The Big 12 Baseball awards have been announced. Each year, the league's head coaches (who are not allowed to vote for their own players) have a say in who's the best. Do note that, some newspapers and media outlets have their own conference awards. The list below is the official Big 12 Coach's Award program.
1. Coach of the Year: Josh Holliday (OSU)...Josh was the first former OSU player ever hired to coach the team. In his second year, he collects OSU's first Big 12 title. OSU won seven consecutive Big 12 series in 2014. Holliday is the first OSU coach to claim the Coach of the Year honor.
2. Player of the Year: Zach Fish (OSU)...the 5'11, 210 pound outfielder ranked in the top ten in hits (9th), total bases (3rd), slugging percentage (3rd), and home runs (2nd, 10 total). TCU's Boomer White and UT's Mark Payton were very close statistically but, Fish's home run power separated him from the pack.
3. Pitcher of the Year: Preston Morrison (TCU)...Morrison led the league in ERA with an 1.18 ERA in 14 starts. He also had four complete games and three shutouts.
4. Freshman of the Year: Sheldon Neuse (OU)...an infielder from Fort Worth, Texas. The top freshman in HR's with seven. He finished third in the league with 17 doubles and second in the conference with 117 total bases.
5. Newcomer of the Year: Adam Kirsch (Texas Tech)...a transfer from Florida International who ranked in the Top 10 in five offensive categories, including tied for third with 9 home runs.
(Austin, Texas) - Don't tell the 2014 Longhorns about last season's embarrassing (last place) finish - they're on it. This Sunday, the Horns beat OU 8-1 to complete their first "back to back" sweep since 2010.
Texas now stands in first place with their improved 9-3 record (Big 12).
The Longhorns (29-8 overall) have won 14 of their last 16 games and extended an impressive streak in Norman, where they've won 10 in a row dating back to 2008.
On Sunday, Nathan Thornhill won again. The "Sunday Slayer" is now 6-0 with a Big 12 leading ERA of 0.78. The senior from Cedar Park has allowed just five runs in 58 innings this season. Opponents are hitting a meager .168 against him.
The pitching has been so solid throughout 2014. The crux of any Longhorn debate quickly becomes, "they can pitch but, can they score?"
Well?
For the second day in a row, every single Longhorn batter recorded at least one hit. Mark Payton doubled three times, extending his on-base streak to 76 games. Zane Gurwitz doubled twice. Brooks Marlow homered and Tres Barrera and Kacy Clemens had two-hit games.
In its last nine Big 12 games (8-1 record), Texas is hitting .311 with a 2.25 ERA. Texas has scored 60 runs in those games and is 12-14 on stolen bases, with Collin Shaw (5-7) leading the way.
And don't forget about the stellar and deep Texas' bullpen, they pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings over the weekend. Thanks to their efforts, the Longhorns are now 23-0 when leading after six innings.
Next Game: The Longhorns now return home for a 10-game home-stand that opens Tuesday at 6 p.m. against UT-Arlington. TCU comes to Austin next weekend, April 18th, 19th, 20th.
(Austin) - Longhorn RHP Nathan Thornhill threw eight shutout innings to complete a series sweep of Baylor with a 4-0 victory. Thornhill picked up his career-high fifth win and lowered his ERA from 0.88 to 0.73, best in the Big 12. The Longhorns are now ranked 7th by Baseball America.
Baylor's Dillon Newman was also strong on the mound, but it wasn't enough. Newman didn't allow a hit until the fifth inning, but that batter ended up scoring the only run he allowed.
After Newman was lifted in the 7th, up 1-0, Texas took advantage of Baylor's bullpen. Gurwitz singled. Ben Johnson bunted for a single. The Bears intentionally walked Mark Payton to load the bases and bring up Tres Barrera. He smacked a high line drive to the gap in right center to score two runs. That's all Texas needed.
Although listed at six feet tall, Nathan Thornhill appears to be the smallest pitcher on the Longhorns starting staff. He thrives on control, not power. Working at 88-89 most of the day, he retired the side in order in the first, second, fifth and eighth innings.
Thornhill uses the defense as much as any other pitcher with 11 fly outs and 8 ground outs and just two strikeouts. The team is fielding at .981 for the season and Mark Payton had the highlight-reel play of the day in the sixth when he charged hard and made a diving grab in shallow center field.
Despite the 4-0 lead, Texas used closer John Curtiss in the ninth. Curtiss has been coming back from Tommy John surgery and worked at 93 mph until his thirteenth pitch, which hit 95. That was encouraging for him and the Longhorns who once used Thornhill as a closer. The return of vintage Curtiss would be a nice boost.
Texas is now 26-7 and 6-3 Big 12 play (winning 11 of their last 12).
The official attendance was 5,597 and the game lasted 2:51.
Next Game: Tuesday vs. (#12) Rice at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. 7PM.
Oklahoma players Sheldon Neuse (left) and Anthony Hermelyn talk during their game with UT-Arlington on March 11, 2014, in Arlington, TX. (RoadTripSports photo by Chuck Cox)
It’s college baseball season and that means the staff of RoadTripSports is back on the road, biding its time until football season. Keep up with our baseball travels here at Postins Postcards as we gear up for a great 2014…
College Baseball Game 5: Kansas vs. Houston Baptist
College Baseball Game 5: Kansas vs. Houston Baptist
A Kansas pitcher lets it fly during his team’s game against Houston Baptist. (RoadTripSports photo by Chuck Cox)
It’s college baseball season and that means the staff of RoadTripSports is back on the road, biding its time until football season. Keep up with our baseball travels here at Postins Postcards as we gear up for a great 2014 college football season and our signature publication, College…
Kansas State Baseball 2014 Season Preview by Jason Dannelly: Season Starts in One Month.
(This article originally appears on the SBNation.com site "Bring on the Cats" via www.bringonthecats.com)
MANHATTAN - Today marks exactly one month to the day before the Kansas State Wildcats take to the diamond in San Luis Obispo, Calif. to take on Cal Poly in what will start an eight game road trip. The Wildcats not only are looking to defend their Big 12 title, but also make a run at the College World Series in Omaha, Neb. after falling just short last season against Oregon State.
When the Wildcats take to the field next month they'll be looking to second basemen Ross Kivett and relief pitcher Jake Matthys to continue to step up their game. Both were named Louisville Slugger Preseason All-Americans with Kivett garnering First Team honors. Kivett, a senior from Broadview Heights, Ohio was a .360 hitter last season, led the team in runs scored (57) and hits (94).
Matthys,a sophomore from Spring Lake Park, Minn., had nine wins and nine saves with a 2.05 ERA in 34 appearances last season to lead the Wildcats in each category. His final appearance of last season is surely one that stings as he picked up just his second loss of the season to Oregon State which ended the Wildcats season. In four and a third innings, Matthys gave up two earned runs while errors added two more in his five-strikeout performance against the Beavers.
Also returning to the mound this season is Matt Wivinis, a junior from Downers Grove, Ill., who was 6-2 last season with a 4.72 ERA. Wivinis has the most returning experience on the mound from last season as he threw in 76 and a one-third innings while Nate Williams, a junior from Valley Center, Kan., had 67 and one-third innings on the hill with a team leading 54 strikeouts.
The key to this year's staff will be to try to repeat what they did last season in the later innings. In 2013, K-State was 33-3 when they had the lead after six innings and a perfect 38-0 when they led after eight innings. Much of the pitching staff's success came from the Wildcats getting their bats going early as they were 20-2 when scoring runs in the first inning.
The Wildcats infield remains intact with all four regular starters returning. Austin Fisher, a junior from Lenexa, Kan., who led K-State last season with a .361 batting average and 20 doubles last season is back at shortstop along with first basemen Shane Conlon, a junior from Naperville, Ill., who batted .341 last season with 85 hits. At third, RJ Santigate, a senior from Las Vegas, rounds out the infield with a .324 average from last season.
One of the larger question marks this spring will be the outfield of the Wildcats as three of the mainstays from last season are gone. Tanner Witt, Jared King and Jon Davis started a combined 185 games last season. Clayton Dalrymple and Mitch Meyer return with the most starting experience in the outfield with Meyer adding 19 starts as the team's designated hitter.
Coach Brad Hill enters his 11th season as head coach of the Wildcats with a 756-334-3 overall record, which includes his time at Central Missouri State. After taking the program to their first ever Super Regional last season, Hill will have his program focused on the ultimate prize in Omaha. With nineteen returning players from last season this spring could be another step forward for the once average Wildcat program.
In the year prior to taking over the program the Wildcats were just 15-37 overall, winning only five Big 12 conference games. Since taking over, Hill's teams have had 26 or more wins in every season and are coming off a school record 45-19 season including their first ever Big 12 title. K-State's 16-8 record in conference play is also an all-time record.
In the offseason, K-State added seven true freshmen and seven transfers to the roster including Manhattan, Kan. native Brooks DeBord who joins his first team All-Big 12 standout brother Blair Debord on the roster as a catcher.
Keep an eye out for transfers Max Brown, Nate Hale and Cater Yagi who all put up good numbers last season at their JUCOs. With holes left due to graduation in the outfield the Wildcats will need to have someone emerge this season as a leader.
The Wildcats open their 2014 home schedule on February 28 in a three game home stand against UW-Milwaukee at Tointon Family Stadium.
As a marketing team for a major conference, like the Big 12, it’s important to make sure the message you are sending to attendants at a major event is one of cohesion, quality and professionalism.
Apparently this memo didn’t make it to the banner maker for the Big 12 Baseball Tournament.
