College World Series Bracket 2012: Why Stony Brook Will Cruise to Victory

By now you've heard of the Cinderella story that is the Stony Brook Seawolves—a fourth seed in the regional round that shocked the world by making it to the college world series.

Don't be too shocked when they win the whole thing.

It wasn't easy for Stony Brook to get this far.  They were almost eliminated in the regional round.  One loss away from going back home, Stony Brook was able to pull it together and muster up three straight victories, sending them into the next round.

It didn't get any easier for the Seawolves, as their next opponent was LSU, a powerhouse of a team that had 40 wins in the difficult Southeastern Conference.

Again, the Seawolves had their backs against the wall, and they lost the first game of their clash with LSU.  Many were already counting the Seawolves down and out, believing that LSU would be the ones to put an end to this underdog story.

Stony Brook proved the world wrong, sending LSU packing and sending themselves to the College World Series.  They out hit the Tigers 35-15 in the three game series.

Now they enter the College World Series as the underdogs.  That however, might not be the correct term to use for the Seawolves.  Stony Brook ranks second in the nation with a .322 batting average, fourth in runs with 468 and second in slugging percentage at .483.

Offensively, the Seawolves are a team to be reckoned with. They also boast a 52-13 record going into the college world series. Stony Brook will open the College World Series against UCLA, who will be looking to put the Seawolves story to an end. 

Will they succeed?

The Seawolves impressive stats are not the only thing that makes this team so dominant.  They have dominant players as well.

Seven Seawolves were drafted into the MLB this year, Travis Jankowski being the top one.  He was drafted 44th overall in the first round by the San Diego Padres. 

Jankowski has been batting a .422 this season and has five home runs.  He has also stolen 36 bases, which makes him a threat to any opposing team.

Besides Jankowski, there is also William Carmona.  Carmona has hit 12 home runs and helped drive in 72 runs during his junior season.  Carmona is just as big of a threat as Jonkowski is at bat.

In all, there are nine regular Seawolves who are hitting at least .296.  Eight have an on-base percentage of at least .397.  With numbers like that, teams that are opposing the Seawolves will have to figure out how to handle every hit.

While the Seawolves pitching has been on and off, it was enough to help the Seawolves out hit the Tigers, and take them into the College World Series.

Is this the first time the Seawolves will be entering the College World Series?  Yes it is.  They started off as a Division III school that would shift to Division II in 1995 and then Division I in 2000.  That doesn't mean any team should take them lightly.

There is a reason why they were able to knock off LSU.  This team has a lot of power behind it, and with such an explosive offense, don't be surprised to see the Seawolves as the last team standing.