The Oxford Regional will be held at the University of Mississippi’s Swayze Field, It is the fourth straight year Ole Miss has hosted an NCAA Regional. The field includes the host Rebels, out of the Southeastern Conference; the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, out of Conference USA; the Troy Trojans, out of the Sun Belt Conference; and the Sam Houston State Bearkats, out of the Southland Conference.

OLE MISS
No. 1 seed Ole Miss enters the 2007 NCAA Tournament after advancing to the semifinals of the Southeastern Conference Tournament, losing two games to Vanderbilt. The Rebels
finished third in the SEC Western Division during the regular season, finishing behind Arkansas and Mississippi State.

The Rebels are hitting .304 with 98 doubles, 17 triples and 48 home runs. The pitching staff has a 3.51 ERA in 543 innings pitched with 522 strikeouts, 216 walks and opponents are hitting .237 against them.

Ole Miss is led by All-SEC pitchers Will Kline and Lance Lynn, two of the best in conference as well as in the nation. Kline is 6-2 with a 3.68 ERA and 123 strikeouts in 110 innings pitched, while Lynn is 7-4 with a 2.77 ERA and 130 strikeouts in 107.1 innings pitched.

The Rebels are led offensively by junior infielder Justin Henry, who is hitting .378 with 14 doubles, eight triples, 21 stolen bases and 35 RBIs. Redshirt freshman infielder Zach Miller is hitting .370 with seven doubles, two triples, three home runs and 26 RBIs. Freshman outfielder Jordan Henry is hitting .365. with four doubles, two triples, one home run, 12 stolen bases and 14 RBIs. Redshirt freshman Cody Overbeck hit 15 doubles, a team-leading 13 home runs and 52 RBIs.

SOUTHERN MISS
No. 2 seed Southern Miss enters the tournament after defeating UAB, 9-5, in the first round of the Conference USA Tournament, before dropping a 2-1 game in 10 innings to East Carolina and then a 6-2 loss to Tulane to end its tournament run. The Golden Eagles finished 14-10 in Conference USA, won 10-straight to end the regular season and has won 11-of-13, 13-of-15 and 21 of their last 30 games.

Junior first baseman Trey Sutton leads the Golden Eagles, hitting .368 with 18 doubles, three triples, eight home runs, 35 walks, 35 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. He hurt his left knee against UAB in the first game of the tournament and is doubtful for the NCAA Tournament. Sophomore shortstop Brian Dozier is hitting .335 with 14 doubles, three home runs, 19 walks and 25 RBIs. Senior outfielder Jody Blount is hitting .326 with eight doubles, two triples, six home runs, 26 walks and 33 RBIs. Redshirt junior designated hitter Trey Cuevas leads the team in home runs with 10, and sophomore outfielder Michael Ewing leads the team in walks (42) and RBIs (46).

Senior right-hander Ryan Belanger has a 7-4 record with a 2.63 ERA in 99.1 innings pitched. He has struck out 82, walked 18 and opponents are hitting .232 against him. Junior right-hander Barry Bowden is 7-3 with a 3.12 ERA in 92.1 innings pitched. He has struck out 83, walked 26 and opponents are hitting .242 against him. Junior David Clark is 8-5 with a 4.69 ERA in 88.1 innings pitched. He has struck out 69, walked 33 and opponents are hitting .239 against him.

TROY
No. 3 seed Troy enters the NCAA Tournament after posting a 1-2 record in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. The Trojans defeated Louisiana-Monroe, 7-0, in game one, before dropping two straight to Louisiana-Lafayette, 9-7, and South Alabama, 4-1. Troy has won five of its last 10 games, seven of 15 and 11 of its last 20 games. The Trojans posted a 16-14 record in Sun Belt Conference games and finished in a tie for second place with Middle Tennessee State and New Orleans.

Sophomore infielder Trevor Trye is hitting .381 with six doubles, four home runs, 17 walks and 22 RBIs to lead the Trojans. Senior outfielder Kevin Weidlich is hitting .362 with 13 doubles, 11 home runs, 19 walks and 55 RBIs. Senior infielder Clint Robinson is hitting .359 with 18 doubles, 17 home runs, 30 walks and 69 RBIs. Senior infielder Edgar Ramirez is hitting .338 with 16 doubles, 11 home runs and 44 RBIs.

Senior right-hander Clegg Snipes is 6-5 with a 5.18 ERA in 97.1 innings pitched, striking out 84, walking 22 and opponents are hitting .277 against him. Senior left-hander Joe Hallahan is 5-6 with a 5.66 ERA in 89.0 innings pitched, striking out 60, walking 25 and opponents are hitting .297 against him. Senior relief pitcher Josh Dew is 7-2 with a 2.56 ERA in 63.1 innings, striking out 96, walking 25 and opponents are hitting .214 against him.

SAM HOUSTON STATE
No. 4 seed Sam Houston State won the Southland Conference Tournament last weekend and have won four in a row, five of six and 11 of 14 games. The Bearkats registered an 18-12 mark in the Southland Conference, finishing in third place in the west division.

Junior outfielder Keith Stein leads the team with a .386 batting average, with six doubles, four triples and 36 RBIs. Junior outfielder Bobby Verbick is hitting .373 with a team-leading 22 doubles, five triples, 13 home runs and 75 RBIs. Senior infielder Karl Krailo is hitting .357 with 15 doubles, one triple, five home runs and 46 RBIs.

Sophomore right-hander Jacob Howard has posted an 11-5 record this season in 105 innings pitched. He has struck out 74 batters, walked 28 and opponents are hitting .279 against him. Senior left-hander Jesse Marshall is 8-3 with a 3.58 ERA in 98 innings pitched. He has struck out 51, walked 34 and opponents are hitting .273 against him.

Oxford Regional capsules

Watch/Listen to Oxford Regional games

Coastal Carolina was selected to host an NCAA Regional in Myrtle Beach SC at the home of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. They will be joined by Clemson, St. John’s, and Virginia Commonwealth.

Coastal Carolina

Coastal Carolina comes in as a number 1 seed and hosting the Regional for the first time after going 48-11 this spring. They are led by David Sappelt who is hitting .366 with 49 RBI. Coastal Carolina’s top starting pitcher is Bobby Gagg who went 11-2 with a 2.75 ERA. They open up against Virginia Commonwealth at 4 pm on Friday.

Coastal Carolina Tourney Notes

Clemson

The Tigers (38-21) enter the weekend after winning two out of three games in the ACC Tournament but did not advance as they lost the tiebreaker to Wake Forest. They are led by Brad Chaulk who has a .385 average in forty games this season. He is also getting on base at a .514 clip. The Tigers are led by All-American closer Daniel Moskos who was moved to the starting rotation halfway through the year. He has a 3-5 record with a 3.12 ERA. Clemson opens the tournament against St. John’s at noon on Friday.

Clemson Tourney Notes

St. John’s

The Red Storm (40-17) recieved an at-large berth out of the Big East. Gil Zayas is leading the team in hitting with a .363 batting average. Bryan Kemp also has a .361 batting average to give the Red Storm two solid hitters. George Brown has made 13 starts this season accumulating a 6-2 record and a 2.93 ERA.

St. John’s Tourney Notes

Virginia Commonwealth

The Rams (37-21) are led by Jared Bolden who has a .393 average with 49 RBI. He has also stolen 17 bases throughout the season. Phillip Deane leads the starters in ERA at 4.02. He only has a 3-5 record on the season. Luke Pisker leads the team in ERA at 1.87 and has a 9-1 overall record including 11 saves.

VCU Tourney Notes

The CBB predicts that Clemson will come through the regional with superior talent.

The Long Beach Dirtbags will be one of the 16 hosts for the NCAA Baseball Tournament that starts on Friday. They will host Pepperdine, UCLA, and Illinois-Chicago.

Long Beach State

The Dirtbags (37-18) are heading into the weekend after finishing up the regular season knocking off Cal-State Fullerton in two out of three games last weekend. LBSU is led by Omar Arif who is 5-5 with a 3.11 ERA. Bryan Shaw leads the team with 10 saves with a 2.53 ERA.

LBSU Tourney Notes

UCLA

The UCLA Bruins (30-26) finished in third place in the Pac 10 conference with a 14-10 mark. They are led by Gabe Cohen who is leading the team in hitting with a .357 average including ten homers. Tyson Brummett leads the starters with a 9-5 mark with an ERA of 3.69. He also has 103 strikeouts in 125 innings.

UCLA Tourney Notes

Pepperdine

The Pepperdine Waves (35-20) are led by one of the top pitchers in the country in Barry Enright who leads the team in wins with 12 and has an ERA of 1.73. Jason Dominguez leads the team with 12 saves in 28 appearances. The offense is led by Adrian Ortiz (.355 BA), Danny Worth (.346 BA), and Donald Brown (.342 BA).

Pepperdine Tourney Notes

UIC

The University of Illinois-Chicago heads out to Long Beach CA to take part in the regional that Long Beach State is hosting. UIC got into the NCAA Tournament after winning the Horizon League Tournament. UIC is led by Larry Gempe Jr. who is hitting .397 for the season. Steve Crnkovich who leads the starting pitchers in ERA at 2.27 and has only a 4-3 overall record. They have one of the best closers in the country with David Cales who has twelve saves on the season and an ERA of 0.84.

UIC Tourney Notes

The CBB predicts Pepperdine to shock everyone and win the regional behind Barry Enright’s arm.

Ranked as the number four national seed coming into regional play, the Texas Longhorns will host their weekend regional in neighboring Round Rock. Traveling to take on the ‘Horns will be second-seeded UC Irvine and third-seeded Wake Forest, as well as Ivy League champ Brown. The winner of that bracket will take on the winner from Wichita next week. The Shockers, like all other hosts this spring, are the top seed at home, and they welcome in a tough number two seed in Arizona, as well as both Oral Roberts and New Orleans.

(1) Texas [#5]

The Longhorns are again right where they’ve been for much of this decade, sitting at home for regional play with a national seed in their back pocket following a stellar regular season. The 2007 campaign saw UT claim first place in the Big XII after putting together a 21-6 league mark and 44-15 overall record.

(2) UC Irvine

You may not know much about the Big West Conference, but the Anteaters will attest that it’s no easy task with the likes of Cal State-Fullerton, Long Beach State, and UC Riverside on the schedule from week to week. Irvine survived quite nicely though, going 15-6 in conference play and 40-15 overall to earn the at-large berth.

(3) Wake Forest

Though the Demon Deacons finished a pair of games below .500 in ACC play and actually just six games above the break-even mark overall, they were awarded one of the final at-large berths to this year’s NCAA tournament after losing to UNC in the ACC Tournamnet title game.

(4) Brown

A 27-19 overall record and 14-6 mark in Ivy League play was enough to earn the Bears a matchup with Penn in the conference playoffs. Brown took that series 2-0 to earn the only automatic berth in this regional.

Southerncollegesports

The Arkansas Razorbacks were announced as the Regional host at Baum Stadium this weekend. They will be joined by the Creighton Blue Jays, Oklahoma State, and Albany Great Danes. All games will be broadcasted on CSTV.

Arkansas

The Razorbacks enter with an overall record of 41-19 after making the SEC Championship game over the weekend and losing to the Vanderbilt Commodores. They are led by a strong pitching staff of Jess Todd (9-2, 2.49 ERA, 124 K’s), Nick Schmidt (10-3, 2.85 ERA), and Duke Welker (6-5, 3.83 ERA). The offensive leader for the Razorbacks is Logan Forsythe who hit .352 for the season. Danny Hamblin leads the team with 22 homers on the year. They open the tournament with the Albany Great Danes at 7:30 pm.

Arkansas Tourney Notes

Creighton

The Blue Jays (44-14) enter as the champions of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament after knocking off Wichita State in 12 innings 10-9. Ben Mancuso leads the starters with an ERA of 2.28 and a record of 10-2 in twelve starts. Andy Masten is a finalist for Stopper of the Year with his 16 saves in 33 appearances. His ERA is 1.74 for the season. Darin Ruf leads the hitters with a .377 average. They will take on Oklahoma State at 3:30 pm on Friday to open up their run to Omaha for the CWS.

Creighton Tourney Notes

Oklahoma State

The Cowboys (38-19) are entering the NCAA Tournament on a six game losing streak after getting swept by Missouri in the final series of the year and going 0-3 in the Big 12 tournament.
They are led by a very shaky pitching staff which has a staff ERA of 4.09 but make up for it with a very good hitting team as opponents have an ERA of 7.52. The top starting pitcher for the Cowboys is Joe Kent who is 4-2 with a 3.33 ERA in ten starts. Justin Friend has seven saves on the season with an ERA of 2.54. They will open the tournament against Creighton at 3:30 pm on Friday.

Oklahoma State Tourney Notes

Albany

The Great Danes (29-27) enter the NCAA Tournament as the America East Champion after sweeping through the conference tournament. They are led by Steve Wyland who is hitting .379 for the season in 54 games. The Great Danes pitching staff is weak for a northern squad with John Naples leading the rotation with an 8-2 record and an ERA of 3.29. They will open the tournament at 7:30 against Arkansas.

Albany Tourney Notes

The CBB predicts Arkansas to win the regional but watch out for the Blue Jays to be the sleeper squad in the Regional. I would be shocked if Albany won a game before heading home.

South Carolina will be hosting this weekend at Sarge Frye Field. They will be joined by Wofford, NC State, and Charlotte.

South Carolina

The Gamecocks are coming off the SEC Tournament in which they went 1-2 with a victory over Florida which was bookended by losses to Arkansas. They are led by one of the top sophomores in the country in Justin Smoak. He is considered one of the top two players in the country with Pedro Alvarez of Vanderbilt. He is hitting at .304 for the season with 18 homers. James Darnell leads the team in hitting with a .338 average and also has 18 homers on the season. Arik Hempy leads the starting pitchers with a 5-3 record and an ERA of 2.87. They open the tournament on Friday at 7 pm when they take on Wofford.

South Carolina Game Notes

NC State

NC State heads down the road to South Carolina to take part in the NCAA Regional. The Wolfpack went 1-2 in the ACC Tournament with a victory over Georgia Tech and picked up a losses to Virginia and North Carolina. The Wolfpack are led by catcher Caleb Mangum who is hitting .286 but is solid behind the plate. Ryan Pond leads the team in hitting with a .330 average and six homers. Eric Surkamp leads the starting pitchers with an ERA of 3.18 and a 4-4 overall record. They also have one of the top draft picks in their rotation with Andrew Brackman but he struggled throughout the year with his control as his record stands at 6-4 with a 3.81 ERA. The CBB saw the Wolfpack twice this season in which Brackman pitched in Game 2 and Jimmy Gillheeney pitched Game 3 of the series with Boston College. NC State will play Charlotte at 2 pm on Friday.

BREAKING NEWS: NC STATE HAS LEFT ANDREW BRACKMAN OFF THE ROSTER THIS WEEKEND. FULL STORY AVAILABLE HERE.

NC State Tourney Notes

Charlotte

The Charlotte 49ers (47-10) will take part in the NCAA tournament after winning the Atlantic 10 conference tournament and receiving the automatic bid to the NCAA tourney. Charlotte is led by All-American pitcher Adam Mills who leads the team with an 1.07 ERA in 17 games. He has a record of 13-2 with four shutouts and an opponents batting average of .186. Brad McElroy leads the offense with a .412 batting average. They open up the tournament at 2 pm on Friday when they take on in-state rival NC State at 2 pm.

Charlotte Tourney Notes

Wofford

Wofford (30-31) enter this weekend as the Southern Conference Tournament Champion as they won the tournament as the number 9 seed. They are led by Brandon Waring who is hitting .405 on the season with 27 home runs. (That is not an error.) Ben Austin is 11-5 with a 4.03 ERA in 17 starts. They will open the tournament by taking on South Carolina at 7 pm on Friday.

Wofford Tourney Notes

The CBB predicts that South Carolina will win the regional but Charlotte will give them a run for the money as the 49ers pitchers are some of the best in the country.

The University of North Carolina is hosting the NCAA Regional this weekend at Boshamer Stadium. The three other schools who will be playing in the regional are Western Carolina, East Carolina, and Jacksonville.

North Carolina

The North Carolina Tar Heels (48-12) went undefeated at the ACC Tournament on their way to the ACC Tournament Championship. They are led by Freshman All-American Dustin Ackley who has a .437 average. Josh Horton also provides strong defense and a potent bat in the lineup as he has a .329 average in 60 games. Robert Woodard with a 9-2 record and a 3.29 average. The CBB did check out the Tar Heels this season which can be read by clicking here. They open the tournament on Friday when they play Jacksonville at 6:00 pm.

UNC Tourney Notes

East Carolina

The East Carolina Pirates (39-21) head up the road to Chapel Hill to open up their NCAA Tournament against Western Carolina on Friday at 2 pm. ECU went to the Conference USA championship game but lost to Rice 16-8. They are led by Dale Mollenhauer who leads the team with a .329 average. Josh Dowdy is the top starting pitcher with a 5-1 record in twelve starts.

East Carolina Tourney Notes

Western Carolina

The Western Carolina Catamounts (40-18) enter this weekend coming off the Southern Conference Tournament in which they were eliminated after two games after losing to Georgia Southern and The Citadel. Western Carolina’s top hitter is Kenny Smith who is hitting .396 on the season in 58 games. Drew Saberhagen leads the team with an 8-1 record and a 3.10 ERA. He is the son of former MLB pitcher Brett Saberhagen. They open the tournament against East Carolina on Friday at 2 pm.

Western Carolina Tourney Notes

Jacksonville

The Jacksonville Dolphins enter this weekend with a 34-26 overall record after winning the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament to get into the NCAA Regional. The Dolphins are led by Pete Clifford who leads the team with a .359 average and in homers with 14. Justin Young has the lowest ERA of the starters at 3.33 but only has a record of 5-5. They will open up against North Carolina at 6 pm on Friday.

Jacksonville Tourney Notes

The CBB predicts UNC to win the regional with East Carolina being the sleeper team from Conference USA.

The Field

(1) Rice [#2] (49-12)

The Owls were the preseason #1, but didn’t live up to those expectations early on. But Wayne Graham’s club has won 30 of their last 32, including a recent 20-game win streak. They�ve hit their stride at just the right time, and that means trouble. Rice is known for their pitching, but the bats that have made headlines lately. The Owls scored 60 runs in winning the Conference USA tournament, including 36 in the last two games against Memphis and East Carolina.

(2) TCU (46-12)

The Horned Frogs swept both Mountain West titles for the second year in a row, going 20-3 in league play, then sweeping through the MWC tournament in Las Vegas. TCU is solid at the plate (.316), in their rotation (top three starters are 27-6), and in the bullpen (starter-turned-closer Sam Demel has 13 saves).

(3) Baylor (34-25)

The Bears made a late-season move to get into the regionals, sweeping their last conference series vs. Kansas State, then knocking off Oklahoma State, Missouri, and Oklahoma in the Big 12 tourney before falling to Texas A&M in the final. This is the second straight year Steve Smith�s team will be at Rice.

(4) Prairie View (34-23)

The Panthers, like Baylor, return to Rice for the second straight year. They won the SWAC West Division title, and swept through the SWAC tournament, defeating Southern 8-7 for the title. The 2004 season is no doubt still fresh in many minds, when Texas Southern upset defending champ Rice in their opening game. And last year, the Panthers held a 5-3 lead going into the 8th inning, but the Owls came back to win 6-5.

Southerncollegesports.com

COLLEGE STATION REGIONAL
vs Houston Regional

The Field

(1) Texas A&M (44-16)

The Aggies were probably the nation�s best turnaround story this season. In Rob Childress� first season last year, A&M went 25-30-1. This season, they had 25 wins on April 1st. They were in the running for a national seed for most of the season, but a .500 finish in conference hurt. But the Aggies rebounded from a season-ending sweep vs. Texas by winning the Big 12 tourney, including knocking off the ‘Horns in pool play, and a 14-6 win over Baylor in the title game. They�re hosting for the first time since 2003.

(2) Louisiana-Lafayette (43-15)

The Ragin� Cajuns were in the running for a #1 seed until the end, but the Sun Belt�s regular-season champions fell short in the tournament title game, and that may have cost them their shot at a #1 and a regional at home. If there�s any consolation, they�re the highest #2 seed in the field.

(3) Ohio State (37-22)

The Buckeyes were SCS.com�s preseason pick to win the Big Ten title. Turns out they did end up doing it, but not in the fashion they were expected to. They finished .500 in the Big Ten, and got into the conference tournament on the final day, but ended up sweeping through it, knocking off the top three seeds to win the title.

(4) Le Moyne (34-17)

Manhattan looked set to run away with the Metro Atlantic, starting conference play 19-0. But the Dolphins stole their thunder, sweeping the Jaspers on the road late in the season and swiping the regular-season title, then did it again in the MAAC tournament to book their spot in the field of 64.

Southerncollegesports,com

The University of Virginia will be hosting for the second consecutive year in Charlottesville Virginia. They will be joined by Rutgers, Oregon State, and Lafayette.

Virginia

The Virginia Cavaliers (43-14) enter this weekend after winning two out of three games in the ACC Tournament. They did not qualify for the ACC Championship as they lost the head to head tiebreaker with North Carolina. They are led by a very strong pitching staff in Jacob Thompson and Sean Doolittle. Thompson has an overall record of 11-0 with an ERA of 1.35. (The CBB had the chance to see him pitch and a full report on him is available here.) Sean Doolittle is one of the top two-way players in the country as he has a record of 7-3 with a 2.57 ERA while batting .318 with 52 RBI. The Virginia offense is led by Brandon Guyer (.369) and David Adams (.368). They receive some bad news about two weeks ago when leadoff hitter and batting average leader Greg Miclat had surgery on a torn labrum and is out for the season. Virginia opens the tournament against Lafayette at 4 pm Friday.

Virginia Tourney Notes

Rutgers

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights made an impressive run through the Big East Tournament by coming through the loser’s bracket before taking out UConn in the conference championship game by a 7-6 scoreline. Rutgers is led by All-American candidate Todd Frazier who is hitting .379 with 22 home runs and 64 RBI. He has also stolen 25 bases in 29 attempts. Dave Williams is the leading hitter on the team with a .408 batting average in 57 games. Steve Healing leads the pitching staff with a 10-3 overall record and an ERA of 3.56. Rutgers opens the tournament against defending champion Oregon State at 8 pm on Friday.

Rutgers Tourney Notes

Oregon State

The Oregon State Beavers are the defending champions and will head to Charlottesville after finishing in sixth place in the PAC-10. They have an overall record of 38-17 but were under .500 in the PAC 10 at a 10-14 mark. Mitch Canham is one of the top catchers in the country who will likely be drafted in the top five rounds in the upcoming draft. He leads the team in hitting with a .346 average and in homers with nine. The Oregon State pitching staff is led by Mike Stutes who has a 9-4 record and has struck out 101 hitters in 102.2 innings. Oregon State opens against Rutgers at 8 pm on Friday.

Oregon State Tourney Notes

Lafayette

The Lafayette Leopards (33-18) enter the weekend with the automatic bid from the Patriot League after sweeping the Army in the Championship series. Lafayette split with Ivy League Champion Brown last week in preparation for the NCAA Regionals. Lafayette is led by pitchers Kevin Reese and Matt Kamine. Reese is 7-1 with a 2.70 ERA in nine starts including four complete games. Kamine is 7-4 with a 2.72 ERA. The Leopards offense is led by James Conrad who has a .351 average with 48 stolen bases in 52 attempts. Jeff Butler has a .350 average also so he is also a player to watch.

Lafayette Tourney Notes

The CBB predicts Virginia to advance through the regional and the sleeper team in the regional is Rutgers with a potent lineup.

The Florida State Seminoles was named the number 6 seed in the NCAA Baseball Tournament and was named the host of the Tallahassee Regional. They will be joined by Mississippi State, Stetson, and Bethune-Cookman.

Florida State (47-11)

The Florida State Seminoles enter this weekend after losing two out of three games in the ACC Tournament to put their overall record at 47-11. They are led by All-American candidates Bryan Henry and Tony Thomas Jr. Henry was named the ACC Pitcher of the Year after going a perfect 14-0 in his first 16 starts but picked up a loss in the ACC Tournament as he lost a 5-1 decision to Clemson. Tony Thomas Jr. has been hitting the ball well throughout the season as he is one of the top hitters in the country with his .442 average. He also has 32 doubles and 30 stolen bases in only 58 games. The Seminoles open the tournament by playing Bethune-Cookman at 7 pm on Friday.

FSU Tourney Notes

Mississippi State

The Mississippi State Bulldogs enter the NCAA Tourney with an at-large berth after finishing the season with a 33-20 overall record and 15-13 in the SEC. They are led by Brandon Turner who leads the team with a .407 batting average. Edward Easley leads the team with twelve homers on the season and is hitting at an impressive .373 average. The Bulldog starting pitching is weak with Justin Pigott leading the team in starts but has a 5-6 record with an ERA of 4.63. The other starting pitcher is Josh Johnson who is 2-3 with a 6.23 ERA in 12 starts. Mississippi State opens the tournament on Friday at 1pm when they play Stetson.

Mississippi State Tourney Notes

Stetson

The Stetson Hatters enter the weekend as the Regular Season Champion of the Atlantic Sun Conference and reached the semifinals of the Conference Tournament so they picked up an at-large berth with a 41-19 overall record. The Hatters are led by 27th year head coach Pete Dunn who has won over a thousand games in his illustrious career. They are led by a strong pitching staff which has a staff ERA of 3.65. The top starter is Corey Kluber who has an 11-2 record with a slim ERA of 2.19. Number 2 starter Chris Ingoglia has a 9-5 mark and 2.98 ERA with four complete games. Robbie Elsemiller is the closer on the team and has a record of 3-1 with 12 saves and an ERA of 2.32. Justin Bass leads the team in hitting with a batting average of .365 and Shane Jordan is right behind him at .355. Stetson opens the weekend at 1 pm against Mississippi State on Friday.

Stetson Tourney Notes

Bethune-Cookman

Bethune-Cookman won the MEAC Conference Tournament to receive the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. They enter the weekend with an overall record of 33-25. The head coach is Mervyl Melendez who is in his eighth season with the school. He is led by Angel Mercado who is hitting .400 for the season in 52 games. Dustin Blackwell is the top pitcher for BCC with a 8-5 record and a 2.86 ERA. After looking over the BCC roster, the coaching staff is making a strong commitment to recruiting kids from Puerto Rico to give them the opportunity to play college baseball.

BCC Tourney Notes

The CBB predicts that Florida State will win the regional but the sleeper team is Stetson with their strong pitching staff and could surprise some teams.

The College Baseball Season is heading into the Postseason and The College Baseball Blog will be your ultimate source for Tournament News. The readers can expect full previews and recaps of every NCAA regional. We have seen immense growth over the last three months. We are thinking about taking the blog to our own server over this summer. If anyone has any ideas for the site or advertising ideas feel free to e-mail us by clicking here.

As always, The readers are encouraged to download Mozilla Firefox as it is the best web browser available and can be downloaded by clicking on the links on the site.

The Penn Quakers were named the Big 5 Team of the Year. They finished the season with an overall record of 20-19 and lost in the Ivy League Playoffs to Brown. The Quakers also had three members of the team were honored with Todd Roth picking up three awards including Big 5 Co-Pitcher of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and All-Big 5. Joey Boaen earned Academic Big 5 honors while Penn Head Coach John Cole was named the Big 5 Coach of the Year. Full Release available here.

Four Conference USA teams will begin play in NCAA Regionals on Friday. Memphis will end a 13-year NCAA drought when it faces Michigan in the Nashville Regional. Rice will be playing in its 13th straight NCAA Championship, hosting Prairie View. Southern Miss is in the field for the fifth year in a row and will take on Troy in the Oxford Regional. East Carolina will make its eighth appearance in nine years when it makes the short drive to Chapel Hill.

Complete notebook

Because there are fewer than six degrees of separation between Rice coach Wayne Graham and New York Yankees legend Yogi Berra, it isn’t a wild assumption to believe Graham muttered, “It’s like déjà vu all over again” upon first glance at the Houston Regional field.

The NCAA baseball selection committee on Monday announced the pairings for the 64-team NCAA Tournament, and the four-team Houston Regional features three returnees from 2006: Rice (49-12), Baylor (34-25) and Prairie View (34-23).

The newcomer is TCU (46-12), which Rice has played six times in the past three seasons, including a three-game set at Reckling Park in 2005.

“It’s a solid regional,” said Graham, whose Owls are the No. 2 national seed and will host the Houston Regional at Reckling. (Vanderbilt is the tourney’s No. 1 seed.)

“We played them all. TCU has great talent, and Baylor is on the upswing after finishing second in the Big 12 tournament. Prairie View has everybody back. They present a problem. They seem to play extremely well against us.”

Outside of the lack of creativity on the part of the committee, few could quarrel with the bracketing of the regional.

CHRONICLE: Complete story