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Times, Dates & TV Assignments Announced…

Stony Brook is just the third No. 4 seed to advance to a Super Regional after winning the Coral Gables Regional on Monday.

The NCAA announced the eight Super Regional host sites as well as the times, dates and television assignments for the next round of the 2012 NCAA Baseball Tournament.

Four of the series begin on Friday, June 8 and the other four begin on Saturday, June 9. All of the series will be played out in a best-of-three format. The eight winners will advance to the 2012 College World Series, which begins Friday, June 15 in Omaha, Neb.

The following four super regionals will be played Friday, June 8, Saturday, June 9, and Sunday, June 10 (if necessary). The national seed is indicated before the team name, while updated records through the regionals are in parenthesis.

The Road To Omaha leads to TD Ameritrade Park and The Dugout – located right across the street from TDA’s home plate entrance. The Dugouthas a ton of authentic college baseball caps – just like the ones the players wear on the field.

If you’re going to Omaha for the College World Series make sure to make your first stop The Dugout for all officially licensed CWS apparel. If you can’t make it to Omaha just follow our red links to The Dugout!

Friday-Sunday Super Regionals

(All Times Eastern)

Stony Brook (50-12) at No. 7 LSU (46-16)

Noon (ESPN2HD), Noon (ESPN2HD), 1 p.m. (ESPN2HD)

TEAM	RECORD	CONF.	BA	Runs/ Gm.	HR/ Sac Bunts	Slg%	OBP	SB-Att.	Fld%	ERA	CG	SV	K	BB	Opp. BA
LSU	(46-16)	SEC	.291	6.2	38/51	.406	.372	41-71	.981	3.20	2	13	546	152	.242
Stony Brook	(50-12)	America East	.336	7.3	34/69	.484	.417	98-143	.979	3.06	10	16	372	179	.239

St. John’s (NY) (40-21) at Arizona (41-17)

3 p.m. (ESPN2HD), 3 p.m. (ESPN2HD), 4 p.m. (ESPN2HD)

2012 Tucson Super Regional

TEAM	RECORD	CONF.	BA	Runs/ Gm.	HR/ Sac Bunts	Slg%	OBP	SB-Att.	Fld%	ERA	CG	SV	K	BB	Opp. BA
Arizona	(41-17)	Pac-12	.333	7.5	20/63	.455	.402	80-117	.967	3.94	13	10	408	157	.261
St. John's	(40-21)	Big East	.287	6.3	27/54	.376	.379	92-117	.961	3.82	3	15	458	200	.248

Stanford (41-16) at No. 3 Florida St. (46-15)

7 p.m. (ESPN2HD), 6 p.m. (ESPN2HD), 7 p.m. (ESPN2HD)

TEAM	RECORD	CONF.	BA	Runs/ Gm.	HR/ Sac Bunts	Slg%	OBP	SB-Att.	Fld%	ERA	CG	SV	K	BB	Opp. BA
Florida State	(46-15)	ACC	.280	6.5	38/23	.409	.402	61-84	.969	3.52	0	20	450	207	.247
Stanford	(41-16)	Pac-12	.290	6.7	46/28	.429	.373	36-47	.967	3.22	5	12	403	187	.248

TCU (40-20) at No. 2 UCLA (45-14)

9 p.m. (ESPNHD), 9 p.m. (ESPN2HD), 10 p.m. (ESPN2HD)

TEAM	RECORD	CONF.	BA	Runs/ Gm.	HR/ Sac Bunts	Slg%	OBP	SB-Att.	Fld%	ERA	CG	SV	K	BB	Opp. BA
UCLA	(45-14)	Pac-12	.312	6.3	23/61	.403	.398	60-94	.976	3.18	2	15	397	223	.242
TCU	(40-20)	MWC	.272	5.9	36/42	.390	.361	63-94	.966	3.33	2	15	432	177	.243

Saturday-Monday Super Regionals

North Carolina St. (43-18) at No. 1 Florida (45-18)

2 p.m. (ESPNUHD), 1 p.m. (ESPNUHD), 1 p.m. (ESPN2HD)

TEAM	RECORD	CONF.	BA	Runs/ Gm.	HR/ Sac Bunts	Slg%	OBP	SB-Att.	Fld%	ERA	CG	SV	K	BB	Opp. BA
Florida	(45-18)	SEC	.281	5.8	71/39	.448	.360	60-86	.978	2.85	3	17	471	127	.240
North Carolina State	(43-18)	ACC	.298	7.0	42/55	.439	.377	100-121	.970	3.50	2	13	527	227	.231

Arkansas (42-19) at No. 4 Baylor (48-15)

5 p.m. (ESPNUHD), 4 p.m. (ESPNUHD), 4 p.m. (ESPN2HD)

TEAM	RECORD	CONF.	BA	Runs/ Gm.	HR/ Sac Bunts	Slg%	OBP	SB-Att.	Fld%	ERA	CG	SV	K	BB	Opp. BA
Baylor	(48-15)	Big 12	.312	6.5	43/58	.445	.408	92-130	.975	3.14	3	19	428	183	.239
Arkansas	(42-19)	SEC	.277	5.4	38/40	.396	.361	62-94	.968	2.86	0	15	493	191	.231

Oklahoma (42-23) at No. 8 South Carolina (43-17)

8 p.m. (ESPNUHD), 7 p.m. (ESPNUHD), 7 p.m. (ESPN2HD)

TEAM	RECORD	CONF.	BA	Runs/ Gm.	HR/ Sac Bunts	Slg%	OBP	SB-Att.	Fld%	ERA	CG	SV	K	BB	Opp. BA
South Carolina	(43-17)	SEC	.271	5.2	36/72	.382	.351	37-59	.968	3.27	7	15	502	212	.257
Oklahoma	(42-23)	Big 12	.265	6.4	36/22	.453	.378	98-143	.971	3.22	5	11	476	141	.240

Kent St. (44-17) at No. 5 Oregon (45-17)

11 p.m. (ESPNUHD), 10 p.m. (ESPNUHD), 7 p.m. (ESPNUHD)

TEAM	RECORD	CONF.	BA	Runs/ Gm.	HR/ Sac Bunts	Slg%	OBP	SB-Att.	Fld%	ERA	CG	SV	K	BB	Opp. BA
Oregon	(45-17)	Pac-12	.268	4.7	29/84	.377	.360	74-94	.979	3.02	7	21	417	233	.225
Kent State	(44-17)	MAC	.306	6.9	42/26	.427	.383	52-70	.974	3.48	1	18	508	215	.248

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A Look At The Selection Process & Tournament Format

CLICK HERE to see the up to date list of teams that have received automatic bids.

According to the NCAA’s 2010 Division One Baseball Championship Handbook (PDF)  here is how at-large selections are made:

• The committee uses the Rating Percentage Index (RPI), a computer program that provides the committee with (1) the institution’s Division I winning percentage, (2) opponents’ success and (3) opponents’ strength of schedule. The RPI is an additional tool used in the evaluation of at-large teams. Please note that the adjusted RPI takes into account a bonus/penalty structure. Bonus and penalty values will only be used for non-conference games.
• Regular-season conference standings and/or conference postseason competition shall be considered by the committee when selecting at-large teams.
• The committee may consider comparing data of individual teams, including, but not limited to, overall record, Division I record, overall RPI rank, non-conference record and RPI rank, conference regular-season record and conference tournament results, road record and RPI, last 15 games’ record, its record against teams ranked 1-25, 26-50, 51-100, 101-150 and below 150 in the RPI, head-to-head record, common opponents’ record and input from regional advisory committees.
• Make no mistake…RPI is a huge factor in the selection and seeding process.
• Regional host sites will be announced on Sunday, May 30, while the field of 64 will be announced on Monday, May 31 (Memorial Day).

The same criteria is also used in determining seeding for Regionals and the top eight national seeds.  The top eight national seeds are essentially the eight teams that (at least in theory) should make it to the College World Series.  Top eight seeds are guaranteed they would not have to play each other until the CWS.

It should also be noted that while making last year’s at-large selections 2009 Selection Committee Chairman, Tim Weiser, added an additional selection criteria to the process “Who are you least gonna wanna play,” is how Weiser explained how some teams were picked over others.

Here’s how the tournament is formatted:

Regionals

• Sixteen four-team regional tournaments take place at different locations around the country.
• Ordinarily, all regional and super regional tournaments are located on or near the campus of one of the competing institutions; however, a regional or super regional tournament may be scheduled at a neutral site provided advance approval is obtained from the Division I Championships/Sports Management Cabinet.
• The committee shall attempt to place regional tournaments so that maximum national balance can be obtained, preferably at least one regional in each of the eight Division I baseball regions.
• Except for the 16 No. 1 regional seeds, the pairings for the regionals, whenever possible, will be based on closest geographical location of the teams to the tournament sites. Teams may be moved outside their regions, if necessary, to balance the bracket, or if the proximity to an opponent outside the region would be comparable and a better competitive match-up would occur.
• Two teams from the same conference cannot be placed in the same regional.
• Teams from the same conference and seeded first in their respective regional will be placed on the bracket to avoid meeting in the super regionals.
• Typically, #1 seeds host regionals, but it is possible for a #2 seed to host.
• Teams are seeded 1-4, with the #1 seed playing the #4 seed and the #2 seed playing the #3 seed on the first day of the tournament.
• The tournament is played out in a double-elimination format, with the winner advancing to one of eight Super Regionals.

Here’s the Regional format:
Day 1
Game 1—No. 1 vs. No. 4
Game 2—No. 2 vs. No. 3
Day 2
Game 3—Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
Game 4—Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
Day 3
Game 5—Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4
Game 6—Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5
Day 4
Game 7—If necessary, same teams as in Game 6.

Super Regionals

• Two teams will play a best two of three format to determine the Super Regional winner.
• Super regional competition takes place at on-campus sites or alternate sites approved by the baseball committee.
• Consideration for hosting shall be given to the higher seed, including the eight national seeds, if a suitable hosting proposal has been received (e.g., meets financial guarantee and quality of facility criteria). If the higher seed has not submitted a proposal, the lower-seeded team will host if their proposal is acceptable.
• If the super regional match-up is between equally seeded teams, the committee shall review the hosting proposals according to the site selection criteria (e.g., quality and availability of the facility, revenue potential and other available accommodations) to determine the host. If only one of the teams has submitted a
  proposal, that team shall host if the proposal is acceptable.
• Winners of the eight super regional tournaments will qualify for the Men’s College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.

Here’s the Super Regional format:

Day 1:  Game 1—Team A vs. Team B
Day 2: Game 2—Team A vs. Team B
Day 3: Game 3—If necessary, Team A vs. Team B.

College World Series

• The eight winners of the super regional competitions will advance to the Men’s College World Series.
• Two four-team bracket will play a double-elimination tournament to determine the bracket champions (similar to the regional format).
• The MCWS Finals best two of three format consists of single games Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (if necessary), June 28-30.
• The College World Series begins on Saturday, June 19 at Omaha’s Rosenblatt Stadium.

NCAA To Decide Season’s Length This Week

An NCAA Committee will vote this Friday (Jan. 15) on whether or not to extend the length of the college baseball season from 13 to 14 weeks.  Actually, it will vote on whether to override a vote that has already added a 14th week to the beginning of the season.  What?

The 2010 season was originally supposed to start on Feb. 26, but in July a week was added at the front of the season, making the start date Feb. 19.

The vote on the issue was split pretty geographically.  Most Southern schools wanted the extra week, while most Northern schools opposed adding the extra week to the start of the season.  (Anyone who can look out their window and see the snow that I see on the ground right now can understand why.)

Here’s a compromise:  Add the week, but Southern schools from BCS Conferences have to start returning some hospitality & travel north at the end of the season.

We have the Big Ten/Big East Challenge again this year, but how about the Big Ten/SEC Challenge and the Big East/ACC Challenges next year?   Rutgers already traditionally goes to Miami (FL) and Georgia Tech early in the year.  Let the ‘Canes or Yellow Jackets go to Bainton Field in May & listen to that rock clank against the backstop for a weekend…(Seriously).  How about Ole Miss, Florida or LSU rolling into Columbus to face Ohio State in May?

Forget about Northern teams going South to start their seasons when many of them are seeing real ground balls  and high skies for the first time.  With the extra week at the end of the season the teams from the North can play host to their Southern counterparts in May in midweek contests when classes and finals are over.  Most schools have a conference bye week in May anyway, so it shouldn’t be hard to find room in the schedule.

I’ve talked before about being creative to grow college baseball in the Northern areas, and there would be nothing better than to get some of those traditional powers from the South to come North to create some buzz prior to postseason play.

How excited do North Carolina fans really get about having Maine, Michigan or St. John’s come to town?  It’s nice, but North Carolina going to Maine, Michigan or St. John’s would get fans of those teams a lot more excited than another midweek game against Northeastern, Bowling Green or NYIT.

It’s only fair for those teams from the South to make Northern cameos even if only once every couple years.  The whole issue is supposed to be about missed class time caused by playing more midweek games in 13 instead of 14 weeks.  How are Southern schools missing more class time than their Northern counterparts when they are playing roughly 35 home games compared to about 23 home games for teams in the North?

It’s not a stretch to think the issue is less about missed class time and more about not worrying about finding a fifth starter to pitch an extra midweek game every week.  Teams like Texas and Rice have already lightened their regular season slates by playing games in the fall to compensate for the shorter season.  Teams in the North that are serious about an NCAA at-large bid don’t have that luxury, because they need every game to try to get to 40 wins to build their NCAA case.

Here’s a quick look at the differences in a few schedules based on geography:

Texas:  Plays its first 27 games in the state of Texas, including 20 of those games in Austin.  Trips to Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas State are their only games outside of Texas prior to the postseason.  36 home games.

Florida State:  Plays its first 16 games in the state of Florida.  Doesn’t make its first road trip until March 19 at North Carolina.  35 home games.

Arizona State:  Plays its first 17 and 23 of its first 25 games in Arizona.  Plays 30 home games plus four more games in nearby Surprise, AZ.

North Carolina:  Doesn’t leave North Carolina until starting an ACC series on April 2 at Mayland.  23 of the Tar Heel’s first 27 games are in Chapel Hill, with a 3-game series just a Levi Michael line drive away in Durham vs. Duke.  38 home games.

LSU:  Plays its first 12 and 20 of its first 21 games at home (the other game in Natchitoches, LA).  March 26 is the first venture outside of Louisiana for the defending national champs.  38 home games.

Now the Northern schools:

Ohio State:  Plays its first 22 games on the road.  Plays its home opener on March 31.  21 home games.

Notre Dame:  Plays its first 15 games on the road.  Home opener is March 20.  25 home games.

St. John’s:  Plays its first 13 games on the road.  Home opener is March 16.  24 home games.

Michigan:  Plays its first 18 games on the road.  Home opener is March 26.  22 home games.

It’s easy to see that there’s an inherent competitive disadvantage for Northern teams.  They don’t just have to travel for those extra road games, they also have to fly to most of those games while many if not all of the road trips for the Southern teams are via bus.  That means even more cost (there’s no airline discount for baseball teams for checking 70 plus bags per trip.)

The argument can be made that the Northern schools I’ve mentioned are from BCS Conferences, so they should be able to afford the travel.  But what about teams from conferences like the America East, Atlantic 10 & Horizon League (and others)?  They don’t have the BCS trickle down (or even windfall from multiple NCAA basketball tourney bids), but they still have to fly south while their counterparts in the Big South, Atlantic Sun, etc. have shorter bus trips (mostly) and they also occasionally get teams from the ACC and SEC to play in their home parks.

A case can also be made that if Northern teams are serious about winning they should invest more in their baseball programs.  Scaling down their travel costs and adding a few more marquee games to get more fans through the turnstiles won’t change any program overnight, but it’s a step in the right direction.

Look at the Big Leagues.  Kansas City doesn’t come close to packing Kauffman Stadium on a daily basis, but they (and every other team) see attendance spikes when the Yankees and Red Sox come to town.  That’s the kind of effect teams like LSU, UNC, Florida State and the rest would have.

Fans in the South get to see top teams all the time, but most fans in the North don’t get to see those same teams until they’re on TV in Super Regionals and at the College World Series.

I have talked to a couple of coaches who don’t want to say anything on the record right now, but there is a good chance we will see a “major” program or two venture North in the near future.

True equity is never going to happen, because there are so many schools in so many parts of the country involved.  But what’s better for college baseball in May – Louisiana Tech vs. Texas in Austin or Texas vs. Michigan in Ann Arbor?

By the way, mercury actually does exceed 80 degrees in Michigan in May.

Phoenix Hosts 2010 Elon Classic To Open Season

“I believe that we’ve put together a very challenging schedule again in 2010,” said Kennedy. “This is the kind of schedule that, if we play well, will put us in a position to make a third straight trip to the postseason. The Southern Conference is always a competitive and balanced league. Our non-conference portion of the schedule is as tough as you

Elon Head Coach Mike Kennedy

will find with the likes of Rice, Nebraska, North Carolina, Clemson and East Carolina. The obvious challenge will be how well we handle such a demanding schedule.”

TEMPE, AZ Arizona State Baseball will begin its quest for its sixth National Championship and 22nd trip to Omaha and the College World Series on February 19th when the Sun Devils host the Northern Illinois Huskies at Winkles Field- Packard Stadium at Brock Ballpark in the 2010 Season Opener. Announced today by head coach Tim Esmay, the 2010 schedule features 35 games at Packard Stadium, including two non-conference match-ups with in-state rival Arizona on April 20 and May 4.

ASU Interim Head Coach Tim Esmay (ASU Photo)

regular season on March 16 and 17 at Goodwin Field in Fullerton.

Complete 2010 ASU Schedule

Arizona State will play an exhibition game at Winkles Field-Packard Stadium at Brock Ballpark on March 2, when they host Meiji University from Japan.

The rest of the non-conference slate features two straight four-game series to open the 2010 season. Northern Illinois opens the year in Tempe from Feb. 19-21, followed by Towson from Feb. 26-28. The SEC’s Auburn Tigers will visit Tempe for a three-game set beginning March 12, and the Houston Cougars will play at Packard Stadium for three games starting March 19. Grand Canyon (March 9), San Diego (April 5-6), San Francisco (April 27-28) and BYU (May 10-11) will also visit Tempe.

The leader in West Coast attendance for the past five years, Arizona State will once again enjoy one of the nation’s best home field advantages. Over 125,000 fans came through the turnstiles to watch the Devils play in 2009, as ASU averaged 3,207 fans per home game. Thanks to tremendous fan support that creates an unmatched atmosphere at home, the Sun Devils went 36-4 at home, winning their third consecutive Pac-10 championship and advancing to the College World Series for the third time in five years.

For the eighth straight year, Arizona State will travel to Surprise, Ariz., for the Coca-Cola Classic at Surprise Stadium, Spring Training home of the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals. The Devils will face 2009 NCAA Tournament participant Cal Poly, who played in the Tempe Regional, on March 4, Pac-10 rival Oregon State in a non-conference match-up on March 5, UC Riverside on March 6, then wrap up the weekend in Surprise against former ASU assistant coach and current Florida International head coach Turtle Thomas and the Golden Panthers on March 7.

In addition to an always difficult non-conference schedule, the three-time defending Pac-10 Champion Sun Devils will once again compete in one of the toughest conferences in all of college baseball. Conference adversaries visiting Tempe include Cal (March 26-28), USC (April 16-18), Washington (April 23-25) and 2009 NCAA Tournament participant Oregon State (May 21-23). The Sun Devils will travel to Eugene, Oregon for the first time in school history when they take on the Ducks for a three-game series beginning April 1. ASU will also travel to 2009 NCAA Tournament team Washington State (April 9-11), UCLA (April 30-May 2), in-state rival Arizona (May 15-17) and close out the regular season at Sunken Diamond in Palo Alto, Calif. for three games with Stanford (May 27-29).

Arizona State will be seeking its 11th straight trip to the NCAA Tournament, which will begin on June 4. Super Regionals will follow from June 11-14 with the college baseball season culminating in the College World Series, beginning June 19 at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska. 2010 marks the final season the College World Series will be played at Rosenblatt Stadium, as the annual championship tournament will move to TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha beginning in 2011.

(Release)

Things have been in the works for a new baseball stadium at South Florida for the last few years, and it looks like that talk has finally turned into reality.  The USF Board of Trustees has approved a $30 million dollar project that will upgrade several facilties on the school’s campus.

USF Head Coach Lelo Prado

The new baseball stadium will remain on the same footprint as the existing field, but will be realigned in order to create a plaza and ticketing area that is shared with the new softball stadium. Current plans have the softball field located south of the baseball stadium.

The baseball stadium is expected to include new step-down team dugouts, bullpens, covered batting cages, multiple party pavilions, a press box and a 1,500 seat spectator grandstand with a shade canopy, an elevated, shaded entertainment or hospitality deck and service amenities. The overall capacity of the stadium is expected to exceed 3,000 and is being designed to accommodate additional seating that will enable USF to host NCAA Regionals and Super Regionals.

The softball stadium is expected to feature a new lighted natural grass sports field, step-down team dugouts, bullpens, covered batting cages, multiple party pavilions, a press box and a 700-seat spectator grandstand with a shade canopy, an elevated, shaded entertainment or hospitality deck and service amenities. The overall capacity of the stadium is expected to exceed 1,500 and is being designed to accommodate NCAA Regionals and Super Regionals.

The Les and Pam Muma Basketball Center will include men’s and women’s basketball practice gymnasia and team support facilities including locker rooms, offices, meeting rooms, athletic training, strength training and equipment management facilities. The center will allow internal access  to the event level of the existing Sun Dome.

The footprint for the Muma Center is currently located on the south side of the Sun Dome.

The basketball teams will continue to compete in the Sun Dome and practice in the Sun Dome and Corral while construction occurs on the Muma facility, however the baseball and softball programs will have to relocate for the duration of the 2009 competition calendar.

USF is still working on details related to practice and competition sites for the softball and baseball programs for spring of 2010 seasons.  Information will be announced in the coming weeks.

USF has contracted design/build solution provider R.R. Simmons, which built the USF Athletics Training Center in 2005, and global design practice specialist and architectural firm Populous to lead the construction of the Athletics District Facilities.

USF Photo

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – The Boston College baseball team released its schedule for the 2010 season. The 58-game slate begins on February 19 at Tulane and concludes with a nine-game home stand that features two perennial ACC powerhouses.

BC Head Coach Mikio Aoki

following weekend, BC will compete in a tournament at Auburn where it will face the host Tigers, Florida Atlantic and Missouri.

Complete 2010 Boston College Schedule

Boston College’s annual exhibition game with the Boston Red Sox is scheduled for March 3 at 6:05 p.m. at City of Palms Park in Fort Myers, Fla. Last season, BC nearly won for the first time as it led 1-0 after four and a half innings (in a six inning game). The Red Sox scored six runs in the bottom of the fifth and went on to win, 7-1.

The Eagles will stay in Florida until March 14 as they have a three-game series at Florida Atlantic (March 5-7) and then a two-game midweek set at Florida International (March 9-10). BC then opens ACC play at Miami on March 12. The Hurricanes finished No. 20 in the final USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll and reached the NCAA Regionals.

Boston College returns to New England for two more away contests at Connecticut (March 16) and Bryant (March 17) before traveling to Virginia, which reached the College World Series and finished No. 5 in the country.

The Eagles open their home schedule on March 23 when they host Hartford at Eddie Pellagrini Diamond at Commander Shea Field. Holy Cross visits Chestnut Hill the next day before Duke comes into town for a three-game ACC series beginning March 26.

BC’s early ACC away schedule does not get any easier as the next weekend it heads to South Carolina to take on Clemson, which finished No. 14 in the poll and advanced to the Super Regionals.

The Eagles will spend a good amount of time at home after their Clemson trip as it hosts Maryland beginning April 9, sandwiched by two non-conference games at Shea Field against Bryant (April 7) and Massachusetts (April 13).

Wake Forest will make a trip to Chestnut Hill on April 16 for a three-game series and BC will also host Harvard in a local tilt on April 21.

The Beanpot is also scheduled for April but dates and times will be announced at a later date. The championship game of the Beanpot is annually played at Fenway Park.

Boston College will be back on the road for two more ACC series at NC State (April 23-25) and Virginia Tech (April 30-May 2) before closing out the season with a nine-consecutive games in Chestnut Hill.

The Eagles will host non-conference match ups against Northeastern (May 4), Connecticut (May 10) and St. John’s (May 18) to finish up its out of league contests. BC will also host a pair of ACC and national powers to close out the season as Florida State (May 7-9) and Georgia Tech (May 20-22) come to town. The Seminoles reached the Super Regionals and finished No. 10 in the poll and the Yellow Jackets advanced to the Regionals and ended at No. 18.

The 2010 ACC Baseball Tournament will be held May 26-30 at NewBridge Bank Park in Greensboro, N.C.

(Release)

Gamecocks’ slate features 25 games against 2009 NCAA Tournament teams

South Carolina Head Coach Ray Tanner

and face the Tigers at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on Friday, March 5 with first pitch set for 6:30 p.m. The two schools will then make the trek to Greenville, S.C. and face off at Fluor Field, home of the Greenville Drive, a minor league affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. First pitch on Saturday is 2 p.m. The series then concludes on Sunday afternoon in Columbia at Carolina Stadium with a 2 p.m. start.

Complete 2010 South Carolina Baseball Schedule (PDF)

The Gamecocks’ 30-game SEC schedule begins on Friday, March 19 with South Carolina hosting Tennessee. The Gamecocks will also host Mississippi State (April 2-4), Ole Miss (April 16-18), Alabama (April 30-May 2) and Florida (May 20-22). SEC road contests include Auburn (March 26-28), Vanderbilt (April 9-11), Georgia (April 23-25), Kentucky (May 7-9) and 2009 CWS participant Arkansas (May 14-16). Carolina will also play 10 additional in-state contests this year with Charleston Southern, College of Charleston, Furman, Presbyterian, The Citadel, USC Upstate, Winthrop and Wofford.

The SEC Tournament is scheduled for May 26-30 at Regions Park in Hoover, Ala. with the NCAA Regionals and NCAA Super Regionals the following two weeks. The College World Series in Omaha, Neb. is slated from June 19-30.

South Carolina owns the longest current streak of NCAA Regional appearances among the 12 SEC schools with 10 straight trips to the tournament dating back to the 2000 season. In that span, Carolina has seven NCAA Super Regional appearances (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007) and three trips to the College World Series (2002, 2003, 2004). South Carolina is one of only seven schools in the nation to make at least seven NCAA Super Regionals in the last 10 years and one of only eight schools in the country to have reached the NCAA Regionals every season in this decade. The program’s 10-year total record of 468-201 is the fourth highest win total among NCAA Division I schools.

South Carolina head coach Ray Tanner is entering his 14th season at the helm with the Gamecocks and his 23rd year as a collegiate head coach. Tanner’s career record is 975-439-3 (.689) with a 580-266 (.686) mark at South Carolina. The .686 winning percentage is third highest in SEC history.

(Release)

Yellow Jackets open schedule with eight games in first 10 days

Georgia Tech Head Coach Danny Hall

“I think when you look at our schedule the one thing that you’ll see right away is that we get to open up earlier this year than we did last year,” head coach Danny Hall said. “The NCAA gave us an extra week to play our season, which I’m excited about because it doesn’t force us to play every Tuesday and Wednesday. Now we can space out some of those Tuesday-Wednesday games and have a little more room to play the season.”

Complete 2010 GT Schedule

The Jackets will open ACC play at home against Wake Forest on March 12, one of five home conference series in 2010. Duke (Apr. 2-4), Clemson (Apr. 16-18), Virginia Tech (Apr. 23-25) and Miami (May 14-16) also will visit Russ Chandler Stadium.

Tech travels to Maryland (Mar. 19-21), North Carolina (Mar. 26-28), Virginia (Apr. 9-11) and NC State (Apr. 4-Mar. 2) before concluding with a three-game series at Boston College May 20-22.

Not on the schedule this year is Florida State, as the Seminoles roll off the ACC slate for the next two seasons.

“I think that Florida State is one of the premier programs in the ACC, and I don’t like not having them on the schedule. I understand why we’re not playing them, but it’s not something that I really like because they always produce great games whether we’re playing in Russ Chandler Stadium or at Florida State.”

The mid-week schedule is filled with in-state teams, including a three-game series with rival Georgia. The Jackets and the Bulldogs square off March 16 on the Flats and Apr. 14, in Athens before concluding the series with the annual Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta contest at Turner Field Apr. 27.

“I think it’s a very competitive schedule that will challenge our team to the fullest,” added Hall. “You look at the three games we have with Georgia. We play Georgia Southern four times. We play Mercer twice. We play Kennesaw State twice.”

The 2010 Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament will take place May 26-30 in Greensboro, N.C. The five-day tournament will be held at Greensboro’s NewBridge Bank Park.

“The ACC Tournament in Greensboro is a new experience in that we’ve never played there. I’m hearing that it’s very hitter-friendly in the power alleys. I’m not sure that I like that, particularly with an aluminum bat. But everyone else has to play in it, and I think the biggest thing for us is making sure we’re in that tournament because only the top eight teams in the league go. We definitely have our sights set on getting to Greensboro and then hopefully playing extremely well in that tournament.”

The 2010 NCAA Tournament will kick off June 4 with regional action, to be followed by super regionals (June 11-14) and the College World Series (June 19-30).