Miami Earns No. 2 Seed in NCAA Gainesville Regional
May 25, 2009
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami baseball team has reached the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship for a record 37th consecutive season as the Hurricanes have been selected as the No. 2-seed in the Gainesville Regional this upcoming weekend at Alfred A. McKethan Stadium at Perry Field.
The Hurricanes (36-20) will begin their quest for a fifth national championship when they face No. 3-seed Jacksonville (36-20) on Friday, May 29 at 1 p.m. in the opening game of the regional. In the second game on Friday, No.1-seed and host Florida (39-20) will face No. 4-seed Bethune-Cookman (32-26) at 6:30 p.m.
The winners of the opening round of the regional will move on two face one another on Saturday, May 30 at 6:30 p.m., after the two Friday losers play earlier in the day in an elimination game at 1 p.m.
This marks the fifth time Miami will be on the road for an NCAA Regional in head coach Jim Morris’ 16-year tenure. Miami traveled to the 2007 Columbia (Mo.) Regional, the 2006 Lincoln Regional, the 2002 Gainesville Regional and the 1996 Central I Regional in Austin, Texas, advancing on in three of the four occasions.
The Hurricanes last played in a regional in Gainesville in 2002, when UM beat FIU before taking two- of-three from the Gators to move on to the Columbia (S.C.) Super Regional that season. Earlier this season, UM swept the then 12th-ranked Gators in Gainesville in a three-game series Feb. 27 – March 1.
Miami has been ranked in the Top 25 in at least one poll every week this season, including a season-high No. 2 ranking by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association the week of March 23-29. The `Canes are currently ranked as high as No. 18 by Collegiate Baseball.
The national top eight seeds for the championship are Texas (41-13-1), Cal State Fullerton (42-14), LSU (46-16), North Carolina (42-16), Arizona State (44-12), UC Irvine (43-13), Oklahoma (41-18) and the Gators.
Each of the 16 NCAA Regionals features 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. The best two-of-three Super Regionals will be played from Friday, June 5, to Monday, June 8. The 63rd College World Series begins play Saturday, June 13, at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb.
The winner of the Gainesville Regional will move on to face the winner of the Atlanta Regional, which includes No. 1-seed Georgia Tech, No. 2-seed Elon, No. 3-seed Southern Miss and No. 4-seed Georgia State.
Beginning Wednesday, May 27 at 8:30 a.m., all fans can order tickets for the Gainesville Regional by using the following methods:
Order online at www.GatorZone.com/tickets
Order by calling one of the Ticket Office Specialists at (352) 375-4683, ext. 6800, or toll free (800) 344-2867, ext. 6800, Wednesday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Order by visiting the Gator Ticket Office, located at Gate 1 of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Wednesday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
2009 NCAA Gainesville Regional Schedule
Friday, May 29
Game 2: 1 p.m. – No. 2 Miami (36-20) vs. No. 3 Jacksonville (36-20)
Game 1: 6:30 p.m. – No. 1 Florida (39-20) vs. No. 4 Bethune-Cookman (32-26)
Saturday, May 30
Game 3: 1 p.m. – Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2Game 4: 6:30 p.m. – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
Sunday, May 31
Game 5: 1 p.m. – Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4
Game 6: 6:30 p.m. – Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5
Monday, June 1
Game 7: (if necessary) – 6:30 p.m. – Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6
