2009 Oxford Super Regional

Capsules compiled by Christina De Nicola, Duncan Phillips, Sean Ryan, Phil Stanton

Mississippi Rebels

Oxford, Mississippi

At-large bid from SEC, 3-1 at Oxford Regional

2009 record: 20-10, 43-18 (tied for first in SEC West)

Head coach: Mike Bianco (LSU, 1989)

Record at school: 364-201-1, 9 years

Overall record: 464-272-1, 12 years

Assistant coaches: Carl Lafferty, Rob Reinstetle, Matt Mossberg

Team offense: .315 BA, 462 R, 54 HR, .461 SLG%, .403 OBP, 89-115 SB

Team pitching: 4.14 ERA, 539.2 IP, 574 H, 179 BB, 594 K

Top hitters: Tim Ferguson (.361/2/21/18-19 SB), Jordan Henry (.347/0/31/35-41 SB), Matt Smith (.342/7/57/15 2B), Evan Button (.339/2/19), Zach Miller (.338/5/38/13 2B), Kyle Henson (.336/8/33/12 2B), Logan Power (.319/6/55/20 2B), Matt Snyder (.311/8/31), David Phillips (.305/2/20), Kevin Mort (.294/0/32)

Top pitchers: Scott Bittle (5-2, 3 SV, 2.17 ERA, 45.2 IP, 28 H, 22 BB, 68 K), Drew Pomeranz (8-4, 3.46 ERA, 88.1 IP, 78 H, 34 BB, 114 K), Nathan Baker (4-2, 1 SV, 3.63 ERA, 62 IP, 69 H, 15 BB, 63 K), Jake Morgan (3-1, 9 SV, 3.65 ERA, 37 IP, 36 H, 5 BB, 51 K), Phillip Irwin (8-3, 3.84 ERA, 79.2 IP, 97 H, 18 BB, 68 K), Brett Bukvich (9-3, 4.42 ERA, 71.1 IP, 77 H, 16 BB, 72 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2008 (2-2 at Coral Gables Regional)

Notes: The Rebels are making their 15th NCAA appearance. This is the seventh straight postseason appearance and eighth overall under head coach Mike Bianco. Ole Miss has advanced to the Super Regionals in four of the past five seasons. The Rebels have made four trips to the College World Series, the last coming in 1972. Sophomore lefty Drew Pomeranz fanned a career-high 16 in the regional championship game against Western Kentucky on two days rest. He took a no-hitter into the seventh and allowed one unearned run on two hits in going the distance in a 4-1 win. Pomeranz tied the school record with 16 strikeouts, set by Robert Earl Siedell in 1962 and matched by Jamey Price in 1995. Pomeranz worked into the ninth in the opening-round 8-1 win over Monmouth, with five hits, one run, two walks and 10 strikeouts. Junior infielder Zach Miller was a journalist in 2008 for CollegeBaseballInsider.com. The Rebels have averaged 6,762 fans in 36 home dates this season. Ole Miss averaged more that 8,500 for its four regional games, including 9,110 for its game Saturday night against Western Kentucky.

Virginia Cavaliers

Charlottesville, Virginia

Automatic bid – won ACC Tournament, 3-0 in Irvine Regional

2009 record: 16-11-1, 46-12-1 (fourth in Coastal Division)

Head coach: Brian O’Connor (Creighton, 1993)

Record at school: 262-101-1, 6 years

Overall record: 262-101-1, 6 years

Assistant coaches: Kevin McMullan, Karl Kuhn, Eddie Smith, Justin Armistead

Team offense: .331 BA, 480 R, 55 HR, .492 SLG%, .406 OB%, 104-127 SB

Team pitching: 3.19 ERA, 525 IP, 454 H, 173 BB, 541 K

Top hitters: Dan Grovatt (.378/7/50/13-15 SB), Jarrett Parker (.378/16/64/19-24 SB), Tyler Cannon (.349/1/35/17-19 SB), Danny Hultzen (.335/3/33), Steven Proscia (.325/9/56), John Hicks (.313/7/36), Phil Gosselin (.302/6/61/19-22 SB)

Top pitchers: Danny Hultzen (9-1, 2.01 ERA, 80.2 IP, 71 H, 26 BB, 90 K), Andrew Carraway (7-1, 4.30 ERA, 81.2 IP, 73 H, 20 BB, 69 K), Kevin Arico (2-2, 11 SV, 2.01 ERA, 31.1 IP, 18 H, 6 BB, 40 K), Robert Morey (3-0, 2 SV, 2.91 ERA, 58.2, 45 H, 21 BB, 79 K), Tyler Wilson (8-3, 1 SV, 2.98 ERA, 57.1 IP, 50 H, 20 BB, 55 K), Matt Packer (3-4, 4.22 ERA, 2 SV, 53.1 IP, 52 H, 22 BB, 54 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2008 (1-2 Fullerton Regional)

Notes: Virginia made its second consecutive appearance in a California regional after being sent to Fullerton last year and went 3-0 to reach its first-ever Super Regional. The Cavaliers beat San Diego State and pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg in the opener before defeating No. 1-ranked and No. 6 national seed UC Irvine twice on the Anteaters’ home field to claim the title. The Cavs’ starting pitchers – Robert Morey, Andrew Carraway and Danny Hultzen – combined to pitch 20.1 innings and allow just one run on 17 hits. Now UVa will face Ole Miss in the Oxford Super Regional. Both teams split the only two all-time meetings. Strangely enough, those contests were in the 1972 NCAA District III Playoffs in Gastonia, N.C. Virginia won the first match-up, 9-3, but the Rebels rebounded to win the second game, 9-0. The Cavs, who are littered with freshmen and sophomores (seven in starting lineup) making a huge impact, lead the ACC in both team hitting and pitching. Over the past six years, the pitching staff guided by Karl Kuhn has been in the top three nationally for ERA. Freshman Danny Hultzen, who led ACC starters in ERA and batted better than .330, was the ACC Freshman of the year, the first in Virginia history. His two-way status reminds of former Virginia two-way standouts Sean Doolittle and Joe Koshansky. Sophomore Jarrett Parker ranks in the top 10 in the ACC in just about every offensive category; 40 of his 73 hits are for extra bases (slugs .723). Dan Grovatt had a 19-game hitting streak and leads the Cavs in batting. Matt Packer, who can start or relieve, led the nation in ERA in 2008.