2012 Columbia Super Regional

Super Regional Notes

Super Regional Picks

NCAA Interactive Bracket

8. South Carolina Gamecocks

Columbia, South Carolina

At-large bid from SEC, Won Columbia Regional

2012 record: 18-11, 43-17 (first place in SEC East)

Head coach: Ray Tanner (N.C. State, 1980)

Record at school: 732-313, 16 years

Overall record: 1,127-486-3, 25 years

Assistant coaches: Chad Holbrook, Jerry Meyers, Sammy Esposito

Team offense: .271 BA, 322 R, 41 HR, .400 SLG%, .358 OBP, 37-59 SB

Team pitching: 3.14 ERA, 547 IP, 449 H, 182 BB, 499 K

Top hitters: Christian Walker (.319/11/53/43 BB), Tanner English (.307/0/21/39 R), Evan Marzilli (.288/2/30/50 R12-16 SB), Joey Pankake (.286/2/25/15 2B), L.B. Dantzler (.260/9/44/12 2B), Adam Matthews (.241/5/25), Grayson Greiner (.236/6/31/12 2B), Kyle Martin (.323/1/11/5 2B), Erik Payne (.264/3/16/4 2B)

Top pitchers: Michael Roth (6-1, 2.68, 107.1 IP, 83 H, 35 BB, 76 K), Colby Holmes (7-1, 3.00, 69 IP, 58 H, 13 BB, 58 K), Jordan Montgomery (5-1, 4.05, 66.2 IP, 66 H, 9 BB, 51 K), Matt Price (4-4, 10 SV, 3.63, 67 IP, 47 H, 28 BB, 78 K), Tyler Webb (5-1, 3 SV, 2.01, 44.2 IP, 39 H, 11 BB, 46 K)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2011 National Champions (3-0 in Columbia Regional, 2-0 in Super Regional, 5-0 in College World Series)

Notes: South Carolina became just the sixth program to repeat as national champion in 2011. The only team to win three straight titles is Southern California, which won five consecutive championships between 1970 and 1974. South Carolina now owns an NCAA-record 19-game postseason winning streak after going 3-0 to win the Columbia Regional. The Regional was not a cakewalk. The Gamecocks scored late to beat Manhattan 7-0 in the opener, and had a pair of one-run wins over Clemson, including a thrilling 5-4 victory in 12 innings in the second round. Christian Walker, Michael Roth and Matt Price each return after making the College World Series all-tournament team a year ago. Walker and Evan Marzilli were part of the 2010 all-tournament squad. South Carolina is making its 28th NCAA Tournament appearance, including its 14th straight – the highest streak among SEC schools. This will be the 10th Super Regional for the Gamecocks, trailing only Florida State (12) for most Super Regional appearances. South Carolina has 14 Super Regional victories. Only Cal State Fullerton (16) and Texas (15) have more. South Carolina had several players selected on the second day of the 2012 MLB Draft: Walker (fourth round) and Price (seventh round) by the Baltimore Orioles, Marzilli in the eighth round by the Arizona Diamondbacks and Roth in the ninth round by the Los Angeles Angels.

Oklahoma Sooners

Norman, Oklahoma

At-large bid from Big 12, Won Charlottesville Regional

2012 record: 13-10, 42-23 (fourth in Big 12)

Head coach: Sunny Golloway (Oklahoma Christian, 1984)

Record at school: 303-158-1, 7 years

Overall record: 638-314-1, 16 years

Assistant coaches: Jack Geise, Aric Thomas, Rich Hills

Team offense: .265 BA, 341 R, 36 HR, .382 SLG%, .351 OBP, 76-115 SB

Team pitching: 3.27 ERA, 584 IP, 561 H, 212 BB, 502 K

Top hitters: Max White (.339/2/55/17 2B), Matt Oberste (.331/6/22), Jack Mayfield (.281/3/34/15 2B/10-17 SB), Erik Ross (.270/0/19/20-27 SB), Cody Reine (.267/6/33), Evan Mistich (.265/3/34), Caleb Busheyhead (.264/1/17), Hunter Lockwood (.250/11/39)

Top pitchers: Jordan John (8-7, 2.26, 4 SV, 119.2 IP, 102 H, 31 BB, 104 K), Steven Okert (9-7, 2.78, 5 SV, 81 IP, 66 H, 35 BB, 75 K), Dillon Overton (6-3, 3.16, 116.1 IP, 121 H, 24 BB, 120 K), Jonathan Gray (8-4, 3.32, 97.2 IP, 98 H, 39 BB, 96 K), Damien Magnifico (3-1, 3.68, 2 SV, 51.1 IP, 56 H, 25 BB, 34 K)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2011 (0-2 at Fort Worth Regional)

Notes: The Sooners are growing to like Charlottesville, Va. After winning the Super Regional in 2010, OU captured the Regional this year. In both cases, the Sooners lost the first game and had to win out to claim the titles. Because of rain on Friday, OU had to win twice on Sunday and twice on Monday to take the Regional crown. This will be OU’s third Super Regional trip. Along with beating Virginia in 2010 and reaching their 10th College World Series, the Sooners dropped two of three at Rice in 2006 in the Houston Super Regional. OU owns five wins over No. 4 national seed Baylor, with a three-game sweep in the regular season and a pair of wins in the Big 12 Tournament. Jordan John missed his freshman year due to Tommy John surgery, but the lefty has emerged as the Sooners ace as a redshirt sophomore. John was drafted in the sixth round of the 2012 MLB draft by the Detroit Tigers. Fellow lefty Steven Okert went 9-1 with a 1.91 ERA last year at Grayson County College. Okert was picked in the fourth round of the draft by the San Francisco Giants. Damien Magnifico was taken in the fifth round by the Milwaukee Brewers. Max White has started games in center, left, third and first this year.