Here is the third part of my break down of the top college baseball players in the country. This one has to do with the middle infielders.

Middle Infielders:

1: Ryan Flaherty  Vanderbilt  Jr

2 :Brandon Turner  Mississippi St  So

3: Dallas Poulk  North Carolina St  So

4: David Adams  Virginia  Jr

5: Alden Carrithers  UCLA  Sr

6: Brandon Crawford  UCLA  Jr

7: Aaron Luna  Rice  Jr

8: Zach Miller  Mississippi  So

9: Grant Green  USC  So

10: Danny Espinosa  Long Beach St  Jr

11: Gordon Beckham  Georgia  Jr

12: Cole Figueroa  Florida  So

13: Beamer Weems  Baylor  Jr

14: Joey Wong  Oregon St  So

15: Jason Christian  Michigan  Jr

Baseball America has a good story about Duke and Boston College. It is from Aaron Fitt. I am going to post it here for people to read.

Just 10 miles from Duke's Coombs Field, Boshamer Stadium is undergoing renovations that will make it one of the best facilities in the Southeast, as well as the home to a North Carolina program that has reached the College World Series Finals two straight years.

There are two other Atlantic Coast Conference teams within a 90-minute drive from Durham that went to regionals last year, and other conference foes like Florida State, Miami, Georgia Tech and Clemson are so steeped in tradition that it seems a waste of time to entertain even fantastical notions of  the Blue Devils or other teams at the wrong end of the ACC power structure ever leveling the playing field.

But quietly, teams like Duke and Boston College are making progress.

In head coach Sean McNally's second season, Duke finished at 29-25, its first above-.500 record since 1998. The Blue Devils finished just 6-24 in ACC play, but by putting senior ace Tony Bajoczky in the Saturday starter role, they came up with wins against powerhouses Georgia Tech, Florida State, Virginia and North Carolina on consecutive Saturdays.

Duke pitching coach Sean Snedeker said the Devils might employ that same strategy this year, potentially moving last year's closer, sophomore righthander Michael Seander, to the Saturday slot. Sophomore righty Alex Hassan would likely assume the Friday starter job, and freshman righty Grant Monroe is another strong candidate to pitch on weekends thanks to an 86-90 mph fastball and good command of a three-pitch mix.

The Devils are also starting to see dividends on the recruiting trail. Brian Litwin, a senior from Hickory, N.C., who was playing for the Dirtbags team in at the World Wood Bat Association fall championship in Jupiter, Fla., is a projectable, athletic outfielder with good bat speed. He said he considered three other North Carolina schools but decided on Duke. McNally and Snedeker both have experience in professional ball, and Litwin said that was appealing.

"The academic side of it was a big part of it, and the coaching was another big part," Litwin said. "I just thought it was a place where I would improve as a baseball player. I want to be part of building the program."

Step By Step

Snedeker said a facility upgrade could be in the works for the Blue Devils in the next couple of years, and Boston College is breaking ground in the spring on a new facility across the street from its current park. The Eagles face a unique challenge as the lone Northern school in a conference full of warm-weather juggernauts. BC has finished with an overall record above .500 in each of its first two seasons in the ACC after leaving the Big East, but their cumulative conference mark is just 17-43.

"The first two years, we were playing in the ACC with a Big East lineup," Boston College recruiting coordinator Joe Hastings said. "When you go from the middle of the pack in the Big East to the best conference in the country, there's going to be an adjustment period."

The Eagles had four or fewer scholarships at their disposal during their days in the Big East, but by 2009 they will be fully funded. That will coincide with the opening of their new facility.

In the meantime, the 2008 Eagles will be young, with 13 freshmen on a 26-man roster.

Righthander Terry Doyle is back for his senior year, and this time the Eagles plan to keep him as a rotation anchor rather than move him back and forth from the bullpen, a practice that kept Doyle from getting into a set routine last season, Hastings said. Junior righty Dan Houston had a good summer in the Coastal Plain League and will bring his hard fastball and good curve to the rotation or the closer role. Three freshmen will vie for other starting spots, with hard-throwing Kevin Moran emerging this fall as a pleasant surprise thanks to his much-improved breaking ball.

The infield will be chock full of freshmen, with Garrett Smith manning shortstop, Mickey Wiswall at one of the corners and Matt Hamlet at second base. That means 2008 will be a learning process, but the Eagles will be a dangerous, experienced bunch by the time the new stadium opens and new funds arrive in 2009.

No one said catching the ACC's elite could be done overnight.

This story came from CSTV web site and thought I post it here.

Columbia, S.C. - South Carolina head baseball coach Ray Tanner met with the media last week to discuss fall baseball and his squad as it prepares for the 2008 season. The Gamecocks open up the schedule on Friday, Feb. 22 with a three-game series vs. East Carolina at Sarge Frye Field.

(On fall practice)
"I felt like we had a really good fall practice. I'm especially proud of the older guys and their work ethic. Guys that have been in the program for a while. They've been out playing in the summer and really didn't have to come out and prove themselves this fall. I felt like they worked hard and played with the type of enthusiasm and work ethic that we needed to have because of the younger players that we have in the program. Overall I thought it was a good fall for us."

"We're banged up a little bit. Reese (Havens) missed some time. (James) Darnell missed some time. They seem to be okay. We had a couple extra weeks this year compared to previous years because of the new legislation. We get a couple of extra weeks in the fall and we lose a couple of weeks in the spring. It was a good fall."

(On the play of the freshmen)
"Well, as we stand here on November 1st, it's the end of our fall team segment; we have two guys that are true freshmen that could get a chance to play right away. One, being Whit Merrifield. He came in being an infield/outfield guy that looks to have the early nod to play centerfield for us. Also Justin Hopper who we recruited as a pitcher/position player. We gave him an opportunity to see what he could do as a position player. He was a pretty successful hitter at every level he's played at, and had a good fall for us offensively. He's a guy that if we had to start today would probably start in leftfield. They have to come back out in the preseason workouts in January and February and prove themselves all over again. Those are the two freshmen that stand out who could get some immediate time."  We thought Merrifield would be a candidate for his athleticism and his ability to run, and the fact that we were probably going to move Andrew Crisp back to the infield. Now those two could flip-flop on occasion, but we like having the more veteran, experienced guy in the infield. I think Andrew's a true middle infielder. He has a very good hands and is a little older now, and I think it takes a little bit of the pressure off of Whit by putting him in the outfield. Justin Hopper is a guy that surprised us. We didn't expect him to swing the bat as well as he did. He's a good runner as well. We'll see how it goes, but like I said, November 1st, if I had to make a lineup, those two guys would be in it."

"There are more guys that can run. They can go from first to third. They can score from first on a ball in the alley. Merrifield if he can stay in the lineup, I think will lead the team in stolen bases. He's an exciting player. He has great genes. His dad was the best player in the history of baseball at Wake Forest. I think he got a cup of coffee in the big leagues. We like what he brings to the table and I think they will hit for average. They're not power guys. "

(On the pitchers)
Hindsight's 20/20, but we took some time off this fall from some of our veteran guys. (Mike) Cisco never threw a pitch. Blake Cooper never threw a pitch. Curtis Johnson threw one inning. (Will) Atwood threw two innings. Jay Brown only threw a couple. (Jordan) Costner did not throw. He's coming off an injury. Dyson throws his first bullpen today. We've got some guys that have been in the program and we expect to do good things for us that we didn't see. It gave the other guys the opportunity to pitch in scrimmages a lot. We've got to count on those guys when the season starts. Atwood, Cisco, we need Costner back out of the bullpen, and we'd like to get Dyson healthy so we can see what he can do. We've got a team that lineup wise, position player wise, defensively, we should be as good as anybody to be quite frank with you. I don't want to put pressure on these guys, but that's about as good as it gets in college baseball what we do defensively and offensively. The way we line up. Who knows if we'll hit .220 or .320 is the thing, but it's a good-looking lineup. Pitching wise, we need to make some jumps. Mike Cisco has won some big games for us here. I think he figured in the two Clemson wins last year. He's a quality pitcher. He's got to elevate his game. Will Atwood, he's got to elevate his game. Curtis Johnson, 31 appearances last year, did a nice job. He's got to be back there again for us. We need to have a healthy Jay Brown. Craig Thomas, a wildcard, a guy that's pretty good. He was hurt early in his career, but will get a chance to prove what he can do now. We need for him to be good. I don't think it's a situation those guys have to have era's under 2.00. I think offensively we'll give them run support, but we need for our pitching staff to elevate-individually and as a group.

(On who will be this year's closer)
It's a little bit unsettled, I think. You don't have a guy going in. I think Curtis Johnson will get some opportunities. I think Jordan Costner's a candidate. He's a little bit of a different look guy. He's a lot like (former Carolina pitcher) Chad Blackwell. He doesn't throw as hard, but I'm not sure how all that will play out. Sam Dyson is a hard thrower. If he's healthy, he can get to the mid-90's. We need to take a look at it. It could be a shared situation. We'll just see how it goes. Curtis Johnson will have the early opportunity. He had 31 appearances last year. He'll have the first look out of the bullpen.

(On why some pitchers didn't throw during the fall)
"I think I'm a guy that likes to work, work, work, and work. Sometimes you have to back away. I haven't been good at that. I know Coach Calvi was a proponent of giving those guys some time off. You're talking about fall, spring, and summer. Even in the big leagues guys take off in the winter. Those guys weren't taking any time off. They were pitching in the fall, pitching in the spring, pitching in the Cape Cod League in the summer. Your arm's not designed to throw a baseball, so we decided we need to shut these guys down a little bit. We wanted to give them some time to workout, get in the weight room and give them a chance to get their bodies back. Hopefully, the rest will do a lot for them. Last year, we ended up giving Cisco a week, week and a half off during the season. Hopefully, by giving him the fall off, we can avoid those types of situations. There comes a point when you need to give pitchers some time off."

(On whether this year's team will be a power hitting team)
"I don't know. I think we're going to hit some home runs. We have 74 home runs returning. I don't expect Darnell, Smoak to miss a beat. Disher at this point is better than he was a year ago. He had, what I would say, the best fall out of all the position players."

Here is the second part of my break down of the top college baseball players in the country.

First Basemen:

1: Brett Wallace  Arizona St  Jr

2: Yonder Alonso  Miami (Fla)  Jr

3: Dustin Ackley  North Carolina  So

4: Ryne White  Purdue  Jr

5: Justin Smoak  South Carolina  Jr

6: David Cooper  California  Jr

7: Aaron Baker  Oklahoma  So

8: Shaun Kort  Nevada  So

9: Darin Ruf  Creighton  Jr

10: C.J. Ziegler  Arizona   Sr

11: Kiko Vazquaz  Central Florida

12: Cody Decker  UCLA  Jr

13: Allan Dykstra  Wake Forest  Jr

14: Yan Gomes  Tennessee  So

15: Nate Recknagle  Michigan  Sr

This is the first of my break down of who are the top college baseball players in the country. Through out the week, I will be posting these rankings by position (Middle Infielders are grouped together). Then when the season starts, these rankings are going to be updated twice a month. Also, after the season starts, I will have short write ups of some of these players.  I know some people will agree with these rankings and other won't. I will even state that this is very hard to do and almost impossible to be 100% right. You are going to miss on some players but I still hope and think I do have one of the best player rankings around. The first one is going to be the top 15 catchers in the country.

 Catchers:

1:  Buster Posey  Florida St  Jr

2:  Petey Paramore  Arizona St  Jr

3:  Doug Hogan  Clemson  Sr

4:  Tommy Medica  Santa Clara  So

5:  Robert Stock  USC  So

6:  Tim Federowicz  North Carolina  Jr

7:  Preston Clark  Texas  Jr

8:  Richard Jones  The Citadel  So

9:  Tony Sanchez  Boston College  So

10:  Ryan Babineau  UCLA  Jr

11:  Joe Oliveira  Pacific  Jr

12:  Travis Howell  Long Beach St  Sr

13:  Mark Kelly  Southern Illinois  Jr

14:  Trevor Coleman  Missouri  So

15:  Josh Phegley  Indiana  So

This comes fron their offical website

The Lafayette baseball program is the beneficiary of major renovations that are taking place at the Metzgar Fields Athletic Complex.

McCracken Varsity House has undergone a complete refurbishing that includes new locker rooms for the 11 teams that occupy the building as well as locker rooms for game officials and visiting teams. The project, which began in the summer of 2007, is being funded through the generosity of alumni and friends of Lafayette.

The baseball locker room, named after alumnus and former baseball player Phil Bollman '60, includes open wood lockers, a flat screen television and new furniture. An 18-foot by 46-foot permanent canopy has been added to the front of the building to create a pavilion space for alumni events and post-game gatherings. Upgrades to the equipment and athletic training room were part of the remodel as were the additions of a conference room and team storage areas.

The infield at Hilton Rahn Field at the Class of 1978 Stadium is undergoing a complete renovation this fall. The project includes grading the subsurface of the infield, installing an irrigation system and placement of new sod and infield mix. The pitcher's mound and the home plate area will also be rebuilt. Work is ongoing and slated to be completed before the onset of winter and in time for the start of the 2008 season in March.

The infield rework follows more drastic changes that came prior to the 2004 season. The grandstand was completely reconfigured with permanent seating for 500, including 100 chair-back seats, a press box atop the bleachers and a new public address system. In the playing area, the dugouts were enlarged and renovated to include on-field storage areas, and a new backstop with netting was erected. Previously, the installation of a new outfield fence, warning track and scoreboard started the facility renovations.

The first game of the Texas Longhorn's fall world series ended in a tie. The Orange and White played to a 5-5 tie Wednesday afternoon at The Dell Diamond (Round Rock).

The White team drew first blood in the top of the first inning as Michael Torres scored on a wild pitch. The Orange team bounced back in the bottom of the inning by scoring 3 runs. Travis Tucker hit a leadoff homerun in that inning. The White team then trimmed the lead to 3-2 after Jeff Boes hit a solo home run in the top of the second. The White team then took the lead in the forth inning by the score of 5-3 when Cameron Rupp 3-run homer. The Orange team score 2 runs later in the game to even the score 5-5. That is how the game ended.

The Fall World Series continues with a 4 p.m. contest at The Dell Diamond.

Here is Sacramento State baseball schedule

2/22/2008 LOYOLA MARYMOUNT 2:00 PM
2/23/2008 LOYOLA MARYMOUNT 1:00 PM
2/24/2008 LOYOLA MARYMOUNT 1:00 PM
2/26/2008 SAN FRANCISCO 2:00 PM
2/29/2008 at Arizona  7:00 PM
3/1/2008 at Arizona  2:00 PM
3/2/2008 at Arizona  11:00 AM
3/6/2008 BRIGHAM YOUNG^ 2:00 PM
3/7/2008 PORTLAND^ 2:00 PM
3/8/2008 UTAH VALLEY STATE^ 2:00 PM
3/9/2008 UC DAVIS^ 2:00 PM
3/11/2008 PACIFIC 2:00 PM
3/14/2008 at San Jose State*  7:00 PM
3/15/2008 at San Jose State* (2)  1:00 PM
3/16/2008 at San Jose State*  1:00 PM
3/18/2008 at California  2:00 PM
3/21/2008 GONZAGA 2:00 PM
3/22/2008 GONZAGA 2:00 PM
3/23/2008 GONZAGA 1:00 PM
3/25/2008 STANFORD TBA
3/28/2008 HAWAI'I* 2:00 PM
3/29/2008 HAWAI'I* (2) 11:00 AM
3/30/2008 HAWAI'I* 1:00 PM
4/1/2008 UC DAVIS 2:00 PM
4/3/2008 at Louisiana Tech*  6:00 PM
4/4/2008 at Louisiana Tech*  6:00 PM
4/5/2008 at Louisiana Tech* (2)  1:00 PM
4/11/2008 SAN JOSE STATE* 2:00 PM
4/12/2008 SAN JOSE STATE* (2) 11:00 AM
4/13/2008 SAN JOSE STATE* 1:00 PM
4/18/2008 HAWAI'I HILO 2:00 PM
4/19/2008 HAWAI'I HILO 1:00 PM
4/20/2008 HAWAI'I HILO 1:00 PM
4/22/2008 at San Francisco  2:00 PM
4/25/2008 NEW MEXICO STATE* 1:00 PM
4/26/2008 NEW MEXICO STATE* (2) 11:00 AM
4/27/2008 NEW MEXICO STATE* 1:00 PM
4/29/2008 at Santa Clara  5:00 PM
5/2/2008 at Hawai'i*  6:00 PM
5/3/2008 at Hawai'i*  6:00 PM
5/4/2008 at Hawai'i* (2)  1:00 PM
5/9/2008 at Nevada*  6:00 PM
5/10/2008 at Nevada* (2)  2:00 PM
5/11/2008 at Nevada*  1:00 PM
5/13/2008 at UC Davis  2:30 PM
5/16/2008 FRESNO STATE* 2:30 PM
5/17/2008 FRESNO STATE* (2) 11:00 AM
5/18/2008 FRESNO STATE* 1:00 PM
5/22/2008 - 5/25/2008 at WAC Tournament (Rushton, La.)  All Day

^2008 River City Classic
*Western Athletic Conference games

The 2008 California baseball team, featuring returning 2007 All-Pac-10 performers Tyson Ross and David Cooper, will start their regular 2008 season with three home games at Evans Diamond during the Feb. 22-24, 2008 weekend.
On Feb. 22, Cal plays Kansas State at 1:30 p.m.; on Saturday, Feb. 23 the Bears will play a doubleheader against Utah Valley State beginning at 11 a.m.; and on Sunday, Feb. 24, Cal will play Kansas State at 1 p.m. in a single game.

The Bears play seven teams that were in the 2007 NCAA Regionals, including two-time defending national champion Oregon State, who will visit Evans Diamond Apr. 4-6, 2008. Cal also travels to San Diego, Feb. 28-Mar. 2 to compete at the University of San Diego Tournament, and to Minneapolis, Minn. Mar. 7-9 to compete in the University of Minnesota Tournament. Here is their full schedule for the 2008 season.

2008 CALIFORNIA BASEBALL SCHEDULE

2/22/08 Friday Kansas State Berkeley 1:30 p.m.
2/23/08 Saturday Utah Valley State (DH) Berkeley 11:00 a.m.
2/24/08 Sunday Kansas State Berkeley 1:00 p.m.
2/28/08 Thursday vs. Fresno State! San Diego, Calif. 1:00 p.m.
2/29/08 Friday vs. Missouri! San Diego, Calif. 1:00 p.m.
3/1/08 Saturday vs. San Diego State! San Diego, Calif. 6:00 p.m.
3/2/08 Sunday at University of San Diego! San Diego, Calif. 1:00 p.m.
3/4/08 Tuesday Stanford Berkeley 1:30 p.m.
3/7/08 Friday vs. Northern Iowa@ Minneapolis, Minn. 1:00 p.m.
3/8/08 Saturday at Minnesota@ Minneapolis, Minn. 6:30 p.m.
3/9/08 Sunday vs. New Mexico@ Minneapolis, Minn. 11:00 a.m.
3/11/08 Tuesday San Francisco Berkeley 2:00 p.m.
3/14/08 Friday Loyola Marymount Berkeley 2:00 p.m.
3/15/08 Saturday Loyola Marymount (DH) Berkeley 11:00 a.m.
3/16/08 Sunday Loyola Marymount Berkeley 1:00 p.m.
3/18/08 Tuesday Sacramento State Berkeley 2:00 p.m.
3/20/08 Thursday at Washington State* Pullman, Wash. 6:00 p.m.
3/21/08 Friday at Washington State* Pullman, Wash. 6:00 p.m.
3/22/08 Saturday at Washington State* Pullman, Wash. 1:00 p.m.
3/25/08 Tuesday at Santa Clara Santa Clara, Calif. 6:00 p.m.
3/26/08 Wednesday Pacific Berkeley 3:00 p.m.
3/28/08 Friday Long Beach State Berkeley 2:30 p.m.
3/29/08 Saturday Long Beach State Berkeley 1:00 p.m.
3/30/08 Sunday Long Beach State Berkeley 1:00 p.m.
4/1/08 Tuesday at San Francisco San Francisco, Calif. 2:00 p.m.
4/2/08 Wednesday Fresno State Berkeley 2:30 p.m.
4/4/08 Friday Oregon State* Berkeley 2:30 p.m.
4/5/08 Saturday Oregon State* Berkeley 1:00 p.m.
4/6/08 Sunday Oregon State* Berkeley 1:00 p.m.
4/7/08 Monday Stanford Berkeley 2:30 p.m.
4/9/08 Wednesday Santa Clara Berkeley 2:30 p.m.
4/11/08 Friday at USC* Los Angeles, Calif. 6:00 p.m.
4/12/08 Saturday at USC* Los Angeles, Calif. 1:00 p.m.
4/13/08 Sunday at USC* Los Angeles, Calif. 1:00 p.m.
4/15/08 Tuesday at UC Davis Davis, Calif. 2:30 p.m.
4/16/08 Wednesday at Pacific Stockton, Calif. 2:00 p.m.
4/18/08 Friday Washington* Berkeley 2:30 p.m.
4/19/08 Saturday Washington* Berkeley 1:00 p.m.
4/20/08 Sunday Washington* Berkeley 1:00 p.m.
4/22/08 Tuesday Cal Poly Berkeley 2:30 p.m.
4/25/08 Friday at Arizona State* Tempe, Ariz. 7:00 p.m.
4/26/08 Saturday at Arizona State* Tempe, Ariz. 1:00 p.m.
4/27/08 Sunday at Arizona State* Tempe, Ariz. 1:00 p.m.
4/30/08 Wednesday at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Calif. 6:00 p.m.
5/2/08 Friday Arizona* Berkeley 2:30 p.m.
5/3/08 Saturday Arizona* Berkeley 1:00 p.m.
5/4/08 Sunday Arizona* Berkeley 1:00 p.m.
5/6/08 Tuesday UC Davis Berkeley 2:30 p.m.
5/9/08 Friday at Stanford* Stanford, Calif. 6:00 p.m.
5/10/08 Saturday at Stanford* Stanford, Calif. 1:00 p.m.
5/11/08 Sunday at Stanford* Stanford, Calif. 1:00 p.m.
5/23/08 Friday UCLA* Berkeley 2:30 p.m.
5/24/08 Saturday UCLA* Berkeley 1:00 p.m.
5/25/08 Sunday UCLA* Berkeley 1:00 p.m.

! Denotes University of San Diego Tournament, San Diego, Calif.
@ Denotes University of Minnesota Tournament, Minneapolis, Minn.
* Denotes Pac-10 Game