Mainieri is 7-4 all-time (.636) in Super Regionals 2012 (LSU) Stony Brook (L 1-2) 2009 (LSU) Rice (W 2-0) 2008 (LSU) UC Irvine (W 2-1) 2002 (Notre Dame) Florida State (W 2-1) -- FSU was ranked #1, the #1 national seed, ACC Champs and ACC Tourney Champs
--10 of the 16 teams in the "Sweet 16" are looking to win their school's first ever national title in baseball (all but LSU, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Rice, Oregon State, Cal State Fullerton) --LSU vs Oklahoma is clearly the most prestigious Super Regional match-up of 2013... CWS Appearances 15 -- LSU (86, 87, 89, 90, 91, 93, 94, 96, 97, 98, 00, 03, 04, 08, 09) 10 -- Oklahoma (51, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 92, 94, 95, 10) 11 -- South Carolina (75, 77, 81, 82, 85, 02, 03, 04, 10, 11, 12) 9 -- North Carolina (60, 66, 78, 89, 06, 07, 08, 09, 11) 16 -- Cal St. Fullerton (75, 79, 82, 84, 88, 90, 92, 94, 95, 99, 01, 03, 04, 06, 07, 09) 4 -- UCLA (69, 97, 10, 12) 8 -- Miss State (71, 79, 81, 85, 90, 97, 98, 07) 2 -- Virginia (09, 11) 7 -- Rice (97, 99, 02, 03, 06, 07, 08) 1 -- North Carolina St. (1968) 4 -- Oregon State (52, 05, 06, 07) 0 -- K State 21 -- Florida State (57,62,63,65,70,75,80,86,87,89,91,92,94,95,96,98,99,00,08,10,12) 0 -- Indiana 1 -- Vanderbilt (2011) 1 -- Louisville (2007)
it's not just Gray, Overton (who was originally their Friday ace this season) could easily be a 1st Round pick as well. basically, Overton is arguably the best "crafty lefty" available in the Draft Projection: Overton shows an above-average ability to pound the zone with the ability to miss some bats. And he could very easily slide into the bottom half of the first round as the second or third best collegiate southpaw behind Indiana State’s Sean Manaea and potentially Gonzaga’s Marco Gonzales. Overton won’t be a star, but he’s the kind of pitcher that could carve out a long career as a crafty lefty in the back half of a big league rotation. Draft Profile: Dillon Overton is one of several college lefties vying for the back half of the first round in 2013. ... Although he doesn't the upper-90s heat of a dominator or the huge physical projection to make scouts drool, Overton's overall package is attractive and should get him play as a "safe" pick, a guy who projects as a back-of-the-rotation strike thrower with an easy risk profile, who can move quickly through a minor league system and provide a fast return on investment. what people are saying about OU's 1-2 punch on the mound: Lee Rittenberg @lritt504 14h --Big time ballgame. #OU is going to run over #LSU with Jon Gray and Dillon Overton. #BoomerSooner #SoonerNation --Jonathan Gray and Dillon Overton are going to dominate LSU's hitters. #Sooners are too good. #Boomer Bradley Shelly @b_radley13 2 Jun --OU baseball has been killing lately. Like our chances against LSU with Gray and Overton on the bump in a best of 3. Doug Mouton @DMoutonWWL 2 Jun --Sooners have 2 pitchers rated in first 2 rounds of MLB Draft, Jonathan Gray and Dillon Overton. Todd Miller @PlayByPlayGuy1 2 Jun --OU won't be the favorite at LSU in the Super Regional but I will take my chances rolling out Gray and Overton in a best of 3 series Chandler Rome @Rome_Chandler 2 Jun --Completely looking ahead, but if there's a better pitching duo in the country than OU's Gray & Overton, I'd like to see. Could come to #LSU Eric Bailey @EricBaileyTW 2 Jun --Gotta feel good with Gray, Overton starting in first two games. Jake Trotter @Jake_Trotter 2 Jun --OU is not a team you want to face in a Super Regional with Gray and Overton pitching 2 of the games. Forrest Scott @foscott 1 Jun --This Gray Overton combo is deadly for the Sooners! Gonna make them insanely tough to beat #OklahOMAHA ChasingOmaha.com @ChasingOmaha 31 May --Gray and Overton are possibly the best one-two punch in the country. Jake Rood @jockstrap_rood 29 May --Oklahoma has got too tough of pitching for LSU to get pass them. Best 1-2 rotation in country Eddie Radosevich @Eddie_Rado --OU will ride Gray/Overton. They go as far as those two will let them. --with Gray/Overton on the mound they'll be able to compete with anyone in the country. --Golloway on Overton/Jonathan Gray: 'It's about as good as any 1-2 punch in the country' MAF News @MAFNews --Gray, Overton give Sooners distinct advantage each weekend Kyle Peterson @KP_Omaha --OU will match up with anybody on the mound, Gray and Overton have impressed as has Adam Choplick. "The anchors of arguably college baseball's best starting staff Jonathan Gray, Jake Fisher and Dillon Overton," Todd Miller @PlayByPlayGuy1 26 May
but yeah, Gray is definitely the monster of the two Allen OU @THEREALALLENOU 3 Jun --Jonathon Gray is going to embarrass LSU Kendall Rogers @KendallRogersPG 2 Jun --Funny moment (in press conference after Regional Championship win over ULL). Reporter asks #LSU's Paul Mainieri about facing #OU's Jonathan Gray. Mainieri? "C'mon you have to let me enjoy it for a night"
from Baseball America's 3/19/13 feature on Gray and Overton: Sooners Pack Quite The One-Two Punch ...on the mound, Oklahoma's co-aces and are very different. Overton is a skinny 6-foot-2, 160-pound lefthander with outstanding innate feel for his three-pitch mix, and a fastball comfort zone of 88-90. Gray is a prototypical power righthander, with a physical 6-foot-4, 239-pound build and a fastball that reaches triple digits. "What's funny is Dillon and Jon, they're total opposites," OU pitching coach Jack Giese said. "Because Dillon's got that super-fast arm, and Jon looks like he's playing catch with his grandfather out in the backyard." (GRAY) Yes—just playing catch at 94-98 mph, with minimal effort. Gray's bazooka arm has made him a prospect of interest since his freshman year at Eastern Oklahoma State JC, but as he has learned to refine his command and secondary stuff, his draft stock has soared. After Gray showed dazzling stuff during seven shutout innings in a win at UCLA in front of a gaggle of the scouting community's heavy hitters, the buzz intensified. He touched 100 multiple times in the second and third innings, and he was still throwing 98 mph in the seventh, after he had reached the 100-pitch mark. But that wasn't all; he complemented his heater with a plus slider with good depth that ranged from 82-87 mph, and he mixed in a handful of quality 83-84 mph changeups with good bottom. It was hard not to think of another physical power righty who toed the rubber at Jackie Robinson Stadium plenty of times in the past—former Bruin Gerrit Cole, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 draft. Gray left UCLA's coaches with a feeling that they had just been beaten by another potential top-five overall pick. "I'll tell you, he mixed as well as any power pitcher that I've seen in a while," UCLA head coach John Savage said after Oklahoma's 4-0 win. "You've got to give credit where credit's due. When we were looking for a fastball, he threw his breaking ball, he threw his change. It wasn't rear back and let it go and not pitch—it was pitching. It was impressive. I was impressed. He was the best guy we've faced by far this year, and it was because of one, the velocity; two, the command; and three, the mix. It was a true mix: 3-2 change, 3-2 slider—I mean, come on. There certainly was some Cole—yeah, there was. I think anyone that sat back there would have to agree. It was three major league pitches." Gray...grew up always wanting be a Sooner...He sat regularly in the mid-90s as a sophomore at OU, but his command and feel for pitching had a long way to go. He progressed steadily under Giese's tutelage and finished the season 8-4, 3.16 with 104 strikeouts and 42 walks in 103 innings. He capped his season with a memorable start at two-time defending national champion South Carolina super regionals. The Sooners were facing elimination after losing the opener, but Gray was ready for Game Two. "We're playing South Carolina, he comes down to pregame meal in his uniform, and I'm a little worried, thinking he's pretty nervous—Game Two in a super regional against South Carolina," Oklahoma coach Sunny Golloway said. "But the reason he has his uniform on is he wanted to have time after his meal to go to every one of his teammates' room and tell them, 'Don't get on the bus unless you're going to find victory, because we ain't losing today.' You know what? He wasn't wrong, he was right—we didn't lose that day." In wet conditions, Gray threw six shutout innings against the Gamecocks, allowing just three hits while striking out nine. ... it was an important milestone for Gray's development. "Having that success in that atmosphere against that good ballclub, I think really helped him," Giese said. "You can always look back at your career and see that one moment where you grew, and I give it to that moment for him." Gray's velocity jumped again this fall, when he touched triple digits on the radar gun for the first time in his life. But more importantly, he spent the offseason working with Giese on refining his secondary stuff. Giese wants him to throw his slider hard, targeting 88 mph. He threw a couple at 87 against UCLA, and they were his best sliders of the day, with vicious bite. But he can take a little off it and throw it at 82-83 when he really needs a strike, which is a sign of his maturation. The Sooners are wary of throwing too many changeups because his other two pitches can be so devastating, but they know it is important for his development to hone that pitch... "When my changeup's on, it's money, and I throw it a lot," said Gray... "(Giese) usually gives me about four or five chances to throw it early on, to see if I can throw it for a strike or if it's effective. But that opens up a whole new game. It's easy. "My main goal is to become a full pitcher, not just a guy who goes out there and throws. Because I want to have both pitchability and power. I think they'll go great together." (OVERTON) Pitchability is Overton's calling card. He was polished even as a freshman, when he went 8-4, 2.30 in 74 innings, split between the bullpen and a starting role. He moved into the Friday starter job last year and established himself as a workhorse ace, going 6-3, 3.15 with 126 strikeouts and 24 walks in 123 innings. In a Big 12 tournament matchup with Oklahoma State lefthander Andrew Heaney—who went on to become a first-round pick—Overton threw 71⁄3 shutout innings, helping the Sooners earn a memorable 1-0 win. By that point in the season, he also could reach back for 94 mph heat when he really needed it. "His career's been a lot like Andrew Heaney at Oklahoma State," Golloway said. "He really came on as a sophomore, and now as a junior everybody's looking at him. I think Heaney will pitch in the big leagues, and I think Dillon Overton will pitch in the big leagues." Scouts agree with him on that. One American League scouting director raved about Overton's loose arm action and "beautiful mechanics," as well as his superb feel for his plus changeup, which comes in at 78-80 with good arm-side fade. Overton...calls it his favorite pitch, and his out pitch. But he said Giese has also helped him improve his 74-76 curveball, which shows tight, sharp rotation when he's really got it working. "That helps me out, because if I throw it on the same lane as a fastball, it really looks like a fastball, and it just breaks at the last minute," Overton said. "When it's really on, it's on, and I feel just as comfortable with that as my changeup and fastball." ...Bad weather has followed Overton from start to start through the season's first month, but he has still battled his way to a 5-1, 3.13 line with 35 strikeouts and eight walks in 37 innings. ... "I'm not that big of a guy. I'm skinny and I'm lanky, but when you have the body type I have, you kind of have to have that attitude, because most hitters don't think you're all that, so you've got to show them that you are," Overton said. "Ever since I can remember, I've had that attitude where, I'm the best, and I'm going to try to get you out no matter what, whether it's striking you out, popping you up or getting you to ground out—it doesn't matter as long as you're out." The Sooners flip-flopped Overton and Gray in the rotation this past weekend against Northwestern State, and both delivered strong performances, leading OU to a sweep. Oklahoma should win a lot of series with that pair taking the mound two out of every three games on weekends. "They've got a 'C' on their jersey for a reason; they're two of our captains along with Jack Mayfield and Max White, who played in Omaha in 2010," Golloway said. "...They both would like to pitch on Friday night; we go with Dillon because he's got an extra year of experience over Jon. "They're different guys. It's a pretty good one-two punch, and we're very fortunate to have them."
from a 3/13/13 piece on Gray and Overton: Oklahoma enters the 2013 baseball season with possibly the best duo of pitchers that head coach Sunny Galloway has had in his tenure as the Sooners' skipper. ... "I've never had two potential first rounders," Galloway said. "When I came back as associate head coach we had David Purcey, and that was luxury on Friday, but then you really had to turn around and battle. We had Daniel McCutchen, pitching in the big leagues now, as a Friday guy. That was pretty special. I was talking to Zach Neal who was our No. 1 when we went to Omaha in 2010, and I don't remember exactly what round Zach went, but he's special, and he's probably going to pitch in the big leagues someday. He was even raving about how well (Dillon) Overton and Jonathan Gray are throwing the baseball right now." Lefty Dillon Overton can flat out deal the ball. As a sophomore last season he was named to the Charlottesville All-Regional team after striking out 11 batters in Oklahoma's win over Virginia. He was also named to the Big 12 All-Tournament team. He finished second in the Big 12 in strikeouts last season (126) ... Overton will be the Friday night starter with Jonathan Gray coming in on Saturday. Gray could be the ace on just about every staff in the conference and will attempt to be the knockout portion of Oklahoma's one-two punch of hurlers.
You want to be the best, you gotta beat the best. There's no GRAY area there. Bring him on. Oh, and GOOD ONE, islstl!
