College World Series 2011 Preview

It's time to ping in the new as 2011 College World Series gets underway (but hopefully not under water) in Omaha.

The CWS will have a new look and feel as the Championship leaves Rosenblatt Stadium for the first time and travels North to TD AmeriTrade Park in Downtown Omaha. The action is set to start Saturday for Bracket 1 of the tournament, with Bracket 2 kicking off on Sunday.

This year's field includes a lot of familiar faces, and a few fresh ones tot the CWS, which according to reports should have no problem with the high water levels of the near by Missouri River.

Here is a closer look at each of the teams paired by their opening game opponents:

Bracket 1:

North Carolina (50-14) vs. Vanderbilt (52-10).

Something has to give in this opening day battle as both teams went through the NCAA Regional and Super Regionals without a loss.

Pitching is the strength for the No. 3-seeded Tar Heels, as the Mike Fox coached team has a staff ERA at 3.26. Patrick Johnson (13-1, 2.27) has won six in a row and posted a 0.60 ERA during that streak. Lefty Kent Emanuel is 8-1 with a 2.55 ERA. Third baseman Colin Moran paces the team at the plate with a .335 average and slugging percentage of .552. Shortstop Levi Michael was the 30th pick in the 2011 Major League Draft. The Minnesota Twins selection is batting .300 with five homers and 48 RBIs.

Vanderbilt, the sixth seed, makes the school's first-ever College World Series Appearance under Tim Corbin. The Commodores pack plenty of offensive clout with six players hitting better than .316, including first baseman Aaron Westlake, who hit three home runs in the Super Regional clinching win over Oregon State. Westlake is hitting .353 with 17 home runs and 54 RBIs this season. Second baseman Riley Reynolds (.346), shortstop Athony Gome (.343(and third baseman Jason Esposito (.357, 9 homers, 42 RBIs, 22 stolen bases) give Vandy a pretty solid offensive infield. DH Conrad Gregor is also hitting .350. Tony Kemp (.325) and Mike Yastrzemski (.300) combine with centerfielder Connor Harrell (.281) in the outfield.

Yastrzemski is the grandson of Hall of Fame outfielder Carl Yastrzemski.

On the mound, lefty Grayson Garvin (13-1, 2.36) was the SEC Pitcher of the year after going 10-0 in conference play and Sonny Gray (12-3, 1.97), the 18th selection in the Major League Draft by the Oakland A's, lead the way. The duo give the team a powerful one-two punch. Expect Gray to start the opener.

Texas (49-17) vs. Florida (50-17)

Familiar faces Texas and Florida will match up in Saturday at TD AmeriTrade Park.

The Longhorns, the seventh seed, had the shakiest road to the CWS after losing the first game at both their Regional and Super Regional and Augie Garrido's team to fight off elimination the rest of the way to earn a trip to Omaha.

Staff ace Taylor Jungmann leads the rotation. The No. 12 pick by Milwaukee in the MLB draft is 13-2 with a 1.38 ERA. He was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year and is a finalist for both the Dick Howser Trophy and Golden Spikes Award.

Cole Green and Sam Stafford have combined to go 14-5. Corey Knebel is 3-2 with a 1.15 ERA and tied a Texas record with 19 saves. He will be seen late in games for the Horns, who have arguably the best pithing staff, top-to-bottom, in Omaha.

Offensively, Texas is paced by shortstop Brandon Loy (.344, 19 stolen bases), third baseman Erich Weiss (.358, 44 RBIs) and first baseman Tant Shepherd (.305, 40 RBIs).

Kevin O'Sullivan's Florida team makes back-to-back trips to Omaha for the first time in program history and the team won 50 games for just third time.

Pitchers Hudson Randal (10-3, 2.29), Karsten Whitson (8-0, 2.45) and lefty Alex Panteliodis (6-2, 3.95) pace the rotation for the No. 2 seeded team.

At the plate, the Gators have seven .300 hitters with catcher Mike Zunino (.376, 18 home runs, 66 RBIs) and right fielder Preston Tucker (.314, 14, 68) as two of the top sluggers in Omaha. Zunino was the SEC Player of the Year and is a finalist for the Johnny Bench Award, given to the best catcher in college baseball. Left fielder Daniel Pigott enters with a .339 average and a team-high 15 stolen bases.

Bracket 2:

California (37-21) vs. Virginia (54-10)

Top overall seed Virginia presents a tough opening-game contest for California, who narrowly lost is program altogether.

Virginia ace Danny Hultzen, the second overall pick in the Major League Draft by the Seattle Mariners, was named the ACC Pitcher of the Year for the second year in a row after posting a 12-3 mark with a 1.41 ERA. Will Roberts (11-1, 1.58) and Tyler Wilson (8-0, 2.29) combined for a 19-1 mark. Closer Branden Kline tied a school record with 17 saves.

The Cavs are coached by Brian O'Connor, a native of neighboring Council Bluffs, and standout for the 1991 Creighton baseball team that made the College World Series. A side note, O'Connor's likeness is the model for "The Road to Omaha" statue that stands outside the park.

The No. 8 seeded Golden Bears make their first trip to Omaha since 1992, this after a tumultuous season. The baseball program was scheduled to be cut after this season due to budget restrictions, but it was reinstated after a fundraising drive established enough funds to keep it going beyond this year.

Offensively, you won't find a lot of eye-popping number from the Bears, who try to do the little things to win games for David Esquer. Second baseman Tony Renda (.335), left fielder Austin Booker (.319), catcher Chadd Krist (.304) lead the Bears in hitting.

Erik Johnson (7-4, 2.91), Justin Jones (9-6, 2.93) are the team's top two pitchers.
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South Carolina (50-14) vs. Texas A&M (47-20)

Defending champion South Carolina returns to Omaha with a loaded bullpen.

How loaded? Try these numbers on: 42-0 when leading after six innings, 46-0 when leading after eight. Ray Tanner's fourth-seeded Gamecocks have four pitchers with at least 20 innings pitched and an ERA better than 2.20 coming out of the pen in Matt Price (5-3, 2.25, 17 saves), John Taylor (6-1, 1.27), Patrick Sullivan (2-0, 1.35), Jose Mata (3-0, 1.76). Starers Michael Roth (13-3, 1.02), Colby Holmes (7-3, 3.78) and Forrest Koumas (6-1, 3.07) will try to get the game that far with the lead.

Jackie Bradley, the CWS Most Outstanding Player last season, has been sidelined due to surgery due to a torn tendon in April and is questionable for the Series. Christian Walker (.359, 10, 60), second baseman Scott Wingo (.338), and Brady Thomas (.311) lead the South Carolina production.

Texas A&M, the fifth seed, is coming into Omaha without their ace, John Stilson. Stilson had been dominant for the Aggies but due to a torn labrum, he's now out for the season. Fortunately for the Aggies, Ross Stripling (14-2, 2.29) and Michael Wacha (9-3, 2.12) have more than capable for Rob Childress this season. The two pitchers have each pitched at least 115 innings while both have held their ERAs below 2.30. A vacancy for Texas A&M has been their bullpen as only one reliever has a sub-3 ERA in Nick Fleece (7-1 1.44). The Aggies will need Stripling and Wacha to pitch deep into games if they want to be successful in Omaha.

Right fielder Tyler Naquin (.390, 44 RBIs) was named Big 12 Player of the Year. Center fielder Krey Bratsen is batting .331 with 31 stolen bases.

www.ap.org, Associated
www.virginiasports.com, University of Virginia
http://gamecocksonline.cstv.com, University of South Carolina
http://vucommodores.cstv.com/sports, Vanderbilt University
www.secsports.com, Southeastern Conference
www.big12sports.com, Big 12 Conference