No. 1 Coastal Carolina (42-17)
No. 2 Connecticut (35-20-1)
No. 3 Washington (30-23)
No. 4 LIU Brooklyn (31-24)
Coastal Carolina
The Chanticleers, the 2016 national champions, are hosting a regional for the fourth time and first since 2010. Gary Gilmore’s bunch went 23-7 and won the Sun Belt tourney title for the first time since joining the league. Jason Bilous (7-2, 3.39, 102 K in 79.2 IP) has been brilliant as a starter, and the Chants use a lot of other arms, including relievers Matt Eardensohn (7-0, 1.66, 6 SV, 54.1 IP) and Jay Causey (2-1, 2.14, 5 SV, 42 IP). Per usual, the Chants like to run, and Seth Lancaster (.311/19/55) gives them speed (23-26 SB) and power (.660 slg). Kevin Woodall Jr. (.300/19/55) and Zach Biermann (12 HR/51 RBI) also provide the pop.
UConn
The Huskies nearly hosted a Regional but settled for a No. 2 seed with their fifth trip to the tourney since 2010. Catcher Zac Susi (.328/1/33) has reached base in 45 straight games, and Anthony Prato (.327/1/22) will look to stay hot after a big conference tourney. Isaac Feldstein (13 HR, 40 RBI) has more than a third of the team’s 35 homers. If there’s a weakness here, UConn doesn’t walk a ton, and its OBA is .358. Mason Feole (9-1, 2.50) is a handful – he’s struck out 114 in 93.2 IP and limited opponents to a .217 average. P.J. Poulin has 16 saves and 54 Ks in 43.2 IP. If there’s a strength here, the Huskies don’t walk a lot of batters.
Washington
The other Huskies in this Regional have been on a roll, winning key series down the stretch vs. UCLA and Stanford. Playing in big ballparks, Washington has relied on its pitching, particularly the combo of Joe DeMers (6-3, 2.55) and Jordan Jones (6-3, 2.56). Alex Hardy (4-2, 2.19, 7 SV) has been big out of the bullpen with 53.1 IP. Only three regulars bat over .300, led by Mason Cerrillo (.349/14 2B/17 RBI) and Joe Wainhouse (.309/14/50), who nearly has half the Huskies’ 32 homers.
LIU Brooklyn
The Blackbirds, led by 32-year-old Dan Pirillo, are making their second trip to the tourney. The first came in 1972. The champs from the NEC, feature one .300 hitter in Andrew Turner (.344/5/19), who also leads the team in slugging at .539. Alex Briggs has some juice with eight homers and 43 RBI. On the mound, Patrick Clyne (5-4, 4.39) has 86 Ks in 82 IP, and Zach Pederson (6-4, 3.82) also chews innings. Closer Mike Kreiger (4-2, 1.73, 7 SV, 55 K in 41.2 IP) limits hitters to a .197 average.