Gary Regional Breakdown
We know what you are thinking… wait, wait, when did Gary get a college baseball team? The answer is the northwest Indiana community and Chicagoland suburb gets one this weekend. Because Purdue’s baseball field does not meet NCAA specifications for hosting tournaments, the USS Steel Yard in Gary was selected for the four-team regional. The stadium seats just over 6,000 fans, which should be perfect for the field coming to vie for a trip to Omaha. Purdue (44-12) has a strong batting average up top with Eric Charles, Kevin Plawecki, Cameron Perkins and Stephen Talbott all above .350 in batting average. Perkins (.360-9-58) and Plawecki (.365-6-44) are good home-run hitters along with Barrett Serrato (.320-6-45). Charles and Talbott have 15 steals or more, so Purdue is well-covered in terms of speed and hitting. Blake Mascarello (8-1, 1.64) and Lance Breedlove (8-5, 2.82) are the top pitchers in the lineup, and Breedlove’s 5-to-1 strikeout/walk ratio is especially good. Purdue hasn’t qualified for an NCAA tournament since 1987; the Boilermakers’ stay in this tournament could be a little longer.
Kentucky (43-16) finished tied for second in the SEC East behind the hot bats of Luke Maile (.313-12-49) and Austin Cousino (.318-9-38), and Corey Littrell (8-2, 2.66, 23 walks, 80 strikeouts) has been a very effective pitcher. The Wildcats have a 12th-best 0.96 home runs per game, and their .446 slugging percentage is 19th in the country. Kentucky’s previous tournament appearances have been in 1988, 1993, 2006 and 2008. It’s safe to say this school is known more for its basketball, but the baseball program has tried to raise the school’s spring visibility. Kent State (41-17), the Mid-American Conference East Division champion, actually took out Texas in one game of last year’s tournament, although the Longhorns recovered to win the final two contests. Kent State has made tournament play five times since the 2004 season, while Valparaiso (35-23), the Horizon League champs, are making their first postseason appearance. This Indiana-Ohio-Kentucky tri-state regional should end with the Boilermakers making a trip to super-regionals.
See all 2012 Baseball World Series Regional Breakdowns
