.
Elsewhere
I think you could call it the most impressive of the six victories.
Senior righty Scott Bittle -- one of the best relievers in the country before he moved to the rotation last weekend -- tossed a complete-game, three-hit shutout with 13 strikeouts and no walks. Statistically, that's the best performance of Bittle's season and, probably, of his career. It was the first complete game shutout of his career, and the 13 strikeouts are a new career-high.
"He was really terrific today," Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco told OleMissSports.com.
Bittle, a second-round pick last year, has been terrific all season, but before last weekend's start against LSU, he had worked exclusively out of the bullpen. On his way to becoming one of the nation's best closers, Bittle hadn't made a start since 2007. When he got the start last Friday against LSU, he tossed seven innings of one-hit, shutout ball, striking out 10 and walking just two.
With this performance added in, Bittle has gone 16 innings in two starts. He has allowed four hits, struck out 23 and walked two. Pretty amazing.
Elsewhere
- UC Irvine was on the verge of a really, really impressive weekend, but Cal State Fullerton rallied from a 4-1 deficit and won in extra innings to salvage the third game of the series. The Titans had lost the first two, but won this one on a walkoff single by Matthew Fahey. Still a really impressive weekend for the Anteaters, though.
- LSU beat Georgia 7-5 to take the rubber game of the season's most high-profile SEC series. As was the case in each game of the series, neither team's pitching staff really shined, but the Tigers outlasted Georgia thanks to some late offense and a gritty performance by Louis Coleman, who allowed five runs in the first five innings but added three more scoreless frames.
- Like LSU, North Carolina won the rubber game of a marquee conference set, outlasting Georgia Tech 13-10. Dustin Ackley had two home runs and four RBI to pace the Tar Heels.
- Freshman Mitchell Lambson struck out nine in a complete game as Arizona State completed a sweep of Washington with a 6-2 victory. For the series, ASU pitchers allowed three runs and struck out 36. Lambson actually pitched 1.1 innings in Friday's game, but apparently wasn't tired. Sunday's game was his first start, and he delivered.
I'll be back . . . I am back
So it's been awhile. Sorry. I was in Indianapolis last weekend for the Sweet 16. My team (Louisville) lost. I was in mourning and then mired in a busy week.
But I'm back, and I don't plan to lose the thread again.
Some catching up later this evening.
But I'm back, and I don't plan to lose the thread again.
Some catching up later this evening.
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