Author: Tom Knuppel

Fourstardave Stakes Pick and Prediction by The Horse Guy

Tom Knuppel The Horse Guy

The Fourstardave is part of the Breeders’ Cup challenge series, with the winner getting a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Del Mar on Nov. 2. This is a seven horse race for $500,000 at Saratoga. It is a one-mile turf race with the winner getting an automatic berth into the Breeders’ Cup Mile on November 2 at Del Mar.

Each of these seven entrants have won stakes races and  some have won more than one. Let’s look at the entries by post position and what The Horse Guy has for winning picks this week.

** Also this weekend The Horse Guy has his picks for the Arlington Million.

1– Strong Quality is the son of Quality Road and is trained by Mark Casse and has an early odds of 8-1 to win. In June, this horse finished eighth in the Grade 1 Manhattan and later won a restricted stakes at Churchill Downs and then went to the Fair Grounds and won the Colonel Bradley. Not likely for this horse to win but could fit underneath.

2- Master of the Seas has been scratched.

3. Major Dude- Trained by Todd Pletcher and ridden by John Velasquez, this is the son of Bolt d’ Oro and is 8-1 to win. This horse won the Penn Mile and Kitten’s Joy in 2023. This will be his second start this year. He won an allowance race just a few weeks ago. This horse isn’t seen as a contender.

4.Carl Spackler is the son of Lope de Vega- is a Chad Brown trained horse and will have Tyler Gaffalione on board. This is the top choice at 9-5 odds with three graded stakes wins at Saratoga. in the Kelso, the Saranac and the Hall of Fame. He has been the favorite in his last seven races. Likely winner.

5. Money Supply is 10-1 odds to win and will be ridden by Manny Franco. This son of Practical Joke won the Horseshoe Invitational in Indiana along with the Grade 1 Mineshaft at the Fair Grounds. He has won five in a row. Could be a top four finisher

6. Ottoman Fleet- is 8-5 odds to win this race. He has won three graded stakes in the USA and three group stake in Europe. He was won 2 of his previous 4 races. He is a contender.

7. More Than Looks is 7-2 to win the Fourstardave. He is the son of More Than Ready and will have Irad Ortiz, Jr. as his mount. This is his first start since last year when he finished sixth in the Breeders’ Cup Mile. Could lead the chase before falling back to a spot out of the money.

 

Pick and Prediction

When Master of the Seas scratched, many things changed. Now, look for Ottoman Empire to take the race and Carl Spackler getting into a second position. Be sure to check the latest odds from the track before betting.

 

 

Check out what The Horse Guy has to say each and every Friday on the graded stakes races.

 

Arlington Million- from The Horse Guy

Tom Knuppel The Horse Guy

THE RAIN on the EAST COAST MAY MOVED THIS RACE to SUNDAY or later.

The Arlington Million was held in the Chicago area for many years until it closed two seasons ago. Last year was the first time it was held at Colonial Downs. 2024 marks the second running of this high stake race.

Let’s take a look at the entries in this race and analyze each one. This is the 11th race of 12 on August 9th at this track with a 5:40 CT for the scheduled post time.

Horses are listed by post position.

 

  1. Integration- This horse will be ridden by Kendrick Carmouche and is trained by Shug McGaughey. The current odds are 5-2 to win. This horse has won every race (3) it has entered at Colonial Downs. also, Integration was victorious in the Million Preview by 6.5 lengths on soft turf. This horse is the son of Quality Road and is possibility to win this race but also the longest race of his career.
  2. 2. Ancient Rome– the son of War Front, this horse is trained by Charlie Hills and will have Jamie Spencer on board.This horse won the Mint Million in September at Kentucky Downs. Appears to have enough to win this race.

3. Sugoi-This horse is a long shot. At 8-1 odds, this 7 year old son of Krakonite has not shown the propensity to winning. Trainer Mike Maker can and does turn these types into winners.

4. Nations Pride– at 8-5 odds , this horse looks to be the one to beat. The son of Teofilo has raced all over the world with good success. Trainer Charlie Appelby has raced and won in Canada, Dubai, Germany and Bahrain

5- Highland Chief- comes in at 19-1 odds and appr\ears to be outclassed in this race. He has won a few races by of the lower level. Not likely a top finisher.

6. Talk of the Nation is 5-1 to win and is trained by Todd Pletcher. This is a decent hosrse that has finished out of the top three once in 11 starts. He has ran mile races many times and may have that advantage. All that said, he is not in the money after the race has finished.

 

Picks and Predictions

This race may get moved several times before it can ran as the East Coast is expecting and getting heavy rains for several days due to the Tropical storm/ Hurricane known as Debby.

Nations Pride is the class of this bunch . Bet him to win. Second place is harder to determine. Choices are Ancient Rome and Integration.

 

***Be sure to check out the Horse Guy each and Every Friday for more graded Stakes winners!

Baseball History- 1884 St Louis Maroons

Tom Knuppel Baseball History

From 1884-1886, there was a professional baseball team in st. Louis known as the St. Louis Maroons. It was established by Henry Lucas (more on him later). The team played in the Union Association and dominated the only and only season the league was in existence.  St. Louis Maroons debuted on April 20, 1884, at the Union Base Ball Park, defeating Chicago  Browns, 7–2. for the season they won the league by 21 games as they finished with and finished in 1884 with a 132-20 record.

It is likely that the team was so good that the rest of the league folded. n 1885, the Maroons were asked to join the National League. They found the competition much tougher as they only won 37 games and had to compete with the St. Louis Browns for fans. The Browns were in their prime at this time and won the hearts of the fans of st. Louis baseball.

The Maroons had two stars from the mound which were Charlie Sweeney and Old Hoss Radbourn. Radbourn won 60 games in one season. while Sweeney won 24 games before bolting the team and pitching for the the Providence Grays. In St Louis, he won 41 games in 1884.

The Maroons only lasted one more season before the owner sold them team and it was moved to Indianapolis to become the Hoosiers.

Owner Henry Lucas was an avid sports fan and became commissioner of the Union Association in its one year.in existence.

Lucas died in 1910 in his home city, of blood poisoning from an ankle injury originally suffered years earlier. Lucas was employed as a street department inspector at the time of his death. One newspaper headline following his death read, “Famous Sportsman Who Spends Millions in Fruitless Baseball War Dies in Poverty”.He was survived by his son.

 

Hampton League Team Previews

Tom Knuppel College Baseball 2024

This is the 2024 look at the teams participating in the summer league known s the Hampton Collegiate Baseball  League The HCBL is a summer baseball organization located in The Hamptons in the U.S. state of New York. It is a six-team league consisting of the Sag Harbor Whalers, Southampton Breakers, Westhampton Aviators, North Fork Ospreys, Shelter Island Bucks and most recently, the South Shore Clippers. The HCBL is a member of the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball and is sanctioned by Major League Baseball.

Last summer, the South Shore Clippers were the league champions. Let’s look at each team in a general way.

South Shore Clippers-The South Shore Clippers play their home games at Bellport High School in Bellport, New York, as part of the Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League. Their roster is comprised of only players that have a residence in the State of New York.

Head Coach Kevin Huber recently completed his sixth season at Yale in 2015. He has over a decade’s worth of collegiate, high school and club coaching experience. Prior to joining the Yale staff, Huber spent four seasons as the defensive and hitting coach at Fairfield. He also coached at the University of New Haven, where he helped guide the Chargers to a 2004 NYCAC Championship.

Pitching coach CJ Owings is a coach at Hagerstown Community College and former pitcher in the HCBL.

 

Sag Harbor Whales- This team formerly played under the umbrella of the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball Leagueist now is part of the HCBL. The roster for this team is mostly from New Tork and Rhode Island with a sprinkling of players from Ohio. Home contests are played at Mashashimuet Park.

Pitching Coach Kyle Hansen-was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 40th round of the 2009 draft. Foregoing the MLB, Kyle decided to go to St John’s University. While at St John’s, he was coached by two time NCAA Championship pitching coach Scott Brown (Vanderbilt). After his junior year, he was selected by the Chicago White Sox in the 6th round of the 2012 draft.Kyle played with the White Sox’s organization until 2016, reaching as high as AA. After his stint with the White Sox, he decided to re-pursue a degree in sports management while continuing to play independent baseball with the Long Island Ducks. Kyle played Independent baseball until the 2020 season. In the spring of 2019, he became the pitching coach for Tamalpais High School and have had 2 players move on to 4 year schools for baseball and 3 more committed to play in 2020 and 2021. Kyle currently resides in Mill Valley, California.

 

Celebrating Opening Day

The 16th Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League season gets started with a first. Opening Day in the HCBL will be marked as a two-day event as the defending HCBL champion South Shore Clippers travel to Southampton High School to face the Southampton Breakers on June 13th at 5:00 PM.

 

The following day June 14th the second part of Opening Day opens with a rematch of last year’s HCBL Championship Series as the Westhampton Aviators play the Clippers at Aviator Field in Westhampton Beach.

 

The Whalers open their 2024 season at Mashashimuet Park when they play the Southampton Breakers. Both the Westhampton and Southampton games will take place at 5:00 PM.

 

June 14th’s action wraps up with a night game at Cochran Park in Peconic between the North Fork Ospreys and the Shelter Island Bucks at 7:00 PM.

 

 

Coming up soon I will have reviews of the following teams:

Westhampton Aviators

 

Southampton Breakers-

 

Shelter Island Bucks-

 

North Fork Ospreys-

 

 

Some of the HCBL and ACBL alumni include:

Nick Ahmed, infielder
Garvin Alston, pitcher
Scott Arnold, pitcher
Mike Avilés, infielder
Kevin Baez, infielder
Kevin Barry, pitcher
Kevin Bearse, pitcher
Jason Bergmann, pitcher
Craig Biggio, infielder (AS, HOF)
Frank Brooks, pitcher
Terry Bross, pitcher
Kirk Bullinger, pitcher
Nate Bump, pitcher
Fred Cambria, pitcher
Cody Carroll, pitcher
Kevin Cash, catcher
Rick Cerone, catcher
Vinnie Chulk, pitcher
Mark Ciardi, pitcher
Frank Cimorelli, pitcher
Jeff Datz, catcher
Doug Davis, infielder
Jason Dellaero, infielder
Rich DeLucia, pitcher
Mark DiFelice, pitcher
Benny Distefano, player
John Doherty, pitcher
Angel Echevarria, outfielder
Brad Eldred, infielder
Frank Eufemia, pitcher
Steve Falteisek, pitcher
John Flaherty, catcher
Scott Forster, pitcher
Willie Fraser, pitcher
Danny Garcia, outfielder
Ray Giannelli, infielder
Keith Glauber, pitcher
Zack Godley, pitcher
Don Gordon, pitcher
Reid Gorecki, outfielder
Tom Gregorio, catcher
Kevin Gryboski, pitcher
John Halama, pitcher
Craig Hansen, pitcher
Pete Harnisch, pitcher (AS)
Joel Johnston, pitcher
Skip Jutze, catcher
Pat Kelly, infielder
Matt Kinzer, pitcher
Phil Klein, pitcher
Mike Koplove, pitcher
Kyle Kubitza, infielder
Jeff Kunkel, infielder
Al Lachowicz, pitcher
Rick Lancellotti, infielder
John Lannan, pitcher
Gene Larkin, player
Dennis Leonard, pitcher
Brian Lesher, outfielder
Brian Looney, pitcher
Mike Loynd, pitcher
Rob Lukachyk, pinch hitter
Zach Lutz, infielder

Joe Martinez, pitcher
Jim Mecir, pitcher
Frank Menechino, infielder
Ray Montgomery, outfielder
Dan Morogiello, pitcher
Matt Morris, pitcher (AS)
Jamie Moyer, pitcher (AS)
Terry Mulholland, pitcher (AS)
Sean Nolin, pitcher
Keith Osik, catcher
Charlie Puleo, pitcher
Steve Ratzer, pitcher
Chris Reed, pitcher
C. J. Riefenhauser, pitcher
Wayne Rosenthal, pitcher
Mo Sanford, pitcher
Jeff Schaefer, infielder
Rich Scheid, pitcher
Davis Schneider, infielder
Frank Schwindel, infielder
Frank Seminara, pitcher
Jim Stoops, pitcher
Drew Sutton, outfielder
Nick Tropeano, pitcher
Bob Tufts, pitcher
John Valentin, infielder
Anthony Varvaro, pitcher
Frank Viola, pitcher (AS, CY)
Ryan Vogelsong, pitcher (AS)
Pete Walker, pitcher
Allen Watson, pitcher
Walt Weiss, infielder (AS)
Ed Whited, infielder
Darrin Winston, pitcher
Ron Witmeyer, infielder
Eric Young, infielder (AS)
Pete Zoccolillo, outfielder

College Baseball Now! D1 Regional Results

Tom Knuppel College Baseball 2024

The long Road to Omaha has begun with regional play. Here are the results of one days worth. More to continue today.

Knoxville Regional

Game 1: Indiana 10, Southern Miss 4
Game 2: Tennessee 9, Northern Kentucky 3
Saturday, June 1 | Game 3 | Southern Miss vs. Northern Kentucky | 12 p.m. | ESPN+
Saturday, June 1 | Game 4 | Indiana vs. Tennessee | 6 p.m. | ESPNU
Sunday, June 2 | Game 5 | Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser | 12 p.m.
Sunday, June 2 | Game 6 | Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner | 6 p.m.
Monday, June 3 | Game 7 | If necessary

Game Results: The Vols were led by Dylan Dreiling with 3 runs batted in and a home run. Also homering for Tennessee include Billy Amick and Hunter Ensley.

Lexington Regional

Game 1: Kentucky 10, Western Michigan 8
Game 2: Illinois 4, Indiana State 1
Saturday, June 1 | Game 3 | Western Michigan vs. Indiana State | 12 p.m. | ESPN+
Saturday, June 1 | Game 4 | Kentucky vs. Illinois | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN+
Sunday, June 2 | Game 5 | Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser | 12 p.m.
Sunday, June 2 | Game 6 | Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner | 6 p.m.
Monday, June 3 | Game 7 | If necessary

Game Results: First baseman Drake Westcott was 2-for-3 as the Illini scored early and late. Westcott has a double and two runs batted in.

Bryan-College Station Regional

Game 1: Texas A&M 8, Grambling 0
Game 2: Texas 12, Louisiana 5
Saturday, June 1 | Game 3 | Grambling vs. Louisiana | 3 p.m. | ESPN+
Saturday, June 1 | Game 4 | Texas A&M vs. Texas | 9 p.m. | ESPN+
Sunday, June 2 | Game 5 | Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser | 3 p.m.
Sunday, June 2 | Game 6 | Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner | 8 p.m.
Monday, June 3 | Game 7 | If necessary

Game Results: Rightfielder Braden Montgomery and first baseman Ted Burton had 3 hits each. Burton contributed a double and 3 runs batted in.

Chapel Hill Regional

Game 1: LSU 4, Wofford 3
Game 2: North Carolina 11, LIU 8
Saturday, June 1 | Game 3 | Wofford vs. LIU | 12 p.m. | ESPN+
Saturday, June 1 | Game 4 | LSU vs. North Carolina | 5 p.m. | ESPN2
Sunday, June 2 | Game 5 | Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser | 12 p.m.
Sunday, June 2 | Game 6 | Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner | 6 p.m.
Monday, June 3 | Game 7 | If necessary

Game Results: LSU had three home runs in the game. One each from Michael Braswell III, Jared Jones and Steven Milam to drive in all of the runs.

Fayetteville Regional

Game 1: Arkansas 17, Southeast Missouri 9
Saturday, June 1 | Game 2 | Kansas State vs. Louisiana Tech (postponed to 12 p.m. ET)
Saturday, June 1 | Game 3 | Southeast Missouri vs. Game 2 loser | 3 p.m. | ESPN+
Saturday, June 1 | Game 4 | Arkansas vs. Game 2 winner | 9 p.m. | ESPNU
Sunday, June 2 | Game 5 | Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser | 2 p.m.
Sunday, June 2 | Game 6 | Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner | 7 p.m.
Monday, June 3 | Game 7 | If necessary

 Game Results: Catcher Hudson White drove in five runs with two homers for the Razorbacks in their win.

Clemson Regional

Game 1: Coastal Carolina 13, Vanderbilt 3
Game 2: Clemson 4, High Point 3
Saturday, June 1 | Game 3 | Vanderbilt vs. High Point | 12 p.m. | SECN
Saturday, June 1 | Game 4 | Coastal Carolina vs. Clemson | 5 p.m. | ESPN+
Sunday, June 2 | Game 5 | Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser | 12 p.m.
Sunday, June 2 | Game 6 | Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner | 6 p.m.
Monday, June 3 | Game 7 | If necessary

Game Results: Coastal Carolina was led by third baseman Sam Antonacchi with two hits including a double and a home run, catcher Caden Bodine  with three hits and two runs batted in a long with first baseman Zack Beach with two hits and an RBI.

Athens Regional

Game 1: Georgia 8, Army 7
Game 2: UNC Willmington 9, Georgia Tech 0
Saturday, June 1 | Game 3 | Army vs. Georgia Tech | 12 p.m. | ACCN
Saturday, June 1 | Game 4 | Georgia vs. UNC Wilmington | 6 p.m. | ESPN+
Sunday, June 2 | Game 5 | Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser | 6 p.m.
Sunday, June 2 | Game 6 | Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner | 12 p.m.
Monday, June 3 | Game 7 | If necessary

Game Results; Third baseman Charlie Condon had three hits including a double and a home run. He also drove in three runs. The future #1 pick in the draft is read hot.

Tallahassee Regional

Game 1: Florida State 7, Stetson 2
Game 2: UCF 8, Alabama 7
Saturday, June 1 | Game 3 | Stetson vs. Alabama | 12 p.m. | ESPNU
Saturday, June 1 | Game 4 | Florida State vs. UCF | 5 p.m. | ESPN+
Sunday, June 2 | Game 5 | Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser | 12 p.m.
Sunday, June 2 | Game 6 | Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner | 6 p.m.
Monday, June 3 | Game 7 | If necessary

Game Results: Centerfielder Andrew Williamson drove in two runs with his sixth home run of the season and Matt Cedarburg doubled to drive in two runs in a squeaker by Alabama.

Norman Regional

Game 1: UConn 4, Duke 1
Game 2: Oklahoma 14, Oral Roberts 0
Saturday, June 1 | Game 3 | Duke vs. Oral Roberts | 3 p.m. | ESPNU
Saturday, June 1 | Game 4 | UConn vs. Oklahoma | 9 p.m. | ESPN+
Sunday, June 2 | Game 5 | Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser | 3 p.m.
Sunday, June 2 | Game 6 | Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner | 9 p.m.
Monday, June 3 | Game 7 | If necessary

Game Results: The Sooners banged out 17 hits including three long balls to glide to an easy win.
Kyson Witherspoon pitched 6 innings of one hit ball to shut them down.

 

Raleigh Regional

Game 1: South Carolina 8, James Madison 7
Game 2: NC State 9, Bryant 2
Saturday, June 1 | Game 3 | James Madison vs. Bryant | 12 p.m. | ESPN+
Saturday, June 1 | Game 4 | South Carolina vs. NC State | 6 p.m. | ESPN+
Sunday, June 2 | Game 5 | Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser | 12 p.m.
Sunday, June 2 | Game 6 | Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner | 6 p.m.
Monday, June 3 | Game 7 | If necessary

Game Results: Alec Makarewicz banged out four hits to lad the Tar Heels to an easy win.

Stillwater Regional

Game 1: Florida 5, Nebraska 2
Game 2: Oklahoma State 19, Niagra 7
Saturday, June 1 | Game 3 | Nebraska vs. Niagara | 2 p.m. | ESPN+
Saturday, June 1 | Game 4 | Florida vs. Oklahoma State | 7 p.m. | SECN
Sunday, June 2 | Game 5 | Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser | 2 p.m.
Sunday, June 2 | Game 6 | Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner | 7 p.m.
Monday, June 3 | Game 7 | If necessary

Game Results: The Gators were packed by a red hot right fielder Ashton Wilson with three doubles before the 5th innings, only to add a  home run and two runs batted in.

Charlottesville Regional

Game 1: Virginia 4, Penn 2
Game 2: Mississippi State 5, St. John’s 2
Saturday, June 1 | Game 3 | Penn vs. St. John’s | 12 p.m. | ESPN+
Saturday, June 1 | Game 4 | Virginia vs. Mississippi State | 6 p.m. | ACCN
Sunday, June 2 | Game 5 | Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser | 12 p.m.
Sunday, June 2 | Game 6 | Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner | 6 p.m.
Monday, June 3 | Game 7 | If necessary

 

Tucson Regional

Game 1: West Virginia 4, DBU 1
Game 2: Grand Canyon 9, Arizona 4
Saturday, June 1 | Game 3 | DBU vs. Arizona | 4 p.m. | ESPN+
Saturday, June 1 | Game 4 | West Virginia vs. Grand Canyon | 10 p.m. | ESPN+
Sunday, June 2 | Game 5 | Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser | 3 p.m.
Sunday, June 2 | Game 6 | Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner | 9 p.m.
Monday, June 3 | Game 7 | If necessary

 

Santa Barbara Regional

Game 1: Oregon 5, San Diego 4
Game 2: UC Santa Barbara 9, Fresno State 6
Saturday, June 1 | Game 3 | San Diego vs. Fresno State | 4 p.m. | ESPN+
Saturday, June 1 | Game 4 | Oregon vs. UC Santa Barbara | 10 p.m. | ESPN+
Sunday, June 2 | Game 5 | Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser | 3 p.m.
Sunday, June 2 | Game 6 | Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner | 9 p.m.
Monday, June 3 | Game 7 | If necessary

 

Corvallis Regional

Game 1: UC Irvine 13, Nicholls 12
Game 2: Oregon State 10, Tulane 4
Saturday, June 1 | Game 3 | Nicholls vs. Tulane | 4 p.m. | ESPN+
Saturday, June 1 | Game 4 | UC Irvine vs. Oregon State | 7 p.m. | ESPN2
Sunday, June 2 | Game 5 | Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser | 12 p.m.
Sunday, June 2 | Game 6 | Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner | 6 p.m.
Monday, June 3 | Game 7 | If necessary

 

Greenville Regional

Game 1: Evansville 4, East Carolina 1
Game 2: VCU 1, Wake Forest 0
Saturday, June 1 | Game 3 | East Carolina vs. Wake Forest | 12 p.m. | ESPN2
Saturday, June 1 | Game 4 | Evansville vs. VCU | 6 p.m. | ESPN+
Sunday, June 2 | Game 5 | Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser | 12 p.m.
Sunday, June 2 | Game 6 | Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner | 6 p.m.
Monday, June 3 | Game 7 | If necessary

 

2024 DI baseball tournament super regionals schedule
Dates: Friday-Sunday, June 7-9 or Saturday-Monday, June 8-10

 

 

 

2024 Men’s College World Series schedule
June 14

Game 1: TBD vs. TBD, 2 p.m. | ESPN
Game 2: TBD vs. TBD, 7 p.m. | ESPN
June 15

Game 3: TBD vs. TBD, 2 p.m. | ESPN
Game 4: TBD vs. TBD, 7 p.m. | ESPN
June 16

Game 5: TBD vs. TBD, 2 p.m. | ESPN
Game 6: TBD vs. TBD, 7 p.m. | ESPN
June 17

Game 7: TBD vs. TBD, 2 p.m. | ESPN
Game 8: TBD vs. TBD, 7 p.m. | ESPN
June 18

Game 9: TBD vs. TBD, 2 p.m. | ESPN
Game 10: TBD vs. TBD, 7 p.m. | ESPN
June 19

Game 11: TBD vs. TBD, 2 p.m. | ESPN
Game 12: TBD vs. TBD, 7 p.m. | ESPN
June 20

Game 13 (if necessary): TBD vs. TBD, 2 p.m. | TBD
Game 14 (if necessary): TBD vs. TBD, 7 p.m. | TBD
June 22

MCWS Final Game 1: TBD vs. TBD, 7:30 p.m. | ESPN
June 23

MCWS Final Game 2: TBD vs. TBD, 2 p.m. | ABC
June 24

MCWS Final Game 3 (if necessary): TBD vs. TBD, 7 p.m. | ESPN

 

 

College Baseball Now! May 31st

Tom Knuppel College Baseball 2024

 

Previous editions:

May 27 HERE

May 28 HERE

May 30 HERE

 

Let’s take a look at what happened in the world of college baseball. First of all, they college games are starting up again on June 1st with the D1 and D2 World Series each taking place while the summer league are almost completely started.

The Texas Collegiate League started up and the Baton Rouge Bougarou defeated Lake Charles Gumbeaux Gators 1-0. In the game , the Bougarou were led by second baseman Mason Ruiz with two hits. He is a sophomore from Grayson College. Cayden Schmidt a freshman from Hill College fanned three in 1.2 IP for the winners. For the Gators.

In other action, the Sequin River Monsters were 5-3 winners over the Victoria Generals. Erik Janner had two hits including a triple and two runs batter in for the freshman from UTRGV. The Generals saw Dalton Mullins and Riley Bender lead the offense.

In the Prospects League, the Worcester Bravehearts scored 4 in the 7th, 1 in the 8th and 2 in the ninth to defeat the New Britain Bees. Right fielder Matt Millone, senior from SUNY Maritime led the offense with 3 hits including a home run and a double with 3 RBI’s.

The Bees saw Kyle Carlson get two hits and two runs batted in s the team dropped to 1-4 on the young season

On May 31st, the Valley League Baseball will have their opening day.

D1 and D2 baseball each open up their World Series run in Omaha and Cary respectively.

On June 1st, I will be giving my predictions for the first round of the MLB draft!

College Baseball Now! May 30th

Tom Knuppel College Baseball 2024

-sorry I missed a post yesterday but a family issue took priority-

COLLEGE BASEBALL NOW!

 

Prospect League games can be watched on FUBO and the Northwoods League televise their contests on ESPN PLUS. Not always the best announcing in them but it is baseball to watch.

In action yesterday in the Prospect League we have the Clinton LumberKings defeating the Springfield Lucky Horseshoes 9-6. Shortstop Rayth Petersen led Clinton in hitting as he was 4-for 6( including two doubles and a home run)for the evening. He is 5’11” and 185 lbs from the University of Illinois-Chicago and a senior. Cade Turner from Eastern Illinois University pick up the win in relief with two scoreless innings.

Springfield saw three hits from first baseman Tyler Butina who is a freshman at Central Michigan University.Pitcher Logan Rushing gave up three hits and five earned runs in one inning to get handed the loss. Rushing is a lefty sophomore from University of Memphis.

 

D2 BASEBALL Road to Cary

Championship finals: Saturday, June 1 – Saturday, June 8

Saturday, June 1
Game 1: (4) Pont Loma vs. (5) Indiana (PA), 1:30 p.m.
Game 2: (1) Central Mo. vs. (8) Angelo State, 6 p.m.
Sunday, June 2
Game 3: (3) Catawba vs. (6) Southern N.H., 1:30 p.m.
Game 4: (2) Tampa vs. (7) UIndy, 6 p.m.
Monday, June 3
Game 5: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 1:30 p.m.
Game 6: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 6 p.m.
Tuesday, June 4
Game 7: Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 1:30 p.m.
Game 8: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 6 p.m.
Wednesday, June 5
Game 9: Loser Game 6 vs. Winner Game 5, 1:30 p.m.
Game 10: Loser Game 8 vs. Winner Game 7, 6 p.m.
Thursday, June 6
Game 11: Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 9, 1:30 p.m.
Game 12: Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 10, 6 p.m.
Friday, June 7
Game 13: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 6, TBA
Game 14: Winner Game 10 vs. Winner Game 8, TBA
Saturday, June 8
Game 15: Winner Game 13 vs. Winner Game 14

 

D1 Baseball Road to Omaha

The Top 10 seeds from the NCAA College World Series are:

The national top 16 seeds are

Tennessee (50-11)

Kentucky (40-14)

Texas A&M (44-13)

North Carolina (42-13)

Arkansas (43-14)

Clemson (41-14)

Georgia (39-15)

Florida St. (42-15)

Oklahoma (37-19)

NC State (33-20), -15).

College Baseball Now! for May 28th

Tom Knuppel College Baseball 2024

May 28th, 2024

 

The Northwoods League opened up with the Wisconsin Rapid Rafters defeating the Fon Du Lac Lake Spiders 8-7. The winning pitcher was Pierce Boles from LSU Eunice as he  is a freshman righthander. The offense was led by sophomore outfielder Quintin Purelli from Elizabethtown College. The right fielder went 2-for-3 with 2 runs batted in with a huge triple in the game.  The losing pitcher of record was lefty Elden Santana from Lawrence University.

 

In the Western Canadian League openers, the Regina Red Sox edged out Saskatoon Berries 5-4. Carter Beck led the offense with 2 hits in 4 at-bats including a double and a walk. Landon Nunes added on with  2 runs batted in  for the sophomore from Cal.

The Prospect League will open up today  and we will let the readers know what prevailed.

Division 1 SEC tourney- Since nine clubs are moving on to the College World Series, here are the bracket and results from the 2024 tourney:

Wednesday, May 21

Game 1: No. 11 LSU 9, No. 6 Georgia 1
Game 2: No. 10 South Carolina 10, No. 7 Alabama 5
Game 3: No. 8 Vanderbilt 6, No. 9 Florida 3
Game 4: No. 5 Mississippi State 2, No. 12 Ole Miss 1
Wednesday, May 22

Game 5: No. 11 LSU 11, No. 3 Kentucky 0
Game 6: No. 10 South Carolina 6, No. 2 Arkansas 5
Game 7: No. 8 Vanderbilt 13, No. 1 Tennessee 4
Game 8: No. 5 Mississippi State 5, No. 4 Texas A&M 3
Thursday, May 23

Game 9: No. 3 Kentucky 9, No. 2 Arkansas 6
Game 10: No. 1 Tennessee 7, No. 4 Texas A&M 4
Game 11: No. 11 LSU 11, No. 10 South Carolina 10
Game 12: No. 8 Vanderbilt 4, No. 5 Mississippi State 3
Friday, May 24

Game 13: No. 10 South Carolina 6, No. 3 Kentucky 5
Game 14: No. 1 Tennessee 6, No. 5 Mississippi State 5
Saturday, May 25

Game 15: No. 11 LSU 12, No. 10 South Carolina 11
Game 16: No. 1 Tennessee 6, No. 8 Vanderbilt 4

 

After all or most of the leagues open, we will be mainly covering the Florida League, the Cape Cod League and the Hampton League.

College Baseball Now!

Tom Knuppel College Baseball 2024

COLLEGE BASEBALL NOW!

Welcome to College Baseball Now! This will be an almost daily report on the happenings in collegiate baseball. I will be giving the latest information of the D1 and D2 NCAA baseball news along with a dose of over twenty summer collegiate leagues around the country. Strap in and let’s go!

There are nearly twenty leagues that I will cover (not each one every day) but some of the latest results and who is getting it done this summer.

Collegiate Baseball Leagues

Atlantic- started May 23
Cape Cod- June 13
Hampton – June 13
California CBL- June 6
Cal Ripken CBL- June 1
Futures Leagues – started May 24
Florida CBL- May 30
Great Lakes- June 4
Jayhawk League –
Northwoods- May 27
NY CBL – June 6
Perfect Game- May 30
Prospect- May 29
Southern CBL- May 30
Florida CBL- June 1
South Florida League- June 1
Texas CBL- May 30
Valley League – May 31
Western Canadian- May 27

From Last Night– In the Ten Team Atlantic League, the High Point Dirty Birds split a doubleheader as Delino DeShields, Jr. hit his first home run of the summer for a 6-0 win over Charleston. In the nightcap, Rusber Estrada stroked his 9th long ball as the catcher from Gascara, Venezuela leads the league.
Also, right handed hurler Hayden Mutz, a senior from AIC, fanned five and tossed 6 innings for the Vermont Lake Monsters to secure the win.

Summer League action returns tomorrow with openers in the Northwoods and Western Canadian Leagues.

Division 2 NCAA Tournament-

This tourney will run June 1-8 in Cary, North Carolina at the USA Baseball National Training Complex. Here is the bracket for that event.

Saturday, June 1
Game 1: (4) Point Loma vs. (5) Indiana (PA), 1:30 p.m.
Game 2: (1) Central Mo. vs. (8) Angelo State, 6 p.m.
Sunday, June 2
Game 3: (3) Catawba vs. (6) Southern N.H., 1:30 p.m.
Game 4: (2) Tampa vs. (7) UIndy, 6 p.m.
Monday, June 3
Game 5: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 1:30 p.m.
Game 6: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 6 p.m.
Tuesday, June 4
Game 7: Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 1:30 p.m.
Game 8: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 6 p.m.
Wednesday, June 5
Game 9: Loser Game 6 vs. Winner Game 5, 1:30 p.m.
Game 10: Loser Game 8 vs. Winner Game 7, 6 p.m.
Thursday, June 6
Game 11: Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 9, 1:30 p.m.
Game 12: Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 10, 6 p.m.
Friday, June 7
Game 13: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 6, TBA
Game 14: Winner Game 10 vs. Winner Game 8, TBA
Saturday, June 8
Game 15: Winner Game 13 vs. Winner Game 14

D1 NCAA tournament
This College World Series is being held in Omaha, Nebraska
The selection for the Field of 64 is Monday, May 27th

Selection show: Monday, May 27 at noon ET | ESPN2/ESPNU
Regionals: Friday-Monday, May 31-June 3
Super regionals: Friday-Sunday, June 7-9 or Saturday-Monday, June 8-10
First day of MCWS games: Start Friday, June 14
MCWS finals: Saturday-Monday, June 22-23-24

Look for more tomorrow……

Baseball Stars of the 19th Century

Tom Knuppel Baseball History

A Few BIOS of Stars of Yesteryear in Baseball

These stars of the 19th century of baseball are almost forgotten. But not quite as
I have selected a dozen to highlight that were on top of their game. In fact, many of these are now in the Baseball Hall of Fame. In no particular order:

 

John Clarkson – He was born on July 1, 1861 as one of five sons of a jeweler in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He had two brothers, Walter Clarkson and Dad Clarkson that also played in the major leagues.

Clarkson compiled a career 328–178 record, placing him twelfth on the MLB list of all-time wins. Clarkson pitched over 600 innings in a season twice and won a career-high 53 games in 1885. In MLB history, only Charles Radbourne has won more games in a single season (59 in 1884). In just five seasons from 1885 to 1889, Clarkson won 209 games.

Clarkson had a wide variety of curve balls and was considered to be a calculating, scientific pitcher who carefully analyzed every hitter’s weaknesses. Hall of Fame hitter Sam Thompson said of Clarkson: “I faced him in scores of games and I can truthfully say that never in all that time did I get a pitch that came where I expected it or in the way in which I guessed it was coming.”

At the time Clarkson retired from the game, he was the winningest pitcher in National League history.

Aside from being a great pitcher, Clarkson was also a fair hitter. His 24 career home runs ranks 7th on the List of Major League Baseball all-time leaders in home runs by pitchers. He also had 232 career RBIs and 254 runs scored.

Total Baseball ranked Clarkson as the fourth best pitcher of all time behind Hall of Famers Cy Young, Christy Mathewson and Lefty Grove. He was selected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1963 by the Veterans Committee.

 

Sam Thompson– He was born on March 6, 1860 in Danville, Indiana. He was the fifth of eleven children in the family and he grew up in the town he was born in. After graduating from high school, Sam became a carpenter. He was a big and strong guy that played a bit of local baseball. People were in awe of his size and strength.

A scout came to see “Big Sam’ on a referral. Even though, Sam was working on a roof and not playing baseball, he was offered a contract. He wasn’t sure he wanted to give up a steady job, Thompson went to a scouting camp and was persuaded to play baseball.

Thompson signed with the Indianapolis Hoosiers of the newly formed Western League in 1885. He compiled a .321 average in 30 games with the Hoosiers He was approached by a Union Association team and offered more money, but in a show of “steadfastness to his word”, Thompson refused the offer and remained with Indianapolis at a pay of $100 per month. The Hoosiers were the dominant team in the Western League, compiling an .880 winning percentage.

MLB statistics
Batting average .331
Home runs 126
Runs batted in 1,308
He played as a right fielder in Major League Baseball for the Detroit Wolverines (1885–1888), Philadelphia Phillies (1889–1898) and Detroit Tigers (1906). He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.

Thompson had a .331 career batting average and was one of the most prolific run producers in baseball history. His career run batted in (RBI) to games played ratio of .923 (1,305 RBIs in 1,410 games) remains the highest in major league history. In 1895, Thompson averaged 1.44 RBIs per game, and his 166 RBIs in 1887 (in only 127 games) remained the major league record until 1921 when Babe Ruth collected 168 (albeit in 152 games). Thompson still holds the major league record for most RBIs in a single month with 61 in August 1894 while playing for the Phillies. Manager Bill Watkins in 1922 called Thompson “the greatest natural hitter of all time.”

In 1974, he was selected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

 

Deacon McGuire–

James Thomas “Deacon” McGuire was born in Youngstown, Ohio on November 18, 1863  and died at Duck Lake on  October 31, 1936 at the age of 72. Deacon was an American professional baseball player, manager and coach whose career spanned the years 1883 to 1915. He played 26 seasons in Major League Baseball, principally as a catcher, for 11 different major league clubs. His longest stretches were with the Washington Statesmen/Senators (901 games, 1892–99), Brooklyn Superbas (202 games, 1899–1901) and New York Highlanders (225 games, 1904–07). He played on Brooklyn teams that won National League pennants in 1899 and 1900.

McGuire was the most durable catcher of his era, setting major league catching records for most career games caught (1,612), putouts (6,856), assists (1,860), double plays turned (143), runners caught stealing (1,459), and stolen bases allowed (2,529). His assist, caught stealing, and stolen bases allowed totals ue record 133 games and compiled a .336 batting average with 10 home runs, 97 RBIs and 17 stolen bases.

McGuire was also the manager of the Washington Senators (1898), Boston Red Sox (1907–08) and Cleveland Indians (1909–11). He compiled a 210–287 (.423) as a major league manager.

 

Chub Collins– Born as Charles Augustus “Chub” Collins  on October 12, 1857 in Cnada. He died on  May 20, 1914 was a Canadian professional baseball player and politician. He played two seasons in Major League Baseball from 1884 to 1885 as a second baseman and shortstop for the Buffalo Bisons, Indianapolis Hoosiers, and Detroit Wolverines. He later served as the mayor of Dundas, Ontario, from 1901 to 1902.

Collins compiled a .182 batting average and .901 fielding percentage in his major league career. In its obituary of Collins, Sporting Life wrote: “Charles ‘Chub’ Collins was a brainy ball player, a mediocre hitter, and one of the fastest base runners in America.”

Collins also played and managed in baseball’s minor leagues from 1885 to 1890 and 1896 to 1900, including stints with the International League and Canadian League teams in Hamilton, Ontario (1885-1887, 1897-1900), Rochester, New York (1888-1889), and Galt, Ontario (1896). He stole 45 bases in 1886, 85 bases in 1888, and 81 bases in 1889. His 1898 Hamilton team won the league championship “with one of the strongest minor league aggregations ever seen In Hamilton.” He also served as an umpire in the Western Association in 1891.

 

 

 

 

 

 

MORE COMING SOON!