The Duke baseball team lost their finale in Florida, 16-5. It is hard to believe that the game was actually close and that the Blue Devils actually led, but they did.

Heading into the bottom of the 6th inning, Duke led 3-2. That ended quickly, as the Gators just kept adding on. The Gators scored four in the sixth, four in the seventh, and six in the eighth.

Freshman Kenny Koplove made his collegiate debut in the 7th inning. After a leadoff single, he picked the baserunner off. However, Koplove walked the next hitter, hit the next, recorded an out, and then hit the next batter. That was the end of his outing and in came Ryan Munger, who allowed a grand slam to Zack Powers. Powers hit another grand slam in the 8th inning off Munger (who allowed seven runs in the game) and drove in a total of nine runs.

Both teams scored two runs in the first inning on doubles: one by Chris Marconcini and one by Taylor Gushue.

Duke took the one-run lead in the 4th inning on a throwing error on Gushue, who tried to throw Andy Perez out trying to steal third base.

The blowout loss negated the solid start from James Marvel, who allowed two runs on two hits and four walks over four innings. He struck out two. It was his collegiate debut.

In his first start of the season (as the DH), Matt Berezo went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs. He was the only Blue Devil to record a multi-hit game, as Duke had just eight hits.

» Continue reading “Duke Baseball Loses Finale in Florida”

Since today is February 1st, that means that baseball season is right around the corner. I know, college basketball season is in full force right now, but the Duke baseball season begins right in the middle of it.

The Blue Devils open the 2013 season with a new coach for a weekend series February 15-17 in Florida. For the second straight season, Duke opens at a national powerhouse. Last season, it was Texas. This season, it is against the Florida Gators. The same team that continues to dominate the SEC and head to the College World Series. The Gators are ranked 17th in Baseball America’s preseason top 25.

Two of the Gators starting pitchers were named to preseason All-American teams by Baseball America: right-handers Jonathon Crawford (second team) and Karsten Whitson (third team). However, they lost big pieces like catcher Mike Zunino, two-way player Brian Johnson, and infielder Nolan Fontana. So they are a young team trying to fins their identity. Maybe the Blue Devils can pick up some wins?

Meanwhile, Duke lost their top starter to the first round of the MLB draft last June (Marcus Stroman) and their best hitter to professional baseball (Will Piwnica-Worms). They do however, have some pieces still in place like Jeff Kremer, David Perkins, Chris Marconcini, Trent Swart, and Robert Huber. You can check out their full roster HERE.

Those pieces did not help those who ranked the teams in the ACC for their preseason poll. Duke is picked to finish last in the Coastal Division once again. North Carolina is picked to finish first in the same division and is ranked number one by Baseball America in their preseason Top 25 (with All-American Colin Moran). The Blue Devils will play their ACC rival April 19-21 in Chapel Hill.

» Continue reading “Duke Baseball Season Right Around the Corner”

NC State broke up the shutout in the 9th inning on a John Gianis pinch-hit RBI single, but the Wolfpack lost to number one Florida in Gainesville, 7-1.

The Wolfpack sent junior Ethan Ogburn to the mound to face the Gators, rather than freshman sensation Carlos Rodon (who is a Golden Spikes Award finalist and will pitch on Sunday).

The Gators jumped out with a four-spot in the bottom of the 3rd inning. They had four singles, while there was a passed ball and a throwing error.

Meanwhile, Florida starter Hudson Randall scattered six hits over seven scoreless innings. NC State only had two base runners on in the same inning twice, both times with two outs.

After a Preston Tucker walk to lead off the bottom of the 7th inning and a Wolfpack pitching change, the game was halted due to rain (for a little over two hours).

And when play resumed, the rain began falling again and Mike Zunino hit a two-run homerun. They went into another delay in the top of the 8th inning (for 48 minutes).

Florida leads the series 1-0 and will be looking to take Sunday’s Game 2 (1pm ET on ESPNU). NC State is looking to their young stud to send the series to Monday afternoon and a trip to the College World Series.

*Florida State and Stanford were supposed to play Game 2 of their Super Regional in Tallahassee, but rain forced the postponement. Game 2 will be played on Sunday at 7pm ET on ESPN2. If FSU wins, they are headed to the College World Series. If Stanford wins, there will be a Game 3 on Monday.

Baseball America released their preseason Top 25 rankings in college baseball on Tuesday. Yes, the college baseball season is right around the corner.

Shockingly, Duke is not ranked in the top 25. However, there is a reason to get excited about Sean McNally’s Blue Devils in 2012. Pitcher Marcus Stroman is ranked as one of the top ten collegiate prospects for the June MLB draft.

Duke opens the baseball season with a weekend road trip to 13th ranked Texas, who made an appearance in last year’s College World Series. That series begins on Friday, February 17th. That’s less than a month away and a reason to banish the winter blues.

Even though Duke isn’t ranked, the ACC is well represented. Five teams are ranked in the top 25, with the highest being North Carolina at number 9. Georgia Tech ranks 12th, with Clemson at 16, Miami at 18, and Florida State at 20. All five teams have lost some key contributors, but the ACC is always tough and there will be some new recruits coming in.

» Continue reading “Preseason College Baseball Rankings: Is Duke on the List?”

With the rain on Wednesday halting the game, Team USA and Japan played two games at TD Ameritrade Park, the new home of the College World Series, on Friday. It began in the bottom of the 3^rd with no score (it was delayed at 7:43pm on Wednesday, so it was an official 45 hour delay).

Japan took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 4^th inning, aided by a USA error. Brady Rogers (ASU) started on Wednesday and was back on the mound Friday afternoon. Branden Kline (Virginia) entered in relief in the 7^th inning.

In the top of the 8^th inning, Nolan Fontana (Florida) tied the game at 1-1 with a sac fly. In the 9^th, Chris Elder (Oral Roberts) was thrown out at the plate. In the bottom of 9^th, Marcus Stroman (Duke) entered with a runner on second and just one out. Stroman did what he’s been doing all summer and shut down the Japanese offense.

The game went into extra innings under IBAF tie breaker rules, though it was decided before the game that they would only go ten innings.

What are IBAF tiebreaker rules you ask? They are called crazy rules in my book. The team coming to bat can decide where to start the order. Plus, that same team puts runners at first and second with nobody out. So you can put your 8-9 hitters on base, and then send your 1-2-3 hitters to the plate to start the inning. It’s supposed to speed up the game (can you imagine this happening in professional baseball?).

Anyway, neither team scored in the 10^th inning. Team USA had runners at second and third base with two outs and did not score. Fontana threw a runner out at he plate in the bottom of the 10^th, keeping Japan from scoring. The game ended in a 1-1 tie.

DJ Baxendale (Arkansas) took the loss in the second game as he allowed five runs (none earned) over five innings. The Team USA defense was sloppy early, as they committed four errors behind him. Brian Johnson (Florida) hit a solo homerun in the 9^th inning, his third of the summer. Team USA had mounted comebacks in three straight game against Japan prior to Friday and Johnson said after the game that he fully expected to win after he hit his homerun.

That ended the summer for Team USA as many of the players head to the Cape Cod League to finish out the summer (or head back to school). Many of the players talked about running out of gas with all the travel they have been doing. Team USA finished with an 11-2-1 record.

Team USA and the Japanese team were rained out on July 4^th, so they began Tuesday with the makeup game at Team USA’s training complex. They battled through a pitcher’s duel early on until Japan broke through to take a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 6^th on Yoshihiro Ikeda’s RBI triple.

That lead was short-lived as Team USA finally broke through in a BIG way. Dominic Ficociello (Arkansas) doubled to lead off the inning and Chris Elder (Oral Roberts) followed with an RBI single to tie the game at 1-1. Matt Reynolds (Arkansas) followed with a single, putting runners at the corners. With Erich Weiss (Texas) at the plate pinch-hitting for Tom Murphy (Buffalo), Reynolds took off for second base and as the catcher’s throw went down to second base, Elder stole home, completing the double steal and giving the USA a 2-1 lead. Weiss then delivered an RBI single.

Then things fell apart for Japan. Michael Lorenzen (CSF) reached on a throwing error by the Japanese pitcher on a sac bunt. Nolan Fontana (Florida) reached on a fielder’s choice, in which Weiss scored on the Japanese second baseman’s throwing error. With one out, Deven Marrero (ASU) singled in a run, Tyler Naquin (Texas A&M) doubled Marrero in, and Josh Elander (TCU) singled in Naquin to give Team USA a 7-1 lead. Yes the USA scored SEVEN runs after not being able to do anything against Japan’s Takahiro Fujioka for six innings.

Kevin Gausman (LSU) got the start for Team USA and allowed one run on just three hits over 5.2 innings. He also struck out seven. Brian Johnson (Florida) followed and allowed one run on four hits over 2.1 innings to earn the win. Andrew Mitchell (TCU) closed out the game for Team USA with a scoreless 9^th inning.

Following the first game, the two teams headed to Durham Bulls Athletic Park for the regularly scheduled night game. Michael Wacha of Texas A&M got the start for Team USA.

Team USA took a quick 1-0 lead on Elander’s RBI triple. The score would stay that way until the top of the 7^th inning. Japan got to Wacha as he left losing 2-1. Hoby Milner (Texas) allowed a sac fly before escaping further damage. At that point, Japan led 3-1. Wacha allowed three runs on four hits and two walks while striking out six.

Team USA’s offense woke up in the bottom of the 7^th inning. Johnson homered to lead off the inning. Lorenzen reached on a bunt single and went to second base on Fontana’s ground out. After Marrero struck out for the second out, Naquin doubled in Lorenzen to tie the game at 3-3. After a walk, Ficociello singled in Naquin to give the USA a 4-3 lead.

Duke’s Marcus Stroman pitched a scoreless 9^th inning to pick up his fourth save of the summer. He struck out two in the inning.

Elander and Ficociello extended their summer hitting streaks to nine games, while Naquin extended his to eight games. Team USA and Japan continue their series on Wednesday night in Kannapolis, NC for their next to last game. The final game of the series will be played at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska, home of the College World Series, on Friday.

*Five Team USA players were selected to Baseball America’s Freshman All-America Team. The first-teamers include Lorenzen and Texas’ Corey Knebel. The second-teamers include Weiss, Ficociello, and Mitchell.

Not sure who came up with the idea of having collegiate baseball players faces off again kids under the age of 18. It was the first Prospect Classic pitting many of next year’s draft eligible players. However the 18U team was overmatched.

After losing the first game on Friday night in Durham, the 18U team (at least the pitchers) looked good in Saturday night’s game early on. They held the CNT hitless through the first three innings before allowing a hit in the 4th. However the CNT busted out in the 5th inning. Florida’s Nolan Fontana, making his first start for Team USA since joining the team from the College World Series, drove in the first run with a two-out single. Fontana batted eighth and started at second base. The hot-hitting Deven Marrero (ASU) delivered a three-run double (he also had the first hit of the game in the 4th).

Tyler Naquin (Texas A&M) went 2-for-4 in the leadoff spot and Michael Lorenzen (CSF) delivered a two-run double in the 8th inning.

For the CNT, Eric Anderson of Missouri was dealing. He earned his second win of the summer as he scattered five hits over seven innings. He also struck out five. Matt Boyd of Oregon State pitched the final two innings and allowed a bases loaded walk in the 9th inning to account for the 18U’s only run.

The CNT won 8-1 and begin their series against the Japanese on Sunday afternoon.

*Stephen Yarrow (San Francisco) signed a nondrafted free agent contract with the SF Giants and left for Arizona on Saturday morning. Matt Reynolds (Arkansas) and Tom Murphy (Buffalo) joined the CNT prior to the game.

Durham, North Carolina hosted the first ever USA Baseball Prospect Classic. The 18U team was no match for the Collegiate team, as the collegiates won 12-1.

In his debut, Florida’s Brian Johnson went 2-for-2 with three walks and three RBIs. One of his two hits was a homerun. He also threw 1.2 scoreless innings of relief with two strikeouts.

Deven Marrero (ASU), Chris Elder (Oral Roberts), and Josh Elander (TCU) also collected two hits each and Elander drove in three runs.

Ryan Stanek of Arkansas earned his first win of the summer by throwing 6.1 scoreless innings. He scattered eight hits and one walk while striking out six.

The 18U team did collect nine hits in the game. They scored their only run of the game against Texas’ closer Corey Knebel in the 9th inning.

The prospects will play again on Saturday night with the game airing on MLB Network at 12pm ET on Sunday.

*Friday night’s game can be seen on MLB Network NOW.

Tuesday’s College World Series began with the completion of the Vanderbilt-Florida game from Monday night that was suspended in the bottom of the 6^th with Florida leading 3-1 on a Preston Tucker three-run homerun.

Steven Rodriguez, who had entered on Monday night in the 5^th with two outs for the Gators, pitched another four innings to earn the victory. He did not allow a hit while striking out seven. Will Clinard was the new pitcher when Vanderbilt took the field on Tuesday morning. He did not allow a hit over two innings of relief and Corey Williams followed with a perfect inning of relief. The final three innings of the game went by quickly as neither team’s offenses picked up a hit. Florida is now one win away from the CWS championship game. They will play Friday at 2pm ET on ESPN. They await the winner of the UNC-Vanderbilt game on Wednesday night. Vanderbilt fell into the loser’s bracket and have to face UNC again on Wednesday night at 7pm ET on ESPN2.

Via Cal's Athletic Dept.

The second game on Tuesday was a pitcher’s duel early on between Cal and Texas A&M. Kyle Porter started for the Bears while Michael Wacha started for the Aggies. In the bottom of the 4^th, the Aggies’ Adam Smith hit a solo homerun to take the 1-0 lead.

Over the next two innings, the Cal offense went to work against Macha as they scored three runs in each inning. Derek Campbell delivered a single and two runs scored (aided by a fielding error). Tony Renda delivered a sac fly in the top of the 5^th to give Cal a 3-0 lead. In the top of the 6^th, Mitch Delfino doubled in a run and Chad Bunting followed with an RBI single. Campbell drove in another run in the 6^th to give Cal a 6-0 lead (Campbell has been playing at second base due to Renda’s leg injury).

Meanwhile, Porter was solid until the bottom of the 6^th. Texas A&M scored a run on an error and another on Brandon Wood’s RBI single. Porter battled out of the inning to still lead 6-3 and that was all for him. He allowed seven hits over six innings. Cal tacked on an insurance run in the top of the 7^th on Devon Rodriguez’ RBI single to take a 7-3 lead.

Matt Flemer relieved Porter and pitched three shutout innings to pick up the save. Cal survived to play another day and will meet the loser of the Virginia-South Carolina game. That game will be on Thursday night at 7pm ET on ESPN2. Texas A&M joins Texas as the two and barbeque teams.

Via langleyo on Flickr

The first team to go “Two and Barbeque” was the Texas Longhorns (for those who don’t know, “two and barbeque” is going 0-2 in the College World Series). Despite using two starting pitchers, Cole Green and Sam Stafford, the Longhorns couldn’t muster any runs against UNC freshman starter Kent Emanuel. Emanuel pitched a complete game shutout in limiting Texas to just four hits. He walked just one while striking out five. Texas never put any kind of a rally against Emanuel as they never had more than one baserunner in an inning. He had his curveball working on Monday afternoon.

Tarheels head coach Mike Fox moved the hot hitting Ben Bunting into the second spot in the order and moved the struggling Levi Michael to the seven spot to take the pressure off him. Bunting went 4-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored. Michael picked up a single.

The game started eerily similar to UNC’s game against Vanderbilt on Saturday. They had runners on base, but couldn’t drive them in. Then in the 3^rd after chasing the starter (Green), Jacob Stallings delivered a two-run single to give UNC a 2-0 lead. They tacked on an insurance run in the 9^th with Bunting’s RBI double. Emanuel retired the side in order in the bottom of the 9^th. UNC stays alive to face the loser of the Vanderbilt/Florida game on Wednesday at 7pm ET on ESPN2.

As I am writing this, Vandy and Florida are in a two-plus hour rain delay as Florida leads 3-1 on Preston Tucker’s three-run bomb.

UPDATE: The Vanderbilt/Florida game was suspended in the bottom of the 6th. Play will resume on Tuesday at 11am ET on ESPN.