College Baseball Super Regionals Preview (Pt. 1)
Make sure to also check out Super Regionals Preview Pt. 2 as well, and check back as we update the results of each series as the games finish.
College baseball’s super regionals start today at noon when North Carolina State takes on Georgia on ESPN. We give you the info you need to know, including how each team got to the super regionals, some keys to success, and our predictions, in our Super Regionals Preview (part 2 of 2: We’ve divided our preview into 2 parts with part 1 being the Friday/Saturday/Sunday series, which make up the left half of the official NCAA tournament bracket):
UPDATE (Schedule/Results):
Coral Gables Super Regional
- Game 1: Arizona wins 6-3 (12 innings)
- Game 2: Miami wins 14-10
- Game 3: Miami wins 4-2
- The Miami Hurricanes advance to the COLLEGE WORLD SERIES.
Athens Super Regional
- Game 1: Georgia wins 11-4
- Game 2: NC State wins 10-6
- Game 3: Georgia wins 17-8
- The Georgia Bulldogs advance to the COLLEGE WORLD SERIES.
Fullerton Super Regional
- Game 1: Stanford wins 4-3
- Game 2: Stanford wins 8-5
- The Stanford Cardinal advance to the COLLEGE WORLD SERIES.
Tallahassee Super Regional
- Game 1: Wichita St. wins 10-7
- Game 2: Florida St. wins 14-4
- Game 3: Florida St. wins 11-4
- The Florida State Seminoles advance to the COLLEGE WORLD SERIES.
Coral Gables Super Regional
Arizona (41-17) vs Miami (50-8)
Miami Hurricanes -
Road to Super Regional: After finishing with an impressive 23-5 mark and in first place in the ACC Coastal Division, the Hurricanes went ahead and added the ACC Conference Tournament trophy and were rewarded with the #1 overall national seed. In the Coral Gables Regional, Miami used late rallies to break ties and defeat Bethune-Cookman (7-4) and Missouri (6-5) before trouncing Ole Miss 11-2 to advance to the super regionals.
Keys to Success: There is a reason why Miami is 50-8 on the season…it’s called talent. The Hurricanes had 6 players drafted in the first 101 selections, including Yonder Alonso (#7 to Cincinnati Reds), Jemile Weeks (#12 to Oakland Athletics) and Carlos Gutierrez (#27 to Minnesota Twins) all going in the first round. With as much talent as the Hurricanes have, they just have to keep playing baseball the way they are capable.
Arizona Wildcats -
Road to Super Regional: Arizona opened the season as the #1 team in the nation, but struggled later in the season during conference play amassing a 12-12 record in Pac-10 play. Nonetheless, they still were tabbed as the #1 seed in the Ann Arbor Regional with an at large bid. After blowing by Eastern Michigan in the regional opener, Arizona relied on their strong bullpen in close wins over host Michigan (4-3) and Kentucky (5-3) in the regional championship game to punch their ticket for the Coral Gables Super Regional.
Keys to Success: One of Arizona’s strengths is undoubtedly their bullpen as evidenced by two of their relievers (Ryan Perry - #21 to Detroit Tigers; Daniel Schlereth - #26 to Arizona Diamondbacks) being taken in the first round of the draft. The Wildcats will also need solid performances by starters Preston Guilmet and David Coulon if they are interested in traveling to Omaha, Nebraska this summer.
While Arizona’s pitching has been solid, for the most part, all season, the Wildcats’ bats have been MIA at times. First baseman C.J. Ziegler and fourth round pick T.J. Steele have to lead the offensive attack if Arizona wants to take down Goliath.
Prediction: This is one of the best Miami teams that has ever been assembled, and that is saying something with the rich tradition that is Miami baseball. It’s hard to imagine this team not playing for a national championship in Omaha. Arizona puts up a fight, but being all the way across the country does not help the Wildcats. Home field = trip to College World Series.
Athens Super Regional
North Carolina St. (41-20) vs Georgia (39-22-1)
Georgia -
Road to Super Regional: Georgia was the SEC regular season champion, but entered the NCAA Tournament on shaky ground after losing 2 of 3 to Alabama in their final series of the season and being put out of the SEC Tournament in just 2 games.
Despite being the #8 national seed, the Bulldogs lost their opening game of the Athens Regional to Lipscomb in Lipscomb’s first ever national tournament game. Georgia then had to fend off Louisville, put away Lipscomb, and twice beat down rival Georgia Tech (all in elimination games) in order to make it to the super regional.
Keys to Success: The last two times Georgia has lost the opener (1987, 2001) when hosting a regional, they have gone on to make it to Omaha. If they want to repeat that again, Coach David Perno will have to get his two superstars, Gordon Beckham (#8 overall pick by the Chicago White Sox) and Joshua Fields (#20 overall selection by the Seattle Mariners), to play to the level of their draft statuses. Both struggled toward the end of the year, but while Beckham came on in the regional (10-24, 6 R, 8 RBI), Fields has given up 6 ER in his last 3 IP after previously having only allowed two earned runs the rest of the season.
Georgia got key contributions from Regional MOP Matt Olson (18-26, 10 R, 6 RBI) and Nick Montgomery (complete game shutout against Georgia Tech) in the regional. They will need similar contributions from other role players to win this weekend.
North Carolina State Wolfpack -
Road to Super Regional: NC State finished second in the Atlantic division of the difficult ACC during the regular season, good enough to make them an at large bid and the host site of a regional. In the Raleigh Regional, the Wolfpackonly needed three games as they defeated James Madison (6-2) and twice used a run in the seventh inning to beat South Carolina by one run (5-4, 2-1) to advance to the Athens Super Regional.
Keys to Success: The Wolfpack heavily rely on their pitching, including junior starters Clayton Shunick and Eric Surkamp, who were drafted #149 and #177 Thursday. Of course, 11 scoreless innings of relief in the regional never hurts either. The pressure is on their offense to score some runs as NC State is now 29-3 when they score six or more runs (12-17 when they score less than six runs). Ryan Pond, Pat Ferguson, and Marcus Jones need to have solid series if North Carolina State wants to beat a nationally seeded Georgia squad and advance to Omaha.
Prediction: Georgia’s bats come in hot as they averaged over 11 runs per game in their five regional contests. In this contrast of styles, will NC State’s quality pitching win out over Georgia’s offensive onslaught? I’m putting my money on Georgia at home in Foley Field where they are now 15-0 in elimination games after winning four straight last weekend. Look for the Wolfpack to take one game but be unable to eliminate Georgia at home.
Fullerton Super Regional
Stanford (37-22) vs Cal State Fullerton (41-20)
Cal-State Fullerton Titans -
Road to Super Regional: The Titans of Cal-State Fullerton are set to appear in their 6th straight NCAA Super Regional. The Titans once again put together a strong regular season, which saw them earn a share of the Big West Championship and earn a number one seed in the regional.
After an easy 11-0 victory in the opener against Rider, the Titans fell into the loser’s bracket of the Fullerton Regional following an 11-4 loss to in-state foe UCLA. After eliminating Virginia on Sunday, Fullerton defeated UCLA 11-8 to force an additional game on Monday. The Titans were able to pull out a hard fought 5-4 victory to earn a super regional bid.
Keys to Success: Fullerton will need quality outings from its starting pitchers this weekend, especially senior Jeff Kaplan, who struggled last weekend in losing to UCLA. Both Fullerton and Stanford play fundamentally sound baseball, so expect runs to be at a premium, which will put pressure on the starters to keep Stanford in check.
Stanford Cardinal -
Road to Super Regional: Despite their 33-21 regular season record, the Stanford Cardinal earned a number one seed in the regional due to a difficult non-conference schedule, which included series against perennial powers Nebraska, Cal-State Fullerton, and Texas. All of which helped prepare Stanford for postseason play.
The Cardinal were upset in their opener of the Palo Alto Regional, falling 4-2 against #4 seed UC Davis. Following victories over Arkansas and UC Davis, Stanford was able to beat undefeated Pepperdine to force a sudden-death contest on Monday. The Cardinal were able to defend their home turf, and advance to the super regional with a 9-7 victory thanks in part to two home runs, including a grand slam, by Regional MOP Sean Ratliff (8-18, 2 HR, 8 RBI over 5 games).
Keys to Success: The Cardinal have always been a ball club built on talented pitching and good defense. Traveling to Fullerton, in what will surely be an intense atmosphere, Stanford will need to rely on its strengths and limit their mistakes. Without a high-scoring offense, the Cardinal defense and pitching, led by Erik Davis, Austin Yount, and Danny Sandbrink, who spun a complete game in the regional, will need to execute in order to advance to Omaha.
Prediction: Stanford swept the Titans in an early season series in Palo Alto. Traveling to Fullerton will be a tough test for the Cardinal, but Stanford is confident they can beat the Titans, and I think they will be able to advance in what should be a very competitve series.
Tallahassee Super Regional
Wichita State (47-15) vs Florida State (52-11)
Florida State Seminoles -
Road to Super Regional: FSU got into the tournament as an at large team after posting a 24-6 record in league play and winning the ACC Atlantic Division. Then, they went and decided to make things interesting. The Seminoles were blanked by Bucknell’s Matthew Wilson 7-0 in the regional opener forcing them into the losers bracket. But 4 games, 5 Buster Posey home runs, and 74 runs later, FSU had advanced to the super regional.
Keys to Success: The Florida State lineup will look to continue what they started last weekend in Dick Howser Stadium. The question will be how much pitching will the Seminoles have. While scoring 74 runs in the Tallahassee Regional, FSU’s pitching also allowed 42 runs. The Seminoles didn’t get more than 5 2/3 out of any starter in the regional. It is important for Elih Villanueva and Matt Fairel to give some valuable innings if FSU plans to take the tomahawk chop to Rosenblatt Stadium.
Wichita State Shockers -
Road to Super Regional: Wichita State received an automatic bid to the national tournament after going 19-5 in the MVC and winning the conference tournament. The Shockers were then sent to the Stillwater Regional as the #2 seed. After beating TCU in their opener, Wichita State defeated top seeded Oklahoma State twice, including scoring 6 runs in the 9th and 10th innings of the clinching game, to earn a trip to the Tallahassee Super Regional.
Keys to Success: The Shockers starting pitching is good…damn good. The trio of Rob Musgrave, Aaron Shafer, and Anthony Capra have a combined 31-4 record and each sports an ERA under 3! Musgrave and Shafer both threw complete games in the regional, but they may not have quite as much success against the fearsome Florida State lineup. That’s why Wichita State’s bullpen is going to have to prove they can collectively do the job, something that only reliever Khol Nanney, the only WSU reliever with an ERA under 4, has shown.
Prediction: This could be one of the most highly competitive super regionals this year. Florida State’s pitching staff has question marks, but Wichita State also has a huge question mark in their bullpen. The Seminoles have the offensive advantage, but the Shockers are not slouches. Florida State won’t win on talent alone (Wichita State had twice as many players drafted on Thursday), but playing at home and being more acclimated to the hot, muggy climate of a summer weekend in Florida is the slight advantage that sends FSU to Omaha.
Rosenblogger
Shotgun Spratling
Make sure to also check out Super Regionals Preview Pt. 2 as well, and check back as we update the results of each series as the games finish.
| 2.5 |
June 7th, 2008 at 10:00 am
Where’s part 2??????????