Mountaineers in the Tournament

The road to Omaha began today as the NCAA released the 2014 D-I baseball bracket field- 64 teams divided into 16 regionals, which match up with their super regional partners. The Mountaineers have nine 2014 players on three different teams in the tournament- all regional hosts. Here's a breakdown of each team, the players and when/who they'll be playing.

INDIANA (#4 Overall)
Mountaineers: RHP Evan Bell, 2B Casey Rodrique, C/OF Brad Hartong, RHP Christian Morris
Regional/Seeding: Bloomington (#1)
Teams in it: #2 Indiana State, #3 Stanford, #4 Youngstown State
First game: Friday, vs. No. 4 Youngstown State, 7 p.m. ESPN3
Notes: One of 16 regional hosts...The Hoosiers grabbed the Big Ten's first-ever national seed...Beat Nebraska 8-4 to win the Big Ten title...Began the season 9-8 and were 15-10 at the end of March...Went 33-5 to finish the season and win the regular season title...If they advance they host the winner of Nashvilles's regional, which contains Vanderbilt, Oregon, Clemson and Xavier.

LOUISVILLE
Mountaineers: SS Nick Solak, INF Blake Tiberi, RF Colin Lyman, LHP Robert Strader
Regional/Seeding: Louisville (#1)
Teams in it: #2 Kentucky, #3 Kansas, #4 Kent State
First game: Friday, vs. No. 4 Kent State, 6 p.m ESPN3
Notes:  One of 16 regional hosts...Cardinals won the American Athletic Conference regular season title...Lost the AAC tournament championship, 10-4 to Houston...Went 29-7 at home in 2014...Seventh postseason berth in the last eight seasons...If they advance they play the winner of the Tallahassee regional, which contains Florida State (5), Alabama, Kennesaw State and Georgia Southern.

VANDERBILT
Mountaineers: Nolan Rogers (CF)
Regional/Seeding: Nashville (#1)
Teams in it: #2 Oregon, #3 Clemson, #4 Xavier
First games: Friday, vs. No. 4 Xavier, 8 p.m. ESPN3
Notes: One of 16 regional hosts...Eliminated from the SEC tournament with losses to No. 14 LSU and No. 10 Ole Miss...Finished 41-18...26-9 at home...If they advance they play the winner of the Bloomington regional, which includes Indiana (4), Indiana State, Samford and Youngstown State.

Donley, Indiana down Michigan State 7-4

Scott Donley, 2013 Mountaineer. /NWITimes

The 4th day of the 2014 Big Ten baseball tournament kicked off today with Nebraska eliminating Michigan, but the real story was the second game of the day.

The game between No. 6 Michigan State and No. 1 Indiana- the matchup that featured 10 NECBL players from the past and set to play this summer.

Last year's league was flooded with talent by these teams- Scott Donley, Nick Ramos, Joel Fisher, Mick Van Vossen and Ryan Richardson.

That pattern continues this year with Brad Hartong, Blaise Salter, Van Vossen, Casey Rodrique, Anthony Misiewicz and Evan Bell all coming to diamonds across New England.

For that reason, today's matchup was intriguing so I tuned in on the Big Ten Network and followed along. Indiana went on to pull out a 7-4 win to end Michigan State's season and advance to the Big Ten finals. Donley came up clutch for the Hoosiers with a go ahead two-RBI double in the top of the ninth.

A very good game unfolded as 2014 NECBLers were given the nod to start. The Spartans sent out Misiewicz, a Gull, while Indiana countered with Bell, a Mountaineer. It seemed fitting that on a different level, Vermont and Newport were continuing a New England summer rivalry on a baseball field in Nebraska.

Both pitchers ran into trouble early as Bell gave up two runs in the bottom of the first. 2014 Gull Blaise Salter doubled and after an intentional walk, former Holyoke Blue Sox catcher Joel Fisher knocked in both runs with a double.

However, the game was evened quickly as Indiana came back against Misiewicz in the top of the second. Donley scored on a RBI groundout from Hartong and Dustin Demuth added a RBI single to tie it at two apiece.

Misiewicz. /MSU

After that, the pitchers settled down and pitched effectively. Bell retired eight straight at one point, and Misiewicz countered with an identical stretch. Bell left in the fifth after a solid first start, going 4.1 innings and allowing just two earned runs.

Misiewicz lasted just a little longer as he left after he allowed two quick hits to start the sixth. He struck out an impressive eight over five innings. The game really heated up after that, as one of the runners he left on came around to score to give the Hoosiers a 3-2 lead.

Michigan State came right back after Joel Pickens singled in Cam Gibson to tie it at three in the home half of the sixth. However, the back-and-forth style continued in the top of the 7th. Tim O'Connor knocked in Will Nolden with a RBI single to put Indiana up, 4-3.

Indiana held a lead until the bottom of the 8th when the Spartans tied it up. Michigan State got a runner on second with one out when Hoosiers manager Tracy Smith sent out Jake Kezler with a 0-2 count on Anthony Cheky.

Kezler got the strikeout, but a wild pitch advanced the Spartan runner, Gibson, to third. Salter came up and hit a ground ball to DeMuth at third, who bobbled it against his wrist and Gibson danced home with the tying run.

However, Indiana came right back in the top of the ninth. Spartan pitcher Walker Borkovich hit O'Connor to lead off the ninth and he was replaced by Friday starter Mick Van Vossen, a Newport Gull. Van Vossen hit Rodrique and gave up a single to Kyle Schwarber to load the bases. He got a fielders choice out before allowing a two-RBI double to Donley to put the Hoosiers up 6-4.

Van Vossen was replaced by Chase Rihtarchkik, who thew a wild pitch on his attempt to intentionally walk DeMuth. This sent Travis home for a 7-4 lead, more then enough insurance for Indiana into the home stretch.

Kelzer earned the win after closing out the Spartans in the ninth, while Borkovich was handed the loss. The Hoosiers advanced to the Big Ten final against Nebraska, which is scheduled for 2 p.m ET tomorrow.

College Baseball Preview Part 1: Preseason Rankings

Baseball America and USA Today differ in the rankings, with BA putting Virginia first while the latter has Cal State Fullerton as the preseason top dog. I decided to go over the top five teams on these lists to give a brief preview.

VIRGINIA (BA #1, USA #6)

Brandon Waddell (Photo by Tony Farlow)

There were six Cavaliers in the NECBL last season, including three on my hometown Mountaineers. Baseball America puts two of them as starters, headlined by Kenny Towns at third base and Nathan Kirby in the rotation. Virginia looks really solid as they're deep, balanced and talented and have seven juniors. They have a formidable center of the lineup with Mike Papi, Derek Fisher and 2013 freshmen all-american Joe McCarthy. They have a roster filled with guys in their second-years on the team and with one of the most stable, experienced coaching staffs, Virginia is poised to make a run.

OREGON STATE (BA #2, USA #3)

Andrew Moore

The Beavers strength lie in their pitching. Andrew Moore was a first-team All-American as a freshman after going 14-2 with a 1.79 ERA. He has a four-pitch mix including a 87-93 MPH fastball. His sophomore sidekick Ben Wetzler is just as tough to face. Wetzler went 10-1 with a 2.25 ERA as a member of the deepest pitching staff in the nation. The Beavers offense isn't too shabby either, anchored by juniors Michael Conforto and Dylan Davis. Conforto is an elite hitter while Davis features massive raw power. Oregon State has strong pitching and two beasts in the lineup make for the chance at a third national title for the Beavers.

INDIANA (BA #3, USA #11)

Dustin DeMuth (Photo by Andrew Woolley)

Once again, several Hoosiers found there way to the NECBL this past summer. Scott Donley and Nick Ramos were Mountaineers and now are key components of the Hoosiers lineup. Donley is a line-drive machine and hit .358 last year. He's joined by Ramos and Dustin Demuth in an elite lineup. With the exception of Aaron Slegers, last years Big Ten pitcher of the year, the Hoosiers return a solid rotation. Senior Joey DeNato (10-2, 2.52 last season) and Kyle Hart lead an all-lefty staff. Most of Indiana's College World Series team returns and forms a talented and experienced squad that are a major player in the race for a title.

CAL STATE FULLERTON (BA #4, USA #1)

Thomas Eshelman (Photo by Larry Goren)

The Titans have a less-potent offense after losing four main components but they still have considerable talent. A trio of juniors- Matt Chapman, Clay Williamson and Austin Diemer- lead the way. The lineup focuses on Chapman and JD Davis, who combined for 87 RBIs last year. The pitching is really where the Titans step up. Thomas Esheleman (12-3, 1.48 last year), Justin Garza (12-0, 2.03) and Grahamm Wiest (9-3, 3.27) form a talented rotation. Freshman Phil Bickford, the No. 10 overall pick, wasn't even included in BA's list as he's a midweek starter despite having an explosive 96 MPH fastball. They finished the No. 10 team last year after being outplayed by UCLA in the super regionals- and haven't made it to the CWS since 2009. This could be the year to break that drought.

NORTH CAROLINA STATE (BA #5, USA #9)

Jake Fincher (Photo by Andrew Woolley)

The Wolfpack are headlined by one of the nation's top players, Trea Turner. He hit .368 as a sophomore with 42 RBIs and 30 stolen bases and gets this offense started. Turner is joined by talented center fielder Jake Fincher, who hit .313 last year and added 29 RBIs. Three new starters join the lineup with a pair of freshman and a transfer, but the core remains. The rotation is talented as well, headlined by Carlos Rodon who went 10-3 with a 2.99 ERA last season. He struck out 184 batters in 132 innings as he has a strong fastball, an even better slider and a strong changeup. Rodon and Turner lead this competitive Wolfpack squad who have a shot at ending the ACC's six-decade national title drought.

NEXT TEN (BA's rankings)
6. Florida State
7. South Carolina
8. Mississippi State
9. Louisiana State
10. Vanderbilt
11. Oregon
12. UCLA
13. Clemson
14. Louisiana-Lafayette
15. Rice