2013 Nashville Regional

(capsules compiled by Sean Ryan, Phil Stanton, Zachary Kerr)

1. Vanderbilt Commodores

Nashville, Tennessee

At-large bid from SEC

2013 record: 26-3, 51-9 (first in SEC East)

Head coach: Tim Corbin (Ohio Wesleyan, 1984)

Record at school: 462-226, 11 years

Overall record: 568-364, 16 years

Assistant coaches: Scott Brown, Travis Jewett, Larry Day

Last NCAA appearance: 2012 (2-2 at Raleigh Regional)

Notes: The Commodores are in the NCAA Tournament for the seventh consecutive year. Vanderbilt made its first College World Series appearance in 2011. The Commodores are hosting a regional for the third time. Vandy reached the championship game of the SEC Tournament, falling 5-4 in 11 innings to LSU. The Commodores have played in the title game for three straight seasons and seven times in 10 trips under Tim Corbin. Corbin was an assistant at Clemson before turning Vandy into a national power. He also spent time as a head coach at Presbyterian, starting that program from scratch. Vanderbilt is sixth in the nation in on-base percentage (.411) and seventh in batting average (.317). The Commodores are sixth in the country in hits allowed per nine innings (7.11). Taylor Beede was a first-round pick (21st overall) of the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2011 Draft. Beede leads the nation with 14 victories and is fourth in hits per nine innings (5.44). Tony Kemp is third in the country with 96 hits and sixth with a batting average of .402. Mike Yastrzemski is the grandson of Red Sox HOFer Carl Yastrzemski.

2. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Atlanta, Georgia

At-large bid from ACC

2013 record: 15-15, 34-25 (fourth in Coastal Division)

Head Coach: Danny Hall (Miami, Ohio, 1977)

Record at school: 851-400-1, 20 years

Overall record: 1,059-517-1, 26 years

Assistant Coaches: Jason Howell, Bryan Prince, Wally Crancer

Team offense: .305 BA, 393 R, 56 HR, .459 SLG%, .384 OBP%, 70-99 SB

Team pitching: 4.49 ERA, 522.2 IP, 524 H, 233 BB, 417 K

Top hitters: Kyle Wren (.364/2/26/26-38 SB), Zane Evans (.369/14/62), Brandon Thomas (.339/1/28/9-11 SB), Daniel Palka (.332/17/65/52 R)

Top pitchers: Buck Farmer (8-4, 2.87 ERA, 103.1 IP, 93 H, 31 BB, 112 K, 2 CG), Cole Pitts (5-3, 4.94 ERA, 62.0 IP, 58 H, 32 BB, 40 K), Jonathan King (6-5, 2 SV, 4.14 ERA, 63.0 IP, 71 H, 24 BB, 48 K), Zane Evans (1-2, 3 SV, 3.44 ERA, 18.1 IP, 17 H, 12 BB, 13 K)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2012 (2-2 at Gainesville Regional)

Notes: This is the 18th trip to the NCAA tournament for the Yellow Jackets in the 20 seasons under Danny Hall. Kyle Wren's father, Frank, is the General Manager of the Atlanta Braves. Kyle's twin, Colby, became the team's video manager when mitochondrial disease prevented him from playing for the Yellow Jackets after their freshman year. Kyle leads the team with eight outfield assists, 28 multiple-hit games, and an inactive 20-game hitting streak. Daniel Palka and Zane Evans finished first and second in the ACC in home runs, third and fourth in RBI, and second and fifth in slugging percentage in the regular season. Staff ace Buck Farmer is a semifinalist for National Pitcher of the Year and became the first player in team history to garner All-ACC honors thrice as a pitcher.

3. Illinois Fighting Illini

Notes: The Fighting Illini reached the tourney as an at-large selection from the Big 10, and is making its second trip in three years. The last time Illinois was in the tourney (2011), it reached the Fullerton Regional final. The Illini is 17-20 all-time in the tourney and has won at least one game each of its past eight trips. Coach Dan Hartleb is a former catcher and spent 15 seasons as an assistant/pitching coach under Itch Jones before taking over the Illini program eight years ago. Justin Parr is a Golden Spikes and Dick Howser semifinalist and is hitting .399/6/51 after a late 2-for-13 slide. He ranks eighth in the nation in hitting. Twin brother Jordan Parr also has six homers and leads the team with 21 stolen bases. Freshman Kevin Duchene, who will start the opener vs. Georgia Tech, went 8-1 with a 2.56 ERA as a senior in high school; he's 8-1 with a 2.69 ERA this year.
 

4. East Tennessee State Bucs

Notes: The Bucs won three close games in the A-Sun tourney before pulling away from Kennesaw State in the final to clinch its first NCAA trip since 1981. Coach Tony Skole was a college teammate of Louisville coach Dan McDonnell at The Citadel, which reached the College World Series in 1990 – Skole, a third baseman, had the game-winning hit in the 12th inning to beat Cal State Fullerton. Skole also played football, leading the Southern Conference in interceptions in 1990. Senior pitcher Kerry Doane has been remarkable, going 13-1 and tossing an NCAA-leading 12 complete games; opponents hit .232 off of Doane, who won two games in the A-Sun tourney, including the clincher. Clinton Freeman put together a tremendous season as a two-way player, leading the team in batting, homers and RBI and also going 7-1 on the mound with eight saves. Three Bucs have stolen more than 20 bases: Andrew Green (24); Dylan Tritsch (20) and Jeremy Taylor (20).