2014 San Luis Obispo Regional

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

1. Cal Poly Mustangs

San Luis Obispo, California

Automatic bid – won Big West regular season (no league tournament)

2014 Record: 19-5, 45-10 (first in Big West)

Head Coach: Larry Lee (Pepperdine, 1983)

Record at School: 394-282-2 (12 years)

Overall Record: 854-523-3 (27 years)

Assistant Coaches: Teddy Warrecker, Thomas Eager, Alex Hoover

Team offense: .300 BA, 333 R, 20 HR, 37-57 SB

Team pitching: 2.98 ERA, 490 IP, 424 H, 183 BB, 467 K

Top hitters: Mark Mathias (.378/2/36/11-14 SB), Zack Zehner (.329/2/15), Nick Torres (.323/5/47), Chris Hoo (.320/1/37), Jimmy Allen (.301/5/37), Brian Mundell (.290/4/41)

Top pitchers: Taylor Chris (4-0, 0.91 ERA, 5 SV, 49.1 IP, 31 H, 22 BB, 49 K), Casey Bloomquist (12-1, 1.60 ERA, 90 IP, 80 H, 19 BB, 67 K), Reed Reilly (3-1, 1.67 ERA, 10 SV, 43 IP, 21 H, 17 BB, 52 K), Matt Imhof (9-4, 2.55 ERA, 91.2 IP, 62 H, 38 BB, 120 K), Danny Zandona (4-0, 2.66 ERA, 47.1 IP, 49 H, 14 BB, 41 K), Justin Calomeni (8-2, 3.50, 69.1 IP, 70 H, 17 BB, 65 K)

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

Notes: Cal Poly is making its third appearance (2009, 2013) in the Regionals and will host for the first time. The Mustangs set a Division I school record with 39 wins last year, then blew it away with 45 wins and counting this season. Coach Larry Lee spent 16 years at Cuesta Community College in California before taking over at Cal Poly. The Mustangs mix a balanced offense with a pair of stellar starters in Casey Bloomquist and Matt Imhof. At the plate, senior catcher Chris Hoo, whose twin brother Michael is a reserve for the Mustangs, has been Mr. Clutch all season. Nick Torres is a three-year starter in the outfield who has led the team in RBI each of the past two years. Bloomquist, a sophomore, is 18-3 in his career but had a 6.06 ERA last year. Matt Imhof is 17-7 in his career and currently ranks sixth in the country in strikeouts. In the pen, Reed Reilly allows hitters a .147 batting average.

2. Arizona State Sun Devils

Tempe, Arizona

At-large bid from Pac-12

2014 record: 19-11, 33-22 (third in Pac-12)

Head Coach: Tim Esmay (Arizona State, 1987)

Record at school: 201-92-1, five years

Overall record: 414-327-2, 14 years

Assistant Coaches: Ken Knutson, Mike Benjamin, Greg Bordes

Team offense: .286 BA, 325 R, 24 HR, .389 SLG%, .374 OBP%, 50-68 SB

Team pitching: 3.91 ERA, 495.1 IP, 485 H, 205 BB, 407 K

Top hitters: Drew Stankiewicz (.337/3/26), Nathaniel Causey (.333/4/30), Christopher Beall (.307/1/11), Johnny Sewald (.306/0/19/15-16 SB), Dalton Dinatale (.300/3/34), Tucker Esmay (.295/0/16), Jake Peevyhouse (.292/0/22), Trever Allen (.280/4/16), RJ Ybarra (.275/3/45)

Top pitchers: Brett Lilek (4-4, 2.59 ERA, 83.1 IP, 58 H, 38 BB, 79 K), Jordan Aboites (5-2, 3.27, 41.1 IP, 35 H, 12 BB, 43 K), Ryan Burr (3-3, 3.32 ERA, 12 SV, 43.1 IP, 22 H, 16 BB, 37 K), Ryan Kellogg (8-3, 3.84 ERA, 96 IP, 115 H, 18 BB, 64 K)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2013 (2-2 at Fullerton Regional)

Notes: ASU is back in the field for the second straight year after missing 2012 due to NCAA violations. Tim Esmay, who played on the Sun Devils’ 1987 CWS team, has led the Devils to four Regional appearances in his five years. Ryan Burr has saved 23 games the past two years, and opponents hit .151 off him. Drew Stankiewicz is the son of former major leaguer Andy Stankiewicz, who now coaches at Grand Canyon, a first-year D-I program. Esmay’s sons Tucker and Cooper are on the roster, and both were ASU batboys growing up. Sophomore Ryan Kellogg, a second-team Freshman All-American by numerous outlets, is now 19-4 in his two-year career.

3. Pepperdine Waves

Malibu, California

Automatic bid – won West Coast Conference tournament

2014 record: 18-9, 39-16 (first)

Head Coach: Steve Rodriguez (Pepperdine 2001)

Record at School: 365-269 (11 years)

Overall Record: 365-269 (11 years)

Assistant Coaches: Rick Hirtensteiner, John Strauss, Matt Wilson

Team offense: .286 BA, 303 R, 33 HR, 35-48 SB

Team pitching: 2.52 ERA, 493.2 IP, 415 H, 170 BB, 374 K

Top hitters: Aaron Barnett (.378/0/27), Aaron Brown (.320/12/45), Brad Anderson (.307/5/31), Hutton Moyer (.300/0/21/15-18 SB), Bryan Langlois (.288/3/29), Brando Caruso (.283/3/22), Austin Davidson (.265/4/31)

Top pitchers: Corey Miller (8-4, 1.70 ERA, 105.2 IP, 89 H, 25 BB, 76 K), Aaron Brown (11-1, 2.24 ERA, 100.2 IP, 76 H, 34 BB, 96 K), Matt Maurer (4-3, 3.18 ERA, 68 IP, 69 H, 39 BB, 43 K), Jackson McClelland (8-3, 3.41 ERA, 74 IP, 71 H, 18 BB, 46 K), Chandler Blanchard (0-1, 1.29 ERA, 28 IP, 19 H, 8 BB, 21 K), Eric Karch (4-1, 1.80 ERA, 13 SV, 30 IP, 18 H, 11 BB, 20 K), A.J. Puckett (2-2, 2.78 ERA, 45.1 IP, 35 H, 22 BB, 39 K)

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

Notes: The Waves roll into the NCAA Tournament having won 39 games, their most since 2006. Coach Steve Rodriguez was a key player on Pepperdine team that won the 1992 national title, beating Cal State Fullerton 3-2 in the final. Coached by Andy Lopez, the Waves beat Texas to reach the title game, with Rodriguez hitting a late grand slam to fuel the win. The Waves split a pair of games with host Cal Poly during the regular season. Freshman catcher Aaron Barnett is one of the toughest to strike out in the nation. Junior outfielder/pitcher Aaron Brown is one of the best two-way players in the country – he hit .320, 100 points higher than batters hit against him. His slugging percentage (.562) is more than 100 points higher than his nearest teammate. Hutton Moyer, whose father is longtime Major League pitcher Jamie Moyer, has been a fixture in the middle infield for the Waves and made only nine errors for a .966 fielding percentage. Opponents hit only .173 off closer Eric Karch.

4. Sacramento State Hornets

Sacramento, California

Automatic bid – won WAC Tournament

2014 record: 21-6, 39-22 (first in WAC)

Head Coach: Reggie Christiansen (Menlo College, 1998)

Record at School: 124-111 (four years)

Overall Record: 231-253 (nine years)

Assistant Coaches: Steve Holm, Jack Angier, Trevor Paine

Team offense: .286 BA, 327 R, 34 HR, 61-88 SB

Team pitching: 3.21 ERA, 546 IP, 482 H, 200 BB, 320 K

Top hitters: Nathan Lukes (.357/0/23), Rhys Hoskins (.330/12/53), David Del Grande (.267/7/45), Will Soto (.239/5/38), Kyle Moses (.324/1/17/12-14 SB), Brandon Hunley (.265/6/32)

Top pitchers: Brennan Leitao (9-4, 2.21 ERA, 110 IP, 98 H, 22 BB, 75 K), Sam Long (8-1, 2.86 ERA, 88 IP, 75 H, 24 BB, 46 K), Alex Palsha (5-1, 1.60 ERA, 4 SV, 56.1 IP, 30 H, 28 BB, 55 K), Justin Dillon (4-1, 3.23 ERA, 47.1 IP, 32 H, 22 BB, 25 K), Sutter McLoughlin (4-2, 1.85 ERA, 9 SV, 43.2 IP, 33 H, 10 BB, 35 K)

Last NCAA Appearance: First Time

Notes: The Hornets lost their first game then reeled off four straight wins to capture their first WAC title and first bid to the NCAA tourney. They join Kennesaw State as the two “rookies” in the field this week. Sacramento State reached the D-II tournament four times and played in two D-II College World Series; the last time it played in an NCAA Tournament was 1989, and the opponent also was Cal Poly. Coach Reggie Christiansen was an assistant at Kansas under Ritch Price and was the head coach at South Dakota State from 2005-08. Ace Brennan Leitao became the first Hornets pitcher to be first-team All-WAC in 2013 and repeated this year – he’s 17-5 over the past two years. Rhys Hoskins, named third-team Louisville Slugger All-American by Collegiate Baseball Thursday, is the WAC’s Player of the Year. He had three homers in the conference tourney, including a two-run shot in the final game. The Hornets went 2-3 against NCAA tourney teams, including splitting a pair of games with Oregon State.