College Baseball's Dynamic Duos

They're not Batman and Robin, but many of the top college baseball teams in the land have HIGH success that comes in pairs. Here's a look at teams with players that are complementing each other nicely, either offensively or on the mound, in 2009. We have both pitching and hitting tandems.

Let's start with the pitchers:

Arizona State

Mike Leake (11-1, 1.59 ERA) 96 K and just 18 BB in 90.2 IP, 4 CG.
Josh Spence (8-1, 2.23 ERA) 93 K in 72.2 IP.

Leake's 11 wins are tied for the national lead with Kansas State's A.J. Morris (who gave Leake his only loss). Speaking of Morris...

Kansas State

A.J. Morris (11-0, 1.29 ERA) 3 CG, .189 opp BA, 78 K in 83.2 IP
Thomas Rooke (5-1, 2.96 ERA) 4 SVs, 25 App., 52 K, 6 BB, 45.2 IP

Morris leads the nation with both his 11 wins and his 1.29 ERA. He also has three of the Wildcat pitching staff's four complete games. Rooke doesn't have the large save total, but his wins and strikeout-to-walk totals speak for themselves.

Ohio State

Alex Wimmers (8-1, 2.79 ERA) 103 K, 80.2 IP, .193 opp BA
Jake Hale (11 SVs, 0.95 ERA) 29 App., 49 K, .163 opp BA

Wimmers' 103 strikeouts are fifth nationally. Hale is tied for seventh with his 11 saves, and 18 of the 22 hits he's given-up have been singles-the other four are doubles.

San Diego State

Stephen Strasburg (10-0, 1.38 ERA) 147 K, 15 BB, 78.1 IP, .176 opp BA
Addison Reed (16 SVs, 0.44 ERA) 28 K, 5 BB, 20.1 IP, .224 opp BA

Strasburg leads the world with his 147 strikeouts, and has a 9.8 strikeout to walk ratio. Meanwhile, Reed leads the nation with his 16 saves for a pitching staff that has just three complete games.

LSU

Louis Coleman (9-2, 2.71 ERA) 92 K, 76.1 IP, 2 CG, .211 opp BA
Matty Ott (3-1, 2.17 ERA) 11 SVs, 55 K, 3 BB, 37.1 IP

Ott is just a freshman, but he's tied for seventh nationally with his 11 saves, while Coleman's nine wins are tied for seventh as well. Ott typifies the talent that lurks in SEC bullpens.


NOW THE HITTERS:


Alabama

Kent Matthes .368 BA, 23 HR, 69 RBIs, .890 slg%, .473 OBP
Jake Smith .357 BA, 16 HR, 45 RBIs, .738 slg%

Matthes' 23 HR leads the nation. He failed to hit at least one home run last week for the first time this season. His slugging percentage is second nationally and his 69 RBIs rank seventh.

New Mexico State

Bryan Marquez .420 BA, 21 HR, 79 RBIs, 67 Runs, .852 slg%, .530 OBP
Jeffrey Farnham .409 BA, 11 HR, 64 RBIs, 61 Runs, .667 slg%, .524 OBP

Marquez leads the nation with his 79 RBIs, his 21 HR are tied for second, his slugging % is 5th, and he's tenth in OBP. Farnham's RBIs are 14th nationally and his OBP is 13th. They're among five Aggies batting better than .400.

Ohio University

Marc Krauss .406 BA, 20 HR, 52 RBIs, 56 Runs, .824 slg%, .515 OBP
Gauntlett Eldemire .318 BA, 15 HR, 40 RBIs, 43 Runs, .662 slg%, .435

Krauss is tied for fifth in the country with his 20 HR, his slg% is seventh, and his OBP is .515. Eldemire is a leadoff man with 15 home runs.

Georgia Tech

Luke Murton .394 BA, 15 HR, 48 RBIs, .774 slg%, .508 OBP
Tony Plagman .341 BA, 13 HR, 57 RBIs, .654 slg%, .392 OBP

Neither Murton nor Plagman's numbers smack you in the face, but together they're helping keep Georgia Tech right behind North Carolina in the ACC's Coastal Division race.

Middle Tennessee

Bryce Brentz .457 BA, 21 HR, 58 RBIs, .913 slg%, .513 OBP,
Nathan Hines .338 BA, 10 HR, 60 RBIs, .631 slg%, 45 Runs, 18 doubles

Brentz has the top batting average and slugging percentage in the land and his 21 HR are tied for second. He's also 4-3 with a 4.73 ERA with 2 CG in 11 starts on the mound.

Eastern Kentucky

Matt Davis .438 BA, 7 HR, 40 RBIs, 17 doubles, 3 triples, .698 slg%, .503 OBP, 23 SB
Jayson Langfels .451 BA, 10 HR, 59 RBIs, 6 triples, .824 slg%, .503 OBP, 14 SB

Neither has the tremendous power numbers of others we've mentioned, but both have some of the best complete package numbers in the country.


BONUS TRIOS

Here are two trios that are on their way to leading their teams to the postseason:

UC Irvine

Daniel Bibona (8-1, 2.13 ERA) 73 K, 17 BB, 76 IP, .206 opp BA
Christian Bergman (8-1, 2.64 ERA)
Eric Pettis (4-1, 2.86 ERA) 14 SVs, 34.2 IP, 4 BB, 32 K

Two starting pitchers with 8 wins and stellar ERAs, and a closer who's second in the nation with 14 saves. Is it any wonder the Anteaters have been to a College World Series and a Super Regional over the last two seasons?

George Mason

Chris Henderson .429 BA, 12 HR, 46 RBIs, .737 slg%, .500 OBP, 21 doubles
Scott Krieger .396 BA, 18 HR, 74 RBIs, .813 slg%, .482 OBP, 5 triples
Justin Bour .346 BA, 16 HR, 60 RBIs, .665 slg%, .421 OBP