No. 1 Stanford (44-10)
No. 2 Baylor (36-19)
No. 3 Cal State Fullerton (32-23)
No. 4 Wright State (39-15)
Stanford
David Esquer, in his first year, has guided the Cardinal to the No. 2 overall seed in the tourney. And Stanford, despite a challenging bracket, is a dangerous team. The Cardinal boast a 2.85 ERA, thanks in large part to Kris Bubic (8-1, 2.73) and Tristan Beck (8-4, 2.99), who provide a powerful 1-2 punch. The bullpen is anchored by Jack Little, who has been nearly unhittable (3-0, 0.66, 15 SV, 54 K, 7 BB in 41 IP. Offensively, it’s not your typical West Coast lineup – Andrew Daschbach (.286/16/61) and Kyle Stowers (.302/10/42) can mash, and don’t sleep on Nico Hoerner and Tim Tawa, each of whom slug about .500.
Baylor
The Bears are in the field for the second straight year having won 22 of 25 to close the year. Cody Bradford (7-5, 2.38, 86 K in 90.2 IP) and Hayden Kettler (8-4, 3.64) chew innings, and Troy Montemayor (2-1, 2.49, 11 SV) has been great as a closer. The Bears spread some pop throughout the lineup with six players with six or more homers, led by Shea Langeliers’ 10. Richard Cunningham (.344/9/38) leads the team in slugging (.552), and Davis Wendzel (.319/8/45) is right behind him at .549, thanks to 21 doubles.
Cal State Fullerton
Another season, and another Titans team is back in the field. That marks 27 straight years. Fullerton won this Regional last year, and this is the fourth time it has visited Stanford for a Regional. Per usual, the Titans have some arms, led by Colton Eastman (9-3, 2.26, 108 K in 103.2 IP). Blake Workman (4-4) has 61 Ks in 52.1 IP, and Brett Conine (3-1, 4.29, 10 SV) bends but doesn’t often break. Fullerton’s big ballpark again has limited offensive numbers, but Hank LoForte (.341/1/33) and Daniel Cope (.286/5/40) have put up big numbers.
Wright State
The Raiders, one of the strongest No. 4 seeds by RPI, are in the tourney for the sixth time since 2006. And it’s another strong outfit for coach Jeff Mercer. Ryan Weiss (9-2, 3.40) is one of the anchors of the staff, but expect to see a bevy of arms – nine pitchers have logged more than 30 innings, including relievers Jeremy Randolph (5-2, 2.74, 4 SV, 55 K in 42.2 IP) and Derek Hendrixson (2-2, 3.37, 8 SV). Gabe Snyder (.363/15/72/.674 slg) and Peyton Burdick (.356/9/65) are the bats to watch, and each have 15 stolen bases. The Raiders love to run (110-128 SB).