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College | Story | 6/8/2017

2017 Super Regional Preview

Mike Rooney

Photo: TCU Athletics

Regional Recap, Supers Set | College Top 25

Friday through Sunday games

Corvallis Super Regional
Vanderbilt at Oregon State

Oregon State made quick work of Yale and Holy Cross to run their record to 52-4. This is one of the great seasons in College Baseball history.

Despite being pushed to a deciding game seven by the host Tigers, Vanderbilt looked very impressive in the Clemson Regional as they advanced to their sixth Super Regional under Tim Corbin.

Will Toffey may be the hottest hitter in the country right now and Vandy seems to be peaking at the right time. Nick Madrigal has been hampered by a bone bruise and that is a major concern for the Beavers. With Kyle Wright set to pitch on Saturday, this Super Regional will get even more interesting if the Commodores can manage to beat Luke Heimlich in game one.

Interesting notes: Heimlich has 15 quality starts in 16 attempts this season. Vandy projects to have multiple first rounders again (Wright and Jeren Kendall) and that would be the fourth time (2007, 2011, 2015) this has occurred in the Tim Corbin era.

Long Beach Super Regional
Cal State Fullerton at Long Beach State

This is a rebirth for one of College Baseball’s greatest rivalries. Long Beach State is 5-1 versus Fullerton so far this year but the Titans are finally getting back to full strength with the return of Colton Eastman and also shortstop Timmy Richards looking recovered from his groin injury.

The Titans appear to have a major advantage on the mound with their elite rotation (Connor Seabold, John Gavin, and Eastman) and the fact that they are well rested having wrapped up the Palo Alto Regional on Saturday. The Dirtbags on the other hand finished a hard fought Regional with Texas on Monday and exhausted a ton of pitching.

This Super Regional guarantees that a Big West team will be in Omaha for the fourth straight year. If Long Beach emerges victorious it will be even more remarkable in that it will have been four different programs also.

College Station Super Regional
Davidson at Texas A&M

If you believe in College Baseball karma, the Aggies have earned it after two crushing Super Regional losses to TCU in each of the last two years. Additionally, Rob Childress’ program lost 12 players to the draft last year, which led the nation.

Davidson is in fact the Cinderella of the Super Regional round as the Wildcats are in their first-ever NCAA Baseball Tournament. Davidson is just the sixth four seed to reach the Super Regionals, which began in 1999. Durin O’Linger has been their horse on the mound but sluggers Will Robertson and Brian Fortier have combined to hit 33 home runs this year.

Texas A&M will be the heavy favorite here with an outstanding rotation, a dominant bullpen and the favorite for National Freshman of the Year in second baseman Braden Shewmake.

Louisville Super Regional
Kentucky at Louisville

This Super Regional should really be moved to Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati and that would still most likely be a sellout. Louisville is looking to exorcise the demons of two consecutive home Super Regional losses (Fullerton in 2015, UCSB in 2016).

The Cardinals are led by three-time All-American Brendan McKay, but McKay has yet to play in Omaha in his otherwise historic college career. Drew Ellis has had a huge year and he is another example of the outstanding player development that occurs in this program under Dan McDonnell.

Kentucky is the only SEC program never to have qualified for the College World Series and it appears that first-year skipper Nick Mingione may just be the guy to break that streak. This Kentucky offense is arguably the nation’s most explosive.

One key to this series will be the Louisville rotation’s ability to contain Kentucky as McKay has been solid but not quite dominant in the second half of the season. A concern for the Wildcats will be their inconsistent defense, which could serve in igniting the momentum offense of Louisville.

Saturday through Monday games

Tallahassee Super Regional
Sam Houston State at Florida State

Florida State was down to their last strike in game six of their Regional versus Auburn but Dylan Busby’s triple sent the game to extra-innings and now the Seminoles are in pole position to send Mike Martin to Omaha for the 16th time. This is an incredible run for Florida State considering that they were squarely on the bubble when they traveled to Louisville for their final regular season series just three weeks ago.

Sam Houston State is a similar “Cinderella” to Coastal Carolina of a year ago in that the Bearkats have been in Regionals an incredible eight times in the last 11 seasons. Matt Deggs’ club is very offensive so Dick Howser Stadium should be a good venue for them.

The critical matchup looks to be a very lefthanded rotation for Florida State (Tyler Holton, Drew Parrish) versus a Sam Houston State lineup that is dominated by lefthanded and switch-hitters.

Baton Rouge Super Regional
Mississippi State at Louisiana State

There are nothing but hot teams in the Super Regionals yet LSU may be the hottest of the hot. The Tigers went 11-1 in their last four SEC series, then won the SEC Tournament title in Hoover, and then vanquished their home Regional in dominant fashion.

Mississippi State is a team that defies all logic considering they have experienced massive losses to both last year’s draft and a slew of pitching injuries this year. Skipper Andy Cannizaro did not win SEC Coach of the Year (Kentucky’s Nick Mingione) but he has done a miraculous job with the Bulldogs.

With the SEC West Division crown on the line, LSU went to Starkville three weeks ago and overwhelmed Mississippi State with three-game sweep that never seemed in question.

The key to this series is two-fold: can the Bulldogs get Brent Rooker to the plate in meaningful situations and will LSU’s bullpen hold up under Super Regional pressure.

Fort Worth Super Regional
Missouri State at Texas Christian

If it is possible to quietly go to Omaha in four straight seasons, then TCU is on the brink of doing just that. The Horned Frogs seemed to have slipped our collective minds since they have struggled on the mound for most of the season and then lost star Luken Baker to injury.

The Horned Frogs’ pitching shored itself in the Big 12 Tournament and Jim Schlossnagle’s club got outstanding starts from Mitchell Traver, Jared Janczak and Brian Howard in the Regional. The TCU offense also put up 29 runs in those three games.

Missouri State is a veteran club made up mostly of players who were part of the 2015 Super Regional team that was a Top 8 National Seed and came within one game of the College World Series. Head Coach Keith Guttin took this program to Omaha in 2003 and his club is led by a star-studded left side of the infield of third baseman Jake Burger and shortstop Jeremy Eierman.

Lupton Stadium is usually a pitcher-friendly ballpark but it served as a launching pad in the Regional with 15 home runs being hit. This will be a key to watch as Burger and Eierman’s power (combined for 44 home runs) are a huge part of the Bears’ offense.

Gainesville Super Regional
Wake Forest at Florida

Wake Forest’s power-laden offense was on display in the Winston Salem Regional as the Demon Deacons slugged their way through three games. Stuart Fairchild and Gavin Sheets led the way, as has been the case throughout the season.

Bethune-Cookman put a scare into Florida but the Gators rallied to win game seven of the Gainesville Regional. Florida’s offense was somewhat pedestrian and that has been the vulnerability for Kevin O’Sullivan’s club all year.

The interesting matchup here will be the power of Wake Forest (leading the nation with 100 home runs) versus the velocity of the Florida rotation. That said, it may be the other side of the matchup that decides this Super Regional: does Wake Forest have just enough pitching or do the Gators generate just enough offense?

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