May 30, 2012
Vanderbilt hits the road to Raleigh, N.C. to open the NCAA Tournament. Host North Carolina State will welcome UNC-Wilmington and Sacred Heart along with the Commodores for the opening weekend of the tournament. Below are brief capsules of the three teams joining Vandy in Raleigh this weekend.
North Carolina State Wolfpack (Raleigh, N.C.)
The Wolfpack (39-17, 19-11 ACC) are hosting for the third time in school history and first time since 2008. N.C. State enters the Regional after a 4-0 loss in 12 innings to rival North Carolina in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament semifinals. During the regular season N.C. State finished third in the ACC, five games back of champion Florida State.
The Pack is led by ACC Pitcher and Freshman of the Year Carlos Rodon. The lefty has been nothing short of amazing in his freshman campaign going 9-0 with a 1.46 ERA, striking out 126 batters with 36 walks in 105 innings. Opponents are hitting just .180 against him and the southpaw twirled nine scoreless innings with 12 strikeouts in the championship game against the Tar Heels on Sunday. Oh and by the way, Rodon is 2-for-5 with two doubles at the dish this year.
As a pitching staff, the Pack have been solid posting a 3.29 ERA and allowing opponents to hit .226. It should be noted that the pitching coach at N.C. State is Tom Holliday, the father of Vanderbilt hitting coach Josh Holliday and St. Louis Cardinals’ All-Star outfielder Matt Holliday.
Offensively, the Wolfpack like to run and average 6.6 runs per game with the help of 131 doubles. Freshman leadoff hitter Trea Turner is the key. Turner is hitting .345 with 15 extra-base hits, 39 RBI and a nation-leading 55 stolen bases (in 59 attempts). A pair of upperclassmen, Chris Diaz and Ryan Mathews, anchor the lineup with Diaz hitting a team-best .364 and Mathews hitting a team-high 15 homers with a team-high 54 RBI.
N.C. State is the only team in the Regional Vanderbilt has played previously with the Commodores emerging with a 4-2 victory in 1973.
Famous Alumni: Philip Rivers (QB San Diego Chargers), Mario Williams (DE Buffalo Bills), Bill Cowher (former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach), Spud Webb (former NBA player and dunk champion), Jim Goodnight (SAS Institute), Donald Bitzer (father of the plasma TV and Emmy award winner) and Zach Galifiianakis (actor) attended NCSU.
UNC-Wilmington Seahawks (Wilmington, N.C.)
The Seahawks (38-21, 24-6 CAA) are back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2008 and fifth time in program history. UNC-Wilmington clinched the automatic berth by winning the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament with a 10-8 win over Delaware on Saturday. The Hawks dominated the CAA during the regular season winning the league title by four games, winning every conference series.
UNC-Wilmington’s offense flashes power and speed with 48 round trippers as a tam to go along with 104 stolen bases in 132 attempts. Five different Seahawks have at least 10 stolen bases led by Andrew Cain’s 22. Seniors Cain and Thomas Pope were both named first team All-CAA after leading the Seahawks. Cain has hit .313 with 10 home runs and 41 RBI while Pope has hit a team-best .381 with 42 RBI and 17 stolen bases. Second team All-CAA player Tyler Molinaro leads the squad with 15 homers and 44 RBI.
Senior right-hander Tyler McSwain was a first team All-CAA member after going a team-best 9-3 with a 3.12 ERA in 16 games. McSwain has 65 strikeouts in 101 innings entering the tournament with opponents hitting .258 against him. In CAA play, the right-hander went 7-1 with a 3.10 ERA. Mat Batts went 6-4 with a team-best 2.59 ERA to go along with 90 strikeouts in 97.1 innings in his 15 starts. As a staff, the Seahawks enter the tournament with a 3.38 ERA while opponents are hitting .255.
UNC-Wilmington head coach Mark Scalf was named CAA Coach of the Year for the fifth time in his 21st season at the school. The Seahawks dropped a pair of early season games to N.C. State and were swept in a three-game series at Ole Miss the second weekend of the season. The Rebels outscored Wilmington 18-9 over the weekend.
Famous Alum: John Calipari (Kentucky basketball head coach).
Sacred Heart Pioneers (Fairfield, Conn.)
The Pioneers (25-30, 19-13 NEC) are back in the postseason for the second straight year after winning their second consecutive Northeast Conference Tournament Championship with a 5-1 win over Monmouth on Saturday. Sacred Heart finished in a tie for third during the regular season, five games back of league champ Bryant.
The Pioneers’ offense enters the tournament hitting .272 as a team and scoring 4.7 runs per game. John Murphy leads the way hitting .347 with Dan Perez driving in a team-best 36 runs and collecting a team-high 14 doubles. Perez was named first team All-NEC as the designated hitter with Murphy earning All-NEC honors for the second straight year as the second team shortstop.
Troy Scribner and Nick Leiningen, who have combined to start 26 games, lead the Sacred Heart pitching staff. As a staff, the Pioneers have posted a 5.52 ERA with opponents hitting .291. During the NEC Tournament the pitching staff allowed only three runs over three games, including a shutout of Monmouth on Friday.
Sacred Heart finished the season winning eight of the final 10 games, including four straight.
Famous Alumni: Kevin Nealon (actor) and John Ratzenberger (actor/Cliff Clavin from Cheers).
The Ballpark
North Carolina State calls Doak Field at Dail Park home in Raleigh, N.C. The ballpark opened in 1966 and underwent a $6 million renovation following the 2002 season. Since the renovations, the park holds approximately 2,200 chair back seats and features a 1,200 square foot press box. The dimensions are 320 down the left field line, 330 down the right field line, 370 to the power alleys and 400 to straightaway center.