Sports enthusiasts could probably come up with a nickname for the NCAA Baseball tournament that is comparable to that of that NCAA men's basketball tournament's March Madness, but it may or may not catch on like the interest that college basketball has. I have no idea exactly what I would call it, but I honestly think that there needs to be some sort of moniker that screams to the die-hard college baseball fans out there.
The excitement of the NCAA Division I baseball tournament keeps getting more and more exciting every year. There is more and more coverage televised nationally. Depending on where games are being played throughout the country, games range from starting around Noon or 1pm to some games starting at 11pm, since they're on the West coast. Great games are occuring all across the country. The format is somewhat similar to the NCAA men's basketball tournament. There are 64 teams. The opening weekend are the Regionals, which pit four schools at one site, in a double-elimination format. The four teams at each site are seeded 1-4. The #'s 2 and 3 seeds play Game 1 and seeds 1 and 4 play Game 2. After that, it becomes a double-elimination format until the Regional Champion is crowned on Sunday or possibly Monday at the latest. Champions of Regionals move on the following weekend in a two-team Super Regional.
There are eight schools that are the Top 8 National seeds:
1-Virginia, 2-Florida, 3-North Carolina, 4-South Carolina, 5-Florida State, 6-Vanderbilt, 7-Texas, 8-Rice
The remaining 8 hosts schools:
#12 Georgia Tech, #14 Clemson, #7 Texas A&M, #15 Oregon State, #11 TCU, #8 Cal State Fullerton, #17 UCLA and #10 Arizona State
Atlanta Regional - GEORGIA TECH
(3) Mississippi State 3, (2) Southern Mississippi 0
(4) Austin Peay 2, (1) Georgia Tech 1
(1) Georgia Tech 6, (2) Southern Mississippi 2 (Southern Mississippi eliminated: 39-19)
(3) Mississippi State 8, (4) Austin Peay 3
(1) Georgia Tech 12, (4) Austin Peay 2 (Austin Peay eliminated: 34-24)
(3) Mississippi State 7, (1) Georgia Tech 3 (Georgia Tech eliminated: 42-21)
Atlanta Regional Champion: (3) Mississippi State (37-23)
The excitement of the NCAA Division I baseball tournament keeps getting more and more exciting every year. There is more and more coverage televised nationally. Depending on where games are being played throughout the country, games range from starting around Noon or 1pm to some games starting at 11pm, since they're on the West coast. Great games are occuring all across the country. The format is somewhat similar to the NCAA men's basketball tournament. There are 64 teams. The opening weekend are the Regionals, which pit four schools at one site, in a double-elimination format. The four teams at each site are seeded 1-4. The #'s 2 and 3 seeds play Game 1 and seeds 1 and 4 play Game 2. After that, it becomes a double-elimination format until the Regional Champion is crowned on Sunday or possibly Monday at the latest. Champions of Regionals move on the following weekend in a two-team Super Regional.
There are eight schools that are the Top 8 National seeds:
1-Virginia, 2-Florida, 3-North Carolina, 4-South Carolina, 5-Florida State, 6-Vanderbilt, 7-Texas, 8-Rice
The remaining 8 hosts schools:
#12 Georgia Tech, #14 Clemson, #7 Texas A&M, #15 Oregon State, #11 TCU, #8 Cal State Fullerton, #17 UCLA and #10 Arizona State
Atlanta Regional - GEORGIA TECH
(3) Mississippi State 3, (2) Southern Mississippi 0
(4) Austin Peay 2, (1) Georgia Tech 1
(1) Georgia Tech 6, (2) Southern Mississippi 2 (Southern Mississippi eliminated: 39-19)
(3) Mississippi State 8, (4) Austin Peay 3
(1) Georgia Tech 12, (4) Austin Peay 2 (Austin Peay eliminated: 34-24)
(3) Mississippi State 7, (1) Georgia Tech 3 (Georgia Tech eliminated: 42-21)
Atlanta Regional Champion: (3) Mississippi State (37-23)
Austin Regional - TEXAS
(3) Kent State 4, (2) Texas State 2
(1) Texas 5, (4) Princeton 3
(2) Texas State 3, (4) Princeton 1 (Princeton eliminated: 23-24)
(3) Kent State 7, (1) Texas 5
(1) Texas 4, (2) Texas State 3 (Texas State eliminated: 41-23)
(1) Texas 9, (3) Kent State 3
(1) Texas 5, (3) Kent State 0 (Kent State eliminated: 45-16)
Austin Regional Champion: (1) Texas (47-16)
Chapel Hill Regional - NORTH CAROLINA
(3) James Madison 11, (2) FIU 7
(1) North Carolina 4, (4) Maine 0
(4) Maine 4, (2) FIU 1 (FIU eliminated: 40-20-1)
(1) North Carolina 14, (3) James Madison 0
(3) James Madison 5, (4) Maine 2 (Maine eliminated: 33-24)
(1) North Carolina 9, (3) James Madison 3 (James Madison eliminated: 42-19)
Chapel Hill Regional Champ: (1) North Carolina (48-14)
Charlottesville Regional - VIRGINIA
(1) Virginia 6, (4) Navy 0
(3) St. John's 2, (2) East Carolina 0
(2) East Carolina 6, (4) Navy 1 (Navy eliminated: 33-25-1)
(1) Virginia 10, (3) St. John's 2
(2) East Carolina 6, (3) St. John's 4 (St. John's eliminated: 36-22)
(1) Virginia 13, (2) East Carolina 1 (East Carolina eliminated: 41-21)
Charlottesville Regional Champion: (1) Virginia (52-9)
Clemson Regional - CLEMSON
(3) Coastal Carolina 13, (2) Connecticut 1
(1) Clemson 11, (4) Sacred Heart 1
(2) Connecticut 13, (4) Sacred Heart 3 (Sacred Heart eliminated: 34-23)
(1) Clemson 12, (3) Coastal Carolina 7
(2) Connecticut 12, (3) Coastal Carolina 6 (Coastal Carolilna eliminated: 42-20)
(2) Connecticut 7, (1) Clemson 6
(2) Connecticut 14, (1) Clemson 1 (Clemson eliminated: 43-20)
Clemson Regional Champion: (2) Connecticut (45-18-1)
College Station Regional - TEXAS A&M
(3) Seton Hall 4, (2) Arizona 0
(1) Texas A&M 11, (4) Wright State 0
(2) Arizona 13, (4) Wright State 0 (Wright State eliminated: 36-19)
(1) Texas A&M 6, (3) Seton Hall 3
(2) Arizona 6, (3) Seton Hall 0 (Seton Hall eliminated: 34-25)
(2) Arizona 7, (1) Texas A&M 4
(1) Texas A&M 3, (2) Arizona 0 (Arizona eliminated: 39-19)
College Station Regional Champion: (1) Texas A&M (45-19)
Columbia Regional - SOUTH CAROLINA
(2) Stetson 8, (3) North Carolina State 7
(1) South Carolina 2, (4) Georgia Southern 1
(3) North Carolina State 5, (4) Georgia Southern 2 (Georgia Southern eliminated: 36-26)
(1) South Carolina 11, (2) Stetson 5
(2) Stetson 5, (3) North Carolina State 3 (North Carolina State eliminated: 35-27)
(1) South Carolina 8, (2) Stetson 2 (Stetson eliminated: 43-20)
Columbia Regional Champion: (1) South Carolina (48-14)
Corvallis Regional - OREGON STATE
(2) Creighton 2, (3) Georgia 1
(1) Oregon State 7, (4) Arkansas-Little Rock 4
(3) Georgia 7, (4) Arkansas-Little Rock 3 (Arkansas-Little Rock elimintated: 24-34)
(1) Oregon State 5, (2) Creighton 1
(3) Georgia 5, (2) Creighton 4 (Creighton eliminated: 45-17)
(1) Oregon State 6, (3) Georgia 4 (Georgia eliminated: 33-32)
Corvallis Regional Champion: (1) Oregon State (41-17)
Fort Worth Regional - TEXAS CHRISTIAN
(3) Dallas Baptist 3, (2) Oklahoma 2
(1) TCU 10, (4) Oral Roberts 2
(4) Oral Roberts 7, (2) Oklahoma 0 (Oklahoma eliminated: 41-19)
(3) Dallas Baptist 3, (1) TCU 2
(4) Oral Roberts 8, (1) TCU 4 (TCU eliminated: 43-19)
(4) Oral Roberts 7, (3) Dallas Baptist 2
(3) Dallas Baptist 11, (4) Oral Roberts 9 (Oral Roberts eliminated: 39-22)
Fort Worth Regional Champion: (3) Dallas Baptist (42-18)
Fullterton Regional - CAL ST. FULLERTON
(2) Stanford 10, (3) Kansas State 3
(1) Cal St. Fullerton 10, (4) Illinois 4
(4) Illinois 5, (3) Kansas State 3 (Kansas State eliminated: 36-25)
(2) Stanford 1, (1) Cal St. Fullerton 0
(4) Illinois 7, (1) Cal St. Fullerton 5 (Cal St. Fullerton eliminated: 41-17)
(2) Stanford 14, (4) Illinois 2 (Illinois eliminated: 30-27)
Fullerton Regional Champion: (2) Stanford (35-20)
Gainesville Regional - FLORIDA
(2) Miami (FL) 7, (3) Jacksonville 2
(1) Florida 17, (4) Manhatten 3
(3) Jacksonville 5, (4) Manhatten 4 (Manhatten eliminated: 34-19)
(1) Florida 5, (2) Miami (FL) 4
(2) Miami (FL) 6, (3) Jacksonville 3 (Jacksonville eliminated: 37-24)
(1) Florida 11, (2) Miami (FL) 4 (Miami FL eliminated: 38-23)
Gainesville Regional Champion: (1) Florida (48-16)
Houston Regional - RICE
(2) Baylor 6, (3) California 4
(1) Rice 14, (4) Alcorn State 2
(3) California 10, (4) Alcorn State 6 (Alcorn State eliminated: 27-30)
(2) Baylor 3, (1) Rice 2
(3) California 6, (1) Rice 3 (Rice eliminated: 42-21)
(3) California 8, (2) Baylor 0
(3) California 9, (2) Baylor 8 (Baylor eliminated: 31-28)
Houston Regional Champion: (3) California (35-21)
Los Angeles Regional - UCLA
(3) UC-Irvine 12, (2) Fresno State 6
(4) San Francisco 3, (1) UCLA 0
(1) UCLA 3, (2) Fresno State 1 (Fresno State eliminated: 40-16)
(3) UC-Irvine 4, (4) San Francisco 3
(1) UCLA 4, (4) San Francisco 1 (San Francisco eliminated: 32-25)
(3) UC-Irvine 4, (1) UCLA 3 (UCLA eliminated: 35-24)
Los Angeles Regional Champion: (3) UC-Irvine (42-16)
Nashville Regional - VANDERBILT
(3) Troy 9, (2) Oklahoma State 2
(1) Vanderbilt 10, (4) Belmont 0
(4) Belmont 3, (2) Oklahoma State 0 (Oklahoma State eliminated: 35-25)
(1) Vanderbilt 10, (3) Troy 2
(4) Belmont 5, (3) Troy 2 (Troy eliminated: 43-19)
(1) Vanderbilt 6, (4) Belmont 1 (Belmont eliminated: 38-26)
Nashville Regional Champion: (1) Vanderbilt (50-10)
Tallahassee Regional - FLORIDA STATE
(3) Alabama 5, (2) Central Florida 3
(1) Florida State 6, (4) Bethune-Cookman 5
(2) Central Florida 16, (4) Bethune-Cookman 5 (Bethune-Cookman eliminated: 36-25)
(1) Florida State 9, (3) Alabama 5
(3) Alabama 12, (2) Central Florida 5 (Central Florida eliminated: 39-22)
(1) Florida State 11, (3) Alabama 1 (Alabama eliminated: 35-27)
Tallahassee Regional Champion: (1) Florida State
Tempe Regional - ARIZONA STATE
(3) Charlotte 3, (2) Arkansas 2
(1) Arizona State 4, (4) New Mexico 2
(2) Arkansas 3, (4) New Mexico 0 (New Mexico eliminated: 20-41)
(1) Arizona State 16, (3) Charlotte 1
(2) Arkansas 11, (3) Charlotte 3 (Charlotte eliminated: 43-15)
(1) Arizona State 13, (2) Arkansas 4 (Arkansas eliminated: 40-22)
Tempe Regional Champion: (1) Arizona State (42-17)
College Station Regional - TEXAS A&M
(3) Seton Hall 4, (2) Arizona 0
(1) Texas A&M 11, (4) Wright State 0
(2) Arizona 13, (4) Wright State 0 (Wright State eliminated: 36-19)
(1) Texas A&M 6, (3) Seton Hall 3
(2) Arizona 6, (3) Seton Hall 0 (Seton Hall eliminated: 34-25)
(2) Arizona 7, (1) Texas A&M 4
(1) Texas A&M 3, (2) Arizona 0 (Arizona eliminated: 39-19)
College Station Regional Champion: (1) Texas A&M (45-19)
Columbia Regional - SOUTH CAROLINA
(2) Stetson 8, (3) North Carolina State 7
(1) South Carolina 2, (4) Georgia Southern 1
(3) North Carolina State 5, (4) Georgia Southern 2 (Georgia Southern eliminated: 36-26)
(1) South Carolina 11, (2) Stetson 5
(2) Stetson 5, (3) North Carolina State 3 (North Carolina State eliminated: 35-27)
(1) South Carolina 8, (2) Stetson 2 (Stetson eliminated: 43-20)
Columbia Regional Champion: (1) South Carolina (48-14)
Corvallis Regional - OREGON STATE
(2) Creighton 2, (3) Georgia 1
(1) Oregon State 7, (4) Arkansas-Little Rock 4
(3) Georgia 7, (4) Arkansas-Little Rock 3 (Arkansas-Little Rock elimintated: 24-34)
(1) Oregon State 5, (2) Creighton 1
(3) Georgia 5, (2) Creighton 4 (Creighton eliminated: 45-17)
(1) Oregon State 6, (3) Georgia 4 (Georgia eliminated: 33-32)
Corvallis Regional Champion: (1) Oregon State (41-17)
Fort Worth Regional - TEXAS CHRISTIAN
(3) Dallas Baptist 3, (2) Oklahoma 2
(1) TCU 10, (4) Oral Roberts 2
(4) Oral Roberts 7, (2) Oklahoma 0 (Oklahoma eliminated: 41-19)
(3) Dallas Baptist 3, (1) TCU 2
(4) Oral Roberts 8, (1) TCU 4 (TCU eliminated: 43-19)
(4) Oral Roberts 7, (3) Dallas Baptist 2
(3) Dallas Baptist 11, (4) Oral Roberts 9 (Oral Roberts eliminated: 39-22)
Fort Worth Regional Champion: (3) Dallas Baptist (42-18)
Fullterton Regional - CAL ST. FULLERTON
(2) Stanford 10, (3) Kansas State 3
(1) Cal St. Fullerton 10, (4) Illinois 4
(4) Illinois 5, (3) Kansas State 3 (Kansas State eliminated: 36-25)
(2) Stanford 1, (1) Cal St. Fullerton 0
(4) Illinois 7, (1) Cal St. Fullerton 5 (Cal St. Fullerton eliminated: 41-17)
(2) Stanford 14, (4) Illinois 2 (Illinois eliminated: 30-27)
Fullerton Regional Champion: (2) Stanford (35-20)
Gainesville Regional - FLORIDA
(2) Miami (FL) 7, (3) Jacksonville 2
(1) Florida 17, (4) Manhatten 3
(3) Jacksonville 5, (4) Manhatten 4 (Manhatten eliminated: 34-19)
(1) Florida 5, (2) Miami (FL) 4
(2) Miami (FL) 6, (3) Jacksonville 3 (Jacksonville eliminated: 37-24)
(1) Florida 11, (2) Miami (FL) 4 (Miami FL eliminated: 38-23)
Gainesville Regional Champion: (1) Florida (48-16)
Houston Regional - RICE
(2) Baylor 6, (3) California 4
(1) Rice 14, (4) Alcorn State 2
(3) California 10, (4) Alcorn State 6 (Alcorn State eliminated: 27-30)
(2) Baylor 3, (1) Rice 2
(3) California 6, (1) Rice 3 (Rice eliminated: 42-21)
(3) California 8, (2) Baylor 0
(3) California 9, (2) Baylor 8 (Baylor eliminated: 31-28)
Houston Regional Champion: (3) California (35-21)
Los Angeles Regional - UCLA
(3) UC-Irvine 12, (2) Fresno State 6
(4) San Francisco 3, (1) UCLA 0
(1) UCLA 3, (2) Fresno State 1 (Fresno State eliminated: 40-16)
(3) UC-Irvine 4, (4) San Francisco 3
(1) UCLA 4, (4) San Francisco 1 (San Francisco eliminated: 32-25)
(3) UC-Irvine 4, (1) UCLA 3 (UCLA eliminated: 35-24)
Los Angeles Regional Champion: (3) UC-Irvine (42-16)
Nashville Regional - VANDERBILT
(3) Troy 9, (2) Oklahoma State 2
(1) Vanderbilt 10, (4) Belmont 0
(4) Belmont 3, (2) Oklahoma State 0 (Oklahoma State eliminated: 35-25)
(1) Vanderbilt 10, (3) Troy 2
(4) Belmont 5, (3) Troy 2 (Troy eliminated: 43-19)
(1) Vanderbilt 6, (4) Belmont 1 (Belmont eliminated: 38-26)
Nashville Regional Champion: (1) Vanderbilt (50-10)
Tallahassee Regional - FLORIDA STATE
(3) Alabama 5, (2) Central Florida 3
(1) Florida State 6, (4) Bethune-Cookman 5
(2) Central Florida 16, (4) Bethune-Cookman 5 (Bethune-Cookman eliminated: 36-25)
(1) Florida State 9, (3) Alabama 5
(3) Alabama 12, (2) Central Florida 5 (Central Florida eliminated: 39-22)
(1) Florida State 11, (3) Alabama 1 (Alabama eliminated: 35-27)
Tallahassee Regional Champion: (1) Florida State
Tempe Regional - ARIZONA STATE
(3) Charlotte 3, (2) Arkansas 2
(1) Arizona State 4, (4) New Mexico 2
(2) Arkansas 3, (4) New Mexico 0 (New Mexico eliminated: 20-41)
(1) Arizona State 16, (3) Charlotte 1
(2) Arkansas 11, (3) Charlotte 3 (Charlotte eliminated: 43-15)
(1) Arizona State 13, (2) Arkansas 4 (Arkansas eliminated: 40-22)
Tempe Regional Champion: (1) Arizona State (42-17)
NCAA Regionals, by the Numbers...
I picked 11 of the 16 Regional Champions correctly, which I honestly think is pretty tough, considering that there are four teams in each Regional. It's also no guarantee that the #1 seed in each Regional will be he champion.
Number one seeds knocked out of the Regional: UCLA, TCU, Rice, Clemson, Georgia Tech and Cal St. Fullerton. TCU, Cal St. Fullerton and Rice were all three knocked out before the Regional Championship game.
Another stat that is not-so-surprising is that 41 of the 64 teams in the NCAA Regional field are from "warm weather states." They play baseball all year, I would hope that they would be well-represented!
Florida has 8: Florida International, Jacksonville, Miami (FL), Florida, Florida State, Central Florida, Stetson and Bethune-Cookman.
Texas has 6: Texas, Texas State, Texas A&M, TCU, Rice, Baylor and Dallas Baptist.
California is represented by 7 schools: California, Cal St. Fullerton, Stanford, UCLA, San Francisco, Fresno State and UC-Irvine.
Three-seeds that advanced to the Super Regionals:
Dallas Baptist (42-18), UC-Irvine (42-16), Mississippi State (37-23) and California (35-21)
Two-seeds moving on to Super Regionals:
Stanford (35-20) and Connecticut (45-18-1)
Check back Monday or late Sunday night as I analyze that Super Regionals from over the weekend. And who knows, I might be attending the Nashville Super Regional for one game. My friend coached Vanderbilt freshman DH/1B Conrad Gregor. I know that I only posted mainly scores and little facts, but when not all the Regionals were televised in the Indianapolis area, it's a little hard to break down games you really didn't see!
