Stony Brook CWS Preview

Don’t Call Them Cinderellas …

Stony Brook Info. –  CWS Notes  |  Season Stats  |  Roster  |  Media Guide  |  Head Coach Matt Senk

CWS/NCAA Interactive Bracket … CWS Printable Bracket … NCAA 64-Team Printable Bracket

Travis Jankowski

ROAD TO OMAHA

In our final Composite National Rankings, CB360 had projected Stony Brook as a #3 Regional seed (#44 overall) but the Seawolves were slotted as a #4 and sent to the Coral Gables Regional, where they rode ace Tyler Johnson and the clutch hitting of Willie Carmona to a 10-2 opening upset of host Miami. They then lost a tight battle with 2-seed Central Florida (9-8) but came all the way back through the losers bracket, posting a comeback win over Missouri State (10-7) and then beating UCF twice (12-2, 10-6) to advance, with Johnson returning to start and win the final game. The stage magnified in the Super-Regional series at #7 national seed LSU, but the Seawolves prevailed (4-5 in 12, 3-1, 7-2) behind timely hitting, tremendous pitching and strong all-around play. The three starting pitchers against LSU – Brandon McNitt, Johnson and Frankie Vanderka – combined to allow only two earned runs (four total runs) and nine hits in their 25 innings during the Super-Regional series.

Historical Perspective

“Back in the day” (prior to 1987), the eight NCAA regionals were geographically-based and fed directly to the College World Series – meaning that there always was a team from the Northeast and Midwest in Omaha. Since that shift away from geographically-based regionals, no team from the Northeast had reached the College World Series – until Stony Brook completed the unique feat this season. Previously, Notre Dame in 2002 had been the “most-northern” team in Omaha since Maine advanced out of the northeast regional back in 1986.

Stony Brook joined Missouri (2006) and Fresno State (2008 national champs) as the only #4 regional seeds ever to advance past the NCAA Regional round.

Balanced Attack

Stony Brook ranks second nationally in batting (.335), fourth in scoring (7.2 runs/gm) and 12th in staff ERA (2.99), plus 12th in fielding pct. (.978) – making them the nation’s most-balanced team in terms of offense, pitching and defense.

Big-Game Hitting

Stony Brook is batting .330 as a team in the NCAAs (.307 at LSU), with both of its losses in the NCAAs coming by one run. Leadoff batter Travis Jan

Feeling a Draft

Seven Stony Brook players recently were selected in the 2012 MLB draft (see player notes below).

Lords of Discipline

Plate-discipline – which can be measured by adding “free-passes” (walks plus hit-by-pitch) is an often-overlooked statistic but it often can be a telling measure for team success. Stony Brook is a classic case-in-point – as the entire Seawolves team is +42 in plate-discipline for the season (237BB+83HBP-278Ks). Leading the way are: the team’s amazingly versatile catcher and #2 batter Pat Cantwell (+33), cleanup hitter Maxx Tissenbaum (+23), leadoff batter Travis Jankowski (+11) and 6-hole hitter Cole Peragine (+11). All of the nine starters have a positive plate-discipline or are neer even (lowest among the starting-9 is Kevin Krause’s -5).

They’re HERE!!  The Dugout in Omaha has official College World Series gear for each of the eight teams, including Stony Brook. If you want to be the first kid (no matter what age) on your block to have this year’s official CWS shirts, hats and more (both for individual teams or generic) click the red link and get to The Dugout’s web site!

If you’re going to Omaha for the CWS you can also visit The Dugout. It’s right across the street from the home plate entrance to TD Ameritrade Park.

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Stony Brook Roster Breakdown
• 4 Seniors … 7 Juniors … 10 Sophomores … 7 Freshmen
• Home States/Provinces – 15 from New York … 4 each from California & Ontario … 2 each from Connecticut & Pennsylvania … 1 from Pennsylvania (Travis Jankowski)

Projected Lineup

*Denotes team category leader

1. (LH) Travis Jankowski CF – 6-3/190 … Jr. … Lancaster, PA … #6  (All-American)
… .422, 46 RBI*, 78 Runs*, 109 H*, 5 HR, 11 Triples*, 18 Doubles, .636 slug.%, .485 OB%*, 24 BB, 8 HBP, 21 K, 36-42 SB*, 1E (.994)
… Supplemental 1st-round MLB draft pick (44th overall; San Diego)
… Cape Cod League MVP (summer 2011)

2. (RH) Pat Cantwell C – 6-1/205 … Sr. … West Islip, NY .. .#3
… .296, 32 RBI, 56 Runs, HR, 4 Triples, 11 Doubles, 17 sac. bunts*, .400 OB%, 15 BB, 27 HBP, 11 K, 10-13 SB
… Has throw out 22 of 30 attempted base-stealers (73%)
… 3rd-round MLB draft pick (Texas)

3. (switch) Willie Carmona 3B – 6-0/220 … Jr. … Hempstead, NY … #5
… .399, 72 RBI*, 62 Runs, 12 HR*, 7 Triples, 25 Doubles*, .702 slug. %*, .470 OB%, 35 BB, HBP, 36 K, 7-9 SB
… Batting 18-for-35 (.514) with 12 RBI in the 2012 NCAAs
… Served as team’s closer during 2010-11 seasons (3.63 career ERA, 9 SV, 23 K in 44.2 IP)
… 11th-round MLB draft pick (Philadelphia)

4. (LH) Maxx Tisenbaum 2B – 5-11/190 … Jr. … Toronto, Ontario … #8
… .389, 51 RBI, 44 runs, 3 HR, 3B, 20 Doubles, 22 BB, 9 HBP, 8 K, 0-1 SB
… National leader in “hardest to strike out” (29.3 ABs per K; 234/8)
… 11th-round MLB draft pick (San Diego)

5. (RH) Kevin Krause DH – 6-2/190 … Fr. … Staten Island, NY … #2
… .335, 40 RBI, 38 runs, 3 HR, 12 Doubles, 25 BB, 30 K, 6-8 SB
… Freshman All-American (NCMWA & Louisville Slugger/Collegiate Baseball magazine)
… Father played baseball at Seton Hall

6. (switch) Cole Peragine SS – 5-11/170 … Fr. … Belle Ewart, Ontario … #28 (A-East Rookie of the Year)
… .314, 39 RBI, 42 Runs, 6 Triples, 11 Doubles, 16 sac. bunts, 21 BB, 9 HBP, 19 K, 8-10 SB
… Freshman All-American (NCMWA & Louisville Slugger/Collegiate Baseball magazine)

7. (LH) Steven Goldstein LF – 5-11/175 … Fr. … East Meadow, NY … #16  (2nd team all-America East)
… .344, 34 RBI, 36 Runs, 4 HR, 3 Triples, 8 Doubles, 11 Sac Bunts, 20 BB, HBP, 19 K, 14-19 SB
… Freshman All-American (Louisville Slugger/Collegiate Baseball magazine)
… Homered in late back-and-forth Super-Regional opener at LSU

8. (LH) Kevin Courtney 1B – 6-1/195 … So. … Lindenhurst, NY … #25
… .296, 38 RBI, 31 Runs, 4 HR, 13 Doubles, 24 BB, 10 HBP, 35 K, 1-5 SB
… Batting 9-for-28 in the 2012 NCAAS (6RBI-HR- 4 2B)

9. (RH) Sal Intagliata – 6-2/210 … Sr. … Franklin Square, NY … #14
… .264, 16 RBI, 22 Runs (34 starts), 2 HR, 6 Doubles, 19 BB, 4 HBP, 26 K
… His 2-run HR opened scoring early in Super-Regional series at LSU

Starting Rotation

RHP Tyler Johnson – 6-0/180 … Sr. …  Chatsworth, CA … #44
(12-1*) 1.94 ERA*, 97.2 IP *, 48 K, 25 BB, .244 opp. BA
… 33rd-round MLB draft pick (Oakland)
… Second Team CoSIDA Academic All-American (3.71 cum. GPA, history)
… Owns 4 of the 7 NCAA tournament wins in program history (2012 vs. Miami, UCF & LSU; 2.49 ERA in 21.1 IP)
… Cape Cod League all-star during summer of 2011
… High school teammate of UCLA infielder Kevin Williams

RHP Brandon McNitt – 5-10/170 … So. … Chino Hills, CA … #20
(7-1) 2.80 ERA, 100.2 IP*, 61 K*, 24 BB, .236 opp. BA
… No-decision in first game at LSU (7-plus IP, UER)

RHP Frankie Vanderka – 6-2/205 … So. … Levittown, NY … #23
(3-3) 2.37 ERA, 5 SV*, 64.2 IP, 47 K, 22 BB, .174 opp. BA*
… Served as closer for most of season but complete-gm winner in final Super-Reg. game at LSU
… Father Frank Vanderka reached triple-A in Yankees organization (Columbus Clippers)

Bullpen

RHP James Campbell – 6-1/195 … Jr. … Bridgeport, CT… #15
(5-0) 3.09 ERA, 18 App, 7 Starts, 3 SV, 55.1 IP, 40 K, 16 BB, .204 opp. BA
… MVP of America East Tournament
… 12th-round MLB draft pick (Dodgers)

RHP Jasvir Rakkar – 6-2/200 … Jr. … Brampton, Ontario … #27
(6-2) 3.83 ERA, 19 App., 3 starts, 3 SV, 47 IP, 37 K, 18 BB, .224 opp. BA
… 26th-round MLB draft pick (Cubs)

RHP Joshua Mason – 6-2/180 … So. … Woodland Hills, CA … #26
(3-1) 3.34 ERA, 18 App., 3 SV, 35 IP, 31 K, 14 BB, .226 opp. BA
… Long-reliever who finished both Regional wins over UCF; starting RF in 2011

BATON ROUGE Super Regional … LSU Regional Central (link)
• Gm-1 (Fri.-Sat.): 7-national seed LSU 5-9-1 … def. Stony Brook 4-14-3 (12 inn.; resumed from Fri.)
… Final Stats: HTML & PDF  | AP Recap  |   LSU Recap  |  SB Recap
Photos (AP)  |  Photos (LSU)  |  Video Highlights
• Gm-2 (Sat.): Stony Brook 3-6-2 … won at (7) LSU 1-3-0
… Final Stats: HTML & PDF  |  AP Recap  |  SB Recap  |  LSU Recap  |  Quotes (SB)
Photos (AP)  |  Photos (LSU)  |  Video Highlights
• Gm-3 (Sun.) – Stony Brook 7-15-1 … won at (7) LSU 2-3-2
… Final Stats: HTML & PDF  |  AP Recap  |  SB Recap  |  LSU Recap
Photos (AP)  |  Photos (LSU)  |  Photos (SB)  |  Video Highlights

2012 CWS Bracket One

Tags: 1970s College World Series All Decade Team, 2012 NCAA Baseball Tournament, Stony Brook baseball