The Regional round makes its way to the Pacific Northwest to Corvallis, where the Oregon State Beavers will host a Regional as the fifteenth overall seed. They welcome in UC Irvine, Nicholls, and a red hot Tulane Green Wave. Here’s a brief overview of each team along with a prediction for who will advance to the Super Regionals.
#1 Oregon State Beavers
Oregon State has one of the best college baseball players in the nation in Travis Bazzana, and he looks to lead this team to the Super Regional. With a 42-14 record and a 24-2 record, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Beavers do just that.
Players to Watch | Season Stats
Travis Bazzana – .418 BA, 1.520 OPS, 82 H, 16 2B, 26 HR, 62 RBI
#2 UC Irvine Anteaters
UC Irvine went on an impressive run all season spending a lot of time in the top 25. They won 43 games and 22 games in conference play. They’ve proven all year they’re a very solid team and now it comes time to show it in their most important games of the season.
Players to Watch | Season Stats
Myles Smith – .405 BA, 1.154 OPS, 68 H, 13 2B, 8 HR, 43 RBI, .625 SLG
#3 Nicholls Colonels
Nicholls is an interesting team in this tournament. They’re most likely going to be an overlooked team out of the Southland conference and that’s not for awful reasons. They haven’t played amazing competition outside of some solid mid-majors including Tulane, who’s in their Regional. Currently on a four game winning streak, the Southland champions and a near 40 win team looks to stay hot.
Players to Watch | Season Stats
Edgar Alvarez – .411 BA, 1.198 OPS, 90 H, 12 HR, 63 RBI, .680 SLG
#4 Tulane Green Wave
There may not be a team in this tournament that’s as hot right now as Tulane. They flew through the AAC tournament including two run-rule wins against FAU. The 35-24 Green Wave look to keep their six game winning streak. Another mid-major that can cause damage, this matchup against Oregon State will be fun to watch.
Players to Watch | Season Stats
Brady Marget – .340 BA, .974 OPS, 80 H, 10 HR, 57 RBI
Chandler Welch – 4.24 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, 7-3 W/L, 85.0 IP, 87 K
Predicted Winner: #1 Oregon State Beavers
Tulane should make this matchup interesting but the star power on Oregon State is too much. Bazzana should do his thing and lead this team to a Super Regional berth, and one step closer to Omaha.