Tallahassee Regional Preview
Baseball America will break down all 16 regionals, including Tallahassee, hosted by Florida State. Teddy Cahill has the details.
| STAT PACK (National rank in parentheses) |
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| Avg. | Scoring (R/G) | HR | SB | ERA | K/9 | WHIP | Fielding %age | |
| 1. Florida State | .295 (48) | 7.3 (24) | 49 (41) | 61 (106) | 3.69 (53) | 8.3 (33) | 1.32 (48) | .969 (128) |
| 2. Southern Mississippi | .306 (25) | 6.9 (35) | 65 (12) | 27 (270) | 4.12 (95) | 7.7 (82) | 1.44 (117) | .975 (36) |
| 3. South Alabama | .263 (200) | 6.0 (90) | 29 (155) | 105 (7) | 3.43 (30) | 6.5 (220) | 1.20 (11) | .978 (12) |
| 4. Alabama State | .309 (18) | 8.7 (1) | 61 (19) | 82 (38) | 3.64 (48) | 9.4 (6) | 1.36 (79) | .965 (196) |
1. Florida State (37-20, 16-10 in Atlantic Coast Conference)
54th appearance (39th straight), at-large, second in ACC Coastal
Top 300 Prospects: None
Season In A Sentence: With several key pieces from its 2015 super regional team gone, Florida State suffered through some growing pains as its young players adjusted to the college game, but by the end of the year the Seminoles were playing in the championship game of the ACC tournament.
Player To Watch: Jackson Lueck, of: One of the many impact freshmen brought in as a part of Florida State’s sixth-ranked recruiting class, Lueck has been one of Florida State’s best hitters since moving into the starting lineup in April. In 108 at bats, he is hitting .407/.522/.583 and moved into the three-hole during the ACC tournament. If he can continue his hot streak, he makes the top of the Seminoles’ lineup more formidable and adds length to the lineup.
Best Weekend: vs. Louisville, April 8-10. After seeing two games in back-to-back conference series get washed out, Florida State was just happy to get on the field for a full ACC series. The Seminoles bats came alive against the Cardinals’ stout pitching, and they beat scored a total of 28 runs in games started by Brendan McKay and Kyle Funkhouser to win the series.
Outlook: The Seminoles finished the regular season by losing three straight ACC series. They seemed to get it turned around at the ACC tournament where they swept pool play before falling to Clemson in a rain-soaked championship game. Florida State is a different team at Dick Howser Stadium, where it is 27-9, and earning a host spot gives it a big advantage. But to advance to super regionals, the Seminoles will have to play more like they did last week than the way they played down the stretch of the regular season.
2. Southern Mississippi (40-18, 20-10 in Conference USA)
13th appearance (first since 2011), automatic, third place in CUSA, CUSA tournament champion
Top 300 Prospects: None
Season In A Sentence:: After being left on the wrong side of the NCAA tournament bubble last year, Southern Mississippi left nothing to chance this year, finishing near the top of a competitive CUSA in the regular season and then winning the conference tournament on its home field.
Player To Watch: Chuckie Robinson, c: Southern Miss has better hitters than Robinson, but he has been a constant behind the plate, starting 54 of their 56 games this season. He has been a steadying defensive presence, committing just four errors (.991 fielding percentage) and throwing out 41 percent of would-be base-stealers. He holds his own at the plate, as well, hitting .296/.359/.434 this season.
Best Weekend: vs. Rice, April 22-24. In a battle for first place in CUSA, Southern Miss and Rice played three straight one-run games. The Golden Eagles edged the Owls twice for 2-1 victories to take the series and, momentarily, move atop the standings. It was just the second series win against Rice for Southern Miss in 11 tries.
Outlook: Southern Miss had a chance to win the regular season CUSA title on the final weekend, but was swept at Florida International. That loss likely cost the Golden Eagles the opportunity to host a regional at Pete Taylor Park, where they are 26-4. Southern Miss is 9-10 on the road and will be going into one of the tougher environments in college baseball. To advance to super regionals for the first time since its College World Series appearance in 2009, it will have to figure out a way to play better on the road.
3. South Alabama (40-20, 21-9 in Sun Belt Conference)
26th appearance (last in 2013), at-large, tied first in Sun Belt
Top 300 Prospects: OF Cole Billingsley (291)
Season In A Sentence: After a hot start to the season, South Alabama faded down the stretch, losing its last four series, but was still able to hold on to an at-large bid and a share of the regular season Sun Belt title.
Player To Watch: Kevin Hill, rhp: Since transferring to South Alabama from Seminole State (Okla.) CC for the 2015 season, Hill has fronted the Jaguars rotation. He is the first player to win back-to-back Sun Belt pitcher of the year awards, and went 8-1, 2.53 with 125 strikeouts in 117 1/3 innings this season. Winning his start will be critical for South Alabama’s hopes.
Best Weekend: Bulldog Invitational, Feb. 26-28. South Alabama went 2-1 in the tournament hosted by Georgia, beating the hosts and Cincinnati. The Jaguars defeated the Bulldogs in the opener, coming out on top in a pitchers’ duel between Hill and Georgia ace Robert Tyler. After losing a slugfest to Western Kentucky, 11-10, South Alabama finished the weekend by edging Cincinnati, 3-2. It carried that momentum into the next week, when it swept a pair of midweek games against Southern Mississippi.
Outlook: South Alabama at one point was 26-8 and ranked in the Top 25. But it hasn’t been as good in the second half of the season and lost its last five conference series. Hill gives the Jaguars a chance to win whenever he takes the mound, but they’ll need to give him a bit more help or else they could be in danger of a quick exit.
4. Alabama State (38-15, 24-0 in Southwestern Athletic Conference)
First appearance, automatic, first place in SWAC East, SWAC tournament champion
Top 300 Prospects: None
Season In A Sentence: Coach Mervyl Melendez’s makeover of the Alabama State program culminated this season with a 24-0 regular season SWAC record and a sweep through the conference tournament to earn the Hornets’ first bid to the NCAA Tournament as a Division I school.
Player To Watch: Angel Alicea, rhp: A former two-way player, Alicea has found himself on the mound since giving up hitting early in the season. The junior has mostly been used out of the bullpen, but he started at Tennessee and threw seven scoreless innings, and started and won the SWAC tournament championship game. Alicea (3-0, 0.91) will be a weapon for the Hornets, however they choose to use him this weekend.
Best Weekend: vs. Winthrop, Feb. 26-28. After losing its first four games on the season (including a midweek loss at South Alabama), Alabama State got in the win column on the second weekend of the year with a series victory against Winthrop. In the first game of the series, the Hornets beat lefthander Matt Crohan, an alumnus of USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team. That victory was also the 500th of Melendez’s career.
Outlook: Alabama State has won a lot this season and has midweek victories against South Alabama and Tennessee to its credit. This, however, will by far be its toughest test of the season. But having finished off its undefeated conference season and gotten to regionals for the first time in program history, the Hornets are playing confidently and with nothing to lose. They can’t be overlooked this weekend.
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