After an impressive series win over Stanford in Super Regionals, the No. 3 overall seed Florida State is headed to the College World Series for the 21st time in school history.
The Seminoles (47-15) will open up against Arizona in the CWS. It will be the first meeting between the two schools since a 1991 series in Tucson, Ariz., the Wildcats took two of three from the Seminoles. The two schools have faced off five times in the CWS before, last in 1986 when the Wildcats eliminated FSU 10-2.
The other half of FSU's CWS bracket is made up of the No. 2 national seed in UCLA, and the surprising Stony Brook Seawolves. The winner of FSU/Arizona will face the winner of UCLA/Stony Brook and the losers will face off in an elimination game.
Arizona (43-17)
Team Batting Average: .333
Team ERA: 3.93
Top draft pick: SS Alex Mejia, 4th round, No. 150 overall by the St. Louis Cardinals
Starting Rotation: 1. RHP Kurt Heyer 12-2, 2.28 ERA 102K/22BB
2. RHP Konner Wade 9-3, 4.49 ERA 98K/36BB
3. RHP James Farris 7-3, 4.18 ERA 69K/18BB
Top Reliever: Mathew Troupe 4-1, 3.90 ERA, 6 saves, 39K/17 BB
Top Hitters: 1. Robert Refsnyder .354 average, 6 home runs, 61 RBI
2. Seth Brean-Mejias .366 average, 1 home run, 57 RBI
3. Alex Mejia .361 average, 3 home runs, 52 RBI
NCAA Tournament Record: 5-0
How they got here: Arizona blasted its way through the NCAA Regionals, scoring at least 15 runs in all three games, beating Big 12 Tournament champion Missouri, and Louisville twice. In Super Regionals Arizona swept again, but had two closer contests with St. Johns. The Wildcats had to come back for an extra-innings win in game 1 on Friday. On Saturday Arizona clinched its 16th College World Series appearance with a 7-4 win, paced by a three-run first inning. The offense is undoubtedly the strength of the Wildcats. Arizona has scored the sixth most runs in college baseball this season, and also ranks sixth in the nation with an average of 7.5 runs per game. The runs don't come from the long ball as Arizona has just 20 homers, but the Wildcats do have 126 doubles and 35 triples. On the mound with the expectation of Kurt Heyer, a sixth-round pick by the Cardinals, Arizona has struggled. Heyer is the lone Wildcat with at least six appearances with an ERA below 3.00.
No. 2 UCLA (47-14)
Team Batting Average: .309
Team ERA: 3.13
Top draft pick: OF Jeff Gelalich, Supplemental first round, No. 57 overall by the Cincinnati Reds
Starting Rotation: 1. RHP Adam Plutko 11-3, 2.56 ERA 92K/45 BB
2. RHP Nick Vander Tuig 10-3, 4.35 ERA 69K/24 BB
3. RHP Zack Weiss 3-2, 4.04 ERA 44K/29BB
Top Reliever: Scott Griggs 3-1, 2.70 ERA, 15 saves, 64K/31 BB
Top Hitters: 1. Jeff Gelalich .365 average, 11 home runs, 46 RBI
2. Trevor Brown .328 average, 3 home runs, 51 RBI
3. Beau Amaral .313 average, 4 home runs, 45 RBI
NCAA Tournament Record: 5-0
How they got here: The Bruins are the No. 2 overall national seed for the NCAA Tournament. UCLA breezed through regionals outscoring its three opponents 23-6. In Super Regionals the Bruins clinched the school's fourth College World Series berth with a sweep of TCU. The Bruins have great balance with a team ERA of 3.13 (22nd best in the country) and a .309 team batting average (13th best). The Bruins have six everyday players hitting .305 or better, five of which were selected in the MLB draft last week. The Bruins had seven players taken overall in the draft. UCLA has three solid starters, and opponents are hitting .172 or less against the Bruins top three relievers.
Stony Brook (52-13)
Team Batting Average: .335
Team ERA: 2.99
Top draft pick: CF Travis Jankowski, Supplemental first round, No. 44 overall to the San Diego Padres
Starting Rotation: 1. RHP Tyler Johnson 12-1, 1.94 ERA 48K/25 BB
2. RHP Brandon McNitt 8-3, 2.50 ERA 61K/24 BB
3. RHP Evan Stecko-Haley 7-3, 3.47 ERA 63K/13BB
Top Reliever: Frankie Vanderka 3-3, 2.37 ERA, 5 saves, 47K/22 BB
Top Hitters: 1. Travis Jankowski .422 average, 5 home runs, 46 RBI, 36 stolen bases
2. William Carmona .399 average, 12 home runs, 72 RBI
3. Maxx Tissenbaum .389 average, 3 home runs, 51 RBI
NCAA Tournament Record: 6-2
How they got here: The Sea Wolves are without a doubt the Cinderella story for this year's College World Series. The small school form New York earned an automatic bid out of the America East conference. As the No.4 seed in the Coral Gables Regional, the Seawolves advanced scoring at least nine runs in every game. Stony Brook knocked off host Miami but then dropped its second game to UCF and had the beat the Knights twice after advancing out of the losers bracket to clinch a Super Regional berth. Stony Brook bounced back after a losing a dramatic game 1 to No. 7 LSU in Super Regionals with two straight wins on Saturday and Sunday to become just he second No. 4 seed to ever advance to the CWS. But don't be fooled by the underdog label, the Seawolves can play. The team's .335 average is the second best in the nation, while outfielder Travis Jankowski's .422 averages is fifth best in the country. The Seawolves also boast the 12th-best team-ERA in the country.
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