2012 Stanford Regional

Regional Schedules

CBI Preseason Feature on Stanford (Feb. 10)

1. Stanford Cardinal

Palo Alto, California

At-large bid from Pac-12

2012 Record: 38-16, 18-12 (tied for fourth in Pac-12)

Head Coach: Mark Marquess (Stanford 1969)

Assistant Coaches: Dean Stotz, Rusty Filter

Team Offense: .290, 365 runs, 114 doubles, 44 HR, .430 SLG, .370 OPS, 34 SB

Team Pitching: 3.25 ERA, 38-16, 4 CG, 11 SV, 377 K, .249 Opp Avg.

Top Hitters: Kenny Diekroeger (.267, 15 doubles, 27 RBI), Eric Smith (.329, 11 doubles, 31 RBI), Stephen Piscotty (.319, 11 doubles, 5 HR, 54 RBI), Brian Ragira (.318, 13 doubles, 4 HR, 47 RBI), Austin Wilson (.290, 11 doubles, 9 HR, 46 RBI), Alex Blandino (.289, 9 doubles, 7 HR, 35 RBI)

Top Pitchers: Stephen Piscotty (2.57 ERA, 5-2), Mark Appel (2.37 ERA, 9-1 4 CG, 116 K), A.J. Vanegas (2.38 ERA, 3-0, 5 SV), Brett Mooneyham (4.05 ERA, 7-5, 88 K), Dean McArdle (3.32, 3-3, 35 K)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2011 Fullerton Regional

Notes: Stanford is making its 17th appearance in the past 19 seasons. The Cardinal came into the season as the No. 2-ranked team in the country behind No. 1 Florida.

2. Pepperdine Waves

Malibu, California

Automatic Bid – won West Coast Conference title

2012 record: 16-8, 34-21 (first in WCC)

Head coach: Steve Rodriguez (Pepperdine, 2001)

Assistant coaches: Rick Hirtensteiner, Jon Strauss

Team offense: .282, 283 runs, 90 doubles, 23 HR, .376 SLG, .363 OPS, 47 SB

Team pitching: 3.66, 34-21, 13 SV, 352 K, .263 Opp Avg.

Top hitters: Joe Sever (.370, 15 2B, 6 HR, 52 RBI), Zach Vincej (.348, 18 2B, 23 RBI), Tony Cooper (.309, 25 RBI, 6 SB)

Top pitchers: Scott Frazier(3.87ERA, 7-4, 64 K), Corey Miller (3.56 ERA, 8-3, 65 K),  Matt Maurer (3.30 ERA, 6-1, 62.2 IP), Jon Moscot (2.97 ERA, 6-5, 91 K)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2008 Stanford Regional

Notes: Pepperdine beat San Diego in the last game of the season to win the WCC title. Pepperdine going back to the postseason for the first time since 2008. Sever led the team with a .370 batting average and 52 RBI.

3. Michigan State Spartans
East Lansing, Michigan
At-large bid from Big Ten
2012 record: 13-11, 37-21 (fifth place in Big Ten)

Head coach: Jake Boss Jr. (Alma, 1993)

Record at school: 130-92, four years

Overall record: 155-126, five years

Assistant coaches: Mark Van Ameyde, Graham Sikes, Jake Boss Sr.

Team offense: .298 BA, 352 R, 30 HR, .397 SLG%, .380 OBP, 61-84 SB

Team pitching: 3.17 ERA, 540 IP, 493 H, 169 BB, 377 K

Top hitters: Jordan Keur (.359/1/33/47 R), Ryan Jones (.356/3/38/50 R), Torsten Boss (.306/5/43), Justin Scanlon (.270/0/27), John Martinez (.309/3/31), Ryan Krill (.290/3/28), Jimmy Pickens (.254/6/35/9 2B), Joel Fisher (.288/2/18), Anthony Cheky (.305/1/6/15 SB)

Top pitchers: Tony Bucciferro (6-3, 2.80, 106 IP, 95 H, 21 BB, 90 K), Andrew Waszak (4-3, 2.81, 99.1 IP, 84 H, 27 BB, 46 K), David Garner (6-3, 3.28, 74.0 IP, 64 H, 31 BB, 75 K), Tony Wieber (2-2, 1.37, 9 SV, 26.1 IP, 20 H, 11 BB, 22 K), Bryce Jenney (1-2, 1.73, 2 SV, 36.1 IP, 23 H, 12 BB, 24 K), Jeff Kinley (6-5, 2.62, 2 SV, 44.2 IP, 38 H, 10 BB, 35 K), Mick VanVossen (4-0, 3.47, 46.2 IP, 49 H, 16 BB, 21 K)
Last NCAA Appearance: 1979 (1-2 at the East Lansing Regional)

Notes: Michigan State is back in the tourney for the first time since 1979 and for the fifth time overall – the Spartans reached the College World Series in 1954 and also made the field in 1971 and 1978. By comparison, the Spartans have been to 22 NCAA basketball tourneys since the last baseball appearance. Coach Jake Boss Jr. spent time as an assistant at Michigan before being named the head coach at Eastern Michigan, where he stayed one year and reached the Regionals before joining MSU. His father Jake Boss Sr. is the bench coach and retiring after this season. MSU is stingy, allowing 3.8 runs a game, and pitchers limit hitters to a .245 average. Closer Tony Wieber is 11-2 with 18 saves in his career. Ace Tony Bucciferro was cited by conference coaches as one of the top three starters in a preseason CollegeBaseballInsider.com poll and has gone 26-13 in 367 innings in four years as a starter. Ryan Jones had a 33-game hitting streak in 2011 and was tabbed the toughest to strike out in CBI’s preseason poll of league coaches. Leading hitter Jordan Keur is hitting 100 points higher than last season. Of the 35 players on the roster, 26 hail from Michigan.

CBI Preseason Feature on Aaron Judge (Feb. 18)

4. Fresno State Bulldogs

Fresno, California

Automatic bid – won WAC Tournament

2012 record: 8-10, 30-26 (fifth in WAC)

Head coach: Mike Batesole (Cal State Fullerton, 1990)

Record at school: 359-262, 10 years

Overall record: 614-417-1, 17 years

Assistant coaches: Steve Rousey, Pat Waer, Ryan Overland

Team offense: .277 BA, 283 R, 19 HR, 59-78 SB

Team pitching: 3.76 ERA, 502.2 IP, 548 H, 161 BB, 475 K

Top hitters: Trent Garrison (.333/2/35/10 2B), Kenneth Wise (.323/4/36), Aaron Judge (.312/4/25/13-14 SB), Patrick Hutcheson (.298/5/29/13-17 SB), Jake Alvarez (.297/1/12), Austin Wynns (.284/0/29/20 SB), Jordan Luplow (.277/2/34/15 2B)

Top Pitchers: Gene Escat (3-0, 1.59, 1 SV, 22.2 IP, 19 H, 7 BB, 29 K), Thomas Harlan (7-7, 2.73, 1 SV, 102.1 IP, 100 H, 14 BB, 83 K), Taylor Garrison (1-2, 2.77, 10 SV, 39 IP, 32 H, 13 BB, 50 K), Justin Haley (7-3, 2.98, 87.2 IP, 88 H, 33 BB, 89 K), Tyler Linehan (4-5, 3.58, 83 IP, 95 H, 30 BB, 82 K)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2011 (0-2 at Los Angeles Regional)

Notes: Fresno State went 5-1 over four days to win the WAC title. Jordan Luplow was tourney MVP. His walk-off base hit in the bottom of the 13th lifted FSU to a 4-3 win over Sacramento State in the championship game. The Bulldogs have won 11 of their past 14 contests. FSU is back in the NCAA tourney for the 34th time overall and sixth time in the past seven years. The Bulldogs have been to the College World Series four times and won the national championship in 2008. Over the past five seasons, FSU is 15-3 in postseason elimination game, whether the WAC Tournament or NCAA tourney. FSU’s entire roster hails from the state of California. Coach Mike Batesole was a star at Oral Roberts and spent four years in the Dodgers organization.