Super Regional Preview: UC Santa Barbara-Louisville

LOUISVILLE SUPER REGIONAL

Hosted by Louisville (No. 2 national seed) • Patterson Stadium • Louisville

Follow the action on Twitter: @UofLBaseball | @UCSB_Baseball

UC Santa Barbara (40-18-1) at No. 2 Louisville (50-12)

Saturday
Noon (ESPN2)
Sunday
Noon (ESPN2 or ESPNU)
Monday
**1 p.m./4 p.m./7 p.m. (ESPN2) or 7 p.m. (ESPNU)

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UC Santa Barbara

Coach: Andrew Checketts
Postseason History: First super regional appearance. Seeking first trip to Omaha.
Postseason Route: No. 2 seed in Nashville Regional. Won in three games, defeating Xavier in the final.

Pos.	Name	Bats	Yr.	AVG	OBP	SLG	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB
C	Dempsey Grover	R	So.	.281	.394	.399	2	29	31	41	6
1B	Kyle Plantier	R	So.	.185	.313	.235	1	15	11	26	3
2B	J.J. Muno	L	So.	.286	.366	.446	5	29	10	35	17
3B	Ryan Clark	R	Sr.	.269	.336	.351	1	14	7	30	4
SS	Clay Fisher	R	So.	.286	.335	.368	1	23	14	31	13
OF	Josh Adams	L	So.	.234	.331	.376	4	27	18	33	2
OF	Andrew Calica	L	Jr.	.275	.451	.392	4	25	44	20	18
OF	Devon Gradford	B	Jr.	.342	.430	.477	1	18	12	22	4
DH	Austin Bush	L	So.	.270	.254	.474	10	48	29	51	0
Pos.	Name	Throws	Yr.	W	L	SV	ERA	IP	BB	SO	AVG
SP	Shane Bieber	R	Jr.	11	3	0	2.86	120	15	96	.252
SP	Noah Davis	R	Fr.	6	4	0	4.67	71	26	56	.279
SP	Joe Record	R	So.	6	5	0	3.91	90	38	63	.264
RP	Kyle Nelson	L	So.	7	2	8	2.08	69	16	84	.204

Scouting Report
(anonymous coach breaks down the Gauchos)

“I thought they were a better club last year and obviously hosted a regional last year, but they just weren’t able to play well at their regional. Dillon Tate, and I thought (Justin) Jacome was a Friday starter for anyone else in the country who didn’t have Dillon Tate.

“But it’s a different club (this year), relying a little more on offense. They’re a good club as always. The pitching that they have, while it’s not what it was, it’s still plenty good. I was impressed just with the depth that they have. It’s not really as top-heavy as what they had the previous years, and it’s a little hit or miss. Not quite as consistent as what they’ve been in the past because not as many veterans.

“Bieber has a good arm. It’s a plus arm. Command-wise, it’s not as consistent as you’re used to seeing them on a regular basis. But the stuff is there, and everything he’s going to throw is going to be firm. It’s all going to be fastball-slider for the most part. It’s gonna be firm. He’s gonna come at you and test you that way.

“I thought lineup-wise, Calica, while he has always done really well, he’s never done a lot against us. But you can see, the talent’s there and how good he is. We had no luck at all that weekend with Austin Bush. He absolutely wore us out. If you make a mistake with him, you’ve got to be careful, because he’s just got plus power. Calica’s gonna go up there and look for the walk or the hit by pitch, so you’ve got to make him swing the bat, and he does a great job with that.

“Bush can be susceptible to velocity. You can get him out if you have plus arms and can locate it. We started getting him out when we started going in hard, and with the arms that Louisville has, it’ll be interesting to see that much. He’s one of those guys that you can get him out in—but you better get it in.

“It’s kind of fun to watch them because you can see the talent there, but it was young talent on the mound, and you can see the talent there overall. And obviously Andrew (Checketts) does such a good job that, as the season progressed, it doesn’t surprise me that they’re playing well and getting hot at the right time.”

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Louisville

Coach: Dan McDonnell
Postseason History: Sixth super regional appearance (fourth straight). Seeking fourth trip to Omaha.
Postseason Route: No. 1 seed in Louisville Regional. Won in three games, defeating Wright State in the final.

Pos.	Name	Bats	Yr.	AVG	OBP	SLG	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB
C	Will Smith	R	Jr.	.380	.476	.573	7	43	18	12	9
1B	Danny Rosenbaum	R	Sr.	.289	.363	.521	10	41	18	38	0
2B	Nick Solak	R	Jr.	.380	.476	.576	5	29	27	19	9
3B	Blake Tiberi	L	So.	.331	.380	.534	9	48	18	20	2
SS	Devin Hairston	R	So.	.360	.413	.467	3	45	20	32	3
OF	Corey Ray	L	Jr.	.319	.396	.562	15	60	35	39	44
OF	Logan Taylor	R	Jr.	.286	.363	.398	0	18	13	15	18
OF	Colin Lyman	L	Jr.	.300	.365	.393	0	30	6	19	8
DH	Brendan McKay	L	So.	.336	.420	.509	5	40	24	31	0
Pos.	Name	Throws	Yr.	W	L	SV	ERA	IP	BB	SO	AVG
SP	Brendan McKay	L	So.	12	3	0	2.12	102	42	119	.214
SP	Drew Harrington	L	Jr.	12	2	0	2.08	104	24	80	.231
SP	Kyle Funkhouser	R	Sr.	9	3	0	3.86	93	47	95	.211
RP	Zack Burdi	R	Jr.	1	2	11	2.20	29	7	46	.155

Scouting Report
(anonymous coach breaks down the Cardinals)

“I think Louisville is the class in college baseball. You like to think they’re gonna be (in Omaha). The only team that’s been close is not the national championship Virginia team, but the runner-up Virginia team was that good. I thought the runner-up Virginia team was better than the national championship team last year. And that’s the only team that’s been close.

“(The Cardinals) can beat you in so many ways. They can outpitch you. Their defense is ridiculous. Hairston and Solak up the middle are a joke—you can’t get the ball through their infield. And then they can hit. If you’re not pitching with high velocity and pitching in, you’re in trouble.

“(Funkhouser) was 95-98 mph against us. I’m watching on video, and I’m watching 88 flash on the board, 89. He comes in against us, he’s 95-98, as good as I’ve ever seen in one short outing, and he had help a little bit in his outing with us. He had a little bit of a wider strike zone. And to his credit, he can expose that. I mean Harrington and McKay are a joke. I mean Harrington, he’s only 87-90, but you better be able to handle crossfire fastballs and a plus, plus breaking ball. McKay is the same way, a plus-plus breaking ball. I mean, his breaking ball is as good as I’ve seen in college. It’s unbelievable. It’s almost like you’re better off hitting it lefthanded. If you’re righthanded, you just can’t get an angle to get to the ball. Burdi threw three sliders against us, and you go back and watch it on video, and that’s three big league pitches. On stuff alone, there’s 10 guys like that in the world that have that kind of stuff.

“You’ve got to get lucky at the end of the day, but I think based on what I’ve seen, there’s two teams in college baseball that I think have stood out, and I think it’s Florida and Louisville. I think those two are the class of college baseball. And I love Texas A&M. They have some really, really good pieces, but on the mound they just don’t have what those two guys have.

“As much as I’ve seen Florida on TV and played against Louisville, the one separator is Louisville’s offense seems like it’s a little bit better than Florida’s offense for sure, and I think the pitching staffs are similar in a short series, but Florida has more depth on the mound, which is hard to believe, because Louisville’s pretty deep.”