2011 Tallahassee Regional

 

1. Florida State Seminoles (5)

Tallahassee, Florida

At-large bid from ACC

2011 record: 19-11, 42-17 (first in Atlantic Division)

Head coach: Mike Martin (Florida State, 1966)

Record at school: 1,669-575-4, 32 years

Overall record: Same

Assistant coaches: Jamey Shouppe, Mike Martin Jr., Matt Matulia

Team offense: .289 BA, 421 R, 54 HR, .443 SLG%, .406 OB%, 72-92 SB

Team pitching: 3.58 ERA, 531 IP, 482 H, 222 BB, 440 K

Top hitters: James Ramsey (.350/10/62/17 2B/11-14 SB), Jayce Boyd (.333/5/53/13 2B), Mike McGee (.333/10/51/13 2B), Devon Travis (.330/6/32/22 2B), Rafael Lopez (.314/7/33/17 2B), Justin Gonzalez (.273/7/32)

Top pitchers: Sean Gilmartin (11-1, 1.52, 106.1 IP, 74 H, 18 BB, 116 K), Daniel Bennett (3-1, 14 SV, 2.19, 49.1 IP, 42 H, 20 BB, 43 K), Hunter Scantling (3-2, 3.64, 54.1 IP, 43 H, 19 BB, 41 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2010 (3-0 at Norwich Regional, 2-1 at Tallahassee Super Regional, 1-2 at College World Series)

Notes: The Seminoles have had at least 40 wins and have played in the NCAA tournament for 34 straight years, spanning Mike Martin’s entire head coaching tenure, but have not yet won a national championship. Their streak of tournament appearances is the second-longest in the country – fellow ACC team Miami has 39. Martin is one of only three coaches – the others are Augie Garrido of Texas and Gene Stephenson of Wichita State – to win 1,600 games. Senior Mike McGee won the inaugural John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award a season ago. He was picked in the 41st round of the 2010 MLB Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks and in the 37th round of the 2007 Draft by the Chicago Cubs. His younger brother, Stephen, is a sophomore on the FSU baseball team. Sean Gilmartin was taken in the 31st round of the 2008 MLB Draft by the San Diego Padres. Taiwan Easterling is a wide receiver on the Seminole football team. He was selected in the sixth round of the 2007 MLB Draft by the Florida Marlins, the 196th pick overall.

 

2. UCF Golden Knights

Orlando, Florida

At-large bid from Conference USA

2011 record: 12-12, 38-21 (fourth in C-USA)

Head coach: Terry Rooney (Radford, 1996)

Record at school: 93-78, 3 years

Overall record: same

Assistant coaches: Cliff Godwin, Jeff Palumbo, Brandon Romans

Team offense: .305 BA, 404 R, 55 HR, .460 SLG%, .381 OB%, 64/87 SB

Team pitching: 4.19 ERA, 524 IP, 553 H, 170 BB, 430 K

Top hitters: D.J. Hicks (.343/13/62), Jonathan Griffin (.332/18/53), Beau Taylor (.329/5/46), Ronnie Richardson (.315/1/31/15-20 SB), Travis Shreve (.311/0/19/21-25 SB), Erik Hempe (.311/7/28)

Top pitchers: Johnny Sedlock (3-0, 1.91, 33 IP, 28 H, 4 BB, 29 K), Nick Cicio (3-2, 2.23, 4 SV, 54.1 IP, 45 H, 19 BB, 50 K), Ray Hanson (4-2, 3.47, 57 IP, 54 H, 20 BB, 35 K), Brian Adkins (6-4, 4.28, 82 IP, 91 H, 21 BB, 43 K), Ben Lively (5-1, 4.74, 57 IP, 51 H, 33 BB, 41 K), Joe Rogers (4-2, 4.87, 9 SV, 40.2 IP, 50 H, 9 BB, 37 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2004 (3-2 at Tallahassee Regional)

Notes: The last time UCF made the tourney, the Golden Knights beat Oklahoma State twice and Florida State once before falling to FSU in the title game. They are back in for the first time in Terry Rooney’s three seasons. Rooney came to UCF to replace the legendary Jay Bergman after serving as an assistant at Notre Dame and LSU. At 37, he’s the “old man” on the coaching staff, which includes top assistants Cliff Godwin (2000 graduate) and Jeff Palumbo (2004 graduate). Overall, UCF is making its 10th NCAA tourney appearance. Jonathan Griffin packs punch in the Knights’ order, slugging .634 and combining with D.J. Hicks for 31 of the team’s 55 homers. Hicks was granted a medical redshirt last year. Ronnie Richardson has struck out nearly 50 times, but he’s been walked 35 times and hit 19 more times, good for the best OBA on the team (.448). Catcher Beau Taylor is a three-year starter. Opponents hit only .224 off Johnny Sedlock and .225 off Nick Cicio. Nine pitchers have totaled more than 26 innings, and seven have logged more than 40, with Brian Adkins leading the staff with 82.

 

3. Alabama Crimson Tide

Tuscaloosa, Alabama

At-large bid from SEC

2011 record: 14-16, 33-26 (tied for second in SEC West)

Head coach: Mitch Gaspard (Louisiana-Lafayette, 1988)

Record at school: 75-51, 2 years

Overall record: 285-189, 8 years

Assistant coaches: Dax Norris, Andy Phillips, Bobby Barbier

Team offense: .273 BA, 295 R, 20 HR, .372 SLG%, .361 OBP, 46-64 SB

Team pitching: 3.74 ERA, 515.1 IP, 515 H, 147 BB, 362 K

Top hitters: Taylor Dugas (.345/6/28/19 2B), Jared Reaves (.336/4/44/20 2B), Brock Bennett (.335/0/22/9-11 SB), Austen Smith (.291/4/39/11 2B), Andrew Miller (.257/0/24/12 HBP)

Top pitchers: Jonathan Smart (4-3, 10 SV, 2.48, 76.1 IP, 74 H, 15 BB, 41 K), Nathan Kilcrease (7-4, 3.16, 94 IP, 96 H, 24 BB, 78 K), Tucker Hawley (6-2, 3.61, 47.1 IP, 44 H, 7 BB, 29 K), Adam Morgan (5-6, 4.14, 91.1 IP, 93 H, 23 BB, 72 K)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2010 (4-1 at Atlanta Regional, 1-2 at Clemson Super Regional)

Notes: Alabama has appeared in the NCAA tourney in 11 of the past 14 seasons and this will be the 22nd overall appearance. The Crimson Tide has reached the College World Series five times, most recently in 1999, and is looking for its first national championship. Alabama will open the Tallahassee Regional against UCF, a team that beat the Tide 12-4 earlier this year in the South Alabama Classic in Mobile. The Knights are 6-4 all-time against Alabama. The Tide has never faced Bethune-Cookman and is 1-6 all-time against Florida State. Senior pitcher Nathan Kilcrease is the only player on the Alabama roster to reach four NCAA tournaments. He has a 2-1 record in five games, including a win over Georgia Tech a year ago to send the Tide to the Super Regional. First-year assistant coach Andy Phillips is the career leader in hits (322), home runs (61) and total bases (590) at Alabama. The All-American played five seasons in the major leagues with the Yankees, Mets and Reds.

 

4. Bethune-Cookman Wildcats

Daytona Beach, Florida

Automatic bid - won Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament

2011 record: 18-0, 36-23 (first in MEAC)

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

Record at school: 379-316, 12 years

Overall record: same

Assistant coaches: Jose Vazquez, Drew Clark, Matt Crane

Team offense: .290 BA, 389 R, 53 HR, .455 SLG%, .378 OB%, 54-82 SB

Team pitching: 4.26 ERA, 497 IP, 527 H, 228 BB, 453 K

Top hitters: Brashad Johnson (.330/1/29), Matt Wright (.324/6/33), Peter O’Brien (.309/13/68), Alejandro Sanchez (.309/3/26), Nick Johnson (.301/6/36), Emmanuel Castro (.284/6/39), DJ Leonard (.284/5/25), Ryan Durrence (.280/8/46)

Top Pitchers: Jordan Dailey (1-1, 2.01, 8 SV, 53.2 IP, 49 H, 14 BB, 48 K), Scott Garner (9-2, 2.07, 78.1 IP, 61 H, 18 BB, 48 K), Chris Anselmo (3-4, 2.59, 31.1 IP, 28 H, 11 BB, 29 K), Patrick Goelz (8-3, 3.17, 65.1 IP, 60 H, 31 BB, 72 K), Gabriel Hernandez (7-0, 3.44, 49.2 IP, 52 H, 17 BB, 46 K)

Last NCAA appearance: 2010 (0-2 at Gainesville Regional)

Notes: Bethune-Cookman is making its sixth straight NCAA appearance and 11th in 12 seasons under coach Mervyl Melendez. For the second straight year, the Wildcats have run the table in the MEAC, which they have won 14 of the past 16 years. Bethune-Cookman has beaten fellow tourney teams Stetson and Jacksonville and also has a win over Auburn. Melendez batted .342 in his career at Bethune-Cookman and took over the program in 1999 when he was 25. Junior catcher Peter O'Brien followed up his breakout 20-homer campaign with 13 more this year and is the most potent bat in the lineup. Jordan Dailey shaved 1.5 runs off his ERA from last year and thrived in the closer's role with eight saves. Top starter Scott Garner tossed two complete games and limited opponents to a .210 batting average. Seven of the Wildcats hail from Puerto Rico.