By STEPHEN KERKHOF
FoxSportsFlorida.com Contributor
June 16, 2010
The 2010 College World Series is now set and all eight tickets have been punched. The last teams teams to play in the fabled Rosenblatt Stadium are Florida and South Carolina from the SEC, Florida State and Clemson from the ACC, Arizona State and UCLA from the PAC-10, Oklahoma from the BIG XII and TCU representing the Mountain West Conference.
This year's field features a few surprises, with only three of the top eight national seeds remaining in the Tournament. Even with some top seeds falling, Clemson is the only team that was not a No. 1 seed in their region. As a No. 2 seed, the Tigers had to win their Regional on the road in Auburn, and then took two straight elimination games to win a hard-fought Super Regional after dropping the first against Alabama.
Notably missing from the pack heading to Rosenblatt are last year's championship series participants, Texas and LSU. This season will mark just the fourth time since 2000 that at least one of these two powerhouse programs will not make the trip to Omaha.
Here's a look at the final eight teams remaining:
ARIZONA STATE
The top-seeded Sun Devils will be making their 22nd all-time appearance at the College World Series, and fourth since 2005. They are 52-8 on the season and come to Omaha a perfect 5-0 in postseason play after defeating Arkansas in back-to-back 12 inning games in the Tempe Super Regional. They will start the weekend as the favorite to win the CWS, and for good reason -- they hit, they pitch and they field.
Of the eight remaining ball clubs, they rank second in team batting average (.338), team ERA (3.14), and team fielding percentage (.976), making them easily the most complete team in Omaha, if not the country. This is also an experienced group, with 15 members on this year's team making return trips to the CWS.
The offense is lead by sophomore 1B and cleanup hitter Riccio Torrez, who leads the team with a .399 average and 91 hits to go with 10 homers and 53 RBI. He scored twice and drove in two runs in the team's Super Regional-clinching victory over Arkansas. The ASU lineup is multi-dimensional and deep, with a strong mix of contact and power hitters. They have also stolen a total of 134 bases on the year to lead the field.
Their pitching is equally impressive. Undefeated starter Seth Blair anchors the staff at 12-0 with a 3.35 ERA and 104 strikeouts in 102 innings. Recent second-round draft pick Jordan Swagerty is nearly lights-out coming out of the Sun Devil pen with 14 saves on the campaign and 46 K's in 35 innings. ASU will try to break a trend, as no top seed has won in Omaha since Miami accomplished the feat in 1999.
CLEMSON
Clemson will arrive at the CWS having truly been tested this postseason. The Tigers have faced elimination in both rounds of the Tournament thus far, and have responded with big wins over quality SEC opponents.
After losing Game 1 of the Super Regional round to Alabama, Clemson went on to defeat the Crimson Tide by a total of 27-11 in back-to-back contests in order to make their 12th trip to the CWS.
At 43-23 they are the lowest seed in the bracket and will have their work cut out for them, facing Arizona State to start their playoff. The offense relies on the long ball, combining to hit a total of 93 round trippers on the season. Junior Kyle Parker and redshirt sophomore John Hinson lead the way with 20 and 17 homers, respectively.
The Tigers lead the field with 584 runs on the year, and will rely heavily on the offense in Omaha, as the pitching staff has combined for a 4.72 team ERA, the highest in the field. Lefty Casey Harman leads all starters with a 3.73 ERA to go with a 7-3 record.
FLORIDA
Florida returns to the CWS for the first time since appearing in the championship series in 2005. The No. 3 national seed is still undefeated in the tournament after sweeping through the Gainesville Regional and eliminating in-state rival Miami for the second consecutive season. With only one of the team's five postseason contests being close, the Gators have shown flashes of dominance, outscoring opponents 43-10 on their 5-game winning steak.
UF has relied on pitching and defense this year to get them to this point. Starters Alex Panteliodis (11-2, 3.26), Hudson Randall (8-3, 2.95), and Brian Johnson (6-4, 3.97) are all solid options, and have gotten better as the season has progressed. Junior Kevin Chapman won the closer job early in the campaign. Champan has racked up 11 saves and boasts a 1.48 ERA to go with 43 strikeouts in 42.2 innings pitched.
The Florida defense has been outstanding, leading the SEC and CWS field with a .978 fielding percentage. The offense is timely rather than overpowering. Senior CF Matt den Dekker leads the team in average (.358), hits (86), and stolen bases (23). Freshman All-America 3B Austin Maddox provides the thump in the lineup with 17 homers and 71 RBI. Freshman LHP Brian Johnson often doubles as the team's DH and should be a player to keep an eye on. In 80 at-bats he his hitting .413 with 4 homers, including a grand slam in a Regional game against FAU, that he also started on the mound, on his way to being named the Region's Most Outstanding Player.
The biggest question mark surrounding the Gators is their youth, but it has not been an issue so far, as the youngsters have consistently contributed.
FLORIDA STATE
FSU coach Mike Martin is no stranger to postseason play, making his 31st consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The 2010 version of the FSU baseball team is not the strongest in his tenure, but it is certainly capable of making some noise.
The team is lead by their offense. Junior CF Tyler Holt is the spark plug. The leadoff hitter tops the team with a .352 batting average, 82 runs, 86 hits, 26 doubles, 30 stolen bases and has also chipped in 12 home runs and 46 RBI from his spot atop the lineup. Sophomore and former walk-on Sherman Johnson has had a very strong showing in the postseason, including a four RBI performance against Vanderbilt in the Super Regional. The club will go as far as Holt and Johnson, the one and two hitters in the lineup, can take them.
The pitching staff has been inconsistent this season. Recent strong performances from Sophomore southpaw Sean Gilmartin has shored up the starting rotation a bit, but the 'Noles have struggled to find reliable starters behind him. OF Mike McGee doubles as the team's closer and has been phenomenal in that role. He has 12 saves on the year and a 1.37 ERA.
If Florida State can get McGee the ball with the lead at the end of a game, his fastball-slider combo is nearly guaranteed to nail down the W.
OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma had their work cut out for them, having to travel to Charlottesville, VA for their Super Regional to face Virginia, a team that spent much of the year at No. 1 in the national polls. After dropping Game 1 by a score of 3-2, the Sooners bats came to life, combining to score 21 runs in two games to get past UVA.
OU does not overwhelm opponents, but play solid in all facets of the game. The team hit a respectable .312 on the year and have a team ERA of 3.79 along with a .976 fielding percentage. OF Cody Reine comes into Omaha swinging a red-hot bat. In his last two games the sophomore is 5-for-8 with four runs, 11 RBI and four home runs. Slugger Garret Buechele is the leader of the offense with a .371 average and 16 long balls to his credit.
The pitching staff is led by starter Bobby Shore who turned in eight scoreless innings to eliminate UVA and send the Sooners to the CWS. The Sooner bullpen has a number of strong options, including closer Ryan Duke, who has 11 saves on the year and 37 K's in 34.1 innings pitched.
SOUTH CAROLINA
South Carolina advanced to the CWS after a pair of 1-run wins against in-state rival and No. 4 national seed Coastal Carolina. The Gamecocks finished the season with a 21-9 record in the stacked SEC, and have shown a knack for winning close ball games.
Senior RHP and first-team All-SEC performer Blake Cooper heads up the pitching staff. Cooper finished the season with 2.81 ERA and a 12-1 record, with his only loss coming at the hands of conference rival Florida. He is an innings-eater and a bonafide ace.
South Carolina does not, however, have a very deep starting staff. No. 2 starter Sam Dyson is just 5-5 on the year in 16 starts and has an ERA of 4.35. SC has experimented with a number of other starters, all achieving various levels of success. They are strong at the back end of pen, with strikeout artist Matt Price totaling 68 K's in 48 innings and 10 saves.
The offense is strongest at the top with Whit Merrifield and Jackie Bradley Jr. hitting in the two and three spots in the lineup. Bradley leads the team with a .371 average, while Merrifield has recorded 70 runs and 86 hits. The offense has no overwhelming power hitter, but does have pop throughout the lineup with nine hitters reaching at least seven home runs on the year.
TCU
In the biggest surprise of the tournament, TCU knocked off defending runner-up Texas at the Austin Super Regional, to earn the program's first ever trip to the College World Series.
After sweeping through the Regional round, TCU's Super Regional performance was all over the place. After taking the first game 3-1, the Horned Frogs were blown out in Game 2 14-1. TCU responded in Game 3, however, again holding the Texas offense to just one run in a 4-1 win.
As they have done for most of the season, TCU relied on the strong performances of their pitchers to carry them to victory. Starters Steven Maxwell (11-2, 2.41), Kyle Winkler (12-1, 2.84), and Matt Purke (14-0, 3.23) have all carried momentum into the NCAA Tournament. All three have at least one postseason win, and Purke and Winkler each had dominant performances last weekend over Texas. The numbers from the pen are not as good, however, the strength of their starters should keep TCU in almost every game they play.
The offense has been impressive, hitting a CWS leading .340 on the season. Jason Coats (.373 average) and Matt Curry (17 home runs) are the offensive leaders. TCU has performed very well on the road this season, finishing 21-7 - something to keep in mind as teams travel to Omaha to begin play Saturday.
UCLA
The UCLA Bruins stormed onto the scene in 2010, winning their first 23 games, en route to a 48-14 overall mark.
It does not take more than a glance at the Bruin's stat sheet to realize they boast one of the strongest pitching staffs in all of college baseball with a team ERA at an anemic 2.97. All four pitchers that have recorded a start for the Bruins have an ERA at 3.25 or lower, making it tough going for opposing hitters. The top three starters each strikeout more than a batter per inning pitched.
As a team, UCLA has given up more than three runs in just one game this postseason. In his last start junior lefty Rob Rasmussen (11-2, 2.73) threw a complete game 2-hitter, tossing hooks that looked like something out of Barry Zito's repertoire.
Although led by their hurlers, UCLA features a more than capable offense that has posted a .307 batting average. The Bruins lack much power with just 61 home runs on the year, but they should not need to put many runs on the board to be competitive.
Unfortunately for UCLA, they will be without starting 2B, Tyler Rahmatulla for the CWS, after a freak injury during a celebratory dogpile led to a broken wrist. Rahmatulla forced a Game 3 in the Super Regional, with a two-out, two-run homer in Game 2 to send the game into extra innings. UCLA went on to win 11-7 in 10 innings.
PREDICTION
The 2010 College World Series features an interesting mix of playing styles. Clemson, Florida State and Oklahoma will look to out-slug opponents, while the rest rely on pitching or more all-around efforts to win games.
Florida looks poised to claim the top half of the bracket. Their pitching has been dominant thus far in the postseason, and their offense has been peaking at the right time. Once a liability, the freshmen on the Gator roster shouldn't hurt them too much. Let's face it, it's June, and freshmen aren't freshman anymore.
Don't be surprised if Arizona State sweeps right through the bottom half of the bracket. The equation is simple: The Sun Devils are better than almost every team in the field at nearly every facet of the game. Despite Oklahoma, Clemson and South Carolina's best efforts, nothing should keep Arizona State out of the championship.
In the championship series, the Gators should be able to steal a game and force a deciding Game 3, but as the sun sets on the College World Series at Rosenblatt Stadium for the final time, the Arizona State Sun Devils will be seen in a dogpile on the pitcher's mound celebrating the school's sixth national title.
