2011 Tempe Regional

1. Arizona State Sun Devils

Tempe, Arizona

At-large bid from Pac-10

2011 record: 17-10, 39-16 (tied for second in Pac-10)

Head coach: Tim Esmay (Arizona State, 1987)

Record at school: 91-26, 2 years

Overall record: 299-260, 11 years

Assistant coaches: Travis Jewett, Ken Knutson, Mike Benjamin

Team offense: .300 BA, 330 R, 31 HR, .439 SLG%, .372 OB%, 91-131 SB

Team pitching: 3.24 ERA, 470.1 IP, 447 H, 125 BB, 437 K

Top hitters: Joey DeMichele (.376/7/38), Austin Barnes (.338/1/15), Johnny Reuttiger (.324/0/32/21-32 SB), Deven Marrero (.314/2/16), Riccio Torrez (.310/3/45/15-19 SB), Andy Workman (.306/3/18), Matt Newman (.289/5/24)

Top pitchers: Trevor Williams (1-0, 2.08, 34.2 IP, 25 H, 4 BB, 34 K), Alex Blackford (4-1, 2.75, 59 IP, 50 H, 23 BB, 54 K), Brady Rogers (8-4, 2.90, 83.2 IP, 75 H, 7 BB, 73 K), Kramer Champlin (8-3, 3.13, 103.2 IP, 99 H, 27 BB, 82 K), Kyle Ottoson (3-1, 3.47, 49.1 IP, 43 H, 20 BB, 46 K), Jake Barrett (7-4, 4.14, 76 IP, 75 H, 21BB, 72 K), Mitchell Lambson (4-3, 4.17, 8 SV, 36.2 IP, 41 H, 6 BB, 43 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2010 (3-0 in Tempe Regional, 2-0 in Tempe Super Regional, 0-2 at College World Series)

Notes: Another year, and Arizona State is back in the field. The Sun Devils will be shooting for their third straight CWS appearance and will start their trek at home. ASU hits as usual, but didn't put up the kind of numbers it normally does. The Sun Devils' batting average is off by about 40 points and they have scored about 130 fewer runs - or more than 2 a game - than last year at the same point in the season. Don't tell that to Joey DeMichele, who slugged .661 with 27 extra-base hits. Johnny Ruettiger, who leads the team in hits and runs, is the nephew of "Rudy' Ruettiger of Notre Dame fame. Brothers Mitchell and Mark Lambson have combined for six wins - Mitchell is a junior lefty, Mark is a freshman righty. Brady Rodgers had a 2.11 ERA last year as a freshman and backed it up with a 2.90 mark this year, striking out 73 and walking only seven. Including two years of junior college, Kramer Champlin is 26-6 over three years of college ball.

2. Arkansas Razorbacks

Fayetteville, Arkansas

At-large bid from SEC

2011 record: 15-15, 38-20 (first in SEC West)

Head coach: Dave Van Horn (Arkansas, 1988)

Record at school: 357-199, 9 years

Overall record: 942-439, 23 years

Assistant coaches: Todd Butler, Dave Jorn, Scott Gurss

Team offense: .270 BA, 304 R, 37 HR, .394 SLG%, .349 OB%, 114-141 SB

Team pitching: 3.18 ERA, 506.2 IP, 443 H, 188 BB, 419 K

Top hitters: Dominic Ficociello (.351/4/49), James McCann (.309/6/33), Kyle Robinson (.293/9/45), Bo Bigham (.290/2/17/17-22 SB), Collin Kuhn (.285/7/39/21-23 SB), Jarrod McKinney (.278/2/18), Matt Reynolds (.245/3/21), Tim Carver (.241/1/13/21-26 SB)

Top pitchers: D.J. Baxendale (9-2, 1.75, 3 SV, 77.1 IP, 65 H, 18 BB, 70 K), Trent Daniel (2-0, 1.80, 3 SV, 40 IP, 24 H, 19 BB, 41 K), Barrett Astin (5-1, 2.45, 3 SV, 55 IP, 51 H, 19 BB, 54 K), Cade Lynch (4-4, 3.18, 62.1 IP, 54 H, 26 BB, 63 K), Nolan Sanburn (2-4, 3.73, 8 SV, 31.1 IP, 27 H, 14 BB, 34 K), Brandon Moore (3-4, 3.74, 67.1 IP, 63 H, 14 BB, 35 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2010 (3-1 at Fayetteville Regional, 0-2 at Tempe Super Regional)

Notes: The Razorbacks are in the Field of 64 for the 10th straight year, although they were not selected to host a Regional, which came as a surprise to some. Coach Dave Van Horn was a third baseman in college who was drafted by the White Sox - he transferred to Arkansas instead - and the Braves. He was a head coach at Northwestern State before leading Nebraska to huge success. He's led Arkansas to the NCAA tourney each of his nine seasons. Freshman Dominic Ficociello, all the way from Fullerton, Calif., led the team in hits, doubles, total bases and RBI. Collin Kuhn was drafted in the 15th round by Detroit last year but came back to play for the Hogs - he has 22 homers the past two seasons. D.J. Baxendale led the Razorbacks with seven saves last year and successfully converted to starter this year. Freshman Nolan Sanburn came in as an outfielder/catcher/pitcher and became the Arkansas closer, picking up eight saves.

3. Charlotte 49ers

Charlotte, North Carolina

Automatic bid – won Atlantic 10 tournament

2011 record: 17-7, 42-14 (first in A-10)

Head coach: Loren Hibbs (Wichita State, 1984)

Record at school: 609-454-3, 19 years

Overall record: same

Assistant coaches: Brandon Hall, Kris Rochelle, Brett Hall

Team offense: .302 BA, 382 R, 18 HR, .405 SLG%, .396 OB%, 106-134 SB

Team pitching: 2.43 ERA, 495.1 IP, 393 H, 161 BB, 401 K

Top hitters: Ross Steedley (.349/2/31), Justin Wilson (.338/2/37/24-31 SB), Corey Shaylor (.310/5/41), Shane Basen (.307/1/35/15-18 SB), Cory Tilton (.299/2/45/31-35 SB), Tony Montalbano (.284/1/39), Justin Roland (.260/0/22)

Top Pitchers: Andrew Smith (9-4, 1.85, 102 IP, 78 H, 25 BB, 88 K), Wes Hatley (1-0, 1.95, 2 SV, 27.2 IP, 22 H, 9 BB, 26 K), Tyler Barnette (9-1, 1.96, 87.1 IP, 22 BB, 56 K), Joe Yermal (6-2, 2.34, 57.2 IP, 46 H, 13 BB, 37 K), Chad Rothlin (4-2, 2.45, 2 SV, 33 IP, 25 H, 9 BB, 19 K), Corey Roberts (7-3, 3.18, 76.1 IP, 55 H, 27 BB, 68 K)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2008 (0-2 at Raleigh Regional)

Notes: Charlotte took the A-10 regular-season title for the second straight year and fourth time in five years. Coach Loren Hibbs has led the 49ers to a winning percentage that ranks in the top 10 in the nation since 2006. Hibbs is a former player and assistant to legendary Wichita State coach Gene Stephenson. Charlotte boasts one of the top pitching staffs in the country (2.43 ERA). Starters Andrew Smith and Tyler Barnette are nearly mirror images statistically - they've combined to go 18-5 with sub-2 ERAs, and opponents barely hit .210 off them. Shane Basen walked 44 times, and Justin Wilson added 35 walks, and with Wilson, it normally turns into a double (24 SBs). There's a little pop and speed up and down the lineup, with Corey Shaylor hitting eight of the team's 18 homers, and Cory Tilton adding speed (31 SBs) and production (45 RBI).
 

4. New Mexico Lobos

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Automatic bid – won Mountain West tournament

2011 record: 10-14, 20-39 (sixth in Mountain West)

Head coach: Ray Birmingham (New Mexico State, 1978)

Record at school: 129-106, 4 years

Overall record: 947-434-2, 24 years

Assistant coaches: Ken Jacome, Dave Martinez, Coby Shields

Team offense: .275 BA, 298 R, 18 HR, .365 SLG%, .341 OB%, 29-48 SB

Team pitching: 5.88 ERA, 511 IP, 598 H, 210 BB, 380 K

Top hitters: D.J. Peterson (.323/6/48), Quay Grant (.316/0/26), Luke Campbell (.308/5/22), Mitch Garver (.300/2/27), Kyle Stiner (.289/2/30), Ben Woodchick (.276/0/15), Alex Albritton (.263/0/29)

Top pitchers: Rudy Jaramillo (4-8, 4.42, 95.2 IP, 104 H, 19 BB, 65 K), Cory Maltz (1-3, 4.64, 21.1 IP, 22 H, 7 BB, 16 K), Gera Sanchez (2-2, 4.96, 7 SV, 52.2 IP, 54 H, 19 BB, 64 K), Bobby Mares (4-4, 5.12, 65 IP, 65 H, 28 BB, 55 K), Alexis Garza (1-3, 5.14, 49 IP, 58 H, 13 BB, 30 K)

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

Notes: The Lobos are one of the biggest surprises in the NCAA field. New Mexico was on a seven-game losing streak before rolling through the Mountain West tourney, shocking TCU and the rest of the field. After not appearing in the NCAA tourney since 1962, the Lobos now have reached the tourney two years in a row. D.J. Peterson was named the MWC tourney MOP - the freshman led the Lobos in hitting and ripped an astounding 30 doubles on the year. He's one of many new faces in the UNM lineup, which saw a ton of turnover after last season and hit 75 points less. Lefty Rudy Jaramillo tossed three complete games and was the staff workhorse. Overall, only three pitchers have an ERA under 5 on a staff whose ERA approaches 6.