NCAA REGIONAL STORYLINES
Minnesota has advanced to the NCAA Regionals for the 29th time in school history and for the 16th time under head coach John Anderson. It also marks the eighth time in the last 12 years Minnesota has made the NCAA Tournament. The second-seeded Golden Gophers (38-17) will head to Baton Rouge, La. for the NCAA Regionals where they will face the third-seed Baylor (29-24) in the second game on Friday, May 29 at 6 p.m. First-seeded LSU (46-16), who is a No. 3 national seed, will face fourth-seeded Southern (30-15) in the first game on May 29 at 1 p.m. There will be two games on Saturday, May 30. The first one will feature the losers of the first two games at 1 p.m., and the second will feature the winners of the first two games at 6 p.m. The winner of game three will face the loser of game four on Sunday, May 31 at 1 p.m., and the winner of game five will take on the winner of game four at 6 p.m. There will be a seventh
game on Monday, June 1 at 6 p.m. if neccesary. All of the games will be Alex Box Field on the campus of LSU. All of Minnesota’s games can be heard on KLBB (1220 AM) and on gophersports.com.
Minnesota’s selection to the LSU Regional in Baton Rouge marks the second time it will travel to that site, as well as the second time it has been to an NCAA Regional hosted by an SEC institution. The Golden Gophers traveled to Baton Rouge in 2001 as the No. 4 seed in a region with LSU, VCU and California. Minnesota opened against LSU and fell behind 5-0, before rallying to take an 8-7 lead after six innings. The Tigers scored three in the eighth to move ahead 10-8, but Minnesota scored a single run in the ninth for the final tally of 10- 9. The Golden Gophers lost 9-3 in the second game to California.
Minnesota has faced each of the three teams in its NCAA Regional. The Golden Gophers are 3-14 against LSU, including a 10-9 loss in the 2001 NCAA Regionals. Tigers also won the 1995 Dairy Queen Classic at the Metrodome with a 3-0 record. The Golden Gophers are 3-10 against Baylor, and 1-2 in the NCAA Tournament against the Bears. Baylor hosted Minnesota at an NCAA Regional in 1999, and defeated the Golden Gophers 6-4 and 22-6 in a region that saw Minnesota go 2-2. Minnesota did get the best of Baylor in the 1977 College World Series with a 4-3 win in 11 innings in a game that was played over the course of two days due to rain. Golden Gopher Head Coach John Anderson was a student assistant coach on that Minnesota team. The Golden Gophers also defeated Southern 15-8
on Mar. 15, 2006 in the only meeting between the two programs. Minnesota faced Southern as part of a five-game spring trip to Louisiana that saw the Golden Gophers also face New Orleans and Louisiana-Lafayette. This will be Minnesota’s first trip to Louisiana since the spring trip in 2006.
MINNESOTA MAKES 29TH NCAA REGIONAL APPEARANCE
Minnesota will make its 29th NCAA Regional appearance when it faces Baylor in Baton Rouge on Friday, May 29 at 6 p.m. The Golden Gophers have the most NCAA Regional appearances in the Big Ten, and are 13th in the nation among all Division I programs in all-time NCAA Regional appearances. Minnesota’s 29 regional appearances are eight more then Michigan’s 21, which is second in the Big Ten. The Golden Gophers only trail Texas (53), Arizona State (47), Miami (38),
Oklahoma State (37), USC (36), Clemson (34), Arizona State (32), Cal State Fullerton (31), Fresno State (31), Oklahoma (31), St. John’s (31) and Arizona (30) in NCAA Regional appearances. Between the four teams in the regional there are 77 regional appearances (Minnesota - 29, LSU - 23, Baylor - 15, Southern - 10)
