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Scores From All Super Regional Games Included…

Seven Super Regionals are now over. No. 1 national seed Virginia used a two-out, two-run single from John Taylor off of Big West Pitcher of the Year Matt Summers on Monday to give the Cavs a 3-2 win over UC Irvine and a second trip to Omaha in the last three years.

Cal became the official Cinderella of the 2011 College World Series by finished a two-game sweep of Dallas Baptist on Sunday night. The Golden Bears have gone from a program that was going to be eliminated to college baseball’s promised land in the span of nine months.

North Carolina and Vanderbilt completed two-game sweeps of Stanford and Oregon State, respectively, on Saturday to punch their tickets to Omaha. Florida worked its way past Mississippi State to win the first game three of the weekend. Texas followed Sunday night with a 4-2 win over

Courtesy Gatorzone.com

 

Arizona State. The Longhorns have now won five straight NCAA elimination games going back to their regional to earn the program’s 34th trip to the College World Series.

South Carolina completed a two-game sweep of UConn on Sunday to punch a second straight trip to Omaha. Ray Tanner’s Gamecocks are the first defending champion to return to the CWS the next year since Oregon State in 2007.

Mike Fox‘s Tar Heels are back at the College World Series for the fifth time in the past six years, while Tim Corbin‘s Commodores are there for the first time in school history.

Two CWS match-ups are now set. Florida will face Texas, while Vanderbilt plays North Carolina in opening round play.

Just two Super Regionals are yet to be decided. Virginia hosts UC Irvine at 4 p.m. and Florida State hosts Texas A&M at 7 p.m. on Monday with the winners of those games punching their CWS tickets. Both of those games will be televised on ESPN2.

All Super Regional capsules, with scores, recaps and more, are listed below!

Following on this page are capsules for each of the eight Super Regionals and the 16 teams that still are alive. Schedules and TV assignments are included as well.

Scores for each of the games along with recaps from each team and box scores are being added throughout the weekend.

The four Friday-Saturday-Sunday Super Regionals are listed first, followed by the four that take place Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

(Super Regionals determined by best two-of-three format)

Gainesville Super Regional – #2 national seed Florida vs. Mississippi State

Mike Zunino

Florida is looking for a second straight trip to Omaha, while SEC rival Mississippi State last made the trek to college baseball’s promised land in 2007 (also the previous time the Bulldogs even made the NCAA Tournament). Florida took two out of three games from the Bulldogs in their regular season SEC series in Starkville back in April. The Gators also beat MSU 7-5 in their SEC Tournament opener last month.

Florida is led by SEC player of the year Mike Zunino (.371, 16 HR, 62 RBIs), recently named a finalist for the Johnny Bench Award. Mississippi State’s Jarrod Parks (.365, 3 HR, 36 RBIs) ranks 12th in the nation with 20 times hit-by-pitch. His team also ranks 12th nationally in that department with 90 HBP.

The Gators have three starting pitchers who have won at least eight games, while Bulldog reliever Luis Pollorena (7-5) has the most wins on the MSU staff.

TEAM	RECORD	CONF.	BA	Runs/ Gm.	HR/ Sac Bunts	Slg%	OBP	SB-Att.	Fld%	ERA	CG	SV	K	BB	Opp. BA
Florida	(48-16)	SEC	.311	6.4	58/58	.459	.382	56-84	.974	2.97	2	14	486	116	.245
Mississippi State	(37-23)	SEC	.282	6.1	28/53	.391	.384	88-118	.973	4.24	1	16	471	213	.267

Gainesville Schedule

Game 1 – Florida 11-11-0 def. Miss. State 1-7-2
Final Stats | FL Recap (w/ video) | MSU Recap |  AP Recap (w/ video)  |  Quotes |  Photos

Game 2 – Mississippi State 4-7-1 won at Florida 3-11-0 … series tied
Final Stats |  MSU Recap |  FL Recap |  Postgame Video (MS)  |  AP Recap (w/ video highlights)

Game 3: Florida 8-10-0 def. Mississippi State 6-11-1
Final Stats | MSU Recap | FL Recap | Postgame Video (FL)

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Austin Super Regional – #7 national seed Texas vs. Arizona State

Joey DeMichele

This clash of the titans Super Regional features two programs that have combined for 55 College World Series appearances. The Sun Devils are looking for their third straight CWS appearance and second in a row under head coach Tim Esmay. The Longhorns are looking to get back to Omaha after falling at home to TCU in the 2010 Super Regional. The Longhorns went all the way to the 2009 CWS Finals, with a win over ASU to get there in what was Pat Murphy’s last game as head coach.

Joey DeMichele (.368, 9 HR, 48 RBIs) leads an ASU offense that includes eight players hitting .301 or better. Sun Devils shortstop Deven Marerro was named the 2011 Pac-10 defensive player of the year. None of ASU’s weekend starters this season were in the rotation last year.

Taylor Jungmann

Taylor Jungmann (13-1, 1.39 ERA) fronts a Texas team that, as usual, relies on pitching, defense and small ball. Jungmann was selected with the 12th overall pick of this week’s MLB Draft by the Milwaukee Brewers. The 2011 Big 12 Pitcher of the Year suffered his first loss of the season in the week’s regional opener against Kent State. Freshman closer Cory Knebel (3-2, 1.29 ERA, 17 SVs) slams the door at the end. His save total is tied for fourth nationally.

The Longhorns’ 16 home runs are the second-fewest of any Super Regional team (UC Irvine-13) but they lead the nation with 103 sacrifice bunts.

CLICK HERE to listen to an exclusive CB360 podcast interview with Texas head coach Augie Garrido.

TEAM	RECORD	CONF.	BA	Runs/ Gm.	HR/ Sac Bunts	Slg%	OBP	SB-Att.	Fld%	ERA	CG	SV	K	BB	Opp. BA
Texas	(47-16)	Big 12	.273	5.3	16/103	.378	.375	74-94	.982	2.31	6	21	539	180	.196
Arizona State	(42-16)	Pac-10	.306	6.4	36/22	.453	.378	98-143	.971	3.22	5	11	476	141	.240

Austin Schedule

Game 1: Arizona State 3-5-1 def. Texas 1-8-2
Final Stats | ASU Recap | TX Recap |  AP Recap (w/ video highlights)  |  Photos |  Quotes

Game 2 – at Texas 5-8-0 def. Arizona State 1-8-1
Final Stats |  TX Recap |  ASU Recap |  Photos |  Quotes |  Notes | AP Recap (w/ video highlights)

Game 3: Texas 4-9-1 def. Arizona State 2-6-0
Final Stats | TX Recap | ASU Recap | Quotes | Photos | Notes

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Chapel Hill Super Regional – #3 national seed North Carolina vs. Stanford

The red-hot Tar Heels have won 17 of their past 21 games heading into Super Regional play. A series sweep of Virginia to close the regular season is the high-water mark in that stretch. It was the Cavs’ only series loss all year. UNC is looking to get back to the CWS after getting bounced at the Norman Regional in 2010. Prior to that, the Tar Heels made four straight trips to Omaha from 2006-2009.

Levi Michael

Freshman Colin Moran (.335, 9 HR, 69 RBIs) is the team triple crown leader. His RBI total ranks 14th nationally. Moran comes from good lineage. His older brother, Brian, was an All-American an UNC, while his uncle B.J. Surhoff was the national player of the year in Chapel Hill prior to a 19-year Major League career. Moran is joined in the lineup by shortstop Levi Michael (.297, 5 HR, 48 RBIs), a first round MLB Draft pick by the Minnesota Twins earlier this week. Michael enrolled at North Carolina and became a starter for UNC’s 2009 College World Series team, in what would have been his senior semester in high school.

Stanford has a young and battle-tested team whose ability belies its overall record. Mark Marquess‘ squad features eight freshmen or sophomores in the everyday lineup. They played a brutal early-season schedule, with road trisps to three teams (Vanderbilt, Rice and Texas) that were eventual national seeds. Stanford went 13-12 against top-25 teams this season, but experience against some of the top pitchers in the country has made them better. How about this list: #1 overall MLB Draft pick Gerrit Cole (UCLA), #3 overall pick Trevor Bauer (UCLA), #12 overall pick Taylor Jungmann (Texas), #18 overall pick Sonny Gray (Vandebilt), #20 overall pick Tyler Anderson (Oregon), Oregon State ace Sam Gaviglio, Arizona’s #1 Kurt Heyer, and Vandy’s talented #2 Grayson Garvin

Chris Reed.

The Cardinal doesn’t have eye-popping offensive numbers, but Stephen Piscotty (.370, 3 HR, 40 RBIs) leads an offense that gets the job done. As usual, Stanford is built on pitching, including first-round MLB Draft pick Chris Reed (6-2, 2.54 ERA, 9 SVs), who went with the 16th overall pick to the L.A. Dodgers.

TEAM	RECORD	CONF.	BA	Runs/ Gm.	HR/ Sac Bunts	Slg%	OBP	SB-Att.	Fld%	ERA	CG	SV	K	BB	Opp. BA
North Carolina	(48-14)	ACC	.286	6.9	38/31	.420	.394	81-102	.979	3.25	2	16	562	211	.247
Stanford	(35-20)	Pac-10	.302	5.5	27/27	.415	.361	33-49	.969	3.40	3	12	387	172	.251

Chapel Hill Schedule

Game 1: North Carolina 5-10-1 def. Stanford 2-7-2
Final Stats | UNC Recap | STAN Recap |  AP Recap (w/ video)

Game 2 – at North Carolina 7-14-1 def. Stanford 5-9-1 … UNC adv. to CWS
Final Stats |  UNC Recap |  STAN Recap |  AP Recap (w/ video)   |  Photos-1 |  Photos-2 |  Quotes |  Notes

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Nashville Super Regional – #6 national seed Vanderbilt vs. Oregon State

Vanderbilt has, arguably, the most balanced overall team in the Super Regionals. The Commodores rank third in the nation with a 2.41 ERA and sixth in the country with their .319 batting average. Vandy made a bit of a Cinderella run to the 2010 Super Regionals by knocking off national seed Louisville in the regional round. Tim Corbin‘s program still is in search of its first College World Series berth – and this could be his best chance. His team set an SEC record this week by having 11 players selected in the MLB Draft.

Grayson Garvin

Sonny Gray (11-3, 2.01 ERA) and Grayson Garvin (13-1, 2.37 ERA) are the two-headed monster at the front of the weekend rotation, while Navery Moore (4-2, 1.21 ERA, 11 SVs) has dominated in the closer’s role. Gray was drafted by the Oakland A’s with the 18th overall pick this week. Game-3 starter Taylor Hill (5-1, 2.84 ERA), Garvin and Moore also were among the VU draftees. Jason Esposito (.362, 8 HR, 55 RBIs) and Aaron Westlake (.349, 14 HR, 48 RBIs) lead the offense and a slew of position players who were among the team’s recent draftees.

Andrew Susac

Oregon State is looking to get back to the College World Series for the first time since winning back-to-back national titles in 2006 and 2007. In fact, this is the first Super Regional for Pat Casey‘s club since the ’07 trip to Omaha. A five-game losing streak to USC and Oregon to close the regular season cost OSU a likely national seed, but the Beavers won all three games at their regional last week.

OSU has relied heavily on pitching in its success this year. Starters Sam Gaviglio (12-2, 1.87 ERA) and Josh Osich (6-4, 3.64 ERA) both were drafted this week. Osich – who fired a no-hitter against UCLA on April 30 – will miss the Super Regional due to tendinitis in his arm. Catcher Andrew Susac (.313, 5 HR, 32 RBIs) was selected by the San Francisco Giants in the second round. Susac had surgery on April 11 for a broken bone in his hand and returned to action on May 11. Oregon State’s bullpen, led by Tony Bryant (3-2, 1.52 ERA, 12 SVs), has been lights-out this year. The team is 36-0 when taking a lead into the 9th inning.

TEAM	RECORD	CONF.	BA	Runs/ Gm.	HR/ Sac Bunts	Slg%	OBP	SB-Att.	Fld%	ERA	CG	SV	K	BB	Opp. BA
Vanderbilt	(50-10)	SEC	.319	7.0	42/58	.452	.405	77-106	.974	2.41	3	18	511	174	.217
Oregon State	(41-17)	Pac-10	.270	5.7	30/59	.391	.369	51-68	.972	2.93	6	19	431	154	.241

Nashville Schedule

Game 1 – Vanderbilt 11-11-1 def. Oregon State 1-4-0
Final Stats | VU Recap | OSU Recap |  AP Recap (w/ video)

Game 2 – Vanderbilt 9-12-2 def. Oregon State 3-8-2 … VAN adv. to CWS
Final Stats |  VAN Recap |  OS Recap |  AP Recap (w/ video)  |  VAN Notes |  OS Notes

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Charlottesville Super Regional – #1 national seed Virginia vs. UC Irvine

If there’s a window of opportunity that could be closing, this could be it for Virginia. The past three seasons have been the most successful in the history of the program. Brian O’Connor took a young program to its first College World Series two years ago, and now that group – led by Danny Hultzen (11-3, 1.57 ERA ) – is playing in its third straight Super Regional. The Cavs made it to Omaha two years ago by winning their Super Regional at Ole Miss, but they saw Oklahoma take two of three in the first Super Regional hosted by UVA (in 2010).

Danny Hultzen

Virginia isn’t flashy offensively, but they grind and find a way to get on base and they don’t strike out. Their 95 times hit-by-pitch rank sixth in the nation and is the most of any of the 16 remaining teams. Add the 95 HBP to their 214 walks and then look at their paltry 306 strikeouts – that’s plate discipline that a big-boned family at a buffet wishes they had. UVA’s top three batters – David Coleman (.369, 2 HR, 39 RBIs), Steven Proscia (.341, 8 HR, 58 RBIs) and John Hicks (.339, 7 HR, 54 RBIs) – have combined to strike out only 68 times in 657 total at-bats.

Hultzen was selected with the second overall pick in the draft this week by Seattle. He’s joined in the rotation by Will Roberts (11-1, 1.61 ERA), who fired a perfect game earlier this season. Closer Branden Kline (3-0, 1.78 ERA, 17 SVs) is tied for fourth nationally in saves.

Brian Hernandez

The Los Angeles Regional had the look of one that would be hard to navigate, with teams like pitching-heavy UCLA and Fresno State and even San Francisco in the field. UC Ivine cam -out of L.A. unscathed, though, by going 3-0 to reach the program’s third Super Regional in the past five years.

Like Virginia, Mike Gillespie‘s Anteaters rely on their pitching to compensate for a lack of offensive power. Irvine’s 13 home runs are the fewest of any team in this weekend’s Super Regionals. Big West pitcher of the year Matt Summers (11-2, 1.72 ERA) was drafted by Minnesota this week with the 148th overall pick, but Brian Hernandez (.351, 31 RBIs) is the team’s top overall player. Hernandez is the Big West defensive player of the year and he leads his team not only in batting average but also with 12 saves. He was drafted this week by the L.A. Dodgers, while team home run and RBI leader Drew Hillman (.336, 5 HR, 50 RBIs) was selected by the Phillies.

TEAM	RECORD	CONF.	BA	Runs/ Gm.	HR/ Sac Bunts	Slg%	OBP	SB-Att.	Fld%	ERA	CG	SV	K	BB	Opp. BA
Virginia	(52-9)	ACC	.307	7.2	22/46	.421	.390	83-114	.980	2.27	3	19	613	137	.211
UC Irvine	(42-16)	Big West	.299	6.0	13/53	.388	.384	46-80	.979	2.90	2	17	428	155	.237

Charlottesville Schedule

Game 1 – at Virginia 6-12-0 def. UC Irvine 0-4-1
Final Stats |  VA Recap |  UCI Recap |  Photos

Game 2: UC Irvine 6-10-2 def. Virginia 4-7-1
Final Stats | UCI Recap | VA Recap

Game 3: Virginia 3-10-2 def. UC Irvine 2-6-0
Final Stats | VA Recap | UCI Recap

Video of John Taylor‘s game-winning hit.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Santa Clara Super Regional – California vs. Dallas Baptist

How “Cinderella” is this Super Regional? When Cal and Dallas Baptist won regionals in Houston and Ft. Worth last week, they didn’t even know where their Super Regional would be played, because their home facilities didn’t meet NCAA specifications.

Cal had its program cut last fall, then had it reinstated during the season thanks the the efforts of the Save Cal Baseball group, and then went to No. 8 national seed Rice and won the Houston Regional. They did it by winning four straight games after falling to Baylor in their opener. The win that sent the Golden Bears to the Super Regional came thanks to a 4-run rally against Baylor in the bottom of the 9th inning. When you’ve been fighting for your lives for eight months, what’s four runs in one elimnation inning?

Jason Krizan

Dallas Baptist has only been a Division One program since 2006. It took the Patriots only two years to qualify for an NCAA Regional, as an independent, after moving from the NAIA ranks … and now they’re in their first Super Regional, after helping send TCU and Oklahoma (both 2010 CWS teams) packing at the Ft. Worth Regional.

The bottom line with both of these teams is that they can play. Dallas Baptist has been led by senior Jason Krizan all season. The outfielder ranks among the nation’s leaders in virtually every offensive category. Here’s his line: .419 batting, 101 hits, 10 HR, 81 RBIs, 39 doubles, .714 slg%, .502 OBP, 13 SB, 23 K, 40 BB. He’s not alone though. Krizan is one of six Patriots to start at least 59 games who are batting .292 or better.  Dan Heefner‘s teams also did it with games against the likes of TCU, Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Baylor, Rice, and A-10 champion Charlotte during the regular season. Krizan and staff ace Brandon Williamson (10-3, 3.98 ERA) were among DBU’s top draftees this week. CLICK HERE to listen to a CB360 exclusive interview with Jason Krizan.

Erik Johnson

Dave Esquer‘s Cal Bears didn’t have to search for tough competition the way Dallas Baptist does, because they see it every week in the Pac-10 (see the list of pitchers Stanford has faced this year and apply the conference hurlers to Cal). The Bears have a stellar pitching staff of their own, led by Erik Johnson (6-4, 2.91 ERA) and lefty Justin Jones (8-6, 3.09 ERA). After the announcement to eliminate the program, it looked for a time like Jones might transfer to another school after the fall semester, but he opted to stay and the decision has paid off for him and his team. Tony Renda (.335, 3 HR, 41 RBIs), Chadd Krist (.306 25 doubles, 40 RBIs) and Regional MVP Devon Rodriguez (.292, 5 HR, 33 RBIs) lead a balanced Bears offense. Johnson was the highest-drafted player (2nd round, White Sox) this week among seven Golden Bears selected.

Cal won the first College World Series in 1947. Its most-recent trip to Omaha was in 1992.

CLICK HERE to read more about this Cinderella Super Regional.

TEAM	RECORD	CONF.	BA	Runs/ Gm.	HR/ Sac Bunts	Slg%	OBP	SB-Att.	Fld%	ERA	CG	SV	K	BB	Opp. BA
Cal	(35-21)	Pac-10	.286	5.5	28/62	.400	.356	46-70	.974	2.88	4	9	443	162	.240
Dallas Baptist	(42-18)	Independent	.311	8.4	60/34	.483	.415	62-76	.974	4.68	4	16	361	254	.273

Santa Clara Schedule

Game 1 – California 7-11-0 def. Dallas Baptist 0-3-0
Final Stats |  Cal Recap |  DB Recap |  Photos |  Quotes |  Notes

Post Game Video – Including Cal’s David Esquer & Justin Jones and DBU’s Dan Heefner & Brandon Williamson

Game 2: Cal 6-13-1 def. Dallas Baptist 2-4-1
Final Stats | Cal Recap | DBU Recap | Quotes | Photos | Notes

Post Game Video – David Esquer, Chadd Krist & Tony Renda

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Tallahassee Super Regional – #5 national seed Florida State vs. Texas A&M

Ho hum, Florida State is hosting another Super Regional. Mike Martin‘s Seminoles are looking for a 21st trip to the College World Series, including a third trip in the past four years. Texas A&M is looking for just its fourth CWS berth and its first since 1999.

Ross Stripling

Big 12 coach of the year Rob Childress is looking to take his A&M team to Omaha for the first time, but he was an assistant at Nebraska when the Cornhuskers made CWS appearances in 2001, ’02 and ’05. The Aggies won their second straight Big 12 Tournament this year but probably missed the chance to be a national seed due to the labrum injury suffered by ace John Stilson (5-2, 1.68 ERA). Ross Stripling (13-2, 2.30 ERA) and Michael Wacha (8-3, 2.24) still combine for a more than formidable 1-2 punch in the rotation. Stripling fired a complete game in the Aggies’ regional opening win and then earned his third save of the season when he closed the regional clincher against Arizona. Big 12 player of the year Tyler Naquin (.389, 21 doubles, 7 triples, 43 RBIs) leads the Aggies offensive attack.

Mike McGee

While Florida State is a regular at hosting Super Regionals, that hasn’t always translated into automatic success. The Seminoles have dropped Super Regional series at Dick Howser Stadium in 2002, ’03 and ’09, with wins in ’08 and 2010. They also fell on the road in Super Regional action in 2001, ’04 and ’05. Two-way player Mike McGee (.332, 10 HR, 56 RBIs, 5 SVs) had the chance to go pro when he was drafted in 2010, but he returned and improved his draft slot by 26 rounds when he was tabbed by Seattle this week in the 15th round. The centerfielder had 13 saves last year but returned for the chance to show his offensive prowess. Staff ace Sean Gilmartin (12-1, 1.83 ERA) was selected 28th overall by Atlanta. Senior Daniel Bennett (2.10 ERA, 15 SVs) has taken over the main closer’s role.

TEAM	RECORD	CONF.	BA	Runs/ Gm.	HR/ Sac Bunts	Slg%	OBP	SB-Att.	Fld%	ERA	CG	SV	K	BB	Opp. BA
Florida State	(45-17)	ACC	.294	7.2	55/23	.448	.409	74-94	.972	3.58	1	23	469	225	.244
Texas A&M	(44-19)	Big 12	.294	5.9	27/70	.406	.366	103-138	.976	2.68	7	16	479	152	.241

Tallahassee Schedule

Game 1 – Texas A&M 6-7-1 win at Florida State 2-9-2
Final Stats |  A&M Recap |  FSU Recap |  Photos |  Quotes |  Notes |  Postgame Video |  Video Highlights

Game 2: Florida State 23-16-1 def. Texas A&M 9-12-4
Final Stats | FSU Recap| A&M Recap | Notes | Quotes | Photos

Game 3: Texas A&M 11-11-0 def. Florida State 2-4-1
Final Stats | A&M Recap | FSU Recap

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Columbia Super Regional – #4 national seed South Carolina vs. Connecticut

George Springer

Monday was quite a day for both UConn and the Big East Conference. While the Huskies were in the process of beating Clemson 14-1 in the Clemson Regional final, their two best players, George Springer (.350, 12 HR, 76 RBIs) and Matt Barnes (11-4, 1.62 ERA), were selected with the 11th and 19th overall picks in this week’s MLB Draft. Springer and Barnes combined with Joe Panik of St. John’s to give the Big East three first-round picks in the same draft for the first time in the history of the conference. The Huskies had to win four straight after Barnes was pounded by Coastal Carolina (7 ER in 4.1 IP) in the Regional opener. They outscored the host Tigers (a ’10 CWS team) 21-7 in their last two wins. Jim Penders‘ squad is the third Big East team (along with Notre Dame and Louisville) to advance to a Super Regional. Penders’ father, Jim Penders, and uncle, Tom Penders, both played for UConn’s 1965 College World Series team.

Michael Roth

South Carolina has the same kind of team it had a year ago at this time. The defending national champs aren’t eye-popping anywhere, but they are good everywhere. Sophomore Christian Walker (.361, 9 HR, 58 RBIs) leads the Gamecocks in the triple crown categories. He is the only USC player to start all 62 games. Fellow sophomore Evan Marzilli and seniors Brady Thomas, Adrian Morales and Scott Wingo – who scored the winning run in the 2010 national championship game – are among the regulars back from the national-title squad. Michael Roth (12-3, 1.10 ERA) came out of the bullpen to make his only starts of the season in 2010 CWS wins over Clemson and UCLA. Roth used that as a springboard to being South Carolina’s ace this year. Ray Tanner‘s squad again has quality arms everywhere in the bullpen, including closer Matt Price (5-3, 2.25 ERA, 17 SVs) and setup man John Taylor (5-1, 1.32 ERA). Those two and Jose Mata (3-0, 1.82 ERA) have combined for 95 appearances.

CLICK HERE for pre-Super Regional interviews with South Carolina players.

TEAM	RECORD	CONF.	BA	Runs/ Gm.	HR/ Sac Bunts	Slg%	OBP	SB-Att.	Fld%	ERA	CG	SV	K	BB	Opp. BA
South Carolina	(48-14)	SEC	.296	6.1	44/59	.432	.388	37-54	.974	2.65	1	20	490	201	.229
UConn	(45-18-1)	Big East	.311	6.5	34/47	.431	.386	127-170	.962	3.03	3	17	446	237	.229

Columbia Schedule

Game 1 – South Carolina 5-10-3 def. Connecticut 1-6-2
Final Stats |  SC Recap (w/ video)  |  UConn Recap |  Photos (SC)  |  Photos (UConn)
Photos (AP)  |  Quotes |  Notes

Game 2: South Carolina 8-12-1 def. UConn 2-10-2
Final Stats | SC Recap | UConn Recap

The Dugout‘s new store in Omaha is located right across from the Road To Omaha statue at TD Ameritrade Stadium!

Right now, you can save 20% on everything – even sale items – in stock at Dugouthats.com when you enter the coupon code CB360.

Save on 2011 College World Series apparel as well as authentic college baseball caps from teams such as LSU, Texas, Cal State Fullerton, UCLA, South Carolina, Miami , Rice, Stanford, Vanderbilt, TCU, and more at Dugouthats.com!

 

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Omaha Awaits One…

Cal players pose for a picture after their Houston Regional win.

In this year’s CWS, Cinderella will come out of the Santa Clara Super Regional in an unlikely matchup between the University of California and Dallas Baptist University. The best-of-three series begins Saturday.

Both Cal and Dallas Baptist have incredible stories of how they find themselves only two wins away from Omaha.

Cal’s story is well-known throughout the college baseball world. In late September, the university announced that baseball, along with four other sports, would be eliminated after the 2010-2011 school year. The announcement sent shockwaves through the sport. It appeared a Pac-10 program with two national titles to its credit and high expectations in 2011 would be gone after the season.

Immediately after the announcement, a fundraising effort was launched to save the sports that found themselves on the chopping block. Boosters raised $13 million by early February and the school announced three of the teams would remain following the school year. Baseball was not one of them, and school officials said it was unlikely the Bears would be reinstated despite continued fundraising efforts by the group “Save Cal Baseball.”

Instead of the players looking to transfer, the baseball team came together and embarked on a mission to make 2011 memorable for on-field achievements. Players on head coach David Esquer’s squad had the option to transfer before this season, but all of them decided to stick with Cal and wait to transfer after 2011 if reinstatement did not occur.

On April 8, Cal baseball finally got the news it was waiting to hear. The fundraising effort to save the program had raised $9 million, enough to keep the program going in the future.

At the time of the announcement, Cal was ranked #13 and sported a 19-7 record, with a 5-1 Pac-10 mark. After the reinstatement announcement, Cal went 12-13 – losing five of its last seven conference series. The Bears entered the tournament 31-20 and 6th place at 13-13 in the conference.

Cal lost its tournament opener last Friday in Houston to #2 Baylor, 6–4, and the Bears found themselves in danger of going 0-2 for their third straight NCAA Tournament appearance.

The Bears avoided elimination with a 10-6 victory over #4 Alcorn State. Cal – which had trailed 4-0 after two innings vs. Alcorn State – continued to make its way through the losers bracket with a 6-3 win over #8 national seed Rice and an 8-0 victory over Baylor to force a deciding game on Monday (in a “Battle of the Bears”).

In Monday’s decisive game vs. Baylor, the Golden Bears trailed 7-1 going into the bottom of the 6th. Cal fought back and trailed 8-5 going into the bottom of the 9th. The Golden Bears trailed 8-7 with the bases loaded and two-outs/two strikes when sophomore first baseman Devon Rodriguez singled to right field to bring home the winning runs and a 9-8 victory.

It was fitting that a team that dramatically escaped the budget axe dramatically escaped elimination with four straight wins to advance to the Super Regionals and put themselves two wins from their first appearance in Omaha since 1992.

It has become clear that it’s very difficult to eliminate Cal baseball, both on and off the field.

Dallas Baptist players dog pile after their regional win over Oral Roberts

Dallas Baptist is the quintessential underdog team. The Patriots compete as an independent in baseball and did not begin playing college baseball on the Division I level until 2006 (DBU previously was an NAIA program). Baseball is the only Dallas Baptist sport that plays at the DI level.

Being an independent, the Patriots are forced to load up their schedule with tough teams in the hopes of grabbing some wins that look good on an NCAA Tournament resume.

This year, the Patriots were one of the last at-large teams into the field after finishing the regular season 39-17. Dallas Baptist scored wins at Texas A&M, Rice and Oklahoma and posted two wins vover TCU, including one in Ft. Worth, along with a series victory over Atlantic-10 champion Charlotte to end the regular season.

Their 2011 tournament appearance is the second in the program’s history. The Patriots also were selected to the NCAAs in 2008, going 0-2 in the College Station Regional.

The Patriots received the #3 seed in the Ft. Worth regional, which included two teams from the 2010 CWS (Oklahoma,and TCU), as well as perennial tournament participant Oral Roberts.

Dallas Baptist edged out Oklahoma 3-2 in 10 innings in their tournament opener Friday, followed by a 3-2 victory over host TCU. DBU was forced to play on Monday after Oral Roberts won 7-2 on Sunday night.

In Monday’s deciding game, the Patriots jumped out to an 8-0 lead after their first at-bat and led 11-4 after only three innings. ORU cut the deficit to 11-9 going into the 8th inning, but the DBU bullpen kept the Golden Eagles off the board the rest of the way and the Patriots won the game to advance to the Super Regionals for the first time in school history.

DBU head coach Dan Heefner has been able to achieve his program’s success despite not being able to compete in recruiting with other Texas baseball powers such as Texas, Texas A&M, TCU and Rice.

This Super Regional matchup was so unlikely that the NCAA did not announce where it was going to held until Tuesday morning. Neither school’s home field was adequate enough to host tournament games.

Dallas Baptist put in a bid to host at a nearby stadium for an Independent League team, but Cal was given the nod as host and games will be played at Santa Clara University’s Stephen Schott Stadium, located nearly 50 miles from Cal’s Berkeley campus.

Dallas Baptist features one of the top offenses in the country with a .311 team batting average, ranking 16th in the country, to go along with a .483 slugging percentage that ranks sixth in the nation. Five players are batting over .300, led by senior OF Jason Krizan who is hitting .419 with 81 RBIs and a .719 slugging percentage.

On the mound, DBU’s team ERA is 4.68. Two of the Patriots top pitchers are the team’s #1 and #2 starters. Senior Brandon Williamson is 10-3 with a 3.98 ERA and senior Jared Stafford is 8-4 with a 3.03 ERA. The two have the second- and third-lowest ERAs on the team. Other than Stafford and Williamson, all but one DBU pitcher features an ERA over 4.5.

To match the Patriots strong hitting attack, Cal features a pitching staff with a team ERA of 2.88, ranked 14th in the nation. Only one Cal pitcher has an ERA over 5.00.

The Bears feature four pitchers with at least nine starts: senior Kevin Miller (6-4, 2.62 ERA), junior Erik Johnson (6-4 2.91), sophomore Justin Jones (8-6 3.09) and junior Dixon Anderson (4-3 3.90). The bullpen was one of the stars of the Houston Regional. In their five games last weekend, Cal’s ‘pen combined to allow only two earned runs in 25.2 IP.

Cal boasts a team batting average of .286, led by Pac-10 player of the year sophomore 2B Tony Renda (.335, team leading 41 RBIs). Only four of Cal’s regular starters having batting averages over .300: senior Austin Booker (.313), junior Chadd Krist (.306) and Vince Bruno (.301). Sophomore 1B Devon Rodriguez, who was MVP of the Houston Regional, is hitting .292.

Both Dallas Baptist and Cal are strong-fielding teams, with each club’s fielding percentage at .974 (good for top-40 in the nation).

One of these teams will become the fifth team since 2007 to be seeded #3 or #4 in its Regional and end up advancing to the CWS (UC Irvine and Mississippi State are #3 seeds that also are playing this weekend in Super Regionals).

Of the previous four teams to make it to Omaha as a #3 or #4 seed, two have gone on to win the national championship (#3 Oregon State in 2007 and #4 Fresno St in ’08).

Cal and Dallas Baptist’s stories are different, but both are unlikely tales, and their respective stories illustrate why the winner of the series will be the first Cinderella at the new TD Ameritrade Park.

Yet only one story will be told in Omaha.

Dallas Baptist Standout On Verge Of “The Goal”…

In a season where the new BBCOR bat standards have seen offensive numbers drop across college baseball, Jason Krizan has defied the odds. The Dallas Baptist outfielder is batting a robust .419 with 10 home runs and 81 RBIs, while leading the nation with 39 doubles.

Krizan’s team has defied the odds as well this year. In just the independent school’s sixth season as a Division One program Dallas Baptist finds itself in a Super Regional this weekend taking on California for the right to advance to the College World Series.

In this exclusive interview with Collegebaseball360.com editor Sean Stires, Krizan discusses how his team was able to beat both TCU and Oklahoma (both 2010 CWS teams) to win the Ft. Worth Regional. He also covers his success with the new bats as well as getting drafted this week by the Detroit Tigers and more!

Krizan

Jason Krizan – 6’0 – OF – Pflugerville, TX

Head Coach – Dan Heefner

(Full Release)

Oklahoma sophomore rightfielder Cody Reine

Two sophomores who helped take their teams to Super-Regional series wins on the road are the featured individuals on the latest edition of CB360’s exclusive Primetime Performer Weekly Honor Roll, for the NCAA Super-Regional round spanning games played on June 11-14. (front-page photo courtesy of Oklahoma)

TCU sophomore righthander Kyle Winkler

Oklahoma rightfielder Cody Reine (Walker, La.) is the Primtime Player of the Week and TCU righthander Kyle Winkler (Sugar Land, Texas) the Primetime Pitcher of the Week, with 11 others joining them on the Primtime Honor Roll (as selected by CollegeBaseball360.com). Reine and Winkler headline the 17th installment of the CB360 Primetime Performer Weekly Honor Roll, which includes 11 other players who helped carry their teams to the College World Series (or, in a few cases, to the brink of advancing).

CLICK HERE for the Primetime Honor Roll archive (scroll down on that page for the 16 previous Honor Roll releases).

REINE – who also was a CB360 Primetime Honor Roll selection following the NCAA Regional round – showed that he packs plenty of power into his 5-9, 215-pound frame, as the lefthanded-hitting cleanup hitter posted a pair of 2-HR games while sparking Oklahoma to the Super-Regional series win at #5 national seed Virginia (2-3, 10-7, 11-0). During the two wins, Reine racked up 11 RBI and hit 5-for-8 (plus a walk) while batting in the #5 spot.

Oklahoma sophomore rightfielder Cody Reine homered twice in the series-tying win of the Super Regional at #5 national seed Virginia ... and he matched the 2-HR feat one day later, in the decisive third game (photo courtesy of Oklahoma).

In the Super-Regional opener, Virginia ace Danny Hultzen limited Reine (batting cleanup) and six other Oklahoma starters to 0-1 hits, but Reine’s power stroke quickly put the Sooners back in the series. He drove in half of his team’s runs (5 of 10) in the game-2 win, starting with a 3-run blast in the 1st inning (0-1 pitch from Robert Morrey) as OU claimed an early 4-2 cushion.

Five innings later, with the Sooners holding a 6-4 lead, Reine jumped on a 1-1 pitch from Cody Winiarski and drove the ball over the fence in right-center for another 2-run shot.

The deciding game saw Reine rise up for 6 RBI, including a 1st-inning home run for the second straight day (this 3-run blast came with 2-outs, on a 1-0 pitch from Branden Kline).  He added another 3-run HR in the 8th, as OU inched closer to Omaha.

Reine is batting .341 for the season, with 42 RBI and 10 home runs.

WINKLER was placed into a pressure-packed spot for game-3 of the Super-Regional series at #2 national seed Texas. Not only did he have the chance to pitch TCU to the program’s first CWS trip, but such a victory would come against the in-state rival that had knocked off the Horned Frogs one year earlier in the same Super-Regional round.

TCU sophomore Kyle Winkler delivered a clutch game-3 outing at #2 national seed Texas, logging 7.2 shuout innings as the Frogs won (4-1) to secure the program's first College World Series trip (photo courtesy of TCU).

With so much riding on his shoulders – and Texas talented #3 starter Brandon  Workman opposing him – Winkler met the challenge head-on by working into the 8th while Workman (5IP-R-4H-4K) was forced out three innings earlier. The TCU sophomore was the much-deserved pitcher of record in the historic 4-1 victory, after limiting Texas to 5 hits and 3 walks in his 7.2-inning shutout stint (he struck out six 0f his 32 batters faced, during the 112-pitch outing).

Winkler will enter the College World Series with a 2.84 season ERA and 12-1 record in 17 starts this season, plus 90 strikeouts, 33 walks and 103 hits allowed (.242 opp. batting avg.) in 114 innings pitched.

Primetime Performer Award Criteria (not based solely on raw stats, but rather …)
• Must have been playing for or against a CB360 top-50 team (in the Composite National Rankings) or performed a high level in games that could be key to a team’s conference/NCAA postseason qualification/advancement; made significant contribution to team’s postseason positioning (single-game wins, “quality” wins, series wins, road wins, etc.).
• Involved in clutch performances, such as late game-winning hits, noteworthy comebacks, game-changing plays, team leadership, key defensive efforts, etc.
• Performed at a top level against a team rated highly nationally (or within its conference), with bonus consideration given for key performances away from home field and vs. traditional rivals.
• Overcame adversity or extreme circumstances (for the team and/or individual).
• Any accomplishment that is rare, historic, record-setting, etc., on a national level.

The other 11 members of the CB360 Primetime Performer Weekly Honor Roll for the NCAA Regionals include (see capsules for each player at bottom of release): Vanderbilt jr. DH Curt Casali (New Canaan, Conn.) … Florida State so. 3B Sherman Johnson (Tampa, Fla.) … Arizona State so. LHP Mitchell Lambson (Tualatin, Ore.) … Florida so. LHP Alex Panteliodis ( Tampa, Fla.) … TCU fr. LHP Matt Purke (Spring, Texas) … UCLA so. 2B Tyler Rahmatulla (Mission Viejo, Calif.) …UCLA jr. LHP Rob Rasmussen (Arcadia, Calif.) … Clemson fr. 1B Richie Shaffer (Charlotte, N.C.) … Oklahoma jr. RHP Bobby Shore (Oceanside, Calif.) … Alabama sr. 3B/RHP Jake Smith (Shannon, Ala.) … and South Carolina fr. 1B Christian Walker (Limerick, Pa.).

The week-17 honorees include four impressive lefthanded pitchers (Lambson, Panteliois, Purke and Rasmussen), along with righthanders Winkler and Shore, the two-way talent Smith (3B/RHP), a pair of first basemen (Shaffer and Walker), second baseman Rahmatulla, third baseman Johnson, rightfielder Reine and DH Casali. The 13 selections feature the lone senior Smith, three juniors (Casali, Rasmussen and Shore), six sophomores (Reine, Winkler, Johnson, Lambson, Panteliodis and Rahmatulla), and the freshman trio of Purke, Shaffer and Walker.

The honorees hail from nine different home states, including a pair of players (Johnson and Panteliodis) who were teammates at Alonso High School in Tampa, Fla. There also are three California products – Shore and UCLA teammates Rahmatulla and Rasmussen – along with two who have Texas hometowns (Winkler and Purke), plus one each from: Alabama (Smith), Connecticut (Casali), Louisiana (Reine), North Carolina (Shaffer), Oregon (Lambson) and Pennsylvania (Walker).

PRIMETIME PERFORMERS WEEKLY HONOR ROLL #17
(NCAA Super-Regionals; June 11-14, 2010)
presented by CollegeBaseball360.com

“It’s not so much what you do, as it is when you do it.”

CURT CASALI (DH … #9)
Vanderbilt  •  Jr.
New Canaan, CT  •  New Canaan HS
6-2  •  215  •  Bats: Right

5-hole hitter who batted .500 (7-for-14) during tight Super-Regional series at Florida State, with FSU posting pair of 1-run wins (9-8, 7-6) while Commodores took game-2 (6-2) … had pair of RBI doubles (one in the 1st and another in 8th, for 4-2 lead) during win over the Seminoles (also scored a run) … his strong game in opener (4-for-5, 8th HR of season, 2-out RBI double) nearly carried Commodores to game-1 win … also had a pair of RBI in close series finale.

SHERMAN JOHNSON (3B … #32)
Florida State  •  So.
Tampa, FL  •  Alonso HS
5-10  •  180  •  Bats: Left

Repeat CB360 Primetime honoreee who followed up clutch performances in the Regional round by delivering several key plays in hard-fought Super-Regional series vs. Vanderbilt (9-8, 2-6, 7-6) … factored into 3 runs (2RBI-2R; 9th HR of season) during the tight opener, also adding a single in 7th-inning rally that tied score (7-7) … singled and reached on a HBP in game-2 before driving in four of FSU’s 7 runs in the decisive third game (his 2-out/3-run double in the 8th turned a 4-3 lead into a 7-3 cushion … played error-free at the hot corner during the three games.

MITCHELL LAMBSON (LHP … #40)
Arizona State  •  So.
Tualatin, OR  •  Tualatin HS
6-1  •  195

Faced the minimum 15 batters in huge 5-inning relief appearance that closed 12-inning win (7-6) over Arkansas in Super-Regional opener … allowed pair of baserunners (H-BB) that were erased on a pickoff move and a batters-interference call … his 7 strikeouts included 3-up/3-down in the 11th.

ALEX PANTELIODIS (LHP … #24)
Florida  •  So.
Tampa, FL  •  Alonso HS
6-2  •  235

Continued his stellar season with yet another appearance on the Primetime Honor Roll, after logging complete-game victory in Super-Regional opener vs. in-state rival Miami (7-2) … faced only 30 batters (3 over min.; 3H-BB) while recording 22 of his outs via strikeouts (12) or groundball outs (10, including a double-play) … retired finaal 14 batters he faced (6 Ks, 7 GOs) … located nearly 75% of his pitches for strikes (85 of 116).

MATT PURKE (LHP … #47)
TCU  •  Fr.
Spring, TX  •  Klein HS
6-4  •  180

Extended his stellar rookie campaign by winning Super-Regional series opener at #2 national seed Texas (3-1), getting the best of pitchers duel opposite Cole Green (who dropped to 11-2, after 5.2IP-3R-5H-3BB-4H) … allowed the lone run while working into the 8th (7.2), with 19 of his outs coming via Ks (11) or groundouts (8) … faced only 28 batters (3H-BB-HB) in the 110-pitch outing, en route to a 14-0 season record.

TYLER RAHMATULLA (2B … #5)
UCLA  •  So.
Mission Viejo, CA  • Mater Dei HS
5-11  •  180  •  Bats: Right

3-hole batter who delivered one of the biggest hits in the entire 2010 NCAA Tournament, driving 3-1 pitch over left-center fence for 2-out/2-run blast in 9th inning of game-2 vs. Cal State Fullerton … that home run lifted UCLA into 7-6 lead and Bruins went on to force game-3 by winning in the 10th (11-7) … played error-free in the series (14 fielding chances) … also had pair of doubles in 4-3 opening-game loss (RBI, R) and closed 2-for-4 with an RBI in the 8-1 clincher.

ROB RASMUSSEN (LHP … #27)
UCLA  •  Jr.
Arcadia, CA  •  Pasadena Poly HS
5-11  •  170

Lived up to his reputation as nation’s top #3 starter in the rotation, with 2-hitter that beat Fullerton in Super-Regional finale (8-1) … faced only 32 batters in that 112-pitch outing, limiting the potent Titans lineup to a pair of hits and a single walk (2 HB) while striking out 9 CSF batters.

*CODY REINE (RF … #11)
Oklahoma  •  So.
Walker, LA  •  Grayson JC/Walker HS
5-9  •  215  •  Bats: Left

Cleanup/5-hole batter who filled that role in timely fashion by batting 5-for-8 in pair of wins over #5 national seed Virginia (with 2 HRs in each game), as Sooners overcame game-1 loss to win Super-Regional series on the road (2-3, 10-7, 11-0) … hit 2–for-3 with a walk and 5 RBI in game-2 before driving in 6 runs (3-for-5) during the stunning runaway clincher.

RICHIE SHAFFER (1B … #8)
Clemson  •  Fr.
Charlotte, NC  •  Providence Senior HS
6-2  •  190  •  Bats: Right

7-hole batter who had totaled only 2 home runs this season before besting that total with 3 HRs in Super-Regional series vs. Alabama (4-5, 19-5, 8-6) … hit 4-for-10 with 7 RBI in pair of wins over the Crimson Tide … smacked pair of home in decisive third game (3 RBI), after also homering in game-2 blowout (4 RBI, sac-fly) … drew a walk in low-scoring opener.

BOBBY SHORE (RHP … #16)
Oklahoma  •  Jr.
Oceanside, CA  •  Palomar JC/Oceanside HS
6-1  •  175  •  Bats: Right

Rose to the occasion in decisive third game of Super Regional at #5 national seed Virginia (11-0 win) … faced only 29 batters in his 8.0 shutout innings, allowing 4 hits and a pair of walks with 5 strikeouts in the 99-pitch outing … his clutch appearance helped Sooners complete series comeback, after narrow 3-2 loss in opener (won game-2, 10-7).

JAKE SMITH (3B/RHP … #14)
Alabama  •  Sr.
Shannon, AL  •  Hueytown HS
6-2  •  190  •  Bats: Right

Two-way talent who played big role in 5-4 win during Super-Regional opener at Clemson … went 2-for-4 from the 5-hole and smacked his 14th home run of the season, before closing the final 2.0 innings for his 6th save of the season (H, 2 Ks) … also homered in game-2 and had a walk and run scored in tight finale (8-6 loss).

CHRISTIAN WALKER (1B … #13)
South Carolina  •  Fr.
Limerick, PA  •  Kennedy-Kendrick HS
6-0  •  210  •  Bats: Right

5-hole hitter who helped South Carolina win Super-Regional series at #4 national seed Coastal Carolina (4-3, 10-9) … batted 2-for-5 in each of the wins, adding 5 RBI, 2 runs scored, a home run and hit-by-pitch … his 2-run single sparked SC to 3-0 lead in 1st inning of game-1 … supplied the big hit in the clinching win, as his 3-run blast in the 8th provided the final 10-9 margin (Coastal held an early 5-2 lead).

*KYLE WINKLER (RHP … #8)
TCU  •  So.
Sugar Land, TX  •  Kempner HS
5-11  •  190  •  Bats: Right

Delivered game-3 Super-Regional win at Texas (4-1) that sent Horned Frogs to Omaha for the program’s first College World Series appearance … worked into the 8th to outduel Brandon Workman (5IP-R-4H-4K), logging 7.2 shutout innings with 5 hits and 3 walks allowed … struck out 6 of his 32 batters faced, during 112-pitch outing.

Collegebaseball360.com’s Stephen Francis was in Austin for the Texas-TCU Super Regional.  Below are interviews with TCU head coach Jim Schlossnagle and Horned Frog players Kyle Winkler and Aaron Schultz as well as shots of the celebration and dog pile immediately after TCU’s 4-1 win on Sunday to clinch a trip to Omaha.

CB360’s Stephen Francis has an exclusive interview with TCU pitcher Kyle Winkler after Sunday’s Super Regional win over Texas.  CLICK HERE for more TCU Super Regional videos.  CLICK HERE for more TCU Super Regional videos.

Big Week For Coastal Carolina Star

Coastal Carolina outfielder Rico Noel has helped the Chanticleers to a big season, and this week has been the biggest.  Noel hit a walk-off home run Sunday night to force a Monday winner take all Regional championship game in which his team beat the College of Charleston.  He was named the Myrtle Beach Regional MVP for his efforts.  As if that wasn’t enough, Noel was taken Tuesday by the San Diego Padres in the fifth round of the MLB draft.  He talks about all of that as well as this week’s Super Regional series vs. South Carolina in this podcast interview with Collegebaseball360.com editor Sean Stires.

Noel

5’9 – 170 – Jr. – Lawton, OK              Head Coach: Gary Gilmore