Big 12, day 3

Texas Tech defeated Army, 16-2, in San Antonio.

• Roger Kieschnick was 4-6 with 6 RBIs. Kieschnick's 4 hits included 2 doubles, a triple and a home run.
• Fr. SP Chad Bettis made his first career start, lasting 6 innings and giving up 1 earned run.
• 1B Doug Thennis was 3-4 with 3 runs, 2 RBIs and 2 doubles.

Texas Tech dropped their 2nd game to Oral Roberts, 7-6. Oral Roberts scored 3 runs with 2 outs in the 7th inning.

• Roger Kieschnick hit his 2nd home run of the day with a solo shot in the 5th.
• Chris Richburg connected on his first home run of the season, a 2-run blast, in the 3rd inning.
• Nathan Karns pitched 4 innings, striking out 7 batters and allowing only 2 hits. He also gave up 3 runs and walked 4.
  

#6 Texas defeated VCU, 10-2, completing their weekend sweep of the Rams.

• 5 Longhorns made their debut today. Cameron Rupp started at C for Preston Clark while Tant Shepherd, Kawika Emsley-Pai, Stayton Thomas and Marcus Tackett all subbed in during the contest.
• RF Kyle Russell finished the day 2-4 with 2 runs and 3 RBIs
• CF Jordan Danks went 2-4 with 2 runs, 1 RBI, a double and a triple.
• SP Kenn Kasparek made his season debut, striking out 5 batters in 5 innings of work.

Baylor outlasted Purdue, 2-1, sweeping the Boilermakers in Waco.

• RP Nick Cassavechia earned his 2nd save of the year.
• LF Ben Booker went 2-4 witha run

#20 Texas A&M defeated Northern Colorado, 5-2, splitting their 4 game series.

• 3B Dane Carter hit a 2-run home run in the 8th inning for the Aggies, their 2nd of the weekend.
• SP Scott Migl lasted 6.1 innings, giving up 2 runs and striking out 5 batters, improving his record to 1-0
• RP Travis Starling picked up his first save of the season.
• 2B Blake Stouffer is still searching for his 1st hit of the season. He is currently 0-12.

Kansas lost their first game to Hawaii-Hilo, 4-3. In game 2, Kansas answered with a 16-4 victory over the Vulcans.

Oklahoma State swept Gonzaga in a double header, 3-1 and 10-3.

Nebraska fell to Stanford, 4-2, in Palo Alto.

#17 Missouri outlasted tournament host Stetson, 9-5, in DeLand, Florida.

• Missouri SP Kyle Gibson earned his first win, striking out 10 batters in his 6 innings of work.
  

Oklahoma's game with #19 UCLA was cancelled due to rain.

Kansas State's game against California was cancelled due to rain.

BIG 12 STANDINGS

TEAM	W	L	WIN %	STREAK	LAST 10
Oklahoma State	3	0	1.000	W4	4-0
Baylor	3	0	1.000	W3	3-0
#17 Missouri	3	0	1.000	W3	3-0
#6 Texas	3	0	1.000	W3	3-0
#20 Texas A&M	2	2	.500	W1	2-2
Oklahoma	1	1	.500	W1	1-1
Kansas	2	3	.400	W1	2-3
Nebraska	1	2	.333	L1	1-2
Texas Tech	1	2	.333	L1	1-2
Kansas State	0	2	0.000	L2	0-2

Big 12, Day 2

Texas Tech lost to Louisiana-Lafayette 4-0 in San Antonio.

• Texas Tech was held to 1 hit for the game, a single by So. Taylor Ashby
• Jason Seefeld started the day as the Tech DH. Seefeld tore his ACL in fall practice, and wasn't expected back until later.
• SP AJ Ramos struck out 10 Cajuns over 6 innings, but picked up the loss.

#6 Texas defeated VCU 17-4.

• Jr. RF Kyle Russell hit his 1st home run of the season, and 39th of his career
• So. 1B Brandon Belt went 4-5 with 4 runs and 2 doubles
• So. 2B Michael Torres was 3-6 with 2 runs and 5 RBIs
• Fr. DH Kevin Keyes left the game in the 8th inning after being struck in the head by a fastball. It didn't appear to be a serious injury.
• Fr. SP Cole Green picked up the win in his first start of his career
• Fr. RP Chance Ruffin retired all 9 batters he faced, striking out 4, and earning the first save of his career.

#20 Texas A&M lost to Northern Colorado 3-1 in 7 innings of their first game of a double header.

• A&M SP Kyle Thebeau picked up the loss after throwing 5.1 innings and striking out 5. Thebeau gave up all 3 Northern Colorado runs.
• 1B Luke Anders finished the game 1 for 2 with a 3B and an RBI.
• Preseason All-American Blake Stouffer remains hitless through the first 2 games of the season. Stouffer is 0-4.

#20 Texas A&M was swept in a double header by Northern Colorado, losing the 2nd game 4-2.

• Blake Stouffer continued his season opening slump, going 0-4. He is now 0-8 in 3 games this season.
• Brian Ruggiano hit a solo home run for the Aggies, his first of the season
• SP Barret Loux struck out 9 batters in 5 innings during the first start of his career.
• RP Clayton Ehlert picked up the loss for A&M

#17 Missouri defeated Michigan State 14-9 at the Stetson Tournament in DeLand, Florida.

• Sr. DH Jacob Priday was 2-4 with 3 runs and 3 RBIs
• So. LF Aaron Senne was 1-3 with 3 runs, 1 RBI and a double.
• SP Rick Zagone struck out 7 batters over 4 innings of work
• Missouri's bullpen gave up 5 runs in 6 innings of work.

Oklahoma State defeated Gonzaga 12-2, improving their record to 2-0

• SS Jordy Mercer went 1-4 with 3 RBIs and 1 run
• 3B Matt Hague, a transfer from Washington, went 2-5 with 3 RBIs, 1 run and a 3B.
• LF Neil Medchill went 3-4, scoring 3 runs and batting in 2 more.
• SP Tyler Lyons picked up his first win, going 5 innings for the Cowboys

Kansas lost to Hawaii-Hilo 4-3, in Kona, Hawaii.

• CF Nick Faunce led the Jayhawks with 2 hits. He finished the game 2-3 with 2 runs.
• 1B Preston Land went 1-3 with 2 RBIs.

Hawaii-Hilo completed their sweep of Kansas today with a 12-4 victory.

• SS Erik Morrison was 2-5 in game 2, with 1 run
• CF Casey Larson was 1-4 with 2 RBIs
• RP Thomas Marcin struck out 3 batters in 2.1 innings of work.

Kansas State lost to Santa Clara 9-2 in the first game of a double header, the second game was postponed due to inclement weather. The game has yet to be rescheduled.

• Evan LeBlanc and Gabe Alcantar both had 3 RBIs for Santa Clara.
• 3B Nate Tenbrink hit his 1st home run of the year for the Wildcats.

Oklahoma lost to #19 UCLA, 7-5, in the bottom of the 9th.

• UCLA's Gabe Cohen hit a walk-off 2-run home run off OU's Jake McCarter in the 9th inning.
• OU 2B Mike Gosse finished the game 1-5 with a 2-run home run
• OU C JT Wise went 2-4 with 2 runs

Oklahoma defeated #19 UCLA, 3-2, to split the double header.

Baylor defeated Purdue 11-10 on a Ben Booker fielder's choice in the bottom of the 11th.

• 3B Shaver Hansen finished the contest 3-5 with 3 runs and 4 RBIs, including a Grand Slam
• CF Paul Miles was 3-6 with 1 run and 1 RBI
• SP Shawn Tolleson lasted only 2.1 innings in his first appearance for Baylor. Tolleson redshirted in 2007 after Tommy John surgery.
• RP Nick Cassavechia, a pre season All-American, gave up 1 hit and struck out 2 in 2 innings of relief work.

Stanford and Nebraska were scoreless in the 3rd inning when inclement weather forced the game to be suspended. The game will be continued tomorrow.

BIG 12 STANDINGS:

TEAM	W	L	WIN %	STREAK	LAST 10
Baylor	2	0	1.000	W2	2-0
#17 Missouri	2	0	1.000	W2	2-0
Oklahoma State	2	0	1.000	W2	2-0
#6 Texas	2	0	1.000	W2	2-0
Nebraska	1	1	.500	W1	1-1
Oklahoma	1	1	.333	W1	1-1
Kansas	1	2	.333	L2	1-2
#20 Texas A&M	1	2	.333	L2	1-2
Texas Tech	0	1	0.000	L1	0-1
Kansas State	0	2	0.000	L2	0-2

FORMER LONGHORN/RED RAIDER UPDATES

Josh Prince led off and played SS for Tulane. He finished 0-4

Michael Demperio led off and played 2B for Georgia against Arizona. He was 2-3 with 2 walks and a strikeout. He was 2-2 on steals.

Clint Stubbs started in RF for Louisiana Tech. He was 0-2 with a sacrifice in the 13-1 victory over McNeese State.

Geoff Byrns walked in his appearance as a pinch hitter for St. Mary's against Towson.

Big 12, Day 1

Lots of games going on in the Big 12 today.


#6 Texas defeated Virginia Commonwealth 6-2.

• Junior SP Austin Wood struck out 6 in 6 innings
• Junior C Preston Clark collected 4 RBIs
• Freshman LF Kevin Keyes went 3-4 with a double

#17 Missouri defeats UConn 6-1

• Junior SP Aaron Crow struck out 7 and gave up 1 run in 6 innings.
• Senior CF Kurt Calvert went 3-4 with 3 RBIs
• Junior RF Ryan Lollis went 2-4

Oklahoma State beat Gonzaga, 6-1.

Kansas beat Hawaii-Hilo, 2-1.

Stanford beat Nebraska 17-4 in game 1 of their double header, while Nebraska took game 2 9-2.

California defeated Kansas State, 5-1.

• Cal SP Tyson Ross and RP Daniel Wolford combined to throw a one hitter.
• KSU RF Jordan Cruz lead off the game with a solo home run, Kansas State's only hit of the game.

Baylor outscored Purdue 2-1 in Waco, thanks to a 7th inning 2 run homer by Fr. 2B Landis Ware.

• Baylor 2B Raynor Campbell is sidelined 4-6 weeks after a successful surgery on his right thumb Wednesday morning. Campbell sustained the injury earlier in the week fielding ground balls. True freshman Landis Ware will fill in for him.
• Sr. CL Nick Cassavechia recorded his first save of the season, throwing a perfect session in the 9th.
• Sophomore SP Kendal Volz picked up the win after going 8 innings with 10 strikeouts

#20 Texas A&M outlasted Northern Colorado, 9-5, in College Station.

• Aggies Dane Carter, Jose Duran and Brian Ruggiano all collected 3 hits on the night
• A&M and Northern Colorado both struggled defensively, collecting 4 errors a piece
• Freshman RF Brooks Raley went 2-4 at the plate, collecting a run and an RBI, while also pitching a scoreless inning in relief for the Aggies

Oklahoma's contest against #19 UCLA has been postponed due to incliment weather

Texas Tech plays Louisiana-Lafayette at 10 am on Saturday.

BIG 12 STANDINGS:

TEAM	W	L	WIN %	STREAK	LAST 10
Baylor	1	0	1.000	W1	1-0
Kansas	1	0	1.000	W1	1-0
#17 Missouri	1	0	1.000	W1	1-0
Oklahoma State	1	0	1.000	W1	1-0
#6 Texas	1	0	1.000	W1	1-0
#20 Texas A&M	1	0	1.000	W1	1-0
Nebraska	1	1	.500	W1	1-1
Oklahoma	0	0	0.000	0	0-0
Texas Tech	0	0	0.000	0	0-0
Kansas State	0	1	0.000	L1	0-1

FORMER LONGHORNS/RED RAIDERS UPDATE:
Michael Demperio led off for Georgia and played 2B. He was 0-4 with 1 run and a HBP. He reached base on his first at bat after being hit by a pitch. He later scored on a SF.

Clint Stubbs was 0-1 with a run for Louisiana Tech. He reached base on an 8th inning fielder's choice and came around to score.

Josh Prince started at SS for Tulane. He was 2-4 with a run and an RBI for the Green Wave.

Geoff Byrns hit 2 doubles and scored a run as the starting DH for St. Mary's. Byrns was a perfect 2-2 at the plate

Crank that Voskuil?

He went from "Little Brother" to "Mr. 30 Points" in only 3 short years. Alan Voskuil helped the unranked Red Raiders claim the first victory for new coach Pat Knight on Wednesday night against the 18th ranked Kansas State Wildcats, 84-75. The win moves Pat Knight to 1-2, while the Red Raiders improve to 13-10 (4-5). Kansas State drops to 17-6 (7-2) after the lose.

Voskuil could not miss from outside during the first half. His 4-4 from beyond the arc spurred the Red Raiders to a 12 point halftime lead. For the game, Voskuil finished 9-14 with a 5-6 3 point night. His 7 rebounds led the Red Raiders, who were once again outrebounded 33-26.

Despite the troubles on the boards, Texas Tech did everything they needed to grasp the W. They shot .509 from the field and hit 25 of their 36 free throws. The defense held Michael Beasley in check as much as they could. Beasley finished the night with 22 points and 15 rebounds, but only managed to make 6 of his 20 shots.

Voskuil wasn't the only one who helped the Raiders to victory. The Freshman duo of John Roberson and Mike Singletary both put up 11 points. Roberson's 6 assists definitely helped the winning cause. Martin Zeno, Tech's leading scorer on the season finished the game with 16 points. Trevor Cook played a huge role off the bench, scoring 8 points and blocking 2 key shots in the second half in only 13 minutes of play.

Kansas State was led by 2nd leading scorer Bill Walker, who scored 27 points before fouling out. That, combined with Beasley's 22 and Jacob Pullen's 16 amounted for 87% of the Wildcats' point total.

KSU's Blake "Lil' Wayne" Young finished with only 4 points, after trying to prove how "hard" he was after a scrape with Tech big man Esmir Rizvic. Both players received a technical foul on the play, but Young should have been removed from the game for making an apparent threat to Rizvic with his fist. The NCAA should better define the terms of "throwing a punch" to include cocking your fist back and threatening another player (editor's opinion).

It's almost PAT KNIGHT DAY!!

Lubbock Mayor David Miller is making an attempt to regain some citizen's trust (note editor opinion) by proclaiming Wednesday, February 13, 2008 as Pat Knight Day to officially welcome the new coach to his position. The son of The General is officially 0-2 in his short tenure as the head man for the Red Raiders, both games coming on the road. Wednesday will mark his first coaching gig in Lubbock when the Wildcats of Kansas State trek down from their perch in Manhattan.

Kansas State, 17-5 (7-1), features Fr. phenom Michael Beasley, a forward averaging a paltry 25 points and 12 rebounds a game, both tops in the Big 12. So. forward Bill Walker ranks 6th and 9th, respectively, with 15.8 and 6.8, helping the Wildcats form a formidable combo on the inside.

Texas Tech enters the contest at 12-10 (3-5), and on a 2-game losing streak. Leading scorer, Sr. Martin Zeno is also the teams leading rebounder with 16 and 4.5. Fr. guard John Roberson is 2nd with 12.5 pts. while Jr. Alan Voskuil averages 12.1 per game.

The key to Wednesday night's game will be Tech's ability to neutralize the offense and defense of Michael Beasley. Basically, Tech must keep Beasley from playing his style. That, coupled with a strong shooting game should propel the Red Raiders to victory. In essence, this should be an easy win in Lubbock for Kansas State, something no visitor has achieved in 2007-2008.

Big 12 Baseball rundown

Alright, we are drawing ever closer to the beginning of the NCAA baseball season. Currently, we sit a mere 17 days away from the first games for the Big 12 teams. Here is a quick rundown of how the teams should fare, and which players to look out for...

BAYLOR (#15 in Baseball America, #18 RivalsBaseball.com)
Baylor is looking to field a very talented and more experienced team this season. Returning for the Bears is the entire infield, led by preseason All-American Jr. Beemer Weems at SS. Weems hit .321 last year while leading Baylor in home runs (9), doubles (17) and RBIs (59). The remaining infield is made up of the So. trio of Raynor Campbell, Shaver Hansen and Dustin Dickerson. The outfield returns three regulars, most notably Jr. Ben Booker.

The pitching staff returns mostly intact, led by preseason All-American closer Nick Cassavechia. Cassavechia was 2nd in the Big 12 last year with 11 saves, while maintaining a 3.12 ERA with 72 strikeouts over 52 innings. The starting pitching should consist of returning starters So. Kendall Volz (6-2 in 2007), So. Wade Mackey (4-3) and Sr. Randal Linebaugh (3-5), as well as So. Willie Kempf. The biggest question for Baylor will be the ability of redshirt freshman Shawn Tolleson. Tolleson is expected to be a bigtime contributor for the Bears after fully recovering from Tommy John Surgery.

The Bears finished the 2007 season 35-27 (12-15). Their first game is on February 22nd against Purdue.

KANSAS
Last season's Kansas team finished the year 28-30 (9-17), on par with what many predicted for the Jayhawks. This year's team should finish close to the same as the previous year's.

Kansas still has some bright spots leftover from the previous campaign. Returning for the Jayhawks is Brooks Wallace nominee, Sr. John Allman. Allman controlled left field lasst year while hitting .333. Returning with him are a pair of starting brothers in So. 2b Robby Price and Sr. C/OF Ryne Price, sons of Head Coach Ritchie Price. The elder of the Price brothers should see significant success after hitting .270 with 10 home runs as a junior. Sr. SS Erik Morrison, a Pirate's draft pick, also returns after hitting .296 in 2007.

On the pitching front, Kansas brings back 3/4ths of their starting pitching from 2007. Jr. Andy Marks (5-6, 91 strikeouts), So. Wally Marcial (5-3) and Jr. Nick Czyz (4-8) should carry the bulk of the weekend innings, while Sr. Andres Esquibel (7-3) and Jr. Paul Smyth (3-4, 7 saves) lead from the bullpen.

KANSAS STATE
Kansas State is potentially primed to have one of their best seasons since joining the Big 12 thanks to the amount of experience they return on the field in 2008. Back is the Wildcats' top hitter and top pitcher. Led at the plate by Jr. Byron Wiley, who hit .366 last year with 7 home runs, both tops for Kansas State in 2007. Taking charge on the mound is preseason 1st team All-American closer Daniel Edwards, a junior who notched 11 saves in 23 appearances as a sophomore.

Kansas State also returns many of their top position players. Jr. Nate Tenbrink, a 3 year starter, remains the 3rd baseman, while Jr. Rob Vaughn will continue to lead the defense from behind the plate. So. Adam Muenster put up big numbers in Manhattan during his freshman season, hitting .294 with 20 RBIs.

On the pitching front, Kansas State returns their top two starters, to go along with Edwards. Brad Hutt, a senior, bring a resume that includes a 9-4 record in 2007 with a 3.07 ERA to boot. Sr. Chase Bayuk will be the #2, after going 5-6 last season in 14 starts.

After amassing a 34-24 record, including a 10-win conference season, Kansas State is set up to have their best season in since winning 13 of 26 Big 12 games in 2002.

More to come...

Down Goes Kansas!

#22 Kansas State pulled off the upset of the day today when they beat the #2 Jayhawks in Manhattan, 84-75. It marked the first time in TWENTY FOUR years that Kansas had lost a game on their rival's home court. Michael Beasley and Bill Walker led the Wildcats with 25 and 22 points. Kansas managed to out-shoot their in-state rivals .481 to .429, but the 12 made 3 pointers by KSU proved to be too much in the end.

This marked the first loss of the year for Kansas, leaving #1 Memphis as the only remaining unbeaten team.

In College Station, Texas lost to A&M. A&M was helped out by the refs, and Texas' inability to shoot the ball. It sucked, but proved the Texas Triangle right once again. Tech beats A&M, Texas beats Tech, A&M beats Texas. It's a vicious cycle.