On Monday, the NCAA announced the 64 collegiate baseball teams to earn the honor to be a part of the Division I national tournament, which will begin Friday at noon when the Missouri Tigers take on the Ole Miss Rebels. In preview of the regional tournaments that will be held this weekend, throughout the week our resident college baseball fanatic Rosenblogger will examine each individual regional

Ann Arbor Regional

1. Arizona Wildcats (38-17) vs 4. Eastern Michigan Eagles (25-32)
2. Michigan Wolverines (45-12) vs 3. Kentucky Wildcats (42-17)

Winner to take on champion of Coral Gables Regional.

The University of Michigan was chosen by the NCAA’s tournament committee as a host site, despite being a number two seed in the regional. Instead of playing in front of a home crowd, the top seeded Arizona Wildcats have to travel north to Ann Arbor.

Arizona features an extremely talented ball club that began the season as the number one team in some national polls. The Wildcats played good ball early but finished the Pac 10 schedule with a 12-12 conference record. Despite their conference struggles, the ‘Cats were rewarded with a number one seed and a matchup with MAC tournament champion Eastern Michigan in the opening round.

While the Eagles will be playing close to home, Arizona will have no problem advancing past EMU, who comes into the game sporting an egregious 7.65 team ERA. The Wildcats feature two quality starters in Preston Guilmet (6-4, 3.89 ERA) and David Coulon (7-3, 3.54 ERA), who should have no problem stopping the 25-32 Eagles offense.

Host Michigan is looking to return to the super regionals one year after defeating top seeded Vanderbilt and #1 overall pick David Price in Nashville to advance. All of the key players return for the Big Blue, including dangerous hitters Nate Recknagel (.372, 23 HR, 68 RBI), Adam Abraham (.342, 7 HR, 52 RBI), and two-way star Zack Putnam (.309, 9 HR, 47 RBI). Putnam (8-0, 2.64 ERA) will be joined on the hill by imposing right-hander Chris Fetter (10-1, 2.39 ERA). The Wolverines will face a solid University of Kentucky ball club in the opening round.

Kentucky will not dazzle you with talent, but they fielded .973 this season and play a very sound brand of baseball. Sawyer Carroll leads the Wildcat offense with 16 home runs, 78 RBI, and a .416 AVG, and pitcher Chris Rusin (6-2, 2.84 ERA) will be a tough matchup for Michigan in the opener. I think Michigan is the better team and will defeat Kentucky in a well-played game.

On paper, Arizona is the most talented team in this regional. They have several top prospects on their roster, but they have struggled down the stretch this year and were given a tough draw being sent to Michigan. The Wolverines are an experienced team that knows how to get it done in a regional, and being able to play at home this year will be a huge advantage in helping them advance to the super regional.

Rosenblogger

Also, check out our other regional previews: Athens, Baton Rouge, Cary, College Station, Conway, Coral Gables, Fullerton, Houston, Lincoln, Long Beach, Palo Alto, Raleigh, Stillwater, Tallahassee, Tempe

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