Standout Performances: Regionals

This weekend was even more chock-full of great performances than usual because of the amount of games played in regionals. Here are some of the most notable:

Mike Leake, rhp, Arizona State

Again? Leake posted another ridiculous outing in the Tempe Regional, throwing his 3rd consecutive complete game, surrendering just 1 run, and striking out 15. If you think about it, Leake has perhaps had a better year than Stephen Strasburg: 15-1, 1.23 ERA, 7 CGs, .169 OBA, and a 143-20 K-BB ratio in an incredible 124.2 innings.

Sonny Gray, rhp, Vanderbilt

The freshman utterly dominated a red-hot Indiana team on Saturday to send the Hoosiers home winless. Gray threw 8 scoreless innings and struck out 10.

Matt Cerione, of, Georgia

I'm not a big Matt Cerione fan, but I do have to acknowledge the great game he had on Friday. The junior went 5-for-6 with 2 homers.

Rich Poythress, 1B, Georgia

Even better for the Bulldogs was the drubbing Poythress laid on Ohio State on Friday. He crushed 3 homers as part of a 4-for-4 afternoon. That pushed the junior first baseman up to .376 with 25 dingers.

Tom Belza, ss, Oklahoma State

Friday was a night of multi-homer games, and Belza was one of many who did the trick. Although the Pokes shouldn't even be in the NCAA tourney, they took a game from Alabama as Belza drilled 3 home runs. He drove in 6 and drew 2 walks for good measure.

Bennett Davis, 2B, Elon

The senior second baseman cracked 3 homers against Southern Miss in a wild 17-15 loss on Friday. The Phoenix hit 5 round-trippers total, and Davis went 4-for-4. OF Bo Davis powered 2 homers for the Golden Eagles.

Brandon Meredith, 1B, San Diego State

Meredith clocked 2 homers against Fresno State on Saturday as the Aztecs sent the defending champs home early. SDSU starter Tyler Lavigne also did well, throwing 7.2 innings and allowing just 1 run.

Shaeffer Hall, lhp, Kansas

The crafty lefthander staved off elimination against Dartmouth on Saturday, tossing a complete-game shutout. He allowed 5 hits and fanned 6 in a 16-0 Jayhawks win.

A.J. Morris, rhp, Kansas State

I don't care if he gave up 6 runs and 13 hits, Morris had a valiant effort to beat Rice. The junior righthander threw 143 pitches over 9 innings to propel the Wildcats into super regional contention.

Danny Hultzen, lhp, Virginia

I really liked Virginia as a dangerous sleeper, but winning the Regional of Death? That's impressive. Hultzen led the Cavs to a Game 2 victory over #1 seed UC Irvine on Saturday with a dazzling, 7.1 shutout inning performance.

Anthony Ranaudo, rhp, Louisiana State

Ranaudo (8-3, 3.09) was magnificent against Baylor in a winner's bracket game on Saturday night in Baton Rouge. He completed 9 innings, allowed 1 earned run on 3 hits, and struck out 14 Baylor batters. The 6-7 sophomore is one of the main reasons why LSU is such a dangerous threat in the postseason.

Chad Cregar, of, and Wade Gaynor, ss, Western Kentucky

Cregar (.325 with 19 HRs) and Gaynor (.375 with 25 HRs) led the Hilltoppers, an offense-crazy outfit, to an excellent showing in the Oxford Regional. WKU has to be considered one of the nation's premier mid-majors.

Caleb Cotham, rhp, Vanderbilt

Cotham was just ridiculous against a hard-hitting Middle Tennessee State offense on Sunday. He threw a complete-game shutout (the first Commodore ever to do so in the postseason), struck out 8, and didn't walk a batter. He even held MTSU superstar Bryce Brentz hitless!

Florida State Offense
The Seminoles scored 37 runs on 38 hits (including 15 doubles), so I think the whole team deserves to be here. Rather than listing the bevy of amazing individual feats, I'll just direct you to the box score.

Others:

Austin Wood, lhp, Texas

Justin Bloxom, 1B, Kansas State

Griffin Benedict, c, Georgia Southern

Daniel Bibona, lhp, UC Irvine

Kyle Gibson, rhp, Missouri

David Gutierrez, rhp, Miami
Scott Weismann, rhp, Clemson
Chris Dwyer, lhp, Clemson

Taylor Wall, lhp, Rice
Drew Smyly, lhp, Arkansas

Mike Leake

Sonny Gray

*Photos courtesy of vucommodores.cstv.com and thesundevils.cstv.com