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REGIONAL COVERAGE: SCHEDULE/RESULTS | REGIONAL BREAKDOWN | PAIRINGS | MESSAGE BOARDS
The Road to Omaha has begun and 64 teams around the country are vying for the eight lucrative spots in the first College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Neb.
As part of our extensive NCAA postseason coverage, we take an in-depth look at each of the 16 NCAA Regionals.
| THE TEAMS |
| Team |
Conference |
Record |
Berth |
Last NCAA appearance |
| 1. Georgia Tech |
ACC |
40-19 |
At-large |
2010 |
| 2. Southern Mississippi |
Conference USA |
39-17 |
At-large |
2010 |
| 3. Mississippi State |
SEC |
34-23 |
At-large |
2007 |
| 4. Austin Peay |
Ohio Valley |
33-22 |
Auto bid |
2007 |
| THE BREAKDOWN |
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The favorite: Georgia Tech
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1. Georgia Tech
2. Southern Miss
3. Mississippi St.
4. Austin Peay
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The Yellow Jackets might have a sketchy past when it comes to taking care of business in the NCAA postseason, but they'd have to play a bad brand of baseball this weekend to not win the Atlanta Regional. The Jackets enter the weekend with a solid, but young, offensive lineup that's hitting .304. Freshman Kyle Wren continues to spearhead the lineup with a .352 batting average and .420 on-base percentage, while five other key hitters are batting over .300 and fellow freshman Daniel Palka, despite just a .283 average, has slugged 10 home runs and knocked in 47 runs. While the offense is in good shape, the pitching staff also is in very solid shape with Mark Pope, Jed Bradley and Buck Farmer leading the way. Pope has had an amazing year for the Yellow Jackets, while Farmer is a rising star and Bradley is the prospect that can get hot and dominate at any time. The Jackets also have a productive bullpen with Luke Bard leading the way with eight saves and a 2.98 ERA in 45 1/3 innings.
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The dark-horse contender: Southern Mississippi
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It's very unfortunate the Golden Eagles won't enter the weekend with a couple of their big guns in the weekend rotation in Geoffrey Thomas and Jonathan Thompson. However, the Eagles still have a bonafide ace in senior pitcher Todd McInnis, who is 8-2 with a 2.61 ERA in 89 2/3 innings. He also has struck out 81 and walked 31 and teams are hitting .254 against him. The question with this team is who steps up as a starter behind McInnis? If that question can be answered this weekend, the Golden Eagles will be more successful than expected. Offensively, USM has a potent offense with a .302 average. Tyler Koelling, Marc Bourgeois and Adam Doleac each are hitting over .335 this season, while B.A. Vollmuth, despite his .303 average, has slugged 12 home runs and 48 RBIs. The Golden Eagles have the ability to drive opposing pitchers crazy.
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Best hitter: 3B Jarrod Parks, Mississippi State
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The Bulldogs probably lack the consistency needed to win this NCAA Regional, but have the premier hitter in the tournament in Parks. Parks is having a fabulous campaign for Cohen's Bulldogs, hitting a team-high .383 with 13 doubles, three triples, three home runs and 36 RBIs. But most impressive about Parks is the fact he has a .532 slugging percentage and an almost higher OBP of .530. The Bulldogs desperately need Parks and Nick Vickerson to have productive weekends at the plate.
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Best pitcher: RHP Mark Pope, Georgia Tech
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Sure, top prospect and talented left-handed pitcher Jed Bradley has gotten most of the headlines this season. But ask anyone and they'll tell you Pope, the right-hander that tops out at 91 mph, is the Jackets' best starting pitcher. He has started 15 games this season and has a 1.77 ERA in 112 innings. He also has struck out 88 and walked 23 while teams are hitting him at a .218 clip. The Jackets have shown a lot of trust in Pope this season and are slated to start him in the tourney opener against Austin Peay.
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Best prospect: LHP Jed Bradley, Georgia Tech
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Bradley has all the tools a big league would ever want. He has a power fastball with good stuff and has a good-sized body, which is good for durability at the next level. We saw Bradley against Virginia earlier this season, where he was 92-94 mph with his fastball, 81-83 with his changeup and 77-78 with the curve. Bradley, though, has been inconsistent at times this season and has a 3.59 ERA in 90 1/3 innings. He also has struck out 102 and walked 30 while teams are hitting him at a .237 clip. Bradley is incredible when he wants to be. You can view our scouting video of Bradley, here.
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The buzz
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Though he wasn't discussed earlier in the preview, the Yellow Jackets have a good one in offensive cog Matt Skole. The talented veteran has had a fantastic career and is continuing to produce this season. He's hitting .348 with nine home runs and 57 RBIs. He's also slugging .538 and has a solid .442 OBP. Also worth noting, on the mound, the Yellow Jackets have a solid fourth option in Matt Grimes should they enter the loser's bracket at any point or get forced to another title game on Monday. Grimes, a highly touted freshman, has a 4.30 ERA in 67 innings and teams are hitting him at a .254 clip ... We've talked about how important Southern Miss ace pitcher Todd McInnis and the rest of the starting rotation is to the team's success this weekend, but equally important is the arm of reliever Collin Cargill. The talented veteran has had an amazing career with the Golden Eagles, and this season he has recorded eight saves in 24 appearances and has a 1.05 ERA in 43 innings. He also is limiting teams to a .216 batting average ... Mississippi State will go the way of its starting pitching this weekend. The Bulldogs have some talented arms in the bullpen, such as Caleb Reed (1.48) and Taylor Stark (3.12). However, the starting rotation is iffy at times. The Bulldogs don't have a single starting pitcher with an ERA below four. More consistency is needed from Nick Routt, Chris Stratton and others this weekend or the Bulldogs will have a quick trip to Atlanta ... Austin Peay once again has a solid club with coach Gary McClure leading the way. And though the Governors lack high quality pitching with an ERA of 5.27, they possess several strong bats. Jordan Hawkins leads the team with a .361 average, while four others have batting averages over .300. Keep close tabs on hard-hitting first baseman John Hogan. He's hitting .317 with 11 doubles, a triple, 13 home runs and 62 RBIs.
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Kendall Rogers is the college baseball editor for Perfect Game USA and has covered the sport for over 10 seasons. He can be reached at kendall@perfectgame.org