2024 College Baseball Thread

Discussion in 'The Mainboard' started by Beagle, Dec 20, 2019.

  1. Boo MFer!

    Boo MFer! No longer a cog in some powerhouse machine
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    Can only assume he ends up at LSU.

     
  2. NP13

    NP13 MC OG
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    No, Campbell's bid was for a minor league stadium in Fayetteville, NC.
     
  3. Boo MFer!

    Boo MFer! No longer a cog in some powerhouse machine
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    What’s wrong with that?
     
  4. bertwing

    bertwing check out the nametag grandma
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    We be shoppin

     
  5. NP13

    NP13 MC OG
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    East Carolina PiratesAtlanta BravesCharlotte HornetsCarolina PanthersWashington Football TeamCarolina HurricanesAvengers

    Nothing. You asked if infrastructure was the reason they weren't hosting.
     
  6. blind dog

    blind dog wps
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    Kentucky shouldn't be hosting, but it's NCAA's fault not Kentucky's

    edit: unless they knew about the hotel problem and lied about
     
    Prospector, DUCKMOUTH and Nole0515 like this.
  7. devine

    devine hi, i am user devine
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    You a Kentucky fan now?
     
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  8. FadeMe

    FadeMe Well-Known Member
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    I’ve sent out a couple invites. Consensus is $20/bracket. Payout is 1st and 2nd (65/35). If we get enough brackets, we can pay the winner of the regional round and the winner of the super regional round.

    Message me your email address and I’ll send the invite link.
     
  9. ohhaithur

    ohhaithur e-Batman
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    Thanks for setting it up but I'll just watch along with mine if it's pay-to-play. I don't even know how the tournament works :laugh:

    At least we're all rooting for Wake Forest with me
     
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  10. blind dog

    blind dog wps
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    Yes. I've had zero foul ball gif texts from Kentucky fans. Over the years have received 50+ easy from Mountaineer fanbase
     
  11. ohhaithur

    ohhaithur e-Batman
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    My picks for posterity

    upload_2023-5-30_14-8-49.png
     
  12. Boo MFer!

    Boo MFer! No longer a cog in some powerhouse machine
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    Florida GatorsTampa Bay RaysJacksonville JaguarsTampa Bay Buccaneers

    :roll:

    E2B05F64-859A-4671-B134-22380468A3B1.gif
     
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  13. Hatfield

    Hatfield Charlie don’t surf
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    ohhaithur, Nole0515, Tex and 3 others like this.
  14. bertwing

    bertwing check out the nametag grandma
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    This page sucks
     
    Iron Mickey, Tex, ohhaithur and 3 others like this.
  15. hudson

    hudson Oh, you know...stuff.
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    I could send more pine tar to liven it up.
     
  16. PrimordialBooze

    PrimordialBooze Well-Known Member
    New Orleans SaintsMississippi Rebels

    As an Ole Miss fan, with Arkansas fan family members, you deserve this for 4th and 25
     
  17. Prospector

    Prospector I am not a new member
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    What this?
     
    blind dog likes this.
  18. PrimordialBooze

    PrimordialBooze Well-Known Member
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    Yes, that dumb luck bullshit, that I’ve had to hear about since it happened
     
    Prospector likes this.
  19. Prospector

    Prospector I am not a new member
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    Utah UtesArkansas Razorbacks

    We don't have a lot to hang our hat on, y'all got a ring. So 4th and 25 so SUCK OUR DICKS
     
    Iron Mickey likes this.
  20. Pharm

    Pharm Right Handed
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    Anyone got this?

     
  21. Andy Reocho

    Andy Reocho Please don't get lost in the sauce
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    I don’t understand how the NCAA accepted their bid if they don’t have the hotels to support. As a former collegiate athletics staffer, that’s like the most crucial part of a bid.
     
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  22. swiz

    swiz >>>--;;;------------->
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    FadeMe
     
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  23. FadeMe

    FadeMe Well-Known Member
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    I’ll post it this evening. And I think there’s some regional previews available that I can post too.
     
  24. killerwvu

    killerwvu Restoring WVU's E-Rep 1 Post At A Time
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    Apparently dorm rooms are appropriate accommodations. These are 3 schools that don't make the tournament every year, so they might not get another chance to play in it again. Feel bad for the parents
     
  25. sc_chant

    sc_chant Be A Dog
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    I saw Conway was available, please
     
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  26. FadeMe

    FadeMe Well-Known Member
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    Here you go!

    UCF Hot Board: Coaching candidates to watch
    COACHES CORNER Kendall Rogers - May 31, 2023

    There’s a chance UCF is one of the fast-rising programs in Division I Baseball over the next few seasons, but it will be with a new coach after the program parted ways with long-time head coach Greg Lovelady a few days ago.

    Lovelady spent seven seasons with the Knights, and it’s kind of shocking to think the program only made the NCAA tournament in one of those seasons. Anyone who knows Lovelady will tell you he’s a sharp coach, so sometimes success just isn’t meant to be.

    What I think is meant to be is this program being consistently good when it heads to the Big 12 Conference next season.
    UCF cares about winning in baseball. The Knights could use some renovations to their ballpark to get more up to par with other stalwarts in the state such as Florida, Miami and Florida State. However, there are plenty of resources to win big here. The program is strategically located in the middle of the state and has access to an abundance of premier high school talent. Even with some stiff competition in the state, there’s no reason why UCF shouldn’t be in the mix for top-level players with the Big 12 move.

    How much is UCF willing to spend for a new head coach? Sources have told D1Baseball that UCF is willing to spend anywhere from $450-500K, but we will see if that ends up being the case once a hire is made.

    At any rate, this is is a solid job that is now transforming into a high-level job.

    Here are some UCF candidates to watch throughout the search:

    Kevin Schnall, Coastal Carolina

    With long-time and legendary head coach Gary Gilmore retiring after next season and Schnall the heir apparent at Coastal Carolina, he’s likely staying put. But what if he had a chance to head back to UCF as the programs heads into the Big 12 Conference? Schnall previously was an assistant for the Golden Knights before heading to Coastal in 2016 and helping lead that program to their first national title. Schnall has clearly learned from some outstanding coaches. It would be interesting to see if he would listen to overtures from the Knights, or if he’s fully committed to the Chanticleers.

    Rob Vaughn, Maryland

    This seems to be the name that athletic directors all over the country are asking me about these days. Vaughn, 35, has earned a stellar reputation for a good reason. He has done a terrific job at Maryland, and most recently helped the program host a regional last season before not skipping a beat this season with a Big 12 Conference regular season and tournament title. Vaughn will be courted by several programs, including Missouri out of the SEC. He might not have strong Florida ties, but he’s a fantastic coach who assimilates to any programs he’s leading.

    Chuck Jeroloman, Florida

    Jeroloman is no stranger to college baseball in the Sunshine State. Jeroloman spent a total of six seasons at both Jacksonville and South Florida before heading to Florida. Jeroloman has spent four seasons with the Gators and has proven himself to be an elite recruiter and a talented hitting coach. Jeroloman has seen first-hand what the recruiting juggernaut of Florida is like. He would be the perfect candidate to instill some of those same philosophies into a resource-rich program like UCF as it embarks on a journey into the Big 12.

    Monte Lee, South Carolina assistant

    There’s no doubt that Lee’s final two seasons at Clemson didn’t go as planned with 25 and 35 wins, respectively. But let’s not forget the fact he guided the Tigers to four-straight NCAA tourney appearances until COVID hit. Before that, he had a successful run at College of Charleston with four NCAA tournament appearances, including a trip to the Super Regional round back in 2014 with a 44-19 overall record. If UCF is looking for a nice blend of proven coach to go with some swagger, Lee would be a strong candidate.

    Jake Gautreau, Mississippi State assistant

    The 2021 D1Baseball Assistant of the Year really needs no introduction. Gautreau is still one of the hottest assistant names in our sport today, even after the Bulldogs failed to make the NCAA tournament the last two seasons. Gautreau is a talented hitting coach with an agent background — so his recruiting acumen in the State of Florida would be a major plus. UCF needs someone who can go toe-to-toe with the bigger state schools, and Gautreau would be one of those guys.

    Scott Jackson, Liberty

    Jackson has gotten familiar with the Sunshine State during his last four seasons in the Atlantic Sun Conference, and again, he’s a hard-nosed head coach with some skins on the wall. The Flames have won 43, 41 and 37 in three of the last four seasons. Liberty did finish the 2023 campaign with a 27-31 overall record, but Jackson has already established himself as a solid head coach. The former North Carolina assistant has had plenty of success in his tenure as a head man.

    Josh Elander, Tennessee assistant

    The Texas native is one of the fast-rising assistants in college baseball. Elander, who was a standout at TCU during his playing days, spent just one season as a volunteer coach at Arkansas before joining Tony Vitello at Tennessee. Since that point, he has spent six seasons with the Volunteers, and has proven himself so valuable that UT promoted him to associate head coach over the past couple of seasons. In addition to having that title, he’s also Tennessee’s recruiting coordinator. Elander is on the fast track to be a successful head coach. We’ll see if UCF is perhaps the spot for him.

    Justin Haire, Campbell

    Haire would be an obvious candidate for this job given the vast amount of success he has had with Campbell. The question is: Will UCF have a chance to get him, or will someone else scoop him up? Haire is heavily in the mix for the Georgia job, so stay tuned on this one. But yes, Haire would be a terrific hire for the Knights.

    Rich Wallace, Florida State assistant

    Wallace played at UCF and headed back to the Sunshine State this past season when Link Jarrett moved from Notre Dame to Florida State. Wallace remains one of the top players in UCF history for on-base percentage in a year, and has earned his stripes as an assistant and recruiter during his coaching tenure. Wallace was named the Big East Recruiter of the Year back in 2016, and certainly has earned a strong reputation on the national stage.
     
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  27. FadeMe

    FadeMe Well-Known Member
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    #Alabama Crimson Tide
    #Boston College Eagles #Troy Trojans
    #Nicholls Colonels

    Tuscaloosa Regional Preview: Can Alabama continue its magical run?
    POSTSEASON Joe Healy - May 30, 2023

    Regional Scoreboard | Louisville Slugger Bracket Challenge
    Checking The Field
    Alabama’s late-season surge to earn a spot as a host is one of the best stories in the sport, but as the No. 16 overall seed, it got a very tough two-seed in Boston College, a team that feels like it should have hosted. The three-seed Troy has one of the best sluggers in the game in Shane Lewis and Nicholls boasts a standout ace in freshman righthander Jacob Mayers.

    1. Alabama: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders
    2. Boston College: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders
    3. Troy: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders
    4. Nicholls: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders
    Tuscaloosa Regional Superlatives
    Most Exciting Player: Andrew Pinckney, OF, Alabama

    We saw last week in the SEC Tournament how Pinckney can simply take over a game. Against Kentucky, he threw out a runner at the plate, made a diving catch in foul territory and hit a mammoth home run. If he’s playing well, he can really carry the Crimson Tide.

    Best Hitter: Xane Washington, OF, Nicholls

    Washington does a lot of the same things for Nicholls that Pinckney does for Alabama, and he’s the player who really makes the Colonels go offensively. He’s batting .379/.481/.551 with 17 doubles, 46 free passes (walks plus hit by pitches) compared to 40 strikeouts and 16 stolen bases.

    Best Defensive Player: Barry Walsh, OF, Boston College

    Walsh, a fourth-year junior, is a true center fielder who can really go and get it in the outfield. In fact, historically, his defense was why he was in the lineup everyday despite below-average offensive production, but this season, he also took a major step forward with his bat.

    Best Pitcher: There are certainly pitchers with more pedigree and better stuff, but it’s hard to argue against the stats of Nicholls freshman righthander Jacob Mayers, who was the Southland Conference’s freshman of the year. He’s 9-1 with a 1.93 ERA, a .176 opponent batting average and 97 strikeouts in 70 innings.

    X-Factor: Shane Lewis, OF, Troy

    Lewis was the Sun Belt’s player of the year after hitting 27 home runs during the regular season, but in the Sun Belt Tournament, he not only didn’t homer but also went a combined 0-for-11 in the Trojans’ three games. If he gets back on track, he’s as dangerous a power hitter as exists in this regional.

    Best Starting Rotation: Alabama

    It’s kind of amazing that you can say Alabama has the best rotation in this regional with a straight face when you consider that it has been (and will continue to be) without Grayson Hitt and Ben Hess, its top two starters, due to injury. But since that duo went down, Luke Holman (7-3, 3.50), Garrett McMillan (4-2, 3.99) and Jacob McNairy (6-2, 4.08) have stepped up admirably to give the Tide a steady unit from front to back.

    Best Bullpen: Alabama

    Alabama’s pitching depth is enviable, and that’s why they have both the best rotation and best bullpen. Kade Woods (4.67 ERA, 27 IP), Alton Davis II (4.15 ERA, 30.1 IP) and Riley Quick (3.80 ERA, 21.1 IP) are first-year contributors who all have great stuff. Hunter Furtado (4.59 ERA, 33.1 IP) has been a key piece each of the last two years. Aidan Moza (3.00 ERA, 18 IP) and Zane Probst (4.08 ERA, 17.2 IP) have come in from the transfer portal and made an immediate impact, and Hunter Hoopes (1.93 ERA, 9.1 IP) has come on strong of late.

    Best Offensive Team: Alabama

    The Tide are batting .297/.405/.507 with 102 home runs this season, but just as importantly, they boast a very deep position player group that can provide a lot of looks depending on who is in the lineup. Twelve different position players have started 20 or more games this season.

    Best Defensive Team: Boston College

    Three of the four teams—Alabama, Boston College and Nicholls–field the ball at a .977 clip or better, but BC leads that group with a .982 fielding percentage. Importantly, the Eagles are very strong defensively up the middle, with catcher Peter Burns, middle infielders Vince Cimini and Sam NcNulty, and center fielder Barry Walsh.

    No. 1 Seed Win Probability (1-10): 6

    Alabama’s talent stands out in this group, but given that Boston College had a legit claim to hosting a regional, Troy has a dynamic offensive club and Nicholls has an ace who could give the Tide trouble in the opener, it feels like just slightly better than a coin flip that Alabama comes out on top.

    Tuscaloosa Regional Team Breakdowns
    Alabama (40-19, 16-14 SEC)

    [​IMG]2/22/23 MBA Alabama vs UT MartinAlabama baseball player Drew Williamson (18)Photo by Kyla Michelitch


    Alabama has had a roller coaster of a season like few before it. It was ranked in the preseason but fell out of the rankings after dropping a non-conference series to Columbia and then losing its first four SEC series of the season. Then, before its series against Vanderbilt, head coach Brad Bohannon was fired amid a betting scandal. All the Crimson Tide have done since then under interim head coach Jason Jackson is win seven of their final nine SEC regular-season games and then put up a good fight in the SEC Tournament to earn a host spot.

    When you talk to coaches whose teams have played Alabama, they gush about the pitching talent, even after injuries to Grayson Hitt and Ben Hess took those two out of the rotation. The rotation of Holman, McMillan and McNairy has kept the Tide competitive in every series, and Hagan Banks (3.51 ERA, 33.1 IP) can start in a pinch if the hosts get pushed into the losers’ bracket or to a Monday regional final. Its bullpen also runs at least seven deep with guys they trust, led by Davis, who leads the team with seven saves and has clearly emerged as the team’s go-to arm in high-leverage spots late in the game.

    Offensively, Alabama’s core is made up of Pinckney (.350/.448/.650, 16 HR), Tommy Seidl (.364/.470/.568), Drew Williamson (.317/.420/.546, 15 HR) and Colby Shelton (.294/.407/.701, 22 HR), but the likes of Ed Johnson (.332/.439/.484), Jim Jarvis (.284/.396/.440) and Dominic Tamez (.277/.358/.440) give the lineup real length.

    Defensively, the Tide have a .978 fielding percentage and boast a plus defender at first base in Williamson, two center fielders in the outfield in Seidl and Pinckney (who typically plays right field) and an extremely steady shortstop in Jarvis.

    Boston College (35-18, 16-14 ACC)
    [​IMG]Boston College during the 2023 ACC Baseball Championship in Durham, N.C.Tuesday May 23rd, 2023 (Photo by Jaylynn Nash/ACC)


    Boston College had very low outside expectations going into the season, but once the season began, the Eagles set out to prove everyone wrong, and it’s safe to say they succeeded in doing so. BC had a very real case to host a regional itself and the fact that it was snubbed in that regard will no doubt make that team madder than a stirred-up hornet’s nest as it arrives in Tuscaloosa.

    Considering it has been without star outfielder Travis Honeyman since the end of April and it hasn’t gotten much this season from veteran Parker Landwehr, who batted .287 with nine home runs last season, the Boston College lineup has held up well. First baseman Joe Vetrano (.305/.395/.626, 18 HR) is one of the best power hitters in the ACC, center fielder Barry Walsh (.303/.401/.455) made major strides offensively after batting just .225 last season, and while neither Cameron Leary (.257/.409/.514) or Nick Wang (.238/.356/.466) hit for high averages, both had 10 home runs to provide more punch to the lineup.

    Righthander Chris Flynn (7-3, 4.21) is a workhorse at the front of the rotation and John West (5-3, 4.52) has come on strong of late, but BC’s strength on the mound is a bullpen that features Andrew Roman (1.77 ERA, 40.2 IP, 9 SV), Julian Tonghini (3.37 ERA, 26.2 IP), Ian Murphy (4.39 ERA, 26.2 IP), Joey Ryan (4.99 ERA, 30.2 IP) and Eric Schroeder (5.94 ERA, 53 IP), whose performance this season has been better in the aggregate than his ERA suggests.

    One thing you can count on with Boston College is that it’s not going to beat itself. That shows up in the toughness with which it plays but also in its .982 fielding percentage, which ties the club for fourth nationally.

    Troy (39-20, 18-12 Sun Belt)
    [​IMG]Troy slugger Shane Lewis (Troy Athletics)


    After a strong season in a very good Sun Belt Conference, Troy found itself just on the right side of the bubble as one of the last teams in the field, and now it will look to make good on the benefit of the doubt the committee extended it.

    If you learn anything about Troy going into the weekend, let it be that in outfielder Shane Lewis, the Trojans have one of the preeminent sluggers in college baseball. He’s batting .291/.442/.733 with 27 home runs and won the Sun Belt’s player of the year award. He went hitless in the SBC Tournament, but maybe that just means he’s ready to put on a show in Tuscaloosa.

    Lewis far from alone in the Troy lineup, however. He’s supported by on-base machine Ethan Kavanagh (.322/.432/.397), sluggers William Sullivan (.310/.421/.625, 16 HR) and Caleb Bartolero (.305/.384/.571, 15 HR) and speedsters Tremayne Cobb, Jr. (.303/.422/.483, 14 SB) and Kole Myers (.292/.404/.517, 517, 20 SB).

    On the mound, Grayson Stewart (9-2, 3.55) is Troy’s top starting pitcher, but Logan Ross (4-1, 4.47) came on strong in conference play, with a 3.32 ERA against Sun Belt competition, tops on the team for anyone who threw more than one inning in conference play. Noah Manning (3.40 ERA, 45 IP, 11 SV) is Troy’s go-to late-inning reliever, but look for Ben Thompson (5.36 ERA, 48.2 IP) to be a wild card for the Trojans. His rate of 16.8 strikeouts per nine innings would lead the country if he had enough innings to qualify for the stat, but control is an issue for him, as he also walks 9.6 per nine innings.

    One thing to watch for this weekend is how Troy fields the ball. In a regional that includes three team defenses that are statistically excellent, the Trojans’ .958 fielding percentage sticks out like a sore thumb. Troy has the offense to score with anyone in this regional and has good top-line pitching, but they can’t let all of that be undone by poor defense.

    Nicholls (34-22, 15-9 Southland)
    [​IMG]Nicholls RHP Jacob Mayers (Photo courtesy of Nicholls)


    Nicholls won its first regular-season conference championship since 1985, when it was a member of the Gulf Star Conference, the precursor to the Southland Conference, and by virtue of winning the SLC Tournament last week, earned its first NCAA Tournament bid since 1998.

    Jacob Mayers (9-1, 1.93), the SLC’s freshman of the year and leader in strikeouts, is the top name on the Colonels’ roster to know, and if he’s on his game, he’ll give Alabama a tough fight in the regional opener. As far as starting pitchers go, the drop-off after Mayers is fairly steep, but Nicholls isn’t afraid to go to its bullpen early and often. That unit is led by Gavin Galy (1.85 ERA, 34 IP), Nico Saltaformaggio (3.67 ERA, 54 IP), Cade Evans (4.29 ERA, 35.2 IP, 7 SV) and Chase Gearing (4.79 ERA, 47 IP).

    Xane Washington (.379/.481/.551), a fifth-year senior who has been through a lot of ups and downs in the program, is the catalyst on offense for the Colonels, but Edgar Alvarez (.333/.422/.533) has also had a really nice year at the plate, and he’s coming off of a strong performance in the SLC Tournament. With 36 home runs, Nicholls is not likely to be a team that wins games with the home run ball, but its lineup does have seven players with 12 or more doubles.
     
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  28. FadeMe

    FadeMe Well-Known Member
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    #South Carolina Gamecocks
    #Campbell Camels
    #North Carolina State Wolfpack
    #Central Connecticut State Blue Devils

    Columbia Regional Preview: Offensive firepower abounds
    POSTSEASON Aaron Fitt - May 31, 2023

    Regional Scoreboard | Louisville Slugger Bracket Challenge
    Checking The Field
    South Carolina limped into a regional hosting spot with a 4-11 finish down the stretch, but the Gamecocks looked like one of college baseball’s best teams in the first half. Campbell had a strong hosting case of its own and looks like a very dangerous, balanced and hungry 2-seed. NC State has one of college baseball’s deepest lineups and is playing with house money after getting in off the bubble. And Central Connecticut was a dominant force in the NEC regular season and conference tournament.

    1. South Carolina: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders
    2. Campbell: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders
    3. NC State: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders
    4. Central Connecticut: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders
    Columbia Regional Superlatives
    Most Exciting Player: Jarrod Belbin, 2B, Campbell. We’ll give Belbin this honor over the two stars listed in the next category, because Belbin does it all — not only did he hit .325/.430/.658 with 15 doubles, 19 homers and 62 RBIs, but he stole 25 bases in 25 tries. Campbell’s exciting style of play relies upon the home run and the stolen base in equal measure, and nobody embodies that duality better than Belbin.

    Best Hitter: Ethan Petry, RF, South Carolina. The SEC Freshman of the Year electrified Founders Park all year long, putting up huge numbers (.376/.468/.748, 22 HR, 72 RBI) and showing a flair for the dramatic hit. The numbers he put up as a true freshman against SEC competition give him the nod over Campbell’s Lawson Harrill, who had a slightly higher OPS (1.272) and earned the Big South Player of the Year award.

    Best Defensive Player: Kalae Harrison, SS, NC State. An instinctive, quick-footed defender with steady hands, sound actions, excellent body control and enough arm strength, Harrison has been a rock in the middle infield for the Wolfpack, fielding .980. When he slid from second to short in the first half, it really stabilized the defense.

    Best Pitcher: Cade Kuehler, RHP, Campbell. A third-team preseason All-American likely to be selected on Day One of the draft, Kuehler missed a couple starts late in the year but looked like his typical dominant self in the conference tournament last week, holding Gardner-Webb to 2 hits over seven shutout innings while striking out nine. He has true power stuff and has put up sterling numbers in this crazy offensive environment: 8-0, 2.82 with 87 strikeouts against 24 walks in 67 innings.

    X-Factor: South Carolina’s health. We know the Gamecocks will not have two of their key arms from their first-half excellence (Noah Hall and Eli Jerzembeck), and slugging second baseman Will McGillis will also be out. But according to South Carolina beat writer Mike Lananna, Talmadge LeCroy is good to go at third, catcher Cole Messina cleared the concussion protocol, and the Gamecocks are optimistic Braylen Wimmer should be back at shortstop. Erstwhile staff ace Will Sanders is expected to be available out of the bullpen; he’s the definition of an X-factor, capable of beating anybody when he’s confident and sharp, with three outstanding secondary pitches. But his season has been a roller coaster ride.

    Best Starting Rotation: Campbell. At full strength, South Carolina would be the easy choice here, and you can still make a case for the Gamecocks will relievers-turned-starters Eli Jones and James Hicks in the rotation along with Jack Mahoney, but there’s less track record with this group. Between Kuehler, Hunter Loyd and Chance Daquila, the Camels have three dependable workhorse starters with solid or better stuff.

    Best Bullpen: South Carolina. For a while, the South Carolina bullpen looked like one of college baseball’s best, with depth, variety and power stuff. It hasn’t been as formidable down the stretch but it remains a real strength, led by funky changeup specialist Chris Veach, strike-thrower Cade Austin, and perhaps power lefty Matthew Becker (who has made 10 starts and seven relief appearances this year but came out of the bullpen in Hoover).

    Best Offensive Team: Campbell. This offense is simply terrifying, ranking first in the nation in on-base percentage and second in slugging. The Camels can beat you with the long ball, they can beat you with speed, and they can beat you with a hyper-aggressive bunting game. It’s a nonstop, all-out blitz, and it’s very difficult to contain.

    Best Defensive Team: NC State. The Wolfpack leads this field with a .975 fielding percentage. Catcher Jacob Cozart, shortstop Harrison and center fielder Parker Nolan give NC State three very good up-the-middle pillars, and that’s the strength of this unit, along with talented freshman Eli Serrano at first base and rangy, strong-armed right fielder Trevor Candelaria.

    No. 1 Seed Win Probability (1-10): 3. Given its injury issues and its poor play down the stretch, South Carolina looks like the most vulnerable No. 1 seed, and it will host a No. 2 that we projected as a host. The Camels will be particularly hungry after getting snubbed by the committee, and they have the talent in the lineup and on the mound to win this regional. And NC State is a classic “house money” team that has much more talent than its resumé suggests — a little like Ole Miss last year. Any of those top three seeds could win this regional, and frisky Central Connecticut is good enough to cause one of these teams some trouble as well.

    Columbia Regional Team Breakdowns
    South Carolina (39-19, 16-13 in SEC)

    [​IMG]
    South Carolina’s Ethan Petry celebrates his grand slam against LSU in April (Aaron Fitt)
    The Gamecocks looked like one of the leading contenders for the national title in late April, when they were sitting pretty at 32-6, behind an elite pitching staff, a powerful offense and a mostly reliable defense. At its best, this team was a monster. But the injury bug hit hard in the second half; most notably, Noah Hall, who had emerged as the staff ace, has been limited to just seven starts, and electric freshman Eli Jerzembeck went down as well, forcing the Gamecocks to shuffle their pitching staff repeatedly. Fortunately this is one of the deepest staffs in the country, and it remains well stocked with pitching firepower despite attrition, but clearly this staff is no longer as formidable as it once appeared. Sinkerballer James Hicks, former a key bridge guy/stopper in the bullpen, has become a key starter along with Jack Mahoney, a competitive, athletic righty who can reach the mid-90s along with a solid slider and changeup. And as noted above, the bullpen remains a strength, though it isn’t quite as ironclad as it was early in the year. Will Sanders could provide that unit a boost this weekend. It’s worth noting that as a staff South Carolina still ranks third in the nation in FIP (fielding-independent pitching), an important measure of just how good this staff has been this year despite the injuries it has battled.

    South Carolina’s offensive firepower might be its greatest strength at this stage, however. SEC Freshman of the Year Ethan Petry is a superstar, of course, and he leads a group of five Gamecocks with double-digit home runs, though one of them (Will McGillis) is sidelined by injury. Vanderbilt transfer Gavin Casas (19 HR), breakout star catcher Cole Messina (17 HR) and experienced, well-rounded shortstop Braylen Wimmer (12 HR) join Petry to form an intimidating core in this lineup. But South Carolina has once again settled into a feast-or-famine offensive style, after seeming to make strides with its offensive maturity in the first half. The Gamecocks rank ninth in the nation with 110 home runs — but they also have 571 strikeouts, fourth-most in the nation.

    Campbell (44-13, 22-5 in Big South)
    [​IMG]
    Campbell ace Cade Kuehler (Aaron Fitt)
    Under Justin Haire’s leadership, Campbell has emerged as one of the premier mid-major powers in college baseball, ruling the Big South with an iron fist while making five straight regionals. Last year in the Knoxville Regional, the Camels won their opener against Georgia Tech and then gave No. 1 national seed Tennessee a run for its money before succumbing. Campbell lost first-round shortstop Zach Neto and ace Thomas Harrington from that squad, but did not miss a beat, and even managed to elevate the program to a new level this year, launching a very strong bid to host a regional for the first time (and ultimately falling just short, as the Gamecocks were one of eight SEC hosts instead). That’s just a little extra fuel to fire a program that embraced a “nobodies from nowhere” mantra a year ago. But the Camels won’t fool anybody this time around; they are well-known “somebodies” (from nowhere).

    This team is chalk full of star power, with ace Cade Kuehler and Big South Player of the Year Lawson Harrill leading the way. Kuehler can overpower hitters with a riding 92-96 mph heater, a power slider at 86-88, an 82-84 downer curve with elite spin into the 3300 rpm range, and an occasional splitter that he’ll bust out when you least expect it. Fellow weekend starters Chance Daquila (a four-pitch guy with a low-90s heater) and Hunter Loyd (another veteran power righty with a low-90s heater, good slider and changeup) join Kuehler to form a quality rotation, with electric power-armed stopper Ty Cummings (who pitched at 93-97 with a putaway slider in my last look) and veteran Aaron Rund anchoring the back end. This is a staff with real power arms.

    Harrill (.374/.484/.788, 22 HR, 16 2B, 68 RBI) anchors a fearsome offense that can beat opponents with the long ball, the running game, the hyper-aggressive bunt game, and everything in between. The Camels lead the nation in scoring (9.8 runs per game) and OBP (.441), rank second in slugging (.566), fifth in home runs (116) and eighth in stolen bases (129). Good luck defending that. As noted above, Jarrod Belbin brings an exciting blend of power and speed, while center fielder Tyler Halstead leads the team with a .377 average and 32 steals (in 36 tries). The one weakness for this team is the defense, which ranks last in this regional and 194th in the nation with a .966 fielding percentage.

    NC State (35-19, 13-16 in ACC)
    [​IMG]
    LuJames Groover III, INF, NC State (Aaron Fitt)
    It’s been a trying year for the Wolfpack, a preseason Top 25 team that has struggled to maintain an elite level of play consistently. NC State lost four of its first five conference series to fall into a 5-9 hole in the league by April 9, then got swept twice in the second half by Clemson and North Carolina. The latter series dropped NC State to 10-16 in the ACC, but it rallied to sweep Pitt at the end of the year, then went 1-1 in the conference tournament, earning an at-large bid thanks in large part to a strong RPI in the low 20s — despite failing to win a series all year against a regional team, and going just 4-6 in ACC series. It’s not a great body of work, but all that matters is that NC State is in the postseason, after getting snubbed with a stronger resumé in 2022. Now, this feels like a very dangerous team that is playing with house money — a little like Ole Miss a year ago (the team that presumably took NC State’s spot in the field).

    The Wolfpack stand out most for their very talented, deep group of position players. Few lineups in the country offer more threats from 1-9 in the order, not to mention 10-14 on the bench. Gino Groover (.332/.4332/.530, 11 HR) is a gifted natural hitter with a flat and powerful stroke, as well as a mature approach (35 BB against 24 K). He’s the centerpiece of the order, but three other NCSU players reached double-digits in homers this year, led by standout freshman DH Cannon Peebles, who leads the team in all three triple-slash categories (.346/.456/.715) plus home runs (12). Two Davidson transfers, Parker Nolan (10 HR) and Trevor Candelaria (9 HR) bring pop as well as athleticism that plays in the outfield. Sophomores Jacob Cozart and Payton Green have emerged as double-digit homer guys up the middle, and freshman first baseman Eli Serrano has a chance to be a huge star down the road, serious lefthanded power projection, an innate feel for hitting, and strong defensive skills at first.

    The key for NC State remains its pitching. There are plenty of solid pieces here, but not a lot of shutdown guys. Freshman lefthander Dom Fritton might be NC State’s most electric guy, thanks to an elite vertical approach angle that gives his 91-93 mph fastball explosive riding life. He has split time between the rotation and the back of the bullpen this year, but lately he’s worked in the stopper role, giving the Wolfpack some peace of mind in late innings. Veterans Logan Whitaker, Matt Willadsen and Sam Highfill are all seasoned warriors who won’t blow hitters away with velocity, but all three have very good feel for their offspeed stuff and craftiness galore; Whitaker and Highfill also can work in the low 90s. That’s a capable weekend rotation, and for NC State to make a deep postseason run, it needs those guys to provide some length. Oregon transfer Rio Britton is a key lefty with a swing-and-miss slider out of the pen, while Justin Lawson relies on an out pitch slider of his own from the right side, helping Fritton anchor a bullpen that has been up and down this year.

    Central Connecticut(36-12, 25-5 in NEC)
    [​IMG]
    Central Connecticut’s Dominic Niman (Shotgun Spratling)
    Central Connecticut is making its third trip to regionals in the last four completed seasons, highlighted by a win over Cal in the 2019 Fayetteville Regional. The Blue Devils have been the class of the NEC in recent years, and they put together their strongest regular season yet this spring, going 25-5 to win the league by four games. They were tested in the NEC tournament, getting knocked off by second-seeded Wagner, forcing them to come back through the losers’ bracket, but they did so without much drama, sweeping the Seahawks by a combined score of 25-5 in the tournament title round.

    Ace lefty Dominic Niman threw a complete game in the finale to send CCSU back to regionals. Niman, the first Blue Devil to win NEC pitcher of the year honors in 20 years, led the conference in wins (going 12-2) and ERA (2.76), while striking out 90 against 24 walks in 97.2 IP. An experienced Friday night bell cow, Niman excels at pitching backward, landing his offspeed stuff for strikes and busting hitters inside with his fastball. Fellow lefty Jake Neuman (6-2, 4.64) teams with Niman to give Central Connecticut a solid one-two punch atop the rotation. This team also has a very good duo at the back of the bullpen in Luke Garofalo (5-0, 2.09 with 10 saves) and Vincent Spizzoucco (2.64 ERA), who has some of the best stuff on the staff.

    As our Shotgun Spratling wrote earlier this year, the Blue Devils lost some key pieces from last year’s lineup as catcher Sam Loda and infielder Jay Devito graduated while their two most productive hitters both transferred — Noah Martinez (.313 with 15 homers) headed to Pittsburgh and Dan Covino (.328, 9 HR) went to Delaware. But CCSU was able to replace a first baseman heading to the ACC with a first baseman from the ACC in Boston College transfer Ramon Jimenez, who has hit for both average (.348) and power (8 HR, 16 doubles, 57 RBIs). Jimenez has taken full advantage of the opportunity to finally play every day, emerging as the centerpiece of the CCSU lineup. He headlines a very strong infield that also includes second baseman Brady Short (.323), shortstop Elliot Good (.309) and third baseman Hunter Pasqualoni (.306). The 5-foot-9 Pasqualoni is the team leader, a spark plug who grinds out tough at-bats, excels at putting the ball in play, and runs the bases very well (19 steals in 20 tries). This is a capable offense but not an overly powerful one, which means it might be out of place in this regional, where three other powerful teams will play in a home run-hitting ballpark. CCSU needs to pitch at a very high level to have a shot to make some noise.
     
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  29. bertwing

    bertwing check out the nametag grandma
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  30. FadeMe

    FadeMe Well-Known Member
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    #Vanderbilt Commodores
    #Oregon Ducks #Xavier Musketeers
    #Eastern Illinois Panthers

    Nashville Regional Preview: Vanderbilt preparing for postseason march
    POSTSEASON Patrick Ebert - May 31, 2023

    Regional Scoreboard | Louisville Slugger Bracket Challenge
    Checking The Field
    A unique regional in which all four teams won their respective conference tournaments, and the corresponding automatic bid, Vanderbilt is still the clear-cut team to beat after winning the SEC Tournament. The Commodores have won six of their last seven games, against five different SEC opponents, four of whom (Arkansas, Auburn, Alabama and Florida) are hosting regionals of their own.

    1. Vanderbilt: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders
    2. Oregon: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders
    3. Xavier: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders
    4. Eastern Illinois: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders
    Nashville Regional Superlatives
    Most Exciting Player: Enrique Bradfield Jr., CF, Vanderbilt.

    By his own lofty standards Vanderbilt star center fielder Enrique Bradfield Jr. is having a down year, slashing .286/.423/.441. He still gets on base at a high clip, walks more than he strikes out and is dangerous on the basepaths (37-for-44 in stolen base attempts).

    Best Hitter: Drew Cowley, SS, Oregon.

    There is no shortage of candidates for the best hitter in the Nashville Regional, and while Cowley isn’t even leading his own team in hitting, he’s slashing .336/.422/.632 with 141 total bases thanks to 19 doubles, a triple and 15 home runs. He and Oregon third baseman Sabin Ceballos (.342/.439/.637) are tied for the Oregon team lead in both homers and RBIs (61) and give the Ducks a lethal left side of the infield while batting 3-4 in the order.

    Best Defensive Player: Enrique Bradfield Jr., OF, Vanderbilt.

    Part of what makes Bradfield such an exciting player is his defensive profile. With game-changing speed he covers the gaps extremely well and has a cannon for an arm that opposing teams are well aware of.

    Best Pitcher: Devin Futrell, LHP, Vanderbilt.

    If the Vanderbilt weekend staff was healthy, Carter Holton and Hunter Owen would likely precede Futrell and any other pitcher for this honor. With Holton expected to be out, and Owen making his first appearance in the SEC Tournament since the beginning of May, Futrell gets the nod for his consistency as the team’s third starter. Now 7-3, 3.55 with a 65-to-20 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 78 2/3 innings this season, Futrell has quietly enjoyed a very productive sophomore season with a well-commanded three-pitch mix.

    X-Factor: Ryan Ignoffo, 1B/DH/RHP, Eastern Illinois.

    In his fifth year with the program, Ignoffo is a career .348/.426/.627 hitter with 36 career home runs for EIU, including back-to-back seasons with double-digit dingers. This year he found the mound more frequently, recording four saves in 18 relief appearances, with three of those appearances coming at the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.

    Best Starting Rotation: Xavier.

    If it weren’t for injuries Vanderbilt would get the call here, but based on sheer reliability Xavier gets the nod. The Musketeers have a pair of interchangeable aces, lefthander Brant Alazaus and righthander Ethan Bosacker, that have come up big time and time again this season. Luke Hoskins is their third starter, and that trio has combined to go 22-9 with a 4.07 cumulative ERA over 252 innings, nearly half of the team’s overall work.

    Best Bullpen: Oregon.

    Vanderbilt has a deep stable of arms, and Xavier has 2-3 bullpen arms that have been a big part of its success this season, but you could argue Oregon’s relief corps won the Pac-12 Tournament championship. In four games the Oregon bullpen allowed just three earned runs in 24 1/3 innings (1.11 ERA) and none over the first 15 innings in their first two games against Cal and Stanford. Austin Anderson, Josh Mollerus, Grayson Grinsell and Matt Dallas all had more than 20 appearances this season.

    Best Offensive Team: Oregon.

    Statistically speaking all four of these teams have productive offenses, which may point to a high-scoring regional, but Oregon has the most balance, led by Cowley and Ceballos on the left side of their infield. One regular (Drew Smith) is batting over .400 and six others are hitting .313 or better. The two members of the everyday lineup that aren’t hitting over .300 – second baseman Gavin Grant and first baseman Jacob Walsh – have combined to hit 22 home runs.

    Best Defensive Team: Vanderbilt.

    Vandy’s .981 fielding percentage is eighth-best in nation, and not surprisingly they’re strong up the middle. Bradfield is the obvious headliner and a star roaming center, and Jonathan Vastine has done a very good job holding down shortstop this season committing just six errors while starting in all 59 of Vanderbilt’s games. Freshman second baseman RJ Austin has the most errors on the team (10) but displays incredible range and overall athleticism.

    No. 1 Seed Win Probability (1-10): 8.

    At full strength Vanderbilt would have a commanding advantage in this regional, and even missing ace Carter Holton, the Commodores are still the most balanced team. Usual Saturday starter Hunter Owen and bullpen ace Ryan Ginther are both expected to be available this weekend only strengthening an already dangerous squad that beat three regional hosts and Texas A&M on their way to winning the SEC Tournament.

    Nashville Regional Team Breakdowns
    Vanderbilt (49-10, 23-7 SEC)

    [​IMG]
    Vanderbilt’s Devin Futrell (SEC Photo)
    Vanderbilt’s pitching is the wild card, with Carter Holton out and Hunter Owen missing a couple of weeks leading up to the SEC Tournament. Owen did return to make a three-inning start in Hoover, and likely will continue to be stretched out this weekend, with No. 3 starter Devin Futrell providing steady production all season long. The Dores have other starting options, including Sam Hliboki and triple-digit hurler Patrick Reilly, among a few others, with a deep bullpen anchored by shutdown closer Nick Maldonado. Sophomore lefthander Ryan Ginther, who didn’t pitch in Hoover, is expected to take the mound this weekend and could give the staff a big boost.

    Enrique Bradfield Jr. is the obvious star in the Vanderbilt lineup and does an excellent job setting the tone at the top of the order with a .423 on-base percentage and 37 stolen bases while playing flawless defense in center. RJ Schreck has been a fantastic addition via transfer this year, leading the team in hits (64), homers (13), RBIs (57) and total bases (122). Jonathan Vastine has provided steady production, both offensively and defensively, at shortstop while freshman RJ Austin is a dynamic star in the making. Keep an eye on slugger Troy LaNeve whose bat appears to be catching fire.

    Oregon (37-20, 16-14 Pac-12)
    [​IMG]
    Oregon’s Drew Cowley (Shotgun Spratling)
    The Nashville Regional begins on Friday with a matchup between No. 2 seed Oregon and No. 3 seed Xavier, who opened this season with a four-game series in Eugene with the Ducks winning all four games. Both teams have endured some ups and downs since then but obviously ended the tournament season on a high note, with Oregon capturing the Pac-12 Tournament championship with wins over three postseason teams – Stanford, Washington and Arizona – as well as Cal.

    As noted among the superlatives, Oregon’s offense is elite, slashing .300/.380/.514 as a team with seven of their nine regulars batting over .300. The left side of the infield is particularly dynamic with shortstop Drew Cowley and third baseman Sabin Ceballos providing the team with some serious star power in the middle of the order. The Ducks have some speed (76 stolen bases) and play solid defense as well (.976 fielding percentage) giving them a strong overall position group profile.

    The pitching is the bigger question mark, piecing arms together to find a winning combination. The bullpen has been leaned on heavily with closer Josh Mollerus leading the way as he, Grayson Grinsell and Matt Dallas often provide the team with more than one inning at a time. The same is true for starter-turned-reliever Logan Mercado. Turner Spoljaric is worth keeping an eye on after he received the start in the Pac-12 championship game and provided six valuable innings.

    Xavier (37-23, 14-7 Big East)
    [​IMG]
    Brant Alazaus, Xavier
    Xavier’s season had ended each of the last two years at the hands of UConn in the Big East Tournament championship game, and they avoided an unflattering three-peat by beating the Huskies for their first trip to the postseason since 2017. Xavier’s success stems from a reliable starting staff that consists of Brant Alazaus and Ethan Bosacker on Fridays and Sundays and continues to Luke Hoskins on Sundays. Alazaus is a soft-tossing command lefty that enjoyed success at Division III Walsh University before transferring to Xavier while Bosacker sits in the upper-80s to low-90s with his fastball after missing the 2022 season due to injury. Justin Loer is the go-to option out of the ‘pen as he, Jonathan Kelly and Clay Schwaner bridge a lot of leads to victories.

    Matt McCormick was a big addition via transfer on offense as he, Matthew Deprey, Jared Cushing, Jack Housinger and Tyler DeMartino all hit double-digit home runs. Andrew Walker, the team’s 3-hole hitter, led the squad in batting (.329) RBIs (53) and steals (28) giving the team a well-rounded position player group that also played strong team defense. This Xavier team is one that does a lot of things well and executes at a high level making them dangerous especially if they stay on the winning side of things.

    Eastern Illinois (38-19, 13-11 Ohio Valley)
    [​IMG]
    EIU’s Ryan Ignoffo (EIU Athletics)
    There are several staples in the Eastern Illinois lineup, but unlike their three regional opponents, the Panthers like to mix things up on offense to play favorable matchups. First baseman and DH Ryan Ignoffo has been a fixture in the lineup for several years now and is enjoying another big season at the plate, batting .336/.435/.603 with 15 dingers. He’ll also surprise you on the basepaths, swiping 29 bags in 31 attempts for a team that has 97 stolen bases on the year. Outfielders Lincoln Riley, Cole Gober and Logan Eickhoff, along with first baseman Nicholas Rucker and catcher Grant Lashure, are five of EIU’s more dangerous hitters for an offense that consistently peppers balls to all fields.

    EIU’s pitching staff has been effective this season, sporting a 4.77 team ERA while limiting their opponents to 20 runs during their 5-1 run through the OVC Tournament. Zane Robbins is the go-to arm out of the bullpen, recording seven saves this year in 26 relief appearances while striking out 50 in 32 2/3 innings. Ignoffo doubles as a productive two-way player, recording four saves of his own, and the weekend trio of Ky Matthews-Hampton, Tyler Conklin and Nick Laxner combined to go 21-8, 4.41 this year.
     
  31. FadeMe

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    #Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
    #Duke Blue Devils
    #UNC Wilmington Seahawks
    #Rider Broncs

    Checking The Field
    Coastal Carolina bashed its way to the Sun Belt regular season title and a home regional, drawing Duke, UNC Wilmington and Rider. This regional presents a contrast in styles, as Coastal stands out for its powerful offense (15th nationally in slugging, sixth in scoring) but ranks 176th in ERA, while Duke (10th in ERA) and Rider (18th) have standout pitching, and UNCW is a blend of both.

    1. Coastal Carolina: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders
    2. Duke: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders
    3. UNC Wilmington: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders
    4. Rider: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders
    Conway Regional Superlatives
    Most Exciting Player: Payton Eeles, 2B, Coastal Carolina. A 5-foot-7 firebrand who transferred in from Division II Cedarville this year, Eeles is the most valuable player in this regional according to our wWAA metric (weighted wins above average). He is the engine that makes Coastal go, hitting .379 with 16 doubles and 40 stolen bases in 46 tries.

    Best Hitter: Jay Beshears, 2B, Duke. You can make a case here for Eeles or Coastal’s Derek Bender, UNCW’s Jac Croom or a few others, but we’ll go with Beshears, a Northwestern transfer who has continued to produce at a high level after transferring to the ACC. Beshears is hitting .340/.452/.587 with 15 doubles, 12 homers, 52 RBIs and a solid 29-43 K-BB mark. His power production gives him the nod over Eeles and Croom, and his plate discipline gives him the edge over Bender.

    Best Defensive Player: Alex Mooney, SS, Duke. Mooney has a slightly lower fielding percentage than UNCW shortstop Taber Mongero (another strong candidate for this spot), but we’ll give Mooney the edge because of his professional profile; he has the smooth actions, instincts and solid arm to play middle infield in the big leagues. He has been mostly steady this year and is capable of making the spectacular play.

    Best Pitcher: James Tallon, LHP, Duke. An instant star as Duke’s freshman closer, Tallon was unhittable for most of the year, and even after getting hit a little bit in his last few outings, he still heads into this regional with a 1.69 ERA, 11 saves, and a sparkling 54-10 K-BB mark in 32 IP. His calling card is an invisible fastball that plays above its 91-93 mph velocity thanks to his vertical approach angle and deception.

    X-Factor: Liam Doyle, LHP, Coastal Carolina. The freshman has some of the best stuff on Coastal’s staff, showing 92-94 mph heat from the left side with a good splitter, slider and curveball. He has worked mostly out of the bullpen this year, but he started and turned in six innings of three-hit, one-run ball against Georgia State in the Sun Belt tournament.

    Best Starting Rotation: UNC Wilmington. Righties Jacob Shafer and Zane Taylor have combined to make 31 starts and earn 14 wins. They are the clear-cut top workhorse starters in this regional, earning UNCW the nod here despite the lack of a steady third starter.

    Best Bullpen: Duke. This pitching staff is built from the back forward, relying on veteran strike-throwing openers then mixing and matching with power stuff and variety in the bullpen. As noted above, Tallon is a star, and so is sophomore righty Fran Oschell III (4-0, 0.80, 58-16 K-BB in 33.2 IP), a power righty who can bump 95-97 with a putaway slider. And Duke is loaded with other quality arms from both sides it can use to match up as needed.

    Best Offensive Team: Coastal Carolina. The Chanticleers are built to bludgeon opponents with their power, ranking sixth in the nation in scoring, 15th in slugging, and 22nd in home runs. Eeles is the table setter for a lineup loaded with scary power threats in Bender, Caden Bodine, Zack Beach, Graham Brown and Nick Lucky. The lineup has length as well as star power, with threats like Ty Dooley (.281) and Chad Born (.305) hiding in the bottom half.

    Best Defensive Team: Duke. The Blue Devils lead this regional with a .977 fielding percentage. Mooney, Beshears, center fielder Gio DiGiacomo and catcher Alex Stone form a solid up-the-middle group, and MJ Metz is a standout first baseman.

    No. 1 Seed Win Probability (1-10): 5. Duke is a solid No. 2 seed that was in the regional hosting hunt (and even the top-eight national seed discussion for a while). UNCW is one of college baseball’s best programs that has never won a regional, though it has knocked on the door repeatedly. Coastal is a clear favorite, but not an overwhelming one.

    Conway Regional Team Breakdowns
    Coastal Carolina (39-19, 23-7 in Sun Belt)

    [​IMG]
    Coastal Carolina’s Payton Eeles (Aaron Fitt)
    After falling to East Carolina in the decisive Game Seven at the Greenville Regional last year, Coastal Carolina had to replace six key regulars in the lineup plus the entire weekend rotation and top two bullpen arms. Yet somehow, the Chanticleers were even better this year, winning the Sun Belt regular-season title and hosting a regional for the first time since 2018. Longtime coach Gary Gilmore announced this week that he will retire after the 2024 season, so this could be his last best chance to make a deep postseason run starting with a home regional, adding a little extra wrinkle to the Coastal narrative.

    Coastal was able to withstand all those departures from last year’s club thanks to the addition of some very good freshmen and transfers to supplement the rock-solid returning core of Graham Brown and Nick Lucky, both of whom have hit for more power this year. Fellow returnee Zack Beach has emerged as another key run producer, and Derek Bender has been a breakout star as a sophomore, leading the team with 18 homers and 80 RBIs. The aforementioned Payton Eeles has been a vital addition, and freshman catcher Caden Bodine is a budding superstar, a switch-hitter who hits for average (.354) and power (9 HR, 17 doubles) while providing very strong defense behind the plate. This lineup has a very good balance of lefty and righty threats, and a knack for churning out competitive at-bats from top to bottom. It is a very difficult order to navigate.

    Pitching has been a weakness for Coastal, as the Chants have largely just racked up wins by overpowering their opponents, but they do have some good arms on this staff, led by bullpen stopper Teddy Sharkey (7-1, 2.68, 10 SV, 69-17 K-BB in 47 IP). Sharkey works downhill from a high slot with a fastball that reaches the mid-90s and a pair of good breaking balls. Compact righty Riley Eikhoff, who attacks at 90-91 with a very good changeup, has emerged as a a key starter down the stretch, along with the aforementioned talented freshman Liam Doyle. Another freshman, Jacob Morrison, falls into the X-factor bucket; he has a 6.-7 ERA in 12 starts, but he has plenty of stuff, with a 90-94 fastball, a sharp slider that can be an out pitch, and the makings of a quality changeup and curveball. Darin Horn is a trusted bullpen option with a whippy three-quarters arm action from the right side, an 88-90 fastball with some ride, and a very tight-spinning slider. So there is stuff on this pitching staff, but the results have been spotty.

    Duke (35-21, 16-13 in ACC)
    [​IMG]
    Duke’s Giovanni DiGiacomo celebrates a homer with Andrew Fischer (Aaron Fitt)
    After snapping a 55-year NCAA tournament drought in 2016, Duke has become a postseason regular under Chris Pollard, and this will be its fifth regional in the last seven completed seasons, highlighted by a pair of trips to super regionals in 2018-19. Pollard has shown a knack for getting clubs that are struggling at the midway point and getting them to surge down the stretch, but you can make a case that is his finest coaching job yet. Expectations were modest for Duke this year coming off a 22-32 campaign a year ago, and Pollard had to revamp his coaching staff, his roster and the culture of his clubhouse in the offseason. Heading into the fall, the strength of this team was supposed to be the talented duo of lefties Luke Fox and Jonathan Santucci, but Fox went down with Tommy John surgery before the season started, and Santucci was lost to injury after seven starts, forcing the Blue Devils to deploy an openers strategy and build their staff around the bullpen. Despite all that, Duke has been a very consistent winning club this year, though it enters the postseason on a skid, with six losses in its last seven games (most of them tightly contested affairs).

    As noted above, the bullpen is the biggest strength of this team, with the Tallon-Oschell duo leading the way. Righties Adam Boucher, Aidan Weaver and Brown transfer Charlie Beilenson (the unsung hero of this staff, with a 3.44 ERA and 67 strikeouts over 49.2 innings over 33 appearances) all have power arms with fastballs in the mid-90s. Beilenson is a slot-shifter whose changeup is his primary weapon from his standard high three-quarters slot, but he can also mix in a tight slider or drop to sidearm against righties to induce groundballs with his sinker. Alex Gow, who leads the team with 14 starts (but has just 52 innings, also a team high), is a fifth-year senior transfer from Kenyon University. He is a physical 6-foot-3, 230-pound righty whose calling card is his knockout breaking ball, which generates about a 45 percent swing-and-miss rate. Jason White, a fifth-year senior transfer from Belmont Abbey, has worked as an opener or in the bullpen, pitching at 88-90 with uphill ride and mixing in a good slider and useful changeup. Ryan Higgins, another opener candidate, relies upon an 89-90 sinker, a sharp slider and a decent mid-80s changeup. And talented freshman lefty Andrew Healy who has missed time down the stretch but could be available this weekend, has a projectable 6-foot-6 frame, a 90-94 fastball, a rapidly improving breaking ball and a plus changeup. It’s a staff with exceptional depth and variety, and the Blue Devils aren’t afraid to mix and match liberally.

    Duke’s powerful offense is another strength, ranking 30th in the nation in homers and 41st in scoring. Five Blue Devils have reached double digits in homers: breakout star catcher Alex Stone (14), corner infielders MJ Metz and Luke Storm (13 apiece), plus second baseman Beshears (12) and freshman DH/3B Andrew Fischer (11). Mooney is the most well-balanced player on the team as well as the team leader as a sophomore; he hits for average (.329 with 17 doubles) and some pop (8 HR) while leading the team with 17 steals and anchoring the defense at shortstop. DiGiacomo (15 SB) and veteran outfielder Damon Lux (9 SB) bring additional speed and athleticism to the mix, and freshman Tyler Albright (.826 OPS) has come into his own as a promising young righthanded hitter with a gap-to-gap approach. This lineup has physicality, athleticism and balance; it’s just a rock-solid club.

    UNC Wilmington (34-21, 20-8 in CAA)
    [​IMG]
    UNCW’s Tanner Thach rips a home run to center field against Northeastern (Aaron Fitt)
    A postseason regular, UNC Wilmington made six regionals in the final eight seasons of the Mark Scalf era, then had a near-miss in Randy Hood’s first full season as head coach in 2021, falling to Northeastern in the CAA title game. This time around, the Seahawks finished the job by beating the Huskies in the CAA championship game, but they had a strong case to get in as an at-large team even if they had lost, finishing with a No. 39 RPI and an 8-10 record against the top 50.

    There’s a lot to like about UNCW, another very balanced club that is solid in a lot of areas, but doesn’t jump off the page statistically in any one area. As noted above, weekend starters Jacob Shafer and Zane Taylor serve as the tentpoles for the pitching staff, eating more innings than any other arms in this regional. The 6-foot-7 Shafer has good angle that makes his 90-93 mph fastball play up, and he has very good feel for his 80-83 slider. Taylor is the most valuable arm in this regional according to wWAA, going 7-2, 3.25 in 83 innings over 16 starts. He’s not a big strikeout pitcher, relying instead on a lively 87-90 sinker that gets plenty of ground balls, a quality changeup and a sharp slider. Athletic righty Connor Kane is capable of working as a third starter (as he did in the final weekend of the regular season, going 5.1 shutout innings) or serving as a long reliever; he sits at 90-92 and bumps 93 with a good, sharp breaking ball with depth and a solid changeup. Righties Brett Banks (3.86 ERA, 8 SV) and Ethan Chenault (5.09 ERA, 3 SV) bring serious power stuff to the back of the bullpen, but walks have been an issue at times for this pen.

    The UNCW lineup is built around a nice blend of rock-solid, very experienced veterans (Jac Croom, Dillon Lifrieri, Trevor Marsh and Taber Mongero) plus some ultra-talented young players on the rise (freshmen Tanner Thach and Brock Wills plus suphomore Bryan Arendt). Croom is the best player on the team, leading the Seahawks in batting (.363) while hitting 12 doubles and seven homers, walking (24) more than he whiffs (22), and playing superb defense at the hot corner. He and Mongero make UNCW outstanding defensively on the left side of the infield, and Thach is a true standout defender at first. Thach is also the premier power threat in the lineup, with a UNCW freshman record 15 homers and 67 RBIs, while hitting .288/.357/.545. Marsh (11 HR) and Lifrieri (10 HR) also bring double-digit homer pop as well as solid athleticism in the outfield. Overall, this isn’t an ultra-scary lineup, but it has its share of threats, and it is a well-coached, baseball-savvy group that usually doesn’t beat itself.

    Rider (35-19, 14-7 in MAAC)
    [​IMG]
    Frank Doelling (Rider Athletics)
    Rider is back in regionals for the second time in three years, and the fourth time under head coach Dr. Barry Davis, who has led the program since 2005. The Broncs were the best team in the MAAC for much of the season, though they stumbled just a bit in the second half to finish two games behind Fairfield. The Broncs and Stags battled it out three times in the conference tournament, with Rider winning the first matchup 6-3, Fairfield taking the second game 8-7, and then Rider winning an 18-4 blowout in the final game, sending the Broncs to regionals.

    The Broncs have the steadiest trio of weekend starters in this field, as Frank Doelling (6-2, 3.52), Dylan Heine (4-3, 4.68) and Brian Young (6-6, 5.94) have made a combined 40 starts, forming the backbone of a solid pitching staff. Doelling is coming off seven innings of four-hit, shutout ball against Quinnipiac in the conference tournament, and two years ago he pitched great in a battle with Alabama in regionals; that game was tied 1-1 in the sixth inning before the Tide escaped with a 3-1 victory. A polished, hard-nosed lefthander, Doelling works at 88-91 with a very good breaking ball, while Heine has some of the best stuff on the staff, working at 90-92 with the ability to locate three pitches. But the biggest weapon on this staff is fifth-year senior closer Danny Kirwin (6-2, 2.12, 13 SV, 64-32 K-BB in 46.2 IP), who has an argument for the “best pitcher in the regional” honor. Kirwin has legit power stuff, with a 92-94 mph fastball and a putaway slider.

    Pitching and defense is the name of the game here, as Rider led the MAAC in both ERA (4.21) and fielding percentage (.974). Catcher Brian Skettini is the general here, leading the team in batting (.308) and doubles (17) while providing standout defense behind the plate. Veterans abound in this lineup, with two more holding down the middle infield in 2B John Volpe (.290) and SS Jordan Erbe. Right fielder Brendan O’Donnell followed up his school-record 20-homer campaign a year ago with 14 more this year, making him the powerful centerpiece of the lineup. But he has some support from seniors Luke Lesch and Scott Shaw, each of whom have eight homers, at least 12 doubles and at least 40 RBIs. Like Duke and Coastal, this is a very steady, balanced and complete Rider ballclub.
     
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  32. WC

    WC Bad Company, ‘til the day I die.
    Donor TMB OG
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    Feels like a Campbell series to me. SC is an unknown on a cold streak and NC State doesn’t have to arms to win 3 games, much less any more.
     
  33. FadeMe

    FadeMe Well-Known Member
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    #Indiana State Sycamores
    #Iowa Hawkeyes #North Carolina Tarheels
    #Wright State Raiders

    Terre Haute Regional Preview: Indiana State ready to prove doubters wrong
    POSTSEASON Patrick Ebert - May 31, 2023

    Regional Schedule/Results | Regional Scoreboard | Bracket Challenge
    Checking The Field
    Indiana State earned the opportunity to host with the ninth-best RPI with most of their damage coming in the Missouri Valley Conference. They’ll need to continue to prove themselves with one of the more challenging quartets on any regional including an always-dangerous Wright State squad as the No. 4 seed.

    1. Indiana State: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders
    2. Iowa: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders
    3. North Carolina: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders
    4. Wright State: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders
    Terre Haute Regional Superlatives
    Most Exciting Player: Andrew Patrick CF, Wright State.

    It’s hard not to mention Iowa’s triple digit hurler, Brody Brecht, here, but I’m giving Wright State’s Andrew Patrick the nod for his incredible statistical season. The Raiders leadoff hitter and center fielder, Patrick went 3-for-4 with a double, a home run, a stolen base and six RBIs in the Horizon League championship game propelling Wright State to the postseason. That’s just a small taste of what he can do when he takes over a game, as he enters regional play with a .333/.439/.711 triple slash as well as 21 doubles, four triples, 19 homers and 29 stolen bases.

    Best Hitter: Brennen Dorighi, 1B, Iowa.

    Wofford’s lack of a graduate program is well documented and Iowa was the beneficiary of Dorighi’s intention to transfer during the offseason. He responded in a huge way this year, slashing .340/.459/.617 with 19 doubles, 13 homers and 61 RBIs. He gets pitched to differently than the rest of the entire Iowa offense with a steady dose of off-speed offerings.

    Best Defensive Player: Grant Magill, C, Indiana State.

    Named the Valley’s Defensive Player of the Year, Magill’s arm strength is his carrying tool and he uses it to effectively neutralize opposing team’s running games, which will certainly be a factor in Terre Haute considering Wright State (108 stolen bases) and Iowa (98) are especially aggressive on the basepaths. In MVC play, Magill gunned down six of 11 would-be basestealers, throwing out 18 total runners on the season.

    Best Pitcher: Matt Jachec, RHP, Indiana State.

    Connor Fenlong was the Missouri Valley’s Pitcher of the Year, but Jachec is ISU’s staff ace, and for good reason. After enjoying a dominant 2022 season Jachec returned to front the staff, going 7-3 with a 3.90 ERA mixing between a three-pitch mix that includes and upper-80s fastball that peaks at 91-92 mph. Jachec has impeccable command, as evidenced by his 93-to-14 strikeout to walk ratio in 92 1/3 innings of work.

    X-Factor: Mac Horvath, CF/3B, North Carolina.

    UNC star center fielder Vance Honeycutt missed the ACC Tournament due to a lower-back injury and will also miss the Terre Haute Regional, clouding the Tar Heels postseason path. Taking over for Honeycutt defensively has been Mac Horvath, UNC’s usual third baseman, a loose, long-limbed athlete that can do just about anything that is asked of him on the baseball field. Horvath, a junior, is enjoying his best season in college, batting .305 with 20 doubles, 22 homers, 62 RBIs and 24 stolen bases.

    Best Starting Rotation: Indiana State.

    Iowa may have the better collection of high-powered arms, but Indiana State has more proven arms that can start and go deep into a ballgame. Fenlong and Lane Miller followed Jachec in the standard weekend order with Brennyn Cutts and Simon Gregersen also providing valuable innings. This quintet is a big reason Indiana State is fifth in the nation in ERA (3.80).

    Best Bullpen: Iowa.

    Similar to the previous category, while Indiana State also has some encouraging bullpen depth, Iowa is riding a hot bullpen into the Terre Haute Regional. Slider specialist Will Christophersen is nearly unhittable when his signature pitch is working for him and Jack Whitlock’s wiffle breaker is also a confounding pitch. Luke Llewellyn gets a lot of work and the Hawkeyes have several long and secondary starting options.

    Best Offensive Team: North Carolina.

    Iowa and Wright State have dangerous offenses, and Indiana State has been incredibly productive manufacturing runs with timely hitting, but North Carolina has the most balanced lineup, even without their star center fielder in the lineup. UNC is slashing .285/.402/.480 as a team with 83 home runs. Leading hitter (.329) Tomas Frick has received plenty of RBI opportunities thanks to Casey Cook and Horvath’s on-base efforts at the top of the lineup. Johnny Castagnozzi and Patrick Alvarez have performed well in Honeycutt’s absence while first baseman Hunter Stokely and second baseman Jackson Van De Brake form a productive ride side of the infield.

    Best Defensive Team: Indiana State.

    The Sycamores led the entire nation in fielding percentage (.984), committing just 34 errors on the year in 57 games. Magill sets the tone behind the plate and the middle infield duo of Randal Diaz and Josue Urdaneta is as sure-handed as they come.

    No. 1 Seed Win Probability (1-10): 5.

    Indiana State dominated their Missouri Valley opponents, going 24-3 in the regular season with a 4-1 run through the MVC Tournament that culminated in a 6-0 win over Evansville in the championship game. They lost to Iowa to open the year, however, and were swept by both Northeastern and Kentucky before opening conference play. As a result, despite their lofty RPI they went 2-9 against Top 50-ranked opponents and will need to continue to prove skeptical onlookers wrong with three challenging opponents coming to town.

    Terre Haute Regional Team Breakdowns
    Indiana State (42-15, 24-3 Missouri Valley)

    [​IMG]For as special as the 2023 season has been for Indiana State it could have been even better, particularly early in the season, after the Sycamores started the year 4-6. That means their ninth-best RPI could have been even better had they secured even 1-2 wins against other RPI out-of-conference stalwarts including Iowa, Northeastern and Kentucky. Indiana State dramatically turned things around to finish 42-15, going 24-3 against their Missouri Valley Conference opponents and wrapped up the MVC Tournament with a 4-1 showing to claim the league’s automatic bid in front of their home crowd.

    The MVC championship definitely tested their pitching mettle, as they were poised to beat Evansville before the Aces hit a walk-off grand slam. In an elimination contest for both teams, Indiana State casually bounced back and delivered a 6-0 win as Simon Gregersen and Cam Edmonson combined on the six-hit shutout. And that’s the beginning of what makes this team special as they have five arms they feel comfortable making starts. Matt Jachec is the ace, Connor Fenlong was named the MVC Pitcher of the Year as the Saturday starter and Lane Miller returned around midseason to assume No. 3 starting responsibilities. Brennyn Cutts and Gregersen are their fourth and fifth starters who also contribute out of the bullpen. Edmonson, Cameron Holycross and Zach Davidson can also provide multiple innings out of the ‘pen. The wild card is closer Jared Spencer, who gave up the walk-off bomb to Evansville and hadn’t pitched before that since May 2. Spencer is an electric lefthander with a nasty slider that throws from a difficult slot, and when he’s on it usually spells bad news for opposing hitters.

    On offense the team has only one batter with a .300 average, Adam Pottinger – who’s hitting exactly .300 – but they can beat you in a variety of ways with a knack for getting the big hit when it’s needed most. Shortstop Randal Diaz and third baseman Mike Sears have 10 and 19 home runs, respectively, and represent the left side of the infield. The right side of the infield consists of Josue Urdaneta, a three-year starter at second, and first baseman Miguel Rivera, who has been finding his groove as of late. Grant Magill anchors the nation’s-leading defense from behind the plate and Seth Gergely can cover ample ground in center field when healthy. ISU doesn’t steal a ton of bases (41) but they’re far from base cloggers and efficiently move from station to station.

    Iowa (42-14, 15-8 Big Ten)
    [​IMG]Iowa is similar to Notre Dame from a year ago in that they execute key aspects of the game so incredibly well. Among those are defense, baserunning and situational hitting, a process-based approach to the game that more often than not produces a win simply by continually chipping away at the other team. That doesn’t mean they lack punch in their lineup, however, as first baseman Brennen Dorighi is one of the most dangerous hitters in the Big Ten, left fielder Sam Petersen routinely provides big hits and center fielder Kyle Huckstorf can carry the team when he gets hot. You won’t find many shortstops better than Michael Seegers who solidifies the infield defense while providing a line drive approach at the plate. One through nine this is the most complete position player group at the Terre Haute Regional with a cumulative slash line of .298/.418/.484, 98 stolen bases and a .981 team fielding percentage.

    The pitching staff is where things get especially interesting, led by the weekend starting trio of Brody Brecht, Marcus Morgan and Ty Langenberg, each of whom has made multiple starts as the team’s Friday ace. Brecht and Morgan are both sophomores, with Brecht possessing triple-digit heat and a nasty mid- to upper-80s slider that are unhittable when he’s sequencing well. Morgan throws in the low- to mid-90s while Langenberg is a steady low-90s arm with a polished changeup. Will Christophersen’s slider is his separating pitch, striking out 55 batters in 28 innings this year, while Jack Whitlock has a swing-and-miss breaking ball of his own. Luke Llewellyn is the steadying presence in the bullpen while lefthanders Cade Obermueller and Jared Simpson, as well as righthander Zach Voelker, can all go multiple innings and chip in with a spot start as needed.

    North Carolina (35-22, 14-14 ACC)
    [​IMG]North Carolina went 2-0 in pool play at the ACC Tournament, beating Georgia Tech and Virginia by a 21-7 run differential, before losing to a red-shot Clemson team in the semifinals. This UNC offense can put up runs in a hurry, but they’ll be doing so without star center fielder Vance Honeycutt, who is nursing a tender lower back. They’ve shifted some pieces around to adjust for Honeycutt’s absence, with usual third baseman Mac Horvath playing center field, Johnny Castagnozzi playing third base and Patrick Alvarez playing left field. Catcher Tomas Frick is the team’s leading hitter (.329 with 12 homers) as he and Horvath (.305, 22 home runs, 62 RBIs) are the key hitters at the top of the Tar Heels offense. Four other regulars – Hunter Stokely, Casey Cook, Jackson Van De Brake and Alvarez – are batting on the sunny side of .300 for a team that is slashing .285/.402/.480 with 83 home runs.

    The pitching has somewhat of a bend-don’t-break mentality in that their trio of starters – Max Carlson, Jake Knapp and Connor Bovair – has a cumulative 5.47 ERA but they consistently provide innings leading up to their bullpen. UNC isn’t afraid to throw the kitchen sink at you when it comes to their relievers, as six different hurlers have made at least 20 appearances out of the bullpen, led by closer Matt Poston’s 30. Poston (1.77 ERA in 40.2 innings), Kevin Eaise (3.37 in 50.2) and Dalton Pence (3.67 in 41.2) do much of the team’s heavy lifting in the late innings.

    Wright State (39-21, 22-8 Horizon)
    [​IMG]Wright State is consistently one of the most dangerous No. 4 seeds in the nation, and while they’re usually defined by a high-powered offense, the starting staff has performed at a high level this year. Horizon Pitcher of the Year Sebastian Gongora leads the way, a low-90s lefty that went 10-1, 2.92 in 15 starts this season spanning 86 1/3 innings and he presents a difficult matchup opposite Indiana State’s Matt Jachec on Friday. Jake Shirk, who opened the year as the team’s Friday ace, and Luke Stofel give the Raiders two more reliable starters. Closer Joey Valentine, Josh Laisure, Tristan Haught and Ty Roder each made 20 or more appearances this year, with Laisure and Haught serving as the primary long men with the ability to start if needed.

    Offensively Wright State can still swing it, led by dynamic center fielder Andrew Patrick who causes all sorts of havoc at the top of the order. Patrick slashed .333/.439/.711 with 44 extra-base hits, 19 of which were home runs, and 29 stolen bases. Nos. 2 and 3 hitters, first baseman Jay Luikart and second baseman Gehrig Anglin, both hit over .300, while Luikart and DH Julian Greenwell hit double-digit dingers. Catcher Sammy Sass serves at the team’s mainstay in the middle of the order and behind the plate. Keep an eye on the Raiders on the basepaths, stealing 108 bases in 138 attempts this year, as it will be especially interesting if they test the arm of Indiana State backstop Grant Magill come Friday.
     
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  34. killerwvu

    killerwvu Restoring WVU's E-Rep 1 Post At A Time
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    2nd tweet is from our starting 1B dad. Just a disgrace by the NCAA to allow this
     
  35. Jax Teller

    Jax Teller Well-Known Member
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    Alabama Crimson TideAtlanta BravesTennessee TitansNashville PredatorsNashville SC

    What's the story with the Lexington regional?
     
  36. Nole0515

    Nole0515 Well-Known Member
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    music fest in Lexington this weekend and no hotels available which should have disqualified them from hosting
     
  37. killerwvu

    killerwvu Restoring WVU's E-Rep 1 Post At A Time
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    West Virginia MountaineersBrooklyn NetsDallas CowboysNational LeaguePittsburgh Pirates

    Closest hotel is an hour away. So the schools are staying in the dorms and have to pay UK $185 per room per night :roll:
     
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  38. Jax Teller

    Jax Teller Well-Known Member
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    Alabama Crimson TideAtlanta BravesTennessee TitansNashville PredatorsNashville SC

    So now they are staying in those shitty dorms? What a fuck up by the NCAA.

    I wanted to go to that festival but tickets were crazy high.
     
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  39. killerwvu

    killerwvu Restoring WVU's E-Rep 1 Post At A Time
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    West Virginia MountaineersBrooklyn NetsDallas CowboysNational LeaguePittsburgh Pirates

    Yup with no AC or bed topper
     
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  40. FadeMe

    FadeMe Well-Known Member
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    Auburn TigersAtlanta BravesAtlanta United

    #Auburn Tigers
    #Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles
    #Samford Bulldogs
    #Penn Quakers

    Auburn Regional Preview: Is this a chaos regional?
    TOP STORIES Joe Healy - June 1, 2023

    Regional Schedule/Results | Regional Scoreboard | Bracket Challenge
    Checking The Field
    Auburn year after year seems to exceed outside expectations, and this season was no different. The Tigers, despite having some youth in the lineup, a key injury on the mound in Joseph Gonzalez and uncertainty in the weekend rotation for much of the year, is hosting for the second straight season. Their path isn’t easy, though. Penn is arguably the toughest four-seed in the entire field, Southern Miss is a team that was a handful of wins away from hosting a regional itself and Samford is a tough team that won a tripleheader in the SoCon Tournament to secure an automatic bid.

    1. Auburn: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders
    2. Southern Miss: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders
    3. Samford: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders
    4. Penn: Regular Season Results | Team Stats and Leaders
    Auburn Regional Superlatives
    Most Exciting Player: Cole Foster, SS, Auburn

    Foster does a lot of things well. At the plate, he’s having a great year, batting .336/.430/.579 with 13 home runs and 49 RBIs. He also plays a very solid shortstop for the Tigers. He missed three games this season for Auburn, and even in that small of a sample size, you could tell something was missing when he was out of the lineup.

    Best Hitter: Bryson Ware, 3B, Auburn

    Ware quietly made one of the biggest leaps in college baseball this season. As a part-time player last season, he batted .234/.336/.394 with one home run. This season, he’s batting .356/.440/.750 with 24 home runs and 63 RBIs.

    Best Defensive Player: Dustin Dickerson, SS, Southern Miss

    It says something about Dickerson’s natural defensive ability that Southern Miss trusted him at the position the minute he stepped on campus. In the four years since, he’s never left shortstop and continues to be a rock-solid defender there.

    Best Pitcher: Tanner Hall, RHP, Southern Miss

    Hall backed up his breakout season in 2022 (which earned him a place on the Collegiate National Team last summer) with another outstanding season at the front of the Southern Miss rotation. He’s 12-3 with a 2.23 ERA, a .194 opponent batting average and 109 strikeouts compared to 30 walks in 97 innings.

    X-Factor: John Anderson, DH, Samford

    A transfer from Georgia Tech, Anderson can really swing the bat. His overall numbers this season are fantastic, as he’s batting .286/.360/.668 with 13 doubles, 22 home runs and 60 RBIs. But what makes him an X-factor is that he was even better in SoCon play, batting .363/.406/.923. If he’s that kind of an impact hitter this weekend, he’s a guy who could carry the Bulldogs offensively.

    Best Starting Rotation: Penn

    There are better individual talents on the mound—Hall and Samford’s Jacob Cravey to name two—but no team has a better rotation from front to back than Penn with the trio of Ryan Dromboski, Owen Coady and Cole Zaffiro. All three have ERAs of 3.09 or lower, opponent batting averages of .220 or lower and all three average more than a strikeout per inning.

    Best Bullpen: Southern Miss

    Penn also has an excellent bullpen, but Southern Miss gets the nod thanks to the presence of a couple of relief workhorses in Justin Storm (2.52 ERA, 35.2 IP), who has 59 strikeouts on the season, and Kros Sivley (4.17 ERA, 49.2 IP), who has a 49-to-9 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Will Armistead (1.96 ERA, 36.2 IP), who has held a swing role this season, will also be a valuable piece no matter his role.

    Best Offensive Team: Auburn

    As it heads into the postseason, Auburn has found some things on the pitching staff to give the club some balance, but for much of the campaign, it was in the position of having to win games by out-slugging opponents, and that’s something it is very much built to do. The Tigers are batting .291/.393/.491 on the season, and their .273 batting average in conference play was good for fourth in the SEC.

    Best Defensive Team: Auburn

    Auburn’s position player group doesn’t stand out for having acrobatic defenders we associate with making highlight reel plays, necessarily, but it’s a solid, veteran unit that is fielding .978 this season. Nate LaRue, Cole Foster and Kason Howell are steady hands up the middle at catcher, shortstop and center field, respectively, and right fielder Bobby Peirce has a big arm that he’s used to collect seven outfield assists.

    No. 1 Seed Win Probability (1-10): 6

    It’s still the safe choice to assume Auburn wins this regional, but Penn is a really tough four-seed, and this stands out as a regional that could be totally up for grabs if the Quakers win the opener. If Auburn wins the opener, though, things open up for the home team a bit.

    Auburn Regional Team Breakdowns
    [​IMG]Tommy Vail, Auburn (USC Athletics)


    Auburn (34-21-1, 17-13 SEC)
    [​IMG]Auburn got off to a slow start in SEC play, falling to 5-10 in the league after a series loss to rival Alabama, but rather than a sign of things to come for the rest of the campaign, that turned out to be the turning point of the season. From there, the Tigers won their last five SEC series, going 12-3 along the way. By the end of the season, non-conference series wins over Indiana, USC and Lipscomb also looked impressive, given that Indiana and Lipscomb are in the field of 64 and many believe that USC should be.

    Offense is where Auburn’s bread is buttered. The offensive core of freshman phenom Ike Irish (.364/.433/.557, 24 2B), plus Bryson Ware (.356/.440/.750, 24 HR), Bobby Peirce (.353/.416/.520) and Cole Foster (.336/.430/.579) is extremely strong, and guys like Chris Stanfield (.292/.379/.429) and Cooper McMurray (.275/.458/.641, 14 HR) have provided sparks even though they weren’t necessarily day-in, day-out regulars at the start of the season.

    Pitching has been a big question mark all season for the Tigers, thanks in no small part to being without staff ace Joseph Gonzalez since week one of the regular season. Slowly but surely, though, as this program has done before, it figured some things out on the mound. Tommy Vail (5-1, 3.46) stepped into the ace role over the second half of SEC play with aplomb. Christian Herberholz (1-3, 4.18), who emerged as the number two starter behind Vail, has the lowest conference ERA on the team at 2.30. He’s missed a couple of starts but has been throwing on the side and could be back this weekend. Hard thrower Chase Allsup (5.89 ERA, 44.1 IP) was also much better against SEC foes, with a 4.15 ERA. And Will Cannon (4.27 ERA, 46.1 IP) has been as valuable as anyone from start to finish this season.

    Auburn’s pitching is still the biggest question mark going into this weekend, but the Tigers have to feel much more confident about that unit now than they did six weeks ago.

    Southern Miss (41-17, 22-8 Sun Belt)
    [​IMG]Tanner Hall, Southern Miss (Shotgun Spratling)


    [​IMG]Southern Miss more or less picked up in the Sun Belt where it left off as a member of Conference USA, finishing one game behind Coastal Carolina in the league standings and making a late push to host a regional that fell just short.

    The position player group is older (which seems to have been the case at USM for several years in a row now), with Dustin Dickerson (.325/.424/.500), Slade Wilks (.301/.385/.644, 20 HR), Carson Paetow (.269/.364/.425), Christopher Sargent (.261/.336/.486), Blake Johnson (.260/.394/.441), Reece Ewing (.255/.410/.416), Danny Lynch (.251/.407/.492) and Rodrigo Montenegro (.388/.529/.450 in 80 AB) all having significant experience. Matthew Etzel (.325/.390/.488) is really the only first-year player among the regulars. It’s not the most physical lineup out there, but it’s a good group of veteran players with tons of postseason experience.

    Tanner Hall (12-3, 2.23) is the undisputed ace and the pitcher likely to take the ball in game one of the regional against Samford, but USM has other solid starting options in Billy Oldham (6-3, 4.64), Matthew Adams (3-2, 4.74) and Niko Mazza (5-1, 3.99). Mazza has had some ups and downs this season, but when he’s been good, he’s often been dominant. The top bullpen arms are Justin Storm (2.52 ERA, 35.2 IP, 8 SV) and Kros Sivley (4.17 ERA, 49.2 IP, 4 SV), but Will Armistead (1.96 ERA, 36.2 IP) looks the part of an X-factor. He’s been in a swing role this season and last week in the conference tournament, he turned in his best outing of the season with seven strong innings against Appalachian State, giving up four hits and one unearned run.

    Samford (36-23, 15-6 SoCon)
    [​IMG]Samford won three elimination games in the same day – Photo by Chase Cochran, Samford Athletics


    [​IMG]Samford arrives in a regional via one of the most absurd conference tournament runs in history. Thanks to forecasted bad weather in Greenville, S.C., home of the SoCon Tournament, the tournament organizers continually pushed games up to avoid having to play on Sunday, when the forecast was worst. That resulted in the Bulldogs having to play, and eventually winning, a tripleheader on Saturday to secure the auto bid.

    Assuming Samford has its legs back under them after all that—it helps that it only has to travel about two-and-a-half hours down the road to get to Auburn—the Bulldogs should provide a tough challenge for the favorites in this regional. It starts on day one, when Samford will be able to throw its own ace, Jacob Cravey (9-2, 3.19), against USM’s Tanner Hall. Cravey, the SoCon pitcher of the year, is currently fourth in the country in strikeouts with 121. Brody Westbrooks (3-3, 5.58) and Will Lynch (5-4, 6.14) make up the rotation behind Cravey. Ben Petschke (4.29 ERA, 50.1 IP, 14 SV) is Samford’s go-to bullpen arm, and his 14 saves are tied for second in the country. No other regularly-used reliever has an ERA below 6.67, so the Bulldogs will need some pitchers to step up this weekend just like they did in the SoCon Tournament.

    Though Samford might be a little short on the mound, it makes up for it with a strong offensive attack. The Bulldogs are batting .283/.383/.504 overall, but those numbers jumped to .315/.407/.622 in conference play. Jayden Davis (.363/.461/.553), Stephen Klein (.315/.460/.532), Lucas Steele (.314/.397/.649, 16 HR), the SoCon freshman of the year, Garrett Howe (.302/.385/.396) and John Anderson (.286/.360/.668, 22 HR) make up the core of the lineup. Josh Rodriguez (.271/.361/.542) has also come on strong in the second half of the season, as his batting average jumps to .318 in SoCon action, and he had six hits, including two home runs, in the conference tournament.

    Penn (32-14, 16-5 Big Ten)
    [​IMG](Shotgun Spratling)


    After several years of being among the best and most talented teams in the Ivy League but falling short of the postseason, Penn finally broke through and won the inaugural Ivy League Tournament this season to secure its first NCAA Tournament berth since 1995.

    In Ryan Dromboski (7-2, 2.87), the Ivy League pitcher of the year, Owen Coady (5-3, 3.03)—who is transferring to Virginia as a grad transfer after the season—and Cole Zaffiro (5-2, 3.09), the Quakers have the best rotation in this regional from front to back. In the bullpen, Carson Ozmer (2.17 ERA, 29 IP, 6 SV) provides a tricky low-slot look and Eli Trop (2.30 ERA, 15.2 IP) runs his fastball into the high 90s. Edward Sarti (3.20 ERA, 19.2 IP) has been an effective short reliever—he has more appearances (22) than innings pitched—and Tommy Delaney (4.71 ERA, 28.2 IP), with 35 strikeouts compared to 10 walks and a .211 opponent batting average, has been better than his ERA suggests.

    The lineup is also filled with players who will join Coady on power-conference rosters next season, specifically Ben Miller (.328/.429/.527 – Duke), Jackson Appel (.302/.393/.469 – Texas A&M) and Seth Werchan (.250/.362/.410 – Texas). The team’s two leading hitters are Cole Palis (.338/.435/.503), another player who will look to grad transfer elsewhere after the season, and freshman Davis Baker (.330/.411/.520). And the best hitter in general is Wyatt Henseler (.316/.385/.663, 17 HR), who along with Appel is considered a possible draft pick this summer.

    It’s fair to say that Penn hasn’t played teams as talented as the ones it will see this weekend since its pre-conference slate, but it played South Carolina close to begin its season (including two one-run losses) and its group of grad transfers shows just how talented this club is. Underestimate them at your own peril.
     
  41. DUCKMOUTH

    DUCKMOUTH People don’t you know, don’t you know
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    Should be a fun one. I like seeing the win probability as 6 for Auburn. Lots of other publications and fans think we get through Auburn easy and I don’t believe it. I think we play better as the underdog as well.

    Can’t wait. Could easily seeing USM and Auburn playing the “if “necessary” game Monday
     
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  42. FadeMe

    FadeMe Well-Known Member
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    Should be a fun weekend. Do you know if y’all are throwing Hall Friday? It seems everyone in this regional had one ace. Y’all and Penn look to have a second consistent guy. Penn’s entire staff looks like they can spin it. Auburn might have the weakest pitching staff of the entire regional but also might have the strongest lineup.
     
  43. -Asshole-

    -Asshole- TMB OG Reject
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    Can you post LSU’s plz?
     
  44. FadeMe

    FadeMe Well-Known Member
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    Because you asked so nicely, no.

    But seriously, they haven’t published it yet. As soon as they do, I’ll post it and tag you.
     
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  45. DUCKMOUTH

    DUCKMOUTH People don’t you know, don’t you know
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    Haven’t seen anything official, but would be shocked if we didn’t throw Hall game 1. Berry has always coached that way. Throw your ace and get ahead in tournaments. In fact I don’t think he’s ever not thrown his ace game 1 in a regional or conference tournament even when we are seeded 1.

    Penns a bit of a wild card because they play in the Ivy League. Is the pitching really that good? No idea. I think we have the deepest pitching for sure. Samford has what looks to be like 1 really good ace and not much after that or in the bullpen. Thought I saw Samford wasn’t throwing there ace game 1, but I doubt that’s accurate. Hall will be pitching Friday and if not I’ll be shocked.
     
    #15745 DUCKMOUTH, Jun 1, 2023
    Last edited: Jun 1, 2023
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  46. tigr2ndbase

    tigr2ndbase Well-Known Member
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    Here’s my bracket to get to Omaha. Couple of the picks are who I just want to make it. Good luck to all still playing. My favorite time of the year. IMG_1389.jpeg
     
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  47. Andy Reocho

    Andy Reocho Please don't get lost in the sauce
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    I don’t get why games can’t/don’t start today
     
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  48. killerwvu

    killerwvu Restoring WVU's E-Rep 1 Post At A Time
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    UK originally said the teams were going to stay in the new apartment style dorms
     
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  49. Andy Reocho

    Andy Reocho Please don't get lost in the sauce
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    Un-fucking-real. Screw the NCAA baseball committee and UK for this.
     
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  50. blind dog

    blind dog wps
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    Yeah I was originally just fuck the NCAA but now fuck UK even more. Should have given them the nice dorms and at most charged them a cleaning fee. Regional should be @ Morgantown