At A Glance: Sizing up Ole Miss' opponents in the Coral Gables Regional

The NCAA Baseball Tournament begins on Friday with 16 regional sites hosting 64 teams across the country. Ole Miss will start their postseason journey in Miami as a No. 3 seed in the Coral Gables Regional.

Games are set to be played at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. CT on Friday, but Mother Nature seems to have other plans in relation to keeping the regional on schedule.

Either way, the games will be played at some point this weekend, or early into next week, so lets take a quick glance at the other three teams joining Ole Miss in South Beach.

MIAMI – No. 6 NATIONAL SEED (39-18, 20-10 ACC)

The Hurricanes are hosting the Coral Gables Regional and are coming into the postseason with not much momentum, going 0-2 and a quick exit in last week’ ACC Tournament.

It was an up and down season for Miami who dropped a series at Florida in non-conference play but found its rhythm once conference play rolled around.

With a potent offense, Miami can be deadly at the plate. Sophomore infielder CJ Kayfus leads the team in runs (60) and hits (83) and has 50 RBIs along with seven home runs.

Other threats include sophomores Jacob Burke and Yohandy Morales. The duo has combined for 148 hits and 26 home runs.

On the mound the Hurricanes is anchored by sophomore Carson Palmquist. The left-hander has a 9-4 record and a 3.09 earned run average in 78.2 innings of work, giving up 33 runs – 27 earned, off 68 hits. Palmquist has recorded 108 strikeouts and issued 28 walks this season.

The rest of the starting rotation includes sophomore right-hander Jake Garland and freshman right-hander Karson Ligon. Garland has a 6-2 record and 3.99 ERA while Ligon has gone 6-6 on the year with a 4.50 ERA. Sophomore left-hander Andrew Walters is the closer with a 1.20 ERA and 13 saves.

ARIZONA – No. 2 Seed (37-23, 16-14 PAC-12)

The Wildcats make the trip across the country to get into the Coral Gables Regional and also looking to try and sustain some momentum after a 2-2 outing in last week’s PAC-12 Tournament.

Splitting its four games before being eliminated last week, Arizona has gone 6-4 in its last 10 games that includes winning its series against Oregon State then being swept by Oregon to close out the regular season.

Arizona is not the big home run barrage it was last season but they are averaging just over one home run per game with 63 in 60 games.

Sophomore catcher Daniel Susac leads the team with a .367 batting average, 94 hits, 12 home runs and 61 RBIs. He has also recorded a team best 19 doubles to go with two triples. Junior outfielder Tanner O’Tremba is the next best hitter for the Wildcats with a .351 average, 85 hits, 10 home runs and 52 RBIs. Both Susac and O’Tremba are only two of three players to have played in ever game this season.

On the mound Arizona is led by senior Irvin Garrett. The left-hander has 5-4 record, 3.22 ERA and given up 40 runs – 32 earned – off 77 hits while striking out 62 and issued 29 walks. TJ Nichols is the next best starter with also a 5-4 record but a 5.51 ERA though he leads the team in strikeouts with 80.

Out of the bullpen, junior right-hander Quinn Flanagan has a team-best 1.71 ERA and a 5-1 record in 31 appearances. Flanagan has given up only 16 runs with nine of them earned off 43 hits.

CANISIUS – No. 4 Seed (29-23, 15-9 MAAC)

The Golden Griffins out of Buffalo, N.Y. might be the hottest team entering the Coral Gables Regiona, along with Ole Miss. Winners of the MAAC Tournament championship with a 4-0 record last week helped Canisius punch an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.

Sophomore infielder Max Grant leads Canisius at the plate with a team-best .404 batting average, 88 hits, 10 home runs and 52 RBIs. Grant is one of two Griffin hitters to have at least 80 hits on the season with junior outfielder Mike DeStefano recording exactly 80. Both Grant and DeStefano played in all of Canisius’ 52 games.

On the mound, sophomore right-hander Matt Duffy is Canisius’ Friday starter with a 8-2 record and a 3.67 ERA. Duffy has given up 47 runs – 40 earned – off 79 hits and struck out 116 and issued 25 walks.