2012 Gainesville Regional

Regional Schedules

CBI Preseason Feature on Mike Zunino (Feb. 14)

1. Florida Gators (1)

Gainesville, Florida

At-large bid from SEC

2012 record: 18-12, 42-18 (tied for second in Eastern Division)

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

Record at school: 218-100, 5 years

Overall record: Same

Assistant coaches: Brad Weitzel, Craig Bell, Don Norris

Team offense: .281 BA, 345 R, 67 HR, .446 SLG%, .359 OBP, 55-81 SB

Team pitching: 2.91 ERA, 538 IP, 489 H, 125 BB, 451 K

Top hitters: Mike Zunino (.323/16/55), Daniel Pigott (.320/7/35), Brian Johnson (.318/5/39), Preston Tucker (.312/14/44), Nolan Fontana (.290/9/28), Casey Turgeon (.271/3/24)

Top pitchers: Greg Larson (6-0, 1.32, 47.2 IP, 32 H, 10 BB, 34 K), Steven Rodriguez (3-2, 2.04, 3 SV, 57.1 IP, 41 H, 13 BB, 77 K), Austin Maddox (3-3, 2.28, 12 SV, 51.1 IP, 38 H, 10 BB, 54 K), Hudson Randall (7-2, 2.91, 80.1 IP, 70 H, 9 BB, 52 K), Jonathon Crawford (5-2, 3.34, 62 IP, 62 H, 20 BB, 60 K), Karsten Whitson (3-0, 3.41, 31.2 IP, 37 H, 16 BB, 16 K), Brian Johnson (7-4, 3.67, 81 IP, 75 H, 15 BB, 64 K)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2011 (3-0 at Gainesville Regional, 2-1 at Gainesville Super Regional, 3-2 at College World Series – 0-2 in Championship Round)

Notes: The Gators are hosting their fourth straight Regional in Kevin O’Sullivan’s five years, the first time that’s happened in school history. O’Sullivan has guided Florida to 43.6 wins during his tenure and his squad reached the CWS championship series a year ago. Offensively, catcher Mike Zunino is one of the best backstops in the nation. His average is a little down from last year’s .373, but he has one more homer and four fewer RBI this year compared to the same time last year. He’s slugging at a .664 clip, 13th in the country. Nolan Fontana leads the Gators with a .414 OBA and has 44 walks compared to 24 strikeouts. Preston Tucker broke Brad Wilkerson’s school mark in RBI early in the season, and late in the year, he became the hits leader, breaking Mark Ellis’ record of 319. The Gators again are filthy on the mound, ranking 10^th in ERA and second in BBs per 9, with just two per game. They have worked around injuries, particularly to Karsten Whitson, taking advantage of a deep and talented bullpen led by Greg Larson, Steven Rodriguez and Austin Maddox. Opponents are hitting .242 off the Gators, a year after hitting .240 during the regular season last year.    

CBI Feature on Colby Wren (Jan. 6)

CBI Preseason Feature on Danny Hall (Feb. 1)

2. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Atlanta, Georgia

Automatic bid – won ACC Tournament

2012 record: 12-18, 36-24 (fourth in Coastal Division)

Head Coach: Danny Hall (Miami, Ohio, 1977)

Record at school: 785-373-1, 19 years

Overall record: 1,023-490-1, 25 years

Assistant Coaches: Tom Kinkelaar, Bryan Prince, Wally Crancer

Team offense: .296 BA, 389 R, 48 HR, .438 SLG%, .375 OBP%, 79-108 SB

Top hitters: Kyle Wren (.266/2/22/16-22 SB), Jake Davies (.332/13/69), Brandon Thomas (.352/4/41/12-17 SB), Daniel Palka (.302/12/47), Sam Dove (.338/2/28/12-13 SB)

Top pitchers: Buck Farmer (8-3, 3.43 ERA, 99.2 IP, 93 H, 34 BB, 110 K), Cole Pitts (6-4, 4.36 ERA, 74.1 IP, 88 H, 34 BB, 60 K), Alex Cruz (7-3, 2 SV. 2.00 ERA, 67.2 IP, 44 H, 21 BB, 44 K)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2011 (2-2 at Atlanta Regional)

Notes: The Yellow Jackets received an automatic bid after winning the ACC Tournament this past weekend. Jake Davies hit four home runs during the tournament, and he also picked up his first win of the season as pitcher, when Georgia Tech defeated Clemson in pool play. This is the 17th trip to the NCAA tournament for the Yellow Jackets in the 19 seasons under Danny Hall. Hall won his 1,000th career game on March 17th when the Yellow Jackets defeated Virginia Tech 12-3 in Atlanta. Kyle and Colby Wren are twins. Their father, Frank, is the General Manager of the Atlanta Braves. Starting pitcher Buck Farmer and outfielder Brandon Thomas garnered First Team All-ACC honors.

CBI Feature on Marty Gantt (June 1)

3. College of Charleston Cougars
Charleston, South Carolina
At-large bid from Southern Conference
2012 record: 21-9, 37-20 (tied for first)
Head coach: Monte Lee (College of Charleston, 2000)
Record at school: 155-83, four years
Overall record: Same
Assistant coaches: Matt Heath, Chris Morris, Brent Walsh, Brandon Sizemore
Team offense: .269 BA, 362 R, 63 HR, .437 SLG%, .363 OBP, 58-80 SB
Team pitching: 3.21 ERA, 512.2 IP, 468 H, 171 BB, 460 K
Top hitters: Marty Gantt (.375/10/44/25 SB), Brandon Murray (.324/12/39/44 R), Brandon Glazer (.322/7/24/.525 SLG%), Bradley Goodson (.284/8/42/18 2B), Daniel Aldrich (.279/10/44/7 3B), Rob Harding (.284/2/43/11 2B)
Top pitchers: Christian Powell (9-3, 2.39, 90.1 IP, 81 H, 26 BB, 73 K), Matt Pegler (9-2, 2.92, 80 IP, 71 H, 20 BB, 57 K), Josh Renfro (6-7, 3.66, 76.1 IP, 89 H, 18 BB, 68 K), Ryan West (4-3, 3.73, 60.1 IP, 54 H, 18 BB, 53 K), Kyle Owings (3-0, 2 SV, 1.33, 40.2 IP, 32 H, 16 BB, 50 K), David Peterson (1-3, 10 SV, 3.43, 39.1 IP, 32 H, 15 BB, 40 K)
Last NCAA Appearance: 2010 (2-2 at the Myrtle Beach Regional)

Notes: The Cougars are in the field for the fifth time since 2004 and first since reaching the Regional final at Coastal Carolina in 2010. Coach Monte Lee spent six years on Ray Tanner’s staff at South Carolina before arriving in Charleston. He starred as a player for the Cougars, ranking fourth all-time in BI, fifth in doubles, ninth in runs and sixth in games and was the first position player drafted in school history. Charleston led the hitter-friendly SoCon in ERA, and ace Christian Powell was the conference pitcher of the year. Ryan West played high school ball for CollegeBaseballInsider.com co-founder Sean Ryan. The Cougars don’t hit like they typically do – last year’s team hit .297 and the previous six teams all hit well over .300, pushing .350 several times. Marty Gantt is a remarkable story – despite having an underdeveloped right hand that limits his ability to even hold the bat with his top hand, he’s leading the team in hitting and carried the offense at times this year. After hitting 22 homers last year as a freshman, Daniel Aldrich started slow before coming on late.  

CBI Preseason Feature on Scott Garner (Feb. 10)

4. Bethune-Cookman Wildcats
Daytona Beach, Florida
Automatic Bid - won Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Tournament
2012 Record: 18-5, 34-25 (1st Southern Division)
Head coach: Jason Beverlin (Western Carolina, 1994)
Record at school: 34-25, 1st Season
Career Record: Same
Assistant Coaches: Barrett Shaft, Kenny Smith, DJ Leonard (Student Assistant)
Team Offense: .276 BA, 322 R,  20 HR, .360 SLG%, .366 OB%, 102-130 SB (14th Nationally), 70 SacBU (15th Nationally)
Team pitching: 3.86 ERA, 503 IP, 513 H, 177 BB, 356 K
Top hitters: Brashad Johnson (.346/11 2B/2 3B/2 HR/34 RBI/20-25 SB/1st Team All-MEAC), Jairo Acevedo (.321/36 H/15 RBI/.420 OBP), David Lee (.316/14 2B/2 3B/3 HR/47 RBI/13-19 SB/MEAC Tournament Outstanding Player, First Team All-MEAC), Brandon Turner (.300/5 2B/2 3B/23 RBI/23-28 SB), Josh Johnson (.295/9 2B/1 3B/24 RBI/27-31 SB), Nick Johnson (.294/9 2B/2 3B/2 HR/16 RBI/5-5 SB), Anthony Stokes (.273/7 2B/10 HR/35 RBI/.520 SLG%), Jordan Taylor (.254/6 2B/1 3B/21 RBI)
Top pitchers: Rayan Gonzalez (9-1/1.96/87.1 IP/74 H/17 BB/79 K/3 CG/2-2 SHO/.227 vs./7 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR/MEAC Pitcher of the Year, MEAC All-Tournament Team), Gabriel Hernandez  (6-3/2.92/77 IP/68 H/35 BB/45 K/0-1 SHO/.240 vs.), Jordan Dailey (CLOSER/3.38/4-6/45.1 IP/42 H/9 BB/28 K/.240 vs./1st Team All-MEAC), Montana Durapau (3.41/4-6/87 IP/77 H/24 BB/66 K/.234 vs.), Bryan Rivera (4.17/3-3/54 IP/46 H/25 BB/39 K/.231 vs.), Ali Simpson (4.30/2-1/23 IP/17 H/19 BB/33 K/.221 vs./Coming off Tommy John Rehab-Weekend Starter)
Last NCAA appearance: 2011 (0-2 at Tallahassee Regional)
Notes: Bethune-Cookman makes its 15th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and seventh straight (in addition to 13 of last 14) bid. This is the sixth straight year for B-CU to have 32 wins or more. Last NCAA Tournament win was 2002 vs. FIU, 7-4, in Gainesville, Fla. Head Coach Jason Beverlin is coaching B-CU for the first year as a head coach, taking the team to 34 wins, despite losing (to attrition/graduation) 12 players and core starter batting of 218 RBI. In addition, due to late hiring, only took in a recruiting class of 5, 2 of which are regular contributors. B-CU typically has a fully roster, but is playing with 21 this season. Beverlin pitched professionally for 12 years, including stints with Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers. He was previously the pitching coach at Georgia Southern and then Tennessee. Assistant Coach Barrett Shaft is the Western Carolina Career Hits Leader and is among the program's top-10 in 8 other categories. Assistant Coach Kenny Smith is the single season RBI leader at Western Carolina, and is also from a notable coaching family; the head coach of UNC Asheville, Tom Smith, is his father; North Carolina Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame Coach. B-CU's ace, Rayan Gonzalez was drafted out of high school by the A's in the 18th round. After overcoming shoulder problems early in his career, he has shown up this year and fell one win short of a perfect record and double digit wins in 14 appearances.