2010 Myrtle Beach Regional

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

1. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (4)

Conway, South Carolina

Automatic bid – Won Big South Tournament

2010 record: 25-0, 51-7 (first in Big South)

Head coach: Gary Gilmore (Coastal Carolina, 1980)

Record at school: 559-300, 15 years

Overall record: 832-402, 21 years

Assistant coaches: Kevin Schnall, Brendan Dougherty, Drew Thomas

Team offense: .324 BA, 535 R, 99 HR, .551 SLG%, .418 OB%, 146/180 SB

Team pitching: 3.19 ERA, 522 IP, 467 H, 198 BB, 479 K

Top hitters: Tommy La Stella (.372/14/58), Jose Iglesias (.348/14/71), Rico Noel (.338/8/55/51 SB), Scott Woodward (.333/5/32/48 SB), Chance Gilmore (.332/11/48), Taylor Motter (.332/9/42), Adam Rice (.322/4/28), Steve Davis (.318/9/45), Daniel Bowman (.277/14/35).

Top pitchers: Anthony Meo (13-1, 1.80, 90 IP, 71 H, 30 BB, 88 K), Austin Fleet (6-3, 1.83, 8 SV, 54 IP, 45 H, 17 BB, 53 K), Ryan Connolly (3-0, 1.93, 46.2 IP, 42 H, 10 BB, 45 K), Matt Rein (7-0, 2.47, 51 IP, 40 H, 20 BB, 38 K), Cody Wheeler (10-0, 4.05, 95.2 IP, 89 H, 35 BB, 101 K).

Last NCAA appearance: 2009 (1-2 at Chapel Hill Regional)

Notes: Coastal Carolina eclipsed its 2009 record of 21 Big South wins by going perfect – 250-0 – in the league in 2010. The Chants have won 50 or more games four times since 2005 and are on a run of 10 seasons with 40-plus wins in the past 12 years (an average of 44 per year). Rico Noel was the preseason conference player of the year and earned first-team all-Big South. Anthony Meo, the unanimous choice for Big South Pitcher of the Year, is a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy. He’s gone 22-3 the past two years. Cody Wheeler is a first-team Big South performer who has gone 20-1 the past two years. Austin Fleet was named the Big South Scholar Athlete of the Year. Others on the Big South’s first team were Matt Rein, Jose Iglesias, Tommy La Stella, Taylor Motter and Scott Woodward. Chance Gilmore is the son of coach Gary Gilmore and originally attended Virginia, where he redshirted due to an injury. The Chants have stolen more bases (146) than most D-I teams have attempted. Noel has 51 steals, and Woodward has 48. The team ERA was 3.85 in 2009 and dropped to 3.19 this year.

2. College of Charleston Cougars

Charleston, South Carolina

At-large bid from Southern Conference

2010 record: 22-8, 42-17 (second in SoCon)

Head coach: Monte Lee (College of Charleston, 2000)

Record at school: 77-39, 2 years

Overall record: 77-39, 2 years

Assistant coaches: Dan Roszel, Chris Morris, Brent Walsh

Team offense: .315 BA, 534 R, 96 HR, .537 SLG%, .411 OB%, 87-114 SB

Team pitching: 5.37 ERA, 531.1 IP, 590 H, 227 BB, 499 K

Top hitters: Cole Rakar (.369/6/48/26 2B/20-25 SB), Jose Rodriguez (.346/15/64/17 2B), Rob Kral (.342/14/54/11 2B), Greg Blake (.341/15/50/14 2B), Joey Bergman (.339/4/34/15-20 SB), Matt Leeds (.325/20/81/23 2B), Baker Knox (.294/4/30/16 2B/13-20 SB)

Top pitchers: Kevin Decker (7-0, 3.79 ERA, 73.2 IP, 70 H, 32 BB, 60 K), David Peterson (8-3, 5.03 ERA, 82.1 IP, 91 H, 18 BB, 63 K), Casey Lucchese (3-0, 3.60 ERA, 35 IP, 33 H, 12 BB, 47 K), Tom Schiller (5-1, 2 SV, 4.15 ERA, 47.2 IP, 47 H, 22 BB, 54 K), Heath Hembree (5-2, 4 SV, 6.75 ERA, 26.2 IP, 32 H, 18 BB, 39 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2006 (3-0 in Lexington Regional, 0-2 in Atlanta Super Regional)

Notes: College of Charleston is making its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance. The Cougars finished second in the SoCon behind The Citadel, but Charleston is a No. 2 seed in Myrtle Beach, while the Bulldogs are a No. 3 seed in Columbia. The Cougars went 1-2 in the SoCon Tournament. Charleston has two wins this season against Coastal Carolina, the top seed in the regional and the No. 4 national seed. Sophomore third baseman Matt Leeds was voted SoCon Player of the Year by both the head coaches and by the media. Junior outfielder Cole Rakar hit for the cycle on May 15 in a 15-5 win at Appalachian State. Assistant coach Chris Morris stole a SoCon-record 84 bases in 2000 at The Citadel. He swiped 111 bases for the Peoria Chiefs, a Midwest League record. He is one of only 15 players in pro baseball history to steal at least 100 bases in a season.

3. North Carolina State Wolfpack

Raleigh, North Carolina

At-large bid from ACC

2010 record: 15-15, 38-22 (third in Coastal Division)

Head coach: Elliott Avent (VCU, 1984)

Record at school: 746-544, 14 years

Overall record: 971-757, 22 years

Assistant coaches: Tom Holliday, Chris Hart, Brian Ward

Team offense: .329 BA, 563 R, 97 HR, .545 SLG%, .430 OB%, 41/57 SB

Team pitching: 5.24 ERA, 537.2 IP, 582 H, 263 BB, 466 K

Top hitters: Kyle Wilson (.381/7/33/12-13 SB), Dallas Poulk (.358/11/59/.598 SLG), Drew Poulk (.357/13/69/.600 SLG), Harold Riggins (.348/12/44/.671 SLG), Andrew Ciencin (.320/10/76), Danny Canela (.316/6/40), Chris Schaeffer (.315/11/35)

Top pitchers: Jake Buchanan (8-5, 3.65, 101 IP, 100 H, 27 BB, 93 K), Corey Mazzoni (7-3, 5.20, 91.2 IP, 91.2 IP, 95 H, 40 BB, 89 K), Alex Sogard (2-2, 5.26, 49.2 IP, 62 H, 22 B, 28 K), Rob Chamra (3-1, 4.26, 31.2 IP, 39 H, 17 BB, 32 K), Felix Roque (1-0, 4.65, 1 SV, 31 IP, 33 H, 13 BB, 20 K), Grant Sasser (3-4, 3.64, 5 SV, 47 IP, 34 H, 19 BB, 45 K)

 Last NCAA appearance: 2008 (3-0 at Raleigh Regional, 1-2 at Athens Super Regional)

Notes: This is NC State’s seventh NCAA tournament berth during the past eight years, and the 10^th during coach Elliot Avent’s time in Raleigh. The Wolfpack advanced to Super Regionals in 2003 and 2008. The team’s 97 home runs this season are the most since 1994, and its 733 hits are the most in the ACC. NC State was the No. 7 seed in the ACC tournament, but won Division B to advance to the championship game. The Wolfpack lost to Florida State, but sophomore Harold Riggins was selected as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Catcher Chris Schaeffer was knocked unconscious during the ACC championship game on Sunday and was taken off the field in an ambulance – the preliminary results were that he had a concussion, and a CT scan was scheduled for Sunday evening. Senior second baseman Dallas Poulk was named to the All-ACC First Team, while senior outfielders Drew Poulk and Kyle Wilson made the All-ACC Second Team. Dallas and Drew are cousins, and Drew’s brother Matt played baseball at UNC Wilmington. Senior pitcher Alex Sogard’s older brother Eric played second base for Arizona State and the San Diego Padres picked him during the second round of the 2007 MLB draft.

4. Stony Brook Seawolves

Stony Point, New York

Automatic bid – Won America East tournament

2010 record: 15-9, 29-25 (third in America East)

Head coach: Matt Senk (Cortland, 1980)

Record at school: 528-362-3, 20 years

Overall record: Same

Assistant coaches: Michael Marron, Joe Pennucci, Jordan Wyckoff

Team offense: .326 BA, 403 R, 50 HR, .483 SLG%, .402 OB%, 34/53 SB

Team pitching: 5.91 ERA, 447.2 IP, 454 H, 225 BB, 352 K

Top hitters: William Carmona (.398/6/47), Pat Cantwell (.371/3/36), Stephen Marino (.350/2/39), Maxx Tissenbaum (.341/3/18), Michael Stephan (.335/10/49), Robert Dyer (.324/6/44), Chad Marshall (.305/7/32).

Top pitchers: Nick Tropeano (8-3, 2.36, 91.2 IP, 65 H, 27 BB, 101 K), Tyler Johnson (9-3, 4.01, 85.1 IP, 64 H, 32 BB, 71 K), Adam Brown (5-5, 4.97, 70.2 IP, 82 H, 26 BB, 51 K), William Carmona (2-3, 5.33, 4 SV, 25.1 IP, 26 H, 9 BB, 12 K).

Last NCAA appearance: 2008 (0-2 at Tempe Regional)

Notes: Stony Brook is back in the field after beating Albany in the America East tourney. Adam Brown tossed 8.2 innings in the final game to help the Seawolves earn the win. Sophomore ace Nick Tropeano tossed six complete games and is 13-4 in his two years. He topped 100 strikeouts, and opponents hit .200 off of him. William Carmona is a freshman who’s made an impact at the plate and on the mound. Stony Brook won 10 of 13 down the stretch and posted early-season wins against Pepperdine and San Diego State on a West Coast trip. Coach Matt Senk is a former catcher whose teams traditionally hit for high averages. Minnesota Twins closer Joe Nathan played at Stony Brook. The last time Stony Brook was in the field, they lost 9-7 to Arizona State and 9-4 to Vanderbilt.