May 30, 2003

Hattiesburg Regional Capsules

1. Baylor Bears

Waco, Texas

At-large bid from Big 12 Conference

2003 record – 15-12, 41-21 (fifth in Big 12)

Coach:  Steve Smith (Baylor, ‘86)

Record at school: 339-201-1, 9 years

Overall record: Same

Assistant coaches: Steve Johnigan, Mitch Thompson

Team offense: .330 BA, 511 R, 79 HR, .522 SLG%, .401 OB%, 40/59 SB

Team pitching: 4.44 ERA, 556 IP, 526 H, 245 BB, 478 K

Top hitters: David Murphy (.417/11/62), Ross Bennett (.376/4/46), Mark Saccomanno (.384/8/37), Michael Griffin (.359/10/75/25 2B), Chris Durbin (.346/17/47), Josh Ford (.317/12/58), Kyle Reynolds (.287/1/30)

Top pitchers: Ryan LaMotta (6-2, 3.68, 63.2 IP, 56 H, 30 BB, 56 K), Steven White (7-4, 4.37, 113.1 IP, 109 H, 42 BB, 112 K), Sean Walker (8-5, 5.07, 81.2, 85 H, 37 BB, 54 K), Zane Carlson (2-4, 9 saves, 2.82, 54.1 IP, 43 H, 13 BB, 62 K), Abe Woody (6-0, 3 saves, 3.99, 58.2 IP, 44 H, 17 BB, 40 K).

Last NCAA appearance: 2002 (2-2 at Austin Regional)

Notes: Baylor will be the top seed at the Hattiesburg Regional, with host Southern Miss as the No. 2. The Bears are the only No.1-seed not to host. Baylor reached the finals of the Big 12 Tournament, falling to Texas 10-8 in 10 innings.

2. Southern Miss Golden Eagles
Hattiesburg, Miss.
Automatic - won Conference USA Tournament
2003 Record: 23-7, 45-14 (first in Conference USA)
Coach: Corky Palmer (Southern Miss, 1977)
Record at school: 210-145, six years
Overall record: Same
Assistant coaches: Lane Burroughs, Scott Berry, Allen Winningham
Team offense: .321 BA, 456 R, 81 HR, .515 SLG%, .396 OB%, 36-49 SB
Team pitching: 3.62 ERA, 519.2 IP, 516 H, 206 BB, 424 SO
Top hitters: Clint King (.397/22/71), Jeff Cook (.378/21/70/13 SB), Marc Maddox (.355/5/19), Brad Willcutt (.330/11/56), Jason Lowery (.328/2/26), Jarrett Hoffpauir (.303/8/48), Matt Shepherd (.301/2/27), Griff Israel (.297/4/31), Beau Griffin (.250/1/18).

Top pitchers: Anthony Dewitt (8-2, 3.61, 82.1 IP, 95 H, 18 BB, 46 K), Cliff Russum (7-5, 3.69, 78 IP, 54 H, 34 BB, 72 K), Bob McCrory (10-2, 4.01, 85.1 IP, 90 H, 42 BB, 80 K), Stephen Castleman (7-2, 4.36, 88.2 IP, 105 H, 32 BB, 69 K), Austin Tubb (3-1, 10 saves, 0.92, 29.1 IP, 19 H, 7 BB, 27 K), Ray Antonelli (4-0, 5 saves, 1.85, 58.1 IP, 41 H, 21 BB, 59 K), John Nicholas (4-1, 2.73, 29.2 IP, 29 H, 12 BB, 21 K)
Last NCAA appearance: 1999 (2-2 at Tuscaloosa Regional)

Notes: Southern Miss has had its most successful season, winning its first C-USA title and hosting a regional for the first time. Coach Corky Palmer was given a key to the city of Hattiesburg by the mayor this week. Palmer was a three-year starter for the Golden Eagles as a catcher. Current starters Clint King and Jeff Cook have been men among boys, each topping 20 homers and 70 RBI. Cook has 13 of the team’s 36 stolen bases. Otherwise, the team doesn’t run much. Austin Tubb has been filthy as a closer, saving 10 games and striking out 27 in 29.1 innings.

3. Southern Jaguars
Baton Rouge, La.
Automatic bid - won the Southwestern Athletic Conference
2003 Record: 31-1, 45-5 (first in SWAC )
Coach: Roger Cardor
Record at school: 556-284-1, 19 years
Overall record: Same
Assistant coaches: Arnold Braithwaite, Barret Ray, Jon Bolton
Team offense: .366 BA, 536 R, 66 HR, .602 SLG%, .465 OB%, 92/112 SB
Team pitching: 3.57 ERA, 383.1 IP, 351 H, 166 BB, 293 K
Top hitters: Rickie Weeks (.500/16/67/27 SB), Joey Mouton (.388/6/30), Andrew Toussaint (.388/7/56), Antoin Gray (.378/7/56), Marcus Townsend (.374/6/44/18 SB), Fernando Puebla (.360/2/30), Kevin Vital (.316/14/66), Brandon Mason (.259/0/26).  
Top pitchers: Duwon Day (8-0, 2.01, 58.1 IP, 48 H, 25 BB, 44 K), Corey Poret (8-0, 4.64, 54.1, 64 H, 20 BB, 53 K), Jonathan Kohn (6-0, 3.61, 47.1 IP, 42 H, 13 BB, 35 K), Vince Davis (8-1, 4.73, 45.2 IP, 43 H, 20 BB, 23 K), Emary Frederick (.1-1, 2.16, 33.1 IP, 27 H, 11 BB, 20 K), Ronald Moore (4-0, 2.42, 22.1 IP, 17 H, 7 BB, 17 K), Damian Ursin (.2-1, 6 saves, 2.56, 31.2 IP, 22 H, 17 BB, 35 K).  
Last NCAA appearance: 2002 (0-2 at Baton Rouge Regional)
Notes: The Jaguars are back in the field for the third straight year, combining to go a remarkable 134-27 the past three years. It starts with Rickie Weeks, arguably the best player in college baseball and probably one of the first college picks to go in the upcoming Major League draft. He slugged .987 and stole 27 of 27 bases in addition to hitting .500. Throw in 46 walks (17 Ks) for a .619 OBA. And that came when every team tried to avoid him. Five other regulars are hitting better than .360, and Kevin Vital is the other power source, blasting 14 homers and driving in 66. He had 43 walks and 37 Ks. Southern has some pitching depth after top guns Duwon Day and Corey Poret. Ten pitchers have thrown more than 20 innings.

4. Murray State Thoroughbreds

Murray, Ky.

Automatic bid - won Ohio Valley Conference Tournament

2003 record: 9-11, 25-29 (fourth in OVC)

Coach: Mike Thieke (Murray State, 1974)

Record at school: 231-291-2, 10 years

Overall record: Same

Assistant coaches: Bart Osborne, Rick McCarty

Team offense: .280 BA, 314 R, 39 HR, .402 SLG%, .362 OBA%, 32-51 SB

Team pitching: 5.00 ERA, 452 IP, 545 H, 190 BB, 399 K

Top hitters: Geoff Kirksey (.335/8/41), Ronnie Seets (.320/3/23), Brett McCutchan (.307/6/52), Matt Rebout (.299/10/47), Charlie Ward (.272/0/18), Alex Stewart (.259/7/30), John David Thieke (.234/1/6), Garner Byars (.226/1/22/11 SB)

Top pitchers: Craig Kraus (3-6, 1 save, 3.95, 57 IP, 75 H, 22 BB, 44 K), Craig Ringwald (5-4, 4.04, 71.1 IP, 88 H, 23 BB, 61 K), Kyle Perry (8-4, 4.82, 80.1 IP, 97 H, 31 BB, 79 K), Gordon Dugan (2-4, 1 save, 3.35, 45.2 IP, 41 H, 18 BB, 44 K), Greg Gray (1-1, 8 saves, 4.45, 28.1 IP, 29 H, 11 BB, 24 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 1979

Notes: Murray State has been to the NCAA tournament twice (1975, 1979). MSU had to defeat Eastern Kentucky twice on the final day of the OVC tournament to win the championship. Murray State’s baseball team nickname is Thoroughbreds, while the other teams go by Racers. MSU is 0-26 when trailing after six innings, 22-3 when leading after six. Coach Mike Thieke was a pitcher for MSU. He tossed a no-hitter against Purdue as a junior in 1973 and a one-hitter the following year against Northwestern. Kirk Rueter of the San Francisco Giants pitched at Murray State from 1989-91.