CWS Primer: Stony Brook Seawolves
Cinderella Thy Name Is Stony Brook
Record: 52-13
Omaha History: 1st CWS appearance, 0 Titles
Team Overview: It’s easy to paint Stony Brook as the, “little team that could”. The story writes itself. A former division three school rises up to play amongst the nation’s division one elite at the College World Series. The David vs. Goliath parallels are everywhere. They are just the second regional four seed to ever make the series. However, all of those portrayals would serve as a great injustice to the Seawolves. Stony Brook actually has more wins than anyone in the CWS. And statistically they might be the best offense here. Their national rankings on offense look like this: second in batting average, first in hits, fourth in doubles, fourth in runs, and twenty-first in stolen bases. The Seawolves are actually just masquerading as Cinderella, a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Stony Brook is actually an offensive juggernaut. But, this isn’t a one-trick pony. They can also pitch. The Seawolves rank twelfth in ERA, and they feature a staff ace, Tyler Johnson, who tossed up a sub-2.00 ERA this season. In other words, take Stony Brook lightly at your own risk.
Road To Omaha: Stony Brook battled out of the Miami regional then ousted perennial power LSU two games to one in the super regional.
Players To Watch: The CWS should serve as a coming out party for Travis Jankowski. Hardcore baseball fans already know about this all-world outfielder, but now it’s time for the masses to witness one of the best players in the country. Jankowski was the 44th overall pick in this year’s MLB draft, because he put up the best hitting numbers in college baseball. He led the country in hits with 109, and his .422 batting average ranked fifth. He also led the country in runs and finished sixth in stolen bases. Another player to keep on your radar was the previously mentioned Johnson. He completely shut down LSU’s offense in Stony Brook’s 3-1 game two victory. He ranked in the top fifteen in the country with a 1.95 ERA, and his twelve wins were tied for tops in the nation. Johnson was drafted by the Oakland A’s.
Will Take Home The Title If…: If Stony Brook continues to knock the cover off the ball there’s no reason to believe they can’t win the title. They score tons of runs, but only William Carmona relies on the long ball to generate offense. Stony Brook’s offensive game is tailored to win at TD Ameritrade.
A Quick Trip If: If Stony Brook finds themselves overwhelmed by the spectacle of the CWS like so many first-timers they will leave as quickly as they arrive.
Why Omaha Should Cheer For Them: There’s not enough space to list all of the reasons. This would be the ultimate Cinderella story if the Seawolves could pull off a title run.
-Garrett Gordon
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