Monday, May 25, 2009

INDIANAPOLIS: On Monday, Jacksonville, the 2009 Atlantic Sun Baseball Champions, learned its regional site for the 2009 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship. The Dolphins earned a No. 3 seed in the Gainesville Regional.

Jacksonville will open with Miami (FL) as the opener for its 13th appearance in the field. The Hurricanes are in the field for the 37th consecutive year, extending its own record. The two have not played since 2005, but they have played 96 times all-time dating back more than 50 years. The Hurricanes own a 77-19 advantage.

The Florida Gators host the regional and face the MEAC champions Bethune-Cookman in their first game. The four teams will compete at McKethan Stadium in a double-elimination tournament starting on Friday, May 29. The winner will advance to the best-of-three Super Regional to be held the following weekend at eight different sites.

Jacksonville, who won its fourth A-Sun Baseball Championship with a 7-4 victory against Lipscomb on Sunday, will make its sixth appearance in the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship as a representative of the Atlantic Sun. The Dolphins made NCAA trips in 1999, 2001, 2003, 2006 and 2007.

Last year's A-Sun representative, Lipscomb, made headlines by stunning national seed Georgia in its opening game before losing to Georgia Tech and in a rematch with the Bulldogs.