2007 Wichita Super Regional

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

Wichita State Shockers
Wichita, Kan.
At-large bid from Missouri Valley Conference
Won Wichita Regional
2007 record – 20-4, 53-20 (first in MVC)
Coach: Gene Stephenson (Missouri, 1968)
Record at school: 1,605-531-3, 30 years
Overall record: Same
Assistant coaches: Brent Kemnitz, Jim Thomas, Jerod Goodale
Team offense: .301 BA, 474 R, 56 HR, .432 SLG%, .381 OBA%, 131/161 SB
Team pitching: 2.67 ERA, 606.2 IP, 514 H, 161 BB, 602 K
Top hitters: Damon Sublett (.364/5/45/14 SB), Derek Schermerhorn (.350/7/38/23 SB), Conor Gillaspie (.331/6/63), Andy Dirks (.317/3/31/18 SB), Matt Brown (.312/8/61/18 SB), Tyler Weber (.306/11/49).
Top pitchers: Noah Booth (6-1, 6 SV, 1.23, 51.1 IP, 43 H, 11 BB, 48 K), Anthony Capra (7-0, 1.64, 76.2 IP, 55 H, 24 BB, 77 K), Noah Krol (2-2, 12 SV, 2.18, 33 IP, 22 H, 7 BB, 47 K), Kyle Touchatt (2-1, 2.22, 48.2 IP, 38 H, 13 BB, 58 K), Aaron Shafer (8-2, 2.43, 77.2 IP, 64 H, 21 BB, 85 K), Travis Banwart (10-5, 2.68, 110.2 IP, 95 H, 33 BB, 111 K), Rob Musgrave (10-2, 2.71, 103 IP, 91 H, 17 BB, 81 K)
Last NCAA appearance: 2006 (2-2 at Norman Regional)
Notes: The Shockers dropped their first game of the Regional to New Orleans but reeled off four straight to win their first regional since 1996. Travis Banwart pitched into the eighth with 12 strikeouts in the 3-0 win over Arizona in the final. Noah Krol, like Banwart, rebounded from a rough outing against UNO to strike out all four batters he faced to seal the trip to the Super Regionals. First baseman Derek Schermerhorn was named the MVP of the Regional. The Shockers are in the tourney for the 25th time in the past 28 years. Head coach Gene Stephenson (a former All-American baseball player who served in Vietnam) topped the 1,600-win mark with a win over Evansville in the tourney and ranks second to Texas’ Augie Garrido in wins, although he is tops in winning percentage. His latest edition is extremely dangerous, as WSU can pitch, pitch and pitch. Opponents hit at a .229 clip and score less than 3.5 runs per game. Their pitchers have struck out 658 batters in 651.2 innings and whiff nearly four times as many batters as they walk. Krol is a shutdown closer - making what UNO did in the first game all the more impressive - striking out 47, walking seven in 33 innings and allowing hitters a .190 average. Not bad for a guy who started 50 games at shortstop in 2006. The Shockers have splendid starting pitching and a bevy of arms to help get to Krol. Rob Musgrave and Travis Banwart have been nothing short of brilliant as the primary starters, with Aaron Shafer and Anthony Capra adding depth. Offensively, WSU can run up and down the order. Conor Gillaspie is an Omaha native who led the team in slugging at .525 and roped 23 doubles. Derek Schermerhorn is a former finalist for “Mr. Football” in Iowa. Damon Sublett returned from an injury-marred sophomore season to post huge numbers, including a whopping 48 walks and a .470 on-base average. However, he no longer is called upon as a closer.

UC Irvine Anteaters

Irvine, California

At-large bid from Big West

Won Round Rock Regional

2007 record: 15-6, 43-15-1 (tied for 2^nd in Big West)

Coach: Dave Serrano (Trinity Int’l, 2003)

Record at school: 110-64-1, 3 years

Overall record: same

Assistant coaches: Sergio Brown, Greg Bergeron, Nathan Choate

Team offense: .323 BA, 400 R, 35 HR, .455 SLG, .398 OBA, 133/180 SB

Team pitching: 3.77 ERA, 512.2 IP, 517 H, 166 BB, 442 K

Top hitters: Ollie Linton (.370 BA, 28 R, .528 SLG, 12 SB), Taylor Holiday (.353 BA, 64 R, 4 HR, .571 SLG, 17 SB), Ben Orloff (.348 ERA, 44 R, .394 SLG, 19 SB), Cody Cipriano (.341 BA, 56 R, 12 HR, .600 SLG, 10 SB), Matt Morris (.333 BA, 42 R, 6 HR, .488 SLG, 17 SB), Bryan Peterson (.308 BA, 39 R, 5 HR, .438 SLG, 27 SB).

Top pitchers: Wes Etheridge (12-4, 2.68 ERA, 117.1 IP, 113 H, 28 BB, 106 K), Scott Gorgen (11-2, 2.91 ERA, 117.2 IP, 101 H, 34 BB, 98 K), Dylan Axelrod (3-4, 4 saves, 4.24 ERA, 63.2 IP, 59 H, 18 BB, 68 K).

Last NCAA appearance: 2006 (0-2 at Malibu Regional)

Notes: UC Irvine won its first Division I regional title at Round Rock. The Anteaters had never won a regional game, but registered a win against Wake Forest and two against top-seed and host Texas. UCI had been 0-4 previously in regional games, going 0-2 at the Notre Dame Regional in 2004 and 0-2 at the Malibu Regional in 2006. Taylor Holiday was named Most Outstanding Player of the Round Rock Regional, going 7-16 (.467) with six runs and two steals. Wes Etheridge shut out Wake Forest in the opener and earned a save in the finale against the Longhorns. UCI is 1-0 all-time against Wichita State, recording a 9-4 victory in 2005 at the USC Baseball Classic. UCI dominated Division II baseball in the 70's and after shutting the baseball program completely down for 10 years, they re-started the Division I baseball program in 2002 with a brand new stadium.