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Message
Getting To Know the Opponent: UCLA, NC State, & UNC
Posted on 6/10/13 at 11:29 am
Posted on 6/10/13 at 11:29 am
Well, Ladies and Gentlemen, we made it. The Tigers put on a pitching clinic on their way to sweeping the Oklahoma Sooners and advancing to its 16th College World Series appearance. For those who are unaware, the college world series consists of 8 teams divided into 2 separate 4 team double-elimination brackets.
Interactive Bracket
Let's learn a little more about our opponents in bracket 2.
UCLA Bruins
CWS History - 5th appearance (3rd in 4 years), all-time record: 4-9, best finish: 2nd in 2010
Record: 44-17
Pac 12: 21-9, 3rd
Non-Conf: 18-8
Home: 27-9
Road: 17-8
Neutral: 0-0
Overview:
UCLA is no sleeper. The Bruins have been ranked in the Top 15 by every poll all season long with an RPI between 15 and 30. Their most impressive series win came back in mid-April when they defeated the future #8 national seed Oregon in Eugene. The Bruins do not have many other notable series victories aside from Oregon and Arizona. UCLA lost 2 of 3 in every other major series that they played: Arizona State, Oregon State, and Stanford.
Road to Omaha:
Los Angeles Regional - W vs San Diego State, W vs Cal Poly, W vs San Diego
Fullerton Super Regional - swept Cal State Fullerton (5-3, 3-0)
Common Opponents:
Washington: 3-0 (LSU 3-0)
Oklahoma: 0-1 (LSU 2-0)
(LSU numbers in parentheses)
RPI: 13 (2)
vs Top 25: 6-7 (7-4)
vs Top 50: 9-8 (32-8)
vs Top 100: 24-12 (38-9)
Avg runs scored/game: 4.8 (6.6)
Avg runs allowed/game: 3.1 (2.9)
Starting Pitching:
Team ERA: 2.69 (2.41)
To say that pitching has been the backbone of this UCLA team would be a bigger understatement than saying Omaha loves LSU and LSU loves Omaha. The Bruins are top 10 in the nation in team ERA at 2.69. Their rotation has been solid this year with ace Adam Plutko leading the way. The rest of their rotation has been steady as well rounding out with Nick Vander Tuig and Grant Watson.
Sunday's Expected Pitching Matchup:
Jr. RHP Adam Plutko (8-3, 2.35 ERA, 111.0 IP, 84 H, 29 ER, 27 BB, 77 K, .212 OBA)
So. RHP Aaron Nola (12-0, 1.68 ERA, 118.0 IP, 78 H, 22 ER, 17 BB, 117 K, .187 OBA)
Other Starters:
Jr. RHP Nick Vander Tuig (12-4, 2.37 ERA, 114.0 IP, 99 H, 30 ER, 17 BB, 81 K, .237 OBA)
So. LHP Grant Watson (8-3, 3.22 ERA, 86.2 IP, 89 H, 31 ER, 15 BB, 52 K, .271 OBA)
Fr. RHP Cody Poteet (4-6, 4.84 ERA, 70.2 IP, 57 H, 38 ER, 31 BB, 56 K, .227 OBA)
Relief Pitching:
The Bruins bullpen features one of the top closers in the country in David Berg, a finalist for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award. This sophomore side-armer is 2nd in the nation with 21 saves with a microscopic ERA of 0.88 and a 7-0 record. Berg has made appearances in 46 games allowing only 49 hits in 71.1 innings all in relief. Other key bullpen arms include James Kaprielian (31 appearances, 1.67 era, 37.2 IP, 19 H, 7 ER, .150 oba) and Zack Weis (41 appearances, 2.33 era, 38.2 IP, 35 H, 10 ER, .245 oba).
Offense: (LSU numbers in parentheses)
Team BA: .251 (.308)
Team OBP: .357 (.391)
Team SLG: .334 (.436)
UCLA is by all means no offesive prowess. Their team batting average of .251 ranks ~253rd in the country. The Bruins leading hitter is Kevin Kramer who owns a .279 batting average with 3 home runs. The biggest power bat in the UCLA lineup is Pat Valaika who leads the team with 5 home runs and 44 RBIs. Another solid bat is offered by Eric Filia who is hitting .278. One player to keep an eye on is leadoff hitter Brian Carroll who is 17th in the nation in stolen bases, swiping 30 bags in 37 attempts.
Defense:
UCLA fields at a tremendous .980 mark which ties LSU for 5th best in the country.
Season Stats
Roster
Schedule (via Warren Nolan)
#TigerBait
College World Series Website
Interactive Bracket
Let's learn a little more about our opponents in bracket 2.
UCLA Bruins
CWS History - 5th appearance (3rd in 4 years), all-time record: 4-9, best finish: 2nd in 2010
Record: 44-17
Pac 12: 21-9, 3rd
Non-Conf: 18-8
Home: 27-9
Road: 17-8
Neutral: 0-0
Overview:
UCLA is no sleeper. The Bruins have been ranked in the Top 15 by every poll all season long with an RPI between 15 and 30. Their most impressive series win came back in mid-April when they defeated the future #8 national seed Oregon in Eugene. The Bruins do not have many other notable series victories aside from Oregon and Arizona. UCLA lost 2 of 3 in every other major series that they played: Arizona State, Oregon State, and Stanford.
Road to Omaha:
Los Angeles Regional - W vs San Diego State, W vs Cal Poly, W vs San Diego
Fullerton Super Regional - swept Cal State Fullerton (5-3, 3-0)
Common Opponents:
Washington: 3-0 (LSU 3-0)
Oklahoma: 0-1 (LSU 2-0)
(LSU numbers in parentheses)
RPI: 13 (2)
vs Top 25: 6-7 (7-4)
vs Top 50: 9-8 (32-8)
vs Top 100: 24-12 (38-9)
Avg runs scored/game: 4.8 (6.6)
Avg runs allowed/game: 3.1 (2.9)
Starting Pitching:
Team ERA: 2.69 (2.41)
To say that pitching has been the backbone of this UCLA team would be a bigger understatement than saying Omaha loves LSU and LSU loves Omaha. The Bruins are top 10 in the nation in team ERA at 2.69. Their rotation has been solid this year with ace Adam Plutko leading the way. The rest of their rotation has been steady as well rounding out with Nick Vander Tuig and Grant Watson.
Sunday's Expected Pitching Matchup:
Jr. RHP Adam Plutko (8-3, 2.35 ERA, 111.0 IP, 84 H, 29 ER, 27 BB, 77 K, .212 OBA)
So. RHP Aaron Nola (12-0, 1.68 ERA, 118.0 IP, 78 H, 22 ER, 17 BB, 117 K, .187 OBA)
Other Starters:
Jr. RHP Nick Vander Tuig (12-4, 2.37 ERA, 114.0 IP, 99 H, 30 ER, 17 BB, 81 K, .237 OBA)
So. LHP Grant Watson (8-3, 3.22 ERA, 86.2 IP, 89 H, 31 ER, 15 BB, 52 K, .271 OBA)
Fr. RHP Cody Poteet (4-6, 4.84 ERA, 70.2 IP, 57 H, 38 ER, 31 BB, 56 K, .227 OBA)
Relief Pitching:
The Bruins bullpen features one of the top closers in the country in David Berg, a finalist for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award. This sophomore side-armer is 2nd in the nation with 21 saves with a microscopic ERA of 0.88 and a 7-0 record. Berg has made appearances in 46 games allowing only 49 hits in 71.1 innings all in relief. Other key bullpen arms include James Kaprielian (31 appearances, 1.67 era, 37.2 IP, 19 H, 7 ER, .150 oba) and Zack Weis (41 appearances, 2.33 era, 38.2 IP, 35 H, 10 ER, .245 oba).
Offense: (LSU numbers in parentheses)
Team BA: .251 (.308)
Team OBP: .357 (.391)
Team SLG: .334 (.436)
UCLA is by all means no offesive prowess. Their team batting average of .251 ranks ~253rd in the country. The Bruins leading hitter is Kevin Kramer who owns a .279 batting average with 3 home runs. The biggest power bat in the UCLA lineup is Pat Valaika who leads the team with 5 home runs and 44 RBIs. Another solid bat is offered by Eric Filia who is hitting .278. One player to keep an eye on is leadoff hitter Brian Carroll who is 17th in the nation in stolen bases, swiping 30 bags in 37 attempts.
Defense:
UCLA fields at a tremendous .980 mark which ties LSU for 5th best in the country.
Season Stats
Roster
Schedule (via Warren Nolan)
#TigerBait
College World Series Website
This post was edited on 6/17/13 at 9:48 am
29
Posted on 6/10/13 at 11:29 am to AstroTiger
NC State Wolfpack
CWS History - 2nd appearance (1st since 1968), all-time record: 2-2, best finish: 3rd in 1968
Record: 49-14
ACC: 19-10, 4th
Non-Conf: 23-3
Home: 20-8
Road: 15-5
Neutral: 4-1
Overview:
When sitting in front of the tv on selection Sunday, everyone in the country expected NC State to be called as the #8 National Seed. Instead, the Oregon Ducks got that call, and the winners of the Raleigh Regional would have to travel nearly 3000 miles across country to the Eugene Super Regional. As luck would have it for the Wolfpack, The Rice Owls defeated Oregon in one of the tournament's biggest upsets thus far, giving NC State the opportunity to host the Super Regional in their own park. The Pack went on to beat Rice twice by one run each game, including a Super Regional record 17 inning game 2 on Sunday.
Key wins include: Florida Atlantic, Coastal Carolina, Campbell, 3-0 vs Georgia Tech, and 2-2 vs Clemson
(LSU numbers in parentheses)
RPI: 6 (2)
vs Top 25: 12-9 (7-4)
vs Top 50: 22-10 (32-8)
vs Top 100: 30-13 (38-9)
Avg runs scored/game: 6.2 (6.6)
Avg runs allowed/game: 3.8 (2.9)
Road to Omaha:
Raleigh Regional - W vs Binghamton, W vs William & Mary, W vs William & Mary
Raleigh Super Regional - swept Rice (4-3, 5-4)
Common Opponents:
Maryland: 2-1 (LSU: 3-0)
Starting Pitching:
Team ERA: 3.09 (2.41)
Two words: Carlos Rodon. The 2013 NCAA strikeout king has fanned 170 hitters in 118.1 innings walking just 42 batters. Rodon has a 9-2 record with a 3.19 ERA in 17 starts holding opponents to a .201 batting average. As for the rest of the rotation... it's anybody's guess. Head Coach Elliot Avent has been rotating starters all season long trying to find that dependable 2nd and 3rd guy. The 3 guys up for the job are Logan Jernigan, Brad Stone, and Ethan Ogburn. Jernigan appears to have the upper hand on the job, so LSU fans might expect to see him should the teams meet in the 2nd round. Ogburn, who has struggled in the second half of the season, came in relief against Rice in game 2 of the Raliegh Super Regional and threw 5 shutout innings earning the victory and sending the Wolfpack to Omaha.
Sunday's Expected Pitching Matchup:
So. RHP Carlos Rodon (9-2, 3.19 ERA, 118.1 IP, 85 H, 42 ER, 42 BB, 170 K, .201 OBA)
Jr. LHP Kent Emanuel (11-3, 2.93 ERA, 123.0 IP, 110 H, 40 ER, 28 BB, 89 K, .243 OBA)
Other Starters:
So. RHP Logan Jernigan (1-0, 1.19 ERA, 30.1 IP, 20 H, 25 BB, 27 K, .187 OBA)
Sr. RHP Ethan Ogburn (5-3, 2.70 ERA, 60 IP, 46 H, 14 BB, 38 K, .211 OBA)
Fr. LHP Brad Stone (3-2, 5.28 ERA, 58.0 IP, 54 H, 22 BB, 59 K, .242 OBA)
Relief Pitching:
NC State has a VERY deep and reliable bullpen. Over 60% of the Wolfpack victories have come from relivers. The key shut down man is 6th year senior Grant Sasser, who has a team leading 8 saves and 32 appearances. Sasser has thrown 41 innings allowing only 28 hits for a 1.10 earned run average. Other reliable arms out of the pen include Andrew Woeck (26 app, 3.09 era, 46.2 ip, 38 h, 16 er), Josh Easley (24 app, 1.44 era, 43.2 ip, 36 h, 7 er), and Ryan Wilkins (23 app, 4.02 era, 47.0 ip, 40 h, 21 er). Lights out Senior relief pitcher Chris Overman has accumulated a ridiculous 0.34 era and .103 opponent batting average in 26.1 innings over 20 appearances.
Offense: (LSU numbers in parentheses)
Team BA: .279 (.308)
Team OBP: .363 (.391)
Team SLG: .387 (.436)
NC State's offense is built around leadoff speedster Trea Turner. The 6'1 sophomore right hander was a consensus Freshman All-American a year ago and has been even better in 2013 despite being plagued by an ankle injury back in March. Turner has stolen 84 bases over his two seasons with the Wolfpack. The Wolfpack shortstop leads the team with a .378 average, .460 ob%, and a .571 slg%. Trea has knocked 7 out the park, plus leads the team in runs (65), triples (4), TB (124), walks (35), and stolen bases (27). In short, Trea Turner is a more dynamic version Oklahoma's Matt Oberste, who Tiger fans learned about last week.
Without Turner, the Wolfpack team batting average falls 10 full points to .269. The next most productive hitter is sophomore right fielder Jake Fincher. Fincher has a solid .327 average on the season and leads the team in hits with 83. The biggest power bat comes from Tarran Sennay (.291BA/8HR/58RBI), while other notable hitters include Brett Austin (.258/2/36), Grant Clyde (.278/4/25), and Bryan Adametz (.298/0/31).
Defense:
NC State's fielding percentage is an average .970 (LSU .980).
Season Stats
Roster
Schedule (via Warren Nolan)
This post was edited on 6/12/13 at 4:15 pm
Posted on 6/10/13 at 11:29 am to AstroTiger
North Carolina Tar Heels
CWS History - 10th appearance (5th in 7 years), all-time record: 15-19, best finish: 2nd in 2006 & 2007
Record: 57-10
ACC: 22-7, 1st
Non-Conf: 26-1
Home: 40-7
Road: 10-3
Neutral: 7-0
Overview:
The #1 national seed and the vegas favorite hails from Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels spent most of the season at #1 in the polls and with an RPI of #1 were able to earn the top seed in the NCAA tournament. After that, it was anything but easy for the boys in Carolina Blue. Florida Atlantic forced an epic game 7 in the regional round where UNC blew a big lead then battled back from a deficit twice in extra innings to earn a spot in the Super Regionals. In steps rival South Carolina with Mother Nature playing a role as well. After splitting a pair, game 3 was played on a Tuesday morning in Chapel Hill and the Tar Heels would go on to win the see-saw, rubber game 6-5 over the Gamecocks. Over this NCAA tournament, relievers became starters, starters --including ace Kent Emanual-- found themselves making the trot from the pen for a relief appearance. But the Tar Heels prevailed and now battle tested, North Carolina makes its way back to Omaha with plenty of experience seeking its 1st national title.
Key wins include: Rice, Texas A&M, 3-1 vs Clemson, 4-0 vs Virginia Tech, 2-1 vs NC State, Florida State, 2-1 vs South Carolina
(LSU numbers in parentheses)
RPI: 1 (2)
vs Top 25: 17-7 (7-4)
vs Top 50: 28-10 (32-8)
vs Top 100: 41-10 (38-9)
Avg runs scored/game: 7.9 (6.6)
Avg runs allowed/game: 3.3 (2.9)
Road to Omaha:
Chapel Hill Regional - W vs Canisius, W vs Towson, L vs Florida Atlantic, W vs Florida Atlantic
Chapel Hill Super Regional - defeated South Carolina (6-5, 0-8, 5-4)
Common Opponents:
Texas A&M 1-0 (2-1)
Maryland 3-0 (3-0)
South Carolina 2-1 (1-2)
TOTAL: 6-1 (6-3)
Starting Pitching:
Team ERA: 2.78 (2.41)
The North Carolina rotation has been solid all season and it all starts with Kent Emanuel. The 6-4, 225lb lefty, who was the 3rd round draft pick by the Houston Astros (
), will not over power you despite his size, but rather works his locations tremendouly with that 87-89 mph fastball. The other 2/3rds of the rotation in Hobbs Johnson and Benton Moss have been consistently solid over the year as well. The statistics for each player are below. Sunday's Expected Pitching Matchup:
So. RHP Carlos Rodon (9-2, 3.19 ERA, 118.1 IP, 85 H, 42 ER, 42 BB, 170 K, .201 OBA)
Jr. LHP Kent Emanuel (11-3, 2.93 ERA, 123.0 IP, 110 H, 40 ER, 28 BB, 89 K, .243 OBA)
Other Starters:
Hobbs Johnson (4-1, 2.62 ERA, 79.0 IP, 57 H, 23 ER, 49 BB, 72 K, .200 OBA)
Benton Moss (8-1, 3.78 ERA, 88.0 IP, 79 H, 37 ER, 34 BB, 91 K, .240 OBA)
Relief Pitching:
When Head Coach Mike Fox has had to rely on relief pitching, the bullpen has been up to the task. Three players inparticular stand out and none more than Trent Thornton. The freshman righty has been outstanding this year with an 11-1 record and a 1.28 ERA in 28 appearances including 5 starts holding opponents to a .194 average against. Standout relievers include:
Fr. RHP Trent Thornton (11-1, 1.28 ERA, 84.2 IP, 60 H, 12 ER, 15 BB, 78 K, .194 OBA)
So. RHP Chris McCue (28 app, 7-1, 2.17 ERA, 58.0 IP, 41 H, 14 ER, 25 BB, 50 K, .197 OBA)
So. RHP Trevor Kelley (30 app, 2-1, 3.50 ERA, 43.2 IP, 31 H, 17 ER, 18 BB, 36 K, .201 OBA)
Offense: (LSU numbers in parentheses)
Team BA: .306 (.308)
Team OBP: .409 (.391)
Team SLG: .438 (.436)
North Carolina has been a solid offensive club for the entire year and their .306 team BA is 2nd best of Omaha teams behind LSU. The Tar Heels are led at the plate by Colin Moran, the 6th overall pick in the MLB draft last week. The junior All-American is leading the team in home runs (13), RBIs (88), and walks (61) while only striking out 22 times and tallying a .343 batting average. Cody Stubbs leads this UNC sqaud in batting average at .366, total hits with 97, and doubles with 26. Freshman DH Landon Lassiter has been outstanding this year as well hitting .361 with team leading .502 OB%. Another key offensive weapon is freshman sensation Skye Bolt. This Carolina switch-hitting right fielder was on pace to give Alex Bregman a run for his money for the Freshman of the Year award before suffering a broken foot in mid-April, resulting in Bolt missing a full month of the season. Prior to the injury, Bolt was hitting .392 but has cooled down to .330 since returning to action on May 14th. Leadoff man Chaz Frank has 22 stolen bases on the season. All in all, UNC has a very dangerous lineup with a good balance of speed and power.
Defense:
UNC is fielding at a solid .975 mark. (LSU .980)
Season Stats
Roster
Schedule (via Warren Nolan)
This post was edited on 6/17/13 at 11:27 am
Posted on 6/10/13 at 11:31 am to AstroTiger
Good stuff. 
Posted on 6/10/13 at 11:31 am to AstroTiger
Posted on 6/10/13 at 11:34 am to mylsuhat
Posted on 6/10/13 at 11:35 am to AstroTiger
Posted on 6/10/13 at 11:36 am to AstroTiger
Posted on 6/10/13 at 11:37 am to AstroTiger
Posted on 6/10/13 at 11:38 am to goldenbadger08
Posted on 6/10/13 at 11:39 am to AstroTiger
Good stuff as usual!
Posted on 6/10/13 at 11:42 am to AstroTiger
Posted on 6/10/13 at 11:42 am to AstroTiger
Thanks Astro!
Posted on 6/10/13 at 11:45 am to AstroTiger
quote:
Common Opponents:
UCLA lost to Oklahoma 4-0. March 9th, 2013.
LINK
This post was edited on 6/10/13 at 11:46 am
Posted on 6/10/13 at 11:45 am to AstroTiger
Sticky! 
Posted on 6/10/13 at 11:46 am to AstroTiger
Nola's stats need to be updated
Posted on 6/10/13 at 11:47 am to Sorrento Muddbugs
quote:
UCLA lost to Oklahoma 4-0. March 9th, 2013.
ooops
Posted on 6/10/13 at 11:48 am to AstroTiger
On paper, it shouldn't be a contest.
Posted on 6/10/13 at 11:49 am to AstroTiger
Nola is at like 1.68 now.
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