2012 Coral Gables Regional

Regional Schedules

1. Miami Hurricanes

Coral Gables, Florida

At-large bid from ACC

2012 record: 16-14, 36-21 (third in Coastal Division)

Head coach: Jim Morris (Elon, 1973)

Record at school: 849-342-3, 19 years

Overall record:  1,484-627-4, 34 years

Assistant coaches: Gino DiMare, J.D. Arteaga, Lou Palmisano

Team offense: .261 BA, 291 R, 13 HR, .391 SLG%, .358 SLG%, 72-104 SB

Top hitters: Peter O’Brien (.348/10/39), Chantz Mack (.299/1/31/9-12 SB), Dale Carey (.275/2/20/8-13 SB), Brad Fieger (.296/3/35), Rony Rodriguez (.266/3/18/7-10 SB)

Top pitchers: Eric Erickson (8-5, 2.84 ERA, 92 IP, 93 H, 11 BB, 64 K), Eric Whaley (4-4, 2.47 ERA, 87.1 IP, 90 H, 19 BB, 61 K), Steven Ewing (6-2, 3.28 ERA, 90.2 IP, 86 H, 32 BB, 88 K), AJ Salcines (3-0, 1.47 ERA, 7 SV, 36.2 IP, 25 H, 11 BB, 40 K), E.J. Encinosa (3-3, 8 SV, 2.57 ERA, 28 IP, 12 H, 15 BB, 38 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2011 (1-2 at Gainesville Regional)

Notes: The Hurricanes have now made 40 straight NCAA tourney appearances, the most in NCAA history. The Hurricanes have gone to the College World Series 11 times under head coach Jim Morris, who set an NCAA record by reaching Omaha in each of his first six years at Miami. The Hurricanes have four national championships (1982, 1985, 1999 and 2001) and are tied for the fifth-most in Division I. USC has 12, LSU and Texas have six, Arizona State has five and Cal State Fullerton has four. Catcher Peter O’Brien is a Bethune-Cookman transfer that has had no trouble adjusting to life in Coral Gables, garnering First Team All-ACC accolades.  Infielder Cade Kreuter is the son of former MLB catcher Chad Kreuter and grandson of UC Irvine head coach Mike Gillespie. Infielder/Pitcher Alexander Fernandez is the son of former University of Miami star and MLB pitcher Alex Fernandez.

CBI Preseason Feature on D.J. Hicks (Feb. 7)

2. UCF Knights

Orlando, Florida

At-large bid from Conference USA

2012 record: 16-8, 43-15 (second in C-USA)

Head coach: Terry Rooney (Radford, 1996)

Record at school: 137-95, 4 years

Overall record: same

Assistant coaches: Ryan Klosterman, Joe Mercadante, Brandon Romans

Team offense: .294 BA, 387 R, 39 HR, .419 SLG%, .390 OB%, 89-119 SB

Team pitching: 3.33 ERA, 529.2 IP, 509 H, 217 BB, 464 K

Top hitters: Travis Shreve (.353/0/25/411 OB%), Alex Friedrich (.327/4/38/21 2B/16-18 SB), D.J. Hicks (.318/11/68), Chris Taladay (.309/5/47), Ronnie Richardson (.307/8/33/23-30 SB)

Top pitchers: Joe Rogers (4-1, 1.60, 12 SV, 39.1 IP, 27 H, 5 BB, 45 K), Eric Skoglund (5-2, 2.84, 44.1 IP, 51 H, 19 BB, 42 K), Chris Matulis (6-0, 3.14, 66 IP, 61 H, 36 BB, 58 K), Ben Lively (9-2, 3.23, 75.1 IP, 64 H, 41 BB, 78 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2011 (1-2 at Tallahassee Regional)

Notes: The Knights have made the field for the second straight season after a six-year drought prior to last year’s appearance. Overall, UCF is making its 11th NCAA tourney appearance. The Knights are heading south for the first time for a regional, after going to Tallahassee seven times, Gainesville twice and once to Columbia, S.C. Darnell Sweeney and assistant coach Joe Mercadante are both from Miami and get to head home for the Coral Gables Regional. UCF lost two of three to Rice the final weekend of the regular season to finish in second in C-USA, one game behind the Owls.

CBI Preseason Feature on Keith Guttin (Feb. 9)

3. Missouri State Bears

Springfield, Missouri

At-large bid from Missouri Valley Conference

2012 record: 13-7, 39-20 (second in MVC)

Head coach: Keith Guttin (Missouri-St. Louis, 1978)

Record at school: 1,031-650, 30 years

Overall record: same

Assistant coaches: Paul Evans, Brent Thomas, Matt Lawson

Team offense: .278 BA, 320 R, 34 HR, 49-74 SB

Team pitching: 2.51 ERA, 528 IP, 463 H, 170 BB, 522 K

Top hitters: Kevin Medrano (.328/0/23/19 2B/11-16 SB), Keenen Maddox (.310/7/29), Luke Voit (.305/6/46/14 2B), Brock Chaffin (.291/2/41), Eric Cheray (.287/1/17), Spiker Helms (.280/6/39/22 2B), Brent Seifert (.273/5/44/17 2B)

Top pitchers: Nick Petree (10-3, 0.92, 107.1 IP, 79 H, 34 BB, 109 K), Clay Murphy (5-1, 1.37, 1 SV, 59 IP, 55 H, 19 BB, 55 K), Tyler Burgess (5-1, 1.63, 11 SV, 38.2 IP, 21 H, 15 BB, 31 K), Pierce Johnson (3-6, 2.55, 91.2 IP, 79 H, 26 BB, 112 K), Cody Schumacher (8-1, 3.57, 93.1 IP, 86 H, 30 BB, 93 K)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2003 (3-0 at Lincoln Regional, 2-0 at Columbus Super Regional, 0-2 at College World Series)

Notes: The Bears are returning to the NCAA Tournament for the eighth time and the first time since their run to Omaha in 2003. MSU will meet UCF for the first time. The Bears are 0-2 against Miami and have not faced Stony Brook. Head coach Keith Guttin reached 1,000 career victories on March 3 at Northwestern State. MSU leads Division I in ERA (2.51), shutouts (11) and strikeouts (522). Nick Petree is a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy and the Golden Spikes Award. He leads the nation in ERA at 0.92 and was named MVC Pitcher of the Year. Second baseman Kevin Medrano was named first team All-MVC for the fourth straight year.

CBI Preseason Feature on Stony Brook (Jan. 30)

4. Stony Brook Seawolves

Stony Brook, New York

Automatic bid – won America East Tournament

2012 record: 21-3, 46-11 (first in America East)

Head coach: Matt Senk (Cortland, 1980)

Record at school: 617-387-3, 22 years

Overall record: same

Assistant coaches: Joe Pennucci, Mike Marron, Dave Lorber

Team offense: .337 BA, 404 R, 31 HR, .486 SLG%, .415 OBP, 88-119 SB

Team pitching: 2.87 ERA, 479.1 IP, 424 H, 130 BB, 338 K

Top hitters: Travis Jankowski (.411/4/40/34-40 SB), Maxx Tissenbaum (.400/3/41/16 2B), William Carmona (.380/10/60/21 2B), Steven Goldstein (.356/3/30/14-19 SB), Kevin Krause (.343/3/35), Tanner Nivins (.331/2/32), Cole Peragine (.330/0/37)

Top pitchers: Tyler Johnson (9-1, 1.78, 76 IP, 66 H, 15 BB, 39 K), Frankie Vanderka (1-2, 2.22, 5 SV, 48.2 IP, 30 H, 14 BB, 39 K), Brandon McNitt (8-2, 2.26, 87.2 IP, 82 H, 19 BB, 55 K), Evan Stecko-Haley (7-3, 3.08, 79 IP, 70 H, 11 BB, 62 K)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2010 (1-2 at Myrtle Beach Regional)

Notes: Stony Brook has set a school record with 46 victories and owns the top winning percentage (.807) in Division I. The Seawolves have an 11-game win streak and have won 22 of their past 23 games. They are the only Division I team to be ranked in the Top 10 in batting average, ERA and fielding percentage. Stony Brook is 0-1 against Miami, dropping a 9-8 decision in 10 innings in 2003. Freshman Ryan Braun drove in the game-winner for the Hurricanes. The Seawolves have never faced Missouri State and last met UCF in 2006, when the Knights swept a three-game series. Stony Brook won the America East title for the fourth time overall and the third in the past five years. Matt Senk was America East Coach of the Year for the second straight season. Travis Jankowski was named Player of the Year, Tyler Johnson was tabbed Pitcher of the Year and Cole Peragine was selected Rookie of the Year.