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2014 Oxford Regional

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

1. Ole Miss Rebels

Oxford, Mississippi

At-large bid from SEC

2014 record: 19-11, 41-18

Head coach: Mike Bianco (LSU, 1989)

Record at school: 550-320-1 (14 years)

Overall record: 650-391-1 (16 years)

Assistant coaches: Carl Lafferty, Cliff Godwin

Team offense: .303 BA, 359 R, 36 HR, .417 SLG%, .370 OBP%, 88-115 SB

Team pitching: 2.76 ERA, 541.2 IP, 495 H, 158 BB, 431 K

Top hitters: Will Allen (.352/7/58), Austin Bousfield (.349/5/46), Austin Anderson (.329/4/39), Braxton Lee (.292/0/22 29-33 SB)

Top pitchers: Chris Ellis (9-1, 2.17 ERA, 95.1 IP, 92 H, 29 BB, 54 K), Christian Trent (8-0, 2.44 ERA, 88.2 IP, 80 H, 16 BB, 67 K), Sam Smith (5-4, 3.58 ERA, 83 IP, 92 H, 17 BB, 46 K), Josh Laxer (2-2, 1.47 ERA, 5 SV, 30.2 IP, 27 H, 9 BB, 37 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2013 (1-2 at Raleigh Regional)

Notes: The Rebels are making their third straight Regional appearance and 11th in the past 12 years. Ole Miss last advanced past the Regional round in 2009, but it has never won a Super Regional since the current format started in 1999. Ole Miss does have four College World Series appearances to its credit, most recently making it in 1972. This year, the Rebels were one of the final few teams vying for a national seed as it won the SEC West and posted the second-best conference record behind only Florida. Ole Miss leads the SEC in hitting with a .303 average, just a point better than Kentucky. No other team in the league is hitting above .286. Six everyday players are hitting above .300 while four players have 39 RBI or more. Catcher Will Allen, the team’s leading hitter, has 199 starts in his career. He also has just 10 errors during his four-year career.

2. Washington Huskies

Seattle, Washington

At-large bid from Pac-12

2014 record: 21-9, 39-15-1 (second in Pac-12)

Head Coach: Lindsay Meggs (UCLA, 1985)

Record at school: 138-117-1, five years

Overall record: 753-444-5, 21 years

Assistant Coaches: Donegal Fergus, Tanner Swanson, Jason Kelly

Team offense: .281 BA, 309 R, 25 HR, .383 SLG%, .367 OBP%, 39-54 SB

Team pitching: 3.23 ERA, 493.1 IP, 453 H, 163 BB, 313 K

Top hitters: Brian Wolfe (.361/5/35), Trevor Mitsui (.335/5/32), Austin Rei (.329/2/27), Andrew Ely (.306/2/31), Braden Bishop (.296/0/25), Robert Pehl (.259/5/32)

Top pitchers: Tyler Davis (10-2, 1.75 ERA, 97.2 IP, 84 H, 15 BB, 54 K), Troy Rallings (5-1, 2.18 ERA, 9 SV, 41.1 IP, 36 H, 9 BB, 32 K), Will Ballowe (4-1, 2.39 ERA, 49 IP, 43 H, 9 BB, 22 K), Brandon Choate (3-1, 2.60 ERA, 27.2 IP, 23 H, 13 BB, 24 K), Jeff Brigham (7-3, 2.93 ERA, 83 IP, 72 H, 20 BB, 41 K), Trevor Dunlap (2-2, 3.62 ERA, 54.2 IP, 46 H, 23 BB, 45 K), Jared Fisher (6-4, 4.17 ERA, 90.2 IP, 88 H, 43 BB, 58 K)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2004 (2-2 at Oxford Regional)

Notes: Washington was picked 10th out of 11 teams in the Pac-12 but rolled to a second-place finish and its first NCAA appearance since 2004. The Huskies won 15 more games than last year and improved by six games in the Pac-12. Coach Lindsay Meggs won two national titles at Division II Chico State and coached at Indiana State before coming to Seattle. Senior Brian Wolfe missed the 2012 season with an injury and led the Pac-12 with a .383 average. Tyler Davis’ brother Erik played at Stanford and is on the Washington Nationals’ 40-man roster – he’s allowed two or fewer runs in 11 of his 13 starts.

3. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Atlanta, Georgia

Automatic bid from ACC

2014 record: 14-16, 36-25 (fifth in Coastal Division)

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

Record at school: 890-427-1, 21 years

Overall record: 1,098-554-1, 27 years

Assistant Coaches: Jason Howell, Bryan Prince, Tony Plagman

Team offense: .279 BA, 310 R, 21 HR, .378 SLG%, .352 OBP%, 53-81 SB

Team pitching: 3.26 ERA, 560 IP, 519 H, 255 BB, 459 K

Top hitters: Daniel Spingola (.328/3/36/15-16 SB), Matt Gonzalez (.314/1/36), Thomas Smith (.304/2/35), Mott Hyde (.289/4/35), Ryan Peurifoy (.286/0/11), A.J. Murray (.284/4/32)

Top pitchers: Sam Clay (4-1, 1.33 ERA, 8 SV, 54.1 IP, 35 H, 28 BB, 63 K), Dusty Isaacs (7-5, 1.81 ERA, 7 SV, 59.2 IP, 46 H, 20 BB, 52 K), Devin Stanton (5-3, 2.27 ERA, 71.1 IP, 62 H, 21 BB, 54 K), Ben Parr (5-4, 2.74 ERA, 62.1 IP, 64 H, 18 BB, 49 K), Josh Heddinger (4-4, 3.64 ERA, 76.2 IP, 74 H, 29 BB, 58 K)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2013 (3-2 at Nashville Regional)

Notes: Georgia Tech is back in the field for the 19^th time in Danny Hall’s 21 seasons. The Yellow Jackets entered the ACC tourney as the ninth seed and left with their ninth tourney title. Tech’s recipe was different from last year, when it hit 56 homers and batted .305 entering the tourney last year. Most offensive categories were down, but the Jackets’ 3.26 ERA was more than a run less than last year and pitching depth has improved. After two years as a starter, Dusty Isaacs has helped solidify the bullpen. Senior Mott Hyde is a four-year starter who has 143 career RBI; he also enjoys juggling as a hobby. A.J. Murray’s brother Michael was a catcher at Wake Forest, and his sister Brittany played softball at Maryland. Daniel Spingola’s sister pitches for North Carolina’s softball team.

4. Jacksonville State Gamecocks

Jacksonville, Alabama

Automatic bid – won Ohio Valley Conference Tournament

2014 Record: 18-12, 36-25 (third in OVC)

Head Coach: Jim Case (Louisiana Tech)

Record at School: 398-307, 13 years

Overall Record: 398-307, 13 years

Assistant Coaches: Brandon Romans, Mike Murphree

Team offense: .294 BA, 375 R, 38 HR, 79-98 SB

Team pitching: 4.56 ERA, 551 IP, 576 H, 247 BB, 384 K

Top hitters: Griff Gordon (.376/7/49), Stephen Bartlett (.329/3/23), Paschal Petrongolo (.324/5/53), Eddie Mora-Loera (.323/3/36), Andrew Bishop (.317/4/40), Ryan Sebra (.299/3/33), Tyler Gamble (.284/5/30)

Top pitchers: Travis Stout (3-0, 1.17 ERA, 15 SV, 38.1 IP, 21 H, 18 BB, 29 K), Zachary Fowler (7-7, 3.58 ERA, 88 IP, 79 H, 31 BB, 60 K), Michael Mason (5-1, 3.63 ERA, 34.2 IP, 24 H, 23 BB, 52 K), Graham Officer (3-0, 3.97 ERA, 45.1 IP, 55 H, 5 BB, 25 K), Taylor Shields (4-4, 4.63 ERA, 83.2 IP, 99 H, 33 BB, 51 K), Adam Polk (5-4, 4.88 ERA, 62.2 IP, 69 H, 27 BB, 43 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2010 (0-2 at Auburn Regional)

Notes: The Gamecocks defeated Tennessee Tech 4-2 to claim their fourth OVC title. After losing its first game in the league tourney, Jacksonville State became the first team in OVC history to reel off six straight tourney wins to capture the title – it beat every other team in the field. JSU also won titles in 2004, 2006 and 2010. Under Jim Case, the Gamecocks have played in the OVC title game eight of the past 10 years. His wife Jan is a math professor at Jacksonville State. Michael Bishop had an inside-the-park homer during the final game, the first for the Gamecocks since 2010. Travis Stout is 11-1 over three years, primarily as a reliever, and has 32 saves the past two years. Griff Gordon has been fantastic at the plate in his two years, hitting .341 and .376 since transferring from Southern Union Community College.