May 25, 2009

GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – A league record-tying seven Atlantic Coast Conference teams will be among the 64-team field when the 2009 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship gets under way with regional play Friday.

Clemson (40-19), Florida State (42-16), Georgia Tech (35-17-1) and North Carolina (42-16) were named as regional host schools by the NCAA on Sunday, and Virginia (43-12-1) earned the conference’s automatic berth by virtue of winning the 2009 ACC Baseball Championship.

Boston College (33-24) and Miami (36-20) were also among the full field of 64 teams announced on Monday, bringing the ACC’s total representation to seven.

The ACC also placed seven teams in the 2005, 2006, and 2007 NCAA Championship fields. Six teams earned berths last year, and this marks the eighth straight year at least five teams have qualified for NCAA postseason play.

In addition to being awarded the right to host a regional, North Carolina received a No. 4 national seed. The Tar Heels will be seeking to advance to the College World Series at Omaha, Neb., for the fourth straight year.

Miami is in the field for the 37th consecutive year, extending its own record. Florida State is making its 32nd straight appearance, second all-time. Those are the nation’s two longest streaks, and Cal-State Fullerton is third with 18 straight appearances.

Among ACC teams, Clemson is making its first appearance after a one-year absence, but the Tigers have been among the field 22 of the last 23 years. Georgia Tech is in the NCAA tournament for the second straight year, but the Yellow Jackets have appeared in 23 of the last 25 tournaments overall.

North Carolina is making its eighth straight NCAA appearance and Virginia is appearing for the sixth straight time. The relative newcomer is Boston College, which will be making its 10th overall NCAA appearance, but its first since 1967.

Total NCAA postseason appearances (counting this season) for this year’s ACC participating teams are as follows: Boston College 10, Clemson 34, Florida State 47, Georgia Tech 25, Miami 38, North Carolina 24 and Virginia nine.

Regionals, which will consist of four-team double-elimination tournaments at 16 campus sites, will get under way Friday (May 29) and run through Monday (June 1) as necessary. Winners will advance to Super Regional play June 5-8.

Regional match-ups involving ACC teams are listed below, followed by the other regional sites.

2009 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship

Regionals with ACC Teams

Atlanta Regional
#1 Georgia Tech (35-17-1) vs. #4 Georgia St. (39-20)
#2 Elon (40-16) vs. #3 Southern Miss. (35-23)

Austin Regional
#1 Texas (41-13-1) vs. #4 Army (34-19)
#2 Texas St. (41-15) vs. #3 Boston College (33-24)

Chapel Hill Regional
#1 North Carolina (42-16) vs. #4 Dartmouth (27-16)
#2 Coastal Caro. (46-14) vs. #3 Kansas (37-22)

Clemson Regional
#1 Clemson (40-19) vs. #4 Tennessee Tech (30-22-1)
#2 Alabama (37-19) vs. #3 Oklahoma St. (32-22)

Gainesville Regional
#1 Florida (39-20) vs. #4 Bethune-Cookman (32-26)
#2 Miami (FL) (36-20) vs. #3 Jacksonville (36-20)

Irvine Regional
#1 UC Irvine (43-13) vs. #4 Fresno St. (32-28)
#2 Virginia (43-12-1) vs. #3 San Diego State (39-18)

Tallahassee Regional
#1 Florida St. (42-16) vs. #4 Marist (31-26)
#2 Georgia (37-22) vs. #3 Ohio St. (40-17)

OTHER REGIONALS

Baton Rouge Regional
#1 LSU (46-16) vs. #4 Southern U. (30-15)
#2 Minnesota (38-17) vs. #3 Baylor (29-24)

Fort Worth Regional
#1 TCU (36-16) vs. #4 Wright St. (33-28)
#2 Texas A&M (36-22) vs. #3 Oregon St. (35-17)

Fullerton Regional
#1 Cal St. Fullerton (42-14) vs. #4 Utah (26-29)
#2 Ga. Southern (42-15) vs. #3 Gonzaga (35-16)

Greenville Regional
#1 East Carolina (42-17) vs. #4 Binghamton (29-20)
#2 South Carolina (38-21) vs. #3 George Mason (42-12)

Houston (Rice) Regional
#1 Rice (39-15) vs. #4 Sam Houston St. (36-22)
#2 Kansas St. (41-16-1) vs. #3 Xavier (38-19)

Louisville Regional
#1 Louisville (44-15) vs. #4 Indiana (32-25)
# 2 Middle Tenn. (43-16) vs. #3 Vanderbilt (34-25)

Norman Regional
#1 Oklahoma (41-18) vs. #4 Wichita St. (30-25)
#2 Arkansas (34-22) vs. #3 Washington St. (31-23)

Oxford Regional
#1 Mississippi (40-17) vs. #4 Monmouth (32-23)
#2 Missouri (34-25) vs. #3 Western Ky. (39-18)

Tempe Regional
#1 Arizona St. (44-12) vs. #4 Kent St. (42-15)
#2 Oral Roberts (31-13) vs. #3 Cal Poly (37-19)