NCAA Baseball Field Of 64, Top 25 Chat (5/29/18)

Teddy Cahill: Welcome to this week’s college baseball chat. I’m running late – it’s a busy week here. Better late than never, I guess. So let’s get to the questions.

Teddy Cahill: Welcome to this week’s college baseball chat. I’m running late – it’s a busy week here. Better late than never, I guess. So let’s get to the questions.

William (Starkville):

Obviously State has shown they can compete with elite teams but none of those games have come on the road. Couple that with the fact they do not have a very deep bullpen how much of a chance do you give them in Tallahassee?

Teddy Cahill: I don’t particularly like Mississippi State’s chances in Tallahassee. All of those huge wins came in Starkville. And Florida State is rolling right now. It’s a tough draw for the Bulldogs and the first game isn’t one to overlook. Oklahoma can play and Jake Irvin is a legit Friday starter. If Mississippi State is going to win a regional on the road for the second year in a row, the Bulldogs are really going to have to be playing their best baseball.

Pirate (Greenville NC):

How well do you like East Carolina’s chance of winning their regional? As a long time Pirate, I remember the fit South Carolina gave us as the 2 seed when we hosted in 2009. Praying it isn’t the same. Do you think UNCW is the toughest 4 seed in the tournament?

Teddy Cahill: Total tossup in Greenville, for me. UNCW is a tough four – not sure I agree that it is the toughest, but its one of them – South Carolina has been playing great for two months and Ohio State is going to be throwing some really good arms this weekend. ECU should have a nice home field advantage, but this is one of the most wide open regionals in the field.

Scott (Raleigh NC):

Which regional is the most difficult? What 9-16 seed do you see most likely to host round 2?

Teddy Cahill: I’m generally pointing to Lubbock and Austin as two of the toughest regionals. I suppose Greenville has a case too. As for which 9-16 seed is most likely to host, I’d say Texas Tech, but I’m not sure I’m picking the Red Raiders to win that regional. So, I don’t know, maybe Stetson?

Bob (Oregon):

While I was disappointed that the West doesn’t have more teams represented, I can understand to some degree. However, What I don’t understand is why the committee paired all but one of the west coast teams either in regionals or in potential supers. For example, Cal State and Stanford in a Regional, Stanford and UW in a potential Super, and OSU and UCLA in a potential Super. I can see Stanford, OSU, and UCLA having a good shot if they get to Omaha with their pitching.

Teddy Cahill: I just do not understand this complaint. I’ve heard a similar one from the SEC that the national seeds are all aligned so they’d be in one bracket in Omaha. When you start putting together the puzzle that is the Field of 64 some things just fall into place. Stanford and Fullerton are together for the same reason Florida is hosting Jacksonville and FAU. UCLA and Gonzaga are going to Minneapolis so they don’t have to fly all the way to the East Coast. Minneapolis jsut happens to be paired with Corvallis. Sometimes these things happen.

MSUDawg (DFW):

When will MSU have a new head coach?

Teddy Cahill: Sometime this summer. There are some moving parts to this. Try to be patient as the process plays out.

Michael (Earth):

What is up with DVH’s decision for Arkansas to play the early game on Friday? I think host team has the choice of playing times and he choose the afternoon slot and the heat (temperature) that comes with it.

Teddy Cahill: This is actually not an uncommon move. Florida and North Carolina are doing it. LSU typically does it. UF is doing it for weather related reasons and I’ll admit I haven’t looked at a Fayetteville forecast, so I don’t know if that plays into it – just wanting more time to get the game in. The other reason to do it is so that you get extra rest before Saturday. All of these teams are used to playing day games every weekend. Playing in the sun Friday isn’t going to kill any of them.

Anthony (Boston):

Which 4 seed would you give the best chance of advancing to supers? I know you like Wright State, but being paired with Stanford seems really tough.

Teddy Cahill: Someone listened to the podcast. Or has been paying attention all year. I do like Wright State a lot, but, no, I’m not going to say the Raiders are the most likely 4 to win a regional. Not with that draw. I’m going with Army. I really like that team. They’re disciplined and understand what they have to do to win. And I like their matchup against North Carolina State. The Wolfpack don’t have overwhelming arms and if they throw one of their veterans, Jim Foster is going to be plenty familiar with them after his experience as Boston College’s pitching coach. I think the Black Knights can make some noise this weekend.

Kacy (Seattle):

Which regional do you find to be the most intriguing? I think the Corvallis regional with the potential PAC12/SEC and CWS rematch between LSU and OSU is about as good as it gets for a first round regional. Obviously Florida/Oregon State would be ideal, but considering the history and the geography, this is about as good as it gets for a first round match up.

Teddy Cahill: Corvallis certainly is a contender for all the reasons you outlined. I think Austin gets in the discussion with Texas and Texas A&M as a potential matchup. And I’ve already mentioned that I see Greenville as being wide open, so it’s intriguing from that standpoint, and it’s going to be a crazy atmosphere with some passionate fan bases coming to Clark-LeClair.

Mike (San Francisco):

What do you make of the Corvallis Regional? Was surprised to see LSU getting sent there, and looks like the Beavs may have a fairly tough road to get to Omaha, between the Tigers and being paired up with the squads in the Minneapolis regional. Seems like OSU and LSU ought to be meeting up a little later in the tourney, no?

Teddy Cahill: Some SEC team was always destined to be sent out West because of how the host sites lined up. It wound up being LSU and I’m here for that Narrative. I don’t think you can say Oregon State and LSU should be meeting later. LSU went 15-15 in the SEC and needed a run in Hoover to push its RPI as high as it wound up. The Tigers were nearly a 3 seed. This just isn’t a vintage LSU team. That said, it’s going to be a fun weekend in Goss. Should be some good baseball and I imagine the Beavers are going to be playing with a chip on their shoulder given how last year ended.

Jeramey (Locust Grove):

Coastal Carolina and Stetson appear to be two of the easier regionals to me. Was the committee trying to prove a point and get a mid major through to supers and potentially Omaha?

Teddy Cahill: No. And if Coastal wins, they’d theoretically be heading to Stanford for supers. I like the Chants to come out of that regional, but I know some people are going to be picking UConn. I think Stetson’s regional is a little light, especially if Oklahoma State was one of the last teams in the field, but South Florida can play. That’s going to be a well-pitched regional all the way around.

Colin (Mexico):

St. John’s has played the giant killer role before and they take on a familiar face in Scott Brown and Vanderbilt. Of course Morehead State has some serious fire power but does anyone in this regional have enough firepower to come out of it other than Clemson?

Teddy Cahill: Yes. After what happened the last two years, I’m not just going to push Clemson through to super regionals. This Vanderbilt team doesn’t have Kyle Wright on it, but it’s maybe a little more well rounded. St. John’s is older this year and now has tournament experience. And Morehead State can cause problems if they get into a slugfest. Clemson is definitely the favorite here, but the Tigers are going to have to earn it again this year.

Jeramey (Locust Grove):

What is your toughest regional? For Bieng a National Seed, Stanford got an extremely difficult regional. I also think Greenville regional with a very hot South Carolina team is dangerous! Your thoughts?

Teddy Cahill: Of the top-eight seeds, Stanford is the toughest. I think Lubbock is the toughest though. That’s a tough 4 in New Mexico State, a 3 in Kent State that has a lot of experience and the pitching to win a regional and a 2 in Louisville that very nearly won the ACC Tournament.

Burke (Athens Georgia):

How far is Georgia going in the tournament? I know they do not,have the experience that other national seeds have.

Teddy Cahill: I like Duke to win that regional. I think the Blue Devils are a mature, veteran team that matchup well in a regional thanks to the depth of their bullpen. With some of their bats starting to get hot, I like where Duke is at going into this weekend.

Wes A. (Jackson, MS):

What is your final assessment on the Rebs up until now going into the NCAA Tourney? Have they EXCEEDED expectations? Are they a favorite as some skippers believe?

Teddy Cahill: I don’t know that they exceeded expectations. Maybe a bit because they won the SEC Tournament, but that’s a team that was top-15 coming into the year. They’re going to finish better than that, but they need to get to Omaha before they’re really overachieved for me. I do think they’re one of the favorites. That pitching staff is no joke and there’s plenty of depth to the lineup. I think that’s a team you’ll see in Omaha in a couple weeks.

Teddy Cahill: That’ll do it for today. Sorry for being late and a bit abbreviated. We’ll have our regional previews going online starting tomorrow, so check back at BaseballAmerica.com throughout the week to get ready for the weekend.