Quincy Nieporte and Florida State will try to avenge last season's regional failures with Mercer, Auburn and C of C in town. Mark Etheridge previews the regional.

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2015 Tallahassee Regional Preview

Regional Superlatives

Most Exciting Player: Florida State outfielder DJ Stewart is a top hitter and emotional leader. As he goes, FSU goes.

Best Hitter: Stewart was D1Baseball.com’s 13th rated college prospect in the Midseason 150 and is the player in FSU’s lineup that keeps pitching coaches awake at 3 a.m. His lefthanded power bat plays well in the ‘Noles’ home park.

Best Defensive Player: Anfernee Grier makes the highlight plays look easy as the Auburn centerfielder. His glove is where doubles go to die.

Best Pitcher: Junior righthander Taylor Clarke of College of Charleston leads the country in wins with 13. The Golden Spikes semi-finalist is the CAA Pitcher of the Year and ranked in the top ten nationally in wins, strikeouts, strikeout-to-walk ratio, WHIP, and ERA. Clarke not only will sit 90-94 mph with his fastball, but has good secondary stuff to complement it.

X-Factor: Auburn starting pitcher and righthander Cole Lipscomb has beaten Florida and Kentucky in his last two starts. He gets a shot at College of Charleston Friday. Opponents are hitting just .215 off the redshirt sophomore righthander.

Best Starting Rotation: College of Charleston has Clarke, Brandon Glazer, and Hayden McCutcheon, who should all give them quality starts. Glazer is one of the more interesting stories in the postseason, as he’s a converted position player who had only thrown three innings in his long career before this season.

Best Bullpen: Florida State. Billy Strode gives the ‘Noles a lock down closer and he has plenty of help around him. The FSU bullpen has not allowed a run in its last eight innings.

Best Offensive Team: College of Charleston has seven .300 hitters and plenty of power. Blake Butler (.338/.405/.575) leads the team with 12 home runs while Nick Pappas, Carl Wise, Bradley Jones combined for 30 home runs on a team that hit 68 home runs and added 127 doubles. The Cougars should be able to hit very well at hitter-friendly Dick Howser Stadium.

Best Defensive Team: Auburn has the outfield speed to eliminate a lot of gappers and are fielding a respectable .973 as a team.

No. 1 Seed Win Probability (1-10) — 7. Florida State has a tough road ahead with Eric Nyquist and Mercer potentially followed by Glazer and Charleston. The Seminoles can play with anybody and should take this one but have shown enough vulnerability that someone could knock them off.

Team Breakdowns

DJ Stewart is a big key to Florida State’s success this weekend. (Aaron Fitt)

Florida State finished third in the ACC, but if not for a couple of bad weekends, could have been a national seed. The Seminoles have been hot and cold this season and enter the regionals with a sizzle after an undefeated 4-0 run to an ACC Tournament title coming on the heels of a five-game losing streak. FSU has a lineup built more around power than average. FSU averages 6.8 runs per game, is hitting .257 with 55 home runs, and are 57-74 in stolen base attempts. They field at an uninspiring .963. DJ Stewart (.318/.506/.585) leads the offense with 13 home runs and 52 RBI. Danny De La Calle, John Sansone, and Dylan Busby also provide power; the three have combined to slug 25 home runs. Mike Compton (4-3/2.84) will start game one versus Mercer saving Boomer Biegalski (7-4/2.84) for Saturday. Drew Carlton (4-5/4.45) is lined up for a third game with Bryant Holtmann (6-1/3.25) available should they need a fourth starter. Billy Strode (2-0/2.08/13 svs) is the closer and he is flanked by Dylan Silva (6-1/4.35), Jim Voyles (0-1/2.59), Alec Byrd (5-1/4.64), and Cobi Johnson (3-2/7.17). The Seminoles are anxious to atone for a rough regional in 2014 where they were eliminated in their first two games. This team may not have the elite pitching that other top seeds have but they have the mound depth to advance through the losers’ bracket if needed. Mike Martin’s squad will go as far as Stewart and the lineup can take them.

Taylor Clarke is a beast of a pitcher for Charleston. (Charleston)

College of Charleston won the Colonial regular-season crown and made it to the finals of the CAA tournament. Many felt it would host a regional, but are instead in Tallahassee as the two-seed. The Cougars should not be intimidated by Dick Howser after winning the Gainesville Regional a year ago. Despite losing projected ace Bailey Ober earlier in the season because of an injury, the Cougars have a really strong rotation led by Taylor Clarke (13-1/1.34). He has logged 107 1/3 inning this year and opponents have hit just .178 off of him. Brandon Glazer (10-1/2.68) has surprised as a really good second starter. Hayden McCutcheon (1-1/4.33) is coming off a complete game, no earned run, win over Delaware in the CAA Tournament which could get him a larger role this week. Chase Henry (2-1/4.62/5 svs), Carter Love (5-0/2.17/3 svs), Eric Bauer (4-4/5.73), and Wade Arduini (1-1/5.85) should all see mound action. The Cougar offense basically uses the same nine players in the lineup and eight of them hit .290 or better. As a team they hit .309 and were 46 for 65 in stolen base attempts. They are fielding a modest .966. College of Charleston will need to get innings from its starters and capitalize on its offensive firepower in a hitters’ park. If they do, Monte Lee’s club has a great chance to win their second regional in as many seasons.

Daniel Robert and the Auburn offense will need to provide some big-time support. (Auburn)

Auburn finished ninth in the SEC with a 13-17 record, but went 35-24 overall and slipped into the postseason in large part thanks to a challenging schedule and impressive 21 RPI. The Tigers are making their first trip to a regional since they hosted in 2010. Sunny Golloway’s squad has struggled scoring runs this year and average under five per game. They also have hit just 17 home runs as a team – just four more than FSU’s Stewart has alone. As a result, they are extremely aggressive on the bases looking to steal (57-for-94), sacrifice (54), and take extra bases. Anfernee Grier (.335/.404/.463) is AU’s top hitter but he is in the midst of an awful slump in the last few weeks. He is a difference-maker defensively in center field. Robert Daniel (.299/.367/.433) is the top power threat with three home runs and 37 RBI. Auburn has a legitimate ace in all-SEC second team selection Cole Lipscomb (8-2/2.38). After Keegan Thompson (7-3/3.21) was sidelined the last month, Lipscomb has carried the staff. Thompson worked two innings against Florida the last weekend of the season but did not pitch in Hoover and his availability in Tallahassee will be limited. Doctors approved Keegan Thompson to throw this weekend, but his maximum will be a couple of innings. Rocky McCord (5-4/4.12), Dalton Rentz (3-4/2.62), and Robby Clements (5-0/3.18) are starting candidates while Justin Camp (2-12/2.42/8 svs) and Trey Wingenter (1-6/4.31/4 svs) are the top relief options. For Auburn to be successful this week, it needs to stay in the winners’ bracket and get the Team USA invitee Grier going offensively.

Mercer won the Southern Conference regular season and tournament titles to earn a trip down to Tallahassee from Macon. The Bears hit .288 as a team with a robust 69 home runs and are 27-44 in steal attempts. They field have the top fielding percentage in the quartet at .974. Kyle Lewis (.373/.428/.691) turned in a monster year with 17 home runs and 56 RBI. Jackson Ware (.325/5/24) and Devin Bonin (.290/.364/.471/10 HRs/40 RBI) add to the potent lineup. Craig Gibson’s squad has an ace to scare FSU in the opener in Eric Nyquist 9-2/3.22). He is not much of a strikeout threat (69 Ks in 86 IP) but has been successful again this season. Grant Papelian (4-4/4.90) and Ryan Askew (4-4/6.75) are other starting options. Morgan Pittman (2-2/2.56/3 svs), Ben Lumsden (2-1/3.34/1 sv), Dimitri Kourtis (3-1/2.20/3 svs), and Mitchell Wade (6-1/4.42) lead a deep bullpen. Mercer is a dangerous four seed in the opener and their versatility late in games makes them a threat as the regional continues.