College World Series primer

Compiled by Baseball America

Jared Mitchell, who just went 24th in the MLB draft to the White Sox, leads an LSU squad that's been one of America's most consistent. Stacy Revere/Icon SMI LSU's Key Players Pos. Name Yr. AVG HR RBI SB C Micah Gibbs So. .286 6 39 2 1B Sean Ochinko Jr. .330 7 50 2 2B D.J. LeMahieu So. .340 4 39 10 3B Tyler Hanover Fr. .317 4 44 6 SS Austin Nola Fr. .238 2 16 3 LF Ryan Schimpf Jr. .335 19 63 18 CF Mikie Mahtook Fr. .320 6 31 9 RF Jared Mitchell Jr. .325 9 43 35 DH Blake Dean Jr. .333 15 65 4 Pos. Name Yr. W-L SV ERA SO SP Anthony Ranaudo So. 10-3 0 2.95 147 SP Louis Coleman Sr. 13-2 0 2.76 124 SP Austin Ross So. 5-7 0 4.94 72 RP Matty Ott Fr. 3-2 16 2.17 63

The low-down on all eight College World Series participants with detailed scouting reports from coaches who faced them during the regular season.

LSU

No. 3 national seed
2009 record: 51-16
Coach (record with school): Paul Mainieri (129- 61-2)
CWS history: 14 trips to Omaha, last in 2008; five championships, last in 2000.
CWS route: Won Baton Rouge regional in three games, beating Minnesota in the final. Won Baton Rouge super-regional in two games, beating Rice.

Scouting Report: "It's an unbelievable level of consistency to do what they did in the SEC, winning nine of 10 conference series. They've got a unique starter in Coleman; he's different. He's like 6-foot-5, he's long and lanky, then he lifts up and steps toward the third-base coach's box and delivers the ball at a fairly severe angle toward the plate. It's not what you teach, but it works for him.

"Their Friday night guy, Ranaudo, he's just a big, powerful guy that can throw some fastballs at your belt and get away with it, that's how you know he's got a good fastball. He's got a good breaking ball to go with it.

"I'm not sure their pitching staff runs deep. You've got a power arm, then you've got an Ichabod Crane, across-his-body guy the second day, and a legitimate closer. Three legitimate pieces to a pitching staff: a No. 1, No. 2 and a closer. Then they've got some guys who compete a little bit like Ross and [Daniel] Bradshaw, but it really drops off.

"I like the Nola kid a lot defensively -- plus arm, good range, solid glove. I think putting him in there at short made them better. I always thought LeMahieu was a bigger kid, longer swing, a little slower actions because he's longer. I think second base matches his body more. Ochinko playing first base is pretty scary, but it's good to have his bat in there. The little Hanover kid at third, he's just a winner. He'll dive either side, get dirty; I respect that. That's a freshman left side of the infield that's worked for them.

"In the outfield they pretty much can go get it. Mahtook, I think he's going to be dynamic -- he might be the best of all of them. He's a big kid, gets great jumps, can run, and I think he's really going to swing it. He's good, going to be somebody to contend with for a while.

"I really think a lefty is the way to go against them. You get Dean, Schimpf, Mitchell and [Leon] Landry left-on-left, and you get Gibbs from the right side. They just really stay on the ball better against a right-hander. Mitchell can be pitched to, but if you miss, he's dangerous.

"Schimpf is the one who's a polished, balanced, short-approach guy. He's put up numbers for them this year. Dean's been playing better of late; a lot of it has to do with how he's been pitched, because people know he can hit.

"If your guy throws a fastball that comes in there a little bit straight, doesn't change planes that strong, four-seam fastball that has no action on it, they're going to knock that silly. You've got to be good to beat them. If those pitchers aren't getting life on their fastballs, LSU is going to be there. You're going to have to have not just run, but some sink, I believe. If a right-hander sincerely beats them, he's done a heck of a job."

Virginia

Virginia's Key Players Pos. Name Yr. AVG HR RBI SB C Franco Valdes Jr. .288 5 41 0 1B Danny Hultzen Fr. .333 3 33 8 2B Keith Werman Fr. .367 0 7 3 3B Steven Proscia Fr. .332 9 57 12 SS Tyler Cannon Jr. .339 1 37 17 LF John Hicks Fr. .305 7 37 6 CF Jarrett Parker So. .364 16 65 19 RF Dan Grovatt So. .365 7 50 14 DH Phil Gosselin So. .314 6 63 24 Pos. Name Yr. W-L SV ERA SO SP Danny Hultzen Fr. 9-1 0 2.09 95 SP Andrew Carraway Sr. 8-1 0 4.13 71 SP Robert Morey So. 3-0 2 3.11 83 RP Kevin Arico So. 2-3 11 2.06 45

2009 record: 48-13-1
Coach (record with school): Brian O'Connor (264-102-1)
CWS history: 14 First trip to Omaha; no championships.
CWS route: Won Irvine regional in three games, beating UC Irvine in the final. Won Oxford super-regional in three games, beating Ole Miss.

Scouting Report: "They're solid in all aspects of the game: They play good defense, they pitch the heck out of it. Their lineup one through nine was stronger than North Carolina's was. They don't have the premium players like [Dustin] Ackley and [Kyle] Seager, but one through nine you have to pitch to them, and you have to have a good plan on the mound to get them out.

"I don't think they're particularly vulnerable against lefties. They have a very balanced lineup. They don't have one or two guys that have 19 or 20 home runs, but a bunch of guys in that six to seven range. They play such an aggressive style of baseball, if you're calling pitches against them, you have to worry about a lot of things: You have to worry about the hit-and-run, you have to worry about the stolen base. They're powerful enough to drive the ball into the gaps and create a bunch of havoc on the bases.

"Parker's gotten better every game that he's gone out. The biggest difference from last year is how much stronger he's gotten. He's really snapping the barrel through the zone. He can go foul pole to foul pole from a power standpoint --there are not too many guys with that ability. Grovatt wakes up in the morning hitting line drives. It's just who he is -- the kid can hit. Gosselin has as quick a bat as you'll see. They can hit, and they hit good pitching.

"Hultzen should be pitching in A-ball right now. He's that good of a talent. From the left side he can move his fastball around, and it's a good fastball. The kid really likes to compete. Carraway's a senior who's won a lot of games for them. I don't know if Morey's on that kind of radar screen yet, but I think he's going to be a first-round pick next year. I saw a lot of velocity as well as the good slider.

"In the bullpen, [Tyler] Wilson and Arico both compete, they both attack the strike zone, they both have a couple pitches they can throw in the strike zone. The thing about Virginia, they're going to get six or seven innings out of their starter, and those two guys let them turn it into a seven-inning ballgame. And Packer has as good of stuff as anybody, so when he's in the strike zone, he's a dominant guy, too.

"You have to be as balanced as they are to be able to beat them. You have to be able to match them pitch for pitch, and you're going to have to score seven or eight runs to beat them. They're going to win the low-scoring 2-1 games, because they're used to playing tight ballgames. They hit, but they don't hit enough home runs to really separate themselves from their opponent. Everybody on their pitching staff's going to attack the strike zone, they're going to go out there with a plan on both sides. They're not going to chase it as hitters, and on the mound they will attack the zone with all their stuff."