2014 Charlottesville Regional

(capsules compiled by Sean Ryan, Phil Stanton, Colin Graves, John Whittle, Matt Mullen)

1. Virginia Cavaliers

Charlottesville, Virginia

At-large bid from ACC

2014 record: 22-8, 44-13 (second in Coastal Division)

Head coach: Brian O’Connor (Creighton, 1993)

Record at school: 505-174-2, 11 years

Overall record: Same

Assistant coaches: Kevin McMullan, Karl Kuhn, Matt Kirby

Team offense: .277 BA, 308 R, 32 HR, .384 SLG%, .376 OBP%, 60-79 SB

Team pitching: 2.36 ERA, 512IP, 368 H, 162 BB, 466 K

Top hitters: John LaPrise (.367/1/12), Joe McCarthy (.305/6/44), Brandon Cogswell (.295/0/16), Mike Papi (.289/10/47), Derek Fisher (.283/3/17), Daniel Pinero (.265/0/17), Nick Howard (.265/1/20), Brandon Downes (.218/7/34)

Top pitchers: Nathan Kirby (8-1, 1.48 ERA, 91.1 IP, 57 H, 22 BB, 93 K), Brandon Waddell (.7-3, 2.73 ERA, 85.2 IP, 73 IP, 14 BB, 59 K), Josh Sborz (4-4, 3.38 ERA, 64 IP, 47 H, 35 BB, 58 K), Whit Mayberry (6-1, 1.83 ERA, 2 SV, 44.1 IP, 29 H, 11 BB, 47 K), Artie Lewicki (5-1, 1.99 ERA, 45.1 IP, 27 H, 7 BB, 41 K), Nick Howard (2-1, 28.1 IP, 18 SV, 18 H, 12 BB, 50 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2013 (3-0 at Charlottesville Regional, 0-2 at Charlottesville Super Regional)

Notes: Virginia is in a Regional for the 11th straight year under coach Brian O’Connor and hosting for the fifth straight year, extending the longest such streaks in school history. Assistants Kevin McMullan and Karl Kuhn have been with O’Connor all 11 seasons, as the Cavaliers have averaged 46 wins per season over that time. O’Connor pitched on the 1991 College World Series team at Creighton and has led the Cavaliers to Omaha in 2009 and 2011. He was named 2013 and 2014 ACC Coach of the Year. Virginia entered this year having won 50 or more in three of the past four seasons and finished this regular season with one less win than last year. The Cavaliers’ offense is capable but didn’t live up to expectations after hitting .314 last year – it scored better than eight runs a game last year and only 5.4 this year. Virginia is 14-6 in one-run games after going 1-1 in the ACC Tourney in such games. Nathan Kirby emerged as the ace the Cavaliers needed after finishing with a 6.06 ERA last year. Opponents hit .180 off him this year after hitting .316 off him last year. Nick Howard is one of the top two-way players in the country; opponents hit .180 off him, and he is fourth in the country in saves.

2. Arkansas Razorbacks

Fayetteville, Arkansas

At-large bid from SEC

2014 record: 16-14, 38-23

Head coach: Dave Van Horn (Arkansas, 1988)

Record at school: 482-268 (12 years)

Overall record: 1,067-508 (26 years)

Assistant coaches: Tony Vitello, Dave Jorn

Team offense: .263 BA, 308 R, 26 HR, .355 SLG%, .353 OBP%, 54-70 SB

Team pitching: 2.63 ERA, 540.1 IP, 414 H, 192 BB, 401 K

Top hitters: Brian Anderson (.311/6/49), Joe Serrano (.299/0/21), Eric Fisher (.265/9/43), Andrew Benintendi (.282/1/26 15-19 SB)

Top pitchers: Trey Killian (4-8, 2.18 ERA, 90.2 IP, 67 H, 17 BB, 61 K), Chris Oliver (8-4, 2.45 ERA, 88.1 IP, 64 H, 30 BB, 55 K), Jalen Beeks (5-4, 2.11 ERA, 76.2 IP, 64 H, 18 BB, 59 K), Michael Gunn (4-2, 0.84 ERA, 7 SV, 32.1 IP, 19 H, 15 BB, 31 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2013 (2-2 at Manhattan Regional)

Notes: The Razorbacks have been selected for the NCAA Tournament each of the past 13 years and have five NCAA Regional championships to show for their efforts. Arkansas has been one of the more successful SEC teams in the postseason of late, advancing to the College World Series twice in the past five seasons and another Super Regional in that stretch. Arkansas lost 16 letterwinners from a year ago but did return All-American Brian Anderson, who is the only everyday player on the team hitting above .300 this season. The Razorbacks are known for their strong arms and boast a pitching staff that held its opponents to two runs or less in 32 games this season. The group is led by Trey Killian, who has four complete games.

3. Liberty Flames

Lynchburg, Virginia

At-large bid from Big South

2014 record: 23-3, 41-16 (first in Big South)

Head coach: Jim Toman (NC State, 1985)

Record at school: 264-153-1, seven years

Overall record: Same

Assistant Coaches: Jason Murray, Garrett Quinn, Zack Haley

Team offense: .276 BA, 320 R, 36 HR, 40-60 SB

Team pitching: 2.52 ERA, 519 IP, 418 H, 169 BB, 430 K

Top hitters: Ryan Seiz (.362/12/42), Alex Close (.324/8/45), Dalton Britt (.300/8/45), Will Shepherd (.281/1/23), Ashton Perritt (.273/2/23/18-25 SB), Danny Grauer (.262/7/40)

Top pitchers: Matt Marsh (2-0, 0.54 ERA, 3 SV, 33.1 IP, 19 H, 8 BB, 41 K), Shawn Clowers (9-0, 0.89 ERA, 50.2 IP, 27 H, 13 BB, 46 K), Ashton Perritt (1-2, 1.52 ERA, 12 SV, 29.2 IP, 20 H, 5 BB, 28 K), Trey Lambert (11-2, 2.10 ERA, 102.2 IP, 79 H, 25 BB, 66 K), Parker Bean (7-2, 2.71 ERA, 73 IP, 61 H, 33 BB, 77 K), Blake Fulghum (4-3, 3.16 ERA, 74 IP, 82 H, 17 BB, 40 K), Jared Lyons (2-4, 3.29 ERA, 63 IP, 52 H, 17 BB, 55 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2013 (2-2 in Columbia Regional)

Notes: The Flames return to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year after not having played in it since 2000. Last year, Liberty won the Big South tourney and won twice against Clemson in the Regional; this season, the Flames are in as an at-large thanks to a high-20s RPI. Quietly, the Flames have average better than 37 wins a season over the past 10 seasons, second only to Virginia in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Coach Jim Toman was groomed for 18 years at NC State and South Carolina – he’s headed to the Regionals for the 16^th time and also has been to seven Super Regionals and three College World Series. Liberty is long on pitching, as opponents hit only .221 – the Flames rank 10th in the NCAA in WHIP (1.13) and 14th in ERA. Senior Trey Lambert, the Big South Pitcher of the Year, is 19-5 over the past two years and yields very little despite pitching to contact. Parker Bean was named the Big South Freshman Pitcher of the Year. Opponents hit .158 off Shawn Clowers, who won nine games in 22 bullpen appearances. Liberty alums who made marks in Major League Baseball include Sid Bream, Lee Guetterman and Randy Tomlin.

4. Bucknell Bison

Lewisburg, Pennsylvania

Automatic bid – won Patriot League tournament

2014 record: 15-5, 30-19-1 (first)

Head coach: Scott Heather (Arkansas, 2003)

Record at school: 46-53-1, 2 years

Overall record: same

Assistant coaches: Jason Neitz, Ryan Wood, Matt Busch

Team offense: .249 BA, 216 R, 10 HR, .330 SLG%, .333 OBP, 24-36 SB

Team pitching: 3.41 ERA, 406 IP, 386 H, 120 BB, 252 K

Top hitters: Corey Furman (.388/2/24), Joe Ogren (.324/0/28/13 HBP), Anthony Gingerelli (.312/5/27/15 HBP), Brett Smith (.303/0/15), Danny Rafferty (.256/0/9), Rob Krentzman (.250/1/20)

Top pitchers: Tom Hrabchak (1-0, 1.57 ERA, 23 IP, 13 H, 8 BB, 11 K), Mike Castellani (3-0, 1.61 ERA, 28 IP, 19 H, 11 BB, 19 K), Dan Weigel (7-5, 2.94 ERA, 88.2 IP, 96 H, 22 BB, 46 K), Xavier Hammond (3-5, 4 SV, 3.34 ERA, 70 IP, 66 H, 11 BB, 44 K)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2010 (0-2 at Columbia Regional)

Notes: Scott Heather became head coach two summers ago following the retirement of longtime skipper Gene Depew. Heather had been pitching coach for the Bison the previous eight seasons. Bucknell swept through the Patriot League championship, sweeping two from Navy in the semifinal series before going 2-0 against Lehigh in the championship series. The Bison added a three-game home series with Ivy League champion Columbia. The Lions won two of those three contests.