Hattiesburg Regional
- Southern Miss (48-14, 25-5)
RPI: 11
2017 Season Review:
The Golden Eagles started the season winning seven of their first eight games, but then dropped a series to UL-Lafayette. It was one of only two weekend series they lost all year. They finished the regular season winning 14 straight games, but then lost the first game of the CUSA Baseball Tournament. Southern Miss then won four straight games to reach the tournament championship game, but lost to Rice by one run after leading twice in the game. Southern Miss was 11-6 against the top 50 in RPI, and were 26-12 against the top 100. They possess one of the best offenses in the country hitting .311 as a team.
Players to Watch:
- Dylan Burdeaux: .348, 64 R, 11 HR, 68 RBI, 20 SB
- Matt Wallner: .345, 53 R, 19 HR, 61 RBI
- Mason Irby: .343, 58, 40 RBI
- Taylor Braley: .317, 16 HR, 59 RBI
- Kirk McCarty: 10-2, 2.96, 91.1 IP, 96 K
- Nick Sandlin: 10-1, 2.16 ERA, 7 SV, 50 IP, 72 K
- Mississippi State (36-24, 17-13)
RPI: 28
2017 Season Review:
It was a very slow start to the season for Mississippi State as they were just 12-10 in their first 22 games, including a loss to Southern Miss. Things started clicking after that as they won seven in a row and five straight SEC series. However, they ended the regular season on a bad not losing their last two series and five of their last six games. They won their first two games in the SEC Baseball Tournament, but blew a 3-run lead in the eighth inning against Florida in the third game before being eliminated by Arkansas. Brent Rooker, the best player in college baseball this year, leads a solid offensive attack for Mississippi State. Their pitching is not what it has been in the past, but they have some great arms coming out of the bullpen in Spencer Price and Riley Self.
Players to Watch:
- Brent Rooker: .404, 53 R, 21 HR, 76 RBI, 18 SB
- Ryan Gridley: .328, 44 R, 6 HR, 38 RBI
- Jake Mangum: .324, 49 R, 11 SB
- Spencer Price: 2.45 ERA, 14 SV, 29.1 IP, 39 K
- Riley Self: 3.89 ERA, 6 SV, 44 IP, 58 K
- Konnor Pilkington: 7-5, 3.13 ERA, 95 IP, 98 K
- South Alabama (39-19, 22-8)
RPI: 30
2017 Season Review:
The Jaguars played a very difficult schedule in 2017 with a strength of schedule of 26. They hope that strength will give them confidence in a very difficult regional with three teams in the top 30 in the RPI. However, they were just 3-10 against the top 50 this year, and 8-16 against the top 100. They actually played Mississippi State three times this year and lost twice. They also lost both matchups against Southern Miss this year. So they can’t have much confidence against the top two seeds in this regional. They did finish the season winning 19 of their last 23 games on their way to a Sun Belt Tournament championship. They will likely be without catcher Jared Barnes who was hitting .320 with 13 home runs and 50 RBI before injuring his finger on May 20. At the time it was thought Barnes would be out for three weeks. If he’s able to come back for the regionals it would be huge boost for the Jaguars.
Players to Watch:
- Travis Swaggerty: .361, 54 R, 10 HR, 56 RBI, 19 SB
- Dylan Hardy: .358, 51 R, 4 HR, 28 RBI, 18 SB
- Brendan Donovan: .338, 49 R, 9 HR, 46 RBI
- Randy Bell: 6-3, 3.75 ERA, 98.1 IP, 93 K
- Matt Peacock: 2.88 ERA, 10 SV, 50 IP, 55 K
- Illinois Chicago (38-15, 22-8)
RPI: 99
2017 Season Review
The Flames of UIC did not start the season on fire going just 4-6 in the first 10 games, but then went 24-2 over their next 26. Their strength of schedule was terrible at 252, but they were 2-1 against the top 50 as they took 2-of-3 from Vanderbilt early in the season. They were 8-7 against the top 100, so they’ve at least proven they can hold their own against the best in the country. After losing 2-of-3 against Wright State to end the regular season, UIC defeated them twice in the Horizon League Baseball Tournament to win the championship. They are solid offensively, but rely heavily on their pitching staff, which has nine pitchers that have thrown at least 20 innings and have an ERA under four.
Players to Watch:
- Rob Calabrese: .357, 44 R, 7 HR, 48 RBI
- David Cronin: .320, 49 R, 6 HR, 31 RBI, 14 SB
- Cody Bohanek: .302, 42 R, 7 HR, 46 RBI
- Jake Dahlberg: 10-2, 2.09 ERA, 99 IP, 75 K
- Reid Birlingmair: 7-4, 2.75 ERA, 88.1 IP, 74 K
- Alex Padilla: 0.49 ERA, 10 SV, 37 IP, 32 K
Prediction: This is a really difficult regional with three teams in the top 30 that could all win this regional, and then another team in UIC that has the pitching to hold down any offense. Southern Miss really drew the short straw with the teams they sent to Hattiesburg. The only thing that scares me about the Golden Eagles is that they don’t have a shutdown pitcher. However, their offense is going to play against anyone. In the end, this one should come down to Southern Miss and Mississippi State. Southern Miss beat South Alabama twice this year and Mississippi State in their only matchup with the Bulldogs. I trust the Golden Eagles offense will get the job done once these teams run out of pitching. As long as Southern Miss doesn’t lose their first two games against a team’s ace, they should be good.
