- Florida (42-16, 21-9)
RPI: 3
2017 Season Review:
Florida looked like one of the best teams in the country early in the year after sweeping Miami in a 3-game series and then beating Florida State in a mid-week game. But then they opened up SEC play by getting swept at Auburn. However, that would wind up being one of only two SEC series that the Gators dropped this year. They finished the regular season winning 14 of their last 16 games. They won the first two games in the SEC Baseball Tournament, but then had an embarrassing 16-0 loss to Arkansas in the semi-finals. They played the fifth toughest schedule in the country and were 20-12 against the top 50. They were 33-10 against the top 100. This team is poised to head to Omaha. One thing to note, center fielder Ryan Larson was hit in the head with a pitch in the SEC Tournament and is questionable for this weekend’s regional. Larson hit .318 this year and scored 50 runs. That would be a big loss offensively for the Gators.
Players to Watch:
- Nelson Maldonado: .325, 34 R, 6 HR, 28 RBI
- JJ Schwarz: .282, 38 R, 9 HR, 46 RBI
- Jonathan India: .280, 31 R, 6 HR, 30 RBI
- Alex Faedo: 7-2, 2.80 ERA, 96.1 IP, 113 K
- Brady Singer: 7-4, 3.37 ERA, 98.2 IP, 89 K
- Micahel Byrne: 1.84 ERA, 14 SV, 53.2 IP, 61 K
- Jackson Kowar: 11-0, 3.74 ERA, 91.1 IP, 64 K
- South Florida (41-17, 14-10)
RPI: 21
2017 Season Review:
The Bulls started the season with two wins over Iowa, who eventually won the Big 10 Tournament, and a win over Florida State, who eventually won the ACC Tournament. They won 19 of their first 20 games, which is not a bad start to a season. However, they opened up conference play in the American Athletic conference with a series loss to Tulane. Two weeks later they dropped a series to Cincinnati. And they finished the regular season with back-to-back series losses before going 1-2 in the American Athletic Tournament. So while there are some really good wins on their resume – they were 9-7 against the top 50 – there are some questionable losses as well. They did beat Florida in their only meeting this year, so perhaps that gives them some confidence in this regional. Or just adds some fuel to Florida’s fire. I can’t wait to see how that one plays out. The Bulls have an outstanding pitching staff that will have a huge impact on this regional.
Players to Watch
- Kevin Merrell: .386, 46 R, 6 HR, 35 RBI, 18 SB
- Luke Borders: .338, 44 R, 7 HR, 53 RBI
- Peter Strzelecki: 2.42 ERA, 67 IP, 62 K
- Shane McClanahan: 4-2, 3.28 ERA, 74 IP, 104 K
- Phoenix Sanders: 5-2, 3.00 ERA, 90 IP, 102 K
- Joe Cavallaro: 2.40 ERA, 5 SV, 56.1 IP, 75 K
- Andrew Perez: 2.23 ERA, 6 SV, 36.1 IP, 50 K
- Bethune-Cookman (33-23, 15-8)
RPI: 73
2017 Season Review:
The Wildcats started out the year winning four straight games, including three against Boston College and one over Florida Gulf Coast. They also beat Tennessee Tech twice, who would go on to win the OVC championship and make the NCAA Tournament as well. Bethune-Cookman only lost two conference series all year, and both of them came against Florida A&M. The Wildcats got the last laugh though as they beat them in their first game of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament on their way to a championship. They were just 2-6 against the top 50 this year, but 10-13 against the top 100.
Players to Watch
- Adonis Lao: .367, 35 R, 29 RBI
- Jameel Edney: .330, 45 R, 4 HR, 40 RBI
- Danny Rodriguez: .343, 37 R, 11 HR, 45 RBI
- Anthony Maldonado: 8-3, 2.78 ERA, 81 IP, 60 K
- Ivan Coutinho: 3.70 ERA, 7 SV, 28 IP, 27 K
- Marist (32-21, 16-8)
RPI: 109
2017 Season Review
The Red Foxes were not great at the beginning of the season with a 9-7 record before conference play began. But then they dominated the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference winning 7-of-8 conference series. And then they blazed through the MAAC Tournament beating Iona 5-1 in the championship game to punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament. They only played four games against teams in the top 100 of the RPI this year, but were 2-2 in those games. But they also lost 19 games to teams with an RPI of 101 or higher.
Players to Watch
- Frankie Gregoire: .306, 46 R, 9 HR, 41 RBI
- Andrew Rouse: .325, 35 R, 3 HR, 34 RBI
- Tyler Kapuscinski: .331, 42 R
- Scott Boches: 6-5, 2.63 ERA, 85.2 IP, 85 K
- Sean Keenan: 6-0, 2.78 ERA, 87.1 IP, 86 K
- Tony Romanelli: 3.76 ERA, 9 SV, 39 IP, 44 K
Prediction: No offense to Bethune-Cookman and Marist, but this is a 2-man race. And in all honesty, if Florida pitches the way they should, this regional will be a 1-man race. South Florida has the bullets to pull the upset, but I would be pretty shocked if Florida doesn’t advance in this regional. Brady Singer was roughed up by Arkansas in the SEC Baseball Tournament, so we’ll see if that has any effect on him in this regional. But if he’s back to normal, this should be a walk in the park for the Gators who will be looking to get some revenge against South Florida.
