CWS Capsules

By DENNIS WASZAK Jr.
AP Sports Writer

A look at the eight teams competing in the College World Series, whichstarts Friday at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb. (coaches’ records at currentschools through super regionals):

CAL STATE-FULLERTON (46-16)

CWS Seed: 1.

Coach: George Horton (220-92-1, fifth year).

Road To Omaha: Won Fullerton, Calif., regional: beat Temple 17-3, beatArizona St. 13-3, lost to Texas Tech 11-5, beat Texas Tech 9-2. Won superregional: Beat Mississippi St. 13-2, beat Mississippi St. 9-3.

2001 record vs. CWS teams: 6-3 (3-0 vs. Miami, 1-1 vs. Southern California,1-2 vs. Stanford, 1-0 vs. Tennessee).

Last CWS appearance: 1999.

All-time record in CWS: 23-16 (10 appearances, three national titles).

Short Hops: Tournament’s No. 1 seed clinched College World Series berth athome for first time. Won national titles in 1979, ’84 and ’95. Have hit just 58homers this season, but 14 in NCAA tournament. RHP Kirk Saarloos (15-2, 2.24ERA) has won 15 straight decisions, struck out 150 and walked just 23 in 1442-3 innings. Workhorse was Titans closer before this season and is fourth inNCAA history with 126 career appearances. 1B Aaron Rifkin hit three homers insuper regional-clinching win, and has 12 postseason RBIs. 3B Shawn Norris wasMVP of Fullerton regional, going 8-for-11 with 11 RBIs. 2B David Bacani hasreached base in 60 of 62 games and has 300 career hits. LHP Jon Smith (10-2,3.48) is star on field and in classroom – has 4.0 grade-point average asaccounting major.

MIAMI (49-12)

CWS Seed: 2.

Coach: Jim Morris (389-119-1, eighth year).

Road To Omaha: Won Coral Gables, Fla., regional: beat Bucknell 14-6, beatFlorida 6-2, beat Stetson 16-8. Won super regional: Beat Clemson 10-8, beatClemson 14-6.

2001 record vs. CWS teams: 0-3 (vs. Cal State-Fullerton).

Last CWS appearance: 1999.

All-time record in CWS: 39-30 (19 appearances, three national titles).

Short Hops: Hurricanes enter CWS on 13-game winning streak, longest incountry, and have won 16 of last 17. Have appeared in NCAA-record 29consecutive regional appearances. Won CWS in 1982, ’85 and ’99. SS JavyRodriguez has school-record 66 stolen bases and 58 RBIs to join Calvin James(1985) as only Miami players with at least 50 in a season in both categories.Hurricanes lead nation with 215 stolen bases, 65 more than second-place NorthCarolina A&T. OF Mike Rodriguez set school record with 31 consecutive stealsearlier in season, and has been thrown out only twice in 51 attempts. Deepbullpen has NCAA-record 207 relief appearances this season. 1B Kevin Brown(.267, 12, 43) had 10 RBIs in regional-clinching win. LHP Brian Walker (11-1)and RHP Tom Farmer (13-2) head solid pitching staff.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (44-17)

CWS Seed: 3.

Coach: Mike Gillespie (607-330-2, 15th year).

Road To Omaha: Won Los Angeles regional: beat Oral Roberts 12-4, beatPepperdine 4-3, beat Fresno St. 8-0. Won super regional: beat FloridaInternational 5-1, beat Fla. International 6-0.

2001 record vs. CWS teams: 3-5 (1-1 vs. Cal State-Fullerton, 2-4 vs.Stanford).

Last CWS appearance: 2000.

All-time record in CWS: 73-24 (20 appearances, 12 national titles).

Short Hops: Trojans playing in CWS for fourth time in seven years, and havewon record 12 championships (1948, ’58, ’61, ’63, ’68, ’70-’74, ’78, ’98). Havewon six in a row, and 15 of last 16. Clinched CWS berth at home for first timesince 1978. RHP Mark Prior (14-1, 1.50) was No. 2 pick by Chicago Cubs inTuesday’s draft. Prior, regarded by some as greatest college pitcher ever, hasstruck out school and Pac-10 single-season record 189 and walked just 17 in 1312-3 innings. RHP Rik Currier (12-2, 2.39) has 115 strikeouts and is school andconference career leader with 444. Pitching staff’s 580 strikeouts is schoolrecord. No. 3 starter Anthony Reyes (5-3, 3.42) is 4-0 with 0.27 ERA in lastfour starts. SS Seth Davidson, school’s career leader in hits, runs, at-batsand steals, has appeared in 224 straight games – including championship gameagainst Arizona St. in 1998.

STANFORD (48-16)

CWS Seed: 4.

Coach: Mark Marquess (1,043-514-5, 25th year).

Road To Omaha: Won Stanford, Calif., regional: beat Marist 4-3, lost toTexas 4-3, beat Marist 6-0, beat Texas 10-9, beat Texas 4-3. Won superregional: beat South Carolina 11-1, lost to South Carolina 4-3, beat SouthCarolina 3-2.

2001 record vs. CWS teams: 6-3 (2-1 vs. Cal State-Fullerton, 4-2 vs.Southern California).

Last CWS appearance: 2000.

All-time record in CWS: 28-21 (12 appearances, two national titles).

Short Hops: Won four elimination games in tournament to secure school-recordthird straight CWS berth. Won back-to-back national championships in 1987 and’88. Needs two victories for third straight 50-wins season. RHP Jeremy Guthrie(12-4, 2.58) heads pitching staff with team ERA of 3.34 – lowest since 2.64 in1973. Stanford’s four starters – Guthrie, RHP Jeff Bruksch (9-3, 3.21), LHPMike Gosling (7-2, 3.57) and LHP Tim Cunningham (6-0, 3.53) have combined for34-9 record and 3.13 ERA. 2B Chris O’Riordan (.374, 12, 66) has Cardinal’scareer-best batting average of .370, and leads or co-leads team in 13 offensivecategories. OF Carlos Quentin (.352, 11, 51) was Pac-10 freshman of year. Soliddefensive team leads nation with fielding percentage of .977, .005 ahead ofschool record.

TULANE (55-11)

CWS Seed: 5.

Coach: Rick Jones (345-150, eighth year).

Road To Omaha: Won New Orleans regional: beat Southern U. 22-9, beatOklahoma St. 13-10, beat Oklahoma St. 13-10. Won super regional: lost toLouisiana State 4-3 in 12 innings, beat LSU 9-4, beat LSU 7-1.

2001 record vs. CWS teams: 0-0.

Last CWS appearance: None.

All-time record in CWS: First appearance.

Short Hops: Nation’s winningest team won two straight againstdefending-champion Louisiana State to spoil retiring Tigers coach SkipBertman’s bid for sixth title in last 11 years. Have outscored opponents620-358, led by 3B Jake Gautreau’s Division I-leading 91 RBIs. Gautreau, takenwith the 14th pick by San Diego in Tuesday’s draft, is offensive sparkplug with.354 batting average and 20 homers. SS Andy Cannizaro (.390, 69 RBIs,school-record 112 hits), OF Michael Aubrey (.357, 13, 67) and 1B James Jurries(.338, 10, 53) add to tough lineup that has .337 combined batting average.Aubrey also 3-0 with 5.05 ERA as one of Green Wave’s starting pitchers.

GEORGIA (47-20)

CWS Seed: 6.

Coach: Ron Polk (79-46, second year).

Road To Omaha: Won Athens, Ga., regional: lost to Georgia Southern 4-3, beatGeorgia Tech 13-5, beat Georgia Southern 10-9, 11 innings, beat CoastalCarolina 9-3, beat Coastal Carolina 8-7. Won super regional: beat Florida State8-7, lost to Florida St. 11-6, beat Florida St. 8-7).

2001 record vs. CWS teams: 3-0 (vs. Tennessee).

Last CWS appearance: 1990.

All-time record in CWS: 4-3 (two appearances, one national title).

Short Hops: Polk, who went to CWS five times in 22 years at MississippiState, came out of two-year retirement last season. Bulldogs won national titlein last CWS appearance. SS Jeff Keppinger (.387, 16, 68) has hit seven homersin eight NCAA tournament games. DH-OF Doc Brooks (.265, 16, 53) and INF AndyNeufeld (.339, 10, 38) are other power sources in Bulldogs lineup. Bullpen hasbeen outstanding with right-handers Jeffrey Carswell (10-1, 2.61), JodyFriedman (4-2, 1.70) and Bill Sharpton (5-1, 3.86). RHP Jeremy Brown (7-3,4.10) has been anchor of starting staff. Team is without RHP Scott Murphy (5-2,5.53), who was declared academically ineligible two weeks ago.

TENNESSEE (46-18)

CWS Seed: 7.

Coach: Rod Delmonico (490-248, 12th year).

Road To Omaha: Won Knoxville, Tenn., regional: beat Middle Tenn. St. 2-1,beat Tennessee Tech 11-0, lost to Wake Forest 10-3, beat Wake Forest 6-3. Wonsuper regional: beat East Carolina 13-10, beat East Carolina 6-3.

2001 record vs. CWS teams: 0-4 (0-3 vs. Georgia, 0-1 vs. CalState-Fullerton).

Last CWS appearance: 1995.

All-time record in CWS: 6-4 (two appearances).

Short Hops: Volunteers have third-best victories total in school history,trailing the 1995 (54) and 1994 (52) teams. Went 20-15 in last 35 games, afterbeginning season 26-3 – school’s best-ever start. Vols have won 10 times intheir last at-bat, including both super regional victories over East Carolina.Have Southeastern Conference-leading 148 stolen bases, including 43 each by SSChris Burke and 2B Stevie Daniel. Burke, drafted by Houston with 10th pick inTuesday’s draft, broke Todd Helton’s school records for hits, runs, doubles,total bases and extra-base hits. Burke (.439, 19, 59), SEC player of year, isalso Vols career leader in singles and triples. Pitching staff has struggledwith 5.14 ERA. Right-handers Wyatt Allen (9-2, 5.99), Patrick Hicklen (5-4,4.30) and Brian Gates (5-4, 4.67) hard-pressed to replace RHP Brandon Crowe(6-0, 3.68), team’s top pitcher who was lost for season with elbow tendinitis.

NEBRASKA (50-14)

CWS Seed: 8.

Coach: Dave Van Horn (167-69, fourth year).

Road To Omaha: Won Lincoln, Neb., regional: beat Northern Iowa 16-6, beatRutgers 5-4, beat Rutgers 14-10. Won super regional: beat Rice 7-0, beat Rice9-6 in 10 innings.

2001 record vs. CWS teams: 0-0.

Last CWS appearance: None.

All-time record in CWS: First appearance.

Short Hops: Makes first CWS appearance riding nine-game winning streak.Scored four runs in ninth inning and three in 10th in super regional clincherover Rice in front of a school-record crowd of 5,484 in last game played atBuck Beltzer Stadium. Have outscored opponents 54-26 in five NCAA tournamentgames, and have stolen 19 bases in those games. Huskers like to run – have 124steals in 137 attempts this season, led by 2B-OF John Cole (28-for-30), OF AdamStern (27-for-31) and OF Jeff Leise (17-for-17). LHP Shane Komine (14-1, 3.27)has won 14 straight decisions, struck out 148 and walked just 35 in 123 2-3innings. He is also Nebraska’s career victories leader with 31. RHP Thom Ott(5-2, 4.09) has been solid out of bullpen with school single season-record 11saves in 28 appearances. Lineup anchored by 1B Dan Johnson (.360, 24, 85), DHMatt Hopper (.366, 11, 84) and Cole (.417, 9, 59) has outscored opponents598-335 this season.