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:

Conway Regional

1. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (47-12) vs 4. Columbia Lions (22-28)
2. East Carolina Pirates (40-19) vs 3. Alabama Crimson Tide (34-26)

**Winner to take on champion of Cary Regional.**

Coastal Carolina has earned the right to host a regional following a very successful 2008 campaign, which saw them post a 47-12 record and earn the Big South title.

Coastal features a very offensive ball club, with seven starters sporting a batting average over .340. That offense is led by a trio of solid power hitters, Dock Doyle (.365, 16 HR, 65 RBI), David Sappelt (.344, 16 HR, 61 RBI), David Anderson (.342, 17 HR, 51 RBI) and the speed of Scott Woodward (.357, 7 HR, 42 RBI, 40 SB). Coastal’s pitching staff lacks dominant arms, but they feature several solid pitchers, who are capable of leading this club deep into the postseason.

Ivy League champion Columbia will be the first challenge for Coastal. The Lions will have their hands full with Coastal in the opener and will struggle to compete against any potential opponents over the weekend. Columbia (22-28) features a staff ERA over 6.00 and a team batting average of only .288. Coastal will be a big increase in competition versus the Ivy League, and Columbia will struggle to adjust. They will need a huge performance from star Henry Perkins (.371, 34 RBI, 20 SB, 1.91 ERA in 7 appearances, including 5 starts) in order to be competitive.

The Crimson Tide roll into Conway looking to continue the momentum they have built late in the season. Junior catcher Alex Avila (.339, 16 HR, 61 RBI) leads the Tide offense, which will need a big weekend for the Tide to advance. Miers Quigley (5-4, 5.35 ERA) and Austin Hyatt (4-4, 4.64 ERA) have had up-and-down seasons, but both have been battle tested in the rough SEC and are capable of winning big games.

ECU is led offensively by Corey Kemp (.349, 16 HR, 67 RBI), who anchors a Pirate lineup with the potential to score runs in bunches. The Pirates of ECU will need big performances out of starting pitchers Seth Maness (9-1, 2.87 ERA) and Justin Bristow (8-2, 3.22 ERA) in order to move on. Maness will likely get the start against Alabama, and I expect the Pirates to get past the Tide in what could be a high-scoring affair.

The committee seemed to do Coastal Carolina a big favor with the selection of the teams for this regional. This may be the weakest of all 16 opening sites, with three teams with several question marks and a Coastal team that is far from a powerhouse. Coastal earned their number one seed, having played and beaten several good teams in non-conference games, and I think they will be able to advance.

Rosenblogger

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

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