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2014 Lafayette Regional
(capsules compiled by Sean Ryan, Phil Stanton,
Colin Graves, John Whittle, Matt Mullen)
1. Louisiana Lafayette Ragin’
Cajuns
Lafayette, Louisiana
Automatic bid - w on Sun Belt tournament
2014 record: 26-4,
53-7 (first in Sun Belt)
Head Coach: Tony
Robichaux (McNeese State 1986)
Record at
School:
727–466–1 (20 years)
Overall Record:
990–643–1
Assistant Coaches:
Anthony Babineaux, Matt Deggs, Lance Harvell, Chris Dominque
Team offense: .317 BA,
476 R, 63 HR, 102-138 SB
Team pitching: 3.43
ERA, 538.1 IP, 478 H, 181 BB, 426 K
Top hitters: Caleb
Adams (.386/11/39), Jace Conrad (.367/7/55/21-24 SB), Blake
Trahan (.339/4/42), Tyler Girouard (.338/2/25), Greg Davis
(.325/3/23), Ryan Leonards (.320/4/33/18-21 SB), Seth Harrison
(.317/9/58)
Top pitchers: Matt
Hicks (7-1, 1.62 ERA, 1 SV, 39 IP, 29 H, 9 BB, 37 K), Ryan
Wilson (5-0, 1.69 ERA, 7 SV, 53.1 IP, 45 H, 15 BB, 42 K), Reagan
Bazar (4-0, 2.32 ERA, 6 SV, 31 IP, 25 H, 16 BB, 19 K), Cody
Boutte (8-0, 2.75 ERA, 75.1 IP, 66 H, 24 BB, 50 K), Austin
Robichaux (7-2, 3.01 ERA, 74.2 IP, 58 H, 21 BB, 70 K), Carson
Baranik (10-1, 3.30 ERA, 92.2 IP, 81 H, 22 BB, 69 K)
Last NCAA Appearance:
2013 (2-2 at Baton Rouge Regional)
Notes:
The Ragin’ Cajuns enter the NCAA
Tournament as the No. 1 team in the country in the CBI Composite
Poll. Louisiana-Lafayette will host a Regional for the second
time (2000, CWS, No. 4 ranking at end of year) after rolling
through the Sun Belt Conference and the rest of its schedule.
The Cajuns 53 wins are a school record; they had won 49 games on
three occasions. Coach Tony Robichaux is holds the all-time
record for wins at both McNeese State and Louisiana-Lafayette –
he has a twin brother (Tim) who coaches high school baseball.
His son Austin is a junior pitcher and the second son he has
coached at Louisiana-Lafayette – Austin Robichaux yields
opponents a .221 average and leads the team in strikeouts. The
Cajuns rank second in the country with a .317 average and lead
the county with a .500 slugging percentage. Individually, Caleb
Adams ranks third in the country in slugging.
2. Mississippi State
Bulldogs
Starkville, Mississippi
At-large bid from SEC
2014 record: 18-12,
37-22
Head coach: John
Cohen (Mississippi State, 1990)
Record at school: 208-153
(six years)
Overall record: 535-349
(15 years)
Assistant coaches: Butch
Thompson, Nick Mingione
Team offense: .275
BA, 292 R, 15 HR, .340 SLG%, .370 OBP%, 64-90 SB
Team pitching:
2.37 ERA, 521.0 IP, 437 H, 148 BB, 444 K
Top hitters: Brett
Pirtle (.341/2/27), C.T. Bradford (.311/1/29), Wes Rea
(.247/4/37), Derrick Armstrong (.273/0/13 13-15 SB)
Top pitchers: Trevor
Fitts (4-3, 2.51 ERA, 64.2 IP, 67 H, 12 BB, 56 K), Ross Mitchell
(8-4, 2.10 ERA, 107.1 IP, 86 H, 29 BB, 49 K), Jacob Lindgren
(6-1, 0.88 ERA, 51.0 IP, 20 H, 21 BB, 93 K), Jonathan Holder
(6-1, 2.38 ERA, 7 SV, 45.1 IP, 40 H, 9 BB, 59 K)
Last NCAA appearance: 2013
(3-1 at Starkville Regional; 2-0 at Charlottesville Super
Regional; Won Starkville Regional 3-1; 3-0 at College World
Series; 0-2 in CWS Championship Series)
Notes:
The Bulldogs were runners-up a year ago, losing to UCLA in two
games in the national championship series. It was the ninth
College World Series appearance all-time for Mississippi State, which
enters its 34th Regional in program history this weekend. MSU is
looking to advance to the Super Regional round for the third
time in the past four seasons. MSU has been successful this year
with pitching, including a strong back half of the bullpen, and
defense. The bullpen duo of closer Jonathan Holder and set-up
man Jacob Lindgren has been dynamite, allowing only 17 earned
runs in 96.1 innings. They have also combined to strike out 142
hitters. Last year, Holder had 21 saves. Defensively, the
Bulldogs have a .981 fielding percentage and nary a player has
over seven errors on the season.
3. San Diego State Aztecs
San Diego, California
Automatic bid - Mountain West Conference
champions
2014 record: 17-13,
42-19 (third in MWC)
Head Coach: Tony Gwynn
(San Diego State 1981)
Record at School:
363-351 (12 years)
Overall Record: 363-351
(12 years)
Assistant Coaches: Mark
Martinez, John Pawlowski, Joe Oliveira
Team offense: .291 BA,
355 R, 25 HR, 77-108 SB
Team pitching: 3.70
ERA, 538 IP, 541 H, 204 BB, 406 K
Top hitters: Ty France
(.358/5/45), Tim Zier (.325/1/33), Brad Haynal (.313/12/49),
Greg Allen (.310/0/25/25 SB), Seby Savala (.308/2/36), Tyler
Adkison (.295/1/26)
Top pitchers: Michael
Cederoth (6-2, 2.28 ERA, 20 SV, 51.1 IP, 36 H, 28 BB, 55 K),
Bubba Derby (8-3, 2.69 ERA, 1 SV, 103.2 IP, 90 H, 36 BB, 99 K),
Cody Thompson (5-3, 2.93 ERA, 1 SV, 46 IP, 37 H, 17 BB, 28 K),
T.J. Kendzora (5-1, 3.25 ERA, 52.2 IP, 60 H, 14 BB, 26 K), Mark
Seyler (8-5, 3.99 ERA, 94.2 IP, 96 H, 34 BB, 76 K)
Last NCAA Appearance:
2013 (0-2 at Los Angeles Regional)
Notes:
The Aztecs are making their second
straight trip to the tournament after edging UNLV in the MWC
Tournament. Coach Tony Gwynn has been on a leave of absence
since March recovering from cancer treatment. Assistant Mike
Martinez, who is in his ninth season at SDSU and spent 17 years
as an assistant at New Mexico, has guided the Aztecs. First-year
pitching coach spent five years as the head coach at Auburn and
the previous nine leading the College of Charleston program.
SDSU boasts a couple of tremendous arms. Sophomore Bubba Derby
saved 10 games last year before moving into the rotation – he
went 20-1 on the mound his final two seasons in high school.
Michael Cederoth was a second-team MVC pitcher last year with
more than 100 strikeouts and moved to the bullpen this year,
where he ranks third in the nation in saves. Tim Zier is a
four-year starter at second base who has been first-team
all-conference the past two years.
4. Jackson State Tigers
Jackson, Mississippi
Automatic bid – won SWAC Tournament
2014 record: 9-15,
31-23 (fourth in Eastern Division)
Head Coach: Omar
Johnson (North Alabama, 1998)
Record at School:
233-146 (seven years)
Overall Record: 233-146
(seven years)
Assistant Coaches:
Chris Stamps, Chris Crenshaw
Team offense: .274 BA,
350 R, 17 HR, 85-119 SB
Team pitching: 4.16
ERA, 478.1 IP, 492 H, 215 BB, 355 K
Top hitters: Tilur
Smith (.344/3/27), Melvin Rodriguez (.310/3/45), Nick Marigny
(.308/1/24), Desmond Russell (.289/2/24), Stephen Curtis
(.282/0/10), Jose Cruz (.280/3/28)
Top pitchers: Jamal
Wilson (2-3, 3.07 ERA, 44 IP, 41 H, 27 BB, 31 K), Vincent
Anthonia (3-0, 3.41 ERA, 37 IP, 38 H, 14 BB, 31 K), Sebron
Mackey (2-0, 3.48 ERA, 20.2 IP, 23 H, 8 BB, 13 K), Descond
Russell (9-4, 3.50 ERA, 100.1 IP, 95 H, 30 H, 83 K), Alexander
Juday (5-7, 4.17 ERA, 90.2 IP, 99 H, 24 BB, 65 K)
Last NCAA Appearance:
2013 (0-2 at Baton Rouge Regional)
Notes:
The
Tigers are back in the field for the second straight year after
winning the SWAC title. It is the sixth regional appearance for
JSU and the Tigers are looking for their first NCAA Tournament
victory. After posting 34 wins in back-to-back campaigns,
Jackson State piled up 31 more wins, the sixth time in Omar
Johnson’s seven seasons the Tigers have reached that mark.
Johnson played
at North
Alabama and played in the NBC World Series in 1995 and 1996. A
year after stealing 125 bases, the Tigers swiped 85. Desmond
Russell was SWAC tourney MVP, winning twice on the mound and
batting .375 with a homer and six RBI.
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