2009 Fort Worth Regional

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

1. TCU Horned Frogs

Fort Worth, Texas

At-large bid from Mountain West Conference

2009 record: 15-5, 36-16 (first in Mountain West)

Head coach: Jim Schlossnagle (Elon, 1992)

Record at school: 247-118, six years

Overall record: 324-1165, eight years

Assistant coaches: Todd Whitting, Randy Mazey, Ryan Shotzberger

Team offense: .310 BA, 385 R, 61 HR, .500 SLG%, .388 OB%, 56/81 SB

Team pitching: 4.25 ERA, 465.2 IP, 470 H, 170 BB, 369 K

Top hitters: Matt Vern (.369/15/45), Matt Carpenter (.339/9/41), Chris Ellington (.330/5/49), Matt Curry (.326/3/29), Jason Coats (.320/6/27), Tyler Featherston (.317/4/27), Bryan Holaday (.291/10/45).

Top pitchers: Eric Marshall (1-2, 1.35, 8 SV, 26.2 IP, 5 BB, 18 K), Taylor Cragin (5-0, 2.68, 53.2 IP, 40 H, 16 BB, 33 K), Trent Appleby (4-1, 3.05, 56 IP, 53 H, 19 BB, 46 K), Greg Holle (5-2, 3.89, 41.2 IP, 43 H, 15 BB, 26 K), Tyler Lockwood (4-1, 4.33, 60.1 IP, 66 H, 15 BB, 36 K), Kyle Winkler (6-0, 4.33, 60.1 IP, 63 H, 26 BB, 42 K).

Last NCAA appearance: 2008 (1-2 at Stillwater Regional)

Notes: TCU is hosting a Regional for the first time and is making its sixth straight trip to the NCAA tourney. The Horned Frogs are seeking their first Regional title, although Coach Jim Schlossnagle was on the staff at Tulane in 2001 when the Green Wave reached Omaha, and assistant Randy Mazey, a former head coach at East Carolina, also reached the College World Series in 2001 when he was an assistant at Tennessee. Senior Matt Carpenter penned a journal for CollegeBaseballInsider.com in 2008. He missed most of 2007 with an injury and has hit 20 homers the past two years while fielding a slick .960 primarily at third base this season. Leading hitter Matt Vern batted nearly 100 points less last year (.275). Opponents hit .196 off closer Eric Marshall. Freshman Kyle Winkler was drafted by the Brewers in the 37^th round and has gone unbeaten for the Frogs. Setup men Taylor Cragin and Trent Appleby have been stellar, combining for a 9-1 record in 109 innings spanning 39 appearances. Tyler Lockwood is 16-5 in his career and also has a twin brother named Drew. 

2. Texas A&M Aggies

College Station, Texas

At-large bid from Big 12

2009 record: 14-13, 36-22 (sixth in Big 12)

Head coach: Rob Childress (Northwood, 1990)

Record at school: 155-90-1, 5 years

Overall record: 155-90-1, 5 years

Assistant coaches: Matt Deggs, Jeremy Talbot, Justin Seely

Team offense: .297 BA, 404 R, 80 HR, .487 SLG%, .395 OB%, 74-106 SB

Team pitching: 4.34 ERA, 511.2 IP, 499 H, 160 BB, 544 K

Top hitters: Joe Patterson (.374/10/48), Brodie Greene (.351/11/35/11-15 SB), Caleb Shofner (.333/5/36/11 2B), Brooks Raley (.315/1/25/25-29 SB), Luke Anders (.299/13/52), Kevin Gonzalez (.294/5/34/13 2B), Kyle Colligan (.286/14/42/11-13 SB)

Top pitchers: Kyle Thebeau (2-1, 2 SV, 3.61, 52.1 IP, 50 H, 13 BB, 32 K), Nick Fleece (4-1, 5 SV, 3.62, 27.1 IP, 26 H, 8 BB, 32 K), Brooks Raley (7-2, 3.74, 91.1 IP, 75 H, 23 BB, 93 K), Alex Wilson (6-6, 2 SV, 3.89, 85.2 IP, 72 H, 22 BB, 116 K), Ross Hales (6-2, 3.98, 72.1 IP, 69 H, 22 BB, 74 K)

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

Notes: Texas A&M has benefited from stellar pitching all season long, led by head coach and pitching guru Rob Childress. The pitching staff set the school-record for strikeouts in a single season with 544, besting the previous record of 536 in 1999. Kyle Thebeau owns the school record for appearances with 102, 16 more than second-place Chris Russ.

3. Oregon State Beavers

Corvallis, Oregon

At-large bid from Pac-10

2009 Record: 15-12, 35-17 (third in Pac-10)

Head coach: Pat Casey (George Fox, 1990)

Record at school: 503-312-4, 16 years

Overall record: 674-425-5, 21 years

Assistant coaches: Pat Bailey, Marty Lees, Nate Yeskie

Team offense: .275 BA, 355 R, 22 HR, .375 SLG%, .390 OB% , 50-66 SB

Team pitching: 3.69 ERA, 464 IP, 404 H, 182 BB, 401 K)

Top hitters: Ryan Ortiz (.343/4/42/17 2B), Jared Norris (.333/3/32), Adalberto Santos (.317/4/43/13-15 SB), Stefen Romero (.293/5/46/17 2B), Joey Wong (.262/1/29)

Top pitching: Sam Gaviglio (9-1, 1 SV, 2.84 ERA, 57 IP, 39 H, 7 BB, 49 K), Kevin Rhoderick (3-2, 9 SV, 2.95 ERA, 21.1 IP, 16 H, 14 BB, 29 K), Tyler Waldron (6-3, 3.84 ERA, 89 IP, 87 H, 28 BB, 66 K), Jorge Reyes (5-2, 4.35 ERA, 72.1 IP, 74 H, 28 BB, 69 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2007 (4-1 in Charlottesville Regional, 2-0 in Corvallis Super Regional, 5-0 in College World Series, National Champion)

Notes: The Beavers won consecutive national titles in 2006 and 2007. This will be the 10th NCAA Tournament appearance for OSU. Junior Brett Casey is the son of head coach Pat Casey. The Beavers have 13 players from the state of Oregon and seven from the state of Washington.

4. Wright State Raiders

Dayton, Ohio

Automatic bid from Horizon League

2009 record: 14-12, 33-28 (third in Horizon League)

Head coach: Rob Cooper (Miami (Fla.), 1994)

Record at school: 157-133, 5 years

Overall record: 157-133, 5 years

Associate head coach: Greg Lovelady

Assistant coaches: Kyle Gewein, Matt Smith

Team offense: .319 BA, 424 R, 48 HR, .469 SLG%, .378 OB%, 45/59 SB

Team pitching: 4.98 ERA, 528 IP, 620 H, 171 BB, 376 K

Top hitters: Jeff Mercer (.360/8/73/26 2B), Quentin Cate (.353/12/56/17 2B), R.J. Gundolff (.349/2/24), Garrett Gray (.343/3/19/11 2B), Casey McGrew (.336/6/48/22 2B), Kory Twede (.332/8/45/16 2B), Ryan Ashe (.328/1/32)

Top pitchers: Michael Schum (5-6, 13 SV, 1.68, 69.2 IP, 56 H, 10 BB, 15 K), Alex Kaminsky (6-2, 2.77, 78 IP, 93 H, 8 BB, 51 K), Michael Meintel (2-3, 3.74, 33.2 IP, 33 H, 9 BB, 29 K), Rylan Ostrosky (5-6, 4.48, 70.1 IP, 77 H, 23 BB, 45 K), Michael Woytek (4-3, 5.89, 65.2 IP, 91 H, 24 BB, 46 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2006 (0-2 in Corvallis Regional)

Notes: Wright State secured its automatic bid with its third conference tournament title, a the 6-2 victory over top-seeded UIC in 12 innings and the first championship game in conference history to be decided in extra innings. Jeff Mercer set the single-season school record for doubles with 26 and was the third-straight Raider to be named conference Player of the Year. Wright State enters the NCAA tournament having won 11 of its last 15 games.