Eight for Omaha: April 25 Edition

I'm going to try doing something a little bit different this time, as I take a look at which eight teams might end up playing in the 2008 College World Series, which begins seven weeks from Saturday. Kendall Rogers, the college baseball editor of Rivals.com, was kind enough to project his entire field of 64, which can be seen here. From those, I will project the winners of each regional and super regional, to give you what the field of 64 would look like if the tournament started today.

Coral Gables Regional vs. Myrtle Beach Regional
Projected match-up: Miami (Florida) vs. Missouri
Projected winner: Miami
Why Miami will win: The Canes just keep on rolling. By taking two of three at then-No. 2 Florida State, Jim Morris' club established themselves as the top team in the country. Miami (33-5, 17-2 ACC) has won six of their last eight and and are 9-3 against teams currently ranked in the top 30.

Why Miami could lose: Aaron Crow could come out and shut down UM's offense. Crow is one of the top pitchers in the country and will be taken in the top ten of the June draft. A win in the opener for Missouri would set the Tigers up very nicely to pull the upset, but even then it is difficult to win a series at Mark Light Field, where the Canes have not lost a series all year.

Tallahassee Regional vs. Stillwater Regional

Projected match-up: Florida State vs. Oral Roberts (as much as it pains me to say that)

Projected winner: Florida State

Why Florida State will win: Despite dropping two of three at home to Miami last weekend (although FSU was rallying game three when it was ended due to a travel curfew after seven innings), the Noles (34-5, 18-3 ACC) remain one of the best clubs in the nation. Buster Posey (.483/.586/.864 with 11 home runs and 46 RBI) might very well win player of the year honors. He carries Florida State's offense, and as he goes, so go the Noles.

Why Florida State could lose: FSU is the worst fielding team in the ACC, with a fielding percentage of .955. FSU has given up 31 unearned runs so far this year, and errors were a large part of the reason why Miami took two out of three. The Noles also have a tendency to fall behind early in games and then rally later one. While this has proven effective so far, the teams in the regional and super regional round will not be as likely to relinquish the lead. Oral Roberts has wins over Arkansas, Baylor and Pepperdine this year, and the Golden Eagles will not be an easy out.

Cary Regional vs. Lincoln Regional

Projected match-up: North Carolina vs. Nebraska

Projected winner: North Carolina

Why North Carolina will win: The Tar Heels have won 11 straight games and are playing their best baseball at the right time of the year. We will know a lot more about both the Tar Heels (36-7, 16-4 ACC) and Florida State after the three-game series in Chapel Hill this weekend. Kyle Seager, who would probably win ACC player of the year if not for Buster Posey) has driven in 60 runs already this season, and he is one of five UNC starters with at least 30 RBI. The Heels score runs in bunches, and they will be tough for even Nebraska's staff to stop.

Why North Carolina could lose: The Tar Heels will not be playing at home, although they would still be the host, as renovations are taking place on their stadium. They have won the last two super regionals in their home ballpark, and they might not come out with the same emotion that they would have at home. Other than that, the Tar Heels look like a pretty sure thing.

Tempe Regional vs. College Station Regional
Projected match-up: UC Irvine vs. Texas A&M
Projected winner: Texas A&M
Why Texas A&M will win: Very quietly, the Aggies (35-7, 16-3 Big 12) have put together a stellar season. Everyone is seemingly talking about Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma State, but Texas A&M gets very little love from the national media. That will change if the Aggies win this weekend's series against Missouri (edit: Texas A&M won game one 9-8). Texas A&M has won five in a row and 18 of their last 19. The Aggies have three players (Darby Brown, Dane Carter and Jose Duran) who have at least 40 RBI, with Brown's 48 leading the way. Texas A&M makes good use of the long-ball, as they have 48 home runs as a team. The Aggies have a team ERA of 3.60, so the pitchers are solid, if not spectacular.
Why Texas A&M could lose: Texas A&M suffers from the same malady that plagues Florida State: errors. The Aggies have committed 52 errors and have allowed 42 unearned runs. All errors are important, but they are amplified on the national stage. Also, UC Irvine's Scott Gorgen is one of the top pitchers in the game, and if he could give the Anteaters a win in game one, that could set the stage for UC Irvine to win a super-regional on the road for the second consecutive year.

Columbia Regional vs. Raleigh Regional
Projected match-up: South Carolina vs. East Carolina
Projected winner: South Carolina
Why South Carolina will win: Ray Tanner's club is much more seasoned than when these two clubs met to open the year (East Carolina took two of three in late February). The Gamecocks have won 11 of their past 13 to move into the top half of the SEC. South Carolina (31-12, 11-8 SEC) gets its offensive production from four big bats: Reese Havens, Justin Smoak, James Darnell and Phil Disher. Each has at least 12 home runs (USC has 78 dingers as a team) and 42 RBI. Smoak is hitting .390, slugging .799 with 17 home runs and 49 RBI. Despite their proficiency with the long ball, South Carolina also can get on base in other ways, as the team on-base percentage is .399.
Why South Carolina could lose: The Gamecocks don't boast any really impressive series wins, although they did take two of three from both Kentucky and Mississippi, and the series loss to ECU was in Columbia. The Pirates know what it takes to win two of three in Columbia and could do it again.

Athens Regional vs. Corvallis Regional
Projected match-up: Georgia vs. Pepperdine
Projected winner: Geogria
Why Georgia will win: The Bulldogs are playing their best ball right now, as they have not lost since April 9 to Georgia Tech. Much like Texas A&M, the Bulldogs have allowed the pundits to talk about other teams and just quietly keep winning. Georgia boasts sweeps over South Carolina and LSU in the last three weeks, the Bulldogs (29-12, 15-3 SEC) are 27-8 since starting out 2-4. Gordon Beckham (.437/.548/.904) leads the offense with 20 home runs and 48 RBI. The Bulldogs get good starting pitching from Trevor Holder and Stephen Dodson (the two are a combined 11-4), but the star is the closer, Joshua Fields. Fields has 12 saves in 21 appearances and has yet to allow and earned run. He has 42 strikeouts and 11 walks in 22.1 innings. If Georgia has a lead after 8 with Fields on the mound, the game is over.
Why Georgia could lose: When the offense doesn't score, Georgia struggles. The Bulldogs are 4-9 when they score four or fewer runs. Pepperdine has a strong enough pitching staff that it could hold the Bulldogs under the magic number of four runs.

Stanford Regional vs. Fullerton Regional
Projected match-up: Long Beach State vs. Cal State Fullerton
Projected winner: Cal State Fullerton
Why Cal State Fullerton will win: The Titans are another team who are playing their best at the right time of the year. Since starting out 9-8, CSUF (25-14, 10-3 Big West) has gone 16-6. The Titans have taken two of three from UC Irvine, swept UCLA (2-game series) and split a two-game series with Arizona State, so the Dave Serrano's club will be tournament-tested. The Titans win with a lot of timely hitting and solid pitching. Having made the College World Series a year ago, the Titans know what it will take to get back to Omaha.
Why Cal State Fullerton could lose: Long Beach State had one of the most impressive resumes early on, winning a series against Rice and sweeping Wichita State, Southern Cal and UCLA. The Dirtbags have struggled in Big West play, but if they can get to the super-regional round, they will be tough for their conference rival to handle (note: these two teams play a 3-game series to end the regular season [May 23-25], so that series will show a lot about both of these teams).

Houston Regional vs. Tuscon Regional
Projected match-up: Rice vs. Arizona
Projected winner: Rice
Why Rice will win: The Owls have unfinished business in Omaha. In each of the past two seasons, Rice won its first two games at the College World Series only to lose the next two before reaching the championship series. Unlike past years, the Owls have a much greater offensive balance. There is not one offensive star, but Rice (32-11, 13-3 Conference USA) has six players who are hitting .330 or higher. Ryan Berry and Matt Langwell, who are a combined 9-3, lead the pitching staff.
Why Rice could lose: Much like Memphis in basketball, questions abound about whether Conference USA provides Rice with enough tests. This year is the first time in three years where Rice has lost more than one C-USA game. The Owls played tough competition early in the season, but they haven't played a lot of tough teams lately, although they did sweep East Carolina last weekend. This lack of competition could cost the Owls come tournament time.

There's the weekly (I hope) look at who would make it to Omaha. The CWS match-ups would be: Miami-Rice and South Carolina-Texas A&M in bracket one and Florida State-Cal State Fullerton and North Carolina-Georgia in bracket two.

Image from cwsomaha.com

One Down, Two to Go

At 3:00 this afternoon, my first year of graduate school came to an end. It was a great year. I really enjoyed being back in a collegiate environment. There were many differences (some good and some bad) between life on a campus of 30,000 and what things were like at Valpo with 3500 students.

But right now, I would like to focus on my teaching experiences. The program I am in will give me a Masters in Latin with Michigan High School teaching certification, and the goal is to prepare us to be teachers. This involved starting out teaching a Latin 101 class in my first semester. I was given a lot of suggestions about how to run an effective class, and after a week's worth of seminars, I was turned loose on a class of unsuspecting undergraduates. I didn't doubt my ability to teach Latin, I took four years in high school and four years in college, so I have a pretty strong grasp of the language, but I certainly was nervous about standing in front of and lecturing to a group of strangers. Despite the nervousness I felt, I appreciated this aspect of the program because I knew that it would give me a pretty good idea of whether teaching was what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I thought teaching would be good, but I wouldn't have any idea until I had some actual experience.

As it turned out, teaching was so much more than I ever expected. There were many days where I dreaded going to the classes where I had to do learning (although in fairness I did learn a lot of interesting things over the course of the year), but I always looked forward to teaching. I taught two different sections of Latin 101, and the dynamics of each class were very different, but both classes were a joy to be around. Both classes had their cast of characters, but there wasn't a single person I didn't look forward to seeing each and every day. And the best part of all this? They even learned a little bit of Latin. I certainly am glad to have four months for summer vacation because this year has been draining, but I certainly will miss not teaching for the next four months. In that respect, anyway, September can't get here soon enough.

22 Reasons Why Baseball is Best

Okay, so I realize opening day more than three weeks ago, but I am finally getting around to celebrating the start of our national pastime. With that being said, I present to you the following 22 (although there certainly could be many more) reasons why baseball is the best game in the land.

1. The movies. "People will come, Ray. People will most definitely come." These words come from Terrance Mann (played by James Earl Jones) in the 1989 movie, Field of Dreams. (You can see the whole clip here.) In addition to Field of Dreams, baseball has been the subject of many other movies. Eight Men Out, The Pride of the Yankees, The Rookie, Major League, Bull Durham, Little Big League and *61 are just a few of the great baseball movies. As a whole, baseball movies are by far the best sports movies.

2. The announcers, both local and national. Baseball has produced the finest group of announcers of any sport. Ernie Harwell, Jack Buck, Jon Miller, Pat Hughes, John Rooney, Marty Brenneman ("and this one belongs to the Reds"), Curt Gowdy, Vin Scully, Bob Costas and Bob Uecker are just a few of the ones worth mentioning here. This could (and probably will at some point) merit a post of its own.

3. The Seventh Inning Stretch. It might seem a little on the corny side, but baseball is the only game that has its own song that gets played at every stadium during every game. As corny as it may be, I think that's pretty neat.

4. Keeping score. Paul Dickson, the author of The Joy of Keeping Score, put it best, when he said, "The world is divided into two kinds of baseball fans: those who keep score at the ballgame... and those who have never made the leap." Baseball has a unique version of keeping score (although there are many variations), and it is a fantastic way to get involved in the game. I'm pretty fanatical about scoring, and I even managed to convert my sister. All I really need in a member of the opposite sex is someone who knows how to score. The rest of the details can be worked out later.

5. Oakley sunglasses. I will be perfectly honest, a large part of the reason why I wanted to start buying Oakleys is because a lot of the baseball players were wearing them. Special mention goes out to Nate Robertson and Francisco Rodriguez who wear Oakleys but with regular lenses.

6. Flip-down sunglasses. Where else are flip-downs cool? Only on the baseball diamond. In fact, I bet you would think someone walking down street wearing flip-downs was an idiot, but it is perfectly acceptable (and downright encouraged) for the left fielder to wear them.

7. The team nicknames. The Dodgers (for trolley dodgers in Brooklyn), the Lugnuts, the Loons, the Padres (much better than Friars), the Brewers and many others are unique to baseball. The best team names are in baseball.

8. The individual nicknames. The Babe, the Splendid Splinter, the Say Hey Kid, Iron Man, Hammerin' Hank, Joltin' Joe, the Georgia Peach, Oil Can, Catfish and so many others I don't have time to name. What's the best football nickname you can think of...that's what I thought.

9. The minor oddities. The White Sox wear black socks. The foul pole is in fair territory. The on-deck circle. The fact that home plate is not shaped like a plate. The weighted donuts and the rosin bag.

10. The statistics. Baseball is awash in stats. Batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, on-base plus slugging (OPS), hits, runs, home runs, RBI, pitches per plate appearance, value over replacement player (VORP), strikeouts, strikeouts per nine innings, walks, walks per nine innings, ERA, WHIP, fielding percentage, and a few dozen others that you can check out here.

11. The consistency. There are 212 stitches in every baseball. It is always 90 feet between bases, and it is always 60'6" from the mound to home plate.

12. The differences. The short porch in right field at Fenway, as well as the Green Monster. The ivy at Wrigley. Monument Park at Yankee Stadium. The train tracks and the hill in center field at the Juice Box (Minute Maid Park). Bernie's slide at Miller Park. The cavernous dimensions in Oakland. The fountains at Kaufman Stadium. The palm trees at Dodger Stadium and the swimming pool at Chase Field.

13. The rivalries. Cubs-Cardinals, Yankees-Red Sox, Dodgers-Giants, Cubs-White Sox, Mets-Yankees. These are among the fiercest rivalries in sports.

14. The specialization. Lefty specialists, righty specialists, the designated hitter, defensive replacement, pinch runners, set-up men, closers and switch hitters. Max Weber would be very proud.

15. The way a wins, losses and saves are determined for pitchers. In what other sports are their requirements for who gets designated with the win? Did the pitcher go five innings? Did he leave with the lead? Was he still the pitcher when his team took the lead? Don't even get me started on the save rules.

16. Other scoring issues. What constitutes an earned run? Was that a hit or an error. Why does a fly ball that scores a runner from 3rd count as a sacrifice, but a fly ball that advances a runner from 2nd to 3rd does not?

17. The lack of time constraints. The Padres and Rockies played for more than six hours last week. Regular season games in other sports rarely last longer than three hours. A nine inning game can last as long as four hours, or can be done in an hour and 45 minutes (especially if Mark Buehrle is pitching).

18. Wall-to-wall games. On a really good day, and this usually happens at least once a week, baseball can be watched (or listened to, thanks XM) from noon in the Eastern Time Zone until 1 am. The only other sport that can come close to matching that is college football.

19. The smells. There is nothing better than walking into a stadium and taking a whiff of freshly mowed grass. Add cotton candy, pine tar, hot dogs, beer and chalk to all that, and it does not get any better.

20. Ken Burns likes baseball. Renowned documentary maker Ken Burns, an Ann Arbor Pioneer graduate, makes documentaries about topics that mean the most to the American people: Jazz, the Civil War, Chicago and World War II. He also made one about baseball, and if he loves baseball, so should you.

21. George Will. We could not be farther apart politically, but he likes baseball, so he must be a decent human being. If you have not read it, I strongly suggest reading Men at Work. It is a fantastic book.

22. The simplicity. To quote Ebby Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh from Bull Durham, "This is a very simple game, you hit the ball, you catch the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains."

Stay Calm, All is Well

At the time of this writing, the Detroit Tigers had a record of 1-7, good enough for dead-last in Major League Baseball. While the specifics pertain to the Tigers, a team I like to think I know a fair amount about, the notion of it being a long season pertains to all 30 teams.

Six months is a long time. No matter what Colin Cowherd says, and his infinite wisdom will be addressed in a post at a later date), the baseball season is a marathon. It is not a sprint. How a team performs in the first 10 days of the season is absolutely not a barometer for the how the season is going to go. For some teams, you are able to get a pretty good idea of what kind of year the team is going to have, but that is not always the case. I'm sure I wouldn't feel the need to write this if the Tigers had started out 4-4 instead of 1-7, but some very smart baseball people in this area are already starting to hit the panic button. The national media, many of whom picked the Tigers to be the American League's representative in the World Series after the trade for Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis, have already started to think it is Doomsday in Detroit. They've spouted statistics like "no team that ever started out a season 0-5 has gone to the World Series." Certainly this stat might have some merit, but it is much more arbitrary than "no NFL team to start 0-3 has ever made the playoffs." In baseball, eight games is 5 percent of the season, while in the NFL, 3 three games is 19 percent of the schedule. The Tigers will have 154 chances to turn things around, while the if the Lions started 0-3, I would start thinking about who they would draft the following April.

It's not that the Tigers haven't had problems that should be causes for concern. Through the first five games, Detroit hitters were 5-for-38 with runners in scoring position. The top of the lineup (Polanco, Sheffield, Ordonez and Cabrera) haven't produced yet. At this point, I have to assume (as do fans of all teams that have players who have struggled out of the gate) that these four will eventually perform close to what they've done in previous seasons. It would be unrealistic to expect Magglio to hit .364 again this season (or Polanco to hit .343), but it is safe to expect them to both eventually be right around .300 by the end of the season. If that happens, I think the wins will begin to come in bunches. The bullpen has struggled, but that was a question mark coming into the season, and will continue to be a question until Fernando Rodney and Joel Zumaya return.

There are certainly reasons to be concerned about the way the Tigers have started the year, but the season isn't even 5 percent done yet. I won't start making judgments about this team yet. If they're 5-24 at the end of April, then I will start to panic.

Rock, Chalk, Championship

My apologies for the pun in the title, but I kind of enjoyed Jim Nantz's call at the end of the game. Until last night, Stephen Curry and Davidson's magical run as well as a lack of close games were the stories of this year's NCAA tournament. That all changed with Kansas' phenomenal 75-68 overtime win over Memphis in the national championship game, which was easily one of the three most exciting title games in my lifetime. Before the finale the tournament had been rather unspectacular, with 42 of the 62 tournament games being decided by 10 points or more. But now, all anyone who watched last night's will remember about the 2008 tournament is the finale.
People will want to make a big deal about Memphis' struggles from the free-throw line (and I suppose a 1-5 effort by Chris Douglas-Roberts and Derrick Rose in the final 75 seconds is kind of important) as well as the review of Rose's bank-in three-pointer, which was later ruled a two after review (give the officials credit for getting the call right), but all the credit has to be given to Kansas. Down 60-51 with 2:12 to go, Bill Self's Jayhawks could have folded the tent and given up. Instead, Kansas made all the plays down the stretch and took advantage of some key Memphis mistakes to force overtime. Sharron Collins was clutch with his steal and subsequent three-pointer, as was Darrell Arthur with a big basket with a minute to go. And of course, you know about Mario Chalmers' three-pointer to tie the game. That shot will be remembered for as long as the NCAA tournament is played. He will never have to buy a beverage (alcoholic or otherwise) in Lawrence, Kansas again.
Throwing out all the heroic individual efforts on both sides (Derrick Rose will be taken in the top three of the NBA Draft if he chooses to leave school), Kansas simply played better. Memphis only scored 4 fast break points, and none of those came in the final 25 minutes. Kansas made Memphis play at a pace that was better-suited to the Jayhawks, and KU got much better contributions from its bench players. John Calipari used his bench sparingly, and his players ran out of gas in overtime.
Give credit to both teams for playing an instant classic. Douglas-Roberts and Rose deserve credit for almost willing the Tigers to the title, but Self and his players deserve most of the credit. They never gave up and are deserving champions of the 2008 NCAA Tournament.

Eight for Omaha: April 5 Edition

The college baseball season is nearly half over, and it is time to start looking at which eight teams will be playing in the College World Series in Omaha. These are the eight teams that I think would make it to Omaha, if the NCAA tournament were to start tomorrow, along with why they should find themselves in Omaha. For the sake of not having to determine which team is most likely or least likely to make it, teams are listed in alphabetical order. Please note: the records listed are as of the end of play on April 5.

Arizona State (28-2 overall, 4-1 Pac-10): The Sun Devils, who are the No.1 team in all four polls, started out 20-0 and have blitzed everyone they've played (save for losses to Northern Colorado and Stanford). ASU boasts one of the top offenses in the country, as they have scored at least 10 runs 15 times already this season. The Sun Devils have a .332 team batting average, a .454 on-base percentage and a slugging percentage of .557. Ike Davis and Brett Wallace are as good as there are in the college game. Davis (.410/.478/.829) has 11 home runs and has driven in 47 runs, while Wallace (.394/.525/.734) has 9 home runs and 37 RBI. Jason Kipnis (.333/.468/.685) adds 8 home runs and 36 RBI. The pitching staff is solid if not spectacular. Mike Leake leads the way with a 6-0 mark, a 3.38 ERA and a 49/4 strikeout to walk ratio. The Pac-10 will leave ASU well-tested and ready for post-season play. The only thing that could keep the Sun Devils from Omaha is the selection committee. Beyond the national seeds (who can't face each other until Omaha), the committee tends to put the West coast teams together in the regional and super-regional rounds. ASU could very well have to beat Long Beach or Oregon State to reach the CWS.

Florida State (26-3 overall, 12-1 ACC): Mike Martin's Seminoles are the class of the ACC, along with their South Florida counterparts Miami. FSU is hitting .355 as a team and has outscored opponents 302-135. Buster Posey (.448/.549/.819) paces the offense with 9 home runs and 37 RBI, and he serves as the closer for good measure. Tony Delmonico (who transferred from Tennessee after his father was fired last July) (.381/.490/.619) adds 36 RBI and 7 stolen bases. Matt Fairel (7-0, 1.72 ERA, 42 K) has been virtually un-hittable at the top of the rotation. The Seminoles sport a team ERA of 3.79, and opponents are hitting .243. FSU did not make it out of the regional round last year as a national seed, and the pressure will be high not only to get back to Omaha (where they have not been since 2000), but also to win the program's first national championship.

Long Beach State (18-10 overall, 1-1 Big West): The Dirtbags (which has to be the coolest nickname in college sports) have lost seven of their last eight after starting 17-3, but thanks to some good series wins (Rice and Wichita State) to start the year, LBSU will be primed to make a run in May and June. Long Beach wins with pitching and defense. They have only scored 156 runs is 28 games, but the pitchers have only yielded 112. LBSU has a team ERA of 3.00 and Andrew Liebel leads the way (3-1, 1.93 ERA, 53 K, .222 batting average against). The Dirtbags know how to win the close games, but some more offense will be needed to get to Rosenblatt.

Miami (Florida) (25-2 overall, 11-1 ACC): The Hurricanes sit atop the ACC with in-state rival FSU. The Canes hit a ton of home runs (44) and steal a lot of bases (57). Jemile Weeks (Rickie's little brother) has a .402 average with 7 home runs and 35 RBI. Weeks also has converted 9 of 10 stolen base attempts. Blake Tekotte has a .523 on-base percentage and is 14-17 on steals. Chris Hernandez (49 K in 46 innings) leads the pitching staff with a 4-0 record and a 2.54 ERA. Miami's opponents are hitting just .223 off the Canes' staff, and Miami has a team ERA of 3.62. The Hurricanes, who have played 13 games without star Dennis Raben, are primed for a deep run (and perhaps their first national title since 2001).

Missouri (22-8 overall, 5-4 Big 12): The Tigers are the Big 12's only entrant in this edition of the Eight for Omaha. Aaron Crow is much better than you are. Crow, who is bidding to be the first pitcher taken in the 2008 MLB draft, is one of the top pitchers in the college game. He boasts a 7-0 record (in 7 starts) with 3 complete games. Crow has 64 strikeouts in 52 innings and he boasts and ERA of 0.67. Ian Berger has been almost as good, with a 3-1 record and a 0.81 ERA in 7 starts. These two have had to be good, because Mizzouri's offense is nothing special. Aaron Senne leads the way with a .360 average and 37 RBI. Senne and Jacob Priday each have belted 6 home runs. For the Tigers, who have lost five of their last seven, to get to Omaha, Crow and Berger will have to continue to be outstanding. Of this edition's eight, Mizzou is the most likely to fall short.

North Carolina (25-6 overall, 10-4 ACC): The Atlantic Coast Conference's third entrant is the team that has finished as runner-up at the College World Series in the last two years. Mike Fox has a team that can once again reach Rosenblatt, and this edition has a good balance of offense and pitching. UNC has a .325 team batting average, and Tim Fedroff leads the way. Fedroff (.409/.477/.667) has a team-high seven home runs. Kyle Seager (.405/.456/.643) has a team-high 40 RBI. Dustin Ackley, last season's Freshman of the Year, is not having as strong a season as last year, but he has 13 stolen bases. UNC has a team ERA of 2.25, with Alex White leading the way. White is 5-2 as a starter with a 1.93 ERA and 43 strikeouts. North Carolina has six relievers with at least 10 appearances and an ERA below 2.25, which is nearly unheard of in college baseball.

South Carolina (20-10 overall, 6-6 SEC): The Gamecocks, the SEC representative, squeeze in over Vanderbilt because of the injury to Pedro Alvarez. However, after being swept at Georgia, USC's hold on this spot is tenuous. The Gamecocks feature a roster with a lot of home run-hitters. Reese Havens and James Darnell each have hit 10, and South Carolina has 49 total home runs. Darnell leads the way with 41 RBI, while Havens has 38. The Gamecocks sport a team batting average of .307. Nick Godwin (2-2, 2.88 ERA, 34 K, .184 opponent's BA) leads a solid, but not spectcular pitching staff. At 3.76, South Carolina has the second-highest team ERA of all the teams on this list. The offense will have to be good for the rest of the year.

UC Irvine (20-5 overall, 3-3 Big West): The Anteaters (easily one of the best nicknames in college baseball) have won in the same way that Missouri has. UCI has a fantastic pitching staff and specializes in opportunistic hitting. Scott Gorgen is making a serious run (actually, he's probably the favorite at this juncture) at national player of the year. Gorgen (5-2, 1.92 ERA, 58 K, .147 opponent's BA) has been masterful all season. Bryce Stowell (4-1, 1.96 ERA) is better than most Saturday starters in the country. The Eaters boast a 2.48 team ERA, and opponents are hitting just .241. UCI has scored just 162 runs this season, but the pitching staff has given up only 86. Ollie Linton (.343, 24 of 28 on stolen base attempts) gets things going at the top of the line-up, and Jeff Cusick (.420/.510/.568) moves Linton around the bases. UCI has 64 stolen bases this year, so they take advantage when runners get on base.