2008 Baton Rouge Super Regional

LSU Tigers

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Automatic bid – won SEC Tournament, 3-0 in Baton Rouge Regional

2008 record: 18-11-1, 46-16-1 (first in SEC West)

Head coach: Paul Mainieri (Florida International, 1980)

Record at school: 75-42, two years

Overall record: 760-413, 19 years

Assistant coaches: Terry Rooney, Cliff Godwin, Javi Sanchez

Team offense: .305 BA, 490 R, 88 HR, .504 SLG%, .379 OBP, 90/114 SB

Team pitching: 3.83 ERA, 573.1 IP, 565 H, 186 BB, 509 K

Top hitters: Blake Dean (.351/19/66/14 2B), Matt Clark (.340/25/58/15 2B), D.J. LeMahieu (.336/5/38/10 SB), Michael Hollander (.307/5/42/13 2B), Micah Gibbs (.306/1/30/13 2B), Ryan Schimpf (.304/10/48/16 SB), Derek Helenihi (.303/3/41/11 SB)

Top pitchers: Ryan Verdugo (9-2, 3.81, 87.1 IP, 80 H, 33 BB, 79 K), Jared Bradford (10-4, 5 SV, 4.05 ERA, 80 IP, 94 H, 20 BB, 74 K), Blake Martin (5-3, 4.88 ERA, 83 IP, 78 H, 35 BB, 77 K), Louis Coleman (6-0, 1.39 ERA, 45.1 IP, 37 H, 8 BB, 51 K), Daniel Bradshaw (4-5, 3.63 ERA, 52 IP, 44 H, 13  BB, 51 K), Jordan Brown (4-0, 5.32, 64.1 IP, 83 H, 28 BB, 56 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2005 (2-2 at Baton Rouge Regional)

Notes: The Tigers enter the Super Regionals with a 23-game win streak, a school and SEC record. LSU has not lost since April 19, a 9-8 defeat at Georgia. LSU won its 17^th regional title and first since 2004. Blake Dean had three homers and nine RBI in three games in the Baton Rouge Regional and was named Most Outstanding Player. Head coach Paul Manieri took Notre Dame to the College World Series in 2002, its first trip to Omaha since 1957. The Tigers are 14^th in the nation in ERA at 3.83. LSU is 15^th in the country allowing 2.92 walks per nine innings. The Tigers are sixth in Division I with 27 triples. LSU romped through four games of the SEC Tournament without losing a game. Freshman star Matt Clark's 25 homers ranks second in the country.

UC Irvine

Irvine, California

At-large bid from Big West, 3-0 at Lincoln Regional

2008 record: 14-10, 41-16 (Tied for second in the Big West)

Head coach: Mike Gillespie (Southern California, 1962)

School record: 41-16, one year

Overall record: 777-487-2

Assistant coaches: Pat Shine, Ted Silva, Bob Macaluso

Team offense: .306 BA, 347 R, 35 HR, .430 SLG, .389 OBA, 98/139 SB

Team pitching: 2.88 ERA, 512.2 IP, 474 H, 169 BB, 477 K

Top hitters: Jeff Cusick (.347/0/26/12 2B), Ben Orloff (.344/0/21/19-27 SB), Sean Madigan (.333/1/21), Tony Asaro (.326/4/19), Ollie Linton (.323/4/35/39-47 SB), Francis Larson (.320/7/40/13 2B), Dillon Bell (.312/4/27), Casey Stevenson (.300/3/14), Eric Deragisch (.297/0/14)

Top pitchers: Christian Bergman (5-2, 1.47, 55 IP, 52 H, 15 BB, 34 K), Eric Pettis (4-2, 17 SV, 1.65, 43.2 IP, 32 H, 17 BB, 50), Scott Gorgen (11-3, 2.31, 109 IP, 66 H, 36 BB, 115 K), Bryce Stowell (8-2, 2.77, 87.2 IP, 77 H, 35 BB, 101 K), Daniel Bibona (9-3, 3.03, 95 IP, 88 H, 20 BB, 89 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2007 (3-0 in Austin Regional, 2-2 in College World Series)

Notes: UCI went 3-0 to capture the Lincoln Regional, defeating Oral Roberts 8-0 in the championship game. Bryce Stowell struck out a career-high 13 in the title tilt and was named the Most Outstanding Player in the regional. The Anteaters have won two straight regionals, as they went 3-0 in the Austin Regional a season ago. UCI is 35-0 when leading after seven innings and 38-0 when leading after eight. The shutout against ORU was the ninth of the season, which matched last year’s total. The Anteaters reached the College World Series for the first time a season ago. Mike Gillespie took over the program after Dave Serrano left to go to Cal State Fullerton. Gillespie coached USC for 20 years and led the Trojans to a record five College World Series titles and a College World Series title 10 years ago. All-American and tri-Big West Pitcher of the Year Scott Gorgen led the Anteaters this year. The former Team USA pitcher continues to vie for a Golden Spikes Award, a Roger Clemens Award and the National Player of the Year crown.