July 26, 2009

Lineup Card

Lineup Card is a new feature on CollegeBaseballInsider.com, highlighting notes from around college baseball.

July 20-26, 2009

Former UAB pitcher James Oliver has received an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. Each year the NCAA awards 174 postgraduate scholarships. Each scholarship winner receives a $7,500 grant to go toward postgraduate studies. Oliver graduated with a GPA of 3.85 and begins medical school this month. He was earlier named the Conference USA Scholar-Athlete of the Year for baseball.

Team USA got homers in the fifth from Rick Hague (Rice), Bryce Brentz (Middle Tennessee) and Michael Choice (UT Arlington) in its 12-2 win Thursday over British Columbia in the World Baseball Challenge. Cody Wheeler (3-0) (Coastal Carolina) allowed two solo homers in seven innings with 10 strikeouts to earn the victory. Team USA secured the No. 1 seed for the playoff portion of the tournament. Team USA will face No. 2 Team Canada on Friday, July 24, at 7 p.m. PT for an automatic bid to the championship game.

Matt Rademacher (left) has been hired at Air Force as an assistant coach. The all-conference catcher graduated from Coastal Carolina in 2007 after transferring from Michigan. Rademacher will work with the Falcon catchers as well as helping with the hitters. Most recently, Rademacher played for the Traverse City Beach Bums of the independent Frontier League.

Former Cincinnati pitcher J.D. Heilmann has become the pitching coach at his alma mater after seven seasons as an assistant at Xavier. The Musketeers won their first Atlantic 10 title in 2009 and earned their first trip to the NCAA Tournament. Heilmann also coached at Division II Northern Kentucky and Division III Mount St. Joseph’s. Heilmann transferred to UC from Ball State and earned a degree in communications in 1997.

UCF led all Conference USA baseball teams with a grade-point average of 3.174. There were 23 Knights on the C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll for recording a GPA of 3.0 or better.

Rick Hague (Rice) went 3 for 4 with a home run as Team USA topped the host Prince George Axemen 10-2 Wednesday at the World Baseball Challenge in British Columbia. Michael Choice (UT Arlington) and Christian Colon (Cal State Fullerton) also went deep for Team USA (3-1, 16-5). Starter Sonny Gray (Vanderbilt) allowed one run in seven innings with five strikeouts for his third win this summer. Team USA will face Team British Columbia on Thursday, July 23, at 3 p.m. PT.

Kurtis Muller of Iowa was named the Northwoods All-Star MVP. The outfielder went 3 for 5 with a run and two steals as the South defeated the North 4-2. Muller is batting .330 this summer with 61 hits, 38 runs, 17 steals and an on-base percentage of .406.

UNC Wilmington head coach Mark Scalf has added Daniel Hargrave as an assistant coach. The former Seahawk is the program’s career leader with 187 runs and 429 total bases. Hargrave played briefly in the Philadelphia Phillies organization after being selected in the 22nd round of the 2008 MLB draft. Hargrave helped UNCW reach the NCAA Tournament in 2006 and 2008. During his senior season, Hargrave led the Seahawks to a school-record 44 victories and set a Colonial Athletic Association single-season record with 25 conference wins.

LSU head coach Paul Mainieri will sing “Take Me Out To The Ball Game” on Sunday, July 26, at Wrigley Field during the seventh inning stretch of the game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Chicago Cubs.

Georgia State hurler Will Palmer has signed a professional contract with the Laredo Broncos of the independent United Baseball League. In three seasons with the Panthers, Palmer had 41 starts with 183 strikeouts in 259.2 innings.

The match-ups have been set for 2010 Villanova Classic and the Big 5 Baseball Bash. Both events are organized by Villanova head coach Joe Godri.

Villanova Classic, March 12-14

Friday March 12

Northeastern @ Saint Joseph’s

Hofstra @ Temple

Cornell @ Villanova 3:15 pm

Saturday March 13

Northeastern @ Temple

Hofstra @ Villanova 1:15 pm

Cornell @ Saint Joseph’s

Sunday March 14

Northeastern @ Villanova 12:15 pm

Hofstra @ Saint Joseph’s

Cornell @ Temple

Big 5 Baseball Bash, March 19-21

Friday March 19

Marist @ Temple

Niagara @ Villanova 3:15 pm

Pittsburgh @ Saint Joseph’s

Youngstown State @ La Salle

Saturday March 20

Marist @ Villanova 1:15 pm

Niagara @ Temple

Pittsburgh @ La Salle

Youngstown State @ Saint Joseph’s

Sunday March 21

Marist @ Saint Joseph’s

Niagara @ La Salle

Pittsburgh @ Temple

Youngstown State @ Villanova 12:15 pm

ULM pitcher Drew Graham has signed a professional contract with the Detroit Tigers. He has reported to the Lakeland Flying Tigers of the Gulf Coast League. A native of Fort Scott, Kan., Graham was 3-2 with two saves and a 4.85 ERA out of the bullpen for the Warhawks. He led the team with 22 appearances and fanned 54 in 52 innings. Graham helped ULM win the 2008 Sun Belt Championship and reach the title game in 2009.

Asher Wojciechowski (The Citadel) fanned nine in seven innings as Team USA beat Bahamas 8-1 at the 2009 Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline World Baseball Challenge at Prince George Citizen Field in British Columbia. Wojciechowski improved to 2-1 with Team USA. Tyler Holt (Florida State) had two hits and one RBI to lead the offense. Team USA is 2-1 in the World Baseball Challenge and 15-5 overall. Team USA will face the Prince George Axemen on Wednesday at 7 p.m. PT with Sonny Gray (2-1) (Vanderbilt) starting on the mound.

LSU head coach Paul Mainieri revealed a lithograph commemorating LSU’s national championship that will be used to generate funds for the Wally Pontiff, Jr. Foundation. Pontiff played three seasons for the Tigers and died from a heart condition in 2002 at the age of 21. A limited edition of 1,000 will be autographed by Mainieri and artist Michael Hunt and will sell for $90 with a portion of the proceeds going to the foundation. The Wally Pontiff, Jr. Foundation supports multiple charities ranging from sports and recreation to special needs children, grief and loss programs, and faith-based causes. A special focus is to educate area doctors on Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, a genetic heart condition responsible for the death of Pontiff. Call 1-800-631-2660 to order.

Former UT Arlington standout Jeff Burrow will be inducted into the University of Texas at Arlington Department of Athletics Hall of Fame on Sept. 12. The right-hander pitched four seasons for the Mavericks (1988-91) and set career records with 27 wins, 333 innings pitched, 25 complete games and 51 starts. Burrow posted a 10-3 mark as a senior with a 3.89 ERA. He fanned 45 in 85.2 innings and tossed nine complete games.

Saint Joseph’s will play its entire 2010 home schedule at Campbell’s Field in Camden, N.J. The 6,425-seat facility is the home of the Camden Riversharks of the Atlantic League and the Rutgers University-Camden baseball team. Campbell’s Field hosted the Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship in 2008 and the event will return in 2010. The Hawks played six A-10 games at Campbell’s Field in 2009 against St. Bonaventure and George Washington. Saint Joseph’s has played its home games at Latshaw-McCarthy Field in Norristown, Pa., for the past 20 seasons. That is the longest tenure for a home park in program history.

Sean Kenny is the new pitching coach at Maryland, heading across the country from Pepperdine. A native of Ann Arbor, Mich., Kenny worked the past six seasons with the Waves after five years as an assistant at San Diego. Kenny played at Eastern Michigan, where he was a two-time all-MAC selection. He was a 17th-round pick of the New York Mets in 1993 and played three years in their organization. Kenny earned a degree in English literature from EMU in 1997 and received a Master’s degree in physical education from Saint Mary’s in 2000.

DJ LeMahieu of LSU has signed with the Chicago Cubs. A second-round choice, LeMahieu will report to the Cubs’ Rookie League team in Mesa, Ariz. The second baseman batted .350 this past season with 13 doubles, five homers, 43 RBI and 57 runs. LeMahieu helped the Tigers win the 2009 national championship.

(photos courtesy of Air Force and LSU Media Relations Offices)