- Florida State (39-20, 14-14)
RPI: 10
2017 Season Review
Believe it or not, there was a time this season when it looked like Florida State wasn’t going to make the NCAA Tournament. This is the 40th straight year the Seminoles have made the tournament, which is now the longest streak in the country since Miami missed the cut this year. They started the year 21-15 and dropped out of the top 25. They finished the regular season winning 8-of-10, but even then they were a bubble team for the NCAA Tournament. But then they won four straight in the ACC Baseball Tournament to win the championship. They beat second ranked North Carolina in the finals after being down 3-0 early in the game. They were just 14-16 against the top 50 in the RPI this year, but were 22-18 against the top 100. We’ll see if they stay hot in the NCAA Tournament or revert back to their early season struggles.
Players to Watch
- Dylan Busby: .317, 47 R, 13 HR, 55 RBI
- Jackson Lueck: .312, 34 R, 8 HR, 45 RBI
- Quincy Nieporte: .292, 38 R, 9 HR, 70 RBI
- Tyler Holton: 9-2, 2.43 ERA, 96.1 IP, 119 K
- Drew Carlton: 1.87, 5 SV, 53 IP, 46 K
- Central Florida (40-20, 15-9)
RPI: 22
2017 Season Review
The Knights started the 2017 season going 11-1 with a big win over Florida, but then they lost back-to-back games against Florida State. They cruised through the American Athletic Conference, but lost to eighth seeded East Carolina twice in the conference tournament. They were just 9-9 against the top 50 this year and 22-16 against the top 100. The offense for Central Florida has been solid all year, but their pitching has been lights out with a team ERA of 2.91.
Players to Watch:
- Eli Putnam: .321, 48 R, 8 HR, 39 RBI, 16 SB
- Kyle Marsh: .314, 36 R, 6 HR, 52 RBI
- Rylan Thomas: .305, 44 R, 13 HR, 52 RBI
- Jason Bahr: 2.81 ERA, 57.2 IP, 89 K
- Robby Howell: 10-0, 3.28 ERA, 96 IP, 90 K
- Auburn (35-24, 16-14)
RPI: 45
2017 Season Review
It was quite an eventful year for Auburn baseball. Not much was expected of them, and then they started the season on fire. On April 29 they were 32-14 and 14-7 in the SEC. They were ranked in the top 10 and looked like a potential national host. But then they were swept by Alabama and Florida in back-to-back weekends. Things started to unravel for Auburn baseball, and now they are a three seed in the NCAA Tournament and were one of the last teams in. Still, this is a very good team that has two pitchers who – if healthy – can beat any team in the country. They were 13-12 against the top 50 and 18-15 against the top 100.
Players to Watch
- Jonah Todd: .385, 52 R, 36 RBI
- Daniel Robert: .282, 32 R, 5 HR, 40 RBI, 11 SB
- Casey Mize: 7-2, 1.93 ERA, 74.2 IP, 97 K
- Keegan Thompson: 6-4, 2.43 ERA, 85.1 IP, 66 K
- Tennessee Tech (40-19, 23-7)
RPI: 93
2017 Season Review
The Golden Eagles of Tennessee Tech had an amazing 40-win season out of the Ohio Valley Conference on their way to an OVC Championship. They were 1-0 against the top 50 with a win at Vanderbilt, and they were 2-3 against the top 100. They played one of the worst schedules in the country with an SOS of 274. Tennessee Tech has an explosive offense with a team batting average of .320, but I’m not sure they have the pitching to compete in this regional.
Players to Watch
- Trevor Putzig: .395, 55 R, 6 HR, 51 RBI
- Ryan Flick: .384, 59 R, 18 HR, 70 RBI
- Alex Junior: .324, 66 R, 5 HR, 35 RBI
- Kevin Strohschein: .289, 54 R, 14 HR, 60 RBI
- Ethan Roberts: 3.65 ERA, 13 SV, 44.1 IP, 73 K
Prediction: This regional is kind of hard to predict because I think any of the top three seeds could win this regional. However, I don’t think this is a very powerful regional. I don’t see any of these teams advancing past the super regionals. Florida State is clearly one of the hottest teams in the country, but I’m not sure if they can keep that up in the NCAA Tournament. Auburn’s top two starting pitchers can beat anyone. If the Tigers can get great pitching performances from Thompson and Mize in their first two games, I like their chances to advance. I’m going with the upset and picking Auburn to win the Tallahassee regional.
