NCAA baseball: UCLA headed to Auburn Regional
UCLA has been seeded second in the NCAA baseball tournament's Auburn Regional and will open play Friday against Florida State, it was announced Monday.
The Bruins (38-22) are among the five Pac-12 Conference teams to be selected for the Division I tournament, which begins with 16 games on Friday. They will play the Seminoles (33-23) at 9 a.m. PDT, followed by Auburn (37-19) taking on Southeastern Louisiana (30-29). UCLA last won an NCAA title in 2013.
Pac-12 champion Stanford (41-14) will host a regional that includes Big West champion UC Santa Barbara (43-12). The Cardinal open play against Binghamton (22-28) at 1 p.m. while the Gauchos take on Texas State (45-12) at 6 p.m.
Oregon State (44-15) will host a regional and open play against New Mexico State (24-32). Arizona (37-23) will travel to Coral Gables, Fla., where the Wildcats open play against Mississippi (32-22). Oregon (35-23) will play in the Louisville Regional and face Michigan (32-26) in its opener.
Tennessee (53-7) was selected the No. 1 overall seed. The Volunteers won 31 of their first 32 games, swept the Southeastern Conference regular-season and tournament titles, and have the best pitching and batting statistics in the nation.
The Atlantic Coast Conference and SEC each had nine teams selected for the tournament. The Big 12 has five teams in the tournament while the Sun Belt Conference has four.
Winners of the 16 regionals, which are a double-elimination format, will be paired for a three-game series in Super Regional play the following weekend. The Super Regional winners advance to Omaha for the College World Series, which begins June 17 and concludes with a best-of-three series June 25-27.
NCAA BASEBALL REGIONAL MATCHUPS
Opening games Friday (all times PDT)
Knoxville Regional hosted by Tennessee
#2 Georgia Tech (34-22) vs. #3 Campbell (40-17), 10 a.m., ESPN+
#1 Tennessee (53-7) vs. #4 Alabama State (34-23), 3 p.m., SECN
Stanford Regional hosted by Stanford
#1 Stanford (41-14) vs. #4 Binghamton (22-28), 1 p.m., ESPN+
#2 Texas State (45-12) vs. #3 UC Santa Barbara (43-12), 6 p.m., ESPN+
Corvallis Regional hosted by Oregon State
#2 Vanderbilt (36-21) vs. #3 San Diego (36-18), 1 p.m., ESPNU
#1 Oregon State (44-15) vs. #4 New Mexico State (24-32), 7 p.m., ESPNU
Blacksburg Regional hosted by Virginia Tech
#2 Gonzaga (36-17) vs. #3 Columbia (30-16), 10 a.m., ESPN+
#1 Virginia Tech (41-12) vs. #4 Wright State (30-25), 4 p.m., ACCN
College Station Regional hosted by Texas A&M
#1 Texas A&M (37-18) vs. #4 Oral Roberts (38-18), 11 a.m., ESPN+
#2 Texas Christian (36-20) vs. #3 Louisiana (36-21), 5 p.m., ESPN+
Coral Gables Regional hosted by Miami (Florida)
#1 Miami (Fla.) (39-18) vs. #4 Canisius (29-23), 9 a.m., ESPN+
#2 Arizona (37-23) vs. #3 Mississippi (32-22), 4 p.m., ESPNU
Stillwater Regional hosted by Oklahoma State
#2 Arkansas (38-18) vs. #3 Grand Canyon (41-19), 10 a.m., SECN
#1 Oklahoma State (39-20) vs. #4 Missouri State (30-27), 4 p.m., ESPN+
Greenville Regional hosted by East Carolina
#1 East Carolina (42-18) vs. #4 Coppin State (24-28), 10 a.m., ESPN+
#2 Virginia (38-17) vs. #3 Coastal Carolina (36-18-1), 3 p.m., ESPN+
Austin Regional hosted by Texas
#1 Texas (42-19) vs. #4 Air Force (30-27), 11 a.m., LHN
#2 Louisiana Tech (42-19) vs. #3 Dallas Baptist (34-22-1), 4:30 p.m., ESPN+
Chapel Hill Regional hosted by North Carolina
#1 North Carolina (38-19) vs. #4 Hofstra (30-21), 11 a.m., ESPN+
#2 Georgia (35-21) vs. #3 Virginia Commonwealth (40-18), 4 p.m., ESPN+
Hattiesburg Regional hosted by Southern Mississippi
#1 Southern Mississippi (43-16) vs. #4 Army (31-23), 11 a.m., ESPN+
#2 Louisiana State (38-20) vs. #3 Kennesaw State (35-26), 4 p.m., ESPN+
Louisville Regional hosted by Louisville
#1 Louisville (38-18-1) vs. #4 Southeast Missouri State (37-20), 11 a.m., ESPN+
#2 Oregon (35-23) vs. #3 Michigan (32-26), 4 p.m., ESPN+
Gainesville Regional hosted by Florida
#2 Oklahoma (37-20) vs. #3 Liberty (37-21), 10 a.m., ESPN+
#1 Florida (39-22) vs. #4 Central Michigan (42-17), 3:30 p.m., ESPN+
Auburn Regional hosted by Auburn
#2 UCLA (38-22) vs. #3 Florida State (33-23), 9 a.m., ESPN2
#1 Auburn (37-19) vs. #4 Southeastern Louisiana (30-29), 4 p.m., ESPN+
College Park Regional hosted by Maryland
#2 Wake Forest (40-17-1) vs. #3 Connecticut (46-13), 10 a.m., ESPNU
#1 Maryland (45-12) vs. #4 Long Island (37-19), 4 p.m., ESPN+
Statesboro Regional hosted by Georgia Southern
#2 Notre Dame (35-14) vs. #3 Texas Tech (37-20), 11 a.m., ACCN
#1 Georgia Southern (40-18) vs. #4 UNC Greensboro (34-28), 4 p.m., ESPN+
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
