College World Series Tickets

LSU trying to recapture glory years

Remember the days when the words "Geaux Tigers" could be heard and seen at Rosenblatt Stadium more often than a cotton candy vendor?

It's been a while since the fans who are arguably the best in all of college baseball were able to make the trip to Rosenblatt Stadium and cheer on their beloved LSU Tigers at the College World Series. The Tigers last graced Omaha with their presence in 2004 and have struggled in the past few seasons to get back into the discussion among the top baseball teams in the country.

After Skip Bertman retired, the Tigers struggled under longtime assistant coach Smoke Laval. In 2005, the Tigers failed to win an NCAA regional for the first time in nine years. A year later, the Tigers missed the NCAA tournament altogether for the first time in 18 years. Laval resigned and Paul Mainieri took over a young team in 2007, one that failed to even reach the Southeastern Conference tournament for the first time since 1984.

So there's really no place for the Tigers to go but up at this point -- and they seem to be heading in that direction early in the 2008 campaign.

LSU started the year 11-3 and are playing for the final time in historic Alex Box Stadium, where the Tigers have led the nation in baseball fan attendance for the last 12 years. This year, the Tigers are playing the kind of baseball LSU fans grew accustomed to while Bertman led the Tigers to five College World Series titles, the last coming in 2000.

Players like outfielder Jared Mitchell, second baseman Ryan Schimpf and catcher Sean Ochinko have helped guide this young, improving team. The addition of junior college transfers Matt Clark and Matt Gaudet has also sparked the Tiger offense early in the season.

LSU had long been one of the marquee teams in the SEC. The lackluster finishes of the previous two seasons has taken some of the sharpness out of their bite, but the Tigers appear to be back on the prowl and looking to be one of several teams in the conference who could be in the hunt for a trip to Omaha later this summer.

And if they make it back, it will seem like old times -- both for LSU fans and the people of Omaha who have long enjoyed sharing the good times of the College World Series with their friends from the Bayou.

Whether you're an LSU fan, or just a fan of college baseball, make sure you secure your tickets for the 2008 College World Series now with Ticket Express -- where no College World Series game is ever sold out.

College Baseball Hall of Fame class announced

Twelve people were named Wednesday as the 2008 class of inductees to the National College Baseball Hall Of Fame.

Nine recent players and coaches, along with three vintage-era nominees, were named to this year's class. To be honored, players must have completed one year at a four-year institution and achieved All-American (post-1947) or All-League (pre-1947) or earned other national honors. Coaches must have won at least 300 games on won 65 percent of games they coached.

This year's honorees include a number of players and coaches who reached the College World Series at Rosenblatt Stadium. They include:

Steve Arlin (Ohio State pitcher), Eddie Bane (Arizona State pitcher), Floyd Bannister (Arizona State pitcher), Neal Heaton (Miami Fla., pitcher), Burt Hooton (Texas pitcher), Dick Howser (Florida State shortstop and coach), Ben McDonald (LSu pitcher), Greg Swindell (Texas pitcher) and Gary Ward (Oklahoma State and New Mexico State coach). Vintage-era inductees are Owen Carroll (Holy Cross and Seton Hall coach), Billy Disch (Texas, St. Edward's and Sacred Heart coach) and Jackie Robinson (UCLA and Pasadena Junior College infielder).

Nominees are selected by a group of more than 90 coaches, media and previous inductees. Honorees will be recognized at the College Baseball Foundation's annual celebration July 2-4 in Lubbock, Texas.

Road To Rosenblatt: Arizona State

One team that seems to be a regular at Rosenblatt Stadium every summer is five-time College World Series champion Arizona State.

The Sun Devils have been one of college baseball's premiere programs for some time and have been the training ground for some of baseball's most feared hitters, including Bob Horner, Barry Bonds and Reggie Jackson.

Arizona State has made 22 appearances in the College World Series, but has not come away with a title since 1981. The last time they were in the finals was in 1998, when they lost home run derby to Pac 10 counterpart USC 21-14.

Last year, the Sun Devils were one of the favorites to win it all, but came up on the losing end of a 9-8 extra-inning affair to Cinderella team UC Irvine.

Many of the key players are back for the Sun Devils in 2008, and they are ranked at or near the top in most of the major rankings. They are led by slugger Brett Wallace, who led the team in home runs (16), RBI's (78) and batting average (.404) in winning the Pac 10 triple crown.

Wallace is one of four key hitters back from last year, including Ike Davis (.349, 8 HR, 61 RBI), Kiel Rolling (.356, 15 HR, 63 RBI) and Petey Paramore (.329) that directs an offense that has not been shutout in several years.

Arizona State also has a very strong pitching stafff returning, including 13-game winners Josh Satow and Mike Leake and Jason Jarvis, who had a team-best 11 saves.

The SUn Devils are off to a very good start and will no doubt be one of the teams to keep an eye on for the 2008 College World Series at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb.

Get your College World Series tickets now at Ticket Express -- where no College World Series game is ever sold out.

Coach Winkin Moved to Rehab

John Winkin, the coach who took the University of Maine Black Bears to six College World Series, has entered a rehabilitation center after suffering a stroke a little over a week ago.  Winkin is 87 years old, and currently coaches at Husson College in Maine, according to The Bangor News.  There is no news yet on the specific condition that Winkin is in for privacy reasons.  We hope that John gets well soon, and our thoughts go out to his family.

Winkin was a hot shot coach when he was coaching for Maine.  Not only did he take Maine to six College World Series (placing 3rd twice), but he boasted a total win-loss record of 1043-703-8.  Winkin was known for being a very intense coach with a lot of attitude.  Not surprisingly, Black Bear players were known for being...you guessed it, very intense with a lot of attitude.

US Team Names Coaching Staff

It may not be a team that plays in the College World Series, but the US National Team is probably the most important team in college baseball.  And USA Baseball just announced that Oral Roberts head coach Rob Walton will lead the team as field manager in the summer of 2008.

The US National Team is usually made up of current college baseball players or players who have recently graduated.  Last year, four players from the National Team played in the College World Series including Brett Wallace and Petey Paramore of Arizona State University.

Rob Walton is entering his sixth year as Oral Robert's head coach and has put up the best winning percentage at the school.  He helped the National Team in 2005 as an assistant head coach.

We will find out the 2008 US National Team on June 24.

Serrano Graduated From College? Kind of.

Dave Serrano, the former UC Irvine head coach who took his team to the College World Series last year, is taking some heat from his new University (Cal State Fullerton) for not getting a proper college degree. 

According to the Daily Titan, Serrano got a BA degree from Trinity College and University.  So what is required to obtain a degree at Trinity College and University, well, apparently all it takes is "life experience" and $300.  Not bad huh?

Now officials at Cal State Fullerton are raising a fuss about the college degree.  Some, like the Athletic director Brian Quinn think that experience is the most important thing.  He said that how he learned to be a coach is more important than a college degree.  He said learning coaching is "not a textbook thing."

I think if they are going on the NCAA thought that sports should be mixed with academics then Serrano should need a degree before he teaches.  If they really want the players to care about proper education, I think the coaches should at least have a proper education as well.

Irvine Nabs Gillespie as Coach

Not surprisingly, former USC coach Mike Gillespie has been hired by UC Irvine to guide them back to the College World Series in Omaha.  According to the LA Times Gillespie will take Dave Serrano's vacant spot in time for fall practices with the Anteaters.

Gillespie is no stranger to winning teams.  He has guided 4 teams to the College World Series and won one national title with USC.  He will take over for the Anteaters at a very difficult time.  Not only did coach Dave Serrano leave but so did the athletic director and a handful of seniors that played a vital role for the Anteaters last season.

Gillespie is leaving his job coaching a Class-A team for the New York Yankees.  Even at 67 he has still been successful.  It just goes to prove that age has nothing to do with coaching (look at Joe Paterno!).

Mike Gillespie to Coach UC Irvine?

Former USC coach Mike Gillespie has been rumored to be pursuing the UC Irvine coaching job that just became vacant after successful coach Dave Serrano left for his dream team Cal State Fullerton.  As reported by the OC Register, Gillespie sent in his resume to UC Irvine this last week. 

The Anteaters made it to the College World Series for the first time in school history last season.  They took a hard blow after their athletic director retired and soon after coach Dave Serrano did too.

Eater nation can give a sigh of relief (at least for now).  The future of the team did not look bright until word that Gillespie had sent in his application.  Gillespie, 67, coached USC for 20 before retiring in 2006.  He led the Trojans to four College World Series including one championship in '98.

No decision has been made yet on whether UC Irvine will hire Gillespie, but one can assume that not many other coaches applying for the job have as much respect as Mike Gillespie.

Oregon Hires Coach

Former Cal State Fullerton coach George Horton, who has led his team to six College World Series, has signed a five year deal with the Oregon Ducks to coach their newly reinstated baseball team.  Oregon recently reinstated its baseball program after a 26 year absence.  The Ducks will not start playing until the 2009 school year.

Horton has had huge success in his ten years with Cal State Fullerton.  He led Fullerton to four of the last five College World Series and won the National Championship with the Titans in 2004.  Horton has been very vocal about his ambitions with the Ducks and does not seemed worried about the challenges he faces starting a team from scratch.  In a recent article by the Oregon Statesman he said he plans to  "get to Omaha in very short order with this leadership and this opportunity."

UCI Coach Talking to Oregon About Coaching Job

The newly resurrected Oregon baseball program is talking with Baseball America's Coach of the Year and College World Series veteran Dave Serrano.  Serrano led the otherwise unknown UC Irvine baseball team to an unprecedented fourth place finish at this year's College World Series.

As reported by the Daily Pilot, Serrano is in talks with Oregon Athletic Director Pat Kilkenny about taking over as head coach for the team that has sat dormant for 26 years but will return for the 2008 season.

Oregon has a bigger budget to woo Serrano but it will have a difficult time convincing him to leave a successful team to come to a brand new team with only four full scholarships to give out.  Serrano has not made a decision yet, but says he owes it to his family to look at the Oregon job seriously...whatever that means.

Pitching Guru Tom House Added to USC Staff

Tom House will return to his alma mater as a pitching coach for USC's 2008 season.  He will join one of the most storied programs in college baseball which has the most College World Series wins in the history of college baseball. 

House was drafted to the Atlanta Braves in 1967 and quickly advanced to the pros in 1971.  He is best remembered for openly admitting to using steroids during the steroid fiasco with congress.  He said that he started experimenting with them in the early 70's and said that at least 6 guys from every pitching staff he knew used steroids.  He was also made famous by catching Hank Aaron's 715th home run that broke Babe Ruth's record.  He ran the ball from the left field bullpen to Aaron in the historic moment in baseball history.

House is a storied pitching coach.  He coached at many MLB teams and mentored pitchers Nolan Ryan as well as Mark Prior.  He is known to use unusual coaching techniques and runs his own sports clinic as well as a number of youth pitching camps.  He has written several baseball coaching books as well as an autobiography.

ECU Head Coach Earns Contract Extension

East Carolina University's head baseball coach Billy Godwin received a raise and a contract extension that will guarantee his spot until 2011.  Godwin started coaching East Carolina in 2005 and has posted a 73-49 record in just two seasons with the Pirates.

Goodwin's eventual goal is to land his team in Omaha for the College World Series.  He had a chance this last season while playing in the Chapel Hill  regional as the number two seed.  Unfortunately, Goodwin's team lost to West Carolina to be knocked out, but not before they posted a close 11-10 loss to the eventual College World Series runner up North Carolina.

Western Carolina Hires New Head Coach

It was just announced that Bobby Moranda will become the new head coach at Western Carolina for the upcoming season.  After spending six years with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets as the pitching coach, Moranda will assume the head coach position with Western Carolina.  Moranda will replace former head coach Todd Raleigh who recently moved to the University of Tennessee.

While a pitching coach at Georgia Tech he helped lead the team to four top ten finishes and also to two College World Series'.  He has coached a wide variety of pitchers that have been successful including Matt Wieters who was selected 5th overall in the 2007 draft.

Moranda could guide Western Carolina to their first College World Series appearances in the coming years.  He has the skills to turn his new team into a surprise team such as UC Irvine was in this year's CWS.

Mitch Gaspard Moves to Alabama

Northwestern State Head Coach Mitch Gaspard followed in the footsteps of many NWS coaches before him and left for a Division I school in the SEC.  Gaspard resigned from Northwestern State to become the assistant coach at Alabama.  Gaspard will join another former Demons head coach at Alabama by the name of Jim Wells.

Gaspard has worked with Wells in the past.  Gaspard worked under Wells at Northwestern from 1993-1994 and also at Alabama from 1995-2002.  He left to be the head coach at Northwestern for the past 5 years but has decided to return to the Crimson Tide as the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.

Michigan State Hires Danny Lopazze as New Assistant Coach

As reported by cstv.com, Michigan State hired Danny Lopazze to be the new assistant coach for the Spartans.  Lopazze was a volunteer coach for in the last two seasons and ran the youth camps at the University.  He joins Assistant Coach Tony Baldwin and Head Coach David Grewe on the staff.

Lopazze has worked one-on-one with many successful Spartan players over the past two years.  He tutored outfielder Ryan Basham who went on to garner First Team All-Big 10 team honors.  He also worked with first baseman Steve Gerstenberger who became one of the best defenders in the conference after beginning with the Spartans as one of the weakest defenders.  Coach Grewe hopes that his success as a one on one tutor will carry over to his team skills.

NCAA Changes Rules, Coaches Get Angry

The NCAA recently put into effect a number of different rule changes that could effect what teams we see in the College World Series in the future.  Some of the new changes are drastic, and coaches around the country are speaking their minds.

Among the largest changes is the transfer rule.  Previously, a player could transfer to a different school and still play that same year.  Under the new rule, players that transfered would have to sit out a year before they could start with the new school.

Some other changes include limiting the number of scholarship players to 27 and limiting the total number of players on a team to 35.  This was all done to increase academic performance among athletes, but some athletes and coaches are mad.

Mississippi State coach Ron Polk has spoken out about the rule changes and he thinks they are ridiculous.  He says that the reason baseball has seen less success academically is that players do not have enough scholarship money.  Currently NCAA baseball teams can only offer 11.7 full scholarships.  Polk says that because there is so much of a limit on scholarships in baseball, the kids can't afford full class schedules or summer school that other NCAA athletes can.

Former ASU Coach Jim Brock Is Inducted into Hall of Fame

The man who took the Arizona State Sun Devils to 13 College World Series and won two national championships was inducted into college baseball's Hall of Fame on Independence Day.  ASU's Jim Brock became one of only five coaches to ever be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Brock coached the Sun Devils from 1970 to 1994 and won the Pac-10 coach of the year award five times.  Shortly after the 1994 College World Series, Brock died from the cancer with which he had been struggling with for a long time.  Brock's final record was 1100-440 making it no surprise that Brock received the award.

Arizona State Hires New Assistant Coach

Arizona State hired Josh Holliday as their new assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.  Holliday is leaving the Georgia Tech Bulldogs where he also served as recruiting coordinator for three seasons.

Holliday comes from a baseball family.  Josh was a standout player at Oklahoma State in the 90's.  He helped the Cowboys reach the 1999 College World Series and was inducted into the Oklahoma State Hall of Fame.  His father Tom has coached at ASU and Oklahoma state and is now the head coach at NC State.  His brother Matt is a star outfielder for the Colorado Rockies.

UC Irvine Coach Named Coach of the Year

UC Irvine Coach Dave Serrano was named coach of the year by Baseball America after taking his team to the College World Series this year.  His team ended up ranked 4th nationally at the end of the season and became the crowd favorites in Omaha for the series.

Coach Serrano was brought in last year to a program that took a 10 year break only to return in 2001.  He has taken a professional approach to coaching the Anteaters and expects a lot from his team.  Every time the team practices he wants everything done perfectly.  He even counts the times the ball hits the ground during pre-practice catch and makes the players run every time the ball hits the ground.

Serrano has no doubt earned this honor and we wish him good luck on getting his Eaters to Omaha for a second time next season.

U of San Diego's Coach Surfs to Success

The University of San Diego looks like a shoe in for the College World Series  Much of the success of the program is do in large part to Coach Rich Hill.  Coach Hill has had great success this year with a 41-15 record with USD.  Hill has 307 wins since 1999 and has been looked at by athletic directors at large state schools.

Hill has no plans of leaving San Diego though.  According to the Omaha World Herald Hill enjoys the lifestyle of San Diego too much to leave.  Hill is a surfer at heart and is only 14 minutes away from the coast at his office, perfect for an afternoon break.  Look for USD to make a splash at this years College World Series here in Omaha.