NCAA Baseball Tournament Preview Part 2

NCAA Baseball Tournament Preview Part 2

And without further waiting, here is part 2 of the tournament preview….

Los Angeles, California Regional

(UCLA, Creighton, New Mexico, San Diego)

UCLA: OF Jeff Gelalich

Gelalich has hit .367 this year with 9 homers and 39 runs driven in.

Creighton: IF Chance Ross

Ross is hitting .296 with 3 homers and 31 RBIs, as Creighton needs to step up their offensive production if they want to make noise this post season.

New Mexico: 1B/3B DJ Peterson

Peterson had a big bat this year hitting .418 with 16 bombs and 76 RBIs. Peterson is a Louisville Slugger All-American.

San Diego: P Michael Wagner

Wagner recorded 19 saves this year with a 2.50 ERA. He’s also sported a 5-1 record.

Dark Horse: New Mexico

If New Mexico’s pitching can be consistent, they have the offensive power to make some noise in this regional.

Pick: UCLA

College Station, Texas Regional

(Texas A&M, Dayton, Ole Miss, TCU)

Texas A&M: P Ross Stripling

Stripling led the rotation with a 10-3 record and 2.90 ERA. He also went the distance in 5 games and recorded 110 strike outs.

Dayton: OF Bobby Glover

Glover hit for a .331 average with 9 homers and 41 RBIs for the Flyers this season.

Ole Miss: IF Matt Snyder

Snyder hit .333 with 12 bombs and 57 RBIs for the Rebels as they look to make some noise in this regional.

TCU: P Preston Morrison

Morrison has shifted nicely into the starter role for the Horned Frogs. He’s gone 9-1 with a 1.73 ERA. He’s also collected 1 save and thrown a complete game.

Dark Horse: Ole Miss

Ole Miss could possibly make some noise in this regional. Texas A&M’s pitching will be a strength as their 3 starters have gone 23-4 with a 2.63 ERA this year. They have also thrown 8 complete games.

Pick: Texas A&M

Miami, Florida Regional

(Miami, Stony Brook, Missouri State, UCF)

Miami: C Peter O’Brien

O’Brien has hit .348 with 10 homers and 39 driven in for what has been kind of an off year for the Canes.

Stony Brook: IF William Carmona

Carmona has hit .380 with 10 homers and 60 RBI for a powerful Stony Brook offense. He also sports a .685 slugging percentage.

Missouri State: P Nick Petree

Petree has gone 10-3 with an amazing 0.92 ERA this year. He’s only allowed 11 earned runs all year and has struck out 109 batters in addition to throwing 2 complete games.

UCF: IF DJ Hicks

Hicks is hitting .318 with 11 bombs and 68 RBIs for the Knights.

Dark Horse: Stony Brook

Stony Brook has 9 players hitting above .300 this year, and they have the potential to sneak out of this regional that features lackluster pitching. I’m going to take a shot and go with a crazy pick here.

Pick: Stony Brook

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Regional

(LSU, Louisiana-Monroe, Belmont, Oregon State)

LSU: OF Ralph Rhymes

Rhymes leads the nation with .459 batting average and was selected as the SEC Player of the Year.

LA-Monroe: OF Joey Rapp

Rapp has hit .325 with 9 homers and 51 runs driven in.

Belmont: IF Zac Mitchell

Mitchell has .361 with 5 homers and 36 driven in. He also has a high number of stolen bases with 25.

Oregon State: LF Michael Conforto

The PAC-12 Freshman of the Year, Conforto hit .343 with 13 bombs and 71 runs driven in.

Dark Horse: Oregon State

The Beavers took 2 out of 3 from UCLA and Stanford (both hosting regionals). They also swept Oregon in their season finale series. It will come down to Oregon State and LSU.

Pick: LSU

Chapel Hill, North Carolina Regional

(UNC, Cornell, St. John’s, East Carolina)

UNC: P Kent Emmanuel

Emmanuel went 8-4 this year with a 2.03 ERA. He also struck out 99 batters.

Cornell: OF Brian Billigen

Billigen is hitting .362 with 5 homers and 38 RBIs. He has also stolen 13 bases.

St. John’s: IF Matt Wessinger

Wessinger hit .348 with 6 homers and 45 RBIs. He stole an incredible 34 bases.

East Carolina: IF/OF John Wooten

Wooten hit for .341 this year with 8 homers and 27 RBIs.

Dark Horse: East Carolina

UNC has a good bullpen as the entire staff averages a meager 2.54 ERA. It’s hard for me to pick against good pitching.

Pick: UNC

Tuscon, Arizona Regional

(Arizona, Missouri, Louisville, New Mexico State)

Arizona: P Kurt Heyer

Heyer has been the ace for the Wildcats this year, going 11-2 with a 2.03 ERA. He also threw 6 complete games.

Missouri: OF Blake Brown

Brown hit .299 with 10 homers and 39 RBIs for the Big 12 Tournament champs. He also had stole 15 bases and had a high .994 fielding percentage.

Louisville: IF Ty Young

Young hit for a .348 average with 6 homers and 38 RBIs. He stole 15 bases to boot.

New Mexico State: C Zac Fisher

The third team all-American selection hit for a .363 average with 6 homers with 58 RBIs.

Dark Horse: Louisville

Louisville beat Kentucky twice this year. The deciding game of this regional might be between Missouri and Arizona in the first game.

Pick: Arizona


Palo Alto, California Regional

(Stanford, Fresno State, Michigan State, Pepperdine)

Stanford: P Mark Appel

The first team All-American went 9-1 with a 2.37 ERA. He struck out 116 batters and went the distance for 4 complete games.

Fresno State: OF Aaron Judge

Judge hit for a .312 average with 4 homers and 25 RBIs and stole 13 bases.

Michigan State: 2B Ryan Jones

Jones hit .356 with 3 homers and 38 driven in. He also scored 50 runs for the Spartans.

Pepperdine: IF Joe Sever

Sever hit .370 with 6 bombs and 52 RBIs and 9 stolen bases.

Dark Horse: Fresno State

Fresno State beat Stanford and lost to Pepperdine in the regular season. This regional has the potential to beat each other up until someone comes on top.

Pick: Stanford

Tallahassee, Florida Regional

(Florida State, UAB, Samford, Mississippi State)

Florida State: OF James Ramsey

The All-ACC Outfielder hit .382 with 12 homers and 49 RBIs. He also hit six triples this season.

UAB: OF Ivan De Jesus

De Jesus hit .297 with 3 homers. He also drove in 23 runs and stole 12 bases.

Samford: P Josh Martin

Martin went 12-1 with 2.96 ERA and threw a complete game. He also struck out 90 batters.

Mississippi State: P Chris Stratton

Stratton went 11-1 with a 2.21 ERA for the SEC Tournament champs. He struck out 123 batters, and his opponents hit a meager .211 against him this year.

Dark Horse: Mississippi State

The Bulldogs played extremely well going through the SEC Tournament. I think they will be able to knock off the Seminoles in this regional.

Pick: Mississippi State

So there you have part 2 of my tournament preview. I hope you enjoyed it. As always hit me up at JCGriffin13@yahoo.com or shoot me a tweet @griffaldo . I hope everyone enjoys the regional portion of the NCAA tournament this weekend.