2011 Corvallis Regional

 

1. Oregon State Beavers

Corvallis, Oregon

At-large bid from Pac-10

2011 record: 17-10, 38-17 (tied for second in Pac-10)

Head coach: Pat Casey (George Fox, 1990)

Record at school: 575-354-4, 17 years

Overall record: 746-467-5, 24 years

Assistant coaches: Marty Lees, Pat Bailey, Nate Yeskie

Team offense: .268 BA, 315 R, 25 HR, .384 SLG%, .369 OB%, 49-63 SB

Team pitching: 2.88 ERA, 480.2 IP, 425 H, 144 BB, 399 K

Top hitters: Andrew Susac (.336/5/31), Kavin Keyes (.316/1/29), Ryan Dunn (.300/4/26), Jared Norris (.295/2/22), Carter Bell (.294/1/21), Danny Hayes (.267/3/31), Brian Stamps (.261/1/22)

Top Pitchers: Matt Boyd (3-2, 1.35, 4 SV, 40 IP, 33 H, 11 BB, 32 K), Tony Bryant (3-2, 1.42, 10 SV, 44.1 IP, 35 H, 10 BB, 39 K), Sam Gavigilo (11-2, 1.95, 106.1 IP, 77 H, 25 BB, 102 K), Scott Schultz (3-0, 2.82, 44.2 IP, 39 H, 8 BB, 18 K), James Nygren (8-2, 3.15, 65.2 IP, 63 H, 15 BB, 49 K), Josh Osich (6-4, 3.57, 75.2 IP, 61 H, 32 BB, 79 K), Ben Wetzler (6-3, 4.70, 61.1 IP, 66 H, 16 BB, 44 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2010 (1-2 at Gainesville Regional)

Notes: Oregon State is in the field for the sixth time in seven years and will host a Regional for the first time since 2006. The Beavers are 15-3 at home in the NCAA postseason. The Beavers are long on pitching, combining for a 2.88 team ERA. Relievers Matt Boyd and Tony Bryant sport sub-1.50 ERAs and give OSU an option on closing games. After posting a 5.60 ERA as a sophomore, Sam Gaviglio threw three complete games and limited opponents to a .204 average with an ERA of 1.95. Catcher Andrew Susac was the No. 5 prospect in the Cape according to Baseball America and led the Beavers in hitting and slugging. Freshman Kavin Keyes graduated from high school early and should be a senior this year - instead he's the Beavers' second-leading hitter.

 

2. Creighton Bluejays

Omaha, Nebraska

Automatic bid – won Missouri Valley Conference tournament

2011 record: 15-6, 44-14 (first in MVC)

Head coach: Ed Servais (Wisconsin-La Crosse, 1981)

Record at school: 298-163, 8 years

Overall record: 480-245-1, 17 years

Assistant coaches: Rob Smith, Craig Moore, Brandon Tormoehlen

Team offense: .269 BA, 309 R, 37 HR, .406 SLG%, .357 OB%, 66-90 SB

Team pitching: 3.38 ERA, 520 IP, 458 H, 189 BB, 415 K

Top hitters: Trevor Adams (.392/14/57/14-17 SB), Alex Staehely (.286/3/35), Mike Gerber (.278/6/22), Michael Mutcheson (.278/2/17), Scott Thornburg (.276/0/15), Jimmy Swift (.276/3/41)

Top Pitchers: Kurt Spomer (3-3, 1.93, 13 SV, 46.2 IP, 12 BB, 36 K), Jonas Dufek (11-1, 2.17, 103.2 IP, 73 H, 28 BB, 118 K), Ty Blach (10-2, 2.72, 96 IP, 87 H, 28 BB, 93 K), Mark Winkelman (1-1, 2.76, 42.1 IP, 33 H, 18 BB, 28 K), Reese McGraw (6-1, 3.03, 5 SV, 38.2 IP, 30 H, 18 BB, 31 K), Jack VanLeur (4-0, 3.61, 42.1 IP, 41 H, 18 BB, 22 K)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2007 (1-2 at Fayetteville Regional)

Notes: The Bluejays, from Omaha, are back on the Road to Omaha for the first time since 2007. Coach Ed Servais, who spent two years as an assistant at Iowa State before arriving at Creighton, is the uncle of former major leaguer Scott Servais. Ace Jonas Dufek, or "Jonasty" as he's nicknamed, has won 19 games the past two season, and limited batters to a .202 average this season. He was the MVC tourney's MVP. Closer Kurt Spomer didn't allow a homer and limited batters to a .190 average. Trever Adams had 32 extra-base hits for a .680 slugging percentage and also leads the team with a .465 on-base average. The Bluejays are making their ninth trip to the NCAA tournament. This is the 20th anniversary of Creighton reaching the College World Series in its hometown. The Bluejays won the West I Regional in Los Angeles as the No. 4 seed, defeating No. 3 Pepperdine, No. 5 Minnesota, No. 1 USC in 10 innings and No. 2 Hawaii. Creighton defeated Clemson and Long Beach State in the College World Series, but loss twice to Wichita State.

 

3. Georgia Bulldogs

Athens, Georgia

At-large bid from SEC

2011 record: 16-14, 31-30 (fourth in SEC East)

Head coach: David Perno (Georgia, 1991)

Record at school: 336-275-1, 10 years

Overall record: same

Assistant coaches: Jason Eller, Allen Osborne, Jason Jacobs

Team offense: .277 BA, 293 R, 36 HR, .384 SLG%, .340 OB%, 45-59 SB

Team pitching: 4.99 ERA, 532 IP, 612 H, 207 BB, 368 K

Top hitters: Levi Hyams (.318/4/37), Kyle Farmer (.304/7/53), Curt Powell (.298/1/13), Conor Welton (.291/0/8), Zach Cone (.284/3/32), Brett DeLoach (.279/4/24), Chase Davidson (.276/7/30)

Top pitchers: Michael Palazzone (10-4, 3.20, 112.1 IP, 114 H, 11 BB, 73 K), Blake Dieterich (3-3, 3.44, 2 SV, 55 IP, 68 H, 18 BB, 43 K), Alex Wood (5-7, 4.53, 93.1 IP, 107 H, 24 BB, 71 K), Chase Hawkins (2-3, 4.91, 55 IP, 68 H, 8 BB, 21 K)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2009 (1-2 at Tallahassee Regional)

Notes: A tumultuous regular season ended in joy for Georgia, which made the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time under David Perno and first since 2009. The team lost outfielder Johnathan Taylor to a neck injury early this season and needed a big showing at the SEC tournament to stay above .500 on the year and qualify for the NCAA field. Top starter Michael Palazzone has three complete games and has a 3.20 ERA after going 4-6 with a 8.66 ERA last year. Tyler Maloof is one of the nation's leaders with 18 saves, but a 7.92 ERA and .290 BAA show he's hittable. Levi Hyams is the lone Bulldog with an OBA over .400, thanks in part to 34 walks. Kyle Farmer made a cameo in "The Blind Side" playing a high school quarterback. He's also a pretty solid infielder with 19 errors in two seasons for the Dawgs.

 

4. UALR Trojans

Little Rock, Arkansas

Automatic bid – won Sun Belt Conference tournament

2011 record: 10-20, 24-32 (eighth in Sun Belt)

Head coach: Scott Norwood (Oral Roberts, 1988)

Record at school: 69-91, 3 years

Overall record: 358-231, 11 years

Assistant coaches: Brandon Rowan, Jeremy Haworth, Rick Guarno

Team offense: .275 BA, 291 R, 33 HR, .389 SLG%, .365 OBP, 51-76 SB

Team pitching: 5.84 ERA, 488.2 IP, 586 H, 263 BB, 277 K

Top hitters: Myles Parma (.355/3/19), Jason Houston (.327/6/26/12 2B), Greg Garcia (.306/4/24), Nick Rountree (.287/7/34/14 2B), Cameron Bentley (.280/0/20/12-17 SB), Jake Rowell (.272/6/42/17 2B), Sean Bignall (.253/2/15/11-18 SB)

Top pitchers: Calvin Drinnen (6-6, 4.82, 74.2 IP, 81 H, 36 BB, 30 K), Travis Henke (1-5, 2 SV, 5.12, 84.1 IP, 115 H, 25 BB, 59 K), Garret Graziano (6-9, 1 SV, 6.41, 66 IP, 80 H, 34 BB, 35 K)

Last NCAA Appearance: First appearance

Notes: coming soon