2008 Athens Regional

1. Georgia Bulldogs

Athens, Georgia

At-large bid from SEC

2008 record: 20-9-1, 35-21-1 (first in SEC East)

Head coach: Dave Perno (Georgia, 1991)

Record at school: 241-180-1, seven years

Overall record: 241-180-1, seven years

Assistant coaches: Jason Eller, Brady Wiederhold, Justin Holmes

Team offense: .296 BA, 383 R, 77 HR, .467 SLG%, .380 OBP, 65/86 SB

Team pitching: 4.71 ERA, 510 IP, 524 H, 195 BB, 431 K

Top hitters: Gordon Beckham (.394/23/57/17 SB), Rich Poythress (.365/12/53/17 2B), Ryan Peisel (.331/7/43/20 2B), Bryce Massanari (.330/9/53), Matt Olson (.294/7/35)

Top pitchers: Joshua Fields (2-2, 16 SV, 1.52 ERA, 29.2 IP, 9 H, 18 BB, 53K), Dean Weaver (4-1, 2.97 ERA, 39.1 IP, 37 H, 14 BB, 44 K), Stephen Dodson (5-3, 3.80 ERA, 83 IP, 82 H, 10 BB, 42 K), Trevor Holder (7-4, 4.48 ERA, 74.1 IP, 85 H, 20 BB, 54 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2006 (4-1 in Athens Regional, 2-1 in Athens Super Regional, 0-2 in College World Series)

Notes: After going 16-10 through March, Georgia won 11 of 13 to begin April, including sweeps of top SEC East rivals Kentucky and South Carolina, as well as two wins and a tie at West division champion LSU. That surge propelled the Bulldogs to the SEC regular-season title, and their 20-9-1 mark was their best ever conference record. The powerful Georgia offense is led by SEC Player of the Year Gordon Beckham, whose 23 home runs tied a school record. Beckham crossed the plate 76 times, most in Bulldogs history. He is also a finalist for Dick Howser trophy, the SEC scholar-athlete of the year and a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award. All-American senior closer Joshua Fields is also a Golden Spikes semifinalist and was voted the SEC Pitcher of the Year. Coach Dave Perno completed the Bulldogs' sweep of the top awards by winning the SEC Coach of the Year award. Fields saved 39 games for Georgia in his four years and made over 100 appearances. Bryce Massanari also earned all-SEC first team honors. This will be Georgia's fourth NCAA tournament appearance under Perno, in two of the previous three they advanced to the College World Series.

2. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Atlanta, Georgia

At-large bid from ACC

2008 record: 16-14, 39-19 (third in ACC Coastal Division)

Head coach: Danny Hall (Miami (Ohio), 1977)

Record at school: 650-292, 15 years

Overall record: 858-409, 21 years

Assistant coaches: Tom Kinkelaar, Bryan Prince, Matt White

Team offense: .311 BA, 434 R, 90 HR, .523 SLG%, .391 OB%, 79/103 SB

Team pitching: 4.86 ERA, 513 IP, 568 H, 207 BB, 444 K

Top hitters: Charlie Blackmon (.391/8/42/23-28 SB), Luke Murton (.349/12/49/25 2B),  Jeff Rowland (.345/4/26/21-25 SB), Derek Dietrich (.333/14/66/15 2B), Tony Plagman (.320/16/43/11 2B), Brad Feltes (.290/14/60), Thomas Nichols (.289/7/36/15 2B)

Top pitchers: Deck McGuire (8-1, 3.41, 71.1 IP, 64 H, 29 BB, 64 K), Zach Von Tersch (7-5, 4.14, 71.2 IP, 78 H, 30 BB, 48 K), David Duncan (7-3, 4.47, 90.2 IP, 91 H, 31 BB, 73 K), Brad Rulon (3-1, 5 SV, 4.60, 31.1 IP, 32 H, 20 BB, 41 K), Eddie Burns (7-4, 5.40, 75 IP, 91 H, 21 BB, 54 K), Chris Hicks (0-3, 9 SV, 7.11, 25.1 IP, 32 H, 13 BB, 21 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2006 (3-0 in Atlanta Regional, 2-0 in Atlanta Super Regional, 0-2 in College World Series)

Notes: Georgia Tech is making its 24^th NCAA Tournament appearance after going 1-2 in the ACC Championship. The Yellow Jackets are a team that has been through something that few teams have had to experience as sophomore Michael Hutts passed away on April 11^th, the day of the opening series against top-ranked Miami, since that series Georgia Tech has posted a 13-9 record. Since the tragedy, the Yellow Jacket offense has taken over, batting .340 and has averaged 9.3 runs and 12.1 hits per game.

3. Louisville Cardinals

Louisville, Kentucky

Automatic bid - won Big East Tournament

2008 record: 16-11, 41-19 (fourth in Big East)

Head coach: Dan McDonnell (The Citadel, 1992)

Record at school: 88-43, two years

Overall record: 88-43, two years

Assistant coaches: Chris Lemonis, Roger Williams, Xan Barksdale

Team offense: .313 BA, 436 R, 60 HR, .476 SLG%, .386 OB%, 84/114 SB

Team pitching: 4.22 ERA, 539 IP, 564 H, 176 BB, 490 K

Top hitters: Chris Dominguez (.369/20/74/.689 SLG%), Justin McClanahan (.369/10/56/25 2B/16-20 SB), John Dao (.353/3/30/14-20 SB), Stewart Ijames (.346/7/36/10 2B), Andrew Clark (.326/5/44/13 2B), Jeff Arnold (.324/2/32/11-11 SB), Drew Haynes (.291/0/21), Josh Richmond (.288.6/35/15 2B)

Top pitchers: Justin Marks (9-1, 2.21, 85.2 IP, 66 H, 35 BB, 85 K), Matt Lea (5-0, 2.72, 36.1 IP, 31 H, 11 BB, 33 K), Bob Revesz (1-0, 1 SV, 3.90, 60 IP, 67 H, 13 BB, 40 K), B.J. Rosenberg (5-4, 9 SV, 4.08, 53 IP, 58 H, 16 BB, 62 K), Zack Pitts (6-5, 1 SV, 4.74, 74 IP, 84 H, 21 BB, 69 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2007 (4-1 at Columbia, Mo. Regional, 2-1 at Louisville Super Regional, 1-2 at College World Series)

Notes: Louisville went 4-0 to capture its first Big East Championship in Clearwater, Fla. It was also the first conference tournament championship in Cardinal baseball history. Chris Dominguez was Big East Co-Player of the Year and tournament MVP. Head coach Dan McDonnell has the Cardinals in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year after their run to Omaha a season ago. Louisville won its first regional and super regional in 2007 and made its first trip to the College World Series. McDonnell and assistant coach Chris Lemonis were teammates at The Citadel and helped take the Bulldogs to the 1990 College World Series.

4. Lipscomb Bisons

Nashville, Tennessee

Automatic bid - won Atlantic Sun Tournament

2008 record: 19-14, 32-28 (third in A-Sun)

Head coach: Jeff Forehand (Belmont)

Record at school: 60-58, two years

Overall record: 271-200-1, eight years

Assistant coaches: Brian Ryman, Lantz Wheeler

Team offense: .291, 320 R, 38 HR, .416 SLG%, .364 OB%, 58/81 SB

Team pitching: 5.23 ERA, 480 IP, 544 H, 236 BB, 429 K

Top hitters: Caleb Joseph (.345/14/53/18 2B), Allen Bolden (.324/6/37/19 2B), Shane Simpkins (.312/1/22/10 2B), Blake Bratcher (.310/2/41/13 2B), Jorge Gutierrez (.305/3/29/18-25 SB), Justin Sanders (.298/6/33/19 2B)

Top pitchers: Brandon McClurg (6-5, 2 SV, 2.70, 76.2 IP, 64 H, 31 BB, 69 K), Chris Burnett (2-1, 3 SV, 3.08, 26.1 IP, 18 H, 15 BB, 29 K), Kyle Tognazzini (6-1, 3 SV, 3.43, 42 IP, 41 H, 18 BB, 44 K), Paul Piennette (2-3, 4.17, 45.1 IP, 56 H, 17 BB, 43 K), Mike Dunn (4-4, 4.84, 83.2 IP, 97 H, 25 BB, 49 K), Josh Smith (2-3, 5.34, 55.2 IP, 57 H, 31 BB, 57 K), Rex Brothers (2-5, 6.27, 80.1 IP, 96 H, 44 BB, 87 K)

Last NCAA appearance: First NCAA appearance

Notes: Lipscomb scored three in the bottom of the 15^th to register a 10-9 win over Gardner-Webb in the A-Sun title game. Belmont has been Division I since 2001. Chris Burnett’s brother, Sean, is a relief pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Caleb Joseph (drums), Jordan Baron (rhythm guitar, lead vocals) and Jerry Young (bass guitar) are in a rock band called “Cold Steal”. They practice in the baseball press box.