Oklahoma State ends long CWS absence

OMAHA, Neb. -- A capsule look at the eight teams competing in the College World Series, which starts Saturday at TD Ameritrade Park. (Capsules in order of CWS opening games. Coaches' records through super regionals):

Oklahoma State (41-20)

Coach: Josh Holliday (166-77, 4 years at Oklahoma State and overall).

Road to Omaha: Won Clemson Regional: beat Nebraska 6-0, beat Clemson 12-2, beat Clemson 9-2. Won Columbia Super Regional: beat South Carolina 5-1, beat South Carolina 3-1.

2016 record vs. CWS teams: 2-4.

Last CWS appearance: 1999.

All-time record in CWS: 38-36 in 19 appearances.

Meet the Cowboys: C Collin Theroux (.173, 6 HR, 30 RBIs), 1B Dustin Williams (.227, 14, 42), 2B J.R. Davis (.353, 1, 31), 3B Garrett Benge (.296, 4, 38), SS Donnie Walton (.342, 3, 44), LF Jon Littell (.263, 2, 23), CF Ryan Sluder (.211, 4, 19), RF Corey Hassel (.285, 6, 39), DH Conor Costello (.367, 5, 30). Starting pitchers: RHP Thomas Hatch (8-2, 2.04 ERA), RHP Tyler Buffett (8-3, 3.15), RHP Jensen Elliott (9-2, 3.27). Relievers: RHP Trey Cobb (4-7, 3.33, 5 saves), RHP Blake Battenfield (1-1, 3.49), RHP Remey Reed (4-1, 3.82), RHP Michael Mertz (1-3, 4.35), LHP Garrett Williams (2-0, 6.23), RHP Joe Lienhard (1-0, 3.37).

MLB alumni: Scott Baker, Jeromy Burnitz, Doug Dascenzo, Josh Fields, Pete Incaviglia, Allie Reynolds, Luke Scott, Mickey Tettleton, Robin Ventura.

Short hops: Holliday played on Cowboys' 1996 and '99 CWS teams and coached in the CWS as an assistant at Georgia Tech (2006), Arizona State (2009) and Vanderbilt (2011). ... Pitching coach Rob Walton pitched on the 1983-86 teams, all of which went to the CWS. ... Tied a program record with 11 major-league draft picks, tied with Mississippi State for third most of any DI program behind only Texas A&M (13) and Southern California (12). Seven of the OSU draftees were pitchers.

Quotable: "Having been a program with amazing baseball history, to have not gone since 1999, to go back gives us a feeling of being whole again from the baseball standpoint." -- Holliday.

UC Santa Barbara (42-18-1)

Coach: Andrew Checketts (179-105-1, 5 years at UCSB and overall).

Road to Omaha: Won Nashville Regional: beat Washington 3-2 in 14 innings, beat Xavier 5-4, beat Xavier 14-5. Won Louisville Super Regional: beat Louisville 4-2, beat Louisville 4-3.

2016 record vs. CWS teams: 0-0.

First CWS appearance.

Meet the Gauchos: C Dempsey Grover (.277, 2 HR, 29 RBIs), 1B Austin Bush (.269, 11, 49), 2B JJ Muno (.294, 5, 30), 3B Ryan Clark (.270, 1, 14), SS Clay Fisher (.289, 1, 24), LF Devon Gradford (.336, 1, 18), CF Andrew Calica (.265, 4, 25), RF Michael McAdoo (.193, 0, 19), DH Kyle Plantier (.194, 1, 16). Starting pitchers: RHP Shane Bieber (12-3, 2.84 ERA), RHP Noah Davis (6-4, 4.70), RHP Joe Record (6-5, 3.91). Relievers: LHP Kyle Nelson (7-2, 2.02), RHP Trevor Bettencourt (4-2, 3.89), RHP Kevin Chandler (1-0, 3.77), LHP Justin Kelly (2-0, 3.05), LHP Kyle Hatton (3-1, 4.21), RHP James Carter (0-0, 1.04).

MLB alumni: Larry Dierker, Jerry Reuss, Skip Schumaker, Chris Speier, Ryan Spilborghs, Michael Young, Barry Zito.

Short hops: The 42 wins are a program record against Division I opponents. ... Gauchos have seven new starting position players and three new starting pitchers. ... UCSB is 23-0 when scoring six or more runs. ... Has six walk-off wins this season, including Sam Cohen's ninth-inning grand slam against Louisville on Sunday.

Arizona (44-21)

Coach: Jay Johnson (44-21, 1 year at Arizona; 153-79, 4 years overall).

Road to Omaha: Lafayette Regional: beat Sam Houston State 7-3, lost to Louisiana-Lafayette 10-3, beat Sam Houston State 6-5, beat Louisiana-Lafayette 6-3, beat Louisiana-Lafayette 3-1. Starkville Super Regional: beat Mississippi State 1-0, beat Mississippi State 6-5 in 11 innings.

2016 record vs. CWS teams: 0-0.

Last CWS appearance: 2012.

All-time record in CWS: 38-27 in 16 appearances, 4 national titles.

Meet the Wildcats: C Cesar Salazar (.282, 0 HR, 27 RBIs), 1B Ryan Aguilar (.308, 7, 48), 2B Cody Ramer (.357, 2, 39), 3B Bobby Dalbec (.266, 6, 38) or Kyle Lewis (.247, 0, 11), SS Louis Boyd (.261, 0, 21), LF Alfonso Rivas (.263, 1, 25), CF Jared Oliva (.237, 3, 28), RF Zach Gibbons (.373, 0, 39), DH JJ Matijevic (.293, 4, 36). Starting pitchers: RHP Nathan Bannister (11-2, 2.63 ERA), RHP Bobby Dalbec (10-4, 2.92, 7 saves), LHP JC Cloney (6-4, 2.86). Relievers: RHP Kevin Ginkel (4-1, 2.82), RHP Cody Deason (1-2, 3.95), LHP Cameron Ming (2-2, 3.84, 2 saves), RHP Austin Schnabel (1-0, 4.02), LHP Rio Gomez (3-0, 4.60), RHP Robby Medel (1-3, 5.71).

MLB alumni: Casey Candaele, Scott Erickson, Terry Francona, Ron Hassey, Gil Heredia, Trevor Hoffman, Craig Lefferts, Kenny Lofton, Joe Magrane, J.T. Snow.

Short hops: Wildcats were picked ninth in the Pac-12 and finished tied for third. ... Team ERA of 3.42 is lowest since a 3.25 in the 1976 national championship season. ... Reliever Tyler Crawford is the lone holdover from the 2012 national championship team. He missed last year because of Tommy John surgery and has worked only 3 1/3 innings over five appearances this season, including a third of an inning against Mississippi State on Saturday. ... Bannister is the national co-leader with 18 starts. ... Since May 19, Arizona has traveled 13,662 miles and played 15 games in five different stadiums. ... Set program record with 18 away wins.

Miami (50-12)

Coach: Jim Morris (1,030-391-1, 22 years at Miami; 1,534-658-4, 34 years overall).

Road to Omaha: Won Coral Gables Regional: beat Stetson 4-2, beat Long Beach State 4-3 in 11 innings, beat Long Beach State 9-8. Won Coral Gables Super Regional: beat Boston College 12-7, lost to Boston College 5-3, beat Boston College 9-4.

2016 record vs. CWS teams: 1-2.

Last CWS appearance: 2015.

All-time record in CWS: 48-40 in 24 appearances.

Meet the Hurricanes: C Zack Collins (.357, 15 HR, 57 RBI), 1B Christopher Barr (.260, 0, 24), 2B Johnny Ruiz (.346, 4, 57), 3B Edgar Michelangeli (.274, 5, 40), SS Brandon Lopez (.385, 2, 42), LF Jacob Heyward (.236, 6, 39), CF Carl Chester (.344, 2, 29), RF Willie Abreu (.286, 12, 56), DH Randy Batista (.268, 2, 25). Starting pitchers: LHP Danny Garcia (9-4, 3.48 ERA), LHP Michael Mediavilla (11-1, 3.11), RHP Jesse Lepore (9-0, 2.20). Relievers: RHP Frankie Bartow (6-0, 2.73), RHP Andrew Cabezas (3-1, 5.26), RHP Bryan Garcia (2-0, 1.95, 18 saves), RHP Devin Meyer (1-1, 3.26), RHP Keven Pimentel (2-0, 3.67), LHP Thomas Woodrey (5-4, 4.98).

Sports on 06/16/2016

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