For the second straight year UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton advanced to the super regionals and are one step closer to punching their tickets to Omaha, Neb., for the College World Series. The Anteaters are looking for their second trip to Rosenblatt Stadium, while the Titans are aiming for their 16th trip to the midwest.
The second-seeded Anteaters swept the Lincoln Regional with dominating performances over No. 3 Oral Roberts (twice) and host No. 1 Nebraska. After going 0-4 in their first two NCAA appearances, UC Irvine has produced back-to-back regional sweeps which began with an impressive outing at the Round Rock Regional in 2007. The Anteaters (41-16) are putting together another stellar season with their second consecutive 40-win season.
On the mound, UC Irvine is led by Collegiate Baseball/Louisville Slugger First Team All-American Scott Gorgen (2.31 ERA, 109.0 IP, 115 K) and Eric Pettis, who leads the Big West Conference and ranks second in the nation with 17 saves. Gorgen and Pettis are integral parts of a UCI pitching staff that ranks second in the nation with a 2.88 ERA. Ollie Linton (.323, 54 R, 35 RBI 39 SB) has been a catalyst for the Anteater offense all year, along with Ben Orloff (.344, 48 R, 21 RBI) and Francis Larson (.320, 30 R, 40 RBI).
This week the Anteaters continue their postseason road trip when they head down to LSU for the super regionals. The Tigers, claiming the nation’s No. 7 seed, are one of the hottest teams in the country, having set a new SEC record with 23-consecutive wins. Among those wins was an SEC Tournament Championship and a sweep of the Baton Rouge Regional - Texas Southern, Southern Miss (twice).
The two teams square off in a best-of-three super regional matchup beginning on Saturday, June 7 at 3:00 p.m. on ESPNU. Game two is slated for Sunday, June 8 with a 1:00 p.m. airing on ESPN, followed by an if necessary game televised on Monday, June 9 at 4:00 p.m.
Cal State Fullerton joins UC Irvine in the super regionals after posting a 4-1 mark to win the Fullerton Regional. The Titans opened regional play with a win over Rider before falling to Southern California foe UCLA Saturday evening. On Sunday, the Titans used their home field advantage to defeat both Virginia and UCLA, sending them to final showdown with the Bruins on Monday. In the third meeting in four days, Cal State Fullerton walked away with a 5-4 win and their sixth consecutive trip to the super regionals.
Cory Arbiso (4.21 ERA, 98.1, 68 K) and Collegiate Baseball/Louisville Slugger Third Team All-American Jeff Kaplan (4.37 ERA, 105.0 IP, 89 K) have combined for over half of the Titans’ 41 wins, with Arbiso leading the Big West Conference with 12 wins and Kaplan tied for second with 11 victories. At the plate, the Titans are led by Erik Komatsu's .348 batting average, Josh Fellhauer's 60 runs scored and Jared Clark's 53 RBI. Freshman Christian Colon (.335, 59 R, 39 RBI) ranks among the top five in the country with 21 sacrifice bunts.
Earning a No. 5 national seed gives the Titans the luxury of staying in the familiar confines of Goodwin Field to host the Stanford Cardinal this weekend. Cal State Fullerton looks to seek revenge on a Cardinal squad that swept the Titans early on in the 2008 season in Palo Alto, Calif. Stanford finished second in the Pac-10 and enters this weekend’s showdown with an overall mark of 37-22-2.
The battle between the Titans and Cardinal gets underway Friday evening at 7:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN2. Saturday’s first pitch will be tossed at 4:30 p.m. and aired on ESPN. Sunday’s if necessary contest has a 4:00 p.m. start time on ESPN2.
The Complete Super Regional Pairings
Super Regionals June 6-9 - All Times are Pacific
North Carolina State (41-20) at No. 8 Georgia (39-22-1)
9:00 a.m. (ESPN), 9:00 a.m. (ESPN2), 1:00 p.m. (ESPN)
Wichita State (47-15) at No. 4 Florida State (51-11)
11:00 a.m. (ESPN2), 9:00 a.m. (ESPN2), 10:00 a.m. (ESPN)
Arizona (41-17) at No. 1 Miami (Florida) (50-8)
4:00 p.m. (ESPN), 4:30 p.m. (ESPN), 4:00 p.m. (ESPN2)
Stanford (37-22-2) at No. 5 Cal State Fullerton (41-20)
7:30 p.m. (ESPN2), 4:30 p.m. (ESPN), 4:00 p.m. (ESPN2)
Super Regionals June 7-10 - All Times are Pacific
Coastal Carolina (50-12) at No. 2 North Carolina (49-12)
9:00 a.m. (ESPNU), 10:00 a.m. (ESPN), 9:30 p.m./4:00 p.m. (ESPN/ESPN2)
Texas A&M (46-17) at No. 6 Rice (42-13)
Noon (ESPNU), 4:00 p.m. (ESPN2), 9:30 a.m./4:00 p.m. (ESPN/ESPN2)
UC Irvine (41-16) at No. 7 LSU (46-16-1)
3:00 p.m. (ESPNU), 1:00 p.m. (ESPN), 4:00 p.m. (ESPN2)
Fresno State (40-28) at No. 3 Arizona State (48-11)
6:00 p.m. (ESPNU), 7:00 p.m. (ESPN2), 4:00 p.m. (ESPN2)