2007 Tallahassee Regional

(capsules compiled by Jamie Learakos, Stuart Smith, Scott Day, Sean Ryan, Phil Stanton)

1. Florida State Seminoles

Tallahassee, Fla.

At-large bid from ACC

2007 record: 24-6, 47-11 (first in ACC-Atlantic)

Coach: Mike Martin (Florida State, 1966)

Record at school: 1482-504-4, 28 years

Overall record: Same

Assistant coaches: Mike Martin, Jr., Jaime Shouppe, Pete Jenkins

Team offense: .355, 535 R, 47 HR, .519 SLG, .442 OBA, 72/92 SB

Team pitching: 3.55 ERA, 517.0 IP, 467 H, 203 BB, 455 K

Top hitters: Tony Thomas, Jr. (.442/11/49/30 SB), Jack Rye (.383/8/57), Buster Posey (.375/2/61), Jason Stidham (.371/4/46), Mark Hallberg (.365/3/53/10 SB), Brandon Reichert (.305/3/46), Mark Gildea (.389/3/27), D’Vontrey Richard (.363/2/20)

Top pitchers: Bryan Henry (14-1, 2.54, 109.2 IP, 97 H, 25 BB, 112 K), Michael Hyde (10-2, 3.35, 78.0 IP, 69 H, 28 BB, 58 K), Ryan Strauss (9-3, 3.70, 80.1 IP, 80 H, 34 BB, 52 K), Jimmy Marshall (2-0, 1.42, 31.2 IP, 23 H, 16 BB, 25 K), Matt Fairel (1-0, 2.73, 26.1 IP, 20 H, 12 BB, 19 K), Danny Rosen (2-1, 4.60, 43.0 IP, 39 H, 17 BB, 61 K, 8 SV), Brian Chambers (3-0, 3.99, 38.1 IP, 39 H, 16 BB, 26 K)

Last time in tournament: 2006 (2-2 Athens Regional)

Notes: Florida State failed to win two games in the ACC Tournament for the first time in school history. They also have lost back-to-back games for only the second time this season. The Seminoles were ranked third in the country going into the ACC Tournament. Florida State finished the regular season with a 24-6 record, best in the ACC. The Seminoles defeated tournament runner-up Wake Forest in the first game, 11-2. Every player in the FSU starting lineup had a hit. The Seminoles dropped their next game to Miami, 9-3. Tony Thomas, Jr. went 2-for-4 with a double and a home run. FSU was bounced from the tournament after a 5-1 loss to Clemson. Florida State is a regional host this year. Last year they defeated Jacksonville and Georgia in the Athens Regional before losing two in a row to Georgia to finish second in the regional. Tony Thomas, Jr. was the ACC Player of the Year.

2. Mississippi State Bulldogs
Starkville, Miss.

At-large bid from SEC

2007 record: 15-13, 33-20 (second in SEC-West)

Coach: Ron Polk (Grand Canyon, 1965)

Record at school: 1111-555-2, 28 years

Overall record: 1345-667-2, 34 years

Assistant coaches: Russ McNickle, Tommy Raffo, Wade Hedges

Team offense - .316 BA, 376 R, 43 HR, .447 SLG%, .383 OB%, 39/58 SB

Team pitching – 4.90 ERA, 477.1 IP, 570 H, 145 BB, 440 K

Top hitters – Brandon Turner (.407/1/40/10 2B), Edward Easley (.373/12/60/15 2B), Jeffrey Rea (.344/1/21/12 SB), Mitch Moreland (.338/7/51/21 2B), Joseph McCaskill (.311/1/22/12 2B), Brian LaNinfa (.309/4/42/13 2B), Jeff Flagg (.307/5/23), Connor Powers (.303, 7/34/12 2B)

Top pitchers – John Lalor (2-1, 3 saves, 3.43, 44.2 IP, 37 H, 18 BB, 48 K), Mitch Moreland (3-0, 1 save, 3.50, 18 IP, 18 H, 3 BB, 26 K), Aaron Weatherford (3-2, 3 saves, 3.51, 59 IP, 54 H, 20 BB, 60 K), Ricky Bowen (5-2, 4 saves, 3.60, 30 IP, 31 H, 10 BB, 30 K), Chad Crosswhite (7-4, 2 saves, 4.50, 66 IP, 89 H, 23 BB, 57 K), Justin Pigott (5-6, 4.63, 95.1 IP, 113 H, 20 BB, 67 K), Josh Johnson (2-3, 6.23, 56.1 IP, 65 H, 18 BB, 53 K)

Last NCAA appearance – 2006 (2-2 at Clemson Regional)

Notes –This is the 23rd NCAA Regional Tournament appearance for Mississippi State. MSU has gone to a regional in 10 of the past 11 years. The Bulldogs have reached the College World Series seven times. Ron Polk is making his 22nd NCAA trip in 34 seasons as a head coach.

3. Stetson Hatters
DeLand, Fla.

At-large bid from Atlantic Sun Conference

2007 record: 21-6, 41-19 (first in A-Sun)

Coach: Pete Dunn (Stetson, 1972)

Record at school: 1,043-623-3, 28 years

Overall record: same

Assistant coaches: Rusty Beale, Mitch Markham, Garrett Quinn

Team offense - .302 BA, 378 R, 24 HR, .406 SLG%, .386 OB%, 42/55 SB

Team pitching - 3.65 ERA, 540.1 IP, 518 H, 194 BB, 403 SO

Top hitters – Justin Bass (.365/4/49/17 2B), Shane Jordan (.355/1/25/16 SB), Jeremy Cruz (.341/2/43/17 2B), Braedyn Pruitt (.338/8/45/12 2B), Casey Frawley (.301/0/27), John Clendenin (.272/1/22/12 2B), Brian Pruitt (.269/4/39)

Top pitchers – Corey Kluber (11-2, 2.19, 107 IP, 85 H, 34 BB, 110 K), Robbie Elsemiller (3-1, 12 saves, 2.32, 42.2 IP, 45 H, 13 BB, 18 K), Chris Ingoglia (9-5, 2.98, 105.2 IP, 88 H, 35 BB, 90 K), Jake Hitchcock (5-1, 3.51, 74.1 IP, 62 H, 22 BB, 41 K), Justin Dechert (6-3, 4 saves, 4.41, 65.1 IP, 62 H, 27 BB, 41 K)

Last NCAA appearance - 2006 (0-2 at Atlanta Regional)

Notes – Stetson is making its 15th NCAA Tournament appearance and seventh in the past eight years. Pete Dunn was named Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year for the fourth time and seven Hatters were named first team all-conference, including Pitcher of the Year Corey Kluber. Others on first team were pitcher Chris Ingoglia, outfielders Shane Jordan and Justin Bass, first baseman Jeremy Cruz, third baseman Braedyn Pruitt and DH Brian Pruitt. The Pruitts are not related.

4. Bethune-Cookman Wildcats
Daytona Beach, Fla.

Automatic bid – won Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament

2007 record: 16-1, 33-25 (first in MEAC)

Coach: Mervyl Melendez (Bethune-Cookman, 1996)

Record at school: 240-223, eight years

Overall record: same

Assistant coaches: Joel Sanchez, Jose Vazquez, Micah Simmons

Team offense - .295 BA, 367 R, 39 HR, .423 SLG%, .386 OB%, 90/132 SB

Team pitching - 3.80 ERA, 481.1 IP, 506 H, 143 BB, 362 SO

Top hitters – Angel Mercado (.400/8/37/10 SB), Angel Negron (.346/9/49/10 2B), Alejandro Jimenez (.333/5/29/19 SB), Chris Henault (.305/10/42/15 2B), Neal Jones (.291/0/12/13 SB), Jose Ortiz-Rivera (.290/0/2915 2B), Orlando Bacon (.286/0/5), Luis Gonzalez (.282/3/31/15 SB) 

Top pitchers – Dustin Blackwell (8-5, 1 save, 2.86, 104 IP, 79 H, 22 BB, 70 K), Joseph Gautier (5-2, 1 save, 3.18, 65 IP, 73 H, 16 BB, 52 K), Francis Rodriguez (10-3, 1 save, 3.28, 104.1 IP, 112 H, 21 BB, 81 K), Hiram Burgos (6-7, 3.53, 81.2 IP, 86 H, 30 BB, 70 K), Francisco Gomez (1-2, 5 saves, 5.88, 26 IP, 31 H, 25 BB, 27 K)

Last NCAA appearance - 2006 (0-2 at Oxford Regional)

Notes – This will be the seventh NCAA trip in eight seasons for head coach Mervyl Melendez. The Wildcats won their second straight MEAC crown and 11th overall. Angel Mercado was MEAC Tournament MVP, going 9-17 (.529) with five runs. Melendez was All-MEAC in 1995 and 1996 and was named to MEAC All-Tournament Team each season. He had a bases-loaded double in Bethune-Cookman’s first NCAA postseason win, a 10-8 victory over Georgia Southern in a 1996 regional play-in game.