2010 Norman Regional

Capsules by Barrett Neale, Michael Perry, Matt Mullen, Andrew Woods, Sean Ryan, Phil Stanton

1. Oklahoma Sooners

Norman, Oklahoma

At-large bid from Big 12

2010 record: 15-10, 44-15 (second in Big 12)

Head coach: Sunny Golloway (Oklahoma Christian, 1984)

Record at school: 214-113-1, 6 years

Overall record: 549-269-1, 14 years

Assistant coaches: Tim Tadlock, Mike Bell, Russell Raley

Team offense: .314 BA, 475 R, 90 HR, .526 SLG%, .401 OB%, 86-115 SB

Team pitching: 3.79 ERA, 524.2 IP, 518 H, 193 BB, 515 K

Top hitters: Garrett Buechele (.393/15/61/15 2B), Danny Black (.331/5/44/10-15 SB), Chris Ellison (.331/4/28/21-24 SB), Cameron Seitzer (.330/14/51/15 2B), Caleb Bushyhead (.327/5/34/15 2B/12-19 SB), Max White (.318/14/39/12 2B)

Top pitchers: Ryan Duke (1-1, 11 SV, 3.00 ERA, 30 IP, 25 H, 12 BB, 33 K), Jeremy Erben (7-1, 3 SV, 4.10 ERA, 59.1 IP, 56 H, 24 BB, 65 K), Zach Neal (8-3, 4.52 ERA, 87.2 IP, 94 H, 20 BB, 76 K), Bobby Shore (8-4, 4.52 ERA, 75.2 IP, 80 H, 29 BB, 66 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2009 (2-2 in Norman Regional)

Notes: OU is making its 32nd NCAA Tournament appearance and seventh in the past eight seasons. The Sooners have reached the College World Series nine times, the last in 1995. Oklahoma won 12 of 16 entering the Big 12 tourney and will serve as a Regional host for the third time in the past five years. The Sooners have back-to-back 40-win seasons for the first time since 1988-89. Sunny Golloway had a .634 winning percentage at Oklahoma and a .665 winning percentage overall (he spent eight years building Oral Roberts' program into a power) entering this season. The Sooners went 22-6 at home this season. Max White homered in his first official at-bat as a Sooner on Feb. 27. Sophomore Garrett Buechele leads the team in batting average and homers - his father is former major leaguer Steve Buechele. Cameron Seitzer's father is former big leaguer Kevin Seitzer. Jeremy Erben was the Sooners' opening day starter in 2008 but has turned into a splendid reliever He and reliever Michael Rocha have combined to go 14-2 over 116 innings.
 

2. California Golden Bears

Berkeley, California

Automatic Bid from Pac-10

2010 record: 13-14, 29-22 (sixth in Pac-10)

Head coach: David Esquer (Stanford, 1987)

Record at school: 316-287-2, 11 years

Overall record: 316-287-2, 11 years

Assistant coaches: Dan Hubbs, Tony Arnerich, Brad Sanfilippo

Team offense: .319 BA, 384 R, 42 HR, .473 SLG %, .390 OB %, 68/89 SB

Team pitching: 4.69 ERA, 457.0 IP, 527 H, 188 BB, 326 K

Top hitters: Tony Renda (.365/3/35), Chad Krist (.344/10/43), Marcus Semien (.333/4/34), Brian Guinn (.324/1/29), Jimmy Bosco (.324/5/20), Mark Canha (.323/9/67), Chad Bunting (.317/3/26)

Top pitchers: Erik Johnson (6-3, 1 SV, 3.62, 72.0 IP, 77 H, 33 BB, 70 K), Justin Jones (10-5, 3.77, 98.0 IP, 100 H, 27 BB, 73 K), Dixon Anderson (5-3, 5.09, 76.0 IP, 84 H, 32 BB, 45 K), Chris Petrini (1-1, 5.44, 49.2, 54 H, 26 BB, 36 K), Matt Flemer (2-3, 4 SV, 4.66, 29.0, 31 H, 5 BB, 22 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2008 (0-2 Long Beach Regional)

Notes: California failed to make the tournament last year and left the tournament early in 2008, but the batting order in the year’s team has exceptional depth. As a team, the Bears are batting over .300. Late-inning relief appears to be a problem for Cal, which hope the top three starters and the bats will carry the Bears to Omaha, a feat not reach since 1992.

3. North Carolina Tar Heels

Chapel Hill, North Carolina

At-large bid from ACC

2010 record: 14-16, 36-20 (fifth in Coastal Division)

Head coach: Mike Fox (North Carolina, 1978)

Record at school: 536-228-1, 12 years

Overall record: 1,576-369-5, 27 years

Assistant coaches: Scott Forbes, Scott Jackson, Robert Woodard

Team offense: .310 BA, 434 R, 40 HR, .455 SLG%, .410 OB%, 86/108 SB

Team pitching: 4.21 ERA, 498 IP, 484 H, 227 BB, 479 K

Top hitters: Levi Michael (.355/8/50/18-20 SB), Dillon Hazlett (.342/3/51), Ryan Graepel (.318/6/48), Ben Bunting (.314/1/21), Jesse Wierzbicki (.309/8/50), Brian Goodwin (.293/7/61/7 3B), Tommy Coyle (.292/1/24/13-15 SB), Mike Cavasinni (.277/0/22/14-17 SB)

Top pitchers: Matt Harvey (7-3, 3.10, 90 IP, 76 H, 32 BB, 93 K), Patrick Johnson (6-3, 3.44, 73.1 IP, 79 H, 29 BB, 62 K), Colin Bates (6-2, 3.94, 1 SV, 61.2 IP, 60 H, 24 BB, 60 K), Chris Munnelly (2-2, 5.40, 61.2 IP, 60 H, 25 BB, 59 K), Greg Holt (3-3, 5.40, 3 SV, 38.1 IP, 33 H, 15 BB, 34 K), Michael Morin (5-2, 5.55, 3 SV, 35.2 IP, 12 BB, 36 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2009 (3-0 at Chapel Hill Regional, 2-0 at Chapel Hill Super Regional, 1-2 at College World Series)

Notes: This is the Tar Heels’ ninth-straight postseason appearance and their 25^th overall. UNC likely was one of the last teams to make the field after missing out on the ACC tourney. It hosted a regional from 2006 to 2009, and advanced to the College World Series each year, making North Carolina the first school in ACC history to play in Omaha four straight years. Since the 2003 season, the Tar Heels have been ranked in the top 30 of one of the four major polls for 134 consecutive weeks. Coach Mike Fox is one of only six coaches to play in and coach a CWS game at his alma mater, and he has played or coached in all 14 of the Tar Heels’ CWS wins. Fox’s daughter, Morgan, plays for the volleyball team at North Carolina. Junior pitcher Matt Harvey is an All-ACC First Team selection, and is now tied for 10^th on the North Carolina career list with 254 career strikeouts. Harvey’s father played baseball and football at the University of Connecticut and played in the College World Series in 1972. Junior two-way player Greg Holt also comes from an athletic family – his father was on the baseball team and his mother was on the swimming team at Springfield College. Freshman Brian Goodwin has seven triples and needs two more to set a single-season record and break the mark that Rip Ryan has held since 1949. When redshirt junior Colin Bates pitches, he keeps a part of his removed rib in his back pocket.

4. Oral Roberts Golden Eagles
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Automatic bid - won Summit League Tournament
2010 record: 19-9, 35-25 (tied for first in Summit League)
Head coach: Rob Walton (Oklahoma State, 1986)
Record at school: 289-118, 7 years
Overall record: 289-118, 7 years
Assistant coaches: Wes Davis, Ryan Folmar, Ryan Neill
Team offense: .325 BA, 503 R, 98 HR, .528 SLG%, .416 OB%, 59-75 SB
Team pitching: 5.97 ERA, 494.2 IP, 608 H, 226 BB, 416 K
Top hitters: Tyler Saladino (.381/17/73/16-18 SB), Joey Winiecki (.338/0/23/14-18 SB), Brett Sowers (.331/8/38), Chris Elder (.323/9/53), Seth Furmanek (.317/22/64/.698 SLG), Colby Price (.317/10/42), Nick Baligod (.396/11/53/.655 SLG), P.J. Sequeira (.262/4/25)
Top pitchers: Bryce Smolen (9-3, 4.26, 1 SV, 93 IP, 92 H, 26 BB, 84 K), Mark Guest (3-4, 4.32, 73 IP, 91 H, 49 BB, 46 K), Jeff Burleson (8-4, 6.15, 3 SV, 74.2 IP, 85 H, 26 BB, 71 K), Seth Furmanek (5-2, 7.16, 66.2 IP, 91 H, 22 BB, 45 K), Sean Johnson (2-3, 3.00, 4 SV, 33 IP, 33 H, 13 BB, 35 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2009 (2-2 at Tempe Regional)
Notes: The Golden Eagles won their 13th straight conference championship, the third longest streak in NCAA history behind Oklahoma State (16) and Wichita State (14), to land their 22nd NCAA Regional berth. Their only trip to an NCAA Super Regional was in 2006 and their only College World Series appearance was in 1978. Junior outfielder Chris Elder was named the tournament MVP. On the 34-man roster are 28 players who attended other colleges, junior colleges or community colleges before coming to Oral Roberts, including six who played at Sacramento City Community College. One of those 28 is Tyler Saladino, who was named the Summit League Player and Newcomer of the Year after spending the past two seasons at Palomar College in San Marcos, Calif. Saladino had at least one hit in every Summit League regular-season game, a 28-game streak that was snapped during the first game of the conference tournament. Outfielder Nick Baligod, DH Seth Furmanek and pitcher Bryce Smolen also made the All-Summit League First Team. Furmanek's 22 home runs lead the conference, and if he hits six more, he will top John O'Brien's 1991 record for most home runs in a single season. Outfielders Chris Elder and Joey Winiecki were selected to the All-Summit League Second Team. The program record for most home runs in a season is 100, set in 1999, and the Golden Eagles need only two more to eclipse that mark.