Showing posts tagged “UCLA”
Mike Potter ·
19 Mar 2010, 4:30 PM ·
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CAMERON INDOOR STADIUM/DURHAM Duke begins its 16th straight appearance in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament on Saturday afternoon, and Joanne P. McCallie’s Blue Devils have one benefit they’ll have for the first time since 2004.
They’re starting the tournament on their home floor.
Duke (26-5), which is ranked No. 6 nationally, has the No. 2 seed in the Memphis Region and will take on No. 15 seed Hampton (20-11) in a 2:30 p.m. game at Cameron.
It’s the second game of a doubleheader, as No. 7 seed LSU (20-9) will face No. 10 seed Hartford (27-4) in the noon game, with the winners squaring off at 7 p.m. Monday night.
Plenty of tickets are available.
Duke isn’t the only Triangle ACC team playing its first-round game Saturday, as No. 10 seed UNC (19-11) will take on No. 7 seed and nationally No. 18-ranked Gonzaga (27-4) in the Sacramento Regional in Seattle at 10:30 p.m. The No. 10 seed is the Tar Heels’ lowest NCAA seed ever.
No. 9 seed N.C. State (20-13) will play its first-round game on Sunday night against No. 8 seed UCLA (24-8) in Minneapolis in the first round of the Kansas City Regional.
Duke and Hampton have one thing in common that the other teams at Cameron don’t, and it’s not because they’re blue-clad teams from well-regarded private schools in neighboring states.
They both won their conference tournaments - in locations about half an hour apart, as the Blue Devils won the ACC in Greensboro and the Pirates won the MEAC in Winston-Salem.
“We’re obviously really proud to host this wonderful NCAA Tournament, and we’re grateful to a lot of people at Duke that made this possible,” said McCallie, whose team last season played its NCAA games at Michigan State where she was the former coach and lost to the Spartans in the second round. “That’s just a great thing for Duke, and it’s really reflective of the long tradition and history here.”
The Blue Devils will be taking on a Pirate club in its first season under David Six, who began the campaign as interim head coach and has earned a three-year contract.
Hampton is 0-3 in first-round NCAA games at the Division I level, but won the NCAA Division II title in 1988.
“This is hallowed ground in terms of basketball, Cameron Indoor Stadium,” said Six, one of whose assistants is former N.C. Central point guard and assistant coach Annitra Cole. “Everybody’s heard about it or seen it on TV. But at the end of the day the court’s 94 feet, the baskets are 10 feet off the ground. So that’s what I’ve told my young ladies, and we’re ready to go. I just think that we can’t get caught up. We’re happy to be here; don’t get me wrong. We celebrated that we’re here, but now that we’re here we want to stay. It’s like getting into a party and then getting put out. We want to dance a little while, so let’s try that.”
Duke, of course, would like to believe it can go a long way in the tournament.
“I just think we have to be focused, stick to our game, and play the way that’s made us successful,” senior forward Joy Cheek (pictured) said. “Play defense and make the hustle plays. In the tournament everyone has played 30-plus games, so every game is not going to be pretty - it’s the team that wants it more. And we have to want it more that our opponent each game. So if we want to make a deep run in the tournament - which I think we’re more than capable of doing - we have to go out and play like every game is our last game.” Continue reading »
ACC, Basketball, Duke, N.C. Central, N.C. State, UNC-Chapel Hill, Women's Basketball Alana Beard, Annitra Cole, Cetera DeGraffenreid, Courtney Vandersloot, Gonzaga, Hampton Pirates, Hartford Hawks, Heather Bowman, Italee Lucas, Jasmine Thomas, Jericka Jenkins, Joanne McCallie, Joanne P. McCallie, Joy Cheek, Kelly Graves, Krystal Thomas, Laura Broomfield, Lindsey Harding, Louisiana State, MEAC, Quanneisha Perry, Sylvia Hatchell, UCLA, Vivian Frierson
Mike Potter ·
15 Mar 2010, 9:56 PM ·
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N.C. State's Marissa Kastanek dribbles up court as Duke's Karima Christmas defends during the ACC Tournament championship game. (Photo by Rob Rowe)
BACKYARD BISTRO/RALEIGH Kellie Harper couldn’t remember exactly when she had been in such a situation before.
Back when the N.C. State women’s basketball coach was a point guard at Tennessee the Lady Vols - who won three NCAA titles during her career - were pretty much in the NCAA Tournament before the season started. Then during her five seasons as head coach at Western Carolina and three seasons as an assistant at Chattanooga before that, Southern Conference teams knew they had to win the conference tournament or they might earn a bid to the WNIT.
But the Wolfpack (20-13) has been on the NCAA “bubble” ever since losing the ACC championship game to Duke eight days ago, although most of the bracketologists had N.C. State in the field.
Harper and her team gathered with about 300 fans on Monday night to watch the Selection Special on ESPN that announced the 64 competing teams.
Continue reading »
ACC, Basketball, Duke, N.C. Central, N.C. State, UNC-Chapel Hill, Women's Basketball Amber White, Cetera DeGraffenreid, Chattanooga, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Gonzaga, Hampton Pirates, Hartford, Jasmine Thomas, Joanne P. McCallie, Joy Cheek, Kellie Harper, Louisiana State, Marissa Kastanek, Michigan State, Nebraska Cornhuskers, Nikitta Gartrell, Portland State, Southern Conference, Sylvia Hatchell, Texas A&M, UCLA, Virginia Cavaliers, Western Carolina
Mike Potter ·
26 Jul 2009, 10:47 PM ·
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Start up that classic ’70s song from “Queen.”
USA Baseball’s National Team has won the World Baseball Challenge.
Drew Pomeranz (pictured) of Ole Miss took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, helping his team avenge an earlier defeat in an 8-1 pounding of Germany in the championship game in Prince George, B.C.
After the Germans scratched out a run in the first, the USA dominated the rest of the way.
Blake Forsythe of Tennessee tied the game in the bottom of the second with an RBI single. Then in the third, Rice’s Rick Hague added an RBI single and Texas-Arlington’s Michael Choice a solo homer over the left field fence.
The lead went to 6-1 in the fourth on a two-run double from Florida State’s Tyler Holt. Then in the eighth, Miami’s Yasmani Grandal and Middle Tennessee’s Bryce Brentz added solo homers.
Choice, Grandal, Pomeranz and UCLA’s Gerrit Cole were named to the all-tournament team. Choice earned the home-run hitting award with three while Hague took the best hitter award with a .474 average.
Team USA finished its season with a 19-5 record, with all five losses to teams from Eurasia.
The next over-18 USA team to play before the public will be the professional World Cup team, which will take on Canada for a three-game series in Cary beginning Sept. 3.
ACC, Baseball, USA Baseball Blake Forsythe, British Columbia, Bryce Brentz, Canada, Drew Pomeranz, Florida State, Germany, Gerrit Cole, Miami Hurricanes, Michael Choice, Middle Tennessee, Mississippi Rebels, Ole Miss, Prince George, Queen, Rice Owls, Rick Hague, Tennessee Volunteers, Texas-Arlington, Tyler Holt, UCLA, World Baseball Challenge, World Cup, Yasmani Grandal
Mike Potter ·
25 Jul 2009, 1:16 AM ·
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Gerrit Cole (pictured) delivered the goods just when USA Baseball’s National Team needed it.
The big right-hander out of UCLA fired a two-hitter late Friday night, leading his team to a 1-0 victory over Canada and a berth in Sunday’s championship game of the World Baseball Challenge in Prince George, B.C.
The USA, which finished with only three hits of its own, got its run in the bottom of the second. Miami’s Yasmani Grandal hit a two-out single, and then scored on a triple from Arkansas’ Andy Wilkins.
Cole struck out seven, walking one batter and hitting two and never allowing a runner to reach third. He struck out the side in the ninth inning.
Jordan Rawlyk pitched four innings for Canada while Eric Brown fired the last four.
The game was marred by an incident in the eighth inning, when the Canucks’ Nic Lendvoy slid hard into Cal State-Fullerton’s Christian Colon during the shortstop’s successful turn of a 5-6-3 double play. The benches cleared, albeit with no punches thrown, and Team USA declined to participate in a post-game handshake line with Colon still on a stretcher and undergoing treatment.
The title game is Sunday at 7 p.m. (EDT) with Ole Miss’ Drew Pomeranz expected to pitch for the USA in the team’s final game of the season. The other team in the final will be determined Saturday, when Germany and British Columbia square off for the right to play Canada for the title-game berth.
ACC, Baseball, USA Baseball Andy Wilkins, Arkansas Razorbacks, British Columbia, Cal State-Fullerton, Canada, Christian Colon, Drew Pomeranz, Eric Brown, Germany, Gerrit Cole, Jordan Rawlyk, Miami Hurricanes, Mississippi Rebels, Nic Lendvoy, Ole Miss, Prince George, UCLA, World Baseball Challenge, Yasmani Grandal
Mike Potter ·
23 Jul 2009, 10:41 PM ·
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Now they’re on a roll again.
USA Baseball’s National Team won its third straight game, walloping British Columbia 12-2 in a contest stopped by the mercy rule after eight innings, to earn the top seed for the medal round of the World Baseball Challenge in Prince George, B.C.
Rice’s Rick Hague, Middle Tennessee’s Bryce Brentz (pictured) and Texas-Arlington’s Michael Choice each homered during the big fifth-inning rally for the Red, White and Blue.
B.C. took a 2-0 lead off Cody Wheeler of Coastal Carolina as Devon Franklin hit a solo shot in the first and Mike Collins added another in the fourth.
The USA, batting in the bottom of each frame, evened the score in the fourth on an RBI double from Arkansas’ Andy Wilkins and a wild pitch by Corey Parsons.
The winners then exploded in the fifth as Hague blasted a solo shot, Brentz a two-run tater and Choice another solo clout for a 6-2 lead.
Wheeler (3-0) pitched seven full innings, striking out 10.
The USA will play its first medal-round game Friday night at 10 (EDT) against the No. 2 seed, Canada’s National Team, with UCLA’s Gerrit Cole on the hill. The winner will get an automatic spot in Sunday’s title game.
Baseball, USA Baseball Andy Wilkins, Arkansas Razorbacks, British Columbia, Bryce Brentz, Canada, Coastal Carolina, Cody Wheeler, Corey Parsons, Devon Franklin, Gerrit Cole, Michael Choice, Middle Tennessee, Mike Collins, Prince George Axemen, Rice Owls, Rick Hague, Texas-Arlington, UCLA, World Baseball Challenge
Mike Potter ·
21 Jul 2009, 9:34 AM ·
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The Germans are apparently a lot better at baseball than most Americans might think.
Former Minnesota Twins farmhand Tim Henkenjohann (pictured) fired a solid 8 2/3 innings while teammates blasted three home runs, leading Germany to a 6-3 win over USA Baseball’s National Team in the World Baseball Challenge late Monday night in Prince George, British Columbia.
The USA is 1-1 so far in the six-team event, which includes three Canadian squads, while the Germans are 2-1. The tournament consists of a round-robin, moving on to the elimination round on Friday with the title game on Sunday at 7 (EDT).
Jendrick Speer had a solo homer and Simon Guerhing a two-run shot off Kansas’ T.J. Walz in the fourth inning to give the Germans the lead for good.
The Americans scored on an error in the fifth, but could get no closer.
Germany’s Michael Franke added a two-run homer in the sixth off Louisville’s Tony Zych, then made it 6-1 in the eighth on a balk from UCLA’s Trevor Bauer.
Miami’s Yasmani Grandal and Arizona State’s Matt Newman hit solo homers in the ninth to chase Henkenjohann before Martin Almstetter got the save.
Tonight at 10 (EDT) the USA will take on The Bahamas (0-3), with the Citadel’s Asher Wojciechowski on the hill.
ACC, Baseball, USA Baseball Arizona State, Bahamas, British Columbia, Canada, Jendrick Speer, Kansas Jayhawks, Louisville Cardinals, Matt Newman, Miami Hurricanes, Michael Franke, Minnesota Twins, Prince George, Simon Guerhing, T.J. Walz, The Citadel, Tim Henkenjohann, Tony Zych, Trevor Bauer, UCLA, World Baseball Challenge, Yasmani Grandal
Mike Potter ·
15 Jul 2009, 10:23 PM ·
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It’s all coming down to one last game.
Japanese pitching combined for 14 strikeouts, leading the home team to an 8-3 win over USA Baseball’s National Team in Game 4 of their 37th annual Collegiate Friendship Series in Tsuruoka.
The result meant Thursday’s Game 5, at 5 a.m. (EDT) at Tokyo’s Jungu Stadium, will determine the winner of the series.
The Japanese took a 3-0 lead off UCLA’s Trevor Bauer (1-1). Takahiro Araki hit a two-run single in the first and Shota Ishimine added an RBI single in the second.
Tennessee’s Blake Forsythe (pictured) made it 3-1 with an RBI single in the third, but the Americans would get no closer.
Shingo Kamegai’s two-run homer in the fourth was the biggest hit for the winners.
Nao Higashihama got the victory in relief.
Baseball, USA Baseball Blake Forsythe, Japan, Jungu Stadium, Nao Higashihama, Shingo Kamegai, Shota Ishimine, Takahiro Araki, Tennessee Volunteers, Trevor Bauer, Tsuruoka, UCLA
Mike Potter ·
12 Jul 2009, 9:34 AM ·
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Score one for the Red, White and Blue.
USA Baseball’s National Team got the kind of pitching performance it was looking for, as UCLA’s Gerrit Cole (pictured) struck out nine in seven innings in a 3-0 victory over Japan in the opener of the college squads’ 37th annual Friendship Series in Matsuyama, Japan.
It was the opener of their best-of-5 series, in which all five games are set to be played even if someone clinches early.
Cole allowed just two hits and one walk in his stint before Vanderbilt’s Sonny Gray and Chad Bettis of Texas Tech each fired one inning of relief. Karuhito Futagami took the loss for the Japanese, who had only one runner reach third base.
The USA scored twice in the fourth inning. Florida State’s Tyler Holt singled, and then Christian Colon of Cal State-Fullerton tripled before Arizona State’s Matt Newman followed with a single.
Keiji Nakahara had a seventh-inning triple for the Japanese.
Andy Wilkins of Arkansas hit an RBI single in the ninth to add an insurance run.
Game 2 is Monday at 5 a.m. (EDT) at the Tokyo Dome, with Ole Miss’ Drew Pomeranz on the hill for the USA.
ACC, Baseball, USA Baseball Arizona State, Arkansas Razorbacks, Cal State-Fullerton, Chad Bettis, Christian Colon, Drew Pomeranz, Florida State, Gerrit Cole, Japan, Karuhito Futagami, Keiji Nakahare, Matsuyama, Matt Newman, Mississippi Rebels, Ole Miss, Sonny Gray, Texas Tech, Tokyo Dome, Tyler Holt, UCLA, Vanderbilt
Mike Potter ·
10 Jul 2009, 11:55 AM ·
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The 35-game winning streak for USA Baseball’s National Team is a thing of the past.
Takayuki Fujii hit a two-run triple, part of a three-run rally that got his team going as Budo University whipped the Red, White and Blue 7-1 on Friday in Chiba, Japan.
The game was the opener of a six-game tour of Japan, which includes the five games of the 37th annual Friendship Series with the Japanese National Team beginning late Saturday night (EDT).
That is the most important series of the year for Team USA, which committed three errors against Budo.
The USA, batting in the bottom of the innings, scored its run in the first. Florida State’s Tyler Holt (pictured), who finished with two hits, reached on a two-base error and scored on a grounder from Tennessee’s Blake Forsythe.
Asher Wojciechowski of The Citadel took the loss.
UCLA’s Gerrit Cole is the scheduled starter for the USA in the opener of the Friendship Series.
ACC, Baseball, USA Baseball Asher Wojciechowski, Blake Forsythe, Budo University, Florida State, Friendship Series, Gerrit Cole, Japan, Takayuki Fujii, Tennessee Volunteers, The Citadel, Tyler Holt, UCLA
Mike Potter ·
3 Jul 2009, 10:28 PM ·
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COLEMAN FIELD/CARY It’s Game 3 of what has so far been a very lopsided series between the USA National Team and Guatemala.
In Game 1 on Wednesday night in Kannapolis the USA pitching staff combined for 24 strikeouts and then on Thursday night on this field the staff combined for the first official no-hitter in team history.
The crowd is a little bigger on a very pleasantly warm evening at the National Training Complex, perhaps drawn in by the post-game fireworks. And maybe there will be some during the game, too.
The USA is in camo uniforms tonight to celebrate the Independence Day weekend.
To review, this Guatemalan team has a massively wide age range. Infielder Jorge Gutierrez, who came into the game with the Quetzals’ only two hits of the series and isn’t in the starting lineup, is 42 while center fielder Manuel Hernandez is 16.
And once again, I’m the only one in the house representing local media - or in fact any general-circulation publication not specializing in baseball. Baseball America is also on site.
The Americans are batting in the top of the first inning, and it quickly becomes obvious this is like the movie “Groundhog Day” for the overmatched Guatemalans, who are on the way to an 18-0 loss that’s stopped after seven innings. UCLA’s Trevor Bauer (pictured) gets the win. Continue reading »
Baseball, Durham Bulls, USA Baseball Al Yevoli, Baseball America, Bryce Brentz, Cal State-Fullerton, Cary, Christian Colon, Groundhog Day, High Point Panthers, Jorge Gutierrez, Kannapolis, Manuel Hernandez, Mario Cruz, Marlon Claveria, Michael Choice, Middle Tennessee, Rick Jones, San Diego Padres, Sonny Gray, Texas-Arlington, Trevor Bauer, Tulane, UCLA, Vanderbilt
