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2015 Gainesville Regional
(capsules compiled by Sean Ryan, Phil Stanton,
Will Merritt, Jackson Proffitt, John Whittle)
1. Florida Gators (4)
Gainesville,
Florida
Automatic
bid from Southeastern Conference
2015
record: 44-16,
19-11
Head
coach: Kevin
O’Sullivan (Virginia, 1991)
Record at
school:
336-171
Overall
record: 336-171
Assistant
coaches: Craig
Bell, Brad Weitzel
Team
offense: .296
BA, 397 R, 52 HR, .448 SLG%, .379 OBP%, 71-99 SB
Team
pitching:
3.30 ERA, 534.0 IP, 458 H, 158 BB, 481 K, BAA .232
Top
hitters: Joshua
Tobias (.373/5/38), Buddy Reed (.317/2/40), JJ Schwarz
(.307/14/60), Harrison Bader (.290/13/52)
Top
pitchers: Logan
Shore (7-6, 2.79 ERA, 90.1 IP, 76 H, 19 BB, 67 K), Dane Dunning
(5-2, 3.95 ERA, 54.2 IP, 44 H, 21 BB, 53 K), A.J. Puk (8-3, 4.23
ERA, 61.2 IP, 47 H, 28 BB, 85 K), Taylor Lewis (6-1, 1.32 ERA, 6
SV, 47.2 IP, 38 H, 11 BB, 31 K)
Last NCAA
appearance: 2014
(Lost in Gainesville Regional)
Notes: Florida
is far and away the top team in the SEC in fielding percentage
at a .985 clip committing just 35 errors as a team this season.
The next highest fielding percentage in the league is
Mississippi State’s .978. … Pitcher Dane Dunning’s older sister,
Nikki, served nine months in Afghanistan and his brother, Jake,
is in Triple-A in the San Francisco organization. … Infielder
Joshua Tobias was third in the SEC in batting average this
season and was one of five Gators to earn All-SEC accolades.
Tobias, Mike Rivera and JJ Schwarz were second-team All-SEC.
Rivera, Schwarz and Dalton Guthrie were SEC All-Freshman
selections while outfielder Buddy Reed was third team. … A.J.
Puk’s father, David, played football at Minnesota under
legendary head coach Lou Holtz. He also has three uncles who
played major college football, one at Minnesota, one at Iowa and
the other at Stanford.
2.
Florida Atlantic Owls
Boca Raton, Fla.
At-large bid from
Conference USA
2015 record:
19-10,
40-17 (second in C-USA)
Head coach:
John
McCormack (Lynn University, 1990)
Record at school:
241-161,
seven years
Overall record:
241-161,
seven years
Assistant coaches:
Jason
Jackson, Dickie Hart, Jeff Fiorentino
Team offense:
.302 BA,
397 R, 39 HR, .442 SLG%, .398 OBP, 44-64 SB
Team pitching:
3.55 ERA,
519 IP, 518 H, 155 BB, 395 K, .257 BAA
Top hitters:
Brandon
Sanger (.372/6/45), CJ Chatham (.344/3/43), Ricky Santiago
(.317/8/48), Stephen Kerr (.310/1/23), Esteban Puerta
(.308/6/32), Roman Collins (.296/6/53), Christian Dicks
(.276/7/38)
Top pitchers:
Drew
Jackson (6-3, 2.10 ERA, 68.2 IP, 52 H, 15 BB, 52 K), Seth
McGarry (4-1, 5 SV, 2.43 ERA, 37 IP, 35 H, 13 BB, 33 K), John
Sebella (3-1, 3.25 ERA, 36 IP, 27 H, 12 BB, 24 K), Brandon
Rhodes (4-1, 3.50 ERA, 74.2 IP, 93 H, 11 BB, 39 K), Kyle Miller
(6-3, 3.77 ERA, 76.1 IP, 89 H, 17 BB, 59 K), David McKay (3-2,
3.41 ERA, 29 IP, 32 H, 8 BB, 20 K), Devon Carr (0-2, 3.51 ERA,
25.2 IP, 30 H, 10 BB, 19 K), Sean Labsan (2-2, 3.61 ERA, 42.1
IP, 38 H, 25 BB, 39 K), Reily Monkman (6-1, 3.71 ERA, 34 IP, 27
H, 16 BB, 36 K)
Last NCAA Appearance:
2013 (3-2
at Chapel Hill Regional)
Notes:
FAU
returns to the NCAA Tournament after a one-year absence and is
making its 11th appearance all-time. The Owls have reached the
Super Regionals once (2002). They nearly made it a second time
in 2013, but fell 12-11 in an epic winner-take-all Regional
final against North Carolina. FAU was 36-11 before going 4-6
down the stretch, including 2-2 in the C-USA Tourney. Coach John
McCormack has led the program for seven years and previously
served as an assistant coach since 1991. Brandon Sanger was
named the C-USA Player of the Year and does it all for the Owls,
leading the team in slugging (.583) and OBP (.491) – his 51
walks rank seventh in the nation, and he’s 13th in
OBP. Senior Ricky Santiago had 12 career homers before hitting
eight this year. FAU uses plenty of pitchers – 11 pitchers have
thrown more than 25 innings. Among FAU’s former Major Leaguers
is Jeff Fiorentino, who is now an assistant coach.
3. USF
Bulls
Tampa, Florida
At-large bid from
American Athletic Conference
2015 record:
13-11,
33-24-1 (third in AAC)
Head coach:
Mark
Kingston (North Carolina, 1995)
Record at school:
33-24-1,
one year
Overall record:
206-126-1, six years
Assistant coaches:
Mike
Current, Billy Mohl, Chris Cates
Team offense:
.263 BA,
298 R, 32 HR, .369 SLG%, .352 OBP, 72-91 SB
Team pitching:
3.96 ERA,
512 IP, 482 H, 239 BB, 490 K, .250 BAA
Top hitters:
Kevin
Merrell (.348/0/20/21-27 SB), Luke Maglich (.305/8/38/14-15 SB);
Levi Borders (.295/9/44), Kyle Teaf (.294/0/23/14-17 SB), Luke
Borders (.269/2/43), Austin Lueck (.239/5/24), Buddy Putnam
(.235/7/36)
Top pitchers:
Tommy
Peterson (4-1, 15 SV, 2.06 ERA, 43.2 IP, 31 H, 15 BB, 50 K),
Michael Farley (4-2, 2.44 ERA, 48 IP, 38 H, 21 BB, 53 K), Jimmy
Herget (9-5, 2.95 ERA, 94.2 IP, 79 H, 33 BB, 109 K), Ryan Valdes
(5-3, 3.16 ERA, 77 IP, 70 H, 36 BB, 70 K), Casey Mulholland
(5-8, 3.71 ERA, 87.1 IP, 31 BB, 71 K)
Last NCAA Appearance:
2002 (2-2
at Tallahassee Regional)
Notes:
USF
is making its 11th trip to the NCAA Tournament but first since
2002, when they won two games but ultimately lost to host
Florida State in the final game. The Bulls have played their
first-round opponent, FAU, 12 times and have gone 11-1 against
the Owls. First-year coach Mark Kingston played at North
Carolina and reached the College World Series with the Tar Heels
in 1989; he also was part of the coaching staff of Miami’s 2001
national champion team. Pitching coach Billy Mohl coached with
Kingston at Illinois State and was a 2013 recipient of the Tom
Walter College Baseball Inspiration Award given by
CollegeBaseballInsider.com for his courage when his wife passed
away from cancer during that season. Junior ace Jimmy Herget is
a sidearmer who is 23-13 with 259 strikeouts in his career. Levi
and Luke Borders are brothers and sons of former major leaguer
Pat Borders – they have six sisters, all whose names start with
the letter L. Shortstop Kyle Teaf has started 227 straight
games. Former Major League manager Tony LaRussa didn’t play for
the Bulls but is a 1969 graduate of USF.
4.
Florida A&M Rattlers
Tallahassee, Florida
Automatic bid – won
MEAC Tournament
2015 record:
15-9,
23-23 (first in MEAC South Division)
Head coach:
Jamey
Shouppe (Florida State, 1982)
Record at school:
49-49,
two years
Overall record:
49-49,
two years
Assistant coaches:
Bryan
Henry, Brett Richardson
Team offense:
.261 BA,
211 R, 20 HR, .345 SLG%, .356 OBP, 47-58 SB
Team pitching:
4.38 ERA,
392.1 IP, 421 H, 154 BB, 272 K, .276 BAA
Top hitters:
Jared
Walker (.324/1/10), Marlon Gibbs (.311/1/30/15-16 SB), Michael
Birdsong (.375/5/18), AJ Elkins (.274/1/19), Ryan Kennedy
(273/6/34), Alec Wong (.271/4/18)
Top pitchers:
Marcus
Roberts (1-0, 1.06 ERA, 17 IP, 8 H, 10 BB, 16 K), Ricky Page
(2-0, 1.32 ERA, 34 IP, 26 H, 19 BB, 28 K), Cleveland Westbrook
(3-1, 2.05 ERA, 30.2 IP, 24 H, 7 BB, 37 K), Tyler Reker (0-0,
2.11 ERA, 21.1 IP, 19 H, 7 BB, 10 K), Brandon Fleming (7-1, 2.79
ERA, 48.1 IP, 42 H, 17 BB, 35 K), Kenny McDonald (3-2, 7 SV,
3.70 ERA, 24.1 IP, 21 H, 10 BB, 23 K), Ryan Anderson (1-3, 4.05
ERA, 53.1 IP, 49 H, 17 BB, 20 K), Chase Jarrell (2-4, 6.00 ERA,
63 IP, 91 H, 12 BB, 35 K)
Last NCAA Appearance:
First
appearance
Notes:
Florida
A&M is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance after going
10-1 down the stretch, including winning its first MEAC
tournament since 1994. The Rattlers are 1-18 against first-round
opponent Florida, beating the Gators 4-3 in 2014. Including FAU
and USF, A&M is 7-82 against the four teams in the Regional.
Rattlers coach Jamey Shouppe spent 21 seasons as the pitching
coach at Florida State and was the 2014 MEAC Coach of the Year.
He was drafted in the eighth round by Houston and played minor
league ball for the Astros from 1982-85. The Rattlers have
finished .500 in each of Shouppe’s two years – the last time
they finished .500 before that was 2003. Kenny McDonald was a
second-team MEAC pitcher, leading a relief corps that allowed
MEAC opponents a 1.98 ERA. Outfielder Marlon Gibbs also was a
second-team MEAC performer. Former Rattlers who played Major
League Baseball include Hal McRae, Andre Dawson, Vince Coleman
and Marquis Grissom – Coleman also punted/kicked on the FAMU
football team.
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