Florida teams set to start NCAA title chase in regionals
Gators, Seminoles lead six Sunshine State teams in field.
OMAHA, NEB. — The NCAA baseball tournament opened Thursday with one regional beginning play, but begins in earnest today. The 16 regional winners advance to super regionals next week, and the final eight go to the College World Series in Omaha beginning June 17. Some of the top story lines: FLORIDA WELL-REPRESENTED: The state has a half-dozen teams in the tournament, led by the Florida Gators (42-16), who are seeded third overall and begin play as the top seed in its own regional and faces fourth-seeded Marist (32-21) at 7 tonight. The two other Gainesville Regional teams are also Florida schools, with second-seeded USF (4117) facing third-seeded Bethune-Cookman (33-23) at 1 p.m. today. After an impressive turnaround to its season, Florida State (39-20) earned the right to host a regional and the top-seeded Seminoles will face fourth-seeded Tennessee Tech (40-19) at 6 tonight. The regional opens with second-seeded UCF (4020) meeting third-seeded Auburn (35-24) at noon today. Florida Gulf Coast (42-18) earned the No. 2 seed in Chapel Hill, N.C., and will face third-seeded Michigan (42-15) at 1 p.m. today. WELCOME TO THE PARTY: FGCU and Davidson (32-24) are in the tournament for the first time, and both are playing in the Chapel Hill Regional. FGSU’s athletic program became a full Division I member in 2011, and the Eagles’ highest-profile baseball player is Boston Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale (2008-10). Davidson has been playing baseball for 115 years and has had four straight winning seasons among six since Dick Cooke took over as coach in 1991. WHO’S HOT: No. 1 national seed Oregon State (49-4) has won 16 consecutive games, including Pac-12 sweeps over California, Oregon and Washington State. No. 4 LSU (43-17) has won 11 in a row and outscored Missouri, Kentucky, South Carolina and Arkansas 35-5 while winning the SEC Tournament. No. 8 Stanford (40-14) went into its game against Sacramento State on Thursday night with wins in 21 of 23. WHO’S NOT: Clemson (39-19) was awarded a home regional despite having lost to Duke and Virginia in the ACC Tournament, seven of its past nine and 11 of 16. Auburn (35-24) started May by getting swept at home by Alabama, the worst team in the SEC, and finished the month 3-10. Texas A&M (36-21) has dropped eight of 10. UCF vs. Auburn, noon Florida State vs. Tennessee Tech, 6 p.m. FGCU vs. Michigan, 1 p.m.
FEELING A DRAFT: The tournament is loaded with prospective firstround draft picks as rated by Baseball America: Louisville pitcher-first baseman Brendan McKay; pitchers Alex Faedo of Florida, Kyle Wright of Vanderbilt, J.B. Bukauskas of North Carolina, Griffin Canning of UCLA, Luke Heimlich of Oregon State and Alex Lange of LSU; first baseman Pavin Smith (a former Palm Beach Gardens standout) and outfielder Adam Haseley, both of Virginia; outfielder Jeren Kendall of Vanderbilt; first baseman Evan White of Kentucky; third baseman Jake Burger of Missouri State; and shortstop Logan Warmoth and outfielder Brian Miller, both of North Carolina. TOP GUNS: SEC player of the year Brent Rooker of Mississippi State has a .404 batting average, highest in the tournament, with 21 home runs, a school-record 29 doubles and 76 RBIs. Big Ten player of the year Jake Adams of Iowa is the national co-leader in home runs with 27; no player has hit more since Kris Bryant had 31 for San Diego in 2013. UNC-Greensboro’s Caleb Webster is batting .397, best by a freshman by 21 points. Wake Forest’s Gavin Sheets has 79 RBIs, most in the tournament, and 20 homers. MAKING THEIR PITCH: Oregon State owns a nation-leading ERA of 1.84, more than a half-run better than the No. 2 team. The Beavers are on track to become the second team in 25 years to have a sub-2.00 ERA. The other was Arkansas (1.89) in 2013. The Beavers’ Heimlich (0.81) and Jake Thompson (1.31) are first and third in ERA, and Thompson (12-0) is first in victories. THESE CAVS DON’T FAN: Virginia’s Ernie Clement and Smith are the two best batters in the country when it comes to avoiding the strikeout. Clement has struck out seven times in 244 at-bats and Smith nine times in 217. Clement’s one strikeout per 34.9 at-bats is the best since Bobby Ison of Charleston Southern struck out once every 38.3 in 2014. NO TITLE DEFENSE: Coastal Carolina failed to make the tournament, meaning the championship will change hands for the sixth consecutive year. Fifteen of the 28 programs that have won national titles are in the field.