Bears head coach Kevin Smallcomb will square off with his former coach John Smith this weekend when Northern Colorado battles his alma mater, Sacramento State.

March 9, 2006

Sacramento State Game Notes in PDF Format
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University of Northern Colorado Bears (4-10)
vs. Sacramento State Hornets (7-11)
Friday, March 10, 2006 * 3:00 p.m. MT
Saturday, March 11, 2006 * 2:00 p.m. MT
Sunday, March 12, 2006 * 12:00 p.m. MT
Sacramento, Calif. * Hornet Field (1,267)

The Series: Sacramento State leads 3-0.

The Coaches: Kevin Smallcomb is 89-88 (.503) in his fourth year at Northern Colorado and 339-235 (.591) in his 15th year as a collegiate head coach.

John Smith is 780-753 (.509) in his 28th year at Sacramento State.

Radio: No UNC broadcast. The Sacramento State feed can be heard at http://www.HornetSports.com.

Livestats: none

GAME INFORMATION
After snapping a five-game losing streak on Tuesday at Air Force, the University of Northern Colorado baseball team continues its season-long road trip this weekend by traveling to California for a three-game set with former Division I Independent Sacramento State.

The teams will play at 3 p.m. MT on Friday, 2 p.m. MT on Saturday and Noon on Sunday.

THE BEAR FACTS
Northern Colorado topped in-state rival Air Force by a 7-3 margin on Tuesday, defeating the Falcons for the 15th time in the last 17 meetings. That gave the team their fourth victory of the season and snapped a season-long five-game losing streak.

But there is no rest for the travel-weary Bears, who have three more road games before finally getting to play a home game (next Tuesday and Wednesday vs. Nebraska-Kearney). In all, Northern Colorado will play 17 games on the road before playing a home contest.

The series at Sacramento State is a homecoming for several Bears, including head coach Kevin Smallcomb, who played for coach John Smith at Sacramento State in 1981-82, and is a native of Santa Rosa. Smallcomb matches up with his mentor for the second time (the teams also played in 2004). Bears pitcher Tyler Pearson (Ukiah) and volunteer assistant Ben Lewis (Cupertino) are also returning home.

OPPONENT INFORMATION

Sacramento State: The Hornets began a 9-game homestand on Wednesday afternoon by dropping a 6-1 decision to Santa Clara, snapping a one-game winning streak. Overall, Sacramento State has lost five of six entering the weekend, have lost games to No. 8 Oregon, San Francisco and UC Irvine (2). Sacramento is a very similar team to the Bears that they are a member of the Big Sky Conference for most sports, but were an independent for baseball the last few years. This year, however, the Hornets have joined the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) for baseball only, a move Northern Colorado would like to make eventually. Pat Keiper leads the team with a .403 average and 16 RBI. Brian Blauser, nephew of former MLB player Jeff Blauser, is second on the team with 10 RBI. Starter Mick Joyce is 3-0 with a 2.25 ERA in five starts; he will pitch against the Bears on Sunday. Head coach John Smith, who coached Bears head coach Kevin Smallcomb in college, is in his 28th year with the program.

Series History: The two teams have played three times before, all of which came in the 2004 season. The Hornets took all three games from the Bears, including the first and last game by only one run (12-11 and 9-8). In that opener, the Bears trailed 12-4 entering the ninth inning but scored seven times to pull within a run. The Bears eventually grounded out with the bases loaded to end the contest. The Hornets won the middle game 17-7 before the Bears attempted another comeback in the finale. They scored five times in the final two innings and got home runs from All-American Trevor Allen and Patrick Perry (who led the nation in batting that season) but could not pull out the win. Perry hit .583 (7-of-12) in the series while the only other Bears still on the UNC roster were Brennan Garr (.273), John Ray (.250 with a home run) and Chad Clark (two hits).

THE BEAR NECCESSITIES
If you don't have time to read everything in this packet, these are the key notes about the Bears.
Northern Colorado snapped a 5-game losing streak on Tuesday, topping in-state rival Air Force 7-3 at The Academy ... the Bears have now won five in a row and 15 of 17 against the Falcons, including seven in a row on the Falcons home field ... junior Grady Gorman set a career-high in hits in each of his last two games, going 4-for-5 against each New Mexico and Air Force; Gorman raised his batting average from .310 to .404 in those two contests ... junior Matt Collins picked up his first career victory in a 7-3 victory over Air Force on March 7; he allowed two unearned runs in five innings of work for the Bears ... senior transfer Zach Harris was named the Division I Independent Newcomer of the Week on Feb. 28 after hitting .500 (7-of-14) and driving in seven runs in the New Mexico State series ... earlier this season the Bears were shutout 5-0 and 2-0 in back-to-back games at Texas A&M, the first time since the 1986 season (a stretch of 944 games) the team had been shutout in back-to-back contests ... the Bears had their home-opener with Air Force (Feb. 21) snowed out; the game will be made up later this season ... the Bears will now not play at home until March 14-15 when they host Nebraska-Kearney; that means the team will play its first 17 games of the season away from home ... junior closer Brennan Garr missed the first three games of the season due to an off-season injury, but returned to strike out the side in the ninth inning in the Bears win over Air Force; Garr hit 94 on the radar gun in his first live action since the summer ... he tied the school record for saves in a career (8) with a save at New Mexico State on Feb. 24 ... Garr saw his first action at the plate at Texas A&M, registering one hit in each game; he has hit safely in 37 of 40 games dating back to last year and nine straight games this season ... the Bears had back-to-back quality pitching performances from Chris Johns (7 innings, 1 run) and Seth Gilleland (6.1 innings, 2 runs, got the win) to start the season.

NORTHERN COLORADO NOTES

Who Says You Can't Go Home?: This weekend's games at Sacramento State will be a homecoming for three people associated with the Northern Colorado team. Head coach Kevin Smallcomb, a native of Santa Rosa, played at Sacramento State in 1980 and 1981 for head coach John Smith, the same coach he will square off his weekend. The two squared off in the 2004 season, with the Bears dropping all three games to the Hornets (although two of the games were 1-run games). Smallcomb was a standout infielder for the Hornets and still ranks in the school's top-10 for stolen bases in a season (40 - 4th) and career (52 - 6th). Volunteer assistant coach Ben Lewis is also a California native, having grown up in Cupertino and attended Menlo College and San Jose State. Junior pitcher Tyler Pearson is a native of Ukiah (2.5 hours northwest of Sacramento) and should also have a lot of family and friends in attendance.

Gorman Lights It Up: If you could cork an aluminum bat, someone would be best served to check Grady Gorman's bat. The junior outfielder is 8-of-10 in his last two games, registering a career-high four hits in his last two games (vs. New Mexico and Air Force). Gorman had a three singles and a home run in his last game, a 7-3 win over Air Force. In his last two games, Gorman has moved his batting average from .310 to .404, an increase of 96 points.

Bears and Falcons Play Second of Six This Season: Northern Colorado and Air Force met for the first of six times this season on Feb. 8 in Pueblo at Runyon Field. The Bears came out of top 13-5 thanks in-part to a six-run fourth inning that got the offense started. The second meeting of the year came on March 7 at The Academy as the Bears came back from an early 2-0 deficit to win 7-3. The Bears have now won five in a row and 15 of 17 in the series over the Falcons. UNC has also won seven in a row at The Academy. The two teams will next meet on April 4 in Greeley.

Opponent Rankings: After Gonzaga topped the Bears on Feb. 5, the Bulldogs went on to break into several of the top-30 polls nationally. Texas A&M also did the same thing, sweeping a 3-game set with the Bears before eventually being ranked. The Bears still have to face several teams this season who are currently ranked, including Arkansas, Nebraska, Kansas and Wichita State.

Garr Ties School Career Saves Mark: With a save versus New Mexico State on Feb. 24, junior Brennan Garr tied the school's career record for career saves (8, also held by Greg Cook - 1972-74). Garr tied the single-season saves record last season when he had seven saves (and also led the team with a .365 batting average), when he was the runner-up for the D-I Independent Player of the Year award.

Snow Cancels Home Opener: The beauty of Greeley, Colo. in the winter is that January and February could bring 65 degree days or snow. Unfortunately for the Bears snow came a week prior to their scheduled home opener on Feb. 21 versus Air Force, forcing the cancellation of the game. A make-up date has not been set but the teams will most likely play a doubleheader at some point of the season. The Bears will now not play a home game until March 14-15 when they host Nebraska-Kearney. The Bears also lost their 2004 home opener, a two-game series with Nebraska-Kearney (Feb. 7-8), due to snow. Last season the Bears were to open the season at Air Force (Feb. 8), but snow also forced that series to be cancelled.

Tuesday's Gone: Northern Colorado likes playing on Tuesday's. In the four years under head coach Kevin Smallcomb the Bears have compiled a 17-10 record on Tuesday's. UNC has won 9 of its last 14 games played on a Tuesday, including a 7-3 victory over Air Force (March 7) in their last Tuesday outing. The Bears are 12-3 (losses to Southern Colorado and Air Force - twice) on Tuesday's at Jackson Field under Smallcomb, and have won seven of their last eight on a Tuesday at home. The Bears next game on a Tuesday is on March 14 when they host Nebraska-Kearney.

Ray in Power Slump: Junior catcher John Ray needs just one more home run to enter the school's career top-10 list (he currently has 23 round-trippers). He has struggled at the plate this season, going homerless in 47 official at-bats, the longest stretch of his Northern Colorado career without a home run. Dating back to last year, his last home run came 56 at-bats ago, on May 20, 2005 against South Dakota State.

Garr Returns to Lineup: The Bears top returning player, INF/RHP Brennan Garr missed all three games at Texas-Pan American Classic (Feb. 3-5) due to an injury he suffered in the off-season. Garr, who did not participate in team drills in the fall, did return to the lineup on Feb. 8 against Air Force, entering the game to pitch the ninth inning. Although it was not a save situation Garr, the program's single-season and career saves leader, struck out the side and hit 94 on the radar gun. Garr, who led the team in hitting a year ago, saw his first plate appearances of the season at Texas A&M (Feb. 17-19) where he singled in each contest. Dating back to last season Garr has a hit in 37 of his last 40 games, including nine straight this season.

Home Sweet Home: Northern Colorado was 13-8 at home last season (including winning 13 of their final 18) after compiling a 15-6 at home in 2004. Entering the year, they have won 28 of 41 and 47 of its last 62 games at Jackson Field dating back to 2003. The Bears held a 23-6 overall record at home and a 12-0 regular season mark against NCC teams in 2003, Coach Smallcomb's first at Northern Colorado (the Bears also posted a 14-game winning streak at Jackson Field and a 17-game winning streak against NCC schools). The Bears were to open the 2006 at home by hosting in-state rival Air Force on Feb. 21, but snow has delayed that game until later this year.

Pearson Nears Career Appearances Top 10: Junior Tyler Pearson has 43 career appearances at Northern Colorado, putting him only one away from joining the school's top-10 list. He made 20 appearances (three more than he made in 2004) in 2005, which ranked him second in a single-season in school history, one off the record. This season he has appeared in five games. Pearson had a breakout season in 2005, entering the Bears starting rotation and showing impressive control. On March 27 of last year (at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi), he tossed the team's first complete game in 366 days and repeated the feat the next time out in a win at Southern Utah. During the year he had a stretch of 111 batters (26.2 innings) where he did not issue a walk. Pearson finished the year 6-3 and led the team in wins, innings pitched (78) and strikeouts (52). This season he has a 4.80 ERA in 15.0 innings of work.

SEASON NOTES

A Strong Tradition: With the move back to Division I, the Northern Colorado baseball program is no stranger to success at that level. The Bears have appeared in 10 Division I College World Series, including nine from 1952-1962. From 1957-62 the Bears made six consecutive appearances, the second longest streak in CWS history (trailing only seven straight from 1981-87 by Oklahoma State). The Bears were last in the CWS in the 1974 season. UNC has appeared at the CWS in 1952, 1953, 1955, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962 and 1974.

Bears Sign Two During Early Signing Period: Northern Colorado signed two players during November's early signing period, Seth Loman (Colo. Springs, Colo./Lamar CC) and Sean Peery (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Hutchinson CC). Loman (6'4, 220 lbs.) is a switch-hitting first baseman who is in his second year at Lamar Community College. Last season he played with current Northern Colorado pitcher Seth Gilleland. Loman helped lead the Running Lopes to a 51-11 record and an Empire Conference Championship while leading the team with 12 home runs and 62 RBIs; overall, he hit.372 in 61 games. After his stellar season at Lamar, where he was a first-team all-region selection, Loman was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the 47th round (pick No. 1414) of last June's First-Year Player Draft. He attended Doherty High School and spent his freshman season at the University of Arkansas, where he redshirted. His father, Doug, played for two years (1984-85) with the Milwaukee Brewers. Peery (6'3, 215 lbs.) is a right-handed pitcher who has spent the last two years at Hutchinson Community College in Kansas, where he a teammate of current Bear pitcher Jason Banks. Last season, Peery helped lead his team to the Junior College World Series as he tossed 23 innings for the Dragons, compiling a 2-0 record and 3.96 E.R.A. During the year, Peery fired one complete game shutout and struck out 17 batters while walking just eight. Hutchinson finished the year 37-20 overall, won the regional championship and advanced to their first-ever NJCAA World Series. Peery pitched the final 7 1/3 innings of the regional championship game, allowing five hits and two runs in picking up the victory. He attended Highlands Ranch High School.

Garr on 2006 Wallace Award Watch List: Junior INF/RHP Brennan Garr is one of 120 Division I baseball players currently on the 2006 Brooks Wallace Award Watch List. The award, given by the College Baseball Foundation, is given annually to the nation's best collegiate baseball player (Nebraska's Alex Gordon won the award last season). As a sophomore in 2005, Garr led the Northern Colorado team in hitting (.365) while adding 66 hits, 11 doubles, eight home runs and 36 RBI in 51 games. He was also the Bears closer, matching the school record for saves in a single-season (7) while compiling a 3.78 ERA and 3-1 overall record. The Wallace Watch will be trimmed to 12 semi-finalists by late May. Then the selection committee will narrow the list to three finalists following the NCAA Super Regionals at a press conference in Omaha. The finalists, their head coaches, and their parents will be invited to Lubbock, Texas, for a schedule of special events tied to the award banquet, which will again be nationally televised by Fox Sports Network. The award is dedicated to the memory of former Texas Tech shortstop and assistant coach Brooks Wallace, who was a slick-fielding shortstop at Texas Tech from 1977 to 1980. In the summer of 1984 he was diagnosed with cancer and fought the disease courageously until his death on March 24, 1985, at age 27. The selection committee for the Wallace Award is comprised of a national panel of preeminent coaches, sports information directors, former winners and beat media who most closely follow the sport. Screening Committee members will evaluate the candidates and will continue their review throughout the entire baseball season. The list will expand and contract during the regular season and additional Wallace Watch candidates may be added as the season progresses. Voting for the three finalists and the Wallace Award winner will be conducted by confidential balloting, with totals tabulated by the J.W.Anderson & Associates accounting firm in Lubbock, Texas.

Pitching Hits Skid As Lobos Rough up Bears: The Bears pitching suffered quite a hit at New Mexico (March 3-5), as they allowed the Lobos to score 49 runs in just three games. UNC's E.R.A. jumped from 6.39 entering the series to 8.69 following the three games. Before holding Air Force to three runs on March 7, the Bears had allowed 77 runs to their opponents over a five-game stretch.

Gilleland Tosses Complete Game; Returns to Home State: Junior Seth Gilleland continues to impress in the early season, as he tossed a complete game at Texas A&M on Feb. 19. Unfortunately for Gilleland, the Bears came out on the losing end of the decision, losing 2-0. He allowed six hits and two runs in eight innings, while striking out two and walking only one Aggie batter. A native of Moriarty, N.M. (40 miles east of Albuquerque), got to return to his home state for the for two straight weekend, when the Bears played at New Mexico State and New Mexico in back-to-back weekends. Playing in front of a large crowd of family and friends at New Mexico, he was roughed up for nine runs (7 earned) in four innings of work.

Harris Named D-I Independent Newcomer of the Week: Senior transfer Zach Harris was named the Division I Independent Newcomer of the Week on Feb. 28. Harris, a transfer from Missouri State, hit .500 (7-of-14) with three runs scored, a home run, seven RBI, a .714 slugging percentage and a .533 on-base percentage in a weekend series at New Mexico State. Harris was 2-for-5 in the opener, with a pair of RBI and his third home run of the early season. He was a perfect 4-for-4 in the middle game of the series, driving in three runs. He concluded the weekend by going 1-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBI.

It Doesn't Happen Often: It had not happened in 944 games but when Texas A&M shutout the Bears 5-0 and 2-0 in back-to-back games it marked the first time since March 25, 1986 (a doubleheader sweep by Eastern Washington) that a team had shutout the Bears in back-to-back games. Northern Colorado had been shutout only four times all of the 2005 season and only eight times over a stretch of 264 games.

Pitching Reinforcements: The Bears have struggled pitching wise in recent years, especially in the starter's role. Under head coach Kevin Smallcomb, the Bears have had a team ERA that is above 7.00. But in the off-season, the team made a conscious effort to improve its pitching. Joining returner Tyler Pearson in the starting rotation this season is Chris Johns (a transfer from Louisiana-Lafayette), Seth Gilleland (a transfer from Lamar Community College), Eric Maydew (a transfer from Seward Community College) and Jason Banks (a transfer from Hutchinson Community College, who will most likely redshirt this season). The pitchers made an immediate impact in the season's opening weekend, as Johns allowed only one run in seven innings and Gilleland allowed two runs in 6.1 innings of work.

Horn Of Plenty: Sophomore Jeff Horn made the most of his first career start on Feb. 8 against Air Force. Horn entered the game 0-for-12 in 19 prior career games at the plate. He doubled in his first at-bat of the day on his way to a 3-for-5 performance and also drove in a pair of runs in the game. Horn was not in the original starting lineup but was a late addition due to sickness by usual starter Chad Clark.

Johns Named to UTPA All-Tournament Team: Bears senior pitcher Chris Johns was named to the All-Tournament team at the Texas-Pan American Classic. Against host Texas-Pan American on Feb. 3, Johns pitched seven innings, allowing six hits and only one earned run while striking out five and walking only one of the 26 batters he faced. Johns left the game with the contest tied 1-1, although the Bears would allow the winning run to cross the plate in the bottom of the ninth. The Bears finished the event by beating Lamar and falling to Gonzaga.

A New Spot for Ray: Catcher John Ray experienced a first in his collegiate career on Feb. 4 vs. Lamar at the Texas-Pan American Classic. Due to an injury to Brennan Garr, Ray moved to third base for the afternoon (he finished the game at first base), marking the first time in his career at Northern Colorado that he did not catch or play designated hitter. Ray started 47 games at catcher as a sophomore and seven contests at designated hitter.

Bears and Gonzaga Meet For First Time Since 1978: When the Bears met Gonzaga (Feb. 5) at the UTPA Classic, it was the first meeting between the teams since playing in the 1978 season. It was only the second meeting between the teams since the 1974 District 7 Playoffs, which were held in Greeley. The Bears won that meeting and advanced to play No. 1 Arizona for the right to play in the College World Series (which they also won and advanced to their 10th CWS). Gonzaga got the best of the Bears in 2006, however, winning 12-5 after scoring seven unearned runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to break a 5-5 tie.

A Lamar Connection: Northern Colorado has made the most of its connections with Lamar Community College, one of the top JUCO baseball programs in the state and region. Currently five players on the UNC roster have played at Lamar, including Roy Allen, Brad Beaman, Seth Gilleland, Chris Johns and Seth Tartler.

Bears Played 18 Games Against NCAA Tournament Teams Last Season: The Bears won 22 games last season and played against a very tough schedule, as they played 18 games against six teams that made the 2005 NCAA Tournament. Those teams were: Arizona, Arkansas, Creighton, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Wichita State. The Bears were only 1-17 in those games (an 8-5 victory over Wichita State being the lone win).

Bears Return Three Players From 2005 D-I All-Independent Team: Northern Colorado returns three (of its five total) players who were named to the 2005 Division I All-Independent team. Those players include first-team selections Brennan Garr (INF/RHP) and John Ray (C) and second-team pick Tyler Pearson (RHP). The Bears did lose a pair of their All-Independent picks from last year, as 1B Phil Delich (1st team) and DH Jarrod Chacon (honorable mention) graduated.

Bears Win 2005 D-I Independent Invitational: With wins over South Dakota State (5-3), Utah Valley State (11-4) and NYIT (8-3) to end last season, Northern Colorado claimed the championship at the 2005 Division I Independent Invitational, after finishing third in 2004. The Bears hosted the event for the second season in a row (NYIT won in 2004). This season the event switches venues, this time to Sioux Falls Stadium in Sioux Falls, S.D. where South Dakota State will host the event.

Draftable: Two current Bears players have been drafted in Major League Baseball's Amateur Draft, but each chose to attend college instead. Senior Brad Beaman was selected in the 42nd round (pick No. 1254) of the 2002 draft by the Anaheim Angels and John Ray was selected in the 41st round (No. 1236) of the 2003 draft by the Atlanta Braves.

Three Bears Playing In the Minor Leagues: There are currently three former Northern Colorado players playing professional baseball in the minor leagues. Patrick Perry, the 2004 Division I Independent Player of the Year, was selected in the 7th round of the 2004 First-Year Player draft by the Boston Red Sox (making him the highest draft pick in 18 years for the Bears program - since former Bear and current Nebraska head coach Mike Anderson was selected No. 207 overall in 1986). Perry led all of Division I in batting (.478) and slugging (.844) in 2004 and set school records for RBI (74), doubles (27), and total bases (157) and ranked second in a season in each hits (89) and slugging (.844). Perry has played with the Lowell Spinners and last season with the Greenville Bombers (now known as the Greenville Drive). Trevor Allen, who earned All-American honors in 2003, was not selected in the draft, but signed a free agent contract with the Colorado Rockies organization in 2004. He ended last season with the Asheville Tourists of the South Atlantic League. That is the same league that Perry is also currently playing in. The other player currently playing minor league baseball is Curt Borland, who will start the season with the Rockford Riverhawks, an independent team.

Forbes Going Strong: One of the most inspirational stories with the Bears program is hitting coach Chris Forbes. Besides being an outstanding coach (he helped the Bears hitters rank third in Division I in batting in 2004), as a cancer survivor he has been an inspiration off the diamond. Forbes was diagnosed with cancer in 1999 and is now in remission. He is active with both the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and the American Cancer Society and in summer 2004 he was part of the Climb 4 Hope team that trekked up Mt. McKinley to raise funding and awareness for Leukemia research. Forbes was nominated for the 2004 Lance Armstrong Foundation's Spirit of Survivorship Award. The award recognizes a cancer survivor who demonstrates a resilient attitude toward his or her illness and inspires others to live life to the fullest. Although he did not win, he did attend the LiveSTRONG Gala in New York City in October.

Division I Independents: This season (for the third straight year), 13 NCAA Division I Independent baseball teams have joined forces to award Player of the Week awards and compile individual and team statistics. The teams are Cal Davis, Dallas Baptist, Hawaii-Hilo, IPFW, Longwood, New York Tech, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, Savannah State, South Dakota State, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Texas-Pan American and Utah Valley State. Awards and statistics will be released on each Tuesday of the season beginning February 28. An index of award winners and other information on D-I Independent baseball can be found at: http://uncbears.collegesports.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/012606aab.html.

Bears Radio Network: This season you can hear a majority of the Northern Colorado baseball schedule on the Bears' Radio Network. Newstalk 1310 KFKA in Greeley is the flagship station and KFKA's Troy Coverdale, Chris Ott or Clark Johnson will have the call all season long with a pre-game show starting 15 minutes before the first-pitch. If you are outside the Greeley area you can access all the games online through UNCBears.com (see the Events section at the bottom of the main page) or directly log into http://www.1310kfka.com. A full list of games that will be broadcast is available at UNCBears.com.

The Move to Division I: The 2005-06 sports season marks year No. 3 in the "reclassification" process to Division I for the Bears. On May 10, 2002 the UNC Board of Trustees voted unanimously to approve a move for the Northern Colorado intercollegiate athletics program to NCAA Division I. The 2002-03 sports year marked the last season for the Bears in the North Central Conference and the NCAA Division II level and was an "exploratory" year in the move. 2003-04 was the first season of the four-year reclassification period and last season (2004-05) marked year No. 2. The program officially becomes a Division I school (and eligible for NCAA Championships) in 2007-08. The rest of the department will become an official member of the Big Sky Conference in 2006-07, but the Big Sky does not sponsor baseball. The baseball program will continue to search for conference affiliation.

Northern Colorado Coaches Radio Show Now on Wednesday: Fans came now attend the Coors Light Northern Colorado Coaches Show each Wednesday afternoon at Noon at Old Chicago (2349 W. 29th St.). The event, which used to be on Monday's, is open to the public and the cost of lunch is only $7, as fans hear about the happenings of UNC Athletics from in-season coaches. KFKA's Troy Coverdale serves as host and the show airs on tape-delay on Newstalk 1310 KFKA at 7 p.m. that night.