May 30, 2003

Baton Rouge Regional Capsules

1. LSU Tigers

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

At-large bid from Southeastern Conference

2003 Record - 20-9-1, 40-19-1 (first in West)

Coach - Smoke Laval (Jacksonville, 1977)

Record at school – 84-41-1, two years

Overall record – 325-200-1, nine years

Assistant coaches – Henry Thomas, Brady Wiederhold, Jody Autery

Team offense - .315 BA, 452 R, 68 HR, .489 SLG%, .385 OB%, 55/73 SB

Team pitching - 3.93 ERA, 529.2 IP, 529 H, 175 BB, 459 SO

Top hitters – Aaron Hill (.371/8/56/25 2B), Ryan Patterson (.353/13/45), Clay Harris (.343/11/52), Jon Zeringue (.338/11/37), Ivan Naccarata (.320/4/47), Blake Gill (.310/4/46), Bruce Sprowl (.299/1/30), Matt Liuzza (.284/4/25), J.C. Holt (.279/3/26/14 SB)

Top pitchers – Justin Meier (7-3, 1 save, 2.61, 86.1 IP, 83 H, 23 BB, 59 K), Jason Determann (5-0, 1 save, 2.75, 52.1 IP, 48 H, 7 BB, 41 K), Nate Bumstead (10-2, 3.86, 88.2 IP, 87 H, 23 BB, 74 K), Billy Sadler (1-1, 4 saves, 3.92, 41.1 IP, 33 H, 26 BB, 54 K), Bo Pettit (9-2, 1 save, 5.10, 90 IP, 84 H, 42 BB, 86 K)

Last NCAA appearance - 2002 (won LSU Regional, 0-2 at Houston Super Regional)

Notes – The Tigers made it to the SEC Tournament championship game before falling to Alabama. LSU will host a regional for the 14^th consecutive season. The Tigers are 52-10 in home regional contests.

2. Tulane Green Wave
New Orleans, La.
At-large bid from Conference USA
2003 Record: 20-10, 43-17 (third in Conference USA)
Coach: Rick Jones (UNC Wilmington, 1975)
Record at school: 424-200-1, 10 years
Overall record: 700-299-1, 16 years
Assistant coaches: Mark Kingston, Chad Sutter, Chris Burr
Team offense: .313 BA, 437 R, 64 HR, .475 SLG%, .392 OB%
Team pitching: 3.94 ERA, 525.1 IP, 557 H, 161 BB, 418 SO
Top hitters: Michael Aubrey (.418/17/77/18 SB), Jonny Kaplan (.357/9/42/47 SB), Tommy Manzella (.344/6/44), Tony Giarratano (.335/8/40/22 SB), Brian Bogusevic (.318/3/33), Wes Swackhamer (.295/8/35), Brian Bormaster (.288/3/35), Nathan Southard (.264/3/28), Aaron Feldman (.238/4/22).
Top pitchers: Cory Hahn (9-1, 2.82, 83 IP, 80 H, 28 BB, 68 K), J.R. Crowel (8-0, 2.98, 99.2 IP, 95 H, 32 BB, 72 K), Billy Mohl (6-2, 4.65, 71.2 IP, 84 H, 10 BB, 58 K), Joey Charron (3-7, 12 saves, 2.76, 58.2 IP, 35 H, 27 BB, 65 K), Brian Bogusevic (3-2, 3.41, 34.1 IP, 38 H, 12 BB, 26 K)
Last NCAA appearance: 2002 (1-2 at Baton Rouge Regional)
Notes: Tulane is making its sixth straight trip to the NCAA tourney after winning 40 games for the seventh time in 10 seasons under Rick Jones. The big stick is Michael Aubrey, who’s a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award and a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy. A hidden stat on the star: 11 Ks in 232 ABs. And 42 BB/HBP for an OBA of .500 and a SLG of .724. But don’t forget Jonny Kaplan, who was 47 for 52 in stolen bases and has some pop. The Green Wave went 34-3 at home this season. Freshman J.R. Crowell has had a fantastic freshman season.

3. UNC Wilmington Seahawks
Wilmington, N.C.
At-large from the Colonial Athletic Association
2003 Record: 15-6, 38-21 (second in CAA )
Coach: Mark Scalf (UNC Wilmington, 1980)
Record at school: 359-326, 11 years
Overall record: Same
Assistant coaches: Randy Hood, Scott Jackson, Heath Altman
Team offense: .295 BA, 396 R, 58 HR, .455 SLG%, .371 OB%, 112/138 SB
Team pitching: 3.55 ERA, 522.1 IP, 474 H, 186 BB, 466 SO
Top hitters: Jamie Hemingway (..365/10/57/30 SB), Chip Grawey (.336/5/34/22 SB), Brad Demson (.328/3/17), Jason Schindler (.310/3/21), Matt Sutton (.308/10/43), Matt Wright (.305/8/38), Jon Davis (.266/4/35), Russ Simmerman (.256/8/33).  
Top pitchers: Brad Overton (7-2, 2.87, 94 IP, 68 H, 34 BB, 74 K), Jake Mullis (7-5, 3.49, 100.2 IP, 90 H, 25 BB, 95 K), Chris Coughlin (6-3, 3.72, 84.2 IP, 78 H, 26 BB, 85 K), Ronald Hill (7-1, 4.61, 66.1 IP, 75 H, 21 BB, 51 K), Will Hunt (2-1, 0.58, 31 IP, 20 H, 13 BB, 34 K), Blake Cross (3-4, 12 saves, 2.22, 44.2 IP, 28 H, 16 BB, 44 K).  
Last NCAA appearance: First appearance
Notes: The Seahawks are appearing in the tourney for the first time after finishing second overall in the CAA’s regular season and falling a game short of the final of the tournament. UNCW has won 30 or more games for five straight years under Mark Scalf. Scalf was a second baseman for the Seahawks in his day. Ace Brad Overton has allowed only 68 hits in 94 innings, limiting opponents to a .206 batting average. Will Hunt has done a great job out of the pen, limiting opponents to a .175 average and setting up closer Blake Cross. Jamie Hemingway has turned into a big-time threat, slugging .607 for the year (21 doubles) and stealing 30 of 34 bases. Chip Grawey is 22 of 24 on the basepaths.

4. Northeastern Huskies

Boston, Mass.

Automatic bid - won America East Conference Tournament

2003 record – 12-10, 27-22 (fourth in America East)

Coach: Neil McPhee (Northeastern, 1968)

Record at school: 454-364-3, 18 years

Overall record: Same

Assistant coaches: Greg DiCenzo, Tim Troville, Michael Grant, Steve Padovani

Team offense: .288 BA, 265 R, 34 HR, .436 SLG%, .366 OBA%, 57-69 SB

Team pitching: 4.49 ERA, 363 IP, 357 H, 169 BB, 301 K

Top hitters: Tim Bush (.357/4/34), Arman Sidhu (.333/2/20), Paul Koslowski (.330/1/21), Chris Emanuele (.314/3/27/12 SB), Omar Pena (.312/3/40/10 SB), Jeff Heriot (.265/6/30/14 SB), Brad Czarnowski (.262/4/18), Mike Steinberg (.253/3/10)

Top pitchers: Tim Bush (2-3, 2 saves, 1.40, 19.1 IP, 15 H, 9 BB, 11 K), Justin Hedrick (7-1, 2.63, 65 IP, 47 H, 36 BB, 88 K), Brendan Ryan (4-3, 4.29, 56.2 IP, 57 H, 24 BB, 29 SO), Jordan Thomson (5-5, 4.76, 64.1 IP, 61 H, 20 BB, 51 K), Jim Madison (3-3, 5.40, 41.2 IP, 43 H, 18 BB, 26 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 1997 (0-2 at West Regional)

Notes: Coach Neil McPhee takes the Huskies to the NCAA Tournament for the third time (1994, 1997). McPhee played second base for NU and was a fourth-round pick of the Minnesota Twins. Northeastern played in the 1966 College World Series after winning the District I Tournament at Fenway Park.