May 30, 2003

Starkville Regional Capsules

1. Mississippi State Bulldogs

Starkville, Miss.

At-large bid from Southeastern Conference

2003 Record – 17-12, 40-18-1 (third in SEC West)

Coach – Ron Polk (Grand Canyon, 1965)

Record at school – 74-42-2, two years

Overall record – 1196-576-2, 30 years

Assistant coaches – Russ McNickle, Tommy Raffo, Daron Schoenrock

Team offense - .302 BA, 385 R, 49 HR, .443 SLG%, .367 OB%, 55/68 SB

Team pitching – 3.44 ERA, 535.2 IP, 486 H, 217 BB, 465 K

Top hitters – Matthew Maniscalco (.340/7/38/20 SB), Steve Gendron (.331/1/31/13 SB), Matthew Brinson (.326/8/46/19 2B), Jeff Butts (.314/0/13), Brad Corley (.312/1/32), Craig Tatum (.291/6/29), Thomas Berkery (.271/6/32), Joseph Hunter (.271/4/22), Jon Mungle (.263/7/33)

Top pitchers – Jamie Gant (5-1, 1 save, 1.30, 48.1 IP, 32 H, 18 BB, 37 K), Jonathan Papelbon (6-2, 7 saves, 1.64, 44 IP, 34 H, 14 BB, 50 K), Paul Maholm (8-2, 2.67, 101 IP, 95 H, 37 BB, 95 K), Jeff Lacher (6-0, 3.34, 64.2 IP, 65 H, 15 BB, 44 K), Alan Johnson (5-4, 4.02, 78.1 IP, 74 H, 20 BB, 54 K), Todd Nicholas (5-4, 4.47, 52.1 IP, 50 H, 31 BB, 40 K)

Last NCAA appearance – 2001 (won Columbus Regional, 0-2 at Fullerton Super Regional)

Notes – This is the 20th NCAA Tournament appearance for Mississippi State. The Bulldogs have reached the College World Series seven times.

2. North Carolina Tar Heels
Chapel Hill, N.C.
At-large bid from the ACC
2003 record - 13-11, 39-21 (fourth in the ACC)
Coach - Mike Fox (North Carolina, 1978)
Record at school - 200-103, five years
Overall record - 740-244-4, 20 years
Assistant coaches - Roger Williams, Chad Holbrook, Scott Forbes
Team offense: .320 BA, 477 R, 65 HR, .479 SLG%, .397 OBA%, 74-101 SB
Team pitching: 4.21 ERA, 539.1 IP, 551 H, 223 BB, 444 K
Top players - Jeremy Cleveland (.420/18/61), Sammy Hewitt (.358/10/48), Sean Farrell (.347/12/57), Ryan Blake (.325/5/42), Chris Iannetta (.322/8/51), Blair Waggett (.308/1/16), Chad Prosser (.304/2/38), Greg Mangum (.303/1/29).
Top pitchers - Whitley Benson (3-3, 3.22, 36.1 IP, 35 H, 11 BB, 28 K), Scott Senatore (1-1, 3.28, 38.2 IP, 37 H, 13 BB, 36 K), Daniel Moore (7-2, 3.43, 84 IP, 89 H, 37 BB, 59 K), Kevin Brower (4-4, 3.62, 37.1 IP, 36 H, 16 BB, 28 K), Matt Danford (2-1, 3.72, 38.2 IP, 39 H, 17 BB, 32 K), Adam Kalkhof (7-1, 3.77, 76.1 IP, 74 H, 24 BB, 72 K), Bo Dickerson (0-1, 3.86, 14 IP, 6 H, 10 BB, 17 K), Garry Bakker (6-3, 4.18, 75.1 IP, 75 H, 29 BB, 54 K), Scott Manshack (4-3, 4.72, 47.2 IP, 58 H, 17 BB, 39 K)
Last NCAA appearance - 2002 (3-2 at Columbia Regional)
Notes - The Tar Heels make the field for the fifth time in six years and made a good run in the ACC tourney. The Heels upset top-ranked Florida State before dropping a heartbreaker to N.C. State in extra innings. UNC then jumped on Georgia Tech 5-0 before falling 10-6. Outfielder Sean Farrell was named to the ACC all-tournament team. Jeremy Cleveland led the ACC in hitting with a .431 mark in the regular season. Farrell, Chad Prosser and Ryan Blake made the ACC’s second team.

3. Missouri Tigers

Columbia, Mo.

At-large bid from Big 12

2003 Record – 15-11, 35-20 (fourth in Big 12)

Coach – Tim Jamieson (New Orleans, 1981)

Record at school – 285-214-1, nine years

Overall record - same

Assistant coaches – Sean McCann, Evan Pratte

Team offense - .309 BA, 461 R, 44 HR, .447 SLG%, .410 OB%, 76-108 SB

Team pitching – 5.06 ERA, 478 IP, 529 H, 152 BB, 398 K

Top hitters – Jayce Tingler (.390/1/46/19 SB), Brad Flanders (.341/6/42), Ian Kinsler (.337/5/43/14 SB), Zane Taylor (.315/1/35), Ryan Rallo (.301/8-37), Cody Ehlers (.274/9/58), Jeremy Hernandez (.273/4/33)

Top pitchers – Travis Wendte (0-1, 8 saves, 3.45, 28.2 IP, 37 H, 9 BB, 27 K), Justin James (7-6, 4.11, 105 IP, 103 H, 24 BB, 85 K), Danny Hill (4-2, 4.35, 41.1 IP, 41 H, 14 BB, 31 K), Andy Shipman (9-2, 1 save, 4.76, 62.1 IP, 70 H, 17 BB, 45 K), Derek Roper (4-2, 5.73, 59.2 IP, 76 H, 21 BB, 51 K), Garrett Broshuis (5-3, 7.11, 74.2 IP, 90 H, 35 BB, 58 K)

Last NCAA appearance – 1996 (0-2 at Midwest Regional)

Notes – Jayce Tingler is the career hit leader for the Tigers with 269. Missouri is making its 15^th NCAA appearance and first since 1996. The Tigers have made six trips to the College World Series and were national champions in 1954. Missouri 11 more wins than it had a year ago. The Tigers have won 30 games in seven of the past eight years.

4. Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders

Murfreesboro, Tenn.

Automatic bid - won Sun Belt Conference Tournament

2003 record – 10-13, 33-25 (sixth in Sun Belt)

Coach: Steve Peterson (Jacksonville State, 1973)

Record at school: 502-402-2 (16 years)

Overall record: 655-498-2 (23 years)

Assistant coaches: Jim McGuire, Kevin Erminio, Andy Haines, Tim Crunk

Team offense: .293 BA, 359 R, 69 HR, .471 SLG%, .360 OBA%, 62-81 SB

Team pitching: 5.31 ERA, 503 IP, 584 H, 185 BB, 443 K

Top hitters: Chad Cooper (.374/7/32/19 SB), Brett Carroll (.327/17/48/17 2B), Nate Jaggers (.320/8/36), Josh Archer (.309/15/51/17 2B), Jeff Beachum (.308/0/27), Chuck Akers (.267/1/27/16 SB)

Top pitchers: Steve Kline (7-3, 4.45, 87 IP, 96 H, 15 BB, 63 K), John Williams (3-4, 5.72, 72.1 IP, 101 H, 21 BB, 52 K), Jerry Knox (4-2, 3.48, 44 IP, 40 H, 11 BB, 26 K), Chase Swing (2-4, 11 saves, 3.78, 50 IP, 41 H, 19 BB, 53 K), B.J. Church (4-1, 1 save, 4.58, 55 IP, 50 H, 23 BB, 58 SO)

Last time in tournament: 2001

Notes: Middle Tennessee is making its 11th trip to the NCAA tournament and seventh under Steve Peterson.