The Stanford Cardinal begin their next step in their drive towards the 2011 College World Series. On Friday, the 2011 NCAA baseball tournament moves into the super regionals round where the Cardinal will face off against the North Carolina Tarheels. Stanford and UNC will battle in a best-of-three series with the winner advancing to the eight-team field in Omaha.
We don't have specific lineups from the two teams, but based on the box scores from last weekend's regional games, it's fair to say the lineups will likely look as they do below. Stanford used the same lineup all three games last week, while UNC's only change was their use of Greg Holt in the DH spot last Saturday. Although he's primarily a pitcher, he swings a solid bat, going 4-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs in the 14-0 victory over JMU.
Stanford Cardinal
1. Zach Jones, C
2. Ben Clowe, DH
3. Tyler Gaffney, LF
4. Stephen Piscotty, 3B
5. Brian Ragira, 1B
6. Lonnie Kauppila, 2B
7. Austin Wilson, RF
8. Kenny Diekroeger, SS
9. Jake Stewart, CF
North Carolina Tarheels
1. Chaz Frank, LF
2. Levi Michael, SS
3. Colin Moran, 3B
4. Jesse Wierzbicki, 1B
5. Tommy Coyle, 2B
6. Jacob Stallings, C
7. Ben Bunting, C
8. Brian Holberton, DH
9. Seth Baldwin, RF
In terms of pitchers, I'd have to assume UNC will follow last weekend's order with Kent Emanuel starting Friday, Patrick Johnson starting Saturday, and Chris Munnelly starting Sunday. They all have at least four days rest but I can't imagine any reason not to continue with the same order, particularly given how well Emanuel and Johnson pitched in their starts last week.
Stanford's starters all went at least seven innings last weekend in their dominance of the Fullerton region. If they stick with the same rotation, they'd send out Mark Appel on Friday, Jordan Pries on Saturday, and Danny Sandbrink on Sunday.