Jan. 24, 2010

Lineup Card

Lineup Card is a feature highlighting notes from around college baseball.

Jan. 18-24, 2010

The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi baseball program will join the Corpus Christi Police Athletic League on Saturday, Jan. 23, on the rebuilding and clean up of a youth baseball field at 4236 Baldwin. The field will be named P.A.L. West. One group will work in the morning from 9 a.m. to noon, with the second working from 1 to 4 p.m.

Justin Dedman (left) is the new Director of Baseball Operations at Ole Miss. He will be responsible for travel arrangements, budget management, equipment inventory, on-campus recruiting, serving as strength and nutrition liaison and assisting with management of the Bullpen Club. Dedman was a volunteer assistant the past five months at Austin Peay. He was assistant coach for two seasons and head coach for two years at his alma mater, Denison, where he posted a .363 career batting average in 91 games.

Cal State Fullerton skipper Dave Serrano was one of 15 coaches to contribute to the American Baseball Coaches Association’s recently released book entitled “Practice Perfect Baseball,” edited by former Fresno State coach Bob Bennett. The coaches share their approaches, experiences and philosophies on every facet of practice. Serrano’s entry is “Building a Pitching Staff.” Other contributors include Ed Cheff (Lewis-Clark State), Pete Dunn (Stetson), Dan Hartleb (Illinois), Steve Jaksa (Central Michigan), Tim Jamieson (Missouri), Mark Johnson (Sam Houston State), Keith Madison (Kentucky), Sean McNally (Duke), Dave Perno (Georgia), Gary Pullins (BYU), Terry Rooney (LSU), Gary Ward (New Mexico State) and Bob Warn (Indiana State).

The UT Arlington office of sports information selected its 2000’s All-Decade team.

Catcher: Adam Moore (2006)

First Base: Darrell Preston (2001-04)

Second Base: Craig Martin (2000-01)

Shortstop: K.J. Hendricks (2001-02)

Third Base: Ryan Roberts (2002-03)

OF: Michael Choice (2008-09), Hunter Pence (2003-04), Daniel Ortmeier (2000-03)

DH: Andrew Kainer (2008-09)

Utility: Matt Otteman (2008-09)

Pitcher: Aaron Pullin (2001-04), Pierce Loveless (2000-03), Nathan Long (2006-09), Dillon Gee (2005-07)

Relief Pitcher: Mike Snapp (2001-04)

Click here for corresponding honors and statistics.

One current and one former Rice Owl were honored at the 2010 Houston Area Baseball Awards Dinner. Sophomore third baseman Anthony Rendon was named the 2010 Greater Houston Preseason College Player of the Year. Houston Astro All-Star Lance Berkman earned the Allen Russell Distinguished Achievement Award. Rendon, a preseason All-American, batted .388 with 20 home runs and 72 RBI as a freshman. Berkman passed the 300-homer mark in his 11th season with the Astros in 2009. Berkman has had at least 24 doubles and 70 runs in each of the past 10 seasons.

Troy head coach Bobby Pierce will be inducted into the Alabama Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame on Jan. 22. He has a record of 246-162 in eight seasons at Troy. Pierce spent six years at Alabama-Huntsville, including a No. 1 ranking in Division II. He was an assistant at Alabama for five seasons. He led Chipola Junior College to five state tournament berths in Florida, including a state title in his first season in 1983.

Fresno State will hold its Golf Classic and 23rd annual Double Play Dinner on Feb. 12. The Alumni Game and BBQ will be at Beiden Field on Feb. 13 beginning at 2 p.m.

Former Kansas hurler Paul Smyth was named the Short-Season Reliever of the Year by Minor League Baseball. Drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 35th round this past June, Smyth did not allow an earned run in his first professional season, covering 36.1 innings and 25 games between Vancouver and Kane County. He allowed 16 base runners (12 hits, four walks) with 37 strikeouts.

Clint Stoy has been hired as a volunteer assistant at New Mexico. He will assist with hitting and with the outfielders. Stoy has also been an assistant at Labette Community College, Nicholls State and Crowder College. Stoy played at Cowley County Community College and at Southern Miss. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Sports Administration and Coaching from Southern Miss and a master’s degree in Education from Southwest Missouri State.

Rutgers head coach Fred Hill, entering his 34th season as a collegiate coach and 27th with the Scarlet Knights, will have his jersey number retired at Montclair State, where he was head coach from 1977-83. Hill’s No. 24 will be retired in a ceremony on Feb. 13 at the Mayfair Farms in West Orange, N.J., beginning at 5:30 p.m. Hill posted a record of 148-92-1 (.619) in seven seasons at Montclair State. He guided them to their first three NCAA Division III Tournament appearances and its first trip to the Division III World Series in 1983.

K.J. Hendricks (right) has been named as assistant coach at UT Arlington. He was team chaplain in 2008 and a volunteer assistant in 2009. Hendricks will help with hitting, defense and base running. He was a two-year letterman for the Mavericks in 2001-02. Hendricks was MVP of the 2001 Southland Tournament, batting .391. He was a two-time all-SLC pick and led the conference in steals each year. Hendricks played six seasons of professional baseball.

Miami (Ohio) head coach Dan Simonds has named former RedHawk George Stegmiller honorary coach for the 2010 season. Stegmiller was at Miami from 1999-2003 and played all nine positions during his career. He joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 2004 and became a Naval Aviator. Stegmiller was deployed to Iraq from November, 2008, to May, 2009. He was recently promoted to Captain and is set to deploy to Afghanistan this spring.

William & Mary’s baseball team participated in New Kent Elementary’s Reading Month. Each player read to a class and answered questions for more than two hours. It is the second consecutive year that the Tribe has participated in the event.

Baylor will host its second annual Meet the Team dinner on Feb. 1 at 7 p.m. in the Galloway Suite at Floyd Casey Stadium. Former Bear All-American and current Texas Ranger starting outfielder David Murphy will be the guest of honor.

Coastal Carolina will hold its third annual “Step Up to the Plate” kickoff dinner on Jan. 28 from 6-9 p.m. at the Chesapeake House in Myrtle Beach. Proceeds will go to the Mike Pruitt Scholarship Fund and the Grand Strand Miracle League. Fans will be able to meet the 2010 team and participate in a silent auction.

The Illinois baseball team and the Fighting Illini Dugout Club will host the annual Hot Stove Banquet on Feb. 6 at 3 p.m. at the I Hotel. Randy Wells, second-year pitcher for the Chicago Cubs, will be the keynote speaker. Wells was 12-10 with a 3.05 ERA in 27 starts in 2009.

Alabama will hold its annual Fan Day on Feb. 6, consisting of a kid’s clinic from 9-11 a.m. at Sewell-Thomas Stadium, Grand Slammers preseason barbecue from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Coleman Coliseum CAVE, and a scrimmage at 2 p.m. at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.

(photos courtesy of Ole Miss & UTA Media Relations Offices)