BY UNC ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
Monday brought the announcement of the NCAA Championship field of 64 and, with it, the news that Carolina would be traveling to the NCAA Gainesville Regional. Here's a quick look at the three teams the Tar Heels will face this weekend.
No. 1 Florida
Location: Gainesville, Fla.
Record: 40-21, 21-9 SEC
Bid: At-large
Florida is the No. 2 national seed after winning the SEC regular season title by two games and advancing to the conference tournament final, where the Gators lost to red-hot LSU. UF is plenty familiar with the ACC, having played three games each against Maryland (2-1), Miami (1-2) and Florida State (3-0).
Carolina and Florida last met in the NCAA tournament in 2005, when the Gators took a winner's bracket game in Gainesville en route to the College World Series. UNC won the only other postseason meeting in Gastonia, North Carolina, in 1960 to book a spot in Omaha for the first time in school history.
No. 2 Long Beach State
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Record: 32-24, 17-7 Big West
Bid: At-large
Long Beach State looked to be on the wrong side of the bubble until mid-April, when a series win over regional host Cal Poly sparked a 14-3 finish that included a season-ending sweep of UC Irvine. The Dirtbags - an official nickname used solely for the baseball program at LBSU - are making their first NCAA appearance since 2008, snapping the longest drought for the school since the 1980s.
Carolina and LBSU have never met in the postseason. In fact, the two programs have played just one game all-time, a 1992 UNC win in Chapel Hill.
No. 4 College of Charleston
Location: Charleston, S.C.
Record: 41-17, 15-6 Colonial
Bid: Automatic
That fact that fourth-seeded Charleston enters the weekend with a regional-high 41 wins illustrates just how difficult it will be for the winning team to advance. But the Cougars, who took two of three from Carolina in the impromptu season-opening series (the games were moved from Chapel Hill after a winter storm), likely needed the automatic bid from the CAA to advance to the NCAA tournament. Get it they did, however, sweeping three games in Wilmington to make the postseason for the sixth time in the last 11 seasons.
Carolina and Charleston have played just five times, and never in the postseason. Prior to this season's series in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, the Tar Heels had won a pair of midweek games in Chapel Hill in 2005 and 2010.
This post was edited on 5/26 6:28 PM by JohnGwaltney
Monday brought the announcement of the NCAA Championship field of 64 and, with it, the news that Carolina would be traveling to the NCAA Gainesville Regional. Here's a quick look at the three teams the Tar Heels will face this weekend.
No. 1 Florida
Location: Gainesville, Fla.
Record: 40-21, 21-9 SEC
Bid: At-large
Florida is the No. 2 national seed after winning the SEC regular season title by two games and advancing to the conference tournament final, where the Gators lost to red-hot LSU. UF is plenty familiar with the ACC, having played three games each against Maryland (2-1), Miami (1-2) and Florida State (3-0).
Carolina and Florida last met in the NCAA tournament in 2005, when the Gators took a winner's bracket game in Gainesville en route to the College World Series. UNC won the only other postseason meeting in Gastonia, North Carolina, in 1960 to book a spot in Omaha for the first time in school history.
No. 2 Long Beach State
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Record: 32-24, 17-7 Big West
Bid: At-large
Long Beach State looked to be on the wrong side of the bubble until mid-April, when a series win over regional host Cal Poly sparked a 14-3 finish that included a season-ending sweep of UC Irvine. The Dirtbags - an official nickname used solely for the baseball program at LBSU - are making their first NCAA appearance since 2008, snapping the longest drought for the school since the 1980s.
Carolina and LBSU have never met in the postseason. In fact, the two programs have played just one game all-time, a 1992 UNC win in Chapel Hill.
No. 4 College of Charleston
Location: Charleston, S.C.
Record: 41-17, 15-6 Colonial
Bid: Automatic
That fact that fourth-seeded Charleston enters the weekend with a regional-high 41 wins illustrates just how difficult it will be for the winning team to advance. But the Cougars, who took two of three from Carolina in the impromptu season-opening series (the games were moved from Chapel Hill after a winter storm), likely needed the automatic bid from the CAA to advance to the NCAA tournament. Get it they did, however, sweeping three games in Wilmington to make the postseason for the sixth time in the last 11 seasons.
Carolina and Charleston have played just five times, and never in the postseason. Prior to this season's series in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, the Tar Heels had won a pair of midweek games in Chapel Hill in 2005 and 2010.
This post was edited on 5/26 6:28 PM by JohnGwaltney
