3 Mets know what Stony Brook baseball is feeling

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.

As Stony Brook's underdog baseball team heads to Omaha, Neb., to continue its quest to shock the world at the College World Series, three members of the Mets could tell stories about the good, the bad and the ugly memories they have of the experience with the assurance that it all will be good for the Seawolves in the long run.

Shortstop Omar Quintanilla experienced the good when Texas won it all in 2002 and he was second to closer Huston Street in the vote for most outstanding player.

"It was an incredible experience," Quintanilla recalled. "There were so many people out there at the old stadium, at Rosenblatt. You're playing the best collegiate schools in the nation, and to actually win it was an awesome feeling. It was surreal. It felt like winning the [major league] World Series. For a couple of days, you're walking on air. It was an amazing feeling."

The outcome for pitcher R.A. Dickey was ugly when he reached the CWS with Tennessee in 1995. Dickey had a Volunteers Hall of Fame career that included a 38-10 record in tough Southeastern Conference play, but he endured one of the worst outings of his life in an 11-1 second-round loss to Cal State-Fullerton.

"To get the chance was really important," Dickey said. "It turned out to be a horrible experience. I gave up 10 runs in 7 1/3 innings to the eventual World Series champions, the Cal State-Fullerton, uh, whatever their mascot's name is. But getting there was pretty awesome."

Dickey's name is in an unenviable spot in the CWS record book, where the 15 hits he gave up rank second, the 11 runs rank third and the 10 earned runs rank second. On the other hand, none of that is going to prevent him from making the All-Star team this season with the Mets.

Ike Davis experienced the bad with Arizona State in 2008, but from a Stony Brook perspective, his experience is the most relevant to what they have accomplished to this point. The Seawolves are the second No. 4 regional seed to make it to Omaha. The first was Fresno State, which went through ASU in the Super Regionals on the way to winning the whole thing in Omaha.

Of course, the Seawolves managed a comparable feat last week by winning the Super Regional at LSU. "Looking back on it, they were extremely hot," Davis said of the Bulldogs. "On paper, they weren't very good. But when we got out on the field, they sure played some baseball. No one could beat them.

"We were real stunned because we had a really good team. We couldn't believe that we lost to the last team to get into the tournament. But it turned out they were just playing really good baseball."

One thing all three Mets agree upon is that the CWS experience in Omaha is special for the eight teams that make it that far. "I think it's one of the best feelings you can get," Quintanilla said. "They treat you phenomenally. Just being there, the crowd, it gives you goose bumps. Winning everything was the best feeling I've felt before reaching pro ball."

Dickey said playing in the College World Series was "very comparable to the 1996 Olympic Games [where he was 2-0], just the energy."

And having been on the wrong end of Fresno State's historic title run in 2008, Davis offered an encouraging thought for Stony Brook, saying, "That's the great part about sports, especially college and the underdogs. Anybody can win at any given time. You run into a team that's playing well, and that's what happens."