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Collegiate Baseball The Voice Of Amateur Baseball Started In 1958 At The Request Of Our Nation’s Baseball Coaches Vol. 62, No. 14 Friday, Oct. 4, 2019 $4.00 Ultimate Hitting System Explored With strikeouts at highest level with the NCAA. In an effort to find out why hitting discipline is in 50 years and batting average suffering so much, we contacted the greatest hitting for NCAA Division I teams the coach of all time in Gary Ward, former head coach at lowest in 47 years, Gary Ward Oklahoma State. He has spent a lifetime studying hitting and why explains how to help hitters. hitters thrive and fail. In 19 years as the head coach with the Cowboys, By LOU PAVLOVICH, JR. his teams led all NCAA Div. I teams in run production Editor/Collegiate Baseball six times. During those 19 years, his teams averaged 9.2 runs TILLWATER, Okla. — Hitting discipline is per game. becoming rare in baseball. The highest amount What fueled that incredible run production was a Sof strikeouts took place last season in NCAA Div. remarkable on-base percentage by his hitters which I baseball over the past 50 years. was kick started by walks because of disciplined hitters Teams averaged a record 8.08 strikeouts per nine who refused to swing at marginal pitches. innings as the quest to hit more home runs grew. When you look at the on-base percentage of Ward’s Also consider the batting average for Division I teams during that time, his offense never had a lower teams was only .269 in 2019 — the lowest in the past on-base percentage than .423 after his first two seasons 47 years. with the Cowboys. The final year of wood bats being used in college During the 1987 and 1988 seasons, the on-base baseball (1973) was the last time batting averages were percentages were extraordinary at .500 and .517. lower (.266) in Division I baseball. His teams walked more than any school in NCAA In the September 6 edition of Collegiate Baseball, Div. I history as they averaged 7.1 walks per game. we delved into the NCAA Div. I Baseball Statistics In 15 of those 19 seasons, his batters walked at least Trends report which was compiled by Jeff Williams, Associate Director of Media Coordination and Statistics See BULLETPROOF HITTING , Page 4 Larry Vucan Leads Dragons To Championships REMARKABLE HIGH SCHOOL COACHING BATTLE PLAN Carroll High School Head Coach Larry Vucan utilizes a number of vital steps in a special system that has led to great success in the state of Texas. By LOU PAVLOVICH, JR. Editor/Collegiate Baseball OUTHLAKE, Tex. — One of the best high school coaches in the nation is Larry Vucan of Carroll High School (Southlake, We spend a lot of STex.). time on jump leads, and He has an incredible system that has allowed the Dragons to “ win back-to-back 6A state championships during the 2018 and our players see a lot 2019 seasons in Texas. In 2018, it wasn’t a surprise to see Carroll win the state title of film on jump leads. with a team loaded with 22 seniors. We also talk a lot about But 2019 was a shock. Only one sophomore starter returned from on-base percentage and the state championship team, and 22 seniors had graduated. The Dragons started the season 1-6 and had a 6-game losing want plate discipline streak after an opening day win. with our hitters. The season began in San Jose, Calif. as the Dragons played their first five games against top California teams such as Orange — Larry Vucan Lutheran and Valley Christian. Carroll H.S. (TX) Instead of using his best players in each game, Vucan felt the wisest course of action was to utilize two completely different FABULOUS FUNDRAISING IDEAS — Collegiate Baseball explores a number of ways for college and high school programs See Page 20 VUCAN LEADS DRAGONS TO, to bring in extra money to help offset expenses. See page 6. Inside C”ollegiate Baseball Web Site: www.baseballnews.com NCAA Div. I Recruiting Rundown Q&A Session With Erik Bakich Superb, New Baseball Products Vanderbilt lands No. 1 class with Michigan head coach explains Take a close look at innovative impressive haul of 15 freshmen why his teams practice outdoors items from our advertisers that which has 5 draft picks/Page 14 even down to 1 degree/Page 24 will help baseball teams/Page 25 Page 2 Collegiate Baseball Friday, Oct. 4, 2019 Big League Chew was invented by Rob Nelson, a former Cornell University lefthander who was pitching in Oregon in 1977 for the fabled Portland Mavericks when he came up with the idea for a new type of bubble gum. Rob was literally sitting in the Portland bullpen, watching his team- mates chewing other less salubrious stuff, when he thought that shredded bubble gum would be a much more fun option. Rob shared the idea with Mav teammate Jim Bouton who liked the concept so much he spent the next two years searching for a gum company to manufacture and distribute Big League Chew. He succeeded, and BLC quickly became the must-have bubble gum for ballplayers in the littlest leagues to the Big Leagues. Today, over 40 years later, Big League Chew is the #1-selling shredded bubble gum in the world — with over 800 million pouches sold. It is manufactured in the USA by Ford Gum of Akron, New York. ™ BIG LEAGUE CHEW® AMERICA’S BUBBLE GUM Coaches Discount now available at bigleaguechew.com Friday, Oct. 4, 2019 Collegiate Baseball Page Collegiate Baseball The Voice Of Advertiser Directory Amateur Baseball ATEC Pitching Machines.................................19 Oates Specialties ..............................................13 Beam Clay/Partac Peat .......................................5 Own The Zone ...................................................9 Big League Chew ...............................................2 Pocket Radar ......................................................3 Collegiate Baseball (ISSN 050-9751) is published twice a month Cheapbats ...........................................................9 ProBatter ..........................................................25 January-May and once in June, July, September and October Diamond Pro.....................................................27 PYT Sports .......................................................21 (14 total issues) by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, Inc., 2515 Diamond Sports................................................15 Scoremaster ........................................................3 N. 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Directory Martin Heads 2019 Hall Of Fame Class LUBBOCK, Texas — The Southern California’s Wally his three years at Florida A&M, Area Code (520) winningest coach in college baseball Hood, who posted a remarkable including historic wins over the Lou Pavlovich, Jr. (Call 62-450) Publisher: 21-2 record in 1948; Seminole nationally ranked Miami Hurricanes Editor: Lou Pavlovich, Jr. (Call 62-450 to report stories) history and the player of the decade Advertising Director: Diane Pavlovich (Call 62-450) in the 1990s highlight the 2019 State Coach Lloyd Simmons, three times. Subscription Department: (Call 62-450) National College Baseball Hall of the winningest coach in junior Hood was a first-team All- Fax Machine: (Call 624-5501) Fame induction class. college baseball history; and American pitcher in 1948. He E-Mail: [email protected] This year’s class, which will be Ferrum College flamethrower Billy posted a record of 21-2 while Web Site: www.baseballnews.com inducted as a part of the College Wagner, whose strikeout records leading the Trojans to the first of Baseball Night of Champions still stand in Division III. their 12 national championships, celebration Nov. 1-2 in Baton NCAA administrator Dennis the most of any NCAA Division I 2019 Publication Schedule Rouge, La., is headlined by former Poppe rounds out the class as the baseball program. Florida State Coach Mike Martin, first inductee to be selected from He beat Baylor twice in the 1948 January 4 March 8 May September 6 January 25 March 22 May 17 October 4 winner of 2,029 games, and Cal the contributors section of the NCAA Western championship, February 8 April 5 June 14 State Fullerton’s Mark Kotsay, a ballot. then threw a four-hitter to beat February 22 April 19 July 12 two-time All-American and winner A four-time All-Southwest Yale, 3-1, in the first game of the of three National Player of The Year Conference performer at Texas College World Series in Kalamazoo, awards in 1995. from 1969-72, Chalk posted a Michigan. He finished his career Moving? Martin finished his career in June career batting average of .362, a with a 29-4 record. as the only college baseball coach school record at the time.