San Diego Baseball: Taking a Closer Look at the LA Regional

June 19, 2012; Omaha, NE, USA; UCLA Bruins pitcher Grant Watson (12) throws against the Florida State Seminoles during the fourth inning of game nine of the 2012 College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Thorson-USA TODAY Sports

This time of the year is the proverbial Christmas for NCAA Baseball fans. 64 teams are selected to the NCAA tournament field, all of which will be competing for a spot in the College World Series. Here is a closer look at the University of San Diego’s regional, and the teams that they will be playing against in their road to the College World Series.

The 1 Seed-UCLA

There is a chance that the Toreros could run into the nationally ranked (15th)  UCLA Bruins in the latter rounds of the Los Angeles Regional. The Bruins went 39-17 overall last year and finished third in the stacked Pac-12.

David Berg, a reliever for the Bruins, has had a fantastic season. He is first in all of college baseball in ERA with a .70, and tied for third in the nation in saves with 18. Opposing teams will need to maintain a lead or keep the game close, because if UCLA gets a big lead a comeback seems extremely unlikely with Berg waiting in the bullpen.

The 2 Seed-Cal Poly

The Cal Poly Mustangs hail from the Big West conference, where they finished second in the regular season. There overall record throughout the season was 39-17, identical to that of UCLA’s.

The Mustangs are led on offense by Denver Chavez and Jordan Ellis. Chavez has a .362 batting average, and Ellis has hit 47 RBI’s with a .530 slugging percentage.

The 4 Seed- San Diego State

The Aztecs are in the tournament because of an automatic berth from winning the Mountain West Conference Tournament. The other team in San Diego finished the season with an overall record of 31-29, and a conference record of 15-15. As a whole, the Aztecs season was not all that great, but they finished the season red hot, which ultimately is the reason why they are in the tournament to begin with.

The Aztecs are very solid on the defensive side of the ball. San Diego State is 14th in the country in fielding percentage, with a .978 percentage.