No. 1 East Carolina (43-16)
No. 2 South Carolina (33-24)
No. 3 Ohio State (36-22)
No. 4 UNC Wilmington (37-21)
East Carolina
The Pirates are hosting a Regional for the first time since 2009 (won Regional on walkoff win over South Carolina) after going 23-5 away from home. A balanced club, ECU turns to Chris Holba (9-1, 2.45) and Tyler Smith (7-1, 1.85) and a host of others (seven pitchers have logged more than 35 innings) on the mound. Bryant Packard (.403/15 2B/14 HR/50 RBI) has had a monster year, and Spencer Brickhouse (.304/10/48) isn’t far behind. The Pirates also like to run (81-104) and get hit (60 HBP).
South Carolina
The Gamecocks are back in the mix in coach Mark Kingston’s first season after finishing 17-13 in the SEC. Adam Hill (7-5, 4.08, 92 K, 75 IP) gives South Carolina a chance to win every time he toes the rubber if he’s on (opponents hit .188). And Cody Morris (7-3, 3.80, 76 K in 71 IP) has been steady. Madison Stokes (.342/10/40) and LT Tolbert (.320/6/49) are key, and Carlos Cortes (15 HR) and Jacob Olson (10 HR) provide pop despite averages below .250.
Ohio State
The Buckeyes earned an at-large from the Big Ten and are in the field for the second time in three years. Noah McGowan (.359/9/55), Tyler Cowles (.327/8/49) and Conner Pohl (.286/7/48) give OSU some power, and Dominic Canzone (.329) leads the team with 82 hits and has 15 of the team’s 39 stolen bases. Connor Curlis (7-4, 3.81) and Ryan Feltner (5-5, 4.62) try to get the ball to Seth Kinker (6-1, 1.49, 15 SV, 60.1 IP, 59 K), who limits opponents to a .213 average.
UNCW
The Seahawks return to the tourney for the fifth time in seven seasons after winning the CAA Tournament as the 4-seed. They lost two close games to East Carolina and went 9-8 against NCAA tourney teams during the regular season. Alex Royalty (6-4, 3.99, 85 K in 88 IP) has been a constant for UNCW’s rotation, but it’s been a deep and talented bullpen that has been key. Austin Warren (8-0, 1.75, 60 K in 46.1 IP) and Clark Cota (4-0, 1.93, 13 SV, 45 K in 32.2 IP) have been absolutely huge. The offense relies on Mason Berne (.335/12/52) and Ryan Jeffers (.320/16/54).