2010 Gainesville Regional

Capsules by Barrett Neale, Michael Perry, Matt Mullen, Andrew Woods, Sean Ryan, Phil Stanton

1. Florida Gators (3)

Gainesville, Florida

At-large bid from SEC

2010 record: 22-8, 42-15 (first in SEC East)

Head coach: Kevin O'Sullivan (Virginia, 1991)

Record at school: 118-61, 3 years

Overall record: 118-61, 3 years

Assistant coaches: Brad Weitzel, Craig Bell, Don Norris

Team offense: .298 BA, 388 R, 71 HR, .474 SLG%, .379 OBP, 86/117 SB

Team pitching: 4.14 ERA, 502 IP, 540 H, 127 BB, 391 K

Top hitters: Matt den Dekker (.355/12/44/21-26 SB), Preston Tucker (.341/10/42/16 2B), Austin Maddox (.339/17/66/15 2B), Nolan Fontana (.277/2/20/13 2B), Mike Zunino (.273/8/35), Josh Adams (.233/7/39/11 2B)

Top pitchers: Kevin Chapman (3-0, 11 SV, 1.31 ERA, 41.1 IP, 25 H, 7 BB, 40 K), Hudson Randall (7-3, 2.90 ERA, 80.2 IP, 89 H, 19 BB, 53 K), Alex Panteliodis (9-2, 3.38 ERA, 82.2 IP, 73 H, 19 BB, 60 K), Jeff Barfield (4-0, 2 SV, 3.62 ERA, 32.1 IP, 26 H, 2 BB, 21 K), Brian Johnson (5-4, 4.41 ERA, 63.1 IP, 76 H, 14 BB, 44 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2009 (3-0 at Gainesville Regional, 0-2 in Gainesville Super Regional)

Notes: The Gators are back in the field for the third time in three years under skipper Kevin O'Sullivan. Florida is hosting a Regional for the second straight year and ninth time overall. The Gators are looking for their first national title. UF was runner-up in 2005, falling to Texas in the championship series. The Gators went 28-3 at home this season. Matt den Dekker, drafted in the 16th round by the Pittsburgh Pirates, was a .293 career hitter before returning this year. Preston Tucker was the NCBWA freshman hitter of the year last year, the first Gator to ever win the honor. Freshman catcher Austin Maddox might not win it this year, but he leads the team in homers, RBI and slugging percentage. Lefty closer Kevin Chapman was a high school teammate of den Dekker; opponents hit .171 off him and have only three extra-base hits in 146 at-bats. Freshman Brian Johnson was a 27th round pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers and has provided the Gators with innings and key at-bats. The combo of freshman Hudson Randall and sophomore Alex Panteliodis has combined for 38 walks and 113 strikeouts in 163 innings.

2. Florida Atlantic Owls

Boca Raton, Fla.

At-large bid from Sun Belt

2010 record: 21-10, 35-22 (first in Sun Belt)

Head coach: John McCormack (Lynn, 1990)

Record at school: 65-48, 2 years

Overall record: 65-48, 2 years

Assistant coaches: Brad Frick, Jason Jackson, Ben Sanderson

Team offense: .308 BA, 393 R, 69 HR, .480 SLG%, .393 OB%, 47/68 SB

Team pitching: 5.28 ERA, 510 IP, 582 H, 190 BB, 398 K

Top hitters: Andy Mee (.388/8/53), Dan Scheffler (.367/14/63), Raymond Church (.326/9/43), Nick Delguidice (.307/9/52), Eddie Cassidy (.306/6/33), Colby Gratton (.277/5/26), Anthony Mesa (.273/6/25), Mike Albaladejo (268/2/17).

Top pitchers: Andy Mee (1-2, 2.96, 11 SV, 24.1 IP, 26 H, 12 BB, 22 K), Mike Gipson (8-1, 3.40, 106 IP, 90 H, 40 BB, 91 K), Ryan Garton (6-3, 4.72, 74.1 IP, 82 H, 25 BB, 65 K), R.J. Alvarez (3-1, 4.74, 57 IP, 61 H, 21 BB, 46 K).

Last NCAA appearance: 2005 (1-2 at Coral Gables Regional)

Notes: Coach John McCormack spent 18 seasons, including 11 as associate head coach, under former Owls skipper Kevin Cooney before being named head coach in July 2008. The Owls are making their ninth NCAA appearance since the program began D-I play in 1994. Dan Sheffler has 39 extra-base hits and slugs at a .700 clip. Colby Gratton leads the squad with 12 stolen bases. Mike Albaladejo is related to New York Yankees reliever John Albaladejo. Andy Mee has made a huge impact in his first year after transferring from Sante Fe College, where he was a second-team junior college All-American. Mike Gipson has thrown two complete games; opponents hit .228 off the Owls’ ace.

3. Oregon State Beavers

Corvallis, Oregon

At-large bid from Pac-10

2010 record: 12-15, 31-21 (eighth in Pac-10)

Head coach: Pat Casey (George Fox, 1990)

Record at school: 536-335, 16 years

Overall record: 707-448-5, 22 years

Associate Head Coach: Marty Lees

Assistant coaches: Pat Bailey, Nate Yeskie

Team offense: .266 BA, 298 R, 42 HR, .408 SLG %, .360 OB %, 42/62 SB

Team pitching: 3.95 ERA, 478.1 IP, 461 H, 174 BB, 390 K

Top hitters: Santos Adalberto (.337/10/35), Romero Stefen (.326/13/41), Danny Hayes (.282/1/18), Parker Berberet (.277/2/34), Rob Folsom (.274/2/28), Matt Boyd (.271/3/19)

Top pitchers: Tanner Robles (5-4, 3.43, 76.0 IP, 73 H, 28 BB, 75 K), Greg Peavey (5-3, 3.69, 92.2 IP, 88 H, 29 BB, 65 K), Sam Gaviglio (3-3, 2 SV, 4.65, 60.0 IP, 59 H, 20 BB, 44 K), Matt Boyd (7-1, 1.90, 42.2 IP, 31 H, 14 BB, 28 K), Kevin Rhoderick (2-2, 4 SV, 2.93, 30.2 IP, 26 H, 15 BB, 34 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2009 (2-2 Fort Worth Regional)

Notes: Pat Casey and the Beavers are familiar with National Championships having won titles in 2006 and 2007. Last year OSU, was stunned by TCU in the Fort Worth. The Beavers lineup includes two heavy hitters in Adalberto and Stefen. The pitching staff features three solid starters and a dynamite reliever in Boyd who has accrued seven wins, despite making only two starts.

4. Bethune-Cookman Wildcats

Daytona Beach, Florida

Automatic bid - won Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament

2010 record: 18-0, 35-20 (first in MEAC)

Head coach: Mervyl Melendez (Bethune-Cookman, 1996)

Record at school: 343-291, 11 years

Overall record: 343-291, 11 years

Assistant coaches: Jose Vazquez, Jason Arnold, Luis Gonzalez

Team offense: .342, 471 R, 89 HR, .567 SLG%, .412 OB%, 77/103 SB

Team pitching: 5.22, 456.2 IP, 501 H, 225 BB, 429 K

Top hitters: D.J. Leonard (.429/10/43), Jeremy Davis (.396/5/34), Peter O’Brien (.392/20/56), C.J. Lauriello (.370/2/13), Ryan Durrence (.368/18/70), Juan Perez (.345/1/34), Alejandro Sanchez (.339/6/35), Justin Hoyte (.328/5/24), Matt Wright (.300/7/38), Emmanuel Castro (.287/9/37).

Top pitchers: Chris Anselmo (3-1, 3.28, 35.2 IP, 36 H, 11 BB, 37 K), Jordan Dailey (4-0, 3.65, 24.2 IP, 23 H, 13 BB, 25 K), Joey Munoz (2-3, 3.86, 42 IP, 44 H, 19 BB, 43 K), Gabriel Hernandez (5-3, 4.32, 41.2 IP, 42 H, 19 BB, 42 K, Ali Simpson (6-1, 4.66, 65.2 IP, 76 H, 33 BB, 63 K), Juan Perez (1-3, 5.17, 10 SV, 31.1 IP, 33 H, 19 BB, 36 K).

Last NCAA appearance: 2009 (0-2 at Gainesville Regional)

Notes: Bethune-Cookman was perfect in the MEAC this season and captured its fifth straight league title and 10th overall in coach Mervyl Melendez’s 11 seasons. The Wildcats have won 13 of 15 MEAC titles. Melendez batted .342 in his career at Bethune-Cookman and took over the program in 1999 when he was 25. No longer a national secret, the Wildcats have wins over tourney teams VCU (2) and Florida International. Peter O’Brien improved his batting average by 79 points and hit 20 homers after hitting four a year ago. Ryan Durrence also saw a big jump, hitting 71 points higher in 2010, hitting eight more homers and driving in 26 more runs. On the mound, the team ERA fell by nearly a run, but the Wildcats replaced four of their top five performers. Ali Simpson’s numbers took a dip from 9-2, 2.70 a year ago, but he’s still the go-to guy. Two-way player Juan Perez racked up 10 saves and strikes out better than one per inning, but has a high ERA for a closer.