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May 30, 2003
Houston Regional Capsules
1. Rice Owls
Houston, Texas
Automatic bid - won Western Athletic Conference regular-season title
2003 record - 25-5, 48-10 (first in the WAC)
Coach: Wayne Graham (Texas, 1970)
Record at school: 526-222, 12 years
Overall record: Same
Assistant coaches: Mike Taylor, David Pierce, Zane Curry
Team offense: .322 BA, 428 R, 42 HR, .451 SLG%, .403 OBA%, 67/92 SB
Team pitching: 2.82 ERA, 520.2 IP, 429 H, 181 BB, 547 K
Top hitters: Vincent Sinisi (.360/7/51/11 SB), Enrique Cruz (.360/9/48),
Chris Kolkhorst (.354/2/39), Austin Davis (.350/5/56), Dane Bubela (.320/7/35),
Paul Janish (.313/2/36), Jeff Jorgensen (.310/0/29/18 SB), Craig Stansberry
(.310/5/47), Justin Ruchti (.300/2/12).
Top pitchers: Jeff Niemann (14-0, 1.68, 107.1 IP, 80 H, 26 BB, 120 K),
Wade Townsend (7-1, 5 saves, 1.98, 86.1 IP, 54 H, 38 BB, 131 K), Philip Humber
(10-2, 3.24, 100 IP, 81 H, 29 BB, 111 K), Josh Baker (8-0, 3.32, 89.1 IP, 83 H,
29 BB, 111 K), Colin Matheny (3-1, 2.23, 36.1 IP, 18 H, 13 BB, 25 K), David
Aardsma (5-3, 9 saves, 3.44, 49.2 IP, 45 H, 17 BB, 41 K).
Last NCAA appearance: 2002 (3-1 at Houston Regional, 2-0 at Houston Super
Regional, 0-2 at College World Series)
Notes: Rice made the tourney field for the ninth straight year and has
reached the College World Series three times in that span. The Owls are the No.
5 national seed, meaning if they take care of business in the regional, they
will host a Super Regional. Rice had a 30-game winning streak during the season.
Interestingly, Rice had four two-game losing streaks among its 10 losses. It
starts with pitching for the Owls, and they have a lot of it. Jeff Niemann was
named the WAC pitcher of the year, and Wade Townsend, Philip Humber and Josh
Baker were just as nasty. They all stepped up when last year’s ace - Steven
Herce - was injured. He’s come back, but hasn’t thrown a ton. The fab four have
combined to go 39-3 with 473 strikeouts and 122 walks. We believe Rice to be the
only team with four pitchers who have topped 100 Ks. Rice has held opponents to
three or fewer runs in 33 of their 58 games with 10 shutouts. Oh, and the Owls
have an offense, too. No one guy stands out too much, this is a team of splendid
hitters.
2. Ole Miss Rebels
Oxford, Miss.
At-large bid from Southeastern Conference
2003 Record – 17-13, 34-25 (fourth in SEC West)
Coach – Mike Bianco (LSU, 1989)
Record at school – 110-67-1, three years
Overall record – 210-138-1, six years
Assistant coaches – Dan McDonnell, Clint Carver,
Kyle Bunn
Team offense - .282 BA, 315 R, 38 HR, .407 SLG%,
.358 OB%, 43/58 SB
Team pitching – 3.49 ERA, 528.1 IP, 516 H, 190 BB,
392 K
Top hitters – Stephen Head (.335/6/42), Seth Smith
(.330/4/33), Charlie Waite (.318/4/28), Matt Tolbert (.297/1/22), Chad Sterbens
(.294/2/40), Jonathan Swearing (.279/5/23), Brian Pettway (.264/7/36)
Top pitchers – Stephen Head (3-1, 13 saves, 1.48,
48.2 IP, 37 H, 14 BB, 36 K), T.J.Beam (8-1, 2.84, 92 IP, 86 H, 32 BB, 83 K),
Anthony Cupps (4-2, 2 saves, 2.90, 62 IP, 63 H, 16 BB, 32 K), Brae Wright (4-4,
1 save, 3.53, 63.2 IP, 68 H, 19 BB, 35 K), Jeremy Zick (3-6, 3 saves, 3.57, 35.1
IP, 23 H, 22 BB, 31 K)
Last NCAA appearance – 2001 (1-2 at New Orleans
Regional)
Notes – Stephen Head was named SEC freshman of the
year. He is the second Rebel to be so honored in the past two years. Head’s high
school teammate, Seth Smith, was conference rookie of the year last season.
3. Wichita State Shockers
Wichita, Kan.
Automatic - won the Missouri Valley Conference
2003 Record: 19-13, 47-25 (second in MVC)
Coach: Gene Stephenson (Missouri, 1968)
Record at school: 1,403-335-3, 26 years
Overall record: Same
Assistant coaches: Brent Kemnitz, Jim Thomas, Matt Patrick
Team offense: .306 BA, 480 R, 48 HR, .437 SLG%, .374 OB%, 109/141 SB
Team pitching: 3.57 ERA, 607 IP, 568 H, 211 BB, 504 SO
Top hitters: Phil Napolitan (.330/3/35/27 SB), Nick Blasi (.324/1/30),
Cody Clark (.318/8/52), Drew Moffitt (.315/18/76), Logan Sorensen (.311/8/60/24
SB), Nick McCoola (.311/1/26), Bryan Erstad (.302/2/20), Brandon Green
(.300/2/42), Mark Johnson (.299/2/21).
Top pitchers: Mike Pelfrey (9-2, 2.49, 97.2 IP, 71 H, 15 BB, 89 K), Steve
Uhlmansiek (8-2, 3.76, 79 IP, 76 H, 48 BB, 57 K), Tommy Hottovy (3-1, 2.25, 44
IP, 42 H, 21 BB, 42 K), Noah Booth (3-2, 2.68, 37 IP, 24 H, 13 BB, 53 K), Jeremy
Foster (4-0, 2.87, 31.1 IP, 27 H, 14 BB, 19 K), Mike Dennison (0-3, 13 saves,
3.29, 38.1 IP, 29 H, 10 BB, 41 K).
Last NCAA appearance: 2002 (1-2 at Wichita Regional)
Notes: WSU won is 13th MVC title, again getting past SMS to do so. Gene
Stephenson missed some time this year due to illness but picked up his 1,400th
win. The Shockers got some bad news this week, as top hitter Phil Napolitan will
miss the regional because of a bulging disc in his back. Otherwise, the Shockers
have a talented hitting group that has a good mix of speed and power. Three
players have eight or more homers, including Drew Moffitt, who blasted 18 during
the season. Pitching is very deep, with 11 pitchers pitching more than 29
innings. Mike Pelfrey is the ace who has limited opponents to a .202 average.
Noah Booth has 53 Ks in 37 innings and has three saves. Opponents hit .180 off
him.
4. McNeese State Cowboys
Lake Charles, La.
Automatic - won the Southland Conference Tournament
2003 Record: 12-15, 31-28 (sixth in Southland)
Coach: Todd Butler (McNeese State, 1991)
Record at school: 90-81, three years
Overall record: Same
Assistant coaches: Chad Clement, Mike Trahan
Team offense: .276 BA, 355 R, 48 HR, .416 SLG%, .355 OB%, 95/123 SB
Team pitching: 4.35 ERA, 525 IP, 551 H, 226 BB, 383 SO
Top hitters: Dooley Prince (.349/4/32/24 SB), Tommy Eubanks (.314/13/55),
Derek Bordelon (.297/3/30), Dustin Smith (.285/1/22), Tim Lemke (.286/13/46),
Brian Bernhardt (.272/5/23), Ran Prince (.263/4/37/25 SB), Lance Dawkins
(.262/2/18).
Top pitchers: Rusty Begnaud (8-4, 3.16, 111 IP, 107 H, 31 BB, 83 K), John
Doerfler (5-6, 5.62, 73.2 IP, 89 H, 26 BB, 45 K), Walt Nolen (1-3, 4 saves,
3.25, 55.1 IP, 67 H, 21 BB, 41 K), Rhett Gulledge (6-3, 3.26, 47 IP, 29 H, 20
BB, 39 K), Jacob Marceaux (2-3, 3.93, 55 IP, 66 H, 35 BB, 30 K), Chris Denton
(3-2, 4.25, 55 IP, 56 H, 21 BB, 31 K).
Last NCAA appearance: 2000 (0-2 at Lafayette Regional)
Notes: The Cowboys made the field after knocking off Texas-Arlington in
the Southland Conference Tournament. At one point, it looked like McNeese might
be looking for an at-large bid. It started 17-7 and posted wins over Wichita
State, Ole Miss, Ohio State and South Alabama - all tournament teams. The
Cowboys then went 6-16. They finished 8-2. The Prince brothers - Dooley and Ran
- are terrors on the basepaths, and Tommy Eubanks and Tim Lemke put up similar
power numbers. Rusty Begnaud will get the call against Rice. Watch Rhett
Gulledge out of the pen. Opponents hit .175 against him.
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