Patch Predicts: How Will the Seawolves Fare in the College World Series?

Let's have some fun predicting how far Stony Brook will go in the College World Series. Several Patch staffers, all knowledgable on local teams and talent, put their heads together to try to predict the outcome. The Seawolves/Bruins game can be seen Friday at 5 p.m. on ESPN2.

Don't forget to add your own guess by logging in and adding a comment below.

They'll beat UCLA but fall short of the finals.

, editor of Miller Place-Rocky Point Patch:  When discussing the Stony Brook Seawolves in the College World Series, it’s difficult to avoid clichés...so I’m just not going to try. The Seawolves’ Cinderella story continues Friday in a first round, David vs. Goliath matchup against the UCLA Bruins; a team that boasts one of the best sluggers in College baseball in Jeff Gelalich. The Seawolves lineup is no slouch, however, led by the speedy Travis Jankowski at the top of the lineup and the powerful Willie Carmona in the cleanup spot. With the amount of high-powered offenses in the World Series, the team can only go as far as their arms take them, and that especially means ace Tyler Johnson. Johnson is a big reason they are here right now, and if they are going to keep the clock from striking 12, he is going to have to be lights out again. Stony Brook is riding high so don’t expect them to go down quietly. Johnson leads them to a first-round victory over UCLA, but while double-elimination will keep them alive, the teams with experience will use that to their advantage and keep the Seawolves just short of the Championship Finals.
Rich Arleo is a 2010 graduate of Marist College and has covered high school, college and pro sports for both print and online publications.

Game against UCLA is winnable.

, editor of Wantagh-Seaford Patch: This run by Stony Brook as the first team from the northeast since Maine in 1986 to make the College World Series has been quite remarkable. The Seawolves will head to Omaha playing with house money and could be dangerous to the traditional college baseball powers in the field. Stony Brook's first game in the double-elimination College World Series against UCLA is a winnable one but to get by their side of that bracket that includes Arizona and Florida State will be no easy task. Stony Brook will likely fall short of reaching the College World Series finals but will still make some national noise and prove that northeast teams can compete on college baseball's biggest stage.
Andrew Coen is a versatile hyperlocal journalist and consummate sports fan.

UCLA will win a national championship.

, editor of Venice-Mar Vista Patch: I've never heard of Stony Brook. Sounds slippery. Is it brand new or something? The Stony Brook baseball team has had a great season for a team from a school named Stony Brook and is the first team out of something called the "America East Conference" to advance to the College World Series. All of the students, faculty and staff at Stony Brook should be really proud of your little team, but too bad your season is about to end. UCLA has won back-to-back championships in one of the toughest conferences in the country and returns to the College World Series for the second time in three years. The bad news for Stony Brook is that baseball is the only sports program at UCLA that has not won a national championship. UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrerro (UCLA, '74) played second base at UCLA and the baseball program has risen to the elite level under his stewardship. UCLA, by the way, has more national championships than any school in the nation and remains the model for blending top-notch academics with superior athletics. Look for the Bruins' baseball team to add to that impressive tally of national championships at the College World Series.
Paul Chavez is a longtime UCLA fan, grad and Los Angeles-based writer, reporter, editor and multimedia producer.

Stony Brook wins, 5-3.

, editor of Babylon Village Patch: While SBU smashed through LSU like no other team has, the Seawolves will see an offensive mirror from UCLA with its own juggernaut offense. The Seawolves will need what they have had all season long – solid pitching, great defense and timely hitting. Besides being on a roll from the LSU wins, Stony Brook is on an emotional high like no other. It will be clear quickly whether the accolades will have helped or hindered the team when they take the field Friday. If they can keep UCLA off of the board early, they have a good chance of moving on.
Scott P. Moore, Stony Brook alumni and self-described Seawolves fanatic, has spent the past few years covering Stony Brook athletics.

Stony Brook will win – and that won't be an upset.

, Patch contributor: Who has the most wins and highest win percentage in the nation? Stony Brook. The argument that the Seawolves padded their record against inferior northeast competition was thrown out the window when they topped Miami and went on to beat the top ranked team in the country, LSU, on their home field. Travis Jankowski is hitting .422 this season, William Carmona's been clutch in the playoffs with a .514 average, and Tyler Johnson's ERA sits at a miniscule 2.49 this postseason. That's not Cinderella, that's talent. There will be no upset, the best team will win, and in this case, that's Stony Brook.
Adam Newman is a freelance sports and news reporter for several Long Island Patch sites.

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