Good Things Come in Threes at College World Series

Welcome to the state of Florida’s college baseball tournament, Heartland version, with Florida, Miami and Florida State seeded Nos. 1-2-3, respectively.

Or maybe it’s the Southeastern Conference tournament Part II, with SEC members Florida, Louisiana State and Mississippi State joining USC in one bracket.

No, “it’s the LSU Invitational,” Trojan Coach Mike Gillespie said about the Tigers, twice defending national champions but, surprisingly, seeded fifth and USC’s opening-game opponent in the College World Series.

The series begins today with sixth-seeded Arizona State (38-22) playing third-seeded Florida State (53-18) and seventh-seeded Long Beach State (41-21-1) playing second-seeded Miami (50-10).

Saturday’s games have Florida (46-16) playing eighth-seeded Mississippi State (41-21) and LSU (46-17) against USC (44-16).

The series, double elimination, continues until all but one team runs out of pitchers, a week from Saturday. Those who are supposed to know about such things--the NCAA’s tournament selection committee--say that will be Florida, and the Gators are seeded No. 1, though:

* They have not been No. 1 in any poll all season;

* They were knocked out early in the SEC tournament;

* They were 0-2 against Miami, which ended the regular season ranked No. 1 in the country.

Go figure. Florida Coach Andy Lopez doesn’t bother.

“We don’t worry, contrary to what people might think, about seedings and polls,” said Lopez, in his fourth year at Florida after six at Pepperdine. “The team that gets hot will win it.”

Lopez brought Pepperdine to Omaha in 1992 as a seventh-seeded team. “I told them if they played like a seventh seed, we’re out of here,” he said.

Instead, the Waves played like a top-seeded team, beating Cal State Fullerton, 3-2, in the championship game.

Now he has to turn 180 degrees. If Florida doesn’t play like a top-seeded team, it’s gone.

It’s a non-Lopez-like team. “In 1992, we won the College World Series at Pepperdine by giving up one earned run in four games and batting .250,” he said earlier this season. The Gators batted .331 and hit 127 home runs as a team, but committed 122 errors in 62 games and had a staff earned-run average of 4.79.

“Five years ago, I would have told you that you can’t win just with hitting, but now I think you can,” Lopez said.

He has to hope so, because second-seeded Miami can pitch and--now that Pat Burrell is back--hit.

The Hurricanes batted .340 with 137 home runs, and their staff ERA is 3.82.

Burrell, from San Jose and touted as the probable No. 1 choice in next week’s major league free-agent draft, was out for two months because of a back injury, came back on May 22 and hit a home run in his first at-bat against Bowling Green.

“I’ll give my friend [Long Beach Coach Dave] Snow some advice,” LSU Coach Skip Bertman said. “You’re pitching [Mike] Gallo against Miami, right? Well, tell him to throw Burrell his best stuff and then go back up third base.”

Want a hot team? Take a look at third-seeded Florida State. Seminole Coach Mike Martin can’t understand it.

“We hit 60-something [64] home runs in the regular season, and we play in a hitter-friendly park,” Martin said, shaking his head. “Then we hit 18 in the regional. . . . Now tell me how we did that, because I sure don’t know.”

Part of the reason was freshman right fielder Matt Diaz, who had four homers in a 23-2 win over Oklahoma in the Atlantic II Regional and seven homers for a tournament in which he batted .750.

“Fifteen for 20 in the regional,” Martin said, still shaking his head. “I have trouble even saying that.”

Sixth-seeded Arizona State might have trouble doing anything about it when it plays Florida State. The Sun Devils were the last entry in the CWS field, beating Georgia Tech, 3-1, on Monday in a Central Regional game that was postponed from Sunday because of a tornado threat in Wichita, Kan.

The lateness cost Arizona State the use of No. 1 pitcher Ryan Mills for today’s opener. Phill Lowery gets the call.

USC has 11 College World Series championships, but the last was in 1978, when the oldest of today’s Trojan players was 3. The USC of the ‘90s is LSU, which won in 1991, ‘93, ’96 and ’97.

“Everybody has high expectations [at the beginning of the season], but our expectations weren’t just high, they were unrealistic,” Bertman said. “We’re just an average-hitting team that was last in the SEC in batting.”

And which hit .406, with 20 home runs in the South II Regional.

Fifth-seeded?

“I was a little annoyed by the fifth seed,” Bertman said, “but I’m more annoyed by being the fifth seed and having to face Seth Etherton in the first game.”

USC’s Etherton was named player of the year by the Sporting News.

Seedings aside, it comes down to the events of the next nine days. Lopez talks about success being just getting to Omaha, but nobody’s listening.

“For the first time in my short time at Florida, there were some expectations,” he said. “The expectations were I was supposed to be sitting here. . . . By the grace of God, I’ve been fortunate enough to leave this site a winner.”

But that was six years ago, with a Pepperdine team 3,000 miles removed from the one he coaches now. The one that’s No. 1 for as long as it lasts.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

TEAM-BY-TEAM GLANCE

1. FLORIDA

Record: 46-16.

Conference: Southeastern.

National ranking: No. 3 (Baseball America).

Coach: Andy Lopez (fourth season at Florida, 168-82; 16th overall, 577-341-5).

Top hitters: Casey Smith (.394, 11 homers, 62 RBIs); Derek Nicholson (.365, 15, 66); Brad Wilkerson (.349, 23, 69).

Top pitchers: Wilkerson (10-4, 4.45 ERA); Matt McClendon (9-4, 6.04); Josh Fogg (7-2, 2.05, 13 saves).

Outlook: The Gators will go as far as their bats will carry them, but the view from the top is a shaky one.

2. MIAMI

Record: 50-10.

Conference: Independent.

National ranking: No. 1.

Coach: Jim Morris (fifth season at Miami, 248-73; 22nd overall, 883-358-1).

Top hitters: Pat Burrell (.431, 16, 44); Aubrey Huff (.414, 20, 93); Bobby Hill (.413, 12, 58).

Top pitchers: Alex Santos (14-1, 2.74); Darryl Roque (13-2, 4.33); Robbie Morrison (2-1, 3.77, 11 saves).

Outlook: Miami pounds the ball and gets a break with a Friday game against Long Beach State that could allow the Hurricanes to get an extra outing from Santos. Morris could finally get his first championship after misses the last four seasons in Omaha.

3. FLORIDA STATE

Record: 53-18.

Conference: Atlantic Coast.

National ranking: No. 5.

Coach: Mike Martin (19th season, 1,022-348-3).

Top hitters: Brian Cox (.397, 18, 84); Matt Diaz (.395, 21, 81); Jeremy Salazar (.336, 17, 85).

Top pitchers: Wes Crawford (9-3, 3.04); Jon McDonald (10-3, 4.40); John Bentley (7-1, 2.63, 1 save).

Outlook: The Seminoles are peaking at the right time, and if their pitching holds, they could win the Florida state championship, er, College World Series.

4. USC

Record: 44-16.

Conference: Pacific 10.

National ranking: No. 4.

Coach: Mike Gillespie (12th season, 478-266-2).

Top hitters: Eric Munson (.380, 14, 51); Morgan Ensberg (.356, 19, 66); Robb Gorr (.351, 13, 66).

Top pitchers: Seth Etherton (12-3, 2.86); Mike Penney (7-4, 5.30); Jack Krawczyk (2-2, 1.71, 21 saves).

Outlook: A well-pitched game by Etherton against LSU would get the Trojans off to a good start, but the staff ERA is the highest in the field at 4.90 and there isn’t enough pitching to get them to the finish.

5. LOUISIANA STATE

Record: 46-17.

Conference: Southeastern.

National ranking: No. 2.

Coach: Skip Bertman (15th season, 731-265-1).

Top hitters: Eddy Furniss (.413, 27, 75); Brad Cresse (.329, 26, 84); Trey McClure (.327, 26, 81).

Top pitchers: Doug Thompson (11-4, 4.14); Randy Keisler (8-5, 4.31); Jake Esteves (9-2, 5.01).

Outlook: When the Tigers get to Omaha, they tend to win, but they appear to be a bit short in the hitting department and will have to rely on their pitching to make it three championships in a row.

6. ARIZONA STATE

Record: 38-22.

Conference: Pac-10.

National ranking: No. 7.

Coach: Pat Murphy (fourth season at Arizona State, 112-65; 13th season overall, 485-236-3).

Top hitters: Willie Bloomquist (.413, 3, 56); Casey Myers (.385, 7, 56); Mikel Moreno (.359, 10, 52).

Top pitchers: Ryan Mills (7-3, 4.32); Phill Lowery (8-6, 4.98); Aaron Kramer (8-2, 3.86).

Outlook: The Sun Devils appear puny when you match their 48 homers against the rest of the field, but they find ways to manufacture runs. The problem is that in Omaha, runs are more likely to be manufactured three or four at a time.

7. LONG BEACH STATE

Record: 41-21-1.

Conference: Big West.

National ranking: No. 11.

Coach: Dave Snow (ninth year at Long Beach State, 408-215-3; 13th year overall, 570-296-4).

Top hitters: Chuck Lopez (.426, 4, 50); Paul Day (.404, 15, 88); Terrmel Sledge (.390, 12, 62).

Top pitchers: Mike Gallo (6-1, 3.26); Caleb Balbuena (7-3, 5.12); Jason Marr (3-1, 4.71, 7 saves).

Outlook: The 49ers are on a roll, having won 15 of their last 16, but they are apt to run into more hitting than their pitching can handle.

8. MISSISSIPPI STATE

Record: 41-21.

Conference: Southeastern.

National ranking: No. 14.

Coach: Pat McMahon (first year at Mississippi State; fifth overall, 230-107).

Top hitters: Brian Wiese (.424, 14, 57); Brad Freeman (.362, 11, 52); Richard Lee (.359, 18, 80).

Top pitchers: Jeremy Jackson (10-2, 4.07); Matt Ginter (5-4, 5.06); Van Johnson (3-0, 3.38, 9 saves).

Outlook: The Bulldogs had a losing record in the SEC at 14-15 and are one of the candidates to go two-and-out in Omaha.

Today’s Games

ARIZONA STATE (38-22) vs. FLORIDA STATE (53-18)

* Time: 12:30 p.m. PDT.

* TV: ESPN

The sixth-seeded Sun Devils finished third in the Southern Division of the Pacific 10 Conference, then got hot and won the Central Regional. Phill Lowery (8-6, 4.98 ERA) will start against Wes Crawford (9-3. 3.04) and third-seeded Florida State, which won the Atlantic II Regional.

LONG BEACH STATE (41-21-1) vs. MIAMI (50-10)

* Time: 4:30 PDT

* TV: ESPN2.

* Radio: KPLS (830).

The seventh-seeded 49ers will pitch Mike Gallo (6-1, 3.26), who has won four of his last five starts, against second-seeded Miami and Alex Santos (14-1, 2.74), who tied Texas Tech’s Shane Wright as the winningest pitcher in college baseball this season.