2007 Houston Regional

(capsules compiled by Jamie Learakos, Stuart Smith, Scott Day, Sean Ryan, Phil Stanton)

1. Rice Owls

Houston, Texas
Automatic bid - won Conference USA Tournament
2007 Record: 22-2, 49-12 (first in C-USA)
Coach: Wayne Graham (Texas, 1970)

Record at school: 733-282, 16 years
Overall record: 1,308-395, 27 years
Assistant coaches: Mike Taylor, Dave Pierce, Patrick Hallmark

Team offense: .313 BA, 455 R, 53 HR, .470 SLG%, .409 OBA%, 49/67 SB

Team pitching: 2.96 ERA, 544.2 IP, 473 H, 205 BB, 481 K

Top hitters: Joe Savery (.364/4/52), Brian Friday (.347/3/27), Aaron Luna (.343/11/60), Jess Buenger (.316/7/43), Diego Seastrunk (.304/1/35), Jordan Dodson (.295/8/49), Danny Lehmann (.285/3/33), Jared Gayheart (.331/3/38).

Top pitchers: Matt Langwell (6-1, 1.91, 66 IP, 48 H, 25 BB, 42 K), Bobby Bramhall (5-2, 5 SV, 51.2 IP, 31 H, 26 BB, 65 K), Ryan Berry (10-2, 2.72, 102.2. IP, 90 H, 29 BB, 102 K), Cole St. Clair (0-0, 6 SV, 2.76, 16.1 IP, 12 H, 5 BB, 20 K), Joe Savery (9-1, 2.91, 80.1 IP, 69 H, 37 BB, 54 K), Ryne Tacker (9-1, 3.01, 71.2 IP, 61 H, 21 BB, 67 K), Chris Kelley (3-3, 3.28, 71.1 IP, 74 H, 27 BB, 56 K).

Last NCAA appearance: 2006 (3-0 at Houston Regional, 2-1 at Houston Super Regional, 2-2 at College World Series).

Notes: The Owls have won 12 conference tourneys in a row and enters the tourney as one of the hottest teams in the country having won 30 of 32. Wayne Graham, who played 20 games for Casey Stengel and the Mets, simply wins. His latest edition is balanced top to bottom, with six pitchers seeing significant innings, and ace reliever Cole St. Clair rounding into shape after an injury. Bobby Bramhall filled St. Clair’s void admirably as opponents hit only .171 against him. Pitching was a bit of a question to start the year, but Ryan Berry won 10 games as a freshman, and Ryne Tacker came back from missing all of 2006 with a banner year. Joe Savery is one of the best two-way players in the country, and thrived again on the mound and at the plate. Aaron Luna put together another big year and also produced 43 walks.

2. TCU Horned Frogs

Ft. Worth, Texas

Automatic bid – won Mountain West Tournament

2007 record – 20-3, 46-12 (first in MWC)

Coach: Jim Schlossnagle (Elon, 1992)

Record at school: 165-81, four years

Overall record: 242-128, six years

Assistant coaches: Matt Siegel, Todd Whitting, Randy Mazey, Ryan Shotzberger

Team offense: .316 BA, 441 R, 59 HR, .484 SLG%, .396 OBA%, 63/86 SB

Team pitching: 3.95 ERA, 517 IP, 532 H, 212 BB, 462 K

Top hitters: Keith Conlon (.406/8/40/12 SB), Austin Adams (.333/14/68), Clint Arnold (.332/4/39), Matt Vern (.330/5/36), Andrew Walker (.329/11/56), Steven Trout (.324/3/41).

Top pitchers: Sam Demel (6-1, 13 SV, 2.12, 46.2 IP, 32 H, 15 BB, 68 K), Jake Arrieta (9-3, 3.11, 92.2 IP, 88 H, 46 BB, 89 K), Chris Johnson (11-2, 3.89, 88 IP, 85 H, 46 BB, 52 K), Chance Corgan (7-1, 4.32, 81.1 IP, 83 H, 32 BB, 60 K).

Last NCAA appearance: 2006 (1-2 at Norman Regional)

Notes: TCU rallied past BYU to win its second straight Mountain West title, racking up eight more wins overall than the 2006 regional team. The Horned Frogs have won 14 straight conference tourney games since 2004. Head coach Jim Schlossnagle has assisted at Elon, Clemson and Tulane and was the head coach at UNLV before arriving in Fort Worth. Assistant coach Randy Mazey is a former head coach at East Carolina. Keith Conlon has improved his average by better than 100 points in putting together an all-around big year, slugging a team-high .679. Austin Adams leads the team in homers and RBI. Arkansas transfer Clint Arnold has been a nice addition. Former starter Sam Demel is the best arm, limiting opponents to a .189 average. The top three starters - Jake Arrieta, Chris Johnson and Chance Corgan - have proven to be solid, yet hittable.

3. Baylor Bears

Waco, Texas

At-large bid from Big 12

2007 record – 12-15, 34-25 (sixth in Big 12)

Coach: Steve Smith (Baylor, 1986)

Record at school: 489-309-1, 13 years

Overall record: Same

Assistant coaches: Mitch Thompson, Steve Johnigan, Chris Clemons

Team offense: .292 BA, 372 R, 34 HR, .413 SLG%, .391 OBA%, 40/60 SB

Team pitching: 3.38 ERA, 513.1 IP, 495 H, 144 BB, 385 K

Top hitters: Matt Czimskey (.362/8/34), Raynor Campbell (.330/4/28), Beamer Weems (.318/8/57), Ben Booker (.311/2/32), Aaron Miller (.296/4/35), Chase Gerdes (.296/5/33/16 SB).

Top pitchers: Nick Cassavechia (6-1, 11 SV, 2.19, 49.1 IP, 39 H, 17 BB, 65 K), Wade Mackey (4-3, 3.18, 56.2 IP, 66 H, 18 BB, 37 K), Jeff Mandel (7-7, 4.57, 90.2 IP, 102 H, 26 BB, 74 K), Kendal Volz (6-2, 4.88, 66.1 IP, 84 H, 17 BB, 63 K).

Last NCAA appearance: 2006 (2-2 at Houston Regional)

Notes: The Bears were on the NCAA bubble before reaching the Big 12 tournament final and are in their ninth Regional appearance under Steve Smith. The Bears reached the College World Series in 2005. Catcher Matt Czimskey is slugging .664 and has put together a huge year after missing much of 2006 with an elbow injury. His dad, Mike, caught for the Bears’ 1977 CWS team. Right-hander Jeff Mandel started 2006 as the Bears’ closer before moving into the setup role, then a starting role. He’s been one of Baylor’s main starters this season. Chase Gerdes has been a mainstay in the Bears’ outfield, ranking in the team’s career top 10 in triples and stolen bases. Shortstop Beamer Weems, whose dad played baseball and mom played tennis at Clemson, has made 21 errors in 117 starts

4. Prairie View A&M Panthers
Prairie View, Texas

Automatic bid – won Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament

2007 record: 17-7, 34-23 (first in SWAC West)

Coach: Michael Robertson

Record at school: 138-143, four years

Overall record: same

Assistant coaches: Byron Carter, Waskyla Cullivan

Team offense - .307 BA, 434 R, 24HR, 154-181 SB

Team pitching – 5.52 ERA, 437.1 IP, 473 H, 194 BB, 348 SO

Top hitters – Michael Richard (.402/2/36/41 SB), Wilford White (.358/1/27/24 SB), Paul Johnson (.357/0/26), Spenser Dennis (.337/5/45/14 2B), George McDonald (.333/1/19), Myrio Richard (.329/4/35/23 SB), Greg Ford (.317/3/14/12 SB)

Top pitchers – Matthew Chase (10-1, 2 saves, 3.48, 82.2 IP, 75 H, 25 BB, 63 K), Wrandal Taylor (9-5, 1 save, 3.71, 87.1 IP, 82 H, 26 BB, 84 K), Josh Lara (4-3, 1 save, 6.24, 57.2 IP, 64 H, 28 BB, 58 K), Terry Salters (5-3, 6.86, 59 IP, 79 H, 26 BB, 18 K), Joshua Terrell (4-3, 4 saves, 6.95, 45.1 IP, 50 H, 29 BB, 39 K)

Last NCAA appearance - 2006 (0-2 at Houston Regional)

Notes – Prairie View won its second straight SWAC title. Calvin Lester was named tourney MVP. Michael Richard was Player of the Year in the SWAC and Matthew Chase was Pitcher of the Year.