2012 Houston Regional

Regional Schedules

1. Rice Owls

Houston, Texas

At-large bid from Conference USA

2012 record: 17-7, 40-17 (first in CUSA)

Head coach: Wayne Graham (Texas, 1970)

Record at school: 952-378, 21 years

Overall record: 1527-491, 32 years

Assistant coaches: Mike Taylor, Patrick Hallmark, Clay Van Hook

Team offense: .284 BA, 332 R, 34 HR, .399 SLG%, .382 OBP, 48-64 SB

Team pitching: 2.91 ERA, 516.2 IP, 406 H, 207 BB, 517 K

Top hitters: Christian Stringer (.348/3/36), Jeremy Rathjen (.333/9/41), J.T. Chargois (.333/0/31), Michael Fuda (.317/6/52), Craig Manuel (.279/2/25)

Top pitchers: Tyler Duffey (1-1, 1.71, 6 SV, 47.1 IP, 29 H, 20 BB, 61 K), J.T. Chargois (4-1, 2.25, 8 SV, 36 IP, 28 H, 12 BB, 25 K), Andrew Benak (7-2, 2.70, 66.2 IP, 63 H, 18 BB, 72 K), Matthew Reckling (8-2, 2.90, 83.2 IP, 53 H, 34 BB, 97 K), Austin Kubitza (6-4, 2.96, 73 IP, 58 H, 35 BB, 65 K), Taylor Wall (6-4, 3.19, 59.1 IP, 48 H, 24 BB, 48 K)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2011 (1-2 at Houston Regional)

Notes: Wayne Graham has been coaching at Rice longer than most current college baseball players have been alive (21 years) and has led his teams to more than 1,500 wins in 32 years overall – that’s an average of 47 wins a year. This year’s edition is strong on pitching and a little light on hitting. The Owls rank eighth in the nation in ERA and first in Ks per 9. As a team, Rice pitchers yield a .220 average – Matthew Reckling, whose family’s name graces Rice’s Reckling Park allows hitters a .181 average, and Tyler Duffey is at .175. Reckling was named the C-USA Pitcher of the Year. J.T. Chargois is one of the best utility guys in the country and a finalist for the John Olreud Award. The Owls have made 18 straight NCAA tourney appearances, fourth behind Miami (40), FSU (35) and Cal State Fullerton (21). And the Owls have 18 straight 40-win seasons.  

2. Arkansas Razorbacks

Fayetteville, Arkansas

At-large bid from SEC

2012 record: 16-14, 39-19 (second place in SEC West)

Head coach: Dave Van Horn (Arkansas, 1988)

Record at school: 398-220, 10 years

Overall record: 983-460, 24 years

Assistant coaches: Todd Butler, Dave Jorn, Clay Goodwin, Brian Walker

Team offense: .279 BA, 321 R, 38 HR, .401 SLG%, .365 OBP, 57-89 SB

Team pitching: 2.99 ERA, 524 IP, 448 H, 186 BB, 479 K

Top hitters: Matt Reynolds (.340/7/41/37 BB), Tim Carver (.313/2/27/14 2B), Dominic Ficociell (.309/6/37/43 R), Bo Bigham (.282/1/17/9 2B), Derrick Bleeker (.273/6/22/9 2B), Jimmy Bosco (.269/4/27/7 2B), Sam Bates (.244/6/25/6 2B), Jacob Morris (.236/3/23/9 2B)

Top pitchers: DJ Baxendale (7-4, 3.02, 86.1 IP, 78 H, 20 BB, 79 K), Ryne Stanek (6-4, 3.09, 75.2 IP, 65 H, 27 BB, 72 K), Brandon Moore (4-2, 2.66, 64.1 IP, 57 H, 9 BB, 33 K) Randall Fant (2-2, 3.59, 42.2 IP, 49 H, 8 BB, 34 K), Colby Suggs (6-0, 1.32, 34 IP, 25 H, 14 BB, 32 K), Barrett Astin (3-5, 9 SV, 2.31, 50.2 IP, 41 H, 23 BB, 58 K), Cade Lynch (3-1, 2 SV, 2.11, 47 IP, 29 H, 17 BB, 46 K) 

Last NCAA Appearance: 2011 (2-2 at the Tempe Regional)

Notes: The Razorbacks are making their 25^th NCAA Tournament appearance and 11^th consecutive. Arkansas twice has reached the College World Series (2004, 2009) during its streak of tournament bids. Matt Reynolds and Tim Carver, two of Arkansas’ top hitters, have seen dramatic improvements at the plate in 2012. Reynolds saw his batting average rise nearly 100 points from .243 to .340 from 2011 to 2012, while Carver, who is on the watch list for the Brooks Wallace Award given to the country’s top shortstop, improved from .232 to .313.

3. Sam Houston State Bearkats
Huntsville, Texas
At-large bid from Southland
2012 record: 24-9, 38-20 (first in Southland)
Head coach: David Pierce (Houston, 1988)
Record at school: 38-20, 1 year
Overall record: same
Assistant coaches: Philip Miller, Sean Allen
Team offense: .295 BA, 307 R, 16 HR, .385 SLG%, .363 OBP, 48-64 SB
Team pitching: 3.44 ERA, 510.1 IP, 466 H, 220 BB, 362 K
Top hitters: DH Anthony Azar (.382/3/35/10 2B), 3B Kevin Miller (.324/2/33/9 2B), CF Colt Atwood (.317/0/16/10 2B), 1B Ryan O’Hearn (.312/2/30/9 2B), RF Jake Arrington (.301/3/35/8 9 3B), LF Luke Plucheck (.293/2/28/7 2B), SS Corey Toups (.266/0/23/10 2B)
Top pitchers: Michael Oros (7-1, 2.67, 70.2 IP, 48 H, 32 BB, 55 SO), Caleb Smith (8-5, 3.00, 90 IP, 72 H, 36 BB, 80 SO), Justin Jackson (8-4, 2.93, 89 IP, 82 H, 26 BB, 63 K)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2009 (0-2 at the Houston Regional)

Notes: SHSU won its first Southland regular season crown since 1989 and tied a league mark with 24 conference victories. David Pierce was named Southland Conference Coach of the Year. The Bearkats are 6-10 against teams in the NCAA tourney. SHSU is making its seventh trip to the NCAA tourney, including four in the past six years.

4. Prairie View A&M Panthers

Prairie View, Texas

Automatic bid - won Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament

2012 record: 15-8, 28-23 (second in West Division)

Head coach: Waskyla, Cullivan (Prairie View, 2000)

Record at school: 86-104, 4 years

Overall record: same

Assistant coaches: Byron Carter, Darrin Mcknight

Team offense: .263 BA, 250 R, 8 HR, .351 SLG%, .364 OB%, 70-85 SB

Team pitching: 4.71 ERA, 426 IP, 451 H, 170 BB, 290 K

Top hitters: Brad Benes (.314/27/56/14 2B/ 31 RBI), Dominiq

(.314/27/49/14 2B/ 24 RBI), Andre Oliver (.281/24/47/5 2B/ 18 SB), Evan Richard

(.257/31/36/12 2B/20 RBI), Stef Hernandez (.271/3/16/2 2B/11 RBI), Robert Cossey (.263/10/15/3 3B), James Fontenot (.250 30/36/13 SB)

Top pitchers: Daniel Castillo (5-0, 1.81, 6 SV, 59.2 IP, 45 H, 4 BB, 30 K),

Derrick Mitchell (6-4, 3.09, 87.1 IP, 82 H, 32 BB, 56 K), Stef Hernandez (6-3,

4.23, 66.0 IP, 56 H, 24 BB, 45 K), Michael Listi (3-7, 5.27, 71.2 IP, 74 H, 31 BB, 39 K), Steven Lunsford (2-1, 4.09, 33.0 IP, 41 H, 10 BB, 29 K).

Notes:The Panthers just won their third Southwestern Athletic Conference Championship in Prairie View A&M history and make their third NCAA Regional appearance. The Panthers have never made an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament or an NCAA Regional. Prior to its 2012 Championship under the watch of coach Waskyla Cullivan, Prairie View A&M won the SWAC championship in 2006 and 2007 under the direction of current Texas Southern coach Michael Robertson. The Panthers made four-consecutive SWAC Championship Game appearances from 2005-08. The Panthers are 0-4 all-time in NCAA Regional appearances. Prairie View A&M has played each of its regional games at Reckling Park on the campus of Rice University in Houston. The Panthers have also played Rice in the first round of each of their NCAA Regional appearances. 

(other capsules to come soon)