After 13 weeks of baseball action, we have finally come to the final week of the 2009 regular season. The top-ranked team in the country, UC Irvine, has already secured its first-ever Big West Conference Championship with an impressive 20-1 record. Cal State Fullerton (14-7) and Cal Poly (13-8) enter this week battling for the second spot in the league standings. Long Beach State currently holds the fourth spot with an 11-10 mark, followed by UC Riverside and UC Santa Barbara tied for fifth at 10-11.
With the conclusion of the regular season comes the anticipation for the NCAA selection show for the upcoming 2009 NCAA Baseball Tournament. UC Irvine received the league’s automatic qualifier after winning the conference crown and the remaining Big West teams must wait until Monday, May 25 to learn their fate in the postseason. The Big West Conference has sent four teams to the postseason each of the past two seasons and had two representative in the 2007 College World Series and two in the 2008 Super Regionals.
The 16 regional sites/hosts are announced on Sunday, May 24, on the bottom line of ESPN networks at 12:30 Pacific time. The 2009 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship 64-team field, with first-round regional pairings and site assignments, will be revealed in a live, half-hour telecast on ESPN at 9:30 a.m. (PDT), Monday, May 25. The regionals take place May 29-June 1 and the super regional games are played June 5-7/6-8.
The Anteaters, who have been ranked No. 1 in the nation for five weeks straight, closes out the regular season with a single contest against UCLA and a three-game series versus UC Santa Barbara. UC Irvine plays its final home game of the regular season Tuesday evening when it welcomes the Bruins to Anteater Ballpark for a 6:00 p.m. start. Prior to the start of the game, UC Irvine will have a dedication ceremony for Cicerone Field at Anteater Ballpark. The field will be named for Chancellor Emeritus Ralph J. Cicerone, who is currently president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The Anteaters follow up their midweek titlt with a trip to the central coast to battle the Gauchos at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium. UC Irvine, who owns a 17-7 mark on the road, has not lost a weekend series this season. Game times are slated for 2:00 on Friday and 1:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
No. 4 Cal State Fullerton concludes the regular season in the familiar confines of Goodwin Field where it faces both Pepperdine and Long Beach State. The Titans and Waves take to the diamond Tuesday, May 19 at 6:00 p.m. Cal State Fullerton won the previous meeting on April 22 by a score of 15-2 to increase its series record versus the Waves to 50-39. The Titans’ weekend series with the 49ers begins with a televised contest on ESPNU Friday, May 22 at 7:00 p.m. Saturday’s outing takes place at 6:00 p.m. and Sunday’s matchup has an unusually late start with first pitch scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Cal State Fullerton owns a 108-58 record when facing Long Beach State. The 49ers took two of three last season to tie the Titans for the 2008 Big West title.
Following a Monday contest versus Santa Clara, Cal Poly welcomes UC Riverside to Baggett Stadium for a crucial three-game series. Both teams are in contention of receiving an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament. The Mustangs are an impressive 21-5 when playing in front of their home crowd, while the Highlanders have held their own on the road, boasting a 14-7 mark when playing away from the Riverside Sports Complex. The two teams battle it out Friday-Sunday with the first two games beginning at 6:00 p.m. and the final contest starting at 1:00 p.m. Cal Poly holds a 16-11 edge in the tightly-contested series.
Following a week in southern California, UC Davis heads back north to battle Stanford Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. for its final nonconference contest of the season. Three days later the Aggies return to Dobbins Stadium to entertain Cal State Northridge in the final weekend series for the two teams. Game times for the three-game series are 2:00, 1:00 and 1:00 p.m. Prior to visiting the Aggies, the Matadors make a quick trip to Cal State Bakersfield for a Tuesday afternoon showdown.
Pacific, who wrapped up the conference portion of its schedule last week, ends the 2009 season with a 9-15 Big West record, the team’s highest win total since 2006. With Big West play over, the Tigers play a nonconference three-game series against Cal State Bakersfield. They host the Roadrunners Friday-Saturday with game times listed as 5:30, 5:30 and 1:00 p.m.