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May 27, 2013

Tournament Central

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia baseball team will open the 2013 NCAA Baseball Championship at 1 p.m. Friday when it plays Army in the NCAA Charlottesville Regional at Davenport Field. Virginia (47-10) is the No. 6 national seed in the tournament field and will serve as the top seed in the regional. UVa is a national seed for the third time in program history (No. 5 in 2010, No. 1 in 2011).

UNC Wilmington, Elon and Army will comprise the four-team field in Charlottesville. Following the UVa-Army game Friday, UNCW and Elon will play at 6 p.m. The Cavaliers will play Army for the second straight year to open the NCAA tournament.

The losing teams from Friday will play in an elimination game at 1 p.m. Saturday, while the winners will battle 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 in the regional will be broadcast online on ESPN3.

The winner of the Charlottesville Regional will advance to play the champion of the Starkville Regional in an NCAA Super Regional June 7-10. The Starkville Regional consists of host Mississippi State, South Alabama, Mercer and Central Arkansas.

2013 NCAA Charlottesville Regional Schedule
Friday, May 31
Game 1
– No. 1 Virginia vs. No. 4 Army, 1 p.m.
Game 2 – No. 2 UNC Wilmington vs. No. 3 Elon, 6 p.m.

Saturday, June 1
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 2
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 3
Game 7
– Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6 (if necessary), 6 p.m.

Team Information
Virginia (47-10, 22-8 ACC) will serve as a regional host site for the fourth-consecutive year and the seventh time in the last 10 years (2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013). UVa is one of three schools nationally to host a regional each of the last four years, joining South Carolina and UCLA.

Virginia will be competing in its 10th-consecutive NCAA tournament and its 13th overall. The Cavaliers are one of eight programs to play in each of the last 10 NCAA tournaments.

No. 2 seed UNC Wilmington (37-21, 18-8 CAA) earned an at-large berth in the tournament and is making its sixth trip to the postseason since 2003. The Seahawks won the CAA regular-season championship before going 0-2 in the conference tournament. Michael Bass anchors the lineup with a team-best .387 batting average, while Tyler Molinaro, a native of Charlottesville (Albemarle HS), has blasted a team-best 11 home runs. UVa owns a 5-1 edge in the all-time series with UNCW; the programs last played in 2005, with UVa winning two of three games in a season-opening series in Wilmington, N.C. UNCW and Elon played twice in the regular season, with the Seahawks taking both contests.

No. 3 seed Elon (32-28, 18-11 Southern Conference) won five-consecutive games in the SoCon tournament to win the league’s automatic berth into the NCAA tournament. The Phoenix will be making their sixth NCAA appearance in 14 years of competing at the Division I level. Sebastian Gomez leads the team with a .332 batting average, while Ryan Kinsella is batting .329 and owns over half of the team’s home runs with 20. UVa and Elon have met just twice previously, with the most recent coming in 2007, a 10-3 UVa win in the season opener in Myrtle Beach. Ironically, Elon just announced it will join the CAA and will be future conference foes with UNCW.

Winners of eight straight games entering NCAA play, No. 4 seed Army (29-21, 18-2 Patriot League) earned the Patriot League’s automatic bid to the tournament by sweeping Holy Cross on the road in the league championship series. It marked the Black Knights’ fifth conference championship in the last 10 years. Patrick Mescher leads the team with a .345 batting average and 40 RBI, while Chris Rowley, a 2012 All-American, anchors the Army pitching staff and owns a 9-3 record with a 2.68 ERA. Virginia holds a 3-2-1 all-time record against Army after defeating the Black Knights, 9-1, last year in the NCAA tournament.

Ticket Information
The Virginia Athletics Ticket Office will be open this week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. 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. Davenport Field will seat 4,956 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. All-session Reserved ticket books are available for $60 for the Regional and $36 for the Super Regional.

New for the 2013 postseason, seating in the left- and right-field bleachers will be reserved. Again this year, all seating in the grandstands and bleachers along the first-baseline will be reserved. General admission tickets are valid for the grass hillside along the left-field line and for standing room only.

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.

Customers ordering tickets from now until game day may pick up their tickets during regular business hours 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 (May 31) 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-session tickets for a potential super regional would go on sale on Friday, June 7 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.

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.

Parking
All parking will be paid parking for the entire postseason. Parking on game day will be $5 in the University Hall, John Paul Jones Arena and McCue Center lots. The John Paul Jones Arena parking lot and garage will not be available for baseball parking on Friday (May 31) and Saturday (June 1) because of events at the arena.

Pre-paid parking permits will be valid in the University Hall parking lots. Pre-paid parking permits are sold out.

Parking will be free throughout the tournament in the Emmet/Ivy Garage.

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