2009 Louisville Regional

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

1. Louisville Cardinals

Louisville, Kentucky

Automatic bid from Big East

2009 record: 19-7, 44-15 (first in Big East)

Head coach: Dan McDonnell (The Citadel, 1992)

Record at school: 132-60, 3 years

Overall record: 132-60, 3 years

Assistant coaches: Chris Lemonis, Roger Williams, Xan Barksdale

Team offense: .312 BA, 501 R, 81 HR, .499 SLG%, .402 OB%, 146-189 SB

Team pitching: 4.19 ERA, 540.2 IP, 530 H, 167 BB, 491 K

Top hitters: Phil Wunderlich (.369/18/74/17 2B), Andrew Clark (.362/9/54/20 2B), Chris Dominguez (.359/23/79/18-24 SB), Adam Duvall (.343/11/50/20 2B), Ryan Wright (.336/4/60/15 2B), Josh Richmond (.312/6/29/12 2B)

Top pitchers: Tony Zych (5-2, 2 SV, 3.29, 38.1 IP, 34 H, 9 BB, 29 K), Thomas Royse (3-2, 2 SV, 3.48, 41.1 IP, 35 H, 10 BB, 48 K), Derek Self (6-0, 1 SV, 3.48, 41.1 IP, 42 H, 13 BB, 31 K), Justin Marks (10-2, 3.50, 92.2 IP, 75 H, 30 BB, 116 K), Gabriel Shaw (3-1, 3 SV, 3.75, 48 IP, 43 H, 11 BB, 42 K), Dean Kiekhefer (6-4, 4.70, 67 IP, 80 H, 21 BB, 52 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2008 (0-2 in Athens Regional)

Notes: This marks the third consecutive year the Cardinals have been in the NCAA tournament, a school record. This is the first year that Louisville has hosted an NCCA Regional. In Head Coach Dan McDonnell’s three seasons at Louisville, he has led the squad to three straight NCAA appearances, back-to-back Big East tournament titles, the 2009 Big East regular-season title and its first ever 40-win regular season. The Cardinals enter the NCAA tournament on a hot streak, having won 15 of their last 17 games.

2. Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders

Murfreesboro, Tennessee

Automatic qualifier – won Sun Belt Tournament

2009 record: 21-8, 43-16 (first in Sun Belt)

Head coach: Steve Peterson (Jacksonville State, 1973)

Record at school: 706-547-3, 22 years

Overall record: 859-643-3, 28 years

Assistant coaches: Jim McGuire, Mike McLaury, John Peterson

Team offense: .346 BA, 538 R, 99 HR, .578 SLG%, .422 OB%, 53-85 SB

Team pitching: 5.20 ERA, 522.1 IP, 578 H, 220 BB, 382 K

Top hitters: Bryce Brentz (.482/28/72), Rawley Bishop (.404/14/51), Nathan Hines (.363/11/73), Blake McDade (.338/6/51), Tyler Burnett (.338/7/37), Drew Robertson (.325/3/36), Stuart Meinhart (.325/5/45)

Top pitchers: Coty Woods (4-2, 14 SV, 1.51 ERA, 41.2 IP, 29 H, 23 BB, 50 K), Kenneth Roberts (10-1, 2.98 ERA, 96.2 IP, 81 H, 23 BB, 61 K), Bryce Brentz (5-3, 4.78 ERA, 81 IP, 84 H, 30 BB, 57 K), Nick Montgomery (4-1, 1 SV, 4.81 ERA, 43 IP, 48 H, 15 BB, 37 K), Brett Smalley (1-1, 4.85 ERA, 26 IP, 27 H, 16 BB, 13 K), Chad Edwards (8-1, 5.99 ERA, 67.2 IP, 93 H, 15 BB, 40 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2004 (0-2 in Athens Regional)

Notes: Middle Tennessee earned its highest seed in program history for its 14th postseason appearance all-time. The Blue Raiders will face Vanderbilt for the third time this season. Both teams won a game.

3. Vanderbilt Commodores

Nashville, Tennessee

At-large bid from SEC

2009 record: 12-17, 34-25 (fourth in SEC East)

Head coach: Tim Corbin (Ohio Wesleyan, 1984)

Record at school: 273-155, 7 years

Overall record: 273-155, 7 years

Assistant coaches: Erik Bakich, Derek Johnson, Larry Day

Team offense: .308 BA, 418 R, 50 HR, .450 SLG%, .394 OBP, 87-119 SB

Team pitching: 4.85 ERA, 512 IP, 547 H, 196 BB, 558 K

Top hitters: Aaron Westlake (.377/8/53/12 2B), Steven Liddle (.354/10/45/20 2B), Curt Casali (.341/10/56/15 2B), Riley Reynolds (.328/0/20/12-19 SB), Brian Harris (.308/7/42/20 2B), Andrew Giobbi (.296/6/37), Jason Esposito (.287/4/39/20-24 SB)

Top pitchers: Russell Brewer (1-2, 4 SV, 2.96 ERA, 24.1 IP, 26 H, 9 BB, 36 K), Mike Minor (6-4, 1 SV, 3.64 ERA, 99 IP, 95 H, 31 BB, 103 K), Caleb Cotham (6-5, 4.63 ERA, 70 IP, 63 H, 27 BB, 76 K), Nick Christiani (5-6, 5.05 ERA, 62.1 IP, 69 H, 17 BB, 65 K), Sonny Gray (4-1, 5 SV, 5.14 ERA, 49 IP, 57 H, 19 BB, 59 K)

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

Notes: Vanderbilt is making its sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. The Commodores will be looking to advance past the regional round for the first time since 2004. Vanderbilt reach the championship game of the SEC Tournament before falling to LSU 6-2.

4. Indiana Hoosiers

Bloomington, Indiana

Automatic bid from Big Ten

2009 record: 16-7, 32-25 (third in Big Ten)

Head coach: Tracy Smith (Miami (Ohio), 1989)

Record at school: 104-124, 5 years

Overall record: 421-344-1, 14 years

Assistant coaches: Ty Neal, Ben Greenspan, Matt Hayes

Team offense: .329 BA, 421 R, 61 HR, .490 SLG%, .406 OB%, 69/98 SB

Team pitching: 5.08 ERA, 501.1 IP, 565 H, 208 BB, 424 K

Top hitters: Alex Dickerson (.378/14/57/15 2B), Kipp Schutz (.379/5/34/10 2B), Brian Lambert (.372/11/37), Josh Phegley (.352/17/66/11 2B), Jerrud Sabourin (.349/6/36/15 2B), Tyler Rogers (.322/5/32/15 2B), Even Crawford (.319/2/29/27-32 SB)

Top pitchers: Eric Arnett (12-1, 2.58, 101 IP, 77 H, 35 BB, 103 K), Matt Bashore (7-4, 3.57, 90.2 IP, 90 H, 29 BB, 101 K), Chris Squires (2-2, 8 SV, 4.01, 51.2 IP, 66 H, 18 BB, 36 K), Blake Monar (5-3, 4.64, 77.2 IP, 75 H, 39 BB, 59 K), Matt Car (1-5, 5.44, 41.1 IP, 42 H, 20 BB, 36 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 1996 (1-2 in Midwest Regional)

Notes: Indiana received its automatic bid by crushing the competition in the Big Ten tournament and earning the school’s second conference tournament title. The Hoosiers outscored their opponents 47-9 during the tournament and had at least 15 hits in every game. This is the second time in school history that Indiana has reached the NCAA tournament. Eric Arnett has been named a National Pitcher of the Year Finalist by the College Baseball Foundation, he has a 12-1 record with a 2.58 ERA and 103 strikouts.