NCAA South I Regional at a Glance

A capsule look at the six teams in the NCAA South I Region baseball championships at Baton Rouge, La., in order of seeding: LOUISIANA STATE Record: 48-14 Coach: Skip Bertman, ninth year Conference finish: First in the Southeastern How got here: Automatic berth for winning conference tournament Ranking: Third in Baseball America poll, third in Collegiate Baseball poll. Comments: Unexpected performances from two lightly regarded newcomers helped carry the defending national champion Tigers to their third consecutive SEC title, the first time in 50 years an SEC team has accomplished that feat. Freshman second baseman Todd Walker, only a 51st-round pick of the Texas Rangers last June, has had a phenomenal season, batting .409 with 11 homers, 74 RBIs, 69 runs, 97 hits, 21 doubles, 18 stolen bases and 10 game-winning hits. And right-handed pitcher Lloyd Peever, a junior college transfer who has never been drafted, is 13-0 with a 2.08 earned-run average, 110 strikeouts and only 19 walks. Among the other top position players for LSU, which has advanced to the College World Series in five of the past six seasons, are outfielders Chris Moock (.327, six homers, 41 RBIs) and Harry Berrios (.319, nine homers, 54 RBIs) and infielders Andy Sheets (.332, six homers, 41 RBIs) and Russ Johnson (.329, seven homers, 47 RBIs). The Tigers slumped during the SEC tournament, batting .258 in six games, but they have the kind of pitching talent and depth to overcome offensive lapses. LSU opens against Providence at 5:30 p.m. today. SOUTH ALABAMA Record: 44-14 Coach: Steve Kittrell, ninth year Conference finish: Won the Sun Belt East Division How got here: Automatic berth for winning conference tournament Ranking: 18th by Baseball America, 20th by Collegiate Baseball Comments: The Jaguars, who play Tulane today at 1 p.m., are making their fourth consecutive NCAA appearance and 12th trip to the tournament since 1972 but are looking for their first regional title. They came within one victory of the College World Series in 1972, ‘84, ’87 and ’90. South Alabama’s speedy lineup includes outfielders Kraig Hawkins and Tyrone Dixon, who have each stolen 36 bases in 43 attempts. Hawkins is batting .348, and Dixon has scored 61 runs. With their speed in the outfield and excellent defensive infielders, the Jaguars have a .973 fielding percentage. The top hitters are first baseman Andrew Kontorinis (.385, six homers, 49 RBIs, five runs), second baseman Pat Murphy (.367, 41 RBIs, 42 runs) and right fielder Jay Simpson (.358, 12 homers, 25 doubles, 59 RBIs, 43 runs). Senior right-hander Jon Lieber (12-4, 2.07 ERA, 149 strikeouts) is the team’s top pitcher. South Alabama struggled late in the season, going 8-8 from April 12-May 6, but the Jaguars have won their last seven games, including four in the Sun Belt tournament. CAL STATE FULLERTON Record: 38-15 Coach: Augie Garrido, 17th year Conference finish: Second in the Big West How got here: At-large berth Ranking: Seventh by Baseball America, 11th by Collegiate Baseball Comments: The Titans, who open against Ohio State at 9 a.m. today, have not had any prolonged slumps this season but are given to periodic lapses, as losses to lowly New Mexico State and Pacific will attest. “We have seen the enemy in the mirror and it’s us,” Garrido said. “When we stay focused on the game, we can play pretty well. When we get distracted or let down, we’re not nearly as good.” With the likes of third baseman Phil Nevin (.390, 20 homers, 71 RBIs, 61 runs), catcher Jason Moler (.374, seven homers, 24 doubles, 53 RBIs), outfielder Tony Banks (.301, nine homers, 46 RBIs), second baseman Steve Sisco (.330, 21 doubles, 43 RBIs, 52 runs) and outfielder Dante Powell (.329, 32 RBIs, 47 runs), Fullerton can match up with the nation’s best teams offensively. But the Titans’ pitching depth is questionable. James Popoff (11-2, 3.08 ERA) and Dan Naulty (10-3, 3.77 ERA) have had excellent seasons, but the No. 3 starter, manned by freshmen Derek Fahs and Mike Parisi, has been a problem spot. Bullpen stopper Tony Fetchel hasn’t pitched since March because of an elbow injury, but Chad Dembisky has come on in recent weeks to fill that role. OHIO STATE Record: 38-19 Coach: Bob Todd, fifth year Conference finish: First in the Big Ten How got here: At-large berth Ranking: 22nd by Collegiate Baseball Comments: The Buckeyes came on at the end of the regular season, winning their last seven conference games to capture the Big Ten title, but they won’t take any momentum into the regional--they were quickly eliminated from the conference tournament after losing two games. Ohio State, which lost to Fullerton, 6-4, in a nonconference game in March, doesn’t have much power, but the Buckeye lineup, which includes six lefties and one switch-hitter, is solid throughout. Shortstop Doug Wollenburg leads the team with a .418 average, 19 doubles, 56 runs and 39 RBIs. Other top hitters are second baseman Jeff Anderson (.395, 40 RBIs), third baseman Jamie Taylor (.386, six homers, 47 RBIs), outfielder Mike Mulligan (.357, 56 runs) and first baseman Ken Tirpack (.351, 13 homers, 60 RBIs, 50 runs). Junior right-hander Scott Klingenbeck, a Team USA member for part of last summer, is the ace of the pitching staff but he has been inconsistent this season, going 6-7 with a 4.71 ERA. Ohio State has a solid reliever in Mark Mesewicz, who has nine saves, but the staff ERA is 4.59. TULANE Record: 38-22 Coach: Joe Brockhoff, 18th year Conference finish: Third in the Metro How got here: Automatic berth for winning conference tournament Ranking: Unranked Comments: The Green Wave, which is making its first NCAA appearance since 1988 and seventh since 1979, has a nine-game winning streak, including five victories in its conference tournament. They have a top-flight pitcher in sophomore right-hander Mike Romano, who leads the nation in victories (16-4, 2.47 ERA, 161 strikeouts) and has complete-game victories in his last 10 starts. But the pitching depth drops off considerably after Romano, as the staff has an ERA of 4.72. A team home run total of 62 is not extremely high, but that’s 30 more homers than Tulane hit last season. Leading the turnaround has been catcher Larry Schneider, who had one homer in 1991 but has 16 this season along with 52 RBIs, and first baseman Mike Triessl, who hit .185 last season but has improved to .350 with 12 homers and 56 RBIs. Other top offensive players are outfielders Tom Morton (.349, 11 homers, five triples, 51 RBIs) and Lance Licciardi (.310, five homers, 37 RBIs). PROVIDENCE Record: 28-21 Coach: Paul Kostacopoulos, third year Conference finish: Fourth in the Big East How got here: Automatic berth for winning conference tournament Ranking: Unranked Comments: The Friars got off to a slow start this season, but what do you expect when you spend three days in March shoveling snow off your field? Once the Rhode Island weather warmed up, so did Providence, which went 18-10 after a 10-11 start. Still, the Friars, who came out of the losers’ bracket to win the Big East tournament and gain their first NCAA playoff berth since 1974, aren’t expected to challenge for the region title. Providence doesn’t have a dominant pitcher, and the staff has combined for a 5.46 ERA. The Friars do have some offensive punch, though, mainly in the form of leadoff batter Mike Lyons, a center fielder who has a .368 average and has 40 stolen bases in 47 attempts. Left fielder Don Martone (.355, 10 homers, 53 RBIs), shortstop Lou Merioni (.352, eight homers, 48 RBIs) and catcher Jim Foster (.333, seven homers, 49 RBIs) have delivered several clutch hits. Kostacopoulos is only 27 but has won 90 games in three seasons as Providence coach.