2009 College World Series Capsules

Capsules compiled by Christina De Nicola, Duncan Phillips, Sean Ryan, Phil Stanton

 

5. Arizona State Sun Devils

Tempe, Arizona

Automatic bid from Pac-10, 3-0 at Tempe Regional, 2-0 at Tempe Super Regional

2009 record: 21-6, 49-12 (first in Big 10)

Head coach: Pat Murphy (Florida Atlantic, 1982)

Record at school: 627-282-1, 15 years

Overall record: 1,007-453-4, 25 years

Assistant head coach: Tim Esmay

Assistant coaches: Andy Stankiewicz, Josh Holliday

Team offense: .305 BA, 491 R, 71 HR, .496 SLG%, .420 OB%, 111-147 SB

Team pitching: 2.78 ERA, 544.2 IP, 473 H, 145 BB, 561 K

Top hitters: Jason Kipnis (.385/16/71/20 2B/.729 SLG%/26-30 SB), Johnny Ruettiger (.356/1/13/12-15 SB), Carlos Ramirez (.349/18/72/13 2B), Drew Maggi (.319/0/21/20-22 SB), Matt Newman (.315/7/54/15 2B), Riccio Torrez (.298/6/37), Kole Calhoun (.292/9/42/15 2B), Zack MacPhee (.266/4/36), Raoul Torrez (.250/1/26/15-21 SB)

Top pitchers: Mike Leake (16-1, 1.36, 7 CG, 132.2 IP, 79 H, 21 BB, 150 K), Josh Spence (9-1, 1 SV, 2.33, 88.2 IP, 78 H, 25 BB, 109 K), Jason Franzblau (3-2, 2.40, 48.2 IP, 51 H, 15 BB, 42 K), Mitchell Lambson (8-3, 5 SV, 2.77, 74.2 IP, 50 H, 23 BB, 86 K), Seth Blair (7-2, 1 SV, 3.16, 77 IP, 68 H, 29 BB, 78 K), Jordan Swagerty (4-1, 4 SV, 4.55, 55.1 IP, 63 H, 13 BB, 47 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2008 (3-0 in Tempe Regional, 1-2 in Tempe Super Regional)

Notes: The Sun Devils are making their 21st appearance in the College World Series and their first since 2007. ASU has five national championships, the last coming in 1981. The Sun Devils lead the nation in win percentage at .803. ASU has won six straight and 16 of its past 17 contests. The Sun Devil pitching staff leads the country in ERA at 2.78 and is second in batting average against at .233. Junior right-hander Mike Leake is second at 1.36 and junior lefty Josh Spence is in the Top 20 at 2.37. Leake is tops in Division I with 16 victories and 132.2 innings pitched, and second with 150 strikeouts and seven complete games. Leake, the Pac-10 Pitcher of the Year, is one of five finalists for the Golden Spikes Award and was the Most Outstanding Player of the Tempe Regional for the second time. He also earned the honor in 2007. The ASU pitching staff had 19 strikeouts and two walks in 18 innings against Clemson in the Super Regional. Leake had one walk and seven strikeouts in eight innings in the opener, while Spence fanned 10 and walked one in nine innings in Game 2. Spence was pitching in his third game after missing a month due to injury. Junior outfielder Jason Kipnis was named Pac-10 Player of the Year. Pat Murphy was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year for the third straight season and the fourth time overall. The Sun Devils were 36-4 at home this season. Raoul and Riccio Torrez are brothers. Freshman Johnny Ruettiger is the nephew of Dan Ruetigger, the subject of the 1993 movie, “Rudy”. Freshman Austin Barnes is the nephew of Mike Gallego, current Colorado Rockies coach and former Major League infielder. ASU will open the College World Series against North Carolina. The Sun Devils are 3-1 all-time against the Tar Heels. ASU won two of three in a series in Tempe in May of 1984. The Sun Devils edged UNC 4-3  on March 4, 2005, in the Keith LeClair Classic in Greenville, N.C.

 

Arkansas Razorbacks

Fayetteville, Arkansas

At-large bid from SEC, 3-0 at Norman Regional, 2-0 at Tallahassee Super Regional

2009 record: 14-15, 39-22 (fourth in SEC West)

Head coach: Dave Van Horn (Arkansas, 1988)

Record at school: 274-156, 7 years

Overall record: 859-396, 21 years

Assistant coaches: Todd Butler, Dave Jorn, Chris Curry

(statistics through 60 games)

Team offense: .272 BA, 383 R, 73 HR, 62-88 SB

Team pitching: 4.50 ERA, 532 IP, 531 H, 223 BB, 468 K

Top hitters: Andy Wilkins (.329/17/51/17 2B), Ben Tschepikow (.314/9/46/16-22 SB), Scott Lyons (.309/8/43/11 2B), Chase Leavitt (.302/1/30/11-15 SB), Zach Cox (.273/12/36/14 2B), Collin Kuhn (.262/3/19/10-12 SB), Brett Eibner (.224/10/29)

Top pitchers: Stephen Richards (5-1, 9 SV, 1.09 ERA, 33 IP, 21 H, 15 BB, 48 K), Mike Bolsinger (6-4, 1 SV, 2.83 ERA, 60.1 IP, 45 H, 26 BB, 68 K), Dallas Keuchel (7-3, 4.04 ERA, 98 IP, 106 H, 28 BB, 62 K), Brett Eibner (5-4, 4.25 ERA, 65.2 IP, 53 H, 31 BB, 62 K), TJ Forrest (2-6, 5.73 ERA, 59.2 IP, 63 H, 25 BB, 44 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2008 (0-2 at Stanford Regional)

Notes: The Razorbacks are making their sixth appearance in the College World Series and first since 2004. Arkansas is looking for its first national title. Its best finish was runner-up in 1979 to Cal State Fullerton, coached by Augie Garrido. The Titans are the first-round opponent for the Razorbacks. Fullerton has won the three previous meetings, including twice in the 1979 College World Series (12-3, 2-1). The Titans also posted a 6-5 win in 1993 in Minneapolis. Head coach Dave Van Horn is taking the Razorbacks to Omaha for the second time and making his fourth trip. He led Nebraska to the College World Series in 2001 and 2002. Van Horn is still looking for his first win in Omaha. Arkansas won twice at Florida State in the Super Regional after sweeping through the Norman Regional. Andy Wilkins was the Most Outstanding Player of the Norman Regional, going 12 for 16 (.750) with five doubles, two homers, six runs, 11 RBI, 23 total bases and 1.438 slugging percentage. The team hit .378 in its three regional wins. Arkansas is 6-1 this season in extra-inning games. The Razorbacks averaged 7,879 fans per home game. They set a Baum Stadium record with 11, 014 in attendance and 11,434 tickets sold on April 8 against top-ranked Arizona State. On April 6, Collegiate Baseball ranked Arkansas No. 1, its first No. 1 ranking in program history. Brett Eibner, a pitcher and outfielder, was a member of the Arkansas golf team in 2007.

 

2. Cal State Fullerton Titans

Fullerton, California

At-large bid from Big West, 3-0 in Fullerton Regional, 2-0 in Fullerton Super Regional

2009 record: 17-7, 47-14 (second in Big West)

Head coach: Dave Serrano (Trinity, 2003)

Record at school: 88-36, 2 years

Overall record: 202-102-1, 5 years

Assistant coaches: Sergio Brown, Greg Bergeron, Brett Lindgren

Team offense: .330 BA, 481 R, 59 HR, .486 SLG%, .416 OB%, 121-168 SB

Team pitching: 3.36 ERA, 552 IP, 495 H, 153 BB, 442 K

Top hitters: Josh Fellhauer (.399/6/55/18-29 SB), Jared Clark (.363/12/81/17 2B/14-17 SB), Joey Siddons (.362/0/22), Christian Colon (.352/7/38/16 2B/14-21 SB), Gary Brown (.337/3/37/23-31 SB), Khris Davis (.336/16/57/25 2B), Joe Scott (.313/1/39), Jeff Newman (.297/0/10/11-13 SB), Dustin Garneau (.293/4/26), Nick Ramirez (.287/10/31).

Top pitchers: Kyle Mertins (1-0, 2.30, 27.1 IP, 23 H, 11 BB, 19 K), Daniel Renken (11-2, 2.36, 118 IP, 87 H, 32 BB, 98 K), Nick Ramirez (3-1, 7 SV, 2.63, 37.2 IP, 34 H, 9 BB, 27 K), Noe Ramirez (9-1, 2.86, 107 IP, 85 H, 21 BB, 96 K), Tyler Pill (11-3, 3.95, 98 IP, 91 H, 12 BB, 73 K).

Last NCAA appearance: 2008 (4-1 at Fullerton Regional, 0-2 at Fullerton Super Regional)

Notes: The Titans are in the College World Series for the 16th time and fifth in the past seven years. Fullerton is looking for its fifth national championship. The Titans are 3-0 all-time against Arkansas, with two wins in the 1979 College World Series under head coach Augie Garrido. The Titans have now won seven Super Regionals and have posted a 15-6 record in their 11 Supers. Fullerton swept Louisville with dominant starting pitching to stretch its win streak to nine. Noe Ramirez allowed three hits and fanned 10 in eight innings, while Daniel Renken went the distance in Game 2 with 10 strikeouts. Renken is second nationally with 118 and eighth with 11 victories. The Titan pitching staff is four in the country with a 3.36 ERA and .240 opponent batting average. Fullerton is second with 76 sacrifice hits and seventh with 121 stolen bases. Joe Scott is tied for the national lead with 24 sacrifice hits and Jeff Newman is seventh with 15. Coach Dave Serrano, who replaced John Savage at UC Irvine in 2005, won 47 games in 2007 before replacing George Horton at Fullerton, where he pitched under Augie Garrido. Leading hitter Josh Fellhauer’s grandfather pitched for the St. Louis Browns and his father was a sixth-round pick of the A’s. He, Christian Colon and Jared Clark contributed to a 24-0 Team USA last summer. Fellhauer and Colon led the team in hits with 26. Clark, nicknamed “Diesel,” missed 2007 with an injury and has been drafted twice. Freshman Tyler Pill is former Titan star Brett Pill’s brother. Reserve Tony Harkey played football at Utah State but did not play baseball. Billy Marcoe’s nickname is “Wonka” – his dad runs a candy shop. Opponents hit just .204 off Daniel Renken, who was recently named a third-team All-American by Collegiate Baseball.

 

3. LSU Tigers

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Automatic bid – won SEC Tournament, 3-0 at Baton Rouge Regional, 2-0 at Baton Rouge Super Regional

2009 record: 20-10, 51-16 (tied for first in SEC West)

Head coach: Paul Mainieri (Florida International, 1980)

Record at school: 129-61-2, 3 years

Overall record: 993-553-6, 27 years

Assistant coaches: David Grewe, Javi Sanchez, Will Davis

Team offense: .315 BA, 524 R, 94 HR, .512 SLG%, .407 OBP, 111-151 SB

Team pitching: 3.99 ERA, 588.1 IP, 569 H, 164 BB, 628 K

Top hitters: DJ LeMahieu (.340/4/39/12 2B/10-13 SB), Ryan Schimpf (.335/19/63/18-25 SB), Blake Dean (.333/15/65/16 2B), Sean Ochinko (.330/7/50/14 2B), Jared Mitchell (.325/9/43/35-44 SB), Mikie Mahtook (.320/6/31), Tyler Hanover (.317/4/44), Leon Landry (.305/12/41/10 2B), Micah Gibbs (.286/6/39/16 2B)

Top pitchers: Matty Ott (3-2, 16 SV, 2.17 ERA, 45.2 IP, 43 H, 4 BB, 63 K), Louis Coleman (13-2, 2.76 ERA, 114 IP, 92 H, 19 BB, 124 K), Anthony Ranaudo (10-3, 2.95, 109.2 IP, 76 H, 41 BB, 147 K), Daniel Bradshaw (4-0, 1 SV, 3.38 ERA, 45.1 IP, 41 H, 11 BB, 32 K), Austin Ross (5-7, 4.94 ERA, 78.1 IP, 90 H, 20 BB, 72 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2008 (3-0 at Baton Rouge Regional, 2-1 at Baton Rouge Super Regional, 1-2 at College World Series)

Notes: LSU is heading to the College World Series for the second straight year and the 15th time overall, all since 1986. The Tigers have five national championships (1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000). LSU is 3-0 all-time against Virginia, its first-round CWS opponent. The Tigers swept a three-game series in Baton Rouge to start the 2000 season (8-0, 13-2, 13-4). Paul Mainieri has taken two different teams to Omaha. He guided Notre Dame to the College World Series in 2002 and is taking the Tigers for the second consecutive year. Virginia head coach Brian O’Connor was an assistant coach on that 2002 Notre Dame squad and worked with Mainieri for nine seasons in South Bend. LSU swept its two-game Super Regional series with Rice to extend its win streak to 10. The Tigers got 15.2 innings from its two starting pitchers and their five hurlers did not walk a batter in 18 innings. LSU won a record-eighth SEC Tournament title and second straight. The Tigers captured their 18th NCAA Regional title with wins over Southern, Baylor and Minnesota. The Tigers hosted a regional for the 19th time. LSU posted a 33-9 record this season in new Alex Box Stadium. There was a record-crowd of 9,651 on hand for the second Super Regional contest. The Tigers have two pitchers with more than 100 strikeouts: Anthony Ranaudo with 147 (third in nation) and Louis Coleman with 124 (eighth in nation). Both earned victories in the Super Regional. Ranaudo was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Baton Rouge Regional for his complete-game victory over Baylor with three hits and 14 strikeouts. The Tigers are second in the country with 628 strikeouts, third with 22 saves and ninth with 3.99 ERA. Matty Ott is fifth in the nation with 16 saves and seventh with 34 appearances.

 

4. North Carolina Tar Heels

Chapel Hill, North Carolina

At-large bid from ACC, 3-0 at Chapel Hill Regional, 2-0 at Chapel Hill Super Regional

2009 record: 19-10, 47-16 (first in Coastal Division)

Head coach: Mike Fox (North Carolina, 1978)

Record at school: 499-206-1, 12 years

Overall record: 499-206-1, 12 years

Assistant coaches: Scott Forbes, Scott Jackson, Chad Flack, Matt McCay

Team offense: .310 BA, 464 R, 68 HR, .480 SLG%, .401 OB%, 55-79 SB

Team pitching: 3.61 ERA, 568.2 IP, 522 H, 245 BB, 636 K

Top hitters: Dustin Ackley (.412/22/70/17 2B/13-17 SB), Kyle Seager (.386/5/59/24 2B/13-14 SB), Ben Bunting (.333/2/35/12 2B), Mark Fleury (.315/12/59/19 2B), Garrett Gore (.307/6/43), Levi Michael (.298/13/56/15 2B), Ryan Graepel (.279/2/39/17 2B), Mike Cavasinni (.260/0/23)

Top pitchers: Brian Moran (7-1, 4 SV, 1.95 ERA, 64.2 IP, 42 H, 8 BB, 88 K), Adam Warren (9-2, 3.23 ERA, 92 IP, 80 H, 34 BB, 97 K), Alex White (8-4, 4.13 ERA, 98 IP, 86 H, 41 BB, 109 K), Colin Bates (4-2, 6 SV, 2.84 ERA, 57 IP, 50 H, 16 BB, 59 K), Patrick Johnson (2-2, 1 SV, 2.91 ERA, 55.2 IP, 44 H, 34 BB, 76 K), Nate Striz (2-0, 1 SV, 3.42 ERA, 23.2 IP, 19 H, 13 BB, 27 K), Matt Harvey (7-2, 1 SV, 5.35 ERA, 70.2 IP, 86 H, 37 BB, 78 K)   

Last NCAA appearance: 2008 (3-0 Cary Regional, 2-0 in Cary Super Regional, 2-2 College World Series)

Notes: North Carolina is making its eighth appearance in the College World Series. The Tar Heels are the first ACC team to make four consecutive trips to Omaha. UNC is the first ACC team to play in a bowl game in football, reach the Final Four in men’s basketball and advance to the College World Series in baseball in the same year. UNC is seeking its first national championship. The Tar Heels took two from East Carolina in the Super Regionals. Alex White fanned a career-high 12 in the opener. UNC leads the nation with 636 strikeouts and is fifth with 3.61 ERA. Besides receiving first-team Louisville Slugger All-American honors and becoming the first three-time All-American in program history, first baseman Dustin Ackley was named as one of the five finalists for the 2009 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award, which is given to the nation’s premier amateur baseball player. Head coach Mike Fox and company have won at least 40 games for eight consecutive seasons. UNC is the only team to earn a top-four seed each of the past three years. The Tar Heels have won 209 games over the past four seasons, the top mark in the nation. Fox earned his 1,000th career victory on March 4 against Gardner-Webb. He is one of 10 active Division I coaches with 1,000 wins. The Tar Heels have two of the top players in the nation in Ackley and White. Both are expected to be among the first players taken in the upcoming MLB draft. Ackley is the 2009 ACC Player of the Year. Ackley is fifth in the nation with 103 hits and third with 194 total bases. Senior right-hander Adam Warren is one of 10 finalists for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award, which recognizes student-athletes for Classroom, Character, Community and Competition. UNC moved into its new facility this spring, Bryson Field at Boshamer Stadium, with a seating capacity of 4,100. The Tar Heels averaged 1,932 fans with a record of 36-7. Matt Harvey’s father, John, played baseball and football at Connecticut and played in the 1972 College World Series. Left-hander Brian Moran is the nephew of former Tar Heel B.J. Surhoff. Moran is third in the country with 1.95 ERA, .184 opponent batting average and seventh with 34 appearances. Freshman Jacob Stallings is the son of Vanderbilt head basketball coach Kevin Stallings.

 

Southern Miss Golden Eagles

Hattiesburg, Mississippi

At-large bid from C-USA, 3-1 at Atlanta Regional, 2-0 at Gainesville Super Regional

2008 record: 12-12, 40-24 (fifth in C-USA)

Head coach: Corky Palmer (Southern Miss, 1977)

Record at school: 458-279, 12 years

Overall record: 958-491, 22 years

Assistant coaches: Scott Berry, Chad Caillet, Richy Harrelson

Team offense: .307 BA, 498 R, 71 HR, .468 SLG%, .401 OBP, 45-69 SB

Team pitching: 5.01 ERA, 553.1 IP, 607 H, 235 BB, 429 K

Top hitters: Bo Davis (.371/14/53/10-12 SB), Kameron Brunty (.342/7/53), Corey Stevens (.330/8/59/15 2B), James Ewing (.314/4/42/10 2B), Joey Archer (.311/10/62/13 2B), Taylor Walker (.305/3/29/11 2B), Tyler Koelling (.265/2/27)

Top pitchers: Collin Cargill (4-3, 13 SV, 3.32 ERA, 38 IP, 30 H, 20 BB, 32 K), Todd McInnis (9-4, 3.61 ERA, 94.2 IP, 90 H, 31 BB, 86 K), JR Ballinger (6-3, 3.89 ERA, 83.1 IP, 86 H, 35 BB, 59 K), Jeff Stanley (4-2, 4.43 ERA, 42.2 IP, 46 H, 21 BB, 24 K), Cody Schlagel (5-1, 4.99, 48.2 IP, 44 H, 27 BB, 43 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2008 (2-2 at Baton Rouge Regional)

Notes: The Golden Eagles are making their first trip to the College World Series after their first appearance in a Super Regional. Southern Miss is 0-1 all-time against Texas, its first opponent in Omaha. The Longhorns beat the Golden Eagles 18-2 in the 1991 NCAA Central Regional in Austin, Texas. Southern Miss won both Super Regional games at Florida, the No. 8 national seed, by a combined score of 16-13. The Golden Eagles are averaging nearly 10 runs in six NCAA tourney contests. Southern Miss was the only No. 3 seed to win a Regional and is lone remaining representative from Conference USA. Sophomore closer Collin Cargill had two saves the Gainesville Super Regional after recording a win and two saves in the Atlanta Regional. Freshman B.A. Vollmuth, the Most Outstanding Player of the Atlanta Regional, hit two home runs in a nine-run second in the championship game against Georgia Tech. Southern Miss hit 12 homers in four regional games after hitting 56 in its first 58 games. The Golden Eagles have made seven straight NCAA Tournament appearances. Southern Miss has made 10 NCAA trips, all since 1990. Head coach Corky Palmer announced he would be retiring at the end of this season. Associate head coach Scott Berry will succeed Palmer. Todd McInnis was named Conference USA Pitcher of the Year. Bo Davis joined McInnis on the all-C-USA first team. Brian Dozier was second team and Kameron Brunty made the all-freshman team. Dozier has not played since April 14 after suffering a fractured clavicle.

 

1. Texas Longhorns

Austin, Texas

Automatic bid – won Big 12 Tourney, 3-0 in Austin Regional, 2-1 in Austin Super Regional

2009 record: 17-9-1, 46-14-1 (first in Big 12)

Head coach: Augie Garrido (Fresno State, 1961)

Record at school: 563-266-2, 13 years

Overall record: 1,734-790-9, 41 years

Associate head coach: Tommy Harmon

Assistant coaches: Skip Johnson, Tommy Nicholson

Team offense: .287 BA, 369 R, 39 HR, .413 SLG%, .376 OB%, 70-93 SB

Team pitching: 2.84 ERA, 557 IP, 454 H, 164 BB, 498 K

Top hitters: Brandon Belt (.336/8/40/17 2B/14-17 SB), Kevin Keyes (.305/7/40/15 2B), Michael Torres (.304/4/32/12-13 SB), Brandon Loy (.294/0/26/24 SH), Cameron Rupp (.287/8/40/12 2B), Travis Tucker (.286/2/27/12-16 SB), Connor Rowe (.275/6/36), Preston Clark (.264/2/24/13 2B), Tant Shepherd (.264/2/21/13 2B)

Top pitchers: Austin Wood (5-1, 15 SV, 2.19 ERA, 78 IP, 57 H, 15 BB, 67 K), Taylor Jungmann (8-3, 2.27 ERA, 79.1 IP, 57 H, 30 BB, 86 K), Austin Dicharry (8-2, 2.40 ERA, 56.1 IP, 37 H, 20 BB, 56 K), Chance Ruffin (10-2, 2 SV, 3.02 ERA, 116.1 IP, 96 H, 23 BB, 101 K), Cole Green (5-3, 3.02 ERA, 95.1 IP, 79 H, 30 BB, 70 K), Brandon Workman (3-3, 3.45 ERA, 70.1 IP, 55 H, 25 BB, 78 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2008 (2-2 in Houston Regional)

Notes: Texas is making its 33rd trip to the College World Series, the most of any program, and its sixth in the past 10 years. The Longhorns have won six national titles, including 2002 and 2005. Texas won two of three against TCU in the Austin Super Regional to advance to Omaha. The Longhorns are first in sacrifice hits with 96, 20 more than second-place Cal State Fullerton. Brandon Loy is tied for the national lead with 24 sacrifice hits. The Texas pitching staff is first nationally with .222 opponent batting average and second with 2.84 ERA. UT hosted an NCAA Regional for the 23rd time at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, the first since 2006 – and it likely is the most memorable. The Longhorns were tested to the tune of a 25-inning marathon – the longest game in NCAA history – against Boston College before winning 3-2. The next night, Texas trailed Army 10-6 in the ninth inning before scoring eight times, the last four coming on Preston Clark’s grand slam to win it. The showing by Austin Wood (12.1 no-hit innings of relief, finishing with 13 IP, 2 H, 14 K) against BC was legendary; fellow Austin, Austin Dicharry then came on to toss the last 5.2 innings and earn his eighth win. Opponents hit .179 off Dicharry, a freshman. Wood is third in the nation with 37 appearances and seventh with 15 saves. Thirty-one of the 34 players on the UT roster hail from the Lone Star State – the other three come from California. Pitcher Chance Ruffin’s father is former major league pitcher Bruce Ruffin. Ruffin has gone 18-4 in his two seasons in Austin. He is third in the nation with 116.1 innings pitched. Senior reliever Keith Shinaberry has contributed a journal to CollegeBaseballInsider.com this season. Brandon Belt has been drafted twice in the 11th round – once by the Red Sox out of high school and once by the Braves after a year of junior college (2007). The Longhorns have four players – Taylor Jungmann, Andrew McKirahan, Morgan Mickan and Cameron Rowe – who played at Georgetown HS in Texas. Coach Augie Garrido is the winningest coach in NCAA history. Texas became the fourth team in Big 12 history to win the regular-season title and the tournament title in the same year.

 

Virginia Cavaliers

Charlottesville, Virginia

Automatic bid – won ACC Tourney, 3-0 at Irvine Regional, 2-1 at Oxford Super Regional

2009 record: 16-11-1, 48-13-1 (fourth in Coastal Division)

Head coach: Brian O’Connor (Creighton, 1993)

Record at school: 264-102-1, 6 years

Overall record: 264-102-1, 6 years

Assistant coaches: Kevin McMullan, Karl Kuhn, Eddie Smith, Justin Armistead

Team offense: .327 BA, 492 R, 55 HR, .483 SLG%, .401 OB%, 116-140 SB

Team pitching: 3.14 ERA, 554 IP, 477 H, 183 BB, 567 K

Top hitters: Dan Grovatt (.365/7/50/14-16 SB), Jarrett Parker (.364/16/65/19-24 SB), Tyler Cannon (.339/1/37/17-19 SB), Danny Hultzen (.333/3/33), Steven Proscia (.332/9/57/20 2B/12-14 SB), Phil Gosselin (.314/6/63/24-27 SB), John Hicks (.305/7/37/13 2B), John Barr (.295/0/15), Franco Valdes (.288/5/41/12 2B)

Top pitchers: Kevin Arico (2-3, 11 SV, 2.06 ERA, 35 IP, 22 H, 6 BB, 45 K), Danny Hultzen (9-1, 2.09 ERA, 86 IP, 76 H, 27 BB, 95 K), Andrew Carraway (8-1, 4.13 ERA, 85 IP, 77 H, 20 BB, 71 K), Tyler Wilson (9-3, 1 SV, 2.73 ERA, 62.2 IP, 54 H, 21 BB, 60 K), Robert Morey (3-0, 2 SV, 3.11 ERA, 63.2, 47 H, 26 BB, 83 K), Matt Packer (3-4, 3 SV, 3.95 ERA, 57 IP, 54 H, 23 BB, 55 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2008 (1-2 Fullerton Regional)

Notes: Virginia is making its first trip to the College World Series after its first Super Regional win at Ole Miss. The Cavaliers lost the opener but fought back and captured the final two contests. UVa was 12 for 13 in stolen bases in three games against the Rebels. Phil Gosselin was a perfect 5 for 5. Virginia will open play in Omaha against LSU. The Cavs are 0-3 all-time against the Tigers, dropping a three-game set at Baton Rouge to start the 2000 season. Virginia head coach Brian O’Connor was an assistant for nine seasons at Notre Dame under Paul Mainieri, the skipper at LSU. The Cavaliers have been on the road for a month. Their last home game was on May 12, a 4-1 win over VCU. Virginia finished the regular season by dropping two of three at Virginia Tech. The Cavs went 4-0 at the ACC Tournament in Durham, N.C. Virginia went to Irvine, Calif., and went 3-0 in the Regional, with a win over Stephen Strasburg and San Diego State in the opener and a pair of victories against top-ranked UC Irvine. The Cavs were in Oxford, Miss., this past weekend for the Super Regional before heading to Omaha for the College World Series. The Cavs, who are littered with freshmen and sophomores (seven in starting lineup) making a huge impact, lead the ACC in both team hitting and pitching. Over the past six years, the pitching staff guided by Karl Kuhn has been in the top three nationally for ERA. UVa is currently third in ERA at 3.14, third in opponent batting average at .234 and seventh in strikeouts with 567. Offensively, the Cavs are fifth with 728 hits and seventh with 27 triples. Freshman Danny Hultzen, who led ACC starters in ERA and batted better than .330, was the ACC Freshman of the Year, the first in Virginia history. Hultzen is seventh in the country in ERA at 2.09. His two-way status reminds of former Virginia two-way standouts Sean Doolittle and Joe Koshansky. Sophomore Jarrett Parker ranks in the top 10 in the ACC in just about every offensive category; 42 of his 92 hits are for extra bases (slugs .684). Dan Grovatt had a 19-game hitting streak and leads the Cavs in batting. Matt Packer, who can start or relieve, led the nation in ERA in 2008.