May 31, 2004

WEST POINT, N.Y. - The waiting is finally over for the Army Baseball team.

Three weeks after completing a two-game sweep of Lafayette in the Patriot League Championship Series to earn their second-ever trip to the NCAA Regionals, the Black Knights learned the identity of their next opponent when the field of 64 for the NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament was announced on ESPN2, Monday afternoon.

In the midst of a record-setting season, Army (37-13) will head to Baton Rouge, La., to compete in a four-team regional hosted by Louisiana State University. The Black Knights will enter the regional as the No. 4 seed and battle No. 1 seed LSU (41-17) at 2 p.m. (CDT) Friday afternoon at Alex Box Stadium. In the other first-round matchup at the Baton Rouge Regional, second-seeded Southern Miss (44-17) will square off against No. 3 seed College of Charleston (45-14) at 6:30 p.m. on Friday.

The four-team, double-elimination tournament begins Friday and continues through Sunday.

Army has established new school and Patriot League single-season records for victories this spring, sweeping Lafayette in the Patriot League Championship Series to claim the school's third Patriot League title. In all, Army has broken or tied 81 team and individual, school and conference records this spring. It marks the second time that Army has advanced to the NCAA Regionals. The Black Knights dropped a pair of hardfought decisions to No. 1 seed Rutgers (4-3) and No. 3 seed and eventual regional champ Penn State (3-1) in the 2000 NCAA Regionals in Upper Montclair, N.J.

"We're honored to be able to step out on the field with such a prominent program, and two other teams that have had great years," said Army head coach Joe Sottolano. "We're looking forward to the opportunity to measure up and watch how other teams go about their business. And we're looking forward to putting forth a good effort.

"We're happy we're going out to play against a first-rate program at a first-rate facility, and to compete. We're going to a place that's got a great baseball atmosphere and a strong history. We're very pleased with the fact that we're going to experience such a quality environment. When you're looking at LSU, you're looking at great fans and a great baseball town. It's an honor to be included in all of that."

Regional host LSU posted a 41-15 (18-12 SEC) record during the regular season, was ranked in the top five of most national polls heading into this weekend's Southeastern Conference Tournament and appeared headed to one of the National Top Eight seeds. But for the first time since 1985, LSU dropped the first two games in the SEC tourney, falling 4-3 in 10 innings to Florida on Wednesday, before suffering a 1-0 setback to Georgia in an elimination game on Thursday. LSU is ranked 12th nationally in this week's Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball polls.

The Tigers completed the regular season in second place in the SEC Western Division, just one game behind both Arkansas (19-11) and Georgia (19-11) in the overall SEC race. The Tigers won all five of their SEC road series this season, including four against teams ranked at the time of the series -- South Carolina, Auburn, Tennessee and Mississippi.

The Tigers' 41-15 regular-season record ranks as the best by an LSU team since the 1998 club also posted a 41-15 mark heading into the postseason. LSU reached the 40-win plateau for the 16th straight season, as the Tigers have recorded at least 40 wins each year since 1989.

LSU, which captured four national championships last decade and another in 2000, is making its 20th NCAA postseason appearance and sports an all-time record of 99-37 in tournament games. LSU's Alex Box Stadium will serve as a host site for the regionals for the 15th consecutive season.

Army has met LSU just once previously, dropping a season-opening 11-8 verdict to the Tigers in Baton Rouge in 1980.

"There was a lot of nervous apprehension having the three weeks off," added Army first baseman Walker Gorham. "(We gave) probably more thought than we needed to about where we'd go and who we'd end up playing. I was just excited to see Army's name on the board like that. It means a lot to us.

"Obviously LSU has a great program. It's going to be a great reward playing in an atmosphere like that. It's going to be awesome. I'm excited. It's going to be a lot of fun. We've got nothing to lose."

Second-seeded Southern Miss stands as one of four Conference USA members to earn NCAA Regional bids. The Golden Eagles finished the regular season tied for second place in the Conference USA standings after posting a 21-9 league mark. Southern Miss advanced to the C-USA Tournament title game against TCU, but fell 3-1 in that contest. The postseason appearance marks the fifth time that Southern Miss has advanced to Regional play and the second season in a row. Last year, the Golden Eagles, who feature an all-time NCAA tourney record of 5-8, hosted the Hattiesburg Regional as the No. 2 seed.

The College of Charleston is making its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance after winning the 2004 Southern Conference regular season championship with a 25-5 league record. The Cougars advanced to the semifinals of the league tournament, but lost to eventual tournament champion The Citadel.

Army has never before faced Southern Miss or College of Charleston on the baseball diamond. Interestingly, the Black Knights are scheduled to play a three-game series versus the Cougars next spring in Charleston.

The 64 teams in the NCAA field will open play June 4 at 16 regional sites. For a complete NCAA Tournament bracket visit the following link: www.lsusports.net/bb/pdf/04ncaabracket.pdf. The winners of each of the 16 regionals advance to the two-team best-of-three NCAA Super Regionals, taking place June 11-14. The winner of the Baton Rouge Regional will advance to face the winner of the Houston Regional being hosted by defending national champion Rice, the No. 6 national seed. The eight Super Regional winners travel to the College World Series to be held June 18-28 at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb.

NCAA Baseball Tournament
Baton Rouge, La., Regional

Friday, June 4, 2004
Game 1 -- #1 LSU (41-17) vs. #4 Army (37-13) -- 2 p.m.
Game 2 -- #2 Southern Miss (44-17) vs. #3 College of Charleston (45-14) -- 6:30 p.m.

Saturday, June 5, 2004
Game 3 -- Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 -- 11 a.m.
Game 4 -- Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 -- 3:30 p.m.
Game 5 -- Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4 -- 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, June 6, 2004
Game 6 -- Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5 -- 1 p.m.
Game 7 -- Same two teams (if necessary) -- 5 p.m.

All times are Central Daylight