Eugene Regional Breakdown
Oregon turned around their offense this season in a big way. A team that lacked in power just a year ago has four sophomores in Kyle Garlick, Aaron Jones, Connor Hofmann and Ryon Healy that are all capable of going deep. Yet, this is not a team that scores all that many runs. They just do not get enough players on base and when they do, those big hitters have to take advantage of the opportunity because it may not come again. However, a great pitching staff led by ace Alex Keudell and closer Jimmie Sherfy will keep the Ducks favored to win at home and advance to the Super Regional.
However, Cal State Fullerton will not make it easy for Oregon. The Titans could have been a Regional host, but instead got stuck going up to Eugene to play against a seeded Oregon team instead of taking the much shorter trip to Palo Alto. But they are where they are and it may not be a bad thing for Fullerton. The Titans have the pitching prowess to stop the Ducks big bats led by ace Dylan Floro and closer Michael Lorenzen. Lorenzen will also do plenty of damage at the plate. Indiana State got knocked out of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament early, but they won the regular season title in a very good, and underappreciated, conference. Jeremy Lucas, Landon Curry and Kyle Burnam will need to score some runs and the Sycamores do have a deep rotation that will be extremely helpful during the grueling tournament. Austin Peay rounds out the Eugene Regional. They have some power with Greg Bachman and Jordan Haskins, but the Governors will need to find some consistent pitching beyond Zach Toney if they have any hope of advancing.
See all 2012 Baseball World Series Regional Breakdowns
