Baton Rouge Super Regional: LSU vs. Stony Brook

Baseball America's Aaron Fitt prediction in January:

Who is the team not currently in the top 25 that could potentially surprise in college baseball?

Aaron Fitt: I'll go with Stony Brook. I honestly will not be shocked if the Seawolves win a regional. Travis Jankowski is the best player in the North, and maybe the best all-around outfielder in college baseball, and they've got a lot more than just him. Willie Carmona is a valuable two-way guy, Maxx Tissenbaum and Pat Cantwell are really good players at up-the-middle spots, and Tyler Johnson-Brandon McNitt should be a real nice one-two punch on the mound. Stony Brook guys were pretty outstanding all around the Cape last summer — they're not intimidated by quality competition.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/chat/2012/2612859.html

 

You're right. We have no chance. They'll kill us.

 

Good info, either way.

 

Never implied they would. I simply stated a blinding flash of the obvious.

 

forecast for this weekend is currently cloudy with a few thunder storms

I hope the weather this weekend is how it was all afternoon and evening today...it was so cloudy and overcast that it seemed like it was evening during the day, which would be perfect

also, the cloudy sky made it nice and cool, which will keep our fans comfortable in the Box

and there was a good bit of lightning here and there, which would be perfect for delaying our games until evening

 

Stony Brook better not wear any underwear with the humidity, it might stick to their legs.

"Dem yankees can't handle da heat. Let em come on down da bayou."

 

Katz on how he went 1-die-11 in the Baton Rouge Regional:

"It was just a bad weekend," Katz said.
"Baseball players go through that type of
thing. I'm a veteran player. I'll learn from
it, brush it back and go to a new week.
"I'll go in the cages, work as hard as I
can, fix my swing up and get back right
on track. That's the sign of a really good
team, when the three-hole hitter can go
1-for-God knows what I went, and strike
out seven times and you win three games
in a row."

 

No underwear??? No way !!!

I'd be tripping and falling all the time...

 

three of the polls released a new Top 25 this week. compare how the Super Regional teams did to their preseason Top 25 rankings above

#1.7 -- #1/#1/#3 Florida
#3.0t -- #1/#2/#6 LSU (SEC regular-season champion)
#3.0t -- #2/#3/#4 Florida State (ACC regular-season champion)
#4.7t -- #4/#4/#6 UCLA (Pac 12 regular-season co-champion)
#4.7t -- #2/#5/#7 South Carolina
#4.7t -- #3/#5/#6 Baylor (Big 12 regular-season champion)
#7.0 -- #5/#7/#9 Arizona (Pac 12 regular-season co-champion)
#8.0 -- #8/#8/#8 Oregon
#8.3 -- #7/#9/#9 Stanford
#10.3 -- #10/#10/#11 NC State
#11.0 -- #10/#11/#12 Arkansas
#13.3 -- #12/#13/#15 Oklahoma
#13.7 -- #11/#15/#15 TCU (Mountain West regular-season co-champion)
#16.7 -- #14/#16/#20 St John's (Big East regular-season co-champion)
#18.0t -- #16/#18/#20 Stony Brook (America East regular-season champion)
#18.0t -- #13/#19/#22 Kent State (MAC regular-season champion)

and here are their current win percentages:

.806 -- Stony Brook
.763 -- UCLA
.762 -- Baylor
.754 -- Florida State
.742 -- LSU
.726 -- Oregon
.721 -- Kent State
.719 -- Stanford
.717 -- South Carolina
.714 -- Florida
.707 -- Arizona
.705 -- NC State
.689 -- Arkansas
.667 -- TCU
.656 -- St. John's
.646 -- Oklahoma

 

here are the highlights from the Perfect Game article about them:

Starting Pitching
Stony Brook has a very solid ace pitcher in Tyler Johnson, who has a 2.13 ERA in 88 2/3 innings of work. Also keep an eye on Brandon McNitt, who has a 2.69 ERA in 93 2/3 innings of work, and No. 3 starter Evan Stecko-Haley, who has a 3.47 ERA in 80 1/3 innings. SBU doesn't have a starting pitcher with an opponent batting average higher than .255. That could be good news for Stony Brook as the Baton Rouge Super Regional nears.

Bullpen
Stony Brook possesses some very quality arms out of the bullpen. Frankie Vanderka is having a very solid campaign for the Seawolves, tallying a 2.28 ERA in 55 1/3 innings of work, with opponents hitting him at just a .176 clip. Meanwhile, SBU relied heavily last weekend on James Campbell (2.92, 52 1/3 IP) and Joshua Mason (3.34, 35 IP), while Jasvir Rakkar, who started and relieved last weekend, has a 3.72 ERA in 46 innings. The Seawolves have some very quality arms worth watching.

Offense
Any coach that played Stony Brook in the Coral Gable Regional last weekend will tell you the Seawolves have an explosive offense. This is a very potent offensive lineup, and it's one that could cause LSU pitchers some headaches throughout the weekend. Stony Brook enters the weekend hitting .336 as a club with a .417 on-base percentage. Leading the way is outfielder Travis Jankowski, who was a first-round supplemental pick to the San Diego Padres. Jankowski made a name for himself last summer, but followed that up with a strong spring, entering the series hitting .417 with 17 doubles, 10 triples, five homers and 46 RBIs. He also has a fantastic .484 OBP. Also worth noting about the athletic Jankowski is that he's 36-for-42 in stolen bases this season. Third baseman William Carmona, an 11th-round pick to the Phillies, is hitting .393 with 23 doubles, seven triples, 12 homers and 70 RBIs, while second baseman Maxx Tissenbaum, an 11th-round pick to the Padres, is hitting .390 with 18 doubles, three homers and 48 RBIs. Third baseman William Carmona, an 11th-round pick to the Phillies, is hitting .393 with 23 doubles, seven triples, 12 homers and 70 RBIs, while second baseman Maxx Tissenbaum, an 11th-round pick to the Padres, is hitting .390 with 18 doubles, three homers and 48 RBIs.

Defense
Stony Brook is a very crisp club from a defensive standpoint, sitting pretty with a fielding percentages of .979. Outfielder Travis Jankowski commands his area in impressive fashion, while the Seawolves have a very solid catcher in Pat Cantwell. Cantwell has been very stable behind the plate and makes very few mistakes. He's considered a catcher with very solid catch-and-throw skills. He also displays impressive leadership qualities.

Intangibles
Stony Brook, to say the least, has absolutely no pressure entering the weekend Super Regional vs. LSU. In the eyes of most, the Seawolves weren't expected to be in this position, playing for a College World Series appearance. Therefore, this is a club that should enter the weekend confident and loose.