The regional hosts were anounced today with the rest of the field being announced tomorrow. There will be a selection show watch party tomorrow at Picassos.
I knew I shouldn’t get my hopes up for a drivable regional. Thanks NCAA!!
Don’t know much about Arkansas, but on the selection show said they were top or near the top of the SEC in SB’s but were last in batting average. That’s good news with our pitching. Not sure how their pitching is.
Last I heard Arizona State was on probation and banned from post season play. Guess they appealed and are allowed to participate.
Arkansas is expected to start sophomore lefty [url=http://www.arkansasrazorbacks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=30667&SPID=2415&ATCLID=204886408&DB_OEM_ID=6100]Randall Fant[/url] on Wednesday against Alabama. Fant is 3-3 on the season with a 3.24 ERA in 18 appearances, including nine starts. Fant started the first game of Saturday's doubleheader against Ole Miss and finished just two outs shy of his first complete game, throwing 6.1 scoreless innings with three strikeouts.
All-SEC Second Team selection DJ Baxendale will start on Thursday against either Florida or Mississippi State. The sophomore right hander has an 8-2 record with a 1.62 ERA, which ranks second in the SEC. Baxendale pitched twice in the series against Ole Miss, starting the series opener on Thursday, allowing just two runs with a career-high eight strikeouts in 8.1 innings. In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, Baxendale came out of the bullpen and pitched a shutout ninth inning, getting the final three outs to clinch the Western Division title.
The Razorbacks, ranked as high as 18th in the country, are the second seed in the SEC Tournament and enter the postseason with a 36-18 overall record.
All-SEC Freshman Team honoree [url=http://www.arkansasrazorbacks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=30667&SPID=2415&ATCLID=205082381&DB_OEM_ID=6100]Dominic Ficociello[/url] leads Arkansas with a .349 batting average on the season with four homers and a team-high 47 RBI. SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year [url=http://www.arkansasrazorbacks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=30667&SPID=2415&ATCLID=3658079&DB_OEM_ID=6100]James McCann[/url] is hitting .309 on the year and has six homers and 29 RBI. [url=http://www.arkansasrazorbacks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=30667&SPID=2415&ATCLID=3658062&DB_OEM_ID=6100]Bo Bigham[/url] is batting .291 with two homers and 16 RBI.
Arkansas has one really good pitcher, went 9-2, and won against some of the top SEC schools (USC, Vandy). The rest of the staff appear to be mediocore.
Well I we got our work cut out, aside from the joke New Mexico being in the bracket (20 wins!!!) Arizona state and Arkansas should prove to be tough. Arkansas is very manageable, Arizona st. has played some good West Coast teams and faired pretty well. I think we have legit shot at winning this regional. Hopefully we can get some kind of broadcast or a replay at pic’s? if anyone finds out let me know!
Well after having time to reflect (and take a nap) do I feel better about the Niners being shipped to Tempe?
NO! I do NOT. Screw you NCAA. Thanks for that wonderful pod system of yours. This certainly is a treat for the fans. Way to go. Wonderful job. I guess this is the kind of respect that you get when you win the most awesomest league in the history of most awesomest leagues.
I just had an idea. We should send people to the 6 closest sights with signs saying “NCAA why are 49ers in AZ?” It would be funny if it got on Espn or the local papers in CH, Charlottesville, Atl, Clemson, Columbia, or Nashville. :-*
don’t be so sure of that. i’m almost positive judy could have made some enemies when she was whatever she was in the ncaa several years ago. and if she did, which is very likely, this is almost surely about pay-back!
metro might have a different opinion, but i’m just sayin’.
[quote=“earlyniner, post:17, topic:25438”][size=2]
2002. don’t be so sure of that. i’m almost positive judy could have made some enemies when she was whatever she was in the ncaa several years ago. and if she did, which is very likely, this is almost surely about pay-back!
metro might have a different opinion, but i’m just sayin’.
[/size][/quote][size=2]Hey, aren’t you the same guy that told me about Bonnie Cone’s nephew?[/size]
Get a freakin’ grip, people. I know, it’s disappointing not to be able to see them in person. But did you REALLY want us to go up against a national seed like Virginia or South Carolina? I would much rather the Niners be sent further away and have a decent chance of winning, which is what we have.
Arkansas had a very up-and-down year, and we can handle them. They padded their record against the very weak SEC West, and almost didn’t even make the conference tournament. New Mexico is just bad. I saw Arizona State when they came to Auburn for a weekend series back in March; they took 2 from Auburn, IIRC, but they weren’t by any means dominant. We are in a winnable regional. I would not be saying the same thing if we were in Columbia or Charlottesville.
And the conspiracy theories on here are so far out there, I don’t even find them amusing anymore. Suck it up. Like 2002 said, it’s not like being local did jack-squat for us in 07 or 08.
There were several other regionals that the 49ers could logically been expected to play in: Chapel Hill, Columbia, Clemson, S.C., Atlanta and Charlottesville, Va.
Instead, the 49ers (42-14) will be a No. 3 seed, facing the second-seed Razorbacks (38-20) in the double-elimination regional.
[b]“It was a surprise,” Hibbs said of Charlotte’s trip to the desert. “The pod system is supposed to make every regional as local as it can be. But I guess like they felt like they needed to send us out west.”
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