2015 Champaign Regional
(capsules compiled by Sean Ryan, Phil Stanton,
Will Merritt, Jackson Proffitt, John Whittle)
1. Illinois Fighting Illini
Champaign, Illinois
At-large bid from the Big Ten
Notes: The Fighting
Illini was one of the stories of the year, rattling off a Big
Ten-record 27-game winning streak that ended in the Big Ten
Tournament. Illinois is hosting a Regional for the first time in
school history and will be playing in its 11th NCAA tourney –
the third in the past five years. Illinois is two wins away from
the school record of 49 (1982). Coach Dan Hartleb is a former
catcher for Southern Illinois. It starts with pitching for
Illinois, which is fourth in the nation in ERA and WHIP and
fifth in K/BB ratio. The Illini features three top-line starters
in Kevin Duchene, Drasen Johnson and Rob McDonnell. Duchene
yielded a .229 average, while McDonnell allowed a .211 average.
Closer Tyler Jay is electric, walking six and striking out 65
while allowing a .155 average. Big Ten Player of the Year David
Kerian leads an opportunistic offense – he slugs .644 and also
leads the team in OBP (.452). Among Illinios players who have
made it to the Major Leagues are Lou Boudreau and Scott Spiezio.
2. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Notre
Dame, Indiana
At-large bid from ACC
2015 record:
36-21, 17-13 (Second in Atlantic Division)
Head coach:
Mik Aoki (Davidson ‘90)
Record at school:
146-132-1, five years
Overall record:
406-395-2, 14 years
Assistant coaches:
Jesse Woods, Chuck Ristano, Adam Pavkovich
Team offense:
.249 BA, 301 R, 38 HR, .377 SLG%, .344 OBP%, 61-82 SB
Team pitching:
3.05 ERA, 528.2 IP, 490 H, 186 BB, 348 K
Top
hitters:
Kyle Fiala (.301/4/28/10-12 SB), Robert Youngdahl (.294/6/42/7-8
SB), Ryan Lidge (.278/2/35), Zak Kutsulis (.265/5/32/12-16 SB),
Lane Richards (.264/5/33/5-7 SB), Cavan Biggio (.254/8/23/14-16
SB), Ryan Bull (.250/4/23)
Top
pitchers:
Ryan Smoyer (9-0, 2.13 ERA, 71.2 IP, 73 H, 16 BB, 31 K), Scott
Tully (4-4, 2.92 ERA, 61.2 IP, 54 H, 15 BB, 62 K), Brandon
Bielak (5-2, 3.31 ERA, 81.2 IP, 72 H, 32 BB, 56 K), Scott
Kerrigan (3-5, 3.68 ERA, 73.1 IP, 68 H, 24 BB, 36 K), Nick
McCarty (6-3, 3.93 ERA, 68.2 IP, 70 H, 23 BB, 35 K), Sean
Guenther (1-3, 5 SV, 2.72 ERA, 46.1, 40 H, 20 BB, 37 K)
Last NCAA Appearance:
2006 (0-2 at Lexington Regional)
Notes:
Notre Dame is making its 22nd NCAA tournament appearance, its
first since 2006 and as a member of the ACC. Notre Dame tied a
school record for one-run games at 20 in 2014. In its second
season in the ACC, the Fighting Irish swept four ACC series
against Pittsburgh, Florida State, North Carolina, and Boston
College. Junior Kyle Richardson hit a solo homer in the bottom
of ninth against North Carolina to sweep the series and earn a
spot in the ACC Tournament. Notre Dame won 11 of its first 12
games to start the 2015 season, including 10-straight from
February 14 to March 7. Sophomore Kyle Fiala leads the team in
seven categories including batting average (.301), triples (4),
runs scored (46) and starts and appearances (57). Sophomore Ryan
Lidge’s cousin, Brad Lidge played in Major League Baseball for
the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, and Washington
Nationals. The Fighting Irish are 22-1 when their opponent
scores between 0-2 runs.
3. Wright State Raiders
Dayton, Ohio
Automatic bid - won Horizon League tournament
Notes: The Raiders are
back in the field for the first time since 2011 and are making
their fifth appearance in the tourney. This is the first time
Wright State has been a No. 3 seed since the NCAA tourney format
was changed in 1999. Wright State won the Horizon tournament
after being pushed to a deciding game by Milwaukee, but exploded
for a 17-4 win with Gabe Snyder blasting a grand slam in the
final. This is the first tourney as head coach for Greg
Lovelady, who replaced Rob Cooper when he left for Penn State.
But Lovelady was the catcher for on two national championship
teams for Miami. Closer Andrew Elliott and reliever E.J. Trapino
allow hitters a .196 and .199 average, respectively. Ryan Fucci
has struck out a whopping 67 times, but he leads the team with
28 extra-base hits (15 doubles, 1 triple, 13 homers) and a .577
slugging percentage. Former Major League pitcher Brian Anderson,
the second pick by Arizona in the 1997 expansion draft, pitched
at Wright State.
4. Ohio Bobcats
Athens, Ohio
Automatic bid - won MAC tournament
Notes: The Bobcats are
in the NCAA tourney for the first time since 1997 after one of
the best turnarounds in college baseball – they won 11 games
last year and enter the tourney with 36, the best turnaround in
the nation. Ohio won its first MAC championship since 1997.
Righty Connor Sitz led a tremendous pitching effort (three
earned runs in four tourney games) by tossing a no-hitter
against Bowling Green. Before arriving at Ohio three years ago,
coach Rob Smith spent six years as an assistant at Creighton.
Logan Cozart has made 30 appearances out of the bullpen, going
7-1 with 13 saves and allowing a .144 average. Mitch Longo leads
a contact-oriented lineup with a .500 slugging percentage and
.424 OBP.
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