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:

Lincoln Regional

1. Nebraska Huskers (40-14-1) vs 4. Eastern Illinois Panthers (27-28)
2. UC Irvine Anteaters (38-16) vs 3. Oral Roberts Golden Eagles (46-12)

**Winner to take on champion of Baton Rouge Regional.**

The Huskers of Nebraska will once again host a regional and are looking to make the short trip to Omaha for the fourth time since 2001. Nebraska features a light hitting offense, with just two everyday starters batting over .300 (Jake Opitz - .335; Mitch Abeita - .333). With a team batting average of .278, the Husker pitching staff has picked up the slack and helped lead the Big Red to a 40-14-1 record. Johnny Dorn (6-1, 2.38 ERA, 96 K in 98.1 IP) is the ace of the Husker staff, and will likely pitch the opener.

OVC champs Eastern Illinois will make the trip to Lincoln looking to upset the host school in the opener. The Panthers have struggled scoring runs for most of the year, and they will need the offense, led by outfielder Brett Nommensen (.397 AVG, .518 OBP including 35 BB & 15 HBP), to come alive. Eastern Illinois will need big performances from pitchers Josh Mueller (6-7, 4.26 ERA, 75 K in 67.2 IP), who has dynamic stuff but can be erratic at times, and Tyler Kehrer (1-5, 4.55 ERA), or it will be a short weekend for the Panthers.

Oral Roberts comes rolling into the tournament riding the hot bat of senior Brian Van Kirk (.421, 17 HR, 72 RBI). The Golden Eagles feature a solid pitching staff anchored by Carlos Luna (3.15 ERA, 95 K in 88.2 IP), who has compiled a 12-0 record while working as a starter and reliever throughout the season. Michael Jarman (11-2, 3.74 ERA) will likely get the start for ORU, but expect Luna to get the ball if the game is close late.

UC Irvine is back in the big dance, one season after making a Cinderella run to Omaha. Similar to last year’s squad, the 2008 Anteaters squad features a very balanced group that doesn’t feature any true standouts in the lineup as evidenced by no single player having 40 or more RBI yet 7 hitters with at least 20 RBI.

The Irvine team strength is clearly its pitching staff, which is currently sporting a miniscule 2.87 team ERA. Closer Eric Pettis (4-2, 1.76 ERA) has had a stellar year, picking up 15 saves for Irvine, and will be a tough challenge for any opponents late in a ballgame.

Starting for the Anteaters in the opener will be Scott Gorgen. Generously listed at 5-foot-10, Gorgen would likely be a top 5 pick if he had the prototypical major league body. He has a good fastball and curveball, and his changeup is “one of the best in the Draft class” according to Minor League Baseball’s Draft Reports. He has tremendous control of all three pitches, and at times can be completely unhittable.

This should be a very competitive regional amongst Nebraska, Oral Roberts, and UC Irvine. Oral Roberts is the most compete team in this regional, and the flexibility of Carlos Luna will prove to be extremely valuable for the Panthers, who will advance out of the Lincoln Regional despite Gorgen’s ability to wow everyone in attendance with his ability.

Rosenblogger

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

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