The stage is set for the 2023 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.
The 64-team tournament is slated to begin on Friday with 16 regional tournaments being hosted around the country. Five Pensacola-area baseball players are looking to advance with their squads to Omaha for the College World Series, which begins on June 16.
Here are the five standouts from the area vying for the national championship.
2022 Title: Catholic grad T.J. McCants, Ole Miss surge into the Men's College World Series
Champion Honored: Pensacola Catholic alum and Ole Miss champion T.J. McCants fires first pitch at Blue Wahoos game
Florida
(No. 1 seed, host of the Gainesville Regional; No. 2 nationally)
Brandon Sproat, Redshirt Junior (Pace)
2023 statline – 15 appearances (7-3 record), 84.0 innings pitched. Has allowed 63 hits, 46 runs (44 earned/4.71 ERA). Has thrown 106 strikeouts with 36 walks.
In his fourth season with the Gators, Sproat appeared and started in 15 games as a redshirt junior. His 84 innings on the mound leads Florida’s roster and his ERA is second-best for the Gators.
The Pace native threw a complete game earlier this season against then-No. 24 Alabama on March 16, allowing just one hit in the contest. He hit one batter with a pitch and allowed two walks, but produced 11 strikeouts in the process.
In his last game on May 25 during the SEC Tournament, Sproat recorded six innings on the mound with six strikeouts versus Vanderbilt. He allowed two earned runs, seven hits and a walk. He didn’t pick up the win, but the Gators ultimately earned a 6-3 victory.
Florida, host of the Gainesville Regional, takes on Florida A&M on 9 p.m. Friday.
Troy
(No. 3 seed in Tuscaloosa regional hosted by University of Alabama)
Brandon Schrepf, Senior (Gulf Breeze)
2023 hitting statline – .176 batting average, 2 RBI
2023 pitching statline – 18 appearances (0-1 record, 1 SV), 19 innings pitched. Has allowed 17 hits, 20 runs (16 earned / 7.58 ERA). Has thrown 28 strikeouts with 22 walks.
Schrepf, now in his second year with the Trojans after transferring from Pensacola State College, has more than doubled his action compared to the 2022 season. With 19 innings on the mound, the Gulf Breeze alumnus has seen action in 18 games.
His lone save during the season came against Louisiana-Monroe on March 25. Schrepf induced just two outs, but helped secure the a 4-3 Trojans victory.
Schrepf was last on the mound on May 20, as he allowed a hit and three runs (two earned) during a 12-8 loss to Appalachian State.
Troy will do battle against Boston College in the first game of the Tuscaloosa Regional in Alabama at 7 p.m. Friday.
Louisiana-LaFayette
(No. 3 seed in Coral Gables Regional hosted by Miami (FL) University)
Trey LaFleur, Junior (Tate)
2023 statline – .043 batting average, 2 RBI
LaFleur has seen limited action in his junior year at Louisiana with just 18 games played, including four starts. He’s has just one hit in 23 at-bats during the 2023 season. His hit came against Arkansas on March 18, but he was left stranded on base. LaFleur also recorded an RBI against BYU and Campbell.
With a couple games on the mound, LaFleur had 2 1/3 innings pitched (1 1/3 innings against Appalachian State on April 1, and one inning against Coastal Carolina on April 29) where he struck out two batters, allowing two earned runs.
LaFleur and the Ragin’ Cajuns – who fell in the Sun Belt Conference championship game to Southern Miss. – the No. 3 seed in the Coral Gables Regional, will take on Texas at 2 p.m. Friday.
Samford University
(No. 3 seed in Auburn Regional hosted by Auburn University)
Cole Fryman, Junior (Tate)
2023 statline – 6 appearances (0-1 record), 3.0 innings pitched. Has allowed nine hits and seven earned runs (21.00 ERA). Has thrown two strikeouts and one walk.
Primarily used as a relief pitcher, Fryman split the difference in his appearances during his junior campaign with Samford. After three games in his freshman season, followed by nine during his sophom*ore season, Fryman played in six games, totaling three innings in relief.
Samford won the Southern Conference Championship en route to the NCAA tournament, though Fryman hasn’t seen any time on the mound since April 18.
The Bulldogs take on Southern Miss. at 2 p.m. Friday in the first game of the Auburn Regional.
Florida A&M
(No. 4 seed in Gainesville Regional, hosted by Florida)
Hunter Viets, Senior (Escambia)
2023 statline – 15 appearances (8-2 record), 86.2 innings pitched. Has allowed 88 his, 38 runs (30 earned, 3.12 ERA). Has thrown 78 strikeouts, allowing 17 walks.
Viets captured the win in the Rattlesnake’s most recent game: Florida A&M’s first Southwestern Athletic Conference championship, defeating Bethune-Cookman University, 9-6, in Atlanta on Sunday to earn the automatic bid into the College World Series.
He threw 7 2/3 innings on the mound, allowing five earned runs on 12 hits and two walks with five strikeouts. But the Rattlesnakes got the job done offensively with five runs over the final three innings to secure the victory.
Viets’ 3.12 ERA leads Florida A&M, as does his 78 strikeouts.
But it’s not all sunshine for the Rattlers going into the regional tournament. They take on Florida in the Gainesville Regional on at 5:30 p.m. Friday.
Ben Grieco is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached on Twitter (@BenGriecoSports) and via email at BGrieco@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola-area players to compete in 2023 NCAA Baseball Tournament
