• Roff (Okla.) infielder Dayne Parker – Parker played in the Area Code Games. He hit .505 with 13 home runs for Roff. He hit .480 with 11 home runs for the Oklahoma Travelers summer team.
• Choctaw (Okla.) infielder Josh Halbert – Halbert hit .435 with two homers for his summer team, the Oklahoma Outlaws.
• Pitcher Kris Gardner of Prestonwood Christian Academy in Plano, Texas – Gardner (6-foot-5, 195 pounds) is a lefty who was named to the All-District team for the Class 5A private schools. He went 4-4 with a 2.40 ERA as a junior, striking out 53 (with nine walks) in 492/3 innings.

“I’ve seen a lot of pitchers like Kris that blossom once they get to college,” coach Mike Maack said. “I think that’s where Kris fits in.”

• Pitcher Cale Elam of Oktaha, Okla. – Elam helped Oktaha to the Class A fall championship in 2009. He compiled a 1.87 ERA with 53 strikeouts in 56 innings for the Oklahoma Travelers summer team.
• Pitcher Zach Beringer of Harrisburg, Mo. – Beringer went 5-1 with a 1.57 ERA for Harrisburg. He struck out 79 in 44.2 innings.

“He’s got that same ability,” Rawlings Prospects general manager Todd Whaley said. “He’s a big, strong kid that’s only going to get better. He’s got a chance, because of his strength and size, to go to Wichita and have an impact like Charlie Lowell.”

• Pitcher Albert Minnis of Lawrence – A lefty, Minnis went 7-0 with a 0.57 ERA for Lawrence, the 2008 Class 6A champions. He pitched in the Area Code Games.

“What made the final decision was the baseball program itself,” Minnis said. “I really fell in love with the coaches and it’s a great place to be.”

• Catcher Bob Arens of Northwest High – Arens hit .507 wtih 11 doubles and 32 RBI for the Grizzlies. He was an All-Class 6A pick at designated hitter.

“He’s pretty polished,” said summer coach Brandon Hall (now a volunteer assistant at WSU). “You don’t see many young kids that can receive and block the way he can.”

The biggest news of the fall concerns two pitchers who barely touched the mound this fall. Tyler Fleming had surgery to clean up scar tissue in his right shoulder on Monday. The labrum and rotator cuff look good. Pitching coach Brent Kemnitz says there is a chance Fleming could be 100 percent by December and on track to throw this spring. Grant Muncrief, who had Tommy John surgery in April, looks good throwing bullpens. He could be ready by late February. The coaches had largely written him off for this season. Apparently, aggressive rehab this summer in Wichita is putting Muncrief on the fast track. Recovery is usually 10-12 months after surgery and he will be at 10 months in February. Logan Hoch, who also missed last season with shoulder surgery, threw this fall and expects to be full strength this spring.

Any one of those three helps WSU’s bullpen. If two or three are back and effective, the bullpen is in great shape.

“A lot hinges on the health of Logan Hoch, Grant Muncrief and Tyler Fleming,” Kemnitz said. “If you throw them in the mix, our depth is incredible. We’re hopeful. We think they’re going to be OK.”

Some random thoughts and numbers:

• Black won the series 4-3 by hitting .339 and – in what might be the best stat of fall – walking 33 times and striking out 25. Strikeouts killed the Shockers last season (423 to 220 walks), so any good sign is encouraging. Johnny Coy led Black with a .483 batting average. Mitch Caster (.714 slugging percentage) and Will Baez both homered twice. Caster also doubled three times. Coy struck out once in 29 at-bats.
• Three pitchers carried Black. Reliever Cobey Guy struck out 18 (six walks) in 11 innings and compiled a 1.64 ERA. T.J. McGreevy (2-0, 3.55 ERA) and Josh Smith (1-1, 3.75) did most of the starting work.

“What you saw last year (of Cobey Guy) was not what we recruited,” Kemnitz said. “He came in here hurt. He had no confidence. This fall guys have seen the guy we recruited. There’s no reason he can’t domino that into a great spring, because he has great stuff.”

• Freshman pitcher Tobin Mateychick, a right-hander, endured an up and down fall. Kemnitz said he possesses the greatest upside of the new pitchers. Staying focused on every pitch remains a challenge.
• Coach Gene Stephenson saw hitters who did a better job of taking the ball up the middle, going the other way and battling with two strikes.

“We’re doing a much better job of being tougher outs,” he said.

• Baez looked much more comfortable at second base. A converted catcher, he struggled with positioning and fundamentals last season. Those problems appear to in the past. “He has a lot better feel for what he’s supposed to do,” Stephenson said.
• Stephenson liked Kevin Hall’s work in center field and at the plate. WSU has a lot of outfielders to chose from. All of them did good things at times during the fall. Travis Bennett hits and realizes he needs to be better defensively. Freshman Garrett Bayliff looked good on defense and led Black with a .552 on-base percentage. Freshman Micah Green didn’t play much defense because of a shoulder injury. His hitting impressed Stephenson. Veterans Caster, Ryan Jones and Bret Bascue had their good moments.
• Freshman shortstop Erik Harbutz hit .259. He doubled four times and walked seven times. Stephenson believes he can handle third base if needed. “He’s a pretty tough out,” Stephenson said.
• Catcher Ryan Hege led Gold with a .444 batting average and .667 slugging percentage. Jones led Gold with 10 RBI. First baseman Clint McKeever hit .379.
• Stephenson expressed some concern for his defense. The teams combined for 23 errors (and some that didn’t show up in the scorebook) in seven games. There are a lot of DH candidates on this team, which is another way of saying some players need to work on their defense. The indoor practice facility should be ready later this fall, and Stephenson hopes working indoors will help smooth out defensive issues.

The new stadium, built for the College World Series, will seat 24,000 fans. Which means around 23,000 seats will be vacant for most Creighton games. The Qwest Center move worked out well for CU basketball. I can’t blame the school for trying something similar for baseball. On paper, the move could have many benefits for scheduling and recruiting. If you can live with empty seats and little atmosphere (other than for the Nebraska game), go for it. If it helps Creighton, it helps MVC baseball. MVC baseball needs all the help it can get. Regardless of how this turns out, it’s nice to see an MVC school taking baseball seriously enough to give this a try.

As someone who went to the CWS in 1991 to see WSU and Creighton play, my first thought whenever the topic of a Creighton baseball facility comes up is – why did it take so long? Creighton missed a great opportunity to capitalize on the success of Jim Hendry’s team in the late 80s and early 90s.

• Third base might be the most interesting position to watch in the spring. Freshman Nate Goro is a good defensive player and isn’t overwhelmed at the plate. A 3-for-5 day pushed his average in six series games to .320. His three doubles are tied for the Gold lead. A few weeks ago, his defensive skills gave him a clear edge over redshirt freshman Johnny Coy. Coy, however, is impressing everyone with his rapid improvement in the field and at the plate. Goro remains a better defender, but the gap isn’t as wide as it once was. Coy is red-hot in the series, hitting .500 in six games. He went 8 for 8 in games 4 and 5 before an 0-for-4 performance on Sunday afternoon. Most impressive is this stat: One strikeout in 24 at-bats. I saw two defensive plays (one a line drive off his glove and the other a grounder that got under him) that Coy probably needs to make. If his defense continues to improve at this rate, he is on his way to being a solid third baseman.

“I feel really comfortable,” Goro said. “Defense is one of my strong suits. It’s something I definitely take pride in. When the pitcher’s out there, I want him to feel confident that if the ball’s hit my way, I’m going to be there.”

• It’s probably no coincidence that Gold’s pitching improved as soon as catcher Chris O’Brien returned from a bone bruise in his right hand. With O’Brien catching the past two games, Gold has allowed three earned runs. Sunday, Charlie Lowell and Remington Johnson combined to hold Black to three hits. Lowell is the only one of WSU’s big four returners who is pitching in the series. He is 1-1 with a 1.80 ERA in 10 innings. Sunday, he struck out four and allowed two hits in five innings.
• Freshman pitcher T.J. McGreevy is putting up the best numbers of the newcomers on the mound. He is 2-0, allowing five hits and no runs in nine innings. McGreevy, from Topeka, has struck out four and walked none.

“I’ve been hitting my spots, inside and outside, pretty well,” he said. “If you can do that, then you mix in your off-speed and keep the hitters off balance.”

• I don’t know how much freshman Erik Harbutz will play this season. He’s behind Tyler Grimes at short and Will Baez at second, and I would think both will be hard to dislodge. Regardless, Harbutz looks like a guy who will help the Shockers at some point. He never looks out of place and seems to make heady plays regularly. He is hitting .318 with a series-leading four doubles. He has struck out once in 22 at-bats and walked seven times. That’s good stuff for a freshman.
• Pitchers Tim Kelley, Jordan Cooper and Brian Flynn didn’t throw at all in the series and little this fall. They’re resting after busy summers.
• Pitcher Tyler Fleming will have surgery Monday morning to clean out scar tissue in his shoulder. Fleming was basically on the shelf this fall as he continues to rehab from a torn labrum that cost him the 2009 season.
• Pitching coach Brent Kemnitz got a long look at Josh Smith and likes what he saw. Smith, who started two games in the series, went 1-1 with a 3.75 ERA for Black. Smith, in Kemnitz’s mind, is better as a starter than a reliever.
• Senior pitcher Cobey Guy, who battled a lot of injuries last season, has 12 strikeouts (five walks) and a 2.45 ERA in 7.1 innings.
• Baez is second on the Black with a .400 batting average. Outfielder Mitch Caster is hitting .348 with two doubles and two home runs and a team-leading .696 slugging percentage. Catcher Ryan Hege, a sophomore transfer from Cowley County, leads Gold with a .455 batting average and a .727 slugging percentage. Freshman outfielder Micah Green, who can’t play the field because of shoulder problems, went 5 for 13 in three games. Senior first baseman Clint McKeever is hitting .360.
• In something of a switch, the Shockers have a lot of DH candidates. To a point that’s good. In some recent seasons, DH has been a non-productive position. This season, Coy, first baseman Preston Springer, outfielder Travis Bennett and either O’Brien or returning catcher Cody Lassley figure to be candidates. For some of those players, however, being in the DH spot means they need work on defense.
• Former Oklahoma coach Enos Semore, Gene Stephenson’s old boss with the Sooners, stopped by to check out the game and Eck Stadium’s new turf.
• What do we make of fall stats? Feel free to make as much or as little as you want. Last fall, Kyle Sisney hit .478, then left the team before the spring. Remington Johnson hit .316 and then made his biggest impact as a pitcher. Tyler Grimes hit .111 and turned into one of WSU’s best hitters in the spring. In 2007, Conor Gillaspie hit .526, which certainly turned out to be an accurate indicator. My gut feeling is the new guys or backups sometimes do better in the fall because they have something to prove. Grimes, who is learning to switch-hit, is hitting .074. I don’t think anybody is worried. The seven-game series is a big part of the fall. Coaches put an emphasis on it because it’s played with uniforms, umpires and fans. It means something. But other scrimmages are also part of the fall. It’s also worth considering that hitters don’t have to face Kelley, Cooper or Flynn.
• The general feeling remains that WSU will be a better offensive team in 2010. Now that’s a little like saying WaterWalk development is going to take off. Neither of those statements set the bar high. I don’ t know that WSU added any offensive superstars. I do think the recruits and improved returners will give the Shockers a deeper lineup. Last season, no Shocker outside of  Clint McKeever really gave pitchers much of a scare. It appears WSU will line up better hitters even into the bottom of the order in 2010. That’s the plan, anyway.
• Wednesday’s game starts at 3 p.m.

Watched a few innings on Tuesday afternoon.

• Freshman Erik Harbutz is doing good things. He homered in the first inning. He played second base. He does not seem overwhelmed by college baseball.
• Freshman outfielder Garrett Bayliff, who had hip surgery and sat out early practices, is practicing. Infielder Walker Davidson, knee surgery, is still hobbling. WSU coach Gene Stephenson expects Davidson to play when the series starts on Oct. 17. Johnny Coy, who missed some early practices with a hamstring tweak, is back at third base.
• Outfielder Travis Bennett homered. It’s nice to see some left-handed bats in the lineup. Newcomers Bennett, Bayliff and Preston Springer hit lefty. Returners Kevin Hall and Tyler Grimes are switch-hitting (at least for the fall). So does pitcher-turned-infielder Tyler Fleming. Last season, Ryan Jones and Chris O’Brien (a switch-hitter) were the only lefty bats in the lineup.
• Freshman outfielder Micah Green missed some practice with a frayed labrum. He will rehab it. Green will hit, and not throw, for the rest of the fall. Stephenson said the Shockers may use a 10-man lineup during the series in order to get enough at-bats for people.
• Senior pitcher Logan Hoch, who missed last season after shoulder surgery, will pitch in Sunday’s scrimmage

• Offense, offense, offense. Then some more offense. We don’t really need to recount WSU’s dismal numbers, but here goes: .275 batting average, 33 home runs, .362 on-base percentage, .387 slugging percentage, 423 strikeouts and 220 walks. No power and no command of the strike zone is a bad way to try to score runs. A lot of those same players are back. Will they improve?
• Things should get better in 2010, and not just because they can’t get worse. For starters, WSU appears to be much deeper than last season with legit players. There will be competition in practice. The coaches have options if players aren’t hitting. Last season’s roster was so thin, there just wasn’t much of either. WSU essentially had one infield reserve – Taylor Brown – and he ended up playing some left field. Pitcher Chance Sossamon ended the season playing third base (quite effectively). The second plus is the addition of left-handed bats. In 2009, the Shockers had Ryan Jones and Chris O’Brien (a switch-hitter). This season, Jones and O’Brien are back and outfielder Travis Bennett, infielder Preston Springer and outfielder Garrett Bayliff are lefty newcomers. Erik Harbutz is a switch-hitter. The effect of deeper roster should mean a more complete batting order. Of course, that also depends on returners shaking off last season and improving. Add Kevin Hall and Tyler Fleming to your list of switch-hitters.
• Visions of an improved bullpen depend on the health of seniors Tyler Fleming and Logan Hoch (shoulder surgery sidelined both in 2009). Unfortunately, Fleming won’t throw this fall and Hoch’s return will be later this fall. If both are ready this spring, WSU should have a good bullpen. Fleming, when healthy, gave the Shockers a lockdown guy out of the pen in 2008. Hoch wasn’t as good as Fleming in 2008, but he showed plenty of potential. If their recoveries aren’t satisfactory, it’s a big problem for the staff. I like Chance Sossoman as the closer, a role he grabbed late last spring. I like Clint McKeever as a closer if he can get enough innings to get comfortable as a reliever. Beyond that, the bullpen is a question, although I will add the brief looks I got at Cobey Guy in the NBC World Series were encouraging. He may be a junior-college guy who figures out it in his senior season.
• Fleming will give second base a shot, which seems like a good idea. He played third and short in junior college, so he is not totally unfamiliar with the infield. If nothing else, Fleming gets to practice this fall instead of sitting and watching. With Walker Davidson on crutches, the Shockers need a second baseman for scrimmages.
• One of the Shockers theorized that perhaps bunting will improve because of the way the ball rolls on the new turf.
• I’m not sure if Johnny Coy will play in Saturday’s public scrimmage. He tweaked a hamstring during Thursday’s sprints and didn’t practice. He needs all the baseball time he can get. Entering the school year, I think coaches regarded him as a player with great potential who was probably a season away from being a big-time contributor. It will be interesting to see if he can speed that timeline now that he is a one-sport athlete.
• Third base and catcher appear to be the positions most interesting to watch. Coy is working at third and first. Freshman Nate Goro is impressing people with his defense at third. Juco transfer Preston Springer can play first and third. O’Brien will devote his energies to catching after playing much of last season at third. Cody Lassley returns as the incumbent starter. Sophomore Ryan Hege and junior Ryan Engrav caught on Thursday.
• Speaking of Engrav, he came on late last season and won the job in right field. He hit and played better-than-expected defense. It all came together for him with MVP honors in the MVC Tournament. Engrav hit .281 with only four extra-base hits in 64 at-bats. Can he add some more power?
• The outfield also has some competition. I would figure Ryan Jones will play, either in center or right. I would guess Kevin Hall’s speed gives him an edge. Northern Iowa transfer Travis Bennett, Bret Bascue, Mitch Caster and Engrav are also options.
• Several recruits (committed and uncommitted) will be at Saturday’s scrimmage. Carl Albert (Okla.) High infielder (and quarterback) J.T. Realmuto is one of the uncommitted scheduled to be at Eck Stadium.
• OK – one turf note. You will notice plumes of sand and infill spray up Saturday. Mike Tinch of AstroTurf says that spray will lessen as rain and time drive the sand and rubber deeper into the turf’s “root zone.”

“I’m 90 percent sure that they will be practicing baseball here tomorrow afternoon,” Tinch said Wednesday afternoon. “We’ll be back at 7 in the morning to put Coach (Gene) Stephenson and the Shockers on this baseball field. I know they’ve got a big grand opening coming up on Saturday and we want it to be nice for them and ready to go.”

The biggest remaining job is installing the warning track. Other than that, Tinch said it’s just a few finishing touches. The Shockers, who are doing voluntary workouts at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium, can’t wait to get on their new surface.

“Unbelievably excited,” outfielder Ryan Jones said. “It is the coolest and the best field I think I’ve ever seen. And that includes in the bigs, anywhere.”

From Tinch, some factoids about the AstroTurf GameDay Grass 3D. You can see Tinch on video here.

• Using something the company calls “AstroFlect,” Tinch said the turf reflects heat instead of absorbing it. The turf won’t heat up like the old stuff.
• The turf fibers also contain an “antimicrobial” which is supposed to help prevent infections should players with cuts or scrapes slide on the turf.
• Tinch estimates the field could take two inches of rain and be ready to go 20 minutes after the rain stops. The only area that will need a tarp is the pitcher’s mound. When the rain stops, the rest of the field is ready.
• Maintenance is minimal. WSU will use a sweeper to groom the turf and pick up debris before games. Minimal yearly maintenance is recommended.
• Tinch said we won’t see the clouds of infill stirred up that is common on other turf fields. A “root zone” keeps the sand-and-rubber infill from flying up. He said that makes the turf stable and safe.
• WSU will use its fall practices to get a feel for how the turf plays. Tinch said his company can make the turf play faster or slower, largely by controlling the amount of infill.

“We custom make this thing to what your team wants,” he said. “You want it to play faster. You want it to play slower. You want it to be taller. You want it to be lower. We have total control over that.”

The Shocker World Series begins Oct. 10. More dates and times to come.