Fresno State Athletics
`Dogs Draw No. 1 UC Irvine
5/25/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 25, 2009
HONOLULU - Just as the sun was coming up on the Hawaiian Islands, the Fresno State baseball team learned its NCAA tournament fate. The Dogs were coming off a busy day, sweeping New Mexico State Sunday afternoon to win their fourth WAC tournament title and sealed their fourth straight trip to the NCAA tournament.
The Bulldog baseball team opens the 2009 Tournament against No. 1-ranked UC Irvine at the Irvine Regional. UC Irvine won the 2009 Big West Conference Championship. Fresno State, as the No. 4 seed in the regional, plays the Anteaters at 8 p.m. PT on Friday, May 29. The game will be shown nationally on ESPNU. The Irvine Regional is one of two to be broadcast by ESPN.
It marks the second straight year the Bulldogs played the Big West champion in the opening round on its home field. Last season, the Dogs opened the NCAA tournament at Long Beach State.
This is the fourth straight year that the defending National Champions have won the WAC Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs are 16-1 in the WAC Tournament since 2006.
Under head coach Mike Batesole the Bulldogs are 30-9 in post season play, including the WAC and NCAA tournaments combined.
The Bulldogs have an overall record of 29-7 against the Anteaters, who are 43-13 this season and currently ranked No. 1 in the country. UCI enters the 2009 NCAA tournament as the No. 6 national seed and as a team are batting .315. They are led on the mound by Daniel Bibona (11-1, 2.65 ERA).
Fresno State finished as the 2009 WAC Tournament Champions beating New Mexico State twice on Sunday to earn a trip to the NCAA Tournament. Five Bulldogs were named to the All-Tournament team and Jordan Ribera was named tournament MVP after hitting two game winning home runs. The Bulldogs are returning to the mainland Monday, expecting to arrive in Fresno around midnight.
The last time the Bulldogs faced UC Irvine was in 2004.
San Diego State and Virginia are the other schools in the Irvine regional. The Aztecs posted 40 wins this season riding the arm of Stephen Strasburg, the NCAA ERA and strikeout leader. Strasburg is a perfect 13-0 this season. The Aztecs are coached by former San Diego Padres great Tony Gwynn and are making their first NCAA tournament appearance under his guidance. The Aztecs lost to Utah twice in the championship of the Mountain West Conference Tournament.
Virginia (43-12-1), ranked No. 14 in last week's national poll, enters the Irvine Regional as the No. 2 seed after winning the ACC tournament with a win over No. 7 Florida State.
Virginia and San Diego State will play at 4 p.m. Friday afternoon at Anteater Park.
"We are looking forward to the tournament," said head coach Mike Batesole. "It's what we play for and we are one of the 64 teams left playing. We have been playing well. I'm really proud of this team and I knew all along we would be a better team in May than we were in March and they are proving it. To do what we did to get to the NCAA tournament is a great accomplishment. We have an outstanding group of seniors who have been to the tournament and won the WAC four years in a row. We have some talented freshmen who are playing well right now and are going to get their first taste of the NCAA tournament. We are looking forward to it."
Ticket Information for the 2009 Irvine Regional
All-Session Reserved (Chair-back): $100
All-Session Bleacher (General Admission) : $75
All-Session Lawn Seating (General Admission): $50
The Bren Center will call window will be open during normal business hours (10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.) beginning Tuesday, May 26. Ticket orders can be made by calling (949) 824-5000 beginning Tuesday. Single game tickets, if available, can be purchased beginning Wednesday 27th. For more information, please go to ucirvinesports.com/tickets.
***Due to the seating capacity of Anteater Ballpark it is strongly recommended that you purchase your tickets early if you plan on attending a UCI Regional.***
Single Game Tickets:
Single game tickets, if available, will not be available until May 27th.
Will Call:
Tickets purchased during the pre-sale period will be available for pick-up at the Bren Events Center Will Call Window during normal business hours [10am-6pm] beginning on Wednesday, May 27th.
Notes on seating:
UC Irvine Baseball has added a limited amount of bleacher seating along the 1st base line behind the dugout. These seats sit on the grass incline and offer great views of the ballpark as well as provide additional seating. Seating in this area will be general admission (GA).
Join the State - Fresno State! Fresno State opens the 2009 NCAA baseball tournament at the Irvine Regional on Friday at 8 p.m. The game will be live on KMJ Radio and ESPNU. The Bulldog Shop will be selling a commemorative Bulldog T-shirts beginning on Tuesday.
