San Diego Showcase on tap

The San Diego Showcase will be held Sunday at Poway High School, giving the top players in San Diego County for the Class of 2010 a chance to show off their skills.

Players will be timed in the 60, take batting practice and infield/outfield and play in a nine-inning game under the watchful eyes of pro scouts and college recruiters. Players from the North and the South play in the morning and players from the East and City in the afternoon.

The event begins at 8 a.m. Everyone and anyone is welcome. No charge.

For more information, e-mail me at kirkkenney@coldwellbanker.com or give me a call at 858.759.9933.

On to Omaha

I'm making my eighth trip in nine years to Omaha for the College World Series.

This year's field includes several of the usual suspects — six-time champion Texas, five-time champions Arizona State and LSU, four-time champion Cal State Fullerton — and two newcomers — Southern Mississippi and Virginia. North Carolina, which is making its fourth straight appearance and Arkansas round out the eight-team field.

I'll be helping with Baseball America's coverage, behind the camera shooting some video podcasts with BA's Aaron Fitt and John Manuel as well as blogging about some of the sights and sounds in and around Rosenblatt Stadium.

Check out Baseball America's coverage right here.

You can also go directly to the Rosenblog.

The 63rd College World Series runs from June 13-23/24.

By the way, I'm going out on a limb and picking top-seeded Texas to win it all.

Who's No. 1? Strasburg; Leake goes No. 8 to Reds

It had been expected for months, and now it's official:

The Washington Nationals selected San Diego State junior right-hander Stephen Strasburg this afternoon with the first pick in the MLB draft. It completes Strasburg's remarkable rise — from undrafted three years ago out of West Hills High to an exclusive group of 45 players selected No. 1 overall.

More local flavor came to the draft a few minutes later when the Cincinnati Reds chose Arizona State right-hander Mike Leake (Fallbrook High) with the eighth overall pick. Not a bad week in the making for Leake (16-1, 1.23 ERA), who leads the nation in victories and ERA is expected to be on the mound when the Sun Devils open the College World Series on Sunday against North Carolina.

Here is the list of San Diego-area players selected in the first round of the draft through the years:

LOCAL FIRST-ROUND DRAFT PICKS

High school and college players from San Diego County selected in thefirst round of the major league first-year player draft since it began in 1965:

2009 ... Stephen Strasburg, SDSU/West Hills, RHP, Nationals, 1st overall

2009 ... Mike Leake, Arizona State/Fallbrook, RHP, Reds, 8th

2008 … Brian Matusz, USD, LHP, Orioles, 4th

2008 … Allan Dykstra, Wake Forest/Rancho Bernardo, 1B, Padres, 23rd

2004 … Matt Bush, Mission Bay, SS/RHP, Padres, 1st

2003 … Carlos Quentin, OF, Stanford/USDHS, D-Backs, 29th

2002 … Cole Hamels, Rancho Bernardo, LHP, Phillies, 17th

2002 … Royce Ring, SDSU/Monte Vista, RHP, White Sox, 18th

2001 … Mark Prior, USC/USDHS, RHP, Cubs, 2nd

2000 … Adrian Gonzalez, Eastlake, 1B, Marlins, 1st

2000 … Adam Johnson, CS Fullerton/Torrey Pines, RHP, Twins, 2nd

2000 … Matt Wheatland, Rancho Bernardo, RHP, Tigers, 8th

2000 … Shaun Boyd, Vista, 2B/OF, Cardinals, 13th

2000 … Scott Heard, Rancho Bernardo, C, Rangers, 25th

1999 … Eric Munson, USC/Mt. Carmel, C, Tigers, 3rd

1999 … Barry Zito, USC/USDHS, LHP, A's, 9th

1999 … David Walling, Arkansas/El Capitan, RHP, Yankees, 27th

1997 … Troy Glaus, UCLA/Carlsbad, 3B, Angels, 3rd

1996 … Travis Lee,* San Diego State, 1B, Twins, 2nd

1996 … Eric Chavez, Mt. Carmel, 3B, A's, 10th

1995 … Jaime Jones, Rancho Bernardo, OF, Marlins, 6th

1995 … Mark Redman, Oklahoma/Escondido, LHP, Twins, 13th

1995 … Ryan Jaroncyk, Orange Glen, SS, Mets, 18th

1995 … Chad Hutchinson, Torrey Pines, RHP, Braves, 26th

1992 … Benji Grigsby, San Diego State, RHP, A's, 20th

1991 … Benji Gil, Castle Park, SS, Rangers, 19th

1990 … Tony Clark, Christian, 1B, Tigers, 2nd

1990 … Eric Christopherson, San Diego State, C, Giants, 19th

1990 … Lance Dickson, Grossmont, LHP, Cubs, 23rd

1985 … Chris Gwynn, San Diego State, OF, Dodgers, 10th

1983 … Eddie Williams, Hoover, 3B, Mets, 4th

1982 … Steve Swain, Grossmont, OF, Astros, 15th

1982 … Sam Horn, Morse, 1B, Red Sox, 16th

1981 … Bobby Meacham, San Diego State, SS, Cardinals, 8th

1981 … Kevin Burrell, Poway, C, Red Sox, 25th

1980 … Garry Harris, Hoover, SS, Blue Jays, 2nd

1980 … Cecil Espy, Point Loma, OF, White Sox, 8th

1980 … Billy Beane, Mt. Carmel, OF, Mets, 23rd

1979 … Bob Geren, Clairemont, C, Padres, 24th

1975 … Bruce Robinson, Stanford/La Jolla, C, A's, 21st

1970 … Steve Dunning, Stanford/USDHS, RHP, Indians, 2nd

1970 … John D'Acquisto, St. Augustine, RHP, Giants, 17th

1967 … Brian Bickerton, Santana, LHP, A's, 7th

1965 … Mike Adamson,# Point Loma, RHP, Phillies, 18th

*Declared a draft free agent and signed with Arizona

#Drafted by Baltimore in first round of June secondary phase in 1967

Draft Day is Upon Us

Here's some information going into the 2009 draft, which begins this afternoon:

MAJOR LEAGUE DRAFT
The three-day “first-year player” draft begins today at 3 p.m. The first three rounds are to be conducted today, rounds 4-30 tomorrow and rounds 31-50 (teams may stop earlier if the y wish) on Thursday.
Players from the United States, U.S. territories and Canada are subject to the draft. Eligible for selection are high school seniors, junior college players, juniors and seniors at four-year colleges and players who have turned 21. Teams have until Aug. 15 to sign players before losing their draft rights.

DRAFT COVERAGE
— The MLB Network will televise the first round, which also will be simulcast live at mlb.com. After the first 32 picks, coverage will switch to MLB.com/Live.
— Pick-by-pick coverage is available at mlb.com as well as XM Satellite Radio.
— Another good source of draft info and analysis is at baseballamerica.com

DRAFT ORDER
1. Washington
2. Seattle
3. San Diego
4. Pittsburgh
5. Baltimore
6. San Francisco
7. Atlanta
8. Cincinnati
9. Detroit
10. Washington
11. Colorado
12. Kansas City
13. Oakland
14. Texas
15. Cleveland
16. Arizona
17. Arizona
18. Florida
19. St. Louis
20. Toronto
21. Houston
22. Minnesota
23. Chi. White Sox
24. L.A. Angels
25. L.A. Angels
26. Milwaukee
27. Seattle
28. Boston
29. N.Y. Yankees
30. Tampa Bay
31. Chi. Cubs
32. Colorado

Note: Five first-round picks were re-assigned to teams that lost Class A free agents (No .17 to ARI from LAD for Orlando Hudson; No. 24 to LAA from NYM for Francisco Rodriguez; No. 25 to LAA from NYY for Mark Teixeira; No. 27 to SEA from PHI for Raul Ibanez; No. 32 COL from LAA for Brian Fuentes).
Washington and the Yankees received extra first-round picks for failing to sign last year’s No. 1 draft choices.

TOP LOCAL PROSPECTS
COLLEGE
Buck Afenir, Sr., C, Kansas (Escondido)
Andrew Bovich, LHP, PLNU
Gavin Brooks, Jr., LHP, UCLA, RB Vista
Erik Castro, Jr, C/3B, SDSU (Fallbrook)
Casey Edelbrock, Soph., RHP, Palomar CC (Poway)
A.J. Griffin, Jr., RHP, USD (Grossmont)
Tyler Lavigne, Jr., RHP, SDSU
Mike Leake, Jr., RHP, Arizona St. (Fallbrook)
James Meador, Jr, OF, USD (Ramona)
Sean Nicol, Sr., SS, USD
Shawn Sanford, Soph., LHP, Palomar CC (Fallbrook)
Sequoiah Stonecipher, Soph., OF, Grossmont CC (Mission Bay)
Stephen Strasburg, Jr., RHP, SDSU (West Hills)
Matt Thomson, Jr., RHP, USD
Ryan Wiegand, Sr., 1B, Gonzaga (USDHS)

HIGH SCHOOL
Andrew Bellatti, RHP, Steele Canyon
Justin Bellez, RHP, Mira Mesa
Bryan Crabb, RHP, Coronado
James Dykstra, RHP, Rancho Bernardo
Tyler Gaffney, OF, Cathedral Catholic
Garret Hughes, LHP, La Costa Canyon
Matt Moynihan, OF, Cathedral Catholic
Alex Muren, RHP, Ramona
James Needy, RHP, Santana
Ryan Wilkins, RHP, Cathedral Catholic

DRAFT TIDBITS
— The draft was instituted in 1965. The Kansas City Athletics chose Arizona State outfielder Rick Monday with the first pick. One of the motivating factors for the draft was to get a handle on signing bonuses. The Angels signed Wisconsin outfielder Rick Reichardt for a record $205,000 in 1964. Monday signed with the A’s a year later for $104,000. It was 1979 before a drafted player surpassed the bonus given to Reichardt.

— Each team will have at least one representative at the draft. Among them will be Hall of Famers Al Kaline for Detroit, Bill Mazeroski for Pittsburgh and Billy Williams for the Cubs. The representatives this year for the Padres are Woody Williams and Jimmy Jones, who was the franchise’s first-round pick in 1982.

— There have been 21 Hall of Famers come through the draft. Cincinnati catcher Johnny Bench, the Reds’ second-round pick in 1965, was the first to make it in 1989. Seven of the 21 were first-round picks — Reggie Jackson, Robin Yount, Carlton Fisk, Dave Winfield, Kirby Puckett, Paul Molitor and Jim Rice. Ryne Sandberg, taken in the 20th round by Philadelphia in 1978, was the lowest drafted player to make it.

— There are currently 12 players in the majors who were selected with the first overall pick — Tampa Bay’s David Price (Rays, 2007); Arizona’s Justin Upton (Diamondbacks, 2005); Minnesota’s Delmon Young (Rays, 2003); Minnesota’s Joe Mauer (Twins, 2001); Padres’ Adrian Gonzalez (Marlins, 2000); Texas’ Josh Hamilton (Rays, 1999); Tampa Bay’s Pat Burrell (Phillies, 1998); Texas’ Kris Benson (Pirates, 1996); Houston’s Darin Erstad (Angels, 1995); the Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez (Mariners, 1993); Atlanta’s Chipper Jones (Braves, 1990); Seattle’s Ken Griffey Jr. (Mariners, 1987).

— According to MLB data, there were 616 players (out of 750) on Open Day rosters who came through the draft. Of those, 218 (35.6 percent) were still members of the club that selected them. That does not include six players who are back with their original clubs after playing elsewhere.
Of those 616 players, 142 were first-round picks. Only 25 of them were players selected after the 30th round. The lowest pick was Tampa Bay’s Gabe Kapler, a 57th round selection by Detroit in 1995.

BY THE NUMBERS

55,846 — Total players drafted since 1965.

18,712 —Right-handed pitchers drafted, or 33.5 percent of all payers drafted. Second-most is outfielders (10,160).

1,504 — Players drafted last season. Of those, 968 (64.36 percent) signed. Eight-two percent of college players signed, but only 17 percent of high school players signed. A draft-record 70 percent signed in 1985.

Q&A with Stephen Strasburg

San Diego State pitcher Stephen Strasburg took a week to relax and recharge in between the end of SDSU's season and Tuesday's MLB Draft.

I caught up with Strasburg for a few minutes on Friday shortly after he came off the golf course at Mission Trails, where he carded a 76 (two birdies on the front and three more on the back), for a Q&A session that ran today right here in the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Aztecs season ends against UC Irvine

IRVINE – San Diego State players wore long faces yesterday as they moved slowly toward an open gate along the right-field line and left the field at UC Irvine's Anteater Ballpark.

There are 64 teams selected for the NCAA Tournament each year and 63 of them pretty much leave the way the Aztecs did after their 14-3 elimination-game loss to top-ranked UC Irvine.

The Anteaters (45-14) took control early – challenged only in the fourth inning when SDSU's Ryan O'Sullivan hit a two-run double that trimmed a 4-0 deficit to 4-2 – and were never threatened thereafter.

Not that much more was expected of SDSU, which was seeded No. 3 in what was regarded as the toughest region in the tournament.

In the 10 years since the NCAA expanded the field from 48 to 64 teams, No. 3 seeds have advanced only 10 percent of the time. For those who lost their first game, which the Aztecs did with Friday's 5-1 loss to Virginia, the odds of advancement fall to 1 percent.

“With Virginia (ranked No. 7 in the nation) and UC Irvine, the No. 1 team in the country, no one expected us to win,” SDSU coach Tony Gwynn said.

The Aztecs (41-23) did come away with something – a 4-1 win on Saturday that eliminated defending national champion Fresno State.

“I thought that was huge,” Gwynn said. “You lose both and it's almost like not going. But you win one and you have that feeling like you can win again. Like they felt today.

“But after about seven innings (against Irvine), I think they had that feeling like, 'Hey, those guys are pretty good.' ”

In 1979, Gwynn played on the SDSU team that reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time. It began a string of eight postseason berths in 13 years for the Aztecs. But a generation had passed since SDSU's last NCAA appearance in 1991. Winning has had to be learned all over again. Perhaps the foundation for that has now been laid.

“What we accomplished shows what kind of ballclub we had and what kind of ballclub we're going to be,” said O'Sullivan, who was one of four freshmen in the starting lineup yesterday against the Anteaters. “This school is going to become known for going to regionals. It's something we should do from here on out.”

Said SDSU catcher Matt Parker: “We've got a lot of guys who are going to come back next year who know what it's like to make it to the postseason, to play in pressure games with big crowds.”

While much of the team returns, the identity of the team will be dramatically different.

Junior right-hander Stephen Strasburg is the only player with eligibility remaining who definitely is not expected back. The Washington Nationals are all but certain to use the first pick in next week's draft on Strasburg, who went 13-1 with a 1.32 ERA and led the nation with 195 strikeouts.

Before the season began, Strasburg was sitting in the stands at Tony Gwynn Stadium when he said: “My goal right now is to make an impact on this program and leave a footprint to help build a tradition for the future.”

Walking toward SDSU's bus after yesterday's game, Strasburg was secure in the knowledge that he had accomplished that goal.

“I think definitely the best is yet to come,” Strasburg said. “I'm just so thankful I was able to be a part of this. It was a great run for us. . . . I did everything I possibly could. I'm an Aztec for life. I think a lot of these guys are, too.

“It's all about building a tradition and we've got a lot of great, young players in the program who are going to keep doing that.”

SDSU throws curve — Rasmussen starts vs. UC Irvine

IRVINE — As excited as San Diego State fans were with yesterday's 4-1 win over Fresno State, it seems the Bulldogs had barely been eliminated and everyone already wanted to know one thing:

Who is today's starting pitcher?

UC Irvine and Virginia were still getting loose on the field last night when that question was posed to SDSU coach Tony Gwynn. The answer was dependent on today's opponent. The candidates to start were senior Jon Berger and freshman Ryan O'Sullivan. Berger would start if the Aztecs were matched up against Virginia. UC Irvine plays small ball and Gwynn wanted someone who could field his position well if SDSU was to play the Anteaters. That meant O'Sullivan, the Aztecs' regular shortstop.

Virginia's 5-0 win over UC Irvine dropped the Anteaters into the loser's bracket, so expect to see O'Sullivan on the mound.

Not so fast. We get to the ballpark and the Aztecs have sophomore left-hander Craig Rasmussen penciled in on the lineup card. O'Sullivan has his back out at shortstop.

Rasmussen (1-1, 3.60 ERA, 14 BB, 11 BB in 25 IP), a Hilltop High graduate, has made 26 appearances in two seasons. This is only Rasmussen's second career start, the first coming Feb. 28 in an 8-3 win over University of the Pacific. He got the win, allowing five hits and three runs over five innings with two walks and two strikeouts.

UC Irvine will start right-hander Crosby Slaught (7-0, 4.56 ERA, 48 SO, 19 BB in 71 IP), who has started in each of his 15 appearances this season.

Lavigne, Meredith keep Aztecs' hopes alive

IRVINE — Junior right-hander Tyler Lavigne kept San Diego State’s NCAA Regional hopes alive today, pitching the Aztecs to a 4-1 victory over Fresno State that eliminated the defending national champions from the tournament.

Lavigne said he was still feeling the effects of starting two games in four days at last week's Mountain West Conference Tournament.

“I knew I didn’t have my best stuff and I was going to have to locate better,” said Lavigne, who didn’t have the velocity on his pitches that he normally does. There was an upside, however. “Throwing slower helped my sinker move more,” said Lavigne. “I tried as much as possible to pound the strike zone and get ground balls.”

Lavigne (8-2) limited the Bulldogs to five hits and one unearned run over 7 2/3 innings with eight strikeouts at UC Irvine’s Anteater Ballpark. SDSU closer Addison Reed came on to get the final four outs, recording his nation-leading 20th save in 20 opportunities.

SDSU (41-22) will play top-ranked UC Irvine on Sunday in an elimination game at 4 p.m. The winner there stays on the field for an 8 p.m. game against Virginia. The Cavaliers defeated UC Irvine 5-0 in tonight's late game and need just one more victory to win the regional. A loss on Sunday night would force a winner-take-all game on Monday night.

SDSU freshman first baseman Brandon Meredith, who struck out four times in Friday’s game against Virginia, sparked the Aztecs offense, hitting a two-run home run in the first inning and a solo homer in the fifth off Fresno State starting pitcher Matt Morse (4-3). That staked SDSU to a 3-1 lead and the Aztecs added another run in the fifth on a wild pitch.

“It comes down to putting the ball in play and seeing what happens,” Meredith said after putting two balls out of play.

Fresno State (32-30) managed its only run with two outs in the fourth inning when SDSU center fielder Pat Colwell dove for Kenny Wise’s sinking liner and let the ball get past him for a triple that scored Brennan Gowens.

Lavigne allowed only two other runners as far as second base, leaving with two outs in the eighth inning to a rousing ovation from a crowd of some 2,000 fans.

Reed came on and retired all four hitters he faced, ending the game with a strikeout that gave SDSU its first postseason victory since 1990.

“It’s a good win for us,” said SDSU coach Tony Gwynn. “It kind of takes the edge off (Friday’s loss). Today, I thought we played a lot more relaxed.

“Bottom line is we got a W and we get to play tomorrow. The guys are pretty excited about that.”

NAIA World Series: PLNU comes up just short

Point Loma's quest for an NAIA championship ended with an 11-8 loss to Lubbock Christian tonight in the World Series finals at Lewiston, Idaho.

The Sea Lions (45-13) fell behind 5-0 in the first inning before rallying to make a game of it. PLNU was just a run down at 8-7 after scoring three times in the top of the fourth inning, but couldn't overcome Lubbock, which defeated the Sea Lions 5-1 on Thursday night to force the winner-take-all championship game.

There's more on PLNU's runner-up finish in a story right here.

Virginia hands Strasburg his first loss of the season

RECAP

IRVINE — The Virginia Cavaliers did something to San Diego State pitcher Stephen Strasburg today that no one else could do this season.

They beat him.

No. 7-ranked Virginia scored two early runs off Strasburg on the way to a 5-1 victory over the Aztecs in the opening game of the NCAA Regional hosted by UC Irvine.

Strasburg (13-1), his fastball sitting at 97 mph much of the game, struck out 15 and did not walk a batter over seven innings. But he needed two innings to get dialed in. The Aztecs trailed 2-0 by that point and couldn’t muster the offense against Virginia starter Robert Morey (3-0) to make a game of it.

The Aztecs (40-22) meet the loser of tonight’s UC Irvine-Fresno State game on Saturday at 4 p.m. in an elimination game).
With one out in the first inning, Virginia’s Phil Gosselin swung at the first pitch he saw from Strasburg and launched it over the left-field wall and against the Anteater Ballpark scoreboard.

The Cavaliers (44-12-1) added another run in the second inning when Steven Proscia scored with two outs on an infield single to second base. Proscia led off the inning with a single and had moved to third base on two wild pitches by Strasburg.
SDSU made it 2-1 in the eighth inning on a sacrifice fly by Chris Wilson, but the Cavaliers expanded the lead to 5-1 with three runs (two on a homer by Steven Proscia) in the bottom of the eighth.

It was the first loss for Strasburg since a 1-0 defeat to Utah in the 2008 Mountain West Conference Tournament.

PREGAME

NCAA TOURNAMENT — IRVINE REGIONAL
SAN DIEGO STATE (40-21) VS. VIRGINIA (43-12-1)

IRVINE — The 2009 NCAA Tournament gets underway here under a canopy of clouds with temperatures in the mid-60s. UC Irvine has fewer than 1,000 fixed seats, so bleachers were brought in to accommodate the larger crowd. The gathering is dominated with red and black, with perhaps two-thirds of the crowd here in support of the Aztecs. That's no surprise. SDSU fans had about a 90-mile drive while their Virginia counterparts had a 2,550-mile flight. Cavaliers fans — perhaps 50 strong — are adjacent to the team's dugout along the third-base line.

SDSU coach Tony Gwynn announced this morning that ace Stephen Strasburg (13-0, 1.24 ERA) would indeed start against Virginia, which is countering with Robert Morey (2-0. 3.25 ERA).

HERE WE GO

1ST INNING — The Aztecs get runners to second and third with two outs, but Virginia starter Robert Morey strikes out Cory Vaughn swinging on a 2-2 pitch to get out of it. SDSU's Stephen Strasburg strides to the mound in the bottom of the inning and starts with a strikeout of leadoff hitter Jarett Parker. Phil Gosselin jolts the crowd a moment later, however, when he launches the first pitch from Strasburg over the left-field wall and off the scoreboard for a 1-0 lead. It's shocking in a "Hey, you're not supposed to be able to do that off him" kind of way. But it is the fourth HR allowed by Strasburg this season. Virginia's Danny Hultzen and Dan Grovatt follow the homer with singles, but Strasburg gets a strikeout of John Hicks and a fly ball from Tyler Cannon to end the inning. Strasburg tops out at 97 mph in the first inning.

2ND INNING — Morey allows a two-out walk to East Gust, but nothing comes off it. Strasburg makes his own trouble in the bottom of the inning when he throws two wild pitches after Steen Proscia singled to lead off the inning. Strasburg followed with two strikeouts, but Proscia scored to make it 2-0 when Parker beat out a single to second base that Mitch Blackburn took too much time on. That would have ended the inning. It continues and is prolonged further when Strasburg fails to field Gosselin's infield tapper for an error that puts runners at first and third. Strasburg finally strikes out Hultzen to end the inning. He is already at 50 pitches after just two innings.

3RD INNING — Pat Colwell gets things started with a single up the middle, but Morey keeps him there by retiring the next three hitters. The Aztecs have gone down meekly to this point, giving the crowd virtually nothing to get excited about. Strasburg's slow start also has prevented a buzz from building. In the bottom of the third, Strasburg looks more impressive with two strikeouts among three straight hitters retired.

Many in the crowd — including the press box — who haven't seen much of Strasburg this season wonder if he's had a game where he hasn't been dominate from the first pitch. He has. He allowed a leadoff home run at TCU and allowed two runs in the first inning at Utah in a pair of Mountain West Conference games. On both occasions, the opponents were getting on his fastball early. So Strasburg went to the offspeed stuff — much of it thrown in the dirt — and started mowing them down. He allowed just one run over the next seven innings in the game against TCU and pitched six shutout innings against Utah after the two-run first. We'll see if that pattern continues here. The key is whether the Aztecs offense can muster anything. Strasburg's last loss was 1-0 to Utah in the 2008 MWC Tournament.

4TH INNING — Back-to-back singles by Chris Wilson and Gust put runners at the corners with two outs, but Morey gets Ryan O'Sullivan on a tapper back to the mound to end the threat.

5TH INNING — Torres coaxes a one-out walk from Morey, but nothing comes of it. Strasburg gets two strikeouts wrapped around a single to give him 10 strikeouts for the game.

6TH INNING — Morey pitches in and out of trouble. He allows a double to Mitch Blackburn and hits Easton Gust in the foot, but it's all wrapped arund three strikeouts. Strasburg allows an infield single to Proscia with two outs, but gets Franco Valdes swinging to end the inning.

7TH INNING — Virginia coach Brian O'Connor goes to the bullpen and brings in Tyler Wilson to replace Morey and its more of the same for the Aztecs. Wilson retires the side in order, two of the hitters on strikeouts. That's 11 strikeouts for SDSU, including four by freshman first baseman Brandon Meredith. Strasburg's pitch counts move past 120 in the inning, but he doesn't appear any worse for the wear. He strikes out the side, giving him 15 for the game.

8TH INNING — The Aztecs finally get something going when Wilson issues a one-out walk to Vaughn and Blackburn follows with a double down the left-field line to put runners at second and third. Wilson hits a sacrifice fly to center field to bring home Vaughn and make it 2-1. Blackburn moves to third on the play, but the Aztecs can't get him home. Virginia goes to the bullpen again and brings in Matt Packer, who gets out Gust.

Andrew Leary runs in from the SDSU bullpen, meaning Strasburg's day is done.

STRASBURG'S LINE — 7 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 B, 1 SO. His ERA rises to 1.32 while running his season strikeout total to 195 (with 19 BB) in 109 innings.

Leary wraps a couple of fly outs around a single, but then he gives up a two-run homer to left field to Proscia that makes it 4-1. Virginia adds another run after Chase Thomas replaces Leary, making it 5-1 on a single by Parker.

9TH INNING — Virginia closer Kevin Arico came on, struck out O'Sullivan, retired Pat Colwell on a soft liner to second base and got Torres on a grounder to second to end the game.

Strasburg gets the ball today against Virginia

IRVINE — San Diego State's pitcher for today's NCAA Regionals game against Virginia has been shrouded in secrecy all week. In fact, SDSU coach Tony Gwynn was still mulling his decision during yesterday afternoon's practice day at UC Irvine's Anteater Ballpark.

"You will find out in time," said Gwynn. "I had to make the exact same decision last week (in the Mountain West Conference Tournament) and nobody cared. When I am ready to make that decision I will let you know."

That moment finally arrived this morning when the Aztecs announced that ace right-hander Stephen Strasburg will be on the mound against the Cavaliers. First pitch is at 4 p.m. (San Diego time). The game will be broadcast live on ESPNU. The UC Irvine-Fresno State game follows at 8 p.m.

Strasburg (13-0) leads the nation in strikeouts (180) and ERA (1.24). He has walked only 19 batters in 102 innings. He was named first-team All-American and national Player of the Year yesterday by Collegiate Baseball. SDSU closer Addison Reed also was a first-team selection by the newspaper.

There had been discussion all week whether to start Strasburg or junior right-hander Tyler Lavigne (7-2), who started two games over four days in the MWC Tournament.

I spoke with Lavigne on Wednesday before the team boarded a bus for Irvine and he said he was still recovering from the experience. It made me wonder if Lavigne's readiness is what was holding up the decision. If Lavigne could potentially start two games again this weekend, then it made sense to start him today and have the opportunity to bring him back for a possible "if necessary" game on Monday. Strasburg hasn't shown the same recuperative powers and wouldn't have been a candidate to make two starts. Also, in the discussion, of course, was how the pitchers match up against the teams in the four-team regional.

I wouldn't have argued with Lavigne making the start, but I'm glad to see Strasburg get the ball. SDSU has waited 18 years for this opportunity and it's good to go with your best in the opener. Besides, while UC Irvine is ranked No. 1 in the nation and Fresno State is the defending national champion, Virginia appears to have the best offensive club (batting .333 as a team while averaging 8.32 runs per game) in the bracket. This will be Strasburg's biggest challenge.

College baseball fans around the country will get to see what San Diegans have been witness to throughout the season. Greatness. Strasburg will get prime time exposure on the East Coast, whetting the appetites of Washington Nationals fans who can't wait to see that No. 1 pick used on June 9 for the 6-foot-5, 220-pound junior right-hander.

By the way, Virginia coach Brian O'Connor said the Cavaliers will start sophomore right-hander Robert Morey ()2-0, 3.25 ERA, 70 SO in 52.2 IP). Morey appeared in 15 games this season, but made only six starts. Opponents have batted .207 against him.

Here is Tournament Central for the Irvine Regional.

NAIA World Series: PLNU unable to seal the deal

After 10 straight victories, Point Loma Nazarene hit a bump in the road today in a 5-1 loss to Lubbock Christian at the NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho.

The Sea Lions (45-12) could have claimed the championship with a victory. Instead, they face a rematch tonight against Lubbock Christian (51-8) with the title going to the winner.

Read more about today's game right here.

D-II CWS: Great UCSD run comes to an end

An incredible season for UCSD came to an improbable end today in the Division II College World Series when Emporia State's Kellen Lane hit his first career homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to give Emporia State a 5-3 victory over the Tritons at the USA Training Complex in Cary, N.C.

UCSD (41-15) was eliminated with the loss. Emporia State (49-13) advances to Saturday's national championship game against the winner of the Belmont Abbey-Lynn game.

A complete writeup on the game is right here.

NAIA World Series: PLNU one win from title

Point Loma Nazarene is one win away from the NAIA World Series championship after smashing five home runs — two by Kaohi Downing — in tonight's 8-6 victory over Lee University in Lewiston, Idaho.

More details on the game are expected to be posted here.

PLNU (45-11) plays Lubbock Christian on Thursday in the title game.

D-II CWS: UCSD rocks Dowling in elimination game

UCSD avenged an earlier loss to Dowling today in the Division II College World Series, pounding out 23 hits in a 13-1 win at the USA Baseball Complex in Cary, N.C.

Trevor Decker pitched a three-hitter for the Tritons (41-14), who are one of four teams still alive in the double-elimination tournanent.

No. 1-ranked UCSD plays Emporia State on Thursday at noon (San Diego time).

More details of the big win are right here.

SDSU's pitching dilemma: Strasburg or Lavigne?

San Diego State is taking its sweet time naming a starting pitcher for Friday's NCAA Regionals game against Virginia.

No. 1 starter Stephen Strasburg (13-0) or No. 2 starter Tyler Lavigne (7-2)?

Inquiring minds are eager for an answer.

If it seems like starting Strasburg is a no-brainer, consider that Lavigne was able to pitch — and pitch well — on just two days' rest in last week's Mountain West Conference Tournament. Strasburg has not shown the same recuperative powers. So going with Lavigne against the Cavaliers and saving Strasburg for Saturday's game may give SDSU its best chance of success.

This isn't exactly what the programmers at ESPN had in mind when they selected the Irvine Regional as one of the two — among 16 four-team regionals — to televise this weekend on ESPNU. Or didn't you notice that the SDSU-Virginia game is scheduled for 4 p.m., which, if my math is correct, corresponds to 7 p.m. on the East Coast.

Prime time.

That isn't SDSU coach Tony Gwynn's concern.

"We're doing what's best for San Diego State," said Gwynn. "We're going up there to win. We're not going up there just to make an appearance for the first time in 18 years. We're going up there to try to win and whatever situation puts San Diego State in the best position to win, that's what we're going to do. And honestly we haven't decided yet. You try to get your scouting reports, you try to look at rosters, you try to look at matchups, look at what kind of success they've had, who they've played; all those things go into it.

"Obviously Stephen (Strasburg) is our horse, but I think we can win with Tyler Lavigne. We'll see. My mind isn't made up on it. (Pitching coach) Rusty Filter came to my office this morning and we talked about it for about 20 minutes. I know Stephen wants the ball, but Tyler Lavigne wants the ball, too. It's about trying to set it up so it puts us in the best position to win."

Strasburg said it doesn't matter to him if he pitches Friday or Saturday.

"No, no preference," he said. "We're going to have to win at least two games. Whichever game I'm pitching, I'm going to give it everything I have. I'm confident with the other pitchers that we have and the hitters that we have that if we play our best baseball we should be able to get the job done."

Strasburg said the Aztecs' mindset will be one of the keys to advancing.

"Obviously we have to play our best baseball," said Strasburg. "We've played 61 games so far this year and I think we still have yet to play our best game. We need to go out there and play loose and really learn from what happened at the conference tournament championship. I thought at some point as a team we were playing not to lose instead of playing to win. That's what we're going to go do this weekend."

UCSD, PLNU keep championship hopes alive

Top-ranked UCSD took a big early lead in an elimination game at the NCAA Division II College World Series, then survived a ninth-inning grand slam for an 8-6 win over No. 2 West Chester at the USA Training Complex in Cary, N.C.

UCSD's Matt Rossman (8-2) got the win, but not until reliever Ryland Macfadyen recorded the final out. Macfadyen came on with the bases loaded and two outs. He gave up a bases-loaded homer to Matt Baer before getting Kevin McGrath on a grounder to end the game.

Here's the game recap here.

Point Loma Nazarene also kept its national title hopes alive as Brandon Dixon pitched a seven-hitter in a 2-1 win over Lubbock Christian in the NAIA World Series at Lewiston, ID. There's more on the game right here.

The Sea Lions (44-11), who are the only team still undefeated in the tournament, play Lee University on Wednesday.

Aztecs are in! SDSU faces Virginia

San Diego State received its first NCAA Regionals bid in 18 years this morning, gaining admittance into the 64-team field in the four-team Irvine Regional.

The Aztecs (40-21) received the No. 3 seed and will play No. 2 seed Virginia (43-12-1), the ACC Tournament champion, in the opening game of the double-elimination regional. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. at UCI's Anteater Ballpark. The game is to be televised by ESPNU.

In the other matchup, No. 1 seed UC Irvine (43-13), the top-ranked team in the nation meets No. 4 seed Fresno State (32-28), the defending national champion. That game is scheduled for 8 p.m.

The winner of the Irvine Regional faces the winner of the Oxford Regional (the participants are #1 Mississippi, #2 Missouri, #3 Western Kentucky and #4 Monmouth) in next week's Super Regionals, which is a best-of-three format. The eight Super Regionals winners advance to the College World Series, which is June 13-24 in Omaha, Neb.

Information for the Irvine Regional is right here.

The printable 64-team bracket is right here for those who want to follow along at home.

There's an interactive bracket right here.

D-II CWS: UCSD falls to Dowling in opener

Top-ranked UCSD was brimming with enthusiasm and loaded with confidence coming into the NCAA Division II College World Series in Cary, N.C.

No. 21-ranked Dowling put a damper on that.

Make that Dowling's Gabriel Duran (10-2), who pitched a three-hitter today in a 3-1 win over the Tritons at the USA Baseball Training Complex. Dowling struck out four, walked two, overcame two errors and allowed only an unearned run in the sixth inning.

UCSD's Tim Shibuya (8-5) allowed the three runs — two in the fourth and one in the eighth — over 7 2/3 innings.

There are more details on the game here.

UCSD (39-14) meets West Chester (46-10) on Tuesday in a losers' bracket game. All of the sudden the Tritons must win to keep a dream season from coming to an abrupt end in the double-elimination tournament.

Here's the CWS bracket right here.

MWC Tournament: Utah beats SDSU for title

It was right there.

I could see it. I could smell. I could taste it.

And then it was snatched away.

But isn't that always the way.

Aaugh! Indeed.

(Hence, the photo. "But that's football," my wife says. I know. I know. That's not the point. OK, try this one.)

Utah defeated San Diego State 9-3 today at TCU's Lupton Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas, to win the Mountain West Conference Tournament championship and the gold ticket to the NCAA Regionals.

It was all within San Diego State's grasp after the Aztecs put themselves in the driver's seat with wins over UNLV and New Mexico on Tuesday and Wednesday and followed it up with an amazing comeback win over Utah on Thursday to advance to the finals. All SDSU needed was one more victory to end its NCAA postseason absence.

The current generation of SDSU fans doesn't realize that the Aztecs used to be regular parties to the party, going to the NCAA Tournament eight times in a 13-year period from 1979 to 1991. In fact, the 1984 team came within a run of going to the College World Series in Omaha (SDSU lost to Cal State Fullerton 8-7 in 11 innings after having the would-be winning run thrown out at the plate earlier in the game). Most of the players on this year's team were still learning to walk and talk when the Aztecs made their last appearance 18 years ago.

It isn't as if the Aztecs haven't had their chances since then, especially since moving into the MWC 10 years ago.

SDSU reached the tournament finals each of the conference's first five seasons. In fact, the Aztecs defeated Air Force for the inaugural MWC title in 2000. But, just their luck, the conference didn't receive an automatic tournament berth in its first season and the Aztecs were left home. SDSU lost in the finals each of the next four years, to BYU in 2001 and 2002 and to UNLV in 2003 and 2004.

The Aztecs failed to reach the finals for one reason or another the next four years. One year it was academic (three or four players were declared ineligible and literally pulled off the team bus in 2005 right before it departed for the tournament in Las Vegas). Another year is was pitching injuries. The previous two years it was an offense that went AWOL.

Winning the MWC Tournament has been the only way to reach the NCAAs. No MWC team has ever received an at-large berth.

That could/should/will change this year.

TCU is ranked No. 10 in the nation by Baseball America and was even viewed as a probable host site for the first round (we'll see if going 1-2 this week does anything to change that). I still believe SDSU will be invited as well. The Aztecs (40-21) are among two dozen teams to reach the 40-win plateau, have an RPI and strength of schedule ranked among the top 45 teams in the nation, finished strong down the stretch. And they have the best pitcher in the nation, which ought to count for something.

We'll find out for sure on Selection Monday (9:30 a.m. on ESPN).

I thought just this once the Aztecs might do it the easy way.

Nope.

And so we wait.

It's been 18 years. What's another day or two. That's nothing. Utah fans have been waiting for this moment since 1960.

The Road to Omaha wasn't even paved back then.