Stony Brook defies odds, Omaha field nearly set

[hifigator]

Trivia Question: What NCAA D1 baseball team of around 300 had the best winning percentage this season? If you said the Stony Brook Seawolves, then maybe you heard it on ESPN. Not one single person got that trivia question correct at the live remote just 2 weeks ago. Around 20 schools were mentioned among the nearly 40 entries. For the record, googling or phone calls were not allowed. But just a couple of weeks later, a lot more people now know who the Seawolves are. Stony Brook, the winningest team in D1 baseball -- at least by the numbers -- was sent 2000 miles as a #4 seed to Coral Gables to face the traditional powerhouse Miami Hurricanes, along with highly regarded UCF Knights. After disposing of Miami 10-2, the Seawolves bested UCF twice by a combined score of 12-2, and swept their way into baseball's equivalent of the Sweet 16. Their reward for pulling off the upset south Florida was a trip to face one of the few programs with even more tradition than Miami, in the LSU Tigers. And while many questioned whether Miami was deserving of their host position, few questioned the merits of Paul Meneiri's Nationally Seeded Tigers. LSU, which started the current 3 year run on SEC supremacy with their last National Title in 2009, did manage to take a game from the Seawolves, setting up a winner take all game at Alex Box Stadium last night. But calling this a "Hollywood ending" for Stony Brook wouldn't be fair ... to Hollywood! There was no drama and the outcome was never in doubt. After allowing an early solo homer to LSU's CF Mason Katz, the Seawolves -- as they did for most of this soggy weekend in Baton Rouge -- simply outplayed the favored Tigers. It was 6-1 in the seventh before LSU got their next hit. And when LSU did cut the lead to four at 6-2, the Seawolves didn't flinch. A leadoff double in the ninth, followed by a textbook sacrifice bunt led to LSU pulling the infield in. A little flare off the Stony Brook bat fell just over the head of a diving Nola, restoring the comfort of the 5 run lead. And there was to be no drama in the bottom of the ninth. Recovering from a 4 run defecit would have been unlikely, but for a fleeting second there was finally a special buzz in the air. Maybe, just maybe, LSU could pull off the magic as they have so many times in the past. But I think there was something ironic with LSU shortstop's, Nola's, futile dive. "Nola" ... "No, Louisiana, not this time."

And don't think that the ride is over for Stony Brook. Yes, they made it to Omaha. And yes, that is the staple goal for all programs in college baseball. But the Seawolves are not just happy to be there. More importantly, they have shown that they belong there. While it's a little too easy to attach the "Cinderalla" label to this unknown team from New York and while that label would pretty much be true of any team from North of the Mason Dixon line other than Nebraska or the Pac 10/12 schools from Oregon, and further, pretty much any school not from a power conference, Texas or California, Stony Brook is not your Cinderella team. As you might have now heard since the four letter network jumped on this bandwagon, Stony Brook had 9 players drafted in last week's MLB draft. That was the same number as the overall #1 seeded Florida Gators and more than all other 300 D1 teams except 1.

This Seawolf team might not win it all, but after trips to Coral Gables and Baton Rouge, they will not be intimidated. And they will certainly be the adopted sentimental favorite of all the neutral fans, both live in Omaha and on TV. They don't really "Wow" you with anything ... well, except for playing solid baseball from every position.

Joining Stony Brook in Omaha are these teams:

#1 Florida Gators
#2 UCLA
Arizona
#3 FSU

Arkansas at #4 Baylor as well as Kent St at #5 Oregon will play their deciding games tonight, with the winners also advancing to Omaha.


ON EDIT: I got misinformation. Apparently, the Oklahoma at USCe game got suspended and is being played right now. The Gamecocks lead Oklahoma 1-0. The Sooners need to beat South Carolina in the conclusion of the suspended game as well as then in a third and deciding game tonight.

[Nevada Hoya]

You can't beat those Long Island teams!

Actually, Stony Brook must be upgrading some of their sports teams, as the track team has one of the best 1500m runners, who won the NCAA indoor 1500m (was 4th at the outdoor champs behind, among others, Emily Infeld of GU).

[hoyaatheart55]

Maybe off-topic, but why has our baseball team never been very good?

[DFW HOYA]

Jun 14, 2012 0:40:22 GMT -5 hoyaatheart55 said:

Maybe off-topic, but why has our baseball team never been very good?

Baseball used to be very good (1922 national champions, in the pre-CWS era) but it comes down to one word: scholarships.

In the first 60 years of the program, Georgetown had winning seasons nearly every year. In the Depresssion, GU quietly dropped athletic scholarships and all the teams took a dive--football, baseball, basketball all cratered. The scholarships came back around 1935 or so and baseball was then 35-8 over the next three seasons.

The loss of football scholarships (e.g., two sport athletes who played FB in the fall and baseball in the spring) hit baseball hard--Georgetown had one winning season from 1952 until 1970. A second drop came when the remaining baseball-only scholarships were reallocated to women's teams in the 1970's. Although the Ken Kelly teams from 1981-85 all earned winning records, it was the exception rather than the norm, and when Georgetown moved to Big East play in 1985, the lack of scholarships and lack of depth (particularly in pitching) really took its toll. Georgetown's last winning season was in 1986.

College baseball has evolved into a Sun Belt sport (don't expect Michigan or Ohio State in the CWS anytime soon) and that's why Stony Brook's appearance this summer is a big deal. But SBU didn't just luck out--they have a number of MLB prospects on the roster, the've upgraded facilities, and have positioned themselves as a legitimate option for LI kids that want to pursue pro baseball after college.

Georgetown has done better in baseball in recent years, but depth is always a concern, the facilities are too far away, and a good breaking ball is not going to get you a free ride. Georgetown's not close to the 11.7 scholarship limit, and that's the driver in the discussion.

[Nevada Hoya]

Not that they were particularly good, but the baseball teams from my era played on campus, which was nice for those students, who wanted to watch an afternoon baseball game. My classmate, who was also a chem major, was one of the best players on the team. He always had to duck out of chem lab for games. He received a signing bonus from the old Washington Senators ($1000), but opted to go to dental school. During the off season Pete Richert of the Senators worked out at Georgetown (Pete holds a record of striking out the first six batters that he ever faced in the majors, including Vada Pinson and Frank Robinson). I played a pickup basketball game with him (2 on 2) and we killed our opponents.

[hoyarooter]

I remember Pete Richert from his Dodger days.

Two of Stony Brook's starting pitchers are from the LA area, including one who attended Crespi High, which is about three miles from my house. Nevertheless, go Bruins.

[hifigator]

I know it's baseball, and anything can happen in one game, but UCLA did look like men playing with boys yesterday. Pun intended, but not the innuendo tye. Seriously though, the Bruins made the Seawoves look starstruck for sure. "Happy to be there" ... I'm not sure that was it, but they didn't play like they did last weekend. On an unrelated note, while I wasn't fortunate enough to pull the Gators in the blind draw, at least I didn't pull the Noles either. In fact, I pulled Arizona. So I actually had a nice vested interest in the game last night, aside from merely rooting against FSU -- which is plenty of reason to begin with. But so far, the CWS has been very fun to watch, enjoying the David and Goliath game between UCLA and Stony, and then capping off a long night with the Noles falling in extra innings to my adopted team.

[hoyaatheart55]

Jun 14, 2012 10:09:58 GMT -5 DFW HOYA said:

Jun 14, 2012 0:40:22 GMT -5 hoyaatheart55 said:

Maybe off-topic, but why has our baseball team never been very good?

Baseball used to be very good (1922 national champions, in the pre-CWS era) but it comes down to one word: scholarships.

In the first 60 years of the program, Georgetown had winning seasons nearly every year. In the Depresssion, GU quietly dropped athletic scholarships and all the teams took a dive--football, baseball, basketball all cratered. The scholarships came back around 1935 or so and baseball was then 35-8 over the next three seasons.

The loss of football scholarships (e.g., two sport athletes who played FB in the fall and baseball in the spring) hit baseball hard--Georgetown had one winning season from 1952 until 1970. A second drop came when the remaining baseball-only scholarships were reallocated to women's teams in the 1970's. Although the Ken Kelly teams from 1981-85 all earned winning records, it was the exception rather than the norm, and when Georgetown moved to Big East play in 1985, the lack of scholarships and lack of depth (particularly in pitching) really took its toll. Georgetown's last winning season was in 1986.

College baseball has evolved into a Sun Belt sport (don't expect Michigan or Ohio State in the CWS anytime soon) and that's why Stony Brook's appearance this summer is a big deal. But SBU didn't just luck out--they have a number of MLB prospects on the roster, the've upgraded facilities, and have positioned themselves as a legitimate option for LI kids that want to pursue pro baseball after college.

Georgetown has done better in baseball in recent years, but depth is always a concern, the facilities are too far away, and a good breaking ball is not going to get you a free ride. Georgetown's not close to the 11.7 scholarship limit, and that's the driver in the discussion.

Thanks for the brief history lesson. It may be impossible or extremely unlikely, but I dream of someday seeing the Hoyas in the CWS