Coach: Chad Loflin; Record: 31-15
Road to Spokane: Southeast Region champ
Statistical leaders: Regional MVP Brandon Harrison (.455, 18 HR, 60 RBIs); Corey McKinney (.426, 8 HR, 59 RBIs); Kevin Parrish (8-1, 5.40 ERA, 40 strikeouts, 17 walks); Nick Rhodes (6-1, 4.66 ERA, 46 strikeouts, 26 walks).
Fast facts: First World Series appearance. Kernersville was the sixth seed going into its conference playoffs, finishing the regular season with an 11-11 record. Kernersville has won 20 of its last 24 games.
Las Vegas Lions
Coach: Levi Gill; Record: 45-15
Road to Spokane: Western Region champ
Statistical leaders: Regional MVP Jake Hager, a senior who has already committed to Arizona State University, hit .519 in the tournament and was the winning pitcher in the final, a 9-0 win over Las Vegas rival and host Bishop Gorman. Hager leads the team overall in hitting (.512). Other leaders: Brooks Klein (.490, 13 HR); Blair Goldsack (11-2, 4 saves); Dusty Stevens (8-3, 2 saves).
Fast facts: First World Series appearance. The Lions, who represent Sierra Vista High, had to win twice on the last day to advance to the World Series. They also had to beat powerhouse Bishop Gorman twice.
Chesapeake (Va.)
Coach: Larry Bowles; Record: 29-6
Road to Spokane: Mid-Atlantic Region champ
Statistical leaders: Regional MVP Dean Ali (7-2, 1.62 ERA, 55 strikeouts, 24 walks) hit .417, scored 10 runs and drove in eight, plus went 2-0 with a 0.90 ERA. Matt Dickason hit .636 with six RBIs. Other leaders: Josh Carter (6-0, 3.60 ERA, .460, 22 stolen bases); Matt Dickason (.485, 45 RBIs, 109 total bases).
Fast facts: First World Series appearance. Chesapeake stayed in Reading, Penn., after the regional and got up at 2 a.m. Wednesday to bus to Philadelphia for a 6:40 a.m. flight to Spokane.
Oklahoma Outlaws (Midwest City, Okla.)
Coach: Doug Weese; Record: 61-9
Road to Spokane: Mid-South Region champ
Statistical leaders: Regional MVP J.T. Realmuto hit .480 with eight RBIs and 23 total bases. He will not accompany team to Spokane because he signed pro contract with the Florida Marlins. Dalton Bernardi hit .348 with five RBIs and was 2-0 with a 1.74 ERA at regional.
Fast facts: Third World Series appearance. Despite losing Realmuto, Weese is optimistic about the Outlaws’ chances. “It hurts to lose a quality player like him, but I expect our team to go in and make a good showing,” Weese said.
Branford (Conn.)
Coach: Rich Balzano; Record: 28-7
Road to Spokane: Northeast Region champ
Statistical leaders: Regional MVP Pat Simone (pitcher) allowed one run on six hits in 81/3 innings in a 2-1 win over the Massachusetts state champion to advance. Oliver Hart hit .368 and Jeffrey Stoddard went 1-0 with a save at regionals.
Fast facts: Third World Series appearance, placed third in 2007. Branford plays in a wood bat league, which leads to lower-scoring games. Branford won 13 one-run games this season.
Moline (Ill.)
Coach: Jim Zacharewicz; Record: 41-7
Road to Spokane: Great Lakes Region champ
Statistical leaders: A trio leads the offense: Eric Ashcraft (.426, six homers, 70 RBIs), Greg Jasper (.4546, 53 RBIs) and regional MVP Thomas Lindauer (.415, 6 homers, 49 RBIs). Dakota Bacus leads the pitching staff with a 9-0 record. He had a 2.17 ERA with 104 strikeouts. Reliever Kyle Lewis has a 1.89 ERA and Ryan Archer was 9-1.
Fast facts: First World Series appearance. Moline trailed in all six regional games, coming back to win five, including the title game over Terre Haute, Ind., winning 8-5.
Roseburg (Ore.) Docs
Coach: Scott Shaver; Record: 33-13
Road to Spokane: Northwest Region champ
Statistical leaders: Regional MVP Brandon Jackson (pitcher) went 2-0 with a 1.56 ERA while limiting opponents to a .209 average at regionals. He also had one save and no walks in 17.1 innings pitched. Jackson (7-1), who was also the MVP at state, will start Roseburg’s second World Series game. Josh Graham (7-2) will start the opener. Graham, who plays first base when he isn’t pitching, had three home runs and 11 RBIs at regionals.
Fast facts: Fourth World Series appearance, first since 1984. Twelve of Roseburg’s players have commitments to play college baseball.
Eden Prairie (Minn.)
Coach: Scott Hackett; Record: 35-7
Road to Spokane: Central Plains Region champ
Statistical leaders: Blake Schmidt (.458, 6 HR, 45 RBIs); Matt Halloran (.454, 9 HR, 63 RBIs); regional MVP Caleb Phillips (8-1, 3.48 ERA, 41 strikeouts, 17 walks); Adam Bray (7-3, 1.98 ERA, 47 strikeouts, 10 walks).
Fast facts: Third World Series appearance. Runner-up in 2007. All Eden Prairie’s players played for the high school of the same name that won a AAA state championship (the largest classification in Minnesota) in the spring.
Compiled by staff writers Greg Lee and Dave Trimmer
