Diamond Dawgs earn #8 national seed
Despite losing four out of five games coming into the NCAA Tournament, Georgia’s regular season SEC championship was enough to earn Georgia the final national seed when bids were announced Monday afternoon. Georgia will host a regional in Athens this weekend and, if they advance, will host a Super Regional on the subsequent weekend.
The Athens Regional
The good news – home field has been kind to Georgia in the postseason recently. Georgia hasn’t lost a postseason series in Athens in the 2000s though there have been several close calls. The bad news – it’s a strong field. Georgia won the SEC title. Georgia Tech was a strong contender to host a regional. Louisville won the Big East and made the trip to Omaha in 2007.
The Lipscomb Bisons, champions of the Atlantic Sun conference, will be making their NCAA Tournament debut against the Bulldogs. The Bisons have played three games against SEC competition (Vanderbilt(2) and Alabama), losing all three games.
Georgia Tech hoped to host a regional, but they finished just over .500 in a tough ACC which produced three of the top four national seeds. Instead the Yellow Jackets will have to go through Athens if they hope to advance. Tech took the season series from Georgia, but Georgia had the final word with a close win at Turner Field earlier in May.
Georgia and Georgia Tech have done battle several times this decade during the postseason. In 2001, the Bulldogs eliminated Tech in the Athens regional en route to the College World Series. Tech returned the favor in 2002 by ending Georgia’s season in Atlanta. The two teams met again in 2004 with a trip to the College World Series on the line. Georgia swept two games from their rivals to take the Super Regional series and return to Omaha. Jonathan Wyatt became a Bulldog legend with a decisive 2-run homer to clinch the series.
There’s even a connection with Louisville. Former Bulldog pitching coach Roger Williams now holds the same position for the Cardinals, and some scuttlebutt holds that his departure from Athens was on less-than-pleasant terms.
The SEC
Though no SEC team has been dominant this year, the depth of the conference was evident when the NCAA bracket was announced. The SEC has two national seeds (#7 LSU and #8 Georgia), and nine SEC teams received bids – including Arkansas who didn’t even qualify for the SEC Tournament. Ole Miss, Kentucky, South Carolina, Florida, Alabama, and Vanderbilt are the other invitees.
Of national interest
- How’d you like to be Arizona? You earn the top seed in a regional, but you’re the only top seed sent on the road. To Michigan. In the interests of “geographical diversity.”
- We’ll have a new national champion. Two-time defending champs Oregon State were left out of the tournament. They are the first defending champion to miss the tournament since….Georgia in 1991.
- As I mentioned above, the ACC has three of the top four national seeds. Miami has been strong all year and won their first ACC title. UNC has been the national runner-up in each of the past two seasons. FSU is in the mix as always.
The schedule
Friday, May 30
Game 1: Georgia vs. Lipscomb, 3 p.m. ET
Game 2: Georgia Tech vs. Louisville, ~7 p.m. ET
Saturday, May 31
Game 3: Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2, 3 p.m. ET
Game 4: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2, 7 p.m. ET
Sunday, June 1
Game 5: Loser of Game 4 vs. Winner of Game 3, 2 p.m. ET
Game 6: Winner of Game 4 vs. Winner of Game 5, 6 p.m. ET
Monday, June 2 (If Necessary)
Game 7: Winner of Game 6 vs. Loser of Game 6, 7 p.m. ET
Ticket information
All-Session ticket will be available online starting Monday, May 26 at 2 p.m. and at the Athletic Association Ticket Office window or by calling 1-877-542-1231 (toll free) beginning Tuesday, May 27 at 8:30 a.m.
All-Session Reserved tickets are $60 with the all-session general admission price set at $50. Both All-Session ticket packages include a ticket to all Athens Regional games including Game 7 if necessary and provides fans with a discount off the individual game ticket prices.
All tickets ordered for the regional will be distributed via Will- Call. Patrons may claim their tickets prior to the regional from the Athletic Association Ticket Office on Thursday, May 29, between 9am and 4pm and again on Friday, May 30, from 8:30am until noon. Regional tickets will also be available for pickup at the Foley Field ticket windows beginning at 1pm on Friday, May 30.
For more information, visit www.georgiadogs.com and click on the link for tickets or call the Ticket Office at 1-877-542-1231. Visa, Mastercard and Cash are all accepted forms of payment.
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Thomas Brown
May 27th, 2008
2:53 am
9 teams SEC given NCAA Baseball Playoff Tournament Seedings. 6 ACC teams were as were 6 Big XII teams and only 5 Pac-10 teams made the field of 64. Assigning 4 points for a Number 1 seed, 3 points for a Number 2 seed and 2 points for a Number 3 seed (There were no Number 4 seeds from The SEC, ACC, Big XII, or Pac-10.) we get 27 points SEC, to only 21 points for the ACC, 20 points for the Big XII and 17 points for the Pac-10.
Tony Barnhart wrote there were 6 teams from the Pac-10. Perhaps he has no clue what the teams are in the Pac-10, or thinks Oral Roberts is in the Pac-10 ?
As in football where The SEC Won 7 Bowl Games, The SEC will win more NCAA Baseball Tournament Games.
The SEC is far and away the most dominate NCAA Football and Baseball Conference.
75 Percent of The SEC Football and Baseball teams, compete at the National Level.
There is no conference close.
There are 6 Big XII teams in the field. Perhaps Tony Barnhart thinks the Pac-10 is in fact the Big XII ?
The ACC is slightly better at baseball than they are at football, and the ACC is slightly better than the Big XII in baseball; but, the ACC is far worse than The SEC in Football and in Baseball.
I am surprised that Virginia made the field, but the facts of the matter are that all the ACC played very weak strength of schedules in baseball again this season.
I believe that Tony Barnhart of the AJ-C put up this smokescreen about the ACC having the same number of teams make the NCAA Baseball Tournament Field as the Pac-10 did, because he is unable to discuss any sport but men’s basketball.
9 SEC teams make NCAA Baseball Tournament.
6 Big XII teams make NCAA Baseball Tournament.
6 ACC teams make NCAA Baseball Tournament.
5 Pac-10 teams make NCAA Baseball Tournament.
1 Big Ten (11) team makes NCAA Baseball Tournament.
The real news of the NCAA Baseball Tournament is, as they are in football, the Big Ten (11) sucks with but 1 team in the entire conference making the Tournament and that team, Michigan, is the only not Number 1 seed hosting in the entire country.
SEC Champion Georgia is a National Seed again this year. Should UGA win over Lipscomb Friday at 3:30 p.m. and then beat the winner of Louisville and Georgia Tech Saturday at 7 p.m.. Then Sunday (possibly Monday since it is a double-elimination), and then UGA with its National Seeding as one of the Top 8 teams in the nation all season long in Baseball, will host the Super Regional against ACC North Carolina State at Foley Field in Athens Georgia. If North Carolina State can beat South Carolina.