COLLEGE BASEBALL 2008
Weekly Wrap-Up
May 27, 2008

By Jeff Simpson

The 64-team NCAA tournament field is set with Miami (47-8), PG Crosschecker’s No. 1-ranked team for the last eight weeks, claiming the No. 1 national seed. The Hurricanes ran through the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament by going undefeated in pool play, before knocking off Virginia 8-4 in championship game.

Junior outfielder Dave Dinatale (.309-9-43) earned tournament MVP honors, while freshman lefthander Chris Hernandez (11-0, 2.44) was again outstanding in his one start, going eight scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts and no walks in a 7-1 victory over Clemson.

Junior first baseman Yonder Alonso (.380-21-66) leads a Hurricanes offense that arguably drew one of the toughest regional fields in the country, with No. 24 Missouri (38-19) and No. 31 Mississippi (37-24) making their way this weekend to Coral Gables.

Speaking of difficult regionals, you won’t find a more challenging one than what No. 11 Long Beach State (37-19) faces. The 49ers were done no favors by the NCAA selection committee after winning the Big West Conference regular-season title last weekend over arch-rival Cal State Fullerton. Both those schools will host regionals, but Long Beach State may have ended up with the toughest No. 2 seed overall, No. 8 San Diego (41-15), the West Coast Conference champion, and the toughest No. 4 seed in Fresno State (37-27), the Western Athletic Conference champion. No. 22 California (33-19-2), which was in the Top 25 all year, also is in that region as the No. 3 seed.

The 49ers may have caught a break, though, as they will not face Fresno State righthander Tanner Scheppers (8-2, 2.93), who suffered a shoulder injury two weeks and is lost for the season. He was projected to go in the first 10 picks of next month’s draft. Senior righthander Andrew Liebel (8-3, 1.81) leads a 49ers pitching staff that has a team ERA of 3.14, and will likely draw the opening-game assignment.

Another regional to keep a close eye on is at Ann Arbor, Mich., where No. 10 Michigan (45-12) will host but No. 14 Arizona (38-17) is the top seed. Not only were the Wolverines, the Big 10 champion, handed a No. 2 seed but they were not done any favors with No. 28 Kentucky (42-17) as their opening opponent. The winner of the regional will take on the winner of the Coral Gables, Fla., regional, featuring Miami.

That could present an interesting potential Super Regional showdown a week later as Arizona, which began the 2008 season ranked No. 1 in the PG Crosschecker top 50 rankings, could take on the current No. 1 team.

No. 6 Oklahoma State (42-16) is probably the most deserving school that did not receive a Top 8 national seed. The Cowboys also drew a potentially very tough Super Regional opponent in No. 3 Florida State (47-11). Oklahoma State features one of the top offenses in the entire tournament with a .330 team batting average, but also has one of the top starters in the country in sophomore lefthander Andrew Oliver. (7-2, 2.20)

While some regionals look unfairly stacked, a few appear noticeably weaker than others, including those at College Station, Texas (Texas A&M), and Baton Rouge, La. (LSU). No. 12 Texas A&M (43-16) struggled down the stretch, but drew a relatively-light second-seed in No. 48 Dallas Baptist (37-17). No. 34 Houston (39-22), the Conference USA champion, is that region’s No. 3 seed.

The one most surprising team that found its way into the tournament was Oklahoma (34-24-1). The Sooners finished eighth in Big 12 regular-season play with a 9-17-1 conference record, giving two-time defending champion Oregon State (28-24), No. 38 Cincinnati (39-20) and No. 41 Missouri State (40-17), among others, reason to question the judgment of the selection committee. Despite a subpar overall record, the Beavers played an exceptionally strong schedule and took weekend series from Arizona State, Georgia, Arizona, Pepperdine and UCLA.

No. 37 Louisville (41-19) and No. 44 James Madison (38-17) both entered the PG Crosschecker Top 50 rankings this week after claiming conference-tournament titles. Both schools were on the bubble heading into their tournaments. Texas-San Antonio and Canisius both fell out of the rankings this week.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Conor Gillaspie, 3b, Wichita State. Gillaspie had a huge weekend with the bat in leading the Shockers to their 16^th Missouri Valley Conference title. He went 9-for-13 (.692) with three home runs and 12 RBIs. Gillaspie (.421-10-77) continues to put up All-American-type numbers and has a chance of being selected in the first round of the draft. The 16^th-ranked Shockers (44-15) drew one of the toughest draws in the tournament with Oklahoma State and No. 19 Texas Christian (43-17) in their regional.

PITCHER OF THE WEEK: Matt Harvey, rhp, North Carolina. Rated the top freshman to enter college in 2008, Harvey showed what opposing teams are in for over the next two years. In a 2-0 victory over Wake Forest at the ACC tournament, Harvey went eight scoreless innings, allowing only two hits with one walk, while striking out 13. Harvey improved his numbers to 7-2, 2.50 on the year. In 58 innings of work, he has allowed just 45 hits, while striking out 71. With one of the top pitching staffs in the country, the No. 2-ranked Tar Heels (46-12) will be looking to make their third consecutive trip to Omaha. They earned a regional-host bid at their temporary home at the USA Baseball headquarters in Cary, N.C.

TEAM OF THE WEEK: Louisiana State. Last week it was 16 straight wins; now it’s a record 20 straight wins for the surging Tigers, who won the SEC tournament over the weekend. The Tigers went undefeated, knocking off No. 30 South Carolina (38-21), No. 26 Vanderbilt (40-20), No. 40 Alabama (34-26) and No. 31 Mississippi. (37-24). Sophomore outfielder Blake Dean (.346-16-57) claimed tournament MVP honors after going 7-for-16 (.438) with three homers and nine RBIs.

While the Tigers may still have something to prove by getting only a No. 7 national seed, they shouldn’t have reason to complain with their regional draw. Along with Texas A&M, the Tigers may have the easiest road to the Super Regionals with No. 49 Southern Miss (40-20), unranked New Orleans (42-19) and lowly Texas Southern (16-32) making up the field.

Full Rankings can be found at www.pgcrosschecker.com.