Tampa Baseball Named Top Seed in Region; Will Host 4-Team Regional
INDIANAPOLIS - The NCAA has announced its field for the 2019 baseball tournament as the University of Tampa was chosen as the No. 1 seed for the NCAA South I Regional. The four-team regional will be played from May 16-18 at the UT Baseball Field.
The other host of the NCAA South Regional is No. 2 seed Delta State University. The winner of the Tampa and Delta State locations will meet for a best two-of-three series on May 25-26 at the site of the highest seed.
Tampa will open play at the regional on Thursday when it meets No. 8 seed Spring Hill College. The 29-20 Badgers earned an automatic bid as the champions of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC).
Tampa enters postseason play with a record of 36-14 and Sunshine State Conference co-champions. UT captured its 20th Sunshine State Conference championship as it finished league play with a record of 19-11. The Spartans ended the regular season with the nations third-toughest schedule, according to the NCAA. Six of the top 10 toughest schedules come from schools in the Sunshine State Conference.
The seven-time national champion Spartans have appeared in the NCAA tournament for 20 straight seasons, including each of head coach Joe Urso's 19 seasons at the helm. Overall, UT has played in 34 NCAA tournaments.
The NCAA Division II Baseball Committee selected 56 schools who will play for a chance to be among the final eight at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina for the national championship beginning June 1.
2019 NCAA South I Regional Opening Matchups
Thursday, May 16
No. 1 Tampa vs. No. 8 Spring Hill, 1:00 pm
No. 4 West Florida vs. No. 5 Nova Southeastern, 5:00 pm
All games will be played at the UT Baseball Field