Cavaliers Earn No. 5 National Seed in NCAA Tournament

Story Links

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia baseball team has been awarded the No. 5 national seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament, the NCAA announced Monday. The Cavaliers will play host to the NCAA Charlottesville Regional at Davenport Field and will welcome Ole Miss, St. John’s and VCU June 4-7 for the double-elimination tournament.

A national seed in the 64-team field for the first time in program history, Virginia will open the tournament at 4 p.m. Friday against VCU. Ole Miss and St. John’s will play the nightcap at 8 p.m.

The losing teams from Friday will square off in an elimination game at 1 p.m. Saturday, while the winners will play at 6 p.m. Saturday. The second elimination game will be contested at 1 p.m. Sunday, with the championship game slated for 6 p.m. Sunday. If necessary, a second championship game will be played at 6 p.m. Monday.

The 2010 ACC Coastal Division champion, Virginia (47-11, 23-7 ACC) is the regional’s top seed and has won 18 of its last 20 games entering the tournament. Virginia will be competing in its seventh-consecutive NCAA tournament and is one of just 14 schools to have played in each of the last seven tournaments. UVa, 30-4 at home this year, will serve as a host site for the fourth time (2004, 2006, 2007, 2010).

No. 2 seed Ole Miss (38-22, 16-14 Southeastern Conference) received an at-large berth in the tournament. The Cavaliers and Rebels also played in the 2009 NCAA Tournament, with Virginia winning two of three games in the Oxford Super Regional to earn a berth in the College World Series. The Rebels are led by All-America starting pitcher Drew Pomeranz, who went 8-2 with a 2.21 ERA this season. He also is one of the nation’s leaders in strikeouts with 134 and is expected to be a first-round pick next week in the Major League Baseball Draft. Matt Smith leads the team in batting (.344), home runs (12) and RBI (51).

No. 3 seed St. John’s (40-18, 16-11 Big East) captured the Big East’s automatic berth in the tournament by winning the Big East Tournament title. The Red Storm swept four games to win the championship, including a pair of wins over Louisville and a victory in the title game against Connecticut – both Louisville and UConn earned host sites for the 2010 NCAA Tournament. Freshman Jeremy Baltz leads St. John’s with a .393 batting average, 20 home runs and 74 RBI.

No. 4 seed (VCU, 34-24-1, 17-7-1 Colonial) earned the CAA’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament after defeating UNC Wilmington, 7-5 in 12 innings, Saturday in the CAA championship game. The Rams are familiar foes with Virginia and played in Charlottesville May 4, with UVa earning a 10-5 win. Joe Van Meter is one of the nation’s top hitters, with a .433 batting average.

Virginia owns a 31-19 series advantage over VCU. The Cavaliers are 3-2 all-time against Ole Miss and 11-3 against St. John’s, having last played the Red Storm in 2005.

Ticket Information is as follows:
The Virginia Athletics Ticket Office will be open until 5 p.m. on Memorial Day. Ticket books may be purchased in person at the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office in Bryant Hall, by calling the Ticket Office at (800) 542-8821 or logging on to VirginiaSports.com.

As of Monday afternoon, overall 3,000 tickets have been sold for the Regional round as well as a potential Super Regional tournament. After several expansions this season, Davenport Field now will seat 4,801 for postseason play.

Regional all-session ticket books are currently on sale and will be sold for $60 for Reserved seating and $45 for General Admission seating, while Super Regional all-session ticket books also are on sale and may be purchased for $24 for General Admission seating. Super Regional Reserved ticket books are sold out.

Customers ordering tickets from now until game day may pick up their tickets at the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office in Bryant Hall through Friday at 10 am or at Davenport Field Will Call on game day beginning two hours prior to the first session of the day.

If available, single-session tickets for the Regional will go on sale to the public on Friday (June 4). If available, single-session tickets will be $12 for Reserved and $8 for General Admission, with $4 per ticket upgrades available from General Admission to Reserved on game day. Any remaining single-game tickets for the Super Regional will go on sale the first day of the event (June 11 or 12) and will be $16 for Reserved and $12 for General Admission, with $4 per ticket upgrades available from General Admission to Reserved on game day.

All parking will be paid parking for the entire postseason. Parking on game day will be $5.

Because of the success of the Virginia baseball team this season and increased ticket demand, NCAA tournament games at Davenport Field are expected to sell out. Fans are strongly encouraged to purchase tickets in advance, as it is the only way to guarantee they will be able to attend all tournament games.

All sections of the grandstand (Sec. 101-109) and the first base bleachers (Sec. A-F) are considered Reserved seating for the entire NCAA tournament. General Admission seating is located on the grassy hillside down the left-field line and in the bleachers beyond the outfield wall in both left and right field. Standing room is also available for General Admission ticket buyers.

For further information on NCAA baseball tournament tickets, please call the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office at (800) 542-8821 or log on to VirginiaSports.com.

2010 NCAA Charlottesville Regional Schedule
Friday, June 4
Game 1 – No. 1 Virginia vs. No. 4 VCU, 4 p.m.
Game 2 – No. 2 Ole Miss vs. No. 3 St. John’s, 8 p.m.

Saturday, June 5
Game 3 – Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 1 p.m.
Game 4 – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 6 p.m.

Sunday, June 6
Game 5 – Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 1 p.m.
Game 6 – Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 4, 6 p.m.

Monday, June 7
Game 7 – Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6, 6 p.m. (if necessary)