PER D1BASEBALL.COM
Dallas Regional Preview:
Most Exciting Player: Brandon Koch, rhp, Dallas Baptist. Certain closers — usually the ones who pop high 90s on the radar gun — create a buzz in the stadium when they take the mound. Koch is one of those guys.
Best Hitter: Jeff Hendrix, of, Oregon State. The best all-around player in this regional, Hendrix trails only DBU’s Drew Turbin in batting and OBP, but he’s driven the ball with more authority, slugging .545.
Best Defensive Player: C.J Hinojosa, ss, Texas. Nagging injuries have hampered Hinojosa this season, but he’s still a heady playmaker with sure hands and a rare feel for the game, making his fringy range play up.
Best Pitcher: Andrew Moore, rhp, Oregon State. With apologies to Koch and his absurd 16.2 strikeouts per nine innings rate, Moore gets the nod because he has maintained an elite level of performance (1.73 ERA, 103-19 K-BB) over 114.2 innings. Few college pitchers can match Moore’s pitchability, toughness and track record.
X-Factor: Connor Mayes, rhp, Texas. The talented freshman has shored up Texas’ leaky rotation down the stretch, throwing a two-hit shutout in the Big 12 tournament against Baylor. His emergence changes the complexion of UT’s staff.
Best Starting Rotation: Oregon State. Moore is the veteran anchor for a very young but very talented staff. The Beavers follow him with a pair of quality newcomers with swing-and-miss stuff: freshman Drew Rasmussen and juco transfer Travis Eckert.
Best Bullpen: Dallas Baptist. In case you missed it earlier, let me repeat that Brandon Koch strikeout rate: 16.2 batters per nine innings. Chance Adams and Drew Smith give the Patriots a pair of very able setup men, too.
Best Offensive Team: Dallas Baptist. DBU leads these four regional teams in the triple-slash categories (.290/.380/.445) as well as home runs (50) and doubles (123). No other team in this field has more than 87 doubles.
Best Defensive Team: Oregon State. The Beavers are rock-solid up the middle thanks to SS Caleb Hamilton, 2B Christian Donahue, speedy CF Jeff Hendrix and catch-and-throw whiz Logan Ice. All four teams take care of the baseball, but OSU has the most standout defenders.
Best Name: Added this bonus category just for this regional, because never has a regional featured so many hall of fame names. Scotland Church, Trooper Reynolds, Tagg Duce, Vimael Machin, Nash Knight, Daniel Sweet, Logan Ice, Kirby Bellow and Walker Haymaker will all compete in the same glorious regional. And the winner is … Scotland Church, by a nose.
No. 1 Seed Win Probability (1-10): 5. I’m picking Dallas Baptist to win this regional, but OSU and Texas are two very worthy challengers – especially the Beavers, who finished second in the Pac-12 and had a strong case to host a regional themselves. And VCU is a dangerous No. 4 seed with a chance to pull off a Friday upset.