TCU Outslugs Ole Miss In Oxford

(Courtesy TCU Sports Information)

OXFORD, Miss. - The No. 16 TCU Horned Frogs pounded out 25 hits and scored 19 runs on a cold, rainy afternoon to defeat No. 11 Ole Miss, 19-13, Saturday at Oxford-University Stadium. Matt Carpenter led the Frog charge with five hits, while Chris Ellington connected for two home runs and drove in four. The win is the fifth in a row for TCU.

All but one starter posted a multi-hit game and six drove in at least one run. Along with Ellington's four RBI, Jason Coats tallied four RBI.

The Frogs improve to 5-1 on the season. The teams will attempt to complete the series with a doubleheader on Sunday beginning at Noon.

Michigan Bounces Back With A Vengeance

A day after losing 19-11 to Wisconsin-Miwaukee, Michigan erupted to beat Jacksonville 21-3 at the Jacksonville Invitational.

Twelve different Wolverines collected at least one RBI in their 19 hit attack. Centerfielder Ryan LaMarre continued his hot hitting. LaMarre homered and drove-in four runs to give him three long balls and 11 RBIs in his last two games.

Mike Dufek hit a solo homer as well for Michigan.

Oregon Knocks-off Fresno State Again

A day after beating Fresno State 1-0 for its first home win in 28 years, Oregon beat the defending national champions 7-1 Saturday.

Caleb Tommasini, Dylan Gavin and Danny Pulfer each had 2 RBIs for the Ducks (3-2). Danny Muno gave Fresno State (2-4) its only offense with a solo home run.

Oregon pitcher Erik Stavert scattered six hits in 6 1/3 innings with five strikeouts to earn his first division one collegiate win. Stavert is a junior college transfer from Chabot College in California.

The Ducks and Bulldogs complete their 3-game series Sunday in Eugene.

Virginia, Va. Tech Each Get Eighth Win Of '09

ACC rivals Virginia and Virginia Tech each registered their eighth win of the season on Saturday.

Virginia downed Fordham 7-3 in Charlottesville, VA to improve to 8-0. Andrew Carraway picked-up his second win of the season after giving-up four runs (three earned) in eight innings. The senior issued two walks with five strikeouts.

Freshman third baseman Steven Proscia paced the Cavs' 10-hit attack by going 3 for 5 with an RBI. Four other Cavs each had an RBI.

It was not a tidy game, as Virginia commited a season-high five errors, while Fordham (1-5) had three errors and walked nine batters.

Meanwhile, Virginia Tech improved to 8-1 after a 10-7 win over Bucknell (0-7) in Blacksburg, VA. Tech trailed by four runs going into the bottom of the seventh, but scored four runs in the home half of the inning to tie the game, and then added three in the eighth for the deciding runs.

The game started at 10 a.m. to try to avoid impending weather, but much of the game was still played in the rain.

Klint Reed (pictured above) and Ty Hohman each had two hits and two RBIs for the Hokies.

Handful Of Upsets & Ranked Head-to-Heads

There were a few upsets around college baseball Friday night:

Oregon knocked-off defending national champion #15 Fresno State 1-0 in Eugene. Andrew Schmidt's walk-off RBI single won the game in Eugene. Oregon starter Tyler Anderson scattered six hits over eight shutout innings.

Pacific rolled by #17 San Diego 14-6. Pacific right fielder Mike McKeever homered and totaled 5 RBIs.

Washington State got its first win of the season with a 9-2 triumph over #22 Oklahoma in Pullman, WA.

Wisconsin-Milwaukee blasted #25 Michigan 19-11. Wolverine centerfielder Ryan LaMarre was 4 for 5 with two home runs and 7 RBIs in his team's first loss of the season. Shawn Wozniak homered and had 5 RBIs for the Panthers.

In games featuring two ranked teams:

Third-ranked Texas A & M downed #14 UC-Irvine 9-2. Aggies first baseman Luke Anders homered and drove-in four.

#10 Rice beat #9 UCLA 5-4 in 10 innings. Rice starter Mike Ojala fanned 11 Bruin batters in 6 2/3 IP. Both of those games were at the Houston College Classic at Minute Maid Park.

#10 Miami handled intrastate rival #13 Florida 8-5 in the Gators' first loss of 2009. Hurricane left fielder Jonathon Weislow finished with two home runs and 5 RBIs.

#16 Cal State Fullerton managed a minor upset with an 8-1 win over #11 Stanford. Fullerton's Jered Clark hit a grand slam and drove-in six total runs.

To see all other scores from around the nation CLICK HERE.

Florida St. & Boston College Stay Unbeaten

Florida State and Boston College remained unbeaten in the first week of the 2009 season with wins Thursday in Florida.

The Seminoles (5-0) edged Auburn 8-7 in Tallahassee thanks to junior college transfer Mike Meschke's bases loaded game-ending single in the bottom of the 9th inning. Tyler Holt and Stuart Tapley were each 2 for 5 with 2 RBIs in the win over the Tigers (2-3).

Auburn commited three errors in the game that led to two unearned FSU runs.

The teams play again in Tallahassee Friday, then the 4-game series shifts to Auburn, AL for two more games.

In Ft. Myers, somewhat surprising Boston College (5-0) remained unbeaten as well with a 3-1 win over South Florida (1-3). BC senior righthander JB MacDonald retired the first ten and 15 of the first 17 Bulls batters he faced to earn his first win of 2009.

Boston College scored three runs in the first inning thanks to three hits and two HBP. Mike Belfiore's two-run double highlighted the inning.

All five BC wins this season have been in Florida against Florida teams (Stetson-4, USF-1).

East Carolina Outslugs Oklahoma State

East Carolina knocked Oklahoma State from the unbeaten ranks with a 14-7 win in Greenville, NC. The 23rd ranked Pirates (4-0) trailed 7-4 going into the bottom of the seventh inning, but scored eight runs in the frame to propel them to the win over the 11th ranked Cowboys (4-1).

Stephen Batts, Drew Schieber and Trent Whitehead combined to go 11-for-14 at the plate with 3 RBIs each. Batts and Schieber each homered. East Carolina totaled 20 hits with no errors in the game.

Oklahoma State designated hitter Doug Kroll homered twice in the loss, while teammate Michael Dabbs homered as well.

Voting Underway For Minnesota's DQ Classic All-Time Team

This Sunday Minnesota will announce an All-Time Tournament Team for the Dairy Queen Classic. The event is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year in the Metrodome.

Fans can vote on-line for the team during the first two days of this year's tournament on Friday Feb. 27 and Saturday Feb. 28. The All-Time Tournament Team will include two starting pitchers, a relief pitcher, catcher, first baseman, second baseman, shortstop, third baseman, and three outfielders.

Criteria for players on the ballot is based mostly on success in the Major Leagues as well as performance in the Dairy Queen Classic Tournament.

Click Here to cast your votes.

Stephenson Looks For More Good Home Cookin'

Wichita State plays its 2009 home opener tomorrow (Friday). Shockers head coach Gene Stephenson is 29-2 in home openers in his 31 years in Wichita. The two losses came in 1988 (a 13-11 set-back to New Mexico) and 2007 (an 11-10 defeat to Richmond) at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium.

Stephenson has won 1,655 games in his 32 years as a head coach. His win total is second only to Texas head coach Augie Garrido's 1,677 wins in 41 years.

Stephenson has been to the College World Series seven times, most recently in 1996. His 1989 squad won the national championship.

(Courtesy Wichita State Sports Information.)

New Stuff On Collegebaseball360.com

We have added a new feature to the site this week. Each on the "Match-Ups" page you will find a featured series of note as well as other match-ups around the nation.

This week our featured match-up is Central Florida (UCF) at LSU. UCF is coached by former LSU pitching coach Terry Rooney. He and his top assistant, Cliff Godwin, were part of Paul Mainieri's coaching staff for last year's College World Series team.

Collegebaseball360's Sean Stires interviewed Rooney this week, and you can CLICK HERE to hear what he has to say about his first head coaching experience, as well as his return to Baton Rouge.

Collegebaseball360.com also continues to interview players weekly for our "Diamond Insights", and you can hear those interviews on the AUDIO page.

If you ever have a player or coach you would like us to interview just drop us a suggestion via email at: editor@collegebaseball360.com

Another Wednesday Upset & Other Notes

St. Mary's knocked-off #9 Stanford 5-3 in the second upset of Wednesday night. Freshman righthander Kyle Barraclough held Stanford (3-2-1) to three hits in five innings in his collegiate debut. The Gaels are (3-1).

It was the second upset of Wednesday night after Centenary College (1-1) earlier knocked-off #4 Texas A & M (5-1) 8-4.

Elsewhere...

UC Riverside (3-1) pounded #21 UCLA (2-3) 11-1.

Arkansas (4-1) used a walk-off home run by Jacob House to beat Kansas (2-3) 9-8 in 10 innings. Kansas pitcher Shaeffer Hall, who pitched a no-hitter in the Jayhawk's season-opener, gave-up two unearned runs in five innings in his first outing since the gem.

Lamar head coach Jim Gilligan got his 1,100th career win when his Cardinals beat Siena 6-1. Gilligan is in his 33rd year as head coach at Lamar.

Another One Bites The Dust

Texas A&M is the latest ranked team to fall prey to a mid-week upset. The fourth-ranked Aggies (5-1) suffered their first loss of 2009 to Centenary College (1-1) in College Station, TX Wednesday afternoon.

Centenary scored three runs in the fourth and eighth innings, and added single runs in the fifth and ninth to pull-off the upset.

Click Here to see the full box score.

Experienced Group Gathering In Jacksonville

An experienced group of head coaches will lead their teams at the Kennel Club Classic this weekend in Jacksonville, FL. Ohio State, UConn, George Mason, and host North Florida will participate in the event. The four teams' coaches have a combined 90 years of experience and 3,037 wins between them. Here's a look:

• Dusty Rhodes-North Florida- 30th year-1,161 wins
• Bill Brown-George Mason- 28th year- 757 wins
• Bob Todd-Ohio State- 26th year- 958 wins
• Jim Penders-UConn- 6th year- 161 wins

Rhodes became head coach at UNF roughly around the time Penders was starting taking the training wheels off his bike.

Rhodes and Todd were enshrined together this January in the American Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame. The Buckeyes are looking for their first 4-0 start since 1991, when Todd and OSU went on to win 52 games.

All of the Kennel Club Classic games will be played at Harmon Stadium on the UNF campus.

(Thanks to Ohio State Sports Information.)

Who's Still Unbeaten?

It's a given in college baseball that everyone's going to lose at some point. That's the nature of a 56-game schedule with mid-week games. Some teams have already started playing games in the fall to avoid too many pitching-taxing mid-week match-ups (another topic for another day).

I guess it really should be no surprise that the season isn't even a week old, and Arizona State (5-0) is the only unbeaten team remaining in the Pac 10. A glance at the Boyd's World preseason strength of schedule report (the SOS page on our web site) shows the Pac-10 has the five toughest schedules in the nation as well as ten of the top twenty toughest slates. Meanwhile, the seventeen teams that combine to make-up the Big West and West Coast Conferences all have schedules that are among the forty toughest in the land. With all these teams playing each other someone has to lose.

In any case, here's a look at the remaining unbeaten teams in Divsion One baseball. (Only teams that have played are on this list. There are still a handful of teams that await their season openers.)

Coming tomorrow: Weekend Match-ups to watch.

Records as of 9:40 am Eastern Time Wednesday, February 25.

Boston College (4-0)
Clemson (3-0)
Florida State (4-0)
Wake Forest (5-0)
Virginia (5-0)
Richmond (4-0)
Campbell (4-0)
E. Tennessee St. (3-0)
Michigan (4-0)
Ohio St. (3-0)
Oklahoma (5-0)
Oklahoma State (4-0)
Texas (5-0)
Texas A&M (5-0)
Winthrop (4-0)
George Mason (4-0)
UNC-Wilmington (4-0)
East Carolina (3-0)
Southern Mississippi (4-0)
Valparaiso (2-0)
Northern Colorado (4-0)
Rider (2-0)
Delaware State (3-0)
Kent State (3-0)
Arizona State (5-0)
Florida (4-0)
Georgia (4-0)
South Carolina (3-0)
LSU (3-0)
Georgia Southern (4-0)
Western Carolina (3-0)
Lamar (5-0)
McNeese St. (4-0)
Oral Roberts (3-0)
Middle Tenn. St. (4-0)
Western Kentucky (1-0)
Alcorn State (3-0)
Louisiana Tech (3-0)
New Mexico State (3-0)
San Jose State (4-0)

Flat Tuesday For Higher Ranked Teams

Fat Tuesday turned flat for a host of ranked teams across the nation. Five teams knocked-off teams with higher preseason rankings, including two previously unbeaten squads. (All rankings on this page are based on the CB360 Wall-to-Wall Poll.)

Cal Poly (3-1) out-slugged defending national champion Fresno State (2-2) 13-11.

#3 North Carolina (3-1) lost 7-3 to Coastal Carolina (4-1).

#13 San Diego (2-2) dropped an 11-2 decision to Oklahoma (5-0).

UC Santa Barbara (3-1) edged #21 UCLA (2-2) 7-6.

Kansas (2-2) downed #33 Arkansas (3-1) 9-3.

Georgia Southern (4-0) tripped #15 Georgia Tech (3-1) 6-5.

New Mexico Sets NCAA Triples Record

The University of New Mexico set a new NCAA record for triples in a single inning in the second game of a February 21 doubleheader. The Lobos hit six triples in the bottom of the third inning in a 22-1 win over Texas A & M Corpus Christi. Mike Brownstein tripled twice in the inning, while Dane Hamilton, Brian Cavazos-Galvez, Kevin Atchison, and Ryan Honeycutt hit one each. UNM broke the previous record of four triples in an inning set by Wichita State in 1983.

CB360 Week 1 Diamond Report

Week one of the college baseball season is in the books. So let's take a look back at some of the noteworthy team and individual performances and happenings from the opening week action.

• Fresno State opened defense of its national championship at home by taking two of three games from Washington. A sellout crowd of 3,825 flocked to Beiden Field to see the champs in their season opener. 8,811 total fans saw the Bulldog's first three games since winning the title in Omaha last June.

• Oregon won its first baseball game in 28 years when it beat St. Mary's 5-3 on opening day in Moraga, CA. The Ducks lost their next two games before Sunday's scheduled finale was canceled due to weather. Oregon hosts a 3-game series with Fresno State this weekend.

• 9,054 fans packed the new Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge, LA to see LSU beat Villanova 12-3. A total of more than 27-thousand fans saw the Tigers win their first three games in the new facilty by a combined 29-10 margin. LSU hosts a series with Central Florida this weekend. Former Tiger pitching coach Terry Rooney is UCF's head coach.

• Miami took 3 of 4 games from Rutgers in the new Alex Rodriguez Stadium.

• Florida swept three games from Louisville in three "upsets" according to most national polls. The Gators host a 3-game series with the Hurricanes this weekend.

• Cal-Poly was unfazed by the 8th toughest schedule in its season-opener. After losing to Rice 10-7 in their season opener, the Mustangs took two of three games from the Owls in their series in San Luis Obispo, CA.

• St. John's batted .391 with a .582 team slugging percentage in three games at the Big East/Big Ten Challenge in the Tampa, FL area. The Red storm beat Penn St. 15-6 and Iowa 18-3 in its first two games before falling to Michigan 4-2. St. John's used a 12-run first inning that lasted more than an hour in its win over the Hawkeyes.
  

• Michigan led the field with a 1.95 team ERA in four games. (The Wolverines played three BE teams as well as an intra-conference game vs. Purdue.)

• Notre Dame was the only one of 18 teams in the BE/Big 10 field to finish in the top five in team batting average (3rd-.355) and team ERA (3rd-3.00).
  

• Ohio State committed just one error while going 3-0 at the Challenge.

• Oklahoma hit .432 and hit eight home runs, while outscoring Western Illinois 59-14 in a four game sweep in Norman, OK.

• Bryant Hernandez had two home runs and 8 RBIs for the Sooners. Teammates Tyler Ogle and Matt Harughty each had 10 RBIs.
  

• Kansas pitcher Shaeffer Hall tossed a no-hitter in the Jayhawk's season-opening win over Air Force. The junior lefty struckout seven with three walks at the Service Academy Classic in Millington, TN. It's the fifth no-hitter in KU baseball history. (Hall is currently featured in our Diamond Insights. To listen to his interview with CB360's Sean Stires CLICK HERE.)
  

• Oklahoma State pitcher Andrew Oliver fanned 11 batters in 6 IP in the Cowboy's 5-4 win over BYU. OSU teammate Neil Medchill had 10 RBIs in 4 weekend games.

• Texas A & M pitcher Alex Wilson struckout 14 batters in 6 2/3 IP to help the Aggies to a 4-game sweep of Wright State.

• Winthrop catcher John Murrian batted .600 with 2 home runs and 10 RBIs in four games vs. Eastern Michigan and George Washington. He had a 1.267 slugging percentage.

• Cleveland State's Josh Hungerman hit .368 with 3 home runs and 9 RBIs. He had an .895 slg. % and a .400 OBP in four games.
  

• San Jose State pitcher David Berner struckout 10 in a complete game shutout win over St. Joseph's. Berner faced just two batters over the minimum, and he retired the first 16 batters he faced.
  

• Nate Simon hit three home runs to help Pepperdine take 2 of 3 games vs. Cal State Northridge. Simon hit two game-tying home runs in game one of the series, and he ended the series finale with a 10th inning walk-off shot.

• Virginia Tech catcher Anthony Sosnoskie was named the Courtyard by Marriott Classic MVP in Spartansburg, SC. Sosnoskie batted .643 with 3 home runs and 7 RBIs to help the Hokies to a 4-0 start with wins over UNC-Asheville, Wofford and USC-Upstate.

• Georgia Tech pitcher Deck McGuire struckout 13 in 7 IP in a 9-0 win over Lipscomb. He gave-up just three hits and issued one walk in the first weekend start of his career.

• Northwestern pitcher Eric Joskisch struckout 9 in a 5-3 complete game win over Georgetown.

• UC-Santa Barbara's Joe Gardner had 13 Ks in 7 IP in the Gaucho's 8-7 loss to St. Louis. The UCSB bullpen gave-up 6 runs after Gardner left the game.

• San Diego State's Stephen Strasburg fanned 11 in 5 2/3 IP in a 6-3 win over Bethune-Cookman.

• Louisiana-Monroe shortstop Ben Soignier hit .533 with 2 home runs and 10 RBIs in three games vs. Northwestern St., Stephen F. Austin and Mississippi Valley St.

• South Alabama pitcher Matt Jackson struckout 10 in 7 1/3 IP. He allowed just one runner past second base in the Jaguar's 9-2 win over Mercer.

• UT-Arlington's Michael Choice hit .529 with 9 RBIs and 4 Runs scored to help the Mavericks go 3-1 at the UTA/Hilton Invitational. Choice had a double, triple and a home run for an .882 slugging percentage and an OBP of .579.

• Lamar pitcher Ricky Testa struckout a career-high 10 batters in 6 IP in the Cardinals' 1-0 season-opening win over Austin Peay. The senior allowed just one hit, and he didn't allow a runner past first base in his first career start. Lamar won the game on a walk-off homer from Joey Latulippe.

• Nicholls State's Lance Dupois recorded 11 strikeouts in 6 innings in an opening-day 15-0 win over Chicago State. He gave-up just two hits with no walks, and he didn't allow a runner to move into scoring position.
  

All-Tournament Teams Named for BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge

Due to the large size of the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge (18 teams, equal to three average regular-season tournaments), an 18-player all-tournament team has been named, plus 18 players receiving honorable mention. A formal release, with stats and notes, will be posted later on CollegeBaseball360.com.

These teams were selected by CollegeBaseball360.com, based on input from the participating team's coaches and SIDs.

(Final tournament stats to be posted later on CB360.)

2009 BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge All-Tournament Team

(presented by CollegeBaseball360.com)
C - Denny Benedetti (St. John's, Sr.)
C - Josh Phegley (Indiana, Jr.)
SS - Brandon Wikoff (Illinois, Jr.)
3B - Brian Hopkins (St. John's, So.)
LF - Justin Riddell (Cincinnati, Jr.)
CF - Brian Kemp (St. John's, Jr.)
CF - Tommy Lee (Georgetown, Sr.)
CF - Jamel Scott (Cincinnati, Jr.)
CF - Matt Smedberg (Seton Hall, Sr.)
DH -Mike Deese (Penn State, Sr.)
DH -Ryan Dew (Ohio State, Jr.)
Starting Pitcher - Sean Black (Seton Hall, RHP, Jr.)
Starting Pitcher - Eric Katzman (Michigan, LHP, Jr.)
Starting Pitcher - T.J. Macy (Penn State, RHP, Sr.)
Starting Pitcher - Alex Wimmers (Ohio State, RHP, So.)
Relief Pitcher - Tyler Burgoon (Michigan, RHP, So.)
Relief Pitcher - Drew Rucinski (Ohio State, RHP, So.)
Utility Player - Justin Ellis (West Virginia, DH/RHP, So.)

2009 BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge Honorable Mention All-Tournament Team

(presented by CollegeBaseball360.com)
1B -Tim Morris (St. John's, Jr.)
2B - Vince Belnome (West Virginia, Jr.)
SS - Jedd Gyorko (West Virginia, So.)
SS - Mike Olt (Connecticut, So.)
3B - Chris Roberts (Michigan State, Jr.)
CF - Eric Decker (Minnesota, CF, Jr.)
LF - Golden Tate (Notre Dame, So.)
RF - Alex Jaffe (Purdue, Sr.)
RF - Michael Kvasnicka (Minnesota, So.)
RF -Nick Urban (Michigan, Sr.)
DH - Pete Cappetta (Illinois, So.)
DH - Alex Dickerson (Indiana, Fr.)
DH - Stephen Hunt (South Florida, So.)
DH - Jake McLouth (Michigan, Fr.)
Starting Pitcher - Andrew Armstrong (Ohio State, LHP, So.)
Starting Pitcher - Joe DiRocco (Seton Hall, RHP, So.)
Starting Pitcher - Eric Jokisch (Northwestern, LHP, So.)
Starting Pitcher - Derrick Stultz (South Florida, RHP, So.)
Utility Player - Wes Freie (Iowa, DH/RHP, Sr.)

Big Ten Finishes with 15-9 Edge in Challenge Victories

The final two games have concluded at the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge, with Illinois polishing off West Virginia (17-10) while Notre Dame rallied to beat Purdue in 10 innings (9-4).

The Big Ten won 15 of the 24 games, led by 3-0 marks from Michigan and Ohio State (Indiana was 2-1). Six other Big Ten teams (Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan State, Northwestern and Penn State) all went 1-1, in the unbalanced format, with the other win coming from Purdue (1-2).

Notre Dame, St. John's and Seton Hall each went 2-1 to pace the BIG EAST effort, with other victories coming from South Florida, West Virginia and Connecticut (each 1-2). Cincinnati and Georgetown were the only teams from either conference that failed to post a victory during the tournament (each was 0-3).

Despite nearly being doubled up in the win category, the BIG EAST actually scored 27 more runs than the Big Ten teams (166-139), in the 24 cross-conference games. The final tournament stats - coming soon - likely will show a considerable edge for the BIG EAST in batting avg. and ERA, but we suspect that the Big Ten was the better clutch-hitting team (and won nearly all of the close games).

Sunday's eight games featured only one (Illinois-WVU) in which the BIG EAST did not have a chance to win/tie in the 9th inning - while the UConn-Northwestern game was the only one in which the Big Ten was not competitive.

More to come on the CB360 blog throughout the night.

BIG EAST/Big Ten Almost Done

Indiana held off the USF rally (9-7) and Illinois has put up a six-run and eight-run inning today vs. West Virginia, needing only six more outs to close out WVU (17-9).

An Illinois win would give the Big Ten a 15-8 edge in the Challenge ... and if Purdue can beat Notre Dame (the Boilers have winning run on second, in bottom of 9th), the Big Ten would complete a convincing doubling up of the BIG EAST in this 24-game event.

Big Ten Clinches Challenge Tourney Title

We finally chased down a score from earlier in the day (UConn beat Northwestern, 10-1) and that briefly made the tally 12 wins for the Big Ten and eight for the BIG EAST, but Michigan held off St. John's, 4-2, to deliver the clinching 13th win for the Big Ten.

The Big Ten could sweep the final three games, as Illinois is up big on West Virginia (14-7, in the 6th) while Indiana is four outs away from beating USF (9-7) and Purdue is tied with Notre Dame in the top of the 8th (ND just tied it up and has the go-ahead run on base).

Perusing the tournament stats from earlier in the day, it was interesting to note that the BIG EAST held significant head-to-head statistical advantage vs. the Big Ten in batting avg. (.327-.283), ERA (4.55-6.35) and runs scored (120-88). The Big Ten did field at a better pct. over the first two days (.969-.951), but they also allowed more unearned runs (23-18).

Essentially, the BIG EAST turned in more of the blowout vicories while the Big Ten performed better in the clutch, winning several close decisions.

Even with today's scores factored in, the BIG EAST still is outscoring the Big Ten (158-138) in the 24 head-to-head games over the past three days.

BIG EAST teams were in position to win/tie the game in the 9th inning of all four losses today (Cincinnati vs. Ohio State, Georgetown vs. Iowa, Seton Hall vs. Penn State, and St. John's vs. Michigan) ... while USF currently has the tying runs on base in the bottom of the 9th vs. Indiana.

Big Ten Proving "Up To The Challenge"

The Big Ten Conference baseball teams could run away with the unofficial "title" of the inaugural BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge. We amazingly still cannot track down the final score of one earlier game (UConn vs. Northwestern), but - even without that game - it's likely that the Big Ten will finish with more wins in this tournament than the BIG EAST.

The Big Ten holds a 12-7 lead in the Challenge and is leading in each of the final four games:

Michigan 3, St. John's 1 (SJU batting in bottom of 8th)
Purdue 3, Notre Dame 1 (Boilers batting in bottom of 6th)
Indiana 9, USF 4 (IU at-bat in top of 6th)
Illinois 8, West Virginia 6 (WVU batting top of 5th, after Illini scored 6 in 4th)

CB360 is busy preparing the all-tournament team for this event, but we will pass on blog posts when possible.

Check That ... Penn State Rallies In 9th for 6-1 Win Over Seton Hall

Our efforts to locate a Penn State-Seton Hall final initially yielded only a 1-0 score on the PSU website, but that likely was automated from the frozen live-stat Gametracker (and thus was not a final) ... It turns out that the Nittany Lions rallied for six runs in the top of the 9th and claimed the 6-1 win.

So, the Big Ten has clinched at least a "tie" in the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge, with a 12-7 lead and five games left to play.

BIG EAST/Big Ten Entering Final Stretch

It appears that Seton Hall did in fact hold on to defeat Penn State (1-0) ... and thus the Pirates helped keep alive the BIG EAST's slim hopes to post more wins than the Big Ten in this first-ever Challenge event.

Assuming the SHU win, the Big Ten now holds an 11-8 lead – meaning that the BIG EAST would need to sweep the final five games to claim "victory" at this event.

One of those five remaining games should be over (or close to it), as UConn and Northwestern are playing in a game without live-stats.

Here is the status of the other four games (all schedule to start at 1:00, but some appear to be delayed):

West Virginia 3, Illinois 0 (heading to bottom of 1st)
Michigan 2, St. John's 0 (SJU batting in bottom of 2nd)
Indiana vs. South Florida (delayed start)
Purdue vs. Notre Dame (began a few minutes ago)

Tense Sunday-Morning Games

There have been some tense moments this morning at the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge, with all three of the early games tied or one-run battles through the middle innings. Iowa did gain some distance on Georgetown (using three runs in the 5th for a 4-2 win), but the other two games were nailbiters throuhgout – with Ohio State edging Cincinnati (6-5) while Seton Hall was two outs away from defeating Penn State in what would be a rare 1-0 final (the live-stats have frozen, so we await the final score on this one).

Cincinnati had the tying run in scoring position in the top of the 9th, in the form of the tournament's leading hitter Justin Riddell (who earlier had smacked his third home run of the season). But Jake Hale delivered the game-ending strikeout, as Ohio State improved to 3-0.

The Bearcats held leads of 2-0 and 4-3, in addition to forging a 5-5 tie in the top of the 5th, but the Buckeyes scored the eventual winning run moments later (there was no scoring over the final four innings).

OSU junior 3B Brian DeLucia was the offensive hero, blasting a three-run homer in the 3rd and then leading off the bottom of the 4th with another home run. There were four total home runs in this game (accounting for seven of the 11 runs), as Cincinnati senior RF Cameron Satterwhite had the solo shot in the 5th that briefly tied the game (5-5).

More as we get it on these early games (also note that the UConn-Northwestern game has no live-stats and no SIDs/stat people on site ... so we will see what we can find out).

Team Two-Day Won-Loss Records (BIG EAST/Big Ten)

Here are the various team records (through two days) for the teams competing in the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge (Big Ten teams in italics; overall records include Big Ten vs. Big Ten games):

Michigan 2-0 (3-0 overall)
Ohio State 2-0
Seton Hall 2-0
St. John's 2-0
Northwestern 1-0 (1-1 overall)

Indiana 1-1
Minnesota 1-1
Michigan State 1-1
Notre Dame 1-1
Purdue 1-1 (1-2 overall)
South Florida 1-1
West Virginia 1-1

Penn State 0-1 (1-1 overall)
Illinois 0-1 (1-1 overall)
Iowa 0-1 (0-2 overall)
Cincinnati 0-2
Connecticut 0-2
Georgetown 0-2

Big Ten Wins: 9
BIG EAST Wins: 7

Early Sunday In-Progress Scores (BIG EAST/Big Ten)

We are one hour into the Sunday games at the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge. Here are the current scores:

Ohio State 5, Cincinnati 4 (OSU batting, bottom of 4th)
Seton Hall 0, Penn State 0 (PSU batting, top of 4th)
Georgetown 1, Iowa 0 (Iowa coming up to bat, bottom of 3rd)

If the BIG EAST can win two of these games, that would leave the Big Ten with a 10-9 lead and five games still to play.

Also, Minnesota leads Michigan State 4-1, in the Big Ten vs. Big Ten game.

Stay tuned all day to the blog, we will be passing along updates and details.

BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge Hitting Leaders

Here's an updated look at some of the top hitters through the first two days of the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge (stats include 19 total games, 16 BIG EAST/Big Ten and three Big Teb/Big Ten):

Justin Riddell (Cin.) ... LF/DH ... So. ... Lexington, KY ... 6-0/210
6-for-8/.750, BB, 2 RBI, 2 R, 2 HR, 2 2B vs. Purdue & Michigan
Ryan Dew (Ohio State) ... DH ... Jr. ... Worthington, OH ... 6-1/220
5-for-7/.714, BB, 2 R vs. Notre Dame & UConn
Matt Burnett (UConn) ... RF ... Jr. ... Endicott, NY ... 6-4/190
5-for-8/.625, R vs. Michigan State & Ohio State
Matt Smedberg (Seton Hall) ... CF ... Sr. ... Rockaway, NJ ... 5-9/175
5-for-8/.625, 2 BB, 2 RBI, 4 R, HBP, 1-1 SB vs. Minn. & Michigan St.
Jamel Scott (Cincinnati) ... CF ... Jr. ... Dublin, OH ... 5-4/145
6-for-10/.600, 3 R, 2 2B, 2-2 SB vs. Purdue & Michigan
Denny Benedetti (SJU) ... C ... Sr. ... Long Beach, CA ... 6-3/185
3-for-5/.600, 3 BB, 2 RBI, 5 R, SAC, SF vs. Penn State & Iowa

Nick Urban (Michigan ... RF ... Sr. ... Whitehall, MI ... 5-11/170
8-for-14/.571, 2 RBI, R, 3B, 2B vs. South Florida, Purdue & Cincinnati
Tony Vercelli (N'western) ... C ... Sr. ... Wilmington, IL ... 5-1/210
4-for-7/.571 vs. Georgetown & Penn State
Mike Deese (Penn State) ... DH ... Sr. ... Rosewell, GA ... 6-0/210
4-for-7/.571, 3 BB, RBI, 4 R, 2B vs. St. John's & Northwestern
Jimmy Parque (St. John's) ... RF ... Jr. ... Pacifica, CA ... 5-9/170
4-for-7/.571, BB, 5 RBI, 3 R, HR, 2B, HBP, SF vs. Penn State & Iowa
Brandon Eckerle (MSU) ... CF/RHP ... So. ... Durand, MI ... 6-0/170
4-for-7/.571, BB, 2 RBI, R, 2B, HBP, 2-2 SB vs. UConn & Seton Hall
Gino Matias (St. John's) ... 2B ... Sr. ... Bronx, NY ... 5-7/180
4-for-7/.571, BB, 2 RBI, 3R, 2 2B vs. Penn State & Iowa

Tim Morris (St. John's) ... 1B ... Jr. ... Villanova, PA ... 6-3/220
5-for-9/.556, BB, 6 RBI, 3 R, 2B vs. Penn State & Iowa
Tommy Lee (Georgetown) ... CF ... Sr. ... Mahopac, NY ... 5-10/180
5-for-9/.556, 3 RBI, 2 R, 2B vs. Northwestern & Indiana
Brian Kemp (SJU) ... CF ... Jr. ... East Rockaway, NY ... 5-11/180
5-for-9/.556, 2 BB, 3 RBI, 4 R, 2B, 1-1 SB vs. Penn State & Iowa
Golden Tate (ND) ... CF ... So. ... Hendersonville, TN ... 6-1/180
5-for-9/.556, 3 R, 2B vs. Ohio State & Illinois

Greg Hopkins (St. John's) ... 3B ... So. ... Mansfield, MA ... 6-1/200
5-for-10/.500, BB, 2 RBI, 2 R, 3B, 3 2B vs. Penn State & Iowa
Alex Jaffee (Purdue) ... RF ... Sr. ... El Paso, TX ... 5-10/195
5-for-10/.500, RBI, 3 R vs. Cincinnati, Ohio State & South Florida
Kenny Fellows (MI) .. LF .. Sr. .. Holt, MI .. 6-0/205
5-for-10/.500, BB, RBI, R, SAC, 0-3 SB vs. USF, Purdue & Cincinnati
Vince Belnome (WVU) ... 2B ... Jr. ... Coatesville, PA ... 6-0/210
4-for-8/.500, 3 BB, 2 RBI, 6 R vs. Indiana & Minnesota
Stephen Hunt (USF) ... DH ... So. ... So. ... Brandon, FL ... 6-0/200
4-for-8/.500, BB, 2 RBI, R, 2B, 1-1 SB vs. Michigan & Purdue
Mike Spina (Cincinnati) ... 3B ... Sr. ... Newberry, FL ... 6-0/220
4-for-8/.500, BB, 5 RBI, 2 R, 2 HR vs. Purdue & Ohio State
Josh Phegley (Indiana) ... C ... Jr. ... Terre Haure, IN ... 5-11/215
4-for-8/.500, BB, 2 RBI, R, SF vs. West Virginia & Georgetown
Dominic Altobelli (Illinois) ... 3B ... Sr. ... Oak Forest, IL ... 6-1/190
4-for-8/.500, 5 RBI, 2 R, 3B, HBP vs. Iowa & Notre Dame
Michael Rogers (Seton Hall) ... RF ... Jr. ... Portland, OR ... 6-0/195
3-for-6/.500, BB, RBI, 4 R, HBP vs. Minnesota & Michigan State
Chris Hervey (Indiana) ... RF ... Sr. ... St. James, NY ... 6-1/190
3-for-6/.500, 2 BB, RBI, R, SAC vs. West Virginia & Georgetown
Grant Youngblood (PSU) ... CF ... So. ... Marietta, GA ... 5-11/185
3-for-6/.500, 2 BB, RBI, R vs. St. John's & Northwestern

WVU's Belnome leads the tournament with six runs scored, followed by SJU freshman SS Joe Panik and WVU sophomore SS Jedd Gyorko (five each).

Cincinnati's Riddell (14) and Spine (10), Michigan's Urban (13) and SJU's Hopkins (10) all have posted double-digit total bases, while SJU's Morris has the most RBI (6) of any player in the tournament – followed by four with 5 RBI each (Spina, SJU's Parque, Altobelli from Illinois, and ND senior SS Jeremy Barnes).

Saturday Upsets Abound Nationwide

Ten different teams that were ranked in the national preseason top-35 (per the baseball writers, NCBWA) were upset on Saturday - including Cal Poly's doubleheader sweep of Rice - with most of the teams that pulled these upsets not being ranked anywhere in that preseason top-35:

at Cal Poly 10, Rice 3
at Cal Poly 7, Rice 6
Vanderbilt 12, at Staford 9 (Stanford won the other game, 6-5)
TCU 7, at Cal State Fullerton 5
Florida 10, Louisville 4
Rutgers 5, at Miami 4 (Miami won other game, 4-2)
Washington 11, at Fresno State 4
Pacific 9, at Baylor 8
Gonzaga 9, Missouri 3 (in Phoneix, AZ)
at Cal State Northridge 6, Pepperdine 2
Sacramento State 10, at Arizona 2

CollegeBaseball360's preseason projection for the 2009 NCAA Tournament 64-team field (compiled via the Aggregate National Rating formula) includes teams that were featured in 11 different matchups on Saturday. Those potential NCAA Tournament previews include three from the list above (Stanford-Vanderbilt, Fullerton-TCU and Louisville-Florida), plus:

at Coastal Carolina 4, Kentucky 1
Lemoyne 5, at Tulane 4 (10 inn.; Tulane won other game 14-1/7 inn.)
at Texas 10, Illinois-Chicago 1
at Texas 3, Illinois-Chicago 1
San Diego 9, Bethune Cookman 6 (in Compton, CA)
Kentucky 8, James Madison 3 (in Conway, SC)
at Clemson 4, Charlotte 0
at East Carolina 5, Monmouth 1
USC 4, at Long Beach State 0

Bulls and Irish Close Out Wins

Notre Dame has defeated Illinois 14-7 and South Florida held on against Purdue (7-5), resulting in a split of Saturday's eight games at the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge (and tightening the overall score, with the BIG Ten now leading 9-7).

The BIG EAST still faces a tall order, needing to win six of the eight games on Sunday to "win" the tournament (five BIG EAST wins would yield a 12-12 tie).

Here are the Sunday matchups, including start time (eastern) and location (Big Ten team listed first):

10:00 a.m. - Iowa vs. Georgetown (in St. Petersburg; Naimoli Complex)
10:00 a.m. - Ohio State vs. Cincinnati (in Tampa; McEwen Field)
10:00 a.m. - Penn State vs Seton Hall (in Clearwater; Russell Stadium)
11:00 a.m. - Northwestern vs. Connecticut (in St. Petersburg; Naimoli Complex)
1:00 - South Florida vs. Indiana (in St. Petersburg; Naimoli Complex)
1:00 – Michigan vs. St. John's (in Tampa; McEwen Field)
1:00 - Illinois vs. West Virginia (in St. Petersburg; Naimoli Complex)
1:00 - Purdue vs. Notre Dame (in Clearwater; Russell Stadium)
note that Michigan State and Minnesota will play a non-tournament game (Big Ten vs. Big Ten), at 10:00 a.m. at the Naimoli Complex in Tampa

Sunday's results ultimately could hinge on the quality of the various team's #3 starters (or, in the case of Michigan and Purdue, their #4s). If the Big Tin wins all four morning games, the BIG EAST will have no chance to win the conference competition heading into the 1:00 games.

Assuming that the three unbeaten teams (Michigan, Ohio State and Seton Hall) all win on Sunday, the BIG EAST would have to win the other five games to "win" the Challenge (winning four woud result in a tournament tie).

BIG EAST Making Latenight Move

The BIG EAST Conference is on the verge of setting up a competitive final day at the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge, as South Florida is battng in the bottom of the 8th with a 6-4 lead on Purdue while Notre Dame exploded for eight 7th-inning runs and also now bats in the 8th with a lead (13-7).

If those scores hold up, the tournament will head into Sunday with the Big Ten holding a 9-7 advantage in games won. The BIG EAST would need to win six of the eight games on Sunday to claim the symbolic "win" in this eight-team event. The conference battle likely would be tighter, if nationally-ranked and BIG EAST favorite Louisville were participating in this event (the Cardinals already were committed to a series at Florida).

Assuming that USF and ND win tonight, CollegeBaseball360 projects that the BIG EAST likely would be favored in at least three of the Sunday games (UConn vs. Northwestern, West Virginia vs. Illinois, and USF vs. Indiana). It's also coneivable that Seton Hall can keep rolling in its game with Penn State.

Should the above games fall the BIG EAST's way, that would leave the following four games to decide the winning conference (in this scenario, a split of these games would leave each conference with 12 wins; if a conference wins three of the four, they win the tournament): Michigan vs. St. John's, Ohio State vs. Cincinnati, Iowa vs. Georgetown, and Notre Dame vs. Purdue.

Home Run Breakdowns

The 18 teams at the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge have combined to play 17 total games (plus two in the late innings), with 17 home runs hit over that two-day span (seven on Friday, 10 so far on Saturday).

Here's a breakdown of the home runs (four by Cincinnati, two each by Michigan, MSU, Purdue and Notre Dame, and one each from St. John's, West Virginia, Seton Hall, Illinois and Georgetown):

• Mike Spina (Cincinnati, 3B, Sr.) ... vs. Purdue
Naimoli Complex (Clearwater) ... Fri.
• Mike Spina (Cincinnati, 3B, Sr.) ... vs. Purdue
Naimoli Complex (Clearwater) ... Fri.
• Justin Riddell (Cincinnati, LF, So.) ... vs. Purdue
Naimoli Complex (Clearwater) ... Fri.
• Justin Riddell (Cincinnati, LF, So.) ... vs. Purdue
Naimoli Complex (Clearwater) ... Fri.
• Jake McLouth (Michigan, DH, Fr.) ... vs. South Florida
Russell Stadium (Clearwater) ... Fri.
• Jimmy Parque (St. John's, RF, Jr.) ... vs. Penn State
Knology Park (Dunedin) ... Fri.
• Brandon Wikoff (Illinois, SS, Jr.) ... vs. Iowa
Russell Stadium (Clearwater) ... Fri.
• Erick Fernandez (Georgetown, C, So.) ... vs. Indiana
McEwen Field (Tampa) ... Sat.
• Sean Gusrang (Seton Hall, 1B, So.) ... vs. Michigan State
McKechnie Field (Bradenton) ... Sat.
• Jedd Gyorko (West Virginia, SS, So.) ... vs. Minnesota
Russell Stadium (Clearwater) ... Sat.
• Andrew Carpenter (Michigan State, DH, Fr.) ... vs. Seton Hall
McKechnie Field (Bradenton) ... Sat.
• Eli Boike (Michigan State, RF, Jr.) ... vs. Seton Hall
McKechnie Field (Bradenton) ... Sat.
• Mike Dufek (Michigan, 1B, Jr.) ... vs. Cincinnati
Bright House Field (Clearwater) ... Sat.
• Dan Black (Purdue, C, Jr.) ... vs. South Florida
Bright House Field (Clearwater) ... Sat.
• Jonathan Moore (Purdue, CF, Sr.) ... vs. South Florida
Bright House Field (Clearwater) ... Sat.
• Matt Grosso (Notre Dame, DH, Jr.) ... vs. Illinois
McKechnie Field (Bradenton) ... Sat.
• Jeremy Barnes (Notre Dame, SS, Sr.) ... vs. Illinois
McKechnie Field (Bradenton) ... Sat.

Home Runs By Site
5 - McKechnie Field (Bradenton)
4 – Naimoli Complex (Clearwater)
3 - Jack Russell Stadium (Clearwater)
3 - Bright House Field (Clearwater)
1 - Knology Park (Dunedin)
1 - McEwen Field (Tampa)

Home Runs By Opponent (pitcher)
4 - Purdue
3 - South Florida
2 - Seton Hall
2 - Illinois
1 - Penn State
1 - Iowa
1 - Indiana
1 - Michigan State
1 - Minnesota
1 - Cincinnati
no home runs allowed by Georgetown, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Purdue, St. John's and West Virginia

Home Runs By Player Class
6 - Juniors
5 - Sophomores
4 - Seniors
2 - Freshmen

Home Runs By Player Position
3 - Designated Hitters
3 - Shortstops
2 - Third Basemen
2 - Leftfielders
2 - Rightfielders
2 - Catchers
2 - First Basemen
1 - Centerfielder
none by a second baseman

Three Teams Improve to 3-0 at BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge

Three teams each moved to 3-0 (within an hour of each other), in the earl evening at the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge. Seton Hall surged past Michigan State for an 8-4 win, followed by Michigan's 6-1 win over Cincinnati and Ohio State's 6-4 victory over Connecticut.

Seton Hall in recent years has featured a couple of quality starting pitchers, and that already has proved to be the case this weekend. Sean Black tossed six shutout innings to help beat Minnesota on Friday night (11-2), while senior RHP Keith Cantwell followed up with a solid outing to beat MSU (7 IP, 4 R/3 ER, 6 H, BB, 2 Ks). SHU finished with a 12-9 hit edge, led by four with two-hit games: Matt Smedberg (BB, RBI, 2 R), A.J. Russbarsky (BB, RBI, R), Chris Spagnuolo and Michael Rogers (BB, RBI, 2R).

The Pirates had claimed a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the 5th, but MSU came back to score twice for a 4-3- edge. SHU quickly answered with three runs in the bottom of the 6th (6-4), with an odd sequence of three straight RBI infield singles (they added two insurance runs in he 8th).

MSU starter AJ Archer had no-decision (5 IP, 3 R/2 ER, 4 H, 5 BB, 2K), with fellow sophomore RHP Kurt Wunderlich taking the loss (1 IP, 3 R, 5 H, 2 K). Junior RF Eli Boike had a two-run homer in the 2nd inning while freshman DH Andrew Carpenter led off the 6th with another blast for the Spartans.

The Seton Hall pitchers did an impressive job against the MSU running game, which managed no stolen bases one day after swiping seven (vs. UConn).

Michigan held a 3-1 lead on Cincinnati before doubling its run total in the top of the 7th, for the 6-1 final. Starter Travis Smith (5 IP, R, 7H, 2BB, 9K) picked up the win, while fellow sophomore RHP Matt Miller registered the 4-inning save (2H, 7 K). UM's top hitters included sophomore SS Anthony Toth (2-for-4, BB, R), sophomore CF Ryan LaMarre (2-for-3, 2R) and junior RF Nick Urban (3-for-5, 2 RBI).

Cincinnati junior RHP Tyler Smith failed to pitch into the 5th (4.2 IP, 3 R, 5 H, 4 BB, 5 K) while junior CF Scott Jemel accounted for nearly half of his team's hits (4-for-5, R, SB).

There were live-stat problems with the OSU-UConn game, but we will pass on details as they come.

Big Ten Stretches to 9-5 Lead in Challenge Tournament

Big Ten Conference teams won two of the three late-afternoon games, restoring the Big Ten's four-game lead in the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge. The BIG EAST had cut to the lead to 7-5 (on Seton Hall's 8-4 win over Michigan State, but Michigan then beat Cincinnati (6-1) and Ohio State held off Connecticut (6-4) to give the Big Ten two more wins.

There are 10 games remaining (two tonight, eight on Sunday) in the 24-game tournament, meaning that the Big Ten needs to win only four of those 10 games to "win" the tournament. The BIG EAST's comeback hopes could receive a big boost tonight, if Notre Dame (vs. Illinois) and South Florida (vs. Purdue) can pick up wins. The Irish are Illini – in a matchup of "Fighting" nicknames – are tied after three innings (3-3), while USF is shutting out the Boilemakers after three (2-0).

Details to follow on the three late-afternoon games referenced above.

St. John's Stats Update

Here's the updated two-game offensive stats for St. John's, following their 18-3 win over Iowa earlier today (the game was halted after seven innings, per the tournament 1o-run rule):

• A. 455 team batting avg. (35-for-77)
• A 33-9 scoring edge
• A .727 team slugging pct. (with 12 doubles, 2 triples and a home run)
• A .636 team on-base pct.
• A +8 "plate-discipline ratio": (13 walks + 3 HBP - 8 Ks)

SJU's 18-hit attack (7 doubles) on Saturday included the following top individual efforts :
Brian Kemp (3-for-5, 2 RBI, 2 R, 2B, SB)
Tim Morris (3-for-4, BB, 4 RBI, R)
Jimmy Parque (3-for-4, BB, RBI, 2R, 2B)
Carlos Del Rosario (2-for-4, 4 RBI, 2 R, 2B)
Greg Hopkins (2-for-4, BB, RBI, R, 2 2B)
Danny Benedetti (2-for-2, 2 BB, RBI, 4 R)
Joe Panik (1-for-3, 2 BB, 3 RBI, 3 R, 2B)

Tournament Standings Update: Big Ten 7, BIG EAST 4

Friday's first three games of the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge saw Big Ten teams open with three straight wins (MSU over UConn, Michigan vs. USF, and Purdue over Cincinnati), but BIG EAST teams then won three straight (West Virginia over Indiana, Seton Hall vs. Minnesota, and St. John's over Penn State) before the Big Ten "slept on the lead" thanks to wins by Northwestern (vs. Georgetown) and Ohio State (against Notre Dame).

As the 24-game tournament nears its midpoint, it has somewhat of an odd Ryder Cup feel to it (minus the option to "half" points ... plus the fact that this baseball tournament is being played at multiple stadiums).

Anyway, the Big Ten's lead grew to 7-3 earlier today (after Minnesota beat WVU and IU topped GU), but the BIG EAST got back on the winning track – in a big way - when St. John's blew out Iowa.

So the tally now reads seven wins for the Big Ten and four in the BIG EAST's column, with three games currently in progress: MSU holds a 4-3 lead over SHU (which is about to bat in the 6th); Michigan is shutting out Cincinnati (3-0) early in the 5th; and Ohio State is taking on UConn (no score currently available, appears that the game may start as late as 6:00 eastern). The final two games later tonight will be ND vs. Illinois and Purdue taking on USF.

Sunday's games include: Michigan vs. SJU; OSU vs. Cincinnati; UConn vs. Northwestern; Iowa vs. Georgetown; WVU vs. Illinois; IU vs. USF; ND vs. Purdue; and PSU vs. SHU (plus a Big Ten vs. Big Ten game, MSU against Minnesota).

If the BIG EAST can find a way to win four of the five remaining games today, the tournament would be tied up (8-8) heading into Sunday's final slate.

Here are all the results so far in the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge:

Michigan State 4, Connecticut 2 (in Clearwater)
Michigan 6, South Florida 5 (in Clearwater)
Purdue 11, Cincinnati 10 (in Clearwater)
West Virginia 14, Indiana 4 (in Bradenton)
Seton Hall 11, Minnesota 2 (in Clearwater)
St. John's 15, Penn State 6 (in Dunedin)
Northwestern 5, Georgetown 3 (in Bradenton)
Ohio State 2, Notre Dame 0 (in Dunedin)

Minnesota 5, West Virginia 4 (in Clearwater)
Indiana 12, Georgetown 4 (in Tampa)
St. John's 18, Iowa 3 (7 inn.) (in Clearwater)

(Big Ten vs. Big Ten games; non-tournament and non-conference)
Illinois 8, Iowa 3 (in Clearwater)
Michigan 4, Purdue 3 (10 inn.) (in Clearwater)
Penn State 9, Northwestern 1 (in St. Petersburg)

Penn State Beats Northwestern, 9-1 (in Big Ten vs Big Ten game)

Penn State bounbed back from its Friday-night loss (15-6 vs. St. John's) to defeat Big Ten foe Northwestern on Sunday, 9-1. It was the second of two games today between Big Ten teams (such games will not count as part of the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge, and they also will not count to the Big Ten regular-season games).

Due to an uneven number of BIG EAST (8) and Big Ten (10) teams at this event, there needs to be at least one game per day between Big Ten teams. Illinois defeated Iowa on Friday night (8-3), while Michigan rallied to beat Purdue in 10 innings earlier today (4-3). The final Big Ten-Big Ten game of the weekend will be on Sunday (Michigan State vs Minnesota).

Penn State doubled up Northwestern in hits (12-6) while playing error-free in the field. The game was tight through the middle innings, before PSU scored four in the 6th for a 7-0 lead. Senior 1B Cory Wine had an impressive day (2-for-4, BB, 3 RBI, 3 R, 3B, 2B) while senior RHP Scott Kelley picked up the win (5.2 IP, R, 5 H, 3 BB, 5 Ks).

Red Storm Rising (St. John's puts 12-spot on board in 1st inning vs. Iowa)

The St. John's offense certainly came to play this weeknd, as the Red Storm posted 12 runs in the first inning of today's game versus Iowa (the Hawkeyes currently are batting in the 3rd, facing a 13-2 deficit). When combined with Friday night's 15-6 win over Penn State, SJU has racked up the following numbers (over the span of 11 innings):

• An eye-popping .580 team batting avg. (29-for-50)
• A 28-8 scoring edge
• An awesome .900 team slugging pct. (with 9 doubles, 2 triples and a home run)
• Two more walks (9) by its offense than strikeouts (7)

The Red Storm nearly batted around twice in their first trip to the plate on Saturday, sending 16 batters to the place while rapping out five singles and five doubles (plus three walks and a stolen base). The offensive explosion included a two-run double from freshman SS Joe Panik, plus two-run singles from three other players (senior LF Carlos Del Rosario, senior 2B Gino Matias and junior 1B Tim Morris).

The amazing five 1st-inning doubles included the two-bagger from Panik, plus leadoff man Brian Kemp (junior CF), junior RF Jimmy Parque (ground-rule), sophomore DH Paul Karmas and sophomore 3B Greg Hopkins. The 8-hole hitter Danny Benedetti was the only SJU player without a hit in the inning, but he did walk and scored a run.

Panik had an earlier bases-loaded walk in the inning, while cleanup man Karmas also walked in his first plate appearance and 2-hole hitter Morris had an RBI single in his first trip to the plate. Kemp's second at-bat produced an RBI single (followed by a stolen base).

Iowa's starting pitcher, sophomore RHP Zach Kenyon (0.1 IP-6R-4H-2BB-K), faced seven batters before leaving the game with a 4-0 deficit on the board. The Hawkeyes went to another pitcher with the same first name, but junior LHP Zach Robertson turned in similar numbers (0.2 IP-6R-6H-BB). Sophomore RHP Patrick Schatz then opened the second inning on the mound for Iowa.

Bats Awakening Early for BIG EAST and Big Ten Teams

Historically, many "northern" baseball teams have needed a few games for their bats to wake up - with the thinking being that the hitters require time for adjusting to hitting outdoors (as opposed to in an indoor facility; pitchers, on the other hand, usually are further ahead than the hitters on opening weekend).

Somebody forgot to tell that theory to several of the offenses at the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge:

• Purdue (11) and Cincinnati (10) both put up double-digit runs in their opening-day battle
• Seton Hall shocked Minnesota by winning 11-2
• St. John's erupted for a 15-6 win over Penn State on Friday night and just put up a 12-spot on Iowa in the first inning (details to come in next blog post)
• West Virginia handed Indiana a 14-4 loss on day-1
• ... and Indiana is close to posting a convincing win over Georgetown (now 11-4, in the 8th)

Michigan "Walks Off" with Another Dramatic Win, 4-3 Over Purdue in 10 Innings

Michigan delivered a game-ending hit for the second straight day, as freshman DH Jake McLouth (who homered on Friday) hit a one-out single up the middle, scoring sophomore SS Anthony Toth from third base for a 4-3, 10-inning win over Big Ten rival Purdue.

Toth (UM's 2-hole hitter) drew a leadoff walk and then moved around the bases, after an intentional walk (to Mike Dufek) and Nick Urban's run-advancing flyout to right field. McLouth then settled in versus junior RHP Drew Wurdack and sent a single up the middle to end the game.

Even though this game is not officially part of the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge, Michigan is the first team (among the 18 in this event) to go 2-0. Purdue, Minnesota and West Viriginia are 1-1 after today's results.

The winner of this afternoon's Michigan State vs. Seton Hall game also will become 2-0, while four other teams have the chance to start 2-0 (later today): St. John's (vs. Iowa), Ohio State (vs. UConn), Northwestern (vs. Penn State) and Illinois (vs. Notre Dame).

It's conceivable that Michigan and the MSU-SHU winner could be the only unbeaten teams remaining at this event by the end of the day (and Michigan actually has a second game today, vs. Cincinnati, so there could be only one unbeaten remaining).

BIG EAST vs. Big Ten (combined head-to-head stat comparison)

Friday night's action featured eight games between BIG EAST and Big Ten teams, with the Big Ten winning five of them. A look at each conference's stats in those games shows that the BIG EAST had the edge in most categories: batting avg. (.324-.288), runs (7.5 per 9 inn. to 5.3), extra-base hits (27-17), home runs (5-1), ERA (3.95-6.12), low hits allowed (10.3/9 IP to 12.0), pitchers K-to-walk raio (2.2-1.6), strikeouts thrown (9.0/9 IP to 7.1) and low walks allowed (4.1/9 IP to 4.5).

Among the categories listed below, the Big Ten teams did combine for more stolen bases (11-of-14 to 5-of-9) and had the better defensive numbers, in terms of fielding pct. (.966-.954), low errors (11-14) and double-plays turned (8-6).

Category ............ BIG EAST ......... Big Ten
Batting Avg. ........... .324 ............... .288
Runs ...................... 60 ................. 40
Runs/9 inn. ............. 7.5 ................ 5.3
Extra-Base Hits ......... 27 ................. 18
Home Runs ............... 5 ................... 1
Triples ..................... 2 .................. 2
Doubles .................. 20 ................. 15
Stolen Bases .......... 5-of-9 ............ 11-of-14

ERA ...................... 3.95 ................ 6.12
Hits Allowed/9 IP ......10.3 ................ 12.0
K-to-Walk Ratio ........ 2.2 .................. 1.6
Ks Thrown per 9 IP .... 9.0 .................. 7.1
BB All. Per 9 IP ......... 4.1 .................. 4.5

Fielding Pct. .......... .954 ................. .966
Errors .................... 14 ................... 11
Double Plays Turned .... 6 .................... 8

Michigan Ties Up Purdue, 3-3 (game now in 9th)

For the second straight day, Michigan has erased a three-run lead with a three-run inning late in the game. The Wolverines brought home their runs in the bottom of the 6th, with RBI singles from junior 1B Mike Dufek, freshman DH Jake McLouth and junior pinch-hitter Chris Berst. Michigan chased righthander starter Matt Morgan (5 IP, 3 R, 7 H, 3 BB, 4 K) and reliever Kevin Cahill (both RHPs) during that rally.

Michigan's current pitcher of record is sophomore RHP Tyler Burgeon (3 IP, UER, 3 Ks), who has combined with starter Kolby Wood and brief reliever Brandon Sinnery to allow only one earned run today.

This game looks to be headed for extra-innings, unless Michigan wins in the bottom of the 9th for the second straight day (USF held a 5-2 lead on the Wolvernies yesterday, heading into the the bottom of the 8th, but UM tied it moments later and won it in the 9th, 6-5).

Indiana Erupts for Six Runs in Top of 1st (vs. Georgetown)

The Indiana Hoosiers, fresh off a 14-4 season-opening loss to West Virginia, have come out swinging today at Tampa's Red McEven Field – as the Hoosiers lead Georgetown 6-0, with the Hoyas set to take their turn at bat in the bottom of the 1st.

Indiana's fast start (11 total batters) included six singles and an assortment of other plays (a wild pitch/E2 sequence, a sac. fly, a hit batter and even a rare catcher's interference). Junior SS Jake Dunning (the IU #9 hitter) capped the scoring with a two-run single to center field.

Minnesota Closes Out 5-4 Win Over WVU

Minnesota held on to its third lead of the game, defeating West Virginia 5-4 in action at Jack Russell Stadium (in St. Petersburg, Fla.). The winning sequence in the top of the 8th included junior catcher Kyle Knudson's leadoff single up the middle, junior OF Eric Decker's 1-out single to left and a walk by freshman 3B Kyle Geason – before 9-hole hitter AJ Petterson (freshman SS) coaxed the decisive bases-loaded walk.

Minnesota finished with a 13-10 hit edge, outslugging a WVU offense that rapped out 18 hits the previous night. Sophomore RHP Cullen Sexton was credited with the win, after facing 10 batters over the final 2.1 innings (H, BB, K). Junior RHP Billy Gross took the loss (3.2 IP, 2R, 7H, 2 BB, 4 K).

Top hitters in the game: Minnesota's Decker (3-for-5, R) and Derek McCallum(3-for-5, 2 RBI, SB), along with WVU's Joe Agreste (3-for-4, BB, RBI, R) and Jedd Gyorko (2-for-3, BB, RBI, HR).

Purdue Shutting Out Michigan, 3-0 (middle of 6th)

In one of four Big Ten vs. Big Ten games being played in conjunction with the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge, Purdue holds a 3-0 lead on Michigan – with the Wolverines preparing to bat in the bottom of the 6th. Sophomore RHP Matt Morgan remains on the mound for Purdue (5IP-5H-2BB-4K) while Michigan freshman RHP Brandon Sinnery entered the game moments ago, in relief of sophomore RHP Kolby Wood (5.2 IP, 3 R/1 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 5 K).

Purdue's two runs in the top of the 2nd was sparked by a leadoff double down the rightfield line (from senior 1B John Cummings) and senior RF Alex Jaffe's infield single to third. An errant pickoff throw from catcher Coley Crank) allowed Cummings to score and Purdue senior catcher Eric Nielsen added a sac. fly to left field for the 2-0 lead.

The Boilermakers tacked on a run in the 6th, after a fielding error on 3B Tim Kalczynski, Nielsen's single through the left side, a runner-advancing flyout and senior LF Brandon Haveman's RBI single (this one through the right side of the infield).

WVU and Minnesota Still Tied, 4-4 (top of 8th)

Minnesota briefly retook the lead on West Virginia, 4-3, after a pair of infield singles (by Nohelty and McCallum) and McCallum's RBI single to right field. WVU came right back in the bottom of the 7th, as Gyorko's solo home run to left field chased Rasmussen from the game (one batter later). Sophomore RHP Cullen Sexton now is the pitcher of record for Minnesota.

Just as in the previous post about this game, three has been more scoring as I was typing. Minnesota now up 5-4 ... another update soon.

Mountaineers Tie Up Gophers (3-3, through 6)

West Virginia has tied its game with Minnesita, 3-3, as the game enters the 7th inning. The Mountaineers scored all their runs in the bottom of the 5th, thanks to a pair of singles through the infield, a double, a run-scoring passed ball and an RBI groundout.

Sophomore SS Jed Gyorko (a Morgantown native) started the rally by pulling a 1-out single through the right side, followed by a single up the middle from junior 2B Vince Belnome (Coatesville, PA). With both middle infielders aboard, lefthanded-hitting senior 1B Joe Agreste (Chesapeake, VA) came through with an RBI double into right field. Belnome then scored on a passed ball and Agreste scored another unearnred run, when sophomore catcher Tobias Streich grounded out to third base.

It should be noted that the initial blog post for this game incorrectly identified WVU junior LHP Stephen Morrison (who also hails from Coatesville, PA) as the starter. Morrison actually had relieved freshman RHP Justin Ellis, who left the game after facing only three batters (2R-2H-BB).

Another quick update to follow shortly, as the score now is 4-4 in the bottom of the 7th.

Reminder About CB360's Free Text/E-Mail Update Service

A quick reminder that CollegeBaseball360.com offers a free text-message/e-mail update service – with a bonus offering this weekend with coverage of all 28 games at the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge.

Similar to the StatCrew purchase, CB360 has purchased the update service (along with sister sites CollegeSoccer360 and CollegeFencing360) through TextCaster – allowing us to provide these offerings as a courtesy to the site visitors.

Fans wishing to track the BIG EAST/Big Ten games (and other college baseball news) should consider signing up for the text/email update service, as it allows you to follow the action when away from your computer.

For more information about the CB360/TextCaster service, CLICK HERE.

Top BIG EAST/Big Ten Friday-Night Hitters

Here's a look at some of the top hitters in Friday night's nine BIG EAST/Big Ten games (missing first names will be added later):

M. Burnett (UConn) – 4-for-4, R vs. Michigan State
Justin Riddell (Cincinnati) – 4-for-4, BB, 2 RBI, 2 R, 2 2B vs. Purdue
Deese (Penn State) – 3-for-3, 2 BB, RBI, 2 R, 2B vs. St. John's
Kenny Fellows (Michigan) – 3-for-3, BB, RBI, R vs. South Florida
Josh Phegley (Indiana) – 4-for-5, RBI, R vs. West Virginia
Smedberg (Seton Hall) – 3-for-4, BB, RBI, 2 R vs. Minnesota
Gino Matias (St. John's) – 3-for-4, BB, 2 RBI, 3R, 2 2B vs. Penn State
Eckerle (Michigan State) – 3-for-4, 2 RBI, R, 2B vs. UConn
Overmyer (Purdue) – 3-for-4, 2 RBI, R, 3B , 2B vs. Cincinnati
Urban (Michigan) – 3-for-4, R, 2 2B vs. South Florida
Tobias Streich (West Virginia) – 3-for-4, BB, 3 RBI, R, 2B vs. Indiana

SJU's Matias was one of three players to score three-plus runs (WVU's Vince Belnome had five, after batting 2-for-3 with 3 BB, while his teammate Jed Gyorko scored three times).

Cincinnati's Mike Spina and Riddell (who each homered twice) led all players in total bases (12 and 9, respectively). Spina had the most RBI (5) of any player, followed by WVU's Buckner (4) and SJU's Parque (4).

Four players each swiped two bases: the MSU trio of Holm, Boike and Eckerle, along with Parr of Illinois.

Minnesota Still Leading WVU, 3-0 (middle of 3rd)

The Gophers tacked on another run in the top of the 2nd, pushing across the unearned score while needing only one hit. Seven-hole hitter Eric Decker reached leading off the inning, thanks to an error by the WVU shortstop AJ Petterson. Decker advanced to third, after a popup and flyout, before scoring when senior DH Matt Nohelty pulled a single through the right side (the leadoff man Nohelty earlier walked and scored).

Minnesota has four hits and no errors, while WU has three hits and two defensive miscues. Gophers sophomore RHP Seth Rosin has walked two and hit a batter (in addition to allowing the three hits), with three strikeouts.

Key National Saturday Games

Following up on the previous post, here are some key games to track for today:

Louisville at Florida
Illinois-Chicago at Texas (2)
Vanderbilt at Stanford (2)
TCU at Cal State Fulleton
Bethune Cookman vs. San Diego (in Compton, CA)
Kentucky at Coastal Carolina
James Madison vs. Kentucky (in Conway, SC)
Charlotte at Clemson
Monmouth at East Carolina
USC at Long Beach State

Noteworthy Friday-Night Scores (from across the nation)

Homestanding Florida defeated Louisville, 6-3, in Friday night's only matchup of top-25 teams. That result can be viewed as a minor upset, as Louisville generally is ranked higher (but the Gators had homefield advantage).

Possibly the biggest upset of the night came at Tennessee, as the Volunteers edged Oregon State in a 5-4 game.

CollegeBaseball360 has developed the nation's first all-inclusive, Division I baseball aggregate national ratings (ANR). The ANR utilizes a formula to produce these rankings, and that formula will be adjusted throughout the year, as different data sources become available.

For more on CB360's ANR, CLICK HERE

The preseason ANR includes a projection of the 64-team NCAA Tournament field. In addition to the Louisville-Florida game mentioned above, there were seven other games involving teams that are projected as 2009 NCAA participants (per the ANR). The higher ranked teams won in each case, and each was playing at home or a neutral site (for the most part against potential NCAA automatic qualifiers, from the lower-tiered conferences):

Texas 8, Illinois-Chicago 1
Stanford 6, Vanderbilt 5 (10 innings)
San Diego 6, Southern 4 (in Compton, CA)
Clemson 8, Charlotte 3
East Carolina 13, Monmouth 4
USC 5, Long Bech State 3
Cal State Fullerton 7, TCU 6

We will continue to track these matchups throughout the weekend, due to the void of top-25 matchups in the opening days of the season.

Minnesota Jumps Out On WVU, 2-0

The Minnesota Golden Gophers – an 11-2 loser against Seton Hall on Friday – have put their first three batters of the game on base, taking a 2-0 lead against freshman RHP Justin Ellis (Coatesville, PA).

Senior DH Matt Nohelty drew a leadoff walk, took second on a wild pitch and scored when switch-hitting sophomore RF Michael Kvasnicka pulled a double down the leftfield line. Another wild pitch from Morrison put the runner on third, and junior 2B Derek McCallum followed with an RBI single through the right side of the infield (winning the lefty-lefty matchup).

The quick start could be huge for the Gophers, as they take on a WVU team that racked up 14 runs on Friday vs. Indiana (Baseball America's pick to win the Big Ten this season).

Quick BIG EAST/Big Ten Day-1 Stat Overview

(note that stats from the Iowa-Illinois game are being included for the overall stat analysis, but those stats are not included when comparing BIG EAST vs. Big Ten)

The 18 teams – on day-1 of the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge – combined for a .298 team batting average, led by West Virginia (.439), Purdue (.45) and St. John's (.405). The three lowest-hitting teams were Iowa (.152), Notre Dame (.194) and Ohio State (.207).

The combined team ERA for the 18 teams was 4.66, but 29 of the 111 runs scored (26%) were unearned. That was due to a high number of errors (32, or an average of 3.6 per game), producing an average fielding pct. of .955 for the 18 teams.

Three teams – Seton Hall (2 unearned), Ohio State (shutout) and Illinois (3 unearned) – did not allow an earned run on Friday. Five other teams all had forgettable starts in terms of team ERA: Indiana (13.00), Penn State (10.00), Purdue (10.00), Cincinnati (9.35) and Minnesota (9.00).

Two teams from each conference – the BIG EAST's USF and Notre Dame, and the Big Ten's Purdue and Ohio State – turned in error-free performances on Friday, while Iowa (4 Es) joined six other teams in making 3-plus errors on opening day (Seton Hall, St. John's, Minnesota, Penn State, Illinois and Cincinnati all had 3 Es on Friday).

There were 48 extra-base hits (2.7 per team), with 36 doubles, 5 triples and only 7 home runs (more on the long ball coming up). Stolen bases were even more rare (21; 1.2 per team), with one-third of them coming from Michigan State (7; five teams had no SBs).

The average run production was 6.2 runs per team, while the pitching staffs combined for nearly a 2-to-1 strikeout to walk ratio (136 Ks/74 BB; 1.84 BB/K).

The defenses turned 17 double plays, while adding four passed balls to the 32 errors (the pitchers also combined for 18 wild pitches and 23 hit batters).

More stat analysis to come, and we also will check in on Saturday's early game (Minnesota at West Virginia, which was set to start a few minutes ago).

Statistical Highlights and In-Game Blogging on Tap

The CB360 blog will have in-game reports from the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge throughout the weekend. We also have successfully generated complete day-1 stats from the tournament (we received the game file from the ninth game late last night), and we will be passing along some highlights (including a breakdown of how the BIG EAST teams did vs. the Big Ten, and vice versa).

BE/Big 10 Challenge Day One Notebook

Here's a look at some noteworthy happenings from the first day of the Big East/Big 10 Challenge in the Tampa/St. Petersburg, FL area:

• Michigan's Kenny Fellows' RBI single in the bottom of the 9th gave Michigan a 6-4 win over USF. The Wolverines had scored three runs in the 8th to tie the game.
• USF's Ryan Lockwood extended his hitting streak to 31 games with an RBI single.

• Dan Black's 2-out RBI double in the 9th lifted Purdue to an 11-10 win over Cincinnati.
  
• Mike Spina and Justin Riddell hit two home runs apiece in the Bearcat's loss. There were only 3 more home runs hit by the other 17 teams combined during the entire day's action.
  

• Seton Hall scored 3 of its first 4 runs on wild pitches in the Pirate's 11-2 win over Minnesota.
  
• Golden Gopher starter Chauncy Handran had 5 WP.
• Three Gopher pitchers combined for 11 K, 7 BB, 5 HBP, and 7 WP.

• Gino Matias, Greg Hopkins and Joe Hanik had 3 hits apiece in St. John's 15-6 win over Penn State.
• St. John's and PSU each committed 3 errors in the game.

• Chris Enourato earned a 4-inning save in West Virginia's 14-4 win over Indiana. Enourato gave-up two runs with two strikeouts enroute to the 12th save of his career.

• Northwestern's Eric Joskisch tossed his fifth career complete game in the Wildcat's 5-3 win over Georgetown. Joskisch was the 2008 Big 10 Freshman of the Year.

• Ohio State's Alex Wimmers earned his first career win in his first career start as the Buckeyes beat Notre Dame 2-0. Wimmers made 25 relief appearances as a freshman in 2008.

• Michigan State's Nolan Moody got his first career win in his 52nd career appearance in the Spartan's 4-2 win over UConn in the first game of the Challenge.
  
• MSU head coach Jake Boss, Jr. became the first Spartan coach since Tom Smith in 1983 to win in his debut game.

• Illinois beat Iowa 8-3. Eight of the eleven runs in the game, including all three Iowa runs, were unearned.
  
• The Illini committed three errors, while the Hawkeyes had four miscues in the loss.
  
• Illinois reliever Aaron Martin earned a 4-inning save with five strikeouts in relief.
  
• About 25% of the runs scored on day one of the Challenge were unearned.
  

Jokisch Throws Complete Game In Northwestern's 5-3 Win Over Hoyas

We have received word that Northwestern defeated Georgetown 5-3, behind a complete game from Eric Jokisch. Trevor Stevens, Tony Vercelli and Chad Noble each had three hits in the Wildcats' season opener. More on this game to come.

Tournament Stats (BIG EAST/Big Ten) Coming – courtesy of CB360

CollegeBaseball360.com has purchased its own copy of StatCrew software and will be able to generate various statistical reports during the season – including "tournament stats" throughout the opening-weekend BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge (stay tuned).

Ohio State is three outs from closing out Notre Dame (the Buckeyes are up 2-0), while Illinois and Iowa still are tied (1-1) in a Big Ten vs. Big Ten game. Due to the fact that some of the BIG EAST teams were unable to participate in this event, some of the Big Ten teams had to play against a team from their own conference (those games will not count in the Big Ten standings).

Due to a hectic day, we will be playing catchup in the blog throughout tonight (in addition to working on generating the tournament stats).

BIG EAST/Big Ten Scores From Today ...

It's been a logistical challenge today at the various sites of the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge, mainly due to wireless connectivity issues that have limited live-stat functions.

Here are the seven final scores (the Big Ten holds a 4-3 lead), plus scores from the two games still in progress:

Michigan State 4, Connecticut 2
Michigan 6, South Florida 5
Purdue 11, Cincinnati 10

West Virginia 14, Indiana 4
St. John's 15, Penn State 6
Seton Hall 11, Minnesota 2

Northwestern has defeated Georgetown (waiting on a confirmed final score; the Wildcats were leading 2-0 in the fifth)

Ohio State leads Notre Dame, 2-0, after seven innings
Illinois and Iowa are tied (1-1) in the fourth

We will have more details from the day's action coming soon.