No. 4 Hokies head NCAA baseball contingent from state
Virginia Tech gained a host role and the No. 4 national seed for the 64-team NCAA baseball tournament.
The Hokies, who will hold a regional in Blacksburg for the first time in nine years, won’t be facing any in-state opposition in one of the 16 four-team, double-elimination regionals across the nation. But three other state teams made the field.
ACC Coach of the Year John Szefc’s Hokies (41-12) will face Wright State, the regional fourth seed, at 7 p.m. on ACC Network. The Raiders (30-25) outscored their Horizon League tourney opposition 56-7 at home in Dayton, Ohio, though they lost two of three games to the Hokies in a March series in Blacksburg.
Before Tech plays, Gonzaga (37-16) will duel Columbia (30-16) at English Field at 1 p.m. on ESPN+. The Zags are ranked 12th nationally and won the West Coast Conference regular-season title, while Columbia won the best-of-three Ivy League championshp series over Penn.
Virginia (38-17) was sent to the Greenville Regional, where it will take on Coastal Carolina (36-18-1) at 6 p.m. Friday. Eighth-seeded East Carolina (42-18), the host, will face MEAC champion Coppin State (24-28) at 1 p.m. Both contests are on on ESPN+.
The Cavaliers are seeking their sixth College World Series appearance since 2009.
VCU (40-18), which extended its winning streak to 15 games while winning the Atlantic 10 championship, will play Georgia (35-21) at 7 p.m. Friday in the Chapel Hill Regional, where No. 10 national seed North Carolina (38-19) will play host to Colonial Athletic Association tourney champ Hofstra (30-21) at 2 p.m. Both games are set for ESPN+.
Liberty got one of the last at-large bids available. Making their third consecutive NCAA appearance, the Flames (37-21) will face Oklahoma (37-20) at 1 p.m. in the Gainesville Regional, where Florida (39-22) will meet Mid-American champion Central Michigan (42-17) at 6:30. ESPN+ also will carry those games.
Two service academies qualified with automatic bids. Air Force (30-27) of the Mountain West will play ninth-seeded Texas (42-19) at 2 p.m. in Austin on the Longhorn Network; Patriot League representative Army will take on 11th-seeded Southern Mississippi (43-16) in Hattiesburg at 2 p.m. on ESPN+.
