Hogs headline NCAA Fayetteville Regional
FAYETTEVILLE – The 15th-ranked University of Arkansas baseball team received the top seed in the Fayetteville Regional as the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship bracket was announced Monday. This marks the 23rd overall trip to the NCAA Championship for the Razorbacks and will be the program’s ninth consecutive appearance, eighth straight under head coach Dave Van Horn.
"First of all, we’re glad to be hosting a regional," Van Horn said. "It seems like we’ve been on the road for the past few weekends and it’s been a battle with the injuries and trying to get guys healthy. As far as the tournament goes, we’re matched up with Grambling on Friday. We’re looking forward to the weekend. The forecast is supposed to look good for us and it should be a great weekend."
Arkansas, which received one of the 16 regional host sites Sunday, enters the tournament with a 40-18 overall record. The Razorbacks will open play Friday, June 4, at 2:05 p.m. against Grambling (22-30), the No. 4 seed in the Fayetteville Regional. Washington State (34-20) and Kansas State (36-20) round out the regional bracket as the No. 2 and 3 seeds, respectively, and will play at 7:05 p.m. on day one.
"By playing in the first game Friday, we give our players an opportunity to get on and off the field early and then rest for day two," Van Horn said. "Looking at other regionals in the past, this isn’t an unprecedented situation for the host team to take the field first. In discussion with our team, they like the idea of playing that early game and then being able to have a full night’s rest to prepare for Saturday."
The Razorbacks are hosting their fifth regional-1999, 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2010-in program history, and fourth under Van Horn. Last season, the Hogs swept through the Norman Regional, including a 10-3 victory over Washington State, to win its second regional since the NCAA moved to the current regional/super regional format. Arkansas holds an all-time record of 36-32 in NCAA Regional play.
Arkansas is one of eight teams from the Southeastern Conference to grab a spot in the NCAA Championship. The SEC is tied with the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and Pac-10 for the most teams including in the tournament. Thirteen of the Razorbacks’ opponents this season are playing in the NCAA Championship.
The Fayetteville Regional is scheduled for June 4-6 with an "if necessary" game on June 7. Tickets are on sale to the general public at the Razorback Ticket Office. Tickets are sold in packages for the complete regional. The packages are $70 each.
Fans may order by visiting the UA Ticket Office, by calling 479-575-5151 or 800-982-4647, or by visiting ArkansasRazorbacks.com. The Ticket Office will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, and accepts Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express.
Any tickets ordered in advance may be picked up at the Ticket Office through Thursday. Beginning Friday, all ordered tickets will be at will call, which is west of Gate C at Baum Stadium.
Single-game tickets, if available, will be sold for $15 each, but they will not be available until two hours before each game at the Baum Stadium ticket windows near Gates A and B. Single-game tickets must be purchased with cash or check only.
Download: 2010 ncaa baseball bracket.pdf
