By: Eric Sorenson
FULLERTON REGIONAL
Champion: Cal State Fullerton
1- Cal State Fullerton (3-0): Incomplete
Can’t really give a grade to the Titans yet as they haven’t found themselves with their backs against it yet in the Big Dance (and I’m sure the Titan fans would be perfectly fine with it staying an “incomplete” grade then). But you can say this, they didn’t get complacent. They still dominated as expected, so hang a gold star on that. We’ll see if things get interesting at all when Louisville visits next.
2- Georgia Southern (0-2): D-
The offense showed up (and put on a hell of a show for me on Friday) but that pitching staff, whew! It got ugly, giving up 30 runs in all. Worst of all, the Eagle bullpanners gave up seven runs in the 8th and 9th innings to lose to Utah in the elimination game.
3- Gonzaga (1-2): C-
Probably not the way coach Machtolf would’ve liked to see his teams good season end, with a loss to the 4-seed. But they did have a good back-and-forth battle going for the first half of the Fullerton game. But let’s not lose sight of the solid season for the Zags, culminating in their first trip to the NCAAs since ‘81.
4- Utah (2-2): B
The Utes continued their confident play from the MWC tourney, making a great run here in Fullerton. Sure, the two losses to the host Titans were pretty much like running barefoot on a gravel road, but that big comeback vs. GSU was one for the ages and you’ve gotta like their fight through the loser’s bracket to make the title round.
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LOUISVILLE REGIONAL
Champion: Louisville
1- Louisville (3-1): B+
Good resiliency by the Cardinals pitching staff as they were the main reason the red and black were able to scratch through this regional. In the three wins, UofL only issued three walks and committed just two Es.The offense has to get out of the doldrums, especially the big sticks of Chris Dominguez and Jeff Arnold, who both only had two hits the entire weekend.
2- Middle Tennessee State (1-2): D
After scoring four runs in the 1st inning of the opening day win over Vanderbilt, the Raiders reliable bats went silent the remainder of the weekend, scoring just three more runs in 26 innings. I’m sure they were giddy over beating their neighboring big brother Commodores on Friday, but it was TAPS city after that.
3- Vanderbilt (3-2): B+
Great recovery in coming back from opening round loss to push this baby all the way to Monday. That touted pitching staff put together a pair of great wins over IU and MT back-to-back to get them to the title round. Lots of young talent on this team, so don’t expect to see this team drop off the radar anytime soon.
4- Indiana (0-2): D-
This team made me look pretty silly. Everybody at the Big 10 tournament last week was abuzz about how good this team was playing and was a dangerous 4-seed. Eric Arnett and Matt Bashore weren’t close to the top of their games here.
TALLAHASSEE REGIONAL
Champion: Florida State
1- Florida State (3-0): B+
Nothing wrong with the Seminoles here, obviously, outscoring the three other teams in the field by a 61-12 count. Now Arkansas comes in and Coach Martin has another great chance to advance to Omaha again. But I can’t quite issue an A here because, what happens when the Noles finally leave Dick Howser Stadium, with its catapult conditions and asinine short porch in right field? Maybe I should’ve given them an “incomplete” score instead.
2- Georgia (1-2): D+
We’ll give the Bulldogs credit here for the football score they put up in game one vs. OSU. But that last loss to the Buckeyes was pretty woeful. Even ESPN’s Kyle Peterson remarked, “Too many mental mistakes and just a poor effort all around.” But Coach Perno will have them back again soon.
3- Ohio State (2-2): F
I feel like a professor who KNOWS that if he gives a failing grade to this star athlete, then that athlete won’t be able to stay on the team. But as much as I would like to point out OSU’s recovery and run to the title round here, they also provided us college baseball addicts with two of the ugliest losses in tournament history, by 24-8 and 37-6 scores. God help us all.
4- Marist (0-2): C+
The Red Foxes hung tough all weekend, taking Florida State late into game one before imploding and pushing Big 10 champion Ohio State all nine innings long. Not bad, all things considered.
NORMAN REGIONAL
Champion: Arkansasas
1- Oklahoma (2-2): C
We’ll give the Sooners credit for making the title round, but that’s it. We all knew the Sooners could put some dings in the scoreboard, but what they needed was some zeroes on the other side of the ledger. Their pitching just abandoned them as Arkansas went hog wild at the dish, to the tune of 28 runs in the two losses.
2- Arkansas (3-0): A
Damn! The young Razorback arms came up big when Coach Van Horn needed them most. Bravo man! Drew Smyly’s 8.1 inning, one-hit gem on Sunday night could very well be the best mound work all weekend, anywhere. The Hogs now face Florida State, who they beat in the Super Regionals in 2004, their last trip to The O.
3- Washington State (1-2): C-
The Cougs really didn’t do much they could stick in their trophy case this weekend, losing by good sized margins to the Razorbacks (10-3) and Sooners (7-2). But they are newbies to this Big Dance thing - well, at least newbies long since the Bobo Brayton times - and considering the Coogs finished last in the Pac 10 in ‘08, this was a great leap forward.
4- Wichita State (0-2): B-
As you know, this wasn’t vintage Shocker baseball this year, but like BCU, a pair of tough one-run losses shows they had some heart. What they needed was more offense, since Jordan Cooper threw a complete-game, 3-hitter with 10Ks vs. Wazzu, but still lost.
IRVINE REGIONAL
Champion: Virginia
1- UC Irvine (2-2): C
One of the things that UCI was able to disguise most of the last half of the season was their relatively thin pitching staff and hither-and-yon hitting They’ve been making a living with just enough timely hitting and solid defense… it all came to fruition here this weekend when UVa got on top of them and kept the pressure on with great play. The ‘Eaters run into a hot team for the second year in a row.
2- Virginia (3-0): A
Okay, this is awesome. The Cavs are ready to make a major step in their inner growth as a program and its all laid out for us to see. The Wahoos played like a team beyond its years - the kind of play that UCI had used the last two years to make it to Omaha and the Supers. Pitchers Robert Morey, Danny Hultzen and Andrew Carraway are as hot as any set of arms in the country. Lets see how they do going from 3,000+ fans to 10,000+ rabid fans this week.
3- San Diego State (1-2): C
Strasburg did his part, giving up just two hits and striking out 15 Cav batters on Friday, but there wasn’t enough offense to get the W, saddling Strasburg with his only loss of the year. The Aztecs didn’t crumble though, coming back to beat Fresno before succumbing to UCI.
4- Fresno State (0-2): C
Newsflash! The Bulldogs finally lose an elimination game. The Dogs fought the good fight this weekend, not playing too badly. They gave UCI a tough game in round one and came up just short vs. SDSU. The careers of Tom Mendonca, Steve Detweiler and Holden Sprague come to an end here.
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OXFORD REGIONAL
Champion: Mississippi
1- Mississippi (3-1): C+
The Rebels did well enough this weekend, beating Western Kentucky two-of-three, but you get the feeling they should have been much more dominant in a regional where they didn’t even have to face Mizzou and their ace Kyle Gibson. If they play with the same energy this week against UVa? They’ll fall in the Supers round again. Then again, if Drew Pomeranz throws like he did this weekend (26Ks in 17 inns), he could will them to Omaha.
2- Missouri (1-2): D
Save for the appearance of Kyle Gibson against Monmouth, the Tigers had a huge face-plant this weekend. Losing twice to Western Kentucky, the Tigers found themselves down by 7-2 and 8-0 after three innings in both games. Not the way that UM wanted to end the season.
3- Western Kentucky (3-2): A-
The ‘Toppers came into the regionals on a 2-6 spiral, but turned everything around here in Oxford. But coming out of the loser’s bracket against Missouri and Ole Miss was a lot to ask a team without as deep a staff. Still, Coach Finwood and Co. should be wildly commended on their 43 win season.
4- Monmouth (0-2): D-
Not much to write home about for the Hawks. Two things: 1- They scored only one run in their two losses to the UM’s. 2- They had the misfortune of having to face Mizzou ace Kyle Gibson, who was originally being saved for a winner’s bracket game.
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HOUSTON REGIONAL
Champion: Rice
1- Rice (4-1): A-
The Owls are gearing up for yet another run to Omaha. The staff has gotten deeper and deeper as the year has gone on. Proof is in their back-to-back complete games from Taylor Wall (a 3-hitter vs. KSU) and Jared Rogers (7-hitter vs. XU) to advance to Monday. One huge concern, a not-so-sharp Ryan Berry, who gave up 11 hits and picked up his first loss of the season in the showdown with A.J. Morris. The “magic” of Alex Box awaits.
2- Kansas State (3-2): A-
The Cats nearly pulled off the trick in their first year as NCAA tournament participants, playing on the road in a hostile environment against a wildly talented Rice team. That’s a LOT of thumbs up there. But eventually, the quality of pitching depth couldn’t keep up with the Owl bats. Still, nothing to hang your heads about here.
3- Xavier (1-2): C+
Not a horrible showing, especially offensively. The Musketeers couldn’t contain the offenses of KSU and host Rice, but just as I discovered when I saw them at the A-10 tournament last week, they never quit battling. Still, a school-record 39 wins and first ever Big Dance appearance is an impressive season.
4- Sam Houston State (0-2): C-
I think we’ve all gotten so used to Mark Johnson pulling miracles out of his teams over the years that the one time his boys DO play to their seeding we’re a little disappointed. But the Bearkats are still to be commended, sitting at 15-11 at the end of March, nobody could’ve expected them to go this far.
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BATON ROUGE REGIONAL
Champion: LSU
1- LSU (3-0): C+
I’m not sure if anyone would’ve thought they would need it but the Tigers had to rely on some Alex Box magic after all in late-inning wins over SU and Baylor. The offense was curiously missing at times this weekend, finally awakening against a thinning Gopher staff on Sunday. But the good news?… Anthony Ranaudo and Louis Coleman appear capable of leading LSU to the second weekend in Omaha.
2- Baylor (1-2): C-
Just like they have been all season, the Bears show promise one minute (nearly beating LSU), then show disappointment the next (dropping a bad loss to a Big 10 team). Coach Steve Smith might be feeling some pressure this off-season after his team underachieved again.
3- Minnesota (2-2): B-
The Gophers just didn’t have enough hot bats carry over to beat the host Tigers. But coach Anderson said he was proud of their effort all weekend long. Nice way to rebound after being stymied so back in the opening game loss to BU. They were just another arm or two short of being able to pull it off.
4- Southern (0-2): C+
Just like fellow HBCU school Bethune-Cookman, if the Jags had a lock-down closer, they could’ve pulled a couple wins here and really made some waves. Nice start though, taking a lead into the late innings against LSU. They also helped the rest of the country realize that a lefty can shut down that awesome Tiger attack.
