The Big West Conference is sending three teams to the 2009 NCAA Baseball Tournament, as announced by the Division I Baseball Committee today. Joining the 64-team field is Big West Champion UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton, who are both regional hosts, and Cal Poly. Both UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton received national seeds with the Titans seeded No. 2 and the Anteaters garnering the No. 6 seed.
The Titans are making their 18th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament and the Anteaters earned their fourth straight bid, fifth overall. The Mustangs are competing in their first NCAA regional playoff berth since moving to Division I prior to the 1995 season.
After an impressive season that included its first conference title and No. 1 ranking in the national polls for six straight weeks, UC Irvine (43-13, 22-2 Big West) received the honor of hosting its first NCAA Baseball Regional as the No. 6 seed. The Anteaters, who tallied an impressive 20-4 record when playing in front of its home crowd at Anteater Ballpark this season, are set to entertain ACC tournament champion Virginia (43-12-1), Mountain West at-large pick San Diego State (40-21) and WAC tournament champion Fresno State (32-28). While San Diego State and Fresno State are familiar opponents, the Anteaters have never faced the Cavaliers on the diamond. UC Irvine trails both series with the California teams, the Bulldogs lead 29-7 and the Aztecs own a 47-24-1 advantage. No. 2 Virginia will meet No. 3 San Diego State in the regional’s first game on May 29 at 4:00 p.m. The nightcap will see defending national champion No. 4 Fresno State take on No. 1 UC Irvine at 8:00 p.m. The Irvine Regional, which will be televised live on the ESPN networks, is paired with the Oxford Regional that features host Mississippi, Missouri, Western Kentucky and Monmouth.
After learning they would be one of 16 schools to host the 2009 regionals, Cal State Fullerton (42-14, 17-7 Big West) received another honor Monday with a No. 2 national seed. The Titans, who own an impressive 23-6 record when playing in front of its home crowd during regional competition, are set to entertain Southern Conference champion Georgia Southern (42-15), West Coast champion Gonzaga (35-16) and Mountain West champion Utah (26-29). This regional matchup provides one new opponent and two short-lived series for the Titans. Cal State Fullerton has never meet Georgia Southern on the baseball field, but has faced Gonzaga and Utah a combined 11 times. The Titans lead the series with the Bulldogs, 7-3, and won the lone matchup versus the Utes back in 1976. Georgia Southern will meet Gonzaga in the regional’s first game on May 29 at 3:00 p.m. The nightcap will see Utah take on Cal State Fullerton at 7:00 p.m. The winner of the Fullerton Regional will battle the winner of the Louisville Regional which features host Louisville, Middle Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Indiana.
The Cal Poly Mustangs (37-19, 14-10 Big West), who are competing in their first NCAA regional, are set to travel to the Arizona State for the Tempe Regional as the No. 3 seed. Joining the Mustangs are Pac-10 Champion and host Arizona State (44-12), Summit League champion Oral Roberts (31-13) and the Mid-American champion Kent State (42-15). All three teams in the Tempe Regional are new opponents for the Mustangs. Cal Poly opens play against second-seeded Oral Roberts at 2:00 p.m. The winner of the Tempe Regional faces the victor of the Clemson Regional, consisting of host Clemson, Alabama, Oklahoma State and Tennessee Tech.
Each of the 16 regionals feature four teams, playing a double-elimination format. The regionals are scheduled to be conducted from Friday, May 29, to Monday, June 1 (if necessary). Selection of the eight super regional hosts will be announced on www.ncaa.com, Monday, June 1 at approximately 11 p.m. (ET). The 63rd Men’s College World Series begins play Saturday, June 13, at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska.