2010 Tempe Regional

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

1. Arizona State Sun Devils (1)

Tempe, Arizona

Automatic Bid - Won Pac-10 regular season title

2010 record: 20-7, 47-8 (first in Pac-10)

Head coach: Tim Esmay (Arizona State, 1987)

Record at school: 47-8 in first season

Overall record: 255-242 in 10 seasons

Assistant coaches: Travis Jewett, Ken Knutson, Mike Benjamin

Team offense: .340 BA, 473 R , 56 HR, .533 SLG %, .436 OB %, 123/160 SB

Team pitching: 3.16 ERA, 490.0 IP, 442 H, 147 W, 484 K

Top hitters: Deven Marrero (.407/4/30), Riccio Torrez (.391/9/50), Zac MacPhee (.381/ 8/59), Johnny Ruettiger (.364/4/32), Drew Maggi (.351/4/35), Zach Wilson (.351/6/43), Kole Calhoun (.323/13/52)

Top pitchers: Brady Rodgers (4-3, 3 SV, 1.96, 69.0 IP, 47 H, 11 BB, 66 K), Seth Blair (11-0, 3.20, 90.0 IP, 93 H, 22 H, 90 K), Merrill Kelly (9-2, 3.75, 84.0 IP, 79 H, 31 BB, 62 K), Jake Borup (10-1, 3.93, 75.2 IP, 73 H, 23 BB, 60 K), Jordan Swagerty (1-0, 2.12, 14 SV, 29.2 IP, 29 H, 10 BB, 39 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2009 (3-0 in Tempe Regional, 2-0 in Tempe Super Regional, 2-2 at College World Series)

Notes: The Sun Devils will be on the hunt for a sixth CWS Title; this is their 11th consecutive appearance and 34th overall. First year coach Tim Esmay has continued to keep ASU’s tradition of success rolling as it clinched the Pac-10 title with a win over Stanford. Riccio Torrez and Zac MacPhee make up the backbone of the ASU lineup. The pitching staff features three quality starters in Blair, Kelly and Borup. Closer Swagerty will be sure to rescue the Sun Devils from close games as he has tallied 14 saves this season.

2. San Diego Toreros

San Diego, California

Automatic Bid – Won West Coast Conference Regular Season

2010 record: 19-2, 36-20 (first in WCC)

Head coach: Rich Hill (Cal Lutheran, 1984)

Record at school: 417-281-3, 12 years

Overall record: 751-501-3, 22 years

Assistant coaches: Jay Johnson, Tyler Kincaid, Ramon Orozco

Team offense: .314 BA, 361 R, 42 HR, .445 SLG%, .387 OB%, 71/99 SB

Team pitching: 4.47 ERA, 499 IP, 491 H, 183 BB, 518 K

Top hitters: Chris Engel (.421/1/33), James Meador (.391/7/62), Zach Kometani (.358/6/22), Mike Ferraro (.341/2/25), Nick McCoy (.298/3/32), Tony Strazzara (.295/1/32), Kevin Muno (.288/3/18).

Top pitchers: Sammy Solis (9-2, 3.00, 87 IP, 72 H, 26 BB, 87 K), Kyle Blair (8-4, 2.99, 90.1 IP, 72 H, 28 BB, 118 K), A.J. Griffin (7-3, 4.71, 93.2 IP, 92 H, 27 BB, 107 K), Matt Thomson (1-2, 2.63, 7 SV, 41 IP, 41 H, 12 BB, 55 K), Chris Jensen (2-0, 3.15, 45.2 IP, 37 H, 16 BB, 30 K), Matt Hauser (4-2, 3.51, 41 IP, 39 H, 8 BB, 37 K).

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

Notes: The Toreros started the year 6-7 before getting on a roll, including taking two of three from Rice at home and two of three from Coastal Carolina on the road. San Diego has won 12 of 15 (entering final two games). Kyle Blair, a former fifth-round pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Sammy Solis, an 18^th round pick of the Arizona Diamondbacks, limit hitters to .217 and .218 averages. Solis missed most of 2009 with an injury. Senior Chris Engel batted .358 after playing two years at Sacramento City College. James Meador hit .374 as a sophomore and .376 as a junior before hitting .391 this year. Kevin Muno, whose brother Danny plays at Fresno State, missed most of last year with an injury and has stolen 21 bags this year.

3. Hawaii Rainbows
Manoa, Hawaii
Automatic bid - won Western Athletic Conference Tournament
2010 record: 33-26, 12-12 (fourth in WAC)
Head coach: Mike Trapasso (Oklahoma State, 1987)
Record at school: 278-242, 9 years
Overall record: 278-242, 9 years
Assistant coaches: Chad Konishi, Keith Komeiji, Isaac Omura
Team offense: .289 BA, 355 R, 52 HR, .430 SLG%, .378 OB%, 40-61 SB
Team pitching: 5.05 ERA, 513 IP, 592 H, 162 BB, 399 K
Top hitters: Kolten Wong (.365/7/40/17-24 SB), Greg Garcia (.361/3/36), Jeffrey Van Doornum (.342/12/36/.587 SLG), Collin Bennett (.335/5/49), David Freitas (.291 /8/42), Kevin Macdonald (.253/7/35), Pi'ikea Kitamura (.230/1/26)
Top pitchers: Josh Slaats (5-3, 3.22, 72.2 IP, 67 H, 32 BB, 74 K), Sam Spangler (5-6, 4.42, 73.1 IP, 80 H, 33 BB, 62 K), Matt Sisto (5-5, 5.57, 64.2 IP, 78 H, 16 BB, 44 BB), Jesse Moore (1-1, 4.42, 4 SV, 38.2 IP, 36 H, 9 BB, 25 K), Alex Capaul (6-2, 5.43, 64.2 IP, 81 H, 14 BB, 41 K), Lenny Lisky (3-0, 1.59, 12 SV, 39.2 IP, 37 H, 11 BB, 27 K)
Last NCAA appearance: 2006 (2-2 at Corvallis Regional)
Notes: This is the Rainbows' first Regional bid in four years and the first NCAA postseason for the 32 players on their roster, but coach Mike Trapasso played in two College World Series when he pitched at Oklahoma State in the 1980s. Hawaii earned its bid after upsetting second-seeded New Mexico State and first-seeded Fresno State to win its seventh conference title, its first in 18 years. Sophomore second baseman Kolten Wong was named the tournament MVP. Junior shortstop Greg Garcia, sophomore pitcher Lenny Lisky and Wong made the All-WAC First Team and junior pitcher Josh Slaats was a second-team selection. With five triples, Garcia is tied with New Mexico State's Wesley Starkes and Nevada's Brock Stassi for the conference lead. He also leads the league in sacrifice bunts (10). Lisky, with 12 saves, is two away from beating Craig Tucker's 1991 record. The Rainbows have hit three grand slams this season, which is a single-season record for the program. Slaats' 3.22 ERA is the lowest among starting pitchers in the WAC.

4. Milwaukee Panthers

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Automatic bid – won Horizon Tournament

2010 record: 17-8, 33-24 (second in Horizon)

Head coach: Scott Doffek

Record at school: 111-119, 4 years

Overall record: 111-119, 4 years

Assistant coaches: Cory Bigler, Steve Sanfilippo, Mike Goetz

Team offense: .326 BA, 385 R, 39 HR, .459 SLG%, .392 OB%, 52-71 SB

Team pitching: 5.15 ERA, 485.2 IP, 560 H, 216 BB, 283 K

Top hitters: Tim Patzman (.417/5/34/12 2B), Sam Sivilotti (.367/1/37/10 2B), Cole Kraft (.353/5/35/21 2B), Ben Long (.351/8/55/16 2B), Dan Buchholz (.333/9/47/11 2B), Jonathan Capasso (.321/1/15), Paul Hoenecke (.315/3/30/17 2B), Shaun Wegner (.307/3/29), Doug Dekoning (.300/3/25/10-14 SB), Nino Guerrero (.270/0/15)

Top pitchers: Greg Blohowiak (2-0, 2 SV, 1.73 ERA, 26 IP, 17 H, 17 BB, 14 K), Cameron Amsrud (2-5, 9 SV, 3.15 ERA, 34.1 IP, 39 H, 10 BB, 24 K), Chad Pierce (7-4, 3.70 ERA, 99.2 IP, 95 H, 40 BB, 63 K), Jayme Sukowaty (4-1, 3.91 ERA, 46 IP, 47 H, 8 BB, 22 K), Jeff Gordon (5-0, 4.79 ERA, 41.1 IP, 50 H, 13 BB, 28 K), Kyle Schmidt (4-3, 5.49 ERA, 83.2 IP, 97 H, 27 BB, 42 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2002 (0-2 in Lincoln Regional)

Notes: The Panthers are in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time after going in 1999, 2001 and 2002. Milwaukee lost to top-seeded Wright State in its second Horizon Tournament game, but bounced back to beat Valparaiso and top the Raiders twice to capture the crown. Sam Sivilotti had two hits and three RBI in the title tilt. The Panthers started the season 7-13, but went 26-11 for the remainder of the year. The Panthers open regional play against Arizona State. Milwaukee started the 2009 season in Tempe and dropped four to the Sun Devils.