2008 Stanford Regional

1. Stanford Cardinal

2. Pepperdine Waves

Malibu, California

At-large bid from West Coast

2008 record: 14-6, 39-15 (Second in the West Coast)

Head coach: Steve Rodriguez (Pepperdine, 2001)

School record: 187-113, five years

Overall record: 187-113, five years

Assistant coaches: Rick Hirtensteiner, Sean Kenny, Greg Garrison

Team offense: .308 BA, 390 R, 44 HR, 358 RBI, .471 SLG, .401 OBA, 71/90 SB

Team pitching: 4.62 ERA, 480.2 IP, 502 H, 254 BB, 322 K

Top hitters: Eric Thames (.407 BA, 58 R, 13 HR, 59 RBI, .769 SLG, .513 OBA, 11 SB), Bryce Mendonca (.335 BA, 41 R, 23 RBI, .395 SLG, .418 OBA, 29 SB), Matt Aidem (.322, 31 R, 2 HR, 28 RBI, .429 SLG, .387 OBA, SB), Ryan Heroy (.316 BA, 27 R, 2 HR, 39 RBI, .408 SLG, .422 OBA), Trent Diedrich (.308 BA, 39 R, 2 HR, 32 RBI, .420 SLG, .375 OBA, 2 SB), Nate Simon (.307 BA, 29 R, 4 HR, 28 RBI, .471 SLG, .416 OBA, 4 SB)

Top pitchers: Nick Gaudi (2.68 ERA, 40.1 IP, 40 H, 10 BB, 33 K, 13 saves), Nathan Newman (3.52 ERA, 87.0 IP, 82 H, 37 BB, 60 K), Brett Hunter (3.68 ERA, 14.2 IP, 12 H, 6 BB, 14 K), Scott Alexander (4.44 ERA, 71 IP, 61 H, 51 BB, 45 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2007 (0-2 at the Long Beach Regional)

Notes: Pepperdine baseball’s biggest fan is Pamela Anderson. Anderson acts as the unofficial team mom, and her two sons from her marriage with Tommy Lee serve as the bat boys part-time for the Waves. All-American pitcher and 2007 Team USA pitcher Brett Hunter is expected to be a first-round draft pick this year, despite being injured the majority of the season. Head coach Steve Rodriguez will try to become the third person to both play and coach in a College World Series, as the Waves’ skipper played on the 1992 championship squad (the other two are Arizona’s Jerry Kindall and USC’s Mike Gillespie).

3. Arkansas Razorbacks

Fayetteville, Arkansas

At-large bid from SEC

2008 record: 14-15, 34-22 (fourth in SEC West)

Head coach: Dave Van Horn (Arkansas, 1988)

Record at school: 235-132, 6 years

Overall record: 820-372, 20 years

Assistant coaches: Todd Butler, Dave Jorn, Brad Welker

Team offense: .293 BA, 414 R, 77 HR, .478 SLG%, .388 OBP, 60/76 SB

Team pitching: 4.94 ERA, 501 IP, 530 H, 217 BB, 431 K

Top hitters: Chase Leavitt (.360/3/24/.514 OBP), Logan Forsythe (.352/7/33/11 SB), Casey Coon (.308/3/30), Aaron Murphree (.310/14/40), Brett Eibner (.303/8/47)

Top pitchers: Cliff Springston (5-2, 3.83 ERA, 82.1 IP, 89 H, 24 BB, 59 K), James Mahler (3-1, 3.41 ERA, 29 IP, 25 H, 20 BB, 32 K), Dallas Keuchel (4-2, 4.46 ERA, 70.2 IP, 75 H, 28 BB, 58 K), Travis Hill (2-2, 4 SV, 5.94 ERA, 33.1 IP, 34 H, 13 BB, 25 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2007 (1-2 at Fayetteville Regional)

Notes: The Razorbacks struggled to replace the three pitchers who went in the first two rounds of the major league draft last year, missing the SEC tournament for the first time under Van Horn. However, the offense powered the team to its seventh consecutive NCAA tournament appearance. The Hogs were 24-9 at Baum Stadium, but just 8-12 on the road. Junior Logan Forsythe was chosen as a first team All-SEC performer by the coaches. Eight Razorbacks had averages above .300 for the season.

4. UC Davis Aggies

Davis, California

At-large bid from Big West

2008 record: 13-11, 34-22 (Third in the Big West)

Head coach: Rex Peters (Cal State Fullerton, 1989)

Record at school: 176-156-1, six years

Overall record: 424-287-3

Assistant coaches: Matt Vaughn, Tony Schifano, Jon Heuerman

Team offense: .318 BA, 371 R, 34 HR, 343 RBI, .435 SLG, .385 OBA, 35/62 SB

Team pitching: 4.49 ERA, 498.2 IP, 587 H, 158 BB, 396 K

Top hitters: Jake Jeffries (.396 BA, 46 R, 4 HR, .540 SLG, .453 OBA, 5 SB), Ty Kelly (.384 BA, 54 R, 4 HR, 37 RBI, .513 SLG, .437 OBA, 2 SB), Ryan Scoma (.361 BA, 30 R, 3 HR, 48 RBI, .505 SLG, .415 OBA, 3 SB), Ryan Royster (.341 BA, 60 R, 10 HR, 36 RBI, .535 SLG, .417 OBA, 13 SB), Kevin James (.303 BA, 35 R, 3 HR, 34 RBI, .431 SLG, .368 OBA, 1 SB), Matt Dempsey (.298 BA, 27 R, 0 HR, 27 RBI, .332 SLG, .326 OBA)

Top pitchers: Eddie Gamboa (2.67 ERA, 91.0 IP, 92 H, 12 BB, 59 K), Justin Fitzgerald (2.76 ERA, 32.2 IP, 41 H, 5 BB, 35 K, 15 saves), Brad McAtee (3.03 ERA, 95 IP, 99 H, 22 BB, 62 K), Andy Suiter (4.19, 38.2 IP, 34 H, 28 BB, 45 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2003 (1-2 NCAA Division II College World Series, runners up)

Notes: The Aggies have been out of postseason play since 2004 as part of the transition to Division I status. Now in their first season as a Division I member of the Big West Conference, the Aggies have advanced to the postseason for the first time. Head coach Rex Peters is no stranger to postseason play, as he has guided a Davis team and a Chapman University team to a DII and DIII College World Series. Junior catcher Jake Jeffries, leads the team, and was recently named co-Big West Player of the Year. The Aggies had eight players named to All-Big West teams in their first official year in the conference, the most out of any other school.