17 Canucks in 2011 NCAA tourney
*Carter Bell (Courtenay, BC), of the Oregon State Beavers takes a .288 average with one homer and 21 RBIs into the 64-team NCAA tourney, one of 16 Canadians to make the tourney.
By Bob Elliott
No less than 17 Canadians are on rosters of schools who earned berth into the annual 64-team NCAA field.
Yet only 3B Carter Bell (Courtenay, BC) is with a top-seeded team in the 16 groupings.
Bell anchors the Oregon State Beavers infield.
Bell is hitting .288 in 47 games with 10 doubles, a triple, a homer and 21 RBIs. He had a .747 OPS.
Top-seeded Oregon State (38-17) will host Arkansas-Little Rock (24-32), Creighton (44-14) and Georgia (31-30).
The others
-- RHP Jeff Gibbs (East York, Ont.), 3B Alex Calbick (Burnaby, BC), C Tyler Patzalek (Burlington, Ont.), 2B Troy Black (Mississauga, Ont.) and Kyle Benoit (Brampton, Ont.) of the University of Maine Black Bears.
Gibbs was 7-5 with a 3.69 ERA in 13 starts. He walked 43 and struck out 61 in 68 1/3 innings. Calbick batted .286 in 54 games with eight doubles, a triple, five homers and 30 RBIs, plus a .759 OPS. Patzalek hit .278 in 54 games with nine doubles, a homer and 28 RBIs with a .644 OPS. Black hit .386 in 33 games making 25 starts. He had eight doubles and 18 RBIs with .946 OPS. Benoit was 0-1 in four games with a 16.88 ERA. He walked 15 and struck out four in 5 1/3 innings.
The fourth-seeded Maine (32-22) is in the same group as Florida International (40-18), James Madison (40-17) and host North Carolina (45-14) at Chapel Hill, N.C.
-- OF Marc Bourgeois (Montreal, Que.) and 1B Mark Ellis (Maple Ridge, BC) of Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles. Bourgeois hit .360 in 51 games with 10 doubles, two triples, seven homers and 38 RBIs. He has a .998 OPS.
Ellis hit .240 in 49 games with eight doubles, three homers, 33 RBIs and a .673 OPS.
The second-seeded Southern Mississippi (34-23) is in the game group as Austin Peay (33-22), Mississippi State (34-23) and host Georgia Tech (40-19) in Atlanta.
-- RHP Mike Ellis (Maple Ridge, BC) of the Florida International Panthers is 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA. He pitched in six games making two starts, walking nine and striking out seven in 12 innings.
Second-seeded Florida International (40-18) will be with Maine (32-22), James Madison (40-17) and host North Carolina (45-14) at Chapel Hill, N.C.
-- LF Sean Bignall (Brampton, Ont.) of the Arkansas Little Rock-Torjans hit .253 in 56 games, making 55 starts. Bignall had 50 hits, including nine doubles, three triples, two homers and 15 RBIs. He stole 11 bases and had an OPS of .742.
Fourth-seeded Little Rock (24-32) is grouped with Creighton (44-14), Georgia (31-30) and host Oregon State (38-17)
-- Michael Mutcheson (Morden, Man.) hit .278 in 46 games for the Creighton Bluejays. He added nine doubles, a triple, two homers and 17 RBIs, with a .774 OPS.
Second-seeded Creighton (44-14) is in the same group as Arkansas-Little Rock (24-32), Georgia (31-30) and host Oregon State (38-17).
-- LF Dale Anderson (Strathmore, Alta.) hit .273 in 49 games for the Seton Hall Pirates. Anderson had seven doubles and 20 RBIs, while compiling a .674 OPS.
Third-seeded Seton Hall (33-23) goes up against Wright State (36-17), Arizona (36-19) and host Texas A&M (42-18).
-- C Peter Bako (Mississauga, Ont.) of the North Carolina State Wolfpack. Bako is hitting .212 in 22 games, making six starts. He has two doubles and two RBIs with a .630 OPS.
Third-seeded North Carolina State (34-25) is in the same region with Georgia Southern (36-24), Stetson (41-18) and host South Carolina (45-14) at Columbia, S.C.
-- OF Rowan Wick (North Vancouver, BC) of the St. John’s Red Storm, has a .200 average in 35 games as a freshman, making 24 starts. Wick had a double, three homers and 16 RBIs for a .566 OPS.
Third-seeded St. John’s (35-20) faces Navy (33-23), East Carolina (39-19) and host Virginia (49-9).
-- LHP Nathan Kennedy (Guelph, Ont.) our hero who survived a tornado in a wild bath tub scene is with the Alabama Crimson Tide. Kennedy is 1-0 with a 3.94 ERA and one save. He walked seven and struck out nine in 16 innings.
Third-seeded Alabama (33-26) are in the same region as Bethune-Cookman (36-23), Central Florida (38-21) and host Florida State (42-17).
-- INF Jordan Boston (Brampton, Ont.) saw some playing time in his first year with the Alcorn State Braves. Boston hit .188 with four RBIs in 16 games. He had a 477 OPS.
Fourth-seeded Alcorn State (27-28) will have to beat Baylor (29-26), California (31-20) and host Rice (41-19).
-- LHP Ali Simpson (Campbell River, BC) was 2-2 with a 5.23 ERA in four starts for the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats and going down with a season-ending arm injury. Simpson walked 12 and struck out 27 in 20 2/3 innings.
Fourth-seeded Bethune-Cookman (36-23), Central Florida (38-21) and Alabama (33-26) face host Florida State (42-17).