2014 Tallahassee Regional

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

1. Florida State Seminoles

Tallahassee, Florida
At-large bid from ACC
2014 record: 21-9, 43-15 (first in Atlantic Division)
Head Coach: Mike Martin (Florida State, 1966)
Record at School: 1,813-626-4, 35 years
Overall Record: 1,813-626-4, 35 years
Assistant Coaches: Mike Bell, Mike Martin Jr., Bryan Henry
Team offense: .278 BA, 388 R, 26 HR, 57-72 SB
Team pitching: 3.02 ERA, 525 IP, 457 H, 175 BB, 420 K
Top hitters: DJ Stewart (.348/7/48), Jose Brizuela (.325/3/38/13-15 SB), John Nogowski (.311/5/49); Casey Smith (.300/1/25), Ben DeLuzio (.287/1/27), Josh Delph (.275/0/20), Justin Gonzalez (.246/3/38)

Top pitchers: Jameis Winston (1-0, 1.17 ERA, 7 SV, 30.2 IP, 18 H, 6 BB, 29 K), Brandon Leibrandt (4-1, 1.83 ERA, 39.1 IP, 31 H, 9 BB, 30 K), Gage Smith (5-2, 2.08 ERA, 60.2 IP, 52 H, 5 BB, 31 K), Luke Weaver (8-3, 2.66 ERA, 101.1 IP, 83 H, 22 BB, 81 K), Mike Compton (7-2, 3.06 ERA, 82.1 IP, 88 H, 18 BB, 50 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2013 (3-0 at Tallahassee Regional, 0-2 at Tallahassee Super Regional)
Notes: The Seminoles topped 40 wins and reached the NCAA Tournament for the 37^th straight year under legend Mike Martin. FSU’s streak of tourney appearances is second only to Miami (42). Martin has led the Noles to Omaha 15 times, including 11 times in the past 23 seasons. DJ FSU enters the postseason one game back of where it was last year at this time and scored the exact same runs (388) as last year at this point. DJ Stewart matched last year’s average (.348), but was hitting a league-best.362 and slugging a league-best .588 entering the ACC tourney – he had a school-record streak of reaching base in 65 straight games that ended May 3. Mike Compton missed all of last season with an injury. Lefty starter Brandon Leibrandt, son of former major leaguer Charlie Leibrandt, injured his knee in March and just returned throwing to live hitters – it’s uncertain if he will return for postseason. Shortstop Justin Gonzalez missed all but five games last year with a hip injury.

2. Alabama Crimson Tide

Tuscaloosa, Alabama

At-large bid from SEC

2014 record: 15-14, 34-22

Head coach: Mitch Gaspard (Louisiana-Lafayette, 1988)

Record at school: 167-137 (five years)

Overall record: 377-275 (11 years)

Assistant coaches: Dax Norris, Andy Phillips

Team offense: .278 BA, 286 R, 40 HR, .390 SLG%, .350 OBP%, 32-45 SB

Team pitching: 3.29 ERA, 501.1 IP, 411 H, 215 BB, 384 K

Top hitters: Austen Smith (.316/6/36), Wade Wass (.305/4/31), Ben Moore (.305/9/35), Mikey White (.303/6/32)

Top pitchers: Spencer Turnbull (5-6, 2.28 ERA, 87.0 IP, 58 H, 43 BB, 59 K), Justin Kamplain (6-3, 3.07 ERA, 82.0 IP, 60 H, 27 BB, 66 K), Jon Keller (5-2, 2.57 ERA, 66.2 IP, 57 H, 18 BB, 48 K), Thomas Burrows (4-1, 1.62 ERA, 10 SV, 33.1 IP, 19 H, 10 BB, 32 K)

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

Notes: The Crimson Tide will make its fourth NCAA Regional appearance in five years under coach Mitch Gaspard. Alabama is making its 24th Regional appearance in program history, winning for the last time in 2010. In the Super Regional era, the Crimson Tide has made one College World Series appearance, which came in 1999. The program doesn’t have a national championship to its credit but has made five CWS appearances in school history. Alabama stumbled a bit to the finish line, failing to win any of its last three SEC series and compiled 6-9 mark over the final 15 games with three of those wins coming against nonconference competition. The Crimson Tide boasts a record of 15-15 against the 11 teams from its schedule that made the NCAA Tournament. Sophomore Mikey White was recently named one of 16 finalists for the Brooks Wallace Shortstop of the Year award. He has made just 10 errors this season for a .962 fielding percentage.

3. Kennesaw State Owls

Kennesaw, Georgia

Automatic bid – won A-Sun Tournament Title

2014 Record: 17-9, 37-21 (third in Atlantic Sun)

Head Coach: Mike Sansing (West Georgia)

Record at School: 882-587, 23 years

Overall Record: 984-506, 26 years

Assistant Coaches: Kevin Erminio, Derek Simmons, Trey Fowler

Team offense: .301 BA, 358 R, 27 HR, 57-77 SB

Team pitching: 3.54 ERA, 532 IP, 540 H, 199 BB, 435 K

Top hitters: Max Pentecost (.423/9/55), Bo Way (.364/2/29), Alex Liquori (.363/1/42), Jacob Bruce (.286/1/26), Chris McGowan (.281/4/43), Brennan Morgan (.279/4/39)

Top pitchers: James Connell (7-3, 2.11 ERA, 2 SV, 42.2 IP, 40 H, 14 BB, 59 K), Justin McCalvin (4-3, 2.24 ERA, 14 SV, 56.1 P, 39 H, 18 BB, 56 K), Travis Bergen (7-4, 2.74 ERA, 82 IP, 88 H, 12 BB, 70 K), Chris Erwin (3-1, 3.16 ERA, 42.2 IP, 34 H, 24 BB, 33 K), Gabe Friese (2-1, 3.29 ERA, 65.2 IP, 67 H, 15 BB, 38 K), Jordan Hillyer (7-3, 3.36 ERA, 93.2 IP, 94 H, 30 BB, 71 K)

Last NCAA appearance: First NCAA Appearance

Notes: Kennesaw State has won 24 of 25 after sweeping four games in the A-Sun tourney title to claim its first NCAA Regional berth. The Owls joined Division I in 2010 after a rich baseball history: they won the 1994 NAIA national title and the 1996 NCAA Division II crown under current coach Mike Sansing, a native of nearby Atlanta. Baseball America cited Kennesaw State as the “Best Division II Program of the 1990s.” Catcher Max Pentecost is one of the best backstops in the country and was a seventh-round pick of the Rangers out of high school. Pentecost is second in the nation in hitting at .423. Justin McCalvin has been steady for three years out of the bullpen, last year notching a 1.80 ERA in 35 innings. Bo Way is a dynamic centerfielder who has improved on his .314 average a year ago.

4. Georgia Southern Eagles

Statesboro, Georgia

Automatic bid – won Southern Conference Tournament 

2014 record: 15-12, 39-21 (third in Southern Conference)

Head Coach: Rodney Hennon (Western Carolina, 1993)

Record at School: 539-363 (15 Years)

Overall Record: 620-401-1 (17 Years)

Assistant Coaches: B.J. Green, Chris Moore, Josh McDonald

Team offense: .289 BA, 401 R, 59 HR, 88-121 SB

Team pitching: 3.16 ERA, 538 IP, 514 H, 177 BB, 463 K

Top hitters: Garrett Chapman (.346/7/30), Stryker Brown (.325/10/44/11-16 SB), Aaron Mizell (.313/13/52/8-9 SB), Aaron Palmer (.306/0/6), Kody Adams (.304/5/28/11-14 SB), Garren Palmer (.295/5/22), Ben Morgan (.286/5/35/22-29 SB)

Top pitchers: Jason Richman (5-1, 1.06 ERA, 3 SV, 84.2 IP, 79 H, 16 BB, 72 K), Josh Wirsu (9-3, 2.33 ERA, 92.2 IP, 69 H, 35 BB, 88 K), Sam Howard (6-6, 2.60 ERA, 86.2 IP, 79 H, 18 BB, 84 K), Will Jackson (3-2, 3.52 ERA, 30.2 IP, 35 H, 8 BB, 21 K), Ryan Frederick (4-1, 3.68 ERA, 1 SV, 51.1 IP, 53 H, 15 BB, 39 K), Eric Alonzo (3-3, 3.78 ERA, 50 IP, 51 H, 14 BB, 39 K)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2011 (0-2 in Columbia Regional)

Notes: The Eagles won five straight games after losing their opener to Appalachian State to capture the SoCon tourney title. GSU opened the season with a bang by winning two of three against Georgia and beating Georgia Tech. Coach Rodney Hennon has guided Georgia Southern to 30-win seasons in each of his seasons but one. As a player, he led the SoCon with a .367 average and was tops in runs in 1992 when Western Carolina came within one game of reaching the College World Series – Florida State, the Eagles first-round opponent this year, knocked off WCU that year. Stryker Brown is a three-year starter in the outfield and is the nephew of coach Rodney Hennon – his father Ken was a member of Clemson’s 1981 national championship football team. Sophomore lefty Jason Richman was brilliant this year after going 4-5 with a 6.16 ERA last year – his biggest influence is his brother Alex, a cancer survivor. Kody Adams is a transfer from Georgia State, where he was a starter in 2012.