Virginia Earns No. 1 National Seed in NCAA Tournament

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia baseball team has been awarded the No. 1 national seed in the upcoming NCAA Baseball Championship, the NCAA announced Monday. The Cavaliers will play host to the NCAA Charlottesville Regional June 3-6 at Davenport Field and will be joined by East Carolina, St. John’s and Navy for the double-elimination tournament.

A national seed in the 64-team field for the second straight year as well as the second time in program history, Virginia will begin the tournament at 1 p.m. Friday against Navy. East Carolina and St. John’s will play the nightcap at 6 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.

All games of the regional will be webcast on NCAA.com.

Virginia (49-9, 22-8 ACC) is the regional’s top seed after capturing the 2011 ACC Coastal Division title as well as the ACC tournament championship. UVa will be competing in its eighth-consecutive NCAA tournament and is one of 13 schools to play in each of the last eight tournaments. Virginia will serve as a regional host site for the fifth time – all in the last eight years (2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011).

No. 2 seed East Carolina (39-19, 14-10 Conference USA) received an at-large berth in the tournament. The Pirates and Cavaliers played earlier this season, with UVa winning two of three games in Charlottesville from Feb. 25-27. Two of the three games were determined by one run. ECU is anchored by its strong pitching staff, which owns a C-USA-best 2.58 ERA. Trent Whitehead leads the Pirates with a .332 batting average.

No. 3 seed St. John’s (35-20, 18-8 Big East) received an at-large berth in the field after finishing as the runner-up to Seton Hall at the Big East tournament. SJU is another familiar foe for the Cavaliers, having playing in the 2010 Charlottesville Regional championship vs. UVa. Junior shortstop Joe Panik leads the team with a .404 batting average, as well as nine homers and 56 RBI. Kyle Hansen anchors the pitching staff with an 8-6 record and 2.70 ERA in 103.1 innings.

No. 4 seed Navy (33-23-1, 12-8 Colonial) earned the Patriot League’s automatic berth after winning the league’s championship series, two games to one, over rival Army. Navy will be appearing in its first NCAA tournament since 2002. The Midshipmen are led at the plate by Taylor Cato, who is batting .342, and Alex Azor, who is hitting .332 with a team-high 75 hits. Virginia will be playing Navy for the first time since 2009.

UVa owns a 17-10 edge in the all-time series with Navy. The Cavaliers are 22-18 against ECU and 12-4 versus St. John’s.

Ticket/Parking Information is as follows:
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 morning, over 2,600 tickets had been sold for the regional round as well as a potential super regional tournament. Davenport Field will seat 5,050 for postseason play.

All-session General Admission ticket books are currently on sale for $45 for the regional and $24 for a potential super regional. Reserved ticket books are sold out for both the Regional and a potential super regional.

Customers ordering tickets from now until game day may pick up their tickets at the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office in Bryant Hall through noon Friday 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 3) from 9 a.m. to noon by phone and online. If available, single-session tickets will be $12 for Reserved and $8 for General Admission. Any remaining single-game tickets for the super regional will go on sale on Friday, June 10 at 9 a.m. and will be $16 for Reserved and $12 for General Admission.

Ticket sales at Davenport Field begin two hours prior to the first session each day and end at the top of the seventh inning on the last session each day. Fans may upgrade from General Admission to Reserved on game day, subject to availability, at the Davenport Field ticket windows for $4 per ticket.

All parking will be paid parking for the entire postseason. Parking on game day will be $5 in the University Hall and McCue Center lots. Parking is available for $5 in John Paul Jones Arena lot and parking garage on Friday (June 3) and Monday (June 6). The John Paul Jones Arena parking lot and garage will likely not be available for baseball parking on Saturday (June 4) and Sunday (June 5) because events taking place at the arena. Parking will be free in the Emmet/Ivy garage.

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 both the regional and super regional rounds. 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 on a first-come, first-served basis. 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.

2011 NCAA Charlottesville Regional Schedule
Friday, June 3
Game 1 – No. 1 Virginia vs. No. 4 Navy, 1 p.m.
Game 2 – No. 2 East Carolina vs. No. 3 St. John’s, 6 p.m.

Saturday, June 4
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 5
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 6
Game 7 – Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6, 6 p.m. (if necessary)