Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee Heading to Athens Regional
5/31/2004 11:08:00 AM | Baseball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- Sun Belt Conference champion Middle Tennessee will face 10th-ranked Georgia in the first round of the NCAA Baseball Tournament in Athens, Ga., Friday, with the Blue Raiders earning a No. 4 seed in the regional.
The Blue Raiders (40-20) and Georgia (38-20), the SEC co-champions and top seed in the regional, will play Friday at 3 p.m. ET at Foley Field. Also on Friday, No. 2 seed Clemson (36-24) battles No. 3 seed Birmingham Southern (46-16) at 7 p.m. ET. The double elimination tournament runs through Sunday.
Middle Tennessee is making its 13th NCAA Tournament appearance and fourth in five years. The Blue Raiders shared the regular season title in the Sun Belt with a 16-8 record, the second time in four years the squad has won an SBC title. Middle Tennessee has NCAA appearances in 1968, 1976, 1981-82, 1987-88, 1990-91, 1995, 2000-01 and 2003.
Georgia is making its seventh NCAA Tournament appearance and will be playing host to a regional for the second time in school history. Georgia is 14-7 in NCAA regional play. The Bulldogs last appeared in an NCAA Regional in 2002 in Atlanta.
Georgia and Middle Tennessee have never faced each other on the diamond, while the Blue Raiders are 0-3 all-time versus Birmingham Southern and 0-2 against Clemson (2000 NCAA Regional at Clemson).
Game times on Saturday are 11 a.m. (losers bracket elimination), 3 p.m. (winners bracket) and 7 p.m. (elimination game). The championship game on Sunday will be at 2 p.m. Should a game seven be necessary, it would be 45 minutes following the conclusion of the first game.
The Athens Regional winner will meet the winner of the Atlanta Regional (Draw includes #1 Georgia Tech, #2 Texas Tech, #3 Mississippi State and #4 Jacksonville State). The winner of the Athens Regional advances to a Super Regional with those sites to be announced Sunday, June 6, at 11 p.m. on ESPN. The 58th Men's College World Series begins play Friday, June 18, at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb.
Tournament books as well as single game ticket prices for the NCAA Baseball Athens Regional are the following:
A Reserved tournament book will be $60, a General Admission tournament book will be $48 for adults and $36 for students/youth (college age and younger). Single game ticket prices are $10 for Reserved, $8 for General Admission and $6 for students/youth (college age and younger). Tournament
books can be purchased on-line via UGA's web site at http://www.georgiadogs.com/ through Wednesday, June 2.
Also, tickets can be purchased at the UGA ticket office, located on the third floor of the Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall Building. Fans purchasing tournament books on-line can pick those tickets up at the Butts-Mehre Building through Thursday, and then all tournament books and tickets will be available at the will call window at Foley Field.
For Middle Tennessee fans, hotel information for the Athens area includes:
GEORGIA CENTER HOTEL
Reservations: 1.888.295.8894 or 706.542.1181
Courtyard by Marriott
166 Finley St.
Athens, GA 30601
706.369-7000
