1. Louisville Cardinals (2)
Louisville, Kentucky
At-large bid from the ACC
2016 record: 50-12, 22-8 (First in Atlantic Division)
Head coach: Dan McDonnell (The Citadel, 1992, 1995)
Sixth Super Regional Trip, last in 2015, 7-5 record, won 3 Supers (2007, 2013, 2014)
Five Things
- The Cardinals have won 40 or more games five straight years and nine times in 10 years; they enter the Supers having won 22 straight games and are 36-1 at homer overall
- Coach Dan McDonnell was a second baseman at The Citadel who helped lead the Bulldogs to the 1990 College World Series
- Junior outfielder Corey Ray (.319/15/60/44-52 SB) and sophomore pitcher/first baseman Brendan McKay (12-3, 2.12/.336/5/40) are semifinalists for the Golden Spikes Award
- Louisville ranks ninth in the country in hitting (.323) and has nine regulars hitting above .300, led Nick Solak (.380) and Will Smith (.380)
- The Cardinals have allowed two or fewer runs in 35 of 62 games, including twice in the Regionals, when they allowed five total runs in three games – they rank fourth in the nation in ERA (2.77) and sixth in WHIP (1.16)
2. UC Santa Barbara Gauchos
Santa Barbara, California
At-large bid from Big West
2016 record: 40-18-1, 13-11 (third)
Head coach: Andrew Checketts (Oregon State, 1998)
First Super Regional Trip
Five Things
- The Gauchos, who hosted a Regional as a No. 1 seed last year, are back in the field for the third time in coach Andrew Checketts’ five seasons and are making their first trip to the Super Regionals
- Speaking of Checketts, he was a pitcher at Oregon State who went 11-1 as a senior and became known for his coaching success of pitchers at UC Riverside and Oregon
- Junior ace Shane Bieber (11-3, 2.86) has tossed four complete games and is 19-7 over the past two seasons; he leads a young rotation that boasts sophomore Joe Record (6-5) and freshman Noah Davis (6-4)
- It’s also a young lineup led by sophomores JJ Muno (.286/5/29), Austin Bush (.270/10/48) and Dempsey Grover (.281/2/29) – Bush hit a homer in each of the three Regional wins, including the game-winner in the 14th inning against Washington
- Entering the tourney, the Gauchos ranked No. 213 (out of 295 teams) in batting average at .260