1. Miami Hurricanes (3)
Coral Gables, Florida
At-large bid from ACC
2016 record: 48-11, 21-7 (first in Coastal Division, won regular-season title)
Head coach: Jim Morris (Elon, 1973)
12th Super Regional Trip, last in 2015, 16-10 record, won 7 Supers (1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2015)
Five Things
- Miami made the field for the 44th straight time after winning the ACC regular-season title for the second time in three years; the Hurricanes are making their 12th Super Regional appearance and trying to win their first national title since 2001
- Coach Jim Morris has guided a team to the NCAA Tournament 31 straight years, 22 at Miami and nine at Georgia Tech; he eclipsed 1,500 D-I wins during the season and sits at 1,533, which ranks fifth all-time entering the weekend after three close wins in the Regionals
- Catcher Zack Collins is one of the best catchers in the country and can flat out hit; he slugs .631, and thanks in part to 69 walks, has an on-base average of .534
- Three hitters, in addition to Collins, hit above .338 – Brandon Lopez (.392) and Johnny Ruiz and Carl Chester, each at .338;
- Hurricanes pitchers, led by Jesse Lapore (9-0, 2.20) and Michael Mediavilla (10-1, 3.18), don’t pile up loads of strikeouts but pitch to contact – they’ve actually allowed more homers (48) than the Canes have hit (43); closer Bryan Garcia (16 SV) is an exception with 52 Ks in 35.1 innings
3. Boston College
Chestnut Hills, Massachusetts
At-large bid from the ACC
2016 record: 34-20, 13-15 (eighth in the ACC)
Head Coach: Mike Gambino (Boston College, 1999)
First Super Regional Trip
Five Things
- Boston College is back in the tourney for the first time since 2009; the last time it was there, it lost a 3-2 game to Texas in 25 innings, the longest game in NCAA history; this time, it won the Oxford Regional as a 3-seed and advanced to the Super Regionals for the first time; the Eagles face ACC-foe Miami: The two teams didn’t play this season
- Coach Mike Gambino is a BC alum who played in the middle infield; the team’s director of baseball operations is Pete Frates, the inspiration behind the Ice Bucket Challenge
- Justin Dunn (4-1, 1.49) has made 17 appearances and seven starts and ranks sixth in the nation in ERA; he struck out 11 in seven brilliant innings against Tulane in the Regional opener
- Senior Joe Cronin is a four-year starter bouncing between the middle infield to the corner infield, where he’s played first and third most of the past two years
- With a .265 average, the Eagles rank 180th in the country, and their 18 homers ranked 242nd out of 295 teams entering the tourney