2015 Baton Rouge Regional

(capsules compiled by Sean Ryan, Phil Stanton, Will Merritt, Jackson Proffitt, John Whittle)

1. LSU Tigers

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

At-large bid from Southeastern Conference

2015 record: 48-10, 21-8

Head coach: Paul Mainieri (Florida International, 1980)

Record at school: 408-159-3

Overall record: 1,272-651-8

Assistant coaches: Andy Cannizaro, Alan Dunn

Team offense: .320 BA, 415 R, 47 HR, .467 SLG%, .384 OBP%, 112-143 SB

Team pitching: 2.94 ERA, 550.1 IP, 471 H, 208 BB, 490 K, BAA .231

Top hitters: Chris Chinea (.363/11/55), Andrew Stevenson (.361/1/20), Conner Hale (.352/4/53), Alex Bregman (.329/9/47)

Top pitchers: Jared Poche’ (7-1, 3.35 ERA, 88.2 IP, 89 H, 21 BB, 54 K), Alex Lange (10-0, 1.94 ERA, 88.0 IP, 65 H, 41 BB, 98 K), Austin Bain (2-2, 3.58 ERA, 50.1 IP, 40 H, 20 BB, 53 K), Jesse Stallings (1-2, 2.01 ERA, 12 SV, 31.1 IP, 23 H, 11 BB, 25 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2014 (Lost Baton Rouge Regional)

Notes: Head coach Paul Mainieri was named SEC Coach of the Year by the league and pitcher Andrew Lange was named the conference’s Freshman of the Year when awards were announced recently. The Tigers placed a school record five players on the first team which, in addition to Lange, included catcher Kade Scivicque, shortstop Alex Bregman, center fielder Andrew Stevenson and third baseman Conner Hale. … Pitcher Parker Bugg’s father, who played baseball at Louisville, is a U.S. Secret Service special agent. … Pitcher Grayson Byrd’s father, Paul, was an LSU graduate and pitched for 14 years in the Major Leagues. … Second baseman Jared Foster was a backup quarterback on the 2011 SEC Championship football team. He left the team after that year, but rejoined in 2014. … Entering the Regional round, LSU has the best team batting average (.320) and best team ERA (2.94) of any school in the SEC. The Tigers are also fourth in the league in fielding percentage (.976).

2. UNC Wilmington Seahawks

Wilmington, North Carolina

Automatic bid – won Colonial Athletic Association Tournament

2015 record: 18-6, 39-16 (second in CAA)

Head coach: Mark Scalf (UNC Wilmington, 1980)

Record at school: 797-603-1, 24 years

Overall record: 797-603-1, 24 years

Assistant coaches: Randy Hood, Matt Williams, Robbie Monday

Team offense: .306 BA, 394 R, 44 HR, .441 SLG%, .386 OBP, 77-103 SB

Team pitching: 4.43 ERA, 490 IP, 479 H, 254 BB, 472 K, .254 BAA

Top hitters: Terrence Connelly (.354/1/25), Zach Shields (.348/3/37/17-19 SB), Gavin Stupienski (.337/6/34), Steven Linkous (.327/1/19/30-38 SB), Corey Dick (.325/6/39), Kennard McDowell (.299/6/43), Casey Golden (.296/6/43), Luke Dunlap (.293/5/44)

Top pitchers: Jordan Ramsey (8-2, 7 SV, 1.60 ERA, 45 IP, 31 H, 10 BB, 60 K), Jared Gesell (2-1, 5 SV, 2.43 ERA, 29.2 IP, 19 H, 16 BB, 30 K), Justin Crump (1-1, 2.70 ERA, 23.1 IP, 27 H, 12 BB, 19 K), William Shepley (4-0, 2.89 ERA, 28 IP, 22 H, 15 BB, 32 K), Whitman Barnes (5-0, 3.71 ERA, 43.2 IP, 31 H, 26 BB, 45 K), Austin Magestro (5-2, 4.14 ERA, 45.2 IP, 37 H, 22 BB, 43 K), Ryan Foster (6-1, 4.42 ERA, 79.1 IP, 93 H, 32 BB, 60 K), Nick Monroe (3-3, 6.75 ERA, 69.1 IP, 37 BB, 64 K)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2013 (1-2 at Charlottesville Regional)

Notes: UNC Wilmington is back in the field after a one-year absence and is in the tourney for the seventh time under Mark Scalf, who has guided the Seahawks to 36.5 wins a year since 2002. UNCW has won six in a row since being swept by Charleston and dropping a game to North Carolina – it included two one-run wins over the Cougars in the CAA Tournament. Pitching-wise, the Seahawks don’t have a regular starter with an ERA under 4.50, but a bevy of pitchers rotate through the bullpen, which is led by Jordan Ramsey, who made 27 appearances and figured into 15 decisions. Ramsey and Whitman Barnes picked up relief wins over Charleston in the CAA Tourney. Offensively, it’s a deep lineup that boasts eight batters hitting better than .290 – four of them have six homers. Overall, the Seahawks rank 11th in the nation in batting. Terrence Connelly is 11th in the country with a .491 OBP, and Steven Linkous ranks 15th in the nation with 30 stolen bases. Seahawks players who have reached the pros include pitchers Carl Willis and Chris Hatcher.

3. Tulane Green Wave

New Orleans, Louisiana

At-large bid from the American Athletic Conference

2015 record: 13-11, 34-23 (third in the AAC)

Head coach: David Pierce (Houston, 1988)

Record at school: 34-23, one year

Overall record: 155-86, four years

Assistant coaches: Sean Allen, Philip Miller, Phil Haig

Team offense: .252 BA, 243 R, 29 HR, .348 SLG%, .331 OBP, 50-76 SB

Team pitching: 3.13 ERA, 505.2 IP, 453 H, 226 BB, 394 K, .245 BAA

Top hitters: Stephen Alemais (.314/1/22/26-36 SB), Hunter Williams (.281/4/26), Tyler Wilson (.272/3/15), Jake Willsey (.263/0/14), Richard Carthon (.255/1/19), John Gandolfo (.250/2/27), Hunter Hope (.240/4/25), Lex Kaplan (.239/7/24)

Top pitchers: Corey Merrill (4-6, 2.04 ERA, 97 IP, 77 H, 42 BB, 77 K), Patrick Duester (7-5, 2.44 ERA, 66.1 IP, 63 H, 29 BB, 56K), Emerson Gibbs (5-3, 2.81 ERA, 77 IP, 72 H, 19 BB, 51 K), Ian Gibaut (5-3, 9 SV, 2.98 ERA, 45.1 IP, 36 H, 22 BB, 51 K), Alex Massey (6-3, 3.38 ERA, 85.1 IP, 72 H, 45 BB, 71 K)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2008 (2-2 at Tallahassee Regional)

Notes: The Green Wave return to the postseason for the first time since 2008 after a third-place finish in the American Athletic Conference. Coach David Pierce has reached NCAA play in all four of his seasons as a head coach – three at Sam Houston State and now in his first year at Tulane. Including his 11 years as an assistant, Pierce has been in the NCAA tourney in all 15 years has been a coach. The Green Wave depends on its pitching – three starters have an ERA under three, and as a team, it yields only a .245 batting average. Closer Ian Gibaut saved 12 games as a freshman before missing a chunk of 2014 with an arm injury and totaling only one save; he rebounded for nine saves this year. Tulane ranks third in the nation with nine shutouts. On the flipside, the offense ranks 260 with 4.26 runs a game.

4. Lehigh Mountain Hawks

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Automatic bid – won Patriot League tournament

2015 record: 12-9, 25-29 (second)

Head coach: Sean Leary (Lehigh, 1993)

Record at school: 405-516-7, 20 years

Overall record: 405-516-7, 20 years

Assistant coaches: John Bisco, John Fugett, Lee Saverio

Team offense: .266 BA, 291 R, 39 HR, .397 SLG%, .349 OBP, 84-109 SB

Team pitching: 4.63 ERA, 465 IP, 438 H, 215 BB, 353 K, .251 BAA

Top hitters: Mike Garzillo (.363/13/54), Justin Pacchioli (.348/2/18/31-37 SB), Jacen Nalesnik (.311/2/35), Patrick Donnelly (.271/6/31), Tim McKay (.245/0/7)

Top pitchers: Nick Macaione (3-4, 2.82 ERA, 67 IP, 51 H, 17 BB, 43 K), J.R. Edwards (1-3, 3.40 ERA, 53 IP, 46 H, 28 BB, 40 K), Kevin Boswick (3-3, 4 SV, 3.55 ERA, 45.2 IP, 13 BB, 43 K), Brandon Kulp (1-2, 3.74 ERA, 21.2 IP, 17 H, 15 BB, 27 K), Jordan Smith (2-1, 4.15 ERA, 21.2 IP, 20 H, 10 BB, 14 K), Nick Stephens (4-6, 4.20 ERA, 64.1 IP, 68 H, 16 BB, 50 K)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2006 (0-2 at Charlottesville Regional)

Notes: Lehigh edged Navy 4-3 in 10 innings in the third and deciding game of the Patriot League championship series to earn its second league crown and first since 2006. The Mountain Hawks won this year after losing in the championship series a year ago. Lehigh started the year 5-18 and has gone 20-11 since. Mike Garzillo was named the tourney MOP after homering five times and driving in 11 runs in six postseason games. He and Justin Pacchioli and Patrick Donnelly were named first-team in the Patriot League. Pacchioli ranked in the Top 15 in the nation in stolen bases and ranks 11th in swipes per game. Coach Sean Leary is a Lehigh alum who played shortstop and batted .296 with a homer and 15 RBI in his senior year. Assistant coach Lee Saverio previously was the head coach at La Salle. Lehigh became the Mountain Hawks in 1995; previously, teams were known as the Engineers in honor of the University’s early ties to the railroad industry.