IHSAA Sectional Predictions, First Round!

It's hard to believe it, but we're already at Week 10, which means Sectional Round 1 here in the state of Indiana!!!! There are a lot of good matchups throughout the state. Here's a look at some different matchups that should get the most attention statewide. After that, I've picked and predicted my winners of each sectional game tonight, followed by all 40 sectional champions, that will be crowned in two weeks.

 

5A Sectional 1: 5A #11 Lake Central (8-1) at Merrillville (6-3) 5A #12

5A Sectional 6: 5A #4 Ben Davis (7-2) at Zionsville

5A Sectional 8: Bedford North Lawrence (6-3) at Jennings County (5-4)

4A Sectional 10: Mishawaka (5-4) at Lowell (5-4)

4A Sectional 11: Wawasee (7-2) at Northwood (6-3)

4A Sectional 12: 4A #9 Fort Wayne Dwenger (5-4) at Columbia City (6-3)

4A Sectional 13: Mt. Vernon (Fortville) (5-4) at Pendleton Heights (8-1) 4A #6

4A Sectional 14: Greenwood (6-3) at Northview (6-3)

4A Sectional 15: 4A #7 East Central (8-1) at South Dearborn (7-2)

4A Sectional 16: 4A #15 Boonville (7-2) at Evansville Reitz (6-3) 4A #13

3A Sectional 18: Garrett (7-2) at Tippecanoe Valley (6-3)

3A Sectional 20: 3A #9 Hamilton Heights (7-2) at Southmont (7-2) 3A #11

3A Sectional 21: 3A #1 Indpls. Chatard (7-2) at Greencastle (7-2)

3A Sectional 23: 3A #7 Brownstown Central (9-0) at Corydon Central (7-2) 3A #13

2A Sectional 25: 2A #13 Wheeler (9-0) at Andrean (9-0) 2A #2

2A Sectional 26: North Judson (6-3) at Rochester (6-3)

2A Sectional 28: 2A #7 Northwestern (8-1) at Fountain Central (9-0) 2A #8

2A Sectional 28: Eastern (Greentown) (7-2) at Tipton (5-4)

2A Sectional 30: 2A #3 North Putnam (9-0) at Speedway (8-1) 2A #9

2A Sectional 32: 2A #5 Evansville Mater Dei (8-1) at North Posey (8-1) 2A #10

1A Sectional 33: Whiting (6-3) at West Central (5-4)

1A Sectional 34: 1A #1 Lafayette Central Catholic (9-0) at Pioneer (9-0) 1A #2

1A Sectional 36: Southern Wells (5-4) at Sheridan (6-3) 1A #6

1A Sectional 37: Knightstown (6-3) at Hagerstown (5-4)

1A Sectional 38: 1A #10 Rockville (7-2) at North Central (Farmersburg) (8-1) 1A #13

1A Sectional 39: Springs Valley (6-3) at Milan (8-1) 1A #5

 

Sectional Rd. 1 winners:

 5A

Valparaiso

Crown Point 

Chesterton 

Lake Central 

 

Elkhart Central 

Penn 

LaPorte 

Carroll (Allen) 

 

FW Snider 43, FW South 0 (Thursday)

FW North 

Kokomo 

Homestead 

 

Fishers 

Anderson

Hamilton Southeastern 

Westfield 

 

Indpls. Tech over Lawrence North

Warren Central over North Central

Lawrence Central 

Carmel

 

Brownsburg 

Ben Davis 

Avon

Pike

 

Martinsville

Columbus North

Center Grove

Bloomington North

 

Castle

Floyd Central

Bedford North Lawrence

 

4A

Hammond

Griffith

East Chicago Central

Hammond Morton

 

South Bend Riley

Lowell

South Bend Washington

South Bend Clay

 

Concord

East Noble

Northwood

Angola

 

FW Dwenger

New Haven

Leo

Jay County

 

New Palestine

Delta

Greenfield-Central

Pendleton Heights

 

Owen Valley

Northview

Indpls. Cathedral

Indpls. Roncalli

 

Franklin County

Connersville

East Central

Columbus East

 

Madison

Evansville Central

Evansville Reitz

 

3A

South Bend St. Joe's

Culver Academy

John Glenn

Mishawaka Marian

 

Whitko

Tippecanoe Valley

Lakeland

Jimtown

 

Eastbrook

Bellmont

Mississinewa

Western

 

Hamilton Heights

Western Boone

West Lafayette

 

Indpls. Chatard

Danville

Tri-West

West Vigo

 

Edgewood

Greensburg

Brown County

Indian Creek

 

Salem

Heritage Hills

Brownstown Central

Charlestown

 

Washington

Evansville Memorial

Gibson Southern

Vincennes Lincoln

 

2A

Rensselaer Central

Andrean

North Newton

River Forest

 

Bremen

Wabash

Rochester

Lewis Cass

 

Madison-Grant

Churubusco

FW Luers

Eastside

 

Taylor

Fountain Central

Benton Central

Eastern (Greentown)

 

Guerin Catholic

Heritage Christian

Centerville

Shenandoah

 

Park Tudor

South Putnam

Indpls. Ritter

North Putnam

 

Paoli

Monrovia

Lawrenceburg

Triton Central

 

Evansville Mater Dei

Southridge

South Spencer

 

1A

South Central (Union Mills)

South Newton

West Central

Culver

 

Caston

Clinton Central

North White

Lafayette Central Catholic

 

Northfield

North Miami

Fremont

Adams Central

 

South Adams

Union City

Tri-Central

Sheridan

 

Northeastern

Cambridge City Lincoln

Knightstown

Indpls. Scecina

 

Cloverdale

Attica

North Central (Farmersburg)

Covington

 

South Decatur

Indpls. Lutheran

Milan

 

North Daviess

Union (Dugger)

North Knox

Linton-Stockton

 

Sectional Champions

Class 5A

Sect.1- Lake Central

Sect.2- Penn

Sect.3- Homestead

Sect.4- Hamilton Southeastern

Sect.5- Carmel

Sect.6- Avon

Sect.7- Columbus North

Sect.8- Castle

Class 4A 

Sect.9- Hammond Morton

Sect.10- Lowell

Sect.11- Concord

Sect.12- FW Dwenger

Sect.13- New Palestine

Sect.14- Cathedral

Sect.15- Columbus East

Sect.16- Evansville Reitz

Class 3A 

Sect.17- SB St. Joe's

Sect.18- Jimtown

Sect.19- Eastbrook

Sect.20- West Lafayette

Sect.21- Chatard

Sect.22- Edgewood

Sect.23- Brownstown Central

Sect.24- Evansville Memorial

Class 2A 

Sect.25- Andrean

Sect.26- Bremen

Sect.27- FW Luers

Sect.28- Fountain Central

Sect.29- Shenandoah

Sect.30- North Putnam

Sect.31- Paoli

Sect.32- Evansville Mater Dei

Class 1A 

Sect.33- South Newton

Sect.34- Lafayette Central Catholic

Sect.35- North Miami

Sect.36- Sheridan

Sect.37- Cambridge City Lincoln

Sect.38- North Central (Farmersburg)

Sect.39- Indpls. Lutheran

Sect.40- Linton-Stockton

High School season is here! Coaches polls and State Finals predictions...

To say in a lot less words, I've missed high school football and obviously I'm not the only one out there! As I blog throughout the 2011 football season, you'll quickly see that I have a "northern Indiana bias," unlike our media that resides here in the greater Indianapolis area. Most of the media tends to favor more teams that are pretty much south of Kokomo. Call it what you will, but it's a straight-up bias against the northern part of this state. There are way too many teams from the northern half of Indiana that are almost ignored until they start making some noise midway through the regular season. Below is a look at the IFCA (Coaches poll) for all 5 classes here in the great football state of Indiana. Under each class' top 20 is my predicted State Finals representatives.

Indiana Football Coaches Association pre-season poll (2010 record)

Class 1A

1. Lafayette Central Catholic (15-0; 2010 1A State Champions)

2. Sheridan (8-3)

3. Pioneer (10-2)

4. Linton-Stockton (9-3)

5. Indianapolis Scecina (5-6)

6. Adams Central (7-3)

7. Indianapolis Lutheran (7-4)

8. Perry Central (9-4)

9. Southern Wells (8-3)

10. Milan (8-5)

11.Rockville (8-4)

12. Hagerstown (12-1)

13. West Central (6-4)

14. North Daviess (8-3)

15. Culver (8-4)

16. South Central (Union Mills) (10-3)

17. Clinton Prairie (10-2)

18. North White (7-4)

19. Winamac (7-3)

20. West Washington (9-3)

1A State Championship prediction: Lafayette Central Catholic (north) and Rockville (south)

Class 2A

1. Fort Wayne Bishop Luers (14-1; 2010 2A State Champions)

2. Andrean (9-4)

3. North Putnam (14-1; 2010 2A State Runners-Up)

4. Evansville Mater Dei (12-2)

5. Rensselaer Central (13-1)

6. Speedway (11-2)

7. Bremen (9-4)

8. Lewis Cass (7-4)

9. Heritage Christian (7-3)

10. Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter (9-2)

11. Tipton (8-5)

12. Guerin Catholic (8-6)

13. Northwestern (8-4)

14. Monrovia (6-5)

15. Southridge (7-5)

16. Fairfield (7-4)

17. Fountain Central (13-2; 2010 1A State Runners-Up)

18. North Posey (6-5)

19. Wheeler (11-1)

20. North Judson (3-7)

2A State Championship prediction: Fort Wayne Bishop Luers (north) and Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter (south)

Class 3A

1. Indianapolis Bishop Chatard (11-4; 2010 3A State Champions)

2. West Lafayette (10-3)

3. Hamilton Heights (12-1)

4. South Bend St. Joe's (9-6; 2010 3A State Runners-Up)

5. Heritage Hills (8-3)

6. Jimtown (9-3)

7. Evansville Memorial (7-5)

8. Eastbrook (11-1)

9. Brebeuf Jesuit (7-3)

10. Corydon Central (8-2)

11. Indian Creek (12-2)

12. Western (9-3)

13. John Glenn (9-3)

14. Tri-West (4-6)

15. Brownstown Central (11-2)

16. Mishawaka Marina (6-4)

17. Evansville Bosse (5-8)

18. Southmont (8-3)

19. Yorktown (3-8)

20. North Montgomery (7-3)

3A State Championship prediction: Eastbrook (north) and Indianapolis Bishop Chatard (south)

Class 4A

1. Indianapolis Cathedral (11-3; 2010 4A State Champions)

2. Columbus East (9-2)

3. Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger (13-1; 2010 4A State Runners-Up)

4. Evansville Reitz (13-1)

5. Concord (12-1)

6. Hammond Morton (12-2)

7. Mishawaka (12-1)

8. Delta (10-2)

9. Indianapolis Roncalli (5-7)

10. East Central (11-2)

11. New Palestine (9-2)

12. Lowell (6-4)

13. Jasper (9-1)

14. South Bend Washington (7-4)

15. New Haven (9-4)

16. Evansville Central (9-3)

17. South Bend Clay (8-4)

18. Plainfield (7-3)

19. Shelbyville (4-7)

20. Columbia City (10-2)

4A State Championship prediction: Concord (north) and Columbus East (south)

Class 5A

1. Warren Central (8-2)

2. Fishers (14-1; 2010 5A State Champions)

3. Carmel (9-2)

4. Valparaiso (13-1)

5. Ben Davis (6-4)

6. Hamilton Southeastern (10-2)

7. Center Grove (7-3)

8. Lawrence Central (13-2; 2010 5A State Runners-Up)

9. Penn (7-5)

10. Avon (9-4)

11. Merrillville (8-3)

12. Fort Wayne Snider (9-3)

13. Pike (9-3)

14. Chesterton (6-4)

15. Crown Point (8-4)

16. Columbus North (7-4)

17. Homestead (10-2)

18. Zionsville (7-3)

19. Lake Central (2-8)

20. Whiteland (9-3)

5A State Championship prediction: Penn (north) and Warren Central (south)

College Football: I'm so glad it's just around the corner!!!

With the many different things that happened over the off-season, I couldn't be more excited that college football is within sight!

The whole Jim Tressel situation that led to his eventual resignation as head coach at Ohio State, seemed to be what made the most headlines recently, along with Terrell Pryor's unique exit from Ohio State, seemed to keep college football fans even more excited for this upcoming 2011 NCAA football season.

Alabama will reload at QB this year with Greg McElroy's departure, sophomore A.J. McCarron will take over the reigns in Tuscaloosa. McCarron backed up McElroy the past two years, so his experience in Nick Saban's system should be key for the Crimson Tide.

Some say that Oklahoma's Bob Stoops is possibly on the "hot seat" in Norman. I beg to differ with that, simply because of Stoops' track record. In his 12 years at OU, Stoops is 129-31 with one National Championship (2000) and 7 Big XII titles. He's not going anywhere.

Georgia's Mark Richt is another that I really don't think has much to worry about, despite a 6-7 record in 2010 and 7-9 in SEC play the past two years. Richt is 96-34 overall in his 10 seasons in Athens. They can't be too picky with his performance based on the top quality conference that the SEC is.

Butch Davis was fired at North Carolina a couple of weeks ago after going just 28-23 in four years.

Rick Neuheisel is for sure on the edge of being fired at UCLA for a 15-22 mark in three years. After he was 33-14 at Colorado and 33-16 at Washington in his previous coaching adventures prior to landing in LA, Neuheisel needs to push for 8 or 9 wins this year and that might be a tough task.

Ron Zook might be somewhat safe at Illinois after a 7-6 record last year, including a Texas Bowl thumping of Baylor, 38-14.

Texas A&M's Mike Sherman might be in the same boat as Zook. Sherman is only 19-19 in 3 years leading the Aggies. Last year's 9-4 record might have salvaged his job, even though he lost the Cotton Bowl to LSU, 41-24.

Dennis Erickson started his time in Tempe in 2007 just how the Sun Devil faithful was hoping, with a 10-3 record, share of the Pac-10 title and Pac-10 Coach of the Year honors. Since then, erickson has gone 15-24. He'll keep his job because he's been around and Arizona State will give him more of a chance than most would an older coach in this era.

From the looks of how the pre-season polls are rating teams with almost a month before the first kick, 2011 will definetely prove to be another highlight-packed season in the college ranks.

My preseason Top 25:
1.   Oklahoma
2.   Oregon
3.   Alabama
4.   Virginia Tech
5.   Notre Dame
6.   Florida State
7.   LSU
8.   Boise State
9.   Ohio State
10. Nebraska
11. Stanford
12. Texas A&M
13. Oklahoma State
14. Georgia
15. West Virginia
16. Arkansas
17. TCU
18. Florida
19. Michigan State
20. South Carolina
21. Michigan
22. Wisconsin
23. Miami (FL)
24. Texas
25. USC
Outside my Top 25 and looking in...
Missouri, Penn State, Auburn, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, North Carolina, Illinois, Northwestern, South Florida, Arizona, Arizona State, Mississippi State, Iowa.

There are a lot of talented players to watch this Fall as college football takes the stage. These players are not ranked in any particular order. Below are my Top 15 Quarterbacks, Running Backs and Wide Receivers...

Quarterbacks:
Andrew Luck/jr/Stanford
Kellen Moore/sr/Boise State
Landry Jones/jr/Oklahoma
Case Keenum/sr/Houston
Dayne Crist/sr/Notre Dame
Darron Thomas/jr/Oregon
Brandon Weeden/jr/Oklahoma State
Taylor Martinez/so/Nebraska
Jordan Jefferson/sr/LSU
Garrett Gilbert/jr/Texas
Denard Robinson/jr/Michigan
Jacory Harris/sr/Miami (FL)
Stephen Garcia/sr/South Carolina
Aaron Murray/so/Georgia
John Brantley/sr/Florida

Running Backs:
LaMichael James/jr/Oregon
Marcus Lattimore/so/South Carolina
Trent Richardson/jr/Alabama
Daniel Herron/sr/Ohio State
Ray Graham/jr/Pittsburgh
Silas Redd/so/Penn State
James White/so/Wisconsin
Edwin Baker/jr/Michigan State
Knile Davis/jr/Arkansas
Jeff Demps/sr/Florida
Tauren Poole/sr/Tennessee
Michael Dyer/so/Auburn
Vick Ballard/sr/Mississippi State
Cierre Wood/so/Notre Dame

Wide Receivers:
Michael Floyd/sr/Notre Dame
Ryan Broyles/sr/Oklahoma
Justin Blackmon/jr/Oklahoma State
Alshon Jeffery/jr/South Carolina
Demarlo Belcher/sr/Indiana
Juron Criner/sr/Arizona
Jeff Fuller/sr/Texas A&M
Mike Shanahan/jr/Pittsburgh
DeVier Posey/sr/Ohio State
Derek Moye/sr/Penn State
Roy Roundtree/jr/Michigan
Lance Lewis/sr/East Carolina
Patrick Edwards/sr/Houston
Jordan White/sr/Western Michigan
Conner Vernon/jr/Duke

Tight Ends (Top 8):
Tyler Eifert/jr/Notre Dame
Michael Egnew/sr/Missouri
Orson Charles/jr/Georgia
James Hanna/sr/Oklahoma
Drake Dunsmore/sr/Northwestern
Jordan Reed/so/Florida
Coby Fleenor/sr/Stanford
Jacob Pederson/so/Wisconsin

The Heisman trophy is going to be an interesting race all season long. I would probably guess that the list of 10 that are the front-running candidates are:
LaMichael James/RB/Oregon
Andrew Luck/QB/Stanford
Kellen Moore/QB/Boise State
Landry Jones/QB/Oklahoma
Trent Richardson/RB/Alabama
Michael Floyd/WR/Notre Dame
Justin Blackmon/WR/Oklahoma State
Ryan Broyles/WR/Oklahoma
Marcus Lattimore/RB/South Carolina
Case Keenum/QB/Houston

Look for more on the 2011 college football season as August progresses. Also, soon I'll be making my predictions and giving an Indiana High School football outlook before the regular season begins on August 19th.

As the MLB All-Star break approaches...

As the month of July is upon us now, we're pretty much right around the "halfway" point in the 2011 MLB season. At this point, it's more than likely that the last place losers of each division are already determined, for the most part. Injuries unfortunately happen and teams play better than others in different parts of the year. These and many other factors are what make baseball the interesting game that it is for all of us to watch from late March through October.

AL East...
Baltimore looks to keep its spot at the bottom of the AL East. Toronto will keep itself afloat for the most part with the big bats of Jose Bautista and Adam Lind, but with their lack of quality arms on the mound, the Blue Jays will be the mainstay in 4th place for the rest of 2011. Tampa Bay will get no further than their current 3rd place spot. James Shields is good in their rotation, but he doesn't have enough behind him in the rotation to make a push for the AL Wild Card. As per every year, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox will fight to the end for the AL East crown. The Yankees currently have a 2.5 game lead, but I honestly look for the Red Sox to have a better second half and overtake them for the division. Regardless, whichever doesn't win the division will represent the AL as the Wild Card.

AL Central...
Kansas City took a big nose dive to the cellar of the AL Central after starting the season confidently in first place. Minnesota's having a difficult time being in 4th place after being atop the division in recent years. The Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox are within 3.5 games of each other and it will only get to be a tighter AL Central race from here on out.

AL West...
Oakland will more than likely stay in 4th place in the AL West. They are one of many teams that lack good starting pitching and good run-producing hitters in their lineup. Seattle will probably stay right where they are, just above Oakland for 3rd place. Texas and the LA Angels will be neck-and-neck until one edges the other and stays ahead. I expect that Texas will win this division and try to get back to the World Series for the 2nd straight year.

NL East...
The Florida Marlins are the current doormat of the NL East, but they're not the worst team in the National League or the rest of Major League Baseball. The did have one of the worst months by any team, ever. The Marlins started out the month of June at 1-19. With the re-hiring of former skipper in 80 year-old Jack McKeon, Florida ended June on a much better note with a 4-4 record, but still going 5-23 in June.

The New York Mets are starting to play better baseball, but they're missing the bats of David Wright (on DL til after the All-Star break) and Ike Davis, along with pitching ace Johan Santana. The Washington Nationals are surprising everyone in baseball by winning more games and they're doing it by growing as a club. With first-time all-stars in Relief Pitcher Tyler Clippard and 1B Michael Morse leading the way, it makes things a lot easier for Closer Drew Storen (Brownsburg, IN), who has a 5-2 record with 20 saves in 40 appearances. Atlanta will probably make a push, but Philadelphia is just much too strong with their bats and arms to take the NL East title again.

NL Central...
Houston has etched its role in the 2011 season. They're currently 29-55 and sitting in a not-so-comfortable place below the Chicago Cubs in the basement of the NL Central. The Chicago Cubs are struggling again and this might possibly be 103 years straight without a World Series title. Looks like that'll be the case, because Cubs management is much too afraid to spend big money in the middle of the season. Cincinnati is probably not going to repeat as NL Central champs, unless they make a hug surge in the second half. Pittsburgh hasn't played this well since they're winning ways back in the late 80's and early 90's. Who knows if they'll be able to keep it up the whole year, but it's a much improved Pirate team for sure. Milwaukee and St. Louis share the division lead at 45-39. Milwaukee has the edge all over at this time of the year. With Pujols out for another month and pitching being the question mark, look for St. Louis to slide backwards in the second half.

NL West...
As expected, the defending World Champion San Francisco Giants are leading the NL West, but only by 3 games over Arizona. The Diamondbacks are playing well and it should be pretty interesting down the stretch. Don't count out the Colorado Rockies for a second half run of their own. They're only 6.5 games out with a week and a half until the All-Star break. San Diego was predicted to have a better year than they're having. I'm not sure what's worse, they're pitching inconsistencies or sub-par pitching. The LA Dodgers were also supposed to be a lot better than they currently are as well, but you can't expect a few bats and a couple arms to get the job done all the time.

Stay tuned toward the middle of August for more on these tight AL and NL division races.

Standings as of July 3, 2011

AL East                          Record        GB
New York Yankees          50-31          ----
Boston Red Sox                48-24          2.5
Tampa Bay Rays               46-37          5.0
Toronto Blue Jays              40-44        11.5
Baltimore Orioles               35-45        14.5

AL Central
Cleveland Indians               44-37         ----
Detroit Tigers                     44-40         1.5
Chicago White Sox            42-42         3.5
Minnesota Twins                35-46         9.0
Kansas City Royals            33-50       12.0

AL West
Texas Rangers                    44-40        ----
Los Angeles Angels            43-41        1.0
Seattle Mariners                 40-43        3.5
Oakland Athletics               37-47        7.0

NL East
Philadelphia Phillies             53-31        ----
Atlanta Braves                    49-35        4.0
Washington Nationals         42-42      11.0
New York Mets                 41-42      11.5
Florida Marlins                   37-46      15.5

NL Central
Milwaukee Brewers            45-39       ----
St. Louis Cardinals              45-39       ----
Pittsburgh Pirates                42-41        2.5
Cincinnati Reds                   42-42        3.0
Chicago Cubs                     34-50      11.0
Houston Astros                   29-55      16.0
    
NL West
San Francisco Giants           48-36       ----
Arizona Diamondbacks        45-39       3.0
Colorado Rockies                41-42       6.5
San Diego Padres                 38-46     10.0
Los Angeles Dodgers           37-47      11.0

NCAA Regionals: Many upsets over the weekend, but that's why it's the NCAA Tournament!

Sports enthusiasts could probably come up with a nickname for the NCAA Baseball tournament that is comparable to that of that NCAA men's basketball tournament's March Madness, but it may or may not catch on like the interest that college basketball has. I have no idea exactly what I would call it, but I honestly think that there needs to be some sort of moniker that screams to the die-hard college baseball fans out there.

The excitement of the NCAA Division I baseball tournament keeps getting more and more exciting every year. There is more and more coverage televised nationally. Depending on where games are being played throughout the country, games range from starting around Noon or 1pm to some games starting at 11pm, since they're on the West coast. Great games are occuring all across the country. The format is somewhat similar to the NCAA men's basketball tournament. There are 64 teams. The opening weekend are the Regionals, which pit four schools at one site, in a double-elimination format. The four teams at each site are seeded 1-4. The #'s 2 and 3 seeds play Game 1 and seeds 1 and 4 play Game 2. After that, it becomes a double-elimination format until  the Regional Champion is crowned on Sunday or possibly Monday at the latest. Champions of Regionals move on the following weekend in a two-team Super Regional.

There are eight schools that are the Top 8 National seeds:
1-Virginia, 2-Florida, 3-North Carolina, 4-South Carolina, 5-Florida State, 6-Vanderbilt, 7-Texas, 8-Rice

The remaining 8 hosts schools:
#12 Georgia Tech, #14 Clemson, #7 Texas A&M, #15 Oregon State, #11 TCU, #8 Cal State Fullerton, #17 UCLA and #10 Arizona State

Atlanta Regional - GEORGIA TECH
(3) Mississippi State 3, (2) Southern Mississippi 0
(4) Austin Peay 2, (1) Georgia Tech 1
(1) Georgia Tech 6, (2) Southern Mississippi 2 (Southern Mississippi eliminated: 39-19)
(3) Mississippi State 8, (4) Austin Peay 3
(1) Georgia Tech 12, (4) Austin Peay 2 (Austin Peay eliminated: 34-24)
(3) Mississippi State 7, (1) Georgia Tech 3 (Georgia Tech eliminated: 42-21)
Atlanta Regional Champion: (3) Mississippi State (37-23)

Austin Regional - TEXAS
(3) Kent State 4, (2) Texas State 2
(1) Texas 5, (4) Princeton 3
(2) Texas State 3, (4) Princeton 1 (Princeton eliminated: 23-24)
(3) Kent State 7, (1) Texas 5
(1) Texas 4, (2) Texas State 3 (Texas State eliminated: 41-23)
(1) Texas 9, (3) Kent State 3
(1) Texas 5, (3) Kent State 0 (Kent State eliminated: 45-16)
Austin Regional Champion: (1) Texas (47-16)

Chapel Hill Regional - NORTH CAROLINA
(3) James Madison 11, (2) FIU 7
(1) North Carolina 4, (4) Maine 0
(4) Maine 4, (2) FIU 1 (FIU eliminated: 40-20-1)
(1) North Carolina 14, (3) James Madison 0
(3) James Madison 5, (4) Maine 2 (Maine eliminated: 33-24)
(1) North Carolina 9, (3) James Madison 3 (James Madison eliminated: 42-19)
Chapel Hill Regional Champ: (1) North Carolina (48-14)

Charlottesville Regional - VIRGINIA
(1) Virginia 6, (4) Navy 0

(3) St. John's 2, (2) East Carolina 0

(2) East Carolina 6, (4) Navy 1 (Navy eliminated: 33-25-1)

(1) Virginia 10, (3) St. John's 2

(2) East Carolina 6, (3) St. John's 4 (St. John's eliminated: 36-22)

(1) Virginia 13, (2) East Carolina 1 (East Carolina eliminated: 41-21)

Charlottesville Regional Champion: (1) Virginia (52-9)

Clemson Regional - CLEMSON
(3) Coastal Carolina 13, (2) Connecticut 1

(1) Clemson 11, (4) Sacred Heart 1

(2) Connecticut 13, (4) Sacred Heart 3 (Sacred Heart eliminated: 34-23)

(1) Clemson 12, (3) Coastal Carolina 7

(2) Connecticut 12, (3) Coastal Carolina 6 (Coastal Carolilna eliminated: 42-20)

(2) Connecticut 7, (1) Clemson 6

(2) Connecticut 14, (1) Clemson 1 (Clemson eliminated: 43-20)

Clemson Regional Champion: (2) Connecticut (45-18-1)

College Station Regional - TEXAS A&M
(3) Seton Hall 4, (2) Arizona 0
(1) Texas A&M 11, (4) Wright State 0
(2) Arizona 13, (4) Wright State 0 (Wright State eliminated: 36-19)
(1) Texas A&M 6, (3) Seton Hall 3
(2) Arizona 6, (3) Seton Hall 0 (Seton Hall eliminated: 34-25)
(2) Arizona 7, (1) Texas A&M 4
(1) Texas A&M 3, (2) Arizona 0 (Arizona eliminated: 39-19)
College Station Regional Champion: (1) Texas A&M (45-19)

Columbia Regional - SOUTH CAROLINA
(2) Stetson 8, (3) North Carolina State 7
(1) South Carolina 2, (4) Georgia Southern 1
(3) North Carolina State 5, (4) Georgia Southern 2 (Georgia Southern eliminated: 36-26)
(1) South Carolina 11, (2) Stetson 5
(2) Stetson 5, (3) North Carolina State 3 (North Carolina State eliminated: 35-27)
(1) South Carolina 8, (2) Stetson 2 (Stetson eliminated: 43-20)
Columbia Regional Champion: (1) South Carolina (48-14)

Corvallis Regional - OREGON STATE
(2) Creighton 2, (3) Georgia 1
(1) Oregon State 7, (4) Arkansas-Little Rock 4
(3) Georgia 7, (4) Arkansas-Little Rock 3 (Arkansas-Little Rock elimintated: 24-34)
(1) Oregon State 5, (2) Creighton 1
(3) Georgia 5, (2) Creighton 4 (Creighton eliminated: 45-17)
(1) Oregon State 6, (3) Georgia 4 (Georgia eliminated: 33-32)
Corvallis Regional Champion: (1) Oregon State (41-17)

Fort Worth Regional - TEXAS CHRISTIAN
(3) Dallas Baptist 3, (2) Oklahoma 2
(1) TCU 10, (4) Oral Roberts 2
(4) Oral Roberts 7, (2) Oklahoma 0 (Oklahoma eliminated: 41-19)
(3) Dallas Baptist 3, (1) TCU 2
(4) Oral Roberts 8, (1) TCU 4 (TCU eliminated: 43-19)
(4) Oral Roberts 7, (3) Dallas Baptist 2
(3) Dallas Baptist 11, (4) Oral Roberts 9 (Oral Roberts eliminated: 39-22)
Fort Worth Regional Champion: (3) Dallas Baptist (42-18)

Fullterton Regional - CAL ST. FULLERTON
(2) Stanford 10, (3) Kansas State 3
(1) Cal St. Fullerton 10, (4) Illinois 4
(4) Illinois 5, (3) Kansas State 3 (Kansas State eliminated: 36-25)
(2) Stanford 1, (1) Cal St. Fullerton 0
(4) Illinois 7, (1) Cal St. Fullerton 5 (Cal St. Fullerton eliminated: 41-17)
(2) Stanford 14, (4) Illinois 2 (Illinois eliminated: 30-27)
Fullerton Regional Champion: (2) Stanford (35-20)

Gainesville Regional - FLORIDA
(2) Miami (FL) 7, (3) Jacksonville 2
(1) Florida 17, (4) Manhatten 3
(3) Jacksonville 5, (4) Manhatten 4 (Manhatten eliminated: 34-19)
(1) Florida 5, (2) Miami (FL) 4
(2) Miami (FL) 6, (3) Jacksonville 3 (Jacksonville eliminated: 37-24)
(1) Florida 11, (2) Miami (FL) 4 (Miami FL eliminated: 38-23)
Gainesville Regional Champion: (1) Florida (48-16)

Houston Regional - RICE
(2) Baylor 6, (3) California 4
(1) Rice 14, (4) Alcorn State 2
(3) California 10, (4) Alcorn State 6 (Alcorn State eliminated: 27-30)
(2) Baylor 3, (1) Rice 2
(3) California 6, (1) Rice 3 (Rice eliminated: 42-21)
(3) California 8, (2) Baylor 0
(3) California 9, (2) Baylor 8 (Baylor eliminated: 31-28)
Houston Regional Champion: (3) California (35-21)

Los Angeles Regional - UCLA
(3) UC-Irvine 12, (2) Fresno State 6
(4) San Francisco 3, (1) UCLA 0
(1) UCLA 3, (2) Fresno State 1 (Fresno State eliminated: 40-16)
(3) UC-Irvine 4, (4) San Francisco 3
(1) UCLA 4, (4) San Francisco 1 (San Francisco eliminated: 32-25)
(3) UC-Irvine 4, (1) UCLA 3 (UCLA eliminated: 35-24)
Los Angeles Regional Champion: (3) UC-Irvine (42-16)

Nashville Regional - VANDERBILT
(3) Troy 9, (2) Oklahoma State 2
(1) Vanderbilt 10, (4) Belmont 0
(4) Belmont 3, (2) Oklahoma State 0 (Oklahoma State eliminated: 35-25)
(1) Vanderbilt 10, (3) Troy 2
(4) Belmont 5, (3) Troy 2 (Troy eliminated: 43-19)
(1) Vanderbilt 6, (4) Belmont 1 (Belmont eliminated: 38-26)
Nashville Regional Champion: (1) Vanderbilt (50-10)

Tallahassee Regional - FLORIDA STATE
(3) Alabama 5, (2) Central Florida 3
(1) Florida State 6, (4) Bethune-Cookman 5
(2) Central Florida 16, (4) Bethune-Cookman 5 (Bethune-Cookman eliminated: 36-25)
(1) Florida State 9, (3) Alabama 5
(3) Alabama 12, (2) Central Florida 5 (Central Florida eliminated: 39-22)
(1) Florida State 11, (3) Alabama 1 (Alabama eliminated: 35-27)
Tallahassee Regional Champion: (1) Florida State

Tempe Regional - ARIZONA STATE
(3) Charlotte 3, (2) Arkansas 2
(1) Arizona State 4, (4) New Mexico 2
(2) Arkansas 3, (4) New Mexico 0 (New Mexico eliminated: 20-41)
(1) Arizona State 16, (3) Charlotte 1
(2) Arkansas 11, (3) Charlotte 3 (Charlotte eliminated: 43-15)
(1) Arizona State 13, (2) Arkansas 4 (Arkansas eliminated: 40-22)
Tempe Regional Champion: (1) Arizona State (42-17)

 

NCAA Regionals, by the Numbers...

I picked 11 of the 16 Regional Champions correctly, which I honestly think is pretty tough, considering that there are four teams in each Regional. It's also no guarantee that the #1 seed in each Regional will be he champion.

 

Number one seeds knocked out of the Regional: UCLA, TCU, Rice, Clemson, Georgia Tech and Cal St. Fullerton. TCU, Cal St. Fullerton and Rice were all three knocked out before the Regional Championship game.

 

Another stat that is not-so-surprising is that 41 of the 64 teams in the NCAA Regional field are from "warm weather states." They play baseball all year, I would hope that they would be well-represented!

 

Florida has 8: Florida International, Jacksonville, Miami (FL), Florida, Florida State, Central Florida, Stetson and Bethune-Cookman.

 

Texas has 6: Texas, Texas State, Texas A&M, TCU, Rice, Baylor and Dallas Baptist.

 

California is represented by 7 schools: California, Cal St. Fullerton, Stanford, UCLA, San Francisco, Fresno State and UC-Irvine.

 

Three-seeds that advanced to the Super Regionals:

Dallas Baptist (42-18), UC-Irvine (42-16), Mississippi State (37-23) and California (35-21)

 

Two-seeds moving on to Super Regionals:

Stanford (35-20) and Connecticut (45-18-1)

 

Check back Monday or late Sunday night as I analyze that Super Regionals from over the weekend. And who knows, I might be attending the Nashville Super Regional for one game. My friend coached Vanderbilt freshman DH/1B Conrad Gregor. I know that I only posted mainly scores and little facts, but when not all the Regionals were televised in the Indianapolis area, it's a little hard to break down games you really didn't see!

NCAA Regionals: Many upsets over the weekend, but that's why it's the NCAA Tournament!

Sports enthusiasts could probably come up with a nickname for the NCAA Baseball tournament that is comparable to that of that NCAA men's basketball tournament's March Madness, but it may or may not catch on like the interest that college basketball has. I have no idea exactly what I would call it, but I honestly think that there needs to be some sort of moniker that screams to the die-hard college baseball fans out there.

The excitement of the NCAA Division I baseball tournament keeps getting more and more exciting every year. There is more and more coverage televised nationally. Depending on where games are being played throughout the country, games range from starting around Noon or 1pm to some games starting at 11pm, since they're on the West coast. Great games are occuring all across the country. The format is somewhat similar to the NCAA men's basketball tournament. There are 64 teams. The opening weekend are the Regionals, which pit four schools at one site, in a double-elimination format. The four teams at each site are seeded 1-4. The #'s 2 and 3 seeds play Game 1 and seeds 1 and 4 play Game 2. After that, it becomes a double-elimination format until  the Regional Champion is crowned on Sunday or possibly Monday at the latest. Champions of Regionals move on the following weekend in a two-team Super Regional.

There are eight schools that are the Top 8 National seeds:
1-Virginia, 2-Florida, 3-North Carolina, 4-South Carolina, 5-Florida State, 6-Vanderbilt, 7-Texas, 8-Rice

The remaining 8 hosts schools:
#12 Georgia Tech, #14 Clemson, #7 Texas A&M, #15 Oregon State, #11 TCU, #8 Cal State Fullerton, #17 UCLA and #10 Arizona State

Atlanta Regional - GEORGIA TECH
(3) Mississippi State 3, (2) Southern Mississippi 0
(4) Austin Peay 2, (1) Georgia Tech 1
(1) Georgia Tech 6, (2) Southern Mississippi 2 (Southern Mississippi eliminated: 39-19)
(3) Mississippi State 8, (4) Austin Peay 3
(1) Georgia Tech 12, (4) Austin Peay 2 (Austin Peay eliminated: 34-24)
(3) Mississippi State 7, (1) Georgia Tech 3 (Georgia Tech eliminated: 42-21)

Austin Regional - TEXAS
(3) Kent State 4, (2) Texas State 2
(1) Texas 5, (4) Princeton 3
(2) Texas State 3, (4) Princeton 1 (Princeton eliminated: 23-24)
(3) Kent State 7, (1) Texas 5
(1) Texas 4, (2) Texas State 3 (Texas State eliminated: 41-23)
(1) Texas 9, (3) Kent State 3
(1) Texas 5, (3) Kent State 0 (Kent State eliminated: 45-16)
Austin Regional Champ: Texas (47-16)

Chapel Hill Regional - NORTH CAROLINA
(3) James Madison 11, (2) FIU 7
(1) North Carolina 4, (4) Maine 0
(4) Maine 4, (2) FIU 1 (FIU eliminated: 40-20-1)
(1) North Carolina 14, (3) James Madison 0
(3) James Madison 5, (4) Maine 2 (Maine eliminated: 33-24)
(1) North Carolina 9, (3) James Madison 3 (James Madison eliminated: 42-19)
Chapel Hill Regional Champ: North Carolina (48-14)

Charlottesville Regional - VIRGINIA

Clemson Regional - CLEMSON


College Station Regional - TEXAS A&M
(3) Seton Hall 4, (2) Arizona 0
(1) Texas A&M 11, (4) Wright State 0
(2) Arizona 13, (4) Wright State 0 (Wright State eliminated: 36-19)
(1) Texas A&M 6, (3) Seton Hall 3
(2) Arizona 6, (3) Seton Hall 0 (Seton Hall eliminated: 34-25)
(2) Arizona 7, (1) Texas A&M 4
(1) Texas A&M 3, (2) Arizona 0 (Arizona eliminated: 39-19)
College Station Regional Champion: (1) Texas A&M (45-19)

Columbia Regional - SOUTH CAROLINA
(2) Stetson 8, (3) North Carolina State 7
(1) South Carolina 2, (4) Georgia Southern 1
(3) North Carolina State 5, (4) Georgia Southern 2 (Georgia Southern eliminated: 36-26)
(1) South Carolina 11, (2) Stetson 5
(2) Stetson 5, (3) North Carolina State 3 (North Carolina State eliminated: 35-27)
(1) South Carolina 8, (2) Stetson 2 (Stetson eliminated: 43-20)
Columbia Regional Champion: (1) South Carolina (48-14)

Corvallis Regional - OREGON STATE
(2) Creighton 2, (3) Georgia 1
(1) Oregon State 7, (4) Arkansas-Little Rock 4
(3) Georgia 7, (4) Arkansas-Little Rock 3 (Arkansas-Little Rock elimintated: 24-34)
(1) Oregon State 5, (2) Creighton 1
(3) Georgia 5, (2) Creighton 4 (Creighton eliminated: 45-17)
(1) Oregon State 6, (3) Georgia 4 (Georgia eliminated: 33-32)
Corvallis Regional Champion: (1) Oregon State (41-17)

Fort Worth Regional - TEXAS CHRISTIAN
(3) Dallas Baptist 3, (2) Oklahoma 2
(1) TCU 10, (4) Oral Roberts 2
(4) Oral Roberts 7, (2) Oklahoma 0 (Oklahoma eliminated: 41-19)
(3) Dallas Baptist 3, (1) TCU 2
(4) Oral Roberts 8, (1) TCU 4 (TCU eliminated: 43-19)
(4) Oral Roberts 7, (3) Dallas Baptist 2
(3) Dallas Baptist 11, (4) Oral Roberts 9 (Oral Roberts eliminated: 39-22)
Fort Worth Regional Champion: (3) Dallas Baptist (42-18)

Fullterton Regional - CAL ST. FULLERTON
(2) Stanford 10, (3) Kansas State 3
(1) Cal St. Fullerton 10, (4) Illinois 4
(4) Illinois 5, (3) Kansas State 3 (Kansas State eliminated: 36-25)
(2) Stanford 1, (1) Cal St. Fullerton 0
(4) Illinois 7, (1) Cal St. Fullerton 5 (Cal St. Fullerton eliminated: 41-17)
(2) Stanford 14, (4) Illinois 2 (Illinois eliminated: 30-27)
Fullerton Regional Champion: (2) Stanford (35-20)

Gainesville Regional - FLORIDA
(2) Miami (FL) 7, (3) Jacksonville 2
(1) Florida 17, (4) Manhatten 3
(3) Jacksonville 5, (4) Manhatten 4 (Manhatten eliminated: 34-19)
(1) Florida 5, (2) Miami (FL) 4
(2) Miami (FL) 6, (3) Jacksonville 3 (Jacksonville eliminated: 37-24)
(1) Florida 11, (2) Miami (FL) 4 (Miami FL eliminated: 38-23)
Gainesville Regional Champion: (1) Florida (48-16)

Houston Regional - RICE
(2) Baylor 6, (3) California 4
(1) Rice 14, (4) Alcorn State 2
(3) California 10, (4) Alcorn State 6 (Alcorn State eliminated: 27-30)
(2) Baylor 3, (1) Rice 2
(3) California 6, (1) Rice 3 (Rice eliminated: 42-21)
(3) California 8, (2) Baylor 0
(3) California 9, (2) Baylor 8 (Baylor eliminated: 31-28)
Houston Regional Champion: (3) California (35-21)

Los Angeles Regional - UCLA
(3) UC-Irvine 12, (2) Fresno State 6
(4) San Francisco 3, (1) UCLA 0
(1) UCLA 3, (2) Fresno State 1 (Fresno State eliminated: 40-16)
(3) UC-Irvine 4, (4) San Francisco 3
(1) UCLA 4, (4) San Francisco 1 (San Francisco eliminated: 32-25)
(3) UC-Irvine 4, (1) UCLA 3 (UCLA eliminated: 35-24)
Los Angeles Regional Champion: (3) UC-Irvine (42-16)

Nashville Regional - VANDERBILT
(3) Troy 9, (2) Oklahoma State 2
(1) Vanderbilt 10, (4) Belmont 0
(4) Belmont 3, (2) Oklahoma State 0 (Oklahoma State eliminated: 35-25)
(1) Vanderbilt 10, (3) Troy 2
(4) Belmont 5, (3) Troy 2 (Troy eliminated: 43-19)
(1) Vanderbilt 6, (4) Belmont 1 (Belmont eliminated: 38-26)
Nashville Regional Champion: (1) Vanderbilt (50-10)

Tallahassee Regional - FLORIDA STATE
(3) Alabama 5, (2) Central Florida 3
(1) Florida State 6, (4) Bethune-Cookman 5
(2) Central Florida 16, (4) Bethune-Cookman 5 (Bethune-Cookman eliminated: 36-25)
(1) Florida State 9, (3) Alabama 5
(3) Alabama 12, (2) Central Florida 5 (Central Florida eliminated: 39-22)
(1) Florida State 11, (3) Alabama 1 (Alabama eliminated: 35-27)
Tallahassee Regional Champion: (1) Florida State

Tempe Regional - ARIZONA STATE
(3) Charlotte 3, (2) Arkansas 2
(1) Arizona State 4, (4) New Mexico 2
(2) Arkansas 3, (4) New Mexico 0 (New Mexico eliminated: 20-41)
(1) Arizona State 16, (3) Charlotte 1
(2) Arkansas 11, (3) Charlotte 3 (Charlotte eliminated: 43-15)
(1) Arizona State 13, (2) Arkansas 4 (Arkansas eliminated: 40-22)
Tempe Regional Champion: Arizona State (42-17)