NC State opens regional play in baseball Friday at noon against Campbell. The winner will play Saturday evening versus the winner of regional host East Carolina and Quinnipiac while the two defeated teams will play Saturday morning in an elimination game.
Here is a preview of the other teams in the region.
Campbell went 35-19 this year, including 19-7 in the Big South. It split a pair of games with NC State during the regular season, and it also defeated regional host East Carolina in a home game early in the season before losing 4-3 in Greenville on May 14.
The Camels also owns a win over Duke, which made the NCAA tournament, in Durham, and lost by a narrow 4-2 score at UNC, a regional host itself.
At first glance, Campbell has a strong pitching combination in freshman left-hander Ryan Chasse and senior righty Michael Horrell to throw at teams. Chasse went 7-2 with a 2.66 earned run average and Horell was 9-3 with a 2.73 ERA.
However, the headliner for the Camels may be junior righty Seth Johnson, despite his 4.72 ERA in 13 games, including 11 starts. Johnson has struck out 77 batters in 61.0 innings and has the type of stuff that makes him a likely first round choice Monday when the MLB Draft starts.
Campbell also has some arms in the bullpen to help shorten the game. Redshirt sophomore right hander Logan Heintzman had a 3.48 ERA in 21 games and 41.1 innings pitched, striking out an impressive 47 batters. The duo of junior righty Landry Moore (2.13 ERA in 25.1 innings over 19 games) and senior right-hander Tyson Messer (3.45 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 15.2 innings pitched) have combined for nine saves, although Messer can struggle with his control (21 walks).
At the plate, Campbell has a deep lineup that features seven regulars hitting for at least a .282 average and .388 on-base percentage. The top bat, statistically, is redshirt junior outfielder Matthew Barefoot, who ties for the team lead with a .313 batting average and supplies the power with 13 homers, more than twice as many as anyone else on the roster.
Barefoot has 25 stolen bases as well, and Campbell is known to be aggressive on the base paths. It swiped 94 bases and attempted 117 total steals.
Regional host East Carolina piled up an impressive 43-15 overall record this year and went an even more impressive 20-4 in the American Athletic Conference, although it stumbled against Wichita State in the conference tournament and lost twice to the Shockers less than two weeks after taking two of three in a series against them in Wichita.
On May 8, ECU traveled to UNC and won 9-5. It also swept a then nationally-ranked Connecticut team (who made the NCAA Tournament) in Greenville in April, split a pair of games with Duke with each team winning at home and split games on the road against regional hosts Mississippi State (lost 4-1) and Ole Miss (won 3-2).
ECU has a deep lineup, with 13 players having started at least 20 games and seven of them hitting .299 or better at the plate. Three hitters have at least nine homers as well. Leading the way is sophomore outfielder Alec Burleson, one of the better two-way players in the country. Burleson hit .370 at the plate with nine homers, and he also doubles as an effective pitcher.
On the mound, Burleson pitched in 21 games, making seven starts. He led the team with five saves and struck out 54 batters in 51.1 innings while carrying a 2.98 ERA and a 5-1 record.
Designated hitter/first baseman Spencer Brickhouse, outfielder Bryant Packard, catcher Jake Washer and shortstop Turner Brown all joined Burleson on the all-conference teams.
On the mound, the ace is junior lefty Jake Agnos, the AAC Pitcher of the Year who was 10-2 this year with a 2.00 ERA in 15 starts, going 90.0 innings and allowing only 65 hits while striking out an impressive 131 batters.
However, Agnos is not alone in ECU’s impressive starting rotation. Sophomore lefty Jake Kuchmaner was also all-conference after going 6-2 in 15 games, 13 of them starts. He threw 82.2 innings and allowed only 57 hits while striking out 73.
Quinnipiac is in the postseason by virtue of winning the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament. It went 29-27 on the season and 17-7 in the MAAC, and it comes into the regional having won seven straight.
Early in the season, Quinnipiac split a double-header at then-nationally ranked Wake Forest. It also played a game at Boston College in April, losing 11-5.
Quinnipiac has a couple of potential power hitters in its lineup. Junior outfielder Andre Marrero hit 10 homers and big senior outfielder Liam Scafariello (6-foot-4, 265 pounds) added 13.
On the mound, closer senior righty Andrew Workman was effective in shutting down games, getting nine saves while owning a 1.26 ERA in 26 games and 50.0 innings.
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