2013 Raleigh Super Regional

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

North Carolina State Wolfpack

Raleigh, North Carolina

At-large bid from ACC, won Raleigh Regional

2013 record: 19-10, 47-14 (second in Atlantic Division)

Head coach: Elliott Avent (VCU, 1984)

Record at school: 645-396, 17 years

Overall record: 870-605, 25 years

Assistant Coaches: Tom Holiday, Chris Hart, Brian Ward

Team offense: .281 BA, 384 R, 29 HR, .391 SLG%, .364 OBP%, 104-137 SB

Team pitching: 3.12 ERA, 563 IP, 443 H, 223 BB, 552 K

Top hitters: Trea Turner (.377/7/41/27-33 SB), Jake Fincher (.325/0/26/14-20 SB), Bryan Adametz (.309/0/31/13 2B), Tarran Senay (.292/8/56/15 2B), Grant Clyde (.288/4/25).

Top pitchers: Carlos Rodon (9-2, 3.19 ERA, 110 IP, 74 H, 40 BB, 161 K), Ethan Ogburn (4-3, 2.95 ERA, 55 IP, 43 H, 14 BB, 32 K), Chris Overman (1-1, 6 SV, 0.39 ERA, 23.1 IP, 9 H, 7 BB, 23 K), Grant Sasser (3-0, 8 SV, 1.13 ERA, 39.2 IP, 27 H, 10 BB, 42 K), Josh Easley (6-2, 1.45 ERA, 43.1 IP, 36 H, 13 BB, 39 K).

Last NCAA Appearance: 2012 (4-1 in Raleigh Regional, 0-2 in Gainesville Super Regional)

Notes: The Wolfpack allowed just three runs in winning three games to take the Raleigh Regional and advance to the Super Regionals for the second straight year. Tarran Senay blasted a homer in the opener and another in the final and was named the Regional’s Most Outstanding Player. Carlos Rodon, followed his ACC Pitcher of the Year and ACC Freshman of the Year campaign with another first-team All-ACC selection, came up huge in tossing a two-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts in the winners’ bracket final (1-0) against William & Mary. Opponents hit only .190 off the lefty, who leads the nation in strikeouts (161) and Ks per 9 innings (13.17). Shortstop Trea Turner was also elected to the first team for the second time, and both players were named to the USA Collegiate National Team for the second time. Jake Fincher made an amazing catch down the right-field line in the Regional opener against Binghamton that rivaled Brett Williams’ headline-grabbing catch from earlier in the season. Head coach Elliott Avent is the winningest coach in program history with 645 victories and has led the Wolfpack to 10 NCAA tournament appearances in 11 years. Turner took over as NC State’s career stolen base king on April 20. He swiped 57 bags on 61 attempts last season, and he’s 27 for 33 this season, a season in which he missed time with an ankle injury. It took Turner 94 career games to pass the previous record of 73 stolen bases, set by Tom Sergio in 243 games from 1994-97. Sophomore Jake Armstrong went to Texas’ Permian High of Friday Night Lights fame. Pitcher Grant Clyde’s brother Garrett pitched at Texas, and their uncle is former major leaguer David Clyde. Pitcher Josh Easley missed all of 2012 with an injury and has returned to have a huge year out of the bullpen for the Pack – he started 2011 as a starter but transitioned to the bullpen.

Rice Owls

Houston, Texas

Automatic bid from Conference USA, won Eugene Regional

2013 record: 15-9, 43-18 (first in C-USA)

Head coach: Wayne Graham (Texas, 1970)

Record at school: 995-398, 22 years

Overall record: 1,570-511, 32 years

Assistant Coaches: Patrick Hallmark, Clay Van Hook, Scott Shepperd

Team offense: .278 BA, 314 R, 25 HR, .370 SLG%, .368 OBP%, 41-64 SB

Team pitching: 2.79 ERA, 563.2 IP, 449 H, 199 BB, 478 K

Top hitters: Shane Hoelscher (.336/0/22), Michael Aquino (.315/8/42), Keenan Cook (.301/0/30), Christian Stringer (.300/1/27), Ford Stainback (.293/0/24), Michael Ratterree (.271/9/41).

Top pitchers: Zech Lemond (6-1, 14 SV, 1.12 ERA, 64.1 IP, 42 H, 18 BB, 61 K), Austin Kubitza (8-4, 2.07 ERA, 100 IP, 65 H, 48 BB, 125 K), Jordan Stephens (8-4, 2.48 ERA, 112.1 IP, 29 BB, 95 K), John Simms (8-4, 2.61 ERA, 103.1 IP, 82 H, 34 BB, 90 K), Blake Fox (6-0, 3.41 ERA, 37 IP, 40 H, 13 BB, 23 K).

Last NCAA Appearance: 2012 (1-2 at Houston Regional)

Notes: The Owls went 3-1 to win the Eugene Regional, getting a huge start from Jordan Stephens in a 1-0 win over host Oregon. Stephens tossed a complete-game two-hitter and tied a career high with 11 strikeouts. They advanced despite leading run producers Michael Aquino and Michael Ratterree went without an RBI. Rice was sent to Eugene as champs of Conference USA's regular season as well as the league tournament, giving them their 19th straight NCAA tournament appearance (fourth longest in nation behind Miami, Florida State and Cal State Fullerton). In addition, Rice has won 40 or more games in 19 straight seasons. Coach Wayne Graham has 995 career wins at Rice over 22 years, an average of 45 per season – he was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2012. The Owls win with pitching, pitching and more pitching. They rank 19th in ERA (2.83) and 12 with in WHIP (1.12). Ace Austin Kubitza is seventh in the nation in Ks per nine innings (11.08) and 11th in hits allowed per nine innings (5.8). Closer Zech Lemond has been nearly unhittable, liming opposing hitters to a .186 average and saving 14 games - he averages better than two innings an appearance. John Simms and Jordan Stephens give the Owls a rotation that can rival any top three in the country. At the dish, Michael Ratterree (43 walks, 41 RBI) and Michael Aquino (42 RBI, 25 extra-base hits) are the bats to watch.