Category: College Baseball

No college team had more Cape League success in 2012 than Stony Brook. Powerhouses like North Carolina or Vanderbilt? Some good players, but nobody matched Stony Brook.

Obviously, then, the Seawolves have some guys who can play with the big boys.

And now they’re really doing it.

Stony Brook upset regional host Miami on Friday night. After a loss to Central Florida on Saturday, the Seawolves rallied from a 7-3 deficit to beat Missouri State on Sunday and then beat UCF to force a winner-take-all regional title game on Monday. Whatever happens, they’ve already made history. They’re the first America East team to make a regional final.

If you’re a Cape League fan and you need a team to root for in the NCAA Tournament, look no further than Stony Brook. The first four hitters in their batting order played on the Cape last summer, including league MVP Travis Jankowski and all-star Pat Cantwell. Jankowski and Maxx Tissenbaum, who played for Orleans, are both hitting over .400, while William Carmona, who played for Wareham, led the team with 65 RBI.

The pitching staff is headed by Tyler Johnson, who also played for Orleans.

Monday’s game with UCF is scheduled for 7 p.m. I believe it will be available online at ESPN3.com.

As usual, a ton of future Cape Leaguers have some business to take care of before their summers begin. The NCAA baseball tournament begins this week, with a lot of 2012 Cape Cod Baseball League players leading their teams into the fray.

Quite a few games will be broadcast online on ESPN3, including the College Station, Columbia, Gainesville, Stanford, Tallahassee and Tucson Regionals. Several games in the Tucson Regional will also be televised on ESPNU.

If you’re looking for a college baseball fix with an eye on the Cape League, here are a few 2012 CCBL players to watch in each regional.

Gainesville Regional
Teams: Florida, Georgia Tech, Charleston, Bethune Cookman

Florida, the No. 1 overall seed, has seven players slated for the Cape. Jonathon Crawford (Y-D) has been a key part of the pitching staff for the Gators, with a 3.34 ERA and 60 strikeouts in 62 innings.

Georgia Tech has seven coming to the cape, including Wareham returnees Daniel Palka and Mott Hyde. Palka has 12 home runs this year, while Hyde is hitting .270.

Raleigh Regional
Teams: NC State, Vanderbilt, UNC Wilmington, Sacred Heart

NC State is led by star freshman Carlos Rodon (Harwich), who’s also on Team USA’s roster. Rodon is perhaps the best freshman in the nation. The Wolfpack also has Chris Diaz (Harwich), who boasts a .374 average, and Brett Austin (Harwich), a supplemental first-round pick last year.

Vanderbilt is sending 10 players to the Cape, as many as any other school. Anthony Gomez (Orleans) and Tony Kemp (Cotuit) are two of the team’s top hitters, while freshman pitcher Tyler Beede (Cotuit) was the top unsigned pick from the 2011 draft.

Kemp and Beede will be Cape teammates with UNC Wilmington starter Jordan Ramsey (Cotuit), who has a 3.94 ERA.

Charlottesville Regional
Teams: Virginia, Oklahoma, Appalachian State, Army

Virginia’s Stephen Bruno (Harwich) has has a tremendous season, hitting .370 with six home runs and 47 RBI. Reliever Kyle Crockett (Orleans) leads the Cavs with a 2.40 ERA.

Catcher Hunter Lockwood (Cotuit) has had a strong freshman season for Oklahoma.

Columbia Regional
Teams: South Carolina, Clemson, Coastal Carolina, Manhattan

The two-time defending champion Gamecocks have only one player coming to the Cape — outfielder Tanner English (Harwich), who’s hitting .315.

Freshman Daniel Gossett (Falmouth) leads Clemson with 79 strikeouts in 70 innings.

Coastal Carolina’s Jacob May (Cotuit) is hitting .292.

Eugene Regional
Teams: Oregon, Fullerton, Indiana State, Austin Peay

Oregon’s Jimmie Sherfy (Y-D), who’s also on the Team USA roster, has been outstanding as a closer, with 17 saves, a 2.29 ERA and 84 strikeouts in just 55 innings pitched. The Ducks also have Aaron Jones (Falmouth), who’s tied for the team lead with six home runs and leads the club in RBI with 38.

Gary Regional
Teams: Purdue, Kentucky, Kent State, Valparaiso

Kentucky’s top two hitters, Austin Cousino (Hyannis) and A.J. Reed (Harwich) are on Cape League rosters, though Cousino has also been invited to Team USA. Cousino is hitting .318 with nine home runs, while Reed checks in at .314.

Tyler Skulina (Bourne) is the ace for Kent State. He’s 9-2 with a 3.95 ERA and 83 strikeouts in 82 innings.

Houston Regional
Teams: Rice, Arkansas, Sam Houston St., Prairie View

Rice will lean heavily on pitcher Austin Kubitza (Orleans) who is 6-3 as a starter with a 3.17 ERA.

Arkansas has five players on Cape rosters, led by Dominic Ficociello (Orleans), who’s hitting .314 with six home runs and 37 RBI.

Waco Regional
Teams: Baylor, Dallas Baptist, UT-Arlington, Oral Roberts

Baylor and future Wareham teammates Dillon Newman and Brad Kuntz have both pitched well this year and are likely to see some action this postseason.

Alex Gonzalez (Y-D) looks like a co-ace for Oral Roberts. He’s 6-2 with a 2.04 ERA.

Los Angeles Regional
Teams: UCLA, San Diego, New Mexico, Creighton

Zack Weiss (Y-D) has a 3.90 ERA for UCLA.

San Diego is led by standout sophomore and 2011 Chatham Angler Kris Bryant, who’s on the Chatham roster again as well as the Team USA roster. Bryant is hitting .369 with 14 home runs. The Toreros also have Dylan Covey (Orleans), a first-round pick in 2010. He has a 3.35 ERA this spring.

New Mexico star D.J. Peterson (Hyannis), who has also been invited to Team USA, may be the top player in the regional. He’s hitting .422 with 14 home runs.

College Station Regional
Teams: Texas A&M, TCU, Mississippi, Dayton

Mississippi’s Bobby Wahl (Cotuit), who starred as a closer for Cotuit last year, is now the ace of the Rebels staff as a starter. Hawtin Buchanan (Bourne) has also been good in bullpen action.

Dayton has no 2012 Cape Leagues, but it’s my alma mater so I’m mentioning the Flyers. Pitchers Burny Mitchem and Mike Hauschild have both played for Orleans in recent years.

Coral Gables Regional
Teams: Miami, UCF, Missouri State, Stony Brook

Lots of Cape League connections in this one.

Miami’s Brad Fieger (Falmouth) and Dale Carey (Chatham) are both standout hitters for the Hurricanes.

For Central Florida, Garrett Nuss (Harwich), Eric Skoglund (Harwich) and Ben Lively (Y-D) have all been impressive on the mound.

Missouri State boasts the Collegiate Baseball Player of the Year in pitcher Nick Petree (Harwich).

Stony Brook has only one 2012 Cape Leaguer at this point, pitcher Brandon McNitt (Orleans), but you can keep an eye on 2011 CCBL MVP Travis Jankowski.

Baton Rouge Regional
Teams: LSU, Oregon State, Belmont, Louisiana-Monroe

LSU is tied with Vanderbilt for the most players on Cape League rosters. The list includes NCAA batting champ Raph Rhymes (Cotuit) and 2011 CCBL Pitcher of the Year Ryan Eades (Bourne).

Oregon State also has quite a few, led by 2011 CCBL all-star Jake Rodriguez (Falmouth) and standout freshman Jace Fry (Falmouth).

Chapel Hill Regional
Teams: North Carolina, East Carolina, St. John’s, Cornell

The UNC Cape contingent includes Colin Moran (Bourne), the 2011 ACC Freshman of the Year, and Tommy Coyle (Bourne), a mainstay on the infield.

Jeff Hoffman (Hyannis) has been a solid pitcher for East Carolina. He has a 3.32 ERA.

Tucson Regional
Teams: Arizona, New Mexico St., Louisville, Missouri

Arizona has two players heading back to Wareham. Johnny Field is hitting .374 while pitcher Konner Wade has a 4.48 ERA with 89 strikeouts.

Louisville has eight players bound for the Cape, including Big East Rookie of the Year Jared Ruxer (Wareham) and 2010 NECBL top prospect Jeff Thompson (Bourne).

Stanford Regional
Teams: Stanford, Pepperdine, Michigan State, Fresno State

Standford sophomore Austin Wilson (Harwich) is one of the top prospects in the regional, while teammate A.J. Vanegas (Y-D) is up there too.

Aaron Brown (Chatham) has been a solid two-way player for Pepperdine, and Scott Frazier (Chatham) is one of the team’s top pitchers.

Fresno State outfielder Aaron Judge (Brewster) is hitting .329 with four homers and 24 RBI.

Tallahassee Regional
Teams: Florida State, Mississippi State, Stamford, UAB

Brandon Leibrandt (Brewster) has been one of Florida State’s top pitchers. He’s 6-2 with a 2.93 ERA and 61 strikeouts.

Mississippi State’s Adam Frazier (Harwich) is hitting .360 with a .475 on-base percentage. Evan Mitchell (Harwich) has struck out better than a batter an inning as a reliever for the Bulldogs.

We’re still about a month away from the first official day of spring, unless you’re like me and you prefer to observe the baseball calendar.

And baseball spring starts today.

From coast to coast (mostly in southern latitudes) college baseball teams are opening their seasons today. William & Mary is the northern-most team hosting a game in the Eastern part of the country. Out West, Seattle University is actually hosting a game.

But though baseball remains far away from here, this is the beginning. It’s coming.

A couple of notes for the start of baseball spring:

Vanderbilt vs. Stanford looks like the best series of opening weekend, and it’s one with plenty of Cape connections. Both teams have a lot of players ticketed for the Cape in 2012, including Vanderbilt’s Friday and Saturday starters, Kevin Ziomek and Tyler Beede. Both are on the Cotuit roster. Cape League 2011 cameo star Mark Appel is slated to go against Ziomek for Stanford on Friday night.

If you haven’t checked out all of Baseball America’s season preview content, you should go ahead and do that. All kinds of good stuff over there, including conference previews and features on 2011 CCBL MVP Travis Jankowski and Hyannis standouts Dan Gulbransen and Adam Brett Walker.

BA also has its All-America teams out, and the first team is dominated by Cape Leaguers. With Team USA’s shortened schedule last summer, the Cape had some extra talent, even if they were making cameos. That’s reflected on these All-America teams. Twelve of 15 first-teamers have played on the Cape, including 2011 stars Jankowski, Stephen Piscotty, Chris Beck and Victor Roache.

The extra talent is also likely to be reflected in the 2012 draft. The first 10 college players on BA’s top 100 draft prospects are all Cape League alums, and it’s possible that Mark Appel will become the first Cape Leaguer to go No. 1 overall since Luke Hochevar in 2006.

Stanford is visiting Rice this weekend for a three-game set. It’s the biggest series on the opening weekend schedule, and it’s one with plenty of Cape League connections, particularly on one side.

The Cardinal has nine players on its roster who are slated to come to the Cape. That’s tied with Florida for the most in the league for the upcoming season.

And it’s not just any nine players. The list features four of the top sophomores in the country — Mark Appel, Kenny Diekroeger, Stephen Piscotty and Jake Stewart — and and three of the top freshmen — Austin Wilson, A.J. Vanegas and Brian Ragira.

That’s a lot of talent. Appel and Diekroeger are potentially the top two college prospects for the 2012 draft, while Wilson is the only freshman on Baseball America’s three preseason All-American teams. Appel and Diekroeger are ticketed for Y-D, while Wilson is slated to play for Harwich.

With so much talent coming to the Cape, it’s not surprising that Stanford has a lineup full of underclassmen. The projected starting nine doesn’t have a single junior or senior. That hasn’t hindered expectations, though. Stanford is a consensus top 25 team, ranking as high as 10th in the Collegiate Baseball poll.

Appel, who has shined as a reliever, is expected to start Friday’s game one.

As for Rice, the Owls have two players on Cape rosters — sophomore pitcher Tyler Duffey and freshman pitcher John Simms, both of whom are on the Falmouth roster. Simms, who’s ranked among the top freshmen in the country, is jumping right into the Friday starter’s role, making the opening-game match-up very interesting.

Friday, 5:30 p.m. – Live Stats
Saturday, 3 p.m. – Live Stats
Sunday, 2 p.m. – Live Stats

Two of the top three national leaders in home runs are slated to be on the Cape in 2010. Siena’s Dan Paolini (Chatham) is second in the country with 22. Indiana’s Alex Dickerson (Wareham) is third with 20.

If they keep up the pace, this would be a pretty rare feat for future Cape Leaguers. A lot of leaderboards are generally topped by juniors, not sophomores with a Cape summer ahead of them. Last year, Bryce Brentz led the nation in homers with 28 and was on the Harwich roster, but he wound up with Team USA.

The talk of Connecticut hosting an NCAA Regional in a few weeks continues to get louder.

The Huskies are 39-10 and sitting a half-game ahead of Louisville for first place in the Big East. They have an RPI of 20. Reports are that the Huskies might make a bid to host in Norwich, Conn., former home of the Connecticut Defenders and now the home of the short-season Connecticut Tigers. Since their season doesn’t begin until June, Dodd Stadium in Norwich has a wide open schedule.

I haven’t lived up this way for that long, but I can’t ever remember an NCAA Regional in New England. It would be pretty cool.

Kendall Rogers of Rivals College Baseball thinks it may happen:

With the limited scheduling opportunities and other aspects, such as the RPI, always working against teams in the region, it’s very impressive to see the Huskies with an RPI of 20. The Huskies don’t exactly have a bunch of wins against RPI Top 25 or 50 teams, but have taken care of business in their games against RPI Top 100 teams with a 10-4 record. The NCAA has shown the past few seasons that it wants to expand the game into other regions of the country. The NCAA now has an opportunity to give a Big East team with a high RPI an NCAA regional host. Barring some bad losses down the stretch I would be very surprised if Connecticut doesn’t host. It just makes too much sense.